I am so sorry for the huge delay. I've just finished my other multi-chap fic and will soon be finished for Christmas so I can update more frequently over the next few weeks. I hope you all enjoy the chapter!
"Hello class, my name is Mr Anderson and I will be your new music teacher."
One of the girls near the back giggled and Kurt heard her whisper something to her neighbour who also laughed. Mr Anderson smiled and set a pile of sheet music on the desk before pulling a pair of glasses from out of his top pocket and putting them on. Mercedes nudged Kurt.
"You're staring," she whispered. Kurt's elbow slipped off the desk and he floundered a little before pulling himself right and shaking his head.
"No I wasn't," he snapped as he watched the new teacher scrawl his name on the board. Mr Anderson underlined his name with a flourish then stood on the chair, hopped onto the desk and sat himself down, legs dangling off the floor.
"I need to start by doing registration so when I call your name I want you to tell me which instruments – or voice – that you'll be using for your assignments this year," he said as he pulled out a pen and a book and peered at the small list, then began calling out names:
"Elizabeth Adams?"
"Clarinet."
"Rachel Berry?"
Kurt stopped staring again to inform Mr Anderson that Rachel was cleaning up Finn in the bathroom.
"I really hope that isn't an innuendo, Mr, uh?"
"Hummel, sir," Kurt said in a breathy voice. "Kurt Hummel. And no, Finn got slushied."
"Slushied?" Mr Anderson said, one eyebrow raised and an amused look on his face. "You aren't helping your 'this-is-not-an-innuendo' case, Kurt."
The class laughed and Kurt went scarlet. "'Slushied' is when someone throws an ice slushie in your face, Mr Anderson," Mercedes explained, patting Kurt on the arm. "They won't be long."
Right on cue Rachel and Finn came sweeping into the classroom. Finn had changed his shirt but still had the slightly blue-and-damp look of the recently slushied. They apologised to Mr Anderson and took their seats behind the desk next to Kurt and Mercedes. Rachel pulled a pad of blank notation paper and a set of bright pink stationary and laid them out on the desk. Finn fumbled in his pockets and pulled out a biro that had been chewed to within an inch of its life and began twirling it in his fingers.
"You must be Rachel Berry and...Finn Hudson?" Mr Anderson asked when they had settled down.
"Yes, sir," they said in unison.
"Great, well, welcome to music class! I'm Mr Anderson and Kurt tells me you're late because somebody threw a drink at you?" Mr Anderson asked in a politely confused voice. Finn glanced over at Kurt before shrugging. "Do you want to go to the Principal?"
This caught Finn off guard. "Why would I go want to do that?" he asked with a frown. Kurt noticed Mr Anderson's features cloud for the briefest second, but it passed so quickly that Kurt wasn't sure it had actually happened.
"It's up to you," Mr Anderson said with the tiniest of shrugs, then buried himself in his list once more. "Rachel, what instruments will you be using for your assignments this year?"
Mercedes nudged Kurt and rolled her eyes as Rachel began reeling off the list of instruments she could play with a smug grin on her face. Kurt laughed silently and scribbled a note on his pad:
She can't even play more than a few notes on any of them! Violin? More like "vile-din"! K x
They both giggled as they recalled the time Rachel had taken the violin from one of the band members and insisted on showing them all the correct way to play Swimming by Florence and the Machine. Brittany had hidden under her chair thinking that the apocalypse had arrived, while Finn tried to prevent Santana from jumping on Rachel and stabbing her with the violin bow. The violin player had eventually stepped in and politely requested his instrument back before he was forced to get the brass section involved, and Rachel had handed it over huffily.
I swear, my perfect pitch wasn't right for a week after that! M x
Kurt snorted and nodded in agreement before bursting into a fit of silent giggles that Mercedes shortly joined in with.
"Please, share the joke, guys!" Kurt looked up to see Mr Anderson surveying Mercedes and himself over the top of his glasses, the tiniest of smiles playing at the corner of his mouth. Rachel was giving them reproachful looks as she had been forced to stop in the middle of her recital. Kurt straightened up in his chair and mumbled an apology, Mercedes doing the same. "It seems I'm going to have to keep my eye on you Mr Hummel," Mr Anderson said seriously before turning back to Rachel and gesturing for her to continue.
"I bet he will," Mercedes muttered under her breath with a smirk. Kurt punched her gently in the arm and scowled.
