Hey Guys! Don't worry i'm not dead. Sorry for the long time i haven't update. Life just decided to catch up with me. But i'll try updating on a more constant basis. And finally, over 60000 words for this story. Yay.
As part of my apology, you guys get a long chapter. Oh, and I posted up on of my older works as a one-shot. It's called 'Kurt Hummel Always Wins'. So feel free to read that because it was originally supposed to be apart of this story, but i changed directions with this story at last minute, so it was never supposed to be seen. I do have a few more things written too, so if you guys want to read it, i guess just ask for it to be posted or something. But they are pretty short.
Anyways, thanks to my reviewers, who i honestly can't thank enough. Really, your reviews make my day. So, thanks to: merlinftw, Anna, liz-04, SragonZ, Lily887787, creativemee, Eliana sanchez, Vamp gyrl, Elle Loves Glee, dreamer 3097, Canadian-23 (I love Canada!), patrishis, PencilLootz, swgirl1533, SethCohenRocks-2009, (I love your username), Chezzle25, 1booklover11, aprilbaby26, IM GONNA WRITE MORE (This anonymous name made me laugh), Gleefan, Mimi77, surga, LaraElizabeth1, twilightangel-gleechick, bananacupcakes, xxshawneexx, jtangel, PakiNoor, PuckleberryShipper326, VemArJag, Skittles713, DontStopBelieving, snowy-ray08, njferrell, and Frances (Who was my first reviewer for this story)
More shout outs to kubirox555 and tomfeltonlover199 for reminding me to update via Private messaging.
And one more final shout-out to gleebringsmeglee who wrote a Wes/Rachel story that was inspired by this one. I literally squealed when i heard that.
And onto the story!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
XxX - Line breaks
Kurt'sPOV
"Since we don't have competition for a few weeks, practices will now be moved to 5 PM, and only on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays," announced David.
Everyone else cheered, while I just sat there, curled up on Seth's lap. Yeah, I don't know how I ended up there either. Rachel had her hand in mine and was leaning against me. Mercedes had decided not to show up that Monday afternoon, although I don't know why. I think her mom needed her or something. Needless to say, David was quite disappointed.
"And don't forget, we have a concert at the convalescent home two weeks from Friday. Auditions are going to be this Friday. Practices are now also going to be in the common room on the first floor of the school building. Meeting dismissed," Wes announced.
Most of the Warblers began to leave the room, leaving only Rachel, Wes, David, Seth, Blaine and me.
"Hey Rach, where's Mercy?" Seth asked Rachel.
"I don't know. I think she said something about joining the community tater tots group. I didn't even know that existed," answered Rachel.
I raised an eyebrow at her. She simply shrugged and I slid off Seth's lap. It sounds like something else is going on that she's not telling me. And I would know- Rachel was my best friend after all. Standing up, and pulling Rachel along with me, I began to walk out of the room.
"Kurt, where are you going?" Blaine asked.
I paused for a second and shrugged my shoulders. "I'm feeling spontaneous right now. Maybe I'll just head to Rachel's house and burn all her horrifying clothes. Later!" I waltzed out the door, still pulling a now protesting Rachel along. Hm… that does sound fun. Maybe I'll leave the interrogation for later. Burning sounds like a better idea.
"My clothes are not horrifying!" The door shut behind us.
"Most of them still are, sweetheart. The ones you wear around the Warblers aren't though, but I know you still have those animal sweaters somewhere."
RegularPOV
"My clothes are not horrifying!"
The door closed and the remaining males in the room stared at it for a moment. Then they burst into laughter.
"I don't think Rachel's clothes are horrifying!" noted Seth.
"She does dress pretty well from what Kurt had told us before," mentioned Blaine. "He probably considered what she wears as too casual. Maybe that's what he meant or something."
"Yeah, all her clothes have been pretty nice looking when we see her," added David.
"Rachel's always dressed fabulously. She'd look cute in anything," declared Wes. Then his eyes widen and he covered him mouth as he realized what he said. The other boys burst into laughter at Wes's slowly turning red face.
Pitying him, David looked thoughtful for a moment. "Don't we have alumni and administrators coming to this concert too?"
Wes nodded vigorously. "Yep, and I received an email yesterday saying that all of our donators are going to be there too. We need to be at our best."
"You guys should let Kurt audition for a solo. His singing is breath-taking," said Seth, with his eyes slightly glazed over as he remembered Kurt and Rachel's amazing singing in the bathroom.
Blaine suddenly sat up straight. "Wait, you heard Kurt sing before? As in actually singing lead - not background stuff," the lead soloist said, in a slightly jealous tone.
Seth nodded, ignoring Blaine's tone with him. "Rachel and Kurt. They're both amazing."
This time Wes sat up straight and glared at Seth. David simply laughed at the two and leaned back in his chair. "Alright, we'll let Kurt audition. Blaine, I'm sure you want to be the one to tell him about it."
Blaine blushed and threw a pillow at him, but nodded in the end.
XxX
"Detention? And on Friday? Why me?" complained Seth loudly as they walked up the stairs.
"Well, you kind of did spill coffee all over the teacher's pants," replied Kurt.
"How was I supposed to know that his coffee was at the edge of the table?" was the frustrated reply.
"How did you even end up dancing on his desk anyway? And how does detention from after school last all the way until 6:00? That's like four hours of detention!"
"I don't know. All I know is I can't watch your- uh, the auditions anymore."
Kurt looked confused. "My what? You were about to say 'your' something."
Seth panicked. "No I wasn't!"
A suspicious look came across Kurt's face. "Yes you were." He took a step towards Seth, who immediately took a step back. This little game continued as they continued their banter and Kurt took more steps towards his friend, who took steps back as the countertenor did until they backed up into a wall.
"No I wasn't!"
"Yes you were!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
"See, you agree!" Kurt smirked at Seth, not falling into his trap.
Seth scowled. "Damn, I thought that would work." His eyes searched behind the countertenor for a distraction and lit up when they found one. "Hey Blaine!"
Blaine, who was about to walk into a classroom, turned around and faced them. His eyes lit up when he saw Kurt's familiar head, but they darkened when he realized the position Kurt had Seth in. Immediately, he shook it off (though Seth had already noticed) and put on a dapper smile.
"Hey guys, how's it going?"
Seth slipped out from behind Kurt and tried to subtly pass the message to Blaine," Oh you, know, just talking about Friday's auditions."
Kurt frowned over at Seth. "You mentioned 'my something' too. And now you won't tell me what it is!"
Seth once again glanced at Blaine and hoped that the lead soloist got the message. He did.
"Hey Seth, would you please excuse us for a moment?" Blaine asked the blond-haired boy. Seth gave a sigh of relief and began to back away slowly.
"Oh no problem. I had some math homework I needed to do. Well, Bye!" He rushed around the corner, leaving an amused Blaine and a confused Kurt.
"What was that all about?" asked Kurt, brushing his hair away from his forehead as he always does.
