A/N: OMG! I am so so so sorry for not updating sooner! I've been so busy lately! Due to that though, I forgot my original idea for this chapter so I've come up with a new one. If there's any violence here, it won't be graphic like I mentioned at the end of chapter six but there might be some in the next one! Enjoy! Oh and if you haven't yet, please please please go check out Homesteads & Front Lines. It's a fic I'm co-writing with my friend franticwritergirl. It's on her account so look her up! Thanks guys!
It seemed that sleep was not an option for the moment everything fell back into place for Kurt, he was woken with a start! Loud music and screaming blasted his eardrums and he opened his eyes to find he was lying on the floor of some nightclub or concert arena or something. How people were managing not to step on him was a bit of a surprise. Clamping his hands down over his ears, he struggled to his feet. He didn't bother listening for that beeping because he was quite sure that he wasn't going to hear it. Not over this loud noise anyway. It sounded like he was at some sort of rock concert. What the hell? Kurt immediately did not approve.
"How you all doing Orlando?" shouted a voice that Kurt recognized as his own. Oh good God. He was a rock star in this reality? In the literal sense? The teenager wasn't sure he wanted to look up at the stage but he forced himself anyway and decided that if it was possible for him to faint in his subconscious, he would have done so right than and there.
The Kurt he was looking at was undoubtedly the most different version of himself he had ever seen. His hair was styled in a tall spiky Mohawk and dyed bright pink. He had a nose ring, several piercings in his ears, an eyebrow piercing, and a lip ring. And he was willing to bet his tongue was pierced too. A spiked collar was around his neck. He was wearing a black graphic long-sleeved t-shirt and black baggy jeans. A studded belt was looped around his waist – a fact Kurt was surprised he could see, given the electric guitar he was holding – and on his feet looked like combat boots. His hands were covered with rings and he had leather wristbands around each wrist. The glimmer of a tattoo creeped up the side of his neck.
If that wasn't bad enough, he noted another guitar player, who was obviously Puck. His hair was the same as he'd always known it except for the fact that it was dyed blue. He had the same piercings as Kurt, along with a stud in his nose instead of the ring that Kurt had. He wore dog tags around his neck and a fishnet shirt. People in front of Kurt blocked his view of Puck from the waist down. On the other side of the stage, there was Finn, sitting at the drums. Kurt's eyes widened more. Finn's head was shaved in a buzz cut fashion and the little stubbles of hair were bleached blonde. He only had the lip ring and few piercings in his ears. He too wore a spiked collar. But he had on one of those jean cut off vests. Kurt couldn't tell what his shirt looked like and due to the drum set, he couldn't see below his waist either.
This was absolutely frightening. Apparently, he, Puck, and Finn had formed a band in this reality. Oh good grief. He didn't like this. Not one bit. He heard the crowd scream bloody murder and watched himself fix the microphone in front of him. The rocker Kurt gripped it with both hands and leaned over to speak in it. "This next song isn't a rock song. It isn't even my song. It was originally done by the artist known as Pink. I want to dedicate it to the man who used to sing it to me all the time to keep me going through high school." At this he paused and gestured to the front row with one hand. Kurt turned to look and almost fainted yet again. Blaine was standing there. He looked every bit the rocker that Kurt did, with one very drastic difference. He had a shaved head. Kurt made a note that when he got home he was never going to let Blaine go near his head with a razor. "My boyfriend, Blaine," rocker Kurt finished.
Kurt had already figured out what song rocker Kurt was talking about so it didn't surprise him when he started singing Perfect by Pink. The teenager swallowed. How old was he here? He was obviously out of high school. A bridge in the music broke and he watched rocker Kurt down some water from a bottle and jump right back into the song. Kurt clamped his hands over his ears again. It didn't sound the same. His voice now had some weird raspy rock edge to it and Kurt decided he didn't like it. Much like he didn't like what Blaine looked like with a shaved head. Blaine bald was not a flattering image at all.
Wrinkling his nose, Kurt turned and started pushing his way through the crowd until he came up to a bar. The barman looked at him and glanced at the Kurt on stage. Kurt frowned. "I swear, if you tell me I look related to him I'll punch your face in," he said in a cold voice. The barman looked taken aback and startled. He grabbed a rag and started wiping at the bar vigorously. Kurt slid onto a stool, knowing that since the barman was somewhat scared of him now, he wouldn't protest that he was not old enough to sit at the bar.
He didn't, thankfully. He eyed Kurt for a few moments before clearing his throat. "So, can I get you anything buddy?" he asked. Kurt glared at him and the barman gulped. "Can I get you anything?" he tried again, dropping the buddy part and attempting to smile apologetically. Kurt nearly grimaced. The barman had crooked dirty teeth and he was starting to feel sick. Could he subconscious actually release the contents of his stomach? Wait, what contents? It was then that Kurt realized he hadn't eaten or drunk anything this whole trip through the parallel worlds of life. He didn't feel hungry or thirsty. Finally, he just shook his head.
