Same warnings/disclosures from Chapter 1.
Paul had no right to be angry with Kurt. Okay, Kurt supposed, Paul's job sort of depended on Kurt having a job, and Kurt having a job sort of depended on Kurt getting plastic surgery, but that was so not fair! He shouldn't have to change the way he looked just so he could model! That's what was wrong with the media, he decided. Too many people were obsessed with looking pretty. Someone needed to stand up and Embrace The Ugly.
Kurt sighed because that person was so not about to be him.
Hanging up his phone forcefully after a conversation with Paul, he glanced over at the calendar on his fridge. It was the 19th of September, giving him exactly 20 days until the Cosmo shoot, and he hadn't taken one single step towards even setting up an appointment with a plastic surgeon. Recovery took at least 3 weeks, so he could've probably just called the whole ordeal off then and there. So much for his dream of modeling with Rick Genest. So much for his anything.
Kurt slumped into a chair in the dining room and grabbed an apple from the centerpiece, but to be honest, he had no appetite.
What would he do if he couldn't model? Sure, if he didn't go crazy with his money, he'd be set for life, but he couldn't just not work for the next 60 to 80 years. Even the parties would turn boring, and that might even happen before he'd stop getting invited to them because nobody wants a Has Been at their party.
Kurt couldn't go work some lame, middle class job. He had no experience whatsoever with any useful skills, and besides that, the thought terrified him. Working a cash register or delivering people's mail? That wasn't something Kurt Hummel did. He once heard that one of the kids from The Little Rascals grew up to work in Walmart, and the idea that he might resort to that made him sick to his stomach.
He could be someone else's personal assistant like Paul was for him, but then he'd still be around all the same people but working a not as prestigious job, and that would just be humiliating.
Kurt took a bite of the apple, but it was sour, so he got up to spit it out in the trash along with the rest of it. He walked back over to the centerpiece, carried it over to the trashcan and dumped out all the fruit that had been sitting in it. He suddenly felt a little sad about it because that's all Kurt was really: sour fruit. It still had all the nutritional value, he guessed, but was a few days past ripe, and no one really wanted anything that was old news.
Not even Blaine had called or texted Kurt in a week. Granted, Kurt hadn't really made an effort to contact him either, and he'd sort've been a total ass the last time they'd hung out, but this whole 'friendship' thing was falling to pieces.
Wow. Kurt couldn't even maintain one, solid friendship. What a complete failure.
He went back to bed and slept until the next day.
Friday morning, Kurt was feeling rather spontaneous. He was sick of sitting around the house all day, feeling sorry for himself, and he decided to get up extra early and do something fun and productive for a change. Maybe it was the cooler weather or the America's Next Top Model episode that had been on before he went to sleep, but Kurt was actually in a good mood.
After a super healthy breakfast, because let's be real, Kurt had been eating more junk food in the past couple weeks than he had in his whole life combined, he slipped on some shorts, a t-shirt, plugged his iPod's headphones into his ears and went for a run.
The breeze rushed past him, and Kurt felt like he was flying. It was still particularly warmer than he liked, but even his sweat wasn't going to stop him. For the first time in months, Kurt was hopeful. Something good was going to come out of this, and he just knew it. He ran past a high school and some ladies walking their dogs, and he literally smiled at whoever he saw. Though he kept those feelings of sadness and disappointment, they were buried too far inside of him for them to have any affect on his current thoughts.
When he got got home, he took a shower, got dressed, and called Finn. He didn't even realize he was doing it until he phone was next to his ear, ringing.
"Hey Kurt," Finn answered. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong, Finn! Why do you assume that right off the back?" Kurt took a seat, crossed-legged on the couch in his entertainment room.
"Uh, cause that's usually the only reason you call..."
"It is not!"
"Sorry, bro," Finn laughed. "What's up? How have you been?"
"It's irrelevant," Kurt said. "What really matters is how I'm feeling today. Which is great! In fact, I think I may watch Across The Universe and pour myself a drink."
"That's great, dude. I'm happy for you."
