The vocal exercises from her voice box, continue on as she retreats back into her bedroom, to get dressed in more or less obnoxious clothing that he detests. His eyebrows furrow a little as her notes get higher, almost squeaking to herself, and he flinches slightly on the highest one before sighing once she was finished screeching like a cat in heat.
She reappears from her room, wearing something that could only be described as college slut chic, but he doesn't say anything, petty arguments about her clothing choices aren't worth it.
"Did you get any sleep last night?" She asked as she starts the coffee machine on the counter near where he was working at his desk, and then looks at him pointedly as he glances up at her for half a second.
"Barely."
He had learned shortly after moving in with her that one word answers are better than not answering her at all. She seemed to get even more unbearable for his brain if he didn't answer, so one was better for both of them than nothing at all.
She sighed but said nothing as she made two cups and passed one carefully onto Kurt's workspace, as he watched it with narrowed eyes until it stopped by his hand.
He raised his eyebrows at her in thanks and she walked to take a seat at the kitchen table, so resuming the comforting silence from before she awoke.
Rachel was her name, Rachel Berry, 21 years old, from Lima Ohio just like him, they went to the same high school, and she had two gay dads who were once famous Broadway stars. Now she was aspiring to be one herself, had gotten into Nyada, and was well on her way to being a star.
Kurt hadn't really known her in high school, but he knew who she was. The obnoxious girl in the horrid sweaters with short legs, and a loud mouth.
She had tried to get Kurt to join Glee club then, but he had refused. Preferring at 17 and 18, to be elusive, tough, and invisible. He had tried so hard to remain the outsider until he left, and hadn't wanted to bring attention upon himself.
It had worked.
He had graduated eventually, and nobody ever found out the real reason why he was held back a year between sophomore and Junior, and that's the way he wanted it to stay.
When he eventually had to leave Lima, when he was 20, he had run into her unexpectedly and she had stopped to say hi while he was looking through apartment/roommate want ads. She had pointed out that a roommate of hers had just left, and maybe Kurt should stay with her.
They weren't close, but at least he could for sure call her a friend now.
"My duet partner for my classes will be coming over tonight to work on our song, just a heads up." She said as she grabbed a fruit snack out of the refrigerator before grabbing her jacket, satchel and shoes.
He nodded but knew she was waiting for acknowledgement.
"Ok."
And with that small reply she was gone.
Kurt stared up at the clock. 6:58. He had school too today, so with a stretch and a small heave of breath, he hauled himself out of his chair and into the shower.
The School Of Visual Arts was the one place that Kurt truly felt appreciated. It was safe and the people were friendly, although most of them were just as chatty as Rachel, but they didn't automatically disregard Kurt for not speaking.
It was nice to be accepted. Plus everyone loved his wacky art.
He applied for the school when his grandmother died. He didn't want to go to college, and he thought at 20, he would be a barista for the rest of his life. His grandmother's lawyer, an old friend of hers had contacted him about some money that had been left to him.
$70.000
Kurt's eyes nearly fell out of his head when he saw the figure on the paper. He signed for it, knowing that it would go to other places if he didn't take it. Along with what his father had left him when he died, he could afford to leave Lima and go to school in New York.
It had been a dream of his once. And Broadway had to, when he was 10. But dreams change, Kurt wanted to become an art teacher, so he needed the training and the grades.
His teachers in both of his classes loved him, and enthusiastically gave him his extra credit assignments, knowing that he would wow them with his next piece.
The piece he was working on at home, was a metaphor for the fashion world. Which he used to have a toe in before. He used to be very fashion conscious, but his clothing and hair choices had taken a dive from the normal. Black clothes seemed to work better for him, hoodies and jeans were his staple choices. And usually a beanie hat to stop the stares.
Because his hair and the piercings...well that was another story.
"Hey Kurt."
He turned to regard Lara, she was a girl about 2 inches shorter than him, with purple hair down to her waist, and he gave her a small smile.
"Hey." He answered in a friendly way, even though his voice barely left the monotonous range and she walked beside him as they made their way to their class.
"Want to meet up for lunch at Rene's today?" She asked as they reached the doorway of their class, knowing that this was the best time to talk to Kurt, because he sat far at the back of the room.
He eyed her for a second. Thinking about it. Rene's was a little sandwich shop just off campus, that had an amazing duck salad sandwich and cappuccinos on the menu. He gave her a small grin.
