Kurt was utterly distracted throughout English, paranoid about his Christmas duet song choice. Would Blaine like it? Had he heard it before? Kurt sighed, looking down at his copy of Romeo and Juliet. What do you know, he thought, Blaine had been right.
After handing in his half-hearted essay at the end of the lesson, Kurt grabbed his satchel and made his way to the Warblers' hall. In all honesty, he was proud of himself once he'd made it without getting lost. He peeked around the door to see the lights on and Blaine sitting on piano seat, the CD player on the top of the piano in front of him.
"Hey, you," Blaine called when he looked up and saw him. Kurt smiled and entered, shutting the door quietly behind him and making his way to the piano.
"Hi." Kurt reached into his blazer and pulled out the CD. He realised he was nervous.
Blaine was, however, his usual charming self. "So, what song's got you so excited?" He stood up and leant over the keys of the piano, looking at Kurt playfully.
Kurt swallowed and put the disc into the machine. "I think it meets everything we want it to," he said, stalling.
"Really?" Blaine raised an eyebrow. "So it's a Christmas song that's not about Christmas?"
"And I haven't heard of it before," Kurt added, before cursing himself. That just makes you sound desperate, Kurt. Don't tell him you found it just for him: that's borderline creepy.
Blaine, luckily, didn't seem to notice. "Well, then," he smiled, "let's hear it." He leant across Kurt to press play, their faces inches from each others'. Kurt coughed awkwardly and took a step back. He still wasn't sure how to respond to Blaine's more flirtatious actions, and whether or not he was just being friendly. But then the music started and Kurt quickly took a breath to come in on time.
He met her up in Delaware in 1937
She was wearing red lipstick to match her pretty dress
December 24th at a quarter to eleven's
When he finally gained the courage to ask her to dance.
Kurt opened his eyes, although he couldn't remember shutting them. Blaine was nodded in time to the music, looking impressed thus far. When their eyes met, both boys smiled, completely comfortable with each other in that moment.
It was the night before Christmas, it was love at first sight,
The carollers sang as they danced through the night,
She was a small-town girl, he was a travelling guy,
He never caught her name before they said their goodbyes.
"Do you know it?" Kurt asked.
Blaine shrugged. "I've heard it before, but I couldn't find it anywhere when I looked."
Kurt smiled sheepishly. "It did take a while to find."
When Kurt opened his mouth to continue singing, Blaine held up a hand.
A couple years, later, he was out on the road,
Having Christmas dinner in a diner, alone,
When he saw a young waitress with a gleam in her eye,
Her favourite day of the year, she showed her spirits were high,
She said, "Sir, could you spare a little holiday cheer?"
A simple Christmas story's all she wanted to hear.
He looked prepared with a smile as he started to say,
"Here's my favourite Christmas story 'bout a girl with no name."
Kurt joined back in, improvising a harmony with Blaine.
He said, "I met her up in Delaware in 1937
She was wearing red lipstick to match her pretty dress
December 24th at a quarter to eleven's
When I finally gained the courage to ask her to dance."
They were both not-quite dancing, swaying in time to the music and moving around the room, but maintaining a space between each other. Kurt lay back against the sofa, while Blaine sat on the arm of it and came in with "ooh"s.
By age 53, he had done, settled down,
All the neighbourhood kids liked to gather around
Just to listen to his stories 'bout his life on the road,
All he had now were these children he told.
And every Christmas Eve they showed up before dark,
He told them all the story but they knew it by heart,
They could quote it word-for-word, he always told it the same,
It was his favourite Christmas story called 'The Girl with No Name'.
Blaine offered Kurt a hand and pulled him to his feet. They sang the chorus again together, and then Kurt felt Blaine pull him closer for the next verse. Kurt came in with a few harmonies, not sure whether Blaine was invading his personal space in a friendly or romantic way.
20 years later, as he took his last breath,
On a cold Christmas morning in a hospital,
The children had grown, he had nobody left,
Except the little old nurse who was holding his hand.
He said, "Ma'am, could you share a little holiday cheer?"
A simple Christmas story's all he wanted to hear.
But his eyes filled with tears at the words she spoke,
Because his favourite Christmas story was the one that she told.