Blaine smiled at Kurt's little habit before answering. "You've been getting along with the Warbler traditions and everything, right?" Kurt, still confused, gave a small nod. "Well, we have a tradition at this school of rewarding a student with a good attitude. So, we would like to invite you to audition for a solo."
Kurt's face immediately lit up. "For the concert?"
Blaine nodded. "For the concert. Sing something good." He winked at the countertenor.
"Oh my Gaga, I have to call the girls. What song should I sing?" Kurt exclaimed in a flurry. He quickly gave Blaine a kiss on the cheek and rushed out. "See you later Blaine!"
As soon as Kurt was out of sight, Blaine lifted his hand to the cheek where Kurt had kissed him and gave a small lovesick smile. He didn't move from that spot for a long while.
XXX
Kurt'sPOV
"I'm so excited, Rachel!" I exclaimed. Rachel and I were in my room in Lima deciding on a song for my audition. I was also planning on helping my dad in the garage after we finished.
She giggled from her spot on my bed. "Excited that they'll finally hear you sing?"
I shrugged, but still had an excited grin on my face. "I don't know. I just feel…excited."
"Maybe because Blaine will hear you sing too." I blushed. Damn brat. (I mean that in the most possible endearing/teasing way as possible)
I threw a pillow at Rachel's head, which she dodged. "No! Shut up Rach."
She giggled once again and got up from my bed. Moving over to my bookshelf, she began to look over some of the music that I had while I flipped through tracks on my iPod.
"What are you thinking about singing?" She asked.
Once again, I shrugged. "I was thinking something personal but still shows off my range."
Rachel thought for a moment, then waltzed back onto my bed. "Just sing Don't Cry for Me Argentina, again."
Hm. Interesting.
"Why not? I don't think I've heard the Warblers perform any show tunes yet," I replied.
"You're a shoe in for the solo. None of the other guys have your range," my best friend answered.
"Do you really think so?" I sat down next to her on my bed.
"Kurt, your range is crazy. You can hit lower notes that I can't even hit." She rested her head next to mine and we sat there for a moment.
Wait a minute- "Did Rachel Berry just compliment my singing?" I asked in aloud in a teasing voice.
"Oh, shut up you." She sat up and pushed me off my bed. I couldn't stop laughing though, because teasing Rachel is always so much fun. After a moment or so, she laughed with me. And there we sat, laughing like crazy chimpanzees (Chimpanzees are cool okay?) until my door suddenly open.
"Dude, are you okay? I heard a thud," said Finn as he walked into my room.
"Finn! Learn to knock, will you?" I answered, finally calming my laughter. Rachel's laughter stopped as mine did, and she seemed like she was trying to make herself look small next to me. Although, I don't think that would have worked very well.
Finn seemed to notice Rachel. "Hey Rachel!" He flashed her one of his goofy grins.
"Hello Finn. How are you?" she answered back with a polite smile.
"Great. Listen, I was wondering if you'd like to-" I sensed Rachel's panic. She had told me previously that ever since she learned Finn had lied to her, she began to lose her romantic feelings for him. She only wanted to be his friend and he wasn't getting that. I pitied her, so I decided to help.
"Rach and I were going to head to the garage. I was going to teach her how some of the mechanics work," I interjected. She shot me a grateful smile.
Finn didn't seem deterred. "Cool, I can help teach her too."
"You're still learning how to be a mechanic yourself, Finn. I don't think Dad has taught you very much yet. I've been working in his garage since I was able to stand."
"Dude-"
I sighed. "Don't call me 'dude'." He looked disappointed, so I pitied him. "Rach brought over some cookies in the kitchen."
His face immediately lit up and he left the room. I looked at Rachel and rolled my eyes.
"We'll be in the garage if you need us!" I shouted after him.
All we heard was silence. Once again, I rolled my eyes. "Come on Rach." I got up and walked out of my room. She followed.
XXX
"So what's been going on with you and Mercedes lately?" I asked Rachel, taking a sip of my Diet Coke, as we took a break from me explaining the parts and mechanics to her. She's actually a fast learner, but I don't think she'll be putting together a car anytime soon. "I mean, she hasn't been visiting Dalton and she isn't answering my calls or texts and-"
Rachel sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know."
I narrowed my eyes at her. "Rachel…I know when you're not telling me something."
Her eyes met mine and I saw a flash of sadness in them. "I honestly don't know what's been going on with Mercedes. Ever since she started going to that community tater tots group thing, she's been acting different."
Different? How different could Mercedes have gotten? "How so?"
"Well, you know how we were pretty close before Sectionals?"
I nodded at her.
"Now the only time she talks to me is during Glee club. I see her hanging out with Lauren Zizes and some other girls nowadays."
I was confused. "Lauren Zizes, the 12th member? Wrestler Zizes?"
Rachel nodded. "I don't even know how that worked out. But at least she's not getting slushied anymore, since nobody ever slushies the wrestling team."
Something still isn't right. I took her hand gently. "What about you, Rach?"
"What about me?"
I looked at her. "The slushie-ing."
She leaned into me and rested her head on my chest. She gave a defeated sigh, knowing that I would catch her if she lied to me, and said, "They've been getting worse for me. I think it's to make up for Mercedes' losses, but I've been getting slushied multiple times every day since Sectionals."
What? I sat up straight, wrapping my arms around Rachel. "But it's only been three days of school since Sectionals!"
"They've already ruined a week's set of clothes and the spares that I usually keep in my locker."
"Where is the rest of the glee club with this? Why aren't they helping you?" I asked, outraged at McKinley's Neanderthals.
Rachel gave me a sad look. "In case you haven't noticed, most of the team doesn't like me or are off in their own worlds. Santana and Brittany would refuse to do anything to help me, Lauren and Mercedes wouldn't do anything, and Tina and Mike are always making out. Quinn probably still hates me and since she's with Sam, she probably wouldn't let him associate with me. Artie is always so focused on Brittany- I don't know who to turn to."
"What about Finn or Noah?" It was a rhetorical question since we both knew the answer to it. Finn would care too much about his reputation and Noah can't risk getting sent back to Juvenile Hall.
Rachel merely sighed and leaned into me again.
There has to be some solution. But in the meantime- "You need some musical therapy." I got up and she looked up at me, giving a small smile.
XXX
Okay, where the heck am I?
I was exploring the Warbler Hall in the Dorms building during study period the next day (Thursday), when I had entered one of the practice rooms (the same one where we got the music for Sectionals). I was looking at some of the music and reaching out to turn on the lamp, when I fell forward and came across this room.
The room was quiet and peaceful, with a large black grand piano and piano bench near the wall. On another one of the walls was a large bookshelf. On the third wall, there was a small sofa and the opening where I had entered from. The final wall remained bare, although there were traces of tape that something had been stuck on it previously before.
I walked over to the bookcase. There were stacks of music, piano books, and regular books assorted throughout the shelves. I skimmed through them all, when my eyes caught an interesting title.
