Songs:
-Reach out I'll be there The Four Tops (a slower version) Thanks to FanofChrisCMaxA1
-I'll be Edwin McCain Thanks to ChrisColfersKingdom
-Follow me down 3OH!3 Thanks to Nikita-Gleek
Check them out on YouTube. Especially Follow me down because the written version does not do the song justice.
Follow me down
"What do you mean you changed my opening number?" asked Rachel snappishly.
Kurt groaned.
"We should have told Rachel before we got here" Mercedes said next to Kurt.
Kurt shrugged, not taking his eyes off the Golden Gate Bridge across the bay. It was the day before Nationals and they had decided to spend a few hours in the sunny city of San Francisco.
"The competition knew it thanks to Sue and Quinn" tried Mr Shue to explain.
"But nobody can sing Don't rain on my parade better than me" yelled Rachel and stormed off.
"Rachel come back" yelled Mr Shue and ran after her.
"And miss all this?" said Kurt, looking after them.
"Don't be mean Kurt" picked Mercedes at him. "Rachel is nicer than you think."
"Yeah, yeah" said Kurt dismissively.
"Mercedes is right you know" said Blaine and sat down next to Kurt.
Roughly two weeks had passed since Blaine's dad had returned and like a miracle he had not laid a hand on Blaine. Most likely because of Cooper. The older brother was a star in his father's eyes, although he had dropped out of college and started an acting career. Not a successful one, his greatest achievement was a role as a dead body in CSI but his dad did not care. For him Cooper was all, what Blaine was not.
Blaine still had to wear bow ties and wasn't allowed to spend too much time with his friends but apart from this he left Blaine alone.
This however did not stop Kurt from checking Blaine every day for bruises, scratches or broken bones and to find excuses so Blaine could spent most of his days at Kurt's house. He even got Finn into looking out for Blaine as well. He could not keep the cheerleaders away but Karofsky and Azimio he could control.
"I like Rachel" Blaine said. "She had been always nice to me. In her own way."
"She's bossy" Kurt complained.
"Only on the outside" explained his boyfriend slowly but sad. "Inside she's lonely and desperate. I know what that's like."
Kurt was silent and thought about what Blaine had said. Maybe the reason why Rachel was so bossy and…unsociable was because she never knew how to be around people and never had friends. Suddenly he pitied her.
"Your boyfriend is really smart" said Mercedes appreciatively.
"And what do you suggest we should do?" asked Kurt. "I am not giving up the number."
Mr Shue, after deciding to take away Rachel's solo, had asked Kurt and Blaine if they would want to do the eleven o'clock number.
Of course they had said yes.
Blaine shrugged. "We could share the song."
"Pardon?" Kurt said and looked shocked at his boyfriend. "How do you plan on sharing a duet?"
Mercedes smirked. "It's obvious. You turn it into a three part harmony" she said.
"You cannot split the song into three parts" Kurt nearly yelled. Suddenly all pity was gone.
"Actual" confessed Blaine and Mercedes winked at him. Had they come up with this together? "I already arranged it."
Kurt starred at him with an open mouth.
Traitor!
He cleared his throat and tried to compose himself.
"Mr Shue won't agree to this" Kurt said, slowly growing desperate. They had him against a wall.
"We already asked and he likes the idea" said Mercedes and Kurt wanted to throw daggers at her.
"so you two are plotting behind my back and throw me into the cold water. I am not even sure if I like you anymore" he said, pissed off.
"You agreed to this with Rachel but when it's about you, you are mad" said Mercedes judging.
Kurt was dumbstruck.
He had not realized and if this was how Rachel felt, he understood why she had stormed off.
"Listen Kurt" Blaine said sounding sorry. "It wasn't right what we did with Rachel. I just feel so sorry for her. After all singing is all she got."
"But she's annoying" complained Kurt halfhearted. Deep down Kurt knew that he had already agreed to their plan but he did not want to give up to easily.
"She's more like you then you realize" said Mercedes. "You both want to shine above all others and you are both selfish sometimes."
Kurt wanted to protest but Mercedes silenced him. "Don't you dare to deny it Kurt."
