So I decided my 2018 new year's resolution may have to be stop making promises you know you're not gonna keep, because I said ten days ago I was not gonna post another Glee story, and yet, here we are.
(Blame SenseiGrace, she corrupted me!)
Anyway, I'm not sure when this story takes place, cause Kurt hasn't gone to Dalton and knows Blaine, but Finn is dead. Therefore, it's hella AUed, so go with it :)
And now, on with the story!
"Hey, guys." Will Shuester said quietly to the clearly upset teenagers, grabbing their attention. "I know we're all suffering after losing Finn-"
"Duh. He was my best friend." Puck interrupted, staring right into his eyes.
"Puck has a point." Mercedes added. "Am I the only one who noticed that Kurt hasn't shown up since the funeral? And if it wasn't for her desire for every solo, Rachel probably wouldn't have shown up with that obnoxious smile on her face and insulting positive attitude."
"I'm focusing on regionals, Mercedes." Rachel whipped around to glare at her before standing up to talk to Will. "In fact, I think for the solo at regionals this year." She placed the sheet music on top of the piano. "We should do the song "Tomorrow" from the Broadway classic, Annie. It fits our current situation, but it also promises light at the end of the tunnel."
"Sorry I'm late." A quiet, choked up voice interrupted, and everyone turned their heads to see Kurt walk in with red, puffy eyes and his bag held close to his side, making his way to the back.
"It's completely fine, Kurt. Thank you, Rachel." Will insisted as she sat back down, before turning to the dry erase board, writing "COVERS" in all caps with the black dry erase marker and turning back to face the teens. "What turns a cover into your song?"
"By making it fit your style." Tina spoke from the back. "If your style is alternative music, but there's a country song you really like, you can take the lyrics and melody, and turn it into a alternative song."
"Exactly, Tina. When recording artists perform songs that aren't their own, they'll adapt it to their own style. That's your assignment for the week. Take a song from a genre that you don't prefer and adapt it to fit your style. I'll be judging myself, and the winner gets to perform theirs as a solo at regionals."
Rachel stood up in a huff. "Mr. Shue, with all due respect, this is absurd. "Tomorrow" is the perfect song for regionals and I'm the perfect person to sing it."
"You know what's absurd, Rachel?" Kurt demanded, standing up and glaring at her. "The fact that Finn, your boyfriend, is dead, and all you care about is a stupid performance that no one will remember in five years." He made his way from the back, and stormed out of the auditorium, tears running down his cheeks and leaving the group in complete and utter shock.
"I'll go talk to him." Mercedes started to leave, but Shue stopped her, placing his hand on her shoulder.
"No. Leave him alone for now."
Mercedes nodded, sitting back down, but not before shooting a glare at Rachel, leading the brunette to look down at the floor and start conjuring up a plan.
••••••
Rachel knocked on the door of the two story house, impatiently tapping her foot on the step with crossed arms when the door opened to reveal Carole.
"Rachel." She greeted with a small smile that disappeared as soon as it came.
"Hello, Mrs. Hummel. Is Kurt home? I need to talk to him about Glee Club stuff." Rachel explained, and she wasn't lying...sort of.
"Yeah, he's downstairs. Come in." She insisted, heading towards Kurt's room while Rachel followed her, closing the door behind herself.
Carole knocked on Kurt's bedroom door, before opening it and walking down a few of the stairs in order to peek her head in where Kurt was laying on his stomach and texting.
"Kurt, Rachel is here about Glee Club."
"Thanks, Carole." He smiled softly as she turned around, shutting the door behind her. He turned off the phone before glaring at the brunette descending down the stairs. "Come to do more damage?"
"Kurt, I didn't mean to upset you-"
"Well, you did. Alright?" He sniffed, wiping a tear away with his hand. "My brother is dead, a-and all you care about is a trophy. I thought you were different, Rachel. That you actually c-cared about Finn. I guess h-he was just a f-fling to you."
"Oh my god, why are you making me the bad guy?!" Rachel screamed, making Kurt flinch slightly at her outburst. "You think I don't care about Finn?! Of course I care about Finn! In fact, I'm using regionals to take my mind off of him because I know he would want us to win for him! And yeah, we have to completely start over without him, but..." She trailed off, before sitting down at Kurt's vanity, and sobbed in her hands, finally letting everything out in front of him.
Kurt slowly walked over, and kneeled in front of her, looking her in the eyes.
"K-kurt..." She whimpered, flinging herself into his arms without giving it a second thought and crying on his shoulder.
Kurt wrapped his arms around her, and whispering while running his hands through her hair, whispering "I've got you", but she didn't know that he was crying on her shoulder as well.
•••
"Hey, you two." Burt greeted softly as he came downstairs holding two pizza boxes, only to see Rachel and Kurt looking over tons of sheet music. "I brought you dinner on the way home from work."
Kurt looked up with a grateful smile as he stood up, taking the pizza boxes from his dad, setting them down on the bed. "Thanks, dad. Please tell me there aren't more pizza boxes upstairs, you know you're not supposed to eat it."
"No, there isn't pizza upstairs. Carole is making dinner for both of us."
Kurt nodded in approval, sitting back down on the bed and glossing over a song by Mellencamp.
"Rachel, do you want me to give you a ride home?" Burt questioned.
"It's OK, Mr. Hummel. Kurt and I are still trying to pick songs for Mr. Shue's assignment. We have to pick songs of the opposite genre that we listen to, which means zero Lady Gaga, Britney Spears or anything off of Broadway." Rachel explained to the older man.
"It's devastating, really." Kurt sighed, grabbing a different piece of sheet music.
"Well, I'm no musical expert, but why don't you do a duet? I mean, you both have the same, if not very similar, music tastes, and that's so unlike both of you. That way, you only need one song. After all, two heads are better then one."
The two teens glanced at each other, before looking back at the adult.
"That might actually work, Dad!" Kurt exclaimed as Burt started descending up the stairs.
"Repay me by going to bed before midnight. Rachel, let me know when you want me to drive you home."
"Thanks, Mr. Hummel."
"Night, Dad."
Burt disappeared from view and Kurt immediately lunged for his phone, knowing that Blaine may very well have a suggestion that could work.
"It's really sweet, your relationship with your dad. You really care about him." Rachel admired.
"After his heart attack, I've become like a mama bird. Overprotective, overbearing and practically feeding him out of my own mouth." Kurt admitted, sending the text to Blaine before looking the brunette in the eyes. "I guess it made me realize that nothing..." He stopped, swallowing his tears as his older brother came back to mind. "Nothing lasts forever."
He looked down at the many Journey and Mellencamp songs, not wanting Rachel to see as his tears spilled down his face and he choked on his sobs, starting to shake, when he felt a hand on his shoulder, looking up to see Rachel, holding her arms out.
"You let me cry on you and ruin your jacket. Come here and ruin my sweater." She smiled as the brunette teen lunged into her arms, clinging onto her like she was a lifeline, the only thing keeping him from drowning in sorrow as he whispered.
"I-I can't lose anyone else..."
Rachel rubbed his back, hearing the distress, sadness, fear, everything he must've been feeling since he found out that his brother would never come home again, finally let loose on her shoulder. She even started clutching onto him, starting to cry on him again as she remembered her and Finn singing "You're The One That I Want" from Grease, and seeing Kurt's jealous glances that she was singing with him.
A few moments later, Kurt lifted his head out of her shoulder, wiping his final tear on his sleeve before smiling at her gratefully.
"Thanks, Rachel, I really needed that." He told her, regaining his composure while turning on his phone.
"You can cry on me anytime, Kurt." She insisted, before glancing at the electronic in his hand. "Did Blaine have any ideas?"
"Yes, he did." He smiled, showing her the screen with the text message from the Warbler.
"I don't listen to her music, at all. She might be the perfect fit." Rachel agreed with a smile.
"Well, when it comes to Blaine, you have to expect either Katy Perry or P!nk."
•••••••
"Alright. Who wants to go first?" Will asked the small group a week later, which immediately had Kurt raising his hand. "Go ahead." Will told him, sitting down.
Kurt and Rachel walked up to the piano, handing Brad the music before Kurt spoke softly, barley loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Rachel and I couldn't decide on two different songs that clashed our love of show tunes, and after hours of looking through Mellencamp, we came to the conclusion that we should do a duet, because a duet clashes with our love of the solo spotlight."
The piano started playing the intro to the slow rendition of the P!nk song, while Rachel reassuringly squeezed his hand and he started with a tear filled voice.
"You took my hand, you showed me how. You promised me you'd be around. Uh huh, that's right. I took your words, and I believed. In everything, you said to me. Yeah huh, that's right."
He slowly tapped his foot to the rhythm, turning to Rachel as she joined in.
"If someone said three years from now, you'd be long gone. I'd stand up and punch them out, cause they're all wrong. I know better, cause you said forever. And ever. Who knew."
Rachel started singing her verse, giving Kurt a chance to wipe the tear on his face, and look up at the ceiling, picture Finn smiling down at him and Rachel.
"Remember when we were such fools, and so convinced and just too cool. Oh no. No no. I wish I could touch you again, I wish I could still call you friend. I'd give anything."
Kurt turned his attention from the ceiling to his Glee Club family as he joined back in with Rachel.
"When someone said count your blessings now, for they're long gone. I guess I just didn't know how, I was all wrong. They knew better, still you said forever. And ever. Who knew."
Then they started switching off between lines, creating a truly magical sound, that they both knew Finn would be proud of.
Yeah yeah. I'll keep you locked in my head, Until we meet again. Until we meet again. And I won't forget you my friend, what happened."
"If someone said three years from now, you'd be long gone. I'd stand up and punch them out, cause they're all wrong and that last kiss, I'll cherish."
"Until we meet again. And time makes, it harder, I wish I could remember. But I keep, your memory, you visit me in my sleep!" They both yelled out in high notes, and while Rachel echoed quietly "my darling" over and over, Kurt sang the title of the song in a deep voice, before they joined together one last time to sing the last three lines.
"I miss you. My darling. Who knew?"
The two teens took a deep breath, before looking up again at the ceiling, smiling, feeling Finn smile down on them, before Kurt looked down to see Rachel smiling at him.
"He's always here, Kurt."
And somehow, he knew that she was right.
The end.