Question 11: Take 4 minutes and tell your partner your life story in as much detail as possible.
Kurt's phone rang in his pocket:
"Hello."
"Hello, Kurt?"
"Hi Artie, what's new?"
"I'll be directing a film in New York. I arrived last week for the auditions."
Kurt held his phone with his shoulder to use his hands to open the door:
"And only now you're calling me? We need to see each other!"
Artie chuckled on the other side of the line:
"We will. But first, I need your help."
"Shoot; what do you need?"
"I need a drama student like yourself to check some auditions for me and help me choose my cast."
"Sure, will do. Send the auditions and script and I'll give you my opinion."
"Thank you, Kurt. You're a life saver."
They hung up from the phone. Kurt went to Blaine's just to check it was indeed empty – Blaine had said he'd be out with some friends that night. He adjusted something to eat in the kitchen, made some coffee and opened his computer to check the material Artie had sent.
It was a musical about dates and Tinder and how relationships work nowadays. Nothing too fancy. Maybe the vocal arrangements were challenging and Artie would need a better singer than actor. He made some notes and went on to the auditions. The first girl could act and sing but seemed to shy to do the more heated scenes the script required. She must have been in desperate need of a job (as were most actors in New York) to have auditioned. The next boy had a lisp. Most couldn't sing. Some sang like birds but couldn't act for the life of them. Kurt began to feel his eyes getting tired. He'd watch one more and call it a day.
He hit play on the next audition and a familiar face appeared on the screen:
"Hello, my name is Blaine Anderson, I'm 21 from Ohio. I'm an undergraduate student of musical theater at NYADA."
Kurt's attention was caught. Should he be watching Blaine's audition without telling him? Should he call Artie and say he was biased on the choice? Before he could decide what to do, the video was rolling and, after a few words from Artie, Blaine was beginning to sing and Kurt couldn't take his eyes off his best friend.
"I'll be singing some bars from Safer, from the musical First Date.
When you've felt so alone since
The moment of brith
And you're struggled to find
Your own true sense of worth
When it seems there is no one
Across this whole earth
To depend upon, you carry on
Just like you always do
'Cause it's safer to rely on you.
Oh, it's safer to rely on you.
Seen a million movies
All selling true love.
Fantasies I'm not sure
That I'm worthy of.
Caution to the wind
My heart's been on display.
Still the end result is
It's not gone my way.
So when I date some new guy
Who's a deadbeat or jerk
At least I'm not so crushed
When it all doesn't work...
When you once, unafraid,
Wore your heart on your sleeve
And the ones that you loved
Chose to just turn and leave
Every day it gets harder to
Somehow believe
You will survive, so you strive
Just to keep up your guard
'Cause it's safer to hold every card.
Oh, it's safer to hold every card.
I feel out of control
I feel safe on the ground.
I go building up walls
Yet I wish to be found.
A true contradiction to which I am bound
As I keep on spinning around and around...
And I look at the people
Who've worked it all out
And I wonder why I'm still
A bundle of doubt and sometimes
I wanna just stand up and shout...
"Just commit and deal with it
Before your life flies by...
Don't let your life fly by ..."
But is it safer?
Maybe it's safer
If I don't try
Kurt could tell Blaine was distressed by the end of the song. But only Kurt could tell that; Artie went on with the audition:
"Great Blaine. Could you tell us more about yourself?"
"Myself?"
"It's my way of auditioning. I like to compare the part where you are telling a story about your life with the one you're acting a part."
"Sure, what can I say…? I'm from Ohio. Always wanted to be in musical theater. I'm gay…"
"Okay, great. How about why did you choose this song?"
Blaine on the screen chewed on his bottom lip and Kurt instantly knew he was nervous. However, he put on a smile and responded nonchalantly:
"Well, this song is from a musical called First Date and I thought it was apropos with the script."
"Sure, there's that, but it's a song sang by a woman and maybe another song from the same show would portray better your vocal range. I don't mean to be rude; you were fantastic."
Blaine shifted his weight from one leg to the other and began to fold the tip of his sheet music.
"I chose this song because of the emotional charge it has. It's…"
Blaine's eyes began to fill with water. His voice also begun to break as he went on:
"I relate a lot to this song. You see, I was a gay teen in Ohio, opportunities for dating were scarce to say the least. I only had one boyfriend and, now I can say after years of therapy, that we had an abusive relationship. Not that he'd beat me up or anything physical. However, he'd drink a lot and get verbal abusive. Yeah, I guest that's why I choose this song."
Kurt immediately closed his computer without seeing the rest of the audition. He'd call Artie in the morning to say Blaine was his roommate and why he couldn't help with casting. But for now, there was a more pressing subject – information about Blaine's past. Information Kurt shouldn't have known unless Blaine himself have told him.
Later that night, Kurt heard the key on the door - Blaine. He was smiling and with a soft complexion as he had been all week. Nothing indicating he had shared such heavy information about himself to a stranger at an audition. He saw Kurt and his face changed to a concerned one:
"Kurt, is everything okay?"
Kurt sighed while sinking his teeth to his bottom lip:
"I have something to tell you… Something you'll probably won't be happy about."
"Have I… have I done something to you?"
Kurt let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and smiled:
"No, you've been perfect as ever."
Blaine left his things in a chair by the door and sat down next to Kurt, taking the pale boy's hand in his:
"Tell me, Kurt, you're making me nervous."
"Remember the audition you went on last week? You never told me it was with Artie Abrams."
"Oh dear."
Kurt began to rub the side of Blaine's hand with his thumb:
"Artie is a friend from the Glee Club and he asked my opinions on some auditions he had narrowed down…"
"Kurt, I'm so sorry…."
"There's nothing to be sorry about. But there's a big elephant in the room – I discovered a secret of yours I shouldn't know…"
Blaine interrupted him:
"Of course you should know, I should have told you months ago. You have always been so honest with me, we shared so many secrets. You are my best friend, Kurt. Only… only I'm so bad about sharing things about my life. I'm sorry."
"Hey, hey, again, nothing to be sorry here. You can keep secrets from me. However, now I know you had an abusive boyfriend and I can help, if you'd like."
Blaine took his hand from Kurt's to clean the tears beginning to escape his eyes:
"I only realized Sebastian was abusive to me after years of therapy, I was already living in New York. He… he kind of forced our first time. And, well, I have issues with guys ever since…"
Kurt took Blaine's both hands in his to grab his attention:
"Thank you. Thank you for trusting me with something so personal. I'm here for anything, anything at all you need."
They both hugged, feeling closer than they ever had before.