21st Century Breakdown

by cuter-than-a-guinea-pig

After graduation, Kurt Hummel & Rachel Anderberry escape small minded Lima and run away to NY to follow their Broadway dreams. Five years later, their world is slowly crumbling as they realize that New York is a city not to be taken lightly. How will they get back on their feet? Will the arrival of a third lost soul to their comfortable party of two shake things up for the better?

1. Song of the Century

A/N: Hi everyone! Firstly, I'd like to apologise for the long author's note. Skip if you wish!

Ok so this story is going to be very different from my usual stuff for those that happen to be familiar with it. This is going to be a really dark and angsty, AU fic about how wrong NY could go for Rachel, Kurt, and Blaine. I'm basing it on Green Day's '21st Century Breakdown' album (which I absolutely love btw). In no way will this be a song fic though and there is really no need to have ever listened to their music or like their music. It's simply being used as inspiration. There are 18 songs on the album so there will be 18 chapters. I'll post a link to the song every chapter in case you want to hear it but like I said, it really isn't necessary. Updates should be once a week at some point over the weekend.

This chapter is kind of the prologue and pretty tame but there will definitely be some dark things to come so I'll put up the warnings now and in the actual chapters where they appear.

Warnings: sexual themes, sex, homophobic slurs, violence, rape.
(the violence and the rape will both only occur once and the rest of the story will deal with
the aftermath)

I hope you enjoy
Lessthanthree
Katie

Song Link: www {.} youtube {.} com/watch?v=y2leZ75VKg0

POV: Kurt

Chapter 1 : Song of the Century

He cut the lights on his navigator as he pulled it slowly up to the oppressing wealth that was the black, rod iron gates that guarded the winding driveway from the unworthy lower class that riddled the isolated Ohio town. He had always hated those gates. He supposed they prepared him for the unwelcome vibe that the owners spewed at him if he stepped through the front door but he would rather have an extra few moments of contentment before being subjected to judgement and ridicule.

After sending a quick text the gates opened and ominously allowed his vehicle entrance. He was suddenly glad for the wealth that poured from all the cracks and crevasses, a poor attempt at covering them in his mind, because it paid for sufficient oil to prevent squeaking gears from blowing his cover. He was accustomed to sneaking into the mansion and smuggling his partner in crime out. Tonight the stakes were higher though. Tonight he was sneaking her out for good. Tonight was no longer about a break from the stuffy, unloving, pretension parents. Tonight was about leaving everything behind and finally following their dreams. If that meant running away, so be it.

He was nervous easing to a stop in front of the grand double doored entrance. This could go wrong in so many ways but there was no turning back now. They had packed up his clothes and DVDs and books and photos, practically his whole life into the back of his car earlier that day. They had been able to do so in broad day light because he had the tentative support from his father. The mechanic was certainly not thrilled with his only son's decision but the man had no intentions of physically preventing him from trying to fulfill his dream. The girl who was slowly opening the front door with the first bag of her own life in hand was in a bit of a different situation. A situation that required escape in the cover of night fall with only a quarter moon to light their way. She was counting on him to see this through.

He quickly took the suitcase, custom designed with gold stars scattered across the pink fabric in a way that only she would like. He placed it down in the empty space in the trunk that they had methodically created to make this go as smoothly as possible. She handed him the next one and he placed it beside the first. The third and fourth bags fit snuggly on top of the previous two leaving the girl with a pillow, a teddy bear, and a back pack to keep up front with her.

After closing the trunk as softly as possible and wincing at the unavoidable thunk that it made anyways, he climbed back into the drives seat and waited for his passenger to get settled. He looked over at her smiling softly at the thought of the journey ahead of them. It was no doubt going to prove tough but they had each other and considering they had survived the ignorant zoo that was high school just the two of them, they truly believed that the other was all they needed.

She turned to him and took hold of his hand resting readily on the gear shift, squeezing lightly. It was like she needed some reassurance that this was actually happening, that he was coming through for her instead of abandoning her like everyone else had.

"You ready, Rach?" he whispered softly, scared of making too much noise but of also breaking the eerie calm. She had turned back towards the house, the one place that should have felt like home to her but never did, with sad eyes. He could tell from the desolate look that washed over her chocolate brown orbs that leaving was already proving more difficult than either of them had imagined. He didn't think that she would miss the house or the family but he knew that it was hard to close the door completely. They could never change for her now. She had hoped for years but it was finally time to give up and move forward. The sad eyes were definitely a reflection of her heart shattered with disappointment.

"Yes," she answered simply and quietly after a moment. She squeezed his hand firmer and turned back the face him. Her eyes were brighter now and a grin grew across her lips as she answered more resolutely, "Yeah, Kurt, I am most definitely ready."

Kurt glanced at his dash clock as he merged onto the I-80 E. It read 3:13am. They were about two hours into their ten and a half hour trek that would take them from Lima, across Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and finally into the great city itself. The highway was deserted, presenting itself like a dark stage before him, waiting for him to step forth and fill it with his mind, body, and soul. The cars head lights were the only light source cutting through the black night. They appeared as spot lights on the empty stage beckoning him to step within their glow, to allow their beams to illuminate him for once. The dull drone of the engine rang like applause in his ears, welcoming him home, to the stage and the light and the rest of his life.

Rachel was snoring softly beside him, head resting softly on her pillow, arms wrapped tight around her bear. The scene didn't surprise him in the least. They had a habit of just jumping in the car and going for drives. Ohio was full of isolated back roads that seemingly stretched on forever, weaving between the farmer's fields. It's funny that even though they were New York bound, their favorite part of Lima was the vastly endless space. They longed for that space if only for a means to escape for a little while, a way to pretend that they had the freedom to leave and chose something better. If ever they were out at night, Rachel would always fall asleep. She just found something comforting about the gentle drone of the engine, the quite peace of the sleepy fields, and the simple company of her best friend and that comfort alone allowed her to relax for once, let her mind grow hazy with rest, and her eye lids droop.

Kurt never minded being abandoned for sleep. Rachel had a tendency to talk a lot so this was an easy way to shut her up. The petit girl was also a very heavy sleeper and so he could keep listening to music or radio shows or books on tape if he pleased. He was quite thankful for this at the moment. The last thing he needed was to fall asleep at the wheel and the upbeat playlist he had sounding through the car was helping him to stay awake and alert.

Honestly, Kurt thought that he was running purely on adrenalin at this point. He had already drunk at least seven cups of coffee that day and he was sure his body was immune to the caffeine at this point. The excitement and realization of what was actually happening was what kept him going. Just yesterday had been their graduation. They had sat and listened to speeches made by people they didn't care about and who didn't care about them and they had walked across the stage in their caps and gowns and were finally handed that coveted get out of jail free card. They had smiled for pictures that would one day make it seem like they had enjoyed high school when really the only reason they were happy was because it was done. They had spent the day with their respective families, Rachel, pretending to be on good terms with hers and keeping them all thinking that she was sticking around for the summer and heading off to Harvard in the fall for business, while he and his father tried to avoid tearing up as they packed up his room.

With all the planning and studying in that last week of school and hitting the road the day they were granted freedom, Kurt hadn't really had a chance to sit back and breath it all in. Now though, with the open highway guiding the way, the realization the he was finally getting his chance to pass go hit him. This was his moment to shine, to make his mark, to show the world what he was made of. The possibilities seemed endless, the opportunities grander, the lights that reflected in his soul, brighter. Kurt could only hope that he would never let them dim.