AUTHOR'S NOTE: SORRY IT TOOK FOREVER TO UPDATE. I HONESTLY DON'T KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT THIS CHAPTER BUT I HOPE YA'LL LIKE IT BECAUSE I DID WORK REALLY HARD ON IT. - KRISTINE.
RATING: PG-13 FOR SUCH CHOICE WORDS
DISLCAIMER: YEAH, NO.
CHAPTER TWO: CORD DANIELS
- E - & - A -
Blaine sighed as he readjusted himself in his seat. If Santana had been with him he knew she would have said something along the lines of don't you miss when George would have just ordered a car to drive you up to the Hamptons instead of having to take a train like a normal person? She was annoying predictable that way. He pulled out the script for the scene he was given to read and went over it again. He had it beyond memorized, but couldn't shake the nervous feeling in his stomach. Deep down he knew it probably had something to do with the fact that if he didn't win this role he was going to have to move and his career would be placed even further on the fritz.
In the middle of his third time running his dialogue he heard the familiar buzz of a text message alert. He set the script aside and pulled out his phone. He smiled when he saw it was from Santana. Good luck B. I know you'll do great. Just remember not to a douchebag. – S. He laughed and typed back a quick response that he knew would earn him a sigh and an eye roll. B? S? What is this Gossip Girl? Also be careful or word will get out that you're actually kind of a softie. And then he went back to his script because he was going to win this role if it killed him.
- E - & - A -
"Noah," Rachel mumbled as she snuggled deeper under the covers.
He smirked but continued to place gentle kisses on her face and neck while pausing only to whisper sweet nothings in her ear.
Rachel groaned and attempted to move herself out of his reach. "I love you, but I'm seriously too tired for your funny business right now." She'd been up late the night before working on the script. Unlike Noah she couldn't seem to get a breakthrough before midnight which meant they were practically on different sleeping schedules.
"Babe you should know that I would work harder if I wanted that," he assured her his voice husky and sweet. "And I would also be willing to wait up for you instead of waking you up after you spent the night burning the midnight oil. I'm more considerate than you give me credit for."
"Then what's with the kisses and sweet nothings?" Her voice was so small and adorable it bordered on being childlike. "Not that I don't love them," she added, but her voice wasn't exactly convincing.
"We have a table reading with Blaine in an hour. I'm actually going to eat breakfast and then head to the train station to pick him up. The last thing you said to me last night was to make sure you didn't sleep through it or we both know I would have just filmed it and told him we'd get back to him later." He explained as he sat down on the bed. He bit his lip and tried to keep from smiling as he watched her roll over and stare up at him with her impossibly beautiful brown eyes. "Let me cover for you," he offered even though he knew she wouldn't let him.
"Noah I can't just shirk my responsibilities on to you because everything I write before midnight is terrible. That isn't fair."
"You know I'd fight with you if I thought I had a chance of winning."
"I know."
He sighed noisily and shot her a look that said you drive me absolutely crazy. "I'll send Abby up to check on you in a half an hour."
She smiled and sat up a little so that she could kiss him. "You're the best."
"And yet all that ends up in the magazine articles is how annoying I am," he joked before kissing his forehead and standing up.
"This guy better be good." Rachel declared before closing her eyes again. If she could just get 10 more minutes of sleep she knew she would be good to go.
- E - & - A -
Matt smiled when he walked into the living room of Sylvie's hotel suite and found her sitting on the floor surrounded by pictures. Last night she'd decided that she would cut down on all of the stuff that she'd managed to accumulate after watching a marathon of Hoarders. It was obvious that she'd instead found herself getting wrapped up in the nostalgia of all the stuff instead. "Well at least you attempted to take your project head," he joked as he plopped down on the couch.
She smiled and glanced at up him. "We used to take a lot of pictures," she said as she motioned to the stacks that surrounded her. "There are easily hundreds of pictures here."