"...but I'll mostly be using my voice this year. Although I am very upset about the fact that I have two performing arts classes back to back, I feel that it's an important step in my preparation to becoming a big Broadway star who performs both matinee and evening performances day in, day out without damaging their voice!"
The class was in silence. Mercedes looked like she was about to strangle Rachel and Kurt had the feeling that he might not try and stop her immediately. Finn was still twirling the pen around in his fingers, completely ignoring everything around him. Mr Anderson looked like he was in shock.
"That's...that's great, Rachel," he said blinking and scribbling something into his book. Possibly everything Rachel had just said. Possibly a reminder to bring aspirin on a Monday. "Wow. Okay, um... Natasha Blake?"
"It's just Tasha. And I sing too," the girl replied in a slightly unsettled voice from her seat near the back of the room. Mr Anderson nodded and made a note in his book.
"James Byng?"
"Bass guitar."
"Finn Hudson?"
Finn jerked out of his pen twirling to inform Mr Anderson that he was going to be playing the drums and singing. As Mr Anderson wrote, Kurt noticed the tiny frown that appeared on his face and the way he ran his hands through his curls as he turned to the next person.
"Kurt?" Kurt snapped out of his daydream and, for the second time that lesson, blushed as Mr Anderson addressed him. "What instruments do you play?" Mr Anderson asked.
"I play piano," Kurt informed him as Mercedes grinned at him. He ignored her. "But I'll mostly be singing this year."
"Excellent," Mr Anderson said with a grin. "How about Mercedes Jones?"
"I'm singing too, Mr A," Mercedes said before holding a hand up for a high-five from Kurt. One of the girls at the back of the class laughed.
"A lot of singers in this class! Mr Karofsky, what will you be doing this year?" Mr Anderson asked. The room went silent and nine faces swivelled to the back of the room where David Karofsky had been doodling on a piece of paper on his desk. David looked up and mumbled something.
"I'm sorry, I can't hear you," Mr Anderson said apologetically.
"I...I sing," David mumbled. "And I can play the guitar."
Finn dropped his pen which clattered onto the floor and rolled under his desk. Rachel looked scandalised and Kurt thought that if Mercedes' jaw dropped any lower they would have to take her to the emergency room to have it reattached. Kurt himself was a little surprised, he hadn't known David could do either of those things, but found himself not caring too much. He turned his attention back to Mr Anderson who was now asking the final two members of the class what instruments they played (classical guitar and piano).
Mr Anderson closed his book with a snap and looked up at them all with a huge grin on his face. "Okay! Now do you all know each other?"
The class looked back at him blankly. Mercedes raised an eyebrow and Finn furrowed his brow in confusion. Mr Anderson looked at them expectantly then sighed.
"Look at how you've all seated yourselves." They all peered around the classroom at the rest of the students. It was a large room, big enough for a class of thirty, and there were ten students. Mercedes and Kurt were sat behind a desk three rows back from the teacher's desk. Finn and Rachel occupied the desk next to them on the right. The three other girls were seated in the middle of the classroom in the penultimate row to the back. Michael, the classical guitar player, and James, the bass player, were sat at the very back of the room on the far left, with David Karofsky sat on the other side of the classroom on the right.
"You are spread out across this huge classroom. I've practically had to shout everything I've said to you guys at the back and I could barely hear David at all. I want you all to move to the front two rows, then I will explain your first assignment which will be a little "getting to know you" exercise," Mr Anderson said hopping off the desk. There was a grumble as the students picked up their things and spread themselves across the desks at the front of the classroom. Kurt grabbed his things and plonked them on the desk immediately in front of Mr Anderson, he heard Mercedes give a little sigh of exasperation but she seated herself next to him with good grace. Once everybody had moved the room fell silent again and Mr Anderson spoke once more.
"This is going to be a little competition," he started. Rachel plastered another smug smile on her face and Mercedes grinned at Kurt who flashed her the briefest "don't-even-think-about-beating-me" smile in return. "I'm going to put you in pairs and you are going to come up with a duet that you will perform in class. It can be anything you like; pick something that expresses your partnership. You'll perform on Wednesday so you have two days to sort something out. It doesn't have to be perfect, I just want to see that you've worked together to produce something representative of you."
There was an outbreak of muttering and glares being shot at their new teacher. Rachel looked furious.