"Dalton Academy: Secrets Within"
I grabbed the book and flipped though some of the pages. There were maps and diagrams everywhere. And a lot of dust. I coughed.
Taking the book with me, I took one last glance at the room and slowly began to walk out, dragging the panel over the opening.
I smirked.
Kurt Hummel had just discovered a secret room.
XXX
"…The ventilation system from there eventually leads to the headmaster's office (See 'Chapter 5: The Main Office' for details of room)…"
RING!
The school bell rang clearly and loudly throughout the hall, but luckily, it wasn't as headache-inducing as McKinley's bell.
"Kurt?"
I glanced up from my book. "Yes?"
"Good luck with your audition. I have to head off to detention now," Seth scowled. He stood up from his seat, but paused for a moment. "Are you sure you don't want to change your song?"
I sighed.
I had told Seth my audition song (Nobody else knows except for Rachel) because he wasn't going to be there and he had frowned when he heard my song choice. Then he proceeded to explain how the Warblers don't do show tunes, but I had brushed it off, saying, "Then it's time they try something new."
Shaking my head, I said to Seth, "If they don't like it, then they can tell it to me themselves. I mean, it's not like they're going insult me and say my choice was stupid or something. They're good guys, and I bet I'll knock their socks off when they hear me sing."
Seth looked troubled for a moment. His eyes met mine, but he finally nodded and smiled. "You're right. Good luck! I'll be rooting for you." He pulled me in for a quick hug, then walked out of the room.
XXX
"And for our final audition, we have Kurt Hummel!"
I took a deep breath as I stepped towards the door. Two warblers from either side of the door (I couldn't see who) opened it and I was met with encouraging looks from my fellow teammates. My eyes did a quick scan of the room and I saw Blaine sitting on one of the chairs in the center. His eyes met mine and he flashed me an encouraging smile. I returned his smile and walked over to the center of the room, passing over my tape with the karaoke track on it. When it reached Randall, who put it into the player, I nodded at him. He pressed play.
The opening chords of the song began to play and I felt a calmness float over me.
I opened my mouth and sang, shutting my eyes as I began.
It won't be easy, you'll think it strange
When I try to explain how I feel
that I still need your love after all that I've done
I lowered my head so slightly as my eyelids slowly slid open and I took a slow glance around the room, not meeting any of the eyes of any of the Warblers.
You won't believe me
All you will see is a girl you once knew
Although she's dressed up to the nines
At sixes and sevens with you
I shifted my gaze over to one of the windows in the room and walked towards it. I stared out of it and looked towards the outside. As I sang, I placed a hand on the glass and slowly slid it down, almost as if I was caressing it.
I had to let it happen, I had to change
Couldn't stay all my life down at heel
Looking out of the window, staying out of the sun
I slowly turned my head and finally caught the eyes of my fellow Warblers. As I sang, I moved around leisurely and ended up back in the center of the room.
So I chose freedom
Running around, trying everything new
But nothing impressed me at all
I never expected it to
As I sang, I remembered Rachel's voice harmonizing along with my own when we sang to this song. A small smile graced my face as I continued on singing. I noticed that most of the Warblers seemed to have neutral expressions on their faces, although it didn't unnerve me. There were a few smiles, like on Blaine's face. He looked impressed with me.
Don't cry for me Argentina
The truth is I never left you
All through my wild days
My mad existence
I kept my promise
Don't keep your distance
Once again, I was leisurely walking around the room.
And as for fortune, and as for fame
I never invited them in
Though it seemed to the world they were all I desired
They are illusions
They are not the solutions they promised to be
The answer was here all the time
I love you and hope you love me
The last line I sang, looking outside the window. Once I went back to the chorus, I faced everyone again. I began to raise my arms as the music picked up dramatically again, but I noticed Blaine looking at me. He was shaking his head, so I lowered my arms. Was there something wrong with having hand gestures? I'm confused.
Don't cry for me Argentina
The truth is I never left you
All through my wild days
My mad existence
I kept my promise
Don't keep your distance
I played with my fingers in front of me, giving off a slightly nervous vibe to fit the song. Blaine smiled once again, and I moved back to my favorite place in the room – standing beside the window.
Have I said too much?
There's nothing more I can think of to say to you.
But all you have to do is look at me to know
That every word is true
As I held the last note, I raised one of my arms. Despite Blaine's earlier motions for me not to do any gestures, they helped me concentrate. I don't know how to explain it, but they just do.
The music faded out and the room was filled with applause.
I smiled and was gestured to wait outside.
XXX
I sat outside calmly, while Nick and Jeff looked nervous. I glanced over at them curiously.
"So how many times have you guys auditioned?"
Nick, who sat closer to me, answered first. "Three."
Jeff looked like he was about to break down from nerves. "Six."
Oh wow. I let out a low whistle.
I had heard from Seth that the council had felt guilty for never choosing Jeff, which was why they had given him a solo for the winter concert. Even though he's a good singer, his stage presence is slightly off. If he just smiled and engaged with the audience a little more, then he'd be wonderful. I didn't know much about Nick, but I heard from Blaine that he's a good singer as well. There was something lacking though, he had told me. I don't mean to sound over-confident or anything, but I'm pretty sure I was the best choice out of the three of us, especially if this performance was for alumni and possible donators for the Warblers. Even Rachel agreed that I was wonderful.
Blaine opened the door, where I saw the rest of the Warblers chatting with each other quietly. Blaine's face was smiling, but he wasn't looking me in the eye. I wish Seth was there. I could always read his face, even if he's trying to hide something from me. Blaine is good at closing himself off, especially when he's in dapper lead soloist mode. Most of the time, it ticks me off that he becomes a whole different person. In fact, everyone in the Warblers is like that. They all turn to different people with completely different personalities. I hate that. They're all fun guys, then during Warblers practice, it's all about discipline and tradition. Well, the do let their regular personalities slip out once in a while, but then it's back to being perfect, gentlemanly robots. I don't even understand why they do that - I mean they've seen each other's habits. It's frustrating.
Blaine opened his mouth and I held my breath. "Nick, Jeff, congrats. You're moving on."
My heart dropped. Disappointment hit me like a bucket of ice water. I was so sure I would get it. What did I do wrong?
Blaine looked at me.
"Any sage advice?" I asked him quietly.
He sighed. "Don't try so hard next time." Wait, what? That's how I perform. I always throw in everything when I'm out there.
I frowned. "I didn't realize caring was frowned upon."
He moved closer to me. "I don't know how it worked at your old school-"
'Liar! I told you all about New Directions before,' the little voice in my head muttered angrily. Another part of me shushed it quietly, but not enough to wipe away the angry feelings it left behind.
"- but did you notice that we all war uniforms around here? It's about being part of the team," he replied.
Once again the bitter voice was back. 'You shouldn't say that when you're the one singing all the solos. Like how Jeff only got a pity solo last time. You sang lead for the rest of the concert.' I ignored the voice, but once again, I couldn't help the bitter feelings from spreading through my body. Instead of letting those feelings show though, I made myself sound disappointed.
