Chapter 1: Only For A Moment
"Kurt! Kurt, wake up! Kurt, you have to wake up now!"
Kurt groaned and rolled over, pulling his pillow over his head. "It's four in the morning, Hailie," he grumbled in exasperation. "What do you want?"
"I got the tickets! I won the tickets and now I need you to take me to the concert!" Hailie, Kurt's sister, squealed excitedly.
"Why are thirteen-year-old girls so loud?" he muttered into his pillow, hoping she didn't hear. He rubbed his eyes as he sat up. "You got the tickets?"
"Yeah," she nodded eagerly. "And you promised you'd take me if I won the tickets!" she reminded him, drawling out the word 'promise.'
"I did, huh?" he sighed. Then he saw the hopeful look on her face and he just couldn't say no. He smiled softly and urged her to hug him. "Alright. Alright, you win. C'mere, you," he said playfully as he started tickling her, almost taking a kick to the gut.
Hailie giggled and yelped and tried to get away, attempting and failing to tickle her older brother. "Truce!" she squeaked when she managed to catch her breath. "I surrender!" she said with a loud laugh.
Kurt chuckled and pulled her into his lap, hugging her tightly. He stopped tickling her and kissed her cheek. "Okay. Truce. Just be quiet so you don't wake up mom and dad."
Hailie nodded, squeezing his torso in a tight hug. "So you're taking me to the concert this weekend?"
Kurt smiled. "Of course, Hails. I still don't understand why you like this guy, but I know it's important to you. So I'm taking you to the concert."
"Kurt, you're the best!" she exclaimed with a loud and dramatic kiss to his cheek. He smiled and shoved her gently and playfully off of his lap.
"Alright, crazy. Get to bed. It's too early to be awake and you have school in a few hours. Love you."
She smiled and said 'love you, too' before tip-toeing back to her room. Kurt sighed as he sunk back down into his mattress and drifted off to sleep.
He woke up two hours later and lazily climbed out of bed to get ready for school. By seven o'clock, he was downstairs and making breakfast for the family.
"Hails, breakfast's ready! Mom, I'll be up in a minute with yours and dad's!" he called into the quiet house. There was no answer and he frowned, worried. Scooping the scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, and veggie omelets onto two plates, he dashed up the stairs and towards his parents' bedroom.
When he walked through the door, he saw his mother and his sister crowded around the king size bed and he set the plates on the dresser before rushing to his father's side. Burt Hummel was almost as pale as his son at this point and he was squeezing his wife's hand in reassurance.
"What happened?" Kurt asked; his heart was racing. "Is your heart okay? Are you breathing alright?" he fussed.
"I'm fine, son," Burt said, his usually gruff voice sounding strained. He cleared his throat and reached out for Kurt to hold his hand. Kurt did just that. "Just a coughing fit that your mother is fussing over."
"You always thought it was just a coughing fit when your chest started hurting," Elizabeth protested sternly, squeezing his hand. "I just wanted to make sure."
Burt smiled at her. "I'm fine. Trust me. I know what a heart attack feels like now and this wasn't one." He turned to Kurt, who was still shaking just a bit as he looked at Burt worriedly. "I promise I'm fine, okay?" Kurt nodded, seeming to come out of a daze as he leaned forward and wrapped his ill father in a gentle hug.
"I love you, dad," he murmured as Burt wrapped one arm around his thin waist.
"I love you, too, Kurt," Burt said with a smile.
"I made breakfast," Kurt said, pulling back and wiping his eyes. He smiled at his father, the tension releasing from his shoulders when he saw that his father really was okay. He took the two plates from the dresser and handed them to his parents.
"Actually," Burt started, "I think I want to eat at the table. It's not up for discussion," he added firmly when he saw Kurt about to protest. "I'm eating with my family and you're not changing my mind. I'm not a glass doll. I'm not going to break." Kurt smiled, tight-lipped, and reluctantly brought the two plates back downstairs as his mother helped Burt down to the dining table. "How's school been going?" he asked his kids when they were all seated and picking at their food.
Kurt and Hailie looked up at their father and both shrugged as if they were in sync. Burt chuckled quietly at the action. They were so much alike it was scary. "School's awesome," Hailie said enthusiastically. "I passed my math quiz and my choir teacher said I'm improving a lot. She even said I should consider private lessons because I've got potential, apparently."
"That's great, kiddo," Burt said with a grin. "I'm proud of you. And we'll find a way to pay for the lessons if you want them."
