Chapter 7- Piece Of Me
During that particular Friday, Kurt found that all of the council members, his core circle of friends, wanted something from him. He felt like glitterati, indeed. But only some of it was welcoming...
"Kurt!" Elliott flagged him down as the smaller boy was about to turn one of the many corners in Dalton Academy. The boy stopped in his tracks, turning to face the boy that he had kissed not too long ago. In fact, that very kiss was still playing on repeat in Elliott's mind. Every single night, he would think about how Kurt's lips felt against his own and how much he wanted to take Kurt in his arms and hold him until they fell asleep together.
"Hello, Elliott." Kurt's tone wasn't the breathy, enamoured one that Elliott had expected. Instead, it sounded forced and harsh. Elliott wondered if Kurt was mad at him for something. "Do you need something?"
"Yes. I...uh...I wanted to talk about something with you. Our kiss, the other day, in the practise room."
"Oh." Kurt's response was short. Bad sign, Elliott thought. It means that he hasn't been thinking about it nearly as much as I have.
"I wanted you to know that I haven't stopped thinking about you since it happened and I was wondering if you meant anything more by it. But now I take it from your tone that you didn't." Elliott looked thoroughly downcast and Kurt smiled sadly.
"I was meaning to speak to you about it, but I couldn't find time outside of practise and studying to really talk it over. Would you come up to my dorm for a minute?" Elliott sighed but followed him there anyway. He would have to get this over and done with eventually. Or else it would just eat him up inside.
Kurt gestured to Elliott for him to sit on the bed. The boy did so, softly and with a look of fear in his eyes. He knew what was coming. "Elliott, I wanted to apologise for kissing you the other day. I don't know what was happening. You were singing and you sounded beautiful. I was talking about my mother and then you...you just looked so happy and there was a signal. I really don't know why I did it. Look, I like you Elliott, but I'm not really in a position where I'm prepared to date just to date. You're a great friend and I hope this doesn't affect where I see our friendship going in the future."
Kurt sounded so upset during his speech that Elliott couldn't fault him. He'd kissed people not knowing the reason before. He would just have to settle with being good friends with him. That wasn't a loss by any means. He could just tell that Kurt was going to be a valuable friend when they got to know each other a little more.
"Do you want to go out for coffee sometime? Just as friends? I'd really like to get to know you a little better. I feel like you've been here for a while now and I don't really know you," Elliott smiled. Kurt's phone buzzed in his hand and he looked down at it, frowning.
"I'd like that. I'll come and find you later?"
"Sure thing, Kurt."
All Elliott could think of was that he had gained a really good friend out of all of this and didn't regret a single thing. He would miss not kissing Kurt again, though. Despite that, he was looking forward to the fashion advice and more amusing stories about his time at McKinley. He was looking forward to having a new friend.
"Kurt!" Sebastian's voice called down to the hallway. Kurt felt a pang of deja vu crawl up his spine. It was weird. Why could he never turn this damn corner without someone wanting him for something? It was the same corner that Elliott had stopped him at. He just wanted to get to the practise room.
"Sebastian, hey!" Kurt tried to sound enthused, but he really just wanted to move on with his day. Realising he was being unfair to Sebastian (it wasn't his fault that Elliott had also stopped him at that particular corner), he smiled genuinely and tilted his head.
"How are you doing, Kurt?" Sebastian asked, actually interested.
"Well, Government class is killing me. I didn't take it at McKinley, so it's taking a while to get used to it, I guess," Kurt explained.
Sebastian smiled. "Well, I could help you study for it, sometime?" He offered. Kurt smiled and nodded his head receptively.
"That sounds...incredibly helpful! Thank you, Sebastian!"
"Don't thank me just yet! I was looking for you because I wanted to tell you that you're going to be singing one of the two solos at Sectionals this year!" Sebastian put enthusiasm into his words. Kurt's performance had really resonated with the council and they had decided that it would be a travesty if they didn't put their most talented performer in one of the two solo slots. Kurt let the news sink in before responding.
"Seriously? I got it?"
"You sound extremely surprised."
