Another re-imagining of how Kurt and Blaine could get together after the shenanigans of "Silly Love Songs."
I keep TRYING to write a one-shot or a "re-write of scenes from an episode of Glee" like I mentioned, but alas these keep turning into actual short stories instead. Ah well... that's what I'm used to writing. I guess I will never be a screen writer! Thank goodness; I won't have to move to L.A.
I hope you enjoy it.
(Obligatory disclaimer that I do not own or write for Glee.)
Please feel free to suggest or criticize absolutely any aspect of my writing in any way! Thanks!
Silly Love Songs, Silly Slip-Ups
"He said WHAT?" Mercedes was having a hard time getting her mind around what Kurt was telling her. "He actually used the phrase 'let me be perfectly clear about something' like he was making sure you understood that he was about to tell you the whole truth in no uncertain terms? Especially when he was telling you to keep things in the friend zone for now!"
Kurt bobbed his head gravely. He kind of liked the "for now" part that Mercedes had thrown in, even if it may not be prescient of anything to come.
"I HATE when people talk like that!" At Kurt's aghast look, Mercedes toned down her vehemence a bit and amended "I mean, I'm sure Blaine was just searching for the right words or something, so he fell back on that kind of stock phrase... but really, Kurt, he's such a close friend of yours that even if he did want to be certain that you understood what he was saying was the whole truth, you'd think he could have talked to you more like... I don't know, like he always does, not suddenly speaking in the way that you'd expect from some stereotypical guy-brushing-off-unwanted-advances. It's not the same when it's a close friend talking."
"Do you think perhaps you're being a bit too harsh here, Mercedes? It's not like he's a master writer of screenplay dialogue and is going to always be able to come up with the perfect speeches you dream of for him, on the spot like that." Kurt elbowed her, both to shake her out of her rant and to have the excuse to put an arm around her in a gesture of "taking back" the elbowing, because he really needed a little hug at the moment.
Mercedes picked up on that, and gave him a good proper hug. Kurt then had the encouragement needed to voice something for the first time. "I put him on the spot, Mercedes. I shouldn't have."
"Don't be silly Kurt," she released him and held him at arm's distance squeezing his shoulders, "Seriously, the sooner you let him know that you have feelings, the better. It's good that's done now. I'm so glad you did that. It was bold. It was classy. It was Kurt!"
He chuckled at that, and Mercedes continued, "Maybe he was just shocked at the sudden confession from you and he wasn't ready for it, and kind of froze, I don't know." Noticing his eyes uncharacteristically drifting down to the floor, "Hey. Kurt, you never know. It was a sudden change in the way he normally speaks to you, so you never know what was going on in the boy's head. You say he was totally down on himself for singing to that dumb GAP guy who rejected him like an idiot, and he was going on about 'I really am clueless' and 'I'm bad at romance' and all that. Maybe he's really just saying he's not ready to tell you his real feelings for you, as opposed to what you're assuming, that he's saying he's not ready to develop feelings for you like that yet. You see the difference?" At his glance toward the distant skyline with sudden stars in his eyes, she concluded, "Yeah? OK, so just remember he's a high school boy just like you, so we just don't know exactly what's in his mind right now."
"Anyway Kurt, I don't want you bogged down in this one thing, and letting it crowd your mind any longer... It's Valentine's Day, you and Blaine are fine and you'll simply enjoy being around each other and see what happens next as the days go by, you just sang the most awesome songs at Breadsticks and everyone loved you, you're here in beautiful downtown Lima, Ohio with your best friend Mercedes, it's Monday night and we're blowing off homework to go have some fun and chocolate!"
Everywhere Kurt and Mercedes go, heads naturally turn in their direction. People notice these two. Even alone they each unknowingly command attention in any room they enter, each having diva-like stage presence including times when they think they are only walking bored down a street. So when they are together, those sparks are amplified and nobody can avoid noticing them. As they poured out of the comic book shop clinging to each other in laughter (because the manager did not understand the irony of placing a display of Red Vines on the candy rack directly next to the display of Harry Potter books and only sounded all confused asking them if they were trying to say that they prefer Twizzlers) they caught the eye of a tall sandy-haired athletic boy at the bus stop across the street. Kurt noticed the boy as they crossed the street heading toward the record store, mostly assessing his varsity jacket from a neighboring town and approving of the color combination for that school. You wouldn't think orange and blue would be pretty together, but they are opposite on the color wheel after all, and bring out the brightness of each other. Just like Mercedes and himself.
