What was happening to him? He'd thrown a slushy, accident or no, that had rock salt in it into the eyes of Blaine Anderson. Why? He'd wanted to ruin Kurt's outfit. Why? He was sick and tired of Kurt judging him even though he knew next to nothing about him. So instead of dealing with it like a civil member of society, he'd become a bitch. A royal pain. Sebastian Smythe had become, in a word, a bully.

Where was Barry Allen when you needed him? Where was the kid who'd rather run than fight? Where was Lillian's kind and caring 'older brother'?

Who had he become?

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Fake it 'til you make it. That was his motto nowadays. He'd been a world-class dick to David Korovski. "Just stay in the closet, buddy." After everything that happened back in Central City, he'd told someone to stay in the closet.

One week. He'd lasted one week before he gave in to Barry and went to see Korovski in the hospital. He apologized, profusely. He told Dave about dedicating the performance at Sectionals. He told Dave about Barry Allen. He showed Dave his scars from his own brush with suicide. Once they got to talk, he realized that he and Korovski, while they would never date, had a lot in common. They were both people who were outed by bullies at their schools, they had both tried to end their own lives, they both kept the fact that they were huge nerds to themselves, and they both had had a bone to pick with one Kurt Hummel at one point or another.

Three months and a lot of therapy later, they'd crossed over that friend/best friend threshold and were a hell of a lot happier than they'd been three months previous. Sure, people teased them and said they looked like a couple, but those rumors were far from true. They were just best friends. Well, they'd become more like brothers really.

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Hunter Clarington was the new Warblers Captain and Sebastian's new roommate. Seb was happy to step aside from all of the pressure that being Captain had put on him. Hunter made sure to keep him on a kind of a Co-Captain though. Basically, the Warblers came to him with their problems and complaints and Seb took them to Hunter to be discussed and processed. This gave him more time to be with the guys and took the day-to-day weight off of Hunter. It worked for them for a while.

Weird things started happening after a while. Hunter would push them WAY too hard at practice and made sure that they all drank his special power shakes. If anyone complained or tried to ask for a break, they were sidelined. Sebastian was always there to take the edge off though. The Warblers trusted him again.

He found out from Trent that Hunter, allegedly, had made all of the Warblers take steroids. He'd said that he was going to tell Finn Hudson, at the request of Blaine, the truth about why the Warblers were so much better than they'd been before. The truth about why he'd not been able to perform at Sectionals.

Sebastian asked him for two days.

Trent gave him until the McKinley Sadie Hawkins Dance.

Sebastian found the proof he'd needed when he nearly bitch slapped Kitty. When he searched his and Hunter's room when Hunter was in class, he found the source of the steroids, at least in his own case. Hunter had been drugging him through those god-awful power shakes that had been practically shoved down his throat.

Needless to say, Hunter Clarington was expelled. He got sent to a rehab facility about an hour outside of Westerville where Dalton was located. Sebastian was re-instated as Warbler Captain and was able to help the rest of the Warblers, including himself, get through withdraws.

He went to visit Hunter once a week (its what Barry would do). During the first visit he'd made, he was given quite a shock in the form of a heart-felt apology from Hunter. He decided then and there that he would do everything he could to help Hunter make amends. If no one got second chances, the world would be an extremely terrible place. It took a long ass time, but Hunter was eventually able to apologize to, and be forgiven by, every member of the Warblers he'd hurt in his short tenure as Captain.

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Santana 'Satan' Lopez was the only person who found out about Barry Allen all on their own. After Sebastian had apologized for everything with the slushy and Finn's pictures, Santana made a habit of dropping by, unannounced, to the Warbler's Library at Dalton and demand, "to see Meerkat Face." More often than not, she was directed to the lacrosse field. Had anyone at McKinley asked, they would have been surprised to discover that not only did he dance and sing, but Sebastian Smythe played lacrosse for Dalton. They also might have been surprised to discover that, just like with the Warblers, he'd been made Captain as a Junior.

The first time she'd made her way to the lacrosse field, she'd expected to see the Warblers practicing a dance number. She'd been shocked to see Sebastian running around with a lacrosse stick and kicking ass on the field. Of course, she hadn't realized it was him. Until he'd taken off his helmet, after knocking one of his teammates to the ground, to help said teammate back up off the ground.

After about three months she became a weekly visitor at Dalton. She'd long since stopped asking how Thad, Seb's best friend at Dalton, knew when to show up at McKinley to bring her to Dalton for her weekly visit. In what little spare time she had, she'd been trying to find out more about Sebastian and what brought him to Dalton. After finally being able to see his Facebook page (she'd had to create a fake account and trick a few of the Warblers to friend her so she could see some of Seb's posts) she found Iris West and discovered, for the first time, Bartholomew Henry Allen.

