A/N As some of you may or may not have seen, there is a hilarious youtube video recently out there that features Curt Mega and Dominic Barnes. Seems the boys aren't overly thrilled that there's a distinct lack of fanfiction work centering around them as a couple. Well, you all know I'm a diehard Niff shipper...ahhh, my Niff..*cheers!* ...but, for this occasion, my lovely beta and good friend, Christine (sufferingfromwritersblock) and I decided it's time that's remedied. Clearly, we don't own Glee or any of it's characters, because let's face it, if I did (speaking only for myself, of course) Glee would be a helluva lot more like Crowded House. If you have not read it, feel free to do so. It's like a child to me...it's been part of my life now for over a year and it's something I'm quite proud of. I welcome your reviews and comments. Let me also say that it is what it is because I have such a sharp mind to bounce things off of, so many thanks to Christine :)
So, should this find it's way into the hand of the amazingly talented (and, let's face it, amazingly hot as well) Dom and Curt, please give Crowded House a go...you both have a part in it...and thanks for letting me lovingly borrow your characters for my writing. Hugs :)

Trent finds himself sitting on his bed in his dorm like every other Thursday night after school and homework and any other social function is complete. He's in his pajamas, resting against his headboard when Nick walks out of the shower in nothing but his towel. Nothing is out of the ordinary, it's dorm living. He looks up to see the boys face, smile in place, just like every other evening.

"Hey Nick, leave me any hot water?" he laughs, teasing Nick about his two hour showers on occasion is also nothing new.

"It was barely an hour man, you should be fine! Next time you should just join me, it'll be faster and no worries about running out of water, right?" Nick volleys back to the boy on the bed.

"What?" Trent can't help if his mind blanks a little and his eyes wander to follow the water droplets sliding slowly down Nick's chest. "What did you say?" He shakes his head and tries to pull back into the conversation.

"Come on Trent, do you think I'm stupid? I see the way you look at me, man, I mean, it's cool. I hadn't really thought about it before, but, ya know…it could be … fun." He winks a little as he approaches the bed.

Before Trent even has time to process the fact that the towel is now on the floor, Nick is straddling his lap, his hands tugging at his t shirt, pulling him closer and into a searing kiss that Trent never knew he had needed until now. Trent whimpers as all control over anything is lost to the feel of Nick's mouth on his, his tongue teasing into the boys mouth, coaxing his own to dance with it.

Another split second passes, or was at an hour? Trent has no idea at this point, but somehow his clothes are gone too and the boys are grinding together desperately trying to reach that point that seems just out of his reach. Hands are grasping around waists and over backs, digging into skin, trying to scramble for a hold to ground themselves. Moans and whimpers eventually turn into words that don't seem to fit.

"Dude!"

"Hmmmm?" Trent moans yet again, curving the last letters enough to make it come out as a question. His body less warm than it was just a minute ago, he opens his eyes to get a look at Nick's face so close to his own, to stare into his eyes.

"J-Jesus…" he breathes out in a rush upon finding his face so close to Nick's….and the towel…oh my God, Nick's towel,…. and it was on the floor just a few seconds ago wasn't it? And Nick was on….. "Oh…oh s-shit…."

"Dude, I thought you were having a bad dream or something the way you were thrashing and moaning. They say it's not good to touch someone during a nightmare, but I was seriously thinking about throwing a shoe at you or something. You ok? You look all pale and-" Nick begins, but Trent is suddenly wide eyed and shoving him out of the way, falling from the bed and trying desperately to untangle his feet from the sheets. He manages, finally, to get free and he scrambles on hands and knees for the door, flinging it open before he gains his legs and just takes off – in only his boxer briefs.

Stunned, Nick stands staring at the door unsure of what just happened. Is Trent ill? Is he heading for the bathroom on the main hall so he doesn't keep Nick from using theirs to get ready? Should he go after him? But he's still in just a towel, and his door is standing wide open now.

"Looking good, Duval!" Beatz snickers as he walks past the door and wolf whistles.

"Bite me!" Nick calls back, laughing. Living with all guys makes this a common occurrence and he's used to it now. It wasn't always that way, though. When he first got to Dalton, he freaked out the first time he had to shower there. He'd waited until his roommate was gone to shower, not wanting him to be there when he exited the bathroom under dressed. Unfortunately the guy had come back while he was showering and when Nick exited in just his towel, he'd found his roommate doing homework on his bed and almost died of embarrassment. His face was a mask of shock and confusion and….and rather like Trent's face when he finally surfaced from sleep just now.

Looking down the hall both ways he sees no sign of Trent, but realizes that he needs to get himself together or be late for breakfast and then class as well.

David whips his door open to the frantic pounding outside and Trent nearly knocks him down in his hurry to get inside his friends' dorm room.

"Dude…." David says, giving Trent the once over and raising an eyebrow at him.

"Don't ask, just don't even ask and for God's sake, I'm NOT here, ok?" Trent blurts out, still breathing heavy from his hasty departure from bed and the sprint from his room that followed.

"You ok, man? You look like you've seen a ghost or somethin'….what gives?" David asks.

"Just needed to get out of my room for a minute. Can I hang here for a few?" Trent says collapsing on Jeff's bed. "Where's Jeff?"

"Shower…" David replies, tying his navy and red striped tie. "You gonna walk around all day like that or what?" he laughs, nodding at Trent sitting on the bed in just his skivvies.

"Shut it! I'm not going back to my room until Nick's gone. Just…no." he says, then lays down on Jeff's bed and pulls the pillow over his head.

"Whatevs, but you're gonna be late for class, man. I'll see you in trig!" he blurts, then heads out the door.

As the dorm room door closes, the bathroom door opens and Jeff saunters out furiously rubbing a towel across his blonde locks. When he hangs the towel on the doorknob, he looks up to see a body on his bed that wasn't there before.

"David, dude…what happened? You've been bleached or some shit!?" he says, messing with the lump on the bed he knows is Trent. The boy merely turns to look at Jeff and he looks bewildered, confused and lost. "Whoa…ok, what's up. You ok?" Jeff asks, his face all scrunched up in worry.

"No…not ok….something weird happened."

The knock on the door catches them both off guard and Jeff walks to the door to answer it. Nick knocks again and yells through it asking if Jeff is in there and has he seen Trent. Trent's eyes are big as saucers and he's frantically shaking his head 'no' like he's dead set on flicking something inside his noggin loose. He jumps up and runs into the bathroom leaving the door ajar.

Jeff opens the outer door and there stands Nick, dressed and ready to go to breakfast with a curious look on his face.

"You seen Trent? He took off out of our room like a bat out of hell in just his underwear! I hope he's not sick or something?"

"Um…nope. No Trent. You going to breakfast?" Jeff says with a smile, trying to change the subject. Lying to his best friend is not something he's fond of, but the look on Trent's face says there's a good reason.

"Yeah…I hope he's ok. That was just odd…" Nick trails off.

"Ok, go on down, save me a seat. I'll be there in a sec, ok?" Jeff says, bright eyed and just wanting him to go away so he can find out what the hell is going on.

With the door shut and Trent tiptoeing his way back into the room looking as sheepish as he ever has, Jeff turns to him for information.

"Trent, what the hell is going on? You just take off out of your room in your damn drawers? Nick looks scared to death that something is wrong with you! What happened?" His eyebrows try to return to their natural state versus being stuck half way up his forehead in astonishment, as he takes a seat and waits for Trent to start talking.

"I just, I can't be in that room man, not right now. I'll go back, when Nick is in class or something, just, just not with him there, I can't do it, can't see him right now." Trent splutters and spits out finally.

Jeff's eyes get huge at the assumptions he is making in his head. "Did, umm, did something happen Trent? Nick didn't...did he DO something to you?" He is almost terrified waiting for the answer.

