Thanks so much to everyone for the support on my fluffier stories! Your reviews have been so wonderful, and greatly appreciated.
Here is what I imagine will be the last chapter in the Secret Weapon universe. It skips ahead quite a bit from the end of Secret Weapon II: Loathing, by several months. And just a warning to those who oppose or want to avoid the pairing - it goes Kurtofsky at the end (but it's just as mild as the Klain was in the previous two stories).
Sarah Nalick sat at her desk, grading papers and really looking forward to a nice glass of Pinot Grigio when she got home. It was already nearly 5pm, and she estimated that she had at least another 30 minutes to go. As much as she loved teaching, the paperwork side of things pretty much sucked. As she reached for another completed test, she saw movement in the doorway of the music room. Looking up, she was stunned but delighted to see who had come to pay a visit.
Kurt Hummel was standing in the doorway, a sight she'd been missing for a long time. Instead of the Dalton uniform she'd gotten so used to seeing him in, he wore a light purple dress shirt tucked into immaculately pressed grey trousers, along with an argyle vest in pastel hues. She stood up and started moving towards him. "Kurt! What are you doing here?" She squeezed him in a tight hug. "Not that I mind, at all! My God, you look fabulous! "
Kurt had transferred out of Dalton months ago. His parents could no longer afford to send him, and although she had begged the administration to offer him a scholarship, it hadn't panned out. One sleepless night, Sarah had even considered taking a loan from her 401k in desperation. But not only would Kurt and his parents never have accepted the money, it would have crossed the line from concerned to slightly creepy. Maybe she was getting a little too attached to Kurt - and vice-versa - and the separation might be good for both of them in the long run. Still, Sarah and Kurt had both wept copiously on his last day at Dalton. She'd grabbed his hands and asked if he thought he would be safe, and he assured her that his friends in glee and several of the teachers had his back. In the intervening months, they had stayed in touch via Facebook. Sarah never added her students as friends as a rule, but since he wasn't attending Dalton anymore, she made an exception. They didn't really correspond much (other than with the "Like" button), but she enjoyed seeing the status updates, pictures and videos Kurt posted. They painted a picture of someone who was actually quite happy to be where he was, so although she missed him and his contributions to the Warblers, she was thrilled for him.
Both were grinning madly when they parted. "It's so good to see you again too," Kurt said. "I missed you a lot!"
"So, to what do I owe the honor?" asked Sarah. Kurt's smile dimmed a bit, and he seemed to be searching for words. "Is something wrong?" she asked.
"It's just…I kind of need to ask you a favor." He looked at Sarah tentatively. "I know we haven't seen each other in a long time, but I'm kind of in a bind, and you're the only person that I think could help me."
"Well, sure Kurt," she responded. "You know I'd never shy away from the chance to help you out."
Kurt marveled. "You're already saying yes? Even though you don't know what it is?"
"Well maybe you should just tell me, and end the suspense. I just can't imagine you asking me to do anything I'd flat out say no to." Sarah smiled encouragingly at him.
"You know the inter-school glee exhibition is on Saturday, right?" he said.
"Of course! I've got my ticket already. I mean, you and Blaine are performing together. You can't think I'd miss that?"
Kurt looked down at the floor, obviously troubled. "See, the thing is…um…" Kurt Hummel at a loss for words was not something that Sarah had ever personally experienced before. It was disquieting. He licked his lips. "Blaine and I aren't performing together after all. We…broke up. In every sense of the phrase, actually."
"Oh, Kurt!" Sarah exclaimed. "I'm so sorry, what happened?"
"I don't really want to get into the details, if you don't mind." Sarah nodded. "Let's just say I made a decision he wasn't very happy with, and we decided it would be best if we went our separate ways." He paused. "Actually, I'm pretty okay with it, except that the timing is positively tragic. Which brings me to what I wanted to ask you."
"Ask away."
"I wanted to know if you'd perform with me in his place." He held up his hands. "It's okay to say no, I just thought, if anyone could bail me out, it would be you. It's been a while since we sang together, but I remember it being all kinds of amazing," Kurt said fondly.
"Well, it was." Sarah grinned. "Okay, I guess so. What did you have in mind?"
Kurt took some papers out of his bag. From their previous collaboration, she knew they were likely lyric sheets, costume sketches and choreography notes. She was almost surprised he hadn't put together an inspiration board with pictures and fabric swatches this time, but then again, this had been a last minute thing. She took a few minutes to glance over them, brows coming together. A couple of times, she looked up at Kurt, wide-eyed. Finally, she put them down. "Uh, Kurt?" she said, concerned. "Don't you think it would be kind of…inappropriate, for us to do this number together? I mean, you're a minor, and I am your former teacher. It's a little…" she trailed off.
"I know, but with such short notice, I didn't have time to come up with a whole new idea. I just took what Blaine and I were going to do and modified it." Sarah still looked extremely skeptical. "Look, Ms. Nalick. Everyone knows that I'm gayer than a rainbow unicorn. No one is going to think there's anything…icky, going on between us." He made a face.
"You have a point there," said Sarah, grudgingly. Damn it, why was it so hard to say no to this particular kid?