"I guess I'm just used to having to scream to get noticed," I said.
"You're not going to make it as a Warbler if all you care about is getting notices," Blaine answered. Great. The guy I like thinks all I care about is being the center of attention. On the other hand, he's being such a…..a frustrating prat right now. Do I really like a guy like that? He gets noticed all the time, and now I can't have a moment to shine? Once again, I held back any bitter thoughts from saying anything and just sighed dejectedly.
"You're right. I'm sorry."
"I know this is going to take some getting used to, but you'll fit in soon enough. I promise," he said. Fit in? Fit in? I thought that Dalton encouraged individuality. Yet they shove us into a uniform and now Blaine is telling me that the Warblers won't like the way I am. Sometimes I wonder why I even transferred here. Yeah, it's safer and I have good friends here. But what about my old friends? What about New Directions? What about Rachel? My family? My dad? I've given up too many sacrifices to be here. If I'm not allowed to be myself here, to perform the way I like, then isn't that the same as being someone I'm not? Maybe this transfer wasn't worth it. I'd deal with Karofsky and the slushy-ing any day if I could just be me.
I could feel Blaine's eyes on me. Instead, I avoided his look and walked back into the room.
Maybe Blaine's not the person I thought he'd be – the person who I'd fall in love with.
NoOne'sPOV
Blaine looked at Kurt expectantly. However the countertenor simply walked into the room without glancing at the soloist and shut the door behind him. The hazel-eyed boy gave a small, frustrated groan and rested his head against the wall.
"Why do I always find myself acting stupid around you, Kurt?" he said quietly, closing his eyes.
After a moment, he lifted his head and muttered to himself. "You'll fit in soon enough? I promise? Stupid! Why did you tell him that?" The lead soloist took a shaky breath and composed himself, then reentered the room where everyone was waiting for him. He shut the door behind him and sat down next to Andy. He then nodded to the council, who were waiting for Blaine.
"Congratulations to Nick and Jeff. We'll decide the soloist and announce it on Monday," said Wes.
Blaine took a small glance at Kurt. The countertenor's face was blank of emotions.
"Are there any other questions?" When no one said anything, Wes continued. "Alright, then that concludes today's meeting. Everyone's dismissed." He slapped his gavel down twice, and then relaxed in his chair. Everyone rushed towards Nick and Jeff to congratulate them, save for the council, Kurt, and Blaine.
As everyone moved, Blaine kept his eyes on the countertenor. 'Should I go apologize right now? What would I say though? Sorry I'm a stupid idiot? No, he'll think you're crazy. Kurt, you're my best friend and I'm always acting stupid around you because I'm in love with you. No! Damn it! That'll scare him off. Maybe I should just ask him if he wants to make out with me,' he mused, smiling slightly at the last thought. He blushed and shook his head quickly. 'No, Kurt deserves better than just randomly making out. He deserves something romantic. Like flowers and scarves. Oh, he looks so delicious in those. Mh. Back to focusing Blaine. Apologize. How?'
His thoughts were interrupted by Kurt's cool voice. "May I ask something?" the countertenor directed to the council. David nodded to him as Blaine looked at him curiously.
"What was wrong with my performance?"
Wes answered him. "We don't do songs like that."
Kurt raised an eyebrow at his abrupt answer. "Why not?"
"The Warblers hold a tradition of performing a capella versions of the tops songs in their generations. Show tunes usually aren't too popular among crowds."
"That's not true! Most Broadway songs have the most emotional-" Kurt began protesting.
Wes cut him off. "We don't do show tunes." Beside him, Thad and David were nodding fervently.
"So it's because of traditions that-" Once again, Kurt was cut off.
"Kurt, the Warblers have been following these traditions for over 200 years-" Wes stated matter-of-factly.
"I'm just trying to understand-" The countertenor tried to cut in, but was ignored.
"- and we're not going to change traditions."
"There's nothing wrong with trying to create new traditions-" Kurt once again tried to suggest.
This time, it was Thad who cut him off. "The council chooses the songs, Kurt. Not just one single person."
David nodded next to him. "We chose songs that people would like and sing along to."
This time, the rest of the Warblers were nodding along, save for Blaine and Kurt.
"You're performance was wonderful, Kurt, it really was. But, how are we supposed to do a song like that a capella?" asked Ethan.
"I probably can't even give a beat to it," said Jake, who was one of the beat-boxers for the group.
Randall, the other beat-boxer, nodded. "It would be too difficult."
"But you've never tried to-" the countertenor pointed out.
"We don't mind following traditions," Andy announced.
Jason agreed. "Some of the songs are actually really fun."
"Especially since we know most of the songs," agreed Flint.
"Yeah, but you guys have probably never even listened to Broadway songs," Kurt countered.
"How dare you!" Trent said aghast, but Kurt knew it was true.
"Are you just jealous that Nick and Jeff moved on while you didn't?" Casey accused.
"No, I'm not-" Kurt was shocked at what Casey was accusing him of.
"Then why are you-" Jeff started off.
"-making such a big deal of everything?" asked Nick.
Kurt didn't know what to do. All he wanted was to know why the Warblers didn't do show tunes. Now it felt like they were all ganging up in him. He was not jealous that Jeff and Nick moved forward. In fact, he was ecstatic for them. But now he just felt suffocated by everyone. They were accusing him of things he wasn't.
The countertenor finally glanced at Blaine hoping for a hint of maybe what to do. But the hazel-eyed soloist looked frozen. It was like he wanted to help Kurt, but didn't want to do against his friends.
Kurt took a deep breath, while subtly texting Rachel to call him, knowing she would do it right away. "I'm not jealous. I'm happy you guys get the opportunity to get a solo," he said calmly. His phone rang.
I'd sooner buy
Defying gravity
Kiss me goodbye
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go," he said, his face and voice void of any emotion at all.
I'm defying gravity
He walked out of the room as he flipped open his phone. The door slammed shut behind him and the room was silent.
Blaine groaned and held his head with his hands. 'Damn it! Why didn't you help him?'
Kurt'sPOV
I pressed answer on my phone and held it to my ear as I began to walk outside of the school building.
"Rachel?" I asked quietly. Basically, I was on the verge of tears right now, but I refuse to cry where the Warblers might see me.
"Kurt, what's wrong?" was the frantic reply. Figures Rachel would know that I was feeling horrible right away.
I couldn't help the tear that slid down my cheek. "I need to see you."
"I'll be over in five."
"Actually, I wanted to go over to your place."
"Are you sure you'll be able to drive right now?" came her concerned answer.
I let out a small sniffle. "Yes, I'll be fine. I'll see you soon."
"Okay. Drive carefully," she answered and I hung up. I turned off my phone a moment after.
I walked over to my car and rested my head for a second, trying to compose myself.
Then I started my baby and drove off.
I didn't notice Blaine rushing outside with a frustrated look on his face and watching as I drove away. I also didn't notice Seth stepping out a second after with a confused face, looking towards Blaine.
XxX
"Wait, Blaine said what to you?"
