you'll charm the ladies and the men. let's go now!
CHAPTER four
Word is on the street
of I'm Not Gonna Teach Him How To Dance With You
by littlemusings
For later reference – depending on the scene;
Bold – Jamie or another character's texts [depending on the situation]
Italicized – Kurt's texts
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, nor do I own any of the songs featured in this chapter. There is no copyright infringement intended, and the lyrics are property of their respective artists and their respective record labels. Any songs that are claimed to be written by the characters in the story or the author are not the characters' or author's property (trolololol).
Slight Warnings: Angsty!Blaine, Anderson!Fighting, and PMSlike!Kurt are obviously apparent in specific parts.
friday night, continued
"I knew you were coming," Jamie said brightly as she opened the door to her apartment enthusiastically. Kurt muttered something about telling Anthony that he was going to the studio again, and walked in stiffly. He placed his favorite Jacobs bag down on her coffee table and sat on the plastic-covered couch.
Her apartment was miniature in size, and was covered in blue. This is her favorite color, I'm guessing, Kurt thought amusedly as Jamie went to the kitchen and brought him a sandwich. Kurt took it gratefully and set it next to his bag, sighing. "You have a lovely apartment. It's pretty vintage-looking," he said finally after a five-minute silence, trying the sandwich she gave him. Chicken.
"Thank you," she laughed, leaning back on her couch. "Pardon the plastic. I just moved in, so I haven't quite finished making everything perfect."
"Don't worry about it," Kurt smiled. He looked up at her small television and nearly gagged on his sandwich. There was Blaine, on local news, live from the Palace Hotel.
"Oh my God, I'm sorry, I forgot that was on," Jamie exclaimed, quickly reaching for the remote, but Kurt grabbed it before she could. After turning up the volume, he stuffed the remote under the couch plastic and stared at the screen intently. Jamie bit her lip and looked at her boss nervously, ready to comfort him if needed.
"I'm actually pretty excited for this year's award ceremony, but so many talented artists are up for Album of the Year, so you never know."
Always humble, huh, Blaine? Kurt looked at his ex-boyfriend's face with simple curiosity. He was still the same – his curly hair was gelled down – and his fashion sense had not changed. It was still impeccable, but he could have done with a different-colored bow tie. Blaine was still the private school boy he loved, or, as he liked to think, used to love. It was so strange, seeing someone so familiar and someone he loved on television (the only exceptions being Rachel or Finn). The only thing different about him was his face. It was more defined, his cheekbones a bit more hollow, and his eyes seemed to shine out even more than before. Fame had done him good, Kurt believed, but he knew that inside he had broken Blaine.
"Blaine, please explain what you're going to do next! We hear that you're also going to help with a performance at Disney World this summer as a guest star in one of their major productions!"
"Yes, about that – it's in the works," he saw Duke, who pulled Blaine's microphone to him. Oh, Duke.
"I've performed at theme parks before—especially during my high school years along with doing show choir at my school, so it's pretty fun to be going back to my roots."
Blaine was smiling brilliantly at the press. He was born to be famous; it seemed like it.
"Six Flags," Kurt remembered, biting his lip. Jamie looked at her boss curiously.
"Can you confirm or deny the rumors that you'll be performing at Kurt Hummel and Anthony Marksman's engagement party Sunday night?"
That was the moment when Kurt wanted to throw what was left of his sandwich at the television screen. He heard more of the questions and they were all centered on him, Kurt. It was so hard watching Blaine struggle with the questions.
And that was when he saw him walk out of the press conference room. Kurt pulled out the remote and turned off the television, leaning back on the couch.
"I think we should go," Jamie said quickly, grabbing her purse. Kurt looked at her numbly, nodded, and grabbed his bag as he stood up. He picked up the plate he used, but Jamie took it quickly and hurried to the kitchen to dispose of it.
He hates me, Kurt thought worriedly. Jamie re-appeared.
"Let's go?" she asked nervously. Kurt agreed and followed her out of the apartment.
"Look at that line," Danielle whistled as they neared Madison Square Garden. Blaine stared out the window and his jaw dropped.
"Oh my God," Duke exclaimed, rolling down the window as quickly as possible. (He had escaped the paparazzi woman by throwing her fifty dollars and dashing down fourteen flights of stairs to meet up with Danielle and Blaine. He made it just as Blaine was about to close the limo door.) He stared in awe.
The line at Madison Square Garden snaked from the entrance through two (or maybe more) blocks and behind another building nearby. Fans were waiting patiently in line to get in, and even though the doors had been open for nearly two hours, it seemed, from the trio's point of view in the limo, that even if the seats were sold out, people were still going to try and get into MSG to watch Blaine's concert.
"Compare that to Six Flags," Danielle said happily as they pulled up to the front of Madison Square Garden. Duke immediately rolled up the window and several bodyguards took their place by the limo.
"Why aren't we going through a back entrance?" Blaine laughed, his heart beating quickly. "I thought it's safer to go through the back."
"There are people blocking the entrance, and since there are more proper lines here, they thought it best for you to make a big entrance," Duke grinned from ear-to-ear. The limo stopped. "The people in the front of the line have VIP seats, I think, so I guess they'll be less erratic."
