Sectionals

Monday began Kurt's first active week of classes. He wasn't sure what to expect, but considering he'd been given several different interpretations of the daily grind at Dalton, he'd have to experience it for himself. McKinley High wasn't a private school, nor was it a top public school, but at least he knew that he didn't have to worry about jocks pushing him into lockers, slushies, or teachers that didn't care.

Wes assured him that he had nothing to worry about. Nick, David, and Beatz said it'd be a nightmare. Blaine and Jeff told him that it took some adjusting - they'd done the public to private transfer too - but if he got thru the first week okay, he'd be fine. Thad and Trent were of the opinion that it really depended on not just the teacher or the subject, but how much you applied yourself.

Kurt, for the most part, wasn't overly concerned. He'd met all of his teachers several times to go over the catch-up work packets he had to do. All of them had been impressed with how quickly he picked up the material, and Kurt was surprised at how helpful they'd been.

Besides finally being able to attend classes, his first official Warblers practice would be that week, and he had less than two weeks to get ready for sectionals. His tutoring class would also be starting, yes, class. He had been told by Madame Moreau that she had heard great things from certain Warblers that he could manage several of them at one time, which was a feat she was in awe of. So instead of him doing one-on-one sessions, he'd be in charge of small groups to keep everyone caught up.

He was going to be in for a busy week.

And a busy week it was. By Wednesday, Kurt was in no mood to get out of bed. It wasn't that he didn't want to go to class, but he had been so worried about how the week would turn out, he'd practically made himself sick over it. He hadn't actually thrown up, but he'd been queasy on and off, which he just chalked up to nerves. He was still getting headaches, but sleep and ibuprofen seemed to help.

He knew that he couldn't afford to stay in bed today anyway, even though that sounded like an awesome idea. Today would be the busiest day of the week. He had classes all day, followed by a Warblers meeting, and a French lesson after dinner, with included some of the Warblers. He had timeslots Monday - Thursday, each day for a different level of French. Fridays were a free day for him, or if he so chose, a day to help anyone that needed extra help or missed a session.

Kurt did manage to eventually drag himself out of bed and got ready for classes. He was making sure he had all of his things together when he heard a knock on the door. A quick 'come in' revealed Blaine.

"Morning Kurt...you ready to go? I brought coffee and muffins."

"Thanks Blaine. I'll be ready to go in a minute, just making sure I have everything. How'd you make out with your English assignment? "

Blaine took a seat on Kurt's bed. "It's pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. Who knew taking a Shakespearian play and translating it into something that sounds gangster could be so much fun? It makes so much sense now."

Kurt spoke up without turning around. "You do realize that there is a series of books called No Fear Shakespeare, right? There are quite a few in the series and come in handy. One side of the page is in 'Shakespeare' and the opposite page is in 'normal English'. Though, it you want to be authentic, then you get used to dealing with the iambic pentameter."

Blaine was flabbergasted. "You mean to tell me there are books that have this crap translated already?! Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Hey, you just said you had a good time writing a different version of the story. And besides, how was I supposed to know you didn't know about them? They were the versions we used at McKinley - people kept losing or destroying the 'Shakespeare English' copies we had. Next time I know something that I think will benefit you, I'll speak up, okay?"

Blaine began to pout a bit, "Okay, you better...thanks."

"Come on Pouty Face, time to go."

The school day passed by quicker than Kurt expected. Before he knew it, it was time for Warblers rehearsal. When he entered the room, though, he was surprised to see semi-controlled chaos. Wes was obviously worked up over something, if him flailing his arms around was any indication. David was unsuccessfully calming him down, while Thad just sat back and rubbed the sides of his head.

Jeff and Nick sat on one of the couches, watching as Trent talked to some of the younger members. Blaine was on another couch, waiting for Kurt, for he had given up trying to help David with Wes. Beatz was in a chair, taking advantage of the delay to take a nap. Kurt went to sit next to Blaine, jumping slightly when Wes yelled again.

"Hey Kurt. Sorry that this is how your first meeting is going. Wes is freaking out about something and hasn't been calm enough to go into details. Thad told me what was going on though."

"And what exactly is going on? I've never seen Wes this animated before. I was expecting to get reprimanded for being the last one here."

"Apparently there's been a change of plans for Sectionals. For one, we're not competing against New Directions anymore. And two, we're now competing against a school new to competing...and Crawford."

Kurt raised an eyebrow, "What? Sectionals are right around the corner, and all of a sudden they've changed the groups competing? That doesn't make any sense. We've all known since the start of October. I haven't heard anything from Finn or Mercedes about changes -" Kurt was interrupted by his cell going off. "Never mind."

Kurt! Mr. Schue just said ur not our compt nemore...wth? -Finn

Blaine read the text over Kurt's shoulder, "I guess they know now. Who do you think everybody's going against now then? They still going against the old people?"

"I'll ask him."