When the bus was approaching the bus stop, the high school athlete made a quick decision and turned to walk into the record store instead.
Blaine had just finished pouring out his whole story to an almost-stranger on a bench in the downtown shopping district, not far from Breadsticks. He had only made it as far as that bench, on the way to his car after the Lonely Hearts Club Dinner he and Kurt had hosted, and he couldn't continue. One of the waitresses from Breadsticks had noticed him on the way to her car, sitting with his head in his hands, and had stopped to ask if he was OK. When he looked up she recognized him as one of his regulars and one of the hosts of that cute dinner tonight, and sat down next to him. She asked, "Is it your boyfriend?"
"What?"
"Well, it looks like some kind of love angst going on with you here, and it is Valentine's Day, and your boyfriend isn't with you, so... it's just an educated guess..."
"But... I don't have a boyfriend."
"OH!... Oh, I'm sorry. I assumed... I'm sorry! I just... I see you and that other boy together at the restaurant all the time, and you hosted that dinner tonight together, and... Oh, I shouldn't have assumed. I'm so stupid. Sorry. Well then... what is it? Um... a girlfriend?"
"Um..." Blaine chuckled ironically, "Yeah, actually, it's about him."
She laughed out loud even though she didn't mean to. To make up for that, she draped an arm over the boy's shoulders as he dropped his face back down into his hands again.
"Ah, it's the same with all of us, isn't it. It's either loss of love or longing for love or hoping our hearts don't explode from the perfect love we're in at the moment... no matter where we are in love it's all pain... but... it's kind of a delicious pain all at the same time, isn't it?"
Blaine looked up at that and considered. With a chuckle, he said, "You're awesome."
"OK, So are you gonna tell the awesome waitress what your horrible angst-ridden love tragedy is tonight?"
With some prodding, she managed to get him to tell her the story of meeting Kurt, instantly being attracted to him but knowing that what this guy needs right now is a friend and an ally, to get through some pretty tough things he's faced with, some of which actually forced him to change schools even. He could confess to this semi-stranger that he has always been conflicted with this problem of falling more and more for a guy who he knows isn't ready for romance right at the moment, but wishing he could fast-forward to a time when they could just come together naturally. If only there was someone else with so much in common with Kurt who could be Just Friends with him so that he could finally allow himself to show his feelings without taking away Kurt's first and only friend who truly understands what he's going through right now.
"SO... the problem is... I've been pushing all these feelings down ever since the day I first laid eyes on him. I've gotten so good at hiding them from him so that he'll have a pure friend to go to, I've almost believed it myself, that I have feelings for him that keep growing and growing but they are all just feelings of deep caring about him and not romantic yet... even though that's not true. So then all of a sudden, a couple days ago, he goes and confesses to me that he thought I was going to ask him out, and I could tell he really wanted it to be true... but I'm just so damn used to pushing down those kinds of feelings when I'm talking to him, and I've had so many stupid months of practice forcing myself to talk all friend-friend-buddy-ol'-pal-friendly to him, I just spit out some stupid stuff before I could stop myself and really think about it. But, the thing is, it was like I was blind-sided. I had no idea he was hoping I liked him. I guess it's hard to see when you're hoping for it yourself and doubting it... I don't know. I was just so stupid at the moment, I was all mad at myself for something too over-the-top and foolish I had just done and he was actively counseling me about that... and... I just wish I had reigned in some tiny margin of brain power available to me in that moment to be able to formulate something to say that would be a little more... accurate I guess."
"Wow. OK, so your problem now is that you basically rejected him and you don't know how to fix it without looking like a waffling, flaky, liar?"
Blaine gave her a mock-incensed look of shock, but laughed. "Yeah, I guess that's about it. I mean, I really don't want to ruin the amazing friendship we have, I said that to him, and that's totally true..."
"Oh, honey. Listen. People have thought that since the beginning of time, and it never ends up how they think it will. If two people have a thing for each other and hold it back in order to keep their friendship all pure and friendly, that 'thing' they have for each other doesn't rest quietly in the backs of their minds like an obedient little puppy, and it either destroys the friendship anyway or else it busts out and changes the friendship to something much better. The best thing to do is just take a proactive stance about it early on, and take charge of those other feelings in a healthy way instead of letting them control you in ways you can't predict. Feelings get hurt, misunderstanding fly rapid-fire more and more the longer you put off addressing the actual deeper feelings."
