Thanks so much for the reviews, everyone. They make me laugh when I read them (:
Also, I have replayed the promo for The First Time literally like ten times. I can't stop, the music and the clips are just so INTENSE. And I can't stop listening to the new West Side Story songs that were released! I'm a theatre geek so I was practically in tears of excitement when I heard the covers :D
Giving people bad news is always heartbreaking. Especially when the people you're telling are your friends.
Finn and Blaine stood at the front of the choir room, side by side, staring at their feet. After Mr. Schue gave them permission to make a very important announcement, that's when people started asking questions.
"Wait, where's Kurt?" asked Brittany. "We can't start without him. Remember what happened the last time we had a group meeting without him?"
"I haven't seen him all day," Puck shrugged, "He's probably just playing hooky. Look at me, I've never been to math."
"We've been meaning to talk to you all about that," said Finn. Everyone gave questioning looks.
"Kurt... he's not going to be at school for the next couple of days or so, and possibly later on through out the year," Blaine said.
"How come?" asked Tina.
"And why can't he come here and tell us this himself?" Rachel demanded, a little bit of worry quivering in her voice.
"He's actually in the hospital right now," Finn explained, "He's been there since Friday night and he probably won't be back at school until Wednesday or Thursday."
"The hospital?" Mercedes gasped. "What happened to my boy?"
Finn and Blaine looked at each other, unsure of what to say or how to tell their friends the news. They stared at each other, asking do you want to tell them or should I? through eye contact. The group was becoming impatient and Blaine finally spoke.
"Guys...Kurt's dying."
Everybody became a statue, frozen in whatever expression they were doing for the entire time Blaine spoke.
"I...He has leukemia. Blood cancer...listen, I know what you're all thinking. I was just like you when I found out. And please don't be mad at him... he only kept it from us all because he didn't want anyone to treat him differently because of it."
"But we would never treat him differently," Quinn chocked.
"I know," Blaine resumed, "He knows that now, too. I understand that this is all really hard on all of us. I love Kurt just as much as you guys do. And we're all a team now. We can't sit here and feel bad for ourselves when Kurt needs us the most."
"How...how did this..." Brittany stuttered.
Blaine tried his best to keep the tears inside. "The cancer isn't at it's worst right now. Not yet, at least. As for treatments, well...nothing really has been...um...working for Kurt right now."
More silence. "Why?" Sam asked.
Blaine shook his head sadly. "I have no idea. It never worked for him in the past. But right now, he's sitting in that hospital room, and um, he's waiting for us. He really wants to see all of you, and he really loves us, guys. Trust me."
He couldn't take the looks on the faces of his comrades. Some people had their jaws wide open, some just staring at Finn and Blaine like they spoke a different language, some covering their mouths, trying to hide their expressions. Everyone, even Mr. Schue felt their blood turn to ice. Blaine hated seeing Rachel and Mercedes the most. The two clutched hands and had small but meaningful tears silently streaming down their cheeks. Mr. Schue was sitting on a stool, his hand covering his mouth, his eyes shifting all over the room.
"He wants to see you guys," Finn said suddenly. "After school. He really wants to, and I thin it would mean a lot to him."
"I'm there," Puck said almost right away. "For sure, I'm there." Everyone else nodded in agreement. It would be the first step of hell with all of them together.
AFTER SCHOOL.
Visiting hours were open until 7:00 pm. The glee kids moved slowly and almost ghostly across the white hallways together, some holding hands and others just wanting to keep it together. It was quite a lot of people to be visiting one person, especially inside such a tiny room. But nobody minded.
Blaine and Finn lead everyone into room 245. The blue curtain was pulled back this time, allowing people to peer inside. There was a nurse by Kurt's side, clearing some things off of the little table next to the railing bed that Blaine despised so much. The nurse walked past the group, saying, "He just woke up, but he's been asking for you all day."
The group shuffled into the room a little uncomfortably, still taking in the news that they found out a few hours ago. They all thought that this was unfair, finding out such awful news and then expected to face it without fear. Kurt was lying in the bed, sitting up slightly because the bed was positioned to. He blinked up at his friends, and then smiled. Like nothing could hurt him, no matter how many times he passed out or was injected with chemicals, the smile was always the same. Bright, hopeful, free of pain.
"Hi guys," Kurt said. "Thank you so much for coming."
"We came in a heartbeat," Artie said, rolling his wheelchair next to Kurt's side.
"Yeah, Kurt," said Santana, "Any time you need us to be here…let us know."
There was the smile again, but it turned into a sad one as he spoke. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you about this earlier. I had a lot of reasons for keeping this to myself, but you guys are my best friends and I know I should have-"
"Don't apologize, Kurt," Rachel smiled. Rachel was like Kurt when it came to her smile: big and cheerful. "We understand completely."
"We were just so worried," said Tina.
"Yeah," Mike spoke up, who was holding hands with Tina. "It kind of just…sort of…"
"Knocked you over?" suggested Kurt. Mike nodded.
"I don't want you guys to worry," Kurt told them, "I mean, right now, it's fine. I'm going to be alright for the time being. If we worry about it, it's only going to make things worse. It won't help any of us feel better, trust me."
This reminded Blaine of when they had their little conversation the morning after they made love. The thought brought sudden warmth to Blaine's body, almost making him smile, but not quite. It was so easy for Kurt to tell people not to worry, because he was somehow not worrying at all. But it's different, to watch the person you care about more than anything in this world suffer. But the New Directions just smiled and nodded, obviously wanting to fight off tears at the sight of their friend lying in a hospital room.
The rest of the afternoon was spent with the occasional question or so about Kurt, which didn't make him feel uncomfortable at all. He answered each question carefully, making sure not to hurt anyone with his words. Sometimes he had to watch his tongue while talking about this stuff. Even a few laughs were able to make their way into the conversation. It didn't all have to be so terrible after all. What mattered the most was that the glee club was a team. They stuck together, even when they had drama every week. Things like this reminded them just how strong they really were, especially in a tough time like this. At sectionals when their songs were stolen? They came up with new ones right on the spot. When Quinn got pregnant? Mercedes let her live with her and the ND took her in when she had nowhere else to turn. When Santana finally came out as a lesbian? No one judged her. But it was only because they pushed through together that made them stable enough to stand.
It was getting late at night and soon, Dr. P. Avery came into the room, sliding past the curtain and gently saying, "Sorry folks. Visiting hours are almost over. Kurt needs his rest."
One by one, the glee kids said goodbye to Kurt and shuffled out the room. But of course, it was Rachel and Mercedes who came up on either sides of Kurt's bed and kissed his cheeks at the same time. Kurt giggled that soon turned into a loud laugh as he took the girls' hands. Blaine smiled.
Mercedes ruffled Kurt's hair a little, but Kurt smacked it away gently.
"Ahem?" Kurt gasped. "What are you doing, Mercedes? You know you're not aloud to touch this!" Kurt pointed to his hair.
Mercedes laughed. "I'm sorry, boo. I had to."
Kurt rolled his eyes but smiled, and with that, the glee club left the room. Already, Kurt missed their presence, wishing they would come back and have a sleepover with him or something in the little room.
"Well," he sighed, "That went well."
"You're amazing," Blaine scooted closer to Kurt, "How do you do it?"
"I don't know, it comes naturally, I guess," Kurt winked. He stretched his neck up and kissed Blaine on the lips, making Blaine sit down on the bed next to Kurt.
When they broke apart, Blaine sighed and took Kurt's hand, rubbing his fingers. "I have to get going."
Kurt frowned. "Don't."
Blaine kissed Kurt's shoulder through the thin hospital garment. "I'm sorry baby; I don't want them to kick me out."
Kurt threw his arms around Blaine's neck and buried his head in the warm shoulder. "Promise you'll come back?" Kurt muttered.
"As soon as I can," Blaine whispered, kissing Kurt on the forehead. "Get some rest. I'll be here before you know it."
Kurt smiled. "Okay. Goodnight Blaine."
"Goodnight, Kurt."
And Blaine was out the door, dreading the moment when he would have to sit at a desk all day tomorrow and stare off into space.