It was very quiet in the room. Kurt could feel Blaine close to him, and could see Blaine's eyes staring back into his. This has to be a moment, he thought, before opening to sing.
She said, "I met him up in Delaware in 1937
Though I never caught his name, he was travelling man
December 24th at a quarter to eleven's
I'm so glad he gained the courage to ask me to – "
The great oak door swung open, and Kurt and Blaine leapt apart at the speed of light, looking awkwardly at the door. Wes swept into the room carrying a huge pile of loose papers, muttering to himself. He didn't notice the two boys glaring in horror at his appearance until he'd made his way to the table, set down the papers, sorted them a little, and turned back around.
"Oh. Hey, guys," he said breezily, walking back to the door. He paused, turning back. "Actually – Blaine, could I have a word?"
Blaine glanced at Kurt. Kurt shrugged defeatedly. "Sure."
"Great." Wes looked pointedly at Kurt, and Kurt sighed, grabbed his bag and left, the door crashing shut in the silence.
Blaine rubbed his eyes and turned to Wes. "So, what is it?" he asked.
Wes, blissfully unaware of the tension, replied, "it's about the Christmas fête." When Blaine motioned for him to continue, he elaborated: "they want you to sing a duet."
Blaine frowned. "Who want me to sing what duet with whom?"
Wes sighed, as though that had already explained everything. "A load of girls from Crawford Country Day'll be at the fête," he said. "Couple of teachers from there and from here want to see us 'bond', so I've been asked if our resident lead soloist – " he motioned at Blaine " – would like to sing a duet with theirs."
"I didn't know they had a glee club," Blaine commented.
"Well, I don't know – jeez, Blaine, you are not focusing on the right bit at all!" Wes seemed stressed, and Blaine held up his hands in apology.
"Fine, sorry," he said. "What do they want me to sing?"
Wes walked to the door. "My understanding was that you'd decide between you. I think she's pretty keen on 'Baby, It's Cold Outside'."
Blaine nodded. "Okay. Thanks for letting me know."
"No problem, Blaine. Oh, and – would you tell Kurt? Auditions day after tomorrow."
"Sure."
Blaine left a little after Wes to go find Kurt, but the bell went for lessons and he sighed exasperatedly. He decided to text him instead.
Love the song :) Wes says auditions on Thursday
Blaine shouldered his rucksack, wondering what the girl from Crawford Country Day would be like. Luckily, he didn't have to wait long – the girl messaged him on Facebook that evening. Her name was Nicole Spiron. Her profile picture was her with a selection of other girls (at least Blaine assumed she was in the picture; he didn't know what she looked like).
Nicole: hi there
Blaine: hello
Nicole: so i hear your my duet partner 4 xmas fair?
Blaine shuddered. He didn't like her already.
Blaine: apparently. I heard we're supposed to pick a song?
Nicole: bby its cold outside pls? ;)
Luckily, Nicole was unaware of Blaine's eyeroll as he rested his forehead in his hand. To be honest, he quite liked 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' and didn't want a sour memory of it, but he had no better suggestions.
Blaine: sure.
Nicole: awsum! xox do u wanna meet up 2 reherse?
No. No I don't.
Blaine: yeah.
Blaine: what about the weekend?
Nicole: friday nights gr8 4 me
Not technically weekend, Blaine thought, but okay.
Nicole: my parentsll be out so we can make as much noise as we want ;P
That caused Blaine to pause. It almost certainly doesn't mean what I want it to mean, he sighed. But, quite frankly, he didn't have the willpower to continue to sustain the conversation and he was – in a way – looking forward to potentially rejecting her.
Blaine: okay.
They organised to meet up outside her school after lessons; it being Dalton's sister school, Blaine knew roughly where it was well enough to find it on Google maps. Feeling physically drained by the end of the conversation, he decided to have an early night, but his phone buzzed with a text from Kurt.
Want to come over tomorrow and rehearse it then?
It was odd how twenty minutes earlier he was imagining stabbing the asker of that question (a quick browse of her Facebook profile had left him less than unimpressed) but now he found himself biting his lip to stop himself from smiling.
Of course :)
Blaine spent the next hour texting Kurt, talking about nothing. By the time he did finally go to bed, he was in a much better mood than he had been, and was, at least, looking forward to the next day.