"I can see that. Find anything good?" He asked as he moved to grab the only stack that was within his reach. He cringed when he saw that they were from a trip to Cabo. If he remembered correctly they had gone down there to celebrate Ezra and Aliza's second album going triple-platinum. Between the sun and tequila he was honestly a little surprised that they'd made it out of there in one piece. He laughed at Noah's Mohawk which at the time had seemed kind of badass but now bordered on being a little ridiculous.
"A lot of strangely good pictures considering I can vaguely remember how drunk we were for most of them. Like this one," she said handing him a picture of Noah and Rachel in Vegas. Their arms were wrapped around each other like they were Newlyweds. "I was smashed by the time we took this picture but you'd have never guessed."
"Maybe you should have been a photographer," he suggested as he joined her on the floor placing a gentle kiss on her shoulder.
She chuckled softly as she continued to sift through the photos. She hadn't even realized she had this many. "I like being a yogalates instructor. It keeps me flexible and limber if I remember correctly you are a fan of."
He smirked. "Let's forget that whole photographer thing. How about you move in with me with though?"
"Matt," she sighed. They'd been down this road many times in the weeks since she'd moved out of her place with Hank and into this suite. Matt just kept saying that she should move in with him, but well even though she knew it was totally ridiculous Sylvie wanted to be married before they lived together.
"I just hate that you're living in a hotel room."
"I don't. I have someone to call if I'm having a craving and they don't even huff when they hear that I want a sundae at 2:30 in the morning." She joked as she squeezed his right hand. "And it's a suite not a room."
He shot her a look but didn't say anything because he knew that this wasn't a fight he was going to win. He knew Sylvie well enough to know that she wouldn't back down from this one.
"You know I put all of these away when I married Hank. I figured that was the end of an era so I just sort of hid them in a couple of hat boxes in the back of my closet. It was too painful to look at them but every once in a while when I had too much to drink and Hank was in Tokyo or Dubai I would pull one of these boxes out and lose myself in them." She could still vividly remember thinking that she would never see Noah and Matt again. Initially it had both polarized and terrified her. Eventually though it almost became a fact of life like having to stop playing with Barbie's when you got too old. She could still remember the way her eyes lit up when Rachel said those magical words that she was going to work with Noah again.
"I saw your wedding announcement in the paper." This is a secret that he hadn't admitted to anyone. Not even Noah knew that one day while flipping through the New York Times he had somehow stumbled upon the news that Sylvie was marrying a prominent Jewish businessman named Henry. If he'd been an actor then the moment he would used to make himself cry would have been the memory of her dazzling smile as she flaunted not only Henry but also the ring that he'd bought her.
She cringed because she could imagine how it must have looked to him. Hell she was the person in the picture and if she was being honest she didn't recognize herself when she looked at it later. "By then I had mastered the art of pretending to be happy. Rachel was gone all of the time with Finn and I was alone in New York and well Hank was interested enough in me that he wouldn't stop pursuing me until he had me. Little did I know that once he had me he would stop putting the work in to make things work with us," she said bitterly. She turned so that she could face him and looked him in his eyes. "And all I could think about was you."
He blinked and let out a ragged breath. "I know exactly what you mean." And he did. Even though he was married to a gorgeous woman who his parents adored and approved of he couldn't help but think she wasn't as vivacious as Sylvie. She certainly didn't make him laugh or smile the same way.
"You know I try to imagine how different our lives would have been if Rachel had never met and dated Finn. I used to have this fantasy that she would have gotten with Noah sooner. That I would have stood up to my mother and told her that I loved you and we'd have been celebrating our like second or third anniversary instead of both getting married for the second time." Sylvie was rarely this serious. That was one of the things about her that people ever loved or hated. Still when it came to her love for Matt, Rachel, and Noah it brought out a side of her that almost no one would ever know existed. "And then I realize that as complicated as the four us always made things it wouldn't have worked out as neatly as I dream and somehow we'd been sitting right where we are now except Rachel and Noah might have a few more Grammy's on their shelves."
