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jammie3132 · 6 months

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Fandom: Glee Pairing: Blaine Anderson & Sebastian Smythe Summary: Sebastian Smythe decides to check out the location of his next movie, a carnival in a small coastal town. He’s a million miles away from anything he’s ever known until…“Hi everyone! He’s Sam, I’m Blaine and we’re McKinley! Let’s get this party started!” Note: 10 Days of Seblaine 2023 Day 8: McKinley

Sebastian made a checklist when he moved to Hollywood, 10 Steps to the A-List. He knew this was no different than thousands and thousands of other wannabe actors, but he was Sebastian Smythe. When he put his mind to something, he always got what he wanted. There was that one time, but he’s moved past it…well, maybe someday.

Not only did he have the determination to accomplish his goals, he had the desperation. The day he graduated from Dalton he skipped the traditional parties for his own pity party. The only invitee was a bottle of Courvoisier. He’d had a ball in the pit of his stomach for months…and no, it had nothing to do with that fucking proposal! Ok, he wasn’t as past it as he wanted to admit.

That whole week he wondered what his emotions would be watching the over-the-top spectacle. Jealousy was nowhere on his list (he liked lists). He wasn’t jealous of Hummel (maybe a little). He was jealous of Blaine.

Blaine Anderson saw his future and was happy.

When he saw his future, he saw 7 years of Ivy League Undergrad and Law School, followed by 10 years working his way to partner. During that time, he’d have a continuous stream of hook-ups until he found a (parent approved) man to marry. By the time he was 45 he’d have his own practice, two beautiful, adopted children (boy and girl of course), a loveless marriage, a “boyfriend” on the side and a drinking problem.

In other words, he’d become his father…substitute wife for husband and no adoption. Although, he wasn’t sure if his father’s side piece was a mistress or mister.

Sebastian Smythe saw his future and wanted to vomit.

And he did (several times) during his post-graduation pity party. The next morning, he did both the bravest and stupidest thing he’d ever done. He emptied all his bank accounts (he wasn’t that stupid) and left everything he’d known behind. He had no idea what he was doing or where he was going. He just knew someday he wanted to experience the same joy Blaine had the day of his ridiculous proposal.

He never expected to land in Hollywood, but he did. And 3 years later, he never expected to be Hollywood’s latest “It” boy (despite what he told everyone). His 10 Steps to the A-List checklist worked to perfection. He was currently on schedule, beginning Step 7 Oscar-bait Indie Movie. That’s how he found himself on the coast of some state he didn’t remember the name of, in a hotel he’s sure he saw once in a horror movie.

He’d known from the beginning Indie was code for no money. On the bright side it also meant shoots were shorter than usual. The superhero movie he’d just finished shooting was four months. This one was six weeks, technically seven for him.

But it was of his own choosing. His latest fuck buddy had begun an incremental move into his house and thought he didn’t notice. That was the end of that, and he was off to, he really should remember the name of this state. Avoiding scandal, especially ones involving the words gay or love, was #1 on his Road to the Oscars list.

The downside of being a week early was no one else from the cast or crew was in town. He’d met them and they were all nice enough (for 6 weeks). But right now he was bored and the pay-for-porn channel only had that hetero crap. He was so desperate he put on his movie star pretending to be tourist disguise of hoody, cargo shorts, sandals, sunglasses and baseball cap and headed out to the seaside carnival where the majority of filming would take place. His character operated the Ferris Wheel. He should probably at least ride one before filming began.

Problem was he was afraid of them…traumatic childhood experience.

He’d walked around for less than 15 minutes and already felt like he’d been transported to an alternate universe. He was a million miles from everything he’d ever known.

Hi everyone! He’s Sam, I’m Blaine and we’re McKinley! Let’s get this party started!

His alternate universe joke had become a reality. No way in hell was Blaine fucking Anderson at a seaside carnival in, he really should remember the name of this state, on a stage singing country music with the guy who was his best friend in high school.

At least the name McKinley made more sense.

They were good…really good. The music was upbeat, not too twangy although Sam (he finally remembered) had a couple moments and the two of them were giving one hell of a performance.

Again…what the fuck were they doing at a seaside carnival in, he really should remember the name of this state.