The screams grew louder as the limo doors opened. Danielle grabbed her brother's hand and pulled him out of the limo. A security guard went to the back of the limo and pulled out Blaine's guitar and handed it to him. Blaine gripped his guitar case tightly as the screams erupted. Guards rushed to hold back the lines, and they quickly ushered him down. He waved to his fans enthusiastically, and when they thought the screams wouldn't get louder, they did. They were nearing the entrance when Blaine caught a glimpse of two bright blue eyes, and the eyes met his as well. He felt his heart skip a beat. Everything seemed to freeze.
He saw a pair of seemingly soft, light-pink lips.
He could only make out what it was saying.
"Blaine."
Blaine followed the eyes as he entered the door. When he was inside, he quickly took pictures with some of his fans on their way to their seats, and then the guards finally rushed him backstage with Duke.
"I'm going to see if mom and dad are already sitting down," Dani said quickly, and she threw on her backstage pass and ran out the door, another guard following her. Blaine sighed and leaned back in his seat, his heart still beating quickly.
"Let's get you into makeup and dress," Duke shouted, gesturing for their team to hurry.
"He's here, Duke," Blaine said, his voice becoming croaky.
"Who's what?" Duke said quickly, not paying attention.
"Kurt," Blaine whispered. Duke stopped and frowned.
"Blaine, don't let his presence beat you down. Now, come on, and let's get you into your outfit," he said gently, pulling Blaine out of his seat and into a dressing room.
"Oh my God, he saw me," Kurt groaned, hitting his head on Jamie's shoulder. Once standing up straight again, Kurt quickly pulled his sunglasses out of Jamie's eyes grew wide and she strained to hear what Kurt was trying to say over the crowd as they neared the ticket collector.
"Why are you wearing sunglasses now?" Jamie attempted to shout over the crowd.
Kurt quickly whipped out his phone and typed something on a text message and showed her the screen. Do not want to be recognized. Blaine saw me!
Jamie's mouth formed a little 'o' and she nodded fervently. "Hey, we're close to the front of the line!" she said with mock cheeriness. Kurt gave her a withering look and she rolled her eyes, hooking her arm with his. "We'll watch and once it's over, I can drive you back to your apartment right away so Anthony won't get suspicious."
I feel so wrong doing this, Kurt texted. Jamie sighed as the line moved closer and closer to the entrance and took Kurt's phone and typed back:
What's the harm in watching a concert?
I lied to Anthony
Why did you lie in the first place?
Kurt's hand froze when the phone came back to him. Why had he lied to Anthony? Anthony had hired Blaine for the party, so what was the harm in watching Blaine's concert? Nothing, right? Going to the studio, my ass. Those were the words that were probably swimming through Anthony's mind when Kurt told him. Kurt Hummel was a mastermind when it came to deception. He had fooled the majority of McKinley High School, saying that he was straight for the longest time until he came out during his sophomore year. He was hard to read. But Anthony probably saw through his façade.
I don't know. Anthony knew that the concert was tonight, though but I convinced him that I feel nothing for Blaine anymore so I guess telling him I was going to the studio would convince him
Jamie sighed and saw that they had finally reached the ticket booth. After handing back his phone, she handed her and Kurt's tickets to the cashier, and were immediately let in and ushered by a guard to the Gold-Ranking seats, where a woman was selling programs.
"Gold-rank. Nice," Kurt whistled, still trying to maintain his confidence. They were seated in the tenth row from the front, and the huge stadium seemed to swallow him up. Madison Square Garden was a giant in comparison to the Gershwin Theater.
"Dear God," Jamie said excitedly. "I can't believe I'm seeing him live for the first time!"
"I have seen him live more times than you can possibly imagine," Kurt sniffed indifferently, pulling off his sunglasses. Jamie grinned and gestured for the program seller to come to their row. Jamie quickly paid ten dollars for both of their programs and handed Kurt his.
"You know I can't bring this home."
"I'll keep it, then," Jamie smiled brightly, taking it back. Kurt took one look at the cover – it said in plain white letters on a black background:
Blaine Anderson:
the national tour
Madison Square Garden
May 15, 2019
"Beautifully designed cover. My favorite color scheme," Kurt said indifferently. "On second thought, I'll keep it," he added, snatching his program back from Jamie, who smirked. "I pay you enough, don't I? So I don't have to pay you back for this."
"It was five dollars," Jamie laughed, "And yes, you pay me enough, so I'm okay."
"Good, because I don't carry change around," Kurt responded. "It's just so annoying to bring around."
The stadium was nearly full when an announcer said clearly over the intercom: The concert will begin in approximately ten minutes. Sorry for the delay, and we here at MSG hope you have a wonderful experience. The audience cheered excitedly. Kurt looked up at the screen hanging from the ceiling. Advertisements were playing in between Blaine's songs and photo slideshows. Still very dapper, Kurt thought to himself amusedly. He was feeling more and more relaxed as the minutes ticked on. Blaine's voice was blaring from the speakers, and he felt calm for the first time in months – or, rather, three years.
"The concert will begin in two minutes."
"I'm so excited!" Jamie jumped in her seat. Kurt laughed, and cheered along with her and the crowd. His heart was racing at lightning speed, and he couldn't believe it.
