AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hey readers, I'd like to point this out that this story isn't really just about Kurt. It's about Jesse too since I didn't really get much info on Jesse, I'll be making up a lot of things so all you hardcore Gleeks, calm down. It's fanfiction and I promise it will get much worse before it gets better...not to mention I will probably make the majority of you hate Jesse for a while, but not to worry! Most of my stories have happy endings I promise.
What the hell was wrong with him? He'd gotten up early, made breakfast, ate, and still had about half an hour before he needed to head out the door. Not to mention he just couldn't sit down, bounding around the house with a nervous energy that was so unlike it, Niel thought he'd had a psychotic break down after finally finding Emiliana again.
"Emiliano, sit down before you hurt yourself. Bouncing around won't make you see her any faster." Niel said with a amused smile.
He hadn't seen Emiliano this happy since they adopted him... There was a blanket content and sorrow but never that light in his eyes, like the world was his friend, singing him to sleep. Like he'd gotten the Hell Yeah from God to let the whole of the world rest on someone else's shoulders for all eternity. He decided that he liked this version of their adopted son.
"I'm sorry... I just...you know how much this means to me..."
Neil nodded as Eric came down chuckling, "He's still happy-go-lucky huh?"
Emiliano pouted a little at the word but stood up when the clock struck 7:30 and grabbed his bag.
"See you later," he said rushing out the door and into his car, calling Kurt as he pulled out of the driveway. Kurt appeared in the doorway of his home and came down the driveway to hop into the car with him.
"Morning Kurt," he greeted turning the corner as Kurt strapped in and he opened his phone.
"You're awefully happy...And early..."
"I want to go find out where Mili lives."
Kurt's eyes softened at smile the spread across his face. In the morning light he seemed happier than he'd ever seen him as the phone stopped ringing and his eyes glowed silver in the early morning.
"Buongiorno, mia cara sorella. Dove abiti?...Si...Black strada? Si...Cinque minuti. Ciao."
He hung up, turned right and pulled up to a nondescript house with a moving van in front of it.
"I'll go get her. Do you mind?" He asked. Kurt shook his head before Emiliano got out of the car and bounded up the steps to the front door to knock politely. From his seat in the car, he could see the blanket of calm over his shoulders that barely masked his excitement.
The door opened and the woman who opened looked up into a familiar face and squeaked.
"Oh my god, she didn't warn me well enough..." She said. "You must be Emiliano..."
He nodded with a smile, "I am. And you must be Ms. Norwood who's been taking care of mi sorella..."
She blinked and nodded as Emiliana came down the stairs and jumped at him. He caught her easily and spun her around a bit before setting her down.
"You two keep that up, people will think you're dating..." Brenita said and they laughed.
"They usually do," Emiliana said. "Come on, before we're late."
"Be good," Brenita said as they headed back to he car and hopped in.
"Morning Kurt," she greeted as Emiliano pulled away from the curb heading towards school.
The arrived and Emiliana flitted off to the Principals' Office to get her schedule and basic info about the school. That wasn't all that important as the moment she walked into her class and saw the man that directed New Directions, Kurt, most of New Directions, and her brother smirking at her.
"Well...looks like we have a new student... Go ahead and introduct yourself."
"Emiliana Romano, Emiliano's twin sister. I'm fluent in Spanish so I don't foresee me really paying attention in the class and...I'm looking forward to the end of this year."
Emiliano shook his head and smiled hopelessly as she took the seat next to him and smiled up at Will who looked a little more than shocked. Class ended and Emiliano followed her to her locker.
"You didn't have to do that."
"I know, but I felt the need to." She said, "You've got quite a few admirers here...that Rachel girl was basically drooling over you...and Kurt definitely likes you..."
"I've been eye fucked more than ever since being here, thanks. I know." He replied as she closed her locker and they headed to gym together. "We're got the same schedule don't we?"
"Yep, it's a freaky twin thing..."
He rolled his eyes at her as she headed into the empty girl's locker room where Rachel was busy posting Glee sign up sheets. She grit her teeth at her soft humming and went to wash the paint off her hand as Rachel turned around and approached her.
