Chapter Two - "I Don't Know If I'll Make It"
After walking Quinn to her door, Blaine returned to his car to find that Kurt had slipped into the front passenger seat. Leaving the Fabrays' Wisteria Lane-esque neighborhood, Blaine took a roundabout route on the drive to Kurt's house while holding Kurt's hand over the center console. They spent the entire trip in silence, with Blaine's music murmuring faintly in the background.
Abandoned in the back seat, Kurt's phone was buzzing practically non-stop with calls and texts from Mercedes, Rachel and the rest of the Glee kids. Having no desire at all to deal with them right now, he ignored it.
It was two in the morning when they finally arrived at the Hudson-Hummel home. As he pulled into the driveway, Blaine noticed that Finn's pick-up was nowhere in sight.
As soon as they were inside, Kurt slammed the crown down on the foyer table. His eyes were bright and glistening. His chin started to quiver―
―and Blaine was thrown off balance when Kurt suddenly turned and hurled himself into his arms. Blaine pulled him close as Kurt buried his face in his shoulder.
Kissing the top of Kurt's head, Blaine couldn't help but remember the boy who had come to Dalton last fall―that "endearing spy" he'd escorted to the Warblers' performance of "Teenage Dream". The Kurt who was so damaged by the bullying at McKinley he'd nearly broken down crying just talking to Blaine, Wes and David about their school's zero-tolerance harassment policy.
"Shhhh..." Blaine stroked Kurt's hair. "I'm sorry, baby. I'm so sorry..." he said over and over, blinking back his own tears. Guilt gnawed at his gut. I'm so sorry I let this happen to you...
They stood that way for several minutes, Blaine continuing to whisper reassurances that became apologies into Kurt's ear. Then the Kurt who'd owned that crown and quipped "Eat your heart out, Kate Middleton" was back. He looked up with moist eyes and gently pressed a finger over Blaine's lips to silence him. He smiled a sad little smile. "Don't. I wouldn't have made it through this without you."
Yeah. Big help. Blaine just hugged Kurt tighter, trying to ignore the lump rising in his throat.
After several more minutes, Kurt released Blaine, a resigned look falling over his face; he still had to tell his father he was home. Kurt hadn't decided whether he was going to tell him the whole story tonight or wait for tomorrow. He wouldn't lie...but Kurt still worried about his father getting emotional after his heart attack last October.
As Kurt mounted the stairs, Blaine decided to check his phone. It was going off only slightly less than Kurt's.
Missed calls: 33
Later, he decided and accessed the text file instead. He accidentally swiped the screen too hard and ended up rolling back to the time he'd left Dalton:
Wes (4:31pm): Hope you have a great time! You and Kurt deserve it.
Jeff (4:45pm): good luk tonite blainey boy - just so u kno i put condms in ur glove cmprtmnt - cherry flavred - alwys b prepard :-D
Me (4:47pm): i looked - u weren't kidding - CHERRY?! - really? - u r a sick SICK man
Jeff (4:48pm): seriusly man i hope u & kurt hav a awesme time :-)
My Kurt (5:01pm): Hope you're on your way! I'm so excited - and I just can't hide it!
Me: (5:05pm): yes i am! - & the pointer sisters? - seriously?
My Kurt (5:07pm): Don't judge me, Blaine Warbler!
Puckasaurus (6:03pm): operation secret servise is a go - lauren z &the glee studds r locked and loded - no worrys little dude
Hudson QB1 (6:36pm): quin & me leavn bredstix now - c u at prom - got yr backs
Me (7:03pm): hey sterling - we've arrivd & no riot (yet) - lol
Jeff (7:05pm): hey gelhead - so NOT lmfao - tke a breth & hve fun - use flask in cse of emergncy ;')
Other Asian (7:10pm): Look to your right - Tina & I sitting at table under b-ball hoop - We saved you seats
San-Fuckin-Tana (8:09pm): hey frodo! stop eye fucking hummel & pay attention! youre on rite after weezie & trouty von bieberhausen
(The contact names of the McKinley kids usually made him laugh. They'd all entered their numbers into his phone at a party. Without his knowledge after Santana had expertly picked his pocket. He'd found out the next day when they all started texting him at will.)