- E - & - A -
"Blaine Anderson, right?" Noah asked when he reached the train station and found on immaculately dressed brunette who reminded me him a little of Harry Potter minus the scar sitting on a bench.
Blaine smiled and nodded, quickly putting the script back in his bag to shake Noah's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Puckerman. Thank you for coming to pick me up. I tried to arrange a car service but apparently because it's a holiday weekend there wasn't anything available."
"It's no big. I actually like driving. When Rachel and I moved to New York City my only complaint was that I didn't get to drive anymore. I had just gotten my license back in Ohio." He smirked thinking about the way that interviewers always used to smile at him and Rachel after this admission as if to say aren't you two just the cutest. At 16 that look drove him crazy, but now as an adult he could actually understand why people would have thought his complaint adorable. "So long story short I really enjoy driving and please call me Noah or even Puck but not Mr. Puckerman. I already feel old enough as it is when people bring up how they knew Rachel and me when we were practically babies."
"Noah it is then."
He smiled and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "We actually met once I think. You were in that show Santana choreographed to our songs. You were the male lead. You actually did a pretty good job."
"Your exact words that night were dude you actually didn't suck and you gave me a shrug."
Noah snorted at Blaine's impeccable memory. "Sorry I used to be a dick. Actually to be honest I'm still kind of a dick, but coming from me at like 19 that was my way of saying you really did a great fucking job."
"Good to know." Blaine could actually remember looking at the castmate that he sang the song as if to say what the hell do I make of that? "Is it true you guys are writing the script yourselves?"
"People apparently think Rachel and I can do anything if we put our minds to it and we're dumb enough to believe them so yeah. It's a work in progress. It's coming along though. What'd you think of the draft? And please be honest because we have enough people kissing our asses that we don't need you to do it."
"Cord is interesting. It's hard to tell if he's a dick or just terribly misunderstood. I really was pleasantly surprised at the depth of the character." What he wanted to ask if it was true that Cord was actually based on Noah?
"That's impressive. Most people are terrified that they are just simplifying Cord by recognizing his prickish behavior as being prickish, but that's what it is. He is kind of misunderstood, but there is a part of him that got famous, lost the love his of life, and sort of allowed his fame to turn him into this dick that nobody has the nerve to call a dick." Noah explained as he reached out and pushed the code to their gate. They'd been reluctant to get it but after being hounded but an overzealous fan knew that it was a must. "And he's only kind of based on me the same way Natalie is only kind of based on Rachel."
Blaine chuckled softly. He'd heard that Noah had an irresistible charm that made it nearly impossible not to crush on him. Even Santana who Blaine suspected preferred women more than she'd been willing to admit wore an uncharacteristically goofy grin on her face when he mentioned Noah's name. He'd seen the way she eyed Brittany Pierce from Good Morning Big Apple. "Your house is beautiful." He replied practically in awe as he followed Noah up the path to the massive structure.
"Thanks, but it was all Rach. She's the one with an eye for this kind of stuff. The only part I took in it was helping to get the money to pay for it." He half-joked because honestly if Rachel had said she liked the place as it was he definitely wouldn't have complained. "If you want to have a seat in there I'm just going to go upstairs and get Rachel and then we'll do the reading."
Blaine smiled and nodded and sat down in the room that he was fairly positive he recognized from Holly Golightly's interview of the couple. He pulled out the script and allowed himself to go over it one more time. Sitting here now he understood why Santana had been so insistent that he needed to audition for this role. It was one those rare roles where it could do nothing but propel his career back to being at least somewhat respectable.
- E - & - A -
Noah smirked when he found Rachel putting her earrings in. She was once again wearing one of his button downs and despite engulfing her petite frame he couldn't think of a time when she had clothes on that she'd ever looked sexier. He crossed the room and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You look amazing," he whispered in her ear before placing a gentle kiss on her shoulder.
