Title: Flawed Design
Pairings: Kurt/Mercedes
Rating: PG-13 (for now)
Spoilers: Season 1

Chapter Six

Monday morning found Mercedes loitering around the corner of the hall where she and Kurt's lockers were located. Their date on Friday night had gone well and Kurt had called her on Saturday afternoon to chat. Everything had been fine; they had talked enthusiastically about television shows, gossiped about celebrities, and talked about their latest assignment in glee club. It was comfortable. Afterward, though, Mercedes couldn't help how her own insecurities had snuck up on her. They had latched onto her cerebellum and dug in deep, whispering things that made her second guess her budding relationship with Kurt and, in turn, herself. By the time Monday had come around she was nervous of seeing Kurt.

"Who are we spying on?" sounded Santana's voice from right next to Mercedes causing her to startle.

Mercedes drew her shoulders up defensively before spinning to find Santana, Brittany and Quinn smiling sweetly at her in a strange way that made the hairs on her arms want to stand on end.

"A little birdie told us that you and Kurt are dating," said Quinn.

Opening and closing her mouth a few times, Mercedes felt stuck for a response having been taken by surprise.

"Why are you spying on Kurt?" asked Brittany looking past Mercedes.

Mercedes let out a heavy breath and turned to look back down the hallway where Kurt was standing at his locker spraying his head with a can of hairspray. He looked as comfortable as one could be in high school while they were at the bottom of the food chain. He didn't look the least bit nervous about seeing Mercedes that day. He didn't look excited that he had a girlfriend now. He didn't look anything, he just looked like Kurt. She was being ridiculous, but she couldn't help it.

"I don't think he's really that thrilled to be dating me," she admitted.

The three cheerleaders shared a look.

"What makes you think that?" asked Quinn gently.

"I don't know," replied Mercedes with a sigh as she watched Kurt look around the hallway before he gingerly stepped away from his locker into the crowd, most likely to head to his first class of the day. "Just little things, I guess."

"You have to give us something to go on here, Mercedes," pressed Quinn, her smile turning slightly strained by amused.

Mercedes caught her bottom lip between her teeth as she momentarily debated whether to give details to the three girls who were most notorious for back-stabbing and rumor spreading. They seemed to be on her side for this, though.

"Friday night," said Mercedes, turning to face them again now that Kurt had disappeared off into the sea of students. "After our date I practically gave him the go-ahead for some light making out in his car and he was the one who stopped it before it could go anywhere."

The girls were quiet after Mercedes' confession. Santana had her lips pursed, Brittany was smiling with a faraway look in her eyes like she was thinking of something else, and Quinn wore a completely neutral expression on her perfect face.

"Okay," Quinn said a few moments later, prompting Mercedes to explain.

"I just..." started Mercedes, frowning thoughtfully. "I don't know if he's actually attracted to me or if he's just trying to humor me."

"Was he acting like he was bored during the kissing?" asked Quinn, tilting her head slightly.

Mercedes thought back over the date. They had pulled up to her house after their date. Despite their light-hearted chatter, her heart had been steadily rising up her throat as they neared her house driven by the anticipation of another good-night kiss. She looked forward to reaching the point in their relationship where it would be okay to just randomly kiss each other whenever one felt like it.

When Kurt had stopped the vehicle, he had turned to her and asked if she wanted him to walk her to the door. It was a simple question but it had set off a flock of butterflies fluttering in her stomach. She had stared at his lips, hoping to get her intent across when she said 'you can just kiss me in here' as suggestively as she could muster without feeling like an idiot. He had simply shrugged and gone with it, obviously not catching her meaning. That was okay, she was lucky to be dating such a sweet and somewhat naive gentleman as Kurt. She would just have to lead in situations such as that one. So, she had tried; she really had. When he kissed her, she tried to turn it into something a little steamier, even with her lack of experience. He seemed to shut right down, though, when he caught on to what she was trying to do.

"Earth to Mercedes," snapped Santana. "Quinn asked you a question."

"He didn't seem bored," replied Mercedes quickly.

"Then what? What was he like?" asked Quinn.

"He panicked a little, I think," said Mercedes thoughtfully, remembering his panting and his flushed cheeks. "He said he didn't want to move too fast."

"Oh, Honey," cut in Santana, shouldering in front of Quinn to be in the centre of Mercedes' view. "He panicked because you got him all worked up."

"Huh?" exclaimed Mercedes, eyebrows rising as she looked from Santana to Brittany who was nodding and grinning.

The five minute warning bell rang directly overhead causing the four girls to wince at the loud intrusion.

"C'mere and let Aunty Tana teach you about boys," said Santana being the first to recover from the bell.

Grinning, she circled Mercedes' shoulders with her arm and handed her text book and binder off to Brittany who happily accepted them.

The three cheerleaders and Mercedes stepped out into the busy hallway. Mercedes hugged her books close to her chest having already gotten what she needed for class before Kurt had arrived. He often took the long way to their lockers in the morning to avoid dumpster tosses.

"You have to understand that teenage boys are morons with no control over their dicks," explained Santana as they walked her voice carrying through the hallways making Mercedes want to shrink down out of sight. "They are constantly in a state where they could accidentally pop a boner at any given time. Some of them cope by..."

Santana paused for emphasis and nodded her head toward Noah Puckerman who was standing with a group of jocks around a watering fountain. The boys all looked their way as they walked past, ogling the cheerleaders appreciatively. Mercedes caught Quinn rolling her eyes.

"By screwing anything that breathes," continued Santana. "Others are a little more... reserved."