Hailie smiled. "I was… actually thinking I'd be more interested in piano lessons. I keep hearing mom play," she said with a smile towards Elizabeth. "I figured she could teach me now that I'm a little older and I know how to read music. Plus then it wouldn't cost anything," she added.
"I think it's a great idea," Elizabeth said with a smile and a shrug. "I'd love to teach you. As long as you get your homework done before lessons," she added.
Hailie nodded eagerly and thanked her mother before turning to Kurt, who wasn't paying much attention. She sighed and watched as he picked at his food half-heartedly.
Just as the two siblings walked out the front door and towards Kurt's car, Hailie started talking. "Dad's gonna be fine, Kurt. He's getting better; not worse."
Kurt shook his head and climbed into the driver's seat as she climbed into the passenger's seat. He knew that his dad wasn't getting better. He wasn't stupid. He heard his parents talking at night when Hailie was sleeping and they thought Kurt was as well.
"I'm gonna let them enjoy the time I have left. I know it isn't long but I want them to know that I love them and I always will."
Elizabeth would always respond with a warm hug and a tearful kiss. She knew as well as anyone that it was only a matter of time before another heart attack took Burt from their lives forever. "I love you," Kurt heard her whisper into the night.
Kurt always pretended that he didn't hear anything, but he knew that he only had a limited amount of time with his father. Hailie had the blessing of ignorance and she was perfectly content to just spend time with Burt and not have to worry. She didn't have to be constantly afraid of losing him.
"I know," Kurt answered his sister anyway, forcing a smile as he pulled out of the driveway and drove towards his sister's school. He shook his head to clear any thought of losing his dad, because it was going to be a long day at school already and he didn't want to make it worse.
After dropping Hailie off at the Junior High, he made his way to McKinley High School.
Welcome to paradise, he thought sarcastically as he walked through the double doors of the school.
"Blaine, wake up!" a stern voice snapped, throwing a pillow at his head when he threw it in her direction.
"Go away, Meagan," Blaine grumbled into his pillow. "The show isn't for six hours. I don't need to get up yet."
"Oh, yes you do!" she insisted, narrowing her eyes. "I'm your manager and if you aren't up and ready to perform in one hour, then I'm cancelling the show."
Blaine looked up in shock, his curly hair a mess. "You can't cancel the—"
"I can and I will," she said, challenging him to go against her. He glowered and threw the pillow at her again before getting out of bed. She smiled too sweetly and left the room for him to change.
He wrinkled his nose in disgust at the outfit laid out for him. He hated the 'bad boy' persona that he had to keep up, but he didn't dare go against it. Not when his job was threatened if he didn't sing and perform exactly how they wanted him to.
He was ready in an hour just as instructed and he made his way downstairs to the kitchen of his house that could almost be called a mansion; a too big, too empty, and most definitely unnecessary mansion.
"Ah, Monsieur Anderson," the maid, Marcie, greeted with a smile as he came into the kitchen. "Bonjour."
"Marcie," Blaine greeted with a smile. "Voulez-vous un peu d'aide preparer le petit dejeuner?" he asked, gesturing to the food that she was preparing. He hated that his parents gave her so much work to do, so he tried to help out in any way possible. Asking to help with breakfast wasn't unusual for him. (French translation: "Would you like some help making breakfast?")
"Oui!" Marcie exclaimed happily. "Merci, garçon doux," she said. (FT: "Yes. Thank you, sweet boy.")
"You know," Blaine smiled, standing beside her as he helped at the stove. "My parents aren't home today so you don't have to pretend that you don't speak English just to avoid talking to them."
Marcie giggled and bumped her hip against Blaine's. "Thanks for the tip. I'm just helping you practice," she added with a wink. Blaine smiled at her. Marcie was twenty-two years old and taking online college classes when she wasn't busy at the Anderson residence. Blaine always tried to cover for her when she had to do homework and his parents asked her to do something. He found that he liked her, and she was one of the only friends he had who knew who he was. Really knew. Not that he had many friends, though. He was homeschooled.
"I don't need practice," Blaine scoffed playfully, feigning offense. He held a hand to his chest dramatically and started singing quietly in French. He trailed off after a few bars, grinning. "I'm fluent."
"Yeah, I know, Hot Shot," she laughed. "Why are you ready so early? The show isn't for six hours, right?"
"Well, I did sleep till noon," Blaine shrugged. "Sound check; makeup; changing my outfit even though they already told me to wear this one—the usual. They want me there early, I guess. It just sucks not being able to play my own music," he sighed.
