disclaimer: without prejudice. the names of all characters contained here-in are the property of FOX and Ryan Murphy. no infringments of these copyrights are intended, and are used here without permission.

author's notes: written for Rachel's birthday/Christmas. title taken from The Show by Lenka.

Little Bit Caught in the Middle;;

For as long as Dottie can remember Blaine has admired the Dalton Academy Warblers. She imagines that Blaine sees everything missing in their own Glee club when he looks at them, their prim and sleek outfits, the blazers with red piping, the sense of uniformity they display on and off the stage, their flawless choreography, not to mention the fact that they were an all-boys show choir.

It's not like her best friend doesn't get along with everyone he meets. Blaine had an adaptable personality that balanced out his more controlling side, kind to other students and his teachers, respectful of people's privacy and their needs. But she also knows that when he looks at the larger picture, at Dalton Academy, he sees their zero-tolerance policy, their lack of bullies who shove him into lockers, even if McKinley High had gotten stricter these past few years.

If he weren't in a competitive show choir himself, Blaine would probably drag her to the front row at the Warblers' performances and cheer louder than anyone in the room. Still, he memorizes their set lists and the Warblers' names, he hides an autograph or two in one of the journals stuffed underneath his mattress, and whenever they're performing in a non-competitive setting, they were both there to watch them, usually from somewhere in the back.

So it wasn't a surprise then that Blaine researched the new Warbler the moment he found out about his transfer. Sebastian Smythe, she learns one warm fall day, Blaine curled around his laptop like he's harboring State secrets, a state attorney's son who moved here from France, oh, he lived in Paris, do you think he speaks French?

She'd clung to his every word, like she'd done since their first playdate when they were four years old and Blaine had spelled out her last name with his lettering blocks without making a single mistake. Over the years he called her Dot, or Dottie, or even Chai Ti, a remnant from his (their) superhero phase that still served as the nickname that gave her butterflies. The best friends kind of butterflies.

"I mean, Paris," Blaine says, an unmistakable reverence to his voice. "That's pretty out there, right?"

And something in the way Blaine rolls over on his back, sighs, and stares at the ceiling with his eyes slightly out of focus, tells her this won't be the last she'd hear about Sebastian Smythe. His picture on the website revealed a fresh-faced boy with a lot of freckles, a sharpness to his features she doesn't like too much, but he's pretty handsome.

.

She can pinpoint the exact moment Blaine's initial fascination transforms into an all-out googly-eyed crush.

They sneak into the Warblers' Sectionals competition and sit in the back row, all in the name of checking out the competition, the Warblers reduced to faceless bodies in matching blazers dancing across the stage. One of them steps forward for the ballad, a tall and lean Warbler whose face she can't make out—it could be Nick, for all she knows.

She recognizes the song immediately, the first bars to Runaway With Me followed by a voice she hasn't heard before, so she concludes this must be Sebastian. Blaine's sudden intake of breath sounds sharp to her left and he sits mesmerized, unblinking, during the entire performance.

Blaine had his fair share of crushes in the time they'd known each other—there was Lisa in second grade because she had the cutest braids; Randy in fifth grade because he shared his candy during lunch; Jeremiah last year, but he was much older than Blaine and left him heartbroken and rejected; Sam was his latest crush, but he was straight and dating Brittany, and Blaine was too proud of their friendship to ever say anything.

But nothing prepared her for this. All Blaine had these past few weeks was a picture and a source at Dalton who fed him information (Nick Duval, a boy Blaine had met playing polo), but that hadn't stopped him from speculating about the Warblers' new strategy this year and Sebastian's role in it. She never discouraged him, Blaine listened to her rant about debate team and her viola lessons and even joined the Cheerios with (for) her, and, well, he looked like a puppy when he mooned over a boy (and puppies were always, always, cute).

Now that Sebastian has a voice too things would only get worse.

.

