I couldn't wait a whole week to publish this, sorry! Hope you like my little twist at the end!
Nighttime. Kurt was pacing up and down his room with his phone between his hands. He knew he needed to work on his grades, but was a tutor really the best way to do it? What would people think if he was seen around with a nerd? Not just a nerd; a boy. Kurt could already hear all the rumors spreading, destroying his reputation. But if he didn't hire the nerd, then what hope did he have?
A knock on the door disrupted his thoughts.
Finn opened the door. "Dinner's ready."
"Thanks. I'll be there in a sec."
"Hurry up. Mom says she won't cut the lasagna until we're all seated."
Kurt smiled and nodded. Finn closed the door.
"I guess it'll have to wait," Kurt thought.
To avoid temptations, he left his phone on the bedside table. He just needed a regular night; no drama.
Blaine opened the front door. He let Marley go in first, and then closed the door behind him.
"Mom? Dad?" He yelled. There didn't seem to be anyone home yet.
And then Cooper appeared from the kitchen, wearing an apron.
"Hey, kiddo!" He said with a smile. "Whoa, sorry. I didn't know we'd have company. Hi," he said to Marley.
"Hi," she replied.
"Marley and I are working on a school project."
Cooper's smile widened into a grin. "Oh, right. Okay."
Blaine turned pale. "N-No, no, no! It's not—We really do have a project." He turned to look at Marley for help. All she did was nod in agreement, though, because she truly didn't know what to say or how to react.
"You know what? You don't have to explain anything, little bro. I went to high school too, remember?"
Blaine gave up. Obviously he had already made an impression on his brother.
Cooper spoke again. "Why don't you two go upstairs while I finish dinner here, okay?"
"Yeah," Blaine said dryly.
He led the way upstairs while Marley followed silently. She gave a shy smile to Cooper, who winked at her in response.
"So, Kurt, how's everything at school?" Burt asked as he cut down on his lasagna.
Kurt wasn't eating much; he was mostly just moving his food around with his fork.
"It's okay. As good as high school can get, I guess."
Burt didn't know what to make of this. It was clear that something was wrong with Kurt, but he also didn't want to pressure his son into opening up. Carol knew this as well, so she tried to rescue the conversation.
"Finn told me Sectionals are coming soon, right?"
"Yeah," answered Finn, "Mr. Schue is making us work harder than usual. Really busting our—"
Burt and Carol both stopped eating; even Kurt turned to look at how would Finn save himself.
"Uh…pants," Finn concluded.
It made Kurt smile a little, at least.
"Well, you can never be too ready for a competition, am I right?"
"Can I ask a question?" The words were out of Kurt's mouth before he could've even processed them.
Burt nodded. "Sure."
Kurt looked down at his plate, not really sure of how he would break the news to them.
"What would you do if a teacher had it against you?"
Kurt ventured a peek at his dad.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"Is everything alright, Kurt?" Carol asked too.
Kurt sighed. There was no going back now.
"My English teacher, Mr. Westfield, gave us this really…complex project; and he paired everyone up but myself."
"Well, you know what you were signing up for when you decided to take AP English, buddy," Burt replied.
"Yes, you're right. It's silly, anyways."
"Hang on," Burt said, "If you feel like there's a problem, you should talk to the Principal."
"Wouldn't it be a little too much?" Kurt asked.
"Your dad's right," Carol interjected, "If a teacher is doing something that is affecting your grades in a negative way, you shouldn't keep it to yourself."
Kurt really couldn't understand why everybody kept saying that. What was so wrong with not wanting to announce every single feeling to the world?
"If you want me, I can go talk to Principal Figgings myself," Burt offered.
"No, Dad; you don't have to."
This was what Kurt was afraid of; making it all a bigger deal than it already was. He had to say something that would calm them all down, and he knew exactly what.
"I'm gonna hire a tutor."
Finn snorted.
"Wait, for real?"
Not even Kurt himself could believe it.
"I think that's great, Honey," Carol said.
"I hope it's not too expensive." Burt added.
"No, it's just a boy from my class. Don't worry."
Burt nodded.
"Okay, well, good luck with that."
"Thanks, Dad."
"You can come to us if you need help with the money, okay?"
Kurt smiled. So much for his drama-free dinner.
Cooper knocked on the door.
"Are you kids decent?"
Blaine rolled his eyes. He and Marley were sitting on the bed, surrounded by books, notes, pens, and markers.
"We're just studying, Cooper!" Blaine replied.
"I don't wanna walking in on anything."
"Just come in!"
Cooper did open the door and walked in, but he covered his eyes with one hand.
"I just wanted to let you know that dinner will be ready in five, in case you need to straighten up your clothes, hair, or whatever."
Blaine shook his head. "Great, thank you."
