Author's Note: Aww, guys, thanks so much for all the reviews! I'm so happy people are liking this fic. Hope you enjoy this installment! It is shorter than the previous chapters, but I felt it had reached an obvious stopping point...
Disclaimer: Glee, Chris Colfer and Mark Salling don't belong to me, as much as I wish they did.
Warnings: Homosexual action, don't like, don't read.
Kurt's POV
Was it weird, that he was getting so nervous but also excited, just because Noah Puckerman was coming over to his house for a rehearsal? He'd gotten out of the school so fast that afternoon, he doubted if even the fastest member of the football team could have caught him. And now he was setting up his basement, making sure that there were no embarrassing items on display. Kurt twirled in a slow circle in the middle of his room, taking everything in. The double bed was spotless. The more embarrassing creams and lotions on his vanity table were safely tucked away in his drawers. As much as it had hurt him to do it, he'd moved the tiny pink, cuddly bear that his mom had given him on his fifth birthday from its usual spot on his pillow, and hidden it under the duvet.
Satisfied, but with his heart still beating unnaturally fast, Kurt popped his iPod into its station and started flicking through the songs. Eventually he settled on his 'Diva' playlist, and ran into his ensuite bathroom to start getting ready. Puck was arriving at half-past five and it was already four fifteen. He needed to get a shower in, blowdry his hair, and pick out a killer workout outfit, but one which made it seem like he'd hardly paid any attention to it.
By the time it was five-twenty, Kurt had finished in the bathroom and was dressed in his dance clothes. They consisted of a floppy, oversized white t-shirt and black sweatpants with tiny silver stars stitched around the bottom. It looked casual, but the clothes were very expensive – the pants fitted him perfectly and Kurt tied the bottom of the t-shirt into a knot at his waist, so just the barest hint of his taut stomach was showing.
There really wasn't any point, he told himself again, because Puck was definitely straight but... it didn't seem like there could be any harm in making an effort.
Five-twenty-five, and he still wasn't here. Kurt took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself. This was ridiculous. He needed to be composed for when Puck eventually arrived. Suddenly he had an idea. Of course! Darting across to his iPod, he selected the 'Single Ladies' soundtrack. This song never failed to calm him down, and he'd also warm up slightly in preparation for the rehearsal.
The music blared to life, and Kurt started tapping his foot, already feeling serenity wash through him.
And comb through the hair, and smack that ass...
Push, push, push, and head flick back, and push...
By the time he'd finished he was pleasantly warm, and definitely feeling more comfortable. The music tailed off into silence. There was a slow and steady handclap from behind him. He whirled around to see Puck standing on the stairs, leaning against the wall, staring at him.
Puck's POV
It was just past twenty-past five when Puck pulled his truck up the kerb at the side of the Hummels' house, walked up the path and rang the bell. Following Kurt's instructions he was wearing loose clothing, the grey sweatpants he used for football training sometimes, and a loose red wifebeater.
Kurt's Dad opened the door, and Kurt had clearly said something to him about having a friend over, because he looked Puck over once or twice, and then stepped back, wordlessly inviting him in.
'You're Puck, right?'
Puck nodded. 'Yes, sir.' Crap. Why was he acting like he'd come to pick Kurt up for a date? Mr Hummel cleared his throat.
'Kurt's in his basement. It's that way... just follow the music.' Mr Hummel rolled his eyes. As soon as he'd said that though, Puck suddenly became aware of the music, and, more importantly, what music it was.
Awwww shit. He gave Mr Hummel a curt nod, and started towards the basement, maybe slightly faster than he would usually have moved.
Carefully he opened the door at the top of the hallway, and stepped onto the top of the stairs. Kurt was in the large, white, open space below – Puck recognised it instantly as the location of the video. Bugger, bugger, bugger, he chanted to himself.