It's a Thursday afternoon, Blaine had showered and changed into a simple shirt and sweatpants after a grueling Cheerios practice while she'd slipped into one of her favorite dresses, and both of them craved a good strong coffee. The Lima Bean was closest to home, so they go there more out of convenience than necessity, but the coffee wasn't all too bad. Their pastry was the main treat anyway; maybe she could convince Blaine to split a chocolate chip cookie.

Today they never place their orders though. One moment Blaine stands grabbing for his wallet while his eyes scan the room, and next he pulls her behind one of the large round columns in the shop.

"Oh my God, he's here," Blaine breathes, back stiff against the column like fear itself has him paralyzed.

"Who's here?" she asks and peeks her head out, immediately noting the Dalton Warbler sat at one of the small tables in the middle of the floor. Her lips part in shocked reverie; Sebastian Smythe's picture had done him little justice.

"Don't look!" Blaine yanks her back, and closes his eyes, puffing out "He's so cute" with a small whine, fingers straining around the leather strap of his shoulder bag.

"We can't stay here," Blaine whispers. It reminds her of their superhero days when Blaine referred to himself in third person and they saved the neighborhood from the tyranny of the man in the ice cream truck (who was only a tyrant because she was extremely lactose intolerant).

And despite her extreme caffeine craving the panic in Blaine's eyes becomes too urgent to ignore.

"Okay," she whispers back, and lacks the courage to tell her best friend that in the time it took them to dive behind the column, Sebastian had most definitely seen them. Because Sebastian stared right at her, a smile curled around a corner of his mouth.

Blaine quickly runs out the side entrance and she lingers, eyes trained wide on Sebastian. And she sort of… waves? A nervous giggle gurgles to the surface first, before her hand rises and her fingers move of their own accord.

And Sebastian winks at her.

After that she sort of races out of the shop as fast as her legs can manage, her heart beating up a frenzy, and she gets it. She really really gets it.

Blaine will moan and groan about his reaction later, curse his own idiocy and his cheeks will burn red from embarrassment. She'll duck smiling behind her book, replaying the scene over and over again, and conclude that Sebastian had long since taken notice of Blaine too.

.

Their first encounter doesn't deter Blaine from frequenting the Lima Bean. In fact, he makes a motivated speech about how he won't let his fears control him, he won't let some guy become more important than his dignity or his drive to win Regionals. After all, Sebastian Smythe was still his competition too. It's a nice speech, strong and inspired, and if there's one thing she has always admired about Blaine was how he faced adversity, how he never backed down from a challenge, and he never ran from anything.

Of course, speeches are only words in the end, and when a week later they end up in line behind Sebastian, Blaine clasps a hand around her wrist and all but stops breathing, squeezing tighter and tighter until he cuts of the blood flow to her hand, eyes burning holes in the back of Sebastian's head.

"And a shot of Courvoisier, please," they hear Sebastian say, after which the barista giggles.

She makes a face and tries to break free from Blaine's hold, but he refuses to let go: Blaine's too occupied staring at Sebastian, so she orders for them, and pulls Blaine with her like a ragdoll.

"A shot of Courvoisier," Blaine scoffs later, pacing back and forth in his room, his coffee untouched on his desk. "Can you believe him?"

She beams, her heartbeat fast and excited, and can barely focus on the email she's reading from her cousin in Tokyo. None of Blaine's crushes have ever resulted in this kind of behavior, unless maybe she counts his public display of affection for Jeremiah, but she's never seen him like this. All jittery and nervous, and oddly defensive.

Blaine shakes his head, wearing a hole in the rug. "So pretentious." He stops in the middle of the room and crosses his arms over his chest. "Who asks for a shot of Courvoisier in their coffee?"

She glances up from the screen, pushing her glasses back up her nose. "Someone who lived in Paris?"

Blaine blinks and stares down at her, his shoulders slumping in defeat; he's been trying so hard to convince himself he doesn't have a crush on Sebastian that he hasn't realized Sebastian has been his main topic of conversation for weeks now.

Dottie pats an empty spot on the bed, where Blaine plops down a few moments later.

"I don't know what's happening to me," Blaine sighs.

"You have a crush on the competition," she answers, without spelling the whole thing out. Blaine's never crushed on anyone with the same amount of talent, who sang and danced and could prove to be an equal in many other ways. She's not prepared to say it out loud yet, she'll leave that for Blaine to figure out, but she thinks her best friend might be in love.

.

The next time they end up in line behind Sebastian Blaine manages a lot more self-control. She hooks her arm in his to give him something to hold on to, but Blaine keeps breathing and stays calm.

That is until Sebastian turns around to face them.

"Hey, killer," Sebastian grins.

For a moment or two she thinks Blaine won't say anything at all, that the words will remain lodged somewhere at the back of his throat and he'll end up choking on them, but somehow, after a long and embarrassing silence, he finally stutters, "Hi-hi-i," while his left eye twitches.

It doesn't seem to deter Sebastian though, he simply smiles brighter and even seems to relax. "Great performance at your Sectionals."

Blaine's eyes widen in surprise, while her lips part in shock. "You were there?"

Dottie casts down her eyes and purses her lips, searching for an escape route so Blaine and Sebastian can have a private conversation. But the moment she tries to pry her arm free from Blaine's, his tightens around hers. Okay, she thinks, clearly Blaine isn't quite ready for some alone time with the Warbler.

"Wouldn't have missed it."

She looks up in time to catch Sebastian's gorgeous smile, directed entirely towards her best friend, and she fails to contain an excited smile. Her cousin has warned her she's been living vicariously through Blaine and should really stop, but she's too invested to back away from this budding relationship.

A tirelessly slow-moving relationship, that is, because Blaine seems to have lost all ability to speak.

Sebastian picks up his order from the counter and says, "Warblers got their work cut out for them," before winking.

Blaine smiles, both sincere and nervous, a smile that doesn't falter after Sebastian leaves them.

"Are you okay?" she asks carefully, poking her index finger against Blaine's cheek. His eyes have gone out of focus again, lips still curled into a goofy smile. "Blaine?"

"He called me killer," Blaine hushes, stars in his eyes.

She ends up having to drive them home in Blaine's car because he's practically buzzing out of his skin, and it's only hours later when she's ready to go to bed that Blaine calls her up, asking, "What do you think he meant by that?" and for the next half hour she listens to Blaine rant about all the possible meanings of the word I mean, does he think I'm hot? Or a good performer? Or strong competition? Do you think it means he likes me?

She giggles and settles back against her pillow. Her best friend's in love. And he has it bad.

.

In the end, Dottie thinks it's Blaine's eyes that do it. There's just something about them, how they go boyish and desperate when he sees Sebastian sit at his regular table, a little listless yet hopeful, and one day she decides enough is enough.

"You should go talk to him," she says while she stares too, her small lisp leaving little mistake about what she's suggesting.

Blaine laughs. "Yeah, sure."

"Why not?" She blinks. "Go over there, tell him he's cute. What's the worst that could happen?"

Blaine casts her a sideway glance, not unlike the way Tina or Bree dismiss her input every single day, and she really thought she would never suffer that disappointment from someone she loves. "He could hear me," Blaine scoffs and returns his attention to the counter, put off staring for the time being.

Her lips press together in a tight line and her small yet strong hands ball into fists. "If you don't, I will."

Blaine turns his head, eyes narrowing on her face, the first hint of apprehension touching his features. He reads her well enough to know he hurt her feelings, but his own fears take precedent. "You wouldn't dare."

She straightens her shoulders. "Watch me," she says, and turns steadfastly on her heels.

"Dottie!" Blaine hisses behind her, but she's halfway to Sebastian's table and she'll be damned if she backs out now.

"Hi," she starts with a squeak, swallowing to regain control of her voice, patting at the bow in her hair.

Sebastian looks up and blinks, but gives her time to find her words.

"My uhm, friend?" she says, daring a quick glance over her shoulder, where Blaine stands pinned to the ground. And that's all the incentive she needs. "He was wondering if maybe he could have your phone number."

A short silence falls between her and the Dalton Warbler, during which her mouth goes dry and her courage sinks to her shoes, and she's left puzzled as to why Blaine's reaction had her so upset. Blaine doesn't have a mean streak to speak of, he was simply frustrated about his own inability to make the first move.

Sebastian smiles, languid and confident, leaning back in his chair. "Your friend too shy to ask himself?"

She considers this for a moment and thinks it's really Blaine's fear of rejection that has stopped him up until now, but she opts for, "Yes", because frankly that's not something she'd spill even under the threat of death.

"Well then, tell your friend Blaine?" Sebastian's tone lilts into a question, while he jots down some numbers in the corner of his notepad. "That I don't bite." He rips off the corner and hands the paper to her. "And if he ever wants to meet up for coffee, he should give me a call."

She nods furiously, watching Sebastian pack up his books and leave the coffee shop soon after.

"What the hell did you just do?" Blaine's voice sounds and she jumps, too busy staring at the door and wondering if she just hallucinated the whole thing. She's shaking and barely breathing, but she got a boy's phone number. "I can't believe you," Blaine laments. "What's he gonna think? That I can't speak for myself?"

"He knew your name."

That's all it takes for Blaine's disconcertion to dissipate.

He stares at the phone number written in black ink on a ripped piece of paper, before he reaches out for her hand. "I'm sorry," he says. "I've been a terrible friend."

"Yeah," she breathes, and gives Blaine's hand a squeeze. "But I forgive you."

Love makes a person do stupid things. She learned that when she kicked fifth-grade-Randy in the shins when she caught him sharing candy with another boy.

.

Dottie considers Blaine's friendship to be one of the most rewarding things in her life, along with family, fantasy novels and lactose-free ice cream, but Blaine pretty much tops the list. It isn't always easy, she's the quiet type and doesn't always talk about her problems, while Blaine airs his grievances without prompting. She supposes that's because she's a far better listener, even though Blaine reads her wordlessly.

At the end of the day he's her Nocturnal Avenger and she's his Chai Ti. He stands up for her to Tina and Bree, tries to reach the top shelf for her favorite book even though he's often too short himself, falls asleep next to her in bed every time he claims not to be tired and braves Japanese horror movies, just because.

He's part of her life the way she's part of his.

She's there when Blaine calls Sebastian, sat on his bed, listening attentively to Blaine's side of the conversation. Blaine giggles and blushes and worries the sheets while she snacks on popcorn and hangs on Blaine's every word.

Blaine hangs up the phone, beaming, "I'm having coffee with him tomorrow," before his face falls, "What am I gonna wear?" and he dashes towards his closet, pulling out the lobster cardigan first and discarding it on the floor, unearthing bowtie after bowtie and every color chinos, his striped sweaters and henleys until his entire wardrobe lies draped over the floor, the bed, the desk, even her.

She's there when the New Directions win Regionals and watches Blaine and Sebastian shake hands, hold on far longer than necessary and share a conspiring smile. It's the same night Blaine and Sebastian share their first kiss outside Breadstix and Rachel catches them, and she falls asleep with her phone next to her, Blaine going on and on about how perfect it was.

She's there holding Blaine's hand after their first fight, seriously considering tracking Sebastian down and kicking him in the shins too. But she's still there when Sebastian shows up on Blaine's doorstep and kisses him silly after he apologizes for being a complete idiot. And she sort of has to excuse herself and hide in the kitchen with Blaine's mom because Blaine seems to have forgotten she was there.

And Sebastian's there when she graduates high school, standing next to Blaine, clapping his hands and cheering, whistling through his fingers. Sebastian calls her by her full name, Dorothy, but she forgives him. Every time.

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