"Hey baby, can you pass me some sugar?" asked Mercedes, as a blazer-clad boy at the Lima Bean turned to pass it to her. She and Kurt were discussing the costumes they needed for glee club, and sat down at a table to enjoy their drinks just as Rachel Berry herself walked in, alone. Rachel was keen to see the new entertainment at the Lima Bean. Recently they had hired a band to perform, and they often encouraged customers to come up and sing with them.
The band finished their current song and there was a scattering of applause. The singer lifted his microphone off its stand and began to pace around the coffee shop.
"Now, who's gonna treat us to the next song?" he asked, scanning the faces of the customers, who quickly avoided eye contact. Even Rachel, who secretly wanted to, was apprehensive about being chosen.
"Come on, how about you?" the singer asked Rachel, grabbing her by the arm and directing her towards the performance area. "And you! In the hat!" called out the singer, pointing across the room at Kurt who turned white. Kurt drifted up to the front, not entirely sure why he was agreeing to this. This was the opposite of avoiding people's attention. "Aaaaand you!" said the singer, clapping the blazer-clad boy on the shoulder, and he hesitantly got up to join Rachel and Kurt at the front, reluctantly leaving his friend at the table. Each of them took a microphone stand, with Rachel in the centre. They looked at eachother like "What is happening?" and took a deep breath as the guitarist started strumming. Lyrics flashed up on a screen in front of them, and Rachel, although never one to turn down the chance to perform, nervously took the lead.
The smell of your skin lingers on me now
You're probably on your flight back to your home town
People watching seemed impressed by the quality of Rachel's singing voice. As she sang, she became more comfortable and relaxed as her audience engaged with what was happening at the front.
I need some shelter of my own protection, baby
To be with myself and centre
Clarity, peace, serenity
Now it was Kurt's turn. His insides twisted at the thought of what was actually happening right now. He was about to sing in front of a bunch of strangers, with no preparation whatsoever. Well, there was a first time for everything. He took a deep breath and sang.
I hope you know, I hope you know
That this has nothing to do with you
It's personal, myself and I
We've got some straightening out to do
Then it was the boy in the blazer's turn.
And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket
But I've gotta get a move on with my life
Both Rachel and Kurt whipped round in surprise when they heard his voice. It was amazing. Who was he? He looked younger than Kurt and Rachel, with a lot of gel in his hair, and appeared to be wearing a school uniform, but neither Kurt nor Rachel recognised it.
It's time to be a big girl now
Then the three of them sang together.
And big girls don't cry
Don't cry
Don't cry
Don't cry
Their voices matched perfectly, Kurt and Rachel blending together with the boy's lower voice. Rachel grinned and stepped forward to take the next verse.
The path that I'm walking I must go alone
I must take the baby steps 'til I'm full grown
Fairytales don't always have a happy ending do they?
And I foresee the dark ahead if I stay
Then Kurt took over, beginning to move to the music as he gained confidence. They sounded good – it was his first performance after all.
I hope you know, I hope you know
That this has nothing to do with you
It's personal, myself and I
We've got some straightening out to do
Then Rachel and the other boy sang together, leaning their microphone stands in towards eachother, hamming it up. Kurt watched them, smiling.
And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket
But I've gotta get a move on with my life
It's time to be a big girl now
And big girls don't cry
Now Kurt had a verse.
Like a little school mate in the school yard
We'll play jacks and Uno cards
I'll be your best friend and you'll be mine, Valentine
Suddenly the other boy joined in, harmonising seamlessly.
Yes you can hold my hand if you want to
Kurt caught his eye and felt his cheeks get hot. This guy could really sing. Not only that, he was willing to sing this song with another guy. Kurt was taken aback and suddenly stopped singing. The boy kept going.
'Cause I wanna hold yours too
We'll be playmates and lovers and share our secret worlds
Kurt wished the boy would stop singing directly at him, he could feel his cheeks burning. He caught Mercedes' eye and she raised her eyebrows at him, grinning. Then Rachel began singing again.
But it's time for me to go home
It's getting late, dark outside
I need to be with myself and centre
Clarity, peace, serenity
Yeah
Then she and Kurt sang the chorus together.
I hope you know, I hope you know
That this has nothing to do with you
It's personal, myself and I
We've got some straightening out to do
Then the other boy joined in.
And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket
But I've gotta get a move on with my life
It's time to be a big girl now
And big girls don't cry
Don't cry
Don't cry
Don't cry...
The guitarist strummed the last few bars of the song before the band's singer got up from his seat and led the applause.
"Never have we had someone who could actually perform!" he told them. "What are your names?"
"Rachel Berry!" said an excited Rachel.
"...Kurt." said a slightly bewildered Kurt.
"Blaine." said the boy in the blazer.
The singer grabbed his microphone. "Everyone, give a round of applause for Rachel, Kurt and Blaine!"
The three of them received more applause than the band themselves had. They moved away from the front as the band started up their next song. Blaine turned to the others, shaking his head in disbelief.
"That was fun, I've never done anything like that."
"Me neither." said Kurt.
"We sounded amazing." said Rachel, wide-eyed. "We should perform together more often. I'm going to give each of you my number so we can keep in touch and schedule rehearsals together, we could be the next big thing around here."
Kurt and Blaine gave eachother quizzical looks as they were each handed a slip of paper with Rachel's number on it.
"I'll be in touch." she said and with a huge smile, hurried out of the Lima Bean.
"Uhh..." started Blaine.
"She's always like that." said Kurt "You might wanna escape while you can."
Blaine laughed, glancing at Kurt.
"So- I don't suppose I could- give you, you know... my number?" asked Blaine tentatively.
Kurt saw Mercedes watching them from her table and caught her eye. She nodded frantically.
"Uh, yeah –sure." said Kurt, "I mean, if we're gonna start our own super group we're gonna have to stay in touch."
Blaine laughed again.
"Of course."
He handed Kurt his number.
"Nice to meet you, Kurt. Maybe we can do this again sometime?" he smirked. "See you around!" And Blaine left to find his classmate.
Kurt went and sat back down opposite Mercedes.
"You were amazing up there!" she said "And what about you and blazer boy?"
Kurt stared at her with a dazed expression.
"I just sang in front of a group of people, and then a boy gave me his number. What just happened?"
"You let your coffee go cold, that's what."
"Darn."