Kurt had his back to him, clearly immersed in his routine. Slowly Puck edged halfway down the stairs, eyes fixed on the younger boy. He'd reached the 'comb through hair and ass tap' now. Puck swallowed, and leant against the wall, more for the fact that it offered him some support when he felt like his knees were going to give at any given second, rather than to try and look cool.
Man, but Kurt could dance. Every line of his body was totally in tune with the music and Puck could see his clear concentration from his body language. Oh God, and that outfit he was wearing. That sliver of pale, smooth flesh between the waistband of his pants and the t-shirt, and everytime he bent over it slid tantalisingly higher. Puck gave himself a mental shake, and tried desperately to think of something else as he felt himself beginning to harden. This was not good.
The music came to an end. Puck clapped slowly, his eyes still fixed on Kurt. The smaller boy whirled round, face flushed, hair dropping into his eyes.
'Noah! I – I didn't hear you come in...'
'Your dad...' Puck jerked his head towards the hallway. He didn't need to say anything else. Kurt twisted his pale hands in front of him anxiously.
'Well, now you're here, I guess we'd better get started.'
Puck pushed himself back from the wall, pausing for a second to make absolutely sure his knees were going to hold him. They seemed steady enough. And luckily the routine had ended before he'd gotten too excited.
He descended the stairs, glancing around at Kurt's room. He'd been too focussed on watching the dance to really take it in before. It was spotless (obviously) and almost pure white. Kurt's bed, a big double, was in one corner, and his vanity desk was on the other side of the room. There was a door opposite the bed which clearly led into an ensuite bathroom, a walk-in closet, or maybe both.
Kurt was all business now, flicking through a sheaf of notes as he reminded himself of the choreography.
'Okay, so now you've got the lyrics we can start on the routine. It's gonna be simple, but some of the moves are pretty tricky. You up for it Puckerman?' He raised his bright blue eyes to Puck's in an obvious challenge.
Puck smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. 'Hell, yeah! I've got some moves. Can't be a stud without them.'
Kurt rolled his eyes, and flicked the iPod onto the 'Wicked' album, and pressed play.
Kurt's POV
They'd rehearsed pretty much every evening the whole of that week. By the time the next meeting of Glee Club came around, Kurt was feeling pretty confident. Puck was actually a very good dancer, he had a natural rhythm once he'd loosened up a bit.
So, yes, everything was going fine in that respect. But there was that, thing, which had been steadily growing between them. When he'd caught Puck staring at him doing the Beyoncé routine, there had been something in the jock's eyes that, if Kurt didn't know him better, he would have said was lust. Or something very like it.
Kurt was totally unused to having anyone look at him like that. Disgust and narrow-minded hatred, he could cope with. He knew where he was with that. But this... it had been growing with every single moment they spent together, alone or in a group. When they were rehearsing, any touch, no matter how small would send tingles all through Kurt's body. Even being in close proximity to Puck could make his heart race and his cheeks flush.
He hadn't thought about Finn in over a week. Finn used to be the person he'd fall asleep thinking about, and the first person he'd think about waking up. Now he just seemed to have vanished from Kurt's head completely. He felt disorientated and a little scared. Finn had been his security blanket – a safe crush, because he knew that nothing could ever happen with him. And if he was honest with himself, that was how he'd wanted it. He'd probably picked Finn purely because he was completely off limits.
Puck seemed to openly want Kurt. And it made him terrified and turned-on in equal measure. Kurt had no clue how to deal with this. He did want Puck, wanted him badly, there was no use in lying to himself about that anymore. The muscles, the cheekbones, those eyes – even that stupid mohawk – everything about Puck made him excited. He had that confidence and mildly aggressive dominance and masculinity that Kurt, and yes even Finn, was completely lacking.
Kurt wasn't entirely sure how they got to the end of the week without him collapsing from the sheer tension – but they did.
And when they performed 'What is this Feeling?' in Glee Club a week after their first rehearsal, the irony was not lost on Kurt. At the start, that had seemed like the perfect song for them to sing. But within a week it was obvious that whatever this feeling was between them, it wasn't loathing.
