"- I'm telling you, she has the most beautiful singing voice you'll ever hear. We should definitely go to one of her performances next semester -"
Sebastian scowled at David's back as he trudged dejectedly along the pavement, his footsteps slowing to half pace as he tried to put off the inevitable. He still couldn't quite believe that he was currently looking forward to spending his Saturday night with a bunch of public school misfits – the limited edition set complete with airhead bimbos, Neanderthal jocks and homophobic assholes if his luck had anything to do with it – as opposed to having fun with the decidedly more appealing patrons of Scandals, which had of course been his original plan for the weekend.
When David had first suggested that Sebastian and the other boys accompany him to the party that was being thrown by one of Mercedes' friends, Sebastian had quite literally laughed in his face. They had been friends long enough for David to know that Sebastian didn't do polite socializing, and the idea that he would willingly put himself through that sort of hell...well it was completely insane. Sebastian had told David as much, and had expected that to be the end of it
Except David had busted out the puppy-dog eyes, and played his best friend card (to be used a maximum of once a year - no refunds, no do-overs) and Sebastian had been trapped by his own goddamn morality. For all that he played a good game of "don't give a crap" most of the time, he genuinely cared about David, and if this stupid party really meant that much to him then Sebastian would suck it up and come with him.
It didn't mean he had to like it though.
"Yeah, let's go be cheerleaders for our competition, that sounds like an awesome plan," he spoke softly, intending for his snipe to go unheard. The quiet night air carried his voice farther than he had expected, though, and David twisted his head back toward Sebastian curiously. Sebastian winced, but simply raised an eyebrow at the other boy defiantly. He wasn't going to apologize for his words; he never did.
Luckily it seemed that this new love-struck David had lost all grasp of sarcasm, because his face broke out into a massive grin. "See, I knew you'd come around to the idea of her, Seb. Honestly, she's amazing, and funny, and sexy-"
Sebastian sighed and zoned out David's ramblings once again. Now this, this was a prime example of why he hated relationships; they turned normally high-functioning individuals into absolute morons.
"He's adorable isn't he," Matthew whispered conspiratorially in Sebastian's ear and Sebastian had to physically repress his groan of despair. As if it wasn't bad enough that he was forced to endure the company of backwater Ohio ragamuffins for an entire evening, the powers-that-be had deemed it appropriate that he should have to do so with Matthew as his sole wingman.
Sebastian sent another curse in the general direction of Nick and Jeff; the wording slightly different but the bitter meaning just as cutting as the hundreds of others he had flung their way in the past forty-eight hours. It wasn't fair; just because they could claim "date night" they were apparently exempt from this unique form of torture. What did the world have against single people, Sebastian wondered as he nodded along mindlessly to whatever it was that David was waxing lyrical about now.
"You know, I reckon I'm pretty lucky that you two aren't into girls; if you were I'd probably have to fight you for Mercedes once you meet her." David slowed so that he could fall in step with the two boys. He gave Sebastian a playful nudge with his shoulder, encouraging him to join in with the banter. "And I've seen you in Scandals Seb, I'm pretty sure that's not something I want to go up against!"
Sebastian laughed, rolling his eyes at his dopey friend. "Well luckily for you I'm pretty sure Scandals is going to be my stomping ground for years to come. Honestly Dave, I don't get why you'd want to shackle yourself to one piece of ass when there's such a delectable palette just waiting for you out there; it's completely beyond me."
"Just because you've never been in love," David laughed playfully, a split-second of unbridled enthusiasm for this game of back-and-forth flitting across his features before he realized what he had said and his face suddenly dropped.
Sebastian's body tensed, and his footsteps faltered for a moment as everything went slightly fuzzy around the edges. He hadn't been expecting that, not from David of all people, and because he hadn't been expecting it, it completely threw his normally cool composure. It was only a momentary hesitation, though, and the next second he had gathered himself enough to throw a devious wink at David. "What are you talking about? I meet the new love of my life every week, it's not my fault they always get boring as soon as I've fucked them."
It seemed David wasn't going to let himself off the hook as easily as Sebastian had, though, because his frown was still firmly in place as he nudged Sebastian again with his shoulder. This time the gesture was far softer; a silent apology of sorts. "Seb, you know I didn't mean..." he began to say.
"It's fine, really," Sebastian cut in, throwing a pointed glance over at Matthew who was completely oblivious to the darker undertones that had crept into their conversation. "Don't worry. Seriously, your dick is doing all your thinking right now; you can't be held responsible for your actions when you've got girl on the brain."
