(Kurt's POV)
I walked over to Mr. Shue after taking care of Cori. I looked back briefly before I reached him. Cori was sitting there swinging her legs back and forth. Her feet dangled just centimeters from the ground. She reminded me of a little kid; someone who needed consistent watching and taking care of. Maybe I only thought that because the first time I saw her was in a weak moment. She obviously had intelligence and bravery to stand up to Quinn the way she did at lunch. I actually found that quite appealing. I mean appealing in the 'that was totally awesome' way, not the 'I totally wanted to kiss you' way. That would be weird, because I'm gay... right? I looked up at a specific quarterback who was sitting in the middle of the room. Of course, I like Finn.
I reached Mr. Shue and cleared my throat before speaking, "Is it alright if Cori hangs out until practice is over?"
"Sure, but ask if she'll participate. We could use more members," He smiled. "I'll just consider the next assignment as her audition."
"Okay," I said and started to walk away.
"And Kurt?"
"Yes?"
"Introduce her to everyone." He said, nodding towards the group. More specifically Finn, whom I noticed she was staring at.
"Right on it, Mr. Shue," I faked a smile. Of course, he didn't know they'd already met, but it was annoying how he was trying to help her out with Finn. My Finn.
I quickly made it back to Cori and told her what Mr. Shue said. "So, will you join?"
"Oh, I don't think so," She waved my question off with her hand.
"Can you sing?" I asked, being more persistent.
"Well, yes but –"
I cut her off, "Then you're joining." I didn't know how well she could sing, but it didn't matter. I needed to keep an eye on her and Finn.
I quickly introduced her to everyone she hadn't already met and informed Mr. Shue of her joining glee. Everyone took their seats when it was time to begin.
"Alright guys. Today, I'm pleased to inform you that we have a new member! Cori, please stand." Cori stood and waved to everyone, getting a welcoming roll of claps in return before sitting down.
"Uh, Mr. Shue, I hate to be negative, but Cori hasn't auditioned. Everyone has to audition." I rolled my eyes at Rachel's comment.
"Yes, but she's new and we should welcome her. I've already informed her that her audition can be the assignment this week. Everyone also gets in, so it really doesn't matter, does it?" Rachel sunk in her seat. "Alright, this week we're going to do something different. I'll assign partners using the hat," A chorus of groans filled the room, "And then you and your partner will each decide on a song that represents how you're currently feeling and sing them both as duets. I feel that there's been a lot of tension here in glee lately, and maybe this will loosen those vibes." Mr. Shuester moved to the hat and began picking out names.
"Finn and... Cori. You're partners."
I immediately watched Cori smile at Finn. He smiled back. Well, you know what I have absolutely nothing to worry about. I mean Finn only likes natural girls. I looked at Cori. She was wearing mascara and nothing else. Damn. Plus, I could clearly tell that the beauti— I mean, the red tint in her hair didn't come from a box. The only thing that's slightly off Finn's taste is her keen fashion sense. I might be in trouble after all. I shook my head. This is silly, Kurt. Finn has Quinn. And although I know that Finn likes Rachel, I also know that he would never cheat. So, even if he started liking Cori, nothing would happen unless he and Quinn broke up. In case something would happen though, by being Cori's best friend, Finn will automatically come to me with any problems she causes him and I can find out exactly how Cori feels. This could work out very nicely. I smirked.
"Kurt," I looked up at Mr. Shue. "You'll be with Mercedes." I nodded; thankful I hadn't gotten paired up with Rachel or Quinn.
Mr. Shuester finished up choosing pairs. Matt got paired with Rachel, Quinn with Puck, Tina with Mike, and Artie was left in a group of three with Santana and Brittany.
(Cori's POV)
The ride to Kurt's house was surprisingly quiet. I felt like Kurt had something to say, but after a few minutes he turned the radio up, blasting Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance.' I could barely hear Kurt singing along, but from what noise did reach my ears, he sounded really good.
We reached Kurt's house in fifteen minutes. It was quite a bit larger than my house, but not like fancy mansion big. I followed him down to the basement where his room was.
