A/N: Dedicated to the lovely a-simple-rainbow because she wanted Quinn/Blaine siblings and I just couldn't help myself. She also offered to beta this story and did an amazing job helping me turn a drabble-esque draft into a huge thing (and by huge, I mean the biggest thing I've written so far). THANK YOU.
I've got most of this already written and polished, so I'll update every weekend! :)
- Acting On Your Best Behavior -
"We have a problem, Kurt" Rachel announces grimly when she sits down at their table and drops her bag next to her chair unceremoniously. It isn't until Mercedes elbows him in the ribs that Kurt looks up from his lunch tray with a confused frown, still trying to decide if he should finish his butternut squash soup even though it tastes a little funky.
"Huh?" he mumbles before clearing his throat. "Sorry, I was wondering whether I want to risk food poisoning or let this soup go to waste."
Artie picks up a spoon and takes some of Kurt's soup without asking. He swallows it with a completely unchanging poker face and waits a few seconds before deciding, "Yeah, that tastes like vomit."
Well, that settles it. Kurt pushes his tray as far away from his body as possible while Rachel tries to shush everyone who is making disgusted noises at Artie's comment.
"Have you heard, though?" she pushes on, shooting Kurt an expectant look.
"What?" Kurt asks and even though he really wants to hear the answer, he's a bit afraid of what might come next. Ever since Rachel and him went to Miss Pillsbury's office last week and decided to audition for the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts in the end of the school year, she has been coming up with crazy little missions for the two of them. The last one went absolutely terrible. Kurt is not looking for a repeat of listening to a perfectly trained group of theatre kids performing a musical mash-up as if they could do it in their sleep.
"Blaine Anderson skipped a grade – he's a senior now!" Rachel says, a furious frown taking over her features.
Kurt raises an eyebrow at that. "And that concerns us because…?" he asks, trying not to sound too interested. Nobody really needs to know that he thinks Quinn's half brother is very, extremely, ridiculously easy on the eyes.
Not that they've talked much. Except for that one time where they were paired for an exercise during Cheerios practice about half a year ago. Blaine seemed like a funny and smart guy. Kurt has been keeping an eye on him during practice. He dances with enthusiasm, his smile lights up the whole room and even Coach Sylvester's insults reserved for Blaine sound like compliments in disguise. So, Blaine is kind of impressive… and Kurt doesn't really know what sort of a problem could arise for Rachel and him just because Blaine skipped a grade. In fact, having him in the same grade might give Kurt some opportunity to interact with him outside of cheerleading practice.
"Apparently, he's been wanting to skip for a while but he only managed to do it now because he needed to catch up on so much stuff," Rachel says. "And-"
"Maybe he wants to warn Quinn about the future!" Brittany cuts in, a bright look in her face as if she just answered a question in a quiz show. Kurt shakes his head at her with a fond smile.
Rachel waves her hand dismissively and continues ranting in that obnoxious tone her voice takes on when something is in the way of her goal. "And guess what I just caught him doing?"
Her question seems to be rhetorical because Kurt can't even shrug in response before she continues, "He was walking out of Miss Pillsbury's office and guess what was in his hand, Kurt?"
She's pausing. Not a rhetorical question this time, then. Kurt blinks slowly. "A pamphlet…?" he guesses. Sort of a given. It's Miss Pillsbury, after all.
"But what kind of pamphlet?"
"Jeez, Rachel, I don't know, just tell me," Kurt says, rolling his eyes for good measure.
"NYADA, Kurt, he had a NYADA pamphlet in his hand!" Rachel almost shouts and Kurt's glad she's only sitting across the table from him because Mike, who has been sitting right next to her, is rubbing his ear in pain and moving his tray and seat further away from her.
Then the information registers in his mind. Oh. Oh. Blaine is a senior now. He's researching college opportunities, too. And he might have his sights set on NYADA, just like Rachel and Kurt. And he is not friends with either of them. So…
"He's competition," Kurt breathes out.
Rachel's nodding at him and Kurt has a feeling that this whole thing is not going to go over well.
Blaine being a senior now also means that he's in several of Kurt classes. It's just Kurt's luck that they get assigned seats next to each other in English.
"Hi Kurt," Blaine says brightly and pulls out his textbook.
Kurt doesn't know what to make of the situation. Blaine isn't his enemy. It's not his fault that NYADA is a good school that is worth considering for anyone who wants to get a degree in musical theatre and that Kurt and Rachel want to audition for the same program.
But he knows he can't get too attached to Blaine now. Because what if Blaine is really competitive? What if he knows Kurt and Rachel are auditioning as well? He might be friendly on purpose. He might use Kurt's friendship to his advantage and stab him in the back right before the audition.
The thought makes Kurt cringe. Is he starting to turn into Rachel now? Sure, her fling with Jesse backfired spectacularly. But that doesn't mean everyone else on the planet is out to destroy them, right?
So he just mumbles a small "Hi Blaine" in response and pretends to be busy on his phone until the teacher arrives and demands their attention. Even though he kind of wants to pinch himself to make sure that Blaine really smells that nice and that he really does remember Kurt's name from that one practice half a year ago.
Rachel has a murderous look on her face the minute Blaine sets foot into the choir room. Mr. Schue is delighted by the newest addition to the Glee club. Blaine sits down next to Sugar and Rory, clearly trying to stay with the new kids and not interfere with the old dynamics for the time being, even though he does hug his sister a few rows down and smiles at Kurt when he passes his chair.
