AN: this is part of a personal challenge/project filling all the prompts of past Kadam weeks, and posting one every day from March 28 to May 8th, 7 prompts per year 5 previous rounds (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 last two managed by vcg73) the first week of May 2-8 will present to you the offering for the Kadam Week 2021 you can search for more on tumblr
This is the offering to Kadam Week 2014 prompt 4: Drunk
After receiving Nyada's rejection letter Kurt considered that maybe the year off in New York would be a good start he could set himself up with a better egg nest and try out again, maybe not being in the same lessons as Rachel... But the thought of having to share those with Blaine instead made him shudder
The fact was that the little ungrateful cheating boy had no idea what it meant to be a responsible adult... And he didn't seem to understand exactly what it meant not having a loaded daddy willing to wipe out a diamond credit card... On a whim...
In fact that was demonstrated by the fact the little snake couldn't handle not being the centre of Kurt's world, didn't understand the concept of bills to pay and having to support oneself... It had hurt like hell when for some reason Blaine tagged along for the visit he had planned with Finn for some brotherly time in a place where no one would comment on them being affectionate.
But he did so to hurt Kurt in the worse way possible, the schoolboy knew exactly where to hurt, if it had really been about missing Kurt's attention or even Kurt in general, then the cheater could have wiped out either a skype call to say something or the cheap train tickets to come and visit... After all he did cough up at least three times more just to be there that night and spill the beans.
And oh boys Finn had been the best brother ever. He had pinned Blaine to the wall after hearing what he did and threw the gelled helmet out like yesterday's trash... 'cos "Dude that's fucked up, why did you have the money to come up now? when I know you had a planned visit next week? Also there's no room in here for you to sleep hence why I told you it was not a great idea to tag along, I do hope you have the spare money for a hotel room cos you ain't staying here tonight"
While Finn had then not so gently pushed Blaine toward the door the little manipulative bastard tried to worm his way into Kurt's bed trying to pull the strings of Kurt's heart in the same he used so many times before "But but Kurt I'm sorry I swear it was a mistake I missed you so much I came here to tell you as soon as it happened..."
Kurt had been not amused at all. He hid his pain behind an icy front and simply said "All the more reason for not sharing my bed with you then, who knows where you had been before your flight seat... I guess this was you saying goodbye. So please don't call to say you got home safely I think I've already wasted too much on you for not enough in return, and just to clarify this is me saying goodbye to you."
Best of all was that while doing so, Kurt had gently guided Blaine around the pull out couch and to the front door. And the little wanker had not even realised that, too intent on attempting a mixture between a smouldering look and the lost puppy eyes that used to work on Kurt like magic...
What apparently the boy had not understood was that they worked not because they were endearing, but simply because Kurt had no fight left in him at that point in his life...
Surprisingly being far removed from all the toxicity that had been going around in Lima and from those who were supposed to be his friends, had done wonders for Kurt.
Living alone had pushed him to actually seek friends first within his own building, then at both Vogue and at the garage...
He had forgotten the kind of crew usually worked in a garage... Or about the fact that some mechanics' cliche like naked women calendars to have a sweet view and some eye candy, were not cliche for nothing...
Having him growing up in the garage had forced his dad to forcibly purge of all that sort of things since the time a four year old Kurt had started asking why the dolls on the calendar forgot to wear their clothes before taking a picture, And ingenuously asked if he needed to convince mommy to help him make new ones, since he had many ideas for many different dresses... Not being the son of the boss was a refreshing change, and Kurt had appreciated very much being treated as an equal by the other guys working there… The perks of not having everyone knowing him since he was a toddler...
While surely not working in the family business had been a factor, the majority of it could have been traced back to the fact that they were in New York City...
After Kurt had been working at the garage for a couple of months, one of the guys had tried to win an argument whether it was hotter the picture of August or the one of September, Kurt's answer had been August because that impala at least had the original leather interiors on it. His answer had floored the other mechanics and Carlos laughing had called that the best answer ever.
Mason, who was invested in winning the betting pool tried to ask about which of the two women in the pictures was the most attractive to Kurt. And Kurt only shrugged commenting that while both models had very nice bodies that could look really sexy in so many kinds of clothes, and thus making both of them very attractive for a fashion designer. If everyone was asking about Kurt's personal preferences, well they were both a little too female for him to truly find any of them eye candies...
When the other guys were simply silent Kurt had wondered if that was the moment he had lost the camaraderie with the other guys. Only for Marcus to come in the next day with the New York firefighters calendar and hang it side by side to the other. On the next pause when everyone gathered around they checked out Mr August and Mr September, because fair was fair, and yes indeed those were more eye candies up to Kurt's ally... In the end, Mr August was considered the most attractive.
That level of acceptance had done miracles to restore Kurt's battered self esteem, allowing him to be in a much better place than he had been for years. This was one of the reasons why, when Blaine ended up cheating on him, Kurt had been more than ready to just kick Blaine out of his life for good.
After all it would have been kinda difficult to justify forgiving such behaviour, when all the guys pointed out daily, what a douche his now ex had been in all the stories Kurt shared of his home. Or after hearing time and time again how none of their girlfriends or wives would have taken that kind of crap from them and promptly dumped their asses faster than one could say but... And way soon than Kurt.
The fact that Finn had sprinted to his defence right away, had been all the balm Kurt had needed at that moment. While the rage was still burning hot Kurt had made the break up as official as possible, removed all the pictures and untagged himself from anything connected to Blaine, he even unfriended and blocked the asshole...
