The three of them used the Thanksgiving leftovers to make dinner. None of them ate exactly the same things, except for turkey.
"This is really good – all of it. Your stepmother is a MUCH better cook than the catering company my father's mother hired to prepare our very elegant, yet not nearly as good as this, feast yesterday."
"Well, if you're ever in central Ohio for Thanksgiving, consider yourself invited," Kurt said.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. You could always come for any part of winter break that your father will let you escape here for."
"I'll keep that in mind. I think that skiing is on the agenda."
"Ooh. Shmancy," Sam said.
"Scary," Sebastian said. "I don't really want to go. I play lacrosse and I hope to make it on the Dalton team, but that won't happen if my arm or leg is in a cast."
"When is lacrosse season?"
"Practices start indoors in February."
"Yeah, breaking a body part at Christmas won't give you time to heal by February," Sam teased.
"I don't want to break any body parts at all ever, if I can manage it."
"Me either. I'm not sure how well basketball is going to go. I've never played on a team."
"What position are you?" Sebastian asked.
"Left forward. I'm going to give my best, and we'll just have to see."
"I'll be there EVERY game to cheer you on," Kurt said, imitating Eeyore's voice.
"Don't sound so excited to spend time with me." Sam stuck his tongue out.
"Ride with me on the Cheerios bus. That would make it more fun."
"I bet Coach Sue won't let me within 10 feet of that bus," Sam scoffed.
"Probably not. But it would be fun at least. I get to ride to the games with 7 girls, some of whom don't really like that I got the 8th travel team position."
Sebastian looked confused. "Wait, I'm lost. What's a Cheerio?"
"Our cheer squad's name is the Cheerios."
"You're a cheerleader?"
"Guilty as charged."
"Now, this I have to see. When's the first game?"
"The night before our Sectionals."
"I'm spending the night here that night. I was going to come to Sectionals anyway and spend Saturday here. I'll just come early. I'll wear a red shirt."
"Lovely," Kurt said sarcastically.
"I bet you do look lovely in the outfit," Sebastian said, wiggling his eyebrows.
"It definitely shows off his ASSets," Sam teased.
"Aaaaah. Enough. You can make fun of me afterward. Be here at 6:30. I'll swing by and get you during our dinner break."
"I'll bring food."
"No food. We're not allowed to eat."
"You get a dinner break that you can't use to eat dinner?" Sebastian asked.
"Exactly."
"We're back to the rabbit hole thing," Sebastian said.
"Coach Sue is the Red Queen."
"Off with their heads!" Sam said, sounding as much like Sue as he could. "She would totally do that if she could get away with it."
"You could bring me a grilled chicken salad with no dressing. I can eat it without touching it, chew gum afterwards, and maybe get away with it."
"She sounds insane, for real."
"She is," Sam said.
"I am never going to understand."
"Probably not," Kurt said. "No one does. We just learn to stop asking questions."
They cleaned everything up and went downstairs.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Four hours later, Kurt and Sebastian were in their pajamas, lying in his bed in the dark, covered up and talking. Sam slept in his own room.
"Now, I'm going to have to join Amazon Prime to watch the rest. How did I let myself get drawn into a Sci Fi series?" Sebastian asked rhetorically.
Kurt just laughed at him. "I'll give you the Amazon password so you can watch more of it. Sam's so funny and persuasive that he's hard to say no to."
"I found that out tonight. This is all your fault."
"I know. You've told me plenty of times that it's all my fault that you have friends. Of all the things I've ever been blamed for, I actually don't mind this one at all. I needed a friend too."
"What about Sam?"
"Well, he's the first real male friend I've ever had and I was at Dalton most of the year and he moved to Kentucky about a month after I went back to McKinley. So, I was really glad when he came back."
"I see. I know I tease you, but I am glad we're friends."
"I know. I mean who wouldn't be glad to be friends with me? I'm fabulous."
Sebastian rolled his eyes.
"I can hear you rolling your eyes."
"Whatever. Sleep."
"Yes, Mister Bossy Pants."
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
The three of them spent Saturday out scrounging around Goodwill stores and secondhand stores outside the Lima area looking for costume pieces for Sam and Kurt's "Under Pressure" duet. Musically they were close to being ready to perform, but they hadn't worked on the costuming at all.
They carried the bags into the house and were heading up to Kurt's room.
"I see you opted for shopping after all?" Burt teased.
"It's for Glee," Kurt said. "It's stuff to make costumes for Sam and me."
Sebastian sat his bag down and walked over to where Burt was sitting and extended his hand. "I'm Sebastian Smythe. It's nice to meet you, sir."
"Robert your father?"
"Yes, sir."
"Don't call me 'sir'. Call me 'Burt'."
"I'll try."
"You're welcome around here any time, kid."
"Thanks."
"Now, get on with your project or Kurt there will turn into quite the taskmaster if helping him make costumes is anything like cooking with him." Burt laughed.
Sebastian wasn't used to be teased by adults. "I'll do my best," he responded seriously.
"You do that," Burt laughed. "I can't even thread a needle, so you can't possibly be any worse at it than I was when I used to try to help him."
"I guess we'll see."
Burt laughed as the three of them headed toward the stairs.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
"Your dad isn't what I expected," Sebastian said.
"He wasn't what I expected the first time I met him either."
"He's a softie, most of the time."
"That's true, but he's a papa bear when it comes to Kurt. Dave ended up pinned against a bulletin board with Burt's arm across his throat when Burt saw him make fun of Kurt."
"You weren't even there." Kurt started taking the stuff out of the bags.
Sam sat down on the bed. "Finn told me. And the night Finn insulted you in Burt's presence, he got thrown out of the house… for months."
"That was before he and Carole were married. He didn't throw Finn out on the street. He just didn't let him come over for a while. It wasn't months, but I think it set back the wedding. Anyway, it was just the two of us for a long time and the people of Lima have never been accepting. He just wants to protect me."
Sebastian was standing next to Kurt facing Sam. "I'll mind my manners."
"The stuff you tease me about wouldn't upset him."
"Finn referred to Kurt's room redec as 'faggy'."
"Ah, I see. Finn isn't a fan of interior design?"
"Finn isn't a fan of anything that isn't hyper masculine, including me. We're getting better. He used to be one of the guys who bullied me, along with Puck. The two of them stopped after they joined Glee."
"If you talk about lacrosse and sports when you first meet him, you'll have better luck at him liking you. And an even better chance if you never tell him that you're gay."
"Meh. Either he likes me or he doesn't. I already have way more friends than I intended to have." He elbowed Kurt.
"Yeah, yeah."
"Do you want me to put the suit back on?"
"Nah, I'm going to go wash all of this stuff first. Come on. I'll introduce Sebastian to Carole and you two can start to help her make dinner."
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
A couple of hours later, they were back up in Kurt's room.
"This suit is made of the wrong fabric completely, but no one else will know that. But it's definitely the wrong style. You can put it on now, so I can mark it to alter it." Kurt held the suit out for Sam to take.
Sam grabbed the suit and went in Kurt's bathroom and put it on. "I'm not convinced that baby blue is my color."
"But it's as close as I could find to what David Bowie was wearing in the video. I'm certain that singing with no shirt like Freddie Mercury was in that one video is definitely not me. The yellow jacket isn't really me either, but at least I won't be half naked."
