10

Music Therapy

Fandom: Glee

Characters: Kurt/Blaine, Mercedes, OCs.

Rating (this chapter): PG.

Warnings: None.

Spoilers: Season 2.

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee. I do not own any of the songs used every other chapter.

Author's note: I think this is the last OC that I'm going to introduce you to because I don't want to overwhelm you. I also hope you enjoy this chapter. The conversations at the bar turned out to be very fun to write.

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Music Therapy

"Outrageous!"

"Inexplicable."

"Unbelievable!"

"Unexpected."

"Unforgettable!"

"Don't you think that's a little bit too much?"

"You can't tell me you're on his side."

"I'm not."

"Mercedes…" Kurt turned around the corner after several blocks and stopped at the bus station he'd arrived at two hours ago. He held his cell phone close to his ear, his hands shaking from anger. "I just don't get it, you know? Why would he do this to me? There is no reason for Blaine to come up with such a lie except that he wants to keep me as far away from him as possible! He obviously doesn't believe me that I'm over him."

"Maybe that's because you're not."

"Please, let's not get into that conversation again. I consciously want to be his friend. No matter what I feel, I know that there's nothing I can do to make him feel the same way. I just need to find someone else to crush on, that's all."

"And that's so easy, huh, boy?"

"Don't play the diva with me right now."

"Fine. Why don't we meet?"

"Where?"

"Rock Generations. It's a small bar a bit hidden from view so I'll see you at the Lima Bean and then we can walk there… Just breathe, Kurt. There's got to be an explanation for all of this."

"I hope so. Gonna hit the dorms and then I'll be on my way. See you there."

The bus was empty when Kurt got in at nine thirty. There was so much silence that he thought he could hear his own thoughts screaming, "Why did you do this to me? Did I do something to upset you? I've been nothing more than a good friend to you!"

Nothing more than a friend. Oh, the irony. Kurt shook his head and tried to stay calm on his way back to school. He was going to meet Mercedes and he was going to get enough time to vent about what had happened.

It was ten when he arrived at Dalton Academy. The few students that were still up despite Dalton's rules didn't even notice him and when Kurt reached the dorms and closed the door behind him, he felt like he wanted the earth to open and swallow him alive.

Freddie was there – frowning, breathing heavily, holding on to his cell phone like it was the last device on the universe that could connect him to human kind. He kept shaking his head and dialing like crazy. He looked exhausted and his ears were red.

Without saying a word, Kurt faced the situation. He could hear Freddie curse as apparently the person he was calling wasn't picking up. Kurt listened to him carefully, not wanting to disturb him as he went through his clothes to get a thicker scarf. A minute later he was in the bathroom, arranging his hair a bit, as it'd gotten too stiff. Rage wasn't good for his look. Kurt got out of the bathroom, grabbed his stuff and he was heading towards the door when Freddie threw his cell phone onto the bed and covered his face with his hands.

"I lost Paula," Freddie muttered, back turned to Kurt. "I followed her but she's a really good driver. There was no way I could catch her, I should have known."

Kurt felt like the biggest idiot in the world. He paused and turned around. He couldn't leave Freddie like that. "Listen, I..." he said, approaching him with his arms folded because his hands were now shaking from embarrassment. "I'm so sorry. It wasn't my intention at all to damage your relationship. I didn't know anything about you having a girlfriend. I thought you were gay."

"And you believed that?"

"To be honest, information came from a pretty good source… It was Blaine."

"Blaine?" Freddie turned to Kurt, astonished. "Why would he…?" Then he seemed to understand everything. "Oh."

"Oh?"

"Interesting… very interesting."

"What's interesting?"

"Blaine and what he does," Freddie grinned a bit, looking for a moment like his old self. "It shows so much about his character and about his actual feelings."

"Then enlighten me, please. I don't get it. I hate this whole situation. It makes me so mad that he lied to me to push me away. He told me he liked you. The purpose was obviously to make me stay away. He doesn't want me around." Kurt realized that he was talking too fast and that this wasn't really about him. "By the way, you think he might like you even if you wouldn't reciprocate?"

"Reciprocate? No, no, a thousand times no. It doesn't matter that Blaine's gay and I'm straight. There's no way in hell he would like me like that. I'm not the kind of person he'd fall for. We've been friends for years now. Forget it."