"And the other guys said the same thing too?"
"Do I need to go cut some bitches?" threatened Mercedes.
I shook my head. "Guys, I'm mad about it too, but it's their stupid-"
"I don't care! They didn't even listen to you Kurt! They shot down all your ideas without even listening! And Blaine? Isn't he supposed to be your mentor? What kind of-" Rachel shrieked.
"Guys, calm down! I'm mad too. Right now, I think I just need some girl time with you two."
Both girls nodded to me in understanding, but there was still a flash of anger in their eyes.
When I had driven to Rachel's house and she let me inside, the tears promptly burst free from their dam. While I cried in her arms, she comforted me and texted Mercedes, who must have seen the urgency of the message. About 10 minutes after I had calmed myself down, Rachel and I were sitting in her kitchen when Mercedes arrived. Immediately, the two demanded answers and I explained the whole story to them. I repeated everything the Warblers said, word for word, so there wouldn't be any misunderstanding. And I told them how suffocated I felt by everything and what Blaine had said earlier. Their reactions were astonishment and infuriation.
Mercedes took a glance at her phone. "Sorry Kurt, but I've got a meeting to go to." Without waiting for a reply, she got up and walked out of the house. I blinked after her, confused. Then I turned towards Rachel, who was still muttering things under her breath. I moved over and sat beside her, hearing her last sentence.
"Yeah, I understand they have their traditions, but they should have at least listened to you before saying anything," Rachel muttered.
I poked her gently. She glanced up at me.
"Mercedes just left," I told her. "You're right; she is acting a lot different."
"The guys are acting different too. I never knew the Warblers were like that," answered Rachel.
We both got up from our seats. "They act differently at practice, remember? I thought I told you about that before." I paused, trying to remember if I did tell her or not.
"Yeah, but I didn't think they were that different. I thought that maybe they were just over quiet or something." She shrugged and shook her head.
"Let's just stop talking about that for now. I kind of want to forget about them for a while."
She nodded and looked at the clock on the wall. "It's almost 7. I know you'll want to go retail shopping as your therapy, but by time we get there, the shops will probably be closing." I frowned. "So," she smiled at me, "I was thinking that we could look through some of my Dad's new designs that haven't gone out in stores yet."
My face lit up and she laughed.
"Come on, let's go," I said excitedly. She grabbed my hand and we rushed up the stairs towards the room.
XxX
"…then Rocky threw the paper ball and it hit Mr. Graham on the forehead," I told Rachel, while mixing some ingredients in a bowl. It was about 10 o'clock and we were now cooking and baking in her kitchen, while I was telling her stories from Dalton.
Rachel giggled. "Did he get in trouble?" she asked curiously, although her eyes shined with playfulness.
"Nope," I grinned. "He just took out a Nerf gun from under his desk and shot him in the head back."
She began laughing so hard that she had to put down knife she was using to cut up some vegetables. "I love Dalton's librarian. Mr. Graham reminds me of my cousin Lexi."
I laughed along with her. "Yeah, and Davi-" I froze, and her head flicked towards my direction. How stupid of me to bring up the Warblers.
I dropped the spoon I was using to mix ingredients. "Rachel, what should I do about the Warblers?"
She gave out a lengthy sigh. "I don't know Kurt. Just follow your instincts. You'll know what to do."
"Maybe I'm just over-reacting or something," I mused to myself.
I gave a small half-smile then continued mixing. Suddenly, I felt something hit my face. I turned towards Rachel. "Did you just throw a carrot at me?" I asked incredulously.
She giggled. "Nope."
"Liar!" I used my finger to scrape some of the ingredients I was mixing in the bowl and wiped it on her cheek. I grinned smugly.
He smirked and threw another carrot at me. Within seconds, we were in a full out war with each other.
Suddenly, we heard the door handle in the living room shake. Rachel and I both froze in our positions, posed to throw something at each other.
"Rachel! We're home!" cried out Leroy Berry, Rachel's dad. He walked into the kitchen and took in our positions. He blinked and gave a big smile after a moment. "Have fun, you two!" he said, exiting back to the living room.
Rachel and I glanced at each other.
She blinked.
I blinked.
Then we both burst out laughing. We heard Leroy and Hiram Berry laughing as well in the other room as Leroy explained the situation to Hiram.
After a long while of cleaning up and finishing up what we were making, we finally had dinner with Rachel's dads.
"So, how is Dalton, Kurt?" asked Leroy.
"The work is challenging, but I love it there. But there are some issues every now and then," I said, sharing a glance with Rachel.
Hiram didn't miss the look. "What issues?" he asked.
I sighed. "The Warblers are just being idiots."
"Again," Rachel added.
"Rachel!" scolded Leroy.
"What? They are!" Rachel tried to answer innocently. Her father simply shook his head.
Her other father sighed. "Things will resolve in the end, Kurt. Don't worry about it too much," he said reassuringly. I nodded.
"What about you, sweetie? What's going on in glee club?" he then turned to Rachel.
Rachel thought for a moment. Then she started giggling.
"Well, my story wasn't during glee club, but it does involve Noah. So I had finished my classes for the day and he was ditching his classes again."
We nodded at her, not commenting on Puck ditching class because we'd heard it before. Many times.
"So we picked up Sarah, his little sister – Kurt, you haven't met her met but she'd dying to meet you. Anyways, we went to the mall and Puck went to get us some drinks, so Sarah and I were alone. All of a sudden, two guys walked by us and one of them knocked into Sarah. She gave a shout and one of them turned to her and said, "You want to pick up a fight, kid?" I turned towards – "
She broke off as Leroy and Hiram gave her appalled looks.
She shrugged. "Yeah, I don't know either. But I turned to him to yell at him for hurting a child, then I see his friend push her onto the floor. I started to yell at them, but they started walking away. I helped Sarah up and was prepared to follow after them and give them a piece of my mind, but I didn't have to." Rachel grinned. "When I looked up, Noah was holding the two boys up by their collars. And he goes, 'Are you two punks messing with my sis and Rach?' He looked over at us and saw Sarah hiding behind my legs, obviously afraid of the two people. Without waiting for us to say anything, he slams the two into the wall. Then he said, 'If I ever catch you messing with my friends ever again, you'd better sleep with your eyes open.' They both tried to escape from his grasp, but Noah had them in a firm grip. He gestured over to Sarah and me, then asked us, 'Want a go?' I admit I was pretty shocked when Sarah walked up to one of them and kicked their leg with all her might. She moved over and kicked the other one too, then Noah moved over to some trashcans and dumped them in headfirst."
Rachel paused to laugh for a second. "Then a security guard walks over to use – and you would think we would get into trouble. But no, it turns out that those two guys had been bothering most of the storeowners. And apparently one of them had stolen some expensive jewelry from the jewelry store. Over $10000 worth, in fact. So basically, they got thrown into a trashcan and arrested while Noah got to throw them into the trashcan and got rewarded. I thought that was pretty hilarious. Especially when he just picked up our drinks from a table and moved on like nothing happened while everyone around the area was staring and taking pictures."
