Sebastian's eyes narrow as he spots Kurt, sitting with a book in his lap and a grin across his face.
"What's up with you?" he asks suspiciously, though Kurt's face falls the moment he sees Sebastian.
"Nothing," he mumbles, eyes refocusing on the page.
"Don't give me that, you're all jumpy and nervous from a random electro therapy yesterday and now you're fine?" Sebastian accuses and Kurt can do nothing but shrug pathetically in response. "It's that new Lab Coat isn't it?" Kurt blanches as Sebastian hits the nail on the head.
"W-what would make you even think that?" he sputters as the book falls off his lap, losing his page and the paragraph about birds he had been rereading over and over.
"Because I know you. Need I remind you of the last a Lab Coat who treated us like anything more than the dirt beneath their shoes?" Sebastian mentions, noting the way Kurt averts his eyes.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Kurt mutters despite the memory of Professor Hudson's dopey brown eyes, which has suddenly been pushed to the front of his mind. Sebastian scoffs.
"Please, spare yourself the embarrassment. You're so desperate for affection, it's sickening. These people don't care about us and the ones that do, even just a little bit, get kicked out pretty swiftly.
"So even if you think the new guy might feel sorry for you, whoever is in charge will find out soon enough and you'll have time to say your goodbyes when he's gone." Kurt bites his lip, hating Sebastian more than he thought possible.
"You should stop reading that nonsense," Sebastian continues, snatching up the book lying beside Kurt, flicking through the pages with a look of disgust. "It's not real. This," he gestures around the room, "is real. This is our life. Indulging in these kinds of fantasies is just going to build you up for disappointment." Kurt shoots him a scowl as he grabs for his book, but Sebastian's height proves to be an advantage. "Don't give me that look; I'm trying to look out for you."
"Well don't, it's not helping," Kurt bites back.
"Just don't let him think that he's any better than the rest of them. He still works here, doesn't he?" Sebastian tosses the book back to Kurt, who catches it with a huff before stalking off to the other end of the room. It's about as far away from each other that they can possibly get for the next hour.
Despite what Sebastian had said, Kurt is still eager for his music lesson when he wakes up the next day. He'd been thinking about it all night, so much so that for some reason he had been unable to sleep until the Lab Coats must have slipped him something.
If it wasn't for the deadpan Lab Coat leading the way, Kurt's sure he'd be running for his first lesson but instead he walks by the Lab Coat's side, mentally willing him to walk faster, but no such luck.
Even the sliding door seems sluggish as Kurt finally enters the music room, leaving the Lab Coat at the entrance to join Blaine at the desk eagerly.
"Good morning!" Kurt greets him excitedly, Blaine's head jolts up at Kurt's announcement, and his face subsequently falling once he notices his exuberant demeanour.
"Morning, Kurt," he says sounding almost as though he's in pain.
"Are you okay?" Kurt asks curiously, worry settling in. People only sounded like that when they were hurt.
"I…I'm so sorry Kurt, I know I promised but…"
Oh. Kurt realises what he's about to say before he says another word.
"I tried, I bought you a book, it had everything in there about nature and wildlife and a whole chapter on birds alone but they wouldn't let me bring it in. They said I wasn't permitted to teach you these things." Kurt nods solemnly though he can't help but be disappointed. Sebastian had said that this would happen and Kurt hates him for being right. "I'm so sorry," Blaine apologises again.
"It's okay, I already have plenty of books anyway," he mumbles.
"Shall we…uh…shall we get back to music then?" Kurt nods slowly, a heavy feeling settling deep in his chest. It's a familiar sensation; one he usually feels when everything seems pointless.
This is my life, he keeps reminding himself, trying to forget the fictitious world that exists only in his books.
He focuses his attention on the music, though it doesn't seem quite as uplifting today. Instead, the slow deep melodies Blaine plays only seem to accentuate his disappointment and he can't seem to figure out why.
"Do you want to have a try?" Blaine asks, suddenly breaking Kurt out of his concentration as they sit together at the piano.