"Well, I am! All of the Warblers are so talented! I never got many solos at McKinley, you see. Actually, I've never sang a solo line at competition. This is a completely new feeling," Kurt beamed.
"You're up for it, right?" Sebastian checked.
Kurt raised an eyebrow. "I've been ready for this since I was a toddler singing 'Reflection' in my sensible heels." He clapped a hand over his mouth once he had realised that he had perhaps shared too much information with Sebastian. The other boy simply laughed and conjured a mental image of young Kurt singing along to Mulan.
"That's seriously the most adorable thing I've ever heard about. I don't suppose that you have any home videos of this particular occasion, do you?" Sebastian charmed.
"I might have..."
"I'll trade you a week of me watching that home video on repeat for a week of the final night of Hugh Jackman's stint as Peter Allen."
Kurt looked seriously conflicted. "Three days."
"You're haggling? You definitely get the better end of the deal here. Extend it! Make the most out of it. It might make a man out of you..."
"Shut it, Bas." Kurt quirked an eyebrow and focused on the solo. "Are there any parameters I need to be aware of for Sectionals. A theme, maybe?"
"The theme is Youth this year, but if you want, the other soloist can perform one about that and you can pick whatever you want," Sebastian suggested, smirking.
Kurt shook his head. "Just hearing the word, I know what I'm singing. I'll surprise you at rehearsal. Wow, I still can't believe that this is happening!"
Sebastian frowned. "Kurt, you're an incredible vocalist. I voted for you."
"You voted for me? That's so sweet, thank you!" Kurt instinctively wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck, bringing him into a hug. A second later, a blush spread across his cheeks and he let go. "Ah, I'm sorry, I'll see you at Warbler practise!"
Sebastian felt Kurt's lingering embrace as he walked away and the former watched his hips swing seductively as he did.
From afar, both Elliott and Blaine watched the interaction disapprovingly. Elliott shook his head and couldn't believe that Kurt had outright rejected him, only to get flirtatious and coy around Sebastian. Did he even know the boy's past? He figured that somebody should have informed him already. From looking across the hallway at who else was watching, he knew that Kurt would find out about Sebastian very soon.
Blaine glared at the scene that had unfolded in front of his very eyes and felt a shudder rip through him. This was not happening. Kurt was not getting comfortable with Sebastian of all people. Did Kurt even know the gossip about him? Blaine was one of his best friends, but didn't want to see Kurt jump into something without knowing everything that would needed to be known about Sebastian. It was like a prerequisite of dating Sebastian, knowing everything that he had done. Blaine tightly crossed his fingers and hoped Kurt had the sense to reject Sebastian outright. If he didn't, he would probably regret it very soon after when Sebastian only wanted in his pants. He could only think of one thing to do in this situation: warn Kurt about Sebastian before it was too late.
"Kurt, can I borrow you for a second?" Blaine popped his head around the door, pausing in case Adam was present, which he wasn't.
Kurt stifled an eye roll as the third person stopped him from doing quite an important task. He needed to call his New Directions friend and tell them that he had won the solo and that they should be prepared to lose gracefully. But, apparently, the world had other plans. Well, Blaine did, but he was sure that Blaine wouldn't be the last intrusion of his time.
He liked Blaine, despite the fact that he could sometimes be too concerned with images, so he decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.
"Sure, I'm not busy or anything," Kurt said in his controlled manner. Both Santana and Quinn had taught him a way of sounding sarcastic without anybody else detecting it. So far, it had worked every single time like a charm. He would have to thank them heartily for that particular parting gift.
As usual, Blaine didn't catch on. "Great! I'm not exactly sure you're going to want to hear this, but-."
"Oh, was there a mistake with the voting system and I didn't actually get the Sectionals solo?" Kurt prepared for anything. It would be his luck for that to happen.
"No, no, Kurt, you're singing solo at Sectionals. There was a unanimous decision between the four of us to have you as one of our leads," Blaine commented, only slightly bitter that he himself was settling for singing backup harmonies rather than being front and centre and winning them the competition. He supposed that he should've picked a more emotive song, but he was pleased with his polished performance. But I hadn't been enough to outshine Sebastian, who had pulled out all of the stops to earn the second solo. It really irked him in a way that he couldn't explain. He simply put it down to professional jealousy. But now that Sebastian seemed to be making a move on his Kurt, the boy had pushed too many buttons and overstepped too many boundaries.