Blaine looked at him with golden puppy eyes.
"Please" he begged.
Kurt sighed and gave the bridge a longing look.
"Alright" he agreed. "But first we got to find her."
Against his hopes they found Rachel. She was sitting in the conference room in their hotel, which they used as a makeshift practice room, with her knees under her chin and she was crying.
Mercedes nudged Kurt to go to her and he and Blaine made their way to her.
"Ohm…Rachel" said Blaine and Kurt cleared his throat.
The girl looked up. Her hair was a mess and her red eyes swollen.
"What do you want?" she asked and Kurt could hear for the first time the girl Blaine had talked about. She sounded heartbroken.
"Come here to make fun of me?"
"No we wouldn't do that" Blaine assured.
Kurt wanted to disagree that sure they would do that but he kept his mouth shut. It was important to Blaine and if sharing a song with Rachel would get him closer in getting into Blaine's pants, it was fine with him. It wasn't that Kurt didn't enjoy the time they spent together. The cuddling and kissing but he wanted a little more.
A few times Blaine had given him hints that he may be ready but every time he had gotten cold feet and pulled back. Kurt wanted to give him the time he needed but the sooner it happened the better. He had woken up hard and sweaty a couple of times already because of his dreams. They had included Blaine pressed against a wall, in a cheerio uniform…
Kurt stopped his thoughts. He had to concentrate on Rachel at the moment, not on his sexy boyfriend.
"Then what do you want?" Rachel asked, getting her bossy self back.
"It wasn't fair what we did to you" started Kurt and sat next to her. "I am sorry and we came with a peace offering."
"And what?" Rachel looked at Kurt with a painted expression. Kurt forced himself to smile at her and looked at Blaine. It was his plan after all, so he should explain.
"See Rachel" Blaine said. "Mr Shue had asked Kurt and me if we wanted to do the opening number and we agreed."
"You?" Rachel yelled and Kurt wanted to drown her in the bay.
"Yes" he said coldly.
"But since I fear we are not good enough to perform the song on our own, we would be forever grateful if you could join us and sing with us" Blaine said and sat down in front of her.
Kurt wanted to protest that they were way better than Ms Rachel Berry but one look from Mercedes and he was silent.
"Of course you need me" said Rachel and dried her tears. "Even though my team betrayed me I must support it. I believe Barbara would do the same."
"We did not betray you" mumbled Kurt but Rachel did not hear him because Blaine said "Thank you so much Rachel."
He said it with such an excitement that Rachel blushed but Kurt could see in his eyes that he was just as annoyed with her as Kurt was.
"I marked your parts in gold" Blaine said and handed her the lyrics.
"Thank you" she said and read through it.
"Let's say we meet here in two hours and rehearse together?" Rachel suggested and stood up, leaving no room for disagreement.
"Sure Rachel" Kurt said still with a fake smile and as soon as she had closed the door it fell.
"Alright" he said. "I am not that bad."
"Never meant that" Mercedes explained and came over to them. "I only said you share some similarities. You don't have to be friends with her."
Kurt snorted.
"You ok Blaine?" he asked because Blaine had his face hidden in his hands.
"Yeah sure" he answered and took his hands away. He looked tired and exhausted.
Mercedes raised her eyebrow doubtingly.
Blaine sighed. "It's just that I don't want the school year to end."
Because then I would be alone with my dad, Kurt added in his mind. He looked at Mercedes and she nodded.
"Blaine, 'Cedes and I have something for you" he said and smiled gently.
"What?" he asked, his eyes lighting up but then he added "I mean you didn't have to."
"Of course we had t" said Mercedes dismissively. "It's not much and it's not wrapped in paper but we think you may like it."
"Alright" said Blaine and this time his excitement was not faked.
Kurt winked at him and started to sing.
Now if you feel that you can't go on
Because all of your hope is gone
And your life is filled with much confusion
Until happiness is just an illusion
And your world around is crumbling down, darlin
Reach out come on boy reach on out for me
Reach out reach out for me
I'll be there with a love that will shelter you
I'll be there with a love that will see you through
Now Mercedes took over.
