Please see A/N at the bottom for an announcement regarding this story…. (No it's not being abandoned!)
Last time on Unlock My Heart:
Kurt opened his eyes after the last note only to see the band look around at each other before they all stood, cheering loudly. Max's bass, Elliot's tenor, Dani's alto and Sam's very surprising soprano were all clear, even in their cheers and applause. He let a grin show as the last of his tension died. Win or lose, he did his damn best. By the clapping still going on and the handshakes and back slaps that came, he was sure he hand nothing to fear.
. . . . . . . . . .
"To Kurt, newest member of Ideal Misfits!" Elliot cheered, holding his drink up.
The rest of the band cheered and Kurt bumped his glass of diet Coke with each of his fellow band members. His fellow band members! He made it! Kurt Hummel was a vocalist in a band. And here he was in a club called Plan B, having drinks and starting another new phase in his life. The life of a performer. He knew deep down that unlike New Directions and the Warblers, his ideas would be heard here. His individuality and creativity would not only be welcomed but encouraged as well. This new life of his was turning out to be more of a dream than even his own fantasies could have thought of.
"Here's to you, Porcelain!" Sam yelled in his ear.
"Porcelain?" Dani asked as they all drank to Kurt.
"He needs a stage name. And look at him, all that pretty white skin. So, therefore, I dub thee, Porcelain," Sam said, bumping her shoulder into Kurt's.
Kurt snorted and then turned red as they all laughed. "Sorry. It's just really ironic that you chose that for a nickname," he said, giggling.
"Why is that? It kind of suits you," Elliot said with a wink.
"It was the nickname my cheerleading coach gave me sophomore year of high school," Kurt said, his cheeks still bright pink.
There was a short silence. Kurt looked around and saw Dani and Sam were looking at him thoughtfully and humorously. Max and Elliot had an odd look in their eyes. Kurt swallowed and his eyes widened. Was that … hunger? Desire? It was definitely interest if nothing else. He felt his heart pound as a burning heat seared through his body. The idea that these good looking men might find him attractive even in a passing thought pertaining to cheerleading was overwhelming and so hot. He lowered his gaze shyly. Elliot was gorgeous, drop dead gorgeous. His eyes were practically silver and always seemed to sparkle when their gazes met. Max was insanely beautiful. Almost an animal type beauty. Kurt half expected to see him prowl around, his large body elegant in its motions.
"Cheerleader, huh?" Sam said. "I can see that about you. I bet you've got one hell of a high kick."
Kurt nodded. "Yeah. I've been doing yoga for years and it really helped with flexibility. I was the top of the pyramid, too." He couldn't help bragging. He actually had people listening to him and interested in what he had to say.
"Flexible," Max mumbled, his hazel gaze heated as he met Kurt's eyes. "We'll have to get you and Elliot dancing for one of our numbers then."
"Still have the uniform?" Elliot asked, unable to help himself. The younger man was trim and leanly muscled. It would be freaking hot to see him in a cheerleading uniform and picture him doing flips and the splits. Oh god, the splits.
"Um, no. Unfortunately, I had to give that back. I did win the team Nationals that year. I sang a Celine Dion song in French for fourteen minutes while doing a dance routine. It was a blast," Kurt shared. He'd always been so proud of that. Coach had given him a hug that day without one single off comment or insult. It'd been a special moment he'd always treasure.
"Fourteen minutes? Damn, kid. You're just full of all sorts of interesting stories, aren't you?" Sam asked in French.
"Well, most of my life has been boring, but there were a few highlights to break up the dull times," Kurt said with a grin. It was nice to have someone to converse with in French again. "Does anyone else here know French?"
"I do. So no making fun of me, Sam. I know you," Elliot said.
Kurt's body tingled again. The sound of the beautiful language coming out of those full lips was affecting his libido. Hell, the whole night was affecting his libido.
"Alright you three, no more French. If you can't share it with the group, don't say it at all," Dani lectured with a grin.
"Yes, Mom," Sam and Elliot said together.
"Mom?" Kurt asked.
Max grinned and gave Dani a side hug. "Dani here is our resident mama. She takes care of us and sets us straight when we get off track."
"That now includes you, Porcelain, so be good," Dani said, shaking a finger at Kurt.
"Yes, ma'am," Kurt said with a grin.
"Oh god," Elliot said. He, Sam, and Max all leaned away as Dani's brown eyes went dark.
"Do. Not. Call. Me. Ma'am," she said quietly but each word felt like a punch.
