Sebastian took Tina’s offered coffee gratefully, taking a few tentative sips of the hot drink. It was much smoother than the dirt water they were offering at the memorial. “Nothing but the best for our fallen hero,” he quipped, attempting to suppress the dripping sarcasm in his own voice, particularly now that he could see Karofsky approaching the doors. It felt too risky to spare the man more than a glance, so he kept his gaze on Tina as she wandered away to toss the napkins.
On his drive back to Ohio, Sebastian had mentally prepared himself to walk into a town full of strangers. He was sure he didn’t know these people anymore, and they no longer knew him. Yet there he was, Tina’s coffee mug warm against his palm, feeling more at ease in her presence than he had wandering McKinley’s halls alone. Odd how time could simply disappear like that.
“Of course I’m going to Scandals tomorrow,” he answered. “I thought it might be good to attend every event this weekend… for the grieving process or whatever.” He shot Karofsky another glance, pointedly, so that Tina would notice. It was a silent way for him to communicate his current anxieties. “Besides, I left a few broken hearts back there in the day. It would be a shame to come back to Ohio without popping in to visit. If you feel up to a dance, I bet you that old junk jukebox still works. It’s the one thing around here that’s never going to die.”
Tina reaches out for him automatically, years of distance not changing the way she felt about him. He had been her closest friend, confidant. She’d like to think she had been that for him too. Just a hand on his arm, but she hopes he does know that she’s there for him. It was going to be difficult for all of them, but she never cared about all of them just as much as she had cared about him. She watches Dave cross the length of the room to the donut table and she can’t help rolling her eyes. She turns away from Dave then, looking up at Sebastian. “Yeah cause drinking in Lima’s only gay bar, for a straight man, is good for grieving.” It was smart of Scandals to host it though. It was bound to be a money maker. Emotions were running high for everyone and alcohol was really the only comfort some of them had.
“Rubbing salt in old wounds?” she questioned, raising an eyebrow at him as she reached over to take her drink back. “I’m not sure how they’ll handle it. The one that got away.” she’s teasing, but trying to tread cautiously as she does so. “Ask me after a couple drinks, I’m sure you wont be able to get me off the floor. I’m sure Rachel will have commandeered it to try some ridiculous karaoke or something.”
This whole place was feeling suffocating, like people were pushed in to capacity. She knew that wasn’t true, knew realistically that she had plenty of room to breathe. But they really didn’t, did that? Every second was being watched by the cops in the room, Detective Karofsky just looking for a chance to haul them off or something. Why wouldn’t they just let the dead rot? If only they knew what the man they were so loudly celebrating had done to so many people. “I’m going to need a real drink after this. I don’t think I can wait until tomorrow.”
