~*~ Chapter Seven ~*~

But you walk around here like you wanna be someone else

(Bruno Mars; Treasure)

Bill No. 8 – Finally making progress?

After the past weeks up and downs of Bill No. Eight, promising Hybrids more rights, it seems like the Bill is finally making progress. Yesterday at twelve o' clock Riles Thomas, a speaker of the Senat confirmed that in cooperation with the congress the final editing on the bill had been made.

"It was a complicated and exhausting process, but I think everybody will be satisfied with our ultimate conclusion. Now all we can do is hope that the responsible committee will find everything to their liking," Riles said during an interview. Members of the hybrid committee the Bill is going to presented to have been reassuring that they are aware of the controversial discussions surrounding the Bill, but that no public opinion is going to influence their decisions. Still, some parties remain sceptical: Lilian Honower, wife of Jason Honower and founder of the 'FHR – Fighter for Hybrid rights' said in a video: "[...] Still, we find it doubtable that hundreds of protestants won't scare, or unsettle the committee. Nobody hopes it more than us, but you would find it difficult to believe that too, if you would have seen what we have [...]"

Never the less all they can do is wait. Wait until in a few weeks the hybrid committee had made it final altering on the Bill and releases it for voting. Until then the question remains if the Bill is going to make it past it first barrier and will be able to continue its journey towards the two chambers.

"We have to do something about this!" David exclaimed on monday morning, staring intensely at Jeff whose head rested on Nick's shoulder two rows in front of them. The whole school was currently attending their daily morning assembly where they were supposed to listen to Mr. Wright who was standing on his tiptoes behind their large podium, listing today's activities.

Kurt followed his friend's gaze towards the two boys, raising an eyebrow. "About what, exactly?"

He never would have picked David for being offended by this display of affection and after his more or less intentional coming out Kurt had been pretty sure that his friends were actually quite thrilled about his sexuality.

"Oh, come on. I mean you're new and all, but you surely have noticed that they are all 'lovey-dovey'," Wes answered, drawing exaggerated air quotes around his last word. "This has been going on for far too long. It's time to take actions!"

An uneasy feeling settled in Kurt's stomach as David nodded enthusiastically, pulling a leather clad notebook seemingly out of nowhere. (Well maybe he got it from his school back, lying to his feet, but who was Kurt to mention such insignificant facts?)

"Operation 'Niff' is officially a go!" he exclaimed and Kurt could have laughed in relief.

Still ... "What exactly is- Wait, I think I don't really want to know," he quickly added in an afterthought, but it was no use, for David immediately launched into a heartfelt speech.

"Well I was all for naming it 'TSAASMTGNAJTSMLEAEOBOOUSTEGOST', short for 'The super awesome and secret mission to get Nick and Jeff to stop making lovey-dovey eyes at each other, before one of us starts to either gag, or strangle them' but someone" He shot a heartfelt glare at Wes. "insisted that it sounded 'childish' and 'didn't had a nice ring to it'. Unlike a silly kindergarden fusion of their forenames."

"It's not silly! You' silly! Your mom is silly! Go away!"

"Really Wes, really? When was the last time somebody joined your name with that of your girlfriend?"

"Last wednesday. And if I remember correctly it was you at breakfast, trying to tease me about our two hour phone conversation the day before," Wes deadpanned, rising his voice a little bit too high, causing the boy in front of him to turn and shush him with an angry glare. Both boys silenced, but as soon as the boy had turned towards the front again David grimaced and continued in a hushed whisper. "We've got it all planed out in here." He held up the note book, proudly presenting the first page titled 'Operation Niff – Plan A – Part I' "Seriously, this time there's nothing that could go wrong!"

Next to them Blaine groaned. "You say that every. Single. Time. And so far you've set off the fire alarm three times, destroyed two antique pieces of furniture and remember that incident where three freshmen had to be taken to the nurse? I do, you know, because I was one of them. I still have a burn scar on my ellbow."

"I agree with Blaine," Kurt chimed in. "Messing with someone's love-life doesn't seem like a good idea and I talk from experience when I say that it has never ended in anything good before."