The barman looked relieved and turned to the next customer. Kurt found odd interest suddenly in an empty glass that had been left on the bar. He stuck a finger in it and started twirling it around and around on the smooth wood of the bar top. He lie his head on his free arm and just focused his gaze on the glass, trying to tune out the loud music and screaming, a fact that was proving impossible.
His thoughts drifted to everything he had seen and learned so far. He wondered if it would be a good idea to tell everyone all of this when he woke up. But then he thought that he wouldn't. Wouldn't that make him seem a bit crazy in the head? Furthermore, there was no telling whether or not he would actually remember all this when he woke up. He found himself wondering how much time had passed in the real world since he had started on this journey. Was his subconscious only experiencing millimeters of real world time or was each reality the length of a day or a week or something in the real world? Would his friends have the answer?
"We do, but I'm afraid we can't tell you that Kurt," said a voice. Kurt's head popped up and he turned to see Puck sitting on the stool next to him. His Puck. The teenager had never been so grateful to see the other boy. "We're not allowed to tell you that. It could effect your subconscious and that could mess with your fight." Kurt wondered if that meant the truth was bad. He wasn't really surprised that Puck had turned up in this reality. He swallowed hard and turned his eyes on the stage, turning in his seat to see it better. Puck followed his gaze.
"I look hideous here," Kurt said. To his surprise, Puck chuckled. "What's so funny?" he asked, looking back at his friend. Puck leaned his head against his hand grinned at him for a moment, not saying anything. "Noah Puckerman, out with it, right now!" Kurt went on sternly.
Puck smiled. "Oh Kurt, you don't know how much I've missed that bitch attitude of yours. Be nice to have again at home," he said. Kurt smirked at him and playfully shoved him in the shoulder, snapping his fingers. A clear indication that Puck needed to hurry the hell up and explain what the heck was going on here. "You've always been rockerish in this reality. You, me, and Finn were so into rock and we formed a band in high school. You are gay here, as you've already figured out. But you met Blaine when he came to one of our gigs. Nobody fucked with you in high school man. You were a real butch gay. Got into a lot a fights." Kurt had to admit, he would have loved to at least have that part be real to him. The nobody messing with him thing.
Both of them fell silent for a moment and Kurt sighed, running a hand over his face. "The more I see, the happier I am with the real me," he said. Puck put a comforting hand on his shoulder and Kurt turned to look at him. "Though I wouldn't mind not being messed with at school." Rocker Kurt had started jamming to some new song, clearly rock and something that he had obviously written himself. "But I like who I am and I just want to go home. I really do."
The other was already starting to flicker but Kurt felt he could get a few more moments out of him at least. "I know you want to go home. And I'm glad you like the real you. I know I picked on you all the time but now, you're my boy Kurt. I wouldn't have you any other way and I will protect you until the day I die if I have to." Kurt couldn't help but smile at that and he wanted to cry. He was at a loss for words. "You're welcome," Puck said with a light smile, knowing that Kurt had a thank you in his mind. "Keep fighting because, you still have a ways before you make it home. But when you get there, we'll all be waiting and than you can say thank you for real," he said.
Kurt wasn't going to lie. He had never heard Puck sound so well, genuine before. It wasn't like him to speak this way and he hadn't even known that Puck really cared that honestly. He had a weird feeling that when he woke up though, Puck would be too stubborn to admit it. In a fleeting moment, Kurt through himself into the other's arms, which surprised Puck, but he hugged him back as he continued to waver and flicker, his being becoming transparent as he was dissolving out of the reality. Out of the corner of his eye, Kurt noticed the barman looking at him funny. He remembered than that he was the only one who could see Puck so to the creepy man it would look like he was hugging air. He pulled away and blinked his eyes, trying to free them of the tears that had sprouted.
Puck gave him one last grin and a salute before he disappeared completed and Kurt took a breath. The more of his friends he saw briefly in each reality, the more he just wanted to open his eyes and see them for real. Again, his determination to get home grew stronger. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hands. The reality was starting to whirl again. He was going somewhere else now. He was happy. Every single jump seemed to bring him one step closer to going home again.
"You alright?" asked the barman and Kurt had one fleeting look at the man as the scene blurred. He nodded his head and held his breath. Wherever he was going to end up next, he needed to be brave. It could be better. It could be worse. But all of it would be bad and stuff he didn't like. He knew that now. It was meant for him to learn to accept himself that much more. The music was dying out now as the reality whisked away, throwing him back into the swivel of the jump.
And that beeping got a tad louder.
A/N: Ta da! Rocker Kurt! Lol! Sorry, this idea has been in my head for a few days now and I figured that since I didn't remember my original idea for this chapter, I would use it. I think I know what the graphic violence was going to entail so I'll use that next chapter! And don't be shy to drop me reality suggestions you might like to see! I'd definitely take any of them into consideration. My brain still has to cook up several. At least one for every member of ND. Anyway, reviews are love! So please drop me a review!