"Their loss." Sebastian quipped, as he sat down in the chair in the corner.
"Would you knock it off? No one in Glee wants to see me half naked."
"I'm sure that's not true," Sebastian said.
"From what I've heard, Brittany would be all over that idea," Sam said.
"Yeah, well I've done the Brittany all over me idea before. No thanks."
"The almost week of being straight?" Sebastian asked.
"Exactly. She is a good kisser and at least keeps her hands to herself with a gentle redirect. But she's totally not my type."
"So, Mr. Magic, how are you going to turn this 70s suit into an 80s suit?" Sam asked.
"Turn slowly."
Sebastian wolf whistled.
Sam waggled.
"You two," Kurt huffed in frustration. "Stand still or you might make me poke you."
"I'm not worried. Blood would be really hard to get out of baby blue suit. I'm safe."
Kurt sighed.
Sebastian laughed.
Kurt marked where to start tapering the pants legs. "I'm going to have to work on the jacket lapel to make it narrower. The jacket needs shortened and those pocket flaps need to be removed." Kurt marked the jacket length. "Okay, you can take it off."
Sam started to slide the jacket down his back provocatively.
Sebastian wolf whistled again.
"You can take it off in the BATHROOM."
"You ruin all the fun of this, Kurt," Sebastian teased.
"Hush."
Sam came back out in his sweats and handed Kurt the suit.
"Alright. You two can watch a movie or something while I work on this." Kurt sat down at his desk, where he had set his sewing machine up.
"Have you seen Avatar?"
"No."
"Then, that's what we're watching." He scurried off to his room to get the DVD and came right back.
Sebastian pulled his laptop out. He and Sam propped Kurt's pillows up and sat in his bed watching the movie while Kurt fixed the suit up. They paused when Kurt needed Sam to try the pants on again, and then went right back to watching it.
By the time the movie was done, Kurt had fixed up everything except for shortening the jacket. Sam saw that he wasn't done and took advantage of that and put the special features disc in. Kurt laughed and finished up the jacket.
"Alright. Time to put it back on." Kurt held out the pieces for Sam to try on again.
"Aw, I like the 'take it off' time better," Sebastian said.
Sam swayed his hips on his way to the closet. He came back out a few minutes later.
"Much better. Much, much better. Once I steam and iron the pieces, the new seams will lay flat and it will look great."
"You know that's really amazing, right? The fact that you can just look at it and change it up and make it fit right and look right?"
"It's fun."
"It's a real skill and talent. You're good."
"Thank you?"
"He's right, Kurt." Sam insisted, when he came back out of the closet. "You are good."
Kurt just nodded and started picking up the scraps and tossing them in the trash. He laid the suit jacket and slacks on the chair so he could iron them at some point. He put the yellow trench coat on and took a look at himself in the mirror. He started marking it with pins. He cut about 24 inches off the bottom and started cutting the piece into strips about 3 inches wide to make the straps that Freddie Mercury's jacket had on it.
"I can't finish the jacket tonight. I forgot about the buckles on the straps. I'll have to go to a craft or fabric store to get those. I need 8. And I need shiny silver binding for the straps too. It's too late to finish it tonight anyway. I have to get up and go to Cincinnati in the morning. Do you want to swap places? You can sleep with Sam if you want. That way I won't wake you up when I get up and get ready."
"If that's what you want, I will."
"It's up to you. I don't know when you are planning to head back to Dalton."
"The doors open at 8:00, so I could leave when you're leaving."
"That's fine too, if you want to head back that early. You're welcome to stay here with Sam. He lives here just as much as I do. You two can decide while I go shower." Kurt grabbed pajamas and headed into his bathroom.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Sebastian was still in his room when he came back out.
"My turn?"
"Yep. Oh, I forgot to lay anything out for you. There are clean towels and washcloths under the sink."
"Thanks."
"No problem." Kurt picked up the strips of yellow fabric and stacked them neatly. He put the jacket on and put pins in it to mark where to put the straps. He was still fiddling with it when Sebastian came back.
"I can see the beginning of what you're doing. You should start to photograph the steps. You could start a vlog or a YouTube channel or something."
"Nah. I don't need the hate. I do this for fun and because I like it. Opening myself up for more attacks would ruin it." He took it off and turned the lights off after Sebastian got in the bed.
"Wow. The wounds are deep."
"People have been poking at me since I was 7 or 8. Years of being stabbed leave big wounds. You want to know one thing I like about the new house?"
"What?"
"My dad didn't keep our landline. Since we all have cell phones, it's our responsibility to keep them charged and nearby."
"I don't get it."
"The 'Make the world a better place by killing yourself.' phone calls are a thing of the past."
"Oh, my God. You're serious, aren't you?"
"Completely."
"I hate this place sometimes."
"You and me both."
"Six months."
"In six months, I'll still be here. Maybe in 9 months, I'll be in Cincinnati. Hopefully, the university is more like Dalton. Maybe no fewer homophobes, but they keep their opinions to themselves."
"I hope so."
"Sleep. We have to get up early and drive."
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Trevor wasn't back in town from Thanksgiving break, but Kurt enjoyed his acting lesson with Matt at his apartment. After they had finished working on his actual acting skills with the play he had memorized, they went back out and worked on his skateboarding skills at an indoor place that Matt liked to go to.
When he got back to the house, his dad was in the kitchen poking through the fridge looking to see what was still left.
"You three did a good job of wiping out the leftovers."
"Carole told us to eat them, but don't worry. I made you a whole meal and stuck it in the freezer where Finn wouldn't find it. You can take it to work with you tomorrow."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. Sit and I'll make you a sandwich." Kurt opened the fridge and pulled stuff out. "I wanted to thank you for not freaking out about Sebastian. He had a good time."
"I wouldn't wish for anyone I know to have to live with his father. He's not abusive, is he?"
"Not in the way you're thinking. He's manipulative though. I won't go into details because it's not my story to tell."
"Well, make sure he knows if things ever go south, that he's welcome here. We're running out of extra room for the strays, but he can share with you, if it comes to that."
"Thanks." Kurt worked on assembly a wrap for Burt.
"I did a lot of thinking. I realized that I was being ridiculous. We live where it's absolutely not safe for you to be romantic with anyone. And while I'm not thrilled with the idea of you growing up and doing adult things, thinking that you never will would be dumb on my part. I want you to be safe. You've already shown that you're willing to keep your self-respect in tact and not just jump into bed with the first available person. If and when you find someone suitable, the two of you will be welcome here. As long as you're both adults, I'd even be willing to make sure you have some time to be alone here. I'd rather you be here and safe, than to try to be together somewhere in Lima in a motel or a car."
Kurt was stunned. He stopped what he was doing and looked at Burt. "That's really…"
"Shocking."
"Pretty much." Kurt laughed and went back to preparing the food.
"You can thank Carole. She helped knock some sense into me. She can be very persuasive."
Kurt laughed. "I'll be sure to thank her."
"But I expect you to be honest with me. Don't lie to me that some person you start having come over is just a friend if he is more than a friend."
"The only time that would be an issue would be if I started seeing someone that's still in the closet."
