Aug. 1, 2012, 1:32 p.m.
The Sound of Your Name: Chapter 7
T - Words: 7,146 - Last Updated: Aug 01, 2012 Story: Closed - Chapters: 9/? - Created: Feb 04, 2012 - Updated: Aug 01, 2012 1,313 0 4 0 0
Chapter 7
“Hey, Kurt.”
Kurt’s eyes were wide, mouth moving noiselessly, face paling rapidly. Finally, after nearly a full minute, he managed to find his words again.
“What…? What are you doing here?!” His face was completely drained of color and he hadn’t budged an inch since opening the door.
Seeing him up close after so long nearly broke Blaine’s heart all over again. He was even more gorgeous than he had looked from afar at the show last week. His wide blue-green eyes were blinking rapidly in shock, soft brown hair perfectly coiffed, clothes wrinkle-free and carefully styled as ever; a pale blue button down, the sleeves stretching across his arms- when had they become so muscular?- and black skinny jeans that were tight in all the right places.
“Um. Hello?”
Blaine realized he had been staring.
“Hi. Sorry. I-”
“Blaine. What the hell are you doing here?”
Blaine’s stomach dropped at the sound of his name spoken in Kurt’s familiar, high pitched voice. But then he registered something else in the tone. He sounded upset, or maybe even angry. His eyes took in Kurt’s expression, a mixture of pain and resentment. Suddenly this didn’t seem like such a good idea, after all.
“I- I really don’t know what I’m doing here,” he stammered. Kurt’s eyes narrowed. He inhaled deeply, fists clenching, then looked Blaine square in the face with those piercing eyes.
“Well, if you have nothing to say, I suggest you leave before I have to get a restraining order,” he said icily. Blaine’s mouth dropped open in disbelief. Something in Kurt’s expression shifted, and for a moment Blaine thought he was going to apologize, or else break down crying.
But then his face hardened once more, and he slammed the door in Blaine’s face.
***
Kurt leaned against the bedroom door, breathing heavily as he listened to Blaine’s footsteps shuffling down the hallway.
How had he found Kurt’s room? And more importantly, why?
Kurt pressed his fingertips to his closed eyes, watching fireworks explode in the darkness as he remembered Candi’s advice from that traumatic night at the theatre.
“You’re better off without him, Kurt. Any guy who would abandon you like that for no reason isn’t worth your time. And ditching you for that manwhore Sebastian was a real dick move. You deserve better.”
“But I don’t want someone better!” Kurt had moaned tearfully. “I want Blaine!”
“He’s not worth your time,” Candi had promised. “Trust me- been there, done that. And don’t go telling me he’s different,” she had added, before Kurt had a chance to defend his ex-boyfriend. “’Cause he’s not. He’s just like every other guy out there, and you deserve so much better.”
Kurt had almost believed her, too. He had finally been coming to terms with the face that the Blaine he knew was gone, replaced by a total stranger. But then he had to ambush Kurt at school, of all places? Then Kurt had to see him up close, with those stupid hopeful puppydog eyes and his gelled hair and that navy blue peacoat that looked absolutely perfect against his skin tone. He had wanted nothing more than to run into Blaine’s well-defined arms and tell him how amazing he had been (for the little Kurt saw of his performance). But then he remembered their fight, Sebastian, the ring, and Kurt knew they couldn’t ever go back to how they had been. So he had steeled himself and shut the door. One final, clean break.
Kurt pushed himself up, slumping over to the bed and flopping down into its comforting warmth. Suddenly, he was exhausted. Sleep sounded like a welcome break from this crazy reality. He had just decided on a late-afternoon nap when there came another knock at the door.
“Ughhhhhhhhhhhh,” Kurt groaned. This time it had to be Jake- he was due back any minute now. “Can’t you ever remember that freakin’ key?” he called, not stirring from the bed.
“Kurt?” a voice called from the other side of the door. Kurt bolted upright, wondering if his ears were deceiving him, or if maybe he was dreaming. Or suffering a stress-induced hallucination.
“Kurt? It’s Blaine. Are you still in there?”
Kurt kept silent.
“Kurt, please open up. I- just- I need to talk to you. I owe you an explanation. Please? Then you never have to see me ever again.”
Kurt sighed, imagining how Blaine’s face probably looked at the moment, all pouty and hopeful like a child’s and he couldn’t say no even after all this time. Swinging his legs off the bed, he got up and pulled the door open once more.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
He wanted to say something witty, like “long time no see,” or maybe apologize for slamming the door as hard as he had, but Blaine started speaking the moment Kurt hesistated.
“Okay, look, I know you don’t wanna see me here and the truth is when you asked what I was doing I just freaked out and then you shut the door before I could figure it out for myself because I don’t really know why I’m here. I just had to find you, and I had to see you. When you came to see my show, I was going to catch you afterwards, but you never came back in after you ran out and I was just lying there in bed that night wondering why you came when you should hate me and you probably do hate me and you have every right, it’s just that-”
“Blaine.”