When she called him Barry instead of Sebastian while walking him back to his dorm he was understandably surprised. He felt as if gravity had betrayed him as he took in a shocked gasp and tried to take support from the wall in the hall outside the dorms. As he slid to the floor he wondered how many of the New Directions had been told and what they thought and if this was going to shatter the already tenuous friendship between the two Show Choirs. As he caught his breath Sebastian Smythe faded away and Barry Allen looked up with fear etched across his face.

"Don't worry, Flevin, your secret is safe with me."

Needless to say, they became really good friends after that. Sebastian even visited her at UofL once a month to encourage her and catch her up with the latest Dalton vs. McKinley drama. When she tried to quit college and move to New York he was the one who convinced her to stick it out as long as possible. She ended up with an Associates Degree because he pushed her to be great.

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Trying to convince himself that he wanted to just be friends with his 'sister's' baby sitter's best friend was like trying to convince himself that he was just gay or just straight: not true and not worth the brain-ache that it induced. Getting her to agree to date him was one of the few good things about his senior year at Dalton. Kitty often brought Marley over when his and Lillian's parents had business on the weekends and couldn't get back to watch their children (After one near burnt down house when Sebastian and Lillian had been left at home alone their parents insisted that someone else be there to ensure that Seb not turn their home to ash). He and Marley became friends and when she was dealing with her feelings for Jake and Ryder he helped her talk it out. When he realized that he liked her too, he'd panicked at first. She was already dealing with liking two guys she saw every day, he didn't need to add to her stress. But then the little boy who'd never had the chance to tell his best friend, Iris, that he'd loved her since they were 11 came to mind and he just told her how he felt. Turns out she was trying to deflect her feelings for him onto Jake and Ryder because she felt that even though he was bi and into women too, he might rather date a guy. She'd been proven wrong with one kiss.

When he walked into the New Directions choir room after Marley had passed out on stage and realized that Kitty, her supposed best friend, had been manipulating her into not eating and throwing it all up if she did, he got so pissed that he'd nearly punched her. As Jake and Ryder pulled him towards the door he realized that Trent had been right. He'd just gone into 'Roid Rage. When he'd convinced his bouncers that he'd come to his senses he went to apologize to Kitty but the New Directions had just gotten the news that they'd been disqualified for leaving the stage and didn't want to be in the room when they got the news that the Warblers won.

After calming down and drinking lots of water, Seb had gone to Kitty's house and apologized. He knew he needed to build a case against Hunter but he didn't know how to do that without being suspicious. So instead of trying to figure it all out in one night, he made sure to try and come to McKinley as often as he could to make sure that Marley was doing ok. He may have 'roided out on her 'best friend' but that didn't mean that he was going to let that stop him from taking care of her.

Taking care of Marley put him back in Finn Hudson's good graces. When he handed the former QB the final proof he needed to confront Hunter and the Headmaster at Dalton, Finn was able to finally forgive him. But what earned Sebastian a new friend was when he'd tried to place the blame for the P.E.D.s on his own shoulders, because he claimed he should have realized what was happening to his brothers and his own body.

LINE BREAK

Watching New Directions kick ass at Nationals was a bittersweet experience for Sebastian. He knew that not all of them had forgiven him, and that not all of them would, but he also knew that no matter how amazing Vocal Adrenaline's performance had been that New Directions deserved to be known as the #1 Show Choir in the country.

LINE BREAK

Sebastian was planning something. The Warblers and the New Directions knew it. The cheating at sectionals had been exposed, Hunter was in rehab (and getting regular visits from Barry—yes, Barry) and the New Directions were taking the Warblers up on their offer to help them prepare in the short amount of time they had before regionals. But Seb was up to something and neither team had any idea as to what it was.

After a particularly rigorous practice, Sebastian called for everyone's attention. He had a binder overflowing with papers tucked under his arm and a determined look on his face. He announced that he was planning a charity event for people who were addicts and their families. He amended that the P.E.D fiasco had hurt them all, but that sometimes in order to heal, you need to take care of someone else. He asked the Warblers to help him begin the process of rebuilding their tarnished reputation. He asked the New Directions if they would be willing to help give their once enemies a chance to redeem themselves. Three weeks later, the first annual Dalton/McKinley Benefit for Victims of Addiction went off without a hitch.

They raised enough money to build a new wing onto the hospital dedicated to beat any and all addictions.

LINE BREAK

Blaine's presence at Dalton after the slushy incident happened only once in a blue moon. So when Sebastian saw him standing in front of the Warbler's Library, he knew that the former Dalton boy was up to something. After inquiring as to the nature of Blaine's visit he got a simple and yet not simple response.

"I'm just the distraction."