Some of their old New Directions friends had been firmly on Blaine side, especially the current members, a couple of the graduates actually cheered on Kurt getting free of the ball and chain...
Surprisingly in choosing to separate himself from Blaine so so publicly meant that some of the Dalton boys who had already graduated and still remembered Kurt had finally deigned to remember he too had been a warbled... And that once a warbler always a warbler, was supposed to include him as well…
With more than one of them, Niff in the front row, studying in New York or close enough to warrant saturday nights out together, Kurt had been around club and drinking people more than he ever thought possible...
After all his experiences with alcohol Kurt had developed an aversion for drinking, which sort of sucked at times, because college students were very much into going out to drink, and were still way too close to their high school mentality to actually not tease him for avoiding drinking like the plague...
Which was sort of why Kurt still hadn't accepted many invitations to go outside, it didn't help that his own little shoe box was out of the usual neighbourhoods where students gravitated to. But it was more than enough for his own needs, sure it meant longer commuting than that lovely loft he saw in Bushwick…
He had contemplated the chance of living with Rachel, but then she had been too overjoyed to actually leave the dorms to shack up with Brody Weston, leaving Kurt without a prospective roommate not that much closer to his Vogue internship, and at a longer distance from the garage he had found work with...
Which all in all was a lot better for his own finances, as his qualifications allowed him to live alone independently. Despite not living together he still managed to see way more of Rachel and Nyada than he thought he would without being a student there...
And then a miracle happened, Kurt. Didn't know if it was a coincidence or if it was by design.
Only a few days before Brody came with an invite to attend the Winter Showcase, Kurt had talked with Madam Tibideaux and heard something about how his audition performance was too much about showmanship and not enough about emotions...
He was rather perplexed to say the least. Especially considering that Rachel got in after choking her finalist audition, but her pestering to the point that any other sensible person would have asked for a restraining order instead had won her points for perseverance...? It made little sense to him, so he was a little unsure of the Dean's mental stability, but as it was her judgement the one that mattered to enter at Nyada that would have to do...
The surprise was that Brody had been rather insistent that he was coming to do Rachel a favour, Kurt had been doubtful, but he reasoned that it was a good idea to see what the voice program considered worthy performances. And maybe trying to send something of that nature for his attempt at entering as second semester's student...
Only for that night to turn out to be nothing like he had planned. When Madam Tibideaux had announced that he was going to perform his audition there, in front of such crowd he had been more than surprised, and the little knowing smile on Brody's face indicated that at least he had an idea something of the sort was going to happen.
Kurt had managed to not run out and enter full panic mode, he wanted to be an actor, what better way than being able to improvise perfectly confident and natural every single time he was in a situation that would usually raise all emotions to the extremes...
He had listened perfectly well, on how the venue and being on that stage, had been considered by many highly acclaimed tony winners, one of the pinnacle and most fond memories of their career. And Kurt could understand that, even as a member of the audience the sound in the round room was fantastic.
Being asked to stand up and perform was a little daunting, more for the fact that there had been a lot of red tape about how illustrious guests were in attendance, not just the whole faculty body, but notorious alumni and some of the most generous patrons of the school...
It was one of the reasons why being invited to perform in front of this audience was so special and important. Being showcased on such occasion meant having one's name being known before stepping out of school. Students were hopefully that theirs would be one of the performance that piqued the curiosity of one of the generous patrons, finding a sponsor who would then drop their name into the right ears...
All in all careers were made out of this event, and most of all it was not just a pick amongst the voice majors... There had been a dancer and a purely classical actor showcased earlier on that evening... So the pool of possible participants included at least all the performing majors.
While Kurt could understand the logic of it, he did believe it was more than a little screwed, especially since Nyada also had one of the greatest technical majors around. Some of the best costume designers, light technicians and set creators were coming out of Nyada... And apparently they were not showcased nearly as much...
It was a pity, and Kurt found it also saddening, he had hoped there would be less bias once he reached college, instead it seemed like the system stayed the same only the players changed...
Despite seeing the faults, not even being a student yet, there was nothing he could do to fix it. So he simply concentrated on offering one hell of a performance. He chose to perform being alive, it was something he knew well, he had sung it before, and while maybe it did not showcase his whole range as other choices might have. It certainly was something he could pull off and not ruin the mood and atmosphere created during the evening.
Kurt considered that while having his name known, it was more worth as an aspiring, to demonstrate being able to deliver a performance that would appear as if it was all meticulously planned and rehearsed, and not a clearly cold one thought on the fly.
Despite knowing full well that it was, it would be hard not to notice that his name was not mentioned in the pretty printed programs given to everyone attending the event...
After all he wasn't totally convinced that the explanation about missing soul and emotion in his material selection wasn't simply a flimsy excuse to justify favouring a student who'd pay the full amount of the tuition costs over one who could qualify for more than one scholarship...
He had done his homework, he had seen the scholarship he could use to lower down his costs, and he was sure that even excluding the income based ones, he could attempt and most likely obtain at least three if not more, certainly enough to lower his contribution to at least one third of the original cost...
It didn't matter much at the present time, he concentrated solely ongoing on that stage and perform the best way he could. Kurt had decided that this would be his final attempt.
After managing to do something that Rachel for sure wasn't going to ever be able to do.
After standing there in front of an audience that should and would make fainter hearts fail, choosing material that was not only in line with a more deep emotional approach but also showcased his talent.
Well if he was going to rejected despite being called forward and put on th spot like that then he'd known for sure that Nyada wasn't for him a all... And that it wouldn't have been a complete loss giving it up and follow a spring enrolment into a different college altogether...
