Kurt was awakened to "Single Ladies" blaring from his brand-new iphone, purchased with money from his array of summer jobs. Groggily, he pulled of his satin sleep mask, untangled himself from his mass of sheets and cashmere pillows, and picked up his phone.
"H'lo?" The minute Kurt spoke, he knew who it was. After all, who else would call him at –Kurt turned to look at his clock- 3 am, hyperventilating as she tried to sob out a few words.
"Quinn? Quinn, what's wrong, sweetie? Where are you?" Kurt was trying to stay calm, but panic was boiling in his stomach. After two long weeks of treatment Quinn had finally been released from the hospital yesterday, along with a heavy dose of anti-depressants. Since his first visit, Kurt had gone back almost daily, and the two had cemented their friendship quickly. Kurt had hoped that being back in her own house would cheer Quinn up some. Judging from the voice at the other end of the phone, Kurt's hopes had not been fulfilled.
"I'm at a p-p-p-pay phone…I don't know where I am!" Quinn was still crying. Kurt was amazed at the amount of crying Quinn had done lately. "How does she even have any tears left?" he asked himself before starting in with Quinn.
"Okay. What do you see?" Kurt asked her as calmly as he could "What street are you on?"
"Umm…Ferloc and Vine?"
"What the...Quinn! That's three miles from your house!"
"I went for a walk. I couldn't sleep. Kurt, can you please come get me? I don't …I can't call my mom."
Kurt sighed. What else could he do? "I know. I'll come get you. Stay put, okay?"
"Okay. Please hurry?"
"I-" Kurt started to reply, but was interrupted by a dial tone. He stumbled out of bed, threw on his silk slippers, and grabbed his keys. He slipped out the door, praying that his dad and Carole would stay asleep.
When Kurt pulled up by the payphone he didn't see Quinn right away. Gingerly, he slid out of his car and stepped onto the sidewalk. It was dark.
"You came."
Kurt jumped, startled by the voice. "Ohmygod!" His voice raised two octaves higher than usual, before he came to his senses. "Quinn, why are you on the ground? That sidewalk is disgusting!"
"I'm kinda dizzy." Quinn's voice was slurred. That's when Kurt finally caught on.
"You're drunk. What happened?"
Quinn only shrugged and looked at the ground, refusing to meet Kurt's gaze. Kurt stood, arms crossed. He hoped he was giving the impression of disapproval, but in reality, he was freaked. He had no idea how to handle a depressed person when they were drunk, other than possibly taze them, which probably wasn't the best choice at the moment. Blaine wasn't depressed, but he had been drunk once, but that pretty much entailed his wanting to kiss straight chicks. Quinn wasn't going to want to kiss him, was she? "Get in the car." Kurt offered Quinn his hand. She took it, teetering a little.
"Your hands are cold, Kurt"
Kurt sighed "Sure. Look, what exactly brought this on? You just got out. I thought-"
"My grandma." Quinn interrupted "She called when I got home. She was so freaking disappointed. She just said 'I thought you were stronger than that, Quinn' and I could j-j-just tell! First the pregnancy, then this! I'm a terrible grandkid, a failure!" Quinn was past tears now, yelling at Kurt with all the hurt in the world reflected in her eyes.
"No, you're not. Your grandma loves you, she cares!" Kurt was struggling to control Quinn as she flailed about in the car. "She's just worried, we all are!"
Quinn was hollering now, no words coming out, just pain.
Suddenly, a memory flashed into Kurt's head. He was a small boy, and he'd just received the worst news in his life. The doctor stepped towards the door, still watching the fragile-looking brunette. "I'm so sorry for your loss." Then he was gone. Kurt had been alone, his father was in the hospital room that had become home over the past weeks. Small, scared, and lost, Kurt had opened his mouth and started to moan. The moans turned to screams. Kurt was too angry for tears now. Although he'd cried himself to sleep every night for three weeks, he didn't shed a tear when he first heard of his mother's death. Then, Kurt's father had appeared beside him, a stable figure in this nightmare. "Kurt." He said, gently but firmly. "I know. Trust me, buddy, I know. But…you need to stop yelling. We're going home. I'm gonna count to ten, okay? One. Two. Three. Four…"
Now, Kurt knew what to say. "Quinn. I know what's its like to think you're a disappointment. Trust me, sweetie, I've been there. But you need to stop yelling. We're going to get you home. I'm going to count to ten, okay? One. Two. Three. Four…"
Quinn stopped. She went limp in the passenger seat, allowing Kurt to buckle her seat belt. They pulled away from the curb, not talking, but saying everything. Kurt would have a lot to explain. Quinn would have even more to explain. Somehow they'd deal with tonight. Somehow, Quinn would deal with tomorrow.