"Thirty seconds." The announcer spoke in his head. Kurt's internal clock ticked…
Five, four, three…
Blaine was ready. He knew that Kurt was in the audience, but he pushed it out of his mind, knowing that the stage was calling for him; his fans were calling for him. This was his first major concert ever, and he was ready to make it the best. In his Converse, tight jeans, cardigan, buttoned down shirt and dark blue bow tie and guitar in hand, he out the backstage door to enter the stadium from the regular entrance in order to surprise his fans sitting in the back, and work his way to the main stage. This is my moment.
This is most definitely my moment.
One.
The guards threw open the doors to the high entrances, and fans turned around in surprise and screams erupted from all sides of the stadium. He began his latest acoustic hit, I Must Be Dreaming.
…and she calls me sweetheart.
I love it when she wakes me when it's still dark
And she watches the sun
But she's the only one I have my eyes on
He was nearing the middle aisles. It was just his guitar and he; his fans were heartily singing along. It was pure bliss. Adrenaline pumping through his veins, Blaine continued the song, all of his emotions pouring out into the chords. Kurt was here, and he wanted him to listen.
Two kids, one love
Who cares if we're making it up?
Her voice a sweet sound,
Our clothes lay on the ground.
She moves in closer,
Whispers: "I thought I told 'ya."
He was nearing the Gold-Rank seats. He noticed Kurt's perfectly-coiffed hair amongst all of the others, and he saw Kurt sitting next to a girl wearing blue. The paparazzi girl from earlier? No, it couldn't be. Keep singing, keep singing, he thought as he approached the stage, prying his eyes away from Kurt's seat. When he finally got to the stage, he let go of his guitar and raised his hands up in the air and led the audience in an acapella round:
Go on and tell 'em that you love me,
And it'll be alright
Are you thinking of me?
Just come with me tonight.
He moves in closer
Can't stop, won't stop, I must be dreaming.
Did I just say 'he'? Blaine panicked as he finished the song to tumultuous applause from his audience. There's no problem with that; they know I'm gay—but I said 'he'! Here come the assumptions, shit-!
"Hey there, everyone!" he said, attempting to channel cheeriness. The audience roared enthusiastically again. He looked down at Kurt's row, and he saw Kurt's eyes as large as the moon in panic. "How are you all tonight?"
Shouts of "Awesome," "Marry me, Blaine," and "I love you," among other things came from the crowd. Tearing his eyes away from Kurt for the last time that night, Blaine laughed and strummed his guitar softly.
"So, welcome to my first concert!" he said exuberantly, waving his hands up in the air. "I'm really excited, and I really hope you all enjoy as well. We've got a great night planned out for you!"
There was no doubt about it. Blaine was still an amazing performer. Kurt knew it, being a performer himself – being Blaine's ex-boyfriend. Kurt saw him jump around the stage and be one with his fans, and how he felt the first time Blaine sang 'Teenage Dream' came back.
"I just noticed something," Jamie whispered, her voice hoarse from all the screaming as Blaine was talking ("So today I was heading towards the hotel with my production team, and my manager, Duke opens the door and hits my little sister on the nose pretty hard!"). "He said 'he' instead of 'she' during his opening number."
"So what? We all know he's gay," Kurt hissed, folding his arms, not taking his eyes off of Blaine.
"He was looking in our direction," Jamie said inexplicably.
"Oh, shut up," Kurt muttered, frowning, continuing to listen and laugh at Blaine's monologue.
"...So I'd like to dedicate this next song to my baby sister, Danielle, who is sitting right there in the front row. She commuted all the way from Toronto to watch tonight. And it's her 21st birthday in about a week!"
Applause erupted throughout the stadium. The cameras swung in the direction of the VIP seats, and everyone in Madison Square Garden saw Danielle Anderson broadcasted on the hanging screens. She was blushing furiously and her nose was a bit bruised. She mouthed a 'fuck you,' to her brother and started to laugh. Next to her, they could see his parents – Mr. and Mrs. Anderson. Mr. Anderson was still a bit haughty-looking, but Mrs. Anderson was beaming with pride.
"Dani, do you want to go up on stage with me?" Blaine offered, holding out his hand to her. She nodded, and the cameras swung back in the direction of the stage as Blaine pulled his little sister up and sat her down on a stool.
"She looks absolutely gorgeous," Kurt gushed enthusiastically. "I love that little black dress on her; the sequins just glimmer in the light. I'm betting it's an Alberta Ferretti dress. I can tell. I used to browse her boutiques all the time."
"How old is she?" Jamie asked.
"Twenty, I think. Almost twenty one."
"Okay. I sang this song back in my high school days with my old show choir, the Dalton Academy Warblers, who I hear have made it to Nationals this year! It's originally by one of my favorite bands, Train."
An assistant rushed up on stage and handed him a ukulele. Blaine gratefully gave his guitar to him, and the assistant gave him thumbs up and ran off-stage. And he began to play.
"You're insane," Danielle laughed as Blaine arrived backstage, exhausted and sweaty, falling onto a couch immediately. His entire team clapped and cheered enthusiastically for him and patted him on the back happily. His parents ran towards him first, and his mother gave him a big kiss on the cheek, hugging him tightly. His father gave him a hug as well, and they both sat on either side of their eldest son.
"That was brilliant!" Duke exclaimed, pulling Blaine off the couch. Grinning, Blaine gave his best friend a tight hug, and they let go. "I'm so proud of you, Blainers. We did it, you played at Madison Square Garden, and it was your first freakin' major concert."