Blaine could only say "huh!" with an appreciative look on his face as he thought all that over.
"Well sweetie, I've got to get home to the hubby before he burns the house down trying to bake me the Valentine's cake I'm pretending not to know he's been planning. But you should really talk to a friend about this. I don't want this eating you up honey, OK? You've got a friend to chat with about all this?"
He gave a quick laugh, saying "Normally I would talk about things like this with Kurt, actually."
"You said you've only known him for several months, though? Who'd you talk with before that?"
"I don't even remember."
"Really? You seem real close with a few friends I always see you with at Breadsticks the past couple years."
"Yeah, that's true. But... this... I don't know. Everything changed when I met him. My whole world is different now."
"Ah. You're hearing yourself, right? I think you're gonna have to talk to him. And soon." With a little pixie trouble-maker wave, she gave him a wink and skipped off to her car, giggling for him to hear.
Mercedes jumped, almost dropping the Eternal CD she was looking over when a masculine voice came out of nowhere asking her, "You look like someone who would know where to find Darren Criss music...?" She turned to see the handsome guy from the bus stop. Huh, he must have followed me in here just to hit on me. Poor guy. Awfully cute, but so not my type. "That would be iTunes, baby. Or YouTube, 'cause a lot of his best stuff isn't recorded yet except for fans taping his live concerts. But you let ME know as soon as any of his songs are on CD and I will line up right here at this store for some of that!" She looked around for Kurt, to find an excuse to let the poor guy down easy.
Taking that opportunity, he said, "Your friend is over in the soundtracks section," nodding his head toward where Kurt was bopping along to some music, and keeping his eyes on him, added, "he's... kind of why I came in here."
Understanding dawning on her, she turned and leaned against the racks, saying, "Ahhh!" and looking the boy up and down. "So, you want approval from the best friend and possibly an introduction, is that it?"
"So, he is... Um. Good. I mean... Yeah. So... Yeah... Huh. I didn't want to assume and harass him or anything. You know. OK, so my point is, it would be nice to hang out, the three of us? Maybe? Just you know, a little Monday night hot chocolate with a new friend before heading home, that is if you both want to..."
Mercedes thought he was just the sweetest thing, and wanted to make the decision for Kurt and just make him come next door to the coffee shop for a little hot beverage and conversation with this hunky dude pining away for Kurt here. But she brought the guy over to Kurt and said "Kurt, this is my new friend, um... I forgot your name?"
"I didn't tell you yet, I'm sorry." He extended his hand to the boy who was now checking him out, "I'm Steven. Pleasure to meet you."
"Kurt."
"Mercedes, the best friend. And why don't we head over next door for some hot chocolate, boys? I'm not finding anything noteworthy on these racks today." With that, she whisked both boys out of the store and into the windy street to head to their hot beverage chats.
Blaine's heart was beating fast from jogging back to the shops near Breadsticks. "This is so stupid," he thought. "...It's Monday night, there's no way he's still hanging out around here tonight." He figured he didn't want to call Kurt, because what he had to say was going to have to be the very first thing out of his mouth the next time he has the chance. No "Hi Kurt, I'm just leaving a message because..." or the even worse "Hi Kurt, do you have a moment to talk?" or the worst of all and what would most likely happen in the state he's in right now, "Hi Kurt, I totally love you and I can't stand that I'm on the phone with you right now, where are you because I have to see you immediately." Seriously, must get a grip. Maybe it would be better to just wait until seeing him at school tomorrow.
Ah, but a heart will not allow a poor boy to sleep tonight anyway until all avenues are searched.
The espresso machine squealed in the background as the threesome laughed and smiled and gestured and all tried at once to interject their opinions on the latest episode of the TV show that just happened to be the favorite of all of theirs. This Steven guy was quickly becoming more and more interesting. Kurt shared an easy affinity with him, and so did Mercedes. He fit right in, and Kurt allowed that he and this new handsome friend did have an instant chemistry and a natural connection. They had also discovered they had several mutual friends, which at once made him the kind of guy they could tell was a good guy by the kind of company he keeps, and also made them realize they all would have met eventually, so it was kind of meant to be.
