Author's Note: What?! Another update?! Before the weekend?! I guess I just love all you guys so much that I couldn't wait. Also, I really just wanted to do this scene. It's been half written since I started chapter 3. Anyways, all your reviews, favorites, and alerts are just awesome. I really appreciate them! ^-^
Duet explanations:
Kurt (Italic/Bold)
Blaine (Bold)
*BOTH* (Italic/Bold/Stars)
Hope you like it and it makes sense! Let me know if it doesn't!
Happy Reading!
Again, no beta. All mistakes are my own.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, nothing, nothing. No profit made etc. See Chapter 1 for more elaborate disclaimer.
~C.
(Chapter 8)
Kurt smiled down at his cell phone when it started to buzz. Thanks to the hang over from hell, the last few days he'd been feeling like crap; he didn't know a hang over could last for more than a day. It was like this one was out for vengeance, which is ridiculous. Not to mention he'd been living off of Tylenol thanks to the stupid gash on the back of his head. Today had been the first morning he woke up not feeling nauseous and didn't wince when he re-applied Liquid Band-Aid to the cut on the back of his head. That was why he felt good enough to laze about on the apartment rooftop. The cool night air prompting Kurt to dress in one of his knee-length, Alexander McQueen sweaters (midnight blue), black skinny-jeans, and black boots.
"Hello?"
"Evening bud, I'm on way home from the shop so I thought I'd call and see how New York's been treatin' ya." Burt answered.
"From just doing supervisions, not manual labor, right dad?" Kurt reminded.
"Yes, yes, I promised, didn't I?"
Kurt let out a chuckle, "Just checking, and the city's okay I guess. Nothing I haven't seen before, remember?"
Burt sighed, "Yeah, but nothing's caught your interest? Nothing that would make you consider…staying there for a while?
He frowned, "Why would I? Th-There isn't something wrong again, is there? Should I come back home? I'm sure Rachel would understand…"
"No, no, no. Kurt, I'm fine. No need to rush back on my account." Burt said.
Kurt huffed, "Why does it sound like you are trying to get rid of me?"
"Kurt, you know that is not what I'm trying to do. I just…I just don't want you to feel like you're stuck in Lima."
"I'm was never stuck."
"Yes, you were…ARE. You gave up your dream, Broadway…"
"Dad, you had cancer! I wasn't going to stay here while you were fighting prostate cancer. It was bad enough that when you first found out you tried to downplay it with me." Kurt ran a hand over his face, deciding to look out at the city lights in hopes of distracting himself. He figured his dad didn't call for another lecture from his son. "We've had this conversation before. Why are you bringing it up again?"
There was a beat of silence before Burt spoke again, "I understand, but I'm alright now. Even better than I was before!" He chuckled. "Listen, you have no idea how grateful and proud I am to have a son like you. You've been taking care of me ever since high school, but that's not your job, Kurt."
"But dad, I…"
"Now just listen for a minute. I'd like to think I'm a pretty stubborn man so I don't plan on kicking the bucket anytime soon. Ya hear me?"
Kurt sighed, "Yeah, I hear you."
"Good, now you are going to enjoy your time in New York. Go see one of them Broadway shows you like so much. Hell, go visit Puck at that ridiculous bar him and Finn own for all I care. Just don't stay cooped up in that apartment. I mean…how can you enjoy the city when you're determined to let it go on without you?" Burt questioned.
Kurt flinched at the mention of the bar; his last visit hadn't gone so well. He wasn't too keen on going back anytime soon. Though, he spared his father of that minor detail. "All right, I get it. But you know me, I worry."
Burt chuckled, "Did you forget my wife's a nurse?"
"Of course not."
"She's even gives you a run for money when it comes to helping me stay healthy. You don't need to worry about me all the time, okay? I'm the dad; I'm supposed to worry about you."
