Chapter Ten - Eleventh Session

-Friday, text received at 5:37 p.m.-

Text from Brittany S. Pierce to Kurt Hummel

wil u b on mi sho?

-Friday, text received at 5:39 p.m.-

Text from Kurt Hummel to Santana Lopez

Are you at Brittany's?

-Friday, text received at 5:40 p.m.-

Text from Santana Lopez to Kurt Hummel

y. why?

-Friday, text received at 5:41 p.m.-

Text from Kurt Hummel to Santana Lopez

Would you please steal Britt's phone and tell me what she meant by the last text she sent me?

-Friday, text received 5:43 p.m.-

Text from Santana Lopez to Kurt Hummel

k. gimme a few.

-Friday, text received at 5:58 p.m.-

Text from Santana Lopez to Kurt Hummel

she wants u to b on her web show *fondue for 2*.

-Friday, text received at 6:01 p.m.-

Text from Kurt Hummel to Santana Lopez

Brittany has a web show? Since when?

-Friday, text received at 6:05 p.m.-

Text from Santana Lopez to Kurt Hummel

who cares rainbow? just say y!

-Friday, text received at 6:09 p.m.-

Text from Kurt Hummel to Brittany S. Pierce

I would love to be on your show, boo. How about when I come home next weekend? We can even have a sleepover, if you want.

-Friday, text received at 6:14 p.m.-

Text from Brittany S. Pierce to Kurt Hummel

yaaaaaaaaaaaaa! c u thn!

-Friday, text received at 6:22 p.m.-

Text from Santana Lopez to Kurt Hummel

dunno wut u said to britters but she's dancing around her room.

-Friday, text received at 6:25 p.m.-

Text from Kurt Hummel to Santana Lopez

*griiiiin*

"What's going on?"

The voice drew Kurt's attention away from his phone and he raised an eyebrow. "Did you know that Brittany has some kind of web show?"

Quinn nodded. "Sure. Fondue for Two, or something. Why?"

"She wants me to be a guest."

That got the blonde girl giggling.

"What?" the slim boy demanded.

"Just… don't eat any of the fondue. Mercedes was on the show last week, and she said at the end of the episode, Britt let Lord Tubbington eat everything that was left in the fondue pot," she explained.

Kurt flinched, than shook his head. "That girl…"

"Who are we talking about?" Blaine asked, plopping down on the floor beside the two.

"Someone named Brittany," Andrew answered, chewing on the end of his pencil and staring intently at his textbook. "Also, I hate you."

Blaine reared back in mock hurt, as they had had this conversation before. "Why, whatever do you mean, good sir?"

Pausing in his studying, the other Warbler looked up to glare at Blaine. "Mr. Trent goes so much easier on the Spanish class!"

The curly-haired boy grinned. "It's only because Spanish is the better language."

That had both Quinn and Kurt turning identical looks of disdain on him. Then they glanced at each other and began speaking entirely in French.

"Pourquoi exactement avez-vous choisi un petit ami qui n'est pas conscient du fait que le français est la langue supérieure?" (Why exactly did you choose a boyfriend who is not aware that French is the superior language?)

"Je n'étais pas conscient de ce problème avant que nous sommes devenus un couple." (I was not aware of this problem before we became a couple.)

"What?" Blaine demanded of the other boys in the room. "What are they saying?"

"Et maintenant, qu'allez-vous faire pour corriger cela?" (And now what will you do to fix this?)

"Céline." (Celine.)

"Que voulez-vous dire?" (What do you mean?)

"Jeff et Nick a trouvé un enregistrement de la performance Cheerios national l'an dernier, mais autant que je sache, ils ne l'a jamais montré à Blaine." (Jeff and Nick found a recording of the Cheerios national performance last year, but as far as I know, they never showed it to Blaine.)

At the sound of his name, Blaine became even more determined to know what they were talking about and ran off to find David, the only other student at Dalton almost as fluent as Kurt.

"Oh, ça va fonctionner." (Oh, that will work.)