Trent responds with a blushing red face and a quick jerk of his head. "I'll just, I gotta go. He went down to breakfast so I'll just go get ready while he's eating and I'll skip breakfast, see ya in class man." With that he rises and exits the door almost as quickly as he had entered it just those few minutes ago.

Jeff sits in his chair looking at the space on the bed that the boy had occupied seconds ago, more confused than he was when Trent started speaking. With little time left to grab breakfast, he continues to get himself put together, does one last check in the mirror and heads down to the cafeteria to meet the rest of the guys before class. He's just going to have to try to talk to Nick and see if he can get any more insight into Trent's odd behavior from his roommate, though he doubts it very much.

Trent returns to his room, as quickly as possible now that he is more conscious of the fact that he is less than clothed at the moment, especially now that there are more guys roaming the halls heading to breakfast or to meet friends before class. He prays, as he gets to the door, that Nick was at least smart enough not to lock it realizing that there was no way Trent would have a key on him. He realizes the boy does have some brains and says a whispered 'thank god' as he turns the handle and pushes into the room, slowly at first, just in case. No one is there and he walks the rest of the way in, letting out the breath he just realizes he's been holding since he was in the hall.

He gets out his uniform and clean boxers and socks, puts his shoes by his bed so he can put them on as soon as he is done and heads to the bathroom for the quickest shower in history. He has to be fast if he wants to be to class on time. He can go to this class, the only one in it is Beatz, so no one will ask him questions or worry him, yep, first hour is fine. He is definitely going to have to figure out something for at least third hour though, Nick is definitely in the class, and definitely sits beside him and helps him in labs every day, damn it! He knows he doesn't have time to worry about that yet, he will worry when he gets to the end of second hour and it becomes a pertinent issue, for now, finish the shower, dry off, get dressed, get out. This is the mantra.

"Hey Jeff, get over here!" Nick calls as he sees Jeff with his plate full of food looking around the cafeteria.

The blond gives him a nod and a smile and heads towards him. As he sits, putting his tray down, he makes a quick sweep of the room. "No Trent? I figured he'd uhh, make it down here for breakfast at least once he ran out on you. Of course maybe he wanted some clothes first, did you say he ran out in his underwear?" Jeff asks as though he has no idea what condition the poor boy had been in. He's not sure how to take Nick at the moment either. Nick is his best friend but the literal fear and confusion on Trent's face, and his lack of explanation other than that of not being able to be around Nick, has Jeff a little worried about what actually happened that drove him to that state.

"Yep, he just, he pushed me off of him and he just bailed off his bed, and couldn't get to the door fast enough! Off the floor and out the door, it was like two seconds man, I don't think I've ever seen the boy move so fast!" He shakes his head, a tiny grin playing at his lips. If it wasn't so damn weird, it'd be hilarious, really.

"Ooookayyyy?" Jeff says, giving Nick a strange look. Nick doesn't even glance up from his plate. "Did you uh…did you think you were going to say that and I wasn't going to question why a) you were on his bed and b) why he had to push you off and c) why you're grinning about it like the cat that got the cream?" Jeff says, eyes wide and questioning now.

"What? What do you me-" Nick starts, not getting it. "Oh my God, no…no dude! Geeez, Jeff, you sound like I assaulted him or something! WTF man? He was thrashing around in bed like…moaning or something when I got out of the shower. I guess he was having a nightmare or whatever and I kept saying his name and 'dude' and he wouldn't wake up, so I got right up in his face. He was rolled over to the wall, so I was kneeling on the side of his bed and when he started to finally come around, he was blinking and looking at me like he couldn't see me or something. I just leaned over!"

Jeff's face is a mask of incredulity. He conjures the scene in his head, though, and finds it reasonable. Nick would never hurt anyone, surely not Trent especially, and he was so sincere in his concern that Jeff is left with nothing but confusion yet again.

"Well, I don't know where he is or what happened, but the whole thing is just weird." Jeff says, returning to his food and wondering where Trent is at that moment.

Back in his room, Trent has dressed and is heading out the door when his stomach rumbles.

From Trent: dude, grab me something to eat in the back of class?

From David: will do. blueberry or banana nut?

From Trent: whatever….thanks man

He hurries down the hallway to his first class of the day, Trigonometry, where he meets David outside the door and they both go inside and sit in the back. Trent all but inhales the muffin, not wanting his professor to catch him eating in class and his throat is now as dry as can be.

"So you gonna tell me what that scene was all about this morning?" David asks him with his eyebrow quirked up.

"No…." Trent says, nearly choking on his dry mouth. "Drinking fountain, right back…" he says slipping out of his chair and out the door. When he returns, David is still staring at him.

"Yeah…you are. Spill it." David laughs.

"I-I can't. I just-" Trent begins, but is saved by the teacher showing up. He gives David a shrug and pulls out his book.

"This isn't over Captain Underpants…." David mutters.

After class they move to the exit and David is on him again.

"Dude, that was just downright odd, you show up in your drawers all outta breath and whatnot, and now you're not gonna say why?"

"I have class…gotta hurry!" Trent says, slipping out the door and hurrying to his next class leaving a bewildered David behind.

Second bell goes by too quickly and suddenly he's faced with Chemistry, where he sits right next to Nick…Nick who is kind and always helps him with his labs when he's not catching on, Nick who always brings him the notes when he's sick, Nick whose lips are as soft as rose petals, Nick who….wait, what? WHAT? Oh God…no, he can't even consider going to class…just the thought of it feels like he's doing something wrong to Nick…violating him in some way and just…no. Instead he heads off to the library to wait out Chem and then he'll hit 4th bell.

Hiding in the library is not a difficult task. Teachers are always sending students to look things up, grab specific books, work on impending research papers, and the like. He walks in as though he is meant to be there, finds a computer and sits down, hiding his face just a little as he pulls up Google search. The less attention he draws to himself the better chance he has of not being noticed for the hour.

He spends the hour mindlessly searching and reading articles on the meanings of dreams. The last he finds gives a list of 'things' that may have occurred or the 'theme' of the dream and he scrolls through a few looking for what potentially could define what happened in his dream. Clearly no sex occurred, but he thinks that is only because he woke up before it could happen. He stops at the word 'foreplay' and thinks maybe this is as close as it's going to get. "To dream about foreplay indicates your unfulfilled desires and wishes." He whispers a little bit louder than he intended once he remembers where he's at. He gets shushed by a freshman next to him, and he gives him a small quiet apology, too afraid to look the kid in the face. He reads it again, in his own head this time, and thinks to the dream one more time. He huffs at the idea of Nick being an unfulfilled wish or desire, he didn't need the internet to tell him he had a crush on a boy he didn't think he could ever have, straight boys do not often start making out with gay boys just to try something new! So the dream was just his unconscious mind playing with what his conscious mind wants, well isn't that swell? He doesn't entirely know how to deal with that, how to stop it, but he doesn't want it to happen again, especially if he has to wake up with Nick right there in his face.

Trent gets so wrapped up in his thoughts on the dream and his thoughts about Nick in general and how he feels about that particular friend of his, that he doesn't realize how much time has passed. The bell rings before he knows it and he is snapped quickly back into reality. He shuts the computer down, grabs his things, and heads out the door to go to his next class.

Making it through 4th period was no big deal, no one to bother him in AP Spanish, everyone else seemed to want to take French. He got an entire hour of freedom. Freedom from David and/or Jeff harassing him, freedom from his own train of thought constantly derailing him, and freedom from Nick just sitting there being all smart and sweet and cute and all the things he could not handle seeing after that dream. Just the thought of that dream makes him almost mad at himself, feeling like he somehow violated a friendship or a trust, even though Nick has no idea.