"I thought you weren't supposed to be teaching me how to play," Kurt murmurs in reply and Blaine chuckles softly, the sound eradicating just a tiny bit of the heavy feeling inside of him.
"What they don't know won't hurt them, and besides, it can hardly be called 'teaching' if you're a natural at it." Before he can stop himself, Kurt is smiling at Blaine's compliment. "You wanna run through some scales real quick?"
Without replying, Kurt places his hand on the piano keys, playing through the C minor pentatonic perfectly. Blaine's mouth hangs open as he presses the last key, clearly in awe.
"How did you…? You haven't even touched a piano since the first time you…" Kurt smiles bashfully, grossly unused to such praise.
"I just remembered what we learned from the sheet music," he says with a shrug, not mentioning that he had memorised the position of the keys and tapped through everything he had learned when nobody was looking; against tables, books, even his own leg.
"If you were able to practise regularly, Kurt, you would be an amazing musician. You'd be better than me in a matter of months." Kurt shakes his head; nothing could ever sound as beautiful as Blaine playing for him, especially not himself. "I'm not just saying that, I'm serious." Kurt turns to find Blaine staring at him intently. Normally people looking directly at him would cause him to tremble with nerves and self-consciousness however Blaine's gaze sends his heart into a gleeful spasm, especially the searching way his eyes seem to scan his face. He notices how Blaine's lips quiver, as though he is about to say something but can't find the right words, which is strange, Kurt thinks, because Blaine always seems to have something to say.
Blaine turns back to face the piano, thumbing a few keys absently "Let's get back to work shall we?"
Music is easily Kurt's favourite part of the day. By the time inspection day comes again, he can't help but miss Blaine and the music on his day off from lessons. The Lab seems so much quieter without it. Kurt had always loved the solitary silence however now it only serves as a reminder of how lonely he is; how much he wishes he could be sitting in the music room every minute that he isn't there.
The inspection room is as quiet as ever. He enters, shivering from the perpetually cold air against his bare skin as he waits to be connected. He tries to fill the hollow silence by reciting a piece Blaine had played for him the day before in his head. He hears the keys of the piano in his mind and if he were permitted to close his eyes, he's sure he'd be able to see Blaine's dexterous fingers fly through the complex melodies.
The song in his head comes to an end so he plays another, allowing the tune to fill him up completely, thinking of Blaine and his expert control over the sounds he imagines.
"Thank you Prototype One, please exit via the door on your right," Kurt hears the voice suddenly as the wires begin to retreat. He blinks back into focus, he's done?
He moves uncertainly towards the exit as he tries to recall his inspection but only Chopin seems to come to mind. For the first time, Kurt is certain he feels what must be a sense of optimism; he has finally found something powerful enough to distract him from the lab and from his life.
He continues listening to the music in his head for the rest of his inspection, ignoring everything the Lab Coats say is wrong with him. For the written examination, however, all of the pent up music in his head is finally freed as he pours every single piece of his newfound knowledge over the pages provided. Almost the entire test paper is made up of music related questions and Kurt is certain he answers all of them correctly, secretly hoping that Blaine will be proud of him.
Before Kurt knows it, inspection day is over for another week and for once, he doesn't feel like the most inadequate being on earth. He is taken back to the recreational room, ready to relish in the short amount time he'll have to concentrate on his book, yet he is surprised to find Grace already there. Kurt blinks; never has anyone ever been there to meet him when he returned from his inspection.
"Grace?" she looks up from where she had been doodling on a piece of paper before mumbling back a greeting. "What are you doing here?" he asks.
"They told me they've ceased my inspection, they only wanted me to do the written examination today," she explains quietly. Kurt had been so engrossed in the music in his mind that he hadn't even noticed that Grace wasn't in the waiting room after he finished his visual examination.
This can only mean one thing, after last week's results, Grace only has to get a full score on the written examination before she is deemed 'perfect' by the Lab Coats.
"I'm scared," she says feebly. Kurt crosses the short distance and takes a seat next to her, not bothering to change out of the provided robe. He doesn't know why but he doesn't want Grace to be sad.
