Author's Note:

*Sigh* And so it all comes to an end... I hope you enjoyed coming on this journey with me. I'm thinking of maybe writing a sequel to this story for next year's KHBB, what do you think? Yes or no?

One last time: heaps of praise for my brilliant beta hkvoyage and my amazing artist pointless-lullabies! Thank you so much, and I'd love to work with you again sometime!

I hope the Brittana and Finchel stans will forgive me for borrowing from their OTP's canon Glee scenes.

Oh, and did I say that one of the previous chapters was the biggest one? That's a lie! This one is... It counts nearly 5,000 words. Enjoy!

Chapter 10: The Press Conference

Tina Cohen-Chang MrsAnderson 16 hours ago

Did you guys see JBI's tweets? The NERVE of him!

Eileen Hughes BlaineWarbler4eva 16 hours ago

Jacob shouldn't have outed Blaine so casually, I agree. That's a huge invasion of his privacy.

Tiffany Baker TotallyTiff 16 hours ago

So true. Blaine deserves to come out on his own terms, when he's ready.

Tina Cohen-Chang MrsAnderson 16 hours ago

Are you all high? Blaine is NOT gay! You're not seriously going to believe anything JBI comes up with, are you?

Eileen Hughes BlaineWarbler4eva 15 hours ago

Well, he proved to be right about Quinn being pregnant, didn't he?

Tina Cohen-Chang MrsAnderson 15 hours ago

Ugh. You guys are insane. I'm not going to believe any of this until Blaine confirms it. He's giving a press conference tomorrow morning.

Tiffany Baker TotallyTiff 15 hours ago

Poor Blaine… He must be worried out of his mind right now. Some of the comments on JBI's tweets are nasty.

Tina Cohen-Chang MrsAnderson 15 hours ago

His REAL fans won't believe scandalous rumors and will continue to love and support him.

Jerry was pacing from one end of the tour bus to the other and back again frantically, huffing and throwing his arms in the air. "You CANNOT be serious! This is going to tank your showbiz career! I told you to keep your queerness firmly under wraps!"

"You told me not to mention my sexual preferences, so I didn't," Blaine corrected Jerry calmly. "There's a huge difference between choosing not to talk about my sexual orientation and downright lying about it. I was okay with not mentioning it, but I'm not going to lie about it, and that's final. If you have a problem with that, you can go."

Jerry's eyes bulged, and a vein on his forehead swelled ominously. "You'd fire me over this? I'm just telling you what would be the most sensible decision you can make right now."

"And I'm choosing not to go with that option," Blaine countered. "The truth is out, and I'm not going to deny it."

"You're making a huge mistake," Jerry warned him.

"That's possible," Blaine nodded. "If it comes to the worst and I have no fans left after tomorrow, I'll go back to school. I never got to go to college, and I want to."

"You're insane!" Jerry hissed. "Throwing away your career over this!"

"I'm counting on my fans being a little more broad-minded than you are," Blaine admitted. "That's a bit of a gamble, I agree, and if I prove to be wrong, I'll bow out gracefully. But I'm determined to reveal that I'm gay tomorrow. Whatever the consequences."

Jerry let out a frustrated scream. "This is madness! Ugh! There's no reasoning with you at all, is there? I'm done talking about this. I guess this is it then. It's been nice working with you."

Jerry picked up his laptop bag and stalked away with long, angry strides to go sit next to the driver, ready to step off the bus and out of Blaine's life, apparently, as soon as they reached their destination.

Santana, who'd kept very silent so far, let out a long low whistle. "Exit Jerry."

Blaine sighed deeply. "Seems like it, yes."

Santana leveled a piercing look at him. "You do realize that Brittany and I are going to be out of a job as well if you stop touring, right?"

Blaine bit his lip. "And the band too, yes, I know. On the other hand, you always knew this wasn't going to last forever. There are only two more months' worth of concerts scheduled."

Santana flipped her hair back. "Yes, but I thought we'd just have a few months off and that by February at the latest, your new CD would be out and you'd be making plans for another tour."

Blaine flashed her a smile. "You know me so well."

Santana returned the smile, and then outright laughed, throwing her head back.

