A/N: Sorry this update took a bit longer than expected. I consider this a filler chapter at best; it's not my best work. I just got a sudden drive to get it out of the way. Despite that, I would still appreciate reviews. Thanks for reading.
Chapter 3
Monday morning brought with it, in Kurt's eyes, a welcome and necessary break. The past weekend had been difficult to say the least, and in light of everything that was, or wasn't, happening with Finn, he was certain that seeing the rest of the Glee club would help to inject some normality into his life. Kurt wasn't ashamed to admit that he really needed some stability. Finn had told him that he was feeling strange, unnamed feelings towards him, after months of Kurt tearing himself apart whilst trying and failing to get over him. Kurt knew that he just needed to have a lengthy and generic bitching session with Mercedes, then he would be able to pull himself together again, he would have to. Kurt assumed that Finn had already got up, considering that his bed was empty, and he took the alone time to busy himself with getting ready. As he got dressed, he had to gaze longingly into his wardrobe and sigh mournfully as he had to settle for his Cheerios uniform; coach Sylvester was adamant that they had to wear them all day, but maybe a bit later on he could convince her to at least let him accessorise it a bit.
"Come on Kurt or we're gunna be late!" Finn called down the stairs. Kurt jumped as he noticed the face of his alarm clock, the alarm clock which he had purposefully disabled the night before and then forgot about. After the tiresome weekend that he had just experienced, Kurt had the foresight to see himself throwing it against a wall in the early hours as it merrily chimed away, so he had removed the alarm, just for one night. Kurt could see that he would have to forgo any hope of having breakfast, but as he cantered up the stairs he did feel a rush of fulfilment as he contemplated his wise decision to switch to a much less time consuming night time skin care routine, instead of having to slave away with his old morning one; it was a real time saver.
"I'm sorry Finn, I overslept. Why didn't you wake me up?" Kurt yawned his way through the door, juggling his bag as he went to see if he had everything he needed for the day. He closed the basement door with a kick and turned to see Finn hunched over the table.
"I didn't want to. You looked really tired and I didn't want to bother you, after yesterday," Finn muttered whilst roughly sorting through his own things, turning his face away sheepishly. Kurt couldn't allow Finn's insecurities and dogmatic blindness over how much he mattered to get in the way of the progress that they had been making, so Kurt stood straight and sure and put on his most authoritarian mask in a sorry attempt to appear like he knew what he was talking about.
"Finn, don't be embarrassed around me. I always want to help you," Kurt said forcefully, walking over to Finn and clutching his stray elbow firmly. Finn, looking down into Kurt's concerned eyes and seeing nothing but sincerity, wondered if Kurt knew how just a little contact like that could make him feel so much better. It was weird, but Finn felt that Kurt had intuitively deduced how to handle him, physically as well as emotionally, and it made him feel safe. More than anything, it made him feel loved; neither Quinn nor Rachel had bothered to deduce anything about him in all the time that they had been dating, everything was always about them, and it was flatteringly refreshing to think that somebody actually cared enough to try and work him out for a change.
"You know, you're the only person I've ever talked to like this," Finn said simply, a shade of his usual positivity returning to his voice as the corner of his lips twitched into the lop-sided smile that made Kurt feel like the world was perfect. Kurt didn't think that much of a response was needed, so he gently nudged Finn's shoulder with his forehead and squeezed his arm before moving away.
"Come on, we're gunna be so late," Kurt laughed, opening the front door and leading the way to Finn's car. Finn followed on from behind, and as he locked the door he thought about how sitting through his classes didn't seem like such a daunting prospect anymore. On the way to McKinley, it seemed like everything that needed to be said that morning already had been, and now the two boys sat in silence and listened to whatever nonsense was being gabbled on the radio as Finn sped towards the school. It wasn't an awkward silence, but one of those silences where you could just tell how the other was feeling, and Kurt and Finn were more than happy to enjoy it while they could. That being said, there was one question which Finn needed the answer to.
"Hey Kurt," he began lightly, waiting for the other boy to look his way, "how did you know 'Let It Be Me' was one of my favourites?" he asked comfortably, giving Kurt a glance as he shifted up a gear.