"Besides, you should see some of that stuff Mr. Schuster's had New Directions do. Talk about inappropriate." Kurt just looked at her with those big wide green eyes (which always made her think about the O_O emoticon she was always seeing on Facebook) and desperately hopeful expression, and she caved. "Okay, I'll do it. I might regret it later, but what the heck. Go big or go home, right Kurt?" She winked at him.
Kurt's reply was a great big hug. "We really need to get started. Do you have time tonight?" he said.
"I have some papers left to grade." She thought of her wine, sitting at home and sighed. Really, when the choice was between having a drink or two in her sweats watching So You Think You Can Dance on the DVR, or working on a project with one of the most talented young people she'd ever met, there was really no contest. "But when I'm done with them, we can head down to the auditorium to rehearse. This late at night it'll be deserted."
Four days later, after a whirlwind of rehearsals and sewing, Sarah and Kurt stood back to back at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center in nearby Van Wert. The MC began to announce them. "And now, representing McKinley High School of Lima and Dalton Academy of Westerville, Kurt Hummel and Blaine…" There was a rustling of papers. "I apologize, there's been a last minute correction to my notes. Kurt Hummel and Sarah Nalick!"
A siren sounded, and Sarah and Kurt spun away from each other. She turned and pointed at Kurt, singing the first lyric. Boys call you sexy, and you don't care what they say. See every time you turn around they scream your name. Sarah wore tight black jeans with a white cropped top with a pattern of black paint splatters across it. She didn't have 6-pack abs or anything, but she did Zumba 3 times a week and considered herself in pretty good shape. Kurt was in contrast to her; skintight white jeans and a black short sleeved shirt with white splatters. The two of them sang and danced across the floor, hitting the dance moves that Kurt had told her his friend Brittany was almost entirely responsible for. Sarah didn't doubt it; the bumps, grinds and stomps were miles away from Kurt's usual Broadway jazz styling.
When I grow up, I wanna be famous, I wanna be a star, I wanna be in movies
When I grow up, I wanna see the world, drive nice cars, I wanna have groupies
The audience was going crazy, and Sarah was thinking that she might have to get into some kind of adult hip-hop class eventually. This was beyond fun. They sang the last lyrics to each other, trading off. Be careful what you wish for 'cause you just might get it. You just might get it, you just might get it. The pair hit the ending pose to thunderous applause, and gave each other a sweaty high-five as they left the stage.
After most everyone had left the auditorium, Kurt and Sarah lingered a bit. They knew that being able to hang out together was going to be a rare opportunity, and neither were anxious for it to end. Suddenly, Sarah caught movement from the corner of her eye, as a tall, solid looking teenage boy approached them. He smiled at her and Kurt, and Kurt returned it broadly. "Man, you guys were awesome!" he said. "If this had been a competition, you'd have won first prize for sure."
Always one to agree that Kurt was amazing, she smiled brilliantly at the newcomer. "I think you just might be right," she said. She approached him, holding out her hand. "I don't think we've met. I'm Sarah. And you are?" The tall boy looked embarrassed, and mystified, she turned to Kurt. "Don't you want to introduce me to your friend, Kurt?" she said. Trying to lighten the mood, she continued. "It sounds like he's got great taste."
Both boys stated at each other. Finally, Kurt made his move, walking past Sarah to take the larger boy's hand in his own. Turning to look at her, Kurt said, "Dave, this is Ms. Nalick, my former music instructor and glee coach. Ms. Nalick…" He paused. "This is Dave Karofsky."
Sarah's mind went white and then red at the name of Kurt's former bully. Without a single sentient thought, she marched up to them, yanking Kurt away from Dave and thrusting him behind her. She narrowed her eyes. "I think you need to leave," she spat at Dave.
To his credit, Dave looked terrified, even though he had at least 6 inches and probably 100 pounds on the petite woman in front of him. He held up his hands, eyes wide. "It's not what you think!" he responded.
Sarah felt Kurt shake off her grip and come forward again. Inexplicably, he grabbed Dave's hand again. "Ms. Nalick…he's right. It's not what you think. Things have changed so much for Dave and I. More than you could possibly know." His eyes begged her to understand something completely impossible.
"This?" She asked, disbelievingly. "This is what you and Blaine broke up over?" Wordless, Kurt nodded. Sarah shook her head; it was going to take some time and possibly an entire bottle of wine to wrap her head around this. She approached Kurt. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" she asked.
Kurt looked at Dave, a warm glow she could almost see coming over his face. He looked back at her. "Yeah, I think so," he said. And he did look sure. Maybe surer than she'd ever seen him look about anything.
Sarah put her hand on Kurt's shoulder, noticing that he and Dave had yet to drop hands. "Well, I've always believed in you before. Probably not a good time to stop now." She hugged Kurt. "Thanks for working with me again. Like I said, you're going to do amazing things someday." She turned to leave the auditorium, walking only a few steps before turning back.
"Oh, and Dave?" she said. "It's nice to have met you."
Total fluff and completely unrealistic, but I needed a diversion before setting out on my sequel to Cry for Deliverance. Hop you enjoyed! If so (or even if not), please leave a review!