It's Thanksgiving in the Glee universe! This episode centers quite a bit on the return of many of the graduated characters and the newbies, but there's still plenty to work with for Kurt and Blaine, too!
(I do not own Glee or any of the characters, dialogue, or songs from the show. It's all just for fun!)
KURT
On the Monday evening before Thanksgiving, Kurt had to call his father and tell him that he wasn't coming home for the holiday weekend.
"It was always up in the air whether or not I'd have money to come home, Dad!" he scolded when Burt was severely unhappy with the idea.
"Kurt Hummel," Burt said, "don't you dare pretend this is about money."
"I –" Kurt protested.
"I want you home for Thanksgiving dinner, Kurt," Burt said, his voice softening.
Kurt was torn. He wanted to have Thanksgiving dinner with his father and Carole and Finn. But he wanted to stay in New York, too.
"I'll be home for Christmas?" Kurt offered.
"Kurt," Burt warned.
"Okay, I'm sorry," Kurt backtracked. "I just... I'm trying to find my way here in New York and it doesn't– coming home is–"
"Is this about Blaine?" Burt wondered.
"Why does everyone always assume that everything is about Blaine?" Kurt snapped.
"I don't know, Kurt," Burt said sternly, "maybe because you refuse to talk about what's going on with him."
"There's nothing going on with him," Kurt complained. "I saw him when I was home and– okay, and that's the other thing! I was home less than a month ago, Dad. It's silly to come home again so soon."
He heard his father sigh unhappily and knew that he was going to win the argument.
"Okay," Burt agreed. "I'll pretend to be happy with you staying in New York. But only if we talk about Blaine."
"Wha– right now?" Kurt objected.
"Yes," Burt clarified. "Right now."
Kurt huffed out a frustrated breath, but he knew that he needed to have this conversation with Burt. He didn't want to worry his father because he was too stubborn to have a mature conversation about his ex-boyfriend.
"Okay," he agreed.
"What's going on with Blaine?" Burt asked, his voice gentle.
"There really is nothing going on," Kurt reinforced his earlier statement. "He cheated. I broke things off."
"Have you talked to him?" Burt asked. There was something in Burt's voice that told Kurt that his father already knew the answer to his question.
"Finn told you, didn't he?" Kurt asked.
"He told me you saw Blaine at the musical," Burt allowed.
"Yeah," Kurt confirmed, feeling the anger and pain of that moment returning to him, "we ran into each other. And he wanted to explain. Like somehow there was some legitimate reason for him to cheat on me. I'm so tired of him texting me and calling me and just, basically, trying to make it better. It can't get better!"
"Kurt," Burt said cautiously, "are you looking for someone to rage with or fatherly advice?"
"Both," Kurt grumbled.
"It's hard becoming an adult," Burt said. "Everything is suddenly so much more complicated than you ever thought it would be."
Kurt nodded, forgetting that his father couldn't see him.
"Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to swallow your pride and forgive," Burt suggested.
"Are you serious?" Kurt snapped.
"Look, I'm not saying 'pretend it never happened'!" Burt elaborated. "But adulthood is about realizing what's best for you and fighting for it. And I have never and will never assume that I know what's best for you, Kurt, but don't think I haven't – that we all haven't – noticed how miserable you've been recently."
"I don't need him," Kurt said.
"No," Burt agreed, "you don't."
There was knowledge in his father's tone of voice, and Kurt swallowed and forced himself to admit what he had come to realize in the time since Blaine had confessed his infidelity.
"It feels weird... without Blaine," Kurt said softly.
"I understand," Burt said solemnly.
Kurt didn't know what to say, so he waited for his father to elaborate.
"When your mom died, I was a mess," Burt explained. "And I know it's not the same situation, but I know that feeling of suddenly being just you when you're so used to being us."
Kurt wiped furiously at his eyes, trying to keep from dissolving into a crying mess. "I just don't feel like me anymore," he confessed.
"You're still Kurt," Burt reminded him. "You've been through a lot of changes over the past few months, kiddo. Cut yourself some slack; so, you don't have everything figured out. You've got time."
Kurt grunted his acknowledgement.
"Alright," Burt said, "one more bit of advice before I let you escape the father-son conversation."
"Fine," Kurt agreed.
"I know it's hard right now," Burt said, "but... try to remember that Blaine has feelings, too, okay?"
"I don't care about his feelings, Dad," Kurt replied. "He sure as hell didn't care about mine."
"Kurt," Burt responded, "I've known you since the day you were born, and I know one thing for sure. You always care about people's feelings."
"Unless those 'people' happen to cheat on me," Kurt clarified.
Burt laughed humorlessly. "All I'm saying is that, sometimes, it's hard to remember the person through the pain, okay? Blaine did a horrible thing. That's true and that's definitely going to be a major consideration in your relationship –"
"Or lack thereof," Kurt interjected sourly.