"Oh, well, good. Thank you. So what's wrong?"
"It's about Sebastian. There's a lot that you should know about him. If you're going to want to get involved with him...romantically, then I should probably tell you a few things..."
"Blaine, let me stop you right there before you say anything else. Sebastian and I are not dating."
"Good."
"But even if we were, why is it your place to tell me about him? I get that you're best friends or whatever, but shouldn't details of his so called 'past' come from him?" Kurt challenged and Blaine was forced to confront the truth. He hadn't thought about that. Well, that was a lie, he had thought about it, but quickly dimissing it thinking that he had a rightful place to explain Sebastian to Kurt. Also, if he lingered on that fact for too long, then it would divert his moral compass away from the whole 'doing the right thing' business that Blaine had convinced himself he was doing.
"I was just looking out for you," Blaine tried pathetically. He and Kurt weren't close enough to have a full disclosure policy just yet.
"Oh, don't give me that, Blaine. I can look after myself. It may not look like that considering I transferred schools, but I can. I can handle my own...suitors. Not that Sebastian is pursuing me, I wouldn't to give you the wrong impression."
"Kurt, I-."
"No, you'll listen to me for a second. I've noticed with this place that everybody is very protective and friendly with each other. I love that aspect of the school. But I don't appreciate sabotage. And that's exactly what you came here to do, Blaine, isn't it? You have some kind of beef with Sebastian and you think that jumping to conclusions about our friendship and trying to dissuade me from 'dating' him will be your form of payback. I know scheming, Blaine, one of my best friends once planned a nine stage operational plan that involved heavy amounts of sabotage just so that she could be the first in line to see Barbra Streisand. So don't think that you can fool me by claiming that you're trying to protect me." Kurt softened his tone.
"Look, whatever is going on between you and Sebastian is better solved without including me. I just want a drama-free junior year, Blaine."
"You're not even listening to what I have to say," Blaine said, done with being dismissed all the time.
"Because it's irrelevant! I am not romantically entangled with Sebastian Smythe! Blaine, find some other way to get your revenge and stay the hell out of my business!" Kurt snapped, storming out of the room, deciding to call Rachel and Santana from the privacy of the practise room. He just hoped that Elliott was not occupying it after their awkward conversation that very morning.
Blaine looked around the room, before feeling his anger levels rise drastically. He didn't really understand why, but knew that he would have to relieve some of the stress before continuing with his day.
Finally, Adam caught up with Kurt, just before dinner at Dalton. Kurt was looking forward to finally getting to sample all of the food menus and judge the food at Dalton properly, having tasted everything that they had to offer him. "Kurt." That distinctive British voice halted Kurt's food-related thoughts. He didn't think he would ever get tired of hearing that accent. Even still, he had predicted that another Warbler would need something from him and was mildly irritated. The British boy had somehow tempered that slightly through the calming tones of his low voice.
"Adam, what's up?" He tried not to sound snappy.
"I just wanted to know if anyone had told you about the solos for Sectionals yet," Adam wanted to be the one to deliver the good news.
"Yeah, Sebastian told me before that I got one of the solos. Blaine said that the vote was unanimous, so thank you voting for me."
"Thank you for auditioning. It was an enlightening experience. I have to ask, Kurt, is everything okay? I mean, that song sounded extremely personal, but the lyrics didn't really imply sunshine and daffodils. You don't have to say anything you don't want to, but I just wanted to make sure."
Kurt's eyes threatened to widen. This was a welcome surprise. Adam was genuinely concerned about him. After slightly odd encounters with Elliott and Blaine, it was nice to not talk about anything that irritated him. Still, he didn't really want to discuss anything with Adam. It wasn't the right time to talk about anything deeply personal.
"Yes, the song means a lot to me, and it's personal in a way that I'm not sure I understand, yet, but I'm fine. Really. I'm adjusting well to everything and I think I'm going to like it here," Kurt smiled genuinely.
