Kurt was beginning to feel a certain degree of sympathy for paparazzi-hounded celebrities by the time lunch rolled around. He had never seen so many freshmen on the side of the school typically devoted to junior and senior students, and all of them were pointing and whispering and smiling at him. What was weirder, the guys who normally pushed him around and threw insults his way were giving Kurt a wide berth.
"The younger kids I kind of get," he grumbled to Mercedes as they left their shared 4th period English class together, "but what's up with the jocks? Surely Azimio wasn't so much of a badass that winning a single fight against him would intimidate the rest of the Neanderthals."
She laughed. "You forget that you kicked Puck's ass a couple of weeks ago, too. Plus you turned the two biggest homophobes in the school into a couple, and you recruited a quarter of the football team for glee-club last year. You know the jocks still call it homo-explosion behind our backs. They're probably all afraid of your magical gay powers now."
He could not help but smile at that. "Okay, first of all I did not turn those guys, they were just living in major public denial. Secondly, I didn't recruit Finn, Puck, Matt and Mike into Glee. Mr. Shue recruited Finn and the others just came along because they found out that singing and dancing was a lot of fun. I had nothing to do with it."
Mercedes popped her left hand back and forth in a familiar gesture and sang, "All the single ladies, all the single ladies . . . "
"Okay, so maybe I had a little bit to do with it," he admitted with a laugh.
"Face it, babe, you're a sorcerer in disguise and now they're all scared to mess with you. I'd enjoy it while it lasts."
He gave their intertwined arms a squeeze. Then he sighed when he noticed Denny standing next to his locker, craning his neck trying to see over the heads of the approaching crowd.
"Hi, Kurt!" he chirped, almost vibrating with enthusiasm when they got close enough for him to spot his idol. "I was afraid I might have missed you."
Kurt nearly squirmed, picturing large cartoon hearts in place of the wide brown irises now centered on his face, staring at him with obvious admiration. Mercedes subtly elbowed him in the ribs and he smiled back. "Hello, it's nice to see you again."
Denny's eyes traveled slowly over him, almost drinking in every detail of his appearance, as cliché as that sounded. "You look really nice today."
"Thanks," he said shortly. Normally, Kurt would have preened and offered detail on every designer and fabric that made up his ensemble, pleased to have someone appreciate the effort he had taken to look fabulous. Today, he just ducked his head and concentrated on the best way to get out of this conversation without embarrassing either one of them.
A sharp intake of breath gave away the smaller boy's delight when Kurt's lowered head allowed him to get a good look at the fedora he wore. "My rose!" he breathed. Smiling shyly at Mercedes, he offered, "I gave those to him yesterday."
"That was really sweet of you," she said kindly. "So, if you gave him the flowers then I'm guessing you must be Denny."
"He told you about me?"
From the breathless tone of his voice and the way his saucer-like eyes were suddenly bulging, Kurt had a terrible sense that Denny might actually be about to faint. Quickly, he interceded. "Oh, forgive me; I forgot you two haven't been introduced yet! Mercedes Jones, my styling consultant and BFF, let me introduce you to Denny Payson, my personal locker decorator and newest friend."
Denny flushed from the edge of his collar all the way up to his hairline when Kurt referred to him as a friend. He smiled brilliantly at them both – seriously, the kid had some gorgeous teeth – and nearly pumped Mercedes' arm off with the force of the handshake he offered. Apparently yesterday's weak grip had been a fluke.
"Nice to meet you, Denny," she said. "So, would you like to join us for lunch?"
Amusement danced in her eyes as she looked at her glaring best friend over Denny's shoulder when the small boy fixed eagerly pleading eyes on Kurt. 'He's adorable!' she mouthed.
"You can join us, if you like," Kurt agreed graciously. "I'm sure our other friends won't mind."
"Wow," Denny sighed, as if Kurt had casually offered him a trip to the moon. "Really?"
Mercedes' warm friendly laugh washed over them. "Of course, really! As long as you do me a favor and flash those pretty brown eyes at the lunch lady for me. She'll give extra desserts if you look pathetic enough."
He grinned at them both, and then gave them a big-sad-eyes expression worthy of Puss-in-Boots from the "Shrek" movies. Both juniors laughed at the sight and the younger boy beamed.
The trio began moving toward the cafeteria together. Kurt could not help noticing that the hallway was still overly populated with freshmen and that many of them were shooting openly jealous or impressed looks at Denny. He wondered if Mercedes had just accidentally elevated the younger boy's social status by issuing that lunch invitation. Probably. Certainly, he had never been extended such an honor back when he was a lowly ninth-grader. Of course, prior to making friends with the Glee kids last year, he had rarely found anybody willing to eat with him anyway . . .
"Can I ask you something?" he said, glancing at Denny.
"Sure!" His voice cracked up shrilly on the word, causing an immediate blush.
Kurt ignored the reaction. After all, he was the last person who could condemn another boy for having a high voice! "How old are you?"
Looking slightly puzzled by the question, he replied, "Fifteen, last month."
Mercedes chuckled but waved a dismissive hand when Denny looked at her.
"I just wondered," Kurt said casually as they got into line for the day's entrée. One of the options today was chicken Caesar salad, a personal favorite of Kurt's, so he decided to brave the cafeteria menu instead of eating the pre-packed lunch he had brought from home.
As Denny perused the available choices, Kurt studied him. He really did seem to be a very nice person; sweet, thoughtful, and potentially funny if he could just get past the awe-struck stage. His heart-shaped face, though liberally dotted with freckles, was unusually clear of the typical blemishes associated with teenage boys, suggesting at least a passing appreciation for soap and proper skin care. The blue jeans and button-down combo was a little mediocre but not entirely devoid of taste. Thankfully Denny did not indulge in the disgusting trend of wearing his pants three sizes too big and hanging halfway down his ass that so many guys favored. (Kurt seriously wanted to track down and shoot whoever had introduced that particular fashion disaster to mainstream America.) That would have been a definite deal-breaker. In fact, his clothes were attractively fitted; enough to show off the fact that he had a very cute butt. And he was fifteen. Still a little young for a soon-to-be-17-year-old, but that extra year had somehow removed the skeevy sensation that Kurt had been feeling at the idea of dating a mere child.
Wait, so now I do want to date him? What happened to taking things slowly and being just-friends for a while first? Way to show off the desperation, you perv!
Kurt blinked, surprised and a little embarrassed by his own thoughts. He did not even notice that he had stopped moving and was blocking the lunch line until somebody impatiently jabbed him in the ribs.
"Sorry," he said absently, grabbing a salad with dressing on the side and a bottle of orange juice from the cooler as he hurried to catch up with Mercedes and Denny.
The other boy was chattering animatedly and making Mercedes laugh about something. Kurt smiled fondly at the duo as he exchanged niceties with the lunch-lady and paid for his food, observing their interplay and realizing that he really was warming to the whole dating notion.
Kid tested . . . best friend approved. One more point in favor of ending the permanently single status of McKinley's lone and loneliest peacock.