"What's so funny?" Blaine asked, bewildered.

"How long were you and Seb together? Four years? Four years and a half? And in all that time, only those crazy Seblainers on Tumblr ever thought you two might be boyfriends, and no-one ever took them seriously, however much 'evidence' they produced. And now, a complete unknown posts a few tweets about you and Seb having a quickie after the concert and tells the world you are gay, and instead of telling him he's insane, everyone and their mother believes him. How ironic is that?"

Huh… Yes, I suppose in a way it's ironic. And I can only imagine what Kurt will think if he sees the tweets.

Just then, his phone beeped with an incoming message, and right after that a second one.

Another reporter? I'll check my messages, and if it's paparazzi annoying me, I'll turn off my phone until tomorrow.

It proved to be Kurt, though, who had seen the tweets that had started a riot, and who felt offended on Blaine's behalf and worried for him.

That warmed Blaine's heart, and instantly made him feel better. He told Kurt there would be a press conference first thing in the morning, where he planned on coming out, and thanked Kurt for his support. He hoped Kurt would text with him a while longer, and make him forget about this whole mess, but Kurt evidently considered his duty done and didn't reply.

Blaine sighed. Before, when that reporter contacted him, he never should have answered his phone. He'd seen it was an unknown number calling him, but he had hoped it was Kurt. His insides had turned to ice as soon as he realized he was talking to a journalist, and his skin had started to crawl when he heard what news story she was intent on ferreting out.

All those years of being careful around Sebastian, so that nobody would guess they were boyfriends, and now that he was single and not even remotely interested in Sebastian anymore, somebody spun circumstantial evidence into a story that outed Blaine and drew the attention of the media.

Just my luck… I hope this won't make Kurt think I'm with Seb and have been leading him on… He's sure to be angry with me if he does.

Blaine sank a little deeper into his seat, distraught at the thought of Kurt hating him for this, and decided to focus on the press conference the following day and the statement he intended to give. He'd given the reporter the name of the hotel he'd be staying in, and told her the press conference would take place at 11 AM, in one of the hotel's conference rooms. He'd counted on Jerry to see to all the practical arrangements, but it would seem he was on his own.

All right, then. First things first…

Blaine called the hotel manager to book a conference room for the next morning and told her to show in any journalists that came for his press conference, which was scheduled for eleven o'clock on the dot.

Then he looked for a pen and paper and slowly started to write down his statement, scratching out certain words and sentences as he went along, frowning and shaking his head. By the time he was done, they were nearing Pittsburgh, and Brittany and Santana were making out heavily without paying any attention to the others present. Jerry still sat in front, next to the driver, his back ramrod straight.

Ten minutes later, they arrived at their hotel. Jerry got off the bus without another word to any of them. Without so much as a look.

Blaine sighed again.

I hope this is not how my fans are going to react tomorrow…

Santana and Brittany tumbled off the bus in a tangle of limbs, giggling and having no eyes for anyone but each other.

Blaine followed, and nodded at the bus driver with a smile. "Thank you, Paul. Good night."

Paul nodded curtly. "Night, sir."

Blaine eyed him uncertainly, still discomfited by Jerry's behavior and now questioning Paul's too.

Does he feel disgusted by me now? He must have heard what Jerry was shouting.

Paul seemed to guess what Blaine was thinking, and his eyes crinkled. "For what it's worth, sir, my opinion of you hasn't changed. My nephew Charley is gay and he's a good guy. So are you. And I'll continue working for you as long as you need me."

Blaine swallowed thickly, touched by Paul's loyalty. "Thank you, Paul. That means a lot."

Blaine stepped off the bus and towards the entrance of the hotel. His phone vibrated in his jacket pocket.

What now?

Blaine took his phone out and flipped it open, and then his eyes lit up when he saw who the text was from. Kurt!

Kurt had responded to Blaine's last text after all, wanting to know more about the Sebastian situation, and Blaine was glad he got the chance to explain. It was as he'd feared: Kurt thought that Blaine and Sebastian were friends with benefits.

Blaine quickly set Kurt straight, and told him the whole humiliating story about Seb repeatedly cheating on him and behaving as though that didn't matter. As though Blaine didn't matter.

