A BOUQUET OF FLOWERS!

WEST SIDE STORY WAS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER AND ALL THE LAST MINUTE DETAILS WERE BEING MADE. Deciding to take a break from the preparations for the musical, Kurt and Tessa had found their way to The Bean for a coffee.

Enjoying spending the time as just the two of them, Kurt had been all smiles up until he noticed an unnerving sight. Licking his lips, irritated, Kurt spun Tessa around so she could also take sight of Blaine Anderson sat at a table with a Warbler. Exchanging a suspicious glance, Kurt linked his arm in hers, ready to defend his relationship.

Creeping up behind them, they caught the last part of the conversation and Kurt took this as his chance to jump in, "who's great?"

Surprised to see Kurt and Tessa stood behind them, Blaine's eyes widened, "you!" He exclaimed, nervously, "we were just talking about you! Sebastian, this is Kurt, my boyfriend and Tessa, my best friend."

Sticking his hand straight out, Kurt flashed Sebastian the fakest smile, "and how do we know Sebastian?"

"We met at Dalton." Sebastian spoke for him, returning the fake smile, "was dying to meet Blaine. Those Warblers just won't shut up about him. Didn't think he could live up to the hype, but as it turns out, he's even more impressive in the flesh..."

Speaking up before Kurt could question his flirtatious tone, Tessa threw Blaine a frown, "you went back to Dalton?"

Growing nervous, Blaine rubbed the back of his neck, trying to come up with the right response, "I invited them to West Side Story," he explained.

"Hey, what are you guys doing tomorrow night?" Sebastian questioned, a sly smile coming to his lips.

"Well we're rehearsing for the school musical and then at bedtime we do a rigorous skin-sloughing regimen over the phone together." Kurt said, shuffling his chair up as close as it could go to Blaine's and resting his head on his shoulder.

"As sexy as that sounds, what do guys say we shake things up? I get you guys a couple of fake IDs and head over to Scandals in West Lima." Sebastian suggested.

Turning round to Kurt and Tessa, Blaine gave them a nudge to help them understand, "that's the gay bar"

"Last time I was there, I met the man of my dreams on the dance floor." He said, smirking to himself proudly.

"That's so sweet, are you two still together?"

"Sadly no, we broke up twenty minutes after we met." Sebastian replied with a laugh. Realizing he'd had to work harder to convince the three to go along with his plan, he sat forward, keeping the smirk on his face, "oh come on guys, live a little."

Chuckling nervously, Blaine shook his head, "we would love to Sebastian, thank you for the offer, but that just isn't our thing."

Wanting to prove himself, Kurt was feeling reckless, "let's do it."

Pleased he had Kurt and Blaine on board, Sebastian turned straight to Tessa, "you can come too princess."

Immediately spinning to face her with pleading eyes, Kurt mouthed a please her way to persuade Tessa to think about the option before turning it down, "I mean, my boyfriend's busy tomorrow so I won't be with him —"

Pointing a finger her way, Kurt shook his head in disgust, "I don't like that guy i don't trust him." He whispered, "your real boyfriend is in Kentucky. I'm in denial."

Shrugging her shoulders, Tessa quickly moved past Kurt's disapproval of her new boyfriend and just grinned, "you know what, what the hell? I'll come along."

Reaching for her hand underneath the table, Kurt gave it a grateful squeeze, glad that he'd had one of his closest friends by his side if he was in need of support against Sebastian.

                             ☆

KURT COULDN'T BE MORE GLAD TO HAVE TESSA WITH THEM AS THEY MADE THEIR WAY INTO SCANDALS. Insisting she wasn't a hag was difficult but it was all worth it for Tessa as long as she was able to be right there with Kurt to keep an eye on Sebastian.

Quickly being lured in by the music, Tessa found herself dancing her way towards Sebastian alongside Blaine. Scowling at him, Kurt pulled Tessa back slightly, "I really don't like that guy."

"I promise you Kurt, I won't let anything happen," Tessa attempted to reassure him, "if he tries anything, you can bet I'll just throw myself on Blaine. Full on Brittany at prom style. I know Blaine would rather dance with me anyway."

Wrapping an arm over her shoulder, Kurt gave her the biggest squeeze, "I'm so glad you're here with me."

"I'm risking looking like a hag for you, Kurt, you better be." Tessa laughed, giving him a shove forward to meet up with Sebastian at the bar.

With four drinks sat in front of him, Sebastian had a victorious smirk on his face as he handed each one out, "a beer for Blaine, a vodka on the rocks for Tessa and for Kurt, a Shirley Temple with extra cherries. Heard your the designated driver, like all the time."

Glaring at him as Sebastian dragged Blaine off to dance, Kurt let out a long sigh,quickly growing jealous over the sight he was seeing in front of him. Wanting to make him feel better, Tessa put a hand on his shoulder, "Blaine wouldn't let anything happen, you know that right?"

