AN: This is a short...something? Not really sure, just a short dual-character sketch, I guess. Might continue it with similar one-shots, if anyone's interested. Reviews always appreciated :)
He was a bit much, people said.
He never really understood what that phrase meant. Was there some universally-held standard of existence that everyone else automatically followed, and that he unwittingly exceeded? Was there, unbeknownst to him, a certain level of…of – being that everyone was supposed to express, and that he happened to be in excess of?
A bit much. Even that phrase. Wasn't it an oxymoron?
Maybe that was what they were talking about. Using words like oxymoron and unwittingly and unbeknownst, the compulsion he felt to dress and flower everything up – to prettify and overcomplicate.
A bit much. You're a bit much. Much what? Much everything?
A bit much. A little many. A small abundance. A minute cornucopia…
Yes, that was probably what they were talking about.
Oh, well.
He was fairly certain it wasn't a grammatically correct phrase, anyhow.
People said he was heartless.
They also said he was cold-hearted, which, honestly, was a contradiction in terms.
And besides, when you really thought about it, why was it that he was called heartless, and yet when someone didn't want to hurt someone, they didn't have the heart to do it?
Speaking of matters of the heart (or was it the heart of the matter?), he'd also been called out for what he'd done to other people's hearts. He'd made some of them throb, some of them melt, and most of them break, and some of that was considered alright, but that last one usually wasn't.
He could always pretend to be nice – he was good at pretending. In a matter of a few seconds, he could go from hard-hearted to sweetheart, and then it didn't matter if he was cold-hearted or had a heart of gold, so long as he had his heart in the right place (which, technically, he was fairly sure everyone did).
It was true, he could always pretend – but that involved caring enough to do it, and he didn't, not really, not ever. You could say he was pretty half-hearted about it (and now, was having half of a heart worse or better than being cold-hearted?).
Heartless, was what they called him. Maybe he was. Maybe he just didn't put his heart into anything.
Oh, well.
He was pretty sure everyone around him wasn't worth the time, anyhow.
He was a bit much, in every sense of the expression.
He'd never met someone that epitomized that phrase quite so perfectly – his voice, his hair, his clothes – God, his clothes. They were like a mix of French Avant Garde cinema and Lady Gaga's spring cleaning.
Now that he thought about, a bit much didn't quite cover it.
That boy was a lot much. Very a lot much.
So naturally, he had to make his life miserable. Because Sebastian thought people were bad enough when they were just barely passing the threshold of his awareness.
But this – this sequin-covered, rainbow-pride monstrosity sitting in front of him, practically screaming for his attention, everyone's attention - this was unacceptable.
"One of us has a hard-luck case of the Gayface, and it ain't me."
Not one of his best lines, but it would do.
He was fairly certain he didn't have a heart, because wouldn't it have shriveled and rotted by now from the sleaze and smarm that coated every inch of this boy's body?
Besides, people in possession of hearts didn't smile like that – didn't give that dangerous, insincere, mouse-meet-cat smirk.
He was a bully, that much was clear. It was clear from the way his eyes glinted with not-so-empty threats. It was clear from the way he threw out insults like he was throwing out confetti. It was clear from the way he took for granted that everything belonged to him (including certain short, bow-tie-wearing brunettes).
Blaine wasn't as attuned to bullies, wasn't as aware of the danger that crept from around unexpected corners the way Kurt always had been. That was why Kurt had to be the one to protect Blaine – he had to be the one who fended off this heartless, soulless CW villain.
Boys like him hurt other people – people like Blaine, and people like Kurt. But mostly people like Kurt.
"You smell like Craigslist."
Not one of his best comebacks, but it would do.