"Well, in that case, I'd still like to know. Carole and I will absolutely not tell Finn."
"Alright. I mean, I'd have to talk to the guy first, but I appreciate the offer. Really."
Burt nodded.
Kurt put the plate on the island in front of Burt and sat down at the island with him. "But just so you know, nothing is going on between me and Sebastian. I already told you that he's going back to Paris in 6 months. No matter how much I might end up liking him at some point, I'm not going to let anything happen between us. That's just a set up for massive heartbreak."
"I get it." Burt looked suspiciously at his "sandwich".
"But you should know something. He's a huge flirt. Not just with me, but Sam too. So, if you ever overhear him, just keep in mind that he likes to tease. I was working on Sam's Glee costume and Sebastian was wolf whistling at him when Sam was turning for me to check out what I needed to fix. So, if you're ever upstairs and overhear something you think is him hitting on me, just know that he's like that."
"Got it. He knows Sam's not gay, right?" He went a head and took a bite.
"As far as I know. That's why I said it's all a joke. Sam started wiggling his tush, just to egg him on. They both just enjoy flustering me, but like in a normal friendship way. It's nice. I've never had friends that were comfortable enough with me to actually tease me."
"I get it. I'll keep that in mind when he's around."
"If he sees you, he'll behave very straight-laced. It's his survival MO. Be straight. Act straight."
"Poor kid."
"So, just let his silly side show when he's here, okay?"
"Sure, kiddo." You know this isn't really a sandwich. There's no bread. But it's edible."
Kurt just smiled and got up to get him a napkin. "You get to enjoy the insides of a sandwich – close enough," he teased.
Burt rolled his eyes and took another bite. "If he were staying, you'd ask him out, wouldn't you?"
"In a month or so, probably yeah. I'd want to get to know him a little more first, but yeah."
"That's tough."
Kurt shrugged and sighed. "Yeah. I got over it with Sam and we're good friends now. I'll survive." Kurt changed the topic to how Burt was preparing himself to be a congressman.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
The next week was the same every day.
Kurt got up early and went to Cheerios practice and Sam headed to basketball practice.
Every day after school, there was an hour of Glee rehearsal. They booked it out every afternoon to make it to the shop to be able to put in a few hours each afternoon.
They made it home just in time to slide into their places at the dinner table and then hurry off to get their schoolwork done.
Monday night, Kurt soaked his Cheerio backpack in his bathtub, making sure it stayed submerged overnight. He figured if she bugged it somehow that 8 hours of submersion would destroy it. He just couldn't put anything past her after she hand-delivered that heart attack on a plate to his dad at Breadstix on top of the rest of her insane campaign. He was less concerned about what she'd find out about him than he was that she would somehow use anything she could against his dad.
Friday was the first day that Kurt had to wear the uniform all day. He got plenty of looks throughout the day, most of them from girls who seemed to be giving him the vibe that they thought he looked good, which was unusual.
They practiced for sectionals on the stage after school. He and Tina killed it. He knew they were in a good position to win the next day, but winning against Santana and Mercedes wouldn't be easy. They were powerhouses, and the Cheerios that joined the Troubletones had turned the group into a real threat.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Sebastian arrived at the designated time with the appropriate food, including some cinnamon Altoids and cinnamon gum.
"Get in. I'll drive, you eat." Kurt hit the lock on his remote and got in Sebastian's car instead.
Kurt looked puzzled at the Altoids box that Sebastian handed him.
"Those things are so strong that there is no way anyone can smell anything on your breath besides cinnamon. After you eat the salad, put one of those in your mouth, and then chew the cinnamon gum. She'll never know."
Sebastian pulled out of the driveway and headed in the direction that Kurt indicated.
"I hope not. I have no interest in running laps after the game."
"She's insane. How many of these games do you have to cheer for?"
"A number that is far too high. To be honest, if I had realized that there were twice as many basketball games as football games in a season, I might not have joined."
"More than 20 then."
"22."
"Wow."
"Yeah. It would have been only half that many if I had been able to pull off not doing my best without her knowing it. The travel squad only has 8 members, but I got chosen."
"Lucky you."
"Yeah. Lucky me. You ready? Nice hoodie. Did you go shopping for that?"
"I actually did. I stopped on the way here and bought it. You're not being sarcastic are you? It does look okay, right?"
"It's perfect. Really."
"Oh, good."
Sebastian followed Kurt's directions to get to McKinley. He parked in the visitor's parking lot and followed Kurt into the gymnasium. He found a seat on the Titans side of the court. He ended up sitting down near Tina.
The game finally got underway and Sebastian did his best to watch the game when the Titans had the ball, paying attention to Sam and cheering for him. But he spent the rest of the time trying to not be too obvious about watching Kurt. Sam was right about the outfit showing off his assets.
After the Cheerios halftime show, Tina scooted down the bench a little. "Why are you so interested in Kurt? And Sam? I've never seen you at school before."
"Kurt and Sam are my friends."
"I've never heard him talk about you. I'm Tina, by the way."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Sebastian. And I just moved here this fall."
"Moved here from where?"
"Paris."
Tina didn't say anything for a while. Once the rest of the halftime show ended, she started talking again. "Paris?"
"I lived there with my mother. Now, I live with my father in Columbus."
"I see. Sorry to interrogate you. Kurt's just had a lot of people…well…"
"Be complete jackasses to him? Yeah, I know. It's nice of you to watch out for him. But I'm not stalking him. I drove him here. I'm spending the weekend at his house."
"Alright. You must be on the up and up because Burt doesn't let guys stay over with Kurt."
She scooted down a little bit, giving him a little more space again.
As soon as the game ended, Sebastian moved to the area right outside the girls' locker room where Kurt had told him to wait. Kurt came out a few minutes later with the Cheerios backpack, ready to leave. They waited for Sam to come out of the boys' locker room. The three of them headed to Sebastian's car. Kurt put the backpack in the trunk.
As soon as they were all in, Sebastian spoke. "You need to know that I talked to Tina. She saw me watching you and cheering for Sam and she confronted me. I told her that I had been living with my mother in Paris, but that now I live in Columbus with my father."
"Okay."
"I told her that I was staying at your house this weekend. That seemed to convince her. She said something about your dad never letting guys stay over so I must be the real deal."
"Well, she'll be at the house for breakfast." Kurt laughed.
"Oh, God." Sam laughed. "Let the inquisition begin."
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Sebastian finished relating the story to Burt, who wound up laughing at him just as hard as Kurt said he would.
"You realize that she won't last until 10:00 before she's here seeing if you're here? She's protective of Kurt. All 5 foot nothing of her. This will be great." Burt was still laughing.
"Well, I'm glad to be a source of humor." Sebastian rolled his eyes.
"Carole has dinner ready for the three of you. Go eat."
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Carole was in the kitchen. "Good evening, boys. You seemed to have some funny stories to tell Burt in there. I haven't heard him laughing so much in ages."
Sebastian retold the story.
Carole laughed at him too. "Of all of the people to talk to, you talked to one of the few people who will actually check up on you. It will be fine, sweetie. She'll be over tomorrow morning to see if you're really here and Kurt will get it all straightened out."
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Sebastian plopped down in the bed after he came out of the bathroom after his shower. Kurt had already turned the lights off and was under the covers.
