Chapter Ten
Lost in Translation
If a stranger were to peer into the window of the Hummel-Hudson household, specifically the one looking into the living room, they would see quite a strange sight. Burt, Carole, and Kurt sat on the couch drinking out of their respectable mugs of coffee and green tea. Sitting opposite them, in the squashy loveseat that Finn and Rachel usually occupied, were Sebastian and Blaine, drinking tiny cans of Sprite and Coca-Cola.
"How was the movie?" Burt asked Kurt pointedly, raising his eyebrows. Translation: why are there two celebrities in my living room?
Kurt responded meekly, "It was really refreshing to see The Little Mermaid again." He shrugged and pursed his lips for a moment. Translation: it's kind of a long story, Dad.
Burt was relentless. He turned to Blaine and said, "You're the boy on the posters on Kurt's wall, aren't you!"
Kurt made a slicing gesture across his throat with his index finger rapidly. Translation: cut it out! Shut up! Any other variation of those phrases that could possibly quiet you down!
Blaine smiled sheepishly. "I suppose I am. You have a lovely home, by the way," he added, addressing Carole.
Carole smiled, already charmed by Blaine. "Thank you."
"Are you a huge football fan, Mr. Hummel?" Sebastian interjected, not to be outdone.
Burt looked surprised by his outburst but nodded. "You know, Finn played football."
"You don't say," Sebastian remarked.
Carole chose that particular moment to pipe in, "So did Kurt."
Blaine, shocked, turned to an embarrassed Kurt. "You did?"
"Once," he amended, shooting Burt and Carole his signature glare. "But we don't need to talk about tha-"
"He's also a cheerleader," Burt added. "Yep. I'll say he's the best male cheerleader McKinley's ever had."
Sebastian nearly did a Sprite spit-take. "You're a cheerleader?" he gasped.
Kurt shrugged, crossing his legs gracefully. "I dabble," he allowed. "Now, it's getting late, and I'm sure that Blaine and Sebastian have better things to do than hear stories about my, er, past and possibly present extracurriculars."
Blaine pulled out a silver pocket watch from his back pocket, frowning. "You're right," he said slowly, "Kurt. It's late enough as it is, and I'm sure Pierce - our manager - is worried sick about our well-being. Sebastian and I had better head off now."
"You boys are so nice. Come back anytime," Carole said with a smile.
Blaine, Sebastian, and Kurt headed for the door. Burt had enough sense to leave his son to it.
"Well, it's been really fun," Kurt stated. "How many days do you have left here?"
"Six," Blaine replied quickly. "I don't mean to sound so eager, but I would love to see you again."
"So would I." Sebastian glared at Blaine briefly before adding, "Maybe we could even go on a date."
Silence met Sebastian's statement.
"Well," Sebastian attempted to amend, "if you'd want to go on a date with me, I'd be happy to take you out on a date with me, because I'd love to take you out."
Blaine also said, "Just like the picture said, Kurt. I'd like to see you again." He smiled warmly.
Kurt was too stunned for words. He had Sebastian Smythe babbling in a valiant attempt to ask him out, while Blaine freaking Anderson was asking to spend more time with him. His right hand quickly shot up to his left arm and pinched the sensitive skin there roughly.
"Ouch!" Kurt yelped. Noticing the two had looked confused, he asked, "If you don't mind me asking, could I add your numbers to my phone? That way we can schedule our next meetings properly."
"Uh," Sebastian replied dubiously, "okay." He neglected to mention that he wanted a prompt response to his date inquiry as he added himself into Kurt's phone.
Blaine grinned. He responded, feeling rather bubbly all over, "All right."
While Blaine added himself to Kurt's contact list, Kurt used Blaine's cell phone to call for a taxi. When the two superstars finally said goodbye and left, Kurt chewed worriedly on the inside of his cheek.
In past crises, depending on the seriousness, he'd made a group call with his best girls for advice. But now, with the current situation at hand, he needed to confide in someone he'd always trusted, someone who he knew would give him the proper guidance in such complex times. His best, and most fabulous, adviser.
"Mercedes?" Kurt said into his iPhone. "You'll never believe what happened tonight."
The taxi driver was either on a hallucinogen, drunk, or simply could not comprehend the difference between a red and green traffic light.
"Slow down," Blaine pleaded.
The driver took another quick turn, almost fishtailing into the next lane and into the path of a two by four. The motion caused Blaine to slam his lower body against Sebastian's.
"Sorry," he apologized.
Smythe snapped, "Save it, Anderson." He leaned forward as cautiously as he could and brandished a fifty to the driver. "Slow down, por favor."
The rest of the ride was calmer. Apparently the driver used an unsafe gimmick to wheedle more money out of passengers. Go figure.
As soon as they'd left the taxi, paying three times the amount that they would have if they had a normal driver, Sebastian stormed up to the room.
"Don't even bother apologizing," he snapped when Blaine attempted to make conversation. "You've already done enough tonight."
Before Sebastian could slam the door in his face, his glare softened significantly. In a vulnerable voice that Blaine had never heard before from Sebastian, he asked, "What did I ever do to you?"
Blaine mentally tried to count all of the terrible things Sebastian had ever done to him. What did he even do, anyway? Gotten a date with Kurt? Became more successful than Blaine? Allowed him on his concert tour as an opening act? Made fun of Blaine for his stage fright at the beginning of the tour, before he'd gotten used to it?