But now, now fourth period is coming to a close, the teacher is rattling off tomorrow's assignment and the bell is going to ring. When that bell rings, Trent is going to have to go to lunch. He barely had anything of sustenance for breakfast and he's starving. He wants to go to the cafeteria and eat like he does every day but can he really do that? Of course he cannot do that. Nick, Jeff, David, they'll all be there, asking questions and whatnot. No he cannot deal with that. So the second the bell rings, he grabs his books and makes a beeline for his dorm. Nick never goes back to the room at lunch time. It is the most social hour of the day and Nick is nothing if not a social butterfly. It will be easy to avoid everyone if he is in his room.

Once safely inside, he rummages through the snack supply drawer and comes up with a bag of chips and some chocolate chip cookies. In the fridge he grabs a soda and sees that Nick left half of his tuna salad sandwich in there, so he takes that too. He sits on his bed and has a little picnic for one while he tries to un-see all the things his mind saw this morning. He needs to put this all in perspective or he's never going to be able to handle rooming with Nick, or even being friends with Nick again. How can he, if he can't even look the boy in the face? He shakes his head to clear it, concentrates on the food in front of him and the fact that he only has a couple more classes to get through. When he's done eating, he cleans up his mess, throws out the trash and pulls out a duffle bag. A quick text to Thad and he has a place to crash for the next couple of nights, no questions asked. It doesn't take him long to fill the bag with essentials and drop it off in the unlocked room of his fellow Warbler. At least that much was solved. Now he just has to get through a couple more classes and he can hide out.

"Shit" He mumbles to no one in particular in the empty hallway. "Warbler practice!" It falls out of his mouth on an exhale, full of all the anxiety he feels. Yet another thing he is going to have to get through with all the guys, including Nicky! This long day just got longer. Trent slowed, trudging down the hallway, taking every spare second alone he could get and milking them for all they were worth. It seems there are not enough of those today.

Nick sits in Chemistry waiting for Trent to show up. He hopes he's feeling better…or whatever…because the way he just ran out this morning is just too odd. He said a bunch of mumbled nonsense and booked it out of the room like a man on a mission. Nick wants to know what that mission was.

The bell rings to start class and there's still no sign of Trent anywhere. Now he's really worried and makes a point of hitting their dorm room after class, searching for Trent, and then the nurse's office after that. Nurse Callahan hasn't seen Trent today, she says, but she'll keep an eye out for him. She wishes Nick a blessed day, as always, and he heads off to his next class with a note from the nurse for being a few minutes late.

He's unable to concentrate in class because he's too busy worrying about his friend and roommate, and when the professor calls on him, he answers incorrectly even though he's sure he knows how to solve the problem, and catches the snickers all around him…from everyone but Jeff.

"Are you sure you didn't run into T this morning, Jeff?" he says, again, worried about his friend.

"I…uhm…." Jeff stutters out without really saying much. He makes a show of nodding to the professor as if to say "we can't talk now, I'm paying attention" but Nick knows he's avoiding him. Jeff doesn't even need to pay attention in this class. Jeff could teach this class if he wanted to…that's how much of a grasp he has on the subject matter.

"Don't blow me off…" Nick starts again, but Jeff pretends not to hear him. The last thing Jeff wants to do it lie to his best friend again.

"Later…" Jeff mouths to him. Much later, Jeff is thinking; after he pins Trent down and gets some information from him.

Lunch is more of the same. David tells him that Jeff was in class first bell. He doesn't have class with any Warblers second bell, and third was with Nick…and he was a no show. It seems he's showing up to every class he doesn't have with Nick. For a minute, Nick allows himself a pity party and wonders why Trent's avoiding him, but he realizes after a long round of soul searching that he honestly can't think of anything he's done wrong. He rolls his shoulders, ready to begin 6th bell, and knows that Trent should be in 7th bell with him. If he's not there, Nick's going to hunt him down. Something's fishy around here and it's not lunch on Friday during Lent!

6th Bell flies by and Trent hurries away from the classroom door in the opposite direction as he normally goes. He knows if he rounds that corner at Devon Hall Nick's going to be there waiting for him and he can't bring himself to even think of it. He's worked himself into such a state that he's paying no attention in the hallway and he runs face first into Jeff who is standing outside Nick and Trent's dorm room, arms crossed over his chest and forehead scrunched up as if to say "Yep, it's me, I'm here and you've got some explaining to do!" Well shit.

"Listen, you showed up at my door this morning in your underwear all crazy eyed and huffing according to David. He said you looked like you'd seen a ghost. You asked me to lie to my best friend and I did that, against my better judgment, and you're refusing to tell me what's going on. No more hiding your ass until you tell me what's up!" Jeff says with a little bit of heat behind it.

"God, I can't, Jeff….give a guy a break. Some things are just better left unsaid, man!" Trent whines from his bed, his pillow pulled over his face. Jeff is reclining on Nick's bed, his back against the wall.

"Fine, dude, but I'm calling Nick out of class to come here and sort this out, because something's up and I WILL hold you down to that bed until he gets here if-" Jeff begins, but a panic stricken Trent cuts him off.

"Noo….oh my God no, don't…Jeff…please!" He begs.

"Then you need to start talking. Nick said at lunch that you had a nightmare and he had to wake you. He was frightened of the way you were thrashing around and moaning, so he leaned over to make eye contact and you wigged out completely, fleeing the room like it was on fire. Did you dream he was killing your family or something?" Jeff says, wanting desperately to understand.

"That would have been better…." Trent mumbles into the pillow.

"What?!" Jeff's astonished to hear this, because Trent is the youngest of 5 kids and has 4 older sisters who dote on him as if he's the King of England. He adores them and for him to say this means something crazy went on in Trent's brain this morning. "What the hell, man….what was the dream about?"

Trent hims and haws around for a bit wracking his brain for any way out of this, but he feels like if he doesn't tell someone he'll implode…and if he does…well, it's all out there in the open.

"Jeff, I consider you one of my best friends in the world, you know that, right?" Trent asks, his eyes sad and heartbreakingly revealing.

"Yeah, man…same here….we're bros, we help each other out, you can tell me anything, T. Just let me in, let me help you with whatever this is…" Jeff says, suddenly aware this is something serious for Trent. The auburn haired Warbler takes a huge breath….holds it…sighs for a minute and drops his chin to his chest.

"Just sit there, don't interrupt, say nothing…probably even when I'm done. Just leave me here to die in my own misery and go away, ok?" Trent says, his voice low.

"Trent….man….."

"Nick came out of the shower and he was wearing only his towel and he was dripping water…it was all down his chest and oh holy Mary Mother of Pearl his chest…." Trent says, eyes rolling back in his head for a moment. "I gave him shit about taking a long shower and the hot water and he said I should have just showered with…WITH him…Jeff….and I was a little dumbfounded and a lot turned on and the next thing I knew he was ….he was on me, Jeff and we were hot and heavy and grinding and moaning and his mouth, holy moly his mouth is so soft, so hot and wet and I've never been so freakin' turned on in all my damn life, man…there's no doubt in my mind that what's in his boxers is-" Trent says, pausing when he hears Jeff clear his throat and sort of cough a bit…..

He barely raises his eyes enough to glance at Jeff who is now 87 shades of red and he's biting his lip like he needs to to survive.

"I mean…I know he…he said something um…but when I asked him this morning he…I thought he would have just told me seeing as ….I mean we've sort of discussed—" Jeff stumbles through is words wondering why Nick didn't just SAY SO when he'd asked what happened. But then Trent blurts out:

"And then I woke up and he was there…RIGHT THERE in my face and I panicked and freaked out and ran… God Jeff, how do I look him in the eye ever again?" Trent nearly whines out.

Fucking hell, Jeff thinks…THAT was the dream, and here he almost told Trent what he and Nick had discussed not so long ago.

"THAT was your dream? Trent! You can't just ignore him and act like you are scared to death of him just because of a sex dream! Do you know how worried he is? He's been freaking out all day trying to figure out what he did wrong to you! He feels like shit and doesn't even have a clue why. That's not fair Trent, you have to talk to him." Jeff starts with more heat but relaxes once he sees Trent's face yet again. The kid is thoroughly freaked out. It's clear he's not afraid of or mad at Nick, it's himself he has a problem with. Jeff can't seem to bring himself to be as upset with Trent as he wants to be, knowing that Trent is punishing himself as much as his other friend.