"– going forward," Burt ignored him. "But try to keep in mind that one horrible act doesn't make someone a bad person. Overall."
Kurt couldn't decide if he agreed or not, so he remained silent.
"Okay, okay," Burt said, his voice more lively. "Enough of that. You're a smart, capable, good person, Kurt. I have faith in your decisions. What else is going on with you? Happy things."
Kurt smiled, grateful for Burt's concern and love, even if talking about Blaine had been unpleasant. "Well," he said, "NYADA's Winter Showcase is next Friday, so Rachel's praying for an invite. If she gets one – which, I dunno... she might. She's so talented, of course, but it's really competitive – I'm going to go watch her perform. Vogue dot com is, well, pretty fabulous. The other day I walked by Marc Jacobs. Marc Jacobs! I could've reached out and touched him."
Burt hummed appreciatively.
"You don't even know who that is, do you?" Kurt realized.
"Sorry," Burt laughed.
"Anyway," Kurt said, "the point is that it's just, like, I have to pinch myself every day. And, oh, speaking of... I just remembered that I need to finish finalizing the list of vendors for a series of interviews Isabelle is doing in a few days..."
"Alright," Burt allowed. "I'll let you get to it. And Kurt?"
"Hmm?" Kurt waited.
"I love you," Burt said. "And I'm really proud of you."
"Thanks, Dad," Kurt smiled. "I love you, too. I'll talk to you soon."
"Bye," Burt said.
Kurt ended the call and immediately got to work on the list he had to finish sorting through by the next morning. He wanted to get it done before he lost himself in thought about what he and Burt had talked about.
Predictably, as soon as he finished and moved to his bedroom to get ready for bed, his mind wandered to Blaine.
It did hurt him to know that Blaine was in agony about what happened between them. But it was Blaine's fault. He had cheated. He had chosen to go to some guy's place and have sex.
Thinking about it was so painful. Kurt hated thinking about the emotional betrayal. He hated thinking about Blaine and that guy together. He hated thinking about anything that had to do with Blaine. Thinking of good times just made him feel devastated that there were no more good times to come, and thinking of Blaine's infidelity just made him feel bitter and angry and unwanted.
He was already physically separated from Blaine, but Kurt wondered if he needed to sever his emotional ties to Blaine, too. He would never be able to move on – to live on – if he didn't. He would be stuck pining over Blaine and hating Blaine all at the same time for the rest of his life.
He grabbed his phone and typed a message to Blaine asking him not to contact him anymore. But he saved it, instead of immediately sending it, because, despite everything, he couldn't bear the thought of throwing such a blow at Blaine right before bed. He would send it in the morning.
BLAINE
After his decision to stay at McKinley and the realization that the students of New Directions really were his friends, Blaine's attitude drastically improved. He was happy to see Mike, Mercedes, Santana, Quinn, and Puck when they came home for Thanksgiving break. He was enjoying his daily lunchtime routine of rehearsing a duet with Marley to prepare for Sectionals and then scarfing down his lunch during the short break between the lunch period and his next class. Glee club was suddenly fun again; he liked getting to rehearsal early so he could goof off with everyone before they had to get to work. They were all impressed with his piano skills, so they had started singing silly songs like television theme songs and commercial taglines every afternoon as they waited for rehearsal to begin.
Kurt still wouldn't respond to his texts. Or his occasional attempts at calling. Blaine missed him terribly, but, with the weight of feeling like Kurt was his only tie to McKinley lifted off his shoulders, Blaine was trying not to feel desperate about the status of his relationship with Kurt. Kurt would reach out eventually. Kurt had to miss him. It had been nearly two months since their breakup. Maybe Kurt just needed more time.
But, on Monday morning, Blaine received a text from Kurt that wrenched his hope away and replaced it with despair.
Please stop texting or calling, the message said. 'Sorry' isn't enough. Please, stop.
Blaine spent the rest of the day in an incredibly bad mood. He didn't want to talk to anyone. His newfound enthusiasm for things slipped away and the numbness of the past month and a half crept back into his mind. He didn't even pay much attention in glee club as Finn introduced the returning graduates to the new kids and coupled them up so the former students could serve as mentors before their first big competition of the season.
"You're so funny and self-deprecating," Kitty giggled as Quinn joked about her teen pregnancy. "We're so much alike."
"Wanky," Santana commented.
"The worst mistake that we could make is to underestimate our competition," Finn said, ignoring the commentary. "The Warblers are ruthless this year."
Joe turned to Blaine.
"Should we be worried?" he asked.
"Yeah," Blaine confirmed.
"We've got this," Joe reassured him, seeming not to notice Blaine's unhappiness.
"Marley and Blaine will handle our duet," Finn reminded the group. "And, for our show-stopper, we're doing Gangnam Style!"