Jeff (8:27pm): hey blainers - howz thngs - bet u & kurt look adorble 2gether ;')
Me (8:34pm): just finished singing - so far so good - and yes we do! - see 4 yurself
Jeff (8:38pm): got the pcture of u & kurt - awww! :-) btw nick thnks our boy kurt looks hot hot HOTT!
Nick (8:40pm): maybe i do & maybe i dont - btw ur roommate is a fucking dick :P
Jeff (8:41pm): btw i luv it when my nicky talks dirty *.*
Nick (8:44pm): tell this sex fiend 2 keep off m%9!wtf+ help!
Me (8:46pm): u guys r BOTH sex fiends - and stay off my bed! :-O
Jeff (9:49pm): sup blainey boy - thad wnts 2 kno if u & kurt hav kissed yet
Thad (9:51pm): no I don't - Jeff's the perv - when I got here he was mackin on Nick ON UR BED :{
Nick (9:52pm): thad's pissed we wudnt make it a 3some! lol :D
Me (9:53pm): ON MY BED? - start running!
That had been the last time Blaine had checked his texts; after this, he'd sung "I'm Not Gonna To Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You". And then "Tonight, Tonight" immediately afterward since Finn―who was supposed to have sung Savage Garden's "Truly, Madly, Deeply" with Quinn next―had been thrown out by that amazon-in-a-track-suit cheerleading coach. And then had come that heinous coronation ceremony. So, from here on, everything was new to him:
Jeff (10:49pm): thnking of u & kurt - enjoy ur last dance - rite now nicky & i are dancin 2 bryan adams heaven
David (11:11pm): How was the prom? Jeff is too busy sucking Nick's face off to text you
Trent (11:14pm): we r all here in ur room w8ing for u 2 call w/ the deets - holla at da boy!
Thad (11:26pm): ur silence mocks us sir!
Wes (11.28pm): Sorry. I'm trying to get these jerks to stop bothering you.
Jeff (12:21am): blaine stud - r u & kurt makin a littl paradise by the dashbord lites? thats so nasty! dnt do anythng i wuldnt do :-D
Nick (12:23am): btw therz NUTHIN jeff wont do! O_o
Divalicious (1:01am): guess my white boys still dont feel like talking - how r u guys?
Rachel Berry (1:12am): Everyone still at Denny's. Please come.
I'm Brittany, Bitch! (1:27am): hi blanewarbler! my dolfin duznt anser - puck sez its cuz ur havin rainbow sex - yay! :) cll me aftr
I'm Brittany, Bitch! (1:31am): b respnsible - skittles r gay birth control pills - ttyl
Rachel Berry (1:40am): Blaine Anderson. Call. Us. NOW.
Jeff (1:44am): evry1 else asleep - time 2 kiss & tell blainey boy - whut r u & kurt doin rite now? wanky
Chapstik Cowboy (1:49am): hey - u ok? u ned 2 call - ppl r frekn out
San-Fuckin-Tana (1:51am): talk to me richie rich - britbrit & everyone here worried about hummel - wazzup?
San-Fuckin-Tana (1:54am): call NOW keebler elf! or i will go all lima hites adjacent on your hobbit ass!
San-Fuckin-Tana (1:55am): BTW - in case yooz a wonderin - thatz BAD!
Jeff (2:03am): that crzybitch cherleader satanna just calld the dorm fone lookn for u & kurt - sounded pissd - whats wrng?
Jeff (2:06am): wtf man - call me
Jeff (2:08am): ? ? ? ? CALL ME NOW
Jeff (2:09am): cmon buddy ur scaring me
Jeff (2:09am): pleez - r u ok?
Sighing, Blaine called up the keypad and thumbed a reply.
Me (2:12am): hey
It seemed he'd barely hit "send" when Jeff texted back with:
Jeff (2:12am): r u &kurt ok?