When their current song ended, Sam and the band went behind the curtain while Blaine grabbed an acoustic guitar. He was going to sing a solo while everyone else took a break. The alternate theory had exploded into a multiverse.

He should get rid of the mindset from his previous movie before next week. Indie also meant limited retakes.

Hey everyone! You having a good time? (*cheers*) Great! While the rest of the guys are taking a break, you’re stuck with me (*laughter*). Since it’s just me and my guitar I’m going to take this down a notch. I wrote this song a couple years ago but it will be on our album…dropping in three weeks (*laughter*). Can't blame a guy for a random promotion drop. Expect a few more, Sam and I are really proud of what we put together. T he title of this song is The Song Remembers When.

I was standing at the counter I was waitin' for the change When I heard that old familiar music start

It was like a lighted match Had been tossed into my soul It was like a dam had broken in my heart

After taking every detour Gettin' lost and losin' track So that even if I wanted I could not find my way back

After drivin' out the memory of the way things might have been After I'd forgotten all about us The song remembers when

Since Blaine was here, and not in NYC, it was obvious something happened between him and Hummel. No way would old Gayface be caught dead in, he really should remember the name of this state. But Blaine's song made their split sound amicable, although a little sad. If he had to guess, the outcome was the best Blaine could have hoped for.

He would’ve predicted a trainwreck.

“Hey, come with me.”

There was a big guy with a security badge next to him. He should be more aware of his surroundings. “Why would I do that?”

“Blaine thought you might like to watch from the wings before someone recognized you.”

“Oh…ok.”

He had no idea how Blaine recognized him standing in the back, in his lame disguise while putting on a hell of a show but he didn’t care.

When they made it to the stage, big security guy pointed to a stool he could sit on and watch. He’d missed the rest of Blaine’s song but he and Sam were switching places. So, after he grabbed a bottle of water, Blaine fucking Anderson was standing in front of him.

“I’d give you a hug but I’m already sweaty. The humidity is ridiculous.” Blaine froze except for his free hand going to his head. “Oh my God, you’ve never seen my real hair. I swear, it’s usually not this bad. The humidity...”

Sebastian shook his head and laughed. This was the Blaine Anderson he’d remember when he let his thoughts drift…not the depressed mess the Warblers tried to lure back to Dalton. “I think your curls are great. Very you, well, this you.”

“Yeah, not what you expected, huh? But to be fair, I never expected to watch Sebastian Smythe become a movie star. Here to film something?”

“Yes, but it’s a long story. I’m assuming Blaine Anderson, country music singer is a long story as well.”

“When I’m done here, and take a shower, you want to swap stories?”

“I’d love to. One thing though, I have to ride the Ferris Wheel.”

It was another hour until the concert was over, and if the crowd had their way it would’ve been another hour. Blaine and Sam sang beautifully both together and individually, but their performance was next level. High energy the entire time, except when they purposely slowed it down with a ballad. And they played the crowd perfectly, having them singing along with the covers and laughing at the banter between songs.

He had no doubt McKinley would be playing much larger venues in the near future.

Big security guy took him to where the buses were parked to wait for Blaine to shower and change. A few minutes later Sam came out of the tour bus, shirtless and drying his hair with a towel.

Hello abs!

“Blaine’s fixing his hair” Sam told him as he sat in one of the other chairs set out for them. “If he’s not out here in 5 minutes, I’ll send Jackson in to get him.”

“Jackson?” Sam pointed behind him “Oh, big security guy.”

“That is true.” A member of the crew handed Sam water. “Want one?”

“No thanks. I don’t want anything on my stomach, even water.”

“Does it have something to do with the Ferris Wheel? Blaine said that’s the one thing you had to do.”

Sebastian hadn’t spoken of his childhood trauma in years but for some reason he wanted to. “I threw up the first time I rode one. I managed to lean forward, it fell toward the ground and landed on my grandmother’s head. I haven’t been on one since."

“Don’t worry, I’ll hold your hand.”

Blaine Anderson was standing at the bottom of the steps to the bus, smiling as big as he did the day of the proposal…and Sebastian Smythe had never been more confused.

But he didn’t care. “I’ll take you up on that, Killer.”

