Author's Note: Oh my Rowling, it has been ages since I've updated. I'm sorry, guys! I was busy travelling around Florida (still am), and I didn't have any internet connection. I did go to the Wizarding World, though, so that was absolutely amazing.

In any case, I'm sure all of you heard that New York legalized gay marriage, which is fantastic! I'm glad people are taking a step in the right direction. There should totally be a Glee spin-off where Blaine and Kurt go to college in New York and get married. Yup.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. There's a bit of drama in it, so that should be exciting. Also: a huge thank you to my beta, Percival Jones. You are lovely.

Chapter Seven

The first rehearsal was planned for Saturday. They had agreed to take turns driving over to the musicals for practices. It seemed like the general schedule was four days a week plus one to be announced. Of course, Dalton schooldays finished earlier than some other schools, so they'd even have thirty minutes before they'd have to leave to go to rehearsals. At least that…

"So, how's this William guy?" Blaine and Kurt sat outside on a bench. Both of them needed a break from studying. Kurt looked over at the sky, which was smeared with shades of pink and purple as the sun set.

"He seems pretty nice. We couldn't talk for more than an hour, but we actually figured out that we have some things in common."

"Oh?" There was something about the way he said it. Blaine's voice sounded tight – almost annoyed. But why would he be?

"Blaine, you alright?" Blaine looked over at him, and the small scowl melted off of his face.

"Yeah, sorry. I'm just… distracted, I suppose."

"First rehearsals tomorrow – it's a big day for all of us."

"Uh-huh, so what did you and William talk about?" Why was Blaine acting so odd? He seemed so fixated on William, and the way he was asking the questions almost made Kurt feel uncomfortable. It was all rather uncharacteristic of Blaine.

"I mean, he was also bullied at school because he's gay. We kind of talked about that for a bit. And he's interested in fashion, so we got off on a tangent or two about that. I dunno. But he seems to be a great guy." Blaine nodded.

"Well, that's exciting at least that you're already making friends with other people in the cast." He still sounded slightly irritated.

"I'm sure you'll make friends with them quickly. And at least you and Faith are Roger and Mimi. I mean, that has to be exciting, right?" At that, Blaine snorted, and Kurt jumped at the sound. He stared in bewilderment as Blaine pulled his legs to his chest and glared at the floor. "Blaine? Is everything alright?"

"No." Well, at least he didn't try to blame it on distractions this time.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't want to unload on you. I – You don't deserve that." Of course he'd say something like that. Kurt smiled sympathetically and scooted closer to Blaine.

"You wouldn't be bothering me, honestly. After all, you've heard me complain about life at McKinley and –"

"I don't want to talk about it." Oh, so that was it. The smile slid off of his face and Kurt looked down at his shoes. Why would Blaine want to trust him?

"Oh, I mean, it is your life. I didn't meant to intrude or pry or anything." He felt stupid and frustrated.

"No, really, this has nothing to do with you. God, this isn't how I imagined hanging out with you. I wanted to get my mind off of this crap." If he had wanted to get his mind off of it, then he shouldn't have acted like he did. Although, maybe he couldn't help himself. Kurt's head hurt and mostly he wanted to get away from Blaine.

"Then what do you want, Blaine? You act like you want me to ask what's wrong and then when I ask it, you tell me that you don't want to talk about it." His fingers flexed as he let out a shaky breath.

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." Blaine's voice cracked, and Kurt looked up. Blaine was blinking rapidly, tears forming in his eyes. He swallowed thickly, unsure what to do and how to react.

"Blaine…"

"I can't tell you. You'd hate me."

"It can't be that bad." Blaine let out a bitter laugh.

"You'd lose a lot of respect for me then." Whatever it was, it clearly wasn't something trivial. Although, he wasn't sure why Blaine thought he'd judge him that much. But Blaine looked like he was going to break down, like he needed some sign of comfort. Kurt reached out with his hand, laying on top of Blaine's.

"Faith and I were arguing about something," Blaine said after a pause. "And I think she's right." Kurt wasn't sure how to respond to that. It seemed pretty straightforward then.