Blaine stayed with the one-word answers:
Me (2:13am): yes
He prayed that would be enough. Just leave it alone, Jeff. Please―
Jeff (2:14am): y did that spansh girl call here? y r kurts frends lookn 4 u?
Blaine sighed; he'd known Jeff wouldn't let it rest.
Me (2:16am): we r at kurts house - evrythng ok
He knew what Jeff would think after reading that: Bullshit!
Jeff (2:16am): bullshit - somthins w rong - did somthng happn at prom ?
Blaine didn't want to answer. His eyes began to burn at the thought of telling Jeff and the others. But Jeff persisted.
Jeff (2:17am): did thos fuckin ass holes try 2 hurt u or kurtt ?!
Jeff (2:18am): answr me ! ! !
Blaine's eyes were swimming. He could barely see to send the reply.
Me (2:20am): thos fckin g asshole s votd kurtr prom q ueen
Blaine's cell buzzed ten seconds later with an incoming call. The screen lit with the name Jeff and a picture of his smirking friend giving the one-finger salute.
Blaine answered; before he could say more than "Hi", Jeff, sounding miserable, blurted: "Oh, fuck, man. I'm so sorry..."
Jeff's phone must've been on speaker; Blaine could also hear everyone talking in the background: "Blaine? How's Kurt?" Nick asked. David's tone was clipped as he said, "I've got Kurt's address. We're leaving now." Then Thad hollered, "Hell, yeah! You bet we are." Wes was saying something about finding someone to sign them out and Trent was sleepily asking what was going on.
Wiping his eyes, Blaine couldn't help thinking how great his friends were; he smiled in spite of everything. "Guys, calm down! It's over. We're okay."
Jeff was angry now. "Those shitheads. What happened?"
Blaine took a deep breath and gave the Warblers a brief accounting of the prom incident. After a long silence, Jeff said, "Damn. I wish we'd been there to see Kurt stick it up their asses."
Blaine snorted bitterly. "Go on YouTube, Jeff. I'm sure one of those dicks posted a video already."
There was a pause. The next time Jeff spoke, his voice was stronger: the phone was off speaker. "It's just us now, Blaine. I'm out in the hall. Talk to me."
What do you want me to say, Jeff? I'm pissed as hell and it SUCKS! Blaine laughed a humorless bark. "I'm great, Jeff. My boyfriend invites me to his prom—then makes it all about me, because I ran from my bullies. So we come here to Toxic High to shove acceptance down everyone's throats." His voice cracked. "And as his reward, Kurt gets elected Prom Queen. And there was nothing I could do about it. I've never felt better in my fucking life..."
With his back resting against the jamb, Nick Duval leaned in the open doorway of Blaine and Jeff's room watching his boyfriend pace at the far end of the dormitory hallway. Jeff, cellphone pressed to his ear, had been on with Blaine for almost half an hour. Nick couldn't help but notice that most of the time Jeff was listening, his face scrunched up in concern.
Nick had been best friends with Jeff Sterling since kindergarten (with the two having become a couple just this past December). He understood that Jeff and Blaine also shared a special bond: both boys had been enrolled at Dalton as a result of violent anti-gay bullying―Jeff in 2008, Blaine the year after. While rooming together freshman year, they'd become close friends.
Hearing David chortle, "You are so lame, Anderson," Nick glanced inside the dorm room. David, sitting at Blaine's desk, was working on the laptop; he'd just accessed the icon-covered desktop by using Blaine's not-so-secret password: KatyPerryRules.
With Wes hovering over his shoulder, David entered words into the YouTube search window. They both hoped that this was going to be a waste of time―that Blaine's earlier comment was just angry words...and not actually prescient.
Unfortunately, they were wrong. David let out a heavy sigh as Wes muttered, "Dammit," under his breath.
Whatever could make Wes Montgomery forget his usually impeccable manners and swear out loud wasn't good. Squeezing between Thad and Trent, Nick leaned in so he could get a look at the screen himself. He bit his lip. Shit.