“Then let’s do this now. Have you seen the chocolate covered caramel apples? They look delicious.”

“Did you have to mention food?”

Sam laughed and reached across to grab Sebastian’s shoulder. “I’ve got him B. You better get his hand now and not let go. He’s playing the Flash in his next movie. The guy’s a runner.” Blaine stuck out his tongue at his friend but took his suggestion. “Don’t stay out too late” he called out as they left. “We’re leaving for Indiana at 5AM!”

This time Blaine turned around to give Sam a middle finger.

By the time they arrived at the Ferris Wheel, Sebastian’s cover had been blown. But after the McKinley concert, Blaine was just as popular. One of the operators got them through the line and into a car as soon as the crowd began to close in around them. The whole thing was so chaotic, they were halfway to the top before Sebastian noticed they were moving. “Hey, this isn’t bad.”

“Good because when you had your eyes closed, I asked the operator to give us three trips around. Don’t worry, I’m not letting go of your hand.”

“Ok, ok, as long as you hold my hand, I can do this.”

When they were done the crowd was gone. It was replaced by an older gentleman holding two chocolate covered caramel apples. “Mr. Smythe, my name is Jim Yearwood. I’m the Mayor of Seaside. I apologize for earlier and I promise the citizens of Seaside will respect your privacy while you are here.” Then he handed Blaine the apples. “Mr. Anderson, I was told you requested these. Please accept them as part of our apology. And Mr. Anderson, McKinley is more than welcome to play here anytime. That was the best concert we’ve ever had here.”

After he left, Sebastian watched Blaine bring out his new McKinley (the duo...not the school) Blaine smile “What’s going through that head of yours Anderson?”

“The ocean! Come on!”

As Blaine pulled him toward the sound of the waves, Sebastian only had one question. “You want to eat these sticky monstrosities in the sand?”

“Part of the charm. Don’t tell me you’ve turned into one of those diva movie stars.”

“Excuse me, but Sebastian Smythe was a diva long before Hollywood."

The beach was remarkably empty making it easy to find a piece of driftwood big enough for them to sit on. Sebastian tried to get comfortable, but Blaine didn’t join him. He kicked off his sandals and began dancing around while eating his apple. “Oh my Goooood! This is even better than I imagined it would be. Try it. Sorry, is your stomach upset?”

“No, my stomach is fine. I think you saved me from the memory of my childhood trauma. I’m debating whether or not there would be a dentist around here competent enough to fix my teeth when I break them on this thing.”

“Shut up!” Blaine sat down, closed his eyes and inhaled. “I love the smell of the ocean. It’s my favorite smell in the whole world.”

“The ocean?”

“I’ve always been fascinated by it. When Sam and Cooper forced me to go to LA, we rented a house on the beach for a month. It was amazing.”

“You were in LA? When?”

“Ummm…almost 2 years ago.” Blaine took another bite of his apple then reluctantly sat it down. “I could eat the whole thing, but I catch up on sleep during long bus rides so I don't need the sugar high.

Sebastian finally took a bite of his. It might have been the most delicious thing he’d ever eaten. But he was here for 6 weeks and Blaine was leaving in a few hours. He could have another one later. “Where are you going next?”

“Indiana.”

“Another carnival?”

“No, circus. It's Brittany and Santana’s wedding. Get this, they’re getting married in a barn.”

“Santana Lopez, Satan herself, is getting married in a barn…in Indiana?”

“Brittany tried to explain why but I’m out of practice deciphering her Brittany-isms. I’ll ask someone when we get there.”

Sebastian wondered if Blaine realized he’d left him a mile wide opening to ask about Kurt.

“Are you going to ask me about Kurt?”

“Your song told me everything I need to know.”

“My…?” It took a while, but when Blaine figured out what Sebastian was referring to he began to laugh, hard. “You thought The Song Remembers When was about Kurt?”

“Don’t laugh. From everything I'd been told, and then reluctantly watched, he was the only person you ever loved. But, I’ll admit, the thought of him letting you go amicably didn’t feel right.”

“Because he didn’t. He ended our engagement at a sidewalk café in the pouring rain. And no, not for the same reason as the previous time. He said I was smothering him.”

“He…he…what?”

