Chapter 4
Aladdin, Zebra Rejects and a Date
"You know, you got to be one the scariest, good guys in the world" Jeff said.
Harry shrugged. "That's because I am not a good guy all the time."
Jeff laughed. "Ok, I told you everything I know about Kurt. Can I please stop coloring my tongue purple? The Warblers have been freaked out enough for a while don't you think?"
"Spoil sport" said Harry with a pout and grinned when he caught a glimpse of the purple tongue. "Ruffling their feathers is so easy we can't help ourselves."
"I know, I know" Jeff said chuckling.
"Have they figured out the word yet?" asked Harry.
"Not yet" shrugged Jeff. "But I've been practicing my horrified expression."
"Good" approved Harry proudly.
Jeff hesitated. "Can you promise me something?"
"Depends" Harry said closing his jacket.
"If you ever come clean to Kurt about the phone thing, can you skip the part where I was the one who stole it?" asked Jeff with a wince. "He would kill me if he finds out, that phone is like an extra limb to him."
"I promise" Harry said laughing. "If I haven't said it so far, I do appreciate the help. I wouldn't have invited him to a shopping trip if you hadn't told me he loves it."
"Everybody that speaks to him for more than 5 minutes knows that" Jeff said rolling his eyes. "And, as a constructive criticism, I seriously think you should just do the normal thing and Facebook stalk him."
"I don't have a Facebook" pointed out Harry. "Besides, it feels kind of crass…"
Jeff covered his face with his hands. "Sometimes I swear you stepped out of the Stone Age! And how is harassing me for information less crass than using social media?"
"Bribery and black mail are traditions among old families like mine" shrugged Harry. "We like to think of it as healthy competition, sporting if you will; some might even call it a necessary hobby."
"There are so many things wrong with that statement" Jeff said to a smirking Harry.
"Possible, but come on Aladdin, let's see how much rust we can get out of you" he nudged Jeff with his foot. His friend groaned, but stood up, putting his protective gear on and hoping he would be able to move his upper body by the end of the day.
IIIII
As soon as the bell rang the next day Kurt hurried towards the exit, making only a small detour to leave his books. Blaine had left half an hour early from class and Kurt was secretly glad. He wasn't sure why, but Blaine didn't seem to like Harry very much. Actually, nobody from the Warblers except Jeff seemed to like Harry and his friends.
It wasn't difficult to spot them, what with the twins jumping up and down like excited puppies. Harry smiled at him when he saw him and waved, while Kurt had to struggle not to make a fool of himself.
"Guys, this is Kurt Hummel. Kurt, this is Ron and those two are Fred and George, feel free to address them as twins, or call the closest one by the first name that comes to your mind."
"See how he treats us?" asked twin A. Leaning against Kurt conspiratorially.
"No respect whatsoever" nodded twin B along, repeating the action from his other side.
"Guys, personal space" Ron said with a resigned air. "We had this talk just yesterday!"
"The first one was George and the last one Fred" added Harry opening his car. Kurt took a moment to appreciate the grey Grand Cherokee. It looked well taken care of and new.
"Can he actually difference you or is he guessing?" asked Kurt curiously.
The twins grumbled under their breaths, while Ron smirked and grabbed shot gun. "He can. He's the only person they can't fool."
"So, we heard you rejected Harry" said Fred, whose sweater had a slight thread hanging from his uniform. Kurt decided not to point it out to be able to tell them apart.
"We thank you for the endless supply of jokes it has provided" continued George.
"I..." blushed Kurt.
"Ignore them; they have no idea how to interact with other human beings" Harry said unbothered by the jokes. "Now you two promised to play nice."
"To him" replied George with a smirk. "The fact he rejected you falls completely on your shoulders mate."
"Shows taste and a good head over his shoulders" nodded Fred solemnly. "We are going to have to corrupt you."
"You are far too proper to hang around the likes of us" continued George.
Kurt's lips twitched. "How does sharing a brain work? Do you need to put your heads together to come up with an idea, or do you take turns?"
"Aw, kitty got claws" cooed Fred.
"He's adorable. Harry, can we keep him?"
"So this is what it's like to hang around a person with a bipolar disorder that went so far as to actually splitting up" continued Kurt, encouraged by the fact that nobody stared at him awkwardly for his jokes.
"It was worse when we were kids" offered Ron. "They were separated in preschool and cried every day until they were put together again. I'm fairly certain they did the same to keep themselves together this year too."
"It's like a symbiotic relationship in which they leech from each other" commented Harry, glad that Kurt could handle himself around the twins.
"I suddenly feel unappreciated" mumbled Fred to his brother.
Less than ten minutes later they were all singing along to the radio. The twins purposely going off key to a degree it would have been painful had it not been hilarious. Ron kept making his voice go deep and low, while Kurt showed off his higher notes and Harry pretended to be various instruments. Begrudgingly, Kurt admitted to himself he could make a great addition to the Warblers.
Kurt was laughing along with them, it was hard not to. They were fun to be around and they made an effort of including him. They also had something New Directions lacked. No tensions. In here nobody was backstabbing anybody, or angry at other, or jealous or anything really. They weren't a group of different personalities forced to interact with each other that had come together because of a common enemy and the same goal.
They were friends and they spent time together because they had fun doing it. No pressures, no second motives. By the time they arrived to the mall, Kurt had been told several of the most embarrassing stories of each of the passengers of the car, and the ice had been broken. He corresponded by telling them about some of the worst performance New Directions had put together.
IIIII
"Guys!" they all turned and waved back to a small group of girls.
Hermione hugged and gave a chaste kiss to Ron, turning and hugging the rest of the guys with a bright smile. Two girls turned to the twins and did the same, Luna passed around giving kisses and hugs too. She curtsied in front of Harry.
"My Lord" she said mockingly.
"Don't call me that" he replied in what Kurt assumed was a reflex by now.
"Girls, this is Kurt, Kurt these are Hermione, Angelina, Katie, and Luna" introduced Harry. The girls smiled at him.
"So, this is the guy that kicked our Lord to the curb?" asked Angelina with a smirk.
"Don't call me that" mumbled Harry resigned.
"Do all your friends know me as the guy that said no?" Kurt asked Harry with a raised eyebrow.
"Before you were the new guy with the great voice he wanted to ask out" said Katie, linking arms with Kurt.
"Or as the Hummingbird" said Luna, but she was mostly ignored.
"So Kurt, how are your shopping skills?" asked Angelina grabbing his other arm. Hermione gave Harry a raised eyebrow and turned without saying a word.
"This is going to be a long day isn't it?" whispered Ron next to him.
"Oh yeah" agreed Harry.
"Are you suddenly realizing what you did?" asked Fred with a smirk.
"Oh yeah" mumbled Harry concernedly staring at Kurt, who had been surrounding by the girls and pulled into a store. They found a bench outside and sat down, already used to how things worked during those trips.
"They are going to eat him alive" mumbled George in a foretelling voice.
"I don't know about that, maybe Harry was actually smart about this" Ron said suddenly.
"I've got to hear this" smirked Fred.
"I'd like to know how I was smart about this too, because from where I'm standing I'm feeling pretty stupid" Harry said while letting his head hit the wall.
"Look, the girls had scared away almost every girl you had introduced to the group right?" Ron asked.
"With you so far" nodded Harry.
"Kurt is not a girl" Ron said with a triumphant tone.
"And you only just realized this now?" Harry asked incredulously. "Because I did since he sort of goes to the same all boy's school we do."
"Wait there your Lordship, I think Ron actually has a valid point here" George said while Fred nodded along impressed.
"Don't call me that" mumbled Harry. "Besides, he already said no, meeting the girls is going to send him running to the hills."
"First of all, what hills? Second, the girls always scared other girls away. Maybe they'll be nicer to another guy... I mean, don't girls love gay guys?" asked Ron.
"Oh God, kill me now" whispered Harry.
"Look at it from the bright side, one of these days Luna would bring a guy over and we can scare him away" offered Ron with a smile.
"This is so freaking unfair, why are Luna and me the only ones with this problem?" complained Harry while pushing Ron off the bench.
"We formed the group around you and paired up" George said taking over Ron's seat and passing an arm around his shoulders. Fred did the same from the other side. "In Luna's case, she's the youngest, we all feel protective."
"And let's face it my Lord, you're our fearless leader, whomever you bring will have to rule by your side" he made a swiping motion. "Everything that the artificial light touches..."
Harry pushed him off the bench too and turned to George who raised his hands in a surrendering gesture. "Hey, I just hope to live to see the day somebody actually takes over Hermione's temporarily position as female leader of the group."
"Ok guys, seriously? You took this metaphor too far already, and it doesn't make sense" Harry said with a roll of his eyes.
"Yeah, he's right. Let's find a new one" Fred said clapping his hands from the floor.
"New metaphor for our group dynamic and specify Harry's position... Go!" announced George looking at his watch.
"Dysfunctional family with Harry as the father" Fred said immediately.
"Please, no need to be lazy about it" George said.
"Hell" mumbled Harry. "With me as the condemn soul..."
"Mafia, Harry's the godfather" jumped Ron.
"Torture, with me as the victim…"
"Children's book with Harry as the protagonist and hero and us as secondary characters..." added George.
"Community with Harry as Jeff..." Fred continued.
"I love that show" hummed George.
"Robin Hood, obvious role..."
Harry sighed in resignation. Sometimes he wondered why he didn't get some normal friends.
IIIII
Kurt had enough female friends, and enemies, to know when they were measuring somebody. Hell, he had been in the Cheerios, the most judgmental group of girls in history. They had momentarily separated to pick up their clothes, he was now moving towards the changing room where the girls were already trying out their choices. Kurt breathed once, unsure why he was feeling nervous.
He was Kurt Hummel; he already had a group of amazing girl-friends. Granted, they now lived too far away to see regularly, and yes, he was tired of being surrounded only by guys and fake-Blaine. And yes, he wanted nothing more than somebody to go do retail therapy with during the week, but the point remained that he was not dying for their approval.
They were just Harry's friends. Harry the guy he rejected and wanted to ask out, who was as close to his friends as Kurt was to his if not more. Who would probably care about what they thought about him...
"So, how long had you been at Dalton?" asked Katie while they waited for Hermione and Angelina to get out of the only two dressing rooms.
"Today I finished my second week" Kurt responded examining the articles he had picked up.
"Ok, be honest, what do you think?" asked Angelina exiting in what Kurt could only describe as an outfit that not even Santana would feel comfortable wearing.
"Uh... Fred would love it, that's for sure" responded Katie with a smile. Kurt gave her a horrified look.
"No, I'm sorry, but that outfit is revealing even if you use it as underwear" Kurt said with a shake of his head. Hermione exited then and Kurt shivered.
"How does this look?" asked the girl.
"Not even animals can pull off colored animal prints" said Luna and Kurt at the same time. They turned to each other. Luna smiled. Kurt blinked confused at the amused faces around him.
"Agreed" Hermione said. "Now if you excuse me, I need to get out of his hideous thing. I look like a zebra reject..."
"I look like a cheap whore" complained Angelina doing the same.
"So wait, you did that just to see what I would do?" Kurt asked with a raised eyebrow.
"We hate hypocrites" Luna said easily. "We usually get rid of them by the first store. We'll see how many you last... nice shirt, it goes with your eyes."
"No it doesn't" Kurt said immediately. "It's my uniform..."
Luna smiled again. "Keep that attitude and we might just keep you around Hummingbird" she said with a hum of approval. "How do you feel about Alexander McQueen? The others don't like his style much, but I find him fabulous..."
Things went a lot more smoothly from there.
Hermione reminded Kurt a lot to Rachel, a more down to earth, human friendly version. She was driven and passionate, but she also seemed loyal to her friends and less likely to stab them in the back to climb to the top. Also, her voice was nowhere near as irritating. They had stricken a conversation about gay rights, which moved to politics, religion and a bunch of controversial topics neither was shy to discuss honestly.
"I'm agnostic, because although I do not believe in anything, I cannot simple reject the idea that there might be a deity out there" finished Hermione and moved to pay.
She had taken in stride his atheist beliefs unfazed. She was smart, incredibly so, and although they didn't agree on everything, she wasn't trying to force her point of view, and she actually listened to what Kurt had to say.
"Do you create your own designs too?" asked Luna.
"No, do you?" Kurt asked surprised.
"Of course I do" replied Luna turning her cloudy eyes at him. "I draw mostly, but I've got an elective at Crawford's that is teaching me how to… oh look, Nargles!" she skipped away from him, while Hermione and Katie's hand shot out of nowhere, grabbing her arms and pulling her back.
"We agree Luna, no more going after anything unaccompanied" said Hermione sternly.
"But the Nargles!" she pouted.
"Look, Angelina is eyeing a green skirt" Katie said. Luna snapped her head in that direction.
"But her skin tone…" she said concerned and walked towards her friend, who wasn't even looking at skirts.
Luna was probably best described as a mixture of Brittany and himself. She made weird comments everybody ignored, but at the same time had an impeccable fashion sense and a sharp tongue. They had taken over the duty of judging everybody's outfits. It was fun to have somebody else who fluently talked fashion. Mercedes, for all her good qualities, didn't always made the best clothing choices, she didn't really care about labels, cuts or any of the intrinsically details that made clothes Kurt's passion.
"We really need to start preparing for spring! We've behind already, and with the Nargles around, things will only be more difficult" Luna said as they exited the store. "Come along Hummingbird, there is much to do."
Katie rolled her eyes. "You have no idea how great is to have somebody that can talk clothes with her, even we get tired after a while."
"I feel the same way, there's only so much my friends can take" replied Kurt, Katie smiled at him genuinely. She was definitely the Tina of the group. She was friendly and very easy to get along with. She seemed to prefer to listen more than talk, however she was still more outspoken that Tina.
Angelina winked at them and grabbed Kurt's arm. She reminded him of Mercedes. She was sassy and went straight to the point. She also had a little bit of Santana in her, being brutally honest, without being cruel about it.
"So, why did you say no to our Harry?" case and point.
"I didn't really know him that well" settled for his reply Kurt.
"That's easily solved, just hang around with us more, then after you see how fabulous he is, you can ask him out" decided Angelina.
"Don't listen to her Kurt, if you don't want to go out with Harry you don't have to" Hermione said returning while getting her bag closed. "I mean, if tall, dark and handsome, with a British accent, lovely eyes, a nice sense of humor and a great personality isn't your type, who are we to judge?"
"Subtle" Katie said with a smile.
"He also has a smoking body" added Luna. They all stared at her awkwardly. "Am I the only one that has seen him swimming with Ron?" she asked confused now. "I was sure you were there too…"
The girls shrugged. "When she speaks the truth, she speaks the truth" Angelina said as they exited the store and walked towards the guys.
"Oh thank God" Harry said jumping from the bench and approaching them. "I'm entering the next store with you. It can't be any more painful that what I've been through."
"Pack of wolves!" screamed George at Ron.
"Godfather! I mean seriously, why are we even having this discussion!" yelled Ron back.
"I say we stick to the original" Fred said frustrated, while the girls passed their bags to them, not receiving any type of acknowledgment. Luna passed hers to Harry as they entered the store.
"Want me to hold yours too?" asked Harry walking next to Kurt around the men's department.
"I'm perfectly capable of carrying my own bags" he replied trying not to blush.
"It would be easier to pick other stuff if your hands are free" Harry replied. "How have the girls been treating you so far?"
"I like them" Kurt said with a smile. "They sort of remind me of my friends..." Kurt suddenly cut himself and grabbed a shirt. "You should try this!"
"No thanks" Harry said. "I already have clothes."
"So? That means you can't have any new clothes?" Kurt asked with a raised eyebrow.
"It means I am too lazy to try new clothes" replied Harry with a smirk.
"I'll let you carry my bag" Kurt said while balancing it in front of Harry.
"Not good enough" Harry said holding Luna's bags up. "I already have two..."
"I'll let you carry all my bags" Kurt said with a smile, leaning over the clothes racks towards Harry.
"Nope" replied Harry.
"Harry!" called Hermione. "Can you help me reach those shoes?"
"You're going to have to offer me something better to get me out of my clothes" he raised his nose and pulled the air of an offended woman. "I'm not that easy." He winked at Kurt and turned around, moving towards Hermione.
Kurt blushed, coming to the realization they had been flirting. He stared at the shirt on his hands, the one he had picked up because it would fit Harry and show off his body. He put it back and started looking for things for himself. Maybe he should start preparing a first date outfit, just in case.
Harry continued to alternate between the girls plus Kurt and the boys in between stores. Somehow, and Kurt really wasn't sure how, every time Harry was around they end up innocently flirting. It was incredibly flattering. He also finally understood why the light bantering he did with Blaine was not flirting.
There was an understanding with Harry of what they were doing. When their eyes connected it seemed as if they had an unspoken secret from everybody else. They gave each other little smiles, as if they were strangers that had seen the same thing and found it amusing. Harry's eyes seemed brighter and Kurt was pretty sure his did too. They keep finding excuses to brush fingers or tease each other. Even when they weren't talking about anything, there was something special about the way they interacted.
"Ok, red or aquamarine?" Kurt asked while holding each scarf with a different arm and putting it close to his face. "I mean red says, 'I'm confident and amazing, you don't deserve to be around me' and aquamarine says... well it goes with my skin tone and it's pretty."
"Red definitely, you've gotta keep it around, at least until I see it talking. Blue is just so shallow" Harry said with a serious expression that made Kurt giggle.
"Red it is, and its aquamarine, not blue" replied Kurt. The other one was a lot more expensive. Harry approached and grabbed the aquamarine from his hand and wrapped it around Kurt's neck.
They stared at each other, not noticing how close they were. Kurt felt Harry's finger brush for only a second as he retrieved his hand. He blushed, his whole body going into overdrive. Instead of butterflies, it felt like a can of soda had been shaken and poured onto his stomach, a bubbly feeling spreading across his whole body.
"Who wants a talking scarf anyways?" Harry said with a small smile, he took the scarf back. If Kurt hadn't been busy trying to keep his cool, he would have tried to protest. By the time Harry had paid and wrapped it around his neck again, Kurt was too flattered to be concerned about the fact the scarf clashed horribly with the brand new outfit he had changed into a few stores ago.
"Let me pay you" asked Kurt.
"I don't think so" Harry said simply.
"It was an expensive scarf, I can't just accept it" tried to argue Kurt.
"Let me carry your bags and we'll call it even."
"You are terrible at negotiating" deadpanned Kurt. They shared one of those looks and the whole world passed to be on second plane. He had never felt this way, like he was dethatched from everything happening around him. Harry took advantage of his momentarily distraction and took over his shopping bags. Kurt didn't mind. Shopping transformed into dinner, with only the Weasleys and Harry still wearing their uniforms.
IIIII
"I'm serious!" Katie said with a frustrated air. "Harry! Back me up!"
"Don't you dare Potter" said Hermione with a scowl. "You know I am right..."
"Not taking sides" Harry said over his menu, not bothering to pay attention to the arguing girls.
"Harry!" whined Fred. "Ron is being mean to me!"
"I'm not!" protested Ron hotly. "He's the one that licked my fork and knife!"
"Ask the waiter for another set" mumbled Harry with a roll of his eyes. "Fred, stop licking things..."
Kurt marveled at their dynamic. Harry seemed to be the center of their little group without trying. Nobody was shouting to get attention, but they all still managed to get heard and argue over each other. He couldn't feel anybody begrudging the British guy the position. Their order came naturally to them, instead of being forced like the Warblers.
Kurt found he didn't feel the need to steal the spotlight for possibly the first time in his life. He was comfortable around them, a table of complete strangers. He would never change New Directions for anything, but it was nice. Like jeans he mused, there would always be a favorite pair that fitted just right, were a little torn, but remained always a first option for everything, until you bought a new pair and started wearing them for a while. No matter how great the new jeans were, inevitably you would go back to your favorite pair.
"Are you serious?" asked Kurt trying to contain his laughter.
"Dead serious" replied Hermione with a smirk.
Harry's smile tightening slightly. "Let me tell you how we found out about Hermione's allergy to cats..."
"Potter don't you dare!" Hermione said while the table broke into uncontrollable fits of laughter.
"Hey, if you can tell him about the duck story, I get to tell your cat story..."
"I hate to be a buzz kill, but we need to get going or we'll be late for curfew" said Katie interrupting the argument before it even started.
"Common, you can tell him the story in the car" George said while most of them stood up from their table.
"You need to come with us again next week" Angelina said to Kurt.
"You go shopping every week?" asked Kurt envious, ignoring Katie and George discretely making out in a corner.
"God's no, next week we were planning a movie night at Luna's. Anyways, nice to meet you Kurt" she hugged him and moved to Fred.
"Thanks for helping me pick up my new outfit" said Hermione, waving, Ron following behind her like a puppy.
"My pumpkin's here" Luna said, waving after hugging everybody and skipping towards the parking lot, hands full of bags.
Kurt had not been surprised to see that out of all of them, she had been the most enthusiastic about clothes. Watching her outfit, even if for some odd reason she was wearing all white, he thought that she did have that uniqueness needed to pull things nobody else would dare to try. Maybe he would look back to this in ten years as the moment he realized he met a future big designer.
"Thanks for bringing me" Kurt said when they were alone. "I needed this..."
"Shopping?"
"Being out of Dalton actually, I mean, I appreciate certain aspects of it, but sometimes it feels..."
"Suffocating?" asked Harry with a knowing tone.
"Precisely!" Kurt smiled and shifted uncomfortably. "Would you... would you like to go out sometime?"
Harry blinked and stared at Kurt with a confused look. "Just so you know Kurt, you don't have to date me to hang around with us, the girls like you, the guys like you and I like you..."