However the applause he received at the end of his performance was reassuring, it had started even before he could finish singing, and none of the other students received such a warm reaction to their performances, nor there had been many of the faculties coming in to congratulate them personally in the first intermission...
And in this mad mad world that was Nyada apparently it was ok to congratulate an aspiring student and mention in front of the winner of the showcase what a pity it was that they were not eligible for the competition itself, otherwise they would have won...
Rachel didn't take those kinds of comments too well, it might have been because the praise she got wasn't as spectacular and certainly not from all the members of the faculty...
Or it might have been because after building herself upon beating Kurt, despite the both of them knowing that while she was great at belting and had great technique, however Kurt had more charisma and a better range...
And it probably stung too much for the diva to accepts complete strangers would dare to compare the two of them and find Kurt as the better option, lamenting the inability to properly celebrate Kurt talent and brilliant performance.
Once he had a letter of admission in his hand Kurt had quickly contacted the financial aid office, and made sure to apply for all the scholarship he was eligible for.
It had required more than a couple of visits to sort out and that allowed him to meet and become friendly with one of the working students. If he didn't find it so sad, the surprised and grateful reaction Jordan had at being thanked for the help and treated with the bare minimum of decency and courtesy it would have been almost comical...
Especially when in one of his rambling Jordan had let it slip he was a light tech major, and then looked surprised when Kurt hadn't automatically changed his attitude toward the guy...
It was worrisome but also a very clear warning that sadly college was operating under the same messed up cast system as high school did...
A theory that proved correct within a week of attending classes. Kurt did felt like he was in a weird position, he did belong to the bottom, but at the same time he apparently had scared other performing students with his performance.
Being chosen as a student to perform at the winter showcase was an honour, it granted quite the bragging rights and boosted one's reputation, winning it was certainly something that supposedly meant finding oneself at the receiving end of some sweet boons, and Rachel surely was milking the opportunity as much as she could.
Especially since it was offsetting the blow her reputation had taken after bailing out of a senior's final project, due to refusing to shoot a nudity scene that Rachel hadn't realised would be there. When asked she had been too excited for having finally been recognised as a great talent deserving to be singled out to take the part. With the all red tape and special permissions needed for a freshman to actually perform before sophomore year, Rachel had been too blinded by the honour and the perceived recognition it would mean, that she didn't even read the full script...
It had been badly done on her part, but with winning the showcase she had regained more than she lost in the social hierarchy...
No, the fact that Kurt, had performed as aspiring, with what was supposed to be that year's creme the la creme... It had put him on everyone's radar as competition, and at the same time as someone to try to put down while he hadn't claimed a place in the hierarchy yet...
Rachel in her renewed diva position was trying to play the subtle game of being close enough to get benefit from being connected with the one all the faculty and quite a few of both alumni and patrons were abuzz with, but at the same time keeping enough distance to not let her reputation suffering from the envy of the sycophants actually fawning over her...
Kurt silently started wondering if keeping up with Rachel's hot and cold attitude was even worth the developing heartburn and semi constant headache... Her moods were shifting more frequently than the ocean had waves on a windy day. And quite frankly Kurt was getting fed up with being called on only when it benefited the diva, or when she wanted this or that...
But with new classes to take, so much to learn and still his jobs to balance, it was something that simply wasn't yet important enough for him to deal with, the fact that he seemingly wasn't slotting into the same attitude as the other musical theatres and voice focused students marked him as an oddity.
That he apparently hadn't deemed any club worth his time, was also taken by most as a snub, which wasn't really the case but it wasn't like anyone had even bothered asking...
Or at least that stayed true, for the first month, during which Kurt behaved himself as a very decent human being, which resulted in the adoration of almost all the students part of the tech majors...
All the techies found out that Kurt didn't look down on them, nor did he feel too superior to talk and socialise. The first to realise that were the costume designers…
Normally performing students were prevented from taking the technical mandatory class until later in their education. And given the attitude, most of those students, had Kurt secretly believed it was done on purpose to curb the worse of the diva attitudes and performing periodical and largely needed ego checks, before throwing graduates into the professional field... With the added benefit of instilling some humility and lowering the risk of damage to the school's reputation as a whole...
But apparently his portfolio and continuing work at Vogue, had gathered the eyes of the Costume Care and Design Dean. Who, as rumours among the techies went, claimed second dibs on Kurt, pressuring Madam Tibideaux to sign off a special waiver based on the fact that with such portfolio he should be admitted directly to the Intermediate two costume design course for the design and realisation alone of those entries. It had also been suggested that had Kurt been able to demonstrate his ironing skills up to par with other students, then he should totally be moved instead to attend the intermediate costume care and design workshop.
The test was way easier than Kurt expected, despite it being nerve wracking as they gave him a beautiful Elizabethan gown completed with many multiple pearls and crushed velvet, a thing of beauty, but also quite the bitch to take care of...
But then again it wasn't that much more complicated than the bad romance outfits he prepared for himself and most of the girls back in junior year.
Seeing him, a performing major freshman taking the costume care and design workshop, which was one of the junior's level class for techies, it made many people curious, and most of the students in the course were easily charmed and quickly became friend with what they started to refer as the thread whisperer.
It was soon discovered that, despite being a performer, Kurt didn't put on any superior attitude. Despite having skipped directly into pure techies territory he wasn't one to look down at others and their works. In fact any compliment and admiration he offered for the other students' projects were sincere and honest.
That helped soothing the ruffled feathers of seniors, not particularly pleased about having to share their sanctuary with one of the songbirds, and a freshie at that...
While Kurt's friendly and polite behaviour won the respect and admiration of the underclassmen, what truly won him the respect of the upperclassmen was a specific episode that made the round of the school before the end of the lunch break on the same day it happened.
When senior Gwen Larristan had been dead set into finding fault in Kurt's work, and she rejected the repair on the garment he was assigned.
Everyone was expecting a scene. Especially because those who had seen the garment had not seen any apparent fault with it.
No evident loose adornment, no loose threads or visible knots, the tension in the stitching was even, for all the class purposes and taking into account Kurt was not a costumer major the piece should have been approved.
The garment was stage ready, not perfect but more than good enough and way above acceptable.
Instead Kurt surprised everyone, when he received it back he asked politely if Gwen could please explain what he did wrong and how he could fix it.
Gwen's first answer was a rather unforgiving and sneering "You fix it by redoing it."
Which did make some of the students in the workshop wince at the abrasive and callous attitude, but Kurt simply smiled and pointed out patiently
"I gathered that much by the fact my submission was rejected. However, without even taking into account the waste of material, which if we were out of school staying within the budget would be rather important. If I were to remake the same mistakes that got my submission rejected in the first place I would end up wasting both my time and yours. While if you could instead point to me what I did wrong the first time, I can make sure to not repeat those same mistakes again allowing for more garments to be processed as the overall result."
When Gwen had to actually take the garment back in hand to pinpoint what needed to be fixed, the seniors who knew her also figured out that it had to have been a nitpicking rejection. One that was more about the punishment of a performing major jerk, than a fair evaluation of the turned in work.
Despite managing to sound professional, when she had to take out a magnifying glass and a needle to point things out, some students were not quick enough to silencing their snorts as she said "See those stitches? They aren't all of the same length, some are shorter and others are longer while they should all have the same length and the same distance between them, neither should be longer than the eye of the needle you're using."
Some of the juniors were able to bite their tongue at such harsh critique, a couple of the seniors, who actually had seen the other works Kurt submitted as previous assignments, had to keep their lips pressed into thin lines to not undermine one of their own in front of the whole class.
But even more amazing to witness was Kurt looking at his work critically and nodding in agreement before smiling softly and offering the most surprising answer any of them had ever heard in similar situations "I can see what you're saying, thank you for pointing it out to me." and then he returned to his station without any fuss.
After that more students of the technical majors started interacting more actively with Kurt, some offered suggestions, and some asked for it, all were met with kindness and respect.
It made for a nice change, and Kurt found himself starting to like being at Nyada. The course load was challenging but he had started to settle into a routine, and mingling with other students had become easier. He was almost hopeful that some could even be considered friends, and not just classmates.
Maya was one of those people, she was also the first one to ask what by now, six weeks into the new semester, was a curiosity shared by most of the student body "Say Kurt, I was wondering why you didn't join any club?"
Kurt looked at her with a half smile and shrugged "You know I've been in high school with Rachel Berry yes?" when she nodded Kurt continued "well we also used to be something in between frienemies and friends. But when she got accepted here things grew colder between us. Though I still somehow managed to get glimpses of how her school friends were like, while I was around before I was accepted."
Kurt took a calming breath and carried on "Then the Winter showcase happened, and I was quite disappointed about the fact that only about a third of the Majors were being promoted in front of the alumni and school's patrons. As if the performing majors were the only ones that mattered, as if a theatre production could ever happen with just the actors and nothing else... It sounded very much like how high school was, and let me tell you I do not have many fond memories of those years..."
Maya smiled ruefully as she asked sheepishly "Let me guess, you feared most students would be the same level of stuck up jerks as the Perks and you weren't too fond of the idea of finding out for sure?"
Kurt's nodded a little sheepishly "Well yeah that too to be honest, but it's also that I do have two part time jobs and those take up quite a bit of time, I also don't live in the dorms, and my little apartment, while it has a comfortable commuting distance to both the vogue offices and the garage, it is not exactly within the shortest commuting time to come to school. But it's all mine... Which is a double edge sword to be honest, because no annoying roommates also means no one else doing what needs to be done in the apartment. Including grocery and preparing food and all that jazz that functioning adults take care of."
They both chuckled at Kurt's jest "Anyway, the point was that with having to pick up the pace on how to balance the school, the jobs, basic survival and keeping in touch with the friends I made before starting the semester. I thought it would have been a good idea get the hang of keeping everything balanced and working before throwing in also something extra like one of the clubs. And then we reached this point, I was going to look at clubs soon, but it seems most of them would no longer accept people this late, so I figured out maybe I'd skip this first session and join in something during the summer instead"
Maya looked at him nodding her understanding before she bit her lips and dared to ask "have you considered joining a show choir?"
Kurt's smile became terse as he answered "I actually was part of my high school glee club with Rachel, and that was how we sort of became friends... Our show choir took part in competitions, we actually managed to attend nationals two times in the three years since we founded it. We actually managed to win them last year."
Maya's smile faltered from her face and she commented dejectedly "Oh I see, did you like the competitions then?"
Kurt shook his head "No it wasn't even a matter of liking it or not. I come from Ohio, the art programs are pitiful at best and mostly inexistent as the norm. Our club was threatened to be disbanded due to lack of funds since the very first year it was recreated... We had to win or lose the only artistic outlet present in our school..."