"Oh, okay," Santana protested. "Lumps, let me just say out loud what everyone here is thinking. You finally got an okay haircut and you're not doing that annoying half-smirk as much as you used to, but you're still an idiot. No one in this room can tackle a massive dance number except for Britt. And that includes your little hand jive that, to me, looked more like a hand job."
"Is there any way Mr. Schu could come back for this?" Joe wondered.
"Listen to me!" Finn scolded, standing up from his chair so he could face the main group of students. "We have never lost Sectionals before, and there's no way we're gonna do it on my watch. We can and we will succeed. We need an ambitious number with a strong dance element. That's the Warblers' calling card, and we need to blow them out of the water. And Mike said he could easily show one of our guys how to do the dance number."
"I did?" Mike questioned.
"Crap," Finn realized. "I, uh, I kinda forgot to ask you about that, but one of our guys is going to have to take the lead with Britt, so... who's it gonna be?"
"Hello?" Sam said. "White Chocolate."
He stood up and gave himself a beat to roll his hips to.
"Oh," Mercedes said, "no, no, no. Um..."
"Okay, uh, just, sit down, Sam," Finn suggested. "We'll figure it out. How about auditions? Tomorrow after school in the auditorium."
"Can we go now?" Kitty asked, gazing adoringly at Quinn.
"Yeah," Finn allowed. "Those of you with mentors: spend time together this afternoon. The rest of you... Marley and Blaine, you're working on the duet during lunch each day, right? We'll work on putting Gangnam Style together tomorrow. Each group only gets two songs this time, guys, so we can definitely pull this off!"
The group dissipated slowly. As Blaine stood up to leave, Joe put a hand on his arm.
"You're totally going to get the lead dance spot," he said encouragingly.
"I'm not going to try out," Blaine mumbled.
"What?" Joe said, surprised. "Why not, man? You're an amazing dancer. And I know how much Brittany likes you. She'll put in a good word for you, I'm sure."
Instead of the truth – he didn't want to do it because he was so upset about Kurt's text – Blaine told Joe "I've got the duet with Marley, so I want someone else to have a chance to shine during the group number."
"Right on," Joe approved. "Well... see you tomorrow, then!"
Blaine went home – keeping his mind off Kurt in the car by putting Gangnam Style on repeat and trying to learn the words on the drive home – and had dinner with his parents before retreating to his room and collapsing into bed to cry out his sadness about Kurt's text.
Kurt hadn't wanted to talk to him since the day they broke up. He had sent texts asking Blaine not to contact him before, and Blaine always obeyed for a while until he just couldn't stop himself from apologizing again. Or reminding Kurt that he loved him. But, every time Kurt sent a "don't contact me" message, Blaine's ability to keep any semblance of hope alive diminished a little more.
KURT
On Tuesday morning, Kurt and Rachel took the train to Manhattan together and grabbed coffee before they strolled down the sidewalk toward NYADA and the station where Kurt would hop on a train to work.
"So," Rachel said as they walked arm-in-arm, "I found out that I didn't get cast in The Glass Menegerie."
"Aw," Kurt acknowledged, disappointed.
"It's fine," Rachel clarified, "but the NYADA showcase is this week, so I'm gonna spend the whole long holiday weekend just really prepping for it to make sure that I get in. Did you put in your application?"
"Yes," Kurt reminded her. "And I put it on Vogue dot com stationary so it would stand out."
"I'm really feeling good about us staying home for the weekend," Rachel said. "Don't you?"
"Yeah," Kurt half-lied. "Yeah, uh, you know, yeah. I am, yeah."
Rachel laughed at his hesitation. "We don't have to go home just because there's a show or because it's a long weekend, right?" Rachel suggested.
"Right, no," Kurt allowed. "I mean, even though it's Thanksgiving and Sectionals and all our friends are there and I miss my dad."
"I know," Rachel said, "I miss my dads, too. But I just feel like, every time we go home, it just makes me feel sad. And like we're not moving forward, you know?"
Kurt hummed his understanding. He wasn't sure why he had any desire to go back to Ohio for Thanksgiving other than the thought of seeing his dad and Carole. The last thing he wanted was to run into Blaine again. He was trying to close that chapter of his life.
"I mean, even though we don't have our boyfriends, we still have our dreams!" Rachel reassured them both. "And our ambitions!"
"And each other," Kurt added.
"Yes," Rachel agreed. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders for a brief hug as they walked. "You are the only significant other I need in my life."
"Aw," Kurt approved.
"I have to just, you know, forget about Finn and forget about Brody," Rachel said, sounding less sure.
"Forget about Blaine," Kurt agreed.
"Yeah, forget about any guy who has broken any girl or guy's heart, okay?" Rachel announced. "We are on the verge of becoming the best versions of ourselves. Can't you feel it?"