I just got to practice myself, Finn. Wes is having a meltdown so I haven't heard all of the details yet. You still going up against the Hipsters? All I know is that we're competing against our sister school, and some of the guys aren't handling it well. - Kurt

Yeah we r. them & some1 else that's never gone b4...idk who. Whos ur 3rd? -Finn

I'll let you know if we ever get this meeting started. -Kurt

"Finn's not sure who their third is. They are still singing against the Hipsters, though, so that's one group we don't have to worry about." Kurt looked up at the council's table and noticed that Wes was still going and that David had given up. "Why hasn't David or Thad used Wes's gavel yet? I'm sure he'd notice if someone else has touched his most prized possession."

Blaine gave him a sad smile, "He saw the way you reacted to it the first day you were here - when you were moving in - and we saw you flinch at the noise. Puck and Finn mentioned that it sounded like your head hitting a bench, so we've made it a point not to use it around you until we know it doesn't bother you."

Kurt was speechless. "I-I don't know what to say...but I thought that was the only way the council could get everyone's attention."

"Well, it was always the most effective. Gavels have been used for a long time. Nobody remembers why - it's considered tradition or something. Although Thad said David's ringtone worked well last week. He has several annoying ones."

"I'm trying to figure out what the problem is with Wes. Is it the fact that there's been a change-up and it's messing with his OCD, or is it because we'd be going up against sisters, cousins, and girlfriends and he doesn't want us to hurt their feelings when we win?" asked Nick.

Jeff spoke up from his spot on the couch. "Hey - should we call the girls? They're probably meeting now too, so they gotta know about the sudden change by now. I didn't think they had enough to compete."

Nick agreed, "That's not a bad idea. Who should do the talking and who are we calling? Our choices are: my sister, Kim; David's girlfriend, Michelle; Beatz's cousin, Marcia; Trent's sister, Danielle; Thad's girlfriend, Melissa; or Wes's girlfriend, Becky."

"I vote for Becky." The other boys turned toward the voice, not realizing that Beatz had woken up from his nap. "She's head of the Silvertones' council. Makes sense to talk to her directly. No offense, but Marcia's probably doing the same thing I am - waiting for the smoke to clear."

"Good point. But who's gonna talk to her?"

"Rock, paper, scissors?"

"I'll do it. I just need one of you to call for me."

Blaine pulled his phone out to place the call for Kurt, while Nick gave him a little salute. "Good luck to you, then. She's not as bad as Wes, but she's pretty close."

Kurt took the phone from Blaine, gaining a thumbs up from him and Jeff. Trent had wandered back over by this point, curious as to what was going on.

"Um, who's Kurt calling? And why do you all look suspicious?" he asked.

Jeff answered for the group, "Kurt volunteered to call Becky to get her opinion on the whole situation. She seemed to be the best choice of our connections, and Kurt can speak girl."

Trent was going to ask what that meant, but was shushed by Nick and Beatz.

"Hello Blaine. I'd love to talk but this isn't a good time." Yelling could be heard over the line.

"Hi Becky. My name's Kurt. I was hoping to speak to you about Sectionals, but it seems as if you're having a tough time as well. I've been informed that you would be the best person to speak to, not just as the Head of your council, but also as Wes's better half."

Sigh. "Well, you've chosen the right person. You must be the new countertenor. How is Wesley handling it?"

"Do you want me to be honest?"

"No, that's alright. I think I can hear him in the background. Has David given up yet? I can't imagine him lasting long."

"Almost, I know Thad gave up a little while ago. I got here a few minutes late and Wes didn't notice. I had to get the few details we know from Blaine. What exactly is the mood of your ladies?"

"They are torn between forgetting about the whole thing, or risking relationship feuds when one of our groups win."

"Why such late notice? We knew about the competition a while ago. Rumor has it, there weren't enough girls for you to compete."

"From my understanding, they had pre-selected the groups ahead of schedule - they weren't supposed to be released until a couple weeks ago. Somehow, they missed bids from a few of us to enter into this year's competition, thus resulting in the flip-flop. Initially, we didn't have enough girls, but we fixed our schedules and all of a sudden we have a decent sized group. Oh by the way, for our area, it's us girls, you guys, and a new co-ed group from Northside Christian."

Kurt covered part of the phone so he could pass the info along, "She said they released the lists too early, they do have enough to compete, and the other group is from Northside Christian - where's that?"

Blaine answered, "It's by St. Anne's Hospital. I think it's like 15 minutes or so from here. Private too, but co-ed."

"Does she know who replaced us in the other division?" asked Trent.

"Tell Trent, Blaine, Nick, Jeff, and Jon I said 'hello', and I think it's Spencerville High that will be verses New Directions and the Hipsters."

Kurt almost asked who Jon was, until he realized that Beatz did in fact have a real name. "Becky said Spencerville High is replacing us and she says 'hello' to Trent, Blaine, Nick, Jeff, and Jon." Beatz groaned in his hands. "Damnit Becky, he didn't even get a chance to guess."

The boys laughed at the scene, while Kurt looked on confused, before refocusing on the phone. "I'll ask about that later, but back to the topic at hand. I'm sure neither of us is willing to forfeit, and we're not going to let both of us forfeit, so the only option is to compete against each other. Can you and your girls deal with that, knowing the outcome could be good or bad?"