"It's not like I'm mad at him Jeff, I just, it surprised me, scared me…made me think…" The young looking Warbler trails off, looking Jeff in the eye, willing him to understand how he feels without having to say it.

"Made you think?" Jeff queries, a single brow raised in question. Well so much for willing him to understand.

"Yeah, ya know, like, I mean…" Trent starts trying to find a way to explain this that wouldn't result in his face turning any more red than it's already been. Discussing a sex dream is bad enough, telling one friend that you might have feelings for another of your friends can be terrifying. "Okay, so I've kind of had a crush on Nick for a while, nothing huge, just like, I mean look at him Jeff, god, he's gorgeous right? You can't deny it."

Jeff raises his hands in surrender, shaking his head. "No denial here, he is pretty hot" the blond laughs lightly.

"Okay so it was just that for a long time, just kind of noticing him ya know? And then, I sort of started to like him. Like, LIKE him, but obviously I couldn't say anything, he would freak out! He's my friend Jeff, and my roommate, I can't risk ruining that because of a stupid little crush. But then, then that dream happened last night and now Nick is all I can think about and I'm afraid that I'm going to slip up and say something stupid, or that he's just going to 'know' or that, god forbid, I have that dream again, or a worse one and he's here and sees the whole thing! I can't deal with that, I'll just avoid him!" Trent shakes his head slowly, staring at what is apparently a very interesting spot on the floor now.

Just as Trent finishes his confession to the floor, hoping that he is loud enough that Jeff hears him rambling his sadness, the door squeaks open slowly.

"You'll just avoid him? Him being me? I mean I can only assume since it's what you've been doing all damn day, T! What the hell is going on?" Nick looks sad, he looks scared, and he looks pissed!

Trent would know that, but he refuses to look up from the floor. He is frozen to his spot, eyes now glued to the floor. He works hard to just remember that there is a process of breathing that should be taking place right now, inhale…exhale… inhale….shit…exhale. He is a mess and has no idea how he can escape now. The one he has been trying to avoid all day is the one standing between himself and freedom. Nick is blocking the doorway and appears to have no plans on removing himself from that location until Trent decides to talk to him.

"I'm just gonna um…." Jeff stands from his spot on Nick's bed and motions toward the door, eyes wide. As he moves behind Nick's back he mouths "TELL HIM!" to Trent, then feels such sympathy for his clearly distressed friend that he tilts his head and give him a sympathetic smile instead. He pulls the door closed softly as he leaves, then makes a point of standing there with his ear pressed tightly to the wooden surface, praying Trent just spills his guts. He knows Nick won't be sorry.

Trent, however, is a bumbling mess, trying desperately to get his bearings and figure out an escape. It's the first time he's laid eyes on Nick since he woke this morning from the blasted….hot, phenomenal, sexy as hell… dream and he's on his way to hyperventilating quickly.

"I can't do this…" he breathes out, looking like he might slip into unconsciousness any minute now and gulping in air.

"You can, and you will. You need to be honest with me, T. What did I do, and whatever it is, oh my God, I'm sorry! I mean, you know I'd never, ever do something to upset you the way you clearly are today. Geeez, Trent, just talk to me, man!" Nick pleads.

Trent knows there's absolutely no way he will ever be able to bring himself to be honest with Nick and he contemplates lying to him, right to his face, and saying something totally off the wall just to make Nick drop it, but that won't fix anything. It surely won't fix the fact that he can't look Nick in the eye anymore and he still has to live with him.

Nick saunters over and sits down on his bed, legs spread and elbows propped on his knees. He leans in and tries to catch Trent's eyes, but the poor boy won't even look up. He looks resigned, though, and Nick hopes it's only a matter of time before he finally tells him the deal.

"Did I do something? Did I say something? Did someone say that I said something? Help a guy out here, T, I'm dyin'!" Nick says.

"You didn't do anything, Nick…it was all me." Trent mumbles. With a deep sigh, he realizes it's time. He'll be very vague and just tell Nick he had an odd dream and then it'll be over, right?

"It's just that…I was sleeping and then—" he begins, but is cut off, mercifully, by Nick's cell phone and a text alert. Nick glances down to silence his phone but inadvertently sees it's a text from Wes and it's not a happy one.

"Shit!" he says, irritated now. He's forgotten he is supposed to be at Warbler practice early to go over some changes for his solo at the upcoming competition. If he doesn't leave now, Wes will have his ass and that's never pleasant. If he does leave now, things will still be awkward between him and Trent.

"Can you tell me quickly?" Nick asks.

"It's ok, you go, and I'll get with you after practice and we'll talk, ok?" Trent says, seeing his way out and trying so hard not to grin about it. "Just go. If you put Wes in a foul mood he won't be happy with anything we do today and then everyone else will be in a foul mood, too! Hurry up…" he trails off, as Nick gets up from his bed.

"I'm holding you to that, Trent. When we get back from practice you better be ready to talk, ok?" Nick asks. Trent just nods.

Jeff is conspicuously still in the hallway when Nick opens their door and he gives him a look that should be intimidating, but Jeff just shrugs and smirks. It's then that he realizes….Jeff knows.

Trent sneaks in late to practice and hopes to go unnoticed, but today is just not his day. Wes reprimands him in front of everyone, and it doesn't help his newfound love of the flooring at Dalton that he's been staring at all day in whatever room or hallway he finds himself in. 10 minutes before practice is over, he tells Wes he's feeling poorly and is dismissed early. He hauls ass to Thad's room and locks the door, hoping against all hope that Thad doesn't mention to anyone the deal they've made.

25 minutes later Thad arrives and Trent immediately asks if anyone knows he's in the room and Thad answers in the negative.

"I don't want anyone to know I'm still here. For all they know, I went home, ok? Help me out?" Trent begs.

"Sure…got no reason not to. How come you wanna go under the radar, though? Is it because of whatever Nick did to piss you off?" Thad asks.

"What? He didn't piss me off!"

"Well, that's the word. After practice a few of the guys kinda jumped his shit wanting to know what he did to you and why you'd missed classes…didn't' come to lunch…left practice early, and all that. Clearly you're avoiding him, right? They jumped his shit pretty bad, man…" Thad trails off, heading for a shower and closing the door to the bathroom.

Trent's never felt like a shitier friend.

He sits alone in Thad's room, pulled up to the desk in the hardback chair, slouched over with his head in his hands just trying to figure shit out in his head. How has it gone from a dream to people getting mad at Nick just because they thought he did something, when clearly nothing actually happened?! He wants another opinion but doesn't want to talk about it at the same time. What is he supposed to do? He continues feeling sorry for himself, and just as sorry for Nick, until Thad returns from the shower giving him a quick pat on the back before he moves to his bed to snatch his phone up to order them dinner.

A half hour later a knock at the door signals the pizza has arrived and Trent is still unmoving from his position. Thad doesn't know how long he should leave him there to worry himself but he's not all together sure what he should do either.

"Come on Trent, dinners here, I ordered your favorite, even got the nasty little green peppers you think are so good. Come eat with me, man."

Trent starts to huff until the smell of pizza radiates around the room from the opening of the box. His stomach grumbling its assent spurs him to finally sit up and maybe move a little. Thad doesn't push him for any more information. They eat in companionable silence for a while and then put on a movie. It's going to be an early night for Trent, he's exhausted after all the running away he has done today.

After he's done eating and the movie credits finally begin to roll he grabs his bag, takes a quick shower, and returns. This time heading to the empty bed on the other side of the room, dropping his bag and dropping himself heavily with a sigh. Just as he's about to close his eyes and wish a grand 'fuck you' to today, Thad's phone goes off.