Kurt commiserated, and tried to cheer Blaine up by pointing out that his concert had been a hit and that everyone liked his new song.

Everyone? So you like it too?

That confirmation did make Blaine feel better, and he told Kurt he'd been the inspiration for the song, stepping into the hotel's entrance hall with a huge smile on his face, sending Kurt a few more texts that got increasingly flirtier. Then the hotel manager approached him to discuss the press conference, and he reluctantly said goodnight to Kurt and focused on the preparations for the next morning.

K&B

Tina Cohen-Chang MrsAnderson 12 hours ago

It was on the television news! And apparently the press conference tomorrow is at the Sheraton in Pittsburgh. At 11 AM.

Eileen Hughes BlaineWarbler4eva 12 hours ago

So you're getting up at six in the morning tomorrow to go to Pittsburgh?

Tiffany Baker TotallyTiff 12 hours ago

Is Pittsburgh that far away? Googling… Ah, four hours and a bit. If you're going, count me in!

Tina Cohen-Chang MrsAnderson 12 hours ago

Okay! We'll leave at my house at 6.30 AM. Be there on time. I won't wait around for you!

Eileen Hughes BlaineWarbler4eva 11 hours ago

I'm coming along as well. Blaine will need all the support he can get.

Tina Cohen-Chang MrsAnderson 11 hours ago

Totally. I can't BELIEVE they're taking JBI's story for the truth. The guy's mental.

Tiffany Baker TotallyTiff 11 hours ago

There must be SOME truth to it, at the very least, or Blaine wouldn't organize a press conference.

Tina Cohen-Chang MrsAnderson 11 hours ago

Don't start, Tiffs! No speculating! We'll hear it from Blaine himself tomorrow. I still don't think he's gay. It must be a misunderstanding.

Blaine woke up to his phone beeping. He sat up groggily and blinked, trying to get his eyes to focus on the red numbers of the alarm clock on the bedside table. It was 6.30 AM.

Who on earth is texting me at this hour of the morning?

It turned out to be Kurt.

From: Angel

I couldn't sleep, and you're probably in the same boat. I can only imagine how nervous I'd be if I had to come out to the world at large.

From: Angel

I'm thinking of you, and I'm jittery with second-hand nerves.

From: Angel

When and where's the press conference, anyway? Will it be on television?

To: Angel

It's at the Sheraton in Pittsburgh, because that's where my next concert is, tonight. If by that time I have any fans left, that is.

To: Angel

And it's at 11 AM. Yes, it will probably be broadcast, though I'm not sure on what channel.

From: Angel

I guess you will lose some fans, yes, but not all of them. You might even get new ones. Become a gay role model.

To: Angel

We'll see… If things get ugly, I think I'll lay low at my parents' for a while, though my father won't be happy.

To: Angel

He's like my former manager: gays shouldn't draw attention to their queerness.

From: Angel

Wow. Your manager's homophobic?

To: Angel

Former manager. And yes, he is. He wanted me to lie at the press conference and swear I was straight. I refused. He quit.

From: Angel

Good riddance! Though it's probably a hassle to organize everything yourself now.

To: Angel

True. Though if I asked, Santana would help me, I'm sure.

From: Angel

So I take it she's not your girlfriend, then, as Tina seemed to think?

To: Angel

No, she's not :-) 100% gold star gay here. But Santana and I are close. We've been joined at the hip since kindergarten.

From: Angel

I'm picturing you and Santana as kids now. I bet you two looked adorable :-)

To: Angel

Hey, I resent your use of the past tense there… I will have you know I'm still adorable.

From: Angel

*snorts* There, there! *patting you on the head* Of course you are!

From: Angel

Well, I won't keep you. I'm sure you have a lot of preparation work still for the press conference, and I have to get going as well.

To: Angel

Okay… Thanks for cheering me up. I feel a lot more confident and positive now.

From: Angel

Anytime… Courage!

Blaine smiled at his phone and then star-fished on his bed.

Well, a good thing about all this mess is that Kurt is resolutely on my side. And thinking of me, however platonically… I'd like to keep him as a friend, even if he never feels more for me. I wish I could have him with me at the press conference. That would boost my confidence like nothing else will. It would give me the courage I need.