"How do you think you did on the written exam?" Kurt questions, he wants to comfort the girl but doesn't exactly know how.
"I don't know," she replies, shaking her head as tears begin to form. Kurt puts an arm around Grace's shoulder, stroking her arm gently. He's never done anything like this before, but when the people in his books cry, this seems to help somehow. She leans into him, soaking his robe as she cries and Kurt whispers things like "it's okay," and "don't worry," even though he knows they're lies. According to his books, these sorts of lies make people feel better.
They sit together like that until Sebastian arrives, a look of fury crossing his face the moment he notices Kurt is with Grace, though it's quickly replaced with confusion. He marches over to the two, ripping Kurt away from Grace protectively and mimicking the comforting gesture he had seen.
Kurt allows Sebastian to take control, he'd probably be of more comfort to Grace anyway and he supposes he's glad that they have each other. He changes quickly before settling into his book as they wait for Jay.
Time passes and Jay doesn't return. It isn't until the screen on the wall flashes to life that Kurt notices that where there should be one pile of clothes left for Jay, there is only an empty table. He looks to Sebastian and Grace, who seem to have noticed the same thing, though neither of them says a word about it. Kurt turns in his seat to watch the screen and make note of their upcoming schedules. Kurt and Sebastian's numbers flash across the screen with their alteration schedules, there is a slight pause before a number four appears, followed by nothing, much the same as last week. Nobody comments on the missing number.
When the test scores are shown, it's impossible not to notice the gaping hole between Two and Four, the space filled only by a void of blackness. Kurt almost misses the actual scores from staring at it though quickly manages to make note of his 95% and a 99% that can only be Grace's before the numbers fade into black. There is a sigh of relief from the trio; Grace isn't perfect yet.
None of them mention Jay, though Kurt can't bring himself to miss her; he never did like Jay much anyway.
By Monday, there is still no sign of Jay, but Kurt can't focus on that, not even if he wanted to; it's been a whole two days since he's seen Blaine and heard his music and he is itching with anticipation for his first class of the day.
The first thing he notices is that Blaine looks equally as excited as he does; the second is the strange object with a rounded top, covered up with a cloth of some sort. Kurt takes his usual seat, slightly nervous as to what Blaine has planned.
"I know you were disappointed about not getting to see what a bird looks like," Blaine says without even a 'good morning'. "But I think this could be even better, actually, I'm sure of it." Blaine's smile only grows as Kurt takes a hasty guess at what could be under the cloth. His eyes widen; if it really is a bird under that cloth then they're a lot bigger than he had imagined…
"I pulled some strings," Blaine continues, "the guys in charge wouldn't let me bring the book in because it had too much in it about the science of birds but I said that having this little guy would really help you understand music faster and all of a sudden, they were all for it!" Kurt's eyes trail to the clothed…thing as he tries to keep up with what Blaine is saying.
"Kurt, I'd like you to meet Pavarotti!" Blaine exclaims, pulling the cloth to reveal a shiny gold cage. Kurt blinks in confusion before he realises what's inside the cage; a tiny yellow creature sitting atop its perch that starts to sing the moment Blaine uncovers it.
Kurt sits there, utterly stunned as he takes in the being. It's small, like he imagined, covered in a soft texture that must be what feathers are. Its movements are jerky and staccato and Kurt marvels at its miniature beady black eyes, smiling when it looks directly at him.
"A bird," Kurt says in awe, unable to tear his eyes away from the creature. Blaine nods in response.
"This particular type of bird is called a Canary, he's a songbird," Pavarotti chirps a short tune as if to confirm what Blaine says. "I got him for you. Obviously I'm not allowed to actually give him to you so we can keep him here and you can feed him every morning and he can sing along with us on the piano!" Kurt nods enthusiastically, finally tearing his eyes away from the bird to look at Blaine.
"Thank you," he says earnestly, "thank you so much."
"My pleasure," Blaine says. Then he does something that completely baffles Kurt; he makes a sound almost identical to the bird's voice, a high-pitched lyrical tune that the bird then imitates.