Then their conversation was abruptly broken into. "Je déteste vous deux, aussi." (I hate both of you, too.)

Quinn and Kurt both smirked at Andrew's words.

"Haineux allant à la haine," was Kurt's smug reply. (Haters gonna hate.)

By the time Blaine returned, David in tow, Kurt was going over Quinn's finished homework for errors. "You know, we could probably have done this over Skype," he finally spoke, before pronouncing her papers perfect. "After all, I can't drive you home tonight, since I'm staying over."

The girl shrugged. "I miss seeing you in person. This was just an excuse."

Kurt paused momentarily, than smiled, a blush creeping up his cheeks. "I miss you, too."

They clasped each other's hands, before they both turned on Blaine. "When is the food arriving?"

The boy had settled back down on the floor, pouting at having missed the rest of their French conversation. At their words, he bolted to his feet. "Holy crap, the guy's probably already here and totally lost!"

The ex-Cheerios both sighed in fond exasperation at Blaine's overreaction. Standing, they each linked an arm through his and began guiding him out of the room and down the halls. He considered protesting, then grinned and gladly took the lead.

When they reached the front entrance, a boy in a red and white striped shirt and matching hat was standing outside, rereading the order to double check the location.

Pulling open the door, Blaine smiled. "Sorry if you've been waiting. I completely forgot we'd ordered pizza."

"No problem, man," the male answered, his voice familiar, not even looking up as he verified the order. "It's $35.75, all together. Three large pizzas with everything, right?"

"Pizza? You couldn't order sandwiches or a salad, something healthy?" "We request dinner and you order enough pizza to feed an army?" The two voices rang out from behind the shorter boy, and the delivery man jerked his head up. "Kurt? Blaine? Quinn?"

All three blinked. "Sam?"

… …

Eleventh Session with Kurt Hummel; Wednesday the 8th at 4:30 p.m.

MC: How was your week?

KH: Dramatic. Pathetically so, in fact.

MC: Why? What happened?

KH: Gossip at McKinley got out of control. Sam's family has been having a hard time lately. His dad lost the job they moved out here for, and Sam took some part-time jobs to make end's meat. He dropped off a pizza at Dalton. But he asked that we not tell anyone. I know he doesn't have much because they've had to sell things, so I gave him some of my old clothes. Rachel noticed him wearing a jacket that used to be mine and freaked out. She actually followed him back to the motel his family is staying at, but was only around long enough to see me show up and hug Sam. As if that weren't enough, she dragged Finn into the paranoia as well, since he's still angry that Quinn dumped him, and she was aware of what's going on with both me and Quinn. (pause) Sometimes I wonder why any of us put up with each other, the way we act.

MC: How did you find out?

KH: About all the gossip, you mean? (pause) Rachel called to chew me out for cheating on Blaine. I came pretty close to reaching through the phone and ripping out her vocal chords. Then I asked Sam when I went by the apartment that night. It was my turn to babysit Stevie and Stacy, his younger siblings, while he and his parents were all at work.

MC: How are they dealing with everything?

KH: With more grace than I would. They all have to share a single room, and all of their remaining possessions are crammed in there with them. Of course, for now Stacy and Stevie think of it as an adventure. I've been trying to keep them distracted from the reality.

MC: How?

KH: Playing games, singing songs, reading stories. All the cliché things. I actually brought them home on Monday and they helped me make dinner for their family. I was tempted to just keep them, truth be told. (laughs)

MC: Is the gossip affecting your interactions with them?

KH: Besides what I already said about Rachel, and that Finn has gotten behind her act and keeps giving me sad puppy dog eyes while asking why I would want to hurt an awesome guy like Blaine, not really. If anything, I think my relationships with Sam and Quinn and Blaine are stronger than ever.

MC: So Blaine knows what's really going on?