Blaine joined Brittany and Santana for breakfast, but didn't manage to eat much, finding it hard to swallow.

Santana put her hand on his arm. "Hey… It will turn out all right, I'm sure. People are a lot more progressive these days than they were before."

Blaine raised an eyebrow at her. "Do you think they've changed that much in the past nine years? Enough not to beat me up this time around?"

Santana shuddered at the recollection. "I should have been with you. Why did I get strep throat just the day before the dance? If I'd been there, I'd have defended you."

Blaine smiled at her. "I know you would, my brave lady knight."

"Hey!" Brittany interjected. "Tana is MY lady knight."

"She was mine before she was yours, "Blaine corrected. "She rescued me many times in and out of school. Knights help everyone, you see, not just their true love."

Brittany cocked her head to the side, considering, and then conceded the point. "Okay, Tana can save you. If I don't do it first."

Blaine laughed. Their playful banter left him feeling slightly more light-hearted. "With you two by my side, this public coming out will be a breeze. Thanks, ladies!"

Brittany laid her head on his shoulder, and Santana squeezed his biceps. "Any time, B."

K&B

Tina Cohen-Chang MrsAnderson 16 hours ago

Ready, ladies? Whatever Blaine says, we support him, okay?

Eileen Hughes BlaineWarbler4eva 16 hours ago

Of course we will. This won't change a thing.

Tiffany Baker TotallyTiff 16 hours ago

It won't. Blaine deserves to be happy, whether that is with Santana, with Sebastian or with Kurt.

Tina Cohen-Chang MrsAnderson 16 hours ago

Don't start again, Tiffs!

Eileen Hughes BlaineWarbler4eva 15 hours ago

Um, Tina… Have you noticed who just walked into the room?

From half past ten onwards, a steady stream of people started to fill the conference room. Some of them were newspaper journalists; others were radio correspondents or television reporters. The last category was easy enough to identify, since they brought along an entourage: a sound man and a camera man.

Yet there were also people that clearly weren't journalists. Blaine recognized several fans of his, and felt the hair on his skin prickle uncomfortably. How would they react to the revelation that he was gay? They had no doubt come to show their support. Would they stay to heckle and hate on him?

And then, a few minutes before eleven, Blaine saw two familiar faces enter the room. The first one made his heart leap to his throat in dread. The second made his stomach swoop and his lips curve up. Sebastian and Kurt. Why did they come?

Kurt took a seat in the back and looked around for a minute. Then, evidently bored, he opened his bag, took out a book and buried his nose in it.

Sebastian, meanwhile, strutted confidently to the front of the room and sat down on one of the chairs meant for Santana and Brittany, who'd promised they'd flank Blaine while he was facing the Spanish inquisition.

What on earth does Seb think he's doing?

Though it was still a minute or two until eleven, Blaine strode into the room, gesturing for Santana and Brittany to follow. He walked up to Seb and hissed, "What are you playing at?"

Seb shot him an innocent look. "What? The story's about me too, so it's only fair that I be involved in this press thing."

Blaine groaned. "Translation: let's embarrass Blaine in front of the press and make him look bad if he so much as grumbles about it."

Sebastian flashed him a smile. "I don't know what you're talking about, killer. Your equipment is more than fine. You've got nothing to be embarrassed about. The guy I fucked yesterday, though… So tiny you wouldn't believe. And he was very tall and muscled, so that came as a surprise. And not a good one."

Blaine felt a bit nauseous at how easily Seb made this about sex again, and how much he wished he could un-hear Seb's scathing review of his latest one-night stand.

Too much information. Ugh.

"Let's get you a chair," Blaine told Brittany, and he went to fetch her a folding chair.

They all sat down, and Blaine turned his microphone on. Sebastian promptly did the same.

"Good morning, everyone," Blaine greeted their audience. "Thank you for coming here on such short notice. I organized this press conference because there were rumors about me and my former band mate Sebastian Smythe circulating on Twitter yesterday, and I got the impression that they caused quite a stir. So I gathered you here today to clear things up."