"Thad, dude, what is it? If it's something I should know about, hook a brother up! I do not want to have to move right now." Trent mumbles, sliding more fully into the blankets and pushing his head deeper into the pillow.

"For real? T you lazy son of a.." Thad starts as he grabs his phone, stopping when he sees the message. A smile takes over his face. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot…"

"What? You almost forgot what?" Trent lifts his head just enough to see the other boy smiling at his phone.

"Tomorrow's the party" He responds looking up to Trent with an expectant glimpse.

The tired boy lets out an agitated moan, mumbling his disinterest and the probable likelihood that he will somehow come down with a cold or flu overnight which will keep him from attending.

"NO! You have to come, because that text…that was from Blaine! He and Kurt are coming to visit and hang out and stress all that 'once a Warbler, always a Warbler' mess in our faces. We haven't seen them in months, T, and I refuse to let you miss this on the grounds that you feel like being a douche bag!"

"Klaine is coming?" Trent nearly whimpers, he knows he's not going to be able to miss it now, he has to go. He's not going to let this 'thing' whatever it is, ruin his chance at seeing Kurt and Blaine again, who knows when the next chance will be.

Thad can't help but laugh at Trent's little whine, knowing that Klaine would sucker him into attending. "Yes Trent, Klaine will be there, no backing out now."

"I know" the boy moans before closing his eyes and willing his dreams to be more respectful of his friends tonight.

Meanwhile, Jeff had done his fair share of ignoring and hiding today, and Nick is over that too. Sure the boy has talked to him some but he hauled ass out of that dorm quick and didn't stick around long after practice when Nick could have used the help. Nick is ready for answers and he wants them now. He takes off for Jeff's room with some take out, he knows David isn't going to be around to interfere since he has fencing practice until he has enough time to fall in the room and shower before passing out for the night.

Nick doesn't even bother going back to the dorms, he's not stupid. He had watched Trent leave the practice hall as fast as he had left the room on him twice now. He knows the kid didn't go back to the dorm to wait so they could talk. And he isn't about to give Jeff a means of getting away. With food in hand, he knocks on his friend's door. "Hey man, open up, I got dinner!" He hollers loud enough to draw the attention of boys in rooms up and down the hall.

It doesn't take Jeff long to open up when he knows there is food involved. He pulls Nick in, taking the boxes of take out from his hand and walking away to his bed with them. Nick follows, knowing if he doesn't, and quickly, he won't be eating tonight.

"Okay, so I brought you dinner" Nick states flatly as they sit on the bed, boxes of food between them.

"Mmmhmmm, thanks man!" Jeff mutters around a mouthful of French fries. "Is it a special occasion?"

"Yes, Jeff, I'm glad you asked, it IS a special occasion." The shorter boy responds, gaping at the amount of food the other has just shoved into his mouth, still finding a way to speak around it.

"Wha' thup?" Jeff speaks again, food nearly falling out of his mouth now, looking entirely innocent.

"This is called 'you are going to tell me what the hell is going on day! So, Merry, what the hell is going on day, Jeff!" Nick gives him a saccharine sweet smile and a pointed glare.

An audible 'gulp' fills the small room as Jeff realizes what the other wants, his only response, "Oh."

"Yeah, oh! Look Jeff, I know that you know what is going on. I have been racking my brain all day trying to figure this shit out. Trent said it wasn't me but then he bolted and wouldn't talk to me again, the guys were all on my case after practice and you didn't even stick around long enough to try to defend me, and I can almost bet, if I walk back to the room right now, he's not going to be in it. You saw the way he hauled balls after practice, god only knows where he's hiding now!" Nick speaks with an authority, a certainty, and just a little break in his voice at the end. "He's my friend Jeff, just as much as you are, and he is so upset about …something…that he won't even look at me right now, he pointedly avoided contact with me all damn day, and confronted with me, he ran… more than once. How the hell am I supposed to think that it has nothing to do with me, Jeff? How is that not supposed to hurt my feelings?" His voice cracks just a bit more and slows his breathing, squeezes his eyes shut, to control his emotions. He isn't going to cry, but god he feels weaker and in more pain than he thought he might over something like this.

Jeff can't not say something. His friend is obviously hurting over this, more so maybe than even Trent. At least Trent knows why he is acting the way he is and why he hurts, Nick doesn't even have that benefit right now. "Okay, umm, look I was sworn to secrecy so if I even tell you this shit, you have to not say a damn word, do you understand?" Jeff is nearly whispering and speaking fast, like if he gets it all out in one quick breath then it won't be as bad.

Nick shoves the food out of the way, scoots closer, like the two are in some sort of conspiratorial cahoots now, nodding his head like a bobble headed doll on a dashboard. "I won't say a word Jeff, I swear, you know me better than that!" The boy practically hisses back, just needing to know, NOW!

"Okay, so, ummm, ya know the other week we had that talk?" Jeff tries to initiate, tries to make Nick just get it, when he has no idea what to grasp on to.

"That talk…a couple weeks ago…about you….and like…how you might not be as straight as…" He leads, slowly but surely.

"Oh! THAT talk, yes I definitely remember that talk. Wait…did you tell Trent? Oh my god! He's afraid to room with me now or something? Because I might not be straight? That's bullshit Jeff! He's going to start being a douche bag just because I don't know for sure who I am or because I think I might be attracted to men too? I don't even get that, dude! He's gay for fuck sake, how is he gonna hate on me for being bi? Or is it because I haven't said anything? Jesus Jeff!" Nick doesn't even know if he's more pissed or confused now. He has abandoned the bed for a quick back and forth pace next to it, single hand tangled in his own hair, as he marches back and forth, five steps, pivot, five steps, pivot, hiss his confusion to Jeff, five steps, pivot, and repeat.

Jeff can't stop the bark of laughter that peels from his lips. "Jesus Christ Nick! Take a freaking pill, have a seat, and quit being a bitch about this. I'll tell you the whole fucking story if you promise to sit down and shut up long enough to hear it!" If a few more giggles fall out of his face at the look of disdain from his best friend, well that is simply not his fault.

Nick huffs and walks the few paces it takes to get back to the bed and he sits, deflating, as he waits for Jeff to start talking again.

"Okay, here, take this pillow, put it against the headboard, lean back and close your eyes, Uncle Jeff is about to tell you a little story!" He patronizes the upset boy, as he helps him get comfy on the bed once again.

Nick does as he's told, rests back on the pillow, shuts his eyes, and tries to concentrate on taking deep calming breaths. Getting all worked up like this obviously has yet to solve anything. "Okay" he nearly pouts, "I'm ready!"

"Promise to keep your mouth shut?" Jeff questions, playing with him now.

"Yes, Jeff, just tell me what's going on…please." Now that he's calmer again, the hurt is back in his voice.

"Okay, so first of all, I did not tell Trent anything about that discussion we had. However, it does kind of play a key role in this whole situation." Jeff starts to explain. "It appears our good friend Trent may have been harboring a bit of a crush on you for….a while now." He continues, looking to gauge Nick's facial expressions. He moves to sit back against the headboard himself, getting more comfortable.

Nick's eyes open but he doesn't show any signs of surprise. He looks contemplative for a moment, then shuts his eyes again and waits for the story to continue. "Oh. Okay." His only response.

"Well, the thing is…last night…he umm… he …he had this dream…and…and you were in it." He looks to Nick again, really wishing he could just understand, he doesn't want to have to explain that dream if he doesn't have to.

"So, he had a dream about me and now he hates me? What did I do, try to kill him?" the dark haired Warbler scoffs.

"Well, he would have died a happy man, to say the least!" Jeff can't help but giggle.

"What are you talking about?" Nick is more confused with every passing minute it seems.

