Episode 12: Born This Way
Kurt, Blaine, Mercedes, Santana and Brittany were sitting together at one table at the Lima Bean.
Ever since Kurt's decision and Blaine's follow-up, they've been very careful as to not let anyone know what's going on, they wanted to keep it a secret.
The girls were talking animatedly about Nationals and New Your City, and Kurt was staring blankly at them.
"Kurt?" Mercedes asked at one point, "Why aren't you excited about Nationals? I thought you'd be happy for us."
Kurt shook his head to focus and smiled, "Of course I'm happy for you, Mercedes. It's just that I wish I could go with you."
Blaine was about to say something, but got such a hard kick under the table from the younger boy beside him. Santana gave him an odd look but chose to overlook it.
Tina then noticed that Santana was staring at a point beyond Kurt and Blaine's back and nudged Mercedes, who looked at her and then at the Latino girl beside her, and nudged her slightly, shaking her out of her reverie.
"Are you ok, Santana?"
Santana looked as though she just realized they were all there and jumped to her feet, saying, "I gotta gay… go! I gotta go!"
And with that she was gone.
Blaine raised an eyebrow at Kurt, who simply shrugged his shoulders, not really knowing what came over Santana. Just then he experienced a horrendous pain in the area of his crotch, his eyes started watering, but not before he managed to see Mercedes' eyes reverting quickly between him and a point behind him. After he managed to let out a few juicy swear-words at his best friend that caused his boyfriend to raise an eyebrow and chuckle softly at his profanities, Kurt peeked at the spot where Mercedes had been staring previously and his heart sank. He shouldn't have looked.
Sitting there staring at him with a strange expression was none other than Dave Korofsky, he quickly stared back at his coffee cup when he noticed that Kurt was looking at him.
Kurt looked back at the table, Blaine rubbing circles on his back and Tine and Mercedes eyeing him with worry.
"Are you ok, honey?" Blaine whispered in Kurt's ear.
Kurt only nodded but pulled Blaine up with him as he rose, and he smiled a fake smile at Mercedes. "Thanks for inviting us over for coffee, Mercedes, but we have to go."
Mercedes pouted for a moment, but understood his urgent need to leave. She and Tina rose up to hug the two boys as they left the Lima Bean, Korofsky still staring after them.
Kurt and Blaine were driving back to Dalton, Kurt at the wheel while Blaine was in the passenger seat. He was looking all the while at Kurt.
"Kurt, are you…?"
"Of course I'm sure I'm going back!" Kurt snapped at him, stopping abruptly at a red light, sending the wheels squealing painfully against the asphalt. He turned to look at Blaine, "I said it before and I'll say it again, Blaine, I am not giving up, I am going to face Korofsky, I'm going to go back to all my friends in McKinley and we're going to win this damn Nationals competition. Now, I know this may be a little too much for you, you don't have to come back with me."
Blaine held the boy's hand tightly, "I am not going anywhere where you aren't. You are not alone, or do I have to sing to you again?" he wiggled his eyebrows playfully, trying to alleviate the moment.
Kurt rolled his eyes as he stepped on the gas pedal and they continued their way.
The New Directions were assembled in the McKinley High School courtyard; not quite understanding why in the name of Sue Sylvester Mercedes was calling them out at precisely Noon.
"What the hell is going on?" Puck asked, the last one out.
Mercedes looked just as confused as he was, "I don't know, Kurt asked us to come, said he had something important…"
"Hey, Mercedes!" came an excited cry from behind her.
Mercedes looked up to see a wondrous vision – Kurt Hummel was standing at the top of the stairs, clad in a white overall coat with a black top hat, clutching a boy she did not recognize from afar. The new guy had curly hair, not wild, but enough to think that something weird must have been hidden there; he was wearing a simple T-shirt and jeans. As they came closer, Mercedes realized that is was Blaine, Blaine Anderson, not clad in his usual Dalton uniform and all the gel out of his hair. She ran up to them and hugged Kurt so tightly that he had to gasp at her, "Can't… breathe…" before she let go.
"What the hell are you two doing here? And what the hell has happened to you, cracker boy?" she demanded of Blaine.
