...Lead to Stressful Situations

"You're gonna make the rest of us look bad, Nick. That idea is so damn sweet, that you've doomed the rest of us for Christmas. I hope you're proud of yourself."

Nick rolled his eyes at David's comment. "As a matter of fact, I am quite proud of myself. So does that mean you're going to help me with this or not?"

"Of course I'm helping. Hey, have you told the girls yet? We can't plan a party/pseudo-adoption and not invite them; Michelle would kick my ass. They'll think this is the cutest thing ever."

"I've already spoken to Kim; she's gonna take care of the Crawford girls. Blaine said he'd handle the New Directions. As far as Kurt and Jeff are concerned, we're just planning a party to celebrate the holidays and the temporary freedom from school."

Nick had been telling the other Warblers about his amazing idea, when Beatz realized something. "Hang on a second; I thought Jeff was the only one being surprised. You didn't talk to Kurt about this yet?"

"No. The whole thing is a surprise for the two of them," Nick replied.

"Is that a good idea?" asked Sebastian. "Don't get me wrong - I think this is an amazing idea - but what are the chances that this backfires?"

"Zero," said Blaine and Nick, simultaneously. All of the Warblers were slightly surprised at how confident they were, though Wes just laughed over the webcam. He was talking via Skype and packing, while the boys were scheming. He was already finished for the semester and was heading home from college the following day. He'd seen the way Kurt and Jeff acted over the last few months, and he agreed with Blaine and Nick.

"Trust me guys, I've caught the two of them in the act a few times when I've called the past few months. I highly doubt either of them would object to this 'adoption'. If one of them is against it, I'll bury Cynthia in the backyard."

Trent spoke up, "Well, that's good enough for me. If Wes is so confident that he'll finally kill the gavel - which is still considered missing school property, mind you - than that's good enough to convince me."

"Thanks for the support, Trent. And I plead the fifth about the whereabouts of this 'alleged' missing school property."

"Doesn't help your case when it is in plain view - just saying," said David. Wes whipped around and moved some books in front of the gavel sitting on his bookshelf, while the rest of the boys snickered.

"Ha ha. Where are Jeff and Kurt anyway? I know I mentioned to Kurt that I was calling in."

"The younger Warblers are distracting them for us," said Blaine. "We needed something to keep the two of them occupied so we can all go missing at the same time. They were more than happy to keep them busy for us."

"So what are the specifics?" asked Sebastian. "Where are we having the party? Who's in charge of food? Decorations? Drinks? Drinks?"

"Why'd you say 'drinks' twice?" asked Thad.

"The second one was for alcohol. I didn't know whether or not we're going to be having any."

"We can pretend it's our long-overdue summer party. Since Wes has volunteered his house again, there can be some, but no one can get drunk. With the younger siblings coming, it would be better not to overdo it anyway."

"Overdue summer party?" asked Sebastian. "I thought Zoe was born during it."

"Well, we had to reschedule the party twice, and then we ended up having it in Lima anyway," said Wes. "When we were going to have it at first, we were having a pool party at my house; Kurt was leery at us all drinking and swimming, so we weren't going to drink. Kurt eventually started to change his mind, as he felt bad that we had to keep changing our plans to accommodate him."

"Hey, imagine being 41 weeks pregnant, when you were initially told you'd deliver by 35. If I had been in Kurt's place, I would've cracked a long time beforehand. The fun summer party we'd planned turned into a stressful, scary night from hell. We hadn't anticipated being on our own like that, and within a few hours, we were stuck with no power, a nasty storm, and a new baby to worry about. I wished we had been drinking that night; maybe it would've been slightly less traumatic for some of us," said Nick.

Blaine winced, "His mama bear tendencies started way before Zoe was born. Although to be fair, we're all still underage and shouldn't be drinking in the first place. The New Directions in particular, do not have a good record with excessive drinking. Cooper and Brandon said that they'll get some stuff for us, but they've already decided to be in charge of distribution. They'll be making sure that no one drinks too much."