"Emiliana Romano right?"
"Yes, and you are?" She asked not bothering to look up.
"I'm a friend of your brother from Glee."
Friend...right.
"Listen, we need chorus members and I understand that you were in Vocal Adrenaline with my ex Jesse, that's fine an all but we need more people to join. You know people to stand behind me and watch me as I sing solos...You'd get to spend more time with your brother that way and I understand that you may not be as good as he is but we still need voices and-"
She turned off the facet and turned around to face her.
"One, stop talking to me like I'm an idiot. I may be european but I speak English. Two, you're really not as good as you think you are. Three, you have no sway in my opinion. If I decide to join, it won't be for you."
She huffed, "Well, fine. We don't need that type of attitude in Glee anyway."
She stormed out of the bathroom and Emiliana dried her hands in the silence of the bathroom and walked out walking directly into a icy cold drink in her face and sucking on her teeth as members of the football team, mainly Karofsky walked past.
"Oh shit," Emiliano cursed turning the corner and seeing her.
She stood in silence and glared at the retreating backs of the football players and smirked as the perfect revenge came to mind and she tugged at the heavy over shirt and wiped her face with it. Pulling another t-shirt over undershirt and a new hat from her backpack. He smirked at her.
"Always prepared..."
She smiled sweetly as they headed to lunch and she walked towards the slushie machine, pulling the hoses off the machine and standing at the jock table.
"What do you want you loser?" Karofsky asked looking up at her and she smiled sweetly, sickly sweet and aimed and the hoses, firing at the ring of jocks, making sure to drench them in the sticky cold.
They shrieked and covered their faces as she grabbed Karofsky and aimed the hose down his pants. She sprayed them until the slushie ran out and the lunchroom grew silent. Emiliana shook his head down and rubbed his eyes.
"Now, gentlemen. I don't expect you'll be slushying me anymore now will you?"
"Who the fuck are you, you little bitch?"
Emiliano leapt from his seat moving Emiliana out of the way when Karofsky swung at her and sighed in relief. Had that punch came any closer, it would have been ugly.
"What the hell are you doing Romano saving that little bitch."
"Well this bitch, happens to be his sister." She said with a smile and moving around him. "And you should thank him for moving me out of the way."
She walked away without any explanation towards the lunch line while the football players slipped and slided across the ground in the stickiness and Emiliano headed back to the Glee table.
"Your sister...is kind of a badass..."Puck said as she came with a full tray of food and took a seat beside him as he cracked open his thermos full of spaghetti.
"That's not even the half of it," he replied. "That was her being tame actually."
"Yes, I'm just surprised no one had done it before..." Emiliana said biting into her burger and stealing one of Emiliano's breadsticks.
She moaned biting into it and looked at him with a questioning look. He raised an eyebrow.
"You thought I didn't find grandma's recipe? Really?"
"The spaghetti too?"
He nodded and her eyes glazed over, "Fratello...per favore?"
He smiled and pulled out another thermos and handed it to her, "I made extra."
Her eyes lit up and she tossed the burger aside, popping the thermos open and stealing another breadstick while forking spaghetti and meatballs out of the thermos at an alarming rate.
"Oh mio Dio, è così buono! Ha il sapore di casa! Ti amo, fratello."
He laughed as the thermos was returned empty after she gathered the marinara on the last of his breadsticks with a contented sigh and the bell rang for the end of lunch.
"I'm so glad you enjoyed it," he said. "You're welcome to come with me, Brenita too, when I cook tonight."
"Really?" She asked as they packed up to get to class and waved the Glee club goodbye.
"Of course, we're family and everyone has to meet everyone soon right?" She nodded excitedly and walked into their last class together, taking the seats in the back and sharing notes for Calculus through the period.
It was finally over and without football practice, Glee took precedence. Emiliana headed into the choir room with Emiliano and the Glee club looked more than happy to greet her.
"Mr. Schue!" Rachel's hand shot up as she entered the room. "I don't think non-Glee members, especially ex-members of Vocal Adrenaline should be present when we're practicing."