David's eyes were still wary as he reached up to squeeze Sebastian's shoulder, but it seemed that the mention of Mercedes had broken the tension and the next second he was back in full-gushing mode.
"-and her laugh, Sebastian, I swear it's like the voice of an angel, it's totally out of this world-"
A (very) small part of Sebastian was actually relieved when they reached the large red door that signaled they had arrived at their destination; he loved David, he really did, but there was only so much romanticism a guy could take without going absolutely mad, and Sebastian was definitely reaching his limit.
David bounded eagerly up the small set of stairs that led to the doorway with such enthusiasm that Sebastian made a mental note to talk to his friend – again - about playing it cool. The door was slightly ajar when they reached it so the three boys headed straight into the house without knocking, figuring they probably wouldn't be heard over the steady thrum of dance music that was blaring from within anyway. The front door opened into an empty hallway, but the cacophony of voices emanating from one of the side doors about halfway down the corridor made it pretty obvious where they were expected to go. David strode forward without hesitating.
"C'mon guys, you have to come meet Mercedes, you're going to love her," he called over his shoulder, gesticulating wildly as he shepherded them towards the obvious epicenter of the party.
Sebastian followed David with decidedly more reservation in his footsteps, taking a second to compose himself before entering the lions' den, so to speak. Rolling his shoulders, he took a few deep breaths and felt his usual bravado settle into place. Tonight was going to be a train wreck, there was no doubt about that, but there wasn't a chance in hell he was going to let these Lima-losers get under his skin. Sebastian threw a smirk that was only a little bit forced at David as they reached the living room. "Wow, you really have it bad, don't you?" He laughed as David nodded eagerly, not even trying to contest the statement. The laughter died in his throat, though, as they entered the room and were promptly confronted by an indomitable wall of people.
"Christ, David, is the entire underbelly of Ohio here?" Sebastian asked incredulously as he tried to comprehend just how many people could possibly be crammed into such a small space.
David gave a small shrug. "I think it's a joint thing between Sugar and her older sister, so yeah it's pretty big I guess. Hey, there's Mercedes! I'm going to go grab her. You guys wait right here." And in an instant David was swallowed up by the human sea as he started to make his way toward a cluster of strangers on the far side of the room.
"Wait a sec-" Sebastian started to say, not liking the idea of being left to the mercy of so many strangers (and yes, there was the letterman herd, right on cue), but it was no use. David was already halfway across the room before Sebastian had even opened his mouth. He really was a man on a mission when it came to this Mercedes girl, Sebastian couldn't help thinking. Damn him.
His gaze followed David as he reached the group and promptly slid his arm around the waist of a pretty girl who must be the infamous Mercedes, giving her a shy smile and then leaning down to kiss her lightly on the cheek. Sebastian snorted at the gesture. Well aren't you the gentleman, Dave, he thought to himself as he watched Mercedes respond by grinning back up at David before starting to gesture towards various members of the group. They were all much too far away for Sebastian to be able to make out what they were saying, but it was fairly obvious that introductions were being made. They were a pretty large group, and Sebastian found himself getting impatient as David meticulously greeted each member in turn.
"Alright, hurry it along now," he muttered to nobody in particular, his annoyance growing as he was forced to hastily sidestep in order to make way for four large jocks barreling through with little-to-no regard for who they flattened in their path. The music paused for half a beat as two girls fought over the iPhone plugged into the dock, and when it returned with Katy Perry blaring from the speakers Sebastian felt the last of his good-will go flying out the window. Between the obnoxious chorus of "Teenage Dream" and the catcalls of "Chug! Chug! Chug!" that were now echoing from somewhere to his left, he was pretty sure that this was what the outer circle of hell looked like.
"Oh David, you're in for a whole world of pain for dragging me to this," Sebastian growled under his breath as he forced himself to breath slowly and not punch the guy who was now grinding against his girlfriend less than a foot from Sebastian's face. If he wasn't mistaken the prick was wearing a college sweatshirt too, just to add insult to injury. Great, absolutely fucking great. Just when Sebastian thought this party couldn't get any worse, he had to deal with what seemed like an entire Lima Community College fraternity as well.
Sebastian gave a loud sigh. This party was an unmitigated disaster, and he was going to tell David exactly what he thought of it when the other boy got back from-
Oh. Well. Now where had he come from?
Sebastian cocked his head unconsciously to the side as he watched David introduce himself to a slender boy with meticulously styled hair and narrow hips that made Sebastian's brain instantly flood with wholly inappropriate images. The boy's movements were fluid and graceful as he shook hands with David, his eyes appraising as he took in the taller boy from head to toe before giving a small nod; the new boyfriend had obviously passed the first surreptitious best friend test.
