I'm back! I have missed you guys so so much, I cannot possibly tell you! Even when I was read by the poolside, or looking out of the view from the upstairs lounge (designated 'Lu's writing room'), I was thinking of you. You were on my mind every single day. I was getting updates from the simply amazing Coatsy about views and reviews. And I had a mini heart attack. Seriously guys? Since I've been away, they've almost DOUBLED! I was just over 500, I have now hit the 1000! When I heard I giggled like an idiot for about three hours. Just- wow!
I've been doing some calculations, and I think I may need Coatsy to upload the next chapter for me again - I am going to the Olympics! I shall try, but if not then I'll write out author's notes and whatever and leave it unto her. I don't know how many people have been watching Londond 2012, but the gymnastics is seriously worth a couple of hours of your time. I've been hooked. I never got to do it as a child (one of the few I know), but now really want to start (I think I may be a lickle bit late though)...
Anyway, I wrote this chapter about a week ago. I struggled with the nicknames and shops without internet, so I hope I've got them okay? I did a quick search yesterday, and hhgregg seemed appropriate? I was thinking of the one in Easton Shopping Centre, for the geography to add up. But I live in the UK and have never been to the US :/ Let me know if it's okay in a review, or else give me another idea, and I'll change it.
I have to thank Coatsy for the 'baby penguin' nickname. I was really struggling, then she suggested that and it was just perfect. So, thanks you!
I need to stop rambling... just read it! :) -I apologise in advance for the 'Story so far' this time, I just can't say those words, so I try to skip around it. Yeah, I somehow managed to write a whole chapter about sex, but just can't write... the word :)
Story so far...
Kurt's birthday has been a mix of emotions, culminating in the Warbler concert that Blaine organised for him: 'Raise Your Glass'. They went back to their apartment, enjoying each other's *ahem* company. Waking up in the morning, Blaine tells Kurt that he doesn't have to go to work, but instead of snuggling back down, Blaine announces that they're going to go shopping...
-*T&C*-
"So, what sort of thing were you looking for, sirs?"
Kurt and Blaine were stood in hhgregg looking for a new audio centre.
"Something big and expensive and red. Has to be red!"
Kurt tutted at his boyfriend and turned to the store assistant. "Ignore him, please. Red would not go with our colour scheme. And we can't afford anything too expensive; neither of us earn a lot of money unless the Warblers win Nationals or something."
"The Warblers?" The assistant frowned. "The Dalton Academy Warblers?"
"The very same," Blaine supplied, a broad smile appearing on his features. "Why? Have you heard of them?"
"I should very much hope so! My son performs with them. He's the tall guy who often stands at the back. Gorgeous voice though. Apparently he had a solo last night. I had to miss it unfortunately; had a meeting I couldn't get out of."
Blaine's face screwed up with concentration. "Baby, It's Cold Outside," he said after thinking about it for a few seconds.
"Pardon?"
"He sang 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' last night, yeah? Anthony. Tall, ginger hair, always smiling?"
"Yeah," the man laughed. "That's my boy! So you went to the thing last night?"
"Oh God, sorry! I'm being so rude." He stuck his hand out to be shaken. "Blaine Anderson. Director of the Warblers. And this," he pushed Kurt forward, "is Kurt Hummel. The man who last night was arranged for, and my boyfriend."
Kurt winced, expecting immediate disapproval from the man. He was mistaken.
"Kurt! I've heard so much about you mate. My boy is always going on about how out and proud you are. He'd love to be as confident as you are. And obviously he is thoroughly jealous of the relationship you have with Blaine. I mean, what gay kid wouldn't be? It's a pleasure to meet you. An absolute honour."
As Kurt was embraced in a tight hold with the shop assistant, he looked at Blaine, who was just standing there as if this was the most normal thing in the world.
"Uh, thank you,"he said, peeling the man off of him. He glanced at his name badge. "Thank you, Derek."
The man beamed. "Now, I think I have just the thing you are looking for."
"Yes, we have one in stock. Would you like it delivering?" Kurt looked back at the display version of what they were buying: a shiny cream centre that was able to take CDs, vinyls, cassettes, iPods, and even had the function to record things sung into the attached microphone and played on the attached mini keyboard. You could also hook it up to an iPad and dissect music from it if you had the right app. It was smaller than he might have expected, and a lot cheaper too, but it had a gorgeous sound, as proved with a quick play of 'Raise Your Glass' and Blaine testing out the recording function with 'Hey, Soul Sister'.
"No, I'm sure we can manage to fit it in the car. And carry it to it," Kurt added when Derek started to flex his muscles in preparation for helping them with their task. "But could you keep it here until we've finished everywhere else? It wouldn't do to have it stolen whilst sitting in our car in the parking lot!"
"Yeah, of course. Just come to the desk when you're done. Do you want to pay for it now or then?"
Kurt opened his mouth to speak but Blaine cut over him. "Now. At least at way I can put a limit to what else he buys!" He looked adoringly at his boyfriend as he received a scowl from the taller boy, quickly silenced by a peck on the nose.
Derek blushed at the obvious display of affection. "Well, we'll get that sorted then."
Ten minutes later, the couple left the shop hand-in-hand and made their way over to the furniture shop. The doors swooshed open as they made their way inside and swiftly over to the sofa section. They collapsed on the nearest one and, as always, Blaine pretended to search for the remote and point it an an invisible television. They snuggled together to watch whatever programme it was that their imaginations could create.
Blaine looked to Kurt and grinned. He turned to him and set a fist under his chin to lean on, looking serious. "Why am I here?"
Kurt looked confused for a second, but then his face lit up with recognition. He too took a serious tone. "Because you are. The universe is big. It's vast and complicated and ridiculous. And sometimes - very rarely - impossible things just happen and we call them miracles. And that's the theory. 900 years, never seen one yet. But this would do me." He shifted a bit. "Now get upstairs. She's Amy and she's surrounded by Romans. I'm not sure history could take it."
Blaine giggled. "Still get me every time, that line! But that episode is so sad. I mean, she can't remember him. I don't know what I'd do if you ever forgot me."
Kurt gave him a look. "Anderson. Blaine Anderson, from Westerville. My boyfriend. How can I forget you?"
"I love you."
Kurt smiled and bit his lip. He considered his response for a few seconds and relished the look of panic that shadowed 'Anderson's' face. He stood and walked a few metres away from the sofa. When he looked back at Blaine, his face was showing a mixture of confusion, fear and hurt. "I love you too, you daft banana." Relief flooded over Blaine's features. "But I'll love you a lot more if you follow me."
The confused look fell upon Blaine once more, but he gave in to his boyfriend's strange request. He went to hold his hand and walk with him, but Kurt moved ahead and swayed his hips, teasing him. Blaine shook his head to remind himself that they were in a public place, and followed. They left the sofa section and then passed through the office and kitchen sections. Kurt kept shooting cheeky looks behind him.
Finally, they reached the most hidden part of the store and Kurt dodged between the beds to reach the most secluded bedroom, laid out with wardrobes, cupboards and a super king sized bed. Kurt was now sprawled across the last of these items with a look that said "come-and-get-me" plastered across his face. Blaine was only too happy to oblige and it wasn't long before they were lying next to each other on the bed, just gazing into each others eyes and kissing softly. Neither of them were interested in making a move; they realised they were in a shop on a bed that wasn't their own, but they relished the fact that they could just lie and look at each other.
Knowing that if they stayed there much longer, people may start to appear and the situation may get awkward, the couple went to the kitchen area of the shop. They weren't looking to buy anything, just browsing and passing the time, having fun together. They looked through all the different taps that they could get, and opened every fridge to check how much space there was compared to their own (in most occasions, not a lot). Counters were swept past and cupboard doors opened and shut. When enough was finally enough, they left, taking care to 'turn off' their imaginary television on the way out.
"Where to next?"
"Well, I promised the guys that I'd look into finding a more exciting costume for Sectionals. I was thinking bowties. Like what I was wearing last night. What do you think?"
"It was a great bowtie. Although..." Kurt leant forwards to growl into Blaine's ear, "it looked so much better on the bedroom floor."
"Haha, easy! Right, I'll go and look for them then. How about you look at the iPads in hhgregg. You never know, I might just buy you one if you're lucky."
"You big kid! You want one more than me!"
"True. But I prefer spoiling you."
Kurt stuck his tongue out. "Meet you at the pickup desk in half an hour?"
They synchronised watches and went their separate ways after sharing a quick kiss. Kurt grinned, remembering a time when Blaine would rather die than be seen doing anything so bold in public. Now, he didn't care who saw. Better still, he wanted the whole world to see! Kurt found the Apple area of hhgregg quickly and got playing on a white third generation iPad. He took pictures, checked his emails and flicked through ebooks. He spied an approaching store assistant and smoothly left the slim screened beauty, choosing to instead browse through the different cases available.
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, sorry sir, I hope you weren't waiting long. How can I help?"
"I bought something from here a while ago and I was wondering that, if it was still available, I could order 17 of them?"
"Certainly, sir. Do you have a stock number?" Blaine dug around in his pockets to find the bit of paper that he'd written the number on. He showed it to the man, and quickly they had the bowties on the screen."And 17 of them, you say?"
"Actually, we'd better make that 18; I don't trust the boys enough to not lose them!"
The man grinned. "My wife is always having a go at me for losing things; I bet you're much the same with yours."
Blaine tried to keep any emotion away from his face. "Uh, yeah, something like that."
"Anyway sir, anything else?"
"Well, I was thinking of going for a complete wardrobe mixup... I don't suppose you have grey shirts?"
The man pushed a few buttons on the computer. "These do you?"
"Yeah, perfect, thanks! And, while you're at it, red jeans?"
A few more buttons were pressed and two options came up. "Flared or straight leg?"
"Straight please."
"Right, so just these? 18 of all of them? And what sizes?"
"Ah, that's a very good point. Actually, I think I'll just get the ties now; I don't know what sizes I'll need for the shirts and trousers."
"Okay. Delivery should take up to a week. Do you want home or store delivery."
"Store would be best I think; then I can come in with the sizes I need for the other clothes."
"Right, of course. Well, if you stick your card in the machine; is the price okay? And can we take your name please?"
"Blaine Anderson."
"Thank you. And contact number?"
Blaine gave the assistant his mobile number.
"Alright." The man smiled. "We'll give you a ring when they arrive and we can sort out those other clothes for you."
"Great. Thanks."
Blaine turned away from the desk, pleased with his decision. He could already picture the boys onstage; everyone would be shocked that they weren't wearing their blazers. Besides, the Warblers had been in those blazers for far too long; it was time for a change. The smile on his face broadened as he remembered the first time he saw Kurt wearing the Dalton blazer. With the thought in his mind of the first time they sang onstage together, he didn't notice the man in front of him until he'd walked right into him.
"Sorr-"
Blaine's apology was cut short as he looked at the man. He took in the smile and the eyes. Then his stomach turned and his happy memories were replaced with only sad ones: of fallouts and screaming at Kurt in a carpark, of pain and blindness, of fear and mistrust.
"Sebastian."
The man grinned. "Nice to know that you remember me, Blaine. Where's Old Betty White?"
"Kurt's... around."
"Right. Well, when you see him, say hi from me, yeah?"
"What do you want, Sebastian?"
"That's not very nice; bump in to an old friend and treat him like he's your worst enemy. I thought we'd put this all behind us."
"Yeah, shame; so did I. But then you visited my parents. My dad wasn't happy about me being gay, but he was living with it. And then you ruined it. You never said; why did you tell him that Kurt and I were no longer virgins?"
"Oh, so you're denying it now? He's your dad, I just wanted to get him in the picture. Besides, your dad had always preferred me to that prancy smurf. I was just helping you along to the same realisation."
"You sick bastard."
Sebastian's grin broadened. "Still rubbish at insults then. Mind you, I have to admit that your singing has improved. I never thought that even possible."
"Flattery: never your strong point. But when did you hear me sing?"
"My my, you are slow on the uptake." He laughed. "Last night. I went to Raise Your Glass. You were great. Your Warblers were good. Kurt..." he paused and grimaced slightly. "Kurt was as good as expected."
Blaine folded his arms and leant back slightly to take in the monster standing in front of him. "And what do you mean by that?"
"Well, he never did have that - what's the word - sex appeal. Even his poor singing got overshadowed by the fact that he was about as attractive as a sunburnt Dracula."
Blaine laughed in disbelief and shook his head, unable to listen to what the madman was saying.
"You know, I think enough is enough. You always knew that the two of you would never work. He's the 'baby penguin' to your 'sex on a stick'. Why don't you end the misery of your relationship with him and start something better with me?"
"Something better? Grilled Cheesus! When will you understand that I love him? I'll say it again: I-Love-Kurt. You? You're the 'Misery' to his 'Teenage Dream'. And you know what? I can't listen to this any more!"
Blaine turned and stormed towards the exit. A voice called after him: "Raise Your Glass to him as much as you want Blaine, but as far as I can see, it's empty!"
Kurt stood by the collection desk, waiting. He checked his watch: forty five minutes had passed since he'd said goodbye to Blaine - he must have been held up somehow. Deciding that the best thing to do would be to get the centre ready to put in the car, he walked up to the desk and gave his name. They disappeared to find it. He looked around to watch other shoppers. A little boy and his mother were looking at the televisions, a family of four were deciding which camera to buy, and a teenage couple were playing with the iPads as he had been doing; the boy was holding the girl in various hugs and snapping the camera. He kissed her on the cheek and took a photo, only for the camera to capture their confused faces as they turned to watch the man who had walked past them so angrily. Kurt heard the woman return with the audio centre as he watched the man. His jaw was clenched and his arms stiff by his sides, fists hanging rigid by his legs.
Blaine marched towards the desk. "Are you ready to go?" His voice was harsh and bitter. Kurt furrowed his brow and leapt forwards to support the weight of the centre as Blaine had rushed to pick it up by himself and head for the exit. Kurt shot a glance to the woman as if he was confirming that he knew who this man was and no, he wasn't stealing it. He half-walked, half-ran to the car and dug in his pockets to find the key to unlock the boot. Blaine managed to lift it up by himself and he slammed the door shut with it in the boot, slamming the passenger door behind him only seconds later.
Kurt stood and watched, not finding a reason for Blaine's mood. He prayed that it'd pass soon and he'd be able to tell him about it. He sighed and made his way to the driver's door, opening it, getting in, shutting it and turning on the engine.
:/ I am really not sure about this chapter. I was going to cut it halfway through, but decided to leave it as one. I've started writing the next one already, and that is also looking like being a long one. But hey! Oh well.
And, erm, yeah. I wasn't going to keep it all sweet and cuddly for long. Sorry! But the next few chapters will remain quite angsty. All may seem well, but I have to tip their world every once in a while. It may well not be fun to read, but it is so refreshing to write. Although, understand this: I hate fanfics where they break up in one chapter and you read three more chapters, to discover that the author hasn't updated and they're still apart. Or when they go completely out of character and Kurt just walks away from Blaine when he leaves Lima. I won't do that. Klaine are meant to be together. If they fall out, know that they'll be happy again by the next chapter, two at most. At the minute, I have no desire to split them up, but if the plot calls for it in the future, know that I couldn't keep that up for a whole week, and that they'll be together again by the end of the chapter. I am killing all future suspense? Maybe.
I need to do a shoutout: paddyofurniture. You have made me smile so much with your comments and PMs. I still find it mad that people have somehow stumbled upon T&C without hearing of IThinkILeftMyCoatOutside, but you are living proof of that. And every time I think of that, I do a funny little scream :) Just... THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
If, by some small miracle, you are another, and haven't heard of Coasty, go there NOW. She is... argh, words just can't describe her! I cannot thank her enough for looking after T&C while I was away, nor for texting me every day and telling me what was going on in the crazy land of fanfiction. In my eyes, you deserve some sort of medal. And something way more than a Mojacar box in Dalton colours :P
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!
I never feel like I do enough for charities. Sure, all my old stuff goes to Cancer Research and I am always in the charity shops in my town. But I want to just go up to collection pots and put money in. So, for every review I get for this story, I will donate 10p to a charity. If you have a favourite, please let me know in your review and I'll see what I can do. Let's see how much we can donate, eh?
I may be, er, sorting something out so that you can see more of me. That is all I am saying for now, but Coatsy and I will both be looking into it when I get back from London/Guildford. I have also been working on some drabbles, including a CrissColfer fic (don't shoot me if you're not that way inclined) and plans are underway for another full-length piece - I am saying no more than that for now!
I you've got this far, give your self a pat on the back, find and eat a cookie, and write "meerkat" in your review (how the hell did I manage to keep my meerkat obsession under wraps until now?)
I love you guys so much!
And I am ACTUALLY going to stop writing now.
Maybe.