(no subject)
Title: Gaydie Hawkins Dance (2/3)
Fandom: Glee
Rating: PG-13 (no sex, just some cussing)
Spoilers: Up through 4x11, no references to future episodes
Pairings: (platonic, with crushing) Marley/Brittany, Tina/Blaine, Blaine/Sam, Marley/Sam, Jake/Unique, Jake/Marley
Warnings: Heteronormativity, homophobia, and cissexism
Word Count: 2145
Description: The Sadie Hawkins dance challenges three straight students’ heteronormative assumptions. In this chapter, Tina dances with Blaine, then convinces Sam to dance with Blaine.
Any of these chapters can be read separately from the others, but they are connected chronologically.
I. In which Marley is mistaken for a polyamorous butterfly
II. In which Tina is the mistress of manipulation
Tina hung out by the snack table, chewing a confectionary snowball like a cow with cud. In her irritation she had taken far too big of a bite, and now she was stuck with a giant wad of paradoxically dry goo in her mouth. Well, isn’t that just life. You go and bake a delicious snack, try to share it with your friends, then try to enjoy it yourself, and you end up looking like a cow.
An angry, but beautiful, cow who had set up a dance as an excuse to ask out a dumb boy who had now run off with his crush and left her with only snowballs and terrible metaphors for company.
This was just plain stupid. There was no need for her to put up with shit like this. Asian Persuasion and the Rachel-appointed New Rachel was not supposed to be left standing at the snack table alone, choking on a small cake. She scooped up some punch and tossed a large plastic cup of it back, hoping the snowballs were water-soluble.
“PFPHFW!” Tina immediately spit-taked the whole mess into the nearest trashcan. The punch burned down her throat. Goddamn Sue Sylvester for refusing to chaperone this “completely frivolous and frankly insulting” dance and goddamn Noah Puckerman for taking advantage of her absence. He couldn’t just drink the gin himself, he had to ruin her self-pitying moment too.
It was gin right? He didn’t spike the punch with rubbing alcohol did he?? God, it burned. Tina scooped another glass to sniff and phew! just beneath the burning she could smell something floral. Probably relatively safe then. Could have been worse.
Just as she finished that embarrassing vaudeville act, Blaine rushed up to the table, looking a bit manic and slightly out of breath. Oh dear god just her luck maybe he convinced Sam to make out with him or something.
“Hey, I thought you split,” She said, not managing to keep the disappointment out of her voice.
Blaine looked slightly taken aback, but her mood didn’t put a damper on his energy. “No not at all. We were just dealing with some Glee stuff.”
“Anything good?” Just because Tina was in a mood didn’t mean she had to bring Blaine down. He came back after all, and maybe Sam did want him for something important.
“We’ll see... If it all works out, we may have just saved Glee club from losing.” Oh geez. He couldn’t even ruin her night for selfish reasons so she could get over this dumb thing.
“Is there anything you can’t do?” She sighed. God he really was too perfect, a dapper knight in shining armor.
He smiled sweetly, “I know I can’t leave here without at least one slow dance with you.” He held out his hand, and all her lingering irritation melted away. He led her out across the dance floor until he found a suitable spot.
How did he always know just what to do? How did he know exactly what sweet thing to say to make her feel special? He was the perfect man to complement the New, Improved Tina. Oh sure, she had truly loved Mike. He was the first one that really saw her, that had paid attention to her old passive self. The Tina that never raised her voice, that cried or was silenced the rare times she sang a solo, and that had needed a hit on the head in a fountain to realize she was worth more than all of that. In a room full of shouting divas, she had hung back letting the louder voices to run over her, but this year was her year to take what was hers and make her destiny happen.
And Blaine was her perfect take-charge counterpart: school president, superhero, lead male vocalist, Cheerio, old-school gentleman, and now saver of Glee Club. He had even said he loved her new attitude! And he hadn’t stepped on her feet once, now that they were actually dancing together.
Sigh. Maybe this night wasn’t so bad after all. Maybe it hadn’t turned out quite like she expected, but maybe it would turn out even better.
Maybe she could get a kiss from gay Blaine Anderson yet.
With that comforting thought she leaned into his strong, steady frame, his broad hands resting perfectly in the small of her back, and his sure muscular arms circling her waist. He was even just the slightest bit taller than her, so she could rest her head on his shoulder as they swayed to the beat. She breathed in his masculine scent, basking in the pure manly aroma of--
Rasberry hairgel. Sweet fruity hair product, not too different-smelling from her own pomegranate shampoo.
Stirred out of her reverie, she opened her eyes to see Sam and Brittany dancing right beside them. Hadn’t they been across the room before Blaine had...? Oh right.
She glanced furtively up at Blaine. He was swaying perfectly to the beat, almost intimately, and he was still clutching her just right, but his eyes were gazing in Sam’s general direction. Well no, not really at Sam, but unfocused with a wistful look, a sad dreamy shadow across his face. Jesus his eyes were so huge and bright and beautiful... and didn’t deserve to look so sad when Tina had been feeling so perfectly taken care of.
I don’t really want to go to a dance where everyone’s going to be romantic but me. Blaine’s earlier words slapped her in the face. Everyone was romantic here tonight, dancing with a crush or loved one, even Tina. Hell, especially Tina. But not Blaine.
Blaine wanted what Tina wanted-- strong arms holding him, a taller man with sure hands guiding him around the dance floor. She had put on this dance through sheer force of will and manipulated Blaine into taking her, but he wasn’t happy. Her love for him was supposed to make him happy.
Damn it. This wasn’t right at all.
