Chapter 4- The Problem
Santana and Sam looked to Kurt from afar, hours after he'd stormed off. His phone was plastered to his ear and his lips were moving at a rapid pace.
"What did we do?" Sam muttered, leaning back against the wall. He still had the feeling of Kurt's lips lingering on his lips. It was going to be hard to shake that. Especially with that reaction. Sam had had a guilty feeling swirling in his stomach ever since the kiss broke. People had been staring and whispering at him since it'd happened. Surprisingly, some people clapped him on the back and congratulated him for bagging the most elusive guy at school. Sam was always quick to say that he hadn't bagged anything and Kurt had only been at school for a few hours, but they didn't listen to him. There was no point in saying anything to them, it only escalated things.
Santana shrugged. "I don't know. It can't be about the kiss, though, there was no way he hated that." Santana had been the subject of various questions about Kurt's outburst. Did she know what was going on? What had she done to upset the celebrity student? Santana ignored all of them and answered only with her trademark smirk. People knew not to push her any further so they pretty much left her alone, moving onto Sam's recollection of things. After quickly checking Twitter, Santana realised that the kiss was everywhere. Buzzfeed now had it. If Santana had to guess, she rather thought that was what Kurt was upset about. Having the kiss go viral obviously meant something bad. But she just couldn't think of what it might have been.
Kurt's eyes met them from across the way, his phone in his hand. He was no longer talking on it. With a sad smile, he trudged over to them, heart on his sleeve.
"I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry."
All three of them spoke in unison.
All three of them chuckled in unison.
Kurt nodded. "Okay, can I go first?"
The other two nodded.
"I'm sorry, Santana. I completely overreacted and my instinct was just to blame you for what happened, even if you didn't know exactly what you'd done. That was my mistake and I don't intend to make it again. And I'm sorry to you, too, Sam, even if you kissed me, the fame-hungry vultures are swirling, trying to get their tweets featured in articles and your face is everywhere. Twitter, Instagram, gossip sites. They're all trying to dig up dirt about you. Because of me."
Sam blinked. "I'll go. Kurt, I shouldn't have kissed you out of the blue like that. I didn't check you were okay with it, it was a stupid plan to quell the longevity of the rumours pre-emptively. It didn't work, I'm sorry. As for the gossip sites, that's nothing I can't handle. I'm a pretty open person, I don't have many secrets. Don't worry about me, honestly."
Kurt nodded and looked to Santana.
"Okay, fine, I'll say it again. I am sorry, Kurt. Like Sam said, it was a stupid idea to do that. I mean, it looked hot as shit but obviously I didn't think about the repercussions of what was going on. I'm often like that, I'm very rash sometimes. I'm just more upset that I didn't kiss you myself to make headlines."
Kurt chuckled. "It's okay, both of you. I…Sam, I want you to know that my little outburst had absolutely nothing to do with you. You're actually a very proficient kisser. It was…something else. Something I knew would happen afterwards. I'm sure Buzzfeed have connected the dots by now."
"Kurt, what's going on?"
Kurt looked around him warily. "Look, I'm very aware that people aren't going to be genuine to me here and I also know that the two of you are. So I'm going to make the early decision to trust you both with everything. And I do mean everything. I'm in the real world now, I don't have to have any secrets from people. Especially my self-appointed best friends. Is there somewhere we could go and talk?"
Sam and Santana shared a look. "The choir room is free this period. There's nobody in there for an hour until Glee starts."
"And that way you can sit in on the meeting and see if you want to join or not."
Kurt shrugged and requested that they lead the way.
Santana gave Sam an impressed nod for thinking of the idea on his feet. Sam couldn't help but feel a little bit charmed as they walked ahead. Compliments, even silent ones, from Santana were the crown jewel of compliments.
The three assembled in the empty choir room, taking the chair on the back row. Kurt was in the middle of the two, his head back staring at the ceiling.
"Kurt, are you okay?"
Kurt inhaled deeply. "Yeah. I just needed a second to think about where to begin."
Sam nodded. "Take your time."
"You guys know Blaine Anderson, right?"
They both nodded their affirmation.
"Well, he and I used to date. As you probably know. The Internet thought we were the best thing ever to happen to the gay community."
"Where are you going with this?"
Kurt sighed. "Just hear me out. Blaine and I broke up in private six months before we did publically. I made the stupid decision to stay with him for appearances. Our publicists were insistent on not getting any bad press during awards season, even if neither of us were nominated for anything. They said anything like that would hurt the film's chances because people would be focusing on us and not the movie itself. Makes sense, right?"
