Day 12: Invisible
Some days, Kurt isn't sure what is worse: not being seen at all, or being seen by the wrong people. Sure, the bruises from the latest locker shove hurt, but the sting of feeling nonexistent lingers, too.
Such were Kurt's thoughts as he meandered through the Lima Square Mall one Saturday afternoon. He had driven there with Finn, but learned upon their arrival that the trip was less a "step-brother bonding" activity and more a "Finn needs a ride to meet up with Puck and the guys" activity. They'd gone their separate ways rather quickly upon arrival.
Finn and his friends set off for the movie theater which was running a festival of classic holiday movies. They were set on seeing Die Hard, of course.
Kurt had a different movie in mind, but had a bit of a wait before it started, so he decided to get a snack at the food court first. Traversing the busy mall, he couldn't help but appreciate the irony of literally being alone in a crowd. It seemed everyone else was with someone – a group of teenaged girls here, a young couple on a date there, and families with kids in tow pretty much everywhere.
God, the holidays were depressing.
As he neared the food court, he heard the sound of singing, which he quickly identified as live performers instead of the piped-in carols from the speakers. He rounded a corner and came upon a choir of boys from a private school, if their uniforms were anything to go by. They were doing an a cappella version of "All I Want for Christmas Is You" in multi-part harmony, swaying and side-stepping in perfect unison. Then a soloist stepped forward and Kurt's heart skipped a beat.
The boy appeared to be around Kurt's age, and while his hair had a bit too much gel in it, Kurt couldn't help but sigh thinking that it gave him the air of a classic movie star. His rich tenor voice rang out clear and smooth. He performed well to the crowd, and Kurt almost thought that the boy looked right at him a few times, but dismissed that as impossible. After all, no one ever saw Kurt, right?
When the performance was over, Kurt applauded enthusiastically. He was sorry to see it end (and possibly more sorry that the beautiful boy and his choir were leaving). The crowd dispersed, and Kurt checked his phone, cursing under his breath when he realized it was nearly time for his movie to start. He hurried away toward the theater, not wanting to miss a moment.
"One for White Christmas please." Kurt's head snapped to the side as someone at the next ticket window parroted what he'd just said. His eyes widened when he found himself face to face with the lead singer of the prep school choir.
"It's you," the singer said, taking his ticket with a quick "thank you" and stepping aside to let the next person in line step forward. Kurt did the same and tentatively approached the other boy.
"It's me?" he asked.
"Blaine Anderson," the boy introduced, holding out his hand.
Kurt offered his name in return, shaking Blaine's hand and hoping he didn't blush as hard as he thought at the touch.
"I saw you, during our performance back there," Blaine continued, gesturing out towards the mall.
I saw you. Such a simple phrase. Blaine couldn't know what it meant, though.
"You…you were wonderful," Kurt stammered. "I, I mean, the group. And you. Both. All. Um…" he trailed off.
Fortunately, Blaine saved him from his own embarrassment. "Thank you. We work really hard at it. So," he said, drawing out the "o," "you are going to see White Christmas too?" He waved his ticket a little.
Kurt, his brain trying desperately to catch up to the situation, held up his own ticket in response. "It is a classic," he answered.
"Totally," Blaine agreed, walking toward the ticket-taker and inviting Kurt along with a tilt of his head. "We have another performance in a few hours, and the guys all wanted to see different movies, but I say you can't beat Bing and Danny."
The ticket-taker did his job and the pair walked down the hallway to the theater. They entered, and faced another moment of awkwardness. "I, um, I usually sit..." Kurt began.
"…near the back," Blaine finished, having started his sentence at the same time.
"You don't want to be too far back," Kurt stated.
"And you don't want to be too close," Blaine countered. He smiled warmly then, gesturing towards the stairs. "Shall we?" he invited.
Kurt spent a happy, if slightly nerve-wracking, afternoon sitting next to a handsome boy in a movie theater for the first time in his life, learning that being seen by the right person was the best feeling in the world.