"I don't understand how this outfit turns you on more than the lingerie I spent hours picking out for you."
"Believe me you could wear a potato sack and it would still get me hard baby," he assured her seductively quickly making work of the buttons on the shirt.
She chuckled softly and placed her hand on top of his to stop him. "As appealing as the thought of a quickie is right now we can't leave that guy sitting in our den."
"We can pretend we had a conference call we just had to take," he suggested before nibbling gently on her lobe which he knew drove her crazy.
She closed her eyes and relished just how skilled Noah was in the art of making her knees turn to jelly. In fact it wasn't until his hands had started to work on the buttons again did her eyes snap open and stopped his progress again.
"Baby I have needs and because of this stupid script they aren't getting met."
Rachel rolled her eyes. "If this guy is our Cord then we'll celebrate all night long."
"Promise?"
"Promise," she kissed him quickly before he tried to delay them again. "And don't just say you think he's right for the role all in the name of getting it in."
"Getting it in?"
"What? That totally is the right phrase."
"I know it is. What I don't know is how you learned it."
"You aren't the only one who knows witty pop culture phrases."
"This coming from the girl who once asked if someone who was talking about Drake was referring to Sir Francis Drake," he teased.
- E - & - A -
"Blaine!" Rachel exclaimed as if they were old friends when she walked into the den. She motioned for him to stand so that she could give him a hug. "We met once. You are an absolutely brilliant performer."
He couldn't help but think that it was strange how different the two of them were. Rachel was big in that Bette Midler and Barbara Streisand way where Noah seemed as though he wasn't sure he was actually famous. "Thank you so much. That means a lot coming from someone as accomplished as you."
"When Santana said you wanted to audition I was blown away. I couldn't believe an accomplished stage performer would want to take part in our little film."
"Well it's a great project," Blaine said with a tight smile. He would die before he would admit that he was only here because his much older boyfriend had him blackballed and no one who was putting on a production that was worth his time would even return his calls.
Rachel nodded. "So what scene did you audition with?"
"Their breakup scene." He'd considered doing the scene where the couple gets in a fight about her new relationship which he suspects to be abusive but thought that was the more cliché choice.
"Awesome," Rachel said as she grabbed one of the scripts off of the coffee table. "Go ahead and start whenever you're ready."
Blaine took a deep breath before nodded. He closed his eyes and when he opened them he took on the soft drawl that he'd created for Cord. It had hints of Jake Gyllenhaal's character in Brokeback Mountain. "What the hell was that Natalie?"
"What I was just flirting a little," Rachel replied wishing that Quinn was here to do this. She was over doing all of the readings. In the beginning it had felt like a fun challenge but now it felt almost like a burden. She was glad that Mike and the studio were handling all of the other auditions.
"He's an old married man and you can barely walk a straight line."
"So what I had a couple of drinks. It isn't a big deal Cord and it was nothing but a little harmless flirting that you're trying to turn into something more."
He sighed and stared at the floor before looking up, "It wouldn't be a big deal if we weren't supposed to go on in an hour."
"I'll be sober by then. I just need a couple cups of coffee."
He looked at her as if was looking at her for the first time. "I hardly recognize you anymore Nat."
"I wonder why," she spat. "Maybe it's because all you want me to be is the beautiful rodeo queen who you fell in love with. Well I've got bad news Cord. That girl, she's gone and she's never coming back."
"Maybe we should take a break," he suggested even though it was obvious by his tone that that was the last thing he wanted.
"Maybe we should." She let out a sigh and smiled at him brightly, "That was a great reading Blaine."
"You really seem in touch with Cord," Noah noted as he wrote on the top of his paper what they both already knew. Blaine Anderson was the perfect Cord Daniels.
"Thank you." He let out a deep breath that he hadn't known he was holding. He felt a little tired which a reading always seemed to make him.