With that statement the morning assembly ended and there was a great bustle, in which everyone stood up and tried to leave assembly hall faster than their neighbours. The four friends split up to get to their respective classes and after that the topic was dropped for the rest of the day, what Kurt was very thankful for.

From what Blaine had told him so far Wes and David were sure not to let go 'Operation Niff' that easily, but the longer they waited the more time was left for Nick and Jeff to come to terms with their feelings on their own terms. It would be a shame to see such a deep friendship break over something as stupid as Wes and David's matchmaking abilities – or inabilities.

After an exhausting English lesson in which the most pleasurable experience had been the surprise test in the beginning, Kurt left the school grounds to head to a coffee shop just outside town. He would be seeing two of his best girlfriends, Rachel Berry and Mercedes Jones. Both had recently expressed their appal to the fact that with Kurt adjusting to his new schedule there had been little to no time for 'a little lady talk', as Rachel liked to call it. Therefore both girls would await him in some café chain right between Westerville and Lima in about ten minutes. Right on time Kurt pulled up in front of the establishment, parking his navigator in a nearby alley, before downright skipping through the doors. The bell above him jingled, as he observed his environment, eager to catch up with his girls, finally stomach something after a long day of school and maybe cool his light headache with an iced drink. Rachel and Mercedes were seated next to a large window front and basking in the warm autumn sun, shining through some bare branches. They must have already been waiting for him, judging by the half-empty glasses in front of them and the excited squeals they let out as soon as they spotted him. Kurt suspected that they may or may not have been talking about him, because their greeting appeared to be a bit overenthusiastic, even for them. Never the less he welcomed them with two brief hugs and let Mercedes press a fleeting kiss to his cheek, before stealing a chair from their thankfully unoccupied neighbour table and settling down.

"Kurt! How was school?" Mercedes beamed at him.

"Long, exhausting, but I had an interesting conversation with Nick at lunch about cream sauces versus tomato sauce. Turns out he's quite the cook."

"Really? I thought you told us, that he was all quite and shy?" she asked doubtful.

"He is, but if you get to know him he can be surprisingly talkative. Speaking of which, Tina told me you still haven't found your last club members?"

Mercedes nodded, sadly. "With you gone and Finn refusing to join again – God knows why he even joined in the first place – we probably won't be able to compete at regionals."

"That would be a shame. I'm sorry 'Cedes." He patted her arm briefly.

"Not your fault, boo. On the upside Mike promised to talk to some of the new students, said one of them's quite talented."

They had to interrupt their conversation shortly, for Kurt to order – diet coke and a chicken sandwich. As soon as the waitress had left, Kurt turned to Rachel, who had been surprisingly quiet during their little catch-up. With her arms crossed and mouth pressed into a thin line, she looked ready to burst any second.

"Something you would like to add, Rachel?" Kurt sighed, but she shook her head stubbornly. Mercedes seemed uneasy for a second, before taking up the dialogue again. "What about your school-life anyway? Any new drama, we need to know?"

Kurt chewed the inside of his cheek thoughtfully, before slowly nodding. "Well, Wes and David are convinced that Nick and Jeff – you know Jeff, the shoe disliking blonde? - are secretly flaming in indelibly love for each other. Just this morning -" He startled when Rachel suddenly exclaimed: "I can't take this anymore!" and jumped up from her chair. Kurt and Mercedes stared at her like she had grown a second head.

"Stop small-talking Mercedes. Let's face the fact why we are here today." Rachel raised her arm, dramatically brandishing her raised index finger in front of his nose, nearly poking his eye and proclaiming with an ominous voice: "Kurt I-refuse-to-tell-you-my-middle-name Hummel, is it true or not that you decided to betray your dearest and loving friends in the most despicable and treacherous of all ways?!" Her speech continued with a heart-felt pantomime of ramming herself something in the stomach. "Stabbing the symbolic knives right into our backs, without even considering our grief and pain!" She broke down, hands covering her face and shoulders heaving in fake sobs.

