A/N I'm glad people are loving this story so far. I promise, I will continue with A Second bite, too, but I need a short break from that story, as I have run into a bit of writers block on it.
Reviews are like kittens, warm and fuzzy.
…
"So, Anderson, looks like you won't be Dalton's top science nerd for much longer," Jeff said, as he and Nick sat down beside the dapper Warbler at breakfast on Monday.
Blaine looked at the blonde boy in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Nick and I just came through the admin office, and they were welcoming a new student. I heard them call him by name. Kurt Hummel is now a Dalton boy."
Blaine raised an eyebrow. "Kurt Hummel? The boy who won the all state science fair four years in a row? Awesome! I based my pheromone research on his presentation about how if we could regulate certain chemical reactions within the body we could reduce instances of violence."
Jeff nodded. "His presentation on the effects of GMOs on the bee population inspired my research on how they have impacted other aspects of the environment."
Nick rolled his eyes as he smiled at the two other boys. "I have no clue what you two are talking about. Jeff is the brains in this relationship."
Jeff smiled at his boyfriend. "Don't sell your self short, babe. You are a sensitive poet. You have a way with words I'll never be able to master."
They smiled and shared a quick kiss. Blaine just laughed at the antics of his two best friends. Secretly he wished he had someone who would love him the way his two friends loved each other. He freely admitted that he was a little bit jealous of his friends.
"I wonder why Hummel transferred here?" He asked.
"He got a death threat at his old school." David said as he and Wes joined them.
"What?" Blaine said, shocked.
"Dean Michealson called us in Friday afternoon and told us a new boy was transferring after getting threats, and that he wanted to audition for the Warblers." Wes sounded a little more skeptical than David had. "Seems fishy to me to have someone transfer so close to Sectionals and want to try out."
"Poor kid," Blaine thought, remembering the incident at his old school that lead to his transfer to Dalton. He hoped the boy would feel welcomed here with it's zero tolerance bullying policy.
…
"Kurt, I'd like to introduce you to Trent," Dean Michealson said, indicating a dark haired boy with kind eyes and a sunny face. "He's a Junior, like you. He'll show you to your classes the first couple days, and help you acquaint yourself with the routine. He's also a member of the Warblers. I know you expressed an interest in joining them. I've talked to the council members, and they will contact you sometime today to set up an audition."
"Thank you, sir. I appreciate it." Kurt shook the older man's hand as he and the other boy left the office.
"So, Kurt is it?" Trent said as they walked. "Where did you transfer from?"
Kurt shrugged. "William McKinley, in Lima."
"McKinley? Were you in New Directions?"
He nodded. "Yeah. I know they are competing against you guys at Sectionals this year. The lead singer, Rachel Berry was furious when she found out I was transferring here. Told me I better not sell them out to 'the enemy.'"
Trent snorted. "She sounds like a female version of Wes, our lead councilman. I'm sure when he talks to you about auditioning he'll make you swear a blood oath that you aren't here to mess with us before the competition."
Kurt laughed a little at that. "I promise, I'm not here to pull a Jesse St. James on you all."
The larger boy looked at him curiously. "Jesse St. James? From Vocal Adrenaline?"
He nodded. "Yeah, last year, just before Regionals, he transferred to McKinley and dated Rachel, but it was all a ploy to throw us off our game. He transferred back to Carmel High a few days before the competition. Oh, and he and the rest of VA egged her. And she's a vegan."
"Ouch. Well, This is your first class, AP English Lit. Ms. Thompson is very British, and, yes, she is related to Emma. Kind of looks like her a little too. Everyone loves her. I'll be back at the end of class to take you to French."
"Thanks, Trent."
The other boy smiled, and the hallway seemed brighter for it.
Kurt took a seat near the front of class. English Lit wasn't his favorite subject, but he did enjoy reading. His eidetic memory and speed reading abilities gave him an advantage in that department, but he often found writing essays about what he read tedious. It wasn't because he didn't understand what he read, just that there were other things he found more fascinating.
A dark haired boy sat beside him, and smiled kindly, his sky blue eyes friendly and welcoming. "Hi, I'm Nick. You must be the new kid, Kurt. I saw you in the admin building earlier."
Kurt smiled at him, trying not to let his nerves or shyness show. He wanted to present an air of confidence and self assurance. He knew Dalton had a zero tolerance bullying policy, but he thought that there was no point in making himself more of a target than necessary. He'd made himself over with a new hair style, new clothes, and contacts instead of glasses that made his eyes look like they were about to pop out of his head. "Nice to meet you."
"My boyfriend, Jeff is going to be jealous when I tell him I got to meet you before he did. He and our friend were fan-girling about you at breakfast."
"Fan-girling?" Kurt was confused. Why would anyone fan-girl over him? And did this kid just say he had a boyfriend?
"They are both science fanatics. You're GMO presentation actually beat Jeff's presentation on the effects of invasive flora and fauna on native Ohio wildlife three years ago at the all state science fair."
"Oh, are you talking about Jeffrey Sterling? I was really impressed by his presentation. I thought it was well researched. I've always wanted to ask him about the technique he used for tracking the population of the Pieris Rapae and other native insects. I look forward to meeting him."
Nick smiled as Ms. Thompson entered and began the class. Kurt could see why Trent had said everyone loved the middle aged woman. She had a rich voice that made you think of hot chocolate beside a cozy fire on a winter's evening as snow fell outside. They were reading the Canterbury Tales. Kurt had already read them before, with his mother, before she had passed away. She had loved Chaucer. And when Ms. Thompson asked for someone to read a particular passage, he raised his hand, quoting from memory.
"Very good, Mr. Hummel." She smiled kindly at him. "Now someone else read the next passage, please."
Nick glanced over at him with a smile as he raised his hand. The dark haired boy also quoted without the aid of the book. At the end of class, the two boys chatted about Chaucer and literature as they gathered their books.
"It was nice to meet you, Kurt. I hope you enjoy it here at Dalton. Hey Trent, see you at lunch!" Nick said, with a wave to his fellow Warbler.
"Later, Nick. So, how was your first class at Dalton?" The boy asked Kurt.
"Interesting. The Teacher was much more passionate about the subject than my teacher back at McKinley. At least Ms. Thompson doesn't sound like a chain smoker who guzzles a gallon of whiskey every morning. We'd never have covered Chaucer, or anything else even remotely related to classical literature. They are probably reading Twilight this week."
Trent laughed softly. "Your old school sounds...interesting. You're in Mme. Guillaume's French 5 class next. She's from Bordeaux. She looks a little like Bellatrix Lestrange. She's strict, so I suggest you make sure she likes you."
Kurt laughed. "French is my favorite subject after science. I think I can manage."
And he did. Mme. Guillaume was very impressed with his perfect pronunciation and accent. He complimented her on her dedication to teaching, and explained to her, in flawless French, that the French teacher at his previous school was not a native speaker, and had barely any concept of the language at all.
He had two more classes before lunch; AP Calculus and AP History. History was probably his worst subject. He relied on his eidetic memory to get him through, as he found it boring to learn all those dates and who massacred whom and why. Charlemagne? Really? Why did they have to learn every little detail about someone who had died hundreds of years ago?
At lunch, Trent invited him to sit with some of his fellow Warblers. Kurt was happy to see Nick there, and to be introduced to the blonde boy beside him. "Hey, Kurt, this is Jeff, my boyfriend. I know you two will become fast friends."
Jeff laughed and shook his hand. The two immediately hit it off, talking about science. They were so engrossed in their discussion, they didn't hear Wes and David arrive at the table and ask Nick where Blaine was.
"He had a quick sandwich and headed back to the lab, said he wanted to test out a theory or something. Have you met Kurt yet?"
The pale boy looked up at the mention of his name. David smiled at him, but Wes was appraising. "I heard you were in the show choir at McKinley. I better not learn that you transferred here just to spy on the Warblers before Sectionals."
Kurt smiled, though he felt intimidated by this Asian boy. "I promise, I am not here to spy. That happened to New Directions last year. I wouldn't stoop to that. I transferred here because I no longer felt safe at my old school, and Dalton not only has a top notch show choir, but a state of the art science lab."
Wes still looked doubtful. "Well, we have rehearsals this afternoon at 4:30 sharp. You can audition then. Just so you know, we vote on new members. In case of a tie, The council is the final word. You better come to impress."
Kurt nodded, and thought Trent's earlier observation of the council leader's personality was accurate. He definitely reminded Kurt of a male version of Rachel Berry. He'd already chosen his audition song, and thought it was befitting, all things considered. He really wanted to join the Warblers, and maybe meet the boy whose voice had made him feel things he had never thought possible before.
Was it one of the boys he had already met? There was no way to tell until he heard them sing. He only hoped it wasn't Nick or Jeff. They were both good looking, but he didn't feel comfortable thinking he might have been lusting after someone else's boyfriend. Of course, the mystery boy may be someone's boyfriend already. He probably had a girlfriend.
He mentally shook the thoughts from his head, finished his lunch, and then went to the science lab. He hadn't needed Trent to show him the way. He'd actually been there Friday afternoon when he and his Dad had come to register him. He'd already dropped off his cages of mice, and been introduced to the instructor, Dr. Mellard.
Now he entered, a smile on his face, happy to be there. He moved to the work station he'd been assigned, and checked on his mice, slipped on his lab coat, and began working on his notes. He had made a list of experiments he wanted to try, but he needed to perfect the formula/pheromone ratio for humans first. He could only estimate how much of each he had spilled on himself that day when Noah had startled him. He'd been working on the adjustments all weekend long at home, and thought he was close to the proper ratio, but had run out of his supply of the pheromones.
He went to the storage room to find what he needed, and nearly ran into a boy with overly gelled hair who was coming out. The shorter boy apologized absently as he straightened up.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying atten...Kurt Hummel! Oh my god, You're Kurt Hummel!"
Kurt smiled and nodded. "That would be me. And you are Blaine Anderson. I recognize you from last year's all state science fair. I was really impressed with your presentation on the mating habits of the Actias Luna. It's nice to meet you."
Blaine grinned. "I'm sorry for going fan-girl on you. I heard you had transferred here and I've been looking forward to meeting you all day."
Kurt blushed a little. This must also be the Blaine he had overheard talking to the boy in the empty classroom last week when he came to spy. "So, you are working on something to do with pheromones, too?"
"Huh?" Blaine said, and then glanced down to the vial he was holding, and seeing the label. Now it was his turn to blush. "Oh, yes. I'm trying to prove once and for all if humans are affected by pheromones. I've had some response in small mammals, and soon hope to test on larger animals."
"Interesting. My current project involves pheromones as well, as a behavior modifier. You know most people only associate pheromones with mating, but they are so much more complex."
"Oh, definitely. Perhaps we could compare notes on our research some day. I'd like to see your work."
They smiled awkwardly at each other, Kurt watched the smaller boy go, before heading in to the store room. He found what he needed, and headed back to his station. By the end of the double class period, he was certain he was ready to test his mixture, but he hesitated. He could try it out in the hallways, but he really wouldn't have the chance to analyze the effects as the boys moved rapidly between classes. And he didn't want to try it out during his last class of the day because it could cause a distraction for the other boys.
As he considered how he was going to test the formula, an image formed in his mind of a scowling Asian boy. Should he try it out during his audition? Would it be considered undue influence? He knew he had the talent to be in the Warblers, but the way Wes had looked at him convinced him that the older boy didn't want him in the group. Would the boy give him a fair shot?
Kurt felt his resolve firming. He would test the formula out that afternoon at the audition.
…
He stood outside the door, waiting nervously to be called in. He was still debating with himself whether to go through with using the formula. Finally he yanked the vial out of his pocket, and before he could talk himself out of it, he dabbed two drops on to his wrists. He'd just slipped the bottle back into his pocket when the door opened.
He was surprised when Blaine stood there, smiling at him. Blaine was a Warbler? "Are you ready for this?" The shorter boy asked.
Kurt smiled and nodded, stepping in to the room. He moved to stand in front of the table where three boys sat. David sat to his left, and a boy he hadn't met yet sat to his right. Both of them smiled reassuringly at him. Wes sat directly in front of him, a slight frown on his face. Kurt handed his CD to Trent and faced the council again. "Hello, my name is Kurt Hummel, and I'll be singing a classic by The Searchers."
The music started, and Kurt smirked as he started to sing.
I took my troubles down to Madame Rue
You know that gypsy with the gold-capped tooth
She's got a pad down on Thirty-Fourth and Vine
Sellin' little bottles of Love Potion No. 9
Kurt grinned and danced around the room. He knew the moment the formula kicked in. The boys had all been watching him with smiles on their faces, but soon the smiles turned to wide grins, and several of the boys stood up and started dancing with him.
I told her that I was a flop with chicks
I've been this way since 1956
She looked at my palm, and she made a magic sign
She said, what you need is Love Potion No. 9
Kurt smiled at Blaine, who had begun harmonizing with him, and danced beside him. He turned to face Wes, and dropped down into a squat and winked at him as he sang the next line. He could see the boy was fighting to remain impassive.
She bent down and turned around and gave me a wink
She said, I'm gonna make it up right here in the sink
It smelled like turpentine, it looked like Indian ink
I held my nose, I closed my eyes, I took a drink
Kurt playfully blew kisses at several boys, and winked at Blaine as he continued dancing around the room, teasing Nick and Jeff, making them both laugh.
I didn't know if it was day or night
I started kissin' everything in sight
But when I kissed that cop down at Thirty-Fourth and Vine
He broke my little bottle of Love Potion No. 9
He stood directly in front of Wes now, and leaned forward, brushed imaginary lint off the older boy's shirt, before dancing off again.
I held my nose, I closed my eyes, I took a drink
I didn't know if it was day or night
I started kissin' everything in sight
But when I kissed that cop down at Thirty-Fourth and Vine
He broke my little bottle of Love Potion No. 9
Several boys were crowded around him as he sang the last couple of lines. They were laughing and spinning him from one dance partner to the next, until he accidentally stumbled against Blaine, who caught him in a dip. They stared into each others' eyes as Kurt held the last note of the song.
Love Potion No. 9
Love Potion No. 9
Love Potion No. 9
The two remained where they were for a moment after the song drifted away, and the room was silent. And then Wes began to clap, and the others joined in enthusiastically. Blushing, Blaine righted the pale boy, who was also flushed. Their hearts were racing as they glanced at each other shyly.
And then reality came crashing down on Kurt. Blaine was only reacting to the formula. None of it was real.
What had he done?
