Author's Notes
...and so the letters begin! This Chapter has been THE most tricky to write, hence the delay. I'm so sorry for keeping you waiting so long. Staying at mum's then dad's and then at friends means a nightmare of keeping track of internet/laptops. I have this Chapter all planned now, mostly written and now it's just tweaking to do so I'll be posting it in 3 parts stipulated by date!
To the lovely person who said that they loved the premise of letters/penpals and couldn't wait to read Kurt and Blaine falling in love through snail mail as so far I've been a tease. You might be happy : )
Thank you so very much to those who have sent me messages on tumblr, LJ and for the kindness and glorious reviews. You have kept me writing. Thank you for the birthday wishes also!
Once again, thank you ever so much to Kerry/Lucie for their help with my Britishisms and general loveliness.
I hope you enjoy this Chapter and the ADDED EXTRAS – Chapter 7 is a little more 'creative' shall we say! Please pay attention to DATES... they'd not exceptionally important at the moment but it gives an idea of pacing and they become a little more important in Part 2.
ALSO- and this is IMPORTANT - this Chapter includes 2 images. There is a link at the bottom of my profile. I wish ffnet allowed images by alas no * sad face * The formatting on LJ is SO much nicer.
OCTOBER through till NOVEMBER
October 22nd
Blaine,
Look what I found! Mercedes and I went shopping on Saturday and as I was browsing the more, shall we say, elitist product ranges, I found a rather flawless looking lady who was promoting a new range of hair care products for people with curly hair. They specialise in the 'unruly' curl department and while I don't wish to insult, you said yours was hard to manage.
I hope you like your little trial sachet! I'd say send me a photograph of the results but that would be creepy so I won't. Still, read the instructions for application well – so many people make that rooky mistake with cosmetics or beauty products. It's a beginner's tip ;)
Also, something terrifying happened a couple of days ago. No, I didn't leave the house uncoordinated nor did I catch a cold (which is the ultimate worst). I think I may have had a 'moment' with Rachel Berry.
I HAVE told you about Rachel but I don't think the truth can be appreciated unless one has the opportunity to meet her. You've seen her too, which, again, doesn't give the full effect. She's a nightmare, she's irritating, she adores the sound of her own voice – and I mean to the extent that Mercedes found an entire playlist of her own recordings on her iPod when we were snooping during a REALLY boring Glee club meeting – she is annoyingly giddy, she is needy but at the same time so completely driven that she'd trample on anyone with her frighteningly tiny feet and... oh you get the picture.
Anyway, I was at my locker and she told me she'd been listening to a lot of Judy Garland recently and even made a comment about how MY voice was on par with Judy's – emotive and lyrical, why thank you very much. She said since SHE was Barbra and I, apparently, remind her of Judy, we were destined to meet and eventually perform their famous duet. Happy Days are Here Again/Get Happy.
Safe to say we nailed it. After the failure of the duets task when 'pretty boy-potentially gay Sam' became 'pretty boy-puppy for Quinn Sam' and Mercedes teamed up with Santana (Satan as I so fondly call her), Rachel said she felt bad that I had to perform a duet on my own (long story) and she always felt that there was a sense of unresolved tension after our Diva Off last year. (Long story short – I threw a note to fail the contest as my Dad received some nasty phonecalls no doubt from the Neanderthals at our school. I wanted to spare him the awkwardness of his son singing a girl's song even though I've wanted to sing it for years, Wicked's one of my all-time favourite musicals and well, I shouldn't have to change myself for anyone but I'd do it for the sake of my Dad. He doesn't deserve the extra baggage.)
ANYWAY, I digress. We performed. I styled her – naturally. She wanted to resurrect a particularly hideous pant suit that, yes Barbra had worn in her hay day but no it wasn't possible to 'bring back'. She has two gay dads (did I ever tell you this?). What are they doing letting their only daughter leave the house looking like Marsha from the Brady Bunch? Surely they have eyes AND a more superior sense of taste what with being of a homosexual persuasion but apparently not – the stereotype mustn't extend their way. Pity – the girl dresses like a middle aged blind woman.
Life is ok, I guess. I still remember what you said to me. It meant a lot. I don't even remember if I thanked you. If I didn't then I'm thanking you now because, well, nobody has ever listened like that. HE who must not be named, aka the Neanderthal, aka the burly football player with an empty cranium, aka the bane of my life, has been a little quiet recently. I think there's something football related going on and heavens I do NOT know about that. Finn seems to have eaten less of my baked goods and I haven't heard him banging around on his drums as much so my guesses must be correct – go figure.
I hope that everything is going well over at Preppy School. I think I'm at the point where I can joke about my past misgivings ala the letter we shall not dwell upon.
Tell me about your week. I'm currently sitting at my desk with my homework open and book creased at the spine at exactly the right section but I also have Vogue open on my left and Mercedes on Skype. Not conducive to productivity. You're lucky you're even getting a letter out of me – consider yourself special. I mean... whatever : )
Write soon,
Kurt
October 29th
Dear Kurt,
Is this soon enough? I am going to be honest and tell you that I had to stuff my hand in my mouth to read most of your last letter. Firstly, because it was so funny and secondly because you don't hold back do you?
I wonder what you say about me/have said about me/will say about me when I'm not there which, I suppose, is all of the time. Oh no.
You said you had a 'moment' with Rachel. Does this mean you're friends now? I refuse to believe you don't like her even a little bit – she may be a bit of a diva (or so it sounds) but – and please don't hurt me with your vicious vicious words – you DO sound like you have many things in common. It sounds like a beautiful duet. I presume you styled her well. What did you wear in the end?
You would be proud of me, Kurt. I asked my Mom to purchase some of the hair product you sent me and I have to admit that it's incredible. I have to keep it tidy for school and by tidy I mean, as you so kindly alluded to, under a lot of product. That sachet is honestly what I like to call – magic! Thank you so much for thinking of me during your shopping trip – I know your mind must have been so firmly set on your bargain hunting. You really must teach me your tricks. I see something I like, I buy it. Nothing else really goes through my mind which is probably why you'd burn, maul or take scissors to half of my wardrobe. I hope that day never comes. ;)
The Warblers are well, thank you. Wes has us focusing on something a little different right now – hip hop. Don't laugh. Well, I say hip hop. It's really a fusion of random songs he has found covered by other acapella groups online which he had listened to religiously until he is able to transfer their melodies and harmonies to our arrangements and AS IF BY MAGIC, the next afternoon we're in the Senior Commons strutting to Bills Bills Bills. I do a mean Beyonce impersonation. Not. Still, it's fun. I like to get a little gangsta ever now and then. ;)
I hated reading how you didn't sing your heart out in a contest because of homophobic stupidity. Your father sounds wonderful and such a good guy so I'm sure he told you that you shouldn't worry and that you should do what you love. Be careful though. I do understand your wish to protect yourself – you need to be cautious. The same goes for the football guy. I'm pleased he seems to be distracted. You don't deserve to look over your shoulder at school. I know how that feels and it sucks. Keep that courage and remember that you have just as much right as he has to walk those corridors.
On a depressing note, my Dad's co-worker has tickets to see the Buckeyes. Ordinarily this news would have me rocking out to something awesome and digging out my team colors but not this time because (LUCKY ME) I have to attend the game with my dad's co-workers. This means Blaine on his best behaviour. I wish I had someone with me at these things, someone who I could roll my eyes at and just know they were on my side. Still, I get a free game out of it so that's a plus – right?
Unless it's another of my Dad's attempts at butching me up and reminding me 'what it is to be a man'...
Tell me about your week and never be afraid to talk to me about anything that's bothering you. I want to help. I often wish I had someone around to do that with so if you feel the same and trust me then I'd be honoured to be a friendly ear/eye : )
I know this may come across as creepy and/or weird and/or self indulgent and/or big headed but it isn't meant in any of those ways at all – I promise – but we had our head shots taken at school and we always get a set of four. I have one for our homeroom wall (it's a Dalton staple), one went to my Grandparents and the other to my parents who frame it and hang it above our fireplace leaving one spare. I know we said we wouldn't swap photographs of ourselves but our rules have all been ... complicated now so I presumed it would be ok.
I don't know what you'd do with it – gasp in shock at the cheesiness of it and hide it away back in this envelope never to be viewed again or perhaps you'll use it warn off birds... either way, I thought we could swap. Is that something you'd like to do?
I wanted to ask – how is your Dad? Is he recovering ok?
I'm now getting back to my Latin homework – yes, we do Latin at Dalton. Whereas you shall have a useful language in French to utilise on a day to day basis, I shall have mastered a dead language with absolutely no application in the modern world unless I deign to follow in my father's footsteps and study the law. Oh well...
Lorem velit,
Blaine
[SEE PICTURE FROM LINK]
November 10th
Mon Ami,
See my expert use of French in modern day? ;) I kid.
First off, you asked what I wore for our duet. It is possibly the most beautiful outfit I own and I WILL say so myself – oh yes! It's a custom made silver suit. I made it with my own fair and daily moistured hands, which people find shocking until I demonstrate the level of my fashion genius and then they understand! ;) I shall have to show you sometime... well, I mean I could send a photograph?
Urgh. Football. If the sounds that come from my Dad and Finn when they 'watch the game' together are anything to go by then I think my delicate eardrums are well protected as far away from those kinds of crowds as physically possible. These babies have to put up with Rachel's screeching on a day to day basis so they need their rest ...
Speaking of. How dare you? Friends? With Rachel? Never. I'd sell my D&G raincoat before I admit such a thing. All I will say is that she is mildly more tolerable recently... mildly. We do sound exceptional together though, that I will accept.
Back to football though. How did the game go? I hope you stood tall and scowled at the stuffed shirts. I could teach you a thing or two about the 'bitch please' glare – works like a treat, especially when you have to put up with Santana Lopez on a daily basis and even Noah Puckerman. You saw him, right? The guy's a mountain and guaranteed to say about a hundred potentially offensive things within an hour, which means he's not a stranger to the odd oblivious (or not) homophobic joke. He's not cruel, he's just an idiot. I've perfected a particular 'look' that I'm thinking about patenting...
Even though I'm not a massive fan of sport, I do have talent. I told you about my time in the school football team didn't I? Kurt Hummel: Kicker Extraordinaire. To be honest, watching sport takes away precious Next Top Model/Mad Men watching time but I am a fan of scarves and I understand they're part of the costume. Scarves are the easiest way to sass up an outfit.
Thank you for asking about my Dad. He's doing ok. Carole is ever the dutiful lady friend (she refuses to let me refer to her as my dad's 'girlfriend' as, in her words, 'when a woman can recall posters of The Osmonds on her wall as a girl then in 2010 she ceases to have the right to still refer to herself as one!' I asked 'who on Earth are The Osmonds?' and she rolled her eyes.) and I am keeping my beady eye on him. No longer does my father eat like a heathen. The doctor says he's doing well and he has people covering shifts at work so he can rest. We watched a movie together the other night and I think he liked spending time just the two of us. If he can put up with 'The Devil Wears Prada' (at one point he even said 'don't you have a jacket like that?') for me, he must be a dad worth keeping around, right? ;)
About 'him'. He's around more. I hate it but I can hardly change school and no matter how many ways I've imagined hiring a hit man or summoning some form of innate magical powers to expel him from reality, unfortunately I'm stuck with him in my life.
If I'm honest, it's getting to me. I won't let anyone at school see because I can't, can I? They barely even notice that other people exist beyond the little scope of their tragically twisted lives and incestuous relationships so I'm left to climb this hill alone. I have my Dad and Mercedes and dare I say it, Rachel. I have Finn too, I guess, when he's not tied up in his own silly excuse for a 'love life' or torturing himself over agonising decisions concerning football versus Glee. Yes, the age old struggle. God. 'He' cornered me in the corridor yesterday because apparently I was 'in his way'. Surely he could come up with something more creative. He names his fists. They're all the lowest form of humanity if you can even bestow such a title on them. I don't care what they do with their pathetic little lives but I just wish they'd disappear out of mine. What did I do to deserve being treated like dirt? Nothing. I wish I could just make them disappear.
MOVING ON.
Now feel special, Blaine, because I do NOT do this for anyone but Mercedes agreed to be my very own David Bailey. A couple of hours of Photoshop later and the enclosed is the result. You're not creepy at all and I wish I had a Preppy shot in a lovely Preppy blazer like yours but alas I do not so this is as good as you're going to get. My hair isn't right and I look slightly weird but my shirt is exceptional so silver lings etc : )
Use this to warn off birds though and you may end up writing to yourself. I suggest the most prominent place on your cork board. (Joking... why ever would you want THAT on your pin board?)
Your photo is very professional. I like the backdrop too. You look... dapper. You also look like you're trying to read my mind/staring into my soul... in a good way.
Anyway! Let me know how the game went!
Oh before I leave to go bowling with Mercedes (I have my personalised bowling shoes packed – my bedazzler is so very handy!), I thought we could start something. How about we ask random questions for the other to answer and then the other answers it in their letter? A kind of 'get to know you'? Mercedes and I only realised on Thursday that we were both enormous Grey's Anatomy fans and have scheduled a marathon night. We have been friends for so long now and NEVER KNEW THIS ABOUT EACH OTHER. I thought it might be nice to fill in some gaps or ask those questions you never really ask... what do you think? I'll go ahead and ask a question anyway.
Bien à toi,
Kurt
PS: How do you take your coffee? [Not that I'll ever need this information but, hey, it's like 'how do you take your eggs?' – it defines a person.]
[SEE PICTURE FROM LINK]
November 16th
Kurt,
This is a short one. I promise a typically long letter next time but it's our Mid Term time and I'm swamped. I can't even see my bedroom door through the books and papers. At our weekly Warblers study session today, I tried to start an impromptu number to lighten spirits and Wes kicked me out. Kicked. Me. Out.
I hope you're ok. Please don't think I'm being rude and skimming over your last letter. I will write as soon as my final exam is done at the end of this week. I promise. Please be safe. I mean, take care. At least know there's a caffeine buzzed stress head in lounge pants you'd cringe at sitting thinking of you. I hope it's ok to say that. Is it ok to say that?
Your photo... I don't think I can really comment because in my current state, I'm feeling overly emotional and a little on edge so I'm likely to say things I shouldn't. It is definitely on my cork board though, you'll be pleased to hear. Don't you dare comment on your hair – it's a thing to behold. In a good way.
The game was painful, long, tedious and tiring. I tried to zone out, I really did. Dad talked about my Summer job, the job I don't want which pinpoints the future I do not picture for myself. I haven't told anyone but I have an audition for a job at Six Flags next Summer. You're the only person I've told. The audition isn't for months but I don't know how to tell him so maybe I'll tell my mom first and she can break the news. Seeing the disappointment in his face is a little more than I can handle right now.
You need to patent your 'look' and let me have the rights. Teach me your wise ways, Kurt Hummel. I think I need them. I'm more of a 'smile and see how it goes' kind of guy... or I just gloss over it all and pretend the world's a beautiful place.
Expect another letter from me in a week. There's no need to reply to this one unless you want to!
Also, you'll notice that this is a parcel and not just a letter ;)
Per ardua ad astra,
Blaine
PS: Medium Drip. You can decide what that says about me.
PPS: Favourite childhood memory?
November 22nd
BLAINE ANDERSON YOU SENT ME A PRESENT.
Not a traditional opening to a letter, I know, but OH MY GOD. It's beautiful. I wore it to school today because the weather is perfect for a scarf so long and so warm. I have a diagonal button-up navy blue coat that looks so good with grey and apparently red too.
I'm a fan of stripes too. How did you know?
Your little note was... cute. Can I say THAT? So out of character for me. I'm shivering here at how cheesy that sounds but what the hell. It was. I may think like Anna Wintour and worship the ground that the late Alexander McQueen walked upon but that does not mean I wouldn't wear your present. You must be insane. The wool is EXPENSIVE, it's kind to my skin, it's so warm that I don't think I'll remove it all Winter and that is a great honor, Blaine. I never wear the same outfit twice.
I'll keep my eye on the mailbox for your next letter- I'm sure my Dad thinks I'm intercepting suspicious post. I'm sure he's onto my subscription to that bondage wear website but, like I said, he wouldn't understand that it is purely for fashion purposes. I mean, god. I don't go on websites like... THAT for THOSE things.
Don't worry, you can say whatever you wish. Thank you for what you said. It does mean a lot even if it is a shock to the system to hear things like that. I'm lucky to have someone to talk to who is... like you.
Good luck with all of your midterms.
Votre ami dévoué,
Kurt
PS: Can I answer that question in my next letter, please? I want to write my story in full.
PPS: What is your chat handle? FYI: getoffofmyrunway : )
~TBC
Extra Information :
If ANY of this is wrong, blame my useless job application addled brain and Google ;)
- I know many of you will already know these but I'm including them JUST incase!
Lorem velit – best wishes (Latin)
Mon Ami – My friend (French)
Bien à toi – Best Wishes (French)
Per ardua ad astra – Through difficulties to the stars (Latin)
Votre ami dévoué – Your Devoted Friend (French) [this may technically be a little bit wrong, I apologise if so]
