A/N
This story is actually a chapter from my story Love and Learning, but I thought that it would make a good short story for those of you who don't like to read long, drawn-out novels. It doesn't require background from the other story – you just have to be into Glee to understand some of it (dur, why are you even here? :P)
If you've already read Chapter 6 of Love and Learning, don't bother reading this story – it's the exact same from here on out.
The skating rink is a place that's just weird and awkward enough that I thought our favorite couple could make it interesting yet somewhat sweet at the same time. In case you've never been to a skating rink, here are a few quick pointers:
-First of all, I don't really know whether to feel sorry for you or congratulate you. Skating rinks have always been a really weird experience for me, but kind of fun at the same time.
-There are two main types of skates: "Inlines" or "Rollerblades" are the kind that have all four (or however many) wheels lined up in a straight line on each shoe. "Normal" skates (or "old fashioned" or whatever) have a wheel on each of the four corners on each shoe, kind of like a car. As far as my experience goes, the 'cool' kids who can skate fast get to use rollerblades and the dorky kids who don't have very good coordination have to use the blocky skates.
-I don't know about other places, but the skating rinks that have been in my town growing up have been large complexes with rinks, arcades, snack bars, party rooms, etc., so I'm kind of going with that model in this story.
Have fun reading! :^)
As soon as he and Blaine walked into the building of the roller rink, Kurt was hit with a wave of nostalgia (and nausea). The entire building had no windows and the glass doors were heavily tinted so that it was as dark as night inside, lit only by the sparse neon lights lining the ceiling and walls. As his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, Kurt saw how bad of a shape the place was in. He was hit with memories of this disgusting place – the several times he'd come here in elementary school for his friends' birthday parties or with his class as a reward for finishing the assigned reading list. He saw the frenzy of kids swirling around on the rink and rubbed his knees, still feeling the sharp pain that comes from repeatedly falling down on the hard rink floor.
Blaine saw the look on Kurt's face and grabbed his hand.
"Come on, let's get some skates," he said as he lead them over to the counter where they could check some out. The (rather creepy-looking) man behind the counter asked for their shoe sizes and what kind of skates they wanted. Blaine again took the initiative,
"I'll take inline, he needs some roller skates." The man turned to retrieve the items requested but stopped when he heard Kurt protest.
"Now, how come you get inlines but I have to get skates?"
"You said that you didn't know how to skate, right?"
"Well, yes, but that doesn't mean that I'm some little kid who can't maintain his own balance because I'm on a sugar high after downing three cherry slushies, two Snickers and a handful of pixie sticks!" Kurt's eyes made a quick glance over to the snack bar and his face grew pale.
"I'm not saying anything like that... I just think we should start out simple and then you can switch to inlines in a little while. If you want to." Blaine smiled and nodded to the man behind the counter, who resumed his previous task of getting skates for the boys.
Kurt didn't get a very good look at his skates until the couple sat down at a table to put them on. "
"Kurt," Blaine reached across the table to place his hand over the other boy's. "They're going to be fine, I promise. We don't have to skate for very long – I know you're kind of uncomfortable. This isn't really your kind of place. Just trust me, ok?"
Kurt gave him a thin smile. "I know... I'm sorry, Blaine. I'll try to have a little more fun."
"I really want you to have fun." Blaine clicked the last latch closed on his roller blades before standing up and holding out his hand to Kurt. "C'mon, let's get out there."
Kurt held onto Blaine's arm for dear life as he struggled to stand upright, his legs going in different directions. Finally they managed to make it into the rink and Blaine convinced Kurt to go out into the middle a little bit instead of hugging the wall the entire time. They slipped into the counter-clockwise current of skaters and Kurt's head started to spin. It was beginning to be too much – having to watch where he was going, to deal with people whizzing by in different directions, not to mention the loud music playing over the speakers or the spinning strobe lights that whirled around the floor. One of his feet slid in the wrong direction and he felt himself going down. The cold wooden floor was there waiting for him, he could just feel himself slamming into it face-first, except... except instead of the cold, hard floor, he felt warm, strong arms.
"You ok?" They were so close that Kurt could feel Blaine's words brush past his face. Yes, I'm ok. I'm very very ok right now. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you." Kurt really smiled for the first time since they'd walked in the door. Once he had regained his balance (with help from his wonderful boyfriend, of course) they started to once again slowly make their way around the rink.
After a little while, just as he had gotten to the point where he could move around by himself, Kurt's feet began to get sore. He could tell that there'd probably be blisters in his near future.
"Blaine, can I rest for a bit? My feet are starting to hurt and I'm sure you could enjoy a few fast laps without having to tug me along."
