Title: More Than Good Enough Ch. 1
By: blaineandsamevanderson (SageK on , kaitlia777 on LJ and AO3)
Paring: pre-Blaine/Sam and Blam friendship, past Blaine/Kurt, past Sam/Brittany, Santana/Brittany
Rating: PG-13
Warnings/Tags: Spec as to what might happen in 4x22 and after.
Summary: Two weeks before Nationals, Mr. Shue arrives back in Lima to prep the club for Nationals, a whole group of alumni in tow, but finds his club a little resistant.
Notes: Sorry for any typos. My transcription software doesn't always understand what I say and I don't always catch the mistakes. I have trouble typing things by hand since I suffered an injury last year to my right hand and it seizes up if I try to do too much.
"All right, all right, let's get started!"
Blaine looked up from the checklist he was going over with Sam as Mr. Shue bounded into the choir room, once again back from Washington DC, where he had been fighting for funding for arts programs in schools. It was a noble cause that they all supported, but he had been gone for months, since just after Regionals.
Even thinking about Regionals made Blaine flinch internally. Not because of their performance, no, they had won and secured a place at Nationals, but because after their win he had what he now understood had been ill advised grand gesture and proposed to Kurt.
Who turned him down flat.
Who turned him down in tears and told him to move on, that they'd always be friends, but clearly they needed space. Time apart. Unlike last fall, there was no questioning their status, as Kurt had made his stance clear. They were done romantically, though there was hope for a friendship.
They hadn't spoken since.
His heart broke that night and he had no idea what he would've done without Sam and (to a lesser extent) the rest of the glee club, who had picked him up and held together as he began the slow process of healing.
Sam attached himself to Blaine, refusing to let him fall into the sort of depressed void he had occupied during the fall. He was there when Blaine needed to cry, always ready to offer warm hugs and gentle words and seemed to instinctively know how to pull him out of the worst of moods. Many days and nights were spent talking about nothing, simply keeping Blaine from dwelling on the break up (again).
Sugar had contributed to the 'Cheer Blaine Up' cause by appearing at his door one day with a kitten and handing the little ball of fluff over.
Months later, a few weeks shy of graduation, there was still a sting when Blaine thought of that night, but he no longer felt like his heart was being ripped out of his chest. He no longer dreaded heading to New York for college (NYADA was his dream too and he wasn't giving it up), was looking forward to heading to the city with Sam and starting their college careers (Sam would be attending art school at The Pratt Institute) and rooming together and living it up.
"Mr. Shue," Sam began, one of his stunning smiles lighting his face as he practically bounced in his seat beside Blaine, "We've got…."
"Hold that thought, Sam!" Mr. Shue said with a grin. "Because, since we only have two weeks to prep for Nationals and we're going to need all the help we can get, please welcome your guest coaches, Mike Chang, Mercedes Jones, Quinn Fabray, Noah Puckerman, Santana Lopez, Kurt Hummel and Rachel Berry!"
There were few surprised cheers and Blaine felt shocked. Kurt was in the choir room. Oh God, how was he supposed to act? This wasn't something he was prepared for….
Sam's hand, warm and secure, wrapped around his, anchoring Blaine. Their fingers interlaced and Blaine took a breath, remembering to breathe.
It was okay…Actually, it hurt less than he thought it would.
"C'mon guys, what kind of a welcome is that?"
"But Mr. Shue, we…" Tina began and Mr. Shue waved a hand.
"Tina, wait a minute."
"It's wonderful to be back!" Rachel enthused and Blaine wondered why she'd taken to slathering herself with bronzing lotion. "Now, we're going to have to work really hard to get you ready for Nationals! Everything else is going to have to take a backseat until…."
"Sorry, Rachel, I think…." Sam tried again but was shut down.
"Sam, no. Be quiet and wait your turn."