Kurt studies the way Blaine purses his lips as he makes the sound before copying it to produce a similar tune directed at Pavarotti. Blaine pauses, stunned when he hears Kurt whistle though Kurt only smiles in response before fawning over Pavarotti.
"He's quite old," Blaine says while Kurt whistles at the bird. "I got him off a friend so he's really friendly around people." Blaine opens the cage door and lets Pavarotti hop onto his finger before handing him to Kurt. Kurt eyes the bird nervously. "Don't worry, he doesn't bite, he doesn't even have teeth," Blaine assures as Kurt offers his hand for the bird. His tiny talons are sharp and dig into his skin but it feels strangely nice. Kurt allows the bird to just rest on his finger as he tries to let it sink in that this is a living creature and he is holding it.
He brings another hand up to gently stroke its downy feathers and his breathing stops when he feels the rapid yet fragile pounding of its tiny heart against his finger. He whistles again and the bird chirps back happily, causing Kurt to smile.
He doesn't notice when a message from the head office appears on Blaine's communication device on the table, or how Blaine scans through the message mournfully as he understands its meaning. Blaine is quiet for a few minutes, watching Kurt carefully as he whistles with Pavarotti.
"K-Kurt," he says eventually, his morbid tone engaging Kurt's attention immediately. Blaine takes Pavarotti and carefully places him back in the cage. He worries his bottom lip for a moment, and Kurt notices how he refuses to meet his eye. He panics momentarily, wondering if maybe he did something wrong when Blaine eventually speaks again. "I've been asked to inform you that…Prototype Three has been…" he swallows, looking as though it causes him physical pain just to speak "Sh-she's gone."
"I know," Kurt says immediately, "She's been gone since yesterday, we-"
"No, Kurt," Blaine interrupts him ringing his hands together nervously, "I mean she wasn't making the progress that she was expected to, they… 'discontinued further research'…it means she's dead," Blaine explains in a soft tone. He looks furious and sympathetic at the same time and Kurt can't seem to figure out why.
"I know," Kurt replies again. "We assumed that's what happened when she didn't come back to the recreation room yesterday." Blaine freezes, looking at Kurt with a mix of disbelief and slight horror.
"Aren't you upset?" Blaine asks, desperately searching Kurt's face but what for, Kurt isn't so sure. He shakes his head slowly.
"Why should I be?" They hadn't hurt him, so why should he be upset? Kurt can't understand why Blaine looks so distressed and it starts to unnerve him.
"We should get back to the lesson," Blaine says suddenly changing the subject and Kurt happily obliges.
Kurt can't help but notice the weary looks Blaine gives him from time to time. It's almost as though he sees him completely differently now, and Kurt is baffled as to what he did wrong. They go through key signatures and Kurt does fantastically; he doesn't answer a single question wrong, but Blaine only offers a blank smile at his success.
"I'm sorry," Kurt whispers by the time the lesson ends, causing Blaine to do a double take. "I don't know what I did but I'm sorry."
Kurt has never apologised before, at least not genuinely. He will apologise to the Lab Coats when he misbehaves and they threaten to shock him, he sometimes apologises to the other Prototypes when they have alterations done, only because it seemed like something you had to say. He says sorry to Blaine now because for the first time, he truly is.
"I'm sorry," he says again. Blaine only looks at him in confusion, his face falling at the look of distraught in Kurt's eyes.
"I-I'll see you tomorrow Kurt," he says as the door slides open, taking his cue to leave.
Kurt tries to focus on the rest of his lessons but, as usual, he can't help but think about Blaine. He receives a mild shock from two of his other teachers and a much more painful one when his Math teacher hears him humming under his breath in an attempt to forget this awful day through music.
At the end of the day, he settles himself on the sofa in the rec room, not even bothering with his book tonight, choosing instead to just rest his head against the arm and get lost in his thoughts. It seems different without Jay; not bad, not good, just different.
Again, no one comments on her disappearance-her death- but is there any need to? She's gone and that's that.