"For the first time, probably because it's easier just to drink your Kool-Aid than go against you," Kurt laughed, "I know what you mean."
"I mean, look," Rachel said enthusiastically. "Look at our life! Look at this city!"
"Yeah," Kurt replied.
"I know that it can be a little sad and lonely sometimes," Rachel reassured him as they stopped walking and she stepped in front of him to put her hands on his arms, "but, I promise you, we are going to have the best Thanksgiving ever."
"Pinky promise?" Kurt asked, extending his little finger off of his coffee cup.
"Pinky promise," she agreed, linking her pinky with his.
Neither of them had any confidence in their little pact.
"Are we going to make a turkey even though I'm the only one who will eat it?" Kurt wondered as they resumed their walk.
"Why not?" Rachel allowed. "Although, isn't it hard to make a turkey?"
"I don't know," Kurt admitted. "I've never done it before. But, I mean, we can figure it out, right?"
"Right," Rachel said resolutely. She leaned into him as they walked, and Kurt was glad they had each other.
By late that evening, Kurt's morning fondness for Rachel had transitioned into frustration.
"You can't just... invite some guy to Thanksgiving dinner without asking me!" Kurt scolded as Rachel informed him that Brody was going to cook them Thanksgiving dinner in the apartment.
"He's not 'some guy', though," Rachel pushed back. "He's Brody. You know him."
"I don't want to be the pathetic third wheel on Thanksgiving!" Kurt shouted. "And the point is –"
"This is my home, too, Kurt," Rachel snapped. "I'm allowed to have friends over if I want!"
"Not on holidays when we already have plans," Kurt disagreed.
"Well," Rachel said in a tone of voice that declared the conversation over, "we're going to have to agree to disagree. Brody is coming over to cook us Thanksgiving dinner and it's going to be lovely. Feel free to invite anyone you like."
KURT
By Wednesday evening, Kurt was really looking forward to the long weekend. Four days off and a holiday that meant he would be surrounded by delicious food the whole time.
He was lost in thoughts of all the leftovers waiting for him in the future as he flipped off the lights at Vogue dot com and prepared to lock up as he left.
"Hey!" Isabelle's voice protested from inside the conference room.
"Oh!" Kurt gasped, flicking the lights back on. He hurried over to the door to the conference room. "Isabelle, I am so sorry. I thought I was the last one here."
"It's okay," Isabelle reassured him. "Actually, I'm almost done. I'm just, um, proofreading the filmmaker round table."
"Oh, I love that article!" Kurt approved.
"Oh, good," Isabelle said.
"And I love Christmas movies," Kurt added. He moved into the room to sit down. "Be honest, which one are you looking forward to the most: Les Mis or The Hobbit?"
"Oh, wow," Isabelle mused. "I love Peter Jackson, but I'm obsessed with the French Revolution, so, uh, I suppose it would have to be..."
"A double feature," she and Kurt laughed simultaneously.
"So, do you have any fantabulous Thanksgiving plans?" Kurt asked.
"For the last five years," Isabelle explained, "I always went to Gore Vidal's for dinner and Pictionary. But, you know, Gore passed away this year, so... I don't know, I'll probably just get some turkey pizza from Two Boots and, uh, recreate my first Thanksgiving in New York."
"Well," Kurt said, thinking of Rachel's invitation to Brody, "if you're interested, my roommate and I are hosting a bit of an orphans' dinner out in Bushwick."
"Bushwick," Isabelle considered it. "Oh, a rustic Thanksgiving."
Kurt laughed his agreement.
"Can I bring some friends?" Isabelle inquired.
"Of course!" Kurt agreed. "We'll have as many orphans as Mr. Bumble's workhouse, right?" He giggled at the mental image. "Gruel for everyone!"
"You seem in a better mood," Isabelle commented, reaching out to tap his knee affectionately. "You and your ex have a rapprochement?"
"Au contraire," Kurt explained. "No, I'm closing the book to that sad saga."
"I'm just... I'm done," he elaborated. "I'm done thinking about it. I'm done thinking if we're going to get back together, wondering if we should get back together. No, it's over. I sent him a text. Said 'please stop calling me to say you're sorry'. What's done is done, you know?"
"Well, listen," Isabelle said kindly, "nothing is better than being single in New York City. But, you know, if he's been reaching out to you..."
"Assuage his guilt?" Kurt understood. "No. Sorry, cheater, this petal needs to move on."
"In my experience," Isabelle said kindly, "it's always easier for me to move on if I've either had my apology accepted, or, in your case, accepted an apology."
"You know, sometimes it's the not forgiving that holds us back," she added.
Kurt nodded, his heart suddenly pounding with indecision.
"Anyway," Isabelle smiled, "sorry to get all serious. I'm just so glad to see you smiling more."