"No!" Sam snapped, surging to his feet and clearly surprising their teacher. "No, I'm not going to wait. Do you have any idea what you're saying to us right now? To us, the current New Directions? It's not that we are not happy to see everyone, but by bringing them back before all of our competitions, you're basically looking us all in the face and telling us we're not good enough. "
Mr. Shue blinked and Santana raised an eyebrow, drawling, "Maybe you're not."
Sam stared at her. "You know, for most of my life, I would've believed that. But I don't, not anymore. I know when I joined the club, I was just body, someone you needed seas have 12 members for competition, I knew it. And really it wasn't often that I was treated like anything but that and I was okay with that. Never understood why you guys came out to Kentucky and brought me back, but I was too relieved to ask…But I knew I really didn't matter in here."
"Most of us didn't," Tina agreed, standing beside Sam. "Our opinions have never been taken seriously."
"More than a little marginalization going on, yo," Artie added and Sugar and Joe nodded.
"I had no idea any of you felt that way," Mr. Shue said, looking at them as though they'd all gone insane. Frankly, that was the look most of the alumni were giving them.
"Well, that makes sense," Blaine heard himself saying, "especially considering you haven't been around much this year."
A squeeze at his hand startled Blaine and he realized that he was still holding onto Sam, who seemed in no hurry to let him go. Blaine saw Kurt looking at him in surprise, but forced his gaze away.
He wasn't going to take a step back. He wasn't going to fall back into his habit of focusing on Kurt to the exclusion of everything, everyone else. That part of his life was over.
"Look," Quinn said, eyeing Sam in a way Blaine did not like, speculatively, a lioness gazing at a yummy zebra. "Whatever your issues are, you still need our help to get ready."
"We've had our set list finalized for three weeks," Sam said flatly. "We've been rehearsing. We're good."
"Jake and I did the choreography. It's gonna kill!" Brittany spoke up, hooking her arm through Blaine's even as she waved at Santana. "Hi!"
"What?" Mr. Shue asked, gaping. "Finn never mentioned any of this!"
"Yeah, he flaked out like a week after you did," Kitty stated, crossing her arms and, at that point, Blaine realized all of the current members of New Directions were standing (save Artie), facing off against their teacher and former teammates.
"Who has been running the club then?" Mr. Shue asked in disbelief.
"Blaine and Sam," Marley piped up, smiling. "They're really good at it!"
"If we needed faculty authorization, Coach Bieste or Ms. Pill – Sorry, Mrs. Shue - signed off on what we needed," Sam told Mr. Shue. "But you know as long as we don't ask for money, Figgins doesn't care what we do."
"Please, we don't need to ask for money," Sugar said with a shrug, flipping through her small ledger. "All those sponsors we got more than paid for our costumes and our travel and hotel and miscellaneous expenses for Nationals. The treasury has a surplus."
"Sponsors?"
"Yes," Unique intoned, giving Mr. Shue an altogether unimpressed look. "See, someone got the idea that if we went around to local businesses and asked if they'd like to sponsor a national championship team trying for another win…well, let's just say a lot of places were willing to back us."
"It was Blaine and Sam's idea!" Ryder added, holding up his backpack, which had a sticker plastered to it. "Every business got some of these stickers that they could post in their windows, on registers, on cars. It's really cool to see them everywhere!"
"We've all been doing our part for the club, Mr. Shue, because no one else was here to do it," Blaine said. "We've done this. We've had concerts, performed in parks, malls, at the Children's Hospital. Worked our butts off, promoting we do. Our costumes are designed and ready. All our paperwork is done, our flights are booked, our hotel rooms are reserved. We decided on songs, the choreo… This is our year."
And what a year it had been.
"You know we're just here to help you…all of you," Kurt said, Mike and Mercedes nodding as they agreed with his statement.
"And we're happy to have your support," Sam stated evenly. "But we've got things covered."
"Well, what's your set list?" Puck asked, seemingly more amused and less put out than the other alumni.