"I've got cake!" his sound director, Junie, shouted, bringing in a large box.
"This is crazy, guys," Blaine laughed, walking over to Danielle and putting an arm over her. "How's the nose?" he whispered as Junie placed the box on a nearby table. Everyone dashed for the cake immediately.
"It still feels weird," Danielle muttered, "I can't scrunch it up or anything."
"It's broken, dummy," Blaine grinned, poking her cheek. They lined up in the back of the line for cake. "I'm so sleepy," he added.
"You did great, buckeye," she smiled, hugging her brother softly. "I'm proud of you too. And thanks for serenading me; that was classic."
"No problem," he responded softly. They were already at the front of the line. Danielle jumped aside as Junie gave Blaine a hug and handed him and her two slices of cake. The siblings sat down next to their parents and began eating.
"Guess who I saw in the audience?" Danielle muttered. Blaine shifted his eyes towards the floor. "I saw Kurt in the audience. I think it was during a pan of the crowd."
"I saw him, too," Blaine grumbled, leaning back on the couch.
"Kurt Hummel?" Mr. Anderson interjected fiercely. "Your ex?"
"Yes, dad, my ex," Blaine nodded, feeling that familiar pang in his chest every time he said 'ex'.
"So, he had the audacity to watch tonight," their dad continued, putting his plate down on the table. "And you're performing at his engagement party on Sunday. What has gotten into you and your schedule? Good riddance to him, in my opinion. After what he did, leaving you in California."
"Dad—" Blaine began, but his father cut him off.
"If I see him step foot in our hotel room tomorrow—"
"James!" Mrs. Anderson cut in. "Calm down!"
"This is Blaine and his well-being we're talking about, Maria."
"Maybe some good is going to come out of him performing on Sunday."
"You saw what happened at the press conference, dear. What more when he performs at that goddamn engagement party. He didn't call the house for weeks after that Hummel boy left him. We had to get Danielle to fly there before going to Toronto, don't you remember?"
"Um, dad—" Danielle started, but he cut her off again.
"I forbid it. You will not play at that engagement party. He's getting married to someone else, for God's sake."
"Dad, I'm twenty-five and perfectly capable of taking care of myself now," Blaine said fiercely, standing up and putting his plate down on a nearby table. "This is just a job; I'm not going to woo him or anything like that!"
The entire room fell silent. Duke cleared his throat and stood up from where he was sitting.
"I think we should, um, go," he muttered, beginning to usher everyone out. "Let's just hang out in the main lounge, shall we?"
The people in the room filed out as quickly as possible, and as Duke closed the door behind him, Mr. Anderson began his tirade again.
"I'm not going to let that boy hurt you again. I trusted him the first time I met him, and he just threw you aside like that—"
"Trusted him? Excuse me!" Blaine exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. "You were so suspicious. You were afraid he was going to spread his gay throughout the house and ruin your chances of turning me straight. You call that trust, dad? Really, do you?"
"Don't you dare talk back to me like that!" James Anderson snapped, standing up and pointing a firm finger at his son. "I never told you that, so don't you dare fire me with words I've never said. We finished this conversation long ago."
"Yeah, but you definitely showed it back then," Blaine said, his tone becoming colder.
"I thought we talked about this. I've accepted the fact that you are who you are, and whom you love. But I just don't want you to get hurt."
"Things might change, dad, if I get to play there. This is my only chance," Blaine whispered, his eyes tearing up. "You've got to let me try this. I'm old enough now, and you should know that."
"It's just that I lost all of those years thinking that I hated you. I gave up thinking that. I love you, son. I just want to make up for those lost years."
"Just avoiding all of this will just make everything worse," Blaine said quietly. "I love you too, dad, but you lost your chance to take care of me like a kid. I'm not a little boy anymore."
"Blaine—" his mother said tearfully, standing up and walking to him. She held her arms out to him, but he backed up.
"You're just going to get hurt again," Mr. Anderson said roughly, running a hand through his dark hair. Danielle looked from her parents to her brother, speechless. "You're going to get on that stage, sing for him, and see him marrying someone else. Someone else, Blaine. Do you know how that's going to break you?"
"Dad!" Danielle exclaimed, shocked.
"You were never an opportunist before."
"I guess despite going through all of those civil, seemingly happy years we've had, you didn't get to know me as well as you should have," Blaine said fiercely.
"Blaine, stop it," Mrs. Anderson cried.
"I should know you! You're my son!"
"Why weren't you the one who ran up the stairs after that press conference?" Blaine exclaimed, getting closer to his father, "If you cared so much, why didn't you?"
"I…well, I…" Mr. Anderson stuttered, his face contorting with rage. "Don't you dare speak like that to me ever again, Blaine James Anderson!"
"See, you don't know," Blaine said quietly, his chest heaving. "You've got to let me do this."
"Fine. It's your life. I shouldn't be involved with it anymore," James said, throwing his hands up in defeat. He reached over and grabbed his coat. "Maria, let's go. Let's let him live his damn life without us."
"Dad," Danielle begged, grabbing his arm.
"Are you coming, Dani? You've got school on Monday, so you better get your butt back to Toronto, or we'll be putting you at Westerville Community College next year for one semester."