"Yes, well I was thinking..." Kurt continued. "You should come out and visit me sometime. You haven't been out here since I moved into my new house, and quite frankly, I don't even think I can call it new anymore. And the weather here is much more delightful than Ohio around this time of year."
Finn sighed. "You know it's hard for me..."
Kurt did feel bad for Finn sometimes. After Carol started the medicine for her PTSD, she had a hard time taking care of herself, and Finn still lived with her to make sure she coped well. Besides Kurt, she had been the one to take the death of his father the hardest.
"Mom can come out too," Kurt suggested, using a term for Carol that he hardly ever did, but he knew Finn liked it when he called her that. "I have plenty of guest rooms, and you can stay as long as you like. We can go to La Jolla and see the seals. I know how much Mom likes that."
"Yeah," Finn answered, but it wasn't nearly as excited as Kurt had been hoping for. "I'll talk to her about it. And I'll check and see how many days of work I'm allowed to take off for the rest of this year."
"Okay," Kurt responded, starting to feel bummed again. "Let me know then."
"I will. And Kurt?"
"Hm?"
"Thanks for calling."
"Yeah," Kurt responded before hanging up his phone. He reminded himself that this wasn't the end of his happiness streak - it was merely a bump in the road. He could get over this.
Kurt then drove down to Rodeo and went shopping for a couple hours. His good mood came right back as soon as he was in Ralph Lauren trying on sweaters and scarves and spending ridiculous amounts of money on clothes. He loved clothing: picking it out, mixing and matching it, and he even had a small collection of drawings for clothes that were completely made up by him. Something about fashion had always been so intriguing to him, even when he was buying knockoffs and lookalikes in high school.
Before he went back to his car, Kurt stopped by Brooks Brothers to pick out something for Finn. He'd found a nice pair of dress trousers and was proceeding to check out when the most perfect gold and red bow tie caught his eye. Kurt had never been the biggest fan of bows himself, but from what he'd seen of Blaine's wardrobe, they were pretty prominent, and he just had to buy it.
This also gave Kurt an idea for how he would spend the rest of his day, but it definitely required some pride sucking up first.
He made the phone call to Blaine when he got back to his house and walked into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of white wine.
"Hello," Blaine answered. It was formal, but Kurt definitely supposed that's how Blaine answered the phone for everyone he knew.
"Hey Blaine," Kurt began, taking a cup down from his cabinet. "How have you been?"
"Fairly well," Blaine answered, still so simultaneously formal and relaxed. "And you?"
"I wasn't having the best week, to be honest. But then today I just woke up and decided: Kurt, today will be a good day. So I've made it one." Kurt knew he was pushing it by hoping that they could just not talk about the last time they'd seen each other, but at least for now, he knew he'd be okay.
"Sounds awesome," Blaine chuckled. "And how have you accomplished that all before 2 in the afternoon?"
"Well," Kurt began, twisting off the top on the wine, "I woke up early and went for a run. I took a shower, called my brother, and then went shopping. And now I'm pouring myself a glass of wine!"
Blaine laughed out now, but never harshly. "Why am I not surprised?"
"I'll just have one glass," Kurt informed him and then realized how unrealistic that was. "For now."
"Well good for you," Blaine said, and it sounded so honest, and maybe he really did care about Kurt. Even just a little.
Kurt took a sip after he poured himself a glass and tried to conceal a smile, despite the fact that Blaine couldn't see it anyway. "So I may be wrong, but if I remember correctly, it's my turn in 20 Questions..."
"Oh my gosh," Blaine laughed again. "How do you even keep up with that game? We started playing like 2 weeks ago..."
"I think they call it an elephant's memory or something...?"
"That must be it," Blaine agreed jokingly. "What's the question?"
In Kurt's mind, he was formulating his best plan yet. He still hadn't paid Blaine back for all the shit he'd given him and the hell he'd raised, and he doubted he'd ever be able to do so, especially owing Blaine his life, but he needed to do something for him. And while a bow tie was lovely, it wasn't going to be enough. "What are your plans for tonight?"
"Hmm..." Blaine seemed to think about the question. "Whatever they would have been, I feel like they are about to change drastically."
Though Kurt tried, he couldn't hide his laughter. "Right you are, my friend. I know you've been having a rough week with your new clients, so tonight I'm taking you on a night out."
Blaine paused, and Kurt bit back a smile in anticipation.
"That sounds lovely, Kurt, but-"
"It's not what you think!" Kurt assured him. "Trust me. I've done a little research on the cancer sign, and from what I understand, you guys eat this shit up. You'll love it."
"...Should I be worried?"
"Only if you don't trust me!" Kurt knew Blaine had no reason or right to trust him, but once he saw what Kurt had in mind, he would definitely have to. Kurt was practically light-headed with excitement.
It was another moment before Blaine responded. "Told you astrology was a real thing."
"I'll deny it 'til the day I die," Kurt grinned. Blaine hadn't said no which meant he was at least thinking about it!
"I don't suppose you're gonna tell me what exactly this night out entails, are you?"
"It's a surprise, Blaine," Kurt said, having completely forgotten about his drink sitting on the counter. "But like, a really, really cool surprise."
"Then I guess I'm really, really excited to find out what it is."
Kurt put his hand over his mouth so Blaine wouldn't hear his squeal of joy. "So does that mean yes?"
"Don't make me regret it, Kurt," Blaine joked even though, well, Kurt probably did have a record of making people regret doing things, namely Blaine.
"I won't!" he exclaimed quickly. "Blaine's Night Out starts an hour before sundown."
"Wait. What?"
"Don't worry about it," Kurt added. "I'll pick you up just before six. Wear something casual."
"Kurt, now you're really scaring me," Blaine pointed out cautiously.
"Trust me."
"Do I have any other choice?"
"Nope!"
"Figured."
"See you tonight, Blaine," Kurt smiled goofily. He couldn't even try to stop himself. He didn't even want to.
"See ya, Kurt," Blaine said, and Kurt hung up his phone.
Pouring his glass of wine down the sink and screwing the top back on, Kurt shook with excitement. He didn't need alcohol to make him happy today at all! His date with Blaine was doing that by itself.
And okay, maybe it wasn't a date. But perhaps Kurt liked it that way. For now at least, it seemed like the best option. They could hang out, maybe go to some romantic place that Kurt had in mind, and not have to worry about commitment. It was pretty much the best deal ever, but it still have him a sort of butterfly feeling in his stomach. It couldn't be nerves though, Kurt convinced himself. He couldn't be nervous! It was Blaine.
He really had a lot to do in four hours however, and couldn't think about it much longer. He went to get ready for the night.
Kurt didn't know much about casual wear, but he decided it was just like dressing fancy, except removing a few accessories. Since he could decipher the difference between pleather and leather at the age of six, he'd known fashion was important. It was one of the reasons modeling was so fascinating to him. But getting ready for his non-date with Blaine was a little trickier.
By the time he got out to his car, he'd settled with a pair of black skinny jeans that unashamedly made his ass look perfect, a light blue t-shirt without the matching vest, and his absolute favorite pair of Frye black leather ankle boots, the medical boot finally able to come off. That, along with the fact that the cuts and bruises on his face had mostly healed up, made it so he couldn't help but feel good about himself.
When he arrived at Blaine's house, and Blaine got in the passenger seat, Kurt's smile was probably too big to seem real, even though it totally was.
"I know you said to trust you, but..."
"No buts!" Kurt explained, turning his car back into drive. "You either trust me or you don't. And if you don't, go on and get out now. But I'm going to Blaine's Night Out with or without you."
"Fine, fine!" Blaine laughed. "I trust you!"
Kurt narrowed his eyes at him, locking the stare for a few moments, and pressed quickly and heavily on the gas to jerk the car a few inches forward.
Blaine didn't flinch and simply raised an eyebrow. "Is that all you've got?"
"It's a half-hour drive, Blaine," Kurt responded. "Can you think of all the places we could end up at in thirty minutes? And you're just letting me take you there with no other clue?"
"Like I said," Blaine bit his bottom lip. "I trust you."
"It's your funeral."
Blaine laughed and sat back in his chair to buckle his seat belt.
Resting his hands on the wheel, Kurt looked at Blaine and really couldn't control his excitement. "Hey, can you do me a favor and open up the glovebox."
Blaine nodded and reached forward, opening up the compartment and asking Kurt what it is he needed.
"Oh, um, can you just take out the like, little blue box on the top?"
When Blaine went to hand it to Kurt, Kurt just shook his head, biting his lip to stop himself from grinning like a fool. "I don't want it," Kurt said.
"But..." Blaine raised an eyebrow.
And then finally, got to say what he'd been waiting for. "It's for you, silly!" There wasn't a lot that Kurt got to give other people since he was so used to getting things instead, but just seeing Blaine's face light up in surprise, confusing, and a little bit of excitement was worth it all.
Hesitantly, Blaine opened the box, looking at Kurt the whole time. When he finally did look down, his jaw slightly dropped and he cooed, "Aww. Kurt. This is so cute! But you didn't have to-"
"Shut up," Kurt rolled his eyes and was pretty sure if there was an Olympic medal for trying not to smile, he would come in very last place. "I wanted to. Plus your obsession is pretty gross."
Blaine smacked his lips and looked up with a half grin. "And you wanted to feed that? How perfectly sick of you."
Kurt just bit his lip, rolled his eyes, and began driving.
On the ride there, Blaine talked most of the way. His current clients seemed to be really pleased with his work, and the more they talked about him to their friends and family, the more out there his name would become. Since he was freelancing, really, his profit came almost solely from talk and free promotion his clients gave him.
Kurt could tell Blaine liked his worked, and as someone who was right out of college, he was doing a mighty fine job of it on his own. But there was something there, something that Kurt noticed about his tone, that gave Blaine away as being a little resentful of it. Maybe Kurt was just noticing nonexistent things, he thought, but Blaine seemed like the kind of guy that, if given the right topic, wouldn't be able to stop gushing over it. Interior design wasn't that topic.
"So when you finish up with these people, when do you get your next job?" Kurt asked, about five minutes away from where they were headed.
Blaine shrugged. "It could be anywhere from a couple days to a couple months. It depends on a whole bunch of things really: the market, the season..."
"What if I hired you to come do my house?" Kurt asked excitedly. He had no idea where that idea had come from, but all of a sudden, there it was, and it was perfect!
"Y-your house?"
Kurt began to worry that maybe Blaine didn't think it was so perfect after all, but he nodded.
"But," Blaine began, a little choked up, "but your house is so beautiful already! I don't wanna, I mean, I'm not going to mess it up or anything. You don't have to let me do that, Kurt."
"I want you to do it, Blaine," Kurt answered honestly. "My house is so boring and so totally not me at all. I've been itching for a change for a while now. And you're the best interior designer I know!"
"I'm flattered, Kurt, but-"
"We'd have to discuss your pay of course," Kurt continued, ignoring Blaine's protest. "I'd expect some sort of discount because we know each other so well. And it won't be the easiest job ever because I can be extremely picky when I want to be."
"Kurt-"
"Blaine," Kurt smiled sweetly at him, trying to get him to just shut up for a second. But all he could see was hazel, hazel, hazel eyes.
Blaine broke the gaze, coughing and informing Kurt that the red light had turned green. "Wait. We're not going where I think we're going, are we?"
"It depends," Kurt said. "Where do you think we're going?"
"Mulholland Drive..."
"Oh, then yes," Kurt smiled. "We are going where you think we're going. But probably not where you think we'll be going once we get to where we are going."
"Huh?"
Kurt laughed and kept on driving.
A/N: Thank you for reading! This chapter was initially twice this long, but I've decided to cut it in half, so expect the next chapter up in a couple days.
This is where Kurt and Blaine are headed by the way (just take out the parenthesis):
mikelehn(.)com(/)images(/)mulholland-drive-view3-800w(.)jpg
Well, that's where Blaine thinks they're going ;)