Rachel immediately elbows him and hisses, "Have you been talking to him?"
"Relax, we're just sitting next to each other in English class."
"Oh my god," Rachel says.
"What?" Kurt asks. "It's not like I asked to be seated next to him. Besides, he seems like-"
"Kurt, this is perfect, you can totally spy on him without making it known that we are going to be his NYADA competition. We have a good advantage there, he doesn't know what we want but we know what he wants."
Yeah, Rachel has officially gone insane. Kurt rolls his eyes at her.
"Rachel," he says slowly and seriously, "I am not going to spy on him. We're not in a James Bond movie. What would he even have to hide?"
"He'd make such a pretty Bond, though," Tina sighs from behind them and they both turn their heads with raised eyebrows.
"What?" Tina says defensively. "He's good-looking. Last time I checked that wasn't a crime."
"He doesn't play for your team, though, sweetie," Mike tells her cheekily. Tina sticks her tongue out at him and gives him a soothing pat on the knee.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that you're jealous," she retorts. They stare at each other for a second before breaking out into a grin and leaning in for a kiss simultaneously.
Rachel turns her head back towards Kurt.
"You know what?" she says. "If he's gay, you could seduce him and make him forget all about NYADA."
Kurt groans. "Forget it, Rachel."
"Think about it, Kur-"
"No, you think about it," Kurt tells her. "He's a nice guy and he just wants to audition for the same school as us. I'm okay with trying to best him in the auditions and whatnot but I am not going to mess with him." He looks over at Blaine who is engaged in an enthusiastic discussion with Rory and adds, "Besides, he's probably got a boyfriend or something."
"I heard he's single," Mercedes says from where she's sitting next to Kurt. Rachel's eyes practically glow with the news and Kurt glares at her.
"Rachel, no. I will not play along with your insane little mind games."
She huffs. "Fine. But we will have to step up our game."
Stepping up their game is all that Rachel can think and talk about over the next few days. She is more determined than ever and even printed out tentative schedules for both of them, listing all the extracurricular activities they need to get involved in to heighten their chances of getting into NYADA.
"Rachel, how am I going to find the time to join the debate team?" Kurt says, feeling exhausted just looking at everything Rachel wants him to achieve before the end of the school year. He is sitting on Rachel's bed, or rather trying to find a place to sit, between piles of sheet music (for their next Glee club assignment), more sheet music (for their audition for the school musical) and even more sheet music (for their NYADA audition).
"Blaine is on the debate team," Rachel points out from where she is sitting in front of her make-up table, rearranging her beauty products in a more logical order so she can get ready earlier in the mornings and practice half an hour more than usual.
Kurt is both glad and terrified that he isn't as obsessed with his career as Rachel is with hers.
"And being on the team is going to help him with his NYADA application," Rachel continues, shaking a bottle of hairspray to see how much is left. "Besides, if you're going to run for senior class president, knowing how to win a debate can't hurt."
Kurt knows that Rachel has a point. So he decides to revisit the topic later and continue perusing the schedule Rachel gave him.
"Umm," he speaks up after a few minutes. "Why does it say cheerleading 'captain' instead of just 'practice' on here?"
Rachel turns to face him. "Because you're going to be the captain, duh."
She can't see the disbelief on his face because she's already turned back around.
"Rachel," Kurt says slowly, "you know that's impossible. Quinn is the captain of the Cheerios. Has been for two years, actually."
Rachel doesn't say anything but Kurt can see her smiling at her reflection in the mirror. It looks a bit evil, actually. Does she know something he doesn't?
He loves Rachel, really. She might not be flawless, even though she certainly thinks she is, but she has a good heart. They have the same interests and spending time with her is a lot more fun than he would ever thought back when he was a jealous sophomore. She always knows how to cheer him up and their movie nights have become one of Kurt's favorite pastimes.
But there is one thing that Rachel still does that Kurt doesn't agree with at all. She sabotages Finn and Quinn's relationship as much as she can.
Kurt gets it. He's been there, after all. Shoving Quinn out of the picture was once everything he dreamed about. But he's gotten over it, if only begrudgingly. Rachel, however, has not.
And now that Finn is his brother, Kurt cannot help but feel guilty whenever Rachel tries to put an end to the relationship. Kurt knows that Quinn and Finn have their issues and that Finn is definitely still interested in Rachel despite his numerous attempts to not let it get to him.
"Rachel, are you-" he starts to say but is interrupted by the sound of his ringtone coming from his messenger bag. He leans over the edge of the bed to retrieve it and is surprised to see that Finn is calling him. Speak of the devil, he thinks.
"Hey, Kin Finn," he greets him and sees Rachel spinning around in her chair excitedly out of the corner of his eye.
Finn doesn't call him "brother from another mother" and instead just asks him if they can talk. Kurt frowns. Something feels wrong.
"Everything okay?" he asks.
"Not really. Just… can you come home?"
Kurt glances at Rachel who is hanging onto every word. It's probably for the best if he leaves and talks to Finn in private.
"Yeah, I can come home," he says, watching for Rachel's reaction. Her shoulders slump a bit but other than that, she seems… not that surprised.