Kurt's eyes widened. "I'm, um, sorry. I didn't mean to offend you," he said. Oh shit, please don't let me have just blown this.
Dani winked and everyone relaxed. "No big. For some reason people tend to think I'm older than my ripe old age of twenty one. It irritates me. I've been called ma'am more times than I'd like."
Kurt nodded. "Got it. I get called 'lady' or 'girly boy', so I understand."
All of his new friends frowned. "Do you tell them where to shove it?" Sam asked.
"Every time. Doesn't help, though. Not when you have a voice and face like mine," Kurt said, smiling bitterly.
Max reached over the table and laid his – huge! – hand over Kurt's. "You are a countertenor. Your voice is a gift. There is nothing girly about you, Porcelain," he said. He let his eyes travel up and down Kurt's body, his gaze heated. "Trust me."
Kurt swallowed, his eyes wide. Holy shit, this man could probably make him come just from looking at him. "Okay," he whispered.
They resumed drinking and chatting after that, listening to the horrible karaoke singers in the background. Kurt lamented not knowing an instrument to help with the band and Dani offered to teach him guitar a few times per month. He enthusiastically accepted. He had wanted Blaine to teach him, but they'd never gotten to it.
Sam told him he would be on equipment duty as the new member. She said Max would teach him about setting up the different amplifiers and speakers at their gigs. Kurt gladly agreed, he wanted any opportunity to help and make himself useful to the group.
He learned that there was a gig in just over a week and they would be changing their set to include him. Other than school hours, he let them know he was available at any time.
All of them but Sam were in school. Dani and Max were at NYU. Dani for journalism and Max for engineering, both were juniors. Elliot, of course, was a junior at Parsons, he was also the oldest of the bunch at the ripe old age of twenty two. Sam was just a few months older than Kurt at nineteen. She was taking a year off to do whatever she wanted before she went to school. She was hoping to study photography at either Tisch or NYU, but she wasn't worrying about any of that yet.
One thing he noticed was absent in their talking was any discussion of Dominants, submissives and soul mates. It was odd to not have it even mentioned, but it was a good odd. He was enjoying that he had no idea of any of his new friends' designations. He could hazard guesses. He knew Max had to be a Dom. That gaze of his, the way his eyes seemed to plunge deep into your soul just screamed Dom. Dani and Sam were probably subs. Elliot. Now that was one person he had absolutely no clue on. He was a good leader which some might think meant he was a Dom, but Kurt himself was a good leader, in his mind, so that didn't mean anything. The great thing was that none of it mattered. He wasn't even going to bring it up. They had all kept their Marks covered and he would do the same.
"So, Porcelain, wanna see how well we can sing together?" Elliot asked with an excited grin.
"Sure!" Kurt said eagerly. He was excited as well as scared shitless. What if they sounded horrible together? What if Kurt couldn't sing well with someone else?
"Stop worrying, Porcelain, you're gonna pull a muscle," Sam teased. "You'll do fine. If you suck, we'll make fun of you and move on. No big deal."
Kurt mock glared at her. "Bite me, shorty."
"Eat me, scrawny," she grinned.
Kurt knew his face turned green. "Oh god."
Elliot grabbed Kurt's hand. "Sam, lay off with the nasty girl sex talk. You know it makes us gay boys nauseous."
"Maybe next time he won't call me shorty," she said, her small nose in the air.
"Definitely won't. Definitely. Won't," Kurt said adamantly, squeezing Elliot's hand. "Let's sing, shall we?"
"Come dance for us guys," Elliot called as he led Kurt to the DJ booth to choose their song.
Ten minutes later, Kurt stood on the stage with Elliot holding a microphone in his shaking hand. Elliot nudged him with his shoulder.
"Breathe, sweetie. We're gonna rock this place," he said, his eyes warm and encouraging.
Sweetie? Kurt took a gasping breath. This guy was killing him. Why did he have to be so hot? Hot, sweet, gorgeous, French speaking, wonderful singer and did he mention sexy? Now he had to sing with the guy. Breathe, Kurt, the worst that'll happen is you'll screw up the lyrics or fall down or throw up or get a boner. No big deal, right? Oh shit.
"Kurt, look at me," Elliot whispered in his ear. Kurt met his warm silver eyes. "Relax and just enjoy the moment. This isn't some test. It's just a chance to have some fun. We are going to sound amazing. Okay?"
His voice soothed Kurt in a way he'd never felt. He nodded. "Okay."
Elliot winked. "Here we go."
[Elliott:]
Can't explain all the feelings that you're making me feel
My heart's in overdrive and you're behind the steering wheel
[Kurt:]
Touching you
Touching me
Touching you
God, you're touching me!
[Elliott with Kurt:]
I believe in a thing called love
Just listen to the rhythm of my heart
There's a chance we could make it now
We'll be rocking 'til the sun goes down
I believe in a thing called love!
[Elliott:]
Ooh! Yeah! Come on!
Elliot began dancing around the stage and Kurt followed his movements, easily falling into the flirty nature of the song. When he started his next line, he sent Elliot a coy glance.
[Kurt:]
I wanna kiss you every minute, every hour, every day
You got me in a spin but everythin' is !
[Kurt and Elliott:]
Touching you
Touching me
Touching you
God, you're touching me!
They met in the middle of the stage and leaned back against each other as they sang the chorus. Kurt chanced a look at the crowd and was astounded to see the dance floor was full and people were singing along. He saw Max, Sam, and Dani dancing together and cheering them on. The moment was perfect.
[Elliott with Kurt:]
I believe in a thing called love
Just listen to the rhythm of my heart
There's a chance we could make it now
We'll be rocking 'til the sun goes down
I believe in a thing called love!
[Elliott and Kurt:]
Ooh! Yeah, guitar!
Elliot grabbed Kurt's hand and twirled him around before running and jumping on one of the amplifiers. Kurt joined in by climbing the lighting girder, the audience cheering as they made the stage their own.
[Elliot and Kurt:]
Touching you
Touching me
Touching you
God, you're touching me! Oh!
I believe in a thing called love
Just listen to the rhythm of my heart
There's a chance we could make it now
We'll be rocking 'til the sun goes down
I believe in a thing called love!
Oh, woah!
Kurt couldn't get over what a magical moment this was. And to think this was going to be his life now, performing and seeing people enjoy the music they were sharing with them.
As the song ended, the crowd was jumping up and down, yelling and applauding for more. Elliot grabbed Kurt and hugged him before holding their hands up so the audience could cheer for them once more. They returned their microphones to the stands and made their way off the stage. Kurt was stopped by several people congratulating him and telling him what a great job he did. He got turned around and looked for his band mates.
"Nice job, lady lips," a bulky guy sneered, ramming his shoulder into Kurt's. "Way to show everyone just how a good a girl can sing. Now it's time to get your dress back on and get in the kitchen"
"Way to show everyone what an ignorant asshole you are," Kurt retorted. "Go back to your cave, Neanderthal, you shouldn't be out in public with your knuckles dragging like that."
"Are you trying to be brave or are you just stupid," a tall blonde said, standing next to Bulky. "I think you need to show us some respect."
Kurt heard the Dom tone rising in his voice and knew it was time to get away. This was not a good situation to get stuck in.
"I'm thinking it's you two who should be showing some respect," a deep voice growled from behind Kurt. A warm arm wrapped around his waist and Kurt saw Max's familiar coffee colored skin surrounding him and instantly felt safe. He relaxed himself back into his hold, letting Max's large body hold him up.
"Is this your little bitch?" Bulky asked. "You need to keep him in line."
"You need to back your ass out of this club before I decide to lose my temper. Kurt, should I lose my temper? It's up to you. I can lose my temper or we can dance. I'm okay with either," Max said, his voice conversational.
"Hmm. Can I see your bicep?" Kurt asked, playing along.
Max's around came up and he flexed his arm which was very close to being as wide as Kurt's waist. "What do you guys think? Should he lose his temper?" Kurt asked Bulky and his friend. His friend made his decision by slinking away and melting into the crowd.
"Fucking little twink bitch," Bulky muttered before following his friend.
As he passed by, Max's huge hand flung out and slapped the back of the guy's head, making him stumble into the wall. Kurt let out a laugh and hugged Max's arm to him. After the guy groaned and hurried away, Kurt turned and didn't resist his desire to hug Max.
"You were amazing, thank you," he said, looking up, way up, into Max's warm eyes.
"Glad to help. It's always fun to smack an asshole upside the head," Max said, his arms still wrapped around him. "So, how about that dance?"
"Sounds good to me," Kurt agreed. He took Max's hand as the taller man led him onto the dance floor.
The new Adam Lambert song "For Your Entertainment" was just beginning and Kurt sang along as Max pulled him into his arms. Max let his hands settle on Kurt's hips after wrapping Kurt's hands around his neck and began moving them into a smooth glide back and forth to the beat.
So hot
Out the box
Can you pick up the pace?
Turn it up,
Heat it up
I need to be entertained
Push the limit
Are you with it?
Baby, don't be afraid
I'm a hurt 'ya real good, baby
As the music settled over them, Kurt added a dip to his hips that Max matched and before Kurt knew it, they were nearly grinding. They had to make quite a picture. Max was easily half a foot taller than him and his build was so large, he was certain that if you were standing behind Max you wouldn't be able to see him. Add in Max's coffee dark skin and Kurt's porcelain tones and they were a picture of opposites. Kurt thought they looked beautiful together. He also thought Max was freaking hot as fuck.
Let's go
It's my show
Baby, do what I say
Don't trip off the glitz
That I'm gonna display
I told ya
I'm a hold ya down until you're amazed
Give it to ya 'til you're screaming my name
The heat building between them was insane. Sadly, the last time he'd felt this kind of sensual fire was when he'd danced with Sebastian. Pre-insanity. Instead of giving it too much thought, he decided to just enjoy himself. He wasn't feeling anything that was wrong so he would just go with it.
No escaping when I start
Once I'm in I own your heart
There's no way you'll ring the alarm
So hold on until it's over
Oh, do you know what you got into?
Can you handle what I'm 'bout to do?
'Cause it's about to get rough for you
I'm here for your entertainment
Oh, I bet you thought that I was soft and sweet
'Ya thought an angel swept you off ya feet
But I'm about to turn up the heat
I'm here for your entertainment
It's alright
You'll be fine
Baby, I'm in control
Take the pain
Take the pleasure
I'm the master of both
Close your eyes
Not your mind
Let me into your soul
I'm a work it 'til you're totally blown
"You're feeling it too, aren't you?" Max asked, his eyes smoldering.
Kurt didn't play stupid. "Oh yeah. Are you gay?"
"Nah. I consider myself just plain old sexual. Female sexual, male sexual. Whoever catches my eye. I like times like this when two hot people can enjoy being hot together. No pressure, no expectations. Just enjoying the hotness," he said with a sexy grin. "You are freaking gorgeous, you know that right?" he asked, his hazel eyes slowly running up and down Kurt's swaying form.
Relieved and turned on at his words, Kurt shivered as Max's big hands rubbed circles onto his hips. He was so concentrated on the desire coursing through him, he didn't filter his next words. "Well, seeing as how the only two people who ever found me attractive turned out to be a vicious stalker and an abusive asshole, I don't really know," Kurt blurted. He stopped dancing, slapping his hand over his mouth, his eyes wide. What had he done? "I, uh, gotta go to the bathroom," he said and began walking away. He couldn't believe he'd just said all that. After trying so hard to keep his personal life personal and he just spilled it all. Damn Max and his sexy self.
His hand was grabbed and he was pulled back into Max's arms. "Look at me, Kurt," Max demanded. Kurt was right, he was a Dom. It wasn't a Dom order, but only a Dom could put that much power behind a command.
Kurt's hands returned to their prior position behind Max's neck. He looked up at him, his eyes guarded.
Max led them back into the dance as a new song started. He didn't say anything until they were both into the music, their bodies swaying together, the heat building between them again.
"I'm sorry that the only people to acknowledge your beauty were such poor specimens of humanity. I, on the other hand, am an exceptional specimen," he said with a huge white smile, his expression warm and genuine. "You can be guaranteed that when I say you are gorgeous, sexy, heavenly, and hot, I mean it. Therefore, it is the truth. I'm a good person now and will be tomorrow, so you'll have no need to doubt my words."
Kurt swallowed hard but couldn't fight the tear that slipped down his cheek. "Thank you," he said.
Max wiped the tear away. "Beautiful Kurt. Sweet Porcelain. You belong to us now. Four people who will love you and will protect you and your heart. I won't ask anything. I won't say anything. But I will listen if needed. Any of us will. All of us will. We all have our damage. We accept that and we accept each other. That's what makes us family. Now we are a family of five. You complete us, Porcelain. You make us better. And just maybe we'll help make you better."
Kurt stared up at him. A slow smile spread on his face. He didn't need to say anything, Max had said it all. He leaned his head onto Max's chest and let himself sink into his friend and the music. For the first time in a long time he felt safe.
. . . . . . . .
I Believe in a Thing Called Love: The Darkness
For Your Entertainment: Adam Lambert
I'm going to be taking a small hiatus. I'm dealing with some real life crap and need my brain concentrated on that. I will be working on this during that time and will be posting when I can. I don't know how long I'll be away, but no later than December 1st. I'll have several chapters to post by then, so hopefully it'll be worth the wait. Don't give up on me!