Leroy and I smiled at the story while Hiram asked in a stern voice, "Did you do anything to those two boys, Rachel?"
Rachel sank down in her chair a bit. "I may or may not have kicked them both in their manhood's before the security guard came over."
I smirked and Leroy shouted, "Rachel!" in a surprised, yet stern voice. Hiram, in the meantime, smiled and held out his fist. "That's my girl."
Rachel giggled and hit his fist with her own. She turned to her other father. "Dad, it's okay. If I get in trouble for kicking them, then they'll get in trouble for assaulting a young girl."
Leroy rolled his eyes, but accepted the answer with a nod.
The rest of dinner was spent telling stories of our weeks. I laughed as Hiram told us about one of his assistants trying to turn on a machine for 30 minutes, only to find out that the machine was unplugged the entire time.
We all helped with washing the dishes and putting the leftovers away. During that time, Rachel had turned the radio on and we were jamming along to the music.
I laughed as I sang along with Rachel. She always somehow makes me feel better. We've come a long way from what we were last year.
She bumped her hip against my own as we washed the dishes and sang the chorus together. Leroy joined in with his low bass as he dried the dishes that we passed on over to him, while Hiram hummed along and swung his hips silly fashion as he wrapped up the remaining food and put it away into the refrigerator
"It's Friday," Rachel announced as soon as the song ended.
I blinked. "Yes dear. But there's no need to quote Rebecca Black," I said with a serious face. She laughed and hit my shoulder, and my serious face immediately fell into a grin.
"No seriously, it's Friday. You have time to think things out. But for now, let's just have a little fun and relax for a bit," she started once again.
I glanced at the watch on my wrist. "Rachel, it's almost midnight. I doubt there will be anything left for us to do right now. That's legal." I added the last part quickly as Hiram wiggled his eyebrows at me. He pouted after I said this as Leroy lightly smacked his shoulder. I snickered quietly behind my hand as Rachel, who also noticed the exchange, winked over at me. "Your family's insane," I added over to her.
"So is yours! I've been over at your place enough to see your family's strange habits too," she retorted, raising an eyebrow as if I were going to challenge her. I merely grinned impishly at her. "Anyways, we can still have fun on what's left of this Friday. But first," she paused and stuck her hand out expectantly, "your phone, please."
I gaped and shook my head, all while holding my phone possessively close to my body. I had taken it out and put it on the table earlier when we were washing dishes in case I spilled some water on myself. Or rather, in case Rachel decided she wanted to have a water fight. "But, but…..what if my dad calls? Besides, it's already off, so there's no need to take it away." Yes, I am very possessive of my phone and electronics. But I guess that mostly comes from the fact that they were usually the first things those Neanderthals over at McKinley would take and break when they cornered me. Of course, this only happened maybe twice or thrice, but the habit still passed on over to me. And of course, Rachel knew this.
"Nope, no distractions. You need some fun. Besides, I called your dad earlier. He told me to tell you 'hi and have fun.' Oh and he wants you to pick up some of those chips that you got from that store near Dalton. Was that the one I recommended you to? Oh and Carole wanted some candles too. I think she said something about vanilla but I'm not sure - "
I rolled my eyes with a laugh and covered Rachel's mouth. "Okay, Conrad Babble, I get it. I'll give you my phone. And we'll head over there to pick up some things tomorrow or something. Just shut up and help me finish washing these dishes."
She pouted as Leroy, Hiram, and I laughed at her. After a moment, she gave in and smiled, joining along as we finished up washing the rest of the dishes.
XxX
"How does that even work?" Rachel asked me, as I lay next to her on her bed. I shrugged.
"I think it's all in the mechanics of everything, really. Like if he said that he loved her but really didn't, and she said she didn't love him but did, and if their mother-" I paused. "What did their mother have to do with this again?"
Rachel shrugged and cuddled up to my body, while I immediately wrapped my arms around her. She yawned like a small kitten. "I don't even remember what we were talking about anymore."
The corners of my lips twitched upwards. I shifted so that we were both lying on the pillows. A thought suddenly came up in my head. "Can I burn all your sweaters now?"
There was a pause.
"No."
I pouted. "Aw, why not?"
"Because I actually like them."
"But they're horrendous looking!"
"And they're comfy."
"So you agree that they look horrendous."
"I never said that."
"But you never disagreed either."
Once again, there was a short silence.
"Shut up."
I laughed as she lightly hit me.
"Hey, hey! No need to whack me because I'm right."
"You're not right!"
"But you never gave me a proper reasoning, then!"
"Go to sleep Kurt."
"You too Rach."
"You first."
"I can't control the rate I go to sleep at, now can I?"
"Yes you can!"
"Well, then I was unaware I held this trait."
"Now you do know!"
"How would you know if I even held this characteristic in the first place?"
"Because I'm magical."
"Puh-lease, I'm way more magical than you are."
"You're not nice."
"That's okay."
"Go to sleep Kurt!"
"I guarantee nothing."
"You will guarantee everything."
"No I don't."
"All lies!"
"You're all lies."
"That's preposterous!"
"So they say."
"Who's 'they'?"
"We, the people."
"Who are the people?"
"We are the people."
"Well then that's not a lot of people."
"So? You say that like it matters!"
"It does!"
"I don't even know what we're arguing about anymore."
"Me either."
We both giggled.
"Good night Mr. Handsome," Rachel said, curling up against my side.
"Good night, my lovely darling Ray of Sunshine," I answered back. Hey, Ray! I think I like that nickname better than Rach. "I think I'm going to call you that from now on."
"Call me what?" she asked.
"My Ray of Sunshine. Or just Ray for short," I said, closing my eyes. I felt myself slowly drifting off as I listened to her slow breathing.
I heard her yawn and felt her nod her head against me sleepily. "I like it."
"Me too."
XxX
The doorbell rang downstairs. I looked over at Rachel. "I'll get it."
She nodded and went back to organizing her books on her bookshelf.
I walked down the stairwell and stepped in front of the door. Without opening it, I called out, "Who be you?"
A deep voice called back, "What? Rachel, open the door!" Ah, Noah. I didn't know he was coming over. I'm pretty sure Rachel didn't know he was coming over either; otherwise she wouldn't still be in her pajamas. She would have told me too, so I could have changed out of my own as well.
I opened the door. Noah didn't look surprised to see me standing there. Even though he called out Rachel's name to open the door.
"Hey Princess."
He marched past me and into the house. I rolled my eyes.
"Hello Noah. What are you doing here?"
We walked into her kitchen and I grabbed an apple from the cupboard. I washed it, then took a bite as he took a seat by the counter-top.
"Just needed to talk to Rachel," he answered, looking uncomfortable for some reason. I licked a stray bit of juice that slid down my fingers.