"Ok."
"Cool, see you after class." She said as she walked to her own seat and Kurt made his way to his.
This class was 3 hours long, but the students had the opportunity for breaks all the time, it wasn't just a sit down and study class. It was making art, and when you're in the zone you move around.
They all had a desk, a stool, an easel, and supplies. But Kurt preferred to bring his own brushes and pencils. It worked better for him.
He decided today to draw Lara, and coffee.
His teacher enjoyed watching him splash watery purple paint onto the canvas, and she appraised him for his attention to detail with the steam of the coffee mug.
He knew he was good, which is why he decided that this path was for him.
He only had two classes, Fine arts and Art therapy, but when he finally got his graduate degrees he could teach others the joy and escapism of art. It's what he wanted, he didn't just want to be an art teacher, he wanted to be an art therapist.
Inspire young people to create rather than destruct.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
When class was over, Lara was waiting for him by the door, she was a good friend of his. She seemed to understand his need for silence, and she had no problem with not talking. It was comfortable, being around her and not having the pressure of conversation.
They walked slowly to Rene's, enjoying each other's company, Lara never tried to touch him, or link arms or anything which was a good thing. Kurt had a tendency to freak out when people touched him. Even handshakes were off limits.
Life really wasn't as simple as some people made it out to be.
At Rene's they found a small table in one corner and both ordered their favourite sandwiches and drinks. Kurt was admiring some of the new artwork they had up on display, and Lara remained silent for a while. When the waitress brought their lunch over, Lara reached for her coffee first and then smiled up at Kurt.
"You should think about selling your art you know," she told him and he raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't respond, "you could make so much money, and I saw what you made today Kurt."
She smirked at him and he blushed a little.
"Don't worry I liked it, but you could really do something with that talent of yours."
"Thanks." he murmured as he brought his own coffee cup to his lips, blowing slightly onto it as he did so that the liquid wouldn't burn him.
"You're gay right?" Lara blurted out, almost making Kurt drop the sandwich he had just picked up to bite and he glared at her slightly before she narrowed her eyes back at him.
"Why?" He asked and she shrugged.
"Just wondered."
They went back into comfortable silence after that, and as they ate their lunches, Kurt thought about what she said, why did it matter?
Is that her way of asking if he was straight or single? because she was going about it the wrong way.
"Yes." He said and she looked at him confused.
"Huh?"
"Yes." He said again pointedly and she smiled.
"Ok cool, so am I." She said and he raised both eyebrows at that.
"Unexpected." he said and she giggled at him.
"Don't look so shocked Kurt, its ok, I just wanted to know for the alliance at school."
"Alliance?"
"LGBTQ club, or gay/straight alliance, you've heard of it right?"
"No."
"Really?" she was a little stunned, but Kurt hadn't even known there was a club in school for that, he thought that college in New York would not have segregated clubs like that, but obviously some people still had issues and formed a club of their own, "did you want to come along?"
He looked back at her with a bored look.
"No."
She laughed again, and he smiled at her.
"Sometimes I wished I didn't join either." She admitted and they continued to sit and have small chat for a while before she looked at the time and excused herself for work.
Which reminded Kurt that he had work too this afternoon. He glanced at the clock as he watched Lara hastily leave with a wave, 1pm, he had to be at work at 2, he could take a casual stroll beforehand and be a few minutes early or late.
With that in mind he threw his lunch rubbish away and walked out of the door. It wasn't exactly fresh air out here, but he knew a place where he could get a feel of it. Central park.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo Work was exhausting today, Kurt had to work in a museum, an art museum. It was only a small one, and it didn't bring in that many people, but it was the only place he could find to work that didn't require him to interact with people.
He knew he wasn't the most social butterfly, but at least he was quiet and didn't disturb anybody elses life. Unlike a few loud people in the museum this afternoon.
He sighed as he pulled the door open to the apartment. Removing his black boots and placing them in his own shoe rack before closing the door and heading for the kitchen.
Oh.
Rachel was already home and entertaining a guest. A very handsome looking guest with gelled hair. Kurt thought maybe he had stepped back in time to the 50's by the sight of that hair, but he shook it off and made his way past them.
"Oh Kurt, you're home." Rachel said over excitedly, it made Kurt grit his teeth a little, "I want you to meet Blaine Anderson, my duet partner for our class assignments."
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Blaine had never met anyone quite like his duet partner for this assignment, Rachel Berry. Within the space of an hour in class together, he knew almost everything about her life, including her childhood, boyfriends, friends, dads, Broadway dreams, and vocal talents.
Anyone who was anyone at Nyada, knew who Rachel was. She had extremely amazing talent, and she was very hard working, and always strived to the best she could be. She was very driven and known around the college as a perfectionist.
Blaine actually admired the woman.
He was confident in his abilities, but he had some insecurities but she didn't seem to have any of those.
It was fascinating.
He had waited outside of Nyada's front entrance for her at 1pm, because he wanted to have lunch with her, and talk to her more. She seemed like she was going somewhere in life and if he could have more friends with her drive, maybe his own would pick up.
She was beautiful, even though Blaine was gay he could see it. And she had an air around her that screamed small town girl in a big pond.
But Blaine liked that, it made her more comfortable to be round. Especially knowing she had two gay dads, made Blaine feel even more comfortable just being himself around her.
It was just like himself, in a big city and coming from a small town. He grew up in Westerville, and went to an all boys private school called Dalton Academy. He was an honour student, and president of the Warblers in his senior year. Captain of the lacrosse team for a while and had a lot of extracurriculars on his resume for college.
When he got his acceptance letter to audition for Nyada, it was a dream come true, he had wanted to get into this school since he had first heard about it from the school councillor. It was one of the top schools in New York, the city of his dreams.
And he always wanted to be on Broadway, and the fastest way to get there was to be a top student and his top school.
His audition had gone extremely well, but he knew that the school only accepted a certain number of students a year, so when he finally got his acceptance of attendance letter, he nearly screamed his mother's house down.
She had run into his room thinking he was hurt and then yelled at him not to scare like that before joining him in celebrating, she had always been supportive.
So now he was 20 years old, with an apartment of his own, a roommate he adored, and starting his third year at Nyada. The classes were very demanding and a lot of hard work but he loved it.
After lunch was over, which Rachel had offered to pay for, but Blaine being the gentleman he was raised as, paid for it, earning a huge grin and a hug from her. They walked back to her apartment to sit and talk, and work out what song choices they both had for the assignment.
As they spent an hour discussing things, it was nearing 3pm, and the door of the apartment opened.
Blaine looked up and eyed the stranger quietly, while Rachel greeted him. Kurt. The name seemed to suit him. But what caught Blaine's attention more was the hair.
As Kurt removed his beanie hat, Blaine had to hold his breath. The top of his hair was fire truck red, and the sides were a little shaved shorter and coloured a deep purple, and he could see streaks of blonde and blue within the fringe at the front. And the piercing in his eyebrow and one in his lip made him look so untouchable. He was so obviously an artist, or a performer of some kind.
Rachel hadn't really told him a lot about her roommate, only that he was quiet and kept to himself a lot.
"-to meet Blaine Anderson, my duet partner for our class assignments."
Blaine's mind came back with a shock at Rachel's voice and he held out his hand on instinct towards Kurt. But Kurt didn't take it, he just smiled apologetically at Blaine's hand and offered him a small nod instead as a greeting.
"Hi, Kurt," Blaine said a little awkwardly as he placed his hand back down, "it's nice to meet you."
"Hi." Kurt replied before pouring himself a glass of orange juice and tipping his head as he moved around them and disappeared down the hall.
"Was it something I did?" Blaine asked Rachel as he watched Kurt walk away with a confused expression and Rachel quickly shook her head.
"No, he just doesn't touch people, like at all." She explained, "it freaks him out."
Blaine raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Oh?"
"Yeah I accidently hugged him once, and he completely zoned out for a whole day, and then when I eventually asked him what's wrong he wouldn't talk to me for days." Rachel told him and Blaine furrowed his brows at her explanation, "but then he wrote on a piece of card, that he didn't like to be touched without permission, so in the end I accepted it and we moved on."
"Did you ask him why?"
"It's not my business." She said airily and shrugged, while Blaine frowned a little, "I think we're wasting time when we should be rehearsing."
She stood and moved towards the living area, and Blaine followed after her nodding along.
But he couldn't help but think of Kurt, who was in the shower by the sound of it, and wonder what had happened to him to make him like the way he is. It must be a lonely life if no-one can ever touch you.