It took Sebastian longer than was probably acceptable to recognize him as the same boy from the New Directions video they had all been watching the other day - Kurt, he was pretty sure his name was - but in his defense the small screen hardly did him justice. Christ, the way he twisted to hug Mercedes, he was all long limbs and lean muscle; probably flexible as all hell...
Sebastian shook his head, mentally scolding himself as his imagination started to run away with him. This, this Kurt might have a sinful enough ass but he was clearly innocent as anything, and that was a complete no-go zone for Sebastian. Just look at him, he was practically the definition of doe-eyed high schooler; it was almost painful. Sebastian watched as Mercedes whispered something in Kurt's ear and the boy's eyes crinkled at the corners in amusement, giving her a sly smile and a wink in return. Yep, he was obviously the type to go steady and attend proms and marry his high school sweetheart in every state where it was legal. Then settle down in the suburbs with babies and carpools and all that heteronormative bullshit. Definitely not a potential playmate. No. Definitely not. This one was for looking only. Visual relief from this hellhole of a party.
Sebastian gave a small sigh of relief as David started to turn back toward where he and Matthew were still standing, speaking quietly in Mercedes' ear as he did so. That's it David. Bring that girl over here so we can see if she passes my surreptitious best friend tests. He needed the distraction from frat boy's grinding. And maybe from a willowy form that should not in any way be so enticing.
Except it seemed the message hadn't quite gotten across to Mercedes as the next second she had grabbed David's hand and started to lead him towards a door on the far side of the room. Away from Sebastian and Matthew. Sebastian scowled and gasped with outrage as David happily followed his girlfriend without so much as a backwards glance at his friends. Fan-fucking-tastic.
He hated relationships, hated them with every fiber of his being, and this was exactly why. He and David had been best friends for years; he had only come to this God-awful party to keep David company, and in less than ten minutes the other boy had effectively thrown Sebastian to the Lima-Heights wolves without so much as a "See you later".
Sebastian gave a small huff, the anger in his body slowly being replaced with what felt uncomfortably like dejection. He had a bad track record with friends and their partners, and the idea of going down the same path with David stung more than a little. The problem was that the second one of his friends started dating they might as well not exist, because he had less than no chance of actually getting to see them. When the choice was between a sweet, loving, partner or scathing, condescending, bitchy Sebastian, they without fail chose the sweet and loving. And he couldn't even blame them. But he didn't have to like it.
Which was exactly why he was going to stay well clear of Bambi over there, with his perfect cheekbones and hips that were made for biting – no. He might be a bastard in a whole range of ways, but pretending to be something he wasn't just to get laid most definitely wasn't one of them. Which meant Kurt was strictly off limits. Completely, one hundred percent off limits.
"So, it looks like it's just you and me then," Matthew piped up from next to him with a flirty wink, and this time Sebastian couldn't hide the loud groan that ripped through his chest. He needed to find and consume large amounts of alcohol. Fast.
Ninety minutes and seven wine coolers later found Sebastian leaning awkwardly against the wall in the middling-sized room which had been designated "dance floor" by the partygoers. Some good, hard spirits would definitely have been his beverage of choice given the circumstances, but unfortunately the liquor cabinet had been locked and the only thing he could find in Sugar's woefully under-stocked refrigerator had been those pink atrocities which tried (and failed) to pass themselves off as alcoholic. As such, Sebastian was still far too sober to even contemplate joining the throbbing mass of bodies that were currently swaying along to yet another generic Top-40 club beat. His single accomplishment of the evening had been to ditch Matthew somewhere that wasn't right next to him trying to touch him in as many inappropriate places as possible.
His eyes scanned the crowd with vague disinterest, arms crossed in front of his chest and foot tapping along idly to the steady thrum of the bass. His gaze traveled over David and Mercedes (who were grinding as if there was no tomorrow), Mercedes' short girlfriend (who was backing a hulking football player into a corner with a devious look in her eyes), the dude with the Mohawk (who was hitting on every girl he could find), and finally returned for what felt like the hundredth time to Kurt. Fuck him. Possibly over a kitchen counter, or maybe in the shower.
Sebastian scowled and shook himself roughly. This was getting ridiculous. He was clearly going crazy from having spent the better part of two hours in the company of morons, and it was messing with his judgment. After all, it wasn't even as if Kurt was his type. That sweater-vest definitely came from a woman's clothes shop, and the fact that his pants clung to legs and hips and ass in spectacular fashion was completely negated by the fact that they were leopard print. Liza Minnelli leopard print.