“I mean, I think I owe you an apology, well, I know I owe you an apology, and so much more than that, and it’s true that I’ve thought about it since- you know- but I was just afraid to say anything and I didn’t have the words to express it and I even tried to write a song about it but it sucked and I-”
“BLAINE.
“What?”
“You’re rambling.” It was, Kurt knew, a nervous habit of his.
“Oh. Sorry.” Blaine pressed his lips together, looking as though it was costing him a great deal of effort not to launch back into his speech.
“It’s fine. Just, it’s okay. You don’t owe me anything anymore,” Kurt decided.
Blaine shook his head, a loose curl flopping around where he had missed a spot with the gel. He must have gotten ready in a hurry, Kurt thought, because he had never known Blaine to miss a single curl in all the time they’d been together.
“I do owe you an apology,” Blaine disagreed. “And more. I’d… well, can I take you out of coffee and an explanation? As friends, obviously,” he added quickly, spotting Kurt’s raised eyebrows. “Or not, even. Just as two people who shouldn’t hate each other. I mean, I don’t hate you. I have no reasons to. You probably hate me, but-”
“Blaine.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re doing it again.”
Blaine stopped, taking a deep breath. “So, is that a no, then?”
“No.”
“No, that’s not a no? Or no, you won’t let me buy you a cup of coffee?” Blaine pressed.
Kurt looked down at his feet, then braved the hazel-green depths of Blaine’s eyes once more. “No, that’s a no. No coffee.”
The light immediately faded from Blaine’s eyes. “Oh,” he mumbled, visibly deflating. “Well, I mean, okay. Yeah. You’re perfectly justified in that. I deserve it, I suppose. Yeah. I’m just… I’ll go now. Sorry to have wasted-”
“Make it tea,” Kurt interrupted quickly, smiling slightly at the grin that was spreading quickly across Blaine’s face. “I have an oral exam in Voice on Monday, and I’m on a no-coffee diet until then.”
“That’s- thank you! Thank you, Kurt. You don’t have to do this.”
“I know,” Kurt smiled, ignoring the way his stomach gave a funny lurch when Blaine said his name like that. “I mean, an explanation would be nice,” he added, not wanting to seem overeager.
“Great. Wow. So, when are you free? We can go now, if you want. I mean, I’m not doing anything,” he finished lamely.
“I have an essay to finish that’s due tomorrow,” Kurt remembered. “But then I’m free for the weekend. So, tomorrow? Around one?”
The other boy grinned, eyes crinkling at the corners. “Tomorrow at one it is,” he promised. “I’ll pick you up here?”
“Make it in front of the building,” Kurt said, realizing that Candi didn’t have the best opinion of Blaine at the moment. “I don’t want my friends asking questions. It gets annoying.”
“Tomorrow in front of the building at one,” Blaine recited. “See you then.”
***
The next morning was both the slowest and fastest few hours of Kurt’s life. He spent all his classes alternating between staring at the impossibly slow clock, willing it to go faster, and freaking out about how unprepared he was for this afternoon for what seemed like five minutes, only to realize that twenty had somehow gone by with him lost in thought. In “History of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” Candi offered multiple times to steal her roommate’s ADD meds for Kurt. Olivia asked him if he was feeling okay at ten-minute intervals throughout “Music Theory 101.” He had no appetite whatsoever at lunch, instead spending an hour wandering the campus, wringing his hands frantically and fighting the urge to vomit when he realized where he would be and who he would be with in a matter of hours.
At 12:30, Kurt found himself staring into a mirror in the boy’s bathroom, obsessively smoothing his hair and checking his immaculate outfit for any wrinkles that might have popped up in the last thirty seconds.
“I must be insane,” Kurt whispered to his wide-eyed reflection.
“What?” Jake called from the shower, from which he emerged dripping wet and wrapped in a towel.
Kurt started violently. “Jake! Didn’t see you there!”
Jake gave him a funny look. “I’ve been in here showering for like ten minutes. You seem kinda tense, are you okay?”
Kurt laughed nervously. “I’m fine. Gotta go, actually. See ya!”
“Where are you going at noon on a Friday?” Jake asked curiously.
“It’s 12:59,” Kurt informed him with a glance at his watch. “I have- erm, an audition.”
“An audition?” Jake sounded skeptical. “You never mentioned an audition.”
“I didn’t wanna jinx it,” he lied.
His roommate shrugged. “Well, good luck, man.”
“Thanks,” Kurt turned and speed-walked from the bathroom, leaning against the wall to regain his composure. Luckily, Jake wasn’t one to ask questions about things at didn’t concern him.
“YO! HUMMEL!”