"I trust Blaine. I just don't trust him." Kurt said, taking a sip of his drink. Wanting to try and ignore what was going on behind him, he quickly moved on, "do you trust Ryan?"

Surprised by the question, Tessa took a moment to think it over, "yeah, I guess." She shrugged, quietly in an unconvincing tone, looking straight forward and taking a sip of her drink to avoid Kurt's raised eyebrow, "well I don't think you should be with someone who's an I guess. You deserve more than that. You deserve someone who makes you special and safe and beautiful. Someone who thinks of the little things." He told her, meaningfully, lowering his voice to mutter under his breathe, "someone like Sam."

Not entirely sure how to respond, Tessa just gave him a weak smile, "Sam's gone. I had to move on somehow."

Pouting back at her sadly, Kurt reached over and leant his chin against her shoulder, until they were interrupted by Dave Karofsky sliding onto the bar next to them with a kind smile, "you better watch your boyfriend." He warned Kurt, nodding his head over to where Blaine and Sebastian were dancing together.

Finishing off her drink, Tessa recognised they might want to talk to one another alone and hopped down from the stool with a friendly nod Dave's way, "nice to see you, Dave." She grinned, "I'm off to steal my bestie back."

"You too, Tess." He smiled back at her, giving her a wave as she began to skip over, launching herself on Blaine.

Excited, Blaine whooped loudly, taking hold of both of her hands and pushing them back and forth as they danced as goofily as possible together. Tessa's mission to save Kurt Hummel's night going relatively smoothly bearing in mind she was a little tipsy. After his talk with Dave, Kurt had clearly been given a shot of confidence, strutting forward and giving Tessa a wink to let him take over dancing with his boyfriend.

"Yeah! Come get your mans Kurt!" She yelled, enthusiastically, spinning around as she noticed Sebastian trying to creep his way back into the middle of the couple, "you can dance with me now! What an honour!"

Giving her a fake smile, Sebastian continued to dance with her, growing confused by her ways the more time he spent with her, "what are you doing?" He questioned.

"These are my impressions." She informed him in her favourite Keira Knightly impression, "you like them? Sam loved my impressions, didn't he Klaine? His impressions were the best in Ohio. Now they're probably the best in Kentucky." She frowned, waving off his mouth hung open in curiosity, "don't worry, my boyfriend doesn't like them very much either."

Still filled with his own confusion as he tried to work out Tessa Swann, Sebastian shook it off with a loud groan of irritation as he realised that however hard he tried, he wouldn't manage to get past her to try and flirt with Blaine. She'd probably football tackle him if he tried.

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THE OPENING NIGHT OF WEST SIDE STORY CAME AROUND QUICKLY. Letting Quinn help with the finishing touches to her makeup, Tessa wasn't prepared for Tina to creep up on them with the biggest smile on her face. Holding out a bouquet of flowers, she was practically squealing as she spoke, "these came for you."

Scrunching up her face with anticipation, Tessa carefully took the flowers and smiled at them, fondly. It was a simple bouquet of all her favorite types of flowers. Looking to the label, there were only four words written scruffily on it, good luck! Love Sam.

Beaming at each other as they scrambled to look at the flowers over her shoulder, Quinn and Tina silently celebrated together as they saw the look of pure joy glowing on Tessa's face. They could tell how much she missed having Sam around, even with her new boyfriend and everything.

"That's so sweet." Tina whispered, melting into Quinn's shoulder.

"Yeah." Tessa whispered back, the smile twitching at the corners of her lips as she kept her eyes glued to the flowers, admiring them gently.

Coming up behind them, Ryan shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket, clearing his throat to announce his presence, "who are they from?" He asked, making Tessa jump away from her trance.

Looking down at the flowers, she took a moment wondering what to say in reply, exchanging a glance with Quinn and Tina, who both had their eyebrows raised knowingly, "my um, friend." She replied, awkwardly, "my friend, Sam."

"Oh, nice, I guess." Giving her a bored smile in response, Ryan took one last look at his hair, fixing it in the mirror before offering Tessa a hand, "let's just get this over with shall we?"

Nodding, Tessa stood up with a smile, excited to get out on stage but before she could take Ryan's hand, Quinn had wiggled into his space, locking her hand in Tessa's, giving it a squeeze.

Placing the flowers carefully besides her stuff on the dressing table, Tessa gazed at them fondly for a second before turning back to Quinn with a beaming smile. Bidding their goodbyes to Tina, blowing her kisses of good luck, they followed after Ryan, who was eager to get his part in the musical finished with, swinging her hand back and forth as they skipped into the opening night of their school musical.

merry christmas and happy holidays everyone ! ily all ! 💛