Sebastian groaned and let his head fall back against the wall slightly harder than he had possibly intended. Wincing, he straightened up again just in time to see the slender boy gyrate his hips lazily in time with the music, the action providing a direct line to Sebastian's cock which was definitely not getting the memo about Kurt being not his type. Sebastian wanted to cry out in frustration, at this stupid party and its stupid occupants with their stupidly sexy dance moves that really shouldn't be sexy at all because someone that innocent couldn't possibly be that seductive and now, just to add insult to injury he was this close to sporting a stupid boner in a room full of stupid jocks and really, could this stupid night get any worse if it tried?
Shoving off from the wall with an angry sigh Sebastian started to make his way toward the kitchen which branched off from the left hand side of the room. Maybe some water and some space (away from Kurt) would help cool him down.
Sebastian was just about to exit the room when he heard somebody shout his name behind him. Turning around slowly he saw David squeezing his way through the crowd toward him, his face flushed and eager from dancing.
"Hey Seb, I feel like I haven't seen you all night!" David's voice was breathless, with no trace of embarrassment as he fell into step next to Sebastian heading down the little hallway to the kitchen. Sebastian couldn't help the angry thoughts that flared to life in his head as he took in David's relaxed stance and comfortable joking, as if he hadn't completely left Sebastian to fend for himself for the last hour and a half.
"That's probably because you haven't; you've been too busy fawning all over your girlfriend." Sebastian's retort rolled off his tongue before he had time to think about what he was saying, a snide inflection coloring his tone on the last word. He immediately regretted it as he watched David's face fall, all the carefree happiness disappearing in an instant. Talk about being a crappy friend.
"Hey," he spoke again, more softly this time, "you know I didn't mean that. Mercedes seems - she seems really nice okay?" If Sebastian was honest he had no idea what Mercedes seemed like; David hadn't introduced them yet and so any thoughts Sebastian might have about the girl were from a purely observatory standpoint. But the magic word "Mercedes" brought back David's trademark grin.
"She really is," he replied slightly dreamily. "But what about you? Have you met anybody? Mercedes' friend Kurt seems really cool, and he definitely plays for your team." He waggled his eyebrows conspiratorially.
"Was that your straight guy attempt at subtlety?" Sebastian snorted. "Because it completely failed."
David seemed undeterred. In fact, he was kind of bouncing with excitement. "Here's an idea! You should totally go dance with Kurt! He's not with anybody, you're bored, it's perfect!"
Grinning at his friend's eagerness, it took Sebastian a second to work out what David was actually suggesting. As soon as he made out the words "you", "dance" and "Kurt" though, his optimism instantly deflated. This was so not what he needed right now. He needed logic, and reason, and anything else that would convince him that dancing with Mr. Incredibly Inappropriate out there was a terrible idea.
"Oh my God! What if you guys hit it off? We could double date!"
And that did it. Jesus Christ - was David so far gone that he'd forgotten all of Sebastian's rules? And the reason for those rules? He needed to shut all of this down before it spiraled even more out of control.
"Have you even bothered to take your eyes off your woman long enough notice anything about him?" Sebastian asked, forcing a strong note of incredulity into his voice to heighten the effect. "He's as far from my type as anyone could possibly be. Have you seen what he's wearing? Weren't you the one who just said you were glad I don't go for girls?"
David pulled back a little, obviously surprised by Sebastian's attitude, and confusion replaced excitement on his face. "Why would you say something like that?"
Because he wasn't interested, there would be nothing happening that had even the slightest chance of leading to dates, and maybe if he could convince David of this fact he could convince himself in the process. Giving a small scoff he wrinkled his nose in distaste. "There are thirty frat boys milling around out there, do you really think I should be on the dance floor wrapping myself around someone quite so flaming? I like my face the way it is, thank you very much."
David frowned, clearly not quite understanding Sebastian's protestations. Sebastian fixed David with his best "Are you really going to go there?" face in response, and held his gaze until the shorter boy sighed, conceding victory to Sebastian for the time being.
"Fine," he muttered with slightly less enthusiasm. "You could always dance with Matthew then, I guess he's not quite so obvious."
This time Sebastian's protestations were entirely truthful. "Please, he's so desperate he'd probably take the suggestion of dancing as a marriage proposal. Even if I wasn't a lone ranger I don't think even you could fault me for wanting to steer clear of that train wreck."
David barked a laugh at Sebastian's vehement rejection; the situation between Sebastian and Matthew was well known and well mocked throughout the halls of Dalton. "You've got me there," he replied, throwing a small shrug in Sebastian's direction. "Can't blame me for trying though."