We heard footsteps walk down the stairwell. "Kurt? Who was that?" She walked into the kitchen and saw Noah. "Oh. Hey Noah! How are you? Do you want something to eat or drink?" she asked brightly as she grabbed some water from the cupboard. I stuck my free hand out and she tossed me one. I caught it deftly.
He shook his head. "No, and I'm fine. Sarah wants to hang out again," Noah mumbled quietly. He shifted in his seat. He probably wasn't used to asking others to hang out with him and his little sister.
Rachel gave a big smile. "Sure. Kurt's coming too, though."
Noah nodded, as if it were expected.
"Have you eaten yet?" she asked. I gave a small laugh. Rachel was such like a mother sometimes, because Carole always asks that when I go home for a visit.
He shook his head to say no.
She raised an eyebrow. "Is Sarah sitting alone in your car?"
He gave a sheepish nod.
"Noah!" she quickly scolded him.
I laughed again. "Okay Noah, how about you go get Sarah, while Rachel and I go make some breakfast?"
Rachel nodded and went to grab some eggs from her fathers' fridge, while Noah went outside to his car to grab Sarah. She passed the carton over to me.
"I'm pretty sure Noah and Sarah would want some pancakes and eggs, and I ran out of my vegan substitute for pancakes yesterday - which, by the way, is something we need to pick up when we go shopping later," she told me. I gave her an unsure look, but nodded.
"Are you sure you can handle me cooking these?" I asked her, worried about her reaction. Rachel was, after all, a vegan. And last time eggs got involved with her, she had nightmares for a month.
She nodded, slowly. "As upset I am about the dead baby chicks," she winced as she said it, "I think Noah and Sarah need to eat more. Apparently Noah's dad is always drunk, while his mother is always too busy looking for jobs to pay for the house. They never have any food over at their own place. Besides, the chicks are already dead, and as sad as I am about it, there's nothing I can do to change that. As long as I don't eat any myself, I can…." She broke off and took a deep breath, "I can stay calm."
I nodded and hugged her waist. She leaned back into my arms and nuzzled my cheek. I was so proud of Rachel. If she was able to put aside her vegan point of view just to make sure that Noah and Sarah were being fed, then clearly she's grown up so much since the glee club first started.
"You guys look like a couple when you do that," Noah said, walking in carrying Sarah in his arms.
Rachel giggled and pushed me away from her playfully. "He wishes he was with me."
I rolled my eyes with a grin. "Oh please. Haven't you seen the amount of guys at Dalton that hit on me?" Apparently, Ohio has more gays than I thought.
"I'm pretty sure a few straight guys hit on you too," she added, hiding he laughter behind her hand.
"Yeah well, I can turn a straight man gay," I said smugly, jokingly pulling the sides of my top like I was popping a collar.
We erupted into laughter while Noah looked at us fondly, and Sarah watched us confusedly. Noah and I have a pretty unique friendship. He offered to be part of my secret service when I needed him, but we still tease each other an unholy amount. He's very protective of the people he cares about.
Oh, yeah! I forgot about Sarah. I turned to the little girl sitting in Noah's arms. "Hi, you must be Sarah. I'm Kurt."
She looked over at me shyly. I gave a small wave.
"Are you hungry?" I asked her, leaning forward slightly.
She gave a small nod and looked up at Noah. He nodded at her, so she nodded again – bigger this time.
"Have you two ever made pancakes and eggs?" Rachel asked, walking over to me and placing an apron over my head. She wrapped her arms around me and tied it. She did the same to Noah and Sarah, who Noah had placed down onto the counter. The two shook their heads.
Rachel turned to Noah. "Have you ever cooked anything?"
He shook his head. "Bad-" He paused and restarted his sentence, "People like me don't cook. We take already made things from convenient stores." I smiled at him. He was trying to restrain from cursing around Sarah, because I'm pretty sure he was about to say 'bad-asses'.
"Lunchables!" Sarah said happily, clapping her hands together.
"Noah!" Rachel scolded him once again. "Well, you're going to learn how to cook, so you won't have to steal anything to eat ever again."
He raised his eyebrow at her, as if asking 'Me? Never steal anything again? Psh….'.
She sighed. "Okay, well you'll know how to cook, so you won't have to steal as much."
He shrugged. "No promises."
Rachel pouted. "You can try."
Sarah watched Rachel and copied her pouting face, looking up at Noah. I laughed and joined them with my own pouting face.
He gave a small laugh and wrapped his arms around her waist. Then he lifted her up and spun her around. "Okay, fine. I can try. But I still make no promises."
Sarah pouted once more and lifted her arms up. "I want up, too." I laughed and picked her up. I spun her around, causing her to giggle.
Rachel smacked Noah lightly on the shoulder. "Put me down! We have to cook!"
And so began our cooking lesson for Noah and Sarah. Well, I mainly taught them because Rachel didn't exactly want to touch the eggs too much.
XxX
Rachel flipped on her iPod as we cleaning up some of the mess we made in between making the pancakes and the eggs.
Together, together, together everyone
Together, together, come on lets have some fun
Noah groaned. "No!"
Rachel giggled and kissed his cheek. "Sarah likes it."
Together, were there for each other every time
Together together come on lets do this right
Sure enough, Sarah was dancing along to the music and laughing.
Noah groaned once again. "Fine."
Here and now its time for celebration
I surprised Noah and Rachel by singing along to Zac Efron. Sarah's eyes brightened and she giggled as I twirled her around.
I finally figured it out (yeah yeah)
that all our dreams have no limitations
that's what it's all about(yeah yeah)
They laughed as I dance around the kitchen in a crazy, mock seductive way.
Rachel took over Vanessa Hudgens' part and began dance around me in an equally crazy way.
Everyone is special in their own way
We make each other strong (we make each other strong)
Were not the same
Were different in a good way
Together's where we belong
Sarah clapped her hands and started dancing to the chorus, singing as well. Rachel and I surprised Noah by knowing all the dance moves to it as well. He started laughing at us once again.
We're all in this together
Once we know
That we are
We're all stars
And we see that
We're all in this together
And it shows
When we stand
Hand in hand
Make our dreams come true
This time, he joined us in dancing along, although it was all just random freestyle dancing.
Together, together, together everyone
Together, together, come on lets have some fun
Together, were there for each other every time
Together together come on lets do this right
I jumped onto the countertop (a move which I may or may not have stolen from Blaine) and sang the next verse. Sarah laughed and I pulled her up to dance with me.
We're all here
and speaking out with one voice
we're going to rock the house (YEAH YEAH!)
The party's on now everybody make some noise
come on scream and shout
Rachel sang the next part and began to strut, while fluttering her eyelashes playfully. She offered her hand and I took it, jumping off the table. I carried Sarah down after I jumped off.
We've arrived because we stuck together
Champions one and all
The three of us danced around Noah and made him follow along with us. He surprisingly caught on really fast. Or he knew the dance moves beforehand.