"Sure. You make it to the table by yourself?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
Kurt gave his hand a squeeze and headed over to the table at which they had sat earlier. He plopped down in a seat and heaved a tired sigh, tugging to loosen the laces on his skates. He pulled his socked feet out of the skates and wiggled his toes with a feeling of relief. Looking around the rink, he spotted Blaine, who was zipping in and out of the crowd. It was a little bit impressive, actually. Blaine was hunched down, knees bent, arms in, pushing off with one foot and then the other, gaining quite a bit of momentum. Kurt watched him for a few laps. It looked so fun! How could Blaine move so fast, so fluidly? If you didn't look at their feet, it looked like the skaters were ice skating. It almost kinda-sorta looked like they were da- like they're dancing!
That was it! An sly smile appeared on Kurt's face as he walked over to the skate counter and exchanged his skates for a pair of rollerblades. As he was putting them on, Blaine coasted in next to him.
"So I take it you're ready to try again? Here, let me help-"
"I got it. Go back out – I'll be there in a sec."
"Are you sure?"
"YES, Blaine. I'll be there in a sec."
Something about the smile on Kurt's face told Blaine to just go along with it, so he rolled slowly back towards the rink, looking back over his shoulder to make sure that his boyfriend really did have it all together.
Kurt stood up, shuffling his new wheels back and forth, getting the feel for them. I think this'll work fine. Dance... dance... I need a good beat. He wheeled over to the small sound booth at the far end of the rink and tapped on the shoulder of the DJ, who was wearing sunglasses (how he could see at all in this cave of a place was beyond Kurt's comprehension) and headphones, nodding his head along to the beat of the music.
"Excuse me, sir!"
The man took his headphones off. "Hi there. How can I help you?"
"I was wondering if I could make a special request?"
"Actually, we're about to put on some different entertainment, but I think there's time for another song. We don't have that big of a selection, though. Just the more popular songs at the moment."
"Yes, I noticed that the fifth time you played Edge of Glory." Kurt rolled his eyes. "Not to say anything bad about Mother Monster, it's just that... anyways, do you happen to have..."
Blaine looked around and spotted Kurt leaving the DJ booth and slowly making his way over to the rink. Blaine rolled over to meet him at the entrance.
"What was that about?"
"I needed something with a good steady beat so I could get a rhythm going."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes, really." Kurt smirked. Blaine reached to take hold of his hand but Kurt swatted it away. "No, I'm a big boy now. I got it." he teased.
The song that was playing faded out and Blaine recognized the next one immediately. "Oh my god, really?" he chuckled as the first notes of Teenage Dream strummed in.
Kurt's smirk just grew as he started moving his legs in the same motion that he had seen Blaine doing earlier. He pulled his arms in and bent his knees until he found a position that felt relatively balanced and then pushed harder with his legs. He quickly gained speed, finding a motion that set in easily with the beat of the song. He was pleased to see that, even if only for a moment, Blaine was trying to catch up to him. When he finally caught up, Kurt burst out into laughter, quickly joined by Blaine. The song was over almost as quickly as it had begun, it seemed, and as they slowed down to a more comfortable speed it was Kurt who reached out to grab Blaine's hand, intertwining their fingers. They looked into each other's eyes, smiling, truly enjoying themselves for the first time that evening.
After a few seconds they noticed that no music was playing. Kurt had just opened his mouth to say that he was going to go request another song when loud thuds came over the speakers as someone turned on a microphone and tapped it with their finger.
"Testing, testing – this thing on?" A shrill voice spilled out over the sound system.
"Oh no." Kurt's face was struck with horror.
"What?" asked Blaine.
"It's her. She's here."
"She? She who?"
"April. Rhodes. Oh god I hope she doesn't see me."
"Why? Does she have something against you?"
"No, she loves me. On a level at which it becomes annoying."
"Oh, I understand. Do you want to go?"
"No, it's not that big 'a deal. Plus, I just now got the hang of these rollerblades! Just... don't make direct eye contact with her and she might not notice us."
They continued to skate around during the next few songs, never getting too close to where the sparkly and scantily-clad woman was singing on a raised platform at one end of the rink. As much as April annoyed Kurt to no end, he had to honestly admit that she was a wonderfully talented singer. After a few songs Kurt's feet started to hurt again, and the pair decided that they'd had enough fun at the skating rink for that evening.
"Blaine, this has actually been kinda fun, but my feet have about had it."
"That's ok, I'm starting to get tired, too. I'm really impressed, Kurt. Like, really. You were pretty nervous when we got here and started skating, but whatever you did to figure out how to skate... you're just... amazing."
Kurt blushed. "Thanks."
As they turned to head towards the checkout counter, April began to talk into the microphone.
"Whew, I'm gonna take a break for a few minutes, people. Y'all keep on havin' fun skating! I think the DJ has some songs queued up for ya to liste- Is that my Kurtie Pie!"