"They better - there's no way I'm gonna let them get out of this - boyfriends, cousins or brothers be damned. I'm not going to let some newbies run all over us to win at their first showing either. How are you guys going to convince Wesley, though?"

"Leave that to me. It was a pleasure speaking to you Becky. I'm sure Wes will be calling you later."

"Ha. Thanks Kurt. If you have to, threaten him. Let him know I'll break up with him if he doesn't suck it up. Better yet - threaten Cynthia."

"Who the hell is Cynthia?!"

"Not who, what."

"What are you talk - the gavel has a name!? You have to be freakin' kidding me."

"Nice talking to you, Kurt. Good luck."

Kurt gave Blaine his phone back, still a little dumbstruck. "Cynthia?"

"Yeah, forgot to tell you that..."

Kurt just rolled his eyes and got off of the couch. "Okay - I don't know about you guys but I believe it's time to get this rehearsal started."

Nick raised an eyebrow, "Oh yeah? And how do you propose to do that?"

Kurt smirked, "Simple - just watch." With that, the group watched as Kurt walked up to the council's table and reach for the gavel.

Three hard knocks on the table is all it took before the room got quiet. Thad and David looked on in amazement, while Wes looked like he was about to pass out in shock.

"Alright. Now I know this is probably going against the rules, but I think enough is enough." Kurt paused to take a deep breath; he really didn't think Cynthia was going to make that much noise, and hoped no one could see his hands quiver. "From what I gather, there has been a change of plans for Sectionals. Now instead of going against the Hipsters and the New Directions, we're going up against a rookie group and our sister school.

"What doesn't make sense to me is why this is a problem for you! The Warblers have been in competitions forever, and all of a sudden, when you have to compete against sisters and girlfriends, you guys are gonna wimp out?"

Kurt scanned the room and watched as some of the boys seemed to understand where Kurt was going with this speech. "So what if we're singing against Crawford? You're acting like you're going against Vocal Adrenaline, which is the only time this reaction should be allowed. And I'm speaking from experience. New Directions met them at Regionals last year, and that was after dealing with their lead soloist trying to get with one of our girls.

"Now, I've already had the pleasure of speaking with one of the council members of the Silvertones. Becky and I discussed it and we've come to several conclusions. Since neither of us wants to forfeit, nor do either of us want to see the rookies win, the only logical choice is to suck it up and compete. I mean, honestly, this is the last year for some of you - don't you want to go to Sectionals and win, maybe make it to Nationals?

"So the way I see it, our only real choice is to compete and to bring our 'A' game. Besides, when we win, that gives you guys bragging rights over the girls. I know I've only recently acquired a stepbrother, but we've fought about stuff before - stupid stuff - and have come out better for it. Right now, you all are acting like girls."

Kurt looked back over at Blaine and Jeff, and saw both of them smiling at him. Nick and Trent had thoughtful looks on their faces, while Beatz just sent him a thumbs up. David and Thad glanced at each other before nodding, as Wes finally seemed to rejoin the land of the living.

"Whether the real problem is that this is ridiculously short-notice and against the typical rules of the game, or that we're competing against friends and family - I don't care. Maybe it's because I was already resigned to the idea of going up against Finn and my friends, or that I haven't had the pleasure of meeting the ladies of Crawford, but I see this as another challenge to overcome.

"If we can't get up on a stage and have a friendly competition, then we don't deserve to go the Sectionals." Kurt walked back over to the table before turning and facing the room one last time. "Anyone opposed to going to Sectionals - raise your hand."

It took a moment but it looked as if Kurt had finally gotten through the boys' heads. No one did anything.

"Alright. All who are willing and able to compete against Crawford by giving their all and kicking some ass - raise your hand."

Blaine and Jeff were the first to act, followed by Nick, Trent, Beatz, Thad, David, and just about everyone else in the room. They all turned to the only hand not raised - Wes.

Wes looked at the group, then to David and Thad, before he met eyes with Kurt. Wes took one more moment before slowly raising his hand. The vote was unanimous.

"Motion passed. Next order of business, please." Kurt dropped the gavel once more before moving back to the couch and reclaiming his seat next to Blaine, who took notice of the shaking hands, and put his own over Kurt's, as if to say 'I'm right here and you're fine'.

Realizing that a potential crisis had been averted - well, crisis for some - Wes moved and picked up his gavel. He looked at Kurt for a second, and after receiving a shaky smile in return, put Cynthia back down. He didn't think he'd need her anymore...at least for today.

"Alright then. Next on the agenda is our set list. We need ideas before we leave today, a finalized list by Friday. We've worked on a few songs already, so we'll take those into account, as well as new suggestions. Let's just try to keep in mind that it needs to be able to conform to the few specifications we have for song selections, Nick and Jeff."

The couple put on their best 'who us?' faces, while Wes could see Blaine whispering to Kurt, who seemed confused. Luckily, he wasn't the only one, so Wes didn't feel odd having to explain the rules again.

"For those of you that have forgotten or aren't aware, suggestions need to be songs that can be easily arranged and nothing vulgar or offensive is allowed. Keep in mind that we have a wide range of voices. All genres will be considered and voted to see if there is interest from the whole group, with final votes from David, Thad, and myself. Also consider that we have less than two weeks - anything that may require a lot of choreography wouldn't be advisable at this time.