"I hope you're not a vegetarian, Marley!"
It took all of Marley's power not to burst out laughing, but she did manage to restrain herself to a smile and a mild chuckle. "Uh, no. I'm not."
"Okay, good." Cooper opened up his fingers that were still over his eyes. "Oops, I peeked! Damn, I was hoping I'd catch you in a compromising position. Five minutes!"
Cooper walked out.
Marley covered her mouth with her hand and cleared her throat.
"I'm so sorry," Blaine whispered.
Once again, Kurt found himself in his room fiddling with the phone, except that this time, instead of pacing around, he was just lying on his bed.
It was just one call. Why was it so hard to make one phone call that would help him a lot? Was it just his reputation he was worried about?
Well, of course, that had to be it.
He was overthinking it; he knew it, and yet he still couldn't do it. He needed another opinion.
Blaine and Marley sat at the table while Cooper fixed their plates.
"And I want you, kids, to eat all your greens, okay? Just because Mom and Dad are out doesn't mean you can't take care of yourselves, alright?"
"Will you stop treating us like five year olds, please?" Blaine asked.
Cooper sat down.
"Hey, relax, little bro. I worry; that's part of my job."
"It looks delicious, Cooper," Marley said. She really just wanted to keep the siblings from fighting, although she did mean what she said.
"See?" Cooper replied, "Someone appreciates what I do."
Blaine knew it was time to shut up. He only sighed.
It would be a long night.
They were in the middle of dinner when Wes' phone vibrated.
"You busy?"
Cooper was chatting up Marley about acting and auditions; it was safe for Blaine to reply with the phone under the table.
"Not for you.
What's up?"
"This is going to sound stupid."
"How about you let me decide that?"
Blaine looked up. No one had seen anything. Kurt wasn't replying, so Blaine decided to push his luck.
"Tell me."
"Remember when I said I was flunking?
Well, it looks like I might have found a savior."
Was he talking about the ad?
"Sounds good."
"Yeah, sort of.
I mean, I could use a tutor."
"…but?"
As Blaine waited for an answer, he hadn't realized that his eyes were stuck to the phone screen until Cooper called him out on it.
"Hey, no sexting on the table. This is a decent home." He winked at Marley, which made her giggle.
"Sorry," said Blaine, looking at the phone one last time. Still no answer.
Cooper smiled at him. "Marley was just telling me she wants to be a singer. And I was just telling her that you two should sing together some day."
Blaine almost choked on his chicken. "Huh?"
"We can dust off the old Schimmel."
"Please stop," Blaine said.
"What?" Cooper turned to Marley, "He's got a great voice."
"Coop."
"But hasn't sung in years."
"Cooper," Blaine snapped.
Both Marley and Cooper stared at Blaine. Just then, Blaine got a reply from Kurt.
Blaine sighed and looked down at his plate. He waited until Marley and Cooper were talking again so he could sneak a peek at the phone.
"You're gonna think I'm a terrible person.
But…the tutor ad comes from…
Well…a nerd.
Not that I have anything against nerds."
"But it could bring down your reputation.
I get it."
Blaine looked up again; he knew he didn't have much time left before Cooper caught him again.
"Listen, I have to go.
But for what it's worth…
I think you should call the nerd."
It felt a little weird to refer to himself as 'the nerd', but he only felt that way after he had send the text. This Wes character must've been growing on him.
Not five minutes had passed, and Blaine could already hear his ringtone. It had to be Kurt.
"Sorry, I gotta take this," Blaine said quickly before hurrying upstairs.
"Better be quick," Cooper said, "There's no dessert for those who are not present in five minutes!" Cooper looked at Marley. "He'll be back. He loves my soufflé."
Blaine closed the door to his room.
"Hello?" He said into the phone. What was that booming sound in his ears? Was that his heartbeat?
"Hi, is this Blaine Anderson?"
Blaine closed his eyes. It was him. It really was him talking to his ear.
"Y-Yes."
"I'm sorry, we've never talked but I saw your ad at school. This is Kurt Hummel."
Dinner was over. Marley's mother was already waiting for her in the car.
"Thank you for everything," she said.
"It was our pleasure," Cooper said.
"See you at school," Marley said at Blaine.
"See you," he replied.
Marley turned around and heard the sound of the door closing behind her. She tried to remain calm in case they were still watching.
She slid over the passenger seat and closed the door.
"So," her mom said, "How was it?"
Marley buckled up. "It was okay."
"Anything interesting happened?"
Her mom was grinning now; Marley knew exactly what she was referring to.
"No," she said with a smile; she looked out the window; the light from his room was on, "I'm pretty sure he has a crush on someone else."
"I'm sorry, honey."
Marley's mom drove away, and Marley saw the Anderson house slowly fading away from her sight.
