We got back to the main hall, and Jean's eyes were red. I glanced at Kurt and smiled, breaking away from him for a moment to go talk with Jean. Soon, my friend Kitty called me over. She and Rogue were looking over one of the karaoke CD's.

"Oh, Erin," Kitty grinned. "You remember when we watched that movie Chicago over Christmas and got the soundtrack?"

"Yeah?"

"Well look at this," Rogue handed me the CD. "Track three."

I gave a cry of surprise. "All That Jazz!"

Rogue looked at the two of us, and a grin slowly spread over her face. "Let's do it, guys."

"Yeah. Erin, you're Velma, okay? You get the lead. It's your birthday."

"Okay," Storm saw us putting in the CD and called out to us. "What's the next song?"

"We are doing 'All That Jazz' from the Chicago movie soundtrack," I told her. Looking over to Kurt, who was seated front row with a big smile on his face, I pointed at him. "This is for you," I grinned.

A minute and a half into the song, Catherine Zeta- Jones and I began to sing. "C'mon, babe, why don't we paint the town? And all that Jazz! I'm gonna rouge my knees and roll my stockings down…. And all that jazz!" I did my best Velma impression I could, and the audience loved it—especially Kurt. Storm turned to him and asked, "Have you ever seen Chicago?" Kurt, laughing, shook his head. "No, never, but this is great!"

Before we knew it the song was coming to an end, but Kitty, Rogue and I were having a blast. "Oh, I'm no man's wife but, oh, I love my life! And all…. that…… jazz! That jazz!"

Everyone was cheering. "Yes!" Kurt cried in glee. "That's my girl! Go, Erin!"

When the party was over at about one in the morning, I said goodnight to everyone, not forgetting to thank them for the wonderful party. I also made it a point not to forget the beautiful dress I had gotten. Kurt walked me to my room with his arm around me. "That was great, Erin, that whole… Jazz song you did," Kurt grinned.

"Haha, thanks," I smiled at him. "I love that song. I remember as a kid my friends and I would pretend we were girls from the prison… kindof sadistic, since they were all in there for killing their husbands or whatever…. But we had great fun with it. I always remember my older brother got a big kick out of it." Kurt laughed. "So, hey," I started again. "I remember the day I met you, you mentioned something about being in the Munich circus. What was that like?"

Kurt slowed. "Well, uh…"

"Oh… oh, honey, if you don't want to talk about it…."
"No." Kurt shook his head. "No, it's not that. I do want to talk about it, it's just that… it's a little hard to."

I nodded. "Well if you need me, I'm here. You know that." By that time we had come to a full stop in the hallway, and Kurt was thinking hard, staring off at the floor before I tilted his chin up to make him look at me.

"Hey," I smiled. "Are you okay?" I noticed a single tear come down his face, and I brushed it away. "Aw, not you, too!"

He laughed, sniffing. "I wasn't used to this in the Munich circus. That is the first thing I can tell you. When I started dreaming of you I thought to myself, 'Oh, well, a pretty girl, but the chances of her actually existing? The chances of me….. ever being loved? No chance, not ever.' I still pity people for being afraid of knowing nothing past what they see with their own two eyes, but….. it still hurts….. especially when people call me names. 'Monster, freak, demon' they say, and they turn away." Kurt made a face, trying not to cry. "I am not a demon…."

"Oh, sweetheart….." I took him in my arms. The poor thing…. "Of course not. See, that's what I hate about some people. They are too quick to judge. They see you and say, 'I can't know him because he must be as bad as he looks.' But you know what? Hey…" I made him look at me through his tears. "You know what I think?"

Kurt shook his head.

"I think you are beautiful, inside and outside. I think you are an angel sent from God Himself. And may God save the soul of anyone who thinks otherwise…." I smiled. "Or else they'll have to answer to me, at least." Kurt laughed. "Because I, on the other hand, am a demon when it comes to someone harassing or harming the ones I love and care about, and this includes you! They mess with one of my friends or family, they'll begin to wish their daddy had never met their momma."