Kurt smiled slightly, "Well, I'm glad to hear Carole's holding down the fort." His eyes seemed to glance back at the apartment building across from his own, Blaine's apartment building; he had to bite back a giggle. "And don't worry, I've actually already seen ONE new thing in New York. I'll try and take in whatever else comes my way…you know, for you."
"That's all I ask." Burt paused for moment, and then something seemed to click. "Wait…that last statement didn't have anything to do with a guy, did it? Kurt, I know I said enjoy the city, but they aren't the only thing New York has to offer, right?"
Kurt smacked the heel of his palm to his forehead. Sometimes having a dad that knew him that well wasn't always a good thing.
I should have shut my mouth after the whole 'fort' statement.
Blaine frowned at the eyeliner around his eyes as he looked at himself in his dresser's mirror. Wes had been right; the eyeliner did draw attention to their faces. Everyone else's eyes looked smoldering, seductive, or lively, though Blaine's hazel orbs just looked hollow and listless. However, Blaine just couldn't bring himself to care. It was like he'd just grown numb to it all. The alcohol sure as hell wasn't helping anymore, if anything it would drown him further into a depressing abyss. He grabbed the baby wipes on his dresser and slowly cleaned his face. His hands robotically removed his piercings like he did every night. Blaine discarded them into his jewelry bowl and stripped out of his smoky smelling clothes.
God, that eyeliner looks so sexy on you.
Blaine angrily shoved his limbs into some jeans and a red zip-up hoodie, forgetting an undershirt in his frustrations when Sebastian's earlier words suddenly echoed in his head. He did not appreciate it at all when one of his band mates, they refused to own up to who did it, invited Sebastian to see how the new cosmetic addition turned out. The basterd had pressed up against his back while Blaine had been trying to put on the ridiculous eyeliner in the band's loft bathroom. He had husked dirty things into Blaine's un-wanting ear and even bit his earlobe. After getting over the initial shock, Blaine had elbowed him in his kidneys and chucked him off his back. Blaine was pretty sure if he had let him, Sebastian would have fucked him up against the bathroom wall. Not even giving a rat's ass that their friends were on the other side of the door, possibly able to hear everything if anything went on.
Go find some whore to pay if you're that damn desperate.
Sebastian had only smiled.
You get paid to put on a show for people.
You entertain them with a fantasy.
In my book, that's the very definition of a whore.
Blaine knew it was just something he'd said to get under his skin and he shouldn't believe it, because that wasn't true. He was a singer, a stage performer, not a whore. The young man rubbed at his suddenly watery eyes; the day's toll was crashing down on him, and he didn't like it. Blaine stood up and walked over to his punching bag, he put up his hands to start punching, but his shaking palms didn't want to form fists. He looked at his hands, slender fingers perfect for piano playing and guitar strumming. Those same hands have been bruised and bloody countless times before. Blaine wasn't a violent person, and yet, beating the crap out of something was turning out to be the best part of his day.
No…stop it.
Blaine decided to forgo the punching bag and pulled on a pair of sneakers. He lifted up his bedroom window and climbed out onto his fire escape. When the chilly breeze caressed his exposed chest, he shivered and zipped up his hoodie. He looked up at the dark sky and weirdly wished to be back in Westerville. At least there, he was able to see the stars. His anxieties and problems always seemed less worrisome when the twinkling sky winked at him.
And yet, I can't go back there either; it was just as bad.
If you told Blaine five years ago that this was what he was going to become, he would have laughed. Blaine would have said that he'd never sit back and let someone else's views dictate his life again. His father had tried to convince him that 'straight' was his real persona for years before he was able to get away from his anti-gay influence. Now, it's happening all over again. People were pushing things on him, trying to make him believe he is something that he clearly is not. When he mulled it over in his mind, the reality of his day-to-day life was like a skit of rehearsed scenes, and he was just a character with a part to play. He may have dreamed of fame; he may have dreamed of the stage, but ultimately when the show was over, he dreamed of being able to stop pretending to be someone else, and just be Blaine.