"You will someday, sweetheart," she said sympathetically, rubbing his shoulder with one hand and squeezing it lightly. She smiled encouragingly. "If it helps anything, I love your music. It's always so nice when you play the piano or your guitar and just start singing your songs."
Blaine smiled bashfully and shrugged humbly. "You give me too much credit, Marc," he said. She just shook her head and shooed him away to the table as she served his food. He thanked her and started eating. When he finished, he insisted on doing the dishes and shooed her away to do homework.
Then he started singing one of his songs. Not the songs that he played on stage, the ones that helped keep up his image. But the ones that he wrote; the ones that showed who he was and expressed his heart.
He sang quietly, a soft smile gracing his lips as he scrubbed the few dishes in the sink.
You look right through my eyes
I see right into yours
You think you know me
But you can't see through my disguise
That you made for me
He couldn't help but feel a hint of resentment towards his parents. The minute they found out he could sing, they started hunting for a record label that would sign him. They took the one that offered the largest check. They didn't take the time to ask Blaine what he wanted or to get to know any of the people at the record label. For example, the person hired to be Blaine's manager was a total witch, or something that rhymed with that.
And Blaine had to admit that he loved the thrill of being on stage and performing for people who actually wanted to hear him. But he still hated the fact that he was forced to be someone he wasn't. No amount of fame or fortune would change that.
No, you've forgotten who I really am
But I won't do the same
'Cause you took away my pride
But you can't take my name
After finishing up the dishes, Blaine let Meagan drag him towards the limo that would take him to the concert venue.
"Why do I have to be there so early?" Blaine complained, catching the attention of his manager who was reading a magazine. She looked up at him over her glasses and narrowed her eyes. Blaine wasn't intimidated by her anymore, though. "None of the fans are even allowed in the building until an hour before the concert starts. And we did sound check and rehearsals yesterday."
"Blaine," she said in an overly sweet, condescending tone. "Let the grown-ups handle this one, okay? You just go up there and sing your little heart out for some screaming little girls. I'll handle the rest."
Blaine rolled his eyes, turning so he could lie down across the seats in the back of the limo. He knew there was no arguing with Meagan. She was as stubborn as a mule.
After hours and hours of sound check, wardrobe adjustments, makeup applying, and listening to Meagan drone on and on about how everything had to be perfect, Blaine was exhausted. He was more than ready to go on stage and perform, if only to get away from his manager. Despite his annoyance, though, he owed his fans a good show.
Three songs into his set list, Blaine got an idea. He knew Meagan would kill him for it, but he had to do something to show his fans that he wasn't an arrogant jerk.
"How's everybody doing tonight?" he called into the microphone. He heard roaring cheers from the audience and screams of 'I love you!' He grinned brightly and waited for them to calm down a little before continuing. "Alright, who wants to have a chance to come up here and sing with me?" he asked, laughing happily when everybody started screaming excitedly. "Let's see," he mused, pacing back and forth across the stage. He saw Meagan glaring at him from offstage and he smirked, shaking his head. He looked out to the audience and saw a young girl with a boy who looked to be her older brother.
Blaine's breath caught in his breath when the boy made eye contact with him, but he quickly regained his cool. He pointed to the boy's little sister—he assumed it was his sister, anyway—where they were standing close to the front of the stage. "Me?" she squeaked, looking around before looking at Blaine. The singer smiled and nodded, urging her to come up on the stage.
"What's your name?" he asked once she was in the middle of the stage with him.
"H-Hailie," she answered, blinking rapidly as if she thought she was dreaming. Blaine smiled at her again and glanced briefly out to see that the boy from before was eyeing him suspiciously. Blaine gulped before returning his attention to the girl.
"Do you like to sing, Hailie?" he asked. She nodded quickly. "What's your favorite song?"
"Will it hurt your feelings if I say it isn't one of your songs?" she asked with a small smile. Blaine laughed and shook his head.
"Any song at all," he told her.
She thought about it for a moment before making a decision. "'All You Need Is Love,' by The Beatles," she answered and Blaine's face lit up in pleasant surprise.
"Excellent choice," he complimented. "Why don't you start? I'll back you up." She beamed at him and cleared her throat before beginning nervously. He handed her a microphone and switched on the one running down the side of his face from a wire.