Kurt tensed. He recognized that voice. And Candi, unlike Jake, loved to pry in other people’s business.
“Kurt!” Candi sprinted down the hall to where Kurt was standing. “Where are you going?”
Kurt hesitated before giving her the same answer he had given Jake. “I have an audition.”
He held his breath, nervously awaiting Candi’s response and hoping she would buy it.
She squealed, grabbing Kurt’s hands and bombarding him with eager questions as she bounced up and down on the balls of her feet. “Ooh! Where? Why didn’t you MENTION it?? Is that why you were being so weird today? Can I come too? Like, as a good-luck charm?”
Kurt groaned under his breath, glancing at his watch. His stomach dropped when he realized he was already five minutes late.
“No, sorry, I have to do this by myself.”
Candi pouted, crossing her arms. “Aw, why not? I promise I’ll be super quiet and help you run lines or psych out the competition or whatever!”
1:06. Kurt’s mind buzzed as he frantically searched for a good reason why Candi couldn’t accompany him, but he drew a blank.
“Please?” Candi pleaded, swinging Kurt’s arms. “I’ve gone to your other auditions. It’s, like, a THING now!”
1:08. Kurt was about to give in and tell Candi what was really going on when he heard a voice from behind them.
“He can’t. He’s not allowed to bring anyone who isn’t auditioning with him.”
Candi and Kurt turned to find Jake striding toward them. Kurt’s jaw almost hit the floor and he fought to keep a straight face.
Candi’s eyebrows knit together. “How would you know?”
“My uncle set it up for him. He’s a close personal friend of the casting director’s,” Jake lied smoothly.
“Ohh!” Candi nodded. “Wait, why didn’t he get you an audition, then?”
“My voice isn’t high enough,” Jake invented. “And now Kurt’s gonna be late, so you should probably let him go,” he added.
Candi nodded, leaning in and giving Kurt a hug. “Break a leg, Hummel.”
Kurt nodded, shooting Jake a look that was one part confusion, two parts gratefulness, from over her shoulder.
Jake shrugged nearly imperceptibly, nodding when Kurt mouthed “THANK YOU.”
He broke away from Candi and hurried down the hall to the elevator, finally making it to the lobby at 1:12. It’ll be a miracle if Blaine’s still waiting, he thought. That was, if the other boy had even shown up at all.
He nervously pushed on the revolving door, slipping out into the chilly late-January afternoon and blinking in the sunlight. But he didn’t recognize any of the people nearby.
Had he decided not to come after all?
“Kurt!” A man stood up from a bench to Kurt’s right and his stomach gave a jolt as he realized it was Blaine- he hadn’t recognized the younger boy because his usually gelled hair was free today, curls loose on his forehead and adding a good half-inch to his height.
Kurt grinned nervously. “Hey, Blaine. Sorry I’m late. I got kinda held up.”
I was beginning to think you weren’t coming,” Blaine admitted, running a hand through his curls- Kurt noticed it was shaking, nearly imperceptibly. “I tried calling you, but it said the number was no longer in service?” His voice rose at the end, like a question.
Kurt squinted at his phone screen. “That’s funny, I don’t have any- OH! I got a new number,” he suddenly realized. “About a year ago. I kept getting these weird prank calls, so I switched.”
“Oh,” Blaine said awkwardly, shuffling his feet. “That’s explains it,” he gave a shaky laugh.
Kurt laughed too. They both quieted down, staring awkwardly at one another, neither knowing what to say.
“Your hair- it’s not gelled,” Kurt said to break the silence.
“What? Oh, yeah! I don’t usually gel it when I have shows that night, because it’s too much work. My hairstylist makes me wash it out before performances anyways so she can do it her way.”
Kurt nodded, unsure of how to respond.
“Yeah,” Blaine said awkwardly. “I mean, I hate the curls, but it’s too much to gel it twice a day, you know? So I just kinda deal with it. I know it’s kind of weird, but-”
“No,” Kurt interrupted before Blaine started talking so much he forgot to breathe or something. “I like it. I mean, it’s nice,” he amended, silently scolding himself for making everything ten times more awkward than it already was by basically throwing himself at the other man. “I mean, it’s a good change.”
“I guess,” Blaine sounded doubtful.
They stood in silence for another minute before Blaine cleared his throat. “Shall we get going?”
“Yeah,” Kurt agreed, leaping at the chance to do something besides stand there. “Lead the way.”
Blaine turned and headed down the sidewalk, Kurt quickly catching up so he didn’t have to stare at the way Blaine’s jeans hugged him perfectly from behind and how his black leather jacket was tight against his back and arms. NOT that he was staring. Blaine was completely off-limits. They were just friends. Less than friends, really. He was never making the mistake that was Blaine Anderson again.
Kurt shifted slightly, putting another inch of space between himself and Blaine to ease the tension that he was probably imagining. They walked in silence for a few minutes, until Kurt felt like he would explode if one of them didn’t say something.
