Part VII
Kurt is greeted with open arms at Rachel's door by one of her fathers. "Oh, so you're Kurt! Rachel always speaks highly of you, did you know that?"
No, Kurt can honestly say he didn't, but he smiles politely anyhow and as he steps inside, requests the knowledge of Rachel's whereabouts.
Her father laughs. "Oh, she's just up in her room, blasting music. Why don't you go up and see her? Her room is the last door on the right, at the end of the hall."
"Thanks," Kurt says, and idly is asked if he would like a drink, but he declines as he heads up the stairs.
Kurt knocks, and Rachel's voice says, "Just a second!" before the music lowers to a tolerable octave. "Come in," she says a bit breathlessly, and Kurt assumes it's from singing along with the music.
Shyly, Kurt slips inside and watches as the brunette's face goes from surprised to giddy. She rushes him, giving him a brief hug.
"Hey, Kurt! How're you?" she says. "What brings you to my humble abode?"
"I came to talk to you about something," Kurt relays passively as he sits down on the edge of her bed and crosses his legs at the knee, both hands placed on top. Rachel hops onto her bed and sits Indian-style on it, gently folding her skirt over her stockings.
"It must be important, if you didn't just call me," she says half-teasingly. Her face grows serious. "But if it's about Finn, I'd rather not hear it."
Kurt shakes his head. "No, nothing about him. It's about… my admirer. I know you know about him. And what I wanted to ask is… do you know who he is?"
Rachel's face becomes intense, her eyes bulging for a second and her hands gripping and twisting her pink skirt. She makes an uncomfortable expression akin to a wince. "…Yeah, I know who he is."
"Tell me. I need to know."
She shakes her head rapidly. "Oh nononono, Kurt, I can't! He'd be so mad at me if I did. He trusts me, which is not easy for him! I mean, on the third of December I found him in the auditorium just bawling, which was gross because I was going to use that stage and he was just sitting there on it, sniffling and crying, and looking pathetic like that is just so ugly on him –"
"Rachel! This isn't helping, you know. It's making me want to grill you even more about his identity!" Kurt reminds a tad sharply.
Rachel fidgets. "Oh. I know, I know… I'm so sorry. It's just… when I found him, he seemed so… different. I felt like I could ask him anything, and in his state, he'd tell me. So… we talked. And he told me that he really liked you, and realized that he missed having you around. So he asked me how he might make it up to you, and show you that he cares. I told him to become a secret admirer." She looks regretful, her hands held up near her chest. "Please tell me I wasn't doing the wrong thing, bringing his hopes up like that. I only wanted to help, because even though he isn't someone I'd normally associate myself with –"
Another dropped hint, Kurt takes note, but doesn't give away that he realizes this.
"– He's not really a bad guy. So… could you not tell him I said this? I know you two text sometimes. He confides in me in secret some days, and he says that he likes hearing how surprised you are when you find something new, and how much you're starting to like him. He wants you to, you know. He just doesn't know how to go about it in public." Rachel informs kindly. "And before you ask, I didn't give him any ideas outside of whatever questions he asked me about what some of your favorite things are."
And Kurt finally, truly understands. He nods solemnly, stands up from her bed. "Thanks, Rachel. I think that's enough for now." He offers a wayward grin. "I'll see you again soon."
She stands meekly, and opens up her arms. "One more hug before you go? I don't know why, but I miss you, too. And helping your admirer made me realize that you and I, despite our bickering, are actually good friends. Especially since, well, we have Finn between us. Your stepbrother, my want-to-be boyfriend." She giggles a little, and Kurt embraces her. She gives him a teeny squeeze before releasing him. "Look, Kurt," she begins softly, "No matter who your admirer turns out to be… can you at least give him a chance? Even if it's, like, someone totally unexpected or weird?"
Kurt smiles. "Yeah, I think I can do that. I mean, if the guy can buy me a ring," and he shows her his thumb, "And give me flowers and stuff all the time, he can't be all bad, right? Just like you stated oh-so eloquently."
She winks. "Exactly my point."