Do people try and change me so much, because no one actually likes who I really am?
Blaine stared at the starless sky as he walked up the flights of fire escapes. The final ladder leading to the roof came within reach and he didn't hesitate before climbing it to the top. He straddled the uprooted edge of the rooftop and lifted his head to gaze at the dark sky. Blaine did the only thing he could think of that would give him comfort.
He sang.
Kurt had been smiling to himself after he hung up with his dad. After the conversation, he had climbed back down to his own terrace-like platform and planned to go to bed. However, before he could slip into Rachel's apartment, he heard it.
When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you
Kurt saw him, sitting on his rooftop and looking up at the sky. He'd know that voice anywhere. It was the same voice he heard sing at 'The Pinn Up.' It was…
Blaine.
If your heart is in your dreams
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
Like dreamers do
All Kurt could do was stare up in awe at the velvet voice drifting in the wind. The song may have been a simple Disney tune, but Blaine made it so moving that Kurt almost wanted to cry. It was one of his favorite songs as a kid, and here was this handsome guy singing it with as much reverence as Kurt would have.
Fate is kind
She brings to those who love
The sweet fulfillment of their secret longing
When Kurt heard Blaine start to whistle, something inside Kurt shifted. There was a promise he made, a promise to take in whatever good may come his way. Well, what more could he ask for than this?
[Whistling break]
Blaine cleared his throat when the whistling was done; he opened his mouth and was about to continue the song, but someone else beat him to it.
When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you
Blaine whipped his head down to where he heard the beautiful voice come from and his eyes widened. There, looking right back up at him, was Kurt. His angelic porcelain face was the only beacon of light visible in the otherwise dark alleyway.
If your heart is in your dreams
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
Like dreamers do
The hazel-eyed boy felt his body moving towards the stunning voice on it's own accord. Quietly, as if the metal staircase was afraid of make noise in fear of disturbing the beautiful scene occurring between these two, Blaine descended the fire escapes until he was on his own; the one that just happened to be directly across from Kurt's.
Fate is kind
She brings to those who love
The sweet fulfillment of their secret longing
As Kurt finished the last verse, both parties stared at each other for a moment in wonder. A slow smile crept onto Blaine's face as a shy smile and a blush fanned across Kurt's. The two of them seemed to be on the same page, because at the same time, they both started to climb the rest of the way down to the street below.
*LIKE A BOLT OUT OF THE BLUE*
*FATE STEPS IN AND PULLS YOU THROUGH*
*WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STAR*
*YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE*
Kurt's boots thumped to the concrete floor, as did Blaine's tennis shoes. The two walked towards one another the few steps it took to meet each other halfway. Kurt didn't know why, but his heart was thumping maddeningly in his chest. He can't remember the last time he did something…something as spontaneous as that. Blaine on the other hand, could not keep his eyes from roaming over the gorgeous looking man. When his eyes met back up with Kurt's face, he saw the coy look and the fierce blush coloring his cheeks at having someone stare at him.
Blaine shook his head, feeling very impolite for gawking. He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment for being caught, "Forgive me, that was rude. I…I um…" He chuckled awkwardly and stuck his hand out before he lost his nerve, "My name's Blaine."
Kurt looked at the hand in front of him, then his glasz eyes lifted back up to stare at Blaine's hazel one's. "I know." When Blaine tilted his head adorably and raised an eyebrow, Kurt felt his lips quirk up into a small smile. He placed his pale hand in Blaine's tanned one, the comforting weight of each other's hands sending a warm flush up their arms. "Kurt."
This time, it was Blaine's turn to give Kurt a small, amused smile. He mimicked Kurt's earlier statement. "I know."
A/N: YAY! They have FINALLY met! So what did you think? Was it to your liking? :3 Btw, the song was 'When You Wish Upon a Star' and it's Michelle Creber's duet version with Andrew Stein. :) Please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter!