By Saturday morning, Kurt was able to breath easily again. Apart from reorganising his outfit, Mercedes and Rachel thought that their original clothes were suitable enough for Puck's New Directions pool party, which meant that Kurt didn't have to redesign two more outfits.
It was only 9 o'clock in the morning, but Kurt knew it was going to be a marvellous day. The sun was shining brightly, there was a gentle, refreshing breeze in the wind and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. He grinned to himself. He knew that his clothes would out shine everyone else's.
Of course, he had thought about his problem, that is, his wings. Even though he wasn't planning to go into the pool, it was more than likely that he would be dragged in by Finn, Puck, Mercedes, Rachel, or any of the New Directions before the party was up. He told himself to be careful when being around by the pool. If he did happen to get pulled in, he would just have to change into a dry set of clothes and wear a spare jacket which he told Finn to bring in his backpack.
But what about before falling into the pool? Wasn't he going to wear a jacket then? Kurt had thought that through, and decided that, since it was such a fine day, that he was to forgo such a restricting article of clothing. Besides, he had an idea.
He had only done this twice before, but he knew it worked. From inside of one of his desk drawers, he withdrew a coil of bandage which was given by Carole. Since she was part of the family, she knew about Kurt's wings, and thought that sometimes, if he didn't want to wear a jacket, he could bind his wings to his body, temporarily making them part of his back. Kurt had tried it out, with the assistance of Carole, and rejoiced when he found out that it had worked. Even though it was a little tight around his chest, his wings didn't feel any discomfort from the material.
Kurt called for Carole, and within seconds, she was at his door. He quickly explained what he wanted to do, and she nodded as she took the bandage from his hands. Carole unfurled the material as Kurt quickly took off his shirt. If it were many months ago, when they had just become a family, Kurt would have hesitated and blushed while slowly taking his shirt off, but he had grown more and more confident in front of his step-mother.
Carole smiled at him as they started to bind his wings. It was a simple but tedious task as Carole didn't know where the boys wings were, but with the use of teamwork and precision, they got the job done within ten minutes. Kurt thanked Carole and she exited the room, which left Kurt by himself to prepare for the party which was scheduled to start in seven hours.
Finn decided to go over to Puck's house a few hours earlier to help set up, but Kurt suspected that Finn just wanted to play against Puck on whatever new-fangled video game console that Puck owned. Finn asked Kurt if he wanted a lift, which Kurt accepted, and they made their way to Rachel's house, as Finn had promised to pick her up, before heading over to the Puckerman residence.
At 1 o'clock, they arrived at what seemed to be a cross between a mansion and an apartment block. It was big and grand, yet angular in the fashion of a shared building. Puck greeted Kurt, Rachel and Finn at the front door, telling them that they were the first ones to arrive. Kurt asked Puck if his parents were in, which the mohawked boy replied in the negative, stating that they were having a 'weekend to themselves'. Kurt nodded in understanding, before Puck ran up a grand set of stairs, yelling to Finn that he was going to race him to his room so that they could start their video game match. Finn shouted in disapproval at Puck's head start, before bounding up the stairs himself. Puck laughed as he disappeared on the landing, Finn closely following him. Soon, Puck reappeared on the steps to find a lost looking Kurt and Rachel, still standing in the foyer.
"What are you waiting for? Aren't you two going to join in?" Puck asked.
"Well, Puck, actually-" started Kurt.
"Noah, as much as we would like to see you be beaten by my boyfriend, we would rather set up this place to give it more of a party feel. As you know, Kurt and I are experts at this field, so could you kindly lead us to the place where we are having our party?" Rachel cut in. Kurt gave her a glare, before nodding in agreement. Puck sighed before yelling to Finn to not touch anything. He dismounted the stairs and led the duo further into the Puckerman household.
They arrived at the backyard, where Kurt and Rachel were shocked to see that the place had already been decorated. Not only that, but it was decorated tastefully, with colours blending nicely together and everything. Kurt laughed, before turning to Puck, who had his hands up in surrender.
"Okay. I'm guilty of putting all of this up. What can I say? I have too much time on my hands."
"This is very nice, Noah. Though I must wonder what drove you to do this." Rachel said. Puck shrugged, before motioning towards a miniature fridge of drinks.
"Help yourself. We got some alcohol and some other drinks. There's more in the fridge." He pointed a finger towards the kitchen. "Apart from that, grab a drink, relax, start swimming or whatever. If you need me, just yell. But yell really loudly 'cos the sound may be up loud." He turned around and made his way back to his room.
Kurt and Rachel grabbed a non-alcoholic drink each and settled themselves on the beach chairs which were scattered around the backyard and pool area. Kurt admired Rachel's dress, after all, it was his idea for her to wear it. She was wearing a red linen sundress, with matching sandals and here hair was tied into a side ponytail. Rachel thanked Kurt for choosing it for her, before complimenting his own outfit of choice.
He had decided to wear a pale sky blue tank top and black shorts, accompanied by a white fedora. He had made sure that the bandage which was used to bind his wings wasn't visible, and that if anyone saw and asked about it, he would just say that he got scratched across his chest, and told Finn to back him up when needed.
They discussed recent Broadway musicals and college selections and New York. They laughed at jokes each other made until more and more people arrived. Mercedes finally arrived after Brittany, Santana, Mike, Tina and, surprisingly, Mr Schue, which by then, Puck and Finn had descended from the second storey. She was wearing a light purple maxi which complimented her body form. The trio discussed new music as everyone else got ready to swim in the massive pool, with Mr Schue supervising as he was already sipping his first beer.