Santana shrugged easily. That did make sense. She thought it was smart.
"Well it turned out that that wasn't the publicists' idea. It was Blaine's."
She suddenly thought it was a bad idea.
"I didn't find out until way afterwards. Blaine convinced his publicist and, in turn, mine that it would be better for our careers if we were still together. That just meant that he still got to kiss me and hold me and be with me in front of the cameras. And I don't know how well you know Blaine, but he loves the spotlight. He would hijack my interviews just to talk about himself.
"So when I broke up with him, he didn't take it well at all. He loved having someone to beat, even though my career was inclining much faster than his. He still made out like he was winning. I ended things fully and he…well, he wouldn't leave me alone. He wouldn't let me date other people, he would sabotage every time I tried to connect with a guy."
Sam put a gentle hand on Kurt's knee.
"He started to follow me places. The paparazzi caught him outside my window at night, but he paid them to bury the story. He stole things from me, personal things. He used interviews to try and make him seem like the victim who was wronged by me. He twisted stories. I was about to get a restraining order when I made the decision to move here. And now…"
Santana understood immediately.
"You think he'll be pissed when he sees the footage of you and Sam."
Kurt shook his head. "I know he'll be pissed. It wouldn't surprise me terribly if he flew out here just to sabotage whatever he thinks is going on between Sam and I. I don't want him near me. You guys don't understand what he's like when he doesn't get what he wants."
Sam chuckled. "This guy sounds like Rachel on steroids."
Santana shook her head fondly and put a hand on Kurt's shoulder. "You won't have to worry about him. I don't care how psycho he thinks he is, I assure you I'm a lot more dangerous. He even comes near you, I'll make sure my heels get lost in his ass."
Sam smiled. "Santana's from what she likes to call the wrong side of the tracks."
"I'm from Lima Heights Adjacent. We know how to do right by people."
"I don't want you guys in this mess. Blaine is a serious issue."
The bell rang from above them and Kurt sighed.
"And now I have to deal with a sycophant."
Sam shrugged. "You don't have to stay. We weren't forcing you or anything. If you're going to be uncomfortable, then it doesn't matter."
Kurt smiled. "I was merely being melodramatic. I'm fine. Thank you guys for listening. Seriously, it means a lot to me. Now I know I did right in picking you two as my spirit guides."
"We really didn't do anything," Sam pointed out.
"You listened," Kurt corrected. "That's more than I expected. Man, this has been one hell of a day."
Santana nodded to the door. "And I'm afraid it's about to get worse."
Rachel appeared first, as she always did, and her eyes widened when she saw who was occupying Brittany's usual seat. "Kurt! You came!"
Kurt groaned as Rachel filed in, following behind her a curly-haired boy.
"I'm very glad that you made the correct decision in coming to Glee Club today. We have to perform assignments that make us step out of our comfort zones and I think you'll be very impressed with the song I have chosen to sing to showcase my vocal superiority in this club. Oh and this is my boyfriend I was telling you about. Kurt Hummel, meet Jesse St. James!"
Kurt's eyes flickered to Jesse and he smiled politely. "Nice to meet you."
"Likewise."
"Anyway, Kurt, I will say no more and leave my performance to speak for itself! You will not regret joining."
As Rachel sat down, everybody else started to file in, a large group all arriving together. Kurt watched the dynamic unfold as a beautiful blonde girl bounced over to their trio, sitting on the other side of Santana.
"Hey, Britt, how was Calc?"
"Fun," Brittany shrugged. "It's getting easier as the years go by."
"You're too smart for them, baby. Kurt, I want to you meet Brittany Pierce, my girlfriend."
"Not to be confused with Britney Spears," Brittany added.
Kurt nodded, smiling. "Lovely to meet you."
Brittany turned away from him and took out a pen, doodling on the chair below her. Kurt blinked in astonishment. Sam smirked from his other side.
"She has no idea who you are. Strange, right?"
Kurt beamed. "Refreshing, actually."
"I'm sorry to say you won't have that luxury with everyone else."
Santana noticed everybody already seated and rolled her eyes. She stood up immediately. "Okay, listen up, losers. Obviously you know that big celebrity Kurt Hummel is here. Sam and I have claimed in so don't even try it. Second of all, no photographs, no ogling, no asking him whether or not he knows Christopher Cross, yes that's aimed at you, Mr. Schuester. Third of all, he's not an official member of the club yet. He's sitting in to see whether he wants to join. Lastly, respect him or you'll be dealing with me. Got it?"