Kurt stared at her, open mouthed. "You are crazy," he stated, surprisingly calm. "Absolutely crazy."

Rachel let out a sound similar to wolf howling and clutched desperately at Mercedes legs. One of the waitresses looked over to them in concern. Mercedes patted their friends hand in an awkward 'Na, na'-gesture, waving her hand in something she hoped was a reassuring way at the employee. Kurt was still staring at his friend aghast, when Mercedes turned her guilty face in his direction.

"Uhm, I may, or may not have told her ... about your audition," she admitted quietly.

"What?" His head snapped up. "But why, Mercedes? I thought I made it clear-"

"I know, I know! But she's just so ... persuading!" she whined.

"I knew it, I knew this would happen," he muttered, while he bent down to get Rachel back on her feet. Until then the waitress had gotten reinforcement and two young woman were now circling their table, trying to eavesdrop on what was going on. Rachel raised her head from Mercedes legs – something the latter was very thankful for, her tights were new after all – and turned a full on glare at Kurt. The force of that look forfeited a bit, considering the fact that she was still kneeling on the floor, but that did not stop her from continuing her accusation.

"You didn't even think about talking to me about this! And while my musical genius is deeply offended by the fact, that you didn't ask my opinion on song choices, I find it far more severe that you refuse to tell your best friend-" Mercedes cleared her throat pointedly. "One of your best friends that you plan on betraying everything she lives for."

"Rachel," Kurt exhaled. "While I understand your irritation and concern, I'm not part of the New Directions anymore. I don't owe you anything in that respect and am free to make my own decisions. Don't you think I've a right to do what I love, when I already had to leave my friends behind?"

Rachel looked taken aback for a second, her glare wavering and she slowly sat up. "Of course you should. But don't you think it's possible that they only want you for all the secret harmonies and dance routines that you know from us? Because I've researched the Warblers and they could seriously need some dance advise!"

"You really think I would betray you like that? Besides Blaine assured me -"

"Oh, is this about Blaine?" Rachel suddenly perked up, raising from the ground.

Kurt blushed lightly, but tried to continue. "He assured me that the Warblers have no interest - "

"Because as much as I appreciate a tragic love story it doesn't justify you giving out any of our secrets!"

"And I won't!" Kurt exclaimed. "I promise, I won't. Can't you just accept that I can be part of the Warblers and support the New Directions?"

"You promise?" Rachel asked warily, but Kurt knew she was giving in, when she took her place next to him again. "Pinky promise?" she clarified.

"I would make an unbreakable vow, if it soothes you," he replied drily.

"Doesn't mean we are letting you that easily deflect from the Blaine-topic. Don't think I didn't see that blush, Hummel," Mercedes chimed in, sipping her orange juice patronizing.

"I should've never told you about him," Kurt muttered.

"Hah. As if you could last even a minute without mentioning him," Mercedes laughed.

"That's not true at all! I have plenty of interesting topics to talk about. Blaine even said – Oh, screw you!" He grimaced, when both girls started laughing.

In that moment Kurt's order arrived, one of the nosy waitresses setting it on the table. Kurt refrained from scolding her for the time a simple drink and sandwich had required, but only because Rachel was still brushing dirt from her skirt, eyeing the floor viciously.

Only when he was sure the woman was out of hearing distance – and it took her more than two minutes of tutting and straightening – he dared to start the conversation again.

"You've no right to tease me, by the way. I've lived through plenty of your crushes before, without -"

"So, you admit you have a crush on him?" Rachel squealed, interrupting him once more.

Kurt blushed. And not the pretty 'my cheeks heat up a little bit and I bat my eyelashes adorably' kind of blush, more the 'my whole face has the colour of tomatoes and what is air' kind. "W-what? I- erm, pf ... never said that. No, erm maybe?"

"Aw, Kurt!" Mercedes gushed. "That's so cute!"

"And dramatically tragic," Rachel added. "You come from two different worlds, separated by society. Human and hy-"

"Rachel!" Kurt shushed her warningly. The girl had raised her voice a bit too much and the two waitresses were looking over to them in interest.