A flash of long brown hair whipped past the periphery of her vision, bounding in a tornado of energy, disrupting Brittany and Sam. On instinct Tina panicked thinking it was Santana barging in to make fun of Sam’s lips and whisk Brittany away for herself and generally making a scene and disrupting everyone...
Before realizing that no, of course not, it was Marley cutting into Sam and Brittany’s dance, gesturing wildly with nerves. Nervous, pathetic Marley, who had cost them Sectionals with her selfish insecurity. Gag, she reminded Tina of what she could have become if she was content to be with Mike, wilting in Rachel’s shadow. In reaction to whatever Marley had said, Brittany tilted her head back and laughed, then looked at Sam, who shrugged and smiled. Marley took Brittany’s hand and twirled her away, the two of them now dancing together with far too much energy for the slow beat of Ryder singing “I Only Have Eyes For You.”
The sight of the tall, brown-haired girl spinning Brittany in circles again reminded Tina of Santana. and good God, what would Santana think of this whole dance if she were here? She would have shut Tina down before they even started planning, bitching her out and ranting about her dance excluding girls who didn’t want to ask a guy... Would Santana have sung in competition for Brittany, after Brittany sang to Sam? Or, no Brittany and Sam wouldn’t have been together in the first place... What then if, with Sam single, Blaine had asked Sam to the dance, even just as friends?
But he wouldn’t have and he didn’t, and now Blaine was her perfect crushable dance partner, but she wasn’t his. Sure Santana would have bitched her out if she were here, and if Brittany had wanted to ask a girl she would have either been confused about the rules or just done what she wanted regardless, but Blaine... Blaine wouldn’t take that kind of chance. Not only was Kurt not here, but the closest thing to a gay guy in their class was goofy but straight Sam. Blaine would do what was expected of him-- whether that be sit the dance out, or take Tina like a good friend should.
This was all wrong.
Tina snorted in frustration, and Blaine quickly pulled back and looked at her, “Is everything alright? I thought you wanted to dance? Did I--”
“No, no it’s fine, it’s just...” Lightbulb! This was a dilemma that Asian Persuasion could fix. “uhhh I’m really thirsty. I had drank the punch before you came, but apparently Puck had spiked it.”
“Oh, I could get you a glass of water from the bathroom?” Blaine said with concern and a bit of confusion.
Tina nodded and, after a sidelong look at Sam, he scampered away obediently. She headed over to Sam, who was bopping dorkily off to the side of Brittany and Marley, who were still twirling together.
“Well hey there pretty lady, wanna dance?” Sam said, with some dorky voice. Psshh, pretty lady, Tina remembered his comment about the bunker from the student council meeting.
“No, hey, I heard you just heroically saved Glee Club, and I had a job for Blonde Chameleon...”
Sam squinted and focussed intensely on her, nodding seriously, “Shoot me.”
“It’s just...” Okay so first flattery to get his attention, and now sincerity to play the heartstrings, “this is Blaine’s first dance without Kurt, and look,” Tina gestured dramatically to all the slow dancers, “at all these romantic couples, reminding him of what he doesn’t have, and it’s all my fault. I planned this stupid dance, about girls asking guys, and dragged him here as my date. You heard him in the locker room, he didn’t really want to go with me. What he really wishes,” She paused. She couldn’t betray Blaine’s confidence, even if it was for his own good, “is that a boy would have asked him.
“I think...” She paused for dramatic effect and lowered her voice. Damn, she was good at this, and it felt great to be using her powers for good, “I think if he could at least dance with a boy he could feel included. It must really suck to break up, and not even have any options here in the pithole of McKinley to distract him. He such a great guy, he deserves his own white knight for at least one dance.”
Sam had continued nodding seriously throughout her moving speech. When she finished, he continued nodding then gradually stopped, waiting for her to tell him what his job was. Oh shit, what if he said no? Then he raised his eyebrows in surprise, “Oh! Oh, you mean me, I should dance with him?”
“Sure, you can do an impression of a gay guy for a dance, right?”
Just then Blaine bounded up, handing her the glass of water and looking puzzled, “What about gay guys?” He looked carefully between the two of them.
“May I have this dance, good sir?” Sam bowed slightly and extended his hand to Blaine, who stared at it, then whipped around to Tina with a look of concern on his face.
Tina rolled her eyes and shook her head. No, she didn’t tell Sam he had a crush, give her some credit. “It’s fine, thank you for dancing with me Blaine, it was quite wonderful, but I uhh have to go warm up. I’m singing the last song and I want it to be a showstopper.”
“Oh okay,” he stared at her a moment to make sure, then turned back to Sam. Tina started to walk away, before stopping just far enough away to hear. She should make sure this goes well; plus, no point in doing all that hard work and not hearing Blaine’s response. “Sam, was that an impression of me?”
“Well, uh I suppose it was an impression of a gentleman asking you to dance.” Sam dropped his hand, shrugged his shoulders a bit self-consciously, “If you want to dance?”
Blaine’s eyes grew big and wide and his face lit up, clearly touched at the offer. Sam pulled Blaine in close and wrapped his arms awkwardly around Blaine’s back, rubbing his shoulders a little comfortingly. Blaine hesitantly reached out to hold Sam’s arms, maybe because it seemed safest place to grip or maybe because he wanted to feel Sam’s biceps. Tina figured it was probably a bit of both.
“Is this alright Sam?” Blaine’s voice was just barely loud enough to hear.
Sam squeezed Blaine a bit so they were hug-dancing. “Yeah Blaine, it’s cool dude, it’s all good.”
Tina watched them wistfully for another moment, before straightening her shoulders and strutting confidently backstage. She was a mistress of manipulation, an extraordinary performer, and a force to be reckoned with.