"Well, then shouldn't you just listen to her?"

"It's not that simple. I want to, but I can't." Kurt moved away his hand and moved it to his pants, smoothing out the creases.

"I don't know what to tell you if I don't even know what it's about." Blaine was asking for his help but refusing to tell him anything.

"I – I can't, Kurt." Was that all he was going to say? Kurt threw his hands up.

"Then I can't help you." But then he looked over to see Blaine crying. His hands were curled up into tight fists and he was leaning over, his shoulders shaking. His cheeks were wet and he was biting on his lower lip, desperately trying to keep in any sound. Kurt sat staring at him in shock for a moment or two.

"Can you just hug me and tell me it'll all be alright or something?" The request sounded somewhat childish and had it been anyone else, Kurt would have said no. But this was Blaine, and as he looked at him, watching fat tears slide down his face, he couldn't find it in him to say no.

Kurt reached, pulling Blaine against him. He felt the moisture as Blaine's face pressed against his neck, but he simply squeezed more tightly. One hand slipped down from his back and went to Blaine's. Blaine's fingers reached out, entwining with his, and Kurt could feel the calluses on Blaine's hand. Blaine nuzzled further against him, and though the position was awkward and uncomfortable as they sat there, Kurt held it. "It's going to be alright," he finally whispered, biting back tears of his own as his heart ached. "It's going to be alright."

KBKBKBK

Kurt fiddled with the button on his coat. It was the first rehearsal. It all felt so surreal, standing on stage with the script in hand. He was going to play Angel in RENT. He was going to be in a musical. He was sure he was going to wake up any second to find out that none of this had ever happened.

There was a guy who looked unfamiliar standing alone, arms crossed over his chest and a small sneer on his face. He was wearing some sort of horrid green-gray sweater vest, and his blond hair was slicked back. Well, Kurt knew everyone in the main cast except for whoever played Mark and he'd already tried talking to a few of the minor characters. Kurt had actually been surprised that Tina had gotten a role. Of course, she was just one of the voicemails, but still.

Kurt walked over to the boy, feeling some sort of necessity to introduce himself. "Hi, I'm Kurt." The boy looked at him kind of sourly.

"Ryan Jacobs." Kurt nodded; the name was familiar from the cast list.

"Mark?"

"Yes." The boy paused before adding, "And you?" Kurt didn't like the way he looked at him, as if Ryan felt like he was inferior.

"Angel."

"Oh, shame." What did he mean by that?

"Shame?"

"Oh, I mean, Angel almost could be considered a minor character. I mean, everyone's minor compared to Mark. He's basically like the lead role." Kurt tried to avoid the urge to just walk away and leave Ryan by himself again. No wonder anyone wasn't talking to him.

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, Angel dies in the second act. He has a brief moment of glory, but Mark's almost in every scene. He's recording it all, you see. And he's friends with Collins, whom Angel is dat –"

"Yeah, I've seen RENT multiple times. I know how it goes." It was impossible for Kurt to keep some level of disgust and annoyance out of his voice. Who did this guy think he was? Ryan was treating him like he was some sort of idiot.

"But you didn't seem to understand why I thought Mark was the main character." A part of him just wanted to slap this guy. He really was full of himself, wasn't he?

"I just think that other people are just as crucial to the story line as Mark," Kurt choked out through gritted teeth.

"Funny. Say, which high school are you from?" Kurt almost said McKinley.

"Dalton." He paused before grudgingly adding, "You?"

"Carmel. I'm sure you've heard of Vocal Adrenaline. I'm surprised Jesse didn't join in try out. Though he's lead vocals, so I suppose he's too busy… He's going to lead us to our fourth year nationals for sure. We're simply bound to win."

"Hmm…" Kurt could barely keep himself from yelling at Ryan and storming away. I'm not going to start off on the wrong foot, he told himself. This boy was more obnoxious than anyone he'd ever met. How anyone's ego could be this inflated was beyond Kurt. "Well, I'm going to go talk to my friend now. Nice meeting you." About as nice as your horrid outfit

"I suppose it was nice." Kurt walked away, fuming. The thought of having to spend weeks with him rehearsing RENT was not exactly a nice one.