Maya frowned clearly trying to remember something "Wait, isn't one of the current congressmen and strongest supporters of the arts in schools from Ohio?"
Kurt's smile became bright as he nodded "Yeah that's my dad actually, he ran for the office because he knew how much it meant to me, he also knew how few occasions I had available to start with. And the other two candidates were very much ready to completely slash any funding for the arts programs. My dad has never been that much into any aspect of the performing arts, but he knew how much having that helped me get through school."
Maya tilted her head confused "What do you mean little occasions as it was? Wouldn't your range put you in a great place to have solos in competitions?"
It was Kurt's turn to smile ruefully "If we weren't in Ohio. If we hadn't a choir director who had a very severe case of straight myopia and hetero normative view of the world. And also had, what I hope was just, a musical boner for Rachel Berry, and later on for my ex who had always been considered one of the guys. Then maybe yes I could have, but unfortunately that was Ohio and I was… Well me…"
Kurt gestured toward his face and the rest of his body with a flourished motion before continuing "a little too obviously gay for the mid western's sensibilities. Practically to the point I basically never really had a closet to begin with... And we were in a small town full of homophobic meatheads..."
Maya's eyes sparkled at the information and she grinned "Does that mean you'd be interested in joining our show choir even if we do not compete at all?"
Kurt tilted his head listening curious "I didn't know Nyada had a show choir to begin with. I'm surprised Rachel didn't sign up just to have one more chance to perform, given how much she hogs the spotlight at every occasion..."
Maya looked down and answered cautiously "She probably wouldn't have chosen to join at all, not only we are not really competing but also, well our reputation is not the best within the school..."
Kurt looked like he just had an ah-ha moment and nodded "Oh I see, yeah in that case now she wouldn't have joined it. I don't know exactly what happened during the last semester. Or since she got in to be honest, but she changed you know? she wasn't like that in high school, she used to believe that being part of something special made us special too... We were at the very bottom of the social pyramid, lower than plankton on the food chain. But we used to have fun in the beginning, I joined because I needed friends, and then,it all became what it became. Though even once we reached national for the first time in my junior year, or when we came home with the first national win since 1993, things didn't really improve…"
Maya raised an eyebrow skeptically "Are you sure we are talking about the same girl here?"
Kurt snorted but nodded "Yeah sadly so, which is a pity because she had been obnoxious all the time, but during our senior year she sort of became almost tollerable... It's a pity that all that hard work went out of the window, probably as soon as she started collecting all those sycophants who just loooooove riding her petticoats, but that aside are you sure you even have room for me?"
Maya looked hopeful "You would want to join us? Even if it means that you'll give up whatever is left of your reputation ?"
Kurt shrugged and smiled "Rachel might have forgotten where we came from but I haven't... I've been at the bottom before and that didn't kill me. Seeing how college is operating socially in the exactly same manner as high school did. I do not see how much of a problem that would be..."
Maya bit her lower lips and started fidgeting with the hem of her sweatshirt "Well it could be a problem because if your reputation within the school is so low you might miss opportunities, being skipped over for parts, or not have people signing up for your projects..."
Kurt tilted his head with a gentle smile "Being passed over for a role is nothing new. In my senior year we did west side story, I needed Tony for my application, and I was the only senior auditioning for it... "
Maya looked at Kurt with a frown "Please don't tell me one of the junior or sophomore got it instead of you..."
Kurt grinned "Oh not only it went to a junior, but also that was my ex boyfriend. Who after telling me he wouldn't auditioning for Tony, and to be fair he didn't, at least on paper, he used a Tony's song to audition. And well it didn't help my cause that when Rachel had helped me with my own audition she laughed on a Romeo and Juliet's scene, because and I quote it was too hard seeing me as straight..."
Maya groaned and hid her face into her hand "What a jerk.. How didn't you cut his nuts out for being such an ass hole? Oh shit I just realised are we risking to have the guy coming in here as well?"
She was clearly pissed at the mere thought and that amused Kurt to no end, so he chuckled in good humour, "Got it in one, though back to the point, as you can see I'm pretty used to people overlooking me, more importantly though if figured you out as well as I believe I did, you are not the sort of person who'd just sit by letting down a friend in need... And I doubt you'd surround yourself with people who'd do that either. So what I hear you saying is that your show choir, is not popular within the school walls but is composed of talented nyada students who form a tight knitted group of friends who'd do everything they could for each other because they know what kind of jerks swim in those hallways"
Maya chuckled and grinned "So care to meet the others?"
Kurt blinked surprised "Now?" she nodded and offered him her hand after they both stood. Kurt laughed when Maya started running through the corridors, with him following at a close distance.
They reached the small auditorium on the western side of the campus and Maya raised a finger to her lips with a mischievous glint in her eyes. She winked at him before entering alone singsonging "Oh fearless leeadeeerr, you oooowwweeee meeeee..." sounding soo like Alexi Darling, the reported of buzz line in Rent Kurt had to press a hand on his mouth to stop himself from sniggering too loudly.
All of Kurt's thoughts came to an immediate halt when a beautiful voice with an extremely hot accent answered Maya teasingly "Do you wish for my soul or baked goodies will suffice?"
Maya's grin was audible in her voice "I'll settle for a whole batch of my favourites, remember that I told you you'd regret not going at the winter showcase this year? and how an angel sang there?"
The man sounded quite curious in his answer "Yes I do call being told I missed the most breathtaking performance ever heard, though I also recall telling you that despite how nice Hummel is with the techies, chances that he'd want to join us were very slim, not with friends like Berry and Weston"
Maya hummed sagely "Well guess we've all been as bad as the Perks and do you know why? Because I asked and he said yes and he's here and I want to properly introduce you..."