Kurt hangs up and leaves Rachel with a quick kiss to her forehead and the promise of calling her later to discuss Glee club issues.
"Come on, Finn, you didn't ask me to come home to meditate with me in silence, did you?" Kurt says, crossing his arms over his chest and shooting Finn a pointed look.
His brother hasn't talked at all since Kurt came home and he seems to be in a more miserable state than Kurt has ever seen him in.
"Can you make me some warm milk first?" Finn croaks.
Kurt nods and tries to hide how worried he is. He gets a big glass of milk and a cookie from the kitchen and sits back down on the bed once he places the items on Finn's bedside table. Finn hasn't moved at all, still sitting at the edge of his bed, looking down at his lap where he is twisting his fingers.
"I got you a cookie, too," Kurt says and Finn hits his breaking point. He lets out a sob while grabbing his glass and spills some milk on his shirt.
"Quinn is pregnant," he manages to say between more sobs. Kurt's heart sinks. That scenario hadn't crossed his mind on the way home, even though he imagined it would have something to do with Quinn.
"Are you sure? Did she-", he asks but Finn interrupts the question with a jerky nod.
"Yeah, she took a test. And she wants to keep the baby," he mumbles, calming down after a few sips of milk. "What am I gonna do, Kurt?"
Kurt is a bit lost.
"Deal with it the best you can," he says finally, if not very helpful. He sighs. "Get some help. And help her through it, too. She must be so scared."
Finn nods again. "Her family won't be happy. Her stepmom is okay but her father is… difficult."
Kurt rubs Finn's back soothingly. "Try to stay focused on the good things. At least you're happy with her, right?"
His heart breaks a little bit when Finn doesn't say anything.
Blaine seems a bit distracted the next day in English. He doesn't even say hi. Kurt realizes that all this time he hasn't even given the fact that their siblings are dating much thought.
Should they be bonding over becoming uncles at the same time now?
What a conversation starter. So I heard my brother knocked up your sister. Welcome to the family.
Kurt shakes his head at himself and keeps just as quiet as Blaine.
He does lend him a pencil five minutes into the lesson when Blaine doesn't seem to find his, though. Blaine shoots him a thankful smile. Kurt finds it hard not to return it.
Coach Sylvester makes Blaine co-captain of the Cheerios, or, as Santana puts it in Glee club the next day, "Queen and King B are officially going on my nerves with their nepotism."
Later in Kurt's bedroom, the news of Blaine's promotion have Rachel running in circles like a dog chasing its tail.
"Kurt, this is bad," she says, gesturing wildly at him and almost hitting him in the head when she starts walking again at the same time.
"Well, what could I have done?" Kurt asks. "He's Quinn's brother and Sue's favorite on top of being a good cheerleader."
"You won't get anywhere with that attitude," Rachel says, flopping down on his bed.
Annoyed, Kurt retorts, "What attitude? There is nothing I could have done."
Rachel shakes her head and sits back up. "Maybe there's still a way," she says. "Quinn won't be on the team much longer."
Kurt stares at her. Does she-
"Oh, Kurt, please," Rachel huffs out. "I know why you didn't tell me and it's admirable, but I am very much aware that Quinn is pregnant."
It all makes sense now. Kurt finally finds himself adding the puzzle pieces.
"You knew before me," he says slowly. "You knew that Sue would need a new Cheerios captain. You weren't surprised when Finn called me and asked me to come home."
Rachel nods.
And then it doesn't make sense anymore.
"Wait, why aren't you upset? You knew all along that Finn's girlfriend was pregnant and you didn't even sing a sad ballad in Glee club? That doesn't seem like you at all."
Rachel smiles sadly and positions herself across from Kurt on the bed. She pauses for a moment and looks him in the eye. Kurt has to hand it to her, she's got the dramatic effects down.
"That's because the baby isn't Finn's."
Kurt doesn't know what to do. After Rachel tells him how Puck came out with the truth after they had a mutual jealousy make-out session (Kurt knows better than to question either of their actions), he is left with more questions than answers.
Should he tell Finn? Is he even in the position to tell Finn? Would it be better for Finn to worry about being a father or to be upset about his girlfriend cheating on him with his best friend? Is he betraying Finn's confidence by not telling him? Would he betray Rachel's confidence if he did tell his brother the truth?
By the end of the day, his head hurts and he goes to bed without moisturizing, willing his mind to shut up so that he can sleep.
He dreams of Blaine that night.
"I thought we were co-uncles!" he screams at Dream Blaine who just got promoted to captain of the Cheerios and keeps doing excited cartwheels while Sue Sylvester cheers and waves her pompoms in the air.
Dream Blaine stops for a second to look at him with a wicked smirk. "And you think that meant something? I'm kicking you out of the Cheerios and then I'm going to kick your ass at everything else!"
He wakes up drenched in sweat, stubs his toe on the bed on the way to his bathroom and gets hairspray in his eye while doing his hair.
He wishes Rachel had just kept her mouth shut.
His day continues to be an epic adventure of failure and embarrassment.
He gets himself and Finn to school late because of car trouble. He conjugates some French verbs wrong, earning himself a worried look from his teacher. And then he trips over Azimio's out-stretched foot in the cafeteria and lands face first in his plate of spaghetti, to the amusement of everyone within twenty feet of him. Tina helps him up and gets him some tissues to clean up but both his cheerleading uniform and his mood are ruined for the day.