Kurt just laughed at him. "Look. I'll fix it. It will be fine. She's going to see you at Regionals, if we win tomorrow. She's going to know you go to Dalton. Blaine won't keep quiet about what he knows about you once he sees you with me. It's better that I get to tell her about you first anyway."
"I forgot about Blaine."
"Lucky you," Kurt said sarcastically.
"That's gotta suck to see him every day."
"It does. It's really hard. I'm actually really hoping that he's going back to Dalton for next semester."
"Thanks. Pawn him off on me." He got up and pulled the covers back and got in the bed the right way.
"Your early behavior with him will taint the way he talks about you. Just ignore him. I'll tell everyone you love to yank people's chains. Everyone will believe me over him, once Tina tells everyone that my dad lets you stay here with me."
"Why is that such a big deal? I didn't ask the first time I came and you said that you hadn't had anyone here since you moved, but with the emphasis on the fact that your dad is letting me stay here with you, I'm curious."
"Well, there was a blowout with me bringing Blaine here smashed last February. He was so drunk that Finn and I had to carry him up the stairs, and I let him sleep in my room without permission. Finding a boy in my bed that he didn't know, combined with the fact that boy was obviously incredibly hung over, didn't go over well."
"I'd imagine not."
"Anyway, he overreacted. It was the first time I had ever gone to a party where there was drinking and it was the first time I had brought a guy home. I decided not to try either thing again. I went to him after I had spent that Saturday at your house and we talked. He realized the error of his ways and recanted his 'No boys overnight rule'. And so you are the first guy that's been here with my dad's approval. This will 100% convince Tina that you are a good guy. Trust me."
"Okay. And I do trust you. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here."
"So, sleep. Otherwise, I'm going to think you're trying to sabotage me for the competition tomorrow by keeping me from sleeping." Kurt turned over on his side so he could sleep.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
The next morning, the doorbell rang at 9:00. Kurt and Sebastian went to the door to answer it, still in their pajamas.
"Good morning, Tina. I see you've brought Quinn with you. Please come in. What can I do for you lovely ladies this fine December morning?"
The two girls walked into the living room and sat down. At the same time, Burt came in the living room from the hallway.
"Oh, good. You got the door already."
"Yep, we got it, Dad."
"If you two are hungry, I'll go tell Carole to make some more waffles."
"Um, sure, Burt. That would be great," Tina said.
He walked off toward the kitchen.
Kurt said, "So, come on into the dining room, if you're joining us for breakfast."
They walked back through the entryway into the dining room to avoid traipsing through the kitchen while Carole was cooking. They walked in to find Sam, Finn, and Puck already sitting the table. The four new arrivals sat down across from them at the table. Kurt got right back up, and Sam followed him to the kitchen. They started carrying plates and food out to the table.
"Thanks, guys," Carole said.
"You're welcome," Sam said.
Kurt walked over and hugged her. "Sorry for the extra people to feed." She and Burt were sitting at the island eating together.
"Meh. I knew they'd show up. Once Tina knows something, it was bound to bring out the nosiness. I'm actually surprised Rachel isn't here."
"I'm glad she's not. I'm going to go deal with this." Kurt took the platter of waffles with him to the dining room.
"Alright, everyone, this is my friend Sebastian."
They nodded or waved. The platters and plates started being passed around the table and each person took what they wanted.
"That's Puck. And you met the lovely Tina at the game last night, and this is the beautiful Quinn."
"Nice to meet all of you."
"So, before anyone asks any questions. Sebastian is fond of yanking people's chains just for the fun of it. He met Blaine when he went to Dalton to give the Warblers tickets to West Side Story and convinced him that he's some sort of Casanova. What's true is that he goes to Dalton and he is a Warbler, the lead Warbler this year. He is a transfer student from Paris, France, where he lived with his mother, who still lives there. His father and stepmother live in Columbus."
"I knew you looked familiar, but without the uniform, I couldn't place it," Puck said. You came to the play."
"I did."
"So, Burt really lets you stay here with Kurt?" Tina asked.
"I'm here wearing pajamas aren't I? Burt was just in the same room with me five minutes ago. Did he look surprised to see me?"
"No," Quinn said.
"You were cheering for Sam last night," Tina said.
"Yeah. Sam and I are friends too."
Puck, Tina, and Quinn looked at Sam.
"It's true. I've spent the weekend at his house in Columbus with Kurt and he's spent the weekend here with us before."
"Alright. You pass. Don't lie to us though. Too many people have hurt Kurt for us to just let new people get close to him without vetting them," Puck said.
"And when Rachel finds out, she's going to go ballistic," Quinn added. "Just so you're prepared. That's why we came here without her. We're the sane ones."
"We'll vouch for you since we've seen you here with Burt and Carole home," Tina said. "But she's going to be 100% certain that you're a spy or that you're trying to steal Kurt back from us or find out our set list or sabotage us somehow."
"Well, Kurt would be welcomed back to the Warblers. Trent, Nick, Jeff, Flint, Thad, and David miss him. And with Wes gone, Kurt's ideas wouldn't be summarily dismissed without consideration. But I'm not here to steal him back. I like being lead. If he came back, he might challenge me for the spot."
Puck laughed. "I like him."
"Well, Blaine and Rachel will be problems," Kurt said. "Blaine didn't actually get to know Sebastian very well and he's not going to say nice things about him. Just so you're prepared that he will likely be as mean about this as Rachel."
"Great," Puck said. "I hear enough from him as it is."
"Were you ever planning to tell us that you broke up with him?" Quinn asked.
"Not really. I figured the observant people would figure it out, and everyone else who didn't care enough to notice, didn't need to know."
"Will you tell us why?" Tina asked.
Kurt didn't answer at first, and then shook his head. "It's personal."
"Alright," Quinn said. "We won't ask again."
"Do I need to rearrange his body parts?" Puck asked.
Sam stuffed a huge bite of waffle in his mouth.
Sebastian did his best not to give away the fact that he knew by going to the kitchen and opening the fridge. He came back emptied handed and sat down.
Kurt looked at him and tilted his head questioningly.
"No strawberries."
"Oh. We'll get some next time."
"Pass the waffles back this way," Finn said. "The syrup too."
The conversation shifted away from Sebastian and Blaine while the 7 teens finished eating breakfast together.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
A couple of hours later, Kurt, Sam, and Finn were headed to the school to compete at Sectionals. Sebastian went with them. He grabbed a book from Kurt's shelf and sat in the auditorium reading for an hour before the competition started.
Burt and Carole headed out in time to watch the show. Sebastian moved to the hallway so he could catch them on their way in and sit with them.
Before the competition, the Troubletones came to visit the New Directions in the choir room.
Shelby entered saying, "Hello, Will."
"Looking good, ladies!"
"We just came to say, 'May the best Glee Club win.'"
Santana nearly interrupted her, "And just in case that Glee Club is us, I have convinced Ms. Corcoran to consider a contingency plan."
"Yes, in the event of a New Directions loss, the Troubletones have voted to allow any of you to join us at Regionals."
Sugar added, "You're welcome."
Mr. Schue said, "Excuse me?"
Finn spoke up, "That is incredibly rude."
"We're being nice," Santana countered. She smarted back some more to Finn, but Mr. Schue interrupted her.