"Shit, okay so umm, I'm just going to explain this to you as much as I can, and try not to picture it in my own head, because I cannot have you two living there! So, in this dream…you umm, you walk out of the shower right? And you just have this towel wrapped around your waist, and apparently you were all glisten-y and shit, he mentioned water droplets going places….whatever!"

The Adam's apple in Nick's throat makes a rapid succession of movement as he finally catches on to what this dream might entail. He quietly listens for more.

"So then, he's giving you shit about how long you take in the shower, ya know, like everyone always does? And you say to him, 'next time you should just join me!' And Trent is all like 'wait, what?' and you go, 'it'll save time and water' or something like that."

Nick can't help but smile thinking about this, the way Jeff is trying to imitate his voice nearly has him laughing out loud but he doesn't want the story to stop, so he keeps it to himself.

"Then he said, that the towel just sort of, it was gone, dropped to the floor and you pushed him back on the bed, straddled his lap. He said your lips were like the softest petals from the prettiest flowers or something. You kissed him and it nearly wrecked him, even in the dream dude!"

Now Nick can't help but think of Trent in that light, of what kissing him might be like. Not that he necessarily would intend to get naked with him in the day or anything but kissing is kissing! He tries to stop his train of thought to tune in to Jeff again.

"…naked too, he doesn't know how, I mean that's the magic of dreams right?"

"Wait, what? Who is naked now?" Nick asks, not wanting to miss any details.

"Both of you now, somehow he just is. Apparently your sexy lips just struck down his clothes like the mighty hand of god or something. So okay, you are still straddling him, and grinding into each other and kissing….."

Nick's poor brain nearly melts when he actually pictures this. He pulls a pillow over his lap just in case, because..,damn…just because.

By the time Jeff finishes the story, Nick is clearly flustered, more turned on than he cares to admit, and trying desperately to control the tempo of his inhale / exhale routine….all without letting on to Jeff what's swirling through his mind. And there are points he's still confused on…sort of.

"So he tells you he's had a crush on me, but he has this dream and he panics and bolts? I don't get it. Why is that a bad thing if he has a crush on me anyway?" Nick says, a bit of hurt in his voice. Was he suddenly not what Trent thought he'd be? Did something go horribly wrong in the dream that Jeff's leaving out? What could have gone wrong? Maybe Nick couldn't get it- No…he snickers…not even a viable option…especially considering what was going on under the pillow at that very moment. Then Jeff turns to look at him, move all the food bags away and get comfortable and the whole bed jolts…shimmies…shakes…and so does the damn pillow on his lap, rubbing places that make Nick groan without warning. Jeff gives him a look, noticing how Nick's face is all scrunched up in what seems to be agony.

"Y' ok?" Jeff asks, thinking for a split second that maybe the food isn't sitting well with him….then it dawns on him. "Awwwwwwww…" he whines out. "Did me reciting the porn from Trent's sassy little nocturnal brain get you all hot and bothered, Nicky?" And Nick wants to smack the shit out of him, but he can't move. He's so turned on he's sure he's tenting his damn pants and that's not something he's willingly going to share with Jeff now that he's harassing him.

"So tell me, then. What's the problem? He has this dream, he thinks he can't even look at me now, and he plans to avoid me for…however long…and I'm getting blamed for doing something I had nothing to do with? I'm missing a piece of this puzzle, Jeff." Nick tells him, his spirit still a little deflated.

"Dude, listen. No matter how turned on he was about the dream, and how amazingly hot it was to him, and how hard it probably made him as the thrashed around in bed searching for friction against his sheets and moaning out loud in his sleep so you could just envision what was going on in his head-" Jeff begins, but Nick calls out, loudly and in obvious distress…

"Mercy….fucking Uncle, Jeff…stop, for the love of God and all that's holy, I'm begging you…just stop being so…so…damn descriptive, you jackass!" Nick whines. He whines…. And Jeff knows he's so wound up right now it's probably painful. So he snickers. "I fucking hate you, man!" Nick grumbles.

"Shut up, you love me. Listen douchenozzle, he's bent up because he feels like he's done something wrong, like he's violated you in some way, like he's dented up and crumbled your friendship by having this dream that …well, as far as he knows, it'll make you upset with him. Can you imagine being in that place, having that going on in your mind, so vivid, so real…and then suddenly you wake up and the object of lust in your subconscious mind is there, inches from your face? Dude was in a panic, Nick. Thus, running out of the room in …what…embarrassment? Disbelief? Mortification?" Jeff says, trying to explain.

The door flies open and a half dead David staggers in, dragging his fencing equipment with him and looking worse for wear.

"'Sup boys…food…hell yeah!" he says, and leans in to grab a burger still wrapped up on the bed. Nick hadn't touched a bite of it. "You find Captain Underpants?" He asks.

Jeff snickers and Nick moans, dropping his head in his hands and taking deep breaths. David looks up at them and glances between the two.

"What? I dunno what happened between ya'll, but you got to fix 'dis shiz…we have competition next weekend and I won't tolerate any dissention among the ranks, boys!" David says in his best authoritative council member voice. Then he grins. "What's goin' on, man? Tell me so I can help you sort this shit out. I don't like seeing either one of ya looking like this!"

"I can't say…its' not my…um…it's not for me to tell, D…I just need to find him and talk to him, but he's off the grid somewhere, I'm sure. I'm taking this fucking pillow, too!" he states flatly, giving Jeff the death glare. Keeping the pillow in a family friendly hold against his junk, he walks to the door. "I'd thank you, Jeffrey, but I don't know if you made it easier or harder for me to talk to him about things!" Nick said, looking down his nose as his friend snickers at him. Just before the door closes he hears Jeff yell out to him.

"Oh I know I made it harder, Nicky….definitely harder!" and burst into fits of laughter.

Trent's phone was blowing up, he was sure of it. He had it on silent from the minute he stepped in to Thad's room so he didn't disturb the boy. Nick had sent him so many texts last night it was ridiculous and he had yet to reply to any of them. What the hell would he even say?

From Nick: T, where are you? Looks like some of your stuff is gone. Did you go home for the weekend?

From Nick: So I called your house. You're not there and your mom is sort of wondering why you're not there and I'm not able to find you, so I think you might want to call her.

From Nick: Oh, and somehow, during the conversation, she offered to send those caramel brownie things? Yeah, if you don't come back soon, I'm gonna eat every single one!

From Nick: Ok, so at least text me back…tell me you're ok?

From Nick: Trent, there is nothing…NOTHING that we can't work out. I need to know how to fix this shit because it's really eating me up inside.

From Nick: You stubborn baboon, pull your freakin' head out of your ass and get back here so we can talk!

From Nick: You've left me no choice. It's ON. See pic attachment:

The last text is followed immediately by a picture of Nick holding Chaz the hedgehog, Trent's time worn and most precious little stuffed animal from his childhood….along with a pair of scissors.

A choked whimper escapes his throat and Thad looks up sharply to see him staring at his screen in horror and astonishment.

"He. Wouldn't. Dare!" Trent grinds out, eyes wide. "You're a monster, Nick Duval!" he hisses at his phone.

From Trent: You listen to ME, Nicholas. Put Chaz down on the bed in the softest spot and back away. You have stepped across the line this time, mister, and it's NOT COOL! This is between you and me…mostly me…ok, all me. Leave him out of it! He's merely an innocent bystander and you dragging him into it is childish! Shame on you!

From Nick: He will remain in my custody until midnight tonight. If, at that time, you haven't grown some balls and talked to me about whatever's on your mind, he will be the ball in a game of "What the hell have the Warblers dunked me in this time?" Make your choice wisely!

"Shit!" Is the only response Trent can spit out. He rolls his eyes but he knows Nick isn't playing games, he will do something god awful to Chaz if Trent isn't there to stop him! He also knows he intends to put off that talk as long as he possibly can!

"Hey Jeff, what time is it bro?" Nick hollers, too lazy to do all the actual work of pulling his phone out of his pocket.