Danielle stared at her father, speechless. "What?"
"You heard me, young lady," Mr. Anderson said fiercely.
"What on earth, James?" Mrs. Anderson snapped. "What's going on with you?"
"If she's going to pick insanity over her own parents, we might as well revoke her independence."
"I'm graduating already!" Danielle shouted. "You can't just do that, and Blaine's my brother! He's in our family!"
"Yes I can, because we pay for your college education. And Blaine? He prefers his independence. So be it," James said, heading for the door, his wife tagging along hesitantly. "So, are you coming?"
Danielle hesitated. She looked from her father to Blaine and slammed her foot down on the ground. "Enough of this already! Just…just fucking stop this! Dad, you're insane!"
"Dani!" Mrs. Anderson scolded. Danielle ignored her mother.
"You two are always fighting," she continued to shout. "Why can't you just get along for once? I thought everything was okay already. And dad, Blaine's right. You didn't give two shits about him until Mr. Hummel talked to you, and you know it. You seriously know it, dad."
Silence rang in the room once more.
"See you back in Ohio once your school year ends," Mr. Anderson snapped, thrusting the door open and walking out. He hesitated though, and poked his head back in. "I know you love him, Blaine, but I'm worried about you. It will be your fault if you sink back into depression again."
And with that, he left the room.
Mrs. Anderson lingered behind, and ran to her children and hugged them. "I'm going to talk to him. He's probably going to want to go back to Ohio already. Hay naku," she sighed.
"What should I do, mom?" Blaine mumbled, hugging her again tightly.
"Do what you deem is right," she whispered in his ear. She took his face in her hands and kissed his forehead. "I am so proud of you, anak. I believe people deserve second chances, and knowing Kurt, he deserves one, too."
"Do I have to go back to Westerville next year?" Dani said hoarsely, turning pale. Maria walked to her daughter and kissed her cheek as well.
"I'll talk to him."
"Dan and I will share the suite for the weekend. I promise I'll get her back to school as quickly as possible," Blaine promised. His mother pulled them both in for one last embrace, and ran out of the room as Mr. Anderson shouted "Maria!"
The siblings looked at each other. Danielle held up her fist to Blaine, who bumped it in return.
"You just risked your education," Blaine said amusedly as the other door opened and the rest of the staff piled in again nervously.
"Whatever. He'll cool down," Danielle grinned, and she placed her head on his shoulder. "Mom's going to talk some sense into dad. She always does."
"Drinks, anyone?" Duke shouted. Blaine sat up and rolled his eyes, and pointed towards Danielle.
"I don't care, can I try?" she pouted. The adults in the room shook their heads and she sighed and leaned back on the couch, irritated.
"Not until next week, sweetheart," Duke smirked, popping open a bottle of wine. "One more show here and we're on our way to Chicago!"
"Where were you?"
Kurt was in the process of closing the front door of him and Anthony's condominium when he heard Anthony's irritated voice ring out in the darkness. Kurt muttered something incoherent and walked straight into the condo, turning on the lights. He walked swiftly past Anthony and into his mini-studio, slamming the door behind him. He heard Anthony walk towards where he was and pretended to work on a dress.
Anthony opened the door and leaned in the doorway. "Kurt, you said you'd be back an hour ago. Where were you? Studio, right?"
"Yes," Kurt lied quickly, cutting out fabric patterns. Anthony walked in and sat on Kurt's worktable (Oh dear God, Kurt thought, panicking. My cloth! He's sitting on my cloth! You don't see me sitting on his canvases!). "Jamie and I stayed late and worked on some new stuff."
"Your new line is done, you said."
"I…I'm just tweaking a few things—" Kurt nodded, assuring himself more than Anthony.
"I was watching the news earlier, and they happened to be broadcasting live from Madison Square Garden. Looks like Blaine Anderson's in town already."
"Of course, he's performing for us on Sunday."
"Are you sure you were at the studio?" Anthony frowned, folding his arms. Kurt looked up at him, palms digging into the sides of his worktable. "You look a bit tousled."
"I carried a lot from my car to the studio building."
"What's that sticking out of your bag?" Anthony asked, pointing towards Kurt's messenger bag on the couch. Before Kurt could say anything, Anthony pulled out the program for Blaine's concert and held it between his index finger and thumb.
"Put it back in my bag, Annie," Kurt said croakily.
"I can't believe you," Anthony exclaimed, throwing the program on the couch. "You lied to me!"
"Jamie invited me last minute, okay?" Kurt exclaimed, slamming his hand on the table. "I knew you'd say no, because he's performing for us on Sunday, so I decided to go and—"
"I don't care about your reason for going. It's just that you lied to me. You told me you were going to the studio, and you went to your ex-boyfriend's concert instead. It's a bit surreal, you know. You never lie."
"I didn't have any physical contact with him, if that's what you're thinking," Kurt said angrily, his face turning red. "I just sat there and watched the damn concert, Anthony."
"You could have just told me that, or I could have called my contacts at MSG and gotten myself a ticket as well!"
"I thought you'd prefer your own little private performance," Kurt said scathingly, walking towards the door of the mini-studio.
"Oh, what are you saying?" Anthony laughed maliciously. "This is crazy, Kurt."