The mischievous smirk that accompanied that statement confirmed for Seb that there was something going on. Blaine led him to the, thankfully, now empty lacrosse field where a solitary chair had been placed. After sitting down as directed he suddenly found himself surrounded by the New Directions. Once the guys of the group had him surrounded Seb started to get worried. He knew that none of them, Jake and Ryder least of all, were happy about him dating Marley. But before he could ask that they not emasculate him, they started the beat to a familiar song. When the guys parted to reveal the ladies all dressed to the nines in bright blue dresses he only had eyes for the lovely brunette. As Marley and the girls sang "Tell Him", he smiled like she'd hung the moon. When they got to the end of the song, she pulled him to his feet and asked him if he'd be her date to McKinley's Sadie Hawkins. He pulled her into his arms and dipped her to everyone's amusement (well, not Jake and Ryder's).

"Of course, Marley Rose, I'd love to."

Her returning smile was blinding. If Jake and Ryder gave him the shovel talk before they climbed in the van headed back to Lima, well no one had to know.

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When he walked across the stage to receive his diploma he expected the polite claps and the cheers of some of his Warbler brothers. What he didn't expect was the sudden darkness. All the lights had been shut off and, to his surprise, no one screamed. After half a second a spotlight appeared but it didn't blind him like he thought it would. Instead, the spotlight hit on a group of people he never expected. It was a mix of members of the New Directions, old and new. Rachel Berry, Mercedes Jones, Blaine Anderson, Sam Evans, Tina Cohen-Chang, Mike Chang, Artie Abrams, Santana Lopez, Brittany S. Pierce, Quinn Fabray, Noah Puckerman, Sugar Motta, Marley Rose, Unique Adams, Ryder Lynn, Jake Puckerman, Kitty Wilde. They were all there. Two important people were nowhere to bee seen, the late Finn Hudson, and the ever-stubborn Kurt Hummel. But even that couldn't keep the smile from forming on Sebastian's face when he saw them all standing there. Then suddenly they were singing the beginning of a very familiar sounding cover of a very familiar song. They were even singing acapella!

Ooohoo!

Let me tell yah now

Sebastian couldn't help but laugh as tears formed in his eyes. This song, it had to be this one.

Ooh

When I had you to myself,

I didn't want you around

Blaine, of course, had taken lead first. And began to lead the group up the center aisle.

Those pretty faces always make you

Stand out in a crowd

Somehow, they had practiced the Warbler's original choreography because it looked identical to what they'd pulled the year before in the Warbler's library.

Someone picked you from the bunch,

One glance is all it took

And now it's much too late for me

To take a second look

Somehow, Marley made it up to the front, and well if that didn't hurt then he wasn't human. But thankfully they were able to still be friends after everything.

Oh baby,

Give me one more chance (To show you that I love you)

Won't you please let me (Back in your heart)

Oh darlin' I was blind to let you go (Let you go, baby)

But now since I've seen you in his arms (I want you back)

Now Berry and Mercedes had taken lead. Meanwhile, Jake and Ryder (who the hell picked who would do this part) came up to the stage and dragged him in all his cap and gown glory down to the floor to join them all.

Oh I do now (I want you back)

Ooh ooh baby (I want you back)

Yeah yeah yeah yeah (I want you back)

Na na na na

Kitty and Unique took his hands and led him towards the back where a second spotlight had come on showing none other than Kurt Hummel preparing to sing the next verse of the song.

Trying to live without your love

Is one long sleepless night

Let me show you, girl

That I know wrong from right

Every street you walk on,

I leave tear stains on the ground

Followin' the girl I didn't even want around

As he fell into the choreography and dropped his voice to add to the acapella background he noticed a few more tears slip down his cheeks. Thankfully they weren't looking for him to really sing.

Oh baby,

All I need is one more chance (To show you that I love you)

Won't you please let me (Back in your heart)

Oh darlin', I was blind to let you go (Let you go, baby)

But now since I've seen you in his arms

Oohoo

Or were they? Everyone was giving him the 'show choir cue' so he stepped up and took it.

All I want...

All I need...

All I want!

All I need!

Is one more chance (To show you that I love you)

Baby (baby) baby (baby) baby (baby!)

(I want you back)

Yeah oh baby,

I was blind to let you go (Let you go, baby)

But now since I've seen you in his arms (I want you back)

Yeah oh baby,

I need one more chance, hah

(To show you that I love you)

Oh, baby!

Oh! Oh, oh! (I want you back!)

Oh I do now (I want you back)

Ooh ooh baby (I want you back)

Yeah yeah yeah yeah (I want you back)

Na na na na (I want you back)

There were good graduation ceremonies, there were bad ones, and there were ones in between. The Graduating class of Dalton Academy 2006 definitely had the best one the school had seen in its entire existence.