"No, it's okay," Kurt allowed, making sure his voice stayed light. "And thank you. Believe it or not, there have been one or two occasions in my life when I haven't possessed all the answers, so..." he shrugged a teasing shoulder.
As he looked at the fondness in Isabelle's eyes, Kurt had a sudden realization.
She reminded him of Blaine.
Isabelle was kind and optimistic and enthusiastic. She loved helping people. Making people feel good about themselves. She was a talented artist with a sweetness about her that was disarming and comfortable.
Blaine was all of those things, too. It was part of the reason why, before everything had gone wrong, Kurt had been so excited about the possibility of Blaine meeting Isabelle.
"Kurt?" Isabelle asked gently, "you okay?"
"What? Yes!" Kurt confirmed. "Yes, I'm sorry. I was just- uh- I'm really thankful that I met you," he confessed in a rush of words.
"Aw," Isabelle agreed, "come here." She stood up and Kurt did the same so Isabelle could hug him. "The pleasure is all mine, really," she said as they stepped apart. "You're special, Kurt Hummel."
Kurt ducked his head, both shy and pleased with her assessment. "Thank you," he said.
"I'll see you tomorrow night?" Isabelle confirmed. "A Bushwick Thanksgiving... it's gonna be one to remember! I'm looking forward to it. Goodnight, Kurt."
Kurt bobbed his head as he backed toward the door. "Goodnight," he echoed before he turned and walked away.
The forty five minute train ride to Bushwick felt excruciatingly long as Kurt wrestled with his emotions over what he should do about Blaine.
His father and the woman he affectionately thought of as his fairy godmother had both, independently, given him essentially the same advice. Accept Blaine's apology.
But he wasn't sure that he wanted to.
It bothered him that accepting Blaine's apology would offer Blaine some relief. Not total relief – Kurt knew Blaine well enough to know that Blaine would, to some degree, carry the guilt of his infidelity for the rest of his life – but enough relief to make Kurt wonder if he wanted to give Blaine that satisfaction. He didn't want to cause additional pain for Blaine, but he also felt like the pain Blaine was feeling was of his own doing. Would accepting Blaine's apology somehow excuse what he had done?
As Kurt watched a young couple tickling their toddler on the other end of his train car and listened to the little girl's shrieks of laughter, he wished, for what felt like the millionth time, that things had never changed between him and Blaine. They had been so happy. Until they weren't. In an instant, they had gone from lovers to strangers. Kurt had lost the love of his life and his best friend in one horrible moment.
By the time he climbed into bed that evening, Kurt still wasn't sure what to do. He wasn't ready to forgive Blaine. He wasn't sure if he would ever be able to forgive. Could he accept Blaine's apology without also offering forgiveness?
KURT
The next day was Thanksgiving, so Kurt managed to stay busy enough not to think about Blaine much. He and Rachel cleaned the apartment until they were both satisfied that it was clean enough for Isabelle Wright and any guests she might bring along. Brody brought the food in the early afternoon, and they set to work preparing it for dinner.
"A bag?" Kurt scolded as he noticed that Brody was sprinkling seasoning into a turkey-sized bag.
"Yeah, I'm telling you, you put it in a bag and it self-bastes," Brody explained. "Tommy the turkey is not gonna go dry."
"Ina Garten would never cook a turkey in a bag," Kurt disapproved as he stirred a pot on the stove.
"Well," Brody teased, "when Ina comes to cook you Thanksgiving dinner, she can do what she pleases. But our bird is getting bagged!"
"Mmmm," Kurt rolled his eyes.
"Guys, this is so great!" Rachel whined happily from the table where she was handling the vegetables for the evening.
"Yeah," Kurt half-agreed, "it's like our own Big Chill!"
"Yeah, but no one breaks out into song!" Brody clarified.
Kurt and Rachel each gave him disapproving looks, but he ignored them.
"Now, Rachel," Brody said, "get over here and help me butter up Tommy."
"Okay," Rachel agreed, abandoning her task at the table to walk over to Brody and the turkey, "well, I'm a vegetarian so I can't eat it, but I guess I can touch it."
"Okay mister..." she said to the turkey as Brody handed her some butter. "I'm very sorry!"
"Like that?" she asked as she rubbed the butter over the raw turkey.
"You've gotta get it in there," Brody said, grabbing Rachel's hands to guide them. "Show him that you love him, you know? Just like that."
"Is that good?" Rachel asked, not paying any attention to what she was doing in favor of smiling at Brody.
"Yeah," Brody flirted back, "like that."
"When you two are done using that turkey as a courtship device," Kurt scolded, "would you put it in the oven? 'Cause it's almost five o' clock."
"Oh my god, it's almost time for Sectionals to start," Rachel realized.
"Why are they having it on Thanksgiving, anyway?" Kurt wondered.