Kurt laughed even harder as he pulled me into a hug. "Oh, my Erin….. Thank you."

I invited him in when we got back to my room, but he stopped. "Well, ah….. see, my shower is not working, and I was wondering if I could borrow yours by any chance?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Great, great. Thank you," Kurt grinned.

"No problem."

"In that case let me go grab some clothes and I'll be back."

"Okay," I nodded. Grinning, Kurt waved and promptly disappeared in a puff of smoke. I started to get ready for bed, pulling on my pajamas and washing my face. I had just brushed my teeth and was walking out of the bathroom to throw my clothes in the hamper when BAMF- Kurt appeared right there in front of me, and I nearly went crazy. Kurt and I started laughing, and I had to sit down for a moment.

"I'm sorry," Kurt smiled, putting his new clothes down next to him. "Should I have knocked first?"

"Yes," I was still laughing. "As a matter of fact, go out and do it again, the right way this time." I leaned against him, still smiling, when I saw my dress draped across my chair. "Oh!" I jumped up. "I've gotta hang this thing up in my closet or something."

Kurt took his things into the bathroom, putting them on the counter. I happened to pass by the door when he pulled his shirt off and I stopped. He was covered in fine-lined tattoos.
"Oh, Kurt…." I walked in as he turned to me, and I took his arm, studying the tattoos. "These are beautiful. What are they?"

"They're angelic symbols, brought to humans by the angel Gabriel. I did them myself."

"All by yourself? They're amazing. How many are there?"

"Well… One for every sin, so…. Quite a few," he chuckled.

"Oh?" I smiled at him as he blushed. Laughing I pulled him towards me and gave him a quick kiss. "I'll be in the other room, reading."

I curled up in bed with my book while Kurt was in the shower. A group of us had gone to the bookstore the week earlier to buy some books. Kurt had made me a list of books to pick up for him, too, so I came back with quite a collection. Before long my eyes began to get heavy, and although I wasn't really tired, I put my book down and closed my eyes. I could hear the shower shut off moments later, and I could hear Kurt humming as he got dressed. I recognized the song as the one by Frank Sinatra he had sung me that night. Cracking my eyes open a bit, I saw the door open. Kurt stepped out in a pair of pajama pants and a white shirt, and he stopped humming when he saw that I was "asleep." Putting his old clothes down he came over and took a seat next to me on the bed. I didn't move.

"Lovely…" he sang softly, gently touching my cheek. "Never, ever change… keep that breathless charm….. Won't you please arrange it? 'Cos I love you…. And the way you look tonight." Smiling, I opened my eyes and finished the song with him. "Just the way you look… tonight."

"Oh, you're awake…." Kurt gave an embarrassed grin, burying his face in his hands and shaking his head.

I laughed, taking his hand. "I've never met anyone quite like you."

"Well," he shrugged, smiling. "I've never met anyone who looks like this, either, but….."

"You know what I mean," I laughed again, and for a moment I couldn't say anything as I smiled up at the amazing person seated in front of me.

For a moment nothing happened, and I could see sadness in his eyes. "Oh, Erin…" There was pain in his voice as he took me up in his arms. "I don't want to hurt you."

I pulled away to look at him, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"I…. don't want to cause you any trouble. You are so young, you have the rest of your life ahead of you. What I'm saying is that, if we were together, I don't want you to be ashamed of me."

"What?" I gaped at him. "You- you think I'd be….. ashamed of you?" I could feel a knot form in my throat as my shaking voice rose slightly. "How could you say that? How can you ever think that I'd ever be ashamed of you?" I pulled him towards me in a hug. "Don't say that to me, please don't say that again…." And in the early hours of a Saturday morning the two of us clung to each other tightly and cried. I must have fallen asleep because when I opened my eyes again it was light out and Kurt was gone.