McKINLEY HIGH'S DANCING QUEENS was the title of the video David's search had turned up. Posted almost three hours ago, it had already gotten one hundred twenty-three hits.
David reluctantly dragged his finger over the mousepad, clicked on the arrow and played the video.
It started with Kurt, forlorn and standing on a stage. (The recording, though obviously made with a cellphone camera, wasn't bad apart from the occasional jiggle.) As Kurt's tartan kilt and embellished black jacket raised a couple of Warbler eyebrows, a balding middle-aged man stepped up. He placed a crown on Kurt's head, then handed him a scepter. "Ladies and gentlemen, your 2011 prom queen, Kurt Hummel."
"Who's that asshat?" David hissed.
The principal, Nick assumed, unable to believe that the man was actually condoning this cruel farce.
Kurt looked out at the crowd with equal parts of defiance and anxiety as he stepped up to the microphone to speak. After chuckling at Kurt's Kate Middleton quip, the Warblers watched him step down from the stage with the burly football player who wore the king's crown―the psycho who'd sent him running to Dalton, Nick suddenly realized―to dance the coronation dance. The prank, intentionally or not, had paired Kurt up with the bully who'd harassed and threatened him.
Prom King and "Queen" uneasily faced each other on the dance floor as the music started―ABBA's "Dancing Queen". Wes shook his head at the unfortunate song choice as Thad groaned, "You gotta be fuckin' kidding me!" Then Kurt and Karofsky started talking, the bully looking more and more agitated as the conversation went on.
No, not agitated―scared, Nick realized after putting on his glasses. What's that all about?
Suddenly Karofsky stormed off, leaving poor Kurt alone and the focus of everyone's attention. Just as Nick's heart was sinking, a familiar dapper figure stepped up behind Kurt, tapped him on the shoulder and offered his hand. Kurt smiled, took it and he and Blaine started dancing. "Attaboy, Blainers," Wes praised.
Then a brunette in a pink dress―New Directions' obnoxious lead singer―and the blond guy who'd sung the duet at Sectionals joined them. The rest of the Glee Club followed suit.
The Warblers all grinned. Wes and David performed one of their less-complicated "bro handshakes".
The grins faded when David scrolled down to the comments:
- who do thesE fuckin fags think they are?
- If this had been my school we'd have kicked there asses!
- This IS my school - I felt bad for the poor kid + his boyfriends cute
- Yeah lay off him - It's better than if Quinn Fabray won! lol
- I hope ur both chicks - STFU and go watch Gossp Girl
- dude showed up in a skirt - whattaya expect - fairy shoulda got alot worse
- Glee club's little lady boy has been asking for it for a long time.
- Fuck off. Ever hear of tolerance? It IS 2011, assholes!
The Warblers were struck silent by the ignorance and hate expressed in the majority of the comments. "David, shut it off," Wes finally said, "I think we've seen enough."
As David complied, Trent piped up. "Do we tell Blaine?"
The boys just exchanged uncertain glances until Nick broke the silence. "Yeah...but not right now. Just let him be there for Kurt." The others nodded somberly.
Only when he felt his boyfriend's arms wrap around him from behind did Nick realize that Jeff was back and off the phone. How long has he been standing there? Jeff didn't say a word; he just pulled Nick in close and stared at the now-blank screen.
Nick first wondered how Blaine was doing―then how much of the video and its comments Jeff had seen.
First, from the worry Nick could perceive in Jeff's eyes, he guessed not well.
Then, based on his clenched jaw, he reckoned Jeff had seen more than enough. Damn.
TO BE CONTINUED
A/N: I hope I didn't go too crazy with the texts. It just started to snowball...
As a shameless act of self-promotion, my take on Jeff Sterling and Blaine Anderson's first days at Dalton and the circumstances that brought them there are detailed in my story "I Am".
And, if you are a multiple-times reader...yes I have made some slight changes since posting.
Thanks for reading! Lemme know what you think...