"Thank you for the offer, Ms. Corcoran, but right now, we're gonna concentrate on winning this thing."
Ms. Corcoran nodded and said, "Good luck everybody." The group left.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
First up were the Unitards. Rachel was sitting in front of Kurt. As soon as they came out on stage, the two of them saw their lead singer – Harmony.
"Oh, my God. It's the Gerber baby. Oh, my God. She's good."
"This is torture," Rachel said. "I should be singing that song."
She and Kurt mouthed the words along with Harmony.
The Unitards received thunderous applause and a standing ovation.
Kurt leaned towards Sam. "Harmony was fantastic, but she did all of the singing. The rest of the people were just props and dancers. They barely sang at all. I think we can beat them."
Sam nodded.
Next up were the Troubletones. Mercedes and Santana sang a mash up of "I Will Survive" and "Survivor". The singing was fantastic, but their arm movements weren't in sync and they were far too numerous, making them very distracting. But the audience loved it.
The New Directions were last to take the stage. Tina started "ABC" loud and clear. Kurt came in just as strong. The two of them were center stage and killing it. The group danced all around the stage and got into several formations, mimicking Michael Jackson poses, and regrouped several times throughout the song. Tina and Mike saw his dad come in and sit down near the front. Kurt and Tina continued with their back and forth. Halfway through the song, the audience was already on their feet.
Kurt caught Sebastian's eye and did his leapfrog jump over Mike perfectly and pushed the girls out of the way "sit down girls" and did his sexy hip isolations. Mike countered with "Get up girl, show me what you can do." Sam took center stage to "shake it" doing body rolls.
Quinn did a great job at the beginning of "Control" and the song went smoothly. Artie and Blaine did a good job.
"Man in the Mirror" was a huge hit. Mike created choreography that was reminiscent of his broom dance for the Night of Neglect. He danced in a moving spotlight acting out the story in the song moving around the five spotlighted guys that were splitting the lead on the song.
Once they finished, they went backstage to await the results. It wasn't long before all three groups were called back. The New Directions were the winners.
Kurt slipped down into the audience before heading back to get changed. He found Matt and Trevor standing with his dad, Carole, and Sebastian.
"That was awesome, Kurt," Matt said.
Kurt's face showed his shock. "I didn't know you two were coming."
"We decided to surprise you in case knowing that we were here would make you nervous. We found your dad because Trevor knew what he looked like from a TV ad."
"So, you've all met then?"
"Yep, kiddo. You all did great. Congratulations! Go get changed and head home. I'll have Sebastian ride with Matt and Trevor so they'll know how to get there. We're going to order some pizzas now so they'll get to the house sooner."
"Thanks, Dad. I'll see you all in a little bit then." Kurt waved and headed off to change.
Finn went with Rachel instead of riding home with Kurt and Sam.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Everyone was in the dining room when Kurt and Sam arrived. Kurt walked into the room to find Jeff, Nick, Trent, David, and Thad at the table.
"Hey guys! I'm glad you came," Kurt said.
"Did everyone get introduced?" When he didn't get a response, Kurt went down the row and had them say their names.
Burt sat next to Matt and Trevor and continued to ask them about the university and the program. They did their best to answer all of his questions. Kurt couldn't really hear exactly what they were talking about because there were a lot of people talking.
"We shouldn't have let Wes squelch your ideas last year," Jeff said. "You were right. We were just too stuck in tradition and Wes had been on the council for two years."
"We already knew we wasted your talent last year," David added, "but after seeing you today, we realized just how much. We're really sorry. We should have listened. We should have realized that once we shot you down, you weren't going to be likely to speak up again since you had been bullied before. We just did it by ignoring your ideas."
"Once Wes and Blaine were gone and Sebastian got voted our new lead, things changed quickly," Nick said. "You'll find us to be much more of a threat come Regionals this year," Thad added, smiling and wiggling his eyebrows.
"Bring it!" Kurt said laughing. "Once we get the girls back, with their twirly skirts, you and your boring gray pants and blue blazers will not catch the judges' eyes."
"How many of the guys in your group can do back flips?" Jeff asked.
"That would be just Kurt," Sam said. "A few girls can too."
"Hmm. You'll just have to wait and see what Sebastian's taught the guys to do," Jeff teased.
"Where are the rest of the Warblers?" Sam asked.
"Not everyone could come, but the rest that did went out with Blaine," Nick answered.
"Okay," Kurt said.
Nick continued, "Back when we heard that the two of you broke up, we knew he had to have done something really awful. You put up with so much crap last year and stayed loyal to him that we knew which side to take. The rest of the less observant Warblers went off with him when he invited them."
"It's fine. He's allowed to have friends."
"You always were too nice," Trent said.
After about an hour, Matt and Trevor said their goodbyes and headed back to Cincinnati. Kurt and Carole walked them to the door.
On the way back to the dining room, she said, "They're both really nice, honey."
"They are. They've both been really helpful and supportive."
When Kurt sat back down, Jeff asked, "Who were they? I must have missed them introducing themselves."
"Oh, I've been taking voice and acting lessons and my instructors showed up to surprise me today."
"That's cool. They're really young," Jeff said.
"They're graduate students. Matt's 21 and Trevor is 25."
The front door opened and Finn came into the dining room to see what was going on. "Ooh. Pizza. Awesome. There's some left, right?"
"Yeah, there's plenty," Kurt answered.
"So, why are like half the Warblers here?"
"They came to watch." Kurt lowered his voice. "Remember what I said?"
"Right…" He thought for a second and their talk came to mind. He smiled. "Right! So, did you guys win your Sectionals?"
"We did," Flint answered.
"Oh, I forgot. Everyone, this is Finn."
They waved and Kurt had them say their names.
"So, we'll face each other at Regionals," Finn continued.
"Yep," Jeff answered.
"Sebastian has managed to get them to learn to dance. So, we're going to have to be in top form to beat them," Kurt said.
"Aw, man. I can't dance worth a darn. It takes me forever to learn the dances. Maybe I should stick the drums up in the performance part of the stage and wear a face mic, so I don't have to dance."
"We'll figure it out, Finn," Sam said.
"You guys like video games?" Finn asked. "We could go downstairs and play?"
"Sure," Jeff said. He, Nick, and David headed downstairs with Finn and the box of pizza he snatched on the way to the basement door.
The rest of the group moved to the living room and sat around talking for a while. Eventually the Warblers needed to head out.
Kurt saw them to the door and thank them for coming, suggesting that they come again sometime soon.
"You know where we are too. Don't be such a stranger," Jeff said as he got in the car.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Kurt, Sam, and Sebastian headed up to Kurt's room. He steamed and ironed Sam's suit and his yellow jacket.
"Here, put the whole outfit on this time and let's see how it looks."
Sam took the outfit and headed into his room to change.
Kurt stepped into his closet and put the white pants, white low v-neck shirt, and the yellow jacket with all the straps on it and came back out.
Sam walked back into the room just a couple of minutes later. "So? Is it right?" He turned in a circle showing Kurt.
"You two look great. Kurt still needs a mustache, but other than that, you guys look fantastic. So, let me hear the song. I get to be Simon Cowell."