"This whole entire argument is crazy! Fine. I lied. I watched Blaine Anderson's first fucking concert."
"…When he didn't watch your first major Broadway production."
That was it. Kurt threw open the door of his mini-studio.
"Please leave. We'll talk about this in the morning."
"It's twelve already, so it's technically Saturday now, so we have all the time in the world, Kurt."
Kurt slammed the door shut and leaned against it, staring at Anthony with his arms folded. "What is there to talk about? I'm sorry. I lied to you. I watched Blaine's concert."
"Do you still have feelings for him?" Anthony said quietly, walking towards Kurt.
"No," Kurt said stiffly. I'm beginning to think so.
"That's all I needed to know," Anthony said, and he leaned in for a kiss. Kurt kissed him back hesitantly, and wiped at his eyes.
"I'm sorry."
"Let's go to bed, alright? We have a party to get ready for. I love you, Kurtsie."
"I love you too, Annie," Kurt mumbled, the words feeling wrong in his mouth.
sunday morning / The Palace Hotel
Blaine sat up in his bed, reading The New Yorker's entertainment section, reading more reviews about his first concert. They were positive overall, and they were praising his ability to sing live and his charisma throughout the entire performance. Grinning, he placed the paper aside and got out of bed, and got ready for the day. He felt more comfortable knowing that his parents had gone back to Ohio. It was when Danielle ran through his bedroom door, waving her wallet at him, did he realize what the day was.
"Shopping, here we come."
"We were at Saks Fifth Avenue yesterday," Blaine pouted as he pulled on a shirt, nodding his head towards the multiple shopping bags in the corner of his bedroom. "I honestly love shopping, Dani, but I was thinking that we—"
"No. I do not want to go to the Statue of Liberty. We already did that at Crawford Country Day during my freshman year, and it's incredibly boring. You just look at the chick and buy souvenirs. And today is a special shopping day. Don't you remember? We still have to buy your outfit for tonight's performance!"
Blaine paused, his shirt still half-on. "What?"
"Hello? You're playing at the engagement party downstairs later, remember?"
"Crap, you're right," Blaine groaned, pulling his shirt on properly. He ran to the bathroom and brushed his teeth quickly, and grabbed a pair of skinny jeans in his luggage bag. "Where can we go?" he asked Danielle, who was sitting on the edge of his bed.
"Topman. I want to go to Topman. They have amazing clothes there," she gushed. "For guys, I mean. Topshop is where I go. When we passed by it yesterday, I saw this cute pink button-down shirt."
"I was thinking skinny slacks," Blaine said, giving her a questioning look. "But I'll let you decide for once."
"Where's the fedora we bought yesterday?" she asked, rummaging through their shopping bags.
"In the blue bag over there," Blaine said, pointing to a blue Marks and Spencer shopping bag.
"Fedora plus black slacks, light-pink buttoned-down and black tie," Danielle gushed, setting up what they already had. They just lacked the pink polo.
"Topman, here we come," Blaine said grudgingly.
"Operation Hurricane Hummel is a-go!"
"Excuse me, where is the Villard Ballroom?" Duke asked, scratching his head at the front desk. The concierge sighed and pointed at the Hotel Directory hanging by the elevators.
"You'll find all that you need over there, sir," he said politely. Duke stared at him.
"Thank you," Duke nodded and he walked towards the elevators in disgust. I just asked politely, he thought grudgingly as he perused the directory. Okay. Fifth floor. He re-entered the elevator and pressed the fifth-floor button. This is so awkward. I'm going to meet my best friend's ex-boyfriend's fiancé. Blaine and Dan had to go back to Saks. We spent long enough there yesterday, AND I had a goddamn hangover yesterday, too, which didn't help.
He breathed a sigh of relief when the elevator finally reached the fifth floor. As the door opened, he nearly fell over when another person walked directly into him.
"Ouch!" the other voice, a female's shouted.
"Excuse me!" he exclaimed, grabbing the other person's arms, and pulled her out of the elevator so that they would not fall in or get crushed by the closing doors. "Please, watch where you're going next time."
"Sorry, I didn't expect anyone to come up here," the woman frowned. Duke got a good look at the woman he bumped into, and nearly fell over.
She was nearly his height, with long, black hair pulled back in a ponytail, her bangs framing her face delicately. She had bright blue eyes that blended perfectly with her denim skinny jeans and off-shoulder blue shirt.
"I…I'm sorry," he said quickly, backing up into the entrance of the ballroom. "I'm with tonight's entertainment, and you are?"
That was when he noticed the Pavarotti I.D. around her neck.
Jamie Lewis
Personal Assistant of Mr. Hummel
"Oh, um, I'll be heading in now," he said, pointing with his thumbs towards the Villard Ballroom entrance. "Pardon my clumsiness, miss."
"Name?" she asked suspiciously, folding her arms. "For all I know, you're a paparazzo."
Duke immediately straightened himself and held out a hand. "Duke Whitley, manager of Blaine Anderson."
Jamie Lewis held out a hand and shook it lightly. "Jamie Lewis, personal assistant of Kurt Hummel. Okay. You can set up in there," she said, shooing him off with her free hand, pulling away quickly. Her face was bright red. Duke backed up and nearly hit a passing-by waiter, and recovered his bearing, nodding quickly. "Where's your I.D.?" she asked again as she pressed the elevator button. Duke pulled it out quickly and showed it to her, balancing on his heels.