"Okay, that's good to hear. I hope my roommate skills haven't tapered away over the years. It's been a while." Adam laughed.
"Oh, definitely not! You're tidy and you don't take too long in the shower." Kurt returned the sound, Adam feeling very relieved that Kurt didn't think that he was an annoying roommate.
"I'm just not a messy person," Adam agreed.
"That earns a lot of points in your favour with me," Kurt nodded, smiling.
Adam wiped a hand across his brow playfully and sighed. Kurt couldn't help but appease his curiosity.
"What's the deal with Blaine and Sebastian? Are they fighting?"
Adam frowned. That would be news to him. Then again, Blaine and Sebastian tended to keep any personal disputes out of their other relationships, something that they had clearly failed to do regarding Kurt.
Kurt explained what had happened during his mini-argument with Blaine and Adam had understood. It was about Kurt. It wasn't about Blaine and Sebastian's relationships with each other, but rather about Blaine's interest in Kurt. Adam couldn't pretend that he wasn't interested in Kurt, but his approach was more subtle. He would wait until the others had alienated themselves trying to woo Kurt before stepping in himself.
"That makes sense, actually. Blaine and Sebastian haven't always had the easiest of friendships, let's put it that way."
"What happened?"
"I think it's best if they tell you of their own accord, Kurt. Oh, and I would try not to mention the Sectionals solo around Blaine. He can get a little touchy."
"He didn't get one?" Kurt assumed correctly.
"Sebastian got the other one. Rightfully so, his performance was outstanding." Kurt was not going to confess to eavesdropping. He hadn't done so intentionally, he just wanted to hear anything constructive about his performance but he had only heard the council's performances.
"Oh, I won't bring it up, then. Thank Adam," Kurt nodded.
"Let me know how things go, though, yeah?" Adam raised his eyebrows fractionally.
"I will. It's not like I don't see you every night." Kurt winked playfully and left for the cafeteria, hoping that the heart-healthy option was as good as the ordinary option.
After dinner, Kurt thought that it would be a good idea to swing by Blaine's dorm just so that he could clear the air with the boy. They seemed to have a lot in common and Kurt figured that they would be good friends and he didn't want to scupper his chances of that right at the fledgling stage of their friendship.
Kurt knocked three times before murmuring, "Blaine" into the miniscule gap on the right of the door. Blaine opened up quickly enough, indifferent towards Kurt's appearance at his room.
"Hi, Blaine. I just want to apologise for snapping at you before. I hope there's no hard feelings."
Blaine frowned. "Kurt, I'm the one who should be apologising. I mean, I was so convinced that I was right and I feel...extremely protective of you."
"Is that a Twilight reference?" Kurt raised an eyebrow, amused.
"You aren't going to slam the door in my face for being a total vampire nerd are you?"
"Only if you refuse to watch them with me." Kurt blushed. Only Rachel and Mercedes knew of his love for the particular Saga, being hardcore fans themselves.
"How does right now sound to you?"
"I couldn't think of a better way to spend my night."
"I feel a marathon coming on. Well, at least until New Moon when Jacob gets hot."
"I wish he would imprint on me." Kurt sighed.
"Don't we all? Come on, I'll get you a snack," Blaine rooted around in his mini-fridge and pulled out a Diet Coke and some cookies.
Kurt settled onto the bed in Blaine's single room and felt the preppy boy adjust next to him after putting in the movie. Kurt marvelled at how quickly he had patched things up with Blaine. Two short apologies later, they were watching a movie together, sharing looks and laughs with each other throughout at their favourite parts.
They were connecting well, as Kurt was with all of the boys. As much as Blaine relished Kurt's company, he couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding animosity in the future of the five boys approaching very soon.
Author's Note: I don't know if anyone noticed, but I put a small Easter Egg reference to another one of my stories in here! It's kinda obvious if you've read the story in question, but if not, you're out of luck I'm afraid. If you notice it, leave it in a review/PM. Thank you for the reception to this story! It's my most popular story and I love that guys enjoy this! Hopefully, more updates will be more frequent, but that depends on my writer's block and it that flares up again! Hopefully, it won't! Love you guys!