"How about you get to be one of the nicer judges?" Sam suggested.
"Nope. I'm hard to please and think I know everything. I'm Simon."
"Fine, fine." Kurt pulled up the backing track they'd been practicing with. "I don't have our props to use in here, so you'll just have to imagine the mics and mic stands."
"Got it." He leaned back in the chair with his index finger over his lips, imitating Simon Cowell's stance during an audition.
Kurt started the music and became Freddie Mercury. Sebastian watched the transformation, but could barely believe his eyes. Sam did a good job on his part, but he was still Sam singing. Sebastian watched the whole piece very carefully. When they finished, he pretended to press the golden buzzer enthusiastically.
"That was amazing. Really. When are you two going to perform?"
"Well, I'll put our outfits in a garment bag and take them with us to school. We'll do it as soon as Mr. Schue says we can."
"Get someone to video it so I can hear it with the live music and the microphones."
"Alright," Sam said. "I'm sure we can convince someone to do it."
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
The next morning, Kurt left Sebastian sleeping in his bed and left the house at 6:30 like he normally did on Sunday mornings. He arrived in time to look through his music before Trevor got there. He got out when he saw Trevor pull up.
"Your group rocked Sectionals yesterday," Trevor said as he unlocked the door.
"Thanks. And thanks for driving all the way to Lima to see me. I was completely surprised."
"You're welcome. I wanted to see you perform live. It's easy enough to project in a room this size and make you feel like you're reaching the whole room, but it's different in an auditorium. You did great. The girl you sang with was really good too. She had a really great positive vibe about her." He put his stuff down on top of the piano.
Kurt sat his stuff on a nearby table. "Tina. That was her first competition lead too. I like singing with her a lot. It's interactive. She plays off of who she sings with. The girl who normally sings lead really expects her partners to follow her lead."
"Well, you two are a good pair. The two girls that sang lead in the all-girls group were really good and girl lead in the other group was fantastic."
"She was. I met Harmony before - at the NYADA mixer earlier this fall. I'm sure she'll get in anywhere she applies in a couple of years. She has credits since before she was born and she has an abundance of confidence and talent. And the other two girls are Santana and Mercedes and they really are quite good. They broke apart from us and joined Ms. Corcoran's group because they were rarely featured."
"Your director sounds like a one trick pony. Hopefully, he noticed that he has several ponies that can do tricks now." Trevor laughed. He sat down on the piano bench, hands in place, ready to play. "Let's get to work on these more classical pieces that you've been working on."
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Matt came in when he and Trevor were done. Trevor packed up his music and left.
"So, I have a question for you."
"Alright."
"So, a friend of mine had tickets for a play this afternoon a 1:00 and she decided that she had too much studying to do and so she gave them to me. Do you want to go with me?"
"Sure."
"Alright. Let's head over to the indoor skate park and stay for like an hour. We can go back to my place and work on the play and you can change into your normal clothes and be yourself the rest of the day. We'll grab some lunch and go see the play."
"Sounds like a plan." Kurt grabbed the papers he had gotten out and put them back in his satchel and headed down the stairs with Matt.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
"So that was a student-written play?" Kurt asked as he got into Matt's car.
"It was. What did you think?"
"I liked it. I thought it was pretty funny."
"Me too. I'm glad you liked it after you stuck around to watch it."
"I'm not opposed to doing things while I'm here. I just don't really like driving in the dark on the winding roads too much. Too many deer at dusk. But other than that, if you know of things to do, just let me know. I'm driving over four hours each time I come. I might as well get the most out of my gas money. I just don't want to take up too much of your time since you're already working with me with no monetary compensation."
Matt put on the air of an aristocrat, "But sir, I get the great pleasure of your company."
Kurt laughed and shoved him and rolled his eyes. "Whatever. You and Sebastian and Sam are crazy sometimes."
Matt smiled. He pulled up alongside the Navigator, where they had left it in the church parking lot. "I'll see you next week."
"Thanks for everything." Kurt waved as he got in the Navigator and drove off.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
The next afternoon in Glee, Kurt got everyone to agree to reconvene in the auditorium in 20 minutes. He asked Puck to make sure that all of the doors were locked once they were inside. He had asked Lauren to record them. He and Sam changed in the backstage area avoiding being seen in the hallway in their costumes. The band set up while they were changing.
Bum bum bum be de be dum.
The iconic drums, snapping, guitar, and piano started. Kurt and Sam came out singing. Sam mostly stayed in place like David Bowie and Kurt strutted around the stage a la Freddie Mercury. Eventually, Sam pulled his mic out of the stand and moved toward the front of the stage the way Bowie did in the video.
Four minutes later, the whole production was over and everyone was applauding. Kurt and Sam took a bow and exited to change. Kurt put their costumes back in the garment bag. Once they were redressed, they went out to the audience.
"That was amazing, guys." Mr. Schue said.
"Wow, that rocked," Finn said.
"Thanks," Kurt said.
They accepted the compliments they were given and the group dismissed since no one else had anything prepared.
Lauren handed Kurt his flash drive with the video she had taken on it.
"Thanks!"
She just nodded and left.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
The following Sunday, Kurt showed the video to Trevor. He sat on the piano bench and watched it.
"Well, as far as a vocal performance goes, I think you did a good job singing the song. No one is ever going to sound exactly like Freddie Mercury. But the performance aspect of it was really good. You had a lot of energy and you did a great job mimicking his style and movements."
"Thanks. The song was mostly just sort of a vindication from last year when I had to sing alone and my almost stepbrother told me I'd get Sam killed for singing with me because he obviously thought there were no non-romantic duets." Kurt put the phone back in his satchel.
"The Victor/Victoria number you did alone?"
"Yes. This was just sort of an in your face, 'I am male and I can sing songs that men made famous and I can do it with another guy if I want to.'"
"Well, I think you pulled that off."
"Thanks."
They moved on to working on what had been assigned.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
"That totally rocked. I love it," Matt said. "Tell me you kept that jacket. Wait. You made that jacket, didn't you?" He handed Kurt his phone back.
"Sort of. I altered a yellow cotton ladies trench coat. I tailored Sam's suit too. It was a 70s suit with the longer suit jacket length, bigger lapels, pocket flaps, and huge bell bottom trousers."
"Well, they both look amazing."
"Thanks. And I did keep the jacket."
"I may ask to borrow that sometime."
"Sure," Kurt laughed.
They moved on to the monologues Kurt had been working on.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
By the Tuesday before Christmas, Kurt had cheered for and Sam had played in 7 basketball games. Kurt was ready for the season to be over and he wasn't even 1/3 of the way there.
Sue came into Glee rehearsal and asked for them to help out at the local homeless shelter by singing Christmas songs during the annual Christmas dinner. They all agreed to help out.
Mr. Schue came in a few minutes later and told them about a chance to do a live Christmas TV show since the local PBS station had lost the rights to what they had planned to air. Artie was put in charge and everyone started brainstorming. They all headed to the auditorium.
Rachel sang a melancholy wintry song and Artie nixed her song for a spot in the special. Sam got aggravated and got up to leave after Artie said he was rebooting Frosty to be a happy song. Kurt didn't have any interest in fighting Rachel for a lead role that would pair him with Blaine since Finn and Puck were doing some kind of Star Wars thing, which he totally did not understand. He got up and followed Sam.
