Ok ummm if you squint really really really hard this might come across as pre-slash. I tried to resist the lure but most of you know me. I AM HELPLESS to the lure of my Matt/Kurt. But I think it's pretty slight pre-slash right? I tried really hard to not sap-whore it up you all!
IV.
This could well win the award for strangest week ever, Matt decided as he slammed his locker shut. And that was saying something consider he had to go to the hospital for a spider in his ear earlier in the year.
He should have known this week was going to take a turn for the surreal when Rachel proudly announced she had bugged the choir room and had a list of who in the club wasn't pulling their weight vocally. First off he was more than a little disturbed Mr. Schue didn't seem to be more concerned about the whole bugging the choir room thing. Or the fact his teacher apparently hadn't caught on to the fact some people weren't even trying to do better. Yeah some people were half-assing the exercises but Rachel really didn't need to bug the place to figure that out. He could tell and he had no formal training in singing at all. Secondly, he admired Rachel's talent and drive (even if it did drive him more than a little crazy most days) but the girl had a serious death wish for naming Santana and Quinn on that list. Whether it was true or not, both of those girls would not hesitate before cutting her.
Maybe her bought of laryngitis was some sort of divine protection totem. Rachel had been seriously wigging out ever since she epically butchered that Miley Cyrus song. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Matt wondered if the bugs were still taping because someday, that tape was going to be worth a fortune on EBay. (Hey he may like her and could handle her diva fits better than most, but it didn't mean he didn't know a business opportunity when he saw one). He was still trying to figure out if he dreamed seeing her walking through in her pajamas or Puck had managed to break into his locker and place some "special" snacks in there instead of his mom's normal ones.
Kurt Hummel sped past him, a blur of oversized flannel and denim, not even noticing he almost knocked over at least five unsuspecting freshmen in his wake. Matt sighed. Now there was another story altogether. If it was just the clothes Matt might have given Kurt a pass on his behavior this week. After all he never kept up with fashion and while the outfit was unusual for Kurt, it barely cracked the top ten of Outfits Worn By Kurt Hummel That No One Else Understands list he and Mike had started last year. But then the dating of Brittany started. Kurt. Dating. Brittany. Actually now that he thought about it, that was when the thought Puck had started making his special brownies again first came to mind. Because that was a far more logical explanation than anything he could come up with.
Sighing and without any clear reason why, Matt decided to follow his fellow glee club member down the hall towards the auditorium. Well on second thought, he took that back. He knew why he was following Kurt. He was worried. The entire dating Brittany thing made him suspect a complete mental break down was in process. That at least would make sense.
He wouldn't be that surprised if Kurt did have a mental breakdown. Matt hated dealing with Azimio and Karofsky on a daily basis and they barely noticed he attended the same school as them. He would have already snapped if he had to deal with even half the crap (and sometimes he literally meant crap) they threw at Kurt just for breathing. Matt had no doubt Kurt would indeed one day make them pay for every dumpster dive and slushie facials he ever had to suffer.
Plus, it didn't take a genius to see Kurt was not handling his dad and Finn's mom dating all that well. Matt had met Mr. Hummel a few times since the start of the year. The man hadn't missed a performance yet and had made it to both the football games Kurt actually played in. It took a little getting used to, seeing Kurt with his designer clothes running up to greet a guy who looked like he never went anywhere without his baseball hat. It was equally hard to miss the fact that Finn was probably more like Mr. Hummel than Kurt could ever hope to be. And that had to suck. From a few scattered comments Kurt made, Matt gathered it was just Kurt and his dad. "No she's dead. This is her son" being the big tip off there. That had to suck. Matt may not get along with his dad all the times, but at least he had his mom there to help when things got awkward. And Matt imagined right now it was pretty awkward in the Hummel house.
Opening the door to the auditorium, the fact that this was a crazy idea did pass through Matt's brain. Sure he and Kurt were friends, or at least friendly-ish, they were after all almost always blocked next to each other for performances, but if Kurt was really on the edge of something big clearly Kurt would prefer Mercedes to be there over him. Or Artie. Or Tina. Basically anyone but him really. But of course now that he had convinced himself his teammate was on the edge of a nervous breakdown he couldn't very well just leave him alone. He'd keep his phone on him. If things look to get bad, he would just text Mercedes. That would work right?
Blinking as he looked towards the stage, Matt tried to work out where exactly Kurt had disappeared to. He almost fell over in relief when the smaller boy emerged from stage left, wearing clothes that Matt much identified with Kurt than the cast of Deadliest Catch. That had to be a good sign. People who were really having mental breakdowns didn't suddenly return to form like that right? Kurt had to have stopped by his locker at some point and grabbed the spare set of clothes Matt knew he kept there. He was about to call out a greeting, if just to let Kurt know he wasn't alone in the auditorium, when he heard the familiar overture start. Matt wasn't a huge fans of musicals, but his sister was. And this particular movie she had made him watch nearly every time she babysat him as he was growing up. He could recognize the start of Rose's Turn in under three bars.
Sitting down, Matt realized Kurt was probably going to perform the song he had originally planned to sing in glee this week. Pink Houses was good if not a little bizarre. Matt had a strong suspicion it wasn't the actual performance that caused the round of puzzled faces when Kurt finished. It was more the presence of suddenly heterosexual Kurt that was throwing them more. Honestly, Kurt did that song better than Matt expected him to, so he had to give his teammate props on that front. But he had to admit, he was more than a little curious to see what Kurt would chose to sing if he was feeling, well more Kurt-like for lack of a better phrase.
He sat back in the seat as Kurt defiantly attacked the song with what Matt suspected was years of pent up anger. If Kurt had performed this the other day, well Rachel would have been freaking out over more than a temporary loss of her voice. Her days of being the main star of the club would be over. Even Mr. Schue, as oblivious as his well-meaning teacher could be at times, wouldn't be able to ignore something like this.
"Damn kid." A gruff whisper came from the aisle next to him. Matt whipped his head around to see Mr. Hummel standing there, clearly as impressed as Matt was by what he was seeing. It was on the tip of Matt's tongue to say something but Mr. Hummel started down the aisle just as Kurt was hitting the climax of the song. Matt watched as Kurt fell to the stage floor as the music died off, only looking up when his father's clapping startled him.
As Mr. Hummel started to speak, Matt grabbed at his backpack. He really should go. Kurt's dad was here now. This was something he could handle. He shouldn't intrude. He'd just find a way to tell Kurt later what a great job he had done.