When you feel lost and about to give up
'Cause your life just ain't good enough
And you feel the world has grown cold
And your drifting out all on your own
And you need a hand to hold, darling
Reach out come on boy reach out for me
Reach out reach out for me
I'll be there to love and comfort you
And I'll be there to cherish and care for you
Together they sang.
I'll be there to always see you through
I'll be there to love and comfort you
I can tell the way you hang your head
You're not in love now, now you're afraid
And through the tears you look around
But there's no peace of mind to be found
I know what you're thinking,
You're alone now, no love of your own, but darling
Reach out come on boy reach out for me
Reach out reach out... just look over your shoulder
I'll be there to give you all the love you need
And I'll be there you can always depend on me
I'll be there to always see you through
I'll be there to love and comfort you
The golden eyes were wet with tears and Blaine ran to Mercedes and hugged her.
"Thank you so much" he said between sobs. "No problem" she answered softly.
As soon as he let go of her, he threw himself into Kurt's arms. Kurt held his boyfriend tight.
"We are going to make it through the summer. Together" Kurt whispered into his ears and he could feel that he was nodding. He kissed his ear and said loud, so Mercedes could hear him "Now we should get ready before Wanna-Be-Barbara gets here."
The stage was dark and Kurt could not hear the audience over his own loud heartbeat. He knew Rachel and Blaine were standing by his side, although that did nothing to ease his nervousness. He had performed in front of thousands of people when he had been a cheerio but never in front of roughly 10,000 people.
The music started sooner than he wanted to.
He tried to clear his throat, trying to make no sound due to the micro.
The light found him and he started to sing.
The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful
Stop me and steal my breath.
And emeralds from mountains thrust towards the sky
Never revealing their depth.
Now the light moved over to where Blaine was standing. Kurt could not look but soon he heard him singing.
Tell me that we belong together,
Dress it up with the trappings of love.
I'll be captivated,
I'll hang from your lips,
Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above.
Rachel stood in the middle between him and Blaine and she belted out the chorus.
I'll be your crying shoulder,
I'll be love's suicide
I'll be better when I'm older,
I'll be the greatest fan of your life.
Together they finished the song.
And I've dropped out, I've burned up,
I've fought my way back from the dead.
I've tuned in, turned on,
remembered the things that you said
I'll be your crying shoulder,
I'll be love's suicide
I'll be better when I'm older,
I'll be the greatest fan of your life.
The audience cheered and the three singers smiled at each other.
Kurt and Blaine ran to the rest of the New Directions and Rachel said "Ladies and Gentleman. We are the McKinley High New Directions."
She only had time to join the group again because Artie was already starting the group song.
Take me, take me
Outta here, it makes me
Feels so, feels so
Na-na-nana-na
Now Kurt joined Artie.
Baby, baby
Here we are all crazy
You don't have to worry
Na-na-nana-na
They kept on switching parts, so everybody in the group had a solo part and in the end they all sang together.
So follow me down
I'll show you around
There's a place we gotta go...
Follow me, follow me
Fol-la-la-lala
Follow me, follow me
Fol-la-la-lala
So follow me down
I'll show you around
There's a place we gotta go...
Follow me, follow me
Fol-la-la-lala
Follow me, follow me
Fol-la-la-lala
The audience was standing and cheering at the top of their lungs.
Rachel ran over to Kurt and Blaine and hugged them, followed by the rest of the New Directions.
They had made it.
The rest of the evening was a blur to Kurt. He remembered a few other groups, one had been really good. He also remembered Blaine by his side and occasionally kisses.
The next thing he knew, he was standing on the stage, waiting to hear who had one.
Kurt only knew of the judges. A director and producer from a TV Show about a high school show choir. Much to Kurt's surprise the show was a hit. Seriously who wanted to see that kind of show? Kurt knew how much drama the New Directions had on a daily base, he did not want to watch it as well.
The producer, Bryan…something came with an envelope.
"First of all I wanted to thank each and every one of you for devoting your life the music. Maybe who knows you will be big Broadway stars or even better. You will be big TV-Stars. Perhaps you will even make it on my show. We would be very happy to have you. By the way the new season premiers this Tuesday on FOX" he said with a huge smile and the audience cheered.
Kurt clapped half-hearted.
"But now the moment you all have been waiting for" he whispered dramatically into the microphone and Kurt's hand found Blaine's.
They had to win for Blaine. He deserved it.
"And the winner is…The Angelic Voices!"
Kurt's face fell.
They had lost.
The ride home had been no happy business.
Rachel had stood with her forehead against the wall of the plane and did not listen to the stewardess who asked her to sit down. Artie had locked himself in the bathroom and Kurt thought that he may try to drown himself.
Once they had landed and everybody had been picked up, only Kurt and Blaine remained.
"Do you want to come home with me?" asked Blaine, blushing and not daring to look at Kurt.
Kurt felt like a truck had overran him.
"I thought your dad" he managed to mumble, blushing as well.
"He's on a meeting. Coop said he won't be back till the day after tomorrow" Blaine said embarrassed.
"And Coop?" Kurt asked.
"He's out with some friends tonight. So we will have the house to ourselves" Blaine said and something changed in him. Kurt could see it. His face still had the color of a tomato but his eyes were filled with something. Was it lust? Kurt could not quite place it.
Blaine took his hand and started to lead him towards Kurt's car which was parked nearby.
Once they got there Blaine got in and Kurt followed perplex.
What was happening? On the plane Blaine had not said a single word, not even to Kurt. He had simply stared out of the window and now? Not that Kurt would complain, not in the slightest but somehow it seemed like he was a different Blaine.
"Blaine?" Kurt started to say but Blaine interrupted him. "Just drive please."
Kurt made the drive in a record time and as soon as they had closed the door Blaine was pressed against him and kissing him.
Still feeling something was out of place, Kurt pushed Blaine away.
"Slow down tiger" he said with a concern look.
"I am so sorry. I don't know what overcame me. You must believe me Kurt" said Blaine who was near a panic attack and he tried to back further away but Kurt prevent him from doing so.
"It's ok babe" he said. "Why don't we talk before we do anything else?"
Blaine nodded and five minutes later they were nestled in each other's arms on Blaine's bed.
"Please don't judge me" started Blaine. "But I still can't believe that you choose me. It just feels unreal to have you with me."
Kurt stayed silent. He knew if the said anything Blaine would close up again.
"You quit the cheerios for me and stood up for me like nobody ever did. You also gave me new friends."
He snuggled further into Kurt and he in return tightened his hold around him.
"When we lost at Nationals I began to think that it all could be over soon. My Glee friends would grow tired of me and worst you wouldn't care about me anymore."
Kurt pressed his face into Blaine's hair but still said nothing although it was extremely hard.
"I don't ever want to lose you and I thought maybe if we go all the way, that in the future you wouldn't think about leaving me."
He swallowed hard.
"You have given me everything and I wanted to do that too. It's just because I love you so much. I know I am an idi.." but he could not continue because Kurt had silenced him with a deep kiss.
He only broke the kiss, so both of them could breath.
He put his forehead against Blaine's and looked him in the eyes.
"I love you too silly. And I am letting you in a secret. You won't get rid of me that easily. You are stuck with me."
Blaine wanted to look away, perhaps out of embarrassment but Kurt forced him to keep eye contact.
"And yes I want to sleep with you but only when you are hundred percent sure. Not any time sooner."
"Thank you" mumbled Blaine softly.
"I know. I am awesome" smirked Kurt and kissed Blaine again. But before it got to deep and passionate, he broke apart once again.
"You also have to promise me to tell me when you want to stop or it goes too far for you ok?"
Blaine only rolled his eyes and his answer was either "Shut up and kiss me" or "You dick lick me."
Kurt could not really understand it because Blaine's lips were on his again but he chose the first possibility.
For Kurt it felt like they had kissed only a few seconds when the door swung open with a huge bang.
"What are you doing?" somebody screamed horrified.
Kurt looked up shocked.
In the door stood Blaine's father and he looked drunk.
Welcome to the showdown.
I hope to see you when it all ends in a few days.