"Right, sorry," she muttered. "But it's just so ... dramatic. And tragic!"

"Speaking of which ... do you plan on telling him?" Mercedes asked.

Kurt sighed. "No. Not yet anyway. Maybe later on, when I know him better."

"Are you sure?" she probed.

"Yes, I am sure," Kurt replied, annoyed. "Girls please, I've enough of this kind of questions at home where my Dad tries to convince me to tell Finn."

"You still haven't talked to him?" Rachel asked aghast. "It's been – what? Three days?"

"Two!" Kurt protested. "If you don't count Saturday."

"You should listen to your father, Kurt," Rachel stated. "Everything would be much easier if he knew."

"No, it wouldn't!" he exclaimed. "And I really don't want to talk about this right now."

"But-" Rachel tried.

"No."

"Even if-"

"No."

"Hrmpf, fine! Do you intend on eating that?" She pointed to his neglected sandwich.

"Wh- yes, of course. Hands off my food!"

Both girls tried to approach the topic a few times after that, but Kurt stayed stubborn and so the conversation developed to lighter themes. Like Blaine's hair for example.

Several minutes later they ended their chat with splitting the bill, little good-bye hugs and the promise of meeting up soon again.

The next day Kurt's Warblers audition was due and quite frankly he was nervous as hell. While on the one side he was happy to escape his home and the tension lying in the air for a few hours, since there had been neither the time nor the motivation on Kurt's part for a clearing conversation with Finn, the prospect of singing in front of a bunch of strangers that would judge him mercilessly left him jumpy and on edge the whole day during class. As Blaine had told him the Warblers enjoyed great popularity among the students, so this would be his first audition in front of someone that would actually criticise his songs and not worship the ground he was walking on simply because he wanted to join.

After his last period, Art and Design by the lovely if not slightly disorientated Mrs. Janson, Blaine awaited him in front of his classroom and together they made their way over the school grounds to the Senior common room, where due to renovations in the music room, Warbler's practice would take place. They were fairly early, for the council usually allowed their singers half an hour of a break after their lessons, to freshen up, or eat something. So it didn't come as a surprise that the only occupants of the room were two seniors bent over their homework when they arrived.

While Kurt hesitated at the doors, afraid to disturb the older students, Blaine sank into one of the couches immediately. He seemed unconcerned by their company, looking questioningly up at his friend still standing uncomfortable in the middle of the room.

"Are you nervous because of your audition?" Blaine asked, when Kurt made no move to sit down. He patted the couch in invitation.

"A bit," Kurt admitted quietly, finally settling next to Blaine. His ears were twitching restlessly in their prison of hair and clips. And he was sure if it were not trapped, his tail would be swishing from side to side. "This will be my first audition where it really comes to something and not anybody is accepted being able to sing, or not."

"You really don't have anything to worry about. In the end it's the Council who makes the decision and since Wes and David like you already ... although Wes can be quite critical when it comes to 'his Warblers'. He was also the one refusing over sixty percent of the applicants."

"Not really helping, Blaine," Kurt deadpanned.

"... Right. Sorry. Just ... relax" A teasing glint light up his eyes,while he started swaying lightly.

"Relax ... take it eahisieee"

"Oh god, please stop singing."

"For there's nothing we can dohoo"

"People are staring, Blaine."

"Relax ... take it eahisieeee!"

"Yeah, I don't know you," Kurt murmured, raising his voice."Who is that guy? Does someone know him? He just started singing? Can someone please take him with them?"

Until then the two Seniors had left and slowly other Warblers started to fill the room. Among of them were also Nick and Jeff that were observing the scene in front of them with mild amusement.

"Don't even try. Nothing gets between Blaine and his songs," Jeff grinned. He had taken off his black dress shoes as soon as he and Nick had entered and was currently settling on the floor tying the laces together. Nick casually petted his head, before dragging two chairs across the room, urging his friend to leave the dusty floor and to take a seat next to Blaine and Kurt.

