Another longer chapter today :) Personally, this is my favourite chapter so far! Don't forget to review! Coatsy xx
"What about… this one?" Rachel asked Kurt, pulling a sleek black dress out of her wardrobe. Kurt was sat on her bed, his left leg crossed over his right, inspecting every single outfit she pulled out for him. He scrutinised the dress before shaking his head.
"No way, Rachel!" He exclaimed, looking at Rachel in shock. "That's the dress you wore to Buddy Leibowitz's funeral. You are not wearing that dress to celebrate your engagement!"
Rachel looked at the dress in shock, remembering how she and Kurt had attended Buddy Leibowitz's funeral two years earlier. Buddy Leibowitz had been their upstairs neighbour for the first two years of them living in New York. He had introduced himself to Kurt and Rachel three days after they had moved in, and offered to take them out in New York. Young, excited to be in New York and keen to take in some culture, Kurt and Rachel had accepted his offer eagerly.
Buddy had taken them to Rinky Dinks, the roller disco that he owned in Lower Manhattan. They had been introduced to his girlfriend, April Rhodes, that night, who was one of the singers in the disco and a loud but loveable character. Together, the trio of Rachel, Kurt and April had performed in the disco, and Rachel and Kurt's first jobs were as part-time singers whilst doing their teacher training for NYADA.
Two years after introducing himself to Kurt and Rachel, Buddy, who was significantly older than both of them, died of a heart attack. The disco went to April, who still owned it as far as Rachel and Kurt knew of, and his funeral was two weeks later. Rachel had bought the black dress she now held in her hands for that specific occasion, and had never worn it since.
She threw it on the pile of clothes that was slowly building up on her bed and sighed heavily.
"How many dresses do you actually own?" Kurt enquired, curiously inspecting the layers of fabric by his side.
"I have five left in here." Rachel replied, gazing into her wardrobe, hands on her hips. Kurt was still inspecting the layers of dress, thinking hard about what Rachel should wear.
"Do you still have that white dress in there?" He asked without looking up at her. He heard the rustle of fabrics as Rachel rifled through the remaining dresses in her wardrobe. She pulled out a short white dress with a high neckline and short sleeves, and then looked at Kurt for his approval.
"Yes!" Kurt exclaimed, jumping up off the bed. "Wear this," He said, taking the dress in his hands. "With that white petticoat, y'know, to puff it out a bit." Rachel nodded, before rifling through her drawers to find the white petticoat and laying it on her bed. She then began putting the pile of dresses back into her wardrobe, and Kurt hung the dress up on her bedroom door.
"Right, I'm going to go and get ready now." He said to Rachel before walking out of the room and down the hall to his own bedroom. His own outfit had been laid out on his bed for the past two hours; he had gotten it out and put it together across his bed, and then Rachel had dragged him to her room and the whole dress-choosing fiasco had started.
Kurt had chosen a pair of burgundy red skinny jeans, a sleek black shirt and a green tartan waistcoat, complete with a pocket watch he had bought a few years before.
He dressed quickly, and then sat down at his dressing table and began to work on his hair.
"What time is Finn coming over?" Kurt asked, checking his watch. The minute hand was creeping up to ten minutes to six, and Kurt was getting anxious to leave. He was pacing around the living room whilst Rachel was sat reading a gossip magazine, busying herself but undoubtedly uninterested in the words on the pages in front of her.
"Six o'clock." Rachel replied without looking up.
Kurt checked his watch again. Eleven minutes to go.
"Will you please stop pacing?" Rachel looked up at Kurt and shook her magazine slightly as she sat up, exasperated at Kurt's impatience. "He'll get here on time, okay?" She gave him a meaningful look and then went back to her reading.
"I'm sorry," Kurt sighed, sitting down next to Rachel. "But you know how much I love West Side Story. And I really don't want Finn to miss any of it."
"I know you love West Side Story." Rachel replied, putting her magazine down and turning to Kurt. "Trust me, I share your passion for all things musical, but you just have to be patient. Finn will be here soon." Kurt smiled apologetically, and in return Rachel smiled her forgiveness. The two friends had known each other for so long now that sometimes they didn't need to use words to convey their feelings.
"I still can't believe you two are engaged!" Kurt sighed wistfully, taking Rachel's hand and inspecting the diamond ring again.
"I know." She smiled. "It still sounds weird when you say it. Hey, guess what?" Rachel said, suddenly turning to Kurt, smiling widely and her eyes aglitter.
"What?" Kurt smiled back, a little confused.
"I heard that there is a new Tony in West Side Story tonight!"
"Really?" The prospect of there being a new actor in any of his favourite musicals always ensnared Kurt's attention.
"Yeah. His name is… something Anderson." Rachel explained nonchalantly. The name Anderson sounded incredibly familiar to Kurt, but he just couldn't put his finger on where he had heard it before. One of his students, maybe?
But Kurt didn't have long to ponder, as the doorbell rang out and pierced his train of thought. Rachel jumped up excitedly and ran to the door, Kurt following a few seconds later, still trying to figure out where he recognised the name Anderson from.
Kurt came into the hallway to see Finn stooping slightly to get in the apartment. Being 6'3", Finn was a foot taller than his 5'3" fiancé, Rachel, but the height difference hadn't stopped them being together, despite Finn confessing to Kurt that he sometimes got a bad back from bending over to hug or kiss Rachel.
"Hi, baby," Rachel smiled, lifting herself onto her tiptoes to kiss Finn. "Good day?"
"Actually, two of the boys got a little too carried away with the smack talk in football practice today…" He replied, recalling the memory. "It took us 10 minutes to get them off each other." He frowned slightly, remembering how violent football could be, even between two 10 year olds. Finn was an instructor at NYSA, New York Sports Academy, and so taught sports to youngsters over the day. Football was his favourite to teach, his high school profession as McKinley's quarterback giving him plenty of experience, as well as plenty of stories to tell the kids.
"Are they okay?" Rachel asked, her concern for the children obvious in her voice.
"Oh yeah, they're fine," Finn replied, smiling at her. "I mean, apart from the scratches and bruises… and the black eye." Rachel gasped, shocked, and Kurt raised his eyebrows, surprised. He had been kicker for the McKinley Titans back in high school after Finn got him an 'audition', and so he knew that football could be a violent sport, but he didn't expect it to arise so early in today's youth.
"You alright, Kurt?" Finn smiled at Kurt, raising his hand slightly in greeting.
"I am very well, thank you, Finn, how are you?" Kurt replied, leaning on the corner of the table.
"Yeah, I'm good." He replied, nodding once, as if to prove his point. After the small exchange, a silence fell among the trio. They all stood awkwardly looking at the floor, Finn with his arm around Rachel's waist and Kurt stood on the other side of the room, hand on hip.
"Shall we get going, then?" Rachel asked, looking at the two men. Relieved that the silence was over, they both agreed and they all left the apartment, Kurt grabbing his coat as he passed where it hung on the wall by the door.
Rachel and Finn strolled along together hand-in-hand, mumbling to each other and stealing kisses every few minutes. Kurt just walked along beside them, albeit keeping a little distance between himself and the loved-up couple, with his hands plunged deep into his jack pockets. He focused on the people around him, amusing himself by creating back stories for every other person he saw walking by.
When the Palace Theatre came into view, Kurt's stomach did several somersaults. It didn't matter how many times he went to see a show; whenever the theatre came into view, Kurt was overcome with excitement, so much so that he felt like screaming and running around in circles like a small child. Rachel was also going through the same thing whilst pulling a bewildered Finn along behind her. They queued at the Box Office, bought their tickets and made their way inside, completely forgetting to check to see if the name of the mysterious new Tony was above the entrance.
"We don't need a programme, Finn," Rachel explained, pulling Finn towards the open doors so that they could get to their seats. "We already have three."
Kurt was striding across the foyer, keeping Rachel and Finn no further than three meters behind him, excitement bubbling inside him.
Finally in their seats five minutes later, Kurt was covertly reading the programme of the person in front of him over their shoulder. Rachel and Finn were being the cutesy couple that they were, and while Kurt wouldn't normally condemn public displays of affection, he found himself leaning in the opposite direction from their incessant kissing.
When the person in front of him turned the page before Kurt had finished, Kurt exhaled sharply in annoyance. He must have been louder than he had anticipated, as the man turned around to look at him, confused. Kurt, ever the actor for a little improvisation, quickly inspected his hand before looking at the man.
"Broke a nail." He stated, shrugging his shoulders at the man and giving him a look that told him that it was none of his business. He turned around again and settled back down into his chair, holding his programme faintly closer to his chest.
In the short time that Kurt had looked at the man, he had assessed his appearance in intricate detail. He was quite a good-looking man; mousey brown hair, a strong jawline and dazzling eyes – did Kurt see a glint of green there? He was wearing a smart navy blazer with a red shirt underneath, and Kurt even noticed a small badge on his lapel but couldn't quite make out what it said in the few seconds that he saw it. He thought he could just about read a 'D' and an 'A', but the fancy script of it was too difficult to decipher in the dim lighting.
The lights went down then, and Kurt and Rachel both jumped in their seats excitedly. Finn looked about him as the room went dark, but Kurt didn't recall Rachel telling him Finn was afraid of the dark. Rachel turned his chin to the stage just as the curtain went up and the music started.
The first scene went by, Kurt and Rachel singing along as the Jets and the Sharks confronted each other and Finn watching intently.
When the lights came up on the second scene, Kurt noticed the man in front sit up slightly. He must know someone in the production, Kurt thought to himself. When he looked up at the stage he saw Tony adjusting a sign above the pharmacy where he worked. This new Tony had darker hair than the Tony before him, and appeared to be slightly shorter, but it was hard for Kurt to tell from this far back; he was used to closer seats.
"The new Tony's good." Rachel whispered to Kurt during 'Something's Coming'. Kurt nodded in agreement and mouthed along the words. He felt like the actor in front of him was familiar, although he was sure that he'd never seen him before in his life.
The rest of the first act passed by, Kurt and Rachel thoroughly enjoying themselves, and before they knew it the lights were up for Intermission. Kurt still had the niggling feeling at the back of his mind that he somehow knew the actor, and wished that he had bought a programme before the show. He saw the man in front of him flicking through his own copy again and decided that he may as well talk to someone, rather than sitting awkwardly as Rachel and Finn revived their game of tonsil tennis.
"Excuse me?" He asked sheepishly, leaning forward and tapping the man on the shoulder. He turned again, but instead of scowling this time he smiled. "Hi, I'm Kurt." Kurt offered his hand and the man shook it gently.
"Sebastian." He replied, smiling widely. Kurt felt incredibly awkward; he didn't often speak to random people he met in theatres, but the man's immediate approachability helped him to relax slightly. "Are you here on your own?" Sebastian asked, giving Kurt a quick glance over.
"Erm," Kurt was caught off guard, and flushed slightly at this stranger's forwardness. "No, I'm with those two." He smiled, gesturing towards Rachel and Finn. "But, as you can see, the conversation is a little… non-existent."
Sebastian chuckled. "Yeah, I see that. Are they a new couple or something?" He asked, examining the couple joint by the mouth.
"No, newly engaged." Kurt explained. "This morning, actually."
"Ah," Sebastian responded, nodding his understanding. "Well, tell them 'congratulations' from me." He smiled. Kurt nodded and agreed that he would, and Sebastian turned back to his programme.
"Could I, erm," Kurt leant forward again, and Sebastian turned back to him. "Could I borrow that quickly?" Kurt pointed at the programme, which Sebastian looked down at before handing over with a smile.
"Know someone in the show or something?" Sebastian asked, watching Kurt flick through the pages to the list of actors and actresses.
"I'm not sure…" Kurt replied, turning back a few pages to find Tony. He heard Sebastian chuckle again, his laughter causing Kurt to get slight butterflies.
Kurt's eyes widened when his eyes fell on the name of the actor just as the lights went down again for the second act.
"Oh, second act's up." Sebastian smiled, gently taking back his programme from Kurt's hands and turning back to the stage. Kurt let the programme go, his mind whirling and working intently inside his head.
When Tony next came onstage, Kurt stared at him fixedly. He could see it now. It was him.
It was Blaine Anderson.
Yay! Blaine's back! And where could Sebastian possibly fit in to this story? :) C xx