"How's that going to help, exactly?" asked Thad.

"If one person gets drunk, EVERY parent will be getting a phone call. So it's either watch yourself, or be grounded for the duration of break and have everyone kick your ass - that includes the kids kicking your ass."

"Sounds like a decent threat. I approve," agreed Sebastian. "What kids are coming anyway?"

"Sam is bringing Stevie and Stacey; Puck is bringing Sarah; and I'll have Kim and Robbie to worry about. So when I say kids, I'm not talking about the babies. Blaine's already talked to Carole about babysitting Zoe, and she said that she and Burt would be happy to watch her. Oh, and Becky, Danielle and Marcia will be getting details from Kim; they're on their way back from school too."

"My parents already agreed to allow alcohol, as long as Cooper and Brandon are there to chaperone, and we have plenty of room to recreate camp if people need to stay the night."

"Camp?" asked Sebastian, who was once again lost in the conversation.

"Remember the part Kurt told you about us setting up a make-shift exam room for him?" Sebastian nodded. "Well, while some of us set that up, the rest were collecting supplies. Since we knew the power was about to go out, it made more sense to keep us in the same room. We pushed the furniture around and covered the floor with sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows. Thus, Camp McDalton was born."

Sebastian snorted, "That is a horrible name for a camp."

"Yeah we know," said David. "But it took us hours to come up with that. McDalton was a sad attempt at a compromise."

"If we make a new camp, we need to come up with something better," said Trent.

"Okay, we're getting really off track here," said Nick. "Forget Camp McDalton or whatever name you want to call it. The whole point of all of this is to surprise Jeff and Kurt with a party and show them how much we love and appreciate them."

"Because let's face it," said Wes, "those two are the favorites, and if anyone wants to dispute that, you'll have to answer to Cynthia."

While the boys were planning the party of the year, Kurt and Jeff were busy trying to get the younger Warblers to take a chill pill. Initially, a few of them had asked for some help studying. However, the scene in they found once they got to the Warbler hall almost made them turn around. Because how often to you see boys yelling at a couch?

Yes, a couch.

"What on earth is going on in here?!" exclaimed Kurt.

"And why are you yelling at a couch?" asked Jeff.

Once the rest of the room realized that the two seniors had shown up, most of the yelling had stopped, though a couple of them were taking turns glaring at both each other and the couch. Kurt pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed before beckoning Jimmy to come forward.

"Jimmy, please calmly explain why all of you, distinguished Dalton Academy students, were yelling and fighting like first-graders."

Jimmy shuffled his feet before looking up at Kurt, who'd assumed the motherly 'I'm waiting' stance: one eyebrow raised, arms crossed, and foot tapping. Most of the boys were wondering what had happened. All they were supposed to do was distract Kurt and Jeff for an hour or so, and somehow in the matters of minutes, they were all in trouble.

"Well, we were throwing around ideas about what we were going to with the testing schedule. We were trying to figure out who was at what level in each subject, so we'd be able to get into groups with some of the other students. Everything was going well, but then the Chris's were arguing and the next thing you know, they're trying to destroy the couch."

"And why were you two hell-bent on destroying school property?" asked Kurt, directing that question to Chris and Chris.

If there was one thing Kurt had not anticipated dealing with, it was having two boys named Chris in the group at the same time. He was grateful that James and Jimmy weren't both one or the other. To keep things less confusing, the taller Chris was called Dace, which was his last name; the other Chris was nicknamed Curban, which was just his last name with a 'C' in front of it. The two got along well, which was both a good and bad thing. Times like these - a bad thing.

"He started it -"

"He was trying to steal my phone -"

Right away Kurt put his hand up to stop the onslaught of 'he said, he said'. "Dace, what did you do?"

"I was just trying to keep him in the conversation. Curban was too busy texting his girlfriend to notice what was going on. So I tried to grab it from him."