"I'm going to put your names in a hat and pull out pairs. These are the duet partners you will perform with." Mr Anderson walked around the desk and delved into a drawer from which he pulled out a plastic tub containing some paperclips which he emptied on the desk. "Not exactly a hat, but it'll do," he said cheerfully. "Now write your name on a piece of paper, fold it and drop it in here."
They obediently wrote their names on note paper, with a small amount of grumbling, and Kurt embellished his with a flower and a heart before folding it and dropping it in the pot as Mr Anderson walked past the desks. He had a good chance of being with either Mercedes, Finn or, unfortunately, Rachel so he wasn't too worried about losing the competition. Even if he was with another member of the class, he could definitely pull this off. Rachel would be overbearing and impossible to work with unless she paired up with himself, Mercedes, or Finn so he wasn't too worried there. Finn was good but he'd probably end up singing a typical rock anthem and Kurt doubted any other member of the class would want to perform a piece like that, aside from the bass guitar player, James.
"Okay guys, the first duet pair will be..." Mr Anderson grabbed two pieces of paper and unfolded them. "James and Elizabeth."
The bass guitar player and the clarinettist looked doubtful, but swapped tiny smiles happily enough.
"Next pair are...Rachel and Amelia," Mr Anderson announced. Rachel looked very disappointed. The pianist looked horrified. Kurt smothered a giggle and tried to keep a straight face as Mercedes' shoulders shook beside him. She soon stopped laughing, however, when it was announced that she was to be partnered with Finn.
"What?" she said angrily, turning to Finn, who also looked deeply upset. "I have to perform with Frankenteen?"
"Your names came out of the hat, you perform together," Mr Anderson said with a frown. "C'mon Mercedes, be fair."
"He is such a Mr Schue," she muttered under her breath. "Still, it could be worse, at least it wasn't Karofsky." Kurt couldn't help but privately agree. David was no longer bullying him, but they were still far from the point of friendship, especially after what had happened at prom.
"Next pair... David and Kurt!" Mr Anderson called.
Kurt heard the intake of breath as every person in the room aside from himself, David and Mr Anderson, gasped and started muttering. He glanced at David, who looked even more uncomfortable than Kurt felt, and heard Rachel speak up from down the row.
"Mr Anderson? This really isn't a good idea and I have to insist that you pair Kurt with someone who is less of a jerk!" she said loudly, looking daggers at Karofsky while she did. "I will gladly pair with Kurt if it means he doesn't have to work with someone like him!" She pointed at Karofsky dramatically. Mercedes looked furious and Finn was scowling at Karofsky with a protective hand on Kurt's shoulder. Kurt stayed silent, he didn't really want to work with David, but if he admitted that he wasn't that bothered about it either way, he was sure he would be pressed for information. He knew he would find it difficult to keep David's sexuality a secret once Mercedes and Rachel started grilling him.
"Rachel! Sit down!" Mr Anderson said loudly, looking angry. "And be quiet! All of you!" He glared around at the students, several of whom glared back mutinously, and folded his arms.
"Now I can tell that there is some tension in this class, I understand that some of you don't like others, I get that," he said in a calmer voice. "But when you step in this classroom everybody is equal. David and Finn, you aren't football players," he said nodding at their jackets. "You aren't band geeks, or popular kids, or freaks, or divas, or gay, or whatever! You are all musicians who are going to work together to make sure that you all pass this class to the best of your ability. Rachel, if you see Tasha struggling to reach a note, you help her without question. Amelia, if Kurt needs a partner to do a duet, you jump right in there and support him. At the end of each term we are going to perform a group number to the school in an assembly. You have to work together and you have to support each other or none of you will pass this class, you got that?"
There was silence as Mr Anderson looked sternly at his pupils. A couple of them nodded and Amelia even gave a weak smile. Rachel still looked annoyed, but Kurt gave her an exasperated smile and she rolled her eyes and sat back in her seat, slipping her arm through Finn's.
"If you all go and sit with your partners, you can have the remainder of the class to choose your songs and start practising. Michael and Tasha, you'll be working together, okay?" They both nodded and moved to sit next to each other as the class got to its feet. Mercedes gave Kurt a hug before moving to sit next to Finn. Kurt approached the desk where David was seated, still doodling, slid the chair out, sat down, and put his bag on the desk.