"I'm not asking because of that, I actually..." Kurt played with his hands awkwardly. "I think I was too fast in dismissing your offer."
"What changed your mind?" asked Harry curiously. He hadn't even gotten to go into part three of his plan, not that he would complain about that.
"Actually having a conversation with you for a start" smiled Kurt. "That and, we have been flirting during this whole shopping trip, you are carrying my bags and... it feels natural, nice even. I don't feel like I have to filter myself with you, which is strange, because I've been talking mostly about my favorite designers and I think you might actually have been listening, even though you are clearly not interested in clothes..."
"Coco Channel and Alexander McQueen, who regrettably are both dead" summed up Harry.
"Might their legacy forever live" whispered Kurt, gaining a laugh from Harry. "I have never had a boyfriend before" he winced "I have never even been on a date before. I am new to this whole 'dating' stuff. I didn't think I would have to worry about it until I moved far away from here and now that is actually happening, I'm kind of lost..."
"Do you have plans for tomorrow night?"
"Not yet" Kurt answered with a hopeful tone.
"Let me take you out then. I'll even offer some once in a lifetime commentary so you realize how easy it is" Harry gave him a sort of lopsided smiled that made Kurt's heart beat faster.
"I thought I was asking you out this time" he asked with his own smile.
"Well, for the record, I deny your invitation, this way we are even and we cancel each other's no" Harry started to move towards the parking lot, still carrying all of Kurt's bags. He extended an arm and Kurt didn't hesitate to link his with it.
"So, about that commentary... be very descriptive, I need to know what to wear."
"I'll pick you up at your room at 6. I'll tell you how gorgeous or breath taking you look. I can tell you from now that I would mean it. Because you already are..."
"Oh really?" asked Kurt looking away, trying to hide his blush.
"Would I lie to you?" they exchanged an amused look. "Moving on, I'll take you to a nice restaurant, nothing too fancy that you would feel the need to whisper, but not a fast food place either. Then, pending on how many awkward silences there are we can either go see a horror film or a romantic comedy..."
"Reasoning being?" asked Kurt mentally taking notes.
"If there's a lot of tension, the best bet is a romantic comedy that would make you say 'awww' and be hopeful about the rest of the evening, while at the same time giving you a topic of conversation to avoid more silence. Or a horror film if things are going alright in which you can pretend to be scared..."
"So you put your arm around me?" asked Kurt with a raised eyebrow.
"See? You're a natural" Kurt smiled at him genuinely. Harry made a gesture with his head and Kurt turned to see the Weasleys waiting by the car, all pretending to be looking at anything but them.
"I asked him out" Kurt said with a roll of his eyes, when they were inside of the car and the silence became unbearable.
"I said no" said Harry smugly. "And then I asked him out and he said yes."
"Great, now we can't tease him about it" whined Fred.
"I still said no the first time" Kurt tried to console him.
"And his negative cancelled yours" George wiped a fake tear.
Fred's voice became progressively higher. "I just thought we could hold onto this longer" he started sobbing against George.
"I apologize in behalf of my family" said Ron giving him a resigned stare.
"I just apologize" added Harry turning the music louder.
Kurt bit his lips at the twin's dramatics. His eyes connecting with Harry in the review mirror and his stomach flipped. He smiled shyly and looked away. Things were definitely starting to look up.
IIIII
"I asked him out and he said no, and right after he asked me out and I said yes, well technically he asked me out at the same time he was saying no, but it doesn't matter..." Kurt said as soon as Mercedes answered. "We are going out tomorrow!" he rushed to finish. He had to put the phone away from his ear because of the screaming on the other side.
"Ok, ok, oh my God this is so exciting! Let me turn on my computer and we can pick up your outfit and you can tell me every single detail!" the line went dead and Kurt smiled as he picked up his laptop.
IIIII
"Mercedes I can't do this!" Kurt said while he frantically tried to arrange his hair. "I don't think what we chose is going to be appropriate, and what if he doesn't like it? I think I look fat in it. And my hair! My hair Mercedes! It looks like I combed it with a blender, he's going to be here any minute and..." there was a knock on the door and Kurt froze staring at the door in horror, face going incredibly pale.
"He's here" he whispered. "Mercedes he's here!" in a louder voice he said. "Give me a minute!"
"Ok white boy, this is what's going to happen. First, stop acting like he's a monster out of a horror movie" she said full diva on. "You are going to hang up and you are going to open that door and go on your date in your amazing outfit, in which you do not look fat in at all by the way. You will be amazing, and charm the living hell out of the British boy and come back and tell me all about it, and also tell me where in heaven's name I can find a picture of him, because he's like a ghost. I can't find his Facebook!"
"I'll ask him so I can add him and you can see how insanely hot he is" he promised with a laugh.
"Alright then, where was I? Oh yeah, and when you get married, because by then it will be legal, I'm going to be your bridesmaid and give a speech about this very moment!"
Kurt couldn't help but laugh. "I think we're getting ahead of ourselves, but you're right Mercedes. Love you girl, I'll call you later."
He took one deep breath, one last look at the mirror and frowned. With quick movements he grabbed one of his hats and moved it slightly to the side. Perfect. He opened the door. Harry turned around and gave him a big smile while Kurt took a moment to see what was in front of him.
"You clean up nicely" Kurt said with a hum. Harry was wearing black washed up jeans that showed off his amazing legs. Kurt wasn't that into legs, but wow, seriously, was fencing that good for someone's legs? He also wore a long sleeved dark green shirt that opened up the first few buttons and a black leather jacket.
"Sorry" Harry said shaking his head. "You look amazing..."
"Gorgeous or breath taking?" asked Kurt grabbing his keys, phone, wallet and jacket. He had a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, with a shirt of the same color, a silver vest, tie and hat.
"I would have to go with gorgeously breath taking" responded Harry. He pulled a single flower and presented it to Kurt. "I thought about bringing a whole bouquet and decided it seemed a little too much."
Kurt grabbed it with gentle fingers and tried to keep the smile forming on his face from being ridiculously large. "This feels an awful lot like a cliché."
Harry leaned on the dorm frame while Kurt grabbed one of the water bottles he kept around and placed the flower inside.
"This is your first date. I can get away with clichés, that way you can look back on it and say that your first date was straight out of a movie" he stepped away as Kurt locked the door.
"So sure of yourself?" Kurt asked feeling more relaxed. Things so far had always came naturally when he was around Harry. It seemed the date would go like that too. It was a nice change from overthinking all his interactions with his previous crushes.
"I gotta be, otherwise I wouldn't have the guts to ask you out... especially after that gut wrenching first attempt" Harry said in good humor.
"You seemed to take it well" commented Kurt.
"I am the type that suffers behind closed doors" Harry said with a teasing smirk. "I assure you, I was properly devastated."
The drive to the restaurant was comfortable. They started talking about Kurt's friends in New Directions, his family, things he liked and generally getting to know each other. Harry talked about the friends he had already met, and others he hadn't.
"Do you have some other extracurricular activity besides fencing?" asked Kurt as Harry entered the parking lot.
Having a father for a mechanic Kurt had seen first-hand how nasty accidents could be. Burt had ensured Kurt would never consider speeding, and the day before he had noticed how careful Harry was when he drove. He knew very few people who drove well enough for him to feel completely relaxed around. His dad, sober Santana (huge surprise there), Artie's mom and himself. Now after Harry had unknowingly passed Kurt's driving test, he couldn't help but like him even more.
"I'll tell you about it in a minute" Harry said. "Would you be offended or flattered if I open your door?" he asked with a playful smirk.
"If you hadn't asked I would have acted offended, but secretly I would had been flattered" whispered Kurt dramatically. "But since you did, I'll allow it." He barely managed not to giggle as Harry opened his door with a flourish.
"How about the chair?" asked Harry; imitating Kurt's dramatic whisper as they walked towards the entrance of the restaurant.
"Definitively not" Kurt said. "I don't trust you with my chair just yet..."
"Fair enough, we'll get there" he opened the door of the restaurant and Kurt raised an eyebrow. "If you can't trust me with chairs, you gotta give me doors."
"You drive a hard bargain good sir, but I'll take it..."
"Welcome to Vienna!" said a peppy hostess. "Do you have a reservation?" Kurt was impressed. The restaurant was tasteful, casual enough that dark jeans would do it, but had enough class to need a reservation. He spotted a few people at the bar, waiting and wondered if they would have to do the same.
"Potter, table for two" Harry said.
"Right this way" said the hostess and grabbed two menus. Their table was in a good spot; far away enough from sight that it wouldn't attract too much attention, but without being reclusive.
"Do you come here often?" asked Kurt, taking in all the details so he could relay them to Mercedes, and possibly Tina, later on.
"Yeah, this is the group's celebration restaurant" explained Harry. "We came here when Ron broke the 200 meters school record, after Hermione aced a test she had been stressing about, Fred and George's victory in the doubles tournament, Angelina being named volleyball captain, and some other stuff I can't remember... this is the first time I come without the group actually."
"I'm flattered" replied Kurt, starting to eye the menu. After placing their orders for food and drinks they reassumed conversation.
"I also do football" Harry said. "And by football I refer to what you know as soccer, which makes no sense and I will not say anymore in that subject, otherwise I would enter a very long rant about properly naming stuff. I'm co-captain... well, that's the title, but the truth is that my role is to keep our captain from going crazy."
"Captain of the fencing team and co-captain of the football team" said Kurt with an impressed air. That explained the legs... possibly the ass too. He made a mental note of researching soccer if the date went well. "I can't believe you are a jock."
"I've got the hoodies to prove it" Harry said proudly. "How about you? Did you use to do something besides Glee?"
"Believe it or not, for a brief time, I was in my old school's American football team. I was a kicker" Kurt said and was pleased to note that Harry didn't show any signs of skepticism.
"Very impressive" said Harry with a respectful nod. "Shame Dalton doesn't have any free spots now."
"I wouldn't be interested anyways. But if you play it right, I might go cheer for one of your games instead" he pointed at Harry with a finger. "But no uniform..."
"So close" Harry said, pretending to be defeated. "I bet you would have looked great in a cheerleading uniform."
If only he knew thought Kurt.
There were no awkward pauses between them, which shouldn't be a surprise with Kurt as one of the participants of the conversation. However what really made things work was how different they were.
"Have you ever had a boyfriend before?" asked Kurt, twirling the straw of his drink as the waiter grabbed their now empty plates. The food had been better than breadsticks, much better than anything he had hoped for tonight.
"My first relationship was with a boy, Cedric, he was two years older" Kurt liked that there was not a trace of shame there. "I dated a girl after that, last year. She's Ron's sister."
"What happened there? Realized girls weren't for you?" asked Kurt in a light tone. He probably should have left this conversation for another day.
Harry turned serious. "Kurt... I want to be clear about this, so that there is no misunderstanding. I am bisexual."
"I always considered bisexual a term that gay guys in high school use when they wanna hold hands with girls and feel like a normal person for a change" Kurt wanted to smack his mouth the moment the words came out. Harry stared at him seemingly astounded by his attitude.
Finally Harry started slowly, making Kurt feel awful when he saw how he was being treated. He had reacted in a similar way to how the bullies did, only considering his view as the valid choice. Now Harry seemed to be trying to find a way not to offend him about something that was a part of who he was.
"I date people for who they are, and I know that's a sappy line, but it's the truth. I would be equally proud to hold hands with a guy than with a girl..." Harry paused and felt the need to add. "If my orientation is uncomfortable or a deal breaker to you Kurt, then I can drive us back and we can remain friends. No pressure."
"I'm sorry" Kurt said immediately. "That was insensitive of me... and it probably made me sound like a, what would be the appropriate term for this?"
"Close minded or judgmental are the most politically correct terms I can come up with at the moment" joked Harry.
"Yes, that would work" he gave Harry his most honest and apologetic face. "I'm sorry. I reacted poorly. Can we still go to the movies? I don't consider it a deal breaker, I hope you don't consider what I said one..."
"It's alright" Harry said while grabbing the bill. "But are you sure you don't mind?"
"I hate that you're being so understanding. In your position I would have been incredibly offended and would have given a dramatic... hey! I'm supposed to pay half..."
Harry shrugged. "You snooze and your understanding date takes advantage and pays."
"I'm pretty sure that's not how it goes" Harry smiled and didn't budge, so he changed the subject. "What are we watching? Horror or..." Kurt's heart raised, it would give him a better idea of how badly he had screwed up.
"Neither" said Harry enigmatically. "I found a better option."
"Where's my commentary? I was promised a commentary" complained Kurt.
"I stick to those two genres in normal dates, because it's a relative safe way to not screw things up. But I think you're going to enjoy this more. You deserve a really amazing first date."
It was hard to find an argument for that. They stood up and put on their jackets. Before they started walking towards the exit, Harry offered his hand. Kurt blushed, mostly because it reminded him of what he had said and grabbed it hesitantly. Harry's palm was bigger than his and rougher too. They started walking and he noticed how some people stared after them in obvious disapproval. Harry remained unfazed, smiling at Kurt over his shoulder and with his head held high.
Kurt squeezed and Harry squeezed back.
It was strangely reassuring.