"Oh, I've heard you singing along to it a few times at home, and I searched the lyrics on the internet, it sounded quite nice. It seemed to fit the moment, I guess," Kurt said, shrugging his shoulders and smiling towards Finn.
"It did. It was great, thanks, and you sing it awesome, obviously," Finn said truthfully, returning Kurt's smile.
They pulled up into the parking lot just in time enough to feasibly blame their slight lateness on traffic and still get away with it, but before they got out of the car, commencing their separate days, Kurt took a moment to address the last loose end of their talks before a new week began and had the chance to complicate things once more.
"As soon as you think you know something else, or feel something else, or whatever, no matter the time or where we are, you will come and talk to me, alright?" Kurt asked, opening his door and preparing to get out, an expectant expression on his face. Finn admired how matter of fact Kurt could make himself when he had other things to do and other people to fool with the front that he expertly wore, and all that Finn could do was nod in agreement. With a smile, Kurt departed from the car and started his swift walk to first period. As he watched Kurt leave the parking lot, Finn slumped back into his driving seat and had to smile broadly as he unbuckled his seatbelt. He had felt ridiculous this morning whilst remembering the night before and how he had cried on Kurt's shoulder, but now he recognised just how lucky he was to have Kurt, and his voice, there and willing to aid and to guide him so thoroughly.
-Are You Happy?-
Kurt was right, seeing the rest of his friends was exactly what he needed. He felt clear again as he walked towards the choir room accompanied by Mercedes, Tina and Artie and he appreciated how they talked amongst themselves excitedly about the ever approaching Regionals competition. It brought Kurt down to earth to be around the original Glee club members and to hear them talk about the competition and their old rivals like they had always done, and Kurt had to agree as they worked their way down the corridor; now that they had Jesse on their side, they had a real shot at taking Regionals, and the feeling ignited flames within Kurt that had been somewhat doused by other proceedings recently. However, Kurt had to admit that returning to school did have certain disadvantages as well as he watched Rachel stalk up the corridor towards them, her best pout on her face; she certainly did know how to be dramatic, not that that was something that Kurt disliked about her per say, he would have been slightly hypocritical if he did.
"You guys have to come to the auditorium, it's an emergency!" Rachel spluttered, flouncing away again before the rest of them could even acknowledge her. Kurt was intrigued as to what piece of hot drama could have even Rachel in such a mess, but he did have to smile as he heard Mercedes sigh in irritation besides him. Anyway, Rachel always got in a mess, over anything, so Kurt conceded that he shouldn't really be that interested, it was probably nothing. As they entered the auditorium and Kurt steered Artie down the ramp to the middle gang way between the two levels of seats, Kurt noticed that the rest of the Glee club was already there. Finn looked his way and gave him a welcoming smile, but he also pointed inconspicuously towards the stage which diverted Kurt's attention. What he saw couldn't be described as any less than unwelcome; the whole of Vocal Adrenaline clogging up their stage, Jesse at the forefront, wearing a matching costume. This could not be good news.
"Jesse," Rachel stepped forward, naivety plain in her voice, "what are you doing up there with them?"
Kurt listened impatiently as Jesse whined on about transferring back to Carmel High, due to, in his eyes, a lack of respect and acceptance for him on their front. To be honest, Kurt didn't much mind about that. He had never really liked Jesse being there; his strange and at times abrasive presence through of the dynamic, and he presented just another barrier between Kurt and any hope of being given a solo part. No, what made Kurt angry was the negative effect that Jesse's news was having on the rest of his teammates; he had only just returned to the normality that they and their uncanny optimism provided for him, and now it was already being stripped away by this pretentious moron.
"Why are you here, in our auditorium?" Finn asked, stepping forward and holding his arms out, his impatience clear. Despite his annoyance, Kurt had to feel proud of Finn and his unwavering sense of leadership.
"The blogs and chat rooms say that we're finished and that you guys are ripe to topple us. We just wanted to show you a little something that we came up with a few days ago, to see if you agree with that assessment," Jesse finished, his smugness filling the auditorium. The music started up and dread rose in Kurt as he instantly recognised the immortal tune that resonated through the auditorium.
"Bom, bom, bom, another one bites the dust,
Bom, bom, bom, another one bites the dust.
How do you think I'm gunna get along without you when you're gone?
You took me for everything that I had and kicked me out on my own!
Are you happy? Are you satisfied? How long can you stand the heat?
Out of the doorway the bullets rippa, to the sound of the beat, look out!
Bom, bom, bom, another one bites the dust."
Infuriatingly, they were fantastic, even with the relatively low production values, and as Vocal Adrenaline laughed their way off the stage, Kurt could feel the morale in the auditorium plummet. The rest of the Glee club stood in stunned silence, but Kurt was fuming. He wasn't going to allow his safety net to be swept away from underneath him so violently; he would have to perform some damage control.
"Hey!" said Kurt, taking a few steps forward so that he was in amongst everyone else, "It's going to take more than that to put us into a funk, get it together guys and girls," he finished passionately, purposefully finding himself next to Finn, who placed a hand firmly onto his shoulder whilst voicing his agreement. Finn could tell from the glances that he had thrown Kurt's way during Vocal Adrenaline's performance that Kurt was not going to let it slide, and Finn felt proud of him for trying his hardest to keep the collective spirit of the Glee club alive. Despite Kurt's best efforts however, Finn could tell that they had not been enough; the Glee club had slipped into a deep funk, just as Vocal Adrenaline had intended, and as the other members of the Glee club began to freak out around him, Finn desperately contemplated how they were supposed to beat their rivals at Regionals now that they had successfully destroyed their hopes with a regrettably great performance.
They were in trouble, but Finn would save them, just like when he had saved Kurt from Azimio and Karofsky. However, he knew he would need some help, and now he felt truly thankful that he had made amends of sorts with Puck; his premonition that he would need a supportive friend sometime in the future had come true far sooner than Finn had expected.
-Are You Happy?-
It seemed that Mr Schue had very similar thought processes to Finn, a fact which Finn was rather proud of really. Mr Schue had stepped up to the plate as a director and was impressively refusing to be intimidated; he had given the Glee club the assignment of doing funk songs to try and make themselves feel better, due to the emotion and all Mr Schue had said, and because apparently Vocal Adrenaline couldn't do them so they would get freaked, which Finn was more than enthusiastic about. He had sighed in relief on hearing the new assignment because it was the perfect way for him to save the Glee club's morale, and he didn't have to torture himself whilst coming up with the idea by himself. Finn was certain that Puck would be more than willing to help him out; after all he had said that he was Finn's wingman again.
"Hey Puck!" Finn called out, spotting the tan-skinned boy by his locker, sorting through some books and trying to keep a mountain of trash from falling upon him.
"Finn my boy, what's up dude?" Puck asked jollily, grinning widely as he turned back to his locker and tried to pummel the mass of indistinguishable objects back into their places.
"Puck, I need your help," Finn said simply, smiling gently whilst Puck struggled against the barrage.
"Sure man," Puck grunted heavily as he slammed his locker shut with the entirety of his weight, "what is it?"
"Right, so, you know Vocal Adrenaline this morning? Well, I figured that what they did wasn't that different to when we try and freak out the competition in football, and I'm guessing that it probably didn't bother you that much?" Finn slowed, making sure that Puck, who had been following a girl up the corridor with his eyes, was understanding him.
"Dude, you know that Puckzilla isn't afraid of anything, especially not that Jesse douche," Puck snorted, refocusing on Finn as a smirk appeared on his face.
"Well then, it's our job to make it right again man. We've gotta show the rest of Glee club that we aren't out of the running yet. I want you to do a funk number with me, like Mr Schue said," Finn said, punching Puck lightly on the shoulder to relieve the slight tension.
"Really? That would be cool," Puck replied, shock clear in his voice as well as on his face, "but I've gotta be honest, I don't really get what funk is dude."
"That's fine, I've got a song, but we've gotta get it done by tomorrow, you good for that?" Finn asked, his smile widening as his plan started to come together.
"Yeah man, come round mine after school," Puck offered. He picked up his backpack and rounded the corner to his last lesson, and Finn stood and watched him go as he thought about how their re-established friendship might have a real shot at working out after all. Now there was only one more part to his plan, and then they would be ready with the mission to reignite the Glee club's hopes; he had to recruit the Glee club's undisputed core of funk.
Even after the disappointment of Vocal Adrenaline's unexpected visit that morning, by the end of the day Kurt was feeling much better and far more level headed. He had no idea how he was supposed to help the club get over their funk, but he was sure that Mercedes would help him come up with something for them to do; they had just been chatting about meeting at Mercedes' place later that night when Kurt saw Finn jogging lightly down the corridor towards them. He seemed relatively light footed considering that it was Finn, and he had that unmistakable steely look in his eyes that meant he was concentrating really hard on something; Kurt was more intrigued than anything else, despite the fluttering of his insides.
"Hey Kurt, Mercedes, I caught you," Finn exhaled, stooping slightly and readjusting his backpack on his shoulder.
"Hey Finn, what is it?" Kurt asked, placing a quizzical look on his face in an admittedly flirty fashion; he hadn't seen Finn much all day and he needed to vent his frustrations a bit.
"Um, it's actually Mercedes who I need to talk to," Finn said, smiling awkwardly towards Mercedes. Finn had deduced that Mercedes must know at least that Kurt had romantic feelings towards him, she and Kurt did discuss everything, and that she might even know about the confusion that he and Kurt were currently working through as well depending on how much help Kurt needed with it. Despite that, Finn had to smile down in amusement at the identical expressions of confusion that the pair reflected between themselves whilst he waited patiently for Mercedes' reply.
"Ok stretch, what do ya want?" Mercedes threw his way, turning with a toss of the hair and a hand placed on her hip.
"That actually, your attitude," Finn replied, relishing in the further confusion that he was causing, "me and Puck are working on a funk number for Glee club tomorrow and I was kinda hoping you could help us out, cus your so funky and everything," Finn finished, gesturing kindly at Mercedes as he pointed out her stance. Now Kurt had a genuine look of question on his face; this was the first that he had heard about a funk number, or that Finn was comfortable enough with Puck to sing together again.
"That sounds great Finn, and it's true, if you're doing a funk number you guys do me. I mean, you're the whitest guy in Glee club and Puck's just a little dim, but me and Kurt were gunna hang tonight, so, sorry," Mercedes finished, spinning on her heels as she readied to leave.
"Well, um, we can reschedule Mercs, if you wanna help them out. I think you should, you know they'll be awful otherwise," Kurt said, catching Mercedes by the arm and gesturing up towards Finn. Mercedes took a second to make her mind up, but then sighed dramatically, turning back towards Finn.
"Alright, I'll help chu guys out, just as long as I don't gotta go home; it's my turn to cook, and I get fed for my trouble," Mercedes reasoned, a teasing smile appearing on her face.
"That's fine, we're meeting at Puck's, he can cook. Come on, I'll give you a lift," Finn waved, glad that Kurt had been so understanding, grateful that Puck could cook and relieved that Mercedes was so easily bought.
"All right white boy, lead the way. Later Kurt," Mercedes called out as she started to follow Finn in the opposite direction. Finn turned around and mouthed a 'thank you' at Kurt before he vanished around the corner, leaving Kurt with a rather perplexed, amused look on his face which quickly turned to one of annoyance as he realised that he would have to ring his Dad for a lift because Finn had stupidly just forgotten that he was Kurt's ride home.
-Are You Happy?-
Finn had come home quite late last night. It must have been late because Kurt had already fallen asleep. One of the things that Kurt did not love quite so much about Finn was that he could be very stubborn and dogmatic when he wanted to be, and despite Kurt's best efforts Finn would not reveal anything about his funk number, winding Kurt up something chronic. Finally however, it was time for the Glee club rehearsal, and Kurt strode quickly into the room, not trying to hide his level of excitement. He had been let out of his previous lesson slightly late, so he was the last one there, and as he entered the choir room Kurt noticed that the club was sat on the opposite side of the room to where they usually sat, in quite an orderly line. Kurt didn't want to disturb anything, so he simply leant against the piano, next to an ever smiling Brad.
Finn and Puck stood in the centre of the room, clad in wife-beater vests and leather jackets, adorned with rather tasteless trinkets. Kurt knew the theme was funk, but they didn't look very funky. It seemed more like they had just walked out of a cheap 90's music video, but Kurt had to cut them some slack, they had put this performance together in one evening after all.
"Now that Kurt has finally joined us," Finn addressed the room, giving Kurt a wickedly teasing smile, "we can begin. Mr Schue, Puck and I would like to show the class the true meaning of Funk, with a little help from our special guest Mercedes," he finished, shrugging his shoulders towards Mercedes, who joined the rest of the club in sniggering lightly at Finn's attempts to appear funky; the leather jacket must have been affecting his brain, although Kurt had to admit that it did make him look delicious.
"Fasten your seatbelts people, its gunna be a funky ride," Puck breathed coolly towards the club. As the club settled down, Finn glanced towards Kurt; he would make the club feel better, he would make sure that Kurt had his safety net whilst he was putting him through all this confusion, and considering how messed up the rest of the club looked, their performance was not a moment too soon. This would pay Kurt back, at least in part.
"Ooh-oh, yeah, can you feel it baby?" Puck began, the opening bars of 'Good Vibrations' filling the choir room, the heavy beats making the club sit up and take notice. Kurt smiled up to Mr Schue, who was leaning on the piano next to him; it seemed that Mr Schue was just as surprised at Finn's ability to rap as he was. Kurt didn't know why, but watching Finn rap was rather endearing. The way his face lit up could even be described as cute, but then again Kurt was quite biased in that department; he doubted Mr Schue would also agree that Finn looked cute.
"It's such a good vibration; it's such a sweet sensation!" Mercedes hit the chorus hard with her incredible voice, and Kurt smiled as her charisma lifted the whole club into clapping along. As much as the boys could rap, and dance, surprisingly, they couldn't have done it without Mercedes. She was true funk. Finn stepped forward into the spotlight to rap his main verse, and Kurt beamed at him; he didn't feel like he needed to try and cover his affection, no one could see him leant against the piano.
"Yeah, can you feel it baby? I can too…" Finn finished, singing with adorable swagger and charm, and Kurt was absolutely certain that Finn looked at him during that line. Their eyes had connected, and Finn had returned his look of joy, leaving Kurt wondering if Finn was trying to tell him something, maybe even subconsciously, like he had asked him to yesterday in the car. Overall, whatever meaning there was behind it, Kurt thought they'd done a fantastic job; the club as a whole looked honestly happy for the first time since Vocal Adrenaline's bombshell of a performance.
Everyone was clapping enthusiastically, and Finn knew that they had done what they had set out to do, in that the club seemed to be getting back to their old selves. He looked towards Kurt, who was clapping along with the rest of their friends, and his eyes were sparkling in the way that they did when Kurt was really happy. Finn swelled with fulfilment as he let the feeling of success wash over him; he'd given Kurt his safety net.
"Good job guys, but that's not funk. I mean, the group is called 'Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch' but that is a rap song," Mr Schue said. It never ceased to amaze Kurt how the dynamic in a room could alter so swiftly, it was a very strange phenomenon. Instantly worried, Kurt focussed on Finn's face, which was frozen for the moment in an unrecognisable expression.
Does it really matter Mr Schue?" Artie said flatly, "we're so clinically depressed that we're doing the wrong songs? We're in a deeper funk than ever."
Finn felt like someone had punched him in the gut; he thought that they had done really well at raising the club's spirit, Kurt's specifically, although he hadn't told anybody else about that specific aim, and now they all looked just as downbeat as ever. It was his fault, he had put Kurt through all the hurt and trouble over the last week or so, and now in his chance to try and rectify things, he'd chosen the wrong song. It wasn't much, but it was the straw that broke his back. Finn looked at Kurt once more, and bowed his head, chewing on his lip; he couldn't stop failing, at communication, at leadership, at anything. He could not stop failing.
A/N: Songs – 'Another One Bites the Dust', Queen
- 'Good Vibrations', Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch