Should've Been Us

Summary: Kurt gets cast in a Broadway show, but the director may have an ulterior motive.

Rating: K+

Characters: Cooper Anderson, Kurt Hummel

AU: Klaine didn't last

Note: This isn't supposed to be complete, it's just a little ditty I came up with.

Kurt didn't know that when he auditioned for the role of Angel in a production of RENT that he would actually get it.

Of course, he didn't know what his history with the director would be until he and the rest of the cast met with him.

He stared the man right in the eye and still didn't understand what was happening.

Although he was definitely about to.

A few days previously…

Kurt lowered his arms, his breathing heavy after his stellar performance of Today 4 U. Angel had been one of his dreams roles ever since he saw the movie musical and heard the soundtrack to RENT. So when an opportunity opened up in his career for him to audition, he took it with open arms. His career had taken off after he had played Peter Allen in an off-Broadway revival of The Boy From Oz and some notable critics had seen him, commending him for his vigour and suitability for the role in several theatrical platforms.

Kurt had been pleased with his performances and hoped that it would lead to bigger things. This new revival of RENT was eyeing a Broadway transfer if the previews off-Broadway went well, which they were sure to do. Apparently, the director was some kind of revolutionary idea man who just knew how to produce a piece.

He was not present at the casting auditions however, but the actual casting directors seemed to enjoy his audition piece. That was a good sign, for sure.

"Thank you, Kurt. That was a very impressive performance. I speak for the both of us when I say that we'd love to see you on Tuesday for the final callback with the director. He'll meet you and see you perform something not from the musical and decide whether or not he likes you. There'll be a short dance audition and an improvisational workshop with our pick for Collins. Is Tuesday okay for you?"

Kurt smiled. They were asking him whether the day worked for him. With The Boy From Oz and other unsuccessful auditions, they had simply demanded that he be there. Surely this was also a good sign. "Tuesday is great. I don't have school so I'm available all day."

"Great," Erin nodded, pleased with his answer apparently. "We'll see you then. Take care, Kurt."

"Thank you, I'll see you both on Tuesday."

Tuesday…

Kurt looked around him, looking at the assembled group. He could just about pick out the characters each was auditioning for. There were a clear similarity between each of them and the character descriptions, which was good for the show. But he didn't see any more obvious angels.

Before the lunch break, Erin cleared things up.

"I saw you looking around before. The other pick for Angel wasn't a fit with the director, so we sent him home. The part is yours, if you want it."

Kurt couldn't believe he was being handed an opportunity like this. The other auditioning performer had been sent home, handing him the part on a silver platter. Part of him was disgruntled about being deprived of the opportunity to compete for the role, but it didn't matter because it was his. No matter how he had gotten it, it was his.

Erin smirked at him. "You weren't expecting it, were you?"

Kurt shifted uneasily. "I've had a lot of rejection. I'm an actor, I kind of expect disappointment."

"Yet you still keep trying."

"Of course," Kurt smiled, "I love what I do."

Erin nodded understandingly. "Well, we mentioned your name and the director went crazy. Perhaps he's seen you in something else."

"That's probable," Kurt said, thinking once again of the raucous applause after Not The Boy Next Door, thinking that the director must have been amongst the crowd that had paid to see him.

Erin left him quickly. "Okay, everyone the director is a few minutes away. Make sure you're ready for the dance audition and then we can get out of here as quickly as possible. Kurt, take a seat."

Kurt avoided the confused eyes of the other hopefuls and sat in the front row of the theatre, watching the anxious faces and the confident ones blur together like a pack of wolves. They assembled themselves in front of the ballet bar and started to stretch, as though they had all planned to do it the same way. Kurt smiled at the synchronicity.

"Sorry I'm late, Erin, what've you got for me today?" The director burst through the doors and walked down to the stage.

Kurt's ears perked up. He knew that voice. Craning his neck eagerly to see the man behind the voice, he sighed as his view was obstructed. The man turned the corner and smiled at him, casually, as though his presence was familiar.

That was because it was.

"Alright!" Cooper Anderson clapped his hands, turning to face the hopefuls. "I've already got my first cast member, let's get down to it! Let's have the Joannes first."

The two girls stepped forward, glaring at each other.

"Five, six, seven, eight," Cooper counted and the girls begun to dance, fluidly and much better than Kurt was able to. He wasn't paying too much attention, though, because the left side of Cooper Anderson's face was a much better distraction. Cooper had selected him to play Angel, not because of his past roles, but because of Kurt's ex-boyfriend and Cooper's little brother.

Kurt knew that things were never going to work out with Blaine after high school had ended. Blaine was still in Lima and Kurt was finding more and more about himself. Including that he was not compatible with Blaine Anderson anymore. Not one little bit.

Kurt's new 'New York' personality had edified him as to the person he was now and the more independent and forthright man he was growing to be.

Kurt was interrupted by Cooper's claps.

"Not bad, ladies. Take five and try it again, okay? The rest of you start preparing. The Marks will be next."

Cooper turned to Kurt and sat down beside him.

Kurt would have been lying if he had said that he hadn't developed a huge crush on Blaine's devastatingly handsome and charming older brother. Now here he was; single and about to spend every day for the foreseeable future with him. Those feelings were sure to reignite themselves over the process and Kurt couldn't decide whether or not that was particularly troubling.

"Long time, no see," Cooper grinned, placing a hand on Kurt's shoulder. "How've you been?"

"Cooper! I didn't know you were directing now! I'm good, great actually. New York has really benefitted me. What about you?"

"After I won the Emmy, I wanted to take a step back from acting and go into theatre. Then I thought that stage acting would have to be a gradual transformation for me. So to prepare, I decided to direct plays and musicals here and there. Now here you are too. I have to say, I'm sorry things didn't work out between you and my brother."

Kurt shrugged awkwardly. "I realised that I preferred the person I was without Blaine. I suppose it was selfish, but I needed to do it."

Cooper shook his head. "It's not selfish, at all. Relationships only work if they're beneficial to both parties. I've done the same thing. The last guy I was with didn't like my work hours. I supposed I loved him, but it wasn't enough anymore."

"I thought you'd chastise me for breaking Blaine's heart. I have to say, I'm surprised you cast me in this."

"No grudges," Cooper explained, "your reasons for breaking up with him weren't my business. Relationships end, that's just how it goes. I would've cast you no matter what you did to him."

Suddenly, something clicked. "You sent the other guy home, didn't you? You knew I was the other option and chose me."

Cooper blushed slightly, which was an odd sight for Kurt to see on somebody so confident. "Guilty as charged. I've heard you sing that part a lot in the past. I knew you always wanted to play it, so here you are. Unless you want me to cast the other guy?"

"No," Kurt said quickly, "I have no qualms with your choice. It's going to be fun working with you."

"We should get lunch sometime and catch up?"

Kurt nodded automatically as Cooper restarted the Joannes with their audition piece. He sat, the Rogers glaring at him as though he had chosen to bribe Cooper for the part or something. He hadn't, of course, but that was what Kurt thought that they were thinking.

He wondered whether his ex-boyfriend's brother had just asked him out.

He also wondered whether it was a problem that he wanted him to.

Author's Note: The song is Should've Been Us by the divinely talented Tori Kelly, from her album Unbreakable Smile, which you should totally buy!