A/N: Hello, my dears! I posted on some of my latest stories (especially on IYNoM) that I would be doing a long story. And I will stick to this story (unlike 'Sienna Riddle'). Promise! And if I don't, one of you can annoy me until I do post something!
Title: Slight Variations
Chapter: 1/?
Author: Polyjuice Princess
Rating: T (for now?)
Disclaimer: I do not own, nor make any profit from these works. All recognisable content belongs to Ryan Murphy and Fox.
Summary: A Summer Internship after graduation will change everything for Kurt. New friends, experiences and circumstances. A Season 4 AU. Rated T.
Also, there is established Klaine, as this does run (mostly) alongside season 4 and later season 5.
Chapter 1: The Start
"…Red and blue all over!"
He watched in amusement as the person across from him was overwhelmed with laughter, relaxing back in his chair after regaling her with a memory from last week. The person in question was a fiery, dark-haired girl, French in origin, with dazzling purple streaks throughout her slightly wavy he waited for her to calm down, Kurt thought about the busy day he'd had.
After arriving in New York, he'd quickly caught a cab to what was going to be his workplace for the remainder of summer. When he'd heard of the opportunity to intern at Vogue for part of the summer he'd been ecstatic. This was his dream. Sure, he could go on and on about his future of rising to fame on Broadway, but he'd been extremely realistic, and come to the conclusion that the one thing he loved more than performing had been his clothes, and others' clothes. As his catchphrase said, "Every moment in life is an opportunity for fashion". The internship had been extremely competitive and only ten students, from both High School and College, had been accepted. He could only feel lucky.
Once he'd finished admiring the interior of the building, he picked up his orientation package, which held his flat assignment (right across the road), the program's timetable, and all the extra bits of information necessary. Almost straight away, he'd met his roommates, Sarah Moreau and Jake Martin.
Sarah, the girl currently laughing on the couch, was 19, a few months older than him, and used to live in West Virginia before moving to New York at the beginning of summer. Jake was 20; a sophomore at Parsons who'd thought it best to get some real-life experience before continuing in the industry.
Currently though, the three of them were getting to know each other, sitting comfortably on the lounge, Sarah settling down to giggles, Jake grinning wildly and Kurt feeling accomplished. He had been telling them about one the last times he saw all of the New Directions together, and Puck had tried to pull a prank on everyone, a rainfall of slush, tipped from buckets onto each member, yet, being quite a bit more observant than Puck had expected, they'd quickly caught onto his grand plan and moved the buckets so that they fell on Puck in one massive torrent instead. Being the mastermind of the plan against Puck, he'd suffered 5 minutes full of being tickled to death. It'd been worth it in the long run though, as Puck had been absolutely drowned in blue and red slush, skin multicoloured for days.
Once they calmed down enough, Jake started a story about how he had tried to woo a girl he'd just met, only to find out she was happily in a relationship with their mutual friend, Emily…
The air was warm when he woke up. After glancing around the room in confusion, he gained his bearings, remembering how he'd gotten here. As soon as he did though, a grin lit up his face. He was in New York!
He took in his room, having been too tired the night before to really appreciate any of it. The walls were a soft blue, with a bold painting on the wall in front of him. It was made up of abstract yellow and black lines. Kurt padded softly into the kitchen, taking note of where each room was on the way. The kitchen space was gorgeous, spacious surface areas for preparing food and a large fridge in the corner, already stocked with food. There was an expensive-looking coffee machine sitting on one of the counters, and Kurt gravitated towards it, eager for his morning cup of coffee.
"So, I was thinking that we should name this place," a voice started behind him. Kurt jumped in surprise. He'd thought he was alone. Looking behind him, he saw Sarah. "Like, I don't want to call this place 'The Apartment' or whatever, you know?"
It was actually a pretty good idea. "How about 'Base', since we'll be coming back here a lot."
Sarah seemed pleased, her smile widening. "Ooh! What if all us interns referred to this building as base, and each apartment could have like, a name, or a number…"
"Yeah," he smiled, "We should talk to the others when we see them later."
At that moment, Jake came into the kitchen, hair wet from a shower and jeans hung on his hips. "Mornin', what're you talkin' 'bout?"
Sarah and Kurt shared an appreciative smile. He took a sip of his coffee and let her explain.
"My name is Isabelle Wright, but you can all just call me Isabelle. After all, we'll be spending a lot of time together over the next weeks." Their supervisor, Isabelle, seemed like a warm, motherly person, Kurt thought. They'd been ushered into a small conference room after arriving, and had been going through introductions and procedures for a few minutes. All the others in the program were at least mildly friendly, all with creative eyes and eager faces. It was amazing how everyone who got in really did want to be here, and knew how lucky they were to be present.
After all the necessary information was given, Isabelle led them on a tour of the building, which included meeting some semi-famous designers, getting an insight into current projects, and (very exclusively) sneaking a peek into the Vogue Vault, something many of the interns had been dreaming of since they understood the prestige of Vogue.
While they walked back to the conference room, Isabelle also briefed them on the first part of their internship. Workshops. Workshops with actual designers. Kurt was in heaven. Being here was his dream, and he had to keep the grin off his face, in place was a slightly (or quite full-on) amazed smile.
Just after noon was their lunch break, and they were free to roam New York for food, a task which they found quite easy with the amount of cafés and restaurants around the area. Kurt stuck with Sarah and a few of the others for lunch, eating at a cute little Italian bistro.
On the way back to Vogue, Kurt was focused on the conversation (Vuitton vs. Hilfiger) and was blind to an incoming person. As he fell, he braced himself for the impact of hard pavement, but strong arms caught him before he got that far.
"I am so sorry!"
"No, it's fine, I wasn't looking where I was going…" Kurt stared at the boy who caught him, well, more like man. Tendrils of short brown hair curled over his forehead, escaping the red beanie. A grey Henley revealed toned arms and firm chest.
Kurt realised too late that he was staring, and that Sarah was giggling beside him. He shot her a look, but that only made the mystery man grin (rather cutely) down at him. The few inches taller was appealing, especially considering a large amount of guys he'd liked in the past were taller than him. This fact had circled his brain time and time again, especially considering the height of his first, and current, boyfriend, Blaine.
Right, he had a boyfriend. Shaking his head minutely, Kurt took a step back from the handsome stranger.
"Alright, then?" And a nice voice, now that he payed attention. Smooth, like a perfect coffee.
"Yeah… Sorry I ran into you though."
"It's fine, not every day I stumble across such a beautiful person." The stranger winked. More giggles erupted off to the side. Pink blazed across Kurt's cheeks, he repressed his own giggles.
"I'm Kurt…"
"Hunter, nice to make your acquaintance." They shook hands, possibly holding on too long for someone with a boyfriend. "Sadly, I've got to dash, on a coffee run. I have a feeling I'll see you very soon, Kurt."
A wink and then Hunter was gone.
Upon returning to the office, Kurt was still partly flustered. And conflicted. Because, again, he had a boyfriend. And it wouldn't do to fancy an almost-stranger miles away from the love of his life.
Back in the conference room, they were split into small groups to do a bit of brainstorming and idea creation. When Isabelle got to Kurt's group, she looked at him before smiling for a split second. Before he could ask, she was gone, and he was pulled back into an idea about fur-striped jeans.
True to his word, Kurt ran into Hunter again. The next day.
If only he knew the drama that this meeting would be catalyst to.
A/N: Review?