"She means virgins," whispered Brittany rather loudly, leaning across the distance between them to put her face near Mercedes.

"Yes, virgin teenage boys are the worst," sighed Santana in dramatic exasperation. "They are constantly in this fragile state where they are absolutely terrified of getting aroused and pitching a trouser tent. Well, some of them, that is, some are just dying to lose it."

Santana glared over at Jacob who was staring unabashedly at Brittany's chest from where he was standing frozen in front of his open locker.

"I'm thinking Babyface Hummel is the shrinking violet type, terrified of his own erection," surmised Santana as the group of girls stopped in front of Mercedes' classroom door. "Take it as what it is, 'Cedes."

"What's that?" asked Mercedes, surprised at the friendly term Santana used for her.

"A compliment," answered Santana with a shrug followed by a mischievous smile.

Mercedes frowned thoughtfully as the three girls gave her identical Queen-waves before turning to walk to their own classes. She waved back absently and then stepped into her classroom. Finding an empty desk, she took her seat and mulled over what Santana had said. Kurt was such a gentleman with her, what if he was just scared of things getting too heated too quickly? It seemed like it just could be possible. She let out a soft sigh of relief now that she could stop panicking over Kurt not finding her attractive.

After imagining what it would be like to be in his shoes if he did accidentally do that, decided that she'd let things progress at his pace instead of pushing him at the risk of setting him up for embarrassment. They definitely were not in a place where it would be anything but awkward for certain appendages to become obtrusive during kissing... yet.

Kurt lingered at his locker, applying an unnecessary amount of hairspray simply for something to do. He wondered where Mercedes was. Their lockers were in the same grouping as each other. It was uncommon to not see her between classes and outright odd to miss her at the beginning of the school day. He hoped she wasn't at home sick and contemplated texting her to see if she was alright. That was when the warning bell rang signaling that classes would start in five minutes. Kurt closed his locker door and began to head to class. Since he shared his second class with Mercedes, he'd wait until then to decide whether he needed to text her.

He hurried down the hall but ducked into the biology lab when he saw a group of jocks headed his way. It was beginning to fill with students, but they ignored him as he crossed the classroom and left through the door on the other side of the room. It brought him to a different hallway and he turned in time to see Mercedes heading into her first class. He paused for a moment and cocked his head to the side wondering why it looked like she had just been chatting with Santana, Quinn and Brittany. The three cheerleaders turned and walked away once Mercedes had slipped into her class. Santana and Brittany had their pinkies interlocked. Kurt did a minute shrug of his shoulders and continued on his way to class.

When his first class of the day let out, Kurt stepped back into the hallway to find Mercedes waiting for him with a coy smile on her face.

"Hi," she breathed looking both excited and nervous.

"How are you, Mercedes?" asked Kurt in his most dignified voice as he gave her a smile.

"Good," answered Mercedes, her own smile brightening.

Kurt was about to ask her what was on her mind as her eyes glanced back and forth between his face and his free hand, when she suddenly reached for his hand. She twined their fingers together so their palms were pressed and then looked into his eyes questioningly.

Oh. Kurt managed to keep the smile on his face and even gave her a little wink before starting forward through the busy hallway. The sea of students making their way to their next classes was somewhat difficult to wade through when hand in hand with Mercedes, but Kurt wasn't going to be the one to break the link. He could tell it had taken Mercedes a lot of bravery to put herself out there and he didn't want to let her down. He knew full well about insecurities. Plus, it couldn't hurt to be seen holding hands with a girl in the school hallway.

"So," said Kurt as they neared their shared class. "I saw you with the Unholy Trinity again this morning."

"Oh, you did?" responded Mercedes nervously.

Kurt glanced sideways at her and furrowed his brow slightly when he saw the guilty look that passed across her face.

"Are you sure you're not thinking about becoming a Cheerio?" asked Kurt.

"Kurt..." started Mercedes indignantly but Kurt cut her off.

"I know I already asked you that but I just wanted you to know that if it's something you want to do, I'll back you up if the glee club has any problem with it," said Kurt, quickly. "And by Glee club, I mean Rachel Berry."

Mercedes let out a little huff of laughter at Kurt's last comment and shook her head. She let her hand smoothly slide out of Kurt's when they reached their classroom door before entering the room. Kurt swallowed heavily when he noticed the demure smile she gave him as her fingertips slowly slid over his palm and wrist before falling away.

They walked down an aisle between desks before finding two empty seats, one in front of the other, and sat in them. Mercedes swung around in her seat after setting her books down on her desktop and looked back at Kurt.

"You wouldn't have a problem with me joining the Cheerios?" she asked.

"No! No, no, no, not at all," replied Kurt quickly before smiling and adding, "If that's what you want to do, I say do it."

Mercedes pursed her lips and Kurt wondered what she was thinking that she looked so contemplative about. She smiled a moment later and turned back around in her seat to face the front of the room. The bell rang again just as their teacher stepped into the room. She set her own books down on the large desk at the front of the room before turning to write on the board, addressing the class over her shoulder as she wrote.

Kurt wondered absently as he copied the notes the teacher was writing on the board what it would be like to be on the Cheerleading Squad. He wished he could just do things like that without having to worry about his sexuality being questioned. After some thought he shook his head and decided that it would be counterproductive to join the Cheerios. With a defeated sigh, he pushed himself to turn his attention to the notes he was writing. He could worry about doing the things he wanted after he graduated and Lima, Ohio was in his rear view mirror. It was going to be a long three years.