"Are you saying that because I said you suck, or is this the American way of flirting with my brother by making me hate you?"
She looked scandalized as Emiliano nudged her in the shoulder and looked at Will.
"Forgive my sister, the adrenaline of slushying the footballl team hasn't warn off. Sit down," he said, pushing her gently into a seat and taking the one in between her and Kurt as Will started.
"Alright... well we've got a bit of an issue. We're going to Regionals but we don't have a bus to get there, two we need a setlist, any ideas?"
"Can she leave?" Rachel asked.
She huffed and stood, "I'll go. I used to feel bad for you. You know when Jesse egged you, I didn't speak to him for months...especially since he was so in love with you. But now I hope they do it again just to knock you down a peg or two."
She left the room and Rachel huffed.
"Rachel, what the hell did you say to me sister to make you hate you so much?" Emiliano asked.
"I didn't say anything! She started it!"
"She was probably just being Rachel. Emiliana doesn't seem like the type of person to deal with stupid people." Mercedes said. "Could you maybe persuade her to audition?"
"We don't need anyone else in Glee!" Rachel protested.
"That's the same attitude that made us loose Sunshine to Vocal Adrenaline a couple weeks ago. We can't afford that again." Will said. "If you can, please?"
Rachel growled, "But she'll screw up our entire dynamic!"
"What dynamic? You having the solo all the time?" Kurt asked. "This isn't a dynamic, it's a controlling little diva that is afraid for her position of power. That's it."
The room went silent and Rachel huffed, taking a seat as Will began to speak again.
"The agenda for this week is to recruit. Recruit. We need more people, plain and simple and if anyone has fundraising ideas then let me know. For now, dismissed."
Kurt headed out with Mercedes and Kurt to find Emiliana at her locker packing up her bag and turning to them.
"Mili..."
"Emi." She countered, he sighed.
"Come on, I'll take you home. Do you need a ride Mercedes?"
She nodded. "Is it true you told Berry that she sucked?"
"More or less," Emiliana replied. "Why?"
"You are my hero." She said and hugged her tightly. "After the way you handled the football team at lunch... you win."
"Thanks, what's your name? I don't think I caught it." She said as they piled into Emiliano's car.
"Mercedes, you're the infamous twin sister of Emiliano aren't you?"
She grinned looking at her brother through the rear view mirror as Kurt climbed in on the passenger side.
"Infamous huh?"
"I talk a lot about you. Well I did, but now you're here and you can talk for yourself."
She smirked and sat back. Somewhere in between the Mckinley and Mercedes' house, she found a friend in Mercedes. They had a lot of things in common she realized after she commented on her affinity for Mercedes' really shiny hat. By the time she got out of the car they'd exchanged phone numbers and they were on the way to their side of town, to drop Kurt off and make a call.
"I'll see you tomorrow huh?" Kurt nodded and went inside as Emiliana climbed across the console into the shot gun seat.
"Kurt has the hots for you." She commented, buckling in. "I don't think I've seen someone eye fuck you like that except for your last boyfriend."
He flushed at the memory and coughed to clear his throat. "Anyway, Niel and Eric say yes to a family dinner..."
"Brenita says yeah and she's at home so we can go swing by and get her and come back right?"
He nodded and headed towards Black Street pulling up to the curb as Brenita came out of the house and got in to the car.
"Hello again, very tall and handsome twin of my adopted daughter."
He laughed, "Hello."
"How was school?"
They glanced at each other, "Eventful." They decided and she swallowed.
"I see...uhm... do you two-"
"Always do this?" They asked. "Yes."
"Okay... that's weird."
"It's our freaky twin thing." They said and grinned at Brenita's freaked out expression as they pulled up into the driveway.
Emiliano opened the door and called in, "Hey, I'm here and we have guests!"
Eric came around the corner and glanced between the three with a warm smile.
"So you are the infamous Emiliana Esmerelda Romano," he greeted. "You must be Brenita, hello. I'm Eric and I'm sure Niel is around here somewhere. Niel, babe where are you?"