"Almost 11:30, why?" Jeff asks over the sound of the too loud music filling the Warbler's practice hall. The party has been in full effect for a few hours now and nobody has seen Trent.

Kurt and Blaine have been here for at least two hours and everyone had suspected that when Blaine started texting Trent about his presence, he would have shown up right away. Everyone was wrong. No sign of the boy had made itself evident as of yet. Nick was starting to get really frustrated. He will give him ten more minutes…

Trent is…hiding, essentially he is simply hiding. He does everything he can to draw this time alone out. He has snuck back to his own room knowing Nick was down at the party and he has time to gather his thoughts. He really wants to be down at the party, he wants to see Kurt and Blaine, he wants to dance and have fun with all the guys, and the few girls he knows will have been snuck in by now. But he is scared to death to face Nick because he knows he has no shot of avoiding that conversation once he's there. So Trent is going to take his time. He takes a long shower, walks around the room in his boxers taking his time to pick out something to wear…something attractive but that doesn't make him look like he's on the prowl or trying too damn hard. Finally he settles on some black jeans, a white tee with a gray vest over it. He slips into the black boots he doesn't get to wear often enough thanks to being in a school with a uniform. He styles his hair slowly and carefully, so that it doesn't look like he slowly and carefully styled his hair. As he is walking a few laps around the room to waste some more time, he picks up his phone to check the time, just as it goes off with a new message.

From Nick: It is 11:45 Trent, you are pushing your luck! See pic attachment:

With an audible swallow Trent opens the attachment, afraid of what he will see. He gasps when the picture reveals poor Chaz, dangling precariously from Nick's thumb and forefinger, over a punch bowl.

From Trent: NICK! NO! Damn it, I'm coming okay? I'm coming, give me just a minute!

Nick laughs for a minute, not sure if he should send the response that he wants to, but before he knew, before this drama, he would have, and he wants to make things normal so he types quickly and hits send before he can scold himself too much for it.

From Nick: I'm glad you are about to come, good for you, but you have time for that later man, get down here!

The groan that leaves Trent's throat when he reads that text is nearly sinful. Nick should not be allowed to say that stuff, not any more, he doesn't know if he can handle it, as visions of Nick grinding against him come back full force. He has to shake his head and clear his thoughts. He scrolls back to the picture of Chaz, and leaves his room more quickly now. He has to rescue his poor little hedgehog before something awful happens to him.

Half way down the staircase his phone goes off again. Another picture, much like the last but this time Chaz is being held hostage over a toilet bowl. He growls and picks up the pace as he looks at the clock and realizes its five minutes to midnight. He has to get in there. He slams the door to the practice hall open, not sure if anyone will even see or hear him enter, the music is so loud. He is noticed though, and Blaine runs over to wrap him in a hug.

"Trent! Man, it feels like it's been so long! How are you?" Blaine tries to talk to the harried boy. He doesn't have time for this right now.

"I'm okay, gotta go!" He practically throws the shorter ex-Warbler off of himself leaving him to stare as pushes his way through the crowd. A scan over the room doesn't reveal Nick anywhere in the general vicinity. He reaches the bathroom door at 11:58 and slams it open without conscious thought.

"NICK!" He screams as he sees the other boy sitting in the counter, Chaz sitting adorably on his knee. Both looking as though they were simply waiting for Trent to come in and redeem himself and save his best friend. Nick simply smiles, strokes over the worn body of the stuffed animal.

"Boy, you're pushing your luck, T! You only had a couple minutes to spare" He starts, but is cut off when Jeff pushes into the room.

"Come on guys! Game time, no one is sitting out, let's go!" He huffs half out of breath as he starts pulling Trent out of the room with him. He throws an eye Nick's direction, which he seems to suddenly catch on to, and he jumps off the counter to follow.

"Can I at least have Chaz back? I'm here." Trent whines over his shoulder to whichever one of his friends who might listen.

"Oh, god, I can't handle the pitiful eyes, here!" Nick tosses the toy to Trent, who puts him in the pocket of his vest, leaving his little fuzzy face hanging out.

"OKAY! SEVEN MINUTES IN HEAVEN!" Jeff calls out, apparently he has taken it on himself to be the game master for the evening. They first tried seven minutes in heaven and when the bottle failed to give Nick and Trent the connection Jeff was hoping for, he takes matters further into his own hands. "I downloaded an app that will pair people up, I just have to put in some names. Who all wants to play?"

About a dozen or so party goers circle around and Jeff clicks away on his phone, looking around to make sure he has everybody. With a tap of his thumb the first couple is selected.

"David…Samantha, it's all you guys! Have fun!" Jeff smiles shoving the two toward a storage room at the back of the hall. Minutes pass and the door gets ripped open to find David's tongue half way down Sam's throat. "Well, that worked in everyone's favor didn't it?" Jeff can't help but laugh. He thought that might be the case, after the way those two had been giving each other the eye all night, neither one quite making the move. "Alright, next pairing….Nick….and…Trent." He looks up at the two expectantly, trying to not show any fear or concern. The others don't have the same tact and all inhale sharply knowing there has been some kind of angst between the two for at least the last day.

Nick gives a little smile, eyes going to Trent. He watches the boy suck in a sharp breath through his nose, obviously afraid of this. "Hey, I guess we have seven minutes to get this talk out of the way right?" He tilts his head toward the door and Trent gives a small nod, trying to keep the fake smile plastered to his face. He is scared shitless right now.

"Y-yeah, let's umm, let's go talk." Trent mumbles out, turning and heading into the storage room. Nick follows, eyes seeking out Jeff's for a moment, who only nods with a small smile of support. He pats Nick on the back as he disappears into the room, and pulls the door shut between the two scared boys.

"How about we turn the music back up a little, give them some privacy?" Jeff directs the party once again, and without question the music is turned up.

"Trent" The only word Nick can get out of his mouth, it is so full of concern and question that Trent can't help but be effected by it.

"Nick, I'm sorry" He mumbles. "This whole thing got so far out of hand, I don't even know. I am so sorry that all the guys basically attacked you yesterday, I don't even know why or how that happened, I just…."He stops, not sure how to continue. He doesn't want to have to explain the dream but he will if Nick needs him to.

"It's okay. I think I get it better now. Jeff and I talked a little last night and…" He is immediately cut off by Trent.

"He told you? He said he wouldn't say anything! He swore he would keep it a secret!" Trent's eyes are squinted, eye brows pulled tight in fear and question both. He can't believe Jeff just told Nick about his dream after he swore he wouldn't, and he doesn't know how to approach Nick now at all.

"Don't be mad, he was trying to help, T. He doesn't like seeing us fight or whatever that was we were doing yesterday. He umm….he told me…" He takes the opportunity of Trent's eyes being closed in thought, to step just a little closer. He knows they don't have a lot of time before Jeff or one of the other guys throws the door open. "He told me you have a crush on me." Nick's smile lights up his face and when Trent's eyes snap open, cheeks flushing red he can't help but return a small smile.

"I mean, maybe? But it doesn't matter right? I know you're straight Nick, I mean we've talked about your ex-girlfriends and stuff before, I just, I didn't exactly plan on feeling like this ya know?" He shrugs and Nick steps even closer, pulling Trent into a hug.

"Trent, don't apologize, you feel how you feel, you can't help that. And…I mean…..I don't think I want you to not feel that way. Cause…maybe…I …kind of ….feel that way too" Nick feels like it takes him five minutes to get those words out of his mouth. He hasn't really said them out loud but the more time he has spent thinking about it, the more he can see it.

"Wait…you…WHAT?" Trent nearly hisses on a whisper pulling out of Nick's embrace so they are face to face again.

"I just, we've got some time left, a few minutes anyway. What if we…what if we used it to see if maybe these feelings are ….something… more…or whatever." He is mumbling now and he knows it, quietly and pulling closer into Trent's space again, until the last word he mutters is more felt against Trent's lips than heard.