“You heard me. I became depressed again, big surprise. It was so bad I was cut from NYADA. Sam and Cooper came to NYC the next day, packed my bags and put me on a plane to LA.”

Do not say I Told You So! “So, that song was definitely not about Kurt.”

"After drivin' out the memory of the way things might have been…the might have been isn’t about a relationship gone bad. It’s about a relationship I never had, that if I had given it the chance, it might have been great. Come on, I want to put my feet in the water before we go.”

And they did, talking the entire time. Sebastian told the story of leaving home due to fear of becoming his father, his10 Steps to the A-List checklist and he was in South Carolina (Blaine told him) for #7. And to his disbelief, he told Blaine why he was there a week early.

For Blaine it was how he and Sam were discovered at a karaoke bar in LA, how the label wouldn’t let them name the band Blam so they went with McKinley, how incredibly proud they were of their album, and how this stop was added at his request to get him in the right mindset for the wedding. He’d heard rumors Kurt wants another chance.

“I’m worried he’ll cause a scene at the wedding. I almost didn’t go because of that.”

“What changed your mind?”

“Santana would send his wardrobe through a wood chipper then cut off his balls if Kurt did anything to ruin Brittany’s big day.”

“That is true.”

The sun was long gone but the night was clear. The moon and stars were giving off enough light they could see they had walked in a circle and were back at the driftwood. Sebastian motioned for Blaine to take a seat. Even though they'd talked for what was probably hours, there was one more thing he wanted to tell him before he had to let him go.

“I vividly remember your proposal to Hummel.”

“Oh, Sebastian…”

“I was jealous of you that day.”

Blaine held up his hands to get him to stop. “Are you telling me you were in love with Kurt?”

“Oh, hell no! I was jealous of how happy you were. You could see your future and didn’t feel your insides twisting in knots. Blaine, you were the reason I had the guts to leave Ohio and never looked back. If I stayed, the only future I was looking at was becoming my father. Someday I wanted to smile the same smile you had that day.”

“For all the good it did me.”

“I didn't mean to upset you. What I'm trying to say is your smile today was 10 times better than the one you had back then. It's because now when you look at the future, it's one you're building for yourself. Did you, or anyone, think it would be as part of a country music duo? Pretty sure that answer is no. That's why it's perfect. You're not trying to mold your life into someone else's future anymore...except Sam. If you want McKinley to be as successful as I think it can be, you and Sam should be on the same page. And now I'm rambling."

Blaine blushed (thank you darkness) and fought the urge to kiss him. "Sam calls us platonic life partners. Anyone we wind up with has to accept we're a package deal...except for the fun stuff."

"Damn!"

“Ah…you like me.”

Sam’s voice shook them out of the bubble they’d made for themselves. “Sammy, why are you and Jackson here?” Blaine asked, not hiding his annoyance.

“I told you we’re leaving at 5AM. It’s 3AM. Thanks for not being too hard to find. Jackson is going to take Sebastian back to his hotel. Better safe than sorry.” He'd prepared 12 premium level zingers to embarrass his bestie. Finding him like this…he’ll save them for the ride to Indiana. “We’ll give you a minute.”

Blaine and Sebastian didn’t know how to react to how late it was, but they didn’t have time to dwell on it.

"Thank you for helping me ride the Ferris Wheel."

"Thank you for listening to me bitch about Kurt. Sam probably thanks you too."

"You're going to do great at that wedding."

"You're going to be great in your movie."

"McKinley will be on top of the charts in no time."

"Thank me in your Oscar speech."

"I'm not saying goodbye."

Despite both of them thinking about it the entire evening, they didn't share a kiss. That was until Sebastian was getting in the car to take him to his hotel and Blaine called out for him to stop.

It wasn't a grand movie cliché, it was a simple peck on the cheek. But that wasn't what mattered. What mattered was what Blaine whispered before he did it.

“I was standing at the counter…I was waitin' for the change…When I heard that old familiar music start. That song, the one that made me think of someone. Someone who if I'd given him a chance, we might have been great together? That song was Uptown Girl.”

#10daysofseblaine2023 #day 8 #McKinley #seblaine fic #blaine anderson #sebastian smythe #seblaine #Poppy's Little Angel

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