Emiliano smiled and leaned down to whisper in his sister's ear, "They're always this happy when they're off work. You'll get used to it."
"I love your house..."Brenita said taking it all in as Eric lead them towards the dinning area as Niel came down the stairs in a rush of excitement.
"Welcome!" He beamed nearly apparating to Eric's side and wrapping an arm around his waist. "It is an honor to finally meet you."
They shook hands and danced through formalities when Emiliano declared it was time for him to start cooking and Niel, being the ever effervescent host, offered drinks. Brenita asked for water and Emiliana took her glass to the kitchen to watch her brother in his element as the scent of Mediterranean food wafted into the air from the stove and it felt like they were home with their real family. Ravioli is what he was making. Meat and three cheese with enough garlic to stave off an entire vampire legion. She smiled as their guardians chatted away and she was instructed to set the table by the Chef, toss the salad, and glaze the bread sticks before he set them in the oven. She followed orders and carried the food out to the table after setting the table and joined them as Emiliano carried the main dish out to the table and everyone served themselves.
The sound of laughter, agreement, and family echoed through the house and lingered long after Emiliano drove them home with the promise that they would do it again and that he would be online to talk later that night. He returned to a clean empty kitchen, it was obvious that Niel and Eric had gone to bed from the pervasive silence of the first floor. He headed up the stairs and slid into his computer chair and turned the screen on. Checked his email, replied to his grandmother and uncle in Italy. He'd found her, they were planning on taking a trip back to Italy that summer for their grandmother's 80th birthday. It was going to be a wonderful, of course he would have to find a gift that would suit the purpose as well...
BLV13 is online.
BLV13: Hey, so about Kurt.
Sei_Masters_13: What about him Mili?
BLV13: You want him?
Sei_Masters_13: Of course I do. Why are you asking?
Are you going to do anything about it? I know I'm fucked up but you should be fine, Kurt wants you too...
I know that, but I have to convince him that I'm not trying to humiliate him.
Be theatric, he seems like the type to like honesty and sort of a closet romantic...You are a romantic after all.
So what do you suggest?
Well, tell him. Show him, and prove it without a shadow of a doubt.
How poetic.
I'm an artist after all.
Alright... I'll do it... so long as you promise me something.
What?
You'll try. You'll at least try. I don't mean drastic or anything... I mean at least gradually.
Emi...
No, you're a girl. My sister. I want to see you happy. I want to see you the way you should be, the way you are on the inside. I know you Bella and I know that somewhere underneath all that fear is the sister that had a large population of Italian boys at her service at ten years old. I miss the BLV you, not this fake one.
She didn't respond to that for a while.
I'll try...but...slowly. Very slowly.
Baby steps are the best steps to healing. Trust me, I understand...Let me know if you need anything okay?
I'll need a ride...and shopping advice.
I think I'll get Mercedes and Kurt to make you come along...You'll see. Soon I'll have to beat guys off you with a stick.
Hah hah hah, very funny.
Then when we go see la nostra famiglia they'll remember that we're guy-girl twins.
Shut it. Back to your love life! Have you tried being blunt?
How much more blunt can I get than damn near molesting him in the kitchen?
Oh, there's a step past that... For Your Entertainment...
You're not suggesting.
They say Italians are the most passionate lovers and some of the best dancers... I wonder why Sei_Master?
Now it's your turn to shut up. I'll think about. Have you done your homework?
Yes.
Brushed your teeth?
Yes.
Bathed?
Yes! What are you my mother?
No, I'm your brother...I'm the one that's giving you away when you get married, remember that.
Shut up, I don't plan on getting married.
You say that now...but I remember hearing about your wedding plans with Ma. You're such a simple girl.
Shut up and go to bed. By the way, beware of Rachel... she's a little over the top.
What did she say to you?
She implied that my talents warranted singing background for her.
Oh... yeah, she does that. We usually just ignore her.
Why have you not knocked that girl down a peg or nine?
Why don't you do it? I'm a male lead... we could use another female one.
What about Mercedes?
Schuester uses her for background...I agree that she could blow Rachel out of the water with a little work. Though if you want immediate results...