"Once. I can't blame you once." Sebastian replied, happy that they had finally moved away from this incredibly awkward topic of conversation. "Any more than that and you're just asking for it. Now come on, I can dance with you and your woman, at least, without fear of broken bones or marriage proposals."
"I don't go for girls."
Kurt slumped further back against the wall, smacking his head against it with a thump that was hopefully less audible to others than it seemed to him. He laughed a silent, bitter laugh. What was it they always said about eavesdroppers? And did it count if you never meant to eavesdrop in the first place? All he'd wanted was a quiet place to hide for a while, when dancing with himself wasn't cutting it any more and he'd felt himself slipping into a place that was much more self-pitying than he was comfortable with.
The party had been Sugar's "best idea". Get her parents to throw a big event (he still wasn't sure what the occasion was but had heard everything from Sugar finally reaching a body mass of 18 to her older sister Candy having hit the two-week mark with her latest boyfriend), make sure Mercedes invited her Warbler, and take turns interrogating/questioning/investigating (depending on who you asked) him to determine whether his intentions were pure. It had been a dumb idea to start with, made completely ineffectual when the New Directions had immediately scattered in six different directions upon arrival. Puck was on a mission to find college women and hard alcohol, Santana and Brittany had holed up somewhere, safe in the knowledge that a glimpse of them making out would only excite the meathead frat types Sugar's sister had apparently invited, Finn and Rachel were nowhere to be found, and Mike and Tina hadn't left the dance floor since the party began. Neither, until about ten minutes ago, had Mercedes and David. Even if anyone had been inclined to start Operation Warbler Interrogation, they'd never manage to get the guy alone. He was honestly surprised Sebastian had managed to pry him away from her long enough to ruin Kurt's night.
So, tired of both the futility of any action the Glee Club seemed to try and the isolation of being the dancing alone, non-flirting, designated driver, Kurt had gone looking for a quiet place to wait it out until Finn and Rachel could be persuaded to head back to the real world. The little study/library was deserted and just what he'd needed. He'd intended to grab a good book and settle in for the duration. Instead he'd had a front row seat for that little extra bit of humiliation he needed to make this a perfect Kurt Hummel night out.
It shouldn't have bothered him. It wasn't anything he hadn't heard before, from people who had a lot more influence on his life than Sebastian Better-Than-Everyone Smythe. It shouldn't hurt even more coming from a stranger, no matter how hot he was. But the fact was that, asshole stranger or not, Sebastian was gay. And not self-hating, closeted, need-to-lash-out gay, like Karofsky, but out, comfortable, actually-looking-for-physical-contact-with-another-guy gay. Which meant, essentially, that Kurt wasn't just too gay for straight people, he was too gay for gay people. And where did that leave him? "He's not my type," would have been fine. After all, if the athletic guy they'd come with wasn't hot enough for Sebastian then there was no way Kurt could ever be. But of course Sebastian hadn't left it at that. So what was he supposed to do when he was rejected by his own kind?
Go home. That's what he was supposed to do. A quick peep out the door told him the coast was clear so he slipped back into the crowd and began making the rounds trying to find Finn and Rachel. They weren't dancing (although Mercedes had apparently snagged David back, with bonus Sebastian, and he tried not to feel bitter about the happy wave she gave him from where she was wrapped around her boyfriend or the stupidly graceful way Sebastian's too-long body moved); they weren't in the kitchen or the den, where Puck had finally succeeded in breaking into a liquor cabinet and was mixing up some concoction from an amazing array of bottles. The vast backyard was full of people but even after several embarrassing encounters behind various bushes, he still hadn't managed to find them. He was just steeling himself to head upstairs and start peeking into bedrooms when he heard a familiar giggle from the very room he'd left fifteen minutes before. He poked his head back around the door to find Finn stretched out on the couch, making out furiously with someone he assumed was Rachel.
"Ahem," Kurt cleared his throat over-noisily but the sound had no effect on the two lovebirds. "Hey!" he tried again, kicking at Finn's foot where it hung off the end of the couch.
"Hey what?" Finn surged up from the couch, but stopped himself when he saw that it was Kurt. From deep in the cushions came a giggle that could only mean Rachel was already a sheet or two into Puck's concoction.
"Kurt!" she exclaimed, "I can't feel my lips!"
Kurt raised his eyebrows at Finn, who only stared back. "What?" the taller boy asked.
"I'm tired. I want to go home," Kurt replied, his voice slightly snappier than the situation warranted, but he was fast reaching the end of his tether.