"Toss me your shirt."
I took my blue stained tee out of my bag and gave it to him.
"I'll be back in a bit." He walked back up stairs and I took in the room. The color scheme was basically 'white on white' and while that would normally be boring, something about how he set it all up made it look elegant. I walked over to his vanity which was covered with neatly organized skincare products. There was a stack of magazines on a bookshelf to the right. Everything was very neat. I knew that he had to have decorated the whole thing himself, which was so amazing. He was amazing. I went to his bed and sat down, still slightly mesmerized. I started to feel my eyelids droop and laid back.
I awoke to a muted flickering television showing some Neutrogena commercial. When I looked around, I realized with a shock I was still in Kurt's room. As I rose up a blanket slid off me. Did Kurt put that there? I thought. I pulled out my phone for the time. I squinted when 7:03 brightly flashed at me. I still had an hour before I needed to be home. Though, I hadn't planned on staying this long anyway.
Just when I was about to get up and find Kurt, I heard footsteps coming down the stairs.
"Oh, you're up."
I knew he couldn't see me but I nodded anyway. "Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep." Though, it probably would have helped if your room didn't smell so intoxicatingly like you and if your bed wasn't so comfortable.
"It's fine. I figured you were worn out from your first day." He'd moved closer and I could make out his smile.
"Yeah, thanks."
"When do you need to be home?"
"8:00, maybe a little past."
"Oh! It's back on," Kurt said suddenly and picked up a remote control to turn off the mute. I quickly recognized the show.
"You're watching America's Next Top Model?"
"Yes, this show is fantastic." He sat down next to me. I briefly wondered if he'd been sitting there the whole time I was sleeping.
We watched the show until the next commercial came on. Kurt reached over to turn on a lamp and remuted the TV.
"Do you have any ideas for your song with Finn?"
"Not really."
"No specific feelings you want to express to him?" He teased.
"Didn't you hear what I told Quinn at lunch?" I sighed.
"Yes, but come on Cori. So far it seems you like him."
"Kurt. I don't like Finn."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
We watched the commercials in silence. The room felt heavy.
"You do though, don't you?" I blurted, covering my mouth immediately and looking away from him.
"You think I like Finn?"
I didn't say anything. My mind drifted to earlier that day. When Kurt straightened up in his presence, like he wanted to impress him.
His head dropped and I barely heard him say, "Yes, I like Finn." His eyes shot to me and louder he said, "But don't tell anyone."
"Of course, I would never do that." My voice was weak. I knew I would get hurt if I didn't stop this stupid crush. I always fall for guys too fast.
Kurt must feel like this every day, knowing that he and Finn are never going to happen, but having the deceiving hope anyway. I'm going to be here for him though. I need to be.
"How did you know?" His voice broke my thoughts. I recovered from my weak state, putting on my best act.
"Oh. It was our encounter with him before glee club."
"You could tell that just from me being in his presence for two minutes?"
"Mhm."
"I bet the whole school knows then," He whined.
"Nah. I'm just really good at telling those things," I smiled.
He chuckled and said, "I thought I was too, but apparently I was wrong about you and Finn."
"Yeah. I'm pretty good at hiding my feelings around the guy I truly like. Finn is just a new friend. Trust me, he's all yours."
A huge smile spread across his face, but then faltered, "Well, he would be if it wasn't for that nasty Quinn." He winked at me. I felt relieved he was joking and that my question didn't cause a problem between us.
The show was practically over. The panel just had to discuss who was going home and then call the girls back. When it was over, Kurt said, "Maybe you could spend the night, my dad lets Mercedes do that."
I felt my cheeks get warm. "I don't think my mom would be okay with that since she hasn't met you yet."
"Right, well let's get you home, then."
When I got home I realized in all that had happened I'd forgotten my shirt and I was still wearing the one Kurt let me borrow. I reached into my back to grab my Spanish homework and felt something soft. I pulled it out, recognizing my top with no stains. Thank you, Kurt. I put it in my drawer and started on my homework.
Author's Note:
Alright, that was the first two chapters. Please let me know if you want this story continued!