Are you implying something?
You could always audition... Really. Have a Diva-off with Rachel.
Hell no, that's the last thing I need.
Baby steps...I know your real voice is another one of those things Mili, come on. I know you. I know you never stopped singing, you love it too much. Baby steps.
I'm pouting...but you present a good point. I'll audition tomorrow... if you sing with me again.
Phantom of the Opera?
You know me so well.
It's a freaky twin thing.
The next morning she arrived at school and went with Emiliano and the rest of Glee to the Auditorium for her audition, set up after they'd found a violin for Emiliano and a synthesizer for her to play.
"Why does she get to audition with her brother? She can't carry her own weight?" Rachel asked with a pout as Kurt stared up and waved his hand in front of her face to silence her.
When he started playing the beginning and repeated it to make sure he was in tune. Kurt and Rachel froze with the familiar tune coming from Emiliana's keyboard and Emiliano's violin as they tuned.
"They're going to attempt the Phantom of the Opera?" Will asked a little intrigued.
"They can't! No one our age could sing that."
She glared at Emiliana who turned a microphone to her, "For future reference, this is only so I don't have to speak loud. We're singing a bit of a mash-up because my dear brother mad me loose a bet."
He chuckled and began to play as she turned on the synthesizer to begin the back beat and turned off the microphone to prove a point.
"In sleep he sang to me... In dreams he came..., that voice which calls to me and speaks my name. And do I dream again For now I find... the phan-tom of the opera is there inside my mind..."
Will swallowed nervously at the warm tone of her voice.
"Sing once again with me... our strange duet. My power over you, grows stronger yet. And though you turn form me to glance behind, to glance behind. The phan-tom of the opera is there inside your mind."
The group of Glee kids stared in amazement at the pair as the end of the song approached and Rachel sat on the edge of her seat waiting for her to fail.
"He's there... the phantom of the opera...Ah~..."
"Sing my angel of Music."
No! No! No!
It was impossible right? There had to be a trick right. No one their age, that unexperienced, could sing that end like that. No! No! She didn't want to believe that this girl was in Vocal Adrenaline and they let her go so easily with a voice like that. She was going to steal the spotlight Rachel loved so much, she was going to steal her spotlight with Emiliano. It was impossible but as the last note sounded, high, crisp with her picking at her nails as she switched the music of the synthesizer and Emiliano's playing changed to an aria. Will knew it and knew it from a movie, Puck tilted his head at the familiar tone while Rachel nearly had a melt down in her seat.
"Isn't that the blue chick's song from Fifth Element?" He asked.
"Yeah..." Kurt said and sat back with a happy grin. Talk about pummeling the competition. Donnizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor? How much more awesome can she- never mind. He and Mercedes clapped loudly, cheering with the rest of Glee as the song switched to the "Diva's Dance" by Inva Mula also in Fifth Element. If her brother was amazing, she had to be phenomenal, he'd heard that a voice like that could only be inherited and that only brought up more questions about who their mother was...she was an opera singer, but what was her stage name? Did she have one? One name came to mind, Maria Callas...
The sound of his sister's voice reminded him of his mother and he swore standing there, playing the violin and watching his sister close her eyes and lose herself in the song, he could see his mother smiling at her. She was definitely on her way to healing if he was singing like that.
The high note, she hit with all the theatricality of an opera singer made Rachel's triumphant look evaporate. There was no competiting with the lungs of an opera singer's daughter, a fighter, a swimmer... Rachel had no chance. Everyone noticed her lengthening 'd lost herself to the song, the feeling, the joy of singing on stage with her real voice. The voice her mother had given her and trained her to hone. More than the original she added more, her heart, her soul, and all the pain until they weren't really sure if she knew the song or not, and it didn't matter. The manipulation of her voice only deepened Rachel's obvious depression as she ended the song with the sweep of her hand and Emiliano scooped her up into a crushing hug.
"Lo so! E 'stato fantastico Emiliana, non posso credere che tu non pratica!" She laughed feeling lighter than she had in a long time.