"Sam, wait up."
Sam slowed down and let Kurt catch up.
"I'm not going to do the Christmas Spectacular or whatever they're calling it. Let's go find Coach Sue and tell her that we'll still help her. I'll get Sebastian and maybe a couple of the Cheerios that can sing to come with us to sing for the Christmas dinner at the homeless shelter."
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
There was another basketball game Friday night, which was the day before Christmas Eve. Sebastian came to the game and cheered Sam on and watched Kurt cheer. Tina sat with him.
"Why do you even come to these games, Tina?"
"Oh, it's for my journalism class. 'Sports writing skills.' It's this or hockey. And the Puckheads hate the Gleeks. Plus, the ice rink is on the other side of town."
"I see."
"Why do you come? Doesn't Dalton have a basketball team you could be rooting for?"
"I think so?"
"So you don't care about basketball anymore than I do."
"Not really."
"You like him."
"Wouldn't matter if I did. I'm leaving in a little over five months. I wouldn't do that to someone."
"Doesn't change the fact that you like him."
Sebastian didn't say anything else. He just sat there watching the game. Afterwards, he waited with Kurt by the girls' locker room. Three girls stopped to talk to Kurt.
"This is Kendra, Aileen, and Megan."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Sebastian." He reached out and shook hands with each of them.
Sam walked over to them after he had grabbed his stuff.
"Okay, so tomorrow come to my house at 4:00. We'll rehearse these songs."
Sebastian handed them each a stack of music that had been stapled together.
"If any of you can sing harmony that's great, if not don't worry about it. It's supposed to be cheerful and provide entertainment, not be an opera concert. After we practice, we'll eat dinner at my house. I'll have something Coach Sue will let you eat."
They nodded.
"Wear something simple. We're going to a homeless shelter, not a Christmas party or a fashion show. Try to stick to red, green, or cream. We'll go to the shelter at 5:30. We'll entertain from 6:00-7:30."
"Got it," Megan said. "We'll see you three tomorrow."
The three Cheerios walked off.
"How did you convince them?" Sam asked.
"The three of them are Troubletones. I told them that they could put it on their college applications to make them look more well-rounded and caring."
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Sebastian showered and changed and then waited in Kurt's room while Kurt and Sam showered and changed into their pajamas.
The two of them were surprised to hear flute music when they got out of the shower. Sam went to Kurt's room looking for the source. He found Kurt sitting in his chair listening to Sebastian play.
He quit and put the flute next to him on the bed. "I'm not fabulous, but I'm okay and I thought it might be nice to play a few instrumental pieces, if the two you are interested. I brought a book. It has the piano music with guitar chords marked. "We could try it if you want."
"Sounds like fun. I'll go get my guitar."
"I'll set up the keyboard I have."
Kurt pulled a keyboard, a keyboard stand, a folding music stand, and a folding stool out a storage box under his bed. He took the cover off the keyboard and set it up on the stand facing his window. He popped the bench up and stood the stand up behind the keyboard.
He took the book from Sebastian and looked at it. He chose a song and put the book on the music stand and started to play. Sebastian got up and stood behind him to the left and started to play the melody. Sam came in and stood to Kurt's right and managed to be able to see the book and started to play along. They played through the song once.
"We don't sound half bad," Sam said.
"I think it's pretty decent sounding too," Sebastian said.
"I think we should pick some songs and play through them all and see which ones will work the best," Kurt said. "We'll be able to provide more entertainment without repeating songs we sing this way."
It wasn't too long before Carole had made her way up the stairs following the music she could hear from the master bedroom. She came in and sat in Kurt's chair next to the window.
"Oh, Carole, I'm sorry. Are we disturbing you?" Kurt asked.
"Oh, no, honey. It's really pretty. I came to see where it was coming from. I didn't know Sebastian played the flute."
"Neither did we until tonight," Sam said. "We're going to play Christmas songs as a trio and we've got three girls to sing with us tomorrow evening at the homeless shelter Christmas dinner."
"Well, they will enjoy that. It's lovely. Don't stop on my account." She leaned back and closed her eyes and relaxed.
About 10 minutes later, Burt showed up looking for Carole. He stood in the doorway watching the three boys play and saw Carole in the chair. They had their backs to him, so they didn't notice him until he clapped at the end of the song they were playing.
"That sounded really nice."
"We're playing at the homeless shelter tomorrow night. We're singing too. The three girls will be here tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 to practice."
"That's fine. Why isn't Finn going with you?"
"Oh, the rest of the Glee Club is filming a special for the local PBS station, but we had originally agreed to do the homeless shelter event. They backed out when they had the chance to do the TV special. I didn't like what they were doing and I left. Kurt followed me and then he recruited Sebastian and the three Cheerios."
"I see. We'll I'm sure they'll like listening to you."
"Thanks, Dad."
Burt went back downstairs, but Carole stayed.
"When will you be back home tomorrow evening? We don't want to start without you."
"Before 8:00."
"Alright. We'll start at 8:00 then. You're welcome to stay Sebastian, if you don't already have plans."
"Oh. I don't want to impose. I was just going to go back to my father's afterwards."
"Oh, okay. You need to be there for Christmas morning?"
He didn't answer.
Carole spoke gently to him. "Sebastian, sweetie, is anyone at your father's house?"
"No. They left for Colorado a couple of days ago to spend the school break skiing with my stepmother's family."
"And you didn't want to go?"
"Well, no, I didn't want to go, but I actually wasn't invited."
"What is wrong with your father?"
"I can't answer that question politely."
"I imagine not. Sweetie, please stay with us. I don't know how many clothes you brought, but you can just wash them frequently or you can wear some of Kurt and Sams' things."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm absolutely certain."
"Thank you."
Carole got up and pulled him into a hug. "Sweetie, you're always welcome here."
Sebastian fought back tears, but not all that successfully. "Thank you."
She squeezed him again. "Any time. You remember that."
"I will."
She let him go. "I'm going to go get some things ready for the weekend."
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
The three guys practiced for a little longer, and then Sebastian cleaned the flute and put it away. Sam left his guitar in Kurt's room and headed off to bed.
Right before he got in bed, Kurt got a text from Carole.
"I'll be right back up. You can turn some music on if you want."
"Alright."
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Kurt went all the way down to the family room to find his dad and Carole waiting for him.
"What's up?"
"Please tell us something that Sebastian would like as a gift."
"He likes French cheese. I've heard him talk about missing it. If you could find some place that sells specialty cheese, I'm sure he'd like that."
"I can do that."
Burt spoke. "I'd like to meet with his father when they get back. I'm going to persuade him to let Sebastian live with us until he goes back to France. Don't tell Sebastian yet. I'm going to talk to Hiram as an attorney, not as a family friend. That way he'll be legally obligated to keep quiet."
"Alright, Dad. He can share my room and I'm fine with that, just so you know."
Burt nodded. "That's it for tonight."
"Okay." Kurt went back upstairs.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Sebastian had fallen asleep already. Kurt got into bed as gently as possible, trying to keep from waking Sebastian up.
"Thank you."
Kurt startled.
"I didn't mean to make you jump."
"I thought you were asleep."
"Just lying here thinking."
"What were you thanking me for?"
"This. Everything. Being here. I'm not alone because of you. Just thank you."
"You're welcome."
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
"Alright. Let's get started."
Sam and Sebastian were barely awake. Both were sitting on the stools at the island.
"I thought we were sleeping in?" Sebastian said, more as a question than a statement.
"This is sleeping in. I found that out at Thanksgiving. He usually gets up at 6:00. He let us sleep until 7:30."
"Oh," he said, still not quite awake.
Kurt laughed. "So, we are making a casserole, prepping lasagna, baking cookies, making a chocolate pie, an angelfood cake, and chopping lots of raw vegetables."
"I vote we leave the chopping until my eyes aren't bleary," Sam said. "I want to end our cooking adventure with all of my fingers still attached."
"Good call." Kurt said. "You can be the batter mixer."
"Isn't that what appliances are for?" Sebastian asked.
"Not for cookies. Hand mixing. You can make the filling for the chocolate pie, Bas."
"Bas?" He scrunched his forehead and raised an eyebrow.
"You need a one syllable nickname. Kurt, Sam and …? Seb didn't seem to fit you, so I went with Bas. I've been thinking about this, but if you hate it, I won't use it."
"No, actually it's fine. No one has ever given me a nickname before."
"Oh. Well, now you have one."
"You come to America and you get your first bear hug and a nickname," Sam teased.
"Lucky me." He rolled his eyes up and put his hands on his heart.
"Well, that's true." Kurt said. "I mean you did get the two nicest teen guys in Ohio as friends too."
"And they're not the least bit conceited," he rolled his eyes.
"Not at all. You're the one who said I needed to think more highly of myself."
"That's true. I should watch what I suggest." Sebastian deadpanned.
Kurt hip checked him. "Hey, now."
"Alright. Where's the recipe for this so I can get started?" Sebastian asked, trying not to yawn.
"I need mine too," Sam said.
"I already measured everything for the cookies, Sam." The stuff is all in little bowls behind the mixing bowl and the recipe is on the card right next to the bowl. Maybe you two should go back to bed."
"No, we're fine. Except that this is written in cursive and I can't read it."
"Okay. You two work together on the cookies and I'll do the pie filling."
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Once they finally got their brains in gear, Sam and Sebastian were actually useful and they helped get everything prepped. The three of them made themselves lunch and cleaned everything back up.
Once the kitchen was clean and the food was all stored, they went upstairs and got ready.
"Hey Kurt?"
"Yeah, Bas." Kurt answered from the bathroom.
"I don't have anything red, green, or cream colored other than the hoodie I wore last night."
"Oh, just look in my closet and pick something that fits. If you don't find anything, go ask Sam. Although his stuff will probably be a little too big, unless it's a sweater that you can get away with wearing kind of baggy."
Kurt came out and found Sebastian standing in his closet just staring.
"Hey, Bas. Are you okay?" Kurt looked concerned.
He nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine." He refocused.
"If the sleeves are all too short, you could cuff them a couple of times and no one will notice they're too short. Try this one." He handed Sebastian a red button up with cream pinstripes.
"Thanks."
Kurt turned and walked out of the closet and pushed the door closed to give Sebastian privacy to change his shirt.
He came out a couple of minutes later.
"That looks good. Do you feel okay wearing it? Mostly I see you in your uniform, your pajamas, or that red hoodie you bought to wear to the basketball games."
He went over to Kurt's vanity and looked in the mirror. "Sure. It looks fine, I think."
"Well, tuck it in and let's get downstairs. The girls will be here soon. Do you have any other shoes?"
"No. Is there something wrong with these?"
"I didn't mean to sound condescending. I just thought you might be warmer if you wore something like boots."
"Oh, I don't own any boots."
"We'll go out the day after Christmas and get you some."
"Why?"
"It's going to start snowing at some point and your feet will get cold and wet."
"It doesn't really snow in Paris."
"Well, it does here. Quite a bit."
He finished tucking his shirt in. "Downstairs?"
"Yep."
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The doorbell rang at 4:00 and Kurt let the three girls in. Kurt had carried the keyboard down to the dining room and set it up earlier.
Kurt showed them to the dining room and they put their coats on the backs of chairs.
"You all look nice."
"Thanks," they said in unison.
"So, let's just run through the first two verses of all of the songs, and then we'll eat and head over to the shelter." He sat down at the keyboard. "I've not heard the three of you sing by yourselves. So, the first time, I just want the three of you to sing, so I get a feel for your range."
The three girls all sang the melody and could sing high enough to sing the songs in the keys they were written in.
"Great. That sounded really good. So, this time all of us will sing. Sebastian will sing tenor, Sam will sing the baritone part and I will sing alto."
He started the song again and they all sang.
"Wow," Aileen said. "That sounded way better than I expected."
"I think we'll be fine. Let's move on to the next song."
They worked through all of them and at 5:00 the timer went off.
"The three of us made dinner earlier. Go ahead and sit wherever you want and we'll bring it out."
Kurt, Sam, and Sebastian carried out a huge bowl of chopped salad and a platter of additional toppings, and a large pitcher of lemonade. Kurt went back for the salad dressings.
"So, there's white meat chicken and turkey, low fat cheese - cheddar and swiss, low calorie dressings, extra sliced veggies, and lemonade made with stevia – the only calories are from the lemon juice, so like 10 per glass."
"Oh, my God. It's like a feast that we can actually eat," Kendra said. "Be my boyfriend, Kurt. I don't care that you're gay."
The girls started piling salad and toppings onto their plates. After they finished, they guys served themselves.
"I already had a marriage proposal over some baked goods. I'll have to pass, Kendra." Kurt smiled and laughed.
"I'll offer you whatever you were offered, plus anything else you want," she teased. "At least I know you won't be just being nice all evening just to get in my pants."
"Guys just don't get it. Girls are not that hard to please." Megan said. "Just be nice for real. This is nice. You three are nice. How about your Sam? Will you be my boyfriend? You're not seeing Quinn or Santana anymore."
"They kind of burned me on dating a Cheerio girl."
"Oh, well. I tried."
"No offer for me?" Sebastian asked.
"You don't go to McKinley. I can't show you off," Aileen said.
"You mean he lives too far away to make dinners like this for you during the week," Kurt said.
"Well, yeah. Mostly that. You're cute though." Aileen laughed.
"Thanks."
After they finished eating, Kurt packed up the leftovers. Sam ran up to grab his guitar and Sebastian grabbed his flute. Kurt picked up the music book and they all headed to the shelter.
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They alternated between singing and playing instrumental pieces. They managed to only repeat a few of the instrumental songs. A lot of the kids ended up sitting on the floor listening to them after they finished eating.
Santa showed up at 7:30 and moved into the area where the teens had been singing.
They all got their coats on and headed toward the door. Sue intercepted them. She nodded and let the three Cheerio girls leave.
"Kurt will be out in a minute." She stopped Kurt.
Sam and Sebastian headed out to the Navigator.
"Is there something else, Coach Sue?"
"No, Porcelain. I just wanted to thank you. You pulled through and everyone enjoyed your entertainment."
"Oh. You're welcome. I'm glad they enjoyed it."
She nodded, indicating that he could leave.