When he arrives in English class, looking like someone emptied an entire dumpster on him, Blaine shoots him a sympathetic look.
"Bad day?" he asks.
Kurt grimaces. "Having a blast," he grits out.
"Maybe it'll cheer you up that Coach Sylvester won't need the boys in practice today?" Blaine asks.
"How do you know?"
Blaine shrugs. "Co-captain meeting this morning. It'll be announced later."
Kurt sighs. "I guess it's a plus." He rummages through his bag and pauses. "Oh, for heaven's sake."
"What?" Blaine asks, concern seeping into his voice.
"I forgot my textbook."
When he looks back up from his bag, Blaine has already repositioned his own book in the middle of the table and scoots a bit closer so that they can both use his book.
Kurt thinks, not for the first time, that Blaine would make an amazing friend if it wasn't for the fact that Rachel would kill him for socializing with a sworn enemy.
Finn was right – Mr. Fabray and Mrs. Anderson are not happy at all when they find out that she is pregnant. It is a Thursday night when Finn and Quinn show up at the doorstep of the Hummel-Hudson household, Finn holding a completely distressed Quinn in his arms and blinking back tears himself.
Burt and Carole assure her how much she is welcome to stay with them for the time being. Kurt leans against the wall in the hallway with crossed arms, watching through doorway as they all sit down in the living room, discussing the situation.
She's cheating on Finn, Kurt thinks. She has no right invading this house, dragging us all into the mess, leaving Finn clueless.
Quinn seems to sense that someone is watching her and lifts up her head to look at Kurt. She frowns when she notices Kurt's icy gaze. Kurt just raises an eyebrow in a silent challenge – say something and I'm going to spill. He isn't sure if she understands his silent threat but she blinks quickly and averts her eyes. She doesn't look at Kurt again that evening.
Later, that night, before he's heading to bed, Kurt hears Carole crying in the living room and his father trying to calm her down. He swallows around the lump in his throat. The guilt of knowing whose baby it really is comes crashing down on him again. He hurries to his own room and closes the door with a heavy sigh.
He doesn't have another nightmare about Blaine but he doesn't exactly sleep well, either. His mind is filled with Quinn and cheating and Finn and loyalty. In the end, he keeps tossing and turning, barely finding a messy rhythm between dozing and starting up from some half-sleep state, sweaty and restless.
Breakfast is quiet. Burt is still asleep, Carole is humming to herself while making breakfast, though the melody sounds a bit more forced than usual to Kurt's ears, Quinn is staring down at her plate in thought, and Finn tries to begin a conversation every now and then, always ending in awkward silence. Kurt just looks ahead with an iron gaze cast on the clock on the wall, willing it to just strike half past already so that they can finally get their stuff and leave for school.
He needs to talk to Finn. But now that Quinn lives with them, will he even be able to catch him alone? Maybe at school? Bad idea, Kurt thinks. A topic as delicate as this should be discussed in a quiet place. But where else? After school, there's Glee club. Quinn will be there. After Glee club, Quinn and him will both be headed to cheerleading practice. Maybe if he races home, if he skips showering at school and do it at home instead, he can be there a few minutes earlier than Quinn. But a few minutes are not enough. Plus, Kurt remembers with a grimace, since they now live together and Finn will head back home earlier than them, they will probably both ride in Kurt's car because Carole will pick Finn up from Glee like she usually does.
Dammit.
And Finn has football practice in the early evening. By the time Kurt and Quinn will be home, he will be packing his sports bag for practice, anyway. Kurt could offer to drive him or maybe pick him up but then again, he's back to the quiet space problem. And since Finn usually gets a ride with Puck, Kurt might end up having to take Puck with them, which would be just as unfortunate, if not more, given the situation.
He wishes he could just talk to Finn in their own home. Maybe Quinn will head out with friends in the evening? Kurt glances at Quinn over the rim of his coffee mug. No luck there. She looks nothing like the superior, cunning, sociable persona she usually is. Her shoulders are slumped, her grip around the fork and knife she's holding is shaky, there are circles under her eyes and her hair even looks a bit greasy. Kurt has a feeling she won't be going out. He wouldn't even be surprised if she didn't come to school at all.
It turns out that he's underestimating her, though. Exactly five minutes before they have to go, Quinn heads upstairs quickly and apparently works some kind of magic because when comes back down, she looks stunning as always. Kurt is almost intrigued and impressed enough to ask how she did it but he bites his tongue.
Finn and Kurt amicably fight over the radio station on their way to school for a while. It has become an old brotherly quarrel for them. Kurt insists on driving, always, because he doesn't trust anyone with his baby, and Finn usually calls dibs on the music they listen to. Sometimes, Kurt stays fiercely stubborn but today he just doesn't have the energy. As soon as he gives in, the car is filled with rock music that does nothing to calm Kurt's mind.
Whenever he checks the rearview mirror, he sees Quinn observing him with a quiet, somewhat apprehensive look on her face. She's chewing on her bottom lip and doesn't even back away when he stares back pointedly. The exchange is making him strangely uncomfortable and he all but flees from the car as soon as they reach the McKinley parking lot.
He claims to be late for a pre-class chat with Rachel so that Finn won't wonder why he is in such a hurry to leave them behind. "See you later for lunch or Glee club or whatever," he mumbles quickly and rushes to the main entrance.
Instead of actually meeting Rachel to perfect his alibi, which he could have since he sees her fiddling with some pictures in her locker as he hastens through the hallways, he ends up going to the bathroom and just leaning against the wall for a while to collect his thoughts.
Okay. New plan. He needs to talk to Finn and Quinn won't be home until after Cheerios practice… oh. Kurt frowns. How did he not think of it? He needs to skip cheerleading practice. He can drop some hints during Glee club that he's not feeling well. That way nobody will be surprised if he ends up going home early.
He pushes his body off the wall. He will need to subtly drop some hints for Rachel as well. She won't buy it if he isn't thorough and since she is still dead set on making him captain, she will not let him skip cheerleading practice if he doesn't play his part well. He looks at himself in the bathroom mirror and practices his cough. It sounds a bit fake but it'll do. He squints at his hair. Maybe…
He lets some water run from the tap, gathers some in his palm and runs his fingers through his hair. Finn better be glad he has such an awesome brother because there are only very few people in his world Kurt would ruin his hairdo for.
"Okay, better," he mutters to himself, inspecting the slightly shabby-messy look he has created. It might be convincing enough.
But while his styling is now perfect for his excuse to leave school after Glee club, his timing is apparently not up to speed. As soon as he closes the bathroom door behind himself, his body bumps straight into Quinn's, who seems collected enough at first but raises a quizzical brow at his hair after a split second of fake superiority.
"What's with the hair?" she asks pointedly.
The last time Kurt heard that question was back in his sophomore year when that horrible April Rhodes lured him into her dangerous fangs with muscle magazines and booze. His instinct is telling him to run right back into the bathroom and fix it. But he is taking one for the team. This is for Finn's benefit.
He feigns confusion. "What? My hair?"
"Yes, your hair."
"I woke up like this."
Quinn takes a step forward at the same time as Kurt tries to bypass her. He ends up standing closer to the wall with Quinn blocking his way. Did she just corner him?
"Kurt, we got to school in the same car. Your hair was fine," Quinn reminds him. "And I've known you since middle school. There is never anything wrong with your hair."
"Is there anything wrong now?" Kurt asks, attempting to sound panicked.
Quinn isn't buying any of it. In fact, Kurt can practically see Quinn waving a five dollar bill in his face and walking away without buying anything.
Kurt sighs.
"Okay, let's cut the crap," he tells her. "I know, okay?"
Her face goes sort of rigid. Kurt uses it to his advantage and slips out of her trap, cornering her instead. The surprise on her face only lasts a few seconds and Kurt almost doesn't catch it. Almost.
Slipping back to a bored expression, she asks, "Know what?"
If Quinn was waving a five dollar bill a few seconds ago, Kurt is holding at least fifty bucks in his own hand now.
"You know exactly what I mean," he lets her know with a matching bored tone. Two can play at this game, and Kurt has practiced imaginary arguments with Quinn enough in sophomore year to know that he can hold his own. Funnily enough, that time, he also imagined them fighting about Finn. Granted, in a much different setting, but it's good to know his practice wasn't completely in vain.
"Actually, I don't," Quinn spits. "All I know is that you've not been very welcoming ever since I came to stay with your family last night."
Kurt can see right through her angry act. Somewhere underneath those narrowed eyes and the crossed arms, there is a nervous energy that is threatening to make itself known any minute now. However, she is clearly waiting for Kurt to spell it out. She probably has that tiny shred of hope left telling her that he doesn't actually know. He decides to drop the pretense and goes for full confrontation.
"Would you welcome someone to your home who claims to carry your brother's child but is actually a lying cheat?" he hisses.
Quinn's eyes flitter from Kurt to their surroundings immediately, scanning the corridor for any listeners. So far, nobody's paying attention, as most of the students on the second floor are lounging by their lockers, drawing out the time they have until they need to head to class. There is nobody in their vicinity who could have heard Kurt. Quinn looks at Kurt again.
"Kurt," she warns, nervous tone still present but laced with sudden urgency. "Please don't."
"Please don't what?" Kurt asks in a faked sweet voice. "Spill the beans?"
"I don't have anywhere to go," Quinn pleads.
"And that is nobody's problem but yours," Kurt tells her and starts walking away from her.
For a minute, he thinks she is going to let it go, but she does call after him, "What's with the hair?"
He spins around with a sly smile. "None of your business," he sing-songs and moves through the filling hallway quickly so she won't follow him.
Rachel, as it turns out, is much easier to convince than Quinn.
"Oh my god, Kurt!" she exclaims as he shows up at her locker between third and fourth period, coughing into the sleeve of his sweater and slouching a bit in an attempt to look sickly. He mumbles something about feeling sick, effectively causing her to rant about pre-audition sickness having numerous effects on one's overall performance even if they are out of the woods by then. She also pulls out a face mask from her locker and Kurt doesn't even have time to ask her why she keeps medical supplies in her locker as if she's waiting for the apocalypse to come before she rambles on about the dangers a sore throat can hold for the rest of a singer's life.
She doesn't stop her rant during lunch time, either, and Kurt can't help but groan at one point.
"Rachel, I'm sick," he says. "Not dying, okay?"
She looks him up and down.
"You might as well be," she decides. "You look terrible."
The comment makes Kurt's hair stand on end but he ignores the feeling in the favor of playing his part. If it wasn't for the hair and his sickly posture, he'd be looking entirely fine. Rachel is really going overboard with her analysis.
"Yeah, Kurt, I've never seen you so out of shape," Artie agrees, and Kurt sends him a dark, murderous look that shuts him up.
He sulks his way through lunch and lets himself fall into the chair next to Blaine's in English class.
"… are you alright?" Blaine asks worriedly.
"I'm sick," Kurt mumbles, and half-expects Blaine to pull out a face mask, too, and treat him like an infected zombie. He is a singer, too, after all, and who knows if he is as crazy as Rachel with the whole NYADA plan.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Blaine says instead and offers Kurt the juice box that is sitting on his side of the desk.
Kurt stares at him. "I'll get you sick if I drink from the same straw as you," he protests. And besides, I'm not even sick. Don't be nice to me, I'm doing this to tell my brother that your sister is lying to him.
Blaine waves a dismissive hand. "You can keep this one, I have more in my locker."
Kurt raises an eyebrow. "Any drugs in this?" he asks, torn between joking and showing actual concern for a person who seems to have a strange addiction to orange juice.
Blaine grins. "Nope, just lots of vitamins that will help you get rid of the cold."
Kurt feels a little bad for taking Blaine's juice but it's not like he can tell him the truth, so he accepts it with a small "thank you".
"Anytime," Blaine answers and starts taking notes when their teacher begins to talk about important study guidelines for the class.
He has Econ with Finn and since they are sitting next to each other and doing partner projects, he can't help but contemplate telling his brother the truth. Sure, they're in school, in class no less, it's less than ideal, but he could stop pretending to be sick and just get it over with.
"Hey, you look less sick than at lunch," Finn says happily and Kurt flinches. Shoot. His brother isn't totally unobservant at times.
"It's all still a little blurry," he says vaguely but takes advantage of the fact that he's already been caught and doesn't reassume a slouched posture. Pretending to be sick isn't that easy.
"Maybe Quinn could give you some of these prenatal vitamins I bought for her yesterday after school," Finn suggests and continues to fill out their assignment sheet in front of them.
Kurt laughs. "Finn, those are for pregnant women."
Finn frowns. "Really? How do you know?"
"Prenatal…?" Kurt asks. Finn only shakes his head so Kurt continues, "It's Latin for 'before birth'."
"Oh." Finn nods. "That makes sense. The cashier looked at me all weirdly when I bought them."
Kurt smiles. "I can imagine how that would look a bit weird."
"Quinn has me buying all sorts of weird stuff," Finn says with a sigh. "I don't even know what half of it is, but it's super expensive, which means I can't buy the Xbox game I wanted."
Kurt gulps. There it is. The moment. It would be so easy to just-
"Hey, Finn, I have-" he starts but gets interrupted by their Econ teacher.
"No talking unless it's about the assignment," she snarls and moves onto the next table to scold someone else.
"Dude, she's scary," Finn whispers when she is out of earshot.
Kurt feels frozen to the spot but he manages a nod. Maybe it's better if he just sticks to his plan.
Rachel is so worried already that Kurt doesn't need much of an excuse when he kicks the acting up a notch during Glee club and Rachel is the first to suggest that maybe he should go home. He sniffs and nods, ignoring the burning look he can feel Quinn give him from the backrow.
"It's probably for the best," he croaks. "Rachel, would you walk me-"
"Actually," Quinn interrupts, and her voice sounds just as sweet and fake as Kurt's did this morning, "Rachel should practice her solo for sectionals some more, don't you think, Mr. Schue? I can walk you to your car, Kurt."
"Thanks, Quinn," Mr. Schue says, oblivious to the tension between Kurt and Quinn.
"No, Quinn, Rachel can-" he starts, but Rachel interrupts him the best she can with half of her face still hidden behind the face mask.
"She's right, I should practice my solo, and you two are on different harmony parts so nobody essential would be missing from the background," she says.
If this wasn't about something else entirely, he would probably slap his best friend across the face for a comment like that. Given the situation, though, he can only open his mouth and snap it shut again, desperately trying to find another excuse.
"Come on, Kurt, I'll even drive you home. You can't drive in a state like this," Quinn says.
Why does Quinn have to be so smart? Couldn't Finn sort-of-not-really knock up Brittany instead?
Reluctantly, he lets himself be escorted by Quinn. They're almost out in the hallway when Quinn turns back to the choir room and calls out, "Oh, Blaine? Could you tell Coach that we won't be at practice today?"
Kurt can see Blaine nod and shoot him a worried look, but Quinn is already dragging him out of side before he can mouth "thank you" or something along the lines.
"What the hell are you doing?" she asks, pulling him with her through the hallway. She's surprisingly strong and Kurt is struggling to keep up with her.
"I could ask you the same thing," he says bitterly.
"I'm trying to keep you from ruining my life."
"Your life is ruined whether you want it or not," Kurt spits, just as they reach the main entrance. "You're having a baby at eighteen, Quinn, right before graduation."
She stops in her tracks, glassy eyes boring into Kurt's.
"Exactly," she whispers. The grip on Kurt's shoulder loosens. "My life is already going down the drain, and Finn is the only thing I have left!"
Kurt bites his lip. There are a million things he wants to say, ranging from insults and accusations to words of comfort. He looks around.
"Let's talk in the car," he suggests.
The tension between them is still there as they walk over to where Kurt parked his car but there is a small change in their dynamics. Kurt can see Quinn letting down her guard, and he can feel himself retracting his own reservations, too.
"I just want to know," Kurt asks while he is fiddling with the keys in his pocket, "why you are doing this to Finn."
Quinn takes a deep breath and opens the door on the passenger side once the car is unlocked.
"I don't want to hurt him," she says, sliding into the seat next to Kurt and pulling out the seatbelt, stopping for a second to put a hand on Kurt's arm. "Please, Kurt, believe me, I am not trying to hurt him."
Kurt sighs. "But why, Quinn?"
"He's my best shot at making it work," she mutters sadly. "Puck won't do me any good, he was a mistake and there's that."
"He won't raise the baby with you?"
"We're talking about Puck here," Quinn says. "I know his ways. He will get bored with me as soon as he finds a new toy."
"Maybe not," Kurt insists. "Maybe he really loves you."
"Finn really loves me. He's scared but at least he cares about the baby and making money and keeping me healthy and sane."
The school bell interrupts their conversation and they decide to head home before someone finds them in the parking lot. They'll have about half an hour until Finn gets home with Carole.
Whoa. Kurt realizes he suddenly went from planning a secret talk with Finn to having a secret talk with Quinn. It gets him back on track.
"Look, just because Finn is your boyfriend and he'd be a more ideal choice than Puck, that doesn't make it okay that you're lying to him."
Quinn nods, gaze cast down onto her lap. "I know," she says simply. "I feel like hell for putting him through this. But I don't have anywhere to go. Your family was nice enough to take me in. I can't go back to my parents and I can't raise a baby on my own."
"What about adoption?"
"Why, are you interested?" Quinn snaps and then looks out of the window for a minute. "Sorry."
"Hormones?" Kurt asks.
"No, pent-up anger," Quinn admits. "I've thought about getting an abortion or giving the baby up for adoption but… I don't know, I can't. Someone is growing inside of me, because of me. Sure, if I was younger, I think I'd give adoption a shot, but I'm eighteen… I know that's young but old enough to make it if I have someone to support me through it."
Kurt taps his fingers on the wheel restlessly. "What if Finn finds out?"
Quinn sighs. "It will happen sooner or later, won't it?"
Kurt spares a quick look at her before focusing back on the road. "I guess."
"I'd rather it be later," Quinn says. "I need to figure out a plan, what to do, how to deal with this… and who knows, maybe Finn and I will have a future together anyway."
"Do you love him?" Kurt asks.
"Yes," Quinn says but her voice falters.
"Really?" Kurt pushes.
"Yes, I do. I was stupid and vulnerable the day I slept with Puck. I love Finn."
"But…?" Kurt asks because he doesn't feel like that's all there is.
Quinn pauses, opening her mouth a few times without any words coming out.
"But I'm not sure if we're happy," is what she settles for in the end.
They arrive at the Hummel-Hudson household. Kurt helps Quinn out of the car. They decide to go to Kurt's room to continue their talk.
Quinn hesitates when she gets to Kurt's room before stepping closer to his desk chair and sitting down on it a little primly. Kurt doesn't invite her to sit on the bed, even though he himself puts down his stuff next to it and gets comfortable. He feels a little bad but he figures he needs to settle their differences before letting her off the hook completely.
"You're not sure if you're happy…?" he prompts.
Quinn nods but doesn't say anything.
"So…?"
"Have you ever been in love, Kurt?"
Kurt shrugs. "No, not really, why?"
"Being in love isn't always sunshine and happiness," Quinn says. "When you love someone and you make a mistake and you hurt them, you feel ten times as bad. But it doesn't change that you're in love."
"But aren't you hurting Finn even more if you keep him in the dark about what's going on?" Kurt asks.
"Look, Kurt, I promise I'm not trying to manipulate him or anything, I just need some time to figure out what I'm going to do. My dad threw me out. I don't have any other family in Lima. I'm out of options right now."
Kurt rubs his eyes tiredly. "What are you asking of me?"
Quinn visibly cringes. "Not to say anything just now… please?"
Kurt looks at her for a long time. He thinks about telling Finn right after this conversation. He feels worse about it than before. He still feels like he is betraying Finn's confidence, has felt like it ever since he learned about the situation, but he also knows it is not his place to tell his brother. There's more to it than just this one side, and Quinn has been honest enough with him that he trusts her to not intentionally play games with Finn.
He sighs. He knows he has already sub-consciously made up his mind. Telling Finn would feel wrong, somehow.
"I don't like lying to Finn and I would rather you tell the truth," he mumbles, "but your secret's safe with me for the time being."
Quinn gets up from the chair and strides over to the bed to hug him quickly.
"Thank you, Kurt, thank you," she breathes out.
"It's okay," he says. It's really not but maybe he should just pretend he never knew anything about anyone. Wouldn't life be blissful?
Quinn retracts to Finn's bedroom and leaves Kurt alone for a few minutes before Carole and Finn come home. When Kurt hears the front door open, he steels himself for the wave of bad feelings that will crash over him as soon as he sees Finn.
He promised Quinn. It's not his secret to spill.
Besides Carole and Finn's voices, he can also make out Rachel's lilt from downstairs. He sighs to himself. He doesn't want to keep up the charade of being sick.
"Kurt, honey," Carole greets him as soon as she manages to escape Rachel's continuous rambling, "you're not feeling well?"
Oh, no. How could he forget that his stepmother is a nurse?
"Carole." He whispers her name because he knows Rachel and Finn are still talking but might barge in at any second. "Please don't be mad."
She frowns. "Why would I be?"
"I pretended to be sick because I was so tired. Quinn, too. She was tired, I mean, not pretending to be sick. We just really wanted to get out of cheerleading rehearsal."
"Why didn't you just skip?"
Leave it to Carole to make everything sound so simple.
"I don't know, it seemed like a good idea at the time," Kurt mumbles.
Carole laughs. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."
Kurt thanks her but he can feel his heart banging against the ribcage at the words.
"Why don't Finn and Rachel know?" Carole asks.
"Um," Kurt says and tries to make up something believable. "The less people knew, the better for the acting."
Carole looks a little confused but at least she seems to buy it. "Alright then," she says. "I'll bring you some water anyway, you kids are never keeping yourselves hydrated enough."
"Kurt!" Rachel exclaims and rushes past Carole, pulling her face mask back on in the process. "How are you?" she adds, her words muffled by the mask.
Kurt grins. "Better. I think all I needed was a little power nap."
Carole winks at him as she leaves the room.
"I could still get you those vitamins," Finn teases.
Kurt looks at him. It hurts but he pushes the feeling away. "Please don't," he says with a small laugh.
"Finn, would you leave us alone for a moment?" Rachel asks suddenly. Finn looks a bit taken aback but he nods and leaves for his room.
Kurt shoots Rachel a confused look. "What is it?" he asks.
Rachel stops looking worried and looks a lot more cross instead. "Why didn't you tell me Quinn moved in with you?"
Oh.
"Well, you didn't let me say a word today besides 'I'm sick'," Kurt says. "It didn't come up."
Rachel seems to be appeased enough to change the topic.
"We should tell Finn about… you know, shouldn't we?" she asks.
"No!" Kurt exclaims and Rachel stares at him like he's an alien.
"Why not, Kurt?" she asks. "He's being lied to."
"He wouldn't want to find out that way," Kurt tells her and he's only half-convinced it's the truth but he needs to sound confident enough to instill the same belief in Rachel. If anyone besides Quinn or Puck should tell Finn, it's Kurt, but certainly not Rachel. "Besides, I know what your motive behind it is. But he'd only feel betrayed if he found at that you knew before him."
That seems to do the trick. Rachel drops the topic immediately and instead starts telling him all about her upcoming solo.
Making the decision not to tell Finn about Puck and Quinn might not have been easy but it does relieve Kurt of the constant worrying over catching Finn alone, how to tell him and wondering if it would be right to tell him. Instead, it fills him with deep guilt. He doesn't know which sentiment is better. All of it has him feeling a little bit like he actually might be sick after all.
Luckily, he has Rachel and her beat-Blaine-to-the-punch NYADA master plan to keep him as busy as humanly possible. Between Glee club, Cheerios practice, campaigning for senior class president, and practicing for the West Side Story audition, Kurt feels like he doesn't have time for anything else besides breathing, eating and sleeping. He tells Rachel as much when she asks him why he hasn't joined the debate team yet.
Rachel, of course, has fully immersed herself not only in the debate team but the Black Student Union, too, which she proudly announces at lunch, causing Mercedes to have a laughing fit that she only barely manages to disguise as a cough.
It is two days before their auditions for West Side Story when Brittany decides to announce that she is running for senior class president herself instead of planning and supporting Kurt's campaign.
It is one day before their auditions when Blaine breaks the news to everyone in Glee club that he is campaigning as well, causing Rachel's jaw to drop and Kurt to turn towards his best friend with a matching horrified expression.
He briefly considers dropping everything and just living under a rock for the rest of his life because from the looks of it, everybody seemed to be on board with either Brittany or Blaine winning the election. Their popularity is a huge bonus, of course.
But really, he needs a ticket out of this cow town. If he wants to get into NYADA and move to New York with Rachel, he needs to toughen up. So he pushes through it and auditions the next day. He chooses a Streisand song, despite Rachel's initial protest, and he kills it. The song is a perfect choice for both his lower and upper register and he even uses props to make it more interesting. He leaves the stage feeling good about himself for the first time in days.
And then – then he makes a mistake. He hears Blaine greeting the judges and decides on a whim to go watch his competition's audition from the balcony. Hidden in the shadows, he watches as Blaine transforms into the perfect Tony right on that stage where Kurt just stood minutes ago, performing an amazing song, no doubt, but also a song completely disconnected from the role of Tony, and doing an overall fantastic job, but not displaying his relevant acting skills. Which is exactly what Blaine is doing.
He has heard Blaine sing before in Glee club but he still can't help but be in complete awe of the rich, smooth quality that has taken over his voice. Kurt can hear, right there in that moment, how much Blaine deserves the role – and a spot in the NYADA program.
Kurt admires and despises him at the same time.
He leaves the balcony with tears in his eyes before he can hear what the judges have to say about Blaine's undoubtedly stellar audition.