"With that said, suggestions for Sectionals will be taken now."

"I have to say: that was one of the best meetings ever!" Jeff gushed, attaching himself to Kurt once they had left the practice hall. "You were amazing! And did you see the look on Wes's face - priceless!"

Kurt rolled his eyes at the blonde's antics. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself today. I, on the other hand, was very close to a nervous breakdown. Has anyone ever done that before?"

"Using the gavel themselves or speaking out against the council?" asked Nick.

"Either."

"Nope."

"Seriously? There's never been anyone that has done that?"

"Well," Blaine said, "there have been cases where Warblers have firmly objected to ideas of the council, but no one has ever done it the way you did, and at the same meeting no less. Nice job, first countertenor in forever."

"Should I be afraid of Wes right now?" asked Kurt.

Jeff responded, "Nah. More than likely Wes is already on the phone with Becky, and she's threatening him not to do anything to you because you're right. I wouldn't worry about it. Who's up for dinner? It's taco night."

"I've gotta grab my binder from my room for tutoring tonight. You guys go and I'll meet you there."

"Want company? Jeff and Nick can save us seats. And you never know - Wes could be lurking around..."

Kurt laughed, "Sure Blaine, thanks." The boys split up by the stairs, Kurt and Blaine to the dorms, Jeff and Nick to the dining hall.

The boys discussed more song ideas at dinner. Blaine of course was rooting for another Katy Perry song. Nick suggested Yellowcard's Ocean Avenue, while Jeff wanted to try Coldplay's Viva la Vida. Kurt had given up his Lady Gaga campaign quicker than he expected himself to, but he realized that a song of hers would probably be too much for the boys to handle - at least for now. Instead, he offered Santa Fe from Rent, since La Vie Boheme would be fun to do but not appropriate for a competition. He was determined to get them to do a musical or show tune of some sort before he left the school.

"What about a Michael Jackson song? I Want You Back or Bad could sound really good."

"Maybe for Regionals...a Michael Jackson song should have some real choreography to it, not just our easy step, shuffle, turn, thing."

Eventually dinner ended, and the group split up. Kurt and Jeff made their way to the foreign language wing to meet up with Trent, while Blaine and Nick headed to the library to do more work on their English assignment. Jeff was curious to see how Kurt would handle a big group of in-desperate-need-of-help students, especially ones that were in the same grade level as them. So he asked how the last two days had gone with the younger groups.

"It was a lot of fun, actually. I was really surprised at how attentive they were. Then again, I only had three Warblers within those two levels, so it was much calmer than it could've been. Almost makes me glad that more of you take Italian and Spanish."

Jeff pretended to swoon and placed a hand over his heart, "You wound us Kurt. The Warblers are not that rambunctious."

Kurt just raised an eyebrow, "This coming from the very person I saw jump off a couch and almost bust his head on a table not 24 hours ago?"

Jeff at least had the decency to blush. "Okay, I admit I timed the landing wrong, but we know when to get serious."

"You need a gavel to shut you all up during a meeting."

"Well, it works doesn't it? We know when to shut up - that has to count for something."

Even though there had been a lot of ideas from the whole group, the council eventually decided on doing Train's Hey Soul Sister - with Blaine as the lead - and Pink's Get the Party Started, which would feature Nick, Jeff, and Blaine. However, several suggestions, like doing Michael Jackson, were noted in the minutes as ideas for Regionals or just to play around with. Everyone came to rehearsals alert and ready to go.

Except for Kurt.

Jeff had been the first to notice, and had told Nick and Blaine about it later. It wasn't that Kurt wasn't trying, but it was just that his overall demeanor told them that something was wrong. David said that while they were practicing moves, Kurt was very stiff, which prompted Trent and Beatz to mention that Kurt was still having headaches, but was trying to hide them. Thad and Wes were trying to not get involved, saying that it was probably just nerves or that Kurt was still trying to acclimate to the Warblers' way of performing.

Kurt was mostly oblivious to the concern of the rest of the group. The headaches were normal for him now, but the fatigue was something else entirely. He didn't know why he was so tired. He was still managing to get 7-8 hours of sleep each night, but there'd been a few days where he'd go to his room to take a nap after classes and before rehearsal. Some nights, he had even considered cancelling the tutoring sessions, but pushed through it and never did.

They had finally made it to the day before Sectionals and Kurt felt like crap. He had been up part of the night with stomach cramps, and had thrown up a few times by the time classes started. All he wanted to do was stay in bed, but in order to go to the competition tomorrow, he had to finish the school day first...and their last run-thru.

Needless to say, Kurt was already counting down the minutes until he could go back to his room.

He also finally realized that he wouldn't be fooling anyone. Blaine met him at the base of the stairs with a look of worry, and a coffee that Kurt knew he couldn't enjoy today.

"Kurt, you look like hell. Why aren't you in bed?"

"Because I want to go to Sectionals. Can't do that if I'm in bed. And no offense, I can't do coffee this morning."