Kurt and Blaine had just stepped out of the rink when they realized they'd been caught. "Crap" Blaine heard Kurt mutter under his breath before turning around with a plastered smile and a little wave towards April. The woman stepped down from the platform and ran (or quickly waddled in her tall skinny high-heels, rather) through the throng of skaters over to where Kurt and Blaine were standing. Kurt nearly lost his balance as she attacked him in a tight hug.
"How's my Kurtie-Pie? Geez, it's been a while, hasn't it?" She took a step back, holding on to his arms. "My, my, my, just look at you! You look so grown up since last time we really spent any time together."
"Thanks. Good to see you, too, April."
"And just who is this fine fellow hangin' on yer arm?" Her eyes did a quick up-and-down of Blaine, who reached out his hand for a handshake.
"Hi, I'm Blaine. It's nice to meet you."
She shook his hand. "Well I'll be. My Kurtie went and got himself a boyfriend!" She kept shaking his hand. "And a really cute one at that. My, what strong hands you have. You don't happen to swing both ways, do ya?" Blaine's mouth remained in a tense smile but his eyes were filled with horror.
"APRIL! DON'T... um, why don't we go sit down so we can take our skates off?" Kurt suggested. The three went to sit down.
"So, how do you know each other?" Blaine inquired.
"We were in highschool together for a while." said Kurt, eliciting a puzzling look from his boyfriend.
"Oh, okay. Um, how... um..."
"I never finished highschool when I was young, so when Will Schuester offered me a chance to finish at McKinley and maybe graduate, I went ahead and tried it. Let me join the Glee Club, which is where I got to know Kurtie here." She pinched Kurt's cheek and Blaine feared for her personal safety. "It was tough. A twenty-nine-year-old like me kinda stands out from the crowd, but the Glee kids were real champs. Took me right in, made me one of their own."
"Twenty-nine, really? Well, uh, that all sounds cool. I told you, Kurt, McKinley's Glee Club just keeps sounding more and more... interesting the more I find out about it."
"What, you're not in New Directions too?"
"No, I go to Dalton Academy. I'm in the Warblers – our version of Glee Club."
"Actually, I'm in the Warblers now, too. I transferred to Dalton a while back."
"Really? Well, I can sure see why you did." April winked at Blaine, who still had the same terrified look in his eyes. "Those were the times, though, back at McKinley. Felt like living highschool all over again. 'Course, we didn't have Facebook back in my day so it was a lot harder to find people to hook up with. But we had such a good time, didn't we Kurt? Haha, yeah I could tell you a few stories about Kurtie here."
Kurt tugged the last rollerblade off of his foot. "Oh, that sounds lovely but we really have to go now, don't we Blaine?" He stood up. "C'mon, let's go turn in our ska-"
"Like the time I was trying to teach you how to drink right! Hoho, you came in the next morning drunk as a skunk! Blew chunks all over that ginger counselor. And boy did you have it bad for that Hudson fella! You were-"
Kurt panicked and tried to come up with an exit strategy. "APRIL!" he exclaimed, turning up his smile to full brightness and enveloping the woman in a tight hug, forcing her to stop mid-sentence. "It was soooo good to see you again! Sorry we have to leave so soon, but we really have to go."
"Aww, that's ok, kid. I'll see ya around." They stood up and April turned to Blaine, placing a hand flat against his chest and slowly moving it downwards. "You take care of my Kurtie, okay handsom?" Blaine squirmed under her touch.
"Oh he will, don't worry. Now say goodbye, Blaine."
"Goodbye Blaine." his boyfriend repeated.
Kurt grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the counter to turn in their skates before quickly tugging on their shoes and heading out the door. Even though the sun had started to set, it was still really bright outside as compared to inside the skating rink. Blaine turned to Kurt as they made their way across the parking lot and got in Kurt's car.
"I can see what you mean about her being annoying. She's quite the character."
"Um yeah. She's actually kind of sweet in her own little way after you get to know her." A smirk appeared on Kurt's face. "And it seemed like she really wanted to get to know you."
Blaine shuddered. "Ew. Just... ew. But what was that that she said about you getting drunk, by the way? And was she referring to Finn?" The smirk vanished from Kurt's face and reappeared on Blaine's.
"You don't want to know."
"Oh yes, I do want to know."
Kurt heaved a sigh as he turned the key in the ignition.
"It's a long story."
A/N
So about April – I know, I know, she's moved on to ~*BROADWAY*~ now, but in this time in MY universe she's still sleeping moving around and doing whatever with her life. Also, I don't know if it's just me, but for some reason whenever I think of April Rhodes I usually picture her in the cowgirl costume that she wore when New Directions did Last Name. And even when she's not in her cowgirl costume, I still hear her voice in my head as having a Southern twang to it. I don't know, I'm just crazy... ;P
Anyways, I hope y'all enjoyed their skate-date! Reviews are always welcome.
Peace out!
-RJ ;^)