We're all in this together
Once we know
That we are
We're all stars
And we see that
We're all in this together
And it shows
When we stand
Hand in hand
Make our dreams come
We're all in this together
When we reach
We can fly
Know inside
We can make it
We're all in this together
Once we see
There's a chance
That we have
And we take it
Wild cats sing along
Yeah, you really got it goin' on
Wild cats in the house
Everybody say it now
Wild cats everywhere
Wave your hands up in the air
That's the way we do it
Lets get to it
Time to show the world
There was a small dance break, which Noah took advantage of. He began to break-dance around the kitchen. I took Sarah's hands and waltzed her around the room, all four of us laughing the entire time.
We're all in this together
Once we know
That we are
We're all stars
And we see that
We're all in this together
And it shows
When we stand
Hand in hand
Make our dreams come true
We're all in this together
When we reach
We can fly
Know inside
We can make it
We're all in this together
Once we see
There's a chance
That we have
And we take it
Sarah, Rachel, and I fell silent and let Noah, who had joined us halfway along, sing the last verse alone.
Wild cats everywhere
Wave your hands up in the air
that's the way we do it
Let's get to it
Come on everyone!
Once the song ended, we all laughed. I turned to Noah.
"Something tells me you knew the dance steps before we tried to teach you them."
Before he could say anything, Sarah cut in. "I made him learn it too!" She giggled.
Noah blushed as Rachel and I laughed. "Word of this gets to no-one, okay," He told us.
Rachel and I glanced at each other and smirked. Our faces looked like the Cheshire cat's when I said, 'Whatever you say."
"How do you know the dance moves then?" He challenged back playfully.
I blushed. "My cousins made me learn it."
We turned to Rachel. Before we opened our mouths, though, she answered.
"I was bored."
The three of us looked at each other confusedly for a second. Then Sarah burst into giggles once more, causing us to laugh as well.
XxX
I went back to Dalton with a fresh and happy mind. Like I said, Rachel always makes me feel better. The entire day Monday, I managed to avoid any contact with the Warblers. Well, technically that's not true because Blaine kept trying to talk to me and continued passing notes to me, but I ignored them. (I did talk to Seth though, because he wasn't there during the incident, so I had no reason to be angry with him. Apparently he had heard the story from Blaine, and after listening to my side of the story, he agreed with me. I felt a bit happier with that fact, knowing that someone was on my side.) Because we shared our first two classes together, Blaine almost did catch me. But I extended a talk with the teacher long enough so that he had to leave for his next class otherwise he would be late. After school, I immediately rushed to my car (because I had no last period, I didn't run into anyone) and went to sleep over at my own house for the night.
Tuesday was a bit harder, considering I had Warbler s practice at 5. If I ditched it, Wes, David, and Thad would come after me. So I decided to go over to Rachel's, and then come back. Once again, I managed to avoid Blaine, who was the only one who really tried to talk to me since Friday (besides Seth, of course). But he was also the person that hurt me the most, so obviously I didn't want to talk to him.
I was sitting with Rachel on her bed and giggling about Daniel Radcliffe's hair in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (which we had watched on Sunday), when my phone buzzed, alerting me I had a text.
I opened it and paled.
From: Seth (4:55 PM)
Where are you? Practice is going to start soon! You know what Wes is like when we're late!
I immediately jumped off the bed and told Rachel I had to go. I knew she understood when she looked at the clock and her eyes went wide. Shoot, I was late.
I immediately jumped into my car and drove back to Dalton. By the time I got there, it was already 05:07 PM. Wes was going to kill me. I ran through the hallways, eliciting strange looks from the other students. Finally, I was outside the common room where practice was being held. I pressed my ear to the door. Silence. I took a step back and fixed my hair. Then I stepped forward, took a deep breath, and opened the door.
Everyone was looking at me. I began to walk towards the open seat next to Seth, as I said to the council, "Sorry, Rachel and I lost tract of time." I was almost to the seat, when I realized that the council hadn't said anything, as if they were expecting more from me. I turned towards them with an eyebrow raised, ignoring the seat for a moment, and asked, "Yes?"
Wes's face was blank when he said, "We're waiting."
I was confused. "Waiting for what?"
"Your apology," he answered.
Wait, didn't I just-? "Didn't I just apologize for being late? Sorry again, if that's what you're waiting for."
"Not that apology."
I waited.
"For Friday," he finally answered.
I immediately stiffened.
Seth sat up in his seat. "Wes-" The head Warbler stuck out his hand to silence him. Seth clamped his mouth close and shot me a sorry glance.
"And pray tell what I need to apologize for," I said calmly, although my insides were starting to boil once again. Why should I owe them an apology when they didn't even let me talk?
"For trying to disrupt Warbler tradition." So now everything was my fault? Anger rushed throughout my entire body.
"Oh?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, clearly challenging them. I knew what I was doing. I know what I have to do.
Wes gave an angry huff, but David immediately interrupted him. "The Warblers have an elaborate system and we feel that you, a new un-experienced Warbler, should try to create your own traditions versus the ones we've had for decades."
"So I owe an apology for that?" my voice remained calm.
"We feel that would be best, yes," he answered.
I closed my eyes and took a steady breath, then reopened them. "I think I have a better solution than me apologizing."
Wes looked curious. "What?"
There was no hesitation when I said, "I quit."
The room was silent with shock.
I walked towards the door.
"You can't just quit!" Jeff said. Finally a Warbler not on the council decided to talk. But nothing was going to change my mind. I spun around to face them.
"Why? You guys don't need me. I apparently stand out way too much to be part of an all-male a capella group," I answered back. At the last part, my attention was directed towards Blaine. He looked shocked and upset, but didn't say anything. For someone who's supposed to be a mentor to me, he's not doing a good job. For someone who's supposed to be a friend to me, he's doing an even worse job. And as for a crush, there are no words to explain how I was feeling for him at that moment.
This time, it was Thad who answered. Wes and David looked like they were still in too much shock to say anything. "We can help you. You'll be a perfect Warbler in no time."
This further angered me, but I only let a hint of that anger show when I retorted back. "Exactly - I'll be forced to act differently. I'm going to be somebody that I'm not. But you know what? I refuse to change who I am." I stuck my chin out defiantly and crossed my arms.
David seemed to have pulled out from his shock because he tried to say, "We're not-"
"Yes, you are," I interrupted quietly. "I-" I paused and bit my lip for a small second, "I can't do this anymore." I turned around and opened the door. "I'm out," I said, turning around and walking out.
"Kurt! Wait!" I heard Blaine shout.
The door slammed shut behind me. Silence.
I didn't look back.
Preview:
"Kurt Hummel, please report to the headmaster's office. Kurt Hummel, please report to the headmaster's office."
I picked up my stuff, ignoring the curious glances that Blaine, Wes, David, Thad, and all the other students were sending my direction, and nodded to Madame Fleur. She gave a wave and I walked out.
I walked through a few hallways, before finally arriving at the headmaster's office.
Mr. Glass, the school secretary, had a hard face on. He waved to the direction of the headmaster's office.
I stood outside the door and knocked.
"Come In," rang out Headmaster Bell's deep voice.
I took a deep breath and walked in.
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