That raised a flag. Everyone by now knew that Kurt ran on caffeine, and he really must be sick in order to deny it. Blaine dropped the cup in the trash, and pulled Kurt over to a bench, before putting his hand on Kurt's forehead.

"You're really warm, Kurt, and I know it's your first competition with us, but how will any of us enjoy it if we're worrying about you?"

"It's nothing to worry about. It could just be an annoying 24-hour thing, and come morning, I'll be good as new."

"No offense, Kurt, but that's a load of crap. You haven't been feeling well for a while. Don't think we haven't noticed."

Kurt just looked at him. "We, as in you and Jeff?"

"And Nick, Wes, David, Thad, Trent, Beatz, as well as some of the younger students in your tutoring block."

Kurt groaned and dropped his head against Blaine's shoulder. "And here I thought I was doing a good job at keeping up appearances."

"Remember when we met and we spoke of your spying escapade?"

"Yeah."

"A sneaky Slytherin, you are not."

Kurt groaned again while Blaine just smirked. "Couldn't resist, Kurt. But seriously, you should be in bed."

"There's no way I'm missing Sectionals. Besides, I don't think I have to throw up anymore. See - improvement."

"Oh yeah? Stand up real fast. Then maybe I'll believe you."

Kurt bit his lip. That's not fair - if I do that I'll probably pass out.

"Is there an option two?" Blaine just raised an eyebrow. "Come on, Blaine. If I do that, I'll pass out. If that happens, you'd have to explain yourself."

"Oh yeah? And why would I need to do that?"

"Because Wes will wanna know what you've done to his beloved countertenor." Kurt and Blaine looked up to see Nick and Jeff lounging against the wall. "And no offense, but your status as lead soloist will only get you so far, if you can't explain yourself to his satisfaction."

Nick sent Blaine a smirk, ignoring the responding glare. Jeff rolled his eyes at the two of them and sat down next to Kurt on the bench. "You do realize that Blaine has a point - you do look like shit...and I mean that in the nicest way possible."

Kurt sighed, "I feel like shit. But I don't want to miss out tomorrow - I'll be fine. Seriously, I've been feeling bad for a few weeks already...what's another day or two?"

It was Jeff's turn to raise an eyebrow, "You're a stubborn pain in the ass, Hummel."

Kurt laughed, "Dad says it's my mother's fault, although he seems to forget that he's just as bad. Trust me - if I feel any worse, I'll let you the three of you know. Please let me finish the day out. I promise to go to bed and sleep it off after our final run-thru. Please?"

"Don't look, Jeff - you won't be able to deny the puppy eyes," warned Nick.

Jeff looked, and was oddly amazed at how pathetic and cute a sick Kurt could look. "Aw, Kurt, that's not fair."

"Please?"

Blaine piped up from his seat next to Kurt, "On one condition: you take some medicine and try to eat something, AND if you start feeling worse if tell us."

"That was more than one condition, Blaine."

"Not helping, Nicholas."

Kurt laughed as Blaine pouted. "I agree to your conditions. Come on - class starts in 20."

After a breakfast of ginger ale, crackers, and Tylenol, the boys went about the rest of their school day. By lunchtime, Kurt was able to eat some soup and toast, and even Blaine had to admit he was starting to look better. By the time their final run-thru started, Kurt had enough energy to finish out the long two-hour session before heading to his room to crash.

Jeff took it upon himself to get more soup for Kurt to eat, before he slept the night away, and joined him in his dorm for dinner. Most of the other boys were working on group assignments or homework before going to bed themselves.

Kurt took another dose of Tylenol and ate the whole bowl of soup before getting ready for bed. Jeff made sure he was comfortable and had his alarm set before heading back to his room. When Blaine checked on him an hour later, he was happy to see Kurt looking more like himself.

Surprisingly enough, Kurt slept the whole night without interruption. Upon waking, he noticed that while he still felt a little shaky and had a headache, his fever was gone and the stomach cramping had for the most part stopped.

Kurt was ready for his wake up call, but when he got to the lobby where the Warblers were to meet before getting on the bus, he noticed that some of the underclassmen were missing. Turns out, several of them were sick with stomach bugs, and would not be able to make it. Thankfully they still had enough people left to compete. It also explained why he'd been sick too: the missing singers were his more frequent French-class victims.

He'd be lying if he said telling Blaine 'I told you so' didn't make him feel better.

Eventually, Wes did a quick head count and started pushing people outside to the bus. What Kurt didn't know was that Dalton and Crawford would be sharing the bus ride over to the building where the competition was taking place, since the schools were only 10 minutes apart, and the venue was a half-hour away. Apparently, nobody else knew this either, only Headmaster Dippet. He was kind enough to tell the boys that news after they got on the bus.

Awkward didn't describe it.

Kurt and Blaine thought the whole thing was hilarious. Of course, that was only because neither of them had any family or girlfriends to worry about. Jeff didn't either, but Nick's sister was practically his sister too. It wasn't until everyone got on the bus that Headmaster Dippet made another announcement about the competition, which wiped the amused look off of Kurt's face.