Soon, Artie arrived with Quinn and Sam. Splashes were heard from the pool as the boys tried to have a competition with the girls. Rachel and Mercedes laughed at the New Directions' antics, and they soon joined everyone in the pool. Not before long, apart from Mr Schue and Artie, Kurt was the only one not in the pool. Everyone called out to him to join them, but Kurt kept replying that the chlorine in the pool water would dry out his skin.
Kurt stood by the pool as he watched his friends splash each other and have races from one side to another. He felt happy as he watched them play freely, without having to care about anything. It was the holidays, and they were making the most of it. Kurt felt a hand on his shoulder. Thinking it was Mr Schue he turned around to talk about his ideas for next year at the New Directions, only to find himself face to face with Blaine. Kurt widened his eyes, said a quick and quiet 'sorry' and walked swiftly to the other side of the pool.
From where he was standing, Kurt could see Blaine's shoulders and wings drop. He was wearing a white t-shirt and red board shorts, which make him look like he was more suited for the beach. Kurt blushed as Blaine quickly took off his shirt and placed it aside, before jumping into the pool to join the rest of the New Directions.
"Hey, look who's here!" Puck shouted from the center of the pool. Blaine waved to everyone as he swam to where everyone was crowded. He emerged and flicked his hair out of his face.
"It's great to be here," said Blaine. "Thanks for inviting me, Puck." The said boy patted Blaine on the back in a gesture of 'no problem'. Blaine smiled, then looked at Kurt, who was standing by himself near the deeper end of the pool. The New Directions resumed their splashing and pool wrestling as Blaine swam to where Kurt was standing.
"Why don't you come in?" asked Blaine as his wings straightened in the water behind him. "The water's great!"
"No thanks," replied Kurt. "The chlorine will dry up my skin."
"Aw, come on! Everyone is in. And we all miss you." Blaine put on his puppy-dog look. Kurt crouched to get closer to Blaine and laughed.
"Do you expect me to go in like this?" Kurt gestured at his clothing. "It's hardly suitable for swimming."
"Well, I don't think so."
"Are you trying to persuade me?"
"Yes, I am." There was a moment of silence between the two boys. In the background, loud splashes, squeals of the girls and yells of the boys could be heard. Blaine raised an eyebrow as his wings kept making patterns in the water. Kurt sighed and stood up and started walking away. "So are you joining us or what?"
Kurt threw his hands up in the air in exasperation as he walked away. He heard the splash of water of someone getting out of the pool and felt wet arms press against his chest. Kurt tried to turn around to look at Blaine, but the shorter boy held him fast.
"Are you trying to avoid me?" Blaine whispered into Kurt's ear. Kurt shivered. This was the exact same position they were in on Tuesday after he had fallen off the scaffolding and Blaine had saved him. Kurt shook his head, trying to calm his rapidly increasing heartbeat. "Then why aren't you replying to me?"
"I just wanted to give you room." Kurt said. He broke free of Blaine's hold and turned towards him. "I'm sorry. I should have listened to you." Blaine laughed.
"You told me that already."
"Yes, but you didn't have to catch me." Kurt looked down at his and Blaine's bare feet.
"Hey, it's okay. Besides, that's what friends are for, right?" Kurt nodded in agreement. He looked up to see Blaine smiling, which brought a smile to his own face. "So, no hard feelings?" Blaine held out his hand.
"No hard feelings." Kurt confirmed as he gripped Blaine's hand. They shook once in a firm up-down motion, but before Kurt could let go, Blaine wrapped his other arm around Kurt's shoulders and dragged him towards the pool. Kurt shrieked as he tried to stop him, but Blaine managed to pick him up bridal-style, before jumping into the pool, followed by Kurt's shrill cries. Once the emerged, Blaine had a huge smirk plastered to his face as Kurt shot him a glare.
"What was that for?" cried Kurt.
"You ignored me! That was what that was for!" Blaine yelled back, still smirking.
The rest of the New Directions had paused their activities to find out what had happened, and thanked Blaine for getting Kurt into the pool. They all crowded around the two boys and started splashing each other. Kurt tried to shield himself from the attacks of water, only to find that his bandage was visible through his tank top.
"Guys, stop!" yelled Blaine. Sure enough, everyone stopped. "Gosh Kurt, I'm so sorry. I didn't know you were injured."
"It's okay." Kurt shrugged off. "Just as well I brought another set of clothes." He said with a small smile. Kurt got out of the pool and headed towards Finn's bag to grab his extra change of clothes. He heard someone else exiting the pool. Kurt felt a hand grip his wrist.
"Look, I'm sorry. I should have asked first." Blaine said.
"It's okay." Kurt repeated as he turned to Blaine. "I'm not hurt." Blaine smiled.
"Good. So, no hard feelings?" asked Blaine once again. "And this time it's for real." Kurt shook his head. "Awesome. I'll let you get changed, and I promise I won't drag you in again."
Kurt laughed and was joined by Blaine. It was going to be a fun party indeed.
Any reviews? Thank you in advance!
Preview of next chapter:
As he went back to the pool, he felt all of the New Direction's eyes were on him, in a good way.
See you on the 6th!