It worked, though. Kurt astonished even himself by managing, somehow, to hit all of Glinda's notes. After they'd finished the entire Club stood up and applauded, even Rachel. Mr Schuester was laughing.
'Okay, guys, that was good! Puck, you've really loosened up with the movements, and Kurt, well done with those highs! I'm not sure we'll be using it for Regionals, but well done! You two work well together, obviously.'
Kurt couldn't stop the grin spreading across his face as he skipped over to his seat and sank down next to Mercedes. She nudged his shoulder.
'Not bad! How did you get Mr No-Moves over there to dance like that?' She jabbed a finger in Puck's direction. Kurt smiled smugly.
'Ohh, it wasn't a big problem. I must just have a gift for teaching.' Mercedes looked at him slightly suspiciously, but gave it up, and turned to watch Matt and Brittany perform their number.
By the end of the practice, Mr Scheuster seemed torn between Finn and Tina's rendition of 'A Thousand Miles' and Rachel and Quinn's version of 'Gorgeous' by Idina Menzel. He left the classroom first, clutching his notes.
In small groups the members started leaving, complimenting each other on the routines. Kurt noticed that Puck was still packing away his guitar, and waved Mercedes on.
'I'll catch up with you,' he said, pretending to look for something in his bag.
Linking an arm through Tina's, Mercedes nodded and he and Puck were left alone in the music room.
Casually he wandered over, and sat primly on a chair next to where Puck was packing his stuff up.
'So... that went well, huh?' he said.
Puck grinned. 'Sure, did. Well done, Kurt, you were awesome.' He slammed the lid of his guitar case down and started flipping the catches shut.
'We were awesome,' Kurt corrected, carefully teasing his fringe back into place. Puck stood up.
'Yeah, right. High five, dude.' Kurt stood up and delicately slapped his hand against Puck's. Instead of pulling away instantly, Puck stood there for a second, and then curled his fingers, intertwining them with Kurt's.
Puck's POV
He wasn't entirely sure what he was doing. He just knew that Kurt's hand felt amazing against his own, and he wanted to keep it there. As their fingers meshed, he saw Kurt look up at him with confusion but also excitement in his eyes.
Those eyes never failed to melt him. They could nail him to the spot, and make him incapable of moving. They were standing very close together and Puck felt his heart start to beat a little faster. He dropped his guitar case on the floor, his eyes never leaving Kurt's.
Very deliberately, Kurt rose up on his toes and pressed his lips to Puck's. Colours exploded in the back of Puck's mind, and he very almost passed out. This, this, was what it had all been leading up to. The feeling of having Kurt's soft lips on his. Instinctively he wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist and the kiss deepened, drawing soft moans from the smaller boy. Suddenly a million thoughts all exploded across Puck's mind.
The reactions of the team when they heard about this, the reality of coming out as gay in Lima High School. His mom. Kurt may have been strong enough to handle all that, but Puck really didn't think he was. He'd never kissed a guy before, and now here he was in the music room of McKinley High, kissing Kurt Hummel. The little faggot whose life he'd made a misery for years?
He couldn't deny that having Kurt kiss him was sending very pleasurable stabs straight to his crotch, and therefore he clearly couldn't deny that he was obviously bisexual. But, but, he really didn't think he could handle this.
Not right now.
He pulled away.
Kurt rocked back onto his heels, swaying slightly, lips plump and red from their kiss, his eyes slightly bewildered.
'I'm sorry, Kurt. That shouldn't have happened. I just don't... I don't...' Puck couldn't even finish his sentence. He bent down and picked up his case and schoolbag, slung them over his shoulder, and walked out of the music room.
But he couldn't forget the hurt and the tears welling up in Kurt's eyes.
Okay, okay, I know I'm evil. But there's got to be some sort of conflict in here somewhere, right? Next chapter should be up fairly shortly – hopefully! Please review? xxx