"The Rising by Bruce Springsteen, Fearless Love by Melissa Ethridge and Accidentally in Love by the Counting Crows," Blaine replied with a smile.
"Why don't you guys show us what you've come up with," Mr. Shue said, gesturing toward the door that would lead toward the auditorium.
Brittany frowned and tugged on Blaine's arm. "But it's Monday!"
The alums and Shue gave her a funny look and Artie cleared his throat. "On Monday and Wednesday, we have a sort of study group before starting work on the songs. Check each other's homework…."
"He means everyone helps me, Ryder and Britt go over our stuff," Sam said with a shrug and Blaine gave his hand a squeeze that made Sam smile. "Hey, my GPA isn't complaining!"
While they went about their homework routine, Mr. Shue and the alumni gathered in another corner, watching intently. Blaine felt a little bit like a zoo animal on display and was glad when the time came for them to move on to the auditorium.
Starting with the fun, peppy Accidentally in Love, they showed off all they had accomplished together.
(Sam)
So she said what's the problem baby?
What's the problem I don't know
Well, maybe I'm in love
Love
Think about it every time
I think about it
Can't stop thinking 'bout it
(Jake)
How much longer will it take to cure this?
Just to cure it cause I can't ignore it if it's love
Love
Makes me wanna turn around and face me but I don't know nothing 'bout love
(Group)
Oh,come on, come on
Turn a little faster
Come on, come on
The world will follow after
Come on, come on
'cause Everybody's after love
(Ryder)
So I said I'm a snowball running
Running down into the spring that's coming all this love
Melting under blue skies belting out
Sunlight shimmering love
(Blaine)
Well baby I surrender
To the strawberry ice cream
Never ever end of all this love
Well I didn't mean to do it
But there's no escaping your love,oh
(Jake)
These lines of lightning
Mean we're never alone,
Never alone,no,no
(Group)
Come on, come on
Move a little closer
Come on, Come on
I want to hear you whisper
Come on, Come on
Settle down inside my love
Oh, come on, come on
Jump a little higher
Come on, come on
If you feel a little lighter
Come on, come on
We were once upon a time in love
We're accidentally in love
Accidentally in love (x8)
Accidentally
(Sam)
I'm In Love, I'm in Love,
I'm in Love, I'm in Love,
I'm in Love, I'm in Love,
Accidentally (x2)
(Blaine)
Come on, come on
Spin a little tighter
Come on, come on
And the world's a little brighter
Come on, come on
Just get yourself inside her
Love
I'm in love
From there they smoothly transitioned into Fearless Love.
(Blaine)
When I woke up I was 17
You kissed my lips in a bad bad dream
Showed me things aren't what they appear to be
Called me angel and set me free
You gave me life in the cold cold dark
But you ran away in the mornings spark
Made me think that reality
Is not where I want to be
I am what I am and
I am what I am afraid of
Oh what am I afraid of
(Group Joins In)
I need a fearless love
Don't need to fear the end
If you can't hold me now
You will never hold me again
I want to live my life
Pursuing all my happiness
I want a fearless love
I won't settle for anything less
(Marley)
I've walked my path had worlds collide
I lost my way and I fooled my pride
This lover's ache wouldn't feel so strange
If I could only change
But I am what I am and
I am what I am afraid of
So what am I afraid of
I need a fearless love
(Group)
Don't need to fear the end
If you can't hold me now
You will never hold me again
I want to live my life
Pursuing all my happiness
I want a fearless love
I won't settle for anything less
(Blaine)
Now I'm not here to lay the blame
I understand when you hold a flame
Heads will shake heads will turn
And sometimes you just get burned
(Blaine & Marley)
I want a fearless love
I need a fearless love
Don't need to fear the end
If you can't hold me now
You will never hold me again
I want to live my life
Pursuing all my happiness
(Group)
I want a fearless love
I won't settle for anything less
I need a fearless love
And then they finished with The Rising.