Blaine reached for his glass of water, since his throat had suddenly gone very dry. He took a sip, straightened his shoulders and then soldiered on.

"One: you're wondering if it's true that I'm gay. The answer to that is yes. Yes, I am gay."

Here, Sebastian interrupted Blaine to add, "And before you ask, yes, I'm gay too."

Blaine, momentarily thrown off balance by that untimely remark, frowned at Seb, but then continued.

"You may ask yourself why I've never mentioned this in interviews. Well, first off, I'm a private person. I don't feel comfortable discussing my love life in the media. Moreover, I don't think it's relevant. It doesn't change who I am as a person or as a performer. It's as intrinsic to me as my untamable curls or my eye color, but no more important than either of those details."

A murmur ran through the crowd, but Blaine saw a few people nod or smile appreciatively and breathed a bit more easily.

"Two: you want to know if Mr Smythe and I are in a relationship. The answer to that is no, not at the moment."

Blaine felt Seb's eyes on him, but Seb didn't add his two cents' worth, so Blaine continued. "I don't know what that person on Twitter thought he saw, but Mr Smythe and I did NOT have relations yesterday."

There was more whispering after that statement.

Blaine looked around the room. "I'm sure you have more questions for us, so we're here to answer them. One at a time, please. Raise your hand if you have a question, and I'll point to you when it's your turn."

Immediately, dozens of hands were raised. Blaine nodded at a balding man in a wheelchair in the front row.

"Mr Anderson, you said you weren't dating Mr Smythe "at the moment". Does that mean you have dated before?"

Blaine nodded again. "Yes. We were together for roughly four years. We broke up just before I left the Warblers."

The murmuring got a little louder. Blaine tried to ignore it and pointed to a stylishly dressed petite blonde woman in the third row.

She looked flustered at being singled out, and blurted out, "So you and Santana are not an item?"

Blaine could see both Sebastian and Santana rolling their eyes and suppressed a smile.

"No, Santana and I are not in a relationship," Blaine stated, and again the room hummed with hushed voices.

When Blaine moved on to the next reporter, the follow-up question was, "Are you seeing anyone else?"

Blaine cocked his head to the side, giving the query some thought. "There is someone I have my eye on. But I haven't asked him out yet."

Involuntarily, his gaze went to the back of the room, where Kurt sat, now no longer reading but intently focused on the interview. When he noticed Blaine's eyes on him, and lots of journalists turning around in their seats to find out who Blaine was looking at, Kurt went brick-red and squirmed in his seat.

Blaine quickly averted his eyes and let a tall bearded reporter ask the next question, which was if Blaine planned on cutting short his concert tour. Blaine had no such plans, and told the reporter so.

The man persisted though, pointing out that Blaine might lose a lot of fans, "especially in the more conservative states".

Blaine gritted his teeth. This was Jerry's argument all over again. "We'll see what happens soon enough. I'm not going to make any pre-emptive decisions."

"You're confident that your fans are going to be okay with this?" the reporter pressed on.

"I hope that it will make no difference to them. I haven't changed. I'm still me. I hope they'll support me through this media storm."

"Even though you've basically been lying to them for years?" the reporter continued his interrogation.

Some people in the crowd gasped at the journalist's audacity, and Blaine went through shock, disbelief, sadness and white-hot anger in quick succession.

How DARE he?!

Blaine didn't lose his countenance - years around his father had taught him that - but under the table, he clenched and unclenched his fists and then held his thighs in a bruising grip to keep his temper under control. "I have never lied about this. Ever."

"You made everyone believe that you were dating Santana," the reporter countered, looking smug when there were a few nods and whispers of assent.

"Santana is my best friend," Blaine stated plainly. "We're very close, and we always have been, ever since we were five and met in kindergarten. I have never pretended to date Santana though. I have always talked about her as a friend, which she is."

"You flirt with her on stage," the reporter persevered.

"I'm a performer," Blaine answered. "I flirt with the fan girls I serenade, too. Does that mean I'm in love with them? No, it doesn't. It's just a role I play, with no other intention than to boost their confidence and self-worth."

The reporter grumbled a bit after that, but didn't speak up again.