"Okay. Good," she said, her voice slightly becoming high, and walked into the elevator right away. As it began to close, she added, "I'll see you later?"
Duke nodded quite vigorously, and watched as the elevator doors closed, Jamie Lewis behind them.
"Does this look good, babe?" Anthony asked, walking out of his and Kurt's walk-in-closet. Kurt looked up from his issue of Cosmopolitan and looked his fiancé up and down.
Ever since Friday night, things had felt tenser between them since Kurt was being more withdrawn than usual. Anthony made him stay at the condominium all day Saturday so that they could spend 'more time together,' which drove Kurt incredibly crazy. He kept on hinting to Anthony that they had all the time in the world to spend together at the party, on their wedding day, and their honeymoon, and that he didn't have to worry about him running around with another celebrity because he wasn't like the dumb reality show subjects on the tabloids every other day.
Yes, he had said all of that, but Anthony insisted that they stayed together since they were getting married.
…And Kurt couldn't argue with that.
Now, there was Anthony standing in front of him with an impeccable suit, hair swept beautifully. "How do I look?" he asked again, twirling around. Kurt put his hand on his chin and thought for a moment.
"I like it," he said simply, nodding. Anthony slouched and gave his fiancé a reproachful look.
"You usually give more loquacious opinions," he said, sitting down next to Kurt, putting his arm around him. Kurt leaned onto his shoulder and sighed.
"I'm tired," Kurt mumbled, throwing his magazine on the couch opposite of them. "Sleepy."
"We went to bed early last night," Anthony said worriedly, putting the back of his hand on Kurt's forehead. "Are you sick or something?"
Kurt flinched at Anthony's actions, remembering that Blaine had done the same thing when he, Kurt, had broken up with him. "No, just sleepy."
"Are you sure?" Anthony asked suspiciously, removing his arm from Kurt and turning around to see him better.
"Yes, I'm absolutely fine," Kurt grumbled incoherently, standing up and walking back up the stairs to their bedroom, and he slammed the door shut.
Before Anthony could say anything, Kurt threw the door open again and shouted, "I'll just go and take a shower and get dressed, babe." The door closed once more, gentler than the previous slam.
"You look fabulous," Danielle gushed, clapping her hands together as Blaine stepped out of the bathroom.
Blaine was decked out in straight black slacks and a tucked-in light pink polo shirt and black tie. He spun around, a black jacket in hand and a fedora over his gelled-down curly black hair. Danielle applauded and the siblings bowed to each other.
"Are you ready, bro?" she asked, sitting back on his bed. Blaine shrugged and sat next to her.
"Almost," he said nervously, adjusting his cuffs. "Are you sure I look fine?"
"Yes," she responded, rolling her eyes. "GQ-worthy, if I do say so myself."
"Want to head downstairs already?" Blaine said, standing up again. "Duke told me that we had to be there by four-thirty."
"Someone's excited," Danielle said, sitting with one leg over the other.
"You have an invitation, don't you?" Blaine asked, taking off his fedora. "You going?"
"Maybe. I might stop by. I didn't want to in the first place, remember? I just came to New York on a whim 'cause I was bored in Toronto," she responded, lying down on the bed. "I might go. Might. Total emphasis on might."
"Which means…you will," Blaine muttered, sticking his tongue out. "If you go, you are most definitely staying away from any drinks and if someone offers you a drink, I advise you to hide backstage, or stay with Duke."
"You are such a prude. I am merely going to get a glass of iced tea," Dani rolled her eyes, folding her arms tightly. "You know Duke's going to party it up."
"He learned his lesson on Friday," Blaine said, walking towards the bedroom door. "I'm telling you, he's not going to order loads of tequilas, okay? Stay with Duke. Stay. With. Duke. Order your iced tea. "
"He won't babysit me."
Blaine snorted. "Trust me. If I make him, he will."
With that, Blaine opened the door and met with his bodyguard as they headed downstairs. Danielle rolled her eyes again, shot up in bed, and went straight for her shopping bags.
Blaine stared in awe at the Villard Ballroom. It had been decorated beautifully and ornately, circular dinner tables taking up half of the space in the room. A stage was stationed right by the dance floor, and exactly on the opposite side of the stage was a long, rectangular table with twelve chairs: probably for Kurt, Marksman, Carole, Burt, Finn, Quinn, Kurt's assistant, the editor-in-chief of Vogue, Marksman's parents, and whoever else was important. A beautiful banner stating 'Congratulations, Kurt and Anthony!' was hung over the head table. The words on it, however, made Blaine's stomach contract. He quickly turned away and found his sound crew setting up on stage, Duke giving commands.
"Sound check time?" Blaine said loudly, making Duke jump. Duke turned around and put an arm around his best friend.
"You ready for this, Blaine?" he asked, patting his shoulder. Blaine nodded and turned around to face the ballroom in its entire splendor.
"Ready as I'll ever be."
"You look a bit shaken," Duke smirked.
"This may not be Madison Square Garden, but the audience is a bit more critical."
"Don't give a shit, remember?" Duke smiled, sitting on the edge of the stage. Blaine remained standing and put his coat on a nearby chair. "Who picked out the outfit?"