Kurt chuckled and twined his arms both in Mercedes' and in Blaine's as they went down to the other New Directions, who were waiting for them, downstairs.
Brittany ran up to them and hugged Kurt tightly, whispering in his ear, "Did they kick you and your dolphin boyfriend out because they were sharks?"
Kurt laughed happily at Brittany and turned to the New Directions, looked at Blaine, who nodded, and took in a deep breath. "Blaine and I have transferred to McKinley. It's official."
Most of the New Directions just gaped at them, their mouths dangling in a silly fashion below their faces, while Mercedes, Brittany, Santana and Rachel squealed happily and ran over to hug the two, toppling them onto the cement. But they let go as soon as they heard Kurt's shrill yell, "One wrinkle on this coat and you guys are getting me the entire new Prada collection!"
Finn approached them slowly, looking from Blaine to Kurt and back again. "Are you sure you wanna do this, dude?" he asked Kurt.
Kurt rolled his eyes, "Yes, Finn. You know that Dad and I talked with Korofsky and his dad, and Mr. Schuster and Figgins! I wanna go back, and sure, there will always be the issue of Korofsky and the football imbeciles," Finn looked confused, "idiots, Finn. So I supposed that one less would make it better. Besides," he slithered into Blaine's arms, "I have another card of protection."
Blaine smiled at him, but his smile faltered at Finn's expression.
"If those idiots touch one hair off of Kurt's head and you're not doing anything, or you hurt Kurt in any way, I'll kick your ass so hard that you'll find yourself in no time back with the Gargoyles."
"The Warblers!" Blaine, Kurt, Mercedes, Tina, Rachel, Santana, Lauren, Artie, Sam and Mike said together, causing Finn to jump at the sudden wave of sound.
Blaine laughed but then looked serious, "Don't worry, if something happened to Kurt on my watch, I'll kick my own ass."
The girls and Kurt sighed and let out a collective 'aww', and Kurt hugged his boyfriend tightly, planting a passionate kiss on his lips.
The girls continued to sigh contentedly, while the two just stood there, lips locked, happy to see their best friend so happy.
Just then, Mr. Schuster came marching up to them, and extended a hand, "Blaine Anderson?" Blaine nodded under the quenching grip of the Spanish teacher/Glee Club director, "I heard that you wanted to join the Glee club here."
Blaine shot a threatening look at Kurt who immediately began talking animatedly with Santana and Mercedes, pretending to catch up on all the drama. He turned to the adult in front of him and nodded vaguely.
"Well, tomorrow we're holding your audition, Kurt, would you like to do something special for your return?" he turned to the other boy.
Kurt's eyes lit up and he glanced at Blaine, making sure that he wasn't completely overwhelmed, and nodded vigorously. "I have the perfect song."
Everyone smiled, including Blaine, expecting something either from Wicked or Evita.
Wednesday afternoon came, all the New Directions, save Kurt, were already assembled in the Choir room.
"Uh, Blaine?" Puck asked, talking to the new member for the first time, "where is Kurt? Aren't you two like inseparable? Shouldn't you two be making out in the corner or something?"
Blaine blushed like a turnip just as Mr. Schuster came in and asked, "Where is Kurt?"
Puck smirked as Blaine answered, "I don't know, sir, he told me he had to prepare himself before he came, and I really don't want to start my audition without…"
"Without who?" came a familiar voice from the door, and Kurt's perfect figure was leaning leisurely against the door frame of the room. "You really thought I'd miss it?" he said, sliding into a seat next to Blaine, "I want to see these guys' reaction to your audition first hand."
Mr. Schuster just raised his eyebrow and beckoned Blaine forward.
"Since I'm no longer at Dalton, this seems quite unreasonable, but I've grown quite attached to these guys and well, I'd like to use this as both Kurt's and my farewell from Dalton as well as my own special way to say how happy I am to have transferred."
The one thing Kurt did not expect to happen was to see the Warblers filing into the McKinley High School Choir room, setting themselves in front of the New Directions. Kurt's jaw dropped, he did not expect this to happen, and he could do nothing but stare open-mouthed as his friends from his former school began harmonizing at the same time as his boyfriend began singing.