It felt good, perfect, marvelous, to sing that way. Singing that way, she felt her mother smiling at her. Maybe there was a such thing as baby steps and her voice was slowly becoming her gift instead of her curse. Maybe she was healing after all as the Glee club, excluding Rachel and Finn cheered for her. She was still laughing with her brother, hugging him tightly.
"We are going to Nationals!" Will announced, "Welcome to Glee!"
She grinned up at Emiliano who kissed her forehead, "Mama would be proud of you."
She smiled, "I think I can handle...toddler steps."
He smiled as the members of Glee rushed the stage to congradulate her, "Damn girl you've got some lungs!"
"I didn't know anyone could sing like that! How long did it take you to learn that song?" Tina asked.
"I've known them for a long time. Mama was an opera singer and she'd sung every song except the Diva's Dance... that one was all me."
"That's amazing..."
"I disagree!" Rachel butted in earning a groan from the group.
"Let it go, Rachel. She's better than you."
"She sung Opera, that's not a show choir thing! You can't sing that and dance at the same time! It completely defeats the idea of show choir!"
Emiliana laughed, "Miss Rachel Berry..." she began. "I guarentee that I can sing anything you can while dancing and out last you. There's no competiting with the lungs of an opera singer, trust me...Just let it go."
She growled and stomped her foot, "You're on!"
She pulled off her sweater and Emiliana rolled her eyes as the members of Glee vacated the stage and took their seats. Kurt never thought seeing Rachel Berry get trounced wouldfeel so good if it wasn't him doing the trouncing. He admitted that he was good, but he wasn't Emiliana's level of good... no. Not yet anyway. They went through about for dance routines, with Emiliana spinning circles around Rachel in perfect pitch. Three songs later Rachel was out of breath and Emiliana crossed her arms.
"Had enough?" She asked evenly earning nothing but a growl. "Look, Berry. I'm not here to take your spotlight. I don't even like Glee all that much. My purpose here is to be closer to my brother and get back at Vocal Adrenaline. I'm sure we can agree on the fact that we want to win Regionals right?"
She huffed.
"Don't look at it like an invasion! This is a blessing, we could use a voice like hers-"
Rachel cut Finn off, "She's stealing my spotlight! Can't you see! She's only here to make me weak, and therefore the whole team weak! She's a spy for Vocal Adrenaline!"
"F.Y.I.: Emiliana hates Vocal Adrenaline more than we do and you're just angry because she has a better voice than you." Kurt replied and she gasped.
"I am not angry! And she does not have a better voice than me! She doesn't have anything going for her but that ridiculous range! Who even uses those notes in songs except opera singers? THIS is show choir, not opera! She doesn't even belong here!"
Emiliana watched her and shook her head at the obvious desperation in her voice. She was worse than Tonya, and that had been bad.
"Rachel," she said calmly. "I'm only going to say this once...so please listen up."
She glared at the taller girl.
"I don't really care if you like me, because well I'm not too fond of whiny little cagna who turn my friends into whiny little cagna and against me, so here's the deal. You need to get over the fact that no one really likes you and the only reason no one has hit you in the face yet is because you're a girl and you have been dubbed the 'backbone' of Glee by our own favoritist Will Schuester. It's over Berry, you now have more competition than you did before... someone who obviously has more classical training and natural talent in a strand of hair than you have in your whole being. I hate you, you hate me and I am perfectly fine with that, but do understand that I am not the type to back down from any challenge, on the stage or otherwise..."
"Emiliana-"
"Don't test me," she warned, cutting Will off. "You will lose, Berry."
With that she stomped her foot, "You may be in Glee but you will never be better than me!"
"Let the battle begin short stuff."
She left the auditorium and Emiliana smiled after her, turning to the rest of Glee. "I think that went well huh?"
They gawked at her, half in awe half in shock. No one ever spoke to Rachel like that. Her brother shrugged it off as America making her soft. She wasn't sure if it was the memory of the countless conversations about the large nosed tiny person that made her speak like that or the resulting ebb of self-empowerment that came with using the voice he mother gave her. She didn't really care.
Romano: 1
Berry: 0
Let the Games Begin.