"Ok. I still don't understand how we got here."

"I know," Freddie agreed. "I assume you left Blaine's house after the incident."

"Yeah."

"Understandable. You can't imagine the rage hammer that will land on him when I see him." Freddie made a fist with his hand and punched the air. "That is, of course, if you don't kill him first."

"Nah, I'm against violence. I will kill him with indifference if needed but right now… I don't know, I need some time… some space to figure things out," Kurt muttered, thoughtful. "If Blaine doesn't even want me as his friend anymore, then I should move on. Find other people who are ok with me being around them."

There was an awkward moment of silence until Freddie opened his mouth again. "So…"

"Again, I'm sorry about what happened."

Freddie took a deep breath and waived his hand. "It's fine."

"What? I thought you were mad."

"I am mad… at Blaine, not you. You didn't know," Freddie said. "And you can count on me. I don't mind having you around at all as my friend."

Kurt was speechless. He'd just seen a part of Freddie he hadn't noticed before – true kindness behind the eccentricity. "Thank you. I really appreciate it," he responded from the heart, and he had an idea. "You know, one of my friends from McKinley and I are going to a bar near the Lima Bean. They have people singing there. Would you like to join us? It'd lighten the mood."

Smiling, Freddie reached out for his cell phone again. "Thanks, but I'll stay here. Gotta leave Paula a billion messages where I beg her to take me back."

"Right. Good luck with that."

"Enjoy your show, Kurt."

Kurt waived Freddie goodbye and left the building thinking that not everything was lost today. Maybe Freddie was a bit of a nut job, but he knew when to be coherent when needed, and he'd been the one to bring the Warblers to Blaine's house as a gift to him and his family. Kurt had to find a way to help him get his girlfriend back.

The Lima Bean was full on a Saturday night and Kurt waited patiently at the door for Mercedes to arrive. She was there after five minutes, with arms wide open to hug Kurt. "Mercedes, you're here."

"Always, for my pretty white boy," she muttered, smiling. They walked together around the corner, her arm around his. "Now, you tell me everything, from the beginning. You were going to go shopping together. How did that go?"

"Very well. I had to convince him to wear the right clothes for a date, because he was completely clueless, but at the end, he came up with a nice outfit himself."

"So he impressed you."

"You could say that," Kurt agreed. "From that moment on, things went south. I met Freddie. He's a bit crazy, but he's a good guy. He even surprised Blaine with the Warblers tonight. He brought them there so we could sing for Blaine's family."

"That's a really nice gesture. So how did it go from that to all of you fighting? Oh, wait, you tell me once we're inside." Mercedes beckoned a door painted in green and frowned when she opened it, revealing an almost empty bar. "It's Saturday night. There's a show and everything. Where's everybody?" While she kept ranting, they sat at one of the tables, facing the little stage on the left. "What a mess. This place needs a lot more advertising for the weekends..."

Kurt went to get two cokes for them and when he was back at the table, he continued telling the story about how he and Blaine were done. "So I'm gonna say this very quickly because that's how it happened and there's not much I can explain. We sang, the Warblers left, Freddie's girlfriend arrived and I saw them, so I told Freddie he was being a jerk for leading Blaine on…"

"Ouch."

"Yeah. And then Paula thought Freddie was having an affair with Blaine, so she left in her car, and Freddie followed her. Then I was alone with Blaine and I stood up for myself." Yeah, Kurt sounded a bit cocky right now and he knew it, but Blaine deserved it, so it was fine.

"That's my Kurt!" Mercedes said, smiling for a moment and then she sipped her drink. "Did Blaine give you any explanations?"

"No! He said he didn't know why he'd lied. For all his confidence and his sexy, kind words, he looked like a deer caught in headlights." That was one of the details he couldn't figure out.

"Interesting."

"Ok, you're the second person to tell me that tonight. I ran into Freddie when I returned to Dalton. We're ok now, but he seems to believe Blaine's actions speak for themselves even if Blaine doesn't have a clue about what he wants."

Mercedes placed her coke at the table. "I was just thinking… Remember when we became friends? When you told me you were gay?"

"Yes?"

"I thought I had a chance with you because you were so nice to me, and you said that you liked Rachel."