"Dani."
"Excellent fashion choice, that girl has," he nodded swiftly. He turned to face Blaine, who was still watching members of the hotel staff and Kurt's decorating committee set up the ballroom. "Blaine, did you know that Kurt has a smoking hot assistant?"
"No, I wouldn't," Blaine rolled his eyes, looking for his guitar to avoid looking nervous. "What's her name?"
"Jamie Lewis."
"That's good," Blaine said absentmindedly, strumming and tuning his instrument. "Give me a second, will you?" he asked Duke. His manager looked at him incredulously, and jumped off the stage to 'find the restroom'.
Blaine still hadn't decided what song he would use to 'speak' to Kurt. He had been going through a long list of his songs, but they all seemed to depress him, and he even went through an entire playlist on his iPhone. He had narrowed it down to two songs, but he knew that one would cause a few heads to turn, and the other one would probably cause an outburst, but not anything serious.
He was walking up to the microphone to was going to use and turned it on, performing a quick sound check when two hotel waitresses ran up to him with notepads and pens. Grinning, he sat on the edge of the stage as they handed him their notepads enthusiastically.
"I really wanted to watch your concert on Friday night," one of the women, a demure brunette, said ecstatically. "Unfortunately I had work. I'm a big fan of yours!"
"Who should I make this out to?" Blaine smiled, asking for her name.
"Vivienne," she nodded vigorously. The other woman, Eloise, was extremely excited as well, and he signed their notepads and they went back to work.
Breathing a sigh of relief, he stood up once more and began practicing, turning his back to the audience side of the ballroom.
Kurt and Anthony entered the ballroom at five P.M.
Kurt was very pleased with how everything was set up, just the way he wanted it to be. The tables were in their proper positions and the head table was set up exactly the way it should have been. He could smell the delectable scent of the food from the back – a blend of Asian and European cuisine, his favorites. Anthony greeted Jamie, who followed in, by giving her two welcoming kisses on the cheek. Turning, around, Kurt gave her a hug.
"Wonderful job," Kurt nodded in approval. "I'm in love with what you've brought to life."
"We've been here since noon," Jamie laughed. Kurt stood back and examined her outfit. She was wearing a strapless black dress and a bubble skirt.
"Gorgeous," he said, grinning. "Now, I just need you to take peoples' invitations as the come through the door, alright?" he added, clapping his hands together in excitement. He grabbed Anthony's hand and led him around the Villard Ballroom.
"I'm sorry about earlier," he sighed, leaning on Anthony's shoulder. "I'm just happy to be out of the house."
"We'll talk about this later," Anthony hissed, and separated himself from Kurt to check out the seating arrangement of the head table. Rolling his eyes, Kurt stayed put and folded his arms, his heart dropping upon seeing Blaine standing on stage, playing his guitar. It was strange; he hadn't been this close to him in three years. Well, considering how close they were on Friday, this distance was suffocating. Not meaning to, he found his feet taking him towards the stage as Blaine walked backstage. Making sure Anthony wasn't looking, – which he wasn't – Kurt snuck backstage quickly.
"Blaine, what's the first song you're performing?" Junie asked, working at the mixing board backstage. Blaine shrugged and plopped down on a chair grabbing a bottle of water.
"I'm not sure yet," he said sincerely, sipping some water. "It's a cross between I Must Be Dreaming again and an Adele or Florence + the Machine cover."
"Whatever it is, I'll figure out once you start playing the chords. Do you know where Duke is? I've been looking for him since earlier."
"To be honest, I think he went to go and change," Blaine smirked, putting down his bottle and picking up his guitar again. "Can you hand me my tuner, Junie?"
Junie grabbed at his Yamaha guitar tuner and tossed it to him. Catching it, he strummed his tuning notes and began to warm up his voice again.
"You seem highly chill about this," she said suspiciously, sitting next to him.
"To be honest, I may look chill," Blaine began, "but I'm scared as fuck."
"Ah, Mr. Dapper comes out of his poised shell," Junie sighed, clapping his shoulder. "You can do this."
"Well, considering the fact that—"
"Blaine?" a high, soft voice called out nervously. Blaine's insides immediately turned to lead as he turned around and saw Kurt Hummel standing at the backstage entrance.
"Kurt," he said hoarsely.
Operation Hurricane Hummel is a-go!
It was only now did Blaine remember Danielle's comically ominous words.
Authors Note: I'm sorry I didn't finish this by last Wednesday. I hope it was worth it, though, because I promised having the concert + the party in this chapter, but I decided to leave a slight cliffhanger for you all so that I can write the full party scene properly. And for the Duke/Jamie moment - you never know, there could be changes since the pair just met. This chapter was seventeen pages long as well, which surprised me. I hope the lengths are okay with you guys! If you'd like to know the soundtrack for this story, it'll be posted on my Author Profile if you guys want to check it out. I would post it on my Tumblr - but I don't have one anymore, unfortunately.
A word of warning: in about two weeks' time I'll be having my final exams for this school year, so if you don't see a chapter alert appear in your inbox next week or the week after, you'll know why.
So, until next week (hopefully), dear readers! Thank you again for the alerts and reviews. I love you all! I hope you continue to follow this story until the end :)
Read & review, please! Constructive criticism is always welcome.
Love,
Sam