Due to extenuating circumstances, they were having all six schools compete as two separate brackets, today, at the same place, and that they would be there for most of the day.

Which meant that Kurt would be seeing New Directions perform, and they'd be seeing him perform. Depending on the outcome, he would have to come to terms that they would possibly be competing against each other in the next round.

Suddenly Kurt didn't feel all that great anymore.

When they pulled up in front of Crawford, Kurt was surprised to see a lot of similarities between it and Dalton, at least from the outside. The girls were waiting out front, and as the bus pulled in, the boys started shuffling around, making room for girlfriends or pockets for the girls to stay together. Jeff had offered to move so Nick could sit with his sister, but his response of 'hell no, you're staying here' was heard loud and clear.

Kurt only felt slightly intimidated because he had heard a lot of great things from the guys about the girls. However, that didn't mean he wasn't ready to meet them, some more than others.

"Considering you're the only one I don't recognize, you must be Kurt." Kurt turned around to see a very pretty brunette smiling at him. "I'm Becky, the one responsible for these lovely ladies, and Wes's girlfriend."

Kurt held out his hand, "You are correct. It's nice to put a face to the name."

"It's even nicer to put a voice with a body. Your complexion is fantastic. What do you use?" While Becky and Kurt got acquainted, Blaine laughed at the put-out look that Wes was currently wearing.

"It's not fair. She didn't even say hi to me. And all they're talking about it facial creams."

"Would you rather they be talking about you in hushed tones and giggling? You should be grateful that's all they are talking about right now."

"Shut up, Blaine."

Wes perked up ten minutes later when Becky left Kurt to properly say hello to Wes, who didn't seem to have any problem making out for the rest of the ride. Kurt was introduced to most of the girls before they got to the venue, and even managed to get some of them to warm up with him once they got inside. He had to admit - it was kind of nice to warm up with people who sang in a higher range like him for a change.

It didn't take long for Wes to realize they were missing someone, so before he could physically drag him away from the girls, Jeff calmly called Kurt back over to their side, promising him access to them later, which earned the blond a glare from an annoyed Asian. Wes was ignoring the fact that they still had plenty of time until it was their turn. Northside Christian was performing first, followed by Crawford, with Dalton going last. Just when he thought he had everyone's undivided attention, there was a loud call for "Kurt!!"

New Directions had arrived and before Kurt knew it, he was pulled into a big hug from Finn, whom he hadn't seen in a week, and most of the Warblers had yet to meet. Once Finn let him go, he was attacked by all of the girls, with the boys staying in the back until they could get a chance to get closer. Puck was the last to approach him, giving him a look as he pulled him into a hug too.

"You look paler than usual, Princess...you feeling alright?"

"A little under the weather, but better than the last couple of days. Damn freshmen and their crappy immune systems. What are you all doing here? I thought you weren't performing until this afternoon."

"We didn't know when you were singing, so we decided to make a day out of this. We were supposed to be having ours tomorrow closer to Lima, but the place we were gonna use got flooded out or something, so here we are." Puck noticed Wes and pointed out the twitching eye. "Are we interrupting something? That dude looks like he's about to blow a gasket."

"Remember when I was talking about who's who in the Warblers? That's Wes."

"Oh...say no more. I'll herd us away for now, but I expect to hear more from you later."

"Whatever you say Puck. Thanks."

Puck got Will's attention and was able to round up the rest of the New Directions and move into one of the side rooms they would be using for the day. Wes took the opportunity to do the same with the Warblers, who had been mingling with both the New Directions and the Silvertones. Everyone was having a good time and didn't want to separate, but announcements were being made for the first three groups to go to their assigned rooms.

There was a lot of last minute hugs and kisses as the Warblers and Silvertones split up and the New Directions left to find some seats. Finn watched Kurt walk away with Blaine with a look of concern on his face. It was no surprise to him that Puck noticed.

"Dude, what's wrong?"

"Puck, did Kurt seem off to you? He was really excited about this a week ago, but he doesn't look all that thrilled to be here."

"He said he wasn't feeling all that great, but that he was worse the last couple of days...blamed it on freshmen."

"And of course he's here and not in bed...would've thought one of them could keep him in line for us, but knowing Kurt, he just brushed them off."

"I take it you're gonna be keeping an eye on him then?"

"Oh yeah. Even if that means I have to hide backstage and drag him back to whatever room they're in so he can lie down."

Northside Christian went first, and while it wasn't great, Kurt had to admit that they could easily be real competition in a few years. The Silvertones performed next and they were fantastic. It was during their number that Kurt started to feel anxious again. He was hoping the ten minutes between the girls finishing and the Warblers that he'd feel better, but while the anxiety was manageable, the sudden lightheadedness wasn't.

They got situated on the risers on stage and were waiting for the curtain to move. They were starting with Get the Party Started before moving into Hey Soul Sister. Kurt was thankful that he was on the front riser because he didn't think he could handle being any higher up on the stage. He closed his eyes and took a couple of slow breaths, not realizing the concerned looks he was getting from David and Thad, who were the closest ones to him.