I walked across an empty land
I knew the pathway like the back of my hand
I felt the earth beneath my feet
Sat by the river and it made me complete
Oh simple thing
Where have you gone?
He moved to stand before Kurt, his eyes dark with a certain emotion. Kurt had to swallow hard as he looked at his boyfriend, not quite believing that he was sharing the experience of Blaine serenading him with the rest of his friends.
Mercedes scooted next to Kurt and squeezed his hand tightly, smiling widely as he looked up at her.
If you have a minute why don't we go
Talk about it somewhere only we know?
This could be the end of everything
So why don't we go
Somewhere only we know
Somewhere only we know
Blaine finished his song, bent on one knee in front of Kurt, whose eyes were so moist with tears that he had to blink several times in order not to miss Blaine's expressions.
"That bad?" Blaine whispered, worried that Kurt's tears were a bad sign.
Then there was a massive roar as all of the New Directions clapped enthusiastically. The Warblers took their bows, each one of them coming to pat Blaine and Kurt on their backs as farewell, hugging Blaine tightly as they left.
Mr. Schuster came up to the class, dabbing a little at his eyes, "All those opposed to Blaine joining the New Directions Glee Club?" he asked, his voice thick.
Blaine and Kurt looked at their classmates, who sat silently, their arms folded in their laps, their faces moist as tears trickled down their cheeks, even Finn had to sniff a little.
"All in favor?"
All hands shot up, Kurt looked to Puck, Sam and Artie and saw that they, too, had their hands up in the air, along with the rest of the band, Brad and even Mr. Schuster himself, who smiled at Kurt and Blaine.
"Blaine, welcome to the New Directions," Mr. Schuster clapped the young man on his shoulder and guided him back to the seat, quickly addressing the rest of the group. "Now, Blaine isn't the only to sing to us today. Kurt has transferred back to McKinley," there was a massive cheer throughout the group and Blaine hugged Kurt tightly, "and he asked me if he could sing something to all of you. Kurt?"
Kurt nodded, and as he stepped to the front of the classroom, there was a general whisper of murmuring from his fellow glee clubbers. They hadn't heard Kurt solo ever since his one-man-duet of La Jazz Hot, and they missed him terribly. Blaine was intrigued, too, he never saw Kurt perform in front of his old friends before and was sure that this was a sight to be seen.
"Well, I'd first like to say how glad I am to be back," Kurt said, smiling grandly at the entire room, even at Brad, "and I wanted to say, before I begin, that I'd like all of you to listen very closely to the song, not only my incredible voice." This extracted some cracked smiles and outbursts of laughter.
It was good to have Kurt Hummel back in McKinley.
Kurt took a deep breath and signaled the band that he was ready.
I don't know why I'm frightened
I know my way around here
The cardboard trees
The painted scenes
The sound here
Yes, a world to rediscover
But I'm not in any hurry
And I need a moment
Blaine's jaw dropped, Kurt had transformed before his eyes into this incredible human being, just standing there as though there was no one else in the room but his own poise self. He looked at Mercedes, but she wasn't paying attention, she, as well as everybody else in the room, was mesmerized by Kurt's performance. His voice was filing the room, carrying easily as though it was nothing to hit those impossible high notes.
I've spent so many mornings
Just trying to resist you
I'm trembling now
You can't know how I've missed you
Missed the fairy-tale adventures
In this ever-spinning playground
We were young together
Now Blaine had to clutch his seat and just gape at Kurt as he went on with the theatrics, he looked to his left and saw that everyone was in the same position as him, not quite believing it was Kurt standing in front of them. But their reasons were different. They couldn't believe that he was back and was filling the room with his dulcet tones; Blaine couldn't believe that Kurt could actually extract those heavenly sounds out of his perfect lips.
I don't want to be alone
That's all in the past
This world has waited long enough
I've come home at last
And this time we'll be bigger
And brighter than we knew it
So watch me fly
We all know I can do it
Could I stop my hand from shaking?
Has there ever been a moment with so much to live for?
And that's when Blaine lost it, he couldn't just sit there and watch his boyfriend sing like that and having him tearing up with emotions, Blaine's eyes squinted and he felt tears pouring down his cheeks endlessly, he let out a small sob. The rest of the girls awwwed as they saw Blaine's reaction and Mercedes, Rachel and Santana hugged him tightly just as Kurt came to the final words of his song.
Yes, everything's as if we never said goodbye
We taught the world new ways to dream
He finished his song and got a standing ovation. Blaine ran up to Kurt and swept him off his feet into a big bear hug and there was a collective sigh behind them. Blaine let Kurt down and whispered into his ear, "Don't ever do that again or I won't be able to hold myself back."
Kurt raised his eyebrow and whispered, "Don't, then."
And he didn't.
He clutched Kurt's face and pulled it to his, savoring his mouth in his own. He prolonged the kiss, feeling Kurt's , not quite caring that the entire glee club behind them were either coughing uncomfortably or giggling at them.
He then felt a soft tap on his shoulder and sighed, letting go of Kurt only to collect his hand in his own. He turned to find Mr. Schuster standing pretty close to him, arms folded against his chest and looking pointedly at the two of them.
Kurt blushed deeply and pulled Blaine to sit down with him amongst the rest of the New Directions.
Kurt and Blaine were walking down the halls of McKinley in between classes when a figure passed by.
"Korofsky?" Kurt couldn't help but look at the boy who passed them.
Yes, it was definitely Korofsky, dressed in a shiny red jacket and a matching red barrette, holding hands with none other than Santana.
At the sound of his name being called, the two turned around and Korofsky's eyes bulged in their sockets at the sight of the staring pair. "What?"
Kurt could feel a huge lump in his throat at the sound of Korofsky's voice and noticed that Blaine beside him was as tense as a spring, ready to jump at the big boy the moment he saw threat, so he did his best to keep a confident composure and said, "Nothing I just found it surprising to see you walk around so confident in that outfit."
Korofsky stopped in his tracks and Santana's eyes went wide, Blaine just stood there looking terrified.
"What do you mean by that, Hummel?" Korofsky spat at him.
Kurt raised an eyebrow at him and Korofsky blushed and towed Santana with him.
"Kurt, is there something I should know?" Blaine asked, watching his boyfriend begin walking.
Kurt turned around and ushered him into a classroom.
"Kurt, as much as I would love to have a make-out session, I think we ought to get to …Ow!"
Kurt smacked his arm and looked at him, fiercely.
"Shut up and listen. Before we transferred, Dad and I had a talk in Figgins's office with Korofsky and his dad."
"I know…"
"I told you to listen," Kurt snapped at him, Blaine pretended to lock his mouth and throw the key while his boyfriend rolled his eyes at him, "dork. Anyway, we met and he promised to try hard not to be hostile and accept who he is, but I didn't expect him to hint at it so obviously."
Blaine raised his eyebrow, "Are you disappointed? Did you want him to continue being that idiot thug who shoved you against lockers?"
"No, of course not! I was just surprised, that's all."
Blaine hugged him close, and whispered into his hair, "Well, maybe it's his way to deal with all of this."
Kurt sighed and back up only to place a kiss on his boyfriend's lips, "You know you are incredibly manipulative when you want to," he told him.
Blaine gave him his best puppy dog eye look and, before Kurt could reach over to smack him again, pulled him in for a deeper kiss, letting his fingers trail down the younger boy's sides and resting softly on his waist.
Kurt leaned in, absorbing the heady taste of Blaine's lips and then felt Blaine's teeth against his lips. He gasped and quickly stepped backwards, staring at Blaine.
"Kurt?" Blaine didn't understand what was happening, 'Did I bite him?', "are you ok?"
Kurt just stood there, his eyes wide with shock and then a playful smile played on his lips. "Really, Blaine? Biting? You'd have to try harder next time", and with that he placed his hands on his hips, making it clear that he was only messing with him.
Blaine was relieved he didn't hurt the boy and grabbed him back for a quick peck before opening the door and escorting his boyfriend to their next class.
How did he even end up here in the first place?
Blaine was standing in front of Emma Pillsbury's word-press in her office, a plain white T (he laughed at the thought, thinking of one of his favorite bands – wow, Kurt was definitely influencing him… what happened to his Top 40 reputation?) and trying to think what to write on it.
He would have done it with Kurt, who else could declare his faults and get away with it? But Kurt was on a mission with Puck, a Barbara-vension, trying to convince Rachel not to get a nose job. Personally, Blaine couldn't agree more. Rachel's nose wasn't that awful, and it was sort of her trademark look, not to mention a brilliant tribute to her idol – Barbara Streisand.
'Ok, Blaine, focus!' he thought. He had to think of something he didn't like about himself and write it on the shirt. He looked in the mirror and laughed bitterly to himself. He knew that if Wes or David were here, they'd laugh at his hesitance claiming that he thought himself perfect. But the truth was, he just knew his flaws. He was too dapper, too short, had weird eyebrows, big dumb feet that were somehow manageable, yet still awkward; and the worst part he saved for last – his curly hair that somehow looked like Mr. Schuster's but in dark brown and slightly more wild.
Then it hit him, he remembered something that Kurt once told him, and smiled as he remembered his boyfriend's tantalizing smile.
He turned to the word-press, more confident in himself than he ever felt.
Thank you, Kurt.
The New Directions were gathered on the stage in the McKinley High School auditorium, waiting for Santana and Rachel, as well as Mr. Schuster.
Just then, they saw the teacher come up the steps to the stage, clutching uncomfortable at his jacked, under which they could clearly see a white T-shirt.
"Mr. Schuster, you made a t-shirt too?" Brittany asked, confused, "but – you're like perfect."
There were murmurs of agreement from the girls and rolling of eyes from the boys as William Schuster chuckled.
"Thanks Brittany, but there's actually been something that I have been uncomfortable with for a long time and I think it's about time I coped with it.
He smiled nervously as he took off his jacket to reveal the words printed on his t-shirt: BUTT CHIN
There were a few laughs and giggles from the teenagers as Mercedes stepped up and said, "We dig your butt chin, Mr. Schu."
Just then they saw Rachel coming up the steps, also clutching a jacket around her t-shirt, Blaine looked at Kurt appreciatively, admiring his boyfriend's persuading capabilities.
"I decided to stop the nose job procedure," this was received with a lot of applause from the glee club which rose to a roar as Rachel revealed her t-shirt – NOSE – and looked threateningly at Finn.
"Finn, the doctor said to stop dancing for a while, so that I will be able to heal, so keep away from the schnozzle!"
There was laughter and then silence as Mr. Schuster clapped his hands for attention.
"Alright, guys, places!"
The lights went down and there was suddenly a single spot trained on Kurt, as he stood alone on stage, clad in a white t-shirt and a red plaid jacket, his hair towseled and kept in place by gel.
It doesn't matter if you love him
He chanted, pointing at a random place in the empty auditorium
Or capital H-I-M
He mimicked the letters with one hand and continued singing as Mercedes and Tina joined him and then ripped his shirt to reveal his message:
LIKES BOYS
From the wings, Blaine smiled hugely with tears in his eyes, he was so proud of his boyfriend. Standing there with his best friend and another friend, singing how he was happy to be just like he was. And then the chorus began and it was show-time.
Blaine and the rest of the New Directions just ran about stage, goofing off and then the moment came.
He saw the guys revealing their shirts one by one.
Finn:
CAN'T DANCE
Mike:
CAN'T SING
Puck:
I'M WITH STOOPID *arrow downwards*
Sam:
TROUTY MOUTH
He took a big gulp and took off his own jacket, and ran forward, threw it into the audience's usual spot. He turned to continue running but bumped into Kurt, who held him in place and took a look at his shirt:
WHY SO SERIOUS
Kurt cocked his head slightly, but had to continue on with the song, so they just kept running randomly all over the stage, singing:
Don't be a drag
Just be a queen
At this, Kurt pulled Blaine to him and kissed him full on the mouth on stage.
In the audience, Dave Korofsky and Santana Lopez (with a shirt saying LEBANESE) were squirming uncomfortably as the two boys kissed.
They continued singing, finally finishing the song
I'm on the right track
Baby, I was born this way
Hey
They all cheered, laughing good-naturedly at each other's statements and Kurt looked at Blaine with a look that said, Seriously?
Blaine just shrugged and proceeded to fist-bump Puck as the latter muttered to him something, grinning.
He had never felt better than as he did at that precise moment.