(Artie)
Can't see nothin' in front of me
Can't see nothin' coming up behind
I make my way through this darkness
I can't feel nothing but this chain that binds me
(Unique)
Lost track of how far I've gone
How far I've gone, how high I've climbed
On my back's a sixty pound stone
On my shoulder a half mile line
(Tina, Kitty & Brittany)
Come on up for the rising
Com on up, lay your hands in mine
Come on up for the rising
Come on up for the rising tonight
(Blaine)
Left the house this morning
Bells ringing filled the air
Wearin' the cross of my calling
On wheels of fire I come rollin' down here
(Tina, Kitty & Brittany)
Come on up for the rising
Come on up, lay your hands in mine
Come on up for the rising
Come on up for the rising tonight
(Group)
Li,li, li,li,li,li, li,li,li
(Joe)
Spirits above and behind me
Faces gone, black eyes burnin' bright
May their precious blood forever bind me
Lord as I stand before your fiery light
(Group)
Li,li, li,li,li,li, li,li,li
(Sam)
I see you Mary in the garden
In the garden of a thousand sighs
There's holy pictures of our children
Dancin' in a sky filled with light
May I feel your arms around me
May I feel your blood mix with mine
A dream of life comes to me
Like a catfish dancin' on the end of the line
(Group ~ Artie & Unique repeating A Dream of Life)
Sky of blackness and sorrow (a dream of life)
Sky of love, sky of tears (a dream of life)
Sky of glory and sadness (a dream of life)
Sky of mercy, sky of fear (a dream of life)
Sky of memory and shadow (a dream of life)
Your burnin' wind fills my arms tonight
Sky of longing and emptiness (a dream of life)
Sky of fullness, sky of blessed life (a dream of life)
(Tina, Kitty & Brittany)
Come on up for the rising
Come on up, lay your hands in mine
Come on up for the rising
Come on up for the rising tonight
(Group)
Li,li, li,li,li,li, li,li,li
As the last notes faded and they stood on the stage, chests heaving with elated exertion, hands high in the air, silence descended over the auditorium. Through the harsh glare of stage lighting, Blaine could see a lot of shocked faces.
"Well, what are you going to do the next two weeks if you've already got that ready?" Santana asked finally.
"Not freak out two days before the performance because we are prepared for once!" Sam replied happily and the rest of the club nodded.
"Well, I guess we have our set list for Nationals!" Mr. Shue announced that. "Nice job, kids."
"Aw, he says it like he has a say in the matter," Kitty murmured, causing Blaine and Sam, close enough to hear her comment, to snicker. "Hope he doesn't expect us to back down once you guys graduate."
Blaine was kind of sorry he'd miss the power struggle between Mr. Shue and Kitty next year. That would be fun to see and he was willing to put his money on the Cheerio.
His phone buzzed, distracting him for a moment before he turned to Sam. "Mom wants to know if we want brown rice or orzo as our starch with dinner tonight."
After Kurt and Blaine's breakup, Sam had been very concerned and had basically camped out in Blaine's house for a couple weeks to keep an eye on him. Depressed, Blaine had been grateful for his presence, as had his parents who were unsure how to deal with the situation. At some point, Blaine's mother had given Sam his own room (though he usually slept in Blaine's) and he just never left, moving from the Hummel's to the Anderson's.
Mom had been home more often since the shooting incident and Blaine enjoyed spending time with her. One of his favorite things to do was watch her and Sam prepare a meal (Blaine had a bad habit of burning anything he tried to cook himself) and then watching terrible reality TV together.
"Brown Rice," Sam chose with a smile. "It goes good with salmon and asparagus."
"Sounds good," Blaine agreed, texting his mother. "Let's go say hi to everyone for a while and then head home."
Spending the evening vegging out on the couch with Sam and his mother sounded amazing, a great way to unwind after the confrontation with Mr. Shue in the choir room.