Finn grabbed Kurt's arm and pulled him a little further from where Rachel had snagged a blue plastic cup from the coffee table and was concentrating on finishing whatever was in it. "Dude," he whispered, "We can't leave yet. I'm about half a cup away from being able to convince her to go find an empty bedroom."
"I want to go home," Kurt repeated. "And since I drove, you're stuck."
"Half a cup!" Finn repeated.
"What's the big deal? Haven't you guys been having sex since November or something?"
Finn lowered his voice even more. "Look, Kurt, you know how Burt got so protective of you when you went out with that one guy last month? And the little short dude before that?"
Kurt scowled at the reminder of his short, unsuccessful dating history, but nodded.
"Well that wasn't just a Burt thing. It was a dad thing. And Rachel has two of them. It's like, there's one there every hour of the day or night. I have to take advantage of any opportunity!"
"Fiiinnnnn," Rachel called from the couch. Kurt tried to keep his face severe, but Finn must have sensed weakening.
"Just give me an hour. Please. I'll make it up to you, I swear. Whatever you want."
"I want to go home!" But fortunately for Finn, although not so happily for himself, Kurt never had been able to resist when someone genuinely seemed to need him. "One hour," he hissed at his brother.
"Bye Kurt!" Rachel called to him even as she reached out to pull Finn back down on top of her.
He fled the sounds of their renewed making out, but quickly realized that he had no idea what he should do for the next hour. The kitchen, living room, and large open room where people were dancing were all packed full, and the upstairs was completely out of the question. He was pushing through the crowds in the dancing room, wondering if it was warm enough to just go wait it out in his car, when strong fingers suddenly wrapped around his upper arm.
"Kurt! Oh my God, this is perfect. I was just talking about you." He was tugged into a corner where Brittany, who had snagged him out of the crowd, had trapped one very tall, dark and arrogant Warbler. "Guess what? Sebastian really is gay, just like Santana said. You guys should totally dance together. Even if he is out of your league, you still might be able to get something out of him."
The absolute last thing Kurt wanted to do at that moment was move his head the quarter turn it would take to face Sebastian, but since there was almost no chance the earth was going to swallow him whole and the odds of someone screaming "fire" and starting a stampede (he briefly flirted with the idea of just doing it himself) were slim, he forced himself to raise his eyes to face all six-odd feet of Sebastian's disdain. Hopefully he would reject the idea of dancing with Kurt quickly so he could go find a bush to die of embarrassment behind.
Unsurprisingly, Sebastian was even more attractive up close than he had been from afar. Even while staring down at Brittany like she was a monkey who'd learned to speak. And, of course, that got Kurt's back up even more. It was fine for their friends to think Brittany was nuts, but an outsider, especially a jerk like Sebastian, had no right to judge her. Kurt was in full glare mode by the time Sebastian turned his attention to him. His lips (pretty lips, the full bottom one just screamed to be tasted) twisted into a smirk. Kurt pushed all thoughts of tasting lips out of his head and smirked right back, raising an eyebrow in what he hoped looked like a challenge. Go ahead, he thought, say it to my face this time.
Sebastian answered Kurt's challenge with a raised eyebrow of his own. "It's not the worst offer I've had tonight."
Which, while definitely back-handed, still sounded like a yes. And that wasn't remotely what Kurt had expected to hear. His confusion must have shown on his face because the smirk on Sebastian's simply got wider. He had a sudden irrational urge to smack it off Sebastian's pointy rodent features. Instead, he turned and smiled gently at Brittany.
"Thanks for thinking about me, Britt, but I'm not going to dance tonight."
"Oh! But you two would look so good together. Santana says that boys making out is really hot, and I've never had a chance to watch that."
Sebastian made a tiny noise, like he was holding back some bigger reaction. Kurt kept his eyes focused only on Brittany. "Seriously, Britt. I can't dance tonight. There are way too many drunken frat boys here just waiting for a chance to rearrange a flaming face." He turned back to Sebastian, happy to see realization dawning there. "And I happen to like my face just the way it is, although not everyone would agree with that."
Sebastian had the good grace to blush, at least, although he didn't look anywhere near as uncomfortable as Kurt had hoped he would.
"Okay, if you're sure," Brittany said, grabbing Sebastian's hand in her own. "Come on, gay Warbler. I'm half gay so you can dance with me instead. I'll have to figure out all your secrets myself." She pulled an astonished-looking Sebastian behind her as she shoved her way in between bodies on the dance floor.
