Kurt looked at the notice board, pen in hand, eyes trained intensely on a certain sign up sheet pinned on the board. The New Directions, now accepting 'new' members!
Kurt shifted from one foot to another, bouncing back and forth, staring at the sheet, the big bold letters seeming to scream at him to just do it. Music was his life, whenever he felt lonely or sad (which was more often than he liked) he would listen to old and new Broadway albums; Wicked was his favorite of course.
He had come very close to signing up last year; after all, he knew he had a talented countertenor voice and he had every intention of ruling the Glee club.
Before signing up last year he had gone to spy on them. After all he had to know his competition, or lack thereof. He had peeked through the crack in the choir room door, quiet as a mouse, breathing slowly, even choosing not to wear his new and fashionable bright yellow shirt so that he would hopefully seamlessly blend in. One could never say that Kurt Hummel did not properly prepare.
A short girl (who was a dominant, Kurt could see that immediately) with long dark brown hair that was tamed only by a simple black headband, stood in front of an eclectic group of people sitting in chairs. Many of them had their arms crossed across their chests, expressions smooth and blank, staring at the ceiling, the poster children for boredom.
The girl stood with her hands fixed on her hips, her voice reverberating off the walls as she spoke, and dear god what was she wearing? Kurt thought to himself in horror, that was definitely a non-ironic animal sweater, featuring what appeared to be no less than a sheep.
Evidently,'Mary had a little lamb' wouldn't be competition for his rightful title of 'most fashionable in Glee', Kurt thought to himself dryly.
He then leaned in closer, his ear pressed to the door
"...and as I was saying, clearly the main solo for Sectionals should go to the most talented member of the group. Not that the rest of you aren't talented of course, but I, Rachel Berry, am destined to have my name in lights, I shall stop at nothing to get that. You can all be my backup and supporting cast, of course." Rachel paused for a moment, taking the time to clear her throat, before continuing in the same abrasively confident tone of voice. "I decided that 'Don't Rain on My Parade' would be the song that showcases the impressive range and strength of my vocals; Besides, I am Barbra's heir apparent, so it is the obvious choice" Rachel smiled widely, whichshowcased rows of blindingly white teeth at her not exactly rapt audience, and smoothed down her long red skirt.
She then turned around, facing a small stereo that sat on the piano behind her. She pressed a button on it and the sound of the instrumental opening to 'Don't Rain on My Parade' filled the room.
As soon as Rachel began to sing Kurt felt his heart start to drop. She was good, very, very good in fact. Even if he could keep up with her vocally, her presence would most likely overpower his in every way.
Even in Glee club, the place for the underdogs, he would be pushed aside and only noticed for the wrong reasons, Kurt thought to himself dully. Why he was kidding himself by coming here, he didn't even know.
Kurt waited until Rachel was finished singing, for he couldn't help wanting to listen to her as much as it irritated him to admit it, damn her talent.
He stood up from his crouched position once she had finished belting out the final note of the song, her breath coming out in pants and her brow shiny with perspiration. Turning around, his boots making a small squeaking noise on the linoleum, he prepared to walk away.
Apparently that had somehow alerted the queen bee of the glee club, for not even 5 seconds had passed before he heard the door opening with a loud bang behind him, her ear-piercing excited voice soon following.
"Are you here to join?! That is so great we need more members for Sectionals you know. You don't even need to sing much, you can just sway in the background and lip-sync."
While rambling a mile a minute, she took his arm and forcefully dragged him into the center of the choir room.
Kurt stared at everyone, the sudden rushing noise in his ears drowning out Rachel's voice; and dear god was that his heart that was pounding so fast in his chest? Kurt took a deep breath, now was the time to use those mediation methods he had learned once from a Yoga DVD, find your peaceful center, or something.
Rachel's chatter slowly came back into focus, just in time for him to hear her next sentence. "Sing something for us." She said, looking firmly and directly into his eyes.
Kurt shivered in response to her words, his whole body wanting to obey her order. But, he wouldn't, he would not let himself. Although he knew he wanted to, so badly. It was a fight against his very nature, before he managed to grind out painfully "No."
Rachel blinked, her mouth forming a surprised 'O', she started to take a breath, about to say something, but Kurt cut her off.
"I don't take orders from people that wear clothes even the Goodwill rejected." Kurt said while wrinkling his nose, honest disgust clouding his features. "..and I definitely don't sing backup for them."
With that said he turned heel and walked out, his chin held high with his pride kept intact. And if he ran afterwords into the nearest bathroom stall and cried his heart out, self-disgust running through him, the only person to know that would be him.
Kurt was abruptly jolted out of his thoughts by a backpack slamming hard into his side, guffawing following soon after. Kurt turned his head to glare, but the group of people, who were all in Letterman jackets like an army of clones, were already leaving. Kurt sighed and shook his head, turning his attention back to the board. This year he was going to have more courage than before. He wasn't going to let Rachel Berry discourage him from expressing himself and doing what he loved. This year was going to be different.
Before he lost his nerve he brought the pen up finally and signed with a flourish 'Kurt Hummel'.
Get ready world, because here comes Kurt.
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