KH: He was the one who ordered the pizza Sam brought to Dalton. He knows they don't want charity, and that seems to be killing him a little, since his family is loaded and never use the money for anything worthwhile. It's actually adorable, how he keeps slipping me little treats and toys and books for the kids. They told me that Sam pawned his guitar, so I went out with them and bought it. Technically, the dealer was supposed to keep the guitar for so many days before selling it, but Sam is getting that instrument back either way, so I won't whine.

MC: How old are Stevie and Stacy?

KH: Stacy is six and Stevie is eight. They're both pretty stereotypical kids. Stacy loves Disney and wants to be a princess. I taught her how to braid her hair last week and she was over the moon. Stevie, on the other hand, wants to be a rock star "like Sammy", he said. I've been teaching him how to read music and Sam always sings with him. It's silly, but they started calling me their "fairy god-dude". (laughs) Apparently, Stacy wished on a star one night that Sam would have someone to help him, and the next day I brought them clothes and a meal and promised Sam I would help in any way he needed. And since I keep coming back, they seem to believe I'm magic.

MC: That's a lot to live up to.

KH: True. But I want to prove that I'm worthy of the faith and trust those two put in me. I want to be Sam's friend. I've spent a lot of time as a martyr, of sorts, taking punishment for something that didn't deserve it. Now I'd like to try to go beyond that. To not just be an easy target, but to also be able to make a difference. Does that make sense?

MC: Yes. It's an admirable choice.

KH: Thank you. I suppose you could say I'm empowering myself. And it feels wonderful.

MC: I'm glad.

… …

Kurt and Blaine sat on a park bench, each holding a coffee as they watched the two blonde children running around on the plastic playground equipment.

"Blaine…" He wasn't sure how to ask. Should it be more elaborate? Would Blaine rather be asked via song, an action that he seemed to be partial to? Or, on the other hand, should it be casual, like a note? Or text?

Finally, he brought his inner anxiety under control and turned to realize Blaine was watching him with a small smile.

"What?" Kurt demanded.

Blaine laughed. "I can practically hear the gears and levers in your head from how hard you were thinking. If you want to say something, just say it," he assured the taller boy, reaching out to take Kurt's slim hand in his own.

Breathing out slowly, the countertenor nodded. "Alright. Would you go to the Dalton Prom with me?"

When the other boy froze, Kurt felt the panic tighten his throat and chest.

As a matching expression to Blaine's covered Kurt's face, the other boy snapped out of it and pulled Kurt to press a strong kiss against his lips. "No, Kurt, don't think… God, no, it's not about you, it's just-"

Swallowing hard, the pale boy forced a smile, turning sharply towards the kids. "It's okay, Blaine. It's no big deal."

"No!" Blaine caught Kurt's chin and forcing him to look back over. "Kurt, I would love to go to Prom with you. I… The memories kind of paralyzed me for a second, though."

"Memories?"

The hand retreated and Blaine stared listlessly down at his lap. "Yeah. The last time I went to school dance was… just before I transferred. I asked a friend of mine to go to Sadie Hawkins with me, and he said yes. He was straight, but he wanted to support me, since I had come out a few months earlier." Shaking his head slowly, the shorter male clenched his jaw and his hands curled into fists. "They grabbed us when we were in the parking lot. Beat the crap out of me, and they… they broke Tim's fingers. He was the one who taught me guitar… It took almost a year of physical therapy before he could play again."

When he glanced hesitantly up at his boyfriend, Kurt's eyes were filling with sympathetic tears. "Blaine, I am so sorry. We really don't have to go if you're worried or uncomfortable."

"No," he shook his head harshly, before leaning in and blushing. "I want to go to Prom with you, Kurt. I don't want what a bunch of homophobes did to ruin a chance to spend a perfect night with you. What happened… it's not like it's just going to go away. But I think… I think I need to replace those memories with something better. And I'd like to do that with you."

Kurt's answering smile was wide and bright, and when Stevie and Stacy finally rejoined them, Stevie rolled his eyes and Stacy giggled to see them holding hands and cuddling on the bench.

… …

Realization: For most of my life, I've never acted, only reacted. But I'm starting to change that. I want to take control of my own life, rather than leaving it to others.