"So," Kurt said in an attempt at cheeriness. "We're partners!"
He immediately regretted his choice of words as Karofsky dropped his pen and looked up, his face contorted with worry and anger. Kurt raised his hands (and one of his eyebrows) and gave him a stern look.
"You need to calm down," Kurt said sternly as he stared at David. "I promised I wouldn't say anything and I haven't. For ten months. You have to start trusting me because, like it or not, you're stuck with me knowing for the long term."
David didn't say anything. His eyes dropped back down to the desk and he continued drawing the jagged pattern he had been scribbling when Kurt had sat down. Kurt pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. He looked back up and plastered a smile on his face before trying to talk to David again.
"You can play the guitar?" Kurt asked. David ignored him. "Do you have any pieces we could perform together? We could perform Tony Bennet and Lady Gaga's version of 'Lady is a Tramp'?"
Once more, Kurt was ignored. He glanced around the classroom. Rachel was singing 'Popular' from Wicked as she pranced around the piano while Amelia looked slightly upset as she played along. Mercedes, Tasha and Finn were laughing at something Michael had done and James and Elizabeth were both jamming in the corner of the room to what sounded like Viva la Vida by Coldplay. The clarinet and guitar came together really well. Now slightly worried about his chances of winning, Kurt turned back to David desperately.
"Look, David, please," he began. "I really want to win this. Why won't you just talk to me!" he finished loudly, snatching the pen out of David's hand.
"Is there a problem here?" Mr Anderson had appeared at their desk just as David had looked up, furious. "Kurt, what is going on?" Mr Anderson demanded.
"I- He won't talk to me!" Kurt burst out, gesturing at David. Mr Anderson frowned.
"C'mon, Dave," he said sternly. "If you want to pass this class, you're going to have to work together with people and if you can't work with Kurt, I'm going to have to-"
He stopped as Karofsky jumped up out of his seat, grabbed his things and marched out of the room. The class went silent. Kurt gaped at Mr Anderson who looked shocked for the briefest second before tearing out of the classroom after Karofsky. Everyone turned to stare at Kurt.
"Dude," Finn said. "What the hell was that!"
Kurt gestured cluelessly. "I have no idea! He wouldn't talk to me and then when Mr Anderson came over he just..." Kurt trailed off and shrugged. The rest of the class began muttering amongst themselves. Kurt began twirling his pen in his fingers and thinking of a suitable solo to perform while the rest of the class continued rehearsing.
Ten minutes later Mr Anderson re-entered the classroom to find rehearsals in full swing. Even Amelia now seemed to be enjoying playing the accompaniment to Rachel who was singing with gusto. He caught Kurt's eye and gestured for him to come to the front of the class. Kurt got up obediently as Mr Anderson called for quiet.
"Okay guys, David Karofsky isn't coming back," Mr Anderson announced when Kurt was stood next to him.
Do these guys have to discuss everything! Kurt wondered as the class erupted in quiet chat again. Mr Anderson gestured for silence once more and the chatter stopped.
"Kurt needs a partner guys, can any of you squeeze him into your groups?" Mr Anderson asked, smiling around at the class. Mercedes and Rachel exchanged looks that made Kurt rather nervous before Mercedes spoke up.
"Mr A? We've all already sorted out what we're going to be performing, and isn't the task supposed to be 'duets'?" she said loudly. Kurt had a sinking feeling as she shot him a huge grin and spoke again.
"Why don't you perform with him, Mr A?" she suggested with an innocent smile. "We haven't heard you perform yet and this would be a good way for us to see how you work with your students!"
Kurt was about to say something, anything, to shoot down Mercedes' proposal, but Mr Anderson spoke first.
"That's a great idea, Mercedes!" he said, grinning at Kurt. "Is that okay with you, Kurt?"
Kurt hesitated, aware that he had been completely put on the spot, before nodding. "Yeah, that's fine," he said, feeling the blush creep up his cheeks.
"Excellent!" Mr Anderson beamed as the class started whispering and giggling. Finn was frowning, looking confused. "Everyone back to work then!"
The noise of the classroom gradually returned as the students picked up their instruments and began rehearsing their pieces once more. Mr Anderson turned to Kurt, who was trying very hard not to die of embarrassment, and clapped his hands together.
"So," he said, looking expectantly at Kurt. "Any ideas?"