Everyone nodded at different times, registering Santana's words.
"You're welcome," she nodded at Kurt.
"Yeah, thank you."
Mr. Schuester clapped his hands and began the lesson. Sam immediately raised his hand.
"Yes, Sam?"
"I'm going to be frank here and say that I haven't prepared anything. I know we're all required to sing for these two meetings for this assignment, so I'd like to request that I sing next session instead."
Mr. Schuester looked at his paper. "Thank you for your honesty, Sam. You were slated to sing first, actually. So I'll just move you around and get on with things. That means…yes, Rachel?"
Rachel stood up and whirled around, facing the group. "I'm going to save everyone here the pressure of having to perform first in front of Kurt, so I'm going to do it. Brad, if you will."
Brad rolled his eyes, much to Santana's pleasure, and played the opening notes to Rachel's song.
Whatever happened to my part?
It was exciting at the start
Now we're halfway through Act II
And I've had nothing yet to do
Santana tuned out until the last verse.
Mr. Schuester motioned to Brad to stop playing.
Rachel looked aghast at the interruption. "Brad, your piano playing is wonderful, but if you're going to stop after the first verse, then I insist that you explain yourself."
Kurt frowned at Santana. "Is she for real?"
"Unfortunately."
Mr. Schuester coughed. "Rachel, I told Brad to stop playing."
Rachel burst into tears. "Mr. Schuester! Why would you try to destroy my career like this?"
"Oh…my god," Kurt whispered in disbelief.
"Don't be melodramatic, Rachel. I stopped you because I don't think you understood the assignment."
Rachel's tears were gone and she was smiling. "Of course I understand the assignment, Mr. Schuester. It was to step outside of our comfort zones. And I did. Singing a song that's so emotionally relatable was uncomfortable for me to do, but I still did it. It's just proof of how versatile I am."
Rachel directed her winning smile at Kurt and winked. Kurt snorted with laughter. Sam had to cover his mouth to stifle his chuckles.
"Rachel, the song is about not having enough stage time in a musical. How is that emotionally relatable?"
"Must I remind you about Cabaret last year?"
"Because I gave a solo to somebody else, you quit the Glee Club and joined the musical. You had a bunch of solos last year."
Rachel folded her arms. "Not enough, apparently. Now if I can continue with my performance…"
"No, Rachel. I'd like you sit down and come back tomorrow with an actual song that makes you step out of your comfort zone. Singing Broadway diva ballads is your comfort zone."
Santana gaped. She rather thought Mr. Schuester was actually doing some teaching for once because of Kurt's presence. He obviously wanted to impress him. It wasn't surprising, Schue was just as fame hungry as Rachel, though he was much more low-key about it than her. That being said, it wasn't hard to be.
"Does anyone actually have a song that's relevant to the assignment criteria?"
As Tina put up her hand, Kurt readied himself to see how good the Glee Club was.
As the girl sang, a song Kurt didn't even recognise, he noticed how much he already preferred her voice to that of Rachel, whom he found a carbon copy of various Broadway songstresses whom he admired (and some of them he'd met). Tina's voice wasn't as powerful, but it had a lovely tone which Kurt found himself liking quite a lot. He got the feeling from Tina's expressive performance that she didn't get to do this a lot. And even knowing Rachel for a few hours, he knew that she commandeered every performance. That wouldn't stand were he to join (and he rather thought he would). He was surprised that Santana hadn't done anything about it yet. He made a mental note to ask her about that.
Four other Glee Club members performed in the session. As pointed out by Sam, they were Quinn, Finn, Puck and Mercedes. Kurt was more than impressed by all of them, particularly Mercedes, whose voice he thought was stellar and more than deserving of airplay on the radio and a record deal.
Finn's voice was good, he thought, though noticeably untrained. He had a raw talent and an obvious passion for singing, though his control over his high notes left something to be desired. And since he was singing a Lorde song, Kurt wanted more restraint.
He liked Puck's voice, he thought it was sultry and said a lot about the boy himself. He quickly realised that none of these boys were hard to look at, though Puck was up there with the best. He strummed his guitar passionately as he sang, making him a double threat. He wondered if the boy could dance. He absently hoped that he could.
Quinn's voice was a nice break from the powerhouses he had been listening to. While the others strived for the high notes and the belts, Quinn did the exact opposite. Putting an entirely new spin on Celine Dion, the girl's airy tone and silky smooth control over her voice was refreshing in Kurt's eyes (or, well, ears).
After Quinn returned to her seat, Mr. Schuester congratulated them on their performances and turned to Kurt. "Did you want to audition?"
Kurt gaped. "Now?"
The teacher checked his watch. "We have five minutes if you feel like you're ready. If not, you can do it another time."
Kurt shrugged. "Sure. I have a few things prepared. I can use the piano, right?" Kurt stood at Mr. Schuester's nod and went over to the piano.
Sam sucked in a breath. "Oh my god."
Santana sighed. "What?"
"Piano players. They're my weakness. I didn't know that he played. I should really email Google about this."
"Just relax, think about Rachel watching you sleep."
Sam groaned. "Not working."
And then Kurt began to sing.
Where did it go?
The love I once knew
Is lost in the dark
The light can't shine through
Where did we go?
I can't see it now
I'm fighting the night
To find you somehow
And I miss you
Even though you're so close
I miss you
Even though you're right next to me
Sam stared open-mouthed at the boy in front of him. All memories of Kurt's movies were pushed aside. It was all about Kurt's singing and musical gift. Because that's precisely what it was. A gift. A voice so angelically beautiful that Sam didn't know whether to cry or run and give Kurt a hug while he was still playing. He opted for a subtle undertaking of the former, a few tears slipping down face.
Santana noticed this but said nothing. She didn't want to make a spectacle out of Sam's emotional epiphany.
I already have you
But I wanna know you again
It's so hard to kiss you
When it feels like I'm only a friend
I can't control you
Or what your heart will decide
But I'll never stop trying to fall back in love with what's already mine
Rachel folded her arms angrily. Nobody was allowed to even be near her level. Kurt would want solos and he would get them, using his star power to do so. Mr. Schuester couldn't say no to him, right? Surely she would be able to take some of the solos, like the Nationals solo. Kurt could have Sectionals if it meant that she was going to take Nationals, live in front of the entire nation. Or maybe they could duet. She would drop Jesse in a heartbeat if it meant that Kurt would be her singing partner instead. Jesse was competent, but Kurt could make her sound so much better. Her voice would overwhelm his, yet Kurt's light tone would provide an aural boost to hers, something that she had been looking for. Finn, Puck nor Jesse had achieved that, only Kurt had even come close. She needed to do this.
Where did it go?
The passionate fire
We can't find the flame
And now we're both tired
What do we do?
When all we have left
Is dying for life
On its last breath
And I miss you
Even though you're so close
I miss you
Even though you're right next to me
I already have you
But I wanna know you again
It's so hard to kiss you
When it feels like I'm only a friend
I can't control you
Or what your heart will decide
But I'll never stop trying to fall back in love with what's already mine
Kurt's phone buzzed in his pocket and he gasped, trying to keep the rhythm of the song and not lose himself or his place. If he fumbled, it didn't show.
If we fight through this battle and win
We'll be stronger than who we were then
I already have you
But I wanna know you again
It's so hard to kiss you
When it feels like I'm only a friend
I can't control you
Or what your heart will decide
But I'll never stop trying to fall back in love with what's already mine
I miss you
I miss you
I miss you
Kurt stopped playing, looking out at the audience, who stood and clapped thunderously. He laughed, smiling widely as Mr. Schuester welcomed him to Glee Club. Even Rachel was applauding. He caught a glimpse of Sam and Santana, who were nodding and clapping. Sam looked tearful, which made Kurt a little confused. What was the deal there?
He decided to think about it some more later, when he was alone. He would talk to his dad and maybe some of his friends from L.A about it. They would know what to do much better than he would. He knew his own emotions perfectly, but he didn't know much about romance or romantic feelings. He had crushes and boyfriends, but they had always been casual, aside for Blaine. Kurt shuddered and stepped away from the piano and checked his phone.
He already knew who the text was from before he opened it.
We need to talk. Call me tonight. You know what happens if you don't. – Blaine
He bit his lip, struggling to keep his composure. Shaking it off momentarily, he turned to Mr. Schuester.
"Thank you for accepting me. I'll be at rehearsal tomorrow after school." He caught Sam and Santana's eyes and waved. He left the room, releasing the sigh he had been holding in.
This would not end well.
Author's Note: Due to this story's nature, I was thinking about real life actors making cameos and stuff and I was just wondering who you guys would want! Leave a review or a PM if you have somebody in mind! xoxo