Kurt didn't hear the announcer but he did hear Beatz. He opened his eyes and did his best to push away the feeling of unease he had. When he looked in the audience and saw both Rachel pointing at him and motioning with her hands he needed to smile, he knew he wasn't acting well enough, and hoped that none of the guys noticed his current unenthusiastic state.

The Warblers danced and kept in harmony. Jeff and Nick got to solo a verse each and sounded awesome. Blaine did his part flawlessly. When the song ended, the boys changed positions slightly for their second song. Kurt moved from the first riser to the stage floor, and almost fell. Blaine was able to grab him and sent him that 'are you okay' look, with Kurt flashing a small smile and a look of thanks. Blaine sent a quick look to Wes, who'd seen the trip, and got a look in response that clearly said 'start the song-the sooner we're done, the better'.

Blaine quickly looked to where the New Directions were seated and locked eyes with Finn, who nudged Puck, getting the message of 'get backstage ASAP' quite clearly. Blaine started with the first line of Hey Soul Sister, and did his best during the song to stay close to Kurt, but make it look like it was part of the choreography. As the song came to a close, Blaine noticed that two seats were empty and as the curtain closed, was relieved to see the two football players waiting off-stage. Blaine turned to Kurt to see him swaying slightly and moved forward just in time to steady him.

"Whoa Kurt, easy...you alright?"

Kurt took a minute before responding, "Really dizzy..."

"Come on; let's get you back to the greenroom." The rest of the Warblers weren't sure what to do to help, and instead of crowding, let Blaine lead Kurt backstage. Finn walked toward them, noticing the way Kurt was walking and how unsteady he was.

"No offense, Kurt, but you really look like crap right now. What's wrong?"

"Thanks Finn. I don't know....everything's spinning..." When Kurt almost fell again, Finn and Puck each took a side of Kurt and took over steadying him, while Blaine led the way backstage. Blaine was thankful that the other Warblers were keeping their distance, although he noticed the way Nick had to keep pulling Jeff back. They made it back to their greenroom and situated Kurt on one of the couches.

Puck saw the flush on Kurt's face that wasn't on any of the other boys' faces and had a hunch. "Blazer off, Hummel. You look a lot hotter than you should." Blaine helped Kurt get the blazer off and could feel the heat coming off of him, realizing that even with the knowledge of just performing, he shouldn't look so flushed. Finn returned from the bathroom with a washcloth that he placed on Kurt's head, that if the moan from Kurt was any indication, was more than welcome.

"I take it that feels better?" asked Blaine.

"Oh definitely...thanks guys." Kurt slowly opened his eyes to see five pairs of eyes looking at him. "It's okay Nick, you can let him go now." Blaine, Finn, and Puck hadn't noticed Nick and Jeff hanging behind them, the rest of the group nowhere to be found. Jeff walked up to the couch and sat on the floor next to Kurt's head.

"You said you felt better."

"When you asked me this morning, I did feel better Jeff. Now on the other hand...not so much."

"You looked off when we met up with you before the show started, bro," said Finn.

"Only difference now is that you're pink, instead of the shade of white you were earlier. For the record, neither are your color, Princess."

"You really know how to make a guy feel better, Puckerman, thank you. Seriously, if I had any idea that I'd almost pass out on stage, I would've just sat out. I really was fine until we got on stage...must've been the lights or something."

"How are you feeling now?" asked Blaine.

"Headache...hot...tired...not really dizzy anymore, but I haven't tried to get up yet."

"Nick - grab me my bag please." Nick retrieved Jeff's bag and passed it to him, watching the blonde dig around before pulling out a water bottle, crackers, and a travel size container of Tylenol.

"I think this will help - it worked for you the last two days. Eat a couple of crackers and then take some Tylenol. Stay on the couch. You don't have to go anywhere for a little bit, so just take it easy."

Just then, the announcement came over the loudspeaker, "Attention please. The votes have been tallied. At this time, will Northside Christian, Crawford Country Day, and Dalton Academy, please take your places on the stage for the results. Thank you."

Blaine, Nick and Jeff didn't want to leave, but it wouldn't look good for the featured soloists to not be on stage. Finn and Puck saw their hesitation and promised to stay until they got back. It still took some persuasion from Kurt, and some yelling from Wes, "You'll be back in ten minutes - get your butts on stage now!" before the trio left the room. Finn managed to also convince Puck to go as well - Mr. Schue and the rest of New Directions would start freaking out once they notice Kurt missing from the stage, not to mention they didn't say where they were going.

Finn sat in the silence of the room and startled a bit when Kurt spoke up, "You're all a bunch of mother hens."

"For good reason it seems. You are awesome at taking care of other people, but you really suck at looking after yourself sometimes."

"Many years of practice...it's a hard habit to break." Pause. "How hard do you think it's gonna be for me to convince them to let us stick around?"

"You want to stay here and watch us? Dude, you need to be in bed, not laying here in a greenroom. And I may not know all of your boys yet, but Blaine and Jeff are not gonna wanna wait around."

"We were all going to stay for the whole day anyway. Besides, the girls are sharing the bus with us, and trust me; you don't want to get some of them mad. And it's not like I need to do anything else today. Just get me a seat in the audience and leave me there. I want to see what you guys have been working on, especially considering that Rachel isn't soloing."