"Kurt!" Kurt turned to see Rachel, smiling and waving at him. By comparison, Rachel as modest as it got. Kurt straightened himself and walked over to her. "This is all rather exciting, isn't it?"

"Other than that Ryan guy, yes," Kurt replied, throwing a glance at Ryan. He was standing by himself again, looking out over everyone – surely mentally judging them.

"He told me that I was sweet and he would enjoy beating us at Regionals. I wasn't sure whether to take it as a compliment or not, but now I'm simply determined to beat them when we get there." She scowled for a moment before shaking her head and changing subject back to RENT. "I never got a chance to congratulate you."

"On what?" His brow furrowed.

"Getting the part. You'll make a fantastic Angel. I mean, both of you are divas to a certain extent. I don't know. I think you'll be fantastic." Kurt couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you, Rachel. You'll be a great Maureen as well."

"Thanks. It'll be the beginning of a long musical career, I'm hoping. And it is one of my personal favorites. Although, I'm not too sure how it'll work with Santana as Joanne. Joanne is so sweet, and Santana is – well –" As if on cue, Santana being shrieking.

"Who are you calling decent?" Santana was facing a rather unperturbed-looking Ryan, looking as if she was about to attack him.

"I should stop her," Rachel said, looking irked. "I'll talk to you later, Kurt." With that, she left. Kurt looked over to see William walking over to him.

"Quite a scene," he said, motioning to Santana, who was currently facing Rachel and pushing her backwards.

"Yeah, it is." Kurt was glad that William had been able to provide him some sort of excuse to keep from going over there and trying to stop Santana.

"I can't believe this is actually happening. Pinch me. Actually, don't. I have a low pain tolerance," William rambled, looking around at the groups of people. Kurt laughed and nodded. At least he wasn't the only one. "Although, I feel kind out of place."

"Oh?"

"I only really know Marissa. She's one of the minor characters, and I don't really know her too well anyway." Well, that was strange. Kurt side-glanced as Santana walked over to the other side of the stage, rolling her eyes. Still, his eyes moved back to William and he continued their conversation.

"Did no one from your glee club try out?"

"Nah, Gateway doesn't have a glee club. And I don't think that many people knew about it." Before they could continue talking, Bill came out, clapping his hands and trying to get their attention.

"Alright, we have a lot to do, so best get on it. We're going to read through the entire script and sing through the songs. Just ignore the stage directions. It might be slightly weird for some of you at first, but, trust me, after the first half hour, that'll all drop away." He smiled at them all.

"Now, I'm going to assume that all of you have seen RENT. Fess up now if you haven't. It'd be worst if we got to your song and you failed," Bill said. No one said anything. "Good! You kids actually did your homework." He looked rather pleased. "Ryan, you're going to start us off, setting the scene, and we'll be off."

KBKBKBK

All in all, Kurt had thought it had gone over well. He came home utterly exhausted and had simply collapsed on the couch, but he was happy. Bill didn't stop them more than a few times to make a handful of comments, but he let them go through the play, surveying them. He said he wanted to get a feel for how they interacted and what he was going to need to work on.

I'll Cover You had gone over quite well, Kurt thought. Of course, it wasn't nearly as amazing as it had been with Blaine, but maybe when William and he started to move around, they'd find some sort of spark. At least he hoped so. Their singing had been good, but it was lacking the power of those emotions that Angel and Collins had felt. Then again, he didn't like William the way he liked Blaine.

But overall it had been a happy experience. Ryan had caused a problem or two, sometimes trying to overpower everyone else, something Bill had persistently reminded him not to do. "You're not the star of the show. Your voices need to all work together," Bill had said. Kurt couldn't help but smirk even remembering the horrified expression Ryan had made.

Kurt lay in bed, snuggled up against his comforter. Tomorrow he was going to try to see William again. It was nice that they were already developing some sort of friendship. Even if William was a bit socially awkward, he was honestly just trying to get to know him. And at least Kurt knew he was going to have some sort of connection to the person who played Collins. That would have been horrible if they didn't talk outside of rehearsals. How was he supposed to act love with a person he didn't know?

But then again, Blaine hadn't seemed too happy with it. Though he had been distracted thinking about – well, whatever he and Faith had argued about. Blaine had acted like nothing unusual had happened in their conversation, and Kurt hadn't wanted to bring up that conversation again. After they had hugged, Blaine had thanked him and practically ran off. Kurt had gone back to his dorm room – thankfully, unoccupied by Richard – and simply lay on his bed, trying not to cry.

It hurt even now thinking about it. Blaine wasn't a bad person – of course not – but Kurt wasn't sure whether he could take it. It had felt almost intimate holding hands and hugging him. Hell, not even almost. It had been intimate. They had just sat there like that for a full minute, pressed against each other, Blaine crying into his shoulder. All Kurt had wanted to do was make the pain go away, but he wasn't even able to do that. Blaine had run away from him continuing to cry.

And at least if he would have apologized and said something like, "I wasn't rational," Kurt might have been able to brush it off. But Blaine had simply given him that puppy smile and waved at him the next day as if he hadn't cried in his arms or fallen apart in front of him. It was as if nothing had happened. There wasn't even a thank you.

I'm going to bring it up. Kurt wanted to. He really did, and he kept on telling himself that, but he just couldn't. What if Blaine got angry at him? Or what if he broke down again? Kurt was even beginning to doubt that it had happened at all. If the feel of Blaine pressed against him wasn't so incredibly vivid in his memory, he would have been sure it was all some strange dream.

But he had spent the last few nights agonizing over that. "I'm going to be happy," Kurt muttered aloud, trying to think about RENT again. True, there was no use in replaying that scene over and over again in his mind, trying to rework it so somehow Blaine left happy. Not like he could help it…

RENT – he simply had to think about RENT. He was going to play Angel. The thought still brought a thrill through him. Kurt could even picture the audience brought to tears as the reprise of I'll Cover You played. It was impossible not to smile. Sure, it wasn't like it was a well-known theatre, but it was still a beginning.

KBKBKBK

Kurt dragged his feet down the hall, yawning. He had been reading over his lines obsessively. His plan was to memorize them as soon as possible. William had agreed and gone out with him and practice, but after a while they had gotten distracted. And tomorrow he'd be out late with rehearsals again. Kurt desperately needed his beauty sleep.

Pausing outside of the door, he heard some girl's voice coming out from the room. "You don't understand." Kurt froze, his hand hovering above the door handle. That was Faith.

"What don't I understand? I love you and you love me. Screw Blaine."

"I can't do that to him. He needs me. He'd die if I abandoned him, Rich." Kurt heard someone snort, probably Richard.

"So, this is just going to stay 'our little secret' still, huh?"

"Please don't be angry. You know that I really do care about you, right?" There was a pause, where Kurt heard someone fall back against the bed, laughter, and then kissing sounds. Faith was cheating on Blaine. Oh my God. Kurt's head felt like it was spinning. What was he going to do? What was he going to tell Blaine? This had to have been what they were arguing about. I'll bet Faith convinced him she wasn't cheating.

As soon as he heard the bed creak – hopefully they were moving apart – Kurt knocked on the door.

"Shit, do you think he –" Kurt heard Richard muttered. But then Faith coughed and Richard added, "Come in." Kurt came in to see Faith sitting on his bed and Richard sitting on his own. They were scooted as far apart as possible, feigning innocence.

Putting on his best fake smile, Kurt asked, "So, what brings you here, Faith?" She gave a small, nervous laugh.

"Richard and I are actually pretty good friends. We stretch back way before Dalton." Yeah, does the whole cheating thing stretch back too? But Kurt simply continued smiling and nodded.

"Cool." How was he going to tell Blaine? Was he going to tell Blaine? A knot formed in Kurt's throat as he wondered what the hell he should do.


GASP. Thoughts? Concerns?

So, how many of you are Starkid fans? ;)