There were no more questions from the journalists after that, so Blaine thanked them for their time and sent them on their way. They filed away quickly, leaving only Blaine and his entourage, Sebastian, the fan girls who had shown up, and Kurt, of course.

Before Blaine could make a beeline for Kurt, Seb squeezed his butt and snaked an arm around him. "So, killer… What exactly did you mean by 'not at the moment'? 'Cause if you'd like us to be together again, I'd be willing to give it another shot, you know."

Blaine grimaced in disgust and was about to dole out a scathing retort when he heard a slapping sound and Sebastian's head suddenly lolled sideways and hit Blaine's shoulder.

Tina stood in front of them, looking absolutely furious. Not at Blaine, though, but at Sebastian, it seemed.

"How DARE you?" she fumed.

Sebastian held a hand against his smarting cheek and looked absolutely flummoxed. "What's bitten you?"

"Stop flirting with Blaine!" Tina yelled. "He said he was interested in someone else and looked right at Kurt, so you're not going to ruin things between them. I won't let you!"

Sebastian narrowed his eyes. "You think get to decide that, huh? Who are you, anyway?"

Tina straightened her stance, vibrating with so much anger that she seemed much taller than her stature and made Sebastian back away a pace or two. "My name is Tina Cohen-Chang, and I'm Blaine's biggest fan, so I'm looking out for him. He's much too nice to tell you off himself, but I can tell he doesn't want you. Not anymore. So back off and leave him alone. NOW!"

Sebastian shot her a look that was half irritation, half grudging respect, and slinked off with just a clap on Blaine's shoulder as a goodbye.

Blaine had to restrain himself from laughing hysterically. Tina was a force of nature. He should really tell her to stop slapping people in the face, but really, if he looked at it objectively, he owed her twice over. Her first slap had introduced him to Kurt, and the second had just gotten rid of Sebastian without any trouble.

"Tina," Blaine said softly. "Thank you for being on my side. Even after all of this."

Blaine gestured to the room at large.

Tina beamed. "But of course! Whatever makes you happy, makes us fans happy. And like you said, you haven't changed. It's just something more we know about you now."

"You'll be coming to my concert tonight?" Blaine asked.

Tina nodded enthusiastically. "I've never missed one, and I'm not about to start now. That new song of yours was amazing, by the way. Was it for Kurt?"

Blaine grinned at her. "Yes, it was."

A girl next to Tina sighed dreamily. "See? I told you, Tina. Klaine is so on!"

Blaine furrowed his brow. "Klaine?"

"As in Kurt and Blaine mashed together," the girl clarified. "A ship name."

She giggled. "Tina will be the captain of the ship and we'll be the rest of the crew. The Klainiacs."

"Oooh, I like that," Tina cooed. "See you tonight, Blaine! We have your back, don't worry!"

"Thanks, Tina," Blaine said fervently. "And thanks… Tiffany, was it?"

Tiffany's face lit up, ecstatic at being recognized.

"And Claire and Eileen," Tina supplied helpfully, naming the other two of her group of friends.

"Thank you all!" Blaine reiterated. "Your support means the world to me, so thank you very much."

They giggled in unison, said "Bye, Blaine", waved and walked away.

"Tina using her powers for good instead of evil," a voice next to Blaine said. "That's a nice change."

Blaine chuckled, winking at Kurt. "Does your cheek still hurt? 'Cause I'd totally kiss it better for you."

Kurt's cheeks bloomed pink like the sweetest of roses.

"No-no…" Kurt stammered. "It doesn't hurt anymore."

Kurt lowered his eyes shyly for a moment, and then looked up again, a determined look on his face. "You can kiss me if you want to, though."

Heart fluttering madly, Blaine smiled at Kurt. "I want to."

Blaine cupped Kurt's face in both hands and moved closer, brushing his lips against Kurt's lightly. Kurt's eyes fluttered closed, and when Blaine stepped back, Kurt chased his lips for another kiss, this one a bit deeper and more insistent.

Then they leaned their foreheads against one another's and grinned like loons.

"Klaine," Kurt remarked conversationally. "Hmm. It has a nice ring to it."

THE END