"I'm sure they figured, with everyone home for the holiday, they would sell more tickets," Rachel guessed.
"Most high schools have football games for Thanksgiving," Brody commented.
"I remember my first Sectionals," Rachel reminisced. "I was so nervous. I gave myself this pep talk in the mirror and I just began my soulful monologue by saying 'you are ready for this'."
"Remember the adrenaline rush of having to pick our songs last-minute?" Kurt reminisced fondly.
"Yeah, if by 'adrenaline rush' you mean stress," Rachel teased. "We had our set list stolen at the competition," she explained to Brody, "so we had to improvise."
"And you won," Brody approved. "I'm impressed."
"Yeah, thanks to Rachel's lifelong obsession with Ms. Barbara Streisand," Kurt teased.
Rachel curtsied dramatically, and they all laughed.
"Okay," Brody said as he put the turkey in the oven and looked around the room to make sure everything else was in order, "now we wait."
BLAINE
As New Directions gathered in the choir room and prepared for Sectionals, Blaine wondered what Kurt was doing in New York. He hoped that Kurt's first major holiday away from home wouldn't be too lonely.
Blaine felt okay, overall. The energy of the crowded room lifted his spirits and being in performance mode helped the situation with Kurt feel less overwhelming. He walked across the room toward Tina, planning to encourage her about her solo during their group number, but Mercedes announced the show circle and he spun back around to join the group.
"What's 'show circle'?" Marley asked as she and Unique entered the room.
"It's a tradition before every competition," Tina explained as they group formed a circle around Finn.
"It's something Mr. Schu made up," Finn elaborated. "And, today, I want to add to it. Joe, how 'bout you lead us in prayer?"
"Whoa, dude," Puck said, "Old Testament. There are Hebrews here."
"Okay," Joe agreed. "This is one of my favorite Bible verses from Isaiah. Considering that the Warblers are so good and that this is the first competition for a lot of you, I think it's appropriate."
Blaine bowed his head and they all listened as Joe recited the verse. "'So do not fear, because I am with you. Do not be dismayed; I will strengthen you. I will uphold you with my righteous hand.'"
"And our righteous dance moves!" Artie added enthusiastically. "Amen!"
The group cheered until Finn spoke again.
"Ah, man, I remember our first Sectionals like it was yesterday," Finn reminisced. "We came together as a team because we had to. Because no one outside our circle knew how much we'd been through and how much it meant to us to win it."
Blaine thought briefly about his first Sectionals. His first year at Dalton. He had been very new to the Warblers then, but they had given him half of their opening duet. Blaine had been painfully nervous, but when he had stepped out onto the stage, he had realized that he was at home there. And they had won. Moved on to Regionals before losing to another private school in Indiana.
"This is our house," Finn continued. "Look into the faces of these graduates. They've been to the mountain top. This is just the first step in your climb to meet them there."
"On three?" Santana suggested, sticking her hand out into the middle of the circle.
"One, two, three... amazing!" the group shouted as they threw their hands in the air.
New Directions had pulled the final performance slot, so they went to sit down in the audience of their auditorium to watch the Warblers go first. As Blaine watched them perform, he felt more secure than ever with his decision to stay at McKinley. The Warblers were great, but they weren't his anymore. These Warblers were bigger; more into the show than the singing.
He searched for familiar faces as the Warblers danced and sang. Hunter and Sebastian were easy to spot because they each sang a solo, but Blaine managed to pick out Jeff and Nick, too. Where was Trent?
By the time the Warblers finished their pair of songs, Blaine had to admit that it was going to be a struggle to beat them. Their set had been very entertaining to watch. New Directions was going to have to do something special to stand out after that.
KURT
As they waited for the turkey to finish in the oven, Kurt and Rachel sat at their small kitchen table and Brody continued his cooking.
"You okay?" Kurt asked Rachel as he lit a candle in the center of the table. She had a sad, faraway look on her face.
"Yeah," Rachel reassured him. "I was having a moment. You know, every year, over, like, an assortment of pies, my dads and I would sing these holiday medleys by the piano and... I dunno, I'm just starting to feel like maybe that part of my life is over."
"Sweetie," Kurt teased, "as long as we're in each other's lives, holiday medleys will never be over."
"Promise me," Rachel mouthed at him as Brody opened the oven to pull out the turkey.
"How's it going?" Rachel asked.
Brody confirmed that the turkey looked good before glancing at Kurt. "Alright, Kurt," he suggested, "do you want to do the honors?"
"No, thanks," Kurt declined as someone knocked on the door and he stood up to go answer the door, assuming it was Isabelle, "I'm not even having turkey after the way you guys manhandled it."
He dragged the apartment door open to find a group of people – a woman and a drag queen at the front – gathered in the hallway.
"Can I help you?" he asked, confused.