If Sebastian was taken aback by their exchange it didn't seem to stop him, once he got to the dance floor, from enjoying himself. And the disdain Kurt felt for him didn't stop him from enjoying what he saw. Because as much as he hated to admit it to himself, Sebastian on a dance floor was the closest thing to sex in motion Kurt had ever seen, and they were close enough to the edge of the dance floor that Kurt had a perfect view of a firm ass in jeans tight enough to leave no doubt about what Sebastian was looking for when he wore them. He should just walk away, Kurt told himself, but he'd given Finn an hour and what else did he have to do? Besides, you could appreciate how hot someone was without actually wanting to ever have anything to do with them, couldn't you?
"Put your tongue back in your mouth, Hummel. I don't think the Mottas want you drooling on their floor." Santana slid across the floor in her bare feet and came to a stop, staring just as intently at the dancing pair as Kurt was.
"I wasn't . . ."
"Isn't she gorgeous?" Santana smiled.
"Yeah," Kurt sighed, except he wasn't quite sure that "yeah" was for Brittany.
"Well, I'm going to take advantage of the fact that straight dicks like lesbians and go dance with my girlfriend." She smirked at him. "Maybe someday the Warblers'll throw a nice gay party and you can actually dance with the bean pole. It could be kind of hot."
"Please. That is one thing you'll never see. I'd dance with Puck first," Kurt snorted, hoping that the flush he felt at Santana's words hadn't spread to his cheeks.
"That could be hot too." She wiggled her eyebrows at him and began to thread her way through the dancing bodies toward Brittany.
Sebastian was smooth. There was no awkward pause when Santana cut in to claim her girlfriend. He moved easily toward the far wall as if he'd intended all along to stop dancing at just that moment. Kurt wondered if anything ever flustered him. Even standing against the wall looking around for his friends he didn't look so much wallflower as on the prowl.
"It's not fair, is it?"
Kurt spun around to see who had whispered much too close to his ear. He found himself looking just a little bit down at a gorgeous boy (guy, he amended, because he was clearly more than a boy) with short blonde hair, intense blue eyes, and the most beautiful smile. Directed at him. He only just stopped himself from looking over his shoulder to see if there was a pretty girl standing next to him.
"What?" He stammered, hating himself just a little bit for not being able to come up with anything more eloquent.
The blonde head tilted in the direction of Santana and Brittany dance floor. "They get to dance together and we can't. It's not fair."
Kurt really wanted to say something, but he was struggling to comprehend what could possibly be happening. Because it sounded like the gorgeous blonde was doing some kind of gay commiserating, with him, and that couldn't be right, could it?
The sandy eyebrows came together a bit above the beautiful eyes. "That was my obviously much too subtle way of telling you that I'd totally ask you to dance, if I could."
Kurt was still trying to get his face to obey his brain's command to close his mouth and stop looking like an idiot when the guy stuck out a hand and said, "I'm George, by the way."
People their age didn't shake hands. Kurt had never shaken hands with anyone under the age of 30. The only reason he could think that George was offering his hand was that he wanted to touch him. And that idea wasn't helping him to look less like an idiot.
But he took the hand anyhow. It was warm and strong and lingered in Kurt's as the eyebrows went up a bit in question. Oh.
"I'm Kurt," he managed.
"Nice to meet you Kurt," George said, finally letting go of his hand. "So how did you end up at this glorified kegger?"
Get it together, Kurt told himself. A cute guy was flirting with him. There would be time later to wonder at the fact that something like that could even happen. He forced his mouth to move. "I go to school with one of the hostesses."
"Really? Me too."
"Not McKinley?" Kurt regretted that as soon as he said it because George was obviously too old to be in high school. But the other boy just smiled back, completely unfazed.
"No, I go to LCC."
"Oh. What are you studying?"
"I'm just taking general ed stuff. I want to transfer to OSU in the fall, if I can find a way to pay for it. I'm thinking architecture, actually."
Kurt's brain was finally starting to unfreeze and he finally managed a genuine smile. "That's great. I hope it works out for you." He cringed a little inside at how much that sounded like a cue to end the conversation. "I mean, architecture is so interesting, building, making places more beautiful . . ." God, he sucked at this. He would have been surprised that the guy was still talking to him if he wasn't still busy being surprised that he'd spoken to him in the first place.
But George only flashed that high-wattage smile at him again. "Well, I've always been interested in things that . . ." But he trailed off and focused over Kurt's shoulder and the smile that had been genuine suddenly didn't reach his eyes any more. Kurt turned to see what he was looking at and almost bumped into Sebastian, who was suddenly standing right behind him and, for the first time that night, looking very much less than composed. Eyes that were catching enough light for Kurt to see they fell on the greenish side of hazel flickered back and forth between Kurt and George.
