Skin On Skin

Chapter 17

Blaine sat fuming as Santana sped her car through the streets of LA. He was angry: angry at himself and angry at Sebastian.

There was Blaine, not wanting to go against Sebastian because he believed that Sebastian was responsible for his success, when in fact, all along Sebastian had just been manipulating and controlling him! Sebastian didn't care about his happiness. He didn't care that Blaine believed he had found his true love. He didn't care where Blaine wanted his career to go. He also didn't care about the people who were in Blaine's life. The only things that Sebastian seemed to be worried about was his success, his money, and apparently, claiming Blaine for himself.

Blaine shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. Things had been strained for a long time but this, this was the last straw. The deception, the lying, the manipulation, the, the... Blaine was so angry he couldn't even think of more words to describe what Sebastian had done. He clenched his fists as his anger grew.

But Blaine was also angry at himself, he was furious that it had taken him this long to realize that the mess surrounding Kurt was all because of Sebastian. He was also angry because he hadn't had the balls to go it alone, when he should have. It was time to set the record straight. It was time for Blaine to pull his head out of his ass and get his life back on track, to not only get back to before he had met Hunter but to start afresh. That was right, it was time for Blaine Anderson to turn a new leaf and start a whole new beginning.

This was it. No more alcoholic binges, no wild pointless parties that left him wrecked and only capable of giving half assed performances. It was time to take control of his life. And if possible, if this person that Santana was driving him to see could also vouch for the reasons behind Kurt's actions, then Blaine was hoping that he was going to be able to do it with Kurt by his side. And Sebastian, well, Sebastian was going to pay. Blaine nodded his head with determination. Sebastian was going to pay big time for driving Kurt and him a part.

Santana pulled to a stop outside of a bar and Blaine's eyebrows rose in surprise. He remembered it, even though he had only briefly stopped outside of it eight months ago. He remembered it because it was the place where he had met and picked up Kurt for the second time before they had had sex in the back of his limousine. Shit, that night had been hot. But then Blaine frowned. It had also been the night he had gotten completely off track. It had also been the night when he had met Hunter.

Blaine shrugged off the thought and climbed out of the car while Santana found a place to park. She had told him that he would know who he was looking for. His eyes pried the tables and booths before him. The bar was virtually empty. The lunch rush had finished and most of the customers had returned to work. But there, at the bar, Blaine recognized the lone figure watching the TV screen that was close to him.

Blaine was surprised to say the least, and as he set out across the room, his heart began to pound. What was going on here? Was Santana trying to set him up to get a beating?

"Santana said you might be able to tell me some things about Kurt?" There was a deathly silence after his question. It was only when the sport's article ended that Finn turned to look at Blaine. His face was serious, his gaze pensive. He gave Blaine the once over and Blaine had to wonder whether Finn had actually been watching the news or trying to summon the power to be civil.

Finn sized him up and scoffed as if all his assumptions about the man were true. He wasn't surprised in the least to see that Blaine was in the state he was in. He looked ragged, his eyes dark with deep shadows underneath, his complexion greyish and his clothes dishevelled. Blaine looked like he had just crawled out of bed. The partying life was really going to leave its mark on him if he didn't slow down soon, but as Finn continued to gaze at Blaine, something else struck home. It wasn't just the alcohol that was making Blaine so wrecked. There was also a deep loneliness in his eyes, and there, around the edges was a hint of someone who was close to giving up.