"We're here." Kurt opened the car door for Quinn, who managed to climb out without incident. "Should I take you in? I have a feeling your mom's up." He nodded towards the well-lit house, noticing the silhouette of a woman pacing in the window.
"No. Kurt, I…you've been an angel during…during this. But I can't keep on keep on calling you. If I'm going to beat this, I need to do it for me, not anyone else. I need to do it by myself." Kurt climbed out of the car, moving to stand by Quinn.
"What do you mean? You can't do it by yourself!"
Quinn shook her head. "No. I can't. But I can't get over this around people who knew the old Quinn. After my grandma called, I talked to my mom. We decided, I decided to try a residential treatment center. In Connecticut. Lots of woods, lots of-"
"You're running away" Kurt was teetering on tears, but Quinn was calmer than she'd been in weeks.
"No. I'm really not." Quinn let out a sigh. "Let me put this in a way you'll understand. The Broadway way. Ever heard of 'Next to Normal'?"
Kurt had to smile. "Heard of it?" he let out a weak chuckle "I stalked Kyle Dean Massey online for weeks when I was a sophomore."
Quinn rolled her eyes, and just for a second Kurt saw the old Quinn. "Well, then you should be well-acquainted with this song." Quinn pressed a few buttons on her ipod, and the opening notes to 'So Anyway' poured out into the night. She sang.
"So anyway I'm leaving
I thought you'd like to know
You faithful come-what-may
But clearly I can't stay
We'd both go mad that way
So here I go
And anyway I'm leaving
I guess that you can tell
For years I fought the dread
I wish I'd left instead
But better late than dead
And so farewell
With you always beside me
To catch me when I fall
I'd never get to know the feel
Of solid ground at all
With you always believing
That we can still come through
It makes me feel the fool
To know that it's not true
What doctors call dysfunction
We tried to call romance
And true it's quite a trick
To tell the dancers from the dance
But rather than let chance take me
I'll take a chance
I'll take a chance on leaving
It's that or stay and die
I loved you once and though
You love me still I know
It's time for me to fly
I loved you once and though
I love you still I know
It's time for me to go
And so, goodbye"
With that, Quinn turned, walked up her driveway, across a small front walk, and onto her porch. She stood for a moment; hand on the doorknob, moonlight shining on her hair. She was stunning, a princess frozen in time. Just before she opened the door, and walked into her new life, she blew Kurt a kiss.
He caught it, and blew one back. He didn't know if she'd noticed, because at that exact second she was engulfed in a hug by her mother, who had rushed to the door. Kurt wanted to watch the scene some more, but forced himself back into the car. It was almost morning, and his dad would be waking up to get ready for work.
When Kurt got home, he saw a kitchen light on. Ordinarily, he'd try sneaking in through a window to avoid interrogation by his dad. Today wasn't ordinary, Kurt reminded himself as he walked into the kitchen. His dad stood at the microwave, heating up one of those repulsive breakfast burritos he and Finn were so fond of.
"Hi Daddy." Kurt hadn't called his father that in ages.
"Kurt? What the hell? Have you been out? What the hell?" Burt was on alert now.
"Quinn." Kurt offered in explanation. "It was a bad night for her, and it turned into a tough one for me, too."
When Burt saw the look on his son's face, he accepted the story without another word. Kurt suddenly threw himself into his dad's arms, crying like he'd wanted to all night. Burt was slightly shocked, but patted Kurt's back.
"I know, Buddy. Trust me, I know."
The two stood like that for a long, long time, rocking back and forth. Kurt's tears slowed, and he looked up into his dad's eyes. "I know you do dad. I'll be okay. She'll be okay."
Yes, "Next to Normal" is a real show, and "So Anyway" is a real song from it. It's almost as tear-jerking as "For Good" in my opinion.
Also, this concludes the "Moments" Fanfic. I hope you all enjoyed!