Sebastian slammed the door, snapping Blaine back to reality. He raised a fist and rapped it three times against the centre of the door. When it didn't open, Blaine sighed.
"I'm sorry," he muttered to the door.
In some convoluted twist of fate, it turned out that Sebastian didn't deserve it. Joining him on his date with Kurt was cruel and malignant on Blaine's part, and he was surprised that he'd just figured that out. If it was his date with Kurt and Sebastian sprang in, he'd be angry too.
I'm terrible, Blaine thought as he went to his room and changed into his pajamas. I ruined his date in a stupid attempt to make it my own. My jealousy got the better of me. I let myself get taken over by a stupid idea that if I went to that movie theatre and wooed Kurt, it would be our date.
An image of Kurt, cheeks flushed from the cold night air, swam into his mind. Then another image, this time of Sebastian's solemn profile as they sat in the taxi. A surge of guilt flooded throughout Blaine.
Did he even deserve to be with Kurt? Blaine had finagled his way into the date, took most of the attention away from Sebastian, and then charmed his parents. He had been conniving, dreadful, and deceiving to the other involved parties, and he'd hurt Sebastian's feelings.
Or maybe he was just being too hard on himself.
Blaine lay stiffly on his queen-sized bed, pursing his lips. He didn't know what he was going to do about the situation, but he knew that he had to explain everything to Kurt. Kurt would find out eventually. Everyone always found out about Blaine's secrets eventually.
His phone beeped. Blaine propped himself up on his elbows and stared at the screen.
Kurt Hummel:
Are you free to meet me tomorrow at 4?
Blaine smiled. Kurt must've added himself to his contacts after he'd called for the reckless-until-paid-triple taxi. He replied swiftly.
Blaine Anderson:
Absolutely. Where?
Kurt Hummel:
A coffee place called the Lima Bean. Have you heard of it?
Blaine Anderson:
I practically lived there.
Mercedes was perched on the edge of Kurt's bed, watching her best friend as he fired off texts to his superstar crush. Weeks ago, Blaine Anderson had seemed unattainable, and now Kurt was actually talking to him. Plus, he'd just spent the evening with him and Sexy Smythe.
"The girls are going to freak out when they hear about this," gushed Mercedes.
Kurt smiled at his phone screen. "I know. But can we keep this a secret for now? Just between the six of us?"
"Six?"
"Dad, Carole, you, me, Sebastian, and Blaine," Kurt elaborated. "I have a feeling that if the press finds out that I'm hanging around both of them, they're going to make team T-shirts and plant photographers on the front lawn."
"A fate that Rachel Berry would kill for," Mercedes remarked dryly. "But seriously. They're not going to do that. I promise to keep quiet."
Kurt smirked at the response Blaine sent him. Without looking up, he stated, "Thank you."
"Although," Mercedes said as an afterthought, "if those boys were straight and interested in me, I would send the press team T-shirts!"
A coffee shop designed artfully with striking pillars, abstract artwork, and dark wooden tables was the setting of Kurt and Blaine's first date. Kurt sat across from him, sprinkling cinnamon on top of the whipped cream in his cup. Blaine took a sip of his medium drip, closing his eyes as it warmed him from the inside out.
The date was going swimmingly; Kurt had greeted him with a kiss on the cheek, while Blaine had already ordered what he had guessed would be Kurt's favorite drink. It was a risky decision, but to Blaine's luck Kurt did love mocha.
"I still can't believe it," Kurt said quietly, directed mostly to his cardboard cup.
"You can't believe what?" asked Blaine.
Startled, Kurt babbled, "I just . . . I never thought I'd be on a date with the Blaine Anderson. Yet here I am, and it's going well, and he knows my coffee order, and-"
"'He' is just as happy as you are," finished Blaine proudly. "I know I don't have much time left before I have to continue the tour, but I want to spend all of it with you."
The corners of Kurt's lips curled up. Before Blaine could tease him about the tiny smile, someone slid into the chair next to Kurt and pecked him on the cheek.
"Hey, Number One With A Cool Watch," teased the newcomer. "We should be heading out soon."
"Heading out?" Blaine's jaw dropped. "What?"
Kurt smirked. "Didn't you hear? 'Bastian and I are dating."
"What?" Blaine repeated. It was not the "what" that meant "what did you say". It was the "what" that meant "I can't believe what you just said".
Sebastian laughed. "You're so naive. You actually thought that Kurt would be interested in you. Don't you know he likes talented people?"
Kurt tilted his head towards Sebastian. In devastating slow motion, their heads moved closer together, their lips barely brushing-
Sebastian's eyes flew open. The glowing red numbers on the alarm clock on the bedside table winked at him. He'd only been asleep for three hours, although it felt like a few minutes.
Well, that escalated quickly, Sebastian considered.
He sat up and ran his fingers through his hair. Sebastian thought, What a peculiar dream. I'd never had somebody else star in my dreams. It had always been me.
He flung open his room door and headed to the small kitchen area. After he'd gulped down a glass of water, he chewed on the inside of his cheek, furrowing his brows.
But more importantly, Sebastian thought, what did that dream mean?
A/N: What do you guys think? Was it wrong for Blaine to have crashed Sebastian and Kurt's "date"? Is he just being too hard on himself? And what do you think that dream means?