On her way to the ladies room, Mercedes accidentally knocked Kurt's elbow, which was extended further than one would expect of someone simply taking a sip of his second non-fat decaf mocha, which should have been too hot to sip just yet anyway. "Oh no, watch it..." escaped naturally from Steven's lips as he lunged for Kurt's cup with a napkin. "Oh, your sweater... yikes dude..." He figured if he got it quickly enough maybe it wouldn't stain, and he could tell already that this was a kid who likes his clothing a lot. But as soon as he made contact with said sweater, he realized his actions were a bit too rash. His excuse is that he's a baseball player, so instant reactions are kind of his best-practiced skill.
Kurt's intake of breath belied his own reaction to the unexpected contact. Steven raised his eyes up to Kurt's with a look that was at first apologetic and then acquired a spark of something that could best be described as hope, as he continued to blot carefully at the coffee. "Well, I think that's the best we can do for now unless you have one of those bleach sticks or something on you."
"You really think I'm not always prepared?" Kurt quipped as he shifted through his book bag and pulled out an individual-packet of stain remover cloth.
"Why am I not surprised?" Steven chuckled. "So why did you let me do all that blotting?" The instant he said that, he realized the implication and regretted being so accidentally bold.
Both boys averted their eyes quickly down to their coffee mugs again.
"Listen, while we have kind of a private moment before Mercedes gets back, can I… ask you for your number, Kurt?"
As they were entering numbers and emails into their phones, Steven noticed the time. "Oh my gosh, if I don't catch my bus in a few minutes, the next one isn't for another hour. I'd better go now although I'd really like to stay and spend more time with both of you. It's been so great."
"Mercedes and I can give you a ride home if you like…" "No, but thanks," Steven replied quickly. "I kind of want to retain a knight in shining armor vibe with you for now… I'd like to pick you up for our next date if that's OK." Kurt shook his head and laughed appreciatively. "Will you say goodbye to Mercedes for me? I really loved meeting her."
"Of course I will."
"Catch you later, Kurt. Well… I hope sooner actually."
Kurt's "Bye!" was followed by both boys averting their eyes and then looking back up at each other, in agreement.
He watched him go and admired his new friend's baseball player physique as he passed through the door, and as he gazed, something else entered his field of vision that made his heart change to a completely different rhythm. A rhythm that was composed by and copyrighted by the team of Kurt and Blaine. He watched as Steven stepped aside holding the door to allow Blaine to step over the patch of ice by the doorway. The two shared a friendly laugh at the ridiculous amount of ice on the sidewalks lately, and Blaine said "Thanks, buddy."
Kurt stood and was walking toward Blaine without even remembering having stood up from his table or pushing aside his chair or having sat down in the coffee shop in the first place. All he remembered was the look in Blaine's eyes when he located Kurt's.
Neither cared that they were in the middle of a coffee shop practically filled with post-Valentine's-dinner couples. Neither cared that the last thing they'd said to each other upon parting earlier that very evening was "take it easy" in the most friend-friend-just-friendly manner possible. Neither cared that they had been acting under the decision established in this very coffee shop a few days ago, to remain friends. They reached right for each other's hands, and found electricity veritably coursing through their veins and sparking over their skin as soon as they touched. No words came at first, except for one "Kurt..." punctuating the shaking of a black-haired curly head. Blaine led him back to his table with a hand to the small of his back.
Blaine pulled a chair up next to him, took a hand, and asked, "Can I try this again?"
The whole countenance of Kurt and the trembling of his every atom should have let Blaine know that he didn't have to try so hard to find the right words. However, after looking for long moments like he was about to launch into a story, Blaine finally came out with, "Aw man, I still haven't even thought this through. I am an idiot." The depths of Kurt's eyes and the mix of kindness, encouragement, and hopefulness in them made the decision for him. There simply were no good words in existence. All he needed to do was reach up, touch Kurt's bright and beautiful face, and lean in toward his gorgeous lips... and... just inches from the first sweet taste of his about-to-be new boyfriend's kisses... Mercedes was suddenly there with eyes about to pop out of her head at first and then showing her obvious wish that she had NOT been looking down at her cel phone the whole time she was walking up to the table!
"I uh… am just going to grab my coat… because I have a phone call to make and I hate it when people talk on their phones inside a coffee shop. I will be right outside those doors if anyone needs me…."
The boys laughed and Blaine got up to give her a big hug hello. "How are you, Mercedes. We didn't get a chance to talk at Breadsticks earlier."
"Well we still don't have a chance to talk just yet… This is an extremely urgent phone call I have to make. We can chat after. You just text me when you're missing me. OK?"