That was it. Kurt rolled his eyes, hit by the answer to his questions. "Ah, you're right! He's covering something up. He likes someone who's not Freddie. Someone he doesn't want me to know about… Why wouldn't he trust me? I told him that he can tell me anything."

"I can't speak for him. You gotta ask him if you want to know. Who knows, maybe he's into you after all but he doesn't know how to say it."

"Mercedes, he's had a million chances to do it. That's clearly not the case. Plus, he doesn't even find me attractive. I'm his little gay friend, the one that needs counseling." It was the hard truth, but Kurt preferred it to the lies.

"You're being too hard on yourself. You're hot."

Kurt grinned. "I know that. Blaine just can't see it."

"Well, it's his loss."

They raised a toast and laughed for a little while, telling each other jokes about how good Kurt looked in his skinny jeans and how Mercedes knew some girls reacted to the fact that he was gay. It was only a matter of time for someone to go on stage and start arranging a chair and a microphone. It was a nice looking guy dressed in black with some tattoos in his bare arms. He was definitely getting everything ready for the show.

"Shows here are awesome. Especially when it's just him and his guitar," Mercedes muttered.

"What? He's the entertainer tonight?"

"Yep. His name's Joel."

"You know him?"

"I've talked to him a few times, asked him if he's ever considered doing this professionally. I think he's too caught by real life to even dream of being a real musician, but he's got what it takes, believe me."

"He's also cute," Kurt muttered, elbowing his friend and making her laugh.

"He's got a girlfriend and he's not my type. He's really talented, though. Just watch."

Kurt did as he was told and he remained silent until the guy grabbed the guitar and sat on the chair. Reaching for the mic, he greeted, "Hello, everybody. My name's Joel. This is my song tonight, by Nickelback. Enjoy."

His voice was clear, deep and beautiful, Kurt had to admit, and he knew how to make a good use of that guitar.

Never made it as a wise man

I couldn't cut it as a poor man stealing

Tired of living like a blind man

I'm sick of sight without a sense of feeling

And this is how you remind me

This is how you remind me

Of what I really am

This is how you remind me

Of what I really am

There was something about the way Joel moved his fingers while playing the guitar that made Kurt shiver, like he was hypnotized. Joel closed his eyes when singing the second verse, lost into the music. A strand of hair fell onto his forehead, the darkness of it making a contrast with his pale skin.

It's not like you didn't know that

I said I love you and I swear I still do

And it must have been so bad

Cause living with me must have damn near killed you

And this is how, you remind me

Of what I really am

This is how, you remind me

Of what I really am

The chorus exploded with the sound of his voice, tones experimental but calculated. He looked and sounded so very cool.

It's not like you to say sorry

I was waiting on a different story

This time I'm mistaken

For handing you a heart worth breaking

And I've been wrong, i've been down,

Been to the bottom of every bottle

These five words in my head

Scream "are we having fun yet?"

Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, no

Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, no

It was only when Mercedes elbowed him that Kurt realized he'd been staring at Joel's spot on stage, even after he'd left it. "He's awesome, right?" Mercedes asked him, laughing. Then she raised her hand, calling, "Joel, here! Joel!"

Joel was now putting the instrument into the guitar case beside the stage, like he was about to leave already, but when he noticed Mercedes waving at him, he seemed to forget about his stuff. "Mercedes, welcome yet again," Joel greeted her. "It's great to see you here."

"It's my pleasure to be at Rock Generations. I mean, that was awesome."

"I don't believe you."

"Well, you should," she said, and then she introduce the two boys. "Joel, Kurt. Kurt, Joel."

Nodding, Joel gave Kurt only a little smile. "Hello."

"Hi," Kurt responded, showing him his best smile, and then they shook hands. "I love your performance. Your voice's amazing."

Joel simply snorted. "Is this some kind of joke?" he turned to the bartender. "Hey T.J., did you pay him to tease me?"

"Wasn't me this time! Ask Tom!"

"Damn," Joel turned to Mercedes again. "I bet you didn't pay him. Kurt, who paid you?"

Kurt frowned, confused. "Um… Nobody? Why would I lie about liking the show?"

"The place itself… it's a mess. If I owned it, you can be sure it wouldn't suck this much, but then again - I just play and sing here for fun, make a couple of extra bucks, nothing major… Mercedes, why don't you sing for us? I bet we'd get a thousand people knocking down the door in a minute."