"Curban, what was so important that Kristi couldn't wait until later?"

"She had another doctor's appointment today, so I was trying to find out how it went. Dace grabbed for my phone, and the next thing you know, we're wrestling for it. Then it fell into the couch, thus me frantically trying to rip it apart."

Kurt could tell the boy was worried. Chris had a girlfriend named Kristi. Now, Kristi was a lovely girl that suffered a lot of issues due to a problem with her heart. She often had to deal with wearing a heart monitor for weeks at a time in between visits to her cardiologist, and Kurt vaguely remembered Chris U. mentioning that she was going in for a checkup.

"Dace, did you know that was why he was preoccupied?" Kurt saw the look of shame on the boy's face, and he barely heard the mumbled 'no' that accompanied it.

Jeff sighed, "So let me get this straight: Curban was texting his sick girlfriend; Dace decided to mess with him; and now we have a cell phone trapped in the couch. Does that cover it?" The boys nodded in response. Jeff looked at Kurt and asked how he wanted to handle this. Both Chris's thought Jeff was asking how to handle punishment for fighting and immediately began protesting. Curban needed his phone back, and Dace wanted to help him.

"You two need to calm down; we'll deal with your punishment later. I need someone to run an errand for me. I need something from my dorm, and some of you need to burn off some excess energy." Kurt missed the quick looks of panic, and Nathan volunteered before Kurt thought about walking back himself. Everyone knew that Blaine was hiding with the rest of the Warblers in his and Kurt's room.

"Thank you Nathan. There's a small sewing kit on my side of the desk. Can you grab that for me please? Blaine's up there with Zoe, so just knock first and he'll give it to you." Nathan nodded and ran out of the room, leaving everyone confused.

"Um, Kurt? How is a sewing kit going to help exactly?" asked Mark, a sophomore.

"Since some of you have obviously not been forewarned, there are certain pieces of furniture around the school that are more of a hazard than they should be. This couch," Kurt pointed out, "is one of the last ones that remain. The cushions do not detach, nor is there a back panel that can come undone. So when you lose a pencil or a gum wrapper to the couch, more often than not, it is never seen again."

Both Chris's paled, for different reasons.

"Now before you pitch a fit I know how to retrieve your lost phone, and I'll put another notice in the suggestion box to get this piece of furniture replaced with another one. I never cared much for it anyway."

Jeff snorted, causing the others to look on in curiosity. "Just because it doesn't cater well to pregnant people, doesn't mean you can hate it so much."

"That gives me plenty of reason. This is the only couch that I needed help EVERY time I sat on it. If it wasn't so damn comfortable I would've stopped after the first time I got stuck. I will be more than happy to cut it up; it's time for a little payback."

James locked eyes with his brother Daniel. While Jeff and Blaine liked to channel the spirit of the Weasley twins, James and Daniel were the Weasley twins, even though they were a year apart in age.

"Are you going to blow it up?"

"We can get firecrackers if you need them."

"No we are not in need of firecrackers," Kurt said firmly. "Do I need to call Courtney and have her come straighten you two terrors out?"

By the look of horror on their faces, the answer was no. Courtney was a teacher's aide at Crawford, and at times, was the only one that could control them. Courtney was a sweetheart, of course, and usually the threat of telling their parents was enough to keep them at bay, though, she could cause a fair amount of mischief on her own.

Nathan returned several minutes later with the sewing kit in hand. Kurt thanked him and walked over to the couch while the rest of the room looked on.

"Alright, here's what we're gonna do. I need one of you to call Curban's phone for me, so we can figure out where it is in the couch. Dace, you and Jimmy are then going to tilt the couch so that the phone moves to one of the corners; it doesn't matter which. The rest of you, just stay out of the way please."

Jeff called the phone, and the boys could hear the faint ringtone get louder as Dace and Jimmy angled the couch. Sure enough, the phone rang louder and soon there was a lump in the bottom left corner of the couch. Kurt sat on the floor and pulled out a pair of scissors and cut some of the fabric away. A minute later, and Curban's precious iPhone was lying on the floor.