For a moment they all stood awkwardly silent, Sebastian looking like he hadn't quite decided whether to speak, George looking . . . kind of wary, which confused Kurt, but since this was already a contender for the most confusing night of his life he just turned to Sebastian with raised eyebrows and waited for him to speak.
"Are you okay?" Sebastian finally asked him.
Kurt couldn't begin to understand what Sebastian thought he was doing. Several different answers flitted through his brain, but he finally settled on, "How is that any of your business?"
Sebastian's eyes narrowed and he pulled back just a bit in a move that on anyone else would have been a flinch. But Kurt was pretty sure Sebastian Smythe never flinched. His gaze flickered to George and back again. His mouth opened and closed. Then with a little shake of his head he replied with, "Right. Sorry. I don't know what I was thinking." And with that he turned on his heel and walked back across the room. Kurt watched him shoulder his way through the mass of dancers before turning back to George.
"What the hell was that?"
George, however, didn't look anywhere near as surprised as Kurt would have expected. "I think that might have been more about me than you," he said. "I used to go to Dalton Academy."
"Wait, so you know each other?" Kurt asked, confused, because they hadn't actually spoken to each other.
The wide shoulders pulled up in a short shrug. "I sort of dated him."
And things just kept getting weirder.
"It's . . . well, it didn't end well," George continued. "It was kind of a mess, actually. He's part of the reason I'm not at OSU right now."
Kurt could only stare at George, trying to process what he was saying. "What happened? No, wait, that's none of my business and I shouldn't have asked."
"No, it's okay," George smiled. "It's just that it's a long story and I don't really want to tell it here, especially with him in the room." His smile widened. "How about this. Why don't I tell you all about it when we're having coffee after the movie?"
Movie? "What movie?" Kurt asked faintly.
"The one I'm asking you out to," George said. "Will you go out with me?"
Kurt nodded, not even bothering to trust his voice.
"Give me your phone."
He dug in his pocket and handed it over. George's fingers moved swiftly over it. They were nice fingers, and Kurt had to consciously drag his eyes away from them when George handed the phone back.
"Okay, now you have my number and that way if you're just humoring me you don't have to worry about me bugging you. It's all up to you. Call me, or not." He flashed that smile again and it made his blue eyes sparkle like sunshine on water.
"I will," Kurt managed.
"Good," George held out his hand for another shake that was much more of a caress that sent a little shiver down Kurt's spine. "So I'll see you."
He drifted away then, moving in the opposite direction from the way Sebastian had gone. He didn't look back, but Kurt could have sworn he wiggled his ass just a little more than necessary as he walked away. Showing off for him. Showing off for Kurt.
No question. Weirdest night of his life by a country mile. But he'd definitely take it.
Sebastian forced himself to walk away slowly, one foot in front of the other, back straight, head held high. He might be kicking himself on the inside, but he wasn't about to let anybody around him know that; least of all the two boys he had just walked away from.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid," he muttered softly under his breath as he reached the far side of the room, finally allowing his shoulders to slump as he leaned against the wall with a sigh. By this stage the majority of partygoers had shot well past tipsy and were definitely on their way to being totally hammered, so nobody gave Sebastian more than a passing look as he let the wall support more than a little of his weight.
He should have just left them to it; it was none of his business after all. He didn't even know why he had felt the need to say anything in the first place - well no that was a lie, he knew exactly why his feet had taken him over to interrupt their conversation, but that didn't mean he should have done it. He was an idiot, plain and simple, and even worse he had made himself look like an idiot in front of Kurt. And in front of him.
It was some twisted form of masochism that kept his eyes trained on the pair as they exchanged numbers, that kept him watching as the older boy held Kurt's hand for longer than was strictly polite as they parted. Every time George smiled with those sparkling blue eyes Sebastian felt his breath catch. He knew that smile, he knew exactly what it meant, and he wanted to run up to Kurt and scream, "Don't do this, it's not worth it."
Except Kurt didn't know Sebastian, and he sure as hell didn't trust him after earlier. And why would he? Why on earth would he believe blunt, sarcastic, arrogant Sebastian, who apparently insulted him within plain hearing distance, over George with his dentist-white smile and dazzling eyes? History had proven that this was not a battle where Sebastian would come out on top, and every fiber of his being was telling him that he should just walk away. Walk away now before he got hurt. Self-preservation, wasn't that what Sebastian Smythe was all about?
One thing was certain, Sebastian thought with a painful sigh as he watched Kurt pause for a moment, looking almost incredulously down at his phone before walking away. If Kurt hadn't been off limits before this, he certainly was now.