#blainetm

frankly, he was surprised it hadn't happened sooner - running into his ex-fiancé, that is - but he supposed disappearing to another continent for a few months had probably done most of the heavy lifting for him in that department. as easy as it might have been - and as much as he'd considered it, however, staying in paris for the rest of his life just wasn't an option. he had to return to the real world eventually, even if it meant returning to the messes he'd created in his sprint down the wrong direction of the aisle. it would have been a little better if he'd been able to arrange this reunion on his own terms, but, apparently, the universe was fed up with waiting, which is how he found himself standing face to face with his ex-fiancé, nothing separating them but the bar he now worked behind. "...strawberry daiquiri?" arguably not the two words that should have been the first ones out of his mouth, but blaine's usual drink order was something that fell off his tongue far more easily than 'i'm sorry' ever had.

After sharing a mutual pep talk, Dani and Blaine walk onto the stage confidently. Dani, wearing her usual attire (an open flannel shirt layered over a plain black tee and a pair of jeans) but with a bit more eyeliner than usual, holds her prized vintage Fender Stratocaster, its strap slung over her body. Blaine wears a boxy, cropped pink blazer (a nod to both the Plastics and Damian's "I want my pink shirt back!" line) over the top of a white dress shirt. Once centerstage, Dani introduces herself first. "Hey, I'm Dani Cortez, and I'll be auditioning for the role of Janis Sarkisian. I sing, act pretty well and play the heck out of this guitar." She holds the guitar up proudly, before giving Blaine the floor. "Hi, my name is Blaine Anderson and I'll be auditioning for the role of Damian Hubbard!" Dani smiles, then adds, "We're gonna be performing Janis and Damian's duet, A Cautionary Tale." With that, Dani strums the first chord, before the two dive into their performance with all of the sass and confidence of Auli'i Cravalho and Jaquel Spivey's 2024 movie version. Afterwards, both take a quick bow, then thank the casting team, before scurrying off stage.

"uh... here." as with any remotely romantic gesture, spencer can't help but feel totally awkward as he shoves a candy corn plushie into blaine's arms - his prize for reaching the jackpot on the high striker machine. "i wouldn't know what to do with this shit, so... it's yours. or you can toss it in the trash, whatever, your call."

ever since the embarrassing, very public confrontation with rachel, tina had been making a point of avoiding blaine. how much had he heard? how much had he already been aware of? were her feelings for him that obvious? they must be, if even rachel had managed to pick up on them. still, despite everything, blaine was still her friend above anything else, and she really, really hated the idea of losing that. way more than the heartbreak and humiliation she knew she was destined to face if that dreaded topic ever came up. "do you want to play one of the games?" if they kept busy, distracted by activities, maybe she could put off the chance of the growing elephant in the room getting pointed out. "ring toss? or... um... i think they have a balloon darts one. how's your aim?"