"Isabelle Wright invited us to an orphan party here," the woman said as she stepped past Kurt into the apartment.
"Oh, right, uh, yeah..." Kurt tried to catch up. He had anticipated a refined, well-dressed gentleman or a quirky friend or two, not a large group. Were they going to have enough food? Fortunately, some of the new arrivals had flowers and food items in their arms as they walked through the doorway. Kurt turned to shout at Rachel and Brody. "Apparently we're having a party."
"O-okay, welcome!" Rachel agreed. "Come on in."
"Wait, have any of you heard from Isabelle?" Kurt asked, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "I tried calling her earlier, but got her voicemail."
"She was stopping at some new club opening next to Pyramid, over in the East Village," someone explained.
"Oh," Kurt said as his phone vibrated, "wait, this is her now."
"Hello?" he answered.
"Hey!" Isabelle said. "Sorry I didn't call you back before... I'm nearly there! The rain made getting a cab impossible. By the time I got appropriately dolled up and out the door, it was the train or nothing."
"That's– yeah, I'm sorry. No problem," Kurt stammered, still overcome by the sudden increase in the scope of their celebration plans.
"Actually," Isabelle said, "I think I'm– hold on, yes, this is your building. I'll be right up!"
"Okay," Kurt agreed. The call ended, and Isabelle arrived in the doorway a few moments later.
"Sorry about this," she laughed, handing off the desert in her hands to a friend and motioning around with her other arm. "Once I started telling people, it just kinda... expanded."
Kurt laughed. "I... this is certainly going to be more fun than sitting quietly around the table!" he anticipated.
It was the most fun Kurt had ever had on a holiday. The drag queens put on a fashion show, which turned into everyone strutting through the center of the apartment to applause and appreciative whistles and compliments. They hooked someone's phone into the sound system they used for their television and turned the volume up so everyone could sing and dance around the apartment between helpings of food.
Rachel even got to sing a show tune or two for the crowd, who, to Kurt's surprise, were delighted to indulge Rachel in her holiday tradition.
"This is the best Thanksgiving ever!" Rachel laughed when her song ended, grabbing Kurt's forearms and jumping up and down with excitement.
Kurt had to agree. He had never experienced anything like this. He was at a crazy Thanksgiving party – in his apartment – in New York City. With a fashion icon and her friends. And Rachel. And her almost-boyfriend. He laughed and bounced about with Rachel as he thought about what he would've said if someone had told him a year earlier that this would happen.
Kurt weaved his way through dancing bodies, snuck a piece of turkey when he was sure Rachel and Brody weren't watching, and wandered into his section of the apartment to make sure everything was still where it was supposed to be. He had a great view of the party – all their happy guests dancing and eating and drinking, and Rachel dancing with Brody more suggestively than Kurt wanted to see – as he walked between his room and Rachel's, and a thought occurred to him before he could stop it.
Blaine would love this.
Kurt had a sudden moment of clarity as he imagined Blaine there, dancing with total strangers and with Rachel. And with Kurt.
He wanted to talk to Blaine.
Kurt knew that leaving via the door would draw attention to his sudden and potentially embarrassing emotional shift, so he rushed over to Rachel's window and climbed out onto the fire escape for privacy.
BLAINE
After the Warblers' performance, New Directions went backstage to wait for their turn while the Rosedale Mennonites performed for the audience.
The minutes flew by, and then it was their turn. Blaine sat down on the risers on the stage to wait out the ten minute break between groups. He was ready.
He didn't realize that he had forgotten to take his phone out of his pocket until it vibrated and startled him out of his mental preparation.
Kurt was calling.
A sick feeling settled into Blaine's stomach. Was something wrong? He jumped to his feet and rushed offstage as he answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Hey," Kurt said, his voice calm. "Can you hear me? It's kinda loud out here."
"Um, yeah," Blaine replied, relieved that Kurt sounded okay and confused about why he was calling. "Yeah, I can hear you."
"Have you guys performed yet?" Kurt asked.
"Um, no," Blaine answered the casual question as he found a ladder to lean on in a dark corner. "Not yet."
Kurt didn't immediately speak again, so Blaine went for it. "Look, Kurt" he said, relishing the fact that Kurt had called him for the first time since their separation, "I just want you to know that, no matter –"
"Just let me talk for a second," Kurt requested, cutting Blaine off. Blaine immediately fell silent, willing to let Kurt steer the conversation so he would be as comfortable as possible.
"Look," Kurt said, his voice calm and full of sadness, "you've said you're sorry a million times and... I believe you. And I'm trying to forgive you, but I'm just not there yet."
Blaine tried not to think too hard. Tried not to get his hopes up. This was the first time Kurt had said anything that even remotely suggested that he might, in the future, find forgiveness for Blaine. Blaine hung on his every word; he wanted to hear everything.