Kurt observed the two boys carefully. Ever since David's comments about their potential feelings yesterday, he had been keeping an eye on their interaction, carefully trying to make out any treacherous signs that would indicate that there was more than simple friendship between them. Nick and Jeff had always acted very intimate, not bothering to hide their affection for one another, but so far Kurt had not been able to see any unmistakeable sign that they were dating or wanted to be. Like now, for example: The boys were lost in their own little world, obviously having a silent conversation with their eyes that ended with Jeff briefly laying his hand on his friend's forearm. After a moment though he leaned back again, turned away and brought up a conversation with Blaine.

In that moment Wes bustled in, full on in business mode. "Good evening, gentlemen," he greeted, taking his place behind a wooden table at the end of the room, equipped with three identical chairs. "Everybody settle down, settle down. I know the situation is not ideal, but Mr Wright assured me that we will be able to practice in our normal location again soon." There were some quiet murmurs among the boys, but everyone slowly found something or in Jeff's case someone to sit on in favour of leaving his chair for a senior to sit on. David and Thad took their places right and left from Wes at the council's table. Wes observed the room for a second, before settling on Kurt.

"Ah, Kurt, excellent that you are here. Warbler's may I introduce you to Dalton's newest student Kurt Hummel." Some half-hearted greetings filled the room. "Kurt will be auditioning at the end of this practice and the council will decide about his admission. I know-" he started when the room filled with murmurs once again. "I know this isn't the usual procedure, but due to his mid-year transfer and the fact that he missed the open auditions at the beginning of the year it would be regarded wildly unfair to not give him the opportunity to show his talents." Some of the boys were still frowning, but when David spoke up nobody protested. "Alright gentlemen let's begin, shall we? I suggest we go over our numbers for regionals again. As far as I see it we already decided on 'Counting Stars', by One Republic with Blaine as the lead, but containing a solo of Thad as well as Nick and Justin Timberlake's 'Mirrors' also with Blaine as the lead. The only thing still undecided appears to be our last song, concerning that the council handed out different options to you during our last meeting. I hope everyone has read and memorised their parts so far, so we can quickly sing through them one by one, before coming to a decision."

Kurt, whose mouth had slowly opened during David's speech - because oh my god, it were still weeks until Regionals and they had already decided on their songs? New Directions had to look forward to some serious competition. - noticed Blaine producing some sheets of music out of his school bag.

"Blaine, do you have a suggestion which song to try out first?" Wes asked.

Blaine shrugged, flipping around some papers, before holding up one of the sheets covered in his neat handwriting. "Treasure, by Bruno Mars? I thought the added harmonies had a nice ring to them even though some parts still appear quite rough."

The next hour was spend singing through different arrangements, discussing choreography and working on harmonising their voices.

Kurt had to admit that he was quite impressed. Not only by Blaine's extraordinary singing voice that send shivers down his spine and the fact that he managed to hold his tones while jumping from couches to tables and stools, but also the professionalism of the council. The Wes and David Kurt had gotten to know so far were childish, silly dorks that liked to start food-fights and tease Blaine in an endless stream of annoying comments, but right now they presented a serious side of them that had Kurt stunned and slightly jealous of their abilities.

He spend most of the time curiously listening to the conversation around him and silently fangirling over Blaine's performance, even though he had to admit that neither Nick's, nor Thad's singing was in any way inferior to his. Before he even knew what was happening, practice was over and it was time for his audition.

Wes had made it very clear that while everyone was welcome to stay and listen, Kurt's audition was by no means compulsory or part of their practice and therefore the biggest part of the Warblers wandered out of the room, while Kurt placed a CD Player on the council's table.

For Kurt singing songs always held a special meaning. To him there was a big difference between mindlessly singing along to some lyrics and presenting your voice, your thoughts, your heart to someone.

Most people sang songs, Kurt gave songs.

Most of the time you give a song to yourself, sometimes to an audience and on very special occasions you give one song to a special person. He had given songs to his friends, to all of New Directions, songs to himself in difficult times and one time he had given one to his father. But right now Kurt was giving this song to the Warblers, or more specific to Wes and David, to Nick and Jeff and of course to Blaine. It was a song to say thank you and to show his gratitude for everything they had done for him. (And maybe he had been watching Tinkerbell with Blaine on Saturday evening, letting himself be influenced by that, but who was he to judge Disney songs?)

Delicate panpipe tones filled the space as Kurt pressed play and after inhaling deeply, he started to sing.

Sometimes you think you'll be fine by yourself
Cause a dream is a wish that you make all alone
It's easy to feel like you don't need help
But it's harder to walk on your own

His eyes roamed across the room, taking in the curious and – dare he hope? - admiring faces around him. Jeff grinned widely, when they locked eyes and gave him a not so subtle thumbs up. Nick buried half under him smiled quietly to himself, nodding approvingly at Kurt. The council's expression remained neutral, but Kurt assumed that this was their job after all, so he did not dwell on it for too long. At last his gaze landed on Blaine.

Someone who knows when you're lost and you're scared
There through the highs and the lows
Someone to count on, someone who cares
Beside you wherever you go
You'll change inside
When you realize

Blaine's smile lit up the whole room, warm hazel eyes shining with a mix of admiration and mischief after having recognised the inspiration for Kurt's song. Kurt's heart jumped in his chest, his stomach doing a weird little backflip and he quickly withdrew his eyes.

No. Not now, not here, not him.

And when your hope crashes down
Shattering to the ground
You, you feel all alone
When you don't know which way to go
And there's no signs leading you home
You're not alone

But inexorably his gaze wandered back to the boy, who was still smiling so wide his cheeks must hurt badly until now. When their eyes looked Blaine gave him an adorable little tumbs-up and all Kurt could do was to secretly smile back, before taking a deep breath and throwing himself into the last chorus.

The world comes to life
And everything's bright
From beginning to end
When you have a friend
By your side
That helps you to find
The beauty you are
When you open your heart
And believe in
The gift of a friend

The room erupted in polite applause, the lack of clapping from the council's side made up by Blaine, Nick and Jeff who had raised from their seats and were cheering and hooting excitedly.

"Thank you for this, Kurt." Wes smiled tidily, straightening out the notes in front of him. "The council's now going to retreat and deliberate on your audition. We will inform you about our decision in a few minutes." With that he, David and Thad left, leaving a stunned Kurt behind. Within seconds he was surrounded by his friends.

"Oh my god, Kurt!" For a brief moment he was enveloped in warmth and and strong arms. "That was incredible. Why didn't you tell me you're a countertenor?" And just as quick as he had hugged him Blaine was stepping back, leaving Kurt with panicked heartbeat and unable to form a coherent sentence for a moment.

"I- uhm ... thanks. Yeah, thank you. Very much. ... uhm." Blaine stared at him with mild amusement, while Kurt internal chided himself for acting like a clichéd rom-com teenager. Seriously, Kurt? Thanking him three times? Get a grip.

Fortunately Jeff broke the embarrassing moment by deciding it was his time to congratulate now. "Good job, Kurtie!" Wildly grinning he followed Blaine's example, shortly hugging the other boy. Kurt tensed for an undecided moment, resisting his natural urge to recoil and flee, before taking a deep breath – lemongrass and soap, from the other boys shampoo – and briefly patting his back.

"Let him breathe, Jeff." Blaine's eyes were narrowed in an unusual hostile way, as he promptly ushered the other boy away from Kurt. Jeff gave him a confused look, but was quickly distracted by a loud crash and a mumbled swear on the other end of the room. One of the remaining Warblers had tripped over his bundle of shoes, that had been left unregarded and half-hidden under his chair. Jeff rushed across the room, face screwed up in worry over his comrade and the well-being of his shoes.

Nick used the distraction and freed-up space to step forward, patting Kurt companionable on the back. "You have a remarkable voice," he told him quietly. Surprised, but all the more flattered by the rare compliment, Kurt smiled gratefully at him.

"Thank you," he replied earnestly. "Yours is too, from what I've heard so far."

Nick shrugged dismissively. "Nothing in comparison to Blaine."

"Oh, that's not true at all, Nicky!" Jeff had rescued his dressshoes and swung them over his shoulder, where they were dangling with every step he took closer to Nick and Kurt. Hands pressed on his hips, he gave an oddly threatening picture as he build up in front of the two boys. "Your voice is wonderful and don't you dare convince Kurt otherwise."

Nick could not hide a pleased little smile and – was that a blush rising on his cheeks? -, but he did not seem keen on elaborating the topic, instead just shrugging again and retreating a bit from the group. A clear sign that this conversation was finished for him. Jeff did not seem bothered by that, having brought his opinion across and carefree tuned into the conversation going on next to them.

Unfortunately now Kurt remained by himself, left alone with his thoughts and worries. Next to the usual 'What if I don't get in? What if I'm not good enough for them? Will they stop being my friends? Ban me from school? Sacrifice me in a satanic ritual to the Warbler god?' his mind reeled around the scenario 'what if he got in?'. He did not want to get his hopes up, but the compliments all around and general knowledge that yes, he had quite the voice and was after all one of the founding members of the New Directions had reassured him. Still ... how much would the Warblers take from his already rare free time? Was he really settled in enough to load himself with this extra work? A few hours ago he had been so sure about that, but now ...

Well, ready or not the council entered the room again in that moment, taking place behind their table again. The remaining Warblers sat down where they were standing, mostly on the floor, but with only a few of them left and time running short the council did not seem all too offended by that lack of etiquette.

Wes, obviously the voice of them, banged a little gavel, to get everyone's attention. "Welcome back, everybody. We are glad to announce that the council's come to a decision about the recently heard audition. After detailed consultation and -"

David pointedly cleared his throat, subtly flashing his clock dial at his friend. They were already running late because of the added audition and he did not want to explain to a bunch of panicked parents why their children were staying in school all night long.

Wes's face crunched up sourly for a moment, but soon enough he continued like nothing happened. "Well, to keep it simple: We agreed on letting you join. Welcome to the Warblers, Kurt."

Kurt half expected someone (Wes, David and/or Jeff) to scream hysterically, jump panicky up and down and maybe faint, or something, but the officiality of the situation must have rubbed off on his friends, because apart from polite applause and shrill whistling from Jeff everything stayed remotely calm.

He let himself be hugged by Blaine – again, not that he was complaining – and accepted the cheerful, but not all that surprised congratulations around him. The council left their table and with that also their seriousness, joining Nick, Jeff and Blaine in their praise. Most of the stayed back Warblers left fairly quickly after that, eager to finally go and enjoy the rest of the day. In the end only the six of them stayed back and Kurt being the only one not boarding kept glancing anxiously at his watch.

His father would worry if he did not head home soon. Of course Kurt had told him about his audition and that he would stay back after class, but since everything had taken far more time than Kurt had anticipated, he needed to get going soon.

He told his friends this much, but they were reluctant to let him go just yet.

"Come on, Kurtie. We got to celebrate!" exclaimed Jeff. The boy had not left his side since the council's announcement and was successfully trapping Kurt with a vice like grip to his arm.

"Can't you stay a little bit longer?" tried David.

"Boys, really," Kurt sighed, "My Dad will worry. He expects me home."

"Just half an hour?" Jeff looked crushed. "Pretty please?" He stuck out his bottom lip, imitating something piranha-like.

"The physical appearance of the plea will not influence my decision, Jeff." Kurt's voice was stern, but his eyes twinkled amused.

Blaine, always the reasonable one, raised his hands peacefully. "Maybe we can postpone the celebration-party, a bit. Move it to ... tomorrow, at lunch?"

Wes nodded encouraging. He had a skype-date planned with Nadine later on and would hate to miss it. Kurt still looked hesitantly, but the hopeful faces all around made him sigh resigning.

"If you insist," he murmured. Jeff cheered excitedly and Kurt asked himself once more what he had gotten himself into.