"You're sweet, but tonight I'm having a good time with Kurt, that's all." Her face lightened up all of a sudden and Kurt frowned in fear. "Hey, I've got an idea! What if Kurt sings tonight?"

"You sing?" Joel asked.

"Yeah, but I don't think it's the time or the place…"

"C'mon, Kurt. What if you sing a song that represents how you feel right now? Music is like therapy to us. It always helps us vent."

"True," Joel agreed. "I can help with the guitar if you're up for it."

It was risky, but also exciting. What could Kurt lose? Singing usually made him feel like he'd lifted a weight off his shoulders. "Ok, fine. I'm just worried that this audience is not suited for the kind of songs I perform…"

Joel turned to the audience. "You've got two drunk women and an almost deaf old guy. Even if you sang an entire Marilyn Manson album, I don't think they'd notice."

"Noted," Kurt muttered. "Let's do this."

As he thought about Blaine and the disaster the night had been so far, he and Joel got on the stage again and Joel beckoned the chair he'd used before. Kurt sat there, watching the audience who was staring back without much interest, then grabbed the mic and introduced himself. "Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Kurt Hummel and this is 'Soulmate' by Natasha Beddingfield." And then, he looked at Joel, who nodded and started playing the guitar. Kurt closed his eyes and started singing with a sadness he didn't know he was holding in.

Incompatible, it don't matter though

'Cause someone's bound to hear my cry

Speak out if you do, you're not easy to find

Is it possible Mr. Lovable is already in my life?

Right in front of me or maybe you're in disguise

Kurt opened his eyes. No one was moving. The women weren't talking, they were listening. The old man was just there, watching. Mercedes was smiling and it was a good sign for Kurt to continue.

Who doesn't long for someone to hold

Who knows how to love you without being told

Somebody tell me why I'm on my own

If there's a soulmate for everyone

Those were questions that he'd asked himself many times, not knowing if he'd ever be able to kiss someone without being afraid of them leaving, or if he'd ever even find anyone who would want to be with him in the first place.

Here we are again, circles never end

How do I find the perfect fit?

There's enough for everyone

But I'm still waiting in line

Kurt had thought Blaine was the one, the perfect boy to start his first relationship with, if he was lucky enough to have him. Now he knew that it'd all been in his head and that they couldn't even be friends. Why was Kurt Hummel so alone? Wasn't everybody supposed to deserve love?

Who doesn't long for someone to hold

Who knows how to love you without being told

Somebody tell me why I'm on my own

If there's a soulmate for everyone

The drunk women smiled a bit and the old guy was getting asleep, but Mercedes clapped like her life depended on it, and Kurt was more than satisfied to see her there, always cheering for him. She was right - he'd gotten his feelings out there. Music therapy was what he needed.

As Joel picked up his guitar again, Kurt approached him. "Thanks so much, it was wonderful."

"Hey, you're not so bad yourself. You've got a really good voice. I bet you can reach impossibly high notes."

"Actually, you are right about that," Kurt said proudly. "I think the blonde woman kind of smiled at me at the end – I'm gonna take that as a compliment and not as the beginning of a laugh."

"You should," Joel responded. They got off the stage together. "You sounded like you had a broken heart." He started getting his guitar back into the case, just like he'd done before, and when Kurt didn't say anything about his last comment, he turned to him to apologize. "I didn't mean to upset you, maybe I was wrong."

He seemed to be truly worried about whether he'd made Kurt feel uncomfortable or not, and Kurt couldn't do anything but smile and be honest. "It's ok. You weren't. I do have a broken heart, so to speak. I thought I had something with somebody. It turned out it was all in my head."

Joel took a deep breath. "Well, at least you didn't live an actual lie for two years…" He stopped himself. "Sorry. I digress. Why don't you and Mercedes stay for a little while? I'll get you free drinks."

Kurt thought he was a nice person to have around. "Sure, why not?" he muttered, and he and Joel joined Mercedes at her table.

That night, between cokes and some beers, they had fun talking about their performances, Kurt's voice, Mercedes' passion when singing and Joel's first tattoo. Being part of that group and those conversations were like fresh air for Kurt. It cleared his head from all the pain and the sadness Blaine had brought to his heart. Kurt had never guessed that meeting Joel would be the best thing to happen that night.