As Mercedes got friend after friend after friend onto a conference call while she was pacing outside the windows, she kept glancing in to give everyone updates on the action inside. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but everyone was practically jumping up and down listening to her descriptions of their body language. Rachel actually was jumping up and down and kept saying "yay, finally!"
Kurt was facing away from the windows so he asked, "Mercedes is totally watching us right now isn't she?" Blaine took both his hands again and glanced up toward the windows, and reported back, "Yup." He leaned in close to Kurt until they could feel each other's breath, and said, "I don't mind. I like her. And you're going to describe every last thing I'm about to do and say next anyway when you talk to her later."
He tried to resist glancing down at the big smile he had just caused on Kurt's lips but failed. Ooh, big mistake for his poor heart. Well… there is only one cure for that. "Kurt, I will not let anything happen to our friendship. I think we can go through absolutely anything together and still be close friends. I care about you so much."
"Will you just shut up and kiss me?" Kurt ran his fingers through that black curly hair, which was surprisingly not as solid with gel as he thought, but actually soft and thick and… as he was lost in that, Blaine moved in to remind him of the main subject here, and as their eyes locked, Kurt's began to flutter closed of their own accord in the headiness of the moment, about to be kissed by the guy he's been steadily falling in love with forever… "Kurt!" Mercedes' voice again, really?
"Hey, guys… we have a visitor I wanted to alert you to before he got here…"
By the time Steven walked back into the coffee shop looking for Kurt and Mercedes, the two of them and Blaine were chatting away about what he might be up to and whether he missed his bus or something…. "Mercedes! Kurt! I was hoping you'd still be here. I realized the whole reason I came out tonight was to pick something up for my Mom I forgot earlier! So I have a while until my next bus now."
The four of them decided to run over to the bookstore or the record store or maybe just window shop along the street for a while, since there was no point in staying at the crowded coffee shop when none of them wanted any more beverages.
Mercedes linked arms with Steven to help each other on any unexpected icy spots along the sidewalks, and made sure they led the way.
A few paces behind, Kurt and Blaine walked arm-in-arm, whispering about everything and nothing as they passed interesting shops and Valentine's Day revelers.
At a side-street, Kurt pulled Blaine off their path and down the other street just to be out of sight of their friends, and helped him walk backwards just a few steps, until he leaned him up against the side of the building. With an impressed smile and chuckle, Blaine told him, "Nice move" and finally had all the time he wanted to lose himself in Kurt's eyes and breathe in his presence and tug his jacket collar toward his and wrap Kurt's scarf around both their necks in a little jocular move he couldn't resist because Blaine is just like that… and Kurt's heart almost exploded from that cute move, and couldn't keep his hands from getting lost in that soft, sensual hair again…. As his eyes wandered up to that curly gorgeous hair, a set of lips were firmly planted on his, and he felt his heart melt into the rest of him, radiating out to the point where he figured the whole world must be feeling this moment of pure love.
As cold as it was out, Blaine's lips were so warm, and so soft, yet so confident and expressive. It was as though every word he had been unable to come up with before was coming pouring out of his actions and his simple and effective and Wow… skillful… expressions of love and caring and happiness and optimism. Kurt gave all that back equally, and then some. When their noses actually stopped being cold against each other's cheeks, they realized they'd better get back to their friends.
They caught up with Mercedes and Steven and mentioned that it was getting late and that tomorrow is a school day after all.
With an enormous hug for his best friend, Kurt said, "Mercedes, thank you for a lovely evening. Blaine will be driving me home, if that's OK."
"Of course it is! Steven will walk me back to my car, won't you Steven?" He looked happy to be asked.
"Well then, bye, boys! Have a nice night!" She gave Kurt some far-too-obvious winks at that, and Kurt shot her a look that said "Shut Up!"
That little exchange was not noticed by the other two boys, as they were shaking hands at the moment. "It was nice to meet you Steven. Hope to see you around again soon."
"Definitely." Kurt interjected toward the new friend. "We'll set it up."
Steven and Mercedes watched as the two new boyfriends headed down the sidewalk catching each other over the icy patches and laughing all along, holding onto each other for so much more than just support on the ice.
"You know what Steven?" Mercedes said as she threw an arm around his broad varsity jacketed shoulders, "I think you and I are going to be great friends. Come on, I'll drive us out to my favorite clothing store next to your town!"