Finn smirked at that, "It's gonna be awesome, and you do have a point. If you need it, I'll back you up so you can stay and watch." Kurt smiled in thanks, just before the door burst open and the Warblers ran in cheering. Blaine walked up to Kurt and Finn with a huge grin on his face.

"I take it we won, then?"

"Oh yeah we did! The girls are bummed out but everyone is still talking to each other, so I'm taking it as a win-win for both of our sakes. We're going to Regionals!"

Once the shouting died down, some of the boys came up to Kurt and asked how he was feeling. Kurt said he was better and apologized for being a hassle. They told him it wasn't his fault he was sick and were impressed he held himself so well while on stage. Wes mentioned getting the girls together so they could head back, but Kurt spoke up and said that he didn't want to ruin the rest of the day, and that he wasn't leaving until he knew who won the next bracket, which was code for 'I'm watching New Directions perform with or without you'.

Finn backed up Kurt's point of just sitting and watching, which got the council to reconsider. Wes went to inform Becky that they needed to find seats, and sent David and Thad out to find enough for them, when Becky walked right into Wes as he went to leave the room.

"Becky, I was just coming to get you and let you know we are going to stay for the next set."

"I just got a call from Crawford. They're sending a bus to pick us up in a little bit, so you don't need to wait for us. We forgot that half of the girls have cheerleading practice later; they have a sectionals competition this week as well, so we won't be able to stay. You'll have to let us know how it goes." She turned to Finn and wished him good luck to his group before leaving to collect the girls.

The Warblers looked a little disappointed, but were still working off their victory high when Puck came back into the room. He congratulated them on their win as he walked back over to Finn.

"Dude, we have to go meet up with everyone else. We're going up last too, but Schue wants to make sure everyone's in the right state of mind to go on."

Kurt spoke before Finn did, "I take it there's dissention in the ranks."

"Of course there is...wouldn't be a normal day without it. You sticking around to watch?"

"Yeah we are. Go kick some ass and see you afterwards." Puck gave Kurt a quick salute and began to drag Finn from the room, leaving him just enough time to say 'see ya'.

Most of the Warblers started leaving as well to grab seats, only Blaine, Nick, and Jeff remaining to take care of Kurt. It took a few attempts but eventually he was able to sit up, and then stand up, so they could make their way to their seats. Kurt was leaning on Blaine, with Nick and Jeff walking behind them. Once they got to their seats, Kurt sat and put his head on Blaine's shoulder with his eyes closed. Blaine actually blushed a little bit, causing Nick to laugh at him and Jeff to snap a pic with his phone.

"Just because my eyes are closed, doesn't mean I'm asleep, Jeffrey." Nick snickered at the look on his boyfriend's face. "Stop making fun of Blaine, Nicholas, or I'll kick your ass later. Someone make sure I'm up when New Directions is, please."

Blaine turned enough to whisper in Kurt's ear. "Nicely done, Kurt. You've managed to make them speechless. Bravo." He felt, more than saw, the smirk on Kurt's face.

Another hour later and New Directions became the winner for their bracket, which came as no surprise to either of the groups. Kurt's unexpected catnap did wonders, and while he still looked under the weather, he didn't look ready to pass out again. Everyone met up backstage, where both introductions and congratulations were being made. This made Kurt happy because the one thing that had been bothering him since his transfer was the constant worry that New Directions and the Warblers wouldn't get along. Unsurprisingly the only problem was Rachel and Wes, but that wouldn't be a problem until Regionals.

Will's appearance put a damper on things; he was there to round up the group to head back to Lima. Thad noticed the time and said that they too had to get a move on. There was a quick scramble to exchange cell numbers as they all walked out to the buses, seemingly forgetting that Kurt had everyone's numbers until they got to the parking lot. David was the first to notice that their bus was missing.

"I swear David, if you say 'dude where's my car' I'm going to cause bodily harm."

"Since when have you become a psychic, Wesley?"

"Since you say that every time we can't find a vehicle, no matter what kind of car it is or where we are."

David pouted and before he could respond, a smaller bus pulled up with a familiar driver.

"Hey Mr. Franks, what happened to the bus we had earlier? Not that we don't like this old thing."

"One of the sports teams needed it, so they sent me back with this hunk of junk. Maybe we'll get lucky and this will be its last trip. We're getting a new one this week to replace it anyway. Ready to go?"

The Warblers waved goodbye to the New Directions and Kurt promised he'd be home Wednesday night - they had a five day weekend for Thanksgiving. Mr. Franks asked for a play-by-play of the day, which Nick and Jeff were only too happy to give, while the rest of the boys lounged on the bus for the easy ride back to Dalton.

The final voyage of the beloved bus wasn't about to be easy. It had been making noises since they left, but as soon as they turned onto the hidden driveway, the bus came to an abrupt stop, and didn't want to go any further. Kurt came to the rescue, and despite being sick, got the bus running long enough to get them back to school, all the while never letting it past the Warblers that there would come a day where they'd get a life lesson on car maintenance.

Of course, it also made for amazing blackmail.