(Hailie)
Love, love, love
Love, love, love
Love, love, love
Nothing you can do that can't be done
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy
(Blaine)
Nothing you can make that can't be made
No one you can save that can't be saved
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time
It's easy
(Hailie & Blaine)
All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need
They finished the song together and the crowd erupted in cheers when they were done. Blaine looked at Hailie and smiled, satisfied by the fact that he'd made her smile so much. Then he looked out into the crowd, his eyes searching for the beautiful boy once again. He found him and he grinned, making eye contact. He grew nervous when he saw the stranger narrow his eyes, but relaxed when he saw a smile. He waved subtly and the boy seemed to laugh quietly before doing the same.
"Thank you," Hailie piped up, hugging him. He smiled and hugged her back shortly before he saw Meagan making an urgent gesture off to the side. He rolled his eyes and gently shooed Hailie off the stage, but not before giving her his hat. She put the fedora on and skipped happily back to her brother. He saw her hug the boy and he smiled.
"Thank you, everybody!" he finished after performing another song. "Have a good night!"
He jogged off the stage and back to where Meagan was waiting for him. "Blaine—"
"Don't want to hear it," he cut her off, putting a hand up and walking right past her. "I couldn't care less if I look like a bad boy," he emphasized, turning to her suddenly. She stared at him in surprise and anger. He continued, unfazed by the flames spurting out the sides of her head. "I'll do whatever photo shoots or interviews you want and keep up the stupid image, but it's my music and I'm going to do it how I want." With an air of finality, he stormed off, leaving Meagan speechless and fuming.
"Blaine! Blaine! Over here!" Blaine squinted as flashing cameras were shoved in his face on the way out of the concert. He ignored the cameras but signed as many autographs as he could manage. When he saw his hat that he'd been wearing earlier, he frowned in confusion before looking up to see who was holding it out. It was the boy from earlier, Hailie's brother.
"My sister wanted to get this signed by you," the boy explained, holding it out. Blaine grinned and signed the hat before looking up to meet the stranger's eyes.
"Thanks for coming to the concert," Blaine said lamely, earning a small laugh from the other boy.
"Yeah," he said. "Bye, Blaine," he added, turning to walk away.
But Blaine's impulsivity had other plans. "Wait!" he yelped, reaching out to grasp the boy's hand. He ignored the way Meagan was glaring at him and gesturing for him to hurry, and he decided to pay more attention to the softness of the boy's hand. "Call me," he whispered in the boy's ear as he wrote his cell phone number on his pale hand. He looked at Blaine in surprise before he was dragged off by his sister and Blaine was dragged off by Meagan.
"What on earth are you doing?" she hissed in his ear as he was ushered into the limo. Blaine rolled his eyes and settled himself into one of the plush seats.
"I was signing autographs," he stated dumbly, shrugging. Meagan scoffed and sat down across from him. The limo started driving away and she started rambling, but Blaine wasn't listening. Something about how he should 'be more professional,' or how he 'doesn't have time to sign autographs.'
He didn't care what she said. At the moment, all he could think of was the beautiful boy that he'd just given his number to. He knew logically it was probably the dumbest thing he'd ever done, giving his number to a stranger, but he didn't care what his brain said, either.
That night, he walked into his room with a tired sigh, kicking off his shoes and shedding his jacket and skin-tight jeans. He pulled on some sweat pants and a clean t-shirt before climbing into bed and pulling out his phone.
He wasn't sure what led him to believe that his new friend would call him, but he couldn't help feeling hopeful.
At a quarter to eleven, though, he got a call. He sat up and was immediately wide awake despite being half asleep only seconds before. "Hello?" he said into the receiver, trying not to sound too eager or desperate.
"Blaine?" a soothing and familiar voice answered.
"Yeah, it's me," Blaine said with a bright smile, folding his legs like a pretzel as he sat in the center of his rumpled bed. "You thought I gave you a fake number, didn't you?" he asked in a resigned tone.
"I suspected it," was the reply.
"What's your name, by the way?" he asked curiously. "If you don't mind me asking," he added quickly, blushing.
"Kurt," the boy laughed. "My name is Kurt. You know, you're lucky I didn't let my sister know that you gave me your number. She would have freaked and probably never stopped calling you. She's pretty much your biggest fan."
"I'm flattered," Blaine smiled. "It was really nice meeting you tonight, even if it was only briefly."
"On that note," Kurt said, and Blaine could almost hear the way his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why did you give me your number, anyway? You barely saw me for two minutes."
Uh oh, Blaine thought with a gulp.
A/N: Cliffhanger~ Let's see if Blaine can explain why he gave a complete stranger his number.
I hope you all enjoyed this. It's another idea that I came up with and I really like it.
Leave me a review and let me know if I should continue it :)