Kurt drove into the McKinley parking lot, full of anticipation. This would be hanging over him all day, he knew. Mercedes had seen his car and was walking over now. Kurt got out of the Navigator to meet her, shouldering his messenger bag and already bringing up those walls around him. The walls that divided him from the jocks, from the teachers and other students. Those walls didn't come down for anything while he was at McKinley High. Only when he was standing there onstage and singing his heart out. Performing brought out a new side of him, the side that was happy, confident and free. There were never enough of those moments, because in the Glee club there were certain people who got to shine the most. Never him though, never him or Mercedes or Mike or Tina or Britt. The Regulars were Finn and Rachel. Everybody else was there to sit back and watch them, dance around in the background for the group numbers.
"Hey Kurt," Mercedes looped her arm in his as they started to walk towards the school building. She was starting to take more of his fashion advice onboard recently, and Kurt knew that soon she would get there. She just needed to maybe get rid of the more flashy jewellery. But then, that was her style, and who was he to tell her to take away what made her individual? Everyone had their own personalities and preferences, like Tina and her gothic clothes, Quinn in her more summery, neat ensembles, and Britt's quirky but interesting style. When not in Cheerios uniform the three girls did have very different styles, each one appealing in its own way. If Kurt were a girl, he'd probably dress like them.
"Kurt? Kurt?" His friend's voice echoed through his head and Kurt stopped himself from going into another fashion-induced daydream.
"Hmm, yeah?" He and Mercedes started weaving in and out of the crowd of people as they tried to get to their lockers. They passed the notice board and the depressingly empty sign-up sheet for the Glee club that had been up for months and stayed blank and dusty. People got laughed at if they even looked at the stupid thing.
"I was asking whether you got any ideas for that assignment today. For Glee." Mercedes answered, twisting the dial and pulling open her locker, revealing a mess of books, hair and make-up products, a mirror and several photos. Kurt's locker was similar in contents, but neater, and without the make-up. There was even a small bag full of emergency outfits and towels, always prepared should a slushy come his way.
"What's the point?" Kurt checked his reflection in the mirror, brushing a couple of strands of hair over to the other side. His hair felt lighter without so much hairspray, and he was unused to keep on fixing it. "Everyone always disregards the assignment completely for one reason or another, or everyone actually forgets the assignments and bursts into spontaneous performances."
He grabbed the books for his first classes, and turned to say something else when he felt a hand shoving him forward into the wall of lockers. Kurt was able to throw out a hand to steady himself just in time as he heard the voice that filled his every nightmare.
"Watch were you're going, fairy." Kurt turned around and found himself staring at the back of Karofsky's big meaty head and letterman jacket. Mercedes was looking at him, concern plain on her face.
"Are you alright Kurt?" She asked in a lower voice as Kurt slammed his locker door, pressing his forehead to the cold metal and taking deep breaths to quell his racing heart. This was getting too much to handle, and having the constant threat hanging in front of him all the time.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He breathed, turning on his heel and hurrying away to French, luckily a class which Mercedes didn't have. They all knew of course, but no one could actually do anything. The most Mercedes could do was to offer sympathy and try and take his mind off things. What Kurt didn't understand was that if Karofsky was in the closet, then why was he drawing more attention to Kurt by bullying him more than anybody else. But then again the footballer wasn't the brightest bulb in the box.
The morning lessons crawled by, and by lunchtime Kurt had managed to take his mind off of Karofsky and onto the equally nerve-wracking topic of this audition. He wondered for the hundredth time what was going to happen. Just thinking about it made his stomach clench and palms sweat. Kurt had thought about meeting someone many times, but he'd never actually believed it could or would happen while he was still in high-school, while he was still in Ohio. But then he really shouldn't get his hopes up today. After all, those dating shows and set ups never worked out. And if they didn't work out for straight people, then there really was no chance for him.
At lunch he sat down with nothing but an apple and bottle of water, too nervous to actually eat anything. Mercedes merely raised an eyebrow, obviously sensing something was up but deciding not to say anything. There were often days when Kurt didn't eat much at school.
Even Glee wasn't enough to distract Kurt from his thoughts. There was drama going on within the group as per usual, this time because someone was cheating on some person but everyone else had already known and that someone had just found out and he'd lost interest quickly. It was almost like watching a repeat of some soap opera. One that you'd watched so many times by now that you could quote the whole thing.
Finally the bell rang and Kurt jumped to his feet. He had decided early on not to tell the New Directions about this thing unless it actually did become something. Not that he was expecting it to. Sue had many ideas and notions, and only half of them actually worked. Kurt remembered the gigantic human cannon with a shudder. He only vaguely heard Finn saying something to him about going over to Puck's and Mercedes asking why he was in such a hurry before hurrying out of the choir room and making his way back to his locker, quickly dumping his books and checking his appearance again.
He took a few more deep breaths to steady his nerves and checked the time. 3.28. Cursing internally, Kurt moved as fast as he could without running, not wanting to appear all red and out of breath. Sue never tolerated lateness, not for practice and especially not during her latest plot. He and all of the Cheerios knew better than to be even thirty seconds late.
Kurt took a deep breath, and pushed open the doors to the gym.
Yes, I know, please don't kill me. Way to end it just when the story actually begins. I like writing in small chapters and I reached my average length and decided that since I want to do so much with the audition, I would have to post it separately.
Your reviews have been fantastic, so thank you all once again. Seeing the email alert really makes my day, and a lot of those reviews make me laugh so much. You guys are so patient and kind and I still can't get over how much support this fic is getting, even by the fourth chapter. Thank you also much. I only hope I don't disappoint you with the next chapter.