"So we'll let you know within the next couple of days," Rachel assured him. "Thank you so much for coming."
He felt his heart sink. Nothing about her posture or tone suggested that she was impressed enough with him that she was ready to hand him the role which he now so desperately wanted. He plastered a fake and cheerful grin on his face. "Thank you again for allowing me to audition for this role."
- E - & - A -
Rachel grinned when she heard Noah return from dropping Blaine back off at the train station. "He's perfect!" She exclaimed before he could even drop his keys in the glass bowl they kept by the front door.
"I knew you liked him. I'm pretty sure you crushed his spirits though with your noncommittal assurance that you'd let him know in the next couple of days." Noah couldn't help but notice that Blaine was basically silent during the course of the entire ride to the station.
"I know I was trying to remain professional." She explained. She'd wanted to hug him and say the role was his if he wanted it. "Did you like him?"
"Honestly he's the first guy I actually believed was Cord."
"Do you think we should have him read with Quinn first before giving him the role?"
"We both know he's as good as we're going to get."
"So it's decided. Blaine Anderson is Cord Daniels."
"Looks like we've got some celebrating to do," Noah said as he flashed a wolfish grin. "I'll race you upstairs." He suggested in a tone that would have been more appropriate for a young child.
She bit her lip and nodded. "But first let me just send out an email telling everyone the good news."
"You have five minutes or I'm going to ravage you in our office like we're running a porn site."
She rolled her eyes but rushed upstairs because she wouldn't put it past him to do it.
- E - & - A -
Kurt was in the middle of watching the William and Kate movie for the millionth time when he received the email on his phone. He grinned like a fool.
Hello all! I just wanted to send you a quick note to let you know that we've finally found our Cord Daniels. He's a brilliant actor with a proven track record which should surprise you as much as it does us. His name is Blaine Anderson. Can't wait to see you all in two short weeks for our first table session! We love and miss you all. - Rach
"Jesse you'll never guess who they've cast as Cord!" Kurt said excitedly when he walked into Jesse's studio and found him pouring over sheet music while also absentmindedly stroking Archie their cat.
Jesse smiled and motioned for Kurt to join him on the piano bench. "Who," he asked as he wrapped his arm around Kurt's impossibly thin frame.
"Blaine Anderson," Kurt replied wearing a smile so big that you could almost see every one of his teeth. "I saw him in a show like two years ago and he was absolutely brilliant."
Jesse was smiling but if Kurt had been looking closely instead of bragging about Blaine's accolades he would have noticed that his boyfriend had slowly started to pale.
- E - & - A -
AUTHOR'S NOTE: WHOO! SO I HONESTLY HAVE NO IDEA HOW I FEEL ABOUT THIS CHAPTER OR THIS STORY. NOW THAT I'VE STARTED WRITING IT I'VE ALMOST WONDERED IF I SHOULDN'T HAVE JUST LEFT WELL AND GOOD ALONE WITH LWNLAA AND NOT WRITTEN A SEQUEL. STILL I THINK THAT THIS STORY WILL GIVE US A CHANCE FOR A LOT OF FANDOMS TO COME TOGETHER. THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE WHO RANDOMLY SHIP QUINN AND BLAINE SO THIS STORY WILL ACTUALLY ALLOW FOR THAT ALL THE WHILE BLAINE STAYING TRUE TO HIS SEXUALITY. SO WHOSE WONDERING WHAT THE DEAL WITH JESSE AND BLAINE IS? HAHA. SO THE NAME OF QUINN'S NEW LOVE INTEREST HAS BEEN DECIDED AND YOU SHOULD FIND THAT OUT PROBABLY NEXT CHAPTER. I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING WHAT YA'LL HAVE TO SAY. MAYBE YOU CAN CONVINCE THAT WRITING THIS SEQUEL IS A GOOD IDEA. YA'LL ARE THE BEST. - KRISTINE.