Curban wasted no time in scooping it up and throwing himself against Kurt in gratitude, just narrowly missing the scissors still in his hand.

"THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!" exclaimed a very relieved Chris.

Kurt fell back on the floor, laughing. "You're welcome. Just do me a favor and try not to do that again, okay? Now, go call Kristi because she's probably wondering why you're ignoring her. I need to finish fixing this." Chris jumped off and ran into the hallway to do just that. Kurt grabbed a needle and stitched up the cut he made. In no time, the couch looked like it hadn't just gone through an emergency surgery.

"Well, that's one crisis averted," said Jeff, as Kurt got off of the floor.

"You're telling me. Now," Kurt turned to face the rest of the boys in the room. "I believe we have some studying to do. Shall we?"

After several days of testing, there was an audible sigh of relief from students and faculty alike. The Warblers had agreed amongst themselves that there was to be no discussion about the exams once that final bell of the semester rang, and all of them were in various states of exhaustion. The last day had been one of the easiest, as it was for electives. It was also the only day that allowed the students to go to their individual classrooms, where they only had to suffer for two hours of testing in blocks, so that anyone with multiple electives had time to prepare.

Kurt was on his way back to the dorms from Katelyn's office. He had just swapped his Christmas/thank you gift for his daughter, as she had taken care of Zoe all week. While he was walking, he was half-aware of his surroundings, as he was contemplating what Nick and Blaine were up to. Both boys had been sneaking around him and Jeff for the past two weeks and neither of them knew why.

What helped and worried him at the same time, was that it seemed that all of the Warblers were in on it. Not only that, it seemed like Finn and the rest of the New Directions were also a part of, well, whatever diabolical plan their boyfriends had come up with. He hadn't heard from any of the Silvertones lately either, which was odd, since those girls never knew when to stop gossiping.

So did Kurt have a good reason to worry?

Perhaps.

Jeff at first had tried to tell Kurt not to worry about it, as their boyfriends would never do something that they'd disapprove of. Though as the days passed, Kurt noticed a subtle twitch on Jeff's face whenever Nick disappeared with some stupid excuse; Blaine at least was subtle about it, which helped Kurt out - to an extent.

He knew he was stressing too much when his head started to hurt. Kurt had been dealing with headaches for as long as he could remember. It was odd that the headaches he had when he was pregnant felt different than any other time he'd had them in the past; those apparently only happened when his hormones were 'f-ed up' - Matt's words, not his. Normal headaches he got from a lack of sleep or just worrying about little things. When he was overstressed, though, he would get borderline migraines.

Right now, it was a borderline migraine.

Though he didn't suffer from chronic migraines, Kurt still got them when the circumstances were just so: that accident as a kid; his mom's death; Burt's heart attack; the whole Karofsky thing; and right now, when he knew something was going on, but no one was saying what.

Zoe knew something was up, as she'd grabbed onto Kurt's anxiety and started crying. Kurt had a sudden urge to throw something against the wall, as a crying baby was certainly not helping. But as soon as that thought came, it went, as he took a deep breath. Zoe was reacting to Kurt - which is what babies do - so the reason she was crying was his fault.

Which was not a comforting thought, nor was it helping him at the moment.

Kurt sighed in frustration and cradled Zoe in his arms. He needed someone to talk to, and his choices were extremely limited. Whatever was going on involved the Warblers, New Directions and Silvertones. That meant Blaine and Nick were out, and talking to Jeff with his current bad mood would not help matters, and he obviously couldn't talk to his brother.

He looked down at Zoe, who had finally calmed down, and just smiled sadly.

"What do you think, baby girl? Do you know what Daddy is planning? Because Mama can't take much more of this secrecy." He kissed her on the forehead and watched as she settled against his chest, curling her hand around one of his fingers. Kurt sat on the bed and leaned on the wall, lost in thought. Kurt reached into his nightstand and took a couple of pills for his headache, hoping them and a quick nap would do him some good.

"At least we don't have to worry about school for a couple of weeks right? You're gonna be so spoiled while we're on break. Your grandparents can't wait to steal you away from me. Having you a weekend at a time isn't long enough for them, and your Uncle Finn is gonna be just as bad. But since you're my daughter, I know you'll love the attention."

Zoe cooed at Kurt and as she calmed down further, Kurt took that as his chance to get comfortable. Soon enough, Zoe was out, with Kurt following soon after.

Neither noticed the door closing on its own.

Sebastian had been looking for Kurt since the bell had rung. He'd noticed the weary look on his face before they'd split to go to their last exams. He'd also seen the look of tired annoyance on Jeff's face. While Sebastian knew that this party was going to be awesome, he had a feeling that if something wasn't explained soon, everyone would be involved in a double lover's quarrel that wouldn't end well.

Now he loved Klaine and Niff to death, don't get him wrong, but the fact that Blaine and Nick have been scheming for weeks now, have noticeably gotten to their better halves. Jeff was barely talking to Nick at the moment, and Blaine was oblivious to Kurt's depressed state. Sebastian had made this aware to the Warblers, who sadly, had not been paying that much attention either. Once they took notice of Jeff and Kurt's attitudes, they knew that break needed to start sooner rather than later.

Thad and David had cornered Nick and discussed the situation with him. It was decided that Nick would call up Brandon and ask him to get a hold of Jeff. His job was to convince Jeff that Nick was planning a big surprise for him, and that his boyfriend would be back to normal over the weekend. Sebastian was keeping his fingers crossed on that front.

Blaine was somewhere with Trent and Beatz. Sebastian vaguely recalled them mentioning during lunch that they were helping some of the teachers with inventory...or something. Since they were doing that, Sebastian figured he'd talk to Kurt and try to cheer him up in the meantime. He had grown increasingly concerned over the last few days in regards to the countertenor, and now that exams were over, they were no longer a point of concern.

Sebastian caught up to Kurt just as he returned to the dorms with Zoe, but Kurt didn't seem to notice that he was right behind him. He hadn't closed the door all the way either, which was unusual behavior. Sebastian decided to wait in the hall and get an idea of Kurt's mental state before he approached him, as he felt that Kurt didn't necessarily want company at the moment.

He saw how tense Kurt seemed to be, and for the fourth time that day, saw the way Kurt rubbed his temples and wince as if he was in pain. He saw the look of anger on his face when Zoe started crying melt into a look of defeat and sadness. He watched Kurt take some medicine and try to comfort himself as he spoke to Zoe. He waited until the two were asleep to close the door all the way before taking off to look for Blaine.

If there was one thing that bothered Sebastian the most, it was Kurt hurting. He'd done a lot for him in the short time they'd known each other, and seeing him like this was breaking his heart. Even though the party was the following night, something needed to be done today.

Blaine had just left Signore Franco's classroom when Sebastian found him.

"Hey Seb - " Sebastian didn't let him finish.

"We need to talk." Blaine didn't have a chance to ask why before he was being dragged all the way back to the dorms. Sebastian didn't let go of him until they got to his room. Blaine was confused and worried as he was pushed onto the bed, watching the other boy tugging at his hair and pacing frantically in front of him.

Blaine was afraid to say anything, but after a few minutes, he was unable to stay quiet anymore. "Um, Seb...what's going on? Why are you upset?"

"You need to tell Kurt about the party. This can't wait until tomorrow night. He needs to know that there's nothing funny or bad going on. If you saw the look on his face..."

"Sebastian," Blaine said as he stood up, "you need to help me out because I'm starting to freak out a little here. What's wrong with Kurt?"

"Have you noticed how withdrawn he's been the last few days? Quiet? Depressed? I think, he thinks, that we're all plotting against him."

"We kinda are -"

"No! He thinks something's wrong and he has nobody to talk to. Jeff's just as bad - have you not noticed the looks he's been throwing at us lately? We need to do something before any of you break up because I will not stand for that to happen."

"Now hang on, Seb - no one is breaking up!" Blaine exclaimed.

"But they don't know that! Jeff isn't speaking to Nick, and Kurt hasn't been himself for the past week! If he was a real actor, he could easily snag an award - he is way too good at putting on a mask and pretending that everything is okay."

Blaine bit his lip. He knew better than most just how good Kurt was at hiding. He'd noticed that Kurt's smiles were half-hearted at best; his eyes weren't as bright as they should be; and though he hadn't been able to catch him in the act, Blaine had noticed the tired, bloodshot eyes.

"What happened, Sebastian? Obviously you heard or saw something that's cause for concern."

As Sebastian explained what he saw not long ago, Blaine's heart began to hurt for his boyfriend. He'd been so worried about the surprise/party and exams that he had not noticed Kurt's perception of events.

"And more than likely he feels alone," Sebastian finished.

"I really didn't take into account just how many of us were involved. Of course he can't talk to anyone in any of our glee groups; I'm amazed neither Kurt nor Jeff have heard about our plans."

"And not to make you feel worse, but I'm not sure just talking to him is going to help at the moment. He'll think something's up if all of a sudden you're talking to him like there's nothing going on. We need an outsider to talk to him and convince him that everything's fine. Nick is going to have Jeff's brother give him a call - Brandon won't give the surprise away."

"Well, we can't have Finn talk to Kurt; that's not gonna work out." Blaine thought for a minute. "What about Burt? If there's anyone that Kurt will listen to, it's his dad. I'll call him and explain what's going on, and he can talk to Kurt. It won't be weird if he just calls to say hi, and he normally calls before we leave to come home anyway."

"Why does he do that?"

"Usually it's to let him know when to expect us for dinner, or a traffic report. There have been a few times that we've had to take the back roads home because of an accident on the highway. It takes longer, but we save on idling time and gas by doing that."

"I think that'll work." Sebastian looked at the clock. "We have almost three hours until we're kicked out, so why don't you call Burt and I'll check on Jeff and Nick. I have to call my parents anyway to see when they'll be home; I'm supposed to be picking up dinner on the way. Let me know how it goes."

"I will," he replied. Blaine had his cell phone out and was calling Burt before he had entered the hallway. Burt and Carole were aware of the party, though it had taken a long time for him and Nick to explain about the surprise, and once Burt realized the problem, agreed with Blaine to talk to Kurt. Burt was still at work for another hour, so he promised to call then. In the meantime, Blaine was going to check on Nick and Jeff.

"But Dad, why can't you tell me what is going on? I'm going out of my mind here."

"Kurt, if it was bad would I be on board with what you're calling a 'diabolical plot'? And it's a surprise, which means I've been sworn to secrecy. Trust me kid - if this was in any way gonna hurt you, we wouldn't be having this discussion right now, as I would have killed it a long time ago."

"Exactly how many of you are in on it?"

"Pretty much everyone is. I've spoken to Blaine and I'm allowed to give you a hint, and only one hint. He's hoping that'll relieve some stress - and that headache."

"How did you know I have a headache?"

"You just told me." Kurt groaned. "You get bad headaches when you're stressed, and if you weren't stressed right now, then I'd be worried that something was wrong. Now, do you want that hint?"

"Please. I'll take what I can get."

"It's a school's out for now/early Christmas party happening tomorrow night. Blaine and Nick are the ringleaders and all of your friends will be there to have a good time. The reason you don't know about it is because those two have something planned for you and Jeff. I'm not saying anything else about it."

Kurt startled at that. "Is that why Jeff wants to cause bodily harm to Nick? He's been in a prissy mood all week, and coming from me, that's saying something."

"That's being taken care of. By the time you leave to come home, those two should be in a better mood, and I expect you and Blaine to be okay too. I'll know if you're not."

"Fine. We'll be leaving soon, so see you in a little bit."

"Alright, just be careful. We're supposed to get some flurries tonight. Call if there's a problem or you're gonna be here late."

"Okay Dad...and thanks for calling." Kurt hung up and stared at Zoe, who was staring at him with a smile on her face. "Well I guess if Dad's okay with this, I can wait until tomorrow. What do you think Zoe? Think I should listen to Grandpa?" Zoe made a noise and kicked her feet. "I guess that's a yes."

Kurt had his own things set by the door and he was putting the last of Zoe's stuff together when Blaine walked in. Kurt noticed some hesitation and a look of apology on his boyfriend's face. "You can come closer, Blaine. I won't kill you...might hit you with your guitar though."

"I'd deserve it." Blaine walked up to Kurt and was unsure of how to approach him. Kurt took pity on him and met him halfway, wrapping his arms around Blaine and resting his head on the other's shoulder. He figured it was a good move when he heard Blaine's sigh of relief and felt arms wrap around his waist.

"I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention. I hate making you upset. I just wanted to do something amazing for you."

"I forgive you. Dad called and told me that whatever the hell you two idiots are planning is a surprise, but he did tell me that it's a party. Just please tell me someone has said something to Jeff. While I tend to internalize my feelings and can keep them there, Jeff can only contain himself for so long before it boils over."

"Brandon is in on it, and he's in charge of calming Jeff down, at least long enough to get us through til tomorrow. Trust me - you two are gonna love what Nick and I have come up with."

"If you say so. Now you sir," Kurt said, as he pecked Blaine on the lips, "need to get your stuff packed. We need to get a move on because I do not want to be driving in the snow. The fact that both Zoe and I are packed before you should be considered a miracle."

"Yes dear. I'll be ready in ten minutes."

While Kurt watched Blaine pack, Nick and Jeff were having a similar conversation down the hall.

"I don't know if you having my brother call on your behalf was a good move or not on your part. Why couldn't you just tell me what he told me?"

"Would you have listened to me? Given me a chance to explain? I realize I've been a horrible boyfriend the last few days, and I understand that the fact there's good intentions behind it doesn't exactly help all that much. But I also realized that waiting another day probably would've guaranteed me a permanent seat in the dog house...and it gets lonely in there."

Jeff sighed and tugged on Nick's arm, pulling him down to sit next to him on the bed. "Do me a favor? Next time you want to plan a big surprise, try not to forget that you need to distract me so I don't think about it. Kurt and I have felt so out of the loop, and that's not healthy for either of us."

"I promise. Are we okay?"

"For now. Whatever your 'surprise' is, it better be worth all of this hassle. Don't think I won't hesitate to lay the smackdown on you in front of the guys...and the girls."

"Trust me - you two are gonna love what Blaine and I have come up with." Jeff rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Now go pack. Your family is expecting us for dinner so we need to leave soon."

"I am packed...mostly." Jeff smirked at Nick.

"Consider this as a punishment. If I get done packing before you, I'll pack for you, and believe me, you will not like what I may 'forget' to pack."

Nick whined at the threat and quickly made his way across the hall. Jeff had a head start, so there wasn't any time to waste. Jeff laughed as he ran out of the room, calming down when he heard his phone beep with a new message.

Blaine apologized and we're good...did Nick talk to you? Are you okay?

Yeah we're good too, but I'll feel better after tomorrow.

Ditto. You packed?

Yep, just waiting for Nick. I threatened to pack for him if he didn't get his ass moving.

Very nice. See you in a few then?

Jeff responded with a quick yes, and was glad to see Nick reentering the room with his stuff. Jeff felt bad and gave Nick a quick 'good job' kiss before he grabbed his stuff and left the dorms for the parking lot, meeting up with Kurt, Blaine and Zoe on the way. While there was still a little tension, the level had dropped dramatically, and everyone could not wait for tomorrow.