"But it's Thanksgiving and it's Sectionals," Kurt reminded him, "and... I miss you like crazy."
Blaine lost his battle against the tears in his eyes as the confirmation that Kurt missed him filled him with warmth and the sharp stab of guilt.
KURT
"And I can't stand not talking to you even though I'm mad at you," Kurt confessed, "because you're still my best friend."
Where were all these confessions coming from? Kurt wondered. He was saying all these things he hadn't meant to say. He was supposed to just accept Blaine's apology, relish the sound of his voice, and hang up. Move on with his life. What was happening?
"You're mine, too," Blaine replied, and Kurt could hear the emotion in his voice. The gratitude and the love and the sadness.
Kurt's heart ached with sorrow, but also with guarded affection for the devastated boy on the other end of the phone.
He had already said so much that he hadn't planned to say, but none of it was a lie. So, Kurt decided to continue offering the truth. He wanted to see Blaine again. In person.
He stood up on the fire escape – the metal was freezing cold to sit on – and decided that it was okay to give their friendship a second chance. They could do it on his terms. There didn't have to be any pressure. Just Blaine, his dearest friend.
"At Christmas," Kurt decided, "we need to have a mature heart-to-heart. And maybe, if it's cold enough, we can go ice skating on the Auglaize River and get hot chocolate," he suggested. "Anywhere but the Lima Bean because, when I was working there, I saw a mouse."
Blaine squeaked out a tiny, delighted laugh, and it made Kurt's soul ache with joy. He missed Blaine so much.
"So we're, uh, we're really going to see each other at Christmas?" Blaine asked, his voice suggesting that this sudden change of heart on Kurt's side of the situation seemed too good to be true.
"Yeah," Kurt agreed.
Silence hung between them for a moment as Blaine waited and Kurt tried to decide if there was anything else he wanted to say.
"Well, don't let any of those hideous Warblers win, alright?" he said as he fought back tears. "Break a leg."
"Happy Thanksgiving," he added.
He heard Blaine's intake of breath, and Kurt knew that Blaine was feeling thankful for a second chance to be friends. Kurt was thankful that it felt good to offer it.
"Happy Thanksgiving," Blaine managed. And then, after a short silence, he breathed, "Kurt, I love you so much."
Kurt nodded even though Blaine couldn't see him and had to pause before he could offer the truth in return.
"I love you, too," Kurt said.
Kurt wasn't sure which one of them ended the call, but, as he climbed back through the window into the warm apartment, Kurt could feel his tears building to a point where he was going to have to cry.
Isabelle was waiting for him. She came over immediately and wrapped her arms around him, and he was grateful for the company as he let a few tears fall.
"You were right," he managed to explain as he pulled out of her embrace, wiping his eyes.
He felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He didn't have to hate Blaine. He didn't have to stop himself every time he wanted to text or call.
Blaine was still his best friend.
"I'm so glad," Isabelle smiled warmly. She motioned for him to turn around in a circle so she could make sure his outfit wasn't messed up, and he had to smile as he obliged.
"Perfect," she assessed.
"Thank you," Kurt said as Isabelle offered her arm so they could return to the party. "For everything."
BLAINE
"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage... the New Directions!"
After his emotional conversation with Kurt, Blaine had to quickly get himself together and get back into performance mode. He rushed back to join his teammates as they got into position for Gangnam Style. Blaine and Marley's duet would be their second and final performance.
Although he didn't allow himself to think about Kurt's phone call during the song, it did have one positive effect on Blaine's performance. He was full of adrenaline and the kind of tingly happiness that meant there was an extra spring in his step. He knew he was going to own his part of the duet. It was a great day.
The best Thanksgiving of his life.
Blaine was pleasantly surprised when they made it to the end of Gangnam Style. It was a silly song choice, but the performance had gone brilliantly. He and Marley were going to sound great together during their duet to close out New Directions' set, so maybe they did have a chance of winning over the Warblers.
But he quickly realized that something was wrong.
"Oh my god!" Kitty, who was standing beside Blaine at the end of the song, gasped and abandoned her position to rush toward the back of the stage. Blaine turned and saw a rapidly growing group of people hovering over someone lying on the ground.
"... fainted!" Blaine heard someone shout.
He rushed over.
It was Marley lying on the ground.
"Here... get her– get her up!" Blaine suggested, forgetting all about the competition. "It's okay. Let's get her off the stage. Gently. Gently..."
That phone call between Kurt and Blaine. Emotions! Really amazing acting on both sides of the conversation. The way Blaine just hangs on Kurt's every word and the relief on his face when Kurt wants to see him at Christmas. And Kurt's mix of hurt and love for Blaine and the way he struggles to be honest while still maintaining that he isn't ready to forgive. The best.
Up next... 4x09: Swan Song!