Kurt took that as his cue to enter and he leaned on the door frame saying with a mischievous grin and a very appreciative look on his face "Maya honey, when you proposed to me early on I didn't know that your offer came including a handsome man with a hot accent… Had I known that before I might have asked to join in sooner."
Kurt's word made said handsome blond man standing next to Maya blush. Kurt's grin turned into a softer smile as he walked down the stairs to reach the stage "I fear you've me at disadvantage here, I'm Kurt, and you seem to already know that but I sadly don't have a name to match the voice and the vision standing in front of me."
He offered his hand and to his surprised the man shook it right away smiling brightly "My name is Adam, Adam Crawford, and I thought you might have guessed it since my group is called the Adam's apples..."
Adam's smile grew more teasing and his tone slightly flirty as he carried on. "As you probably heard Maya here saying, I'm the leader of or group and a musical theatre senior. Working on my final project which I guess it's why we haven't crossed path in classes that are shared across the years... And what pity that has been"
Kurt sent a levelled look at Maya who raised both her hands to her mouth and said in a clearly faked contrite tone "Ooops I didn't mention the name of our group did I?" making all of them laughing merrily.
Maya left right after that, leaving them alone in the auditorium. She had claimed a previous engagement that all three of them knew didn't really exist, but none of them actually call her out. As she walked out she hollered over her shoulder "I think that makes you owing me two batches of Hershey's Kisses… love ya oh fearless leader... don't do anything I wouldn't do boys."
Once they were alone, to Kurt surprise Adam took an appreciative slow look at him, "So Kurt, kidding aside did Maya warn you that you might find yourself in a tight spot by joining us?"
Kurt raised an eyebrow and asked deadpanned "Are you saying you're the kind of man who'd drop his friends in their time of need just because they are still in school? Provided you'd be actually free to help and not otherwise engaged?"
Adam frowned confused and then answered honestly "No not at all, I can't guarantee that there won't be times when other things have to take precedence over helping out my friends, but I founded this group to have a place to make friends ad have fun together"
Kurt nodded smiling "That's what I thought, and that's what I told Maya as well. And given the low reputation within the school that you too have warned me about, it makes me think that everyone who decides to join would share similar ideals so honestly by the time it might be a problem for me personally we'll have more students who joined in, all of you who graduated to help filling the slots needed in those projects, and should that not be enough I didn't see anything written down forbidding us from reaching individuals or groups outside the school…"
Adam chuckled softly but his smile was a little ruefully "Well that's the hope, but we're not that many people interested join us so far our numbers are not as large, though I hadn't considered reaching to people outside the school as a viable choice, usually it is suggested we give fellow Nyada students the chance to get experience..."
Kurt grinned optimistically "Yeah but if the Nyada students decide to be stuck ups and not join why not offer that opportunity to others who might need it? Anyway do you happen to have more than six members and none of them having been coerced into joining in?"
Adam looked taken aback "Well if you were serious about joining, with you it'd make sixteen of us spread through all the years…"
Kurt smiled brilliantly his hand animatedly following his words "See that's already more than twice the amount that I've worked within the past, and pretty much a very decent number of people to start working on a production... I think we all will be more than fine even then…"
Adam's smile then brighten up to match Kurt's "Apparently Maya was right and I owe her at least one batch of cookies"
At that Kurt tilted his head and asked curiously "I thought I've heard her talking about two batched, what would the second one depend on?"
Adam picked up his bag grinning hopefully "Well you could discover that in front of a shared cuppa"
Kurt shook his head frowning "I don't think so" at that words Adam's eyes dulled a little and he went rigid, his smile starting to turn a little tight, until Kurt kept talking "As much as Maya is becoming a good friend, If we were to go on a date I'd much rather prefer to discover more about you Adam than talk about a common friend…"
And with that Adam looked as if Kurt had stolen his breath away. When there wasn't any reply from Adam Kurt smiled sheepishly starting to feel a little embarrassed "Though I'd still take that chance for a good cup tea as a friend if that was all you were offering, I.."
"Date, definitely date, I hmm it was meant to be a date actually" Adam interrupted a small blush tinting his cheeks
Kurt sighed relieved "Oh good, I thought I misread everything and you were just being too polite to tell me how off the mark I was..."
Adam chuckled "Oh you were definitively on something there da'ling" he was clearly surprised when that endearment made Kurt blush, he continued with a twinkle in his eyes "so lunch break is almost over and it would be difficult trying to grab it right now… Any chance I could get your number so we can see when we're free and decide on a date for our date?"
Kurt chuckle at the perfectly reasonable and smooth request offering his phone instead "Well you could call your number from mine so we can both be sure we saved the correct one and didn't make any mistake in writing it down..."
Adam complied with the request not thinking much of it.
It wasn't even an hour later than they had already started to exchange texts and discovering when the other had work and figure out that fridays and every other weekend seemed the only compatible free times they had overlapping in their schedules.
It saddened Kurt immensely so it was a surprise when at the end of the second period of the afternoon Adam appeared at the door "Well I thought we could start laying down the details of our date in bits and pieces over the week? there're million opportunities if you're ok with it."
Adam seemed a little self conscious, and in what was clearly a nervous telling, he reached for the shoulder strap of his bag resting on his opposite shoulder. Kurt noticed how some of his classmates were sending the senior looks that clearly portrayed just how little they thought of the British man, and most likely of the rest of the Adam's apple, all people Kurt knew already he would adore and become friends with.
Driven by pure spite Kurt laced himself on Adam's still bent arm and smiled brightly moving in front of him, acting as a shield to stop the undeserved looks of content from his classmates.
"That was a wonderful idea hon, I'm glad I had the presence of mind of telling you where to find me. I'm afraid though you'll be the most successful at knowing the best way to move across campus, I do hope you will share those with me too"
Adam's attention was back all on Kurt as he nodded enthusiastically "It'd be my pleasure, kind Sir, to show you the best corners of this domain by the time I'll teach you all I've learnt this far, you'll move around the school like any invisible senior and meet the rarest specimens of students you could ever hope to see"
Kurt chuckled at Adam silliness and appreciated it even more.
During the five days between meeting for the first time and actually managing to go on their date, they both learnt so much about each other. From snippets of conversation, random comments and rehearsal time with the apples. That they gladly didn't have to suffer from embarrassing silences during the date itself.
Adam learnt how Vogue was fighting to keep Kurt on a more permanent and flexible position, so that they would not lose him to Nyada because "You can do both Kurt, there's no law that says you should be part of only one business..." as Isabelle pointed out when Kurt got admitted into the school.
Kurt in return learnt that Adam too had a rather small apartment and was living on his own, however since it belonged to his parents from the days when they still had a contract with the New York Opera, so Adam only needed one part time job to pay for all the bills and cover his own expenses and extras.
Adam had discovered that while Kurt could be bold in a one on one setting he tended to held back when surrounded by many people he didn't know yet.
Kurt in return noticed how always at ease and virtually never bothered Adam was when they weren't alone.
Adam picked up that while Kurt was super confident in matters of mechanics or clothes, moving indistinctly and with ease through fashion and costumes, be it design care or creation for either field, Kurt was also very quick in denying or deflect compliments related to his physical look or to his performing related skills and virtues.
Adam didn't stand for it and started to pointedly repeating them every single time Kurt did anything else than accept those compliments with grace.
At which point Kurt easily pointed out that if Adam wanted to play his cards that way then turnaround was to be expected. So every time Adam built up everyone else confidence leaving his own accomplishment and merits in the shadows Kurt made it a point to pointed out all the things Adam said to reach the good result.
That in and of itself presented for Kurt many benefits. One of them, at least in the beginning, was that sometimes it allowed him to see a flustered Adam struggling to recognise that he was indeed the wonderful man Kurt was quickly and deeply falling in love with. But more importantly it was slowly building up Adam's confidence in himself and in his place at Kurt's side.
Seeing Adam smiling more, slowly becoming truly less affected by the other students' opinion, losing the small slouch in his shoulders when passing through a corridor full of ballerinas and stage combats. Knowing that it was partially thanks to Kurt himself, it was a heady feeling, and he could understand how Adam had lost himself in it.
But also, starting to see the appreciative looks sent to his boyfriend, was both gratifying and annoying... On a bad day, it did make Kurt want to grab those idiots who were only now realising what a charming man Adam was, school reputation be damned…On a good day it puffed Kurt's chest knowing he was the one who got to take Adam home.
Then another earth shattering event came, Rachel had completely lost her mind as far as Kurt could reason. Because apparently, at least by Rachel Berry's view of the world, Kurt should have been slumming at the bottom of the social hierarchy by now given the company he kept. And not starting to gain popularity by earning most of the upperclassmen respect.
To further upset the proper order of the world, some of the most talented techies started to take a stand and refused to be part of projects where there was not a fair ratio between tech students involved and the director's project demands.
Once word came around that it was all due to a commiserating comment Kurt made, about knowing full well what it meant having to set up alone twelve sets of performance costumes, with just as many body shapes and the demand that they'd all look as a united front, all done with a ridiculously low budget and not even a thank you as an acknowledgement of having done the work…
Well, the riot had been of epic proportions and it shook the foundations of the school's social system. The performing majors got a much needed and completely deserved wake up call, when they discovered that a bunch of performers who had focused solely on being stars had little to no knowledge on how to prepare the stage or managing to pull off looks without spending all the production budget on buying new costumes...
In a desperate attempt to maintain her position as popular diva Rachel challenge Kurt to Midnight Madness.
She appeared so sure and confident that she could triumph over Kurt, after all she probably reasoned that she had done so before… Despite the rapid changes in the school, Midnight Madness was still recognised as one of the pinnacle of bragging rights and the most efficient way to settle scores.
So when the challenge came, and despite having kept things in Rachel favour not allowing for a change in the music key, as per the competition tradition, Kurt still won over the self absorbed diva. More than few feared for the consequences of the sudden acknowledgement from the performing Majors...
The morning after his glorious win, Kurt was walking hand in hands with Adam both happily discussing their options for the evening, the apples were insisting on a night out to party and celebrate the win, arguing that many of them had seen so few of them and that the business they were planning on joining was brutal enough as it was that any victory, no matter how small or big, was to be properly celebrated.
Kurt had confided to Adam the reasons behind his concerns about putting himself in the mids of people intending to get drunk. Adam was doing his best to reassure Kurt that for one all was going to be okay, and second if he wished so they could just ask the others to tone down the drinking, that no one would mind because they didn't want to make their friends uncomfortable.
At the same time Kurt wasn't soo much of a busy body as to want a whole group to tone down their celebrations just to appease him.
As they were approaching a standstill between the two positions, the sycophant that usually shadowed Rachel Berry in every move she made, came over and started their inane chatter "Oh Kurt just the man we were searching for. A bunch of us are signing up for the Funny Girl open call then getting rush tickets to see Mamma Mia! You have to come with us"
All the people present stopped and stared, this right there was the moment of truth. It was either going to be the turning point destroying the Perks reign of supremacy, of being the only ones entitled to be at the top of the world, despite the techies programs being just as super selective, competitive and with the same amount of limited spots as the performing majors…
Or it was going to be more of the same. Confirming the sad assumption that, despite being way more decent than the rest of the Perks, a performing student in the end would always either fall from grace and be an outcast, or join in and become part of the jerks…
Kurt didn't even take notice of everyone's eyes on his every move. He took two steps forward to face the other two freshmen, leaving Adam behind. No one could tell whether this was a protective act, of Kurt placing himself between the intruders and his boyfriend, as the techies hoped.
Or if it was the moment in which Kurt finally realised his potential and stepped up into his deserved place on the top tiers of the social hierarchy, restoring the proper order of thing, as the performing students assumed.
Kurt took a slow look of the freshman in front of him that would have made Miranda Priestly proud, before proceeding to unconsciously announce his stance and his true colours to the whole school. Intentionally tearing the sycophants to shreds. His voice never raising or assuming anything other than a polite tone
"I don't think so. I think you both are shallow and obnoxious. And I think the only reason why you run around kissing everyone's ass is because you know you'll never make it on your own."
And while no one was actually openly filming the smack down, there was no doubt every single word of it was going to be repeated verbatim.
"And another thing. If you say one more nasty thing about Adam's Apples, I will challenge you to the next Midnight Madness, and we all know how that ends."
Kurt offered a perfectly angelic smile, when the perks looked like they had to swallow a whole basked of lemons, but still hadn't made a move to leave Kurt raised a single eyebrow and repeated the slow observing look, then he added dismissively "that's all" before he turned and walked back to Adam offering his hand once more and resuming talking as if they had never been interrupted.
As Adam accepted Kurt's hand he said admiringly "That was quite impressive."
Despite not really understanding what provoked the look of adoration in Adam's eyes, Kurt refused to address it until they were alone and away from the stares that followed him till the end of the day.
Officially the faculty was whole was ignorant of the social hierarchy perpetuated by the student body and about the correlated grapevine, or where each of their students stood.
Also officially they didn't know anything about the midnight madness happening twice a year on campus.
Unofficially the technical deans had lamented for years the attitude of the performing students toward.
Unofficially when Kurt Hummel had started to associate himself with anyone willing to be respectful to all the students in his entourage, they saw the revolution coming.
When the same second semester admittee not only respected and defended the technical work done by the techies. But shown proficiency and appreciation for those sectors usually overlooked, because the lights shone more brightly on the actors than on their costumes or the set they walked into.
Half of the faculty unofficially cheered and egged the remaining half about claiming Hummel as their own despite officially being enrolled as a vocalist musical theatre major.
Unofficially all the faculty cheered when the technical students were the first to realise that as Nyada students didn't need to limit themselves to occasions provided by the school itself.
That they could create their own occasion reaching to former students, or even local high school to complete their projects…
That the unwritten suggestion that it would preferable to support fellow students, wasn't as strict as the perks had led everyone else to believe for years…
Sure it had taken one Kurt Hummel to raise officially the question of if there was a rule explicitly prohibiting reaching outside the school, but they got there.
And that was a game changer most had waited their whole teaching career to see, and finally witnessing it happening was simply glorious.
Officially the faculty would never step into how the students decided to behave.
Unofficially that year would find many more senior students graduating with better recommendation and more importantly stronger connections across all the fields pertaining the theatre world than any previous graduates could claim upon graduation.
It was only after classes, when Kurt was at Adam's place having dinner, that he asked curiously.
"Not that I'd ever complain about you looking at me like I've hung the sun the moon and all the stars on the sky, but what was so impressive today?" Adam shook his head smiling, rather used by now to the fact that sometimes his boyfriend truly didn't realise what impact he had on people. Or how much of a difference Kurt was really able to make in many lives.
"Just you being yourself, standing behind your choice and not associating with people only for what they could do for you.. That was Impressive."
Kurt just shrugged uncertain "That was how the friendships I had back in Ohio were like, they would remember I existed only when I could do something for them… I didn't like it, so I just tried to avoid having that same kind of friendships here in New York… Simple as that"
Adam grinned goofily at Kurt's easy dismissal shaking his head as he continued "You choosing to use your newfound position to extend your protection to all of us was quite impressive. I don't think You realise just how much you changed Nyada for the better for so many of us since you joined…"
Kurt smiled softly, a little blush finding his way on his face, he leaned forward and stopped Adam from keep talking with a kiss. In that moment Kurt was simply too happy to be in the presence of the man he was in love with.
Later on, during the celebration with all the apples, everyone but Adam took a turn in offering Kurt a drink, always receiving the same smiling refusal.
Maya, being the boldest of the group was the only one who dared to ask about it "Kurt Kurt why won't you toast with us, tonight is for celebrating, no one will fess up or take blackmailing pictures if you drink or got drunk I can promise you that much"
Kurt simply shrugged then asked back smiling as he followed Adam across the room with a loving and adoring look on his face "Why would I need to resort to getting drunk or drink alcohol? When being here with my friends, and the boyfriend I am very much in love with, gives me such a rush that I might as well feeling like I'm drunk on happiness…"
The only answer Maya could offer to that was a nod and a knowing smile.