A shuttering breath is released and a whimpered agreement, neither are sure who made what sound, neither really care. Their lips fully meet, for the first time, slowly. It is all tentative and holding back with fear and concern and confusion…for about two seconds. It's like when they actually give in to what this feels like, to where they are, in an actual waking moment, they just give in to it. Lips press hard, with felt smiles, tongues slip past lips to mingle with each other hot and slick and soft. Trent doesn't even care when he finds his hands, on their own accord, have wrapped themselves around Nick's waist, pulling him tighter to his own body.

It seems mere seconds go by before Jeff gives a tentative knock on the door.

Nick quickly shifts them from the side wall to the door and just in time, too, because Jeff's shoving it open now. When he meets resistance, he pauses.

"Guys?" he says, trying to wedge his eyeball into the slight crack he's able to open the door before it meets the force of two bodies.

"We finished in here?" Nick whispers to Trent, unsure how he feels about what just went down. It's dark after all and he can't clearly see his face. Trent doesn't answer immediately. Then, with a snicker, he pulls Nick closer to his hips and answers.

"Find another closet, Sterling! This one's in use!" Trent bellows at the door, and pulls Nick in for another kiss.

The ruckus outside the door is deafening and Jeff is clearly leading the pack now. If the noise is anything to go by, the Warblers are about to storm the storage area to get a good look at what's going on inside.

"Probably not the best place to work through this, huh?" Trent asks quietly. "And maybe you're finished working through it?" He says. It's still dark, even with the little sliver of light from the outside where Jeff is still attempting to wedge his nose in to get a good glimpse of the action.

"I dunno…" Nick trails off, leaning in for a series of soft kisses on Trent's face. "I think there's a lot more to work out, if you ask me?" he grins.

Resigned, they finally allow Jeff to open the door. The catcalls and hoots that are thrown their way cause both of them to blush, but Nick reaches down to link fingers with Trent to give a show of solidarity if nothing else, and that sends them all into a fit of "well shit, who knew" and "no fucking way, man!" comments.

Nick leans into Trent's ear and tells him he's about ready to call it a night. He was so distracted the night before that he didn't get much sleep. Oddly, Trent didn't either.

"Give me a slight head start and I'll meet you in our room? We can finish talking this through if you want?" he says, a wicked gleam in his eye. Trent nods, watches Nick saunter away with Chaz….wait…what?

"Nick! How'd you…my hedgehog!" Trent hisses at him.

"I'll take good care of him. He and I need to have a talk before you get back to the room." He says and winks before closing the door to the practice room.

Trent makes it a point to track down Blaine and apologize for nearly steamrolling him when he came in earlier. By this point, Kurt and Blaine have been filled in on the events of the past 36 hours and he just laughs and wishes Trent luck, not that he thinks he needs it. Even back when Blaine was a Warbler he saw the looks darting around when they didn't think anyone was looking. It was only a matter of time and getting up the nerve to do something about it.

Trent says goodnight to a select few and slips out unnoticed, promising to meet Klaine for coffee at the Lima Bean soon. He heads up to his room with slow steps, unsure what awaits him.

So listen up, Chaz, I'm going to need all the help I can get here, buddy. I feel like you and I have gotten pretty close since last night. You know I would have never dunked you in anything, right? I mean, you're pretty important to Trent, and he's pretty important to me, so I'd really be out of my mind if I did something to upset him by hurting you.

Put in a good word for me, will you? See…what he doesn't know…and what Jeff doesn't even know, is that the conversation Jeff and I had a few weeks back was the direct result of your esteemed owner sashaying out of the shower in just towel and nearly sending me into an anxiety attack. He's pretty beautiful, ya know? Yeah, I know you know….

So let's make a deal here, can we? I'll get you a friend to hang out with if you keep him happy and comfy at night, ok? In return, all I ask is that you don't tell him how many times I've sat here staring at him when he wasn't paying attention, alright? Thanks, buddy, I knew I could count on you!

Trent stops in Thad's room to grab his bag from the previous night and heads back to his own door. He hesitates, unsure what's going to happen on the other side when he opens it. And now he's pretty sure he smells smoke. Well, damn…..

He pushes the door open to find Nick in a pair of Dalton sweats and a t-shirt just sitting on the bed with his phone in his hands. He's smiling at it and hasn't noticed Trent yet. He's lit a couple of candles, too.

"Something amusing?" Trent says, startling Nick.

"Amusing, maybe. Adorable, yes." Nick says, turning the phone to show Trent a group photo of the Warblers a couple of years back. He and Trent have their arms slung over each other's shoulders and huge grins on their faces. Nick knows he'll copy and crop that photo and it'll end up in a frame on his desk soon.

"So…um…." Trent begins, suddenly uptight in his own skin. "What did you want to talk about?" he says with a half smile.

"I was sort of hoping you'd tell me about this dream that started the whole shebang." Nick asks with a twinkle in his eye.

"Oh God…Nick…I…uh…it's rather embarrassing, though….and…um…shit…" he mumbles. "You know what…ok. At this point, what have I got to lose?" He laughs, resigned.

"Oh, do tell, then!" Nick says, his excitement clear as he hops over onto Trent's bed and makes himself comfortable.

"Ok…well…" he begins, and tells Nick everything all over again.

"So because it's a dream, of course, some things can just happen…like out of the blue." Nick says. "Like, suddenly you're without clothing, and all that….suddenly someone's mouth is much closer than it was before, right? But, when it's not a dream…sometimes, a guy's just gotta lean in and hope for the best…yeah?" Nick says, leaning in closer. Trent meets him halfway and they share a sweet kiss. He can feel Nick's smile in the kiss and he reaches up to thread his fingers through his roommate's hair, thinking how at this time last night he was nearly sick to his stomach at the thought of Nick ever knowing what he'd dreamed out. This wasn't half bad…in fact, he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

Kissing is one of those things that makes you lose track of time, and sometimes, when it's good, you lose track of what's going on altogether…and this isn't always a bad thing. This is how the boys find themselves with fewer items of clothing on than when they started the story of the dream. Neither seems to mind too much if the noises in the room are anything to go by.

"Mmmmm, so you said I was sort of…laying on top of…you …like this…?" Nick says, maneuvering his hips so that he's nearly on top of Trent now, refusing to take his lips away from his drowsy eyed friend.

"Mmhmmm…just like…ohhhhhh…yeah, like…oh, like that…shit yeah, like that…ohmygod, Nick…" Trent gasps out as Nick rocks down into him. The friction is electric and there's a jolt between them that sends both reeling. "M-more….more…just….please…" He pants.

"If you want…or need me…to stop, T…please…oh God, please, say so now because I'm pretty much to…fuckyes…I'm where I don't know if I can anymore….please…"

"Don't stop…just don't…so good…" Trent breathes out, ready to scream from the heat between them, every bit of lust he can imagine has overtaken him and he's just floating…writhing…dying for Nick to just give him a tiny bit more pressure and he'll …."Nick…Nick I'm gonna….g-gonna…" he blurts out before his back arches and he feels Nick still at almost the same time…his breath hitching…and then it's warm between them and they're both panting heavy and hard.

"As good as your dream?" Nick finally breathes into his ear a few minutes later.

"Screw that…so much better. God, Nick!" He grins and chuckles, leaning in to kiss Nick again, then snuggle down for the night after a quick clean up.

The next morning finds them snuggled up in one bed, the sheet around their hips and covering up anything obscene. Jeff slowly and quietly opens the door and peeks in, grinning at the adorable sight that meets his eye. Nick's back is against the wall on Trent's bed, Trent is the little spoon, and Chaz has found his way into the fray, his legs sticking up between the two of them. Jeff snaps a picture and sends it out as a mass text to all of the Warblers present the evening before with the text: Some of you boys owe me money…pay up, bitches!