“So, where are we going?” he said, his voice sounding abnormally loud even against the ever-present NYC traffic.
“You’ll see,” Blaine teased. “We’re almost there, I promise,” he added, seeing Kurt’s impatient expression.
They walked another block in silence, Kurt still maintaining a careful distance from Blaine until they made it to a little hole-in-the-wall tearoom that Kurt had never seen before.
Blaine held the door open for Kurt, who stepped inside and was immediately hit by a warm blast of tea-leaf-scented air. He inhaled deeply, taking in the warmly lit room.
“What do you think?” Blaine’s voice sounded nervous behind him.
“Wow,” Kurt sighed. He could definitely get used to coming here every weekend, and he hadn’t even tried the tea yet! Candi would love it, he thought, though he didn’t know how he’d explain finding the place without bringing Blaine’s name into the conversation.
“You like?”
“It’s adorable!” Kurt squealed before catching himself and quickly changing his tone. “I mean, yeah. It’s nice.”
Blaine chuckled quietly. “I found this place after my audition. It helped calm my nerves a bit. I thought it made sense to take you here when you didn’t want coffee. Especially since you’re the reason I auditioned in the first place.”
“Am I?” Kurt was surprised. “I would have thought after everything that I’d be the last person to influence your career choices,” he admitted.
“You’ve been influencing every decision I’ve made since we met on that staircase,” Blaine informed him, looking slightly nostalgic at the thought. “That hasn’t changed. That’s part of the reason I brought you here. I want to explain everything. But first, let’s order our tea.”
***
After Blaine had ordered his usual, green tea with a twist of peppermint, and Kurt had selected a steaming mug of Darjeeling, they sat at a little corner table by the window and Blaine braced himself to give an explanation. It was only then that he realized:
“I don’t really know where to begin.”
Kurt’s eyes were focused on his tea as though it was the most fascinating substance he had ever laid eyes on. “You don’t owe me an explanation,” he muttered.
“I don’t want you to hate me. At least, not without knowing the whole story,” Blaine said quietly.
“I don’t hate you,” Kurt replied firmly.
“You should.” He didn’t believe for a second that Kurt didn’t hate him. Not when he had spent so much time hating himself after everything that had happened.
“I don’t. I could never hate you,” Kurt insisted.
“Well, I hate myself,” he said bitterly. “And it’s fine if you do, too. But I want you to hate me for being an idiot, not for anything that didn’t happen. That’s all.”
“What do you mean?” Kurt was confused by Blaine’s vague statement.
“Well, like Sebastian. Don’t hate me because of him, for example. It wasn’t what it looked like.”
Kurt’s lower lip jutted out in the most adorable expression Blaine had ever seen. His stomach swooped. Stop it, he told himself. He’s not interested. He hates you no matter how much he denies it.
“Seriously, Kurt. There was never anything between us. I would never be interested in someone like him. Especially-” he hesitated. Kurt glanced up, meeting his eyes for the first time that day.
“Especially what?”
“Especially after you,” Blaine admitted, eyes flicking down at the knicked table before returning to Kurt’s face.
“Blaine,” Kurt sighed, averting his own eyes to avoid Blaine’s.
“I know,” Blaine said hastily, silently reprimanding himself. “You asked,” he pointed out ruefully.
Kurt said nothing, which Blaine took as an invitation to continue.
“Look, Kurt, I guess I should explain what happened in England.”
Kurt looked up again, surprise flashing across his face. “Something happened in England?”
“Well, not really something. I mean, something happened in my mind, I suppose.”
Now Kurt was looking really curious. “What?” he prompted.
“Well, when I was touring the Globe Theatre, I don’t know. It was a bit of an existential moment, I guess. Like, I kept hearing about how poorly actors were treated in Shakespearian times, and I got to thinking: did I really want to spend the rest of my life in a job like that?”
“But this isn’t Elizabethan England,” Kurt pointed out. “This is 21st-century America.”
“I know,” he said. “But all the same. I wondered if it was worth it, putting everything on the line, my house, my source of income, to recite words to a bunch of aged theatergoers at some half-price production above a bowling alley every night instead of getting an education and making something of myself. And then I got to thinking about you, how I needed to be able to support you while you pursued your dream, because you had so much better of a chance than I did. And two broke guys living together aren’t gonna have an easy time. And then. I did something really, really stupid.” Blaine hesitated, wondering if he should continue or if some things were just better left in the past.
“What did you do, Blaine?” Kurt prompted gently, reaching a hand across the table and pressing it on his arm. Blaine rubbed his forehead nervously, wishing he hadn’t opened his mouth. Because now Kurt was looking at him expectantly, and he couldn’t see a way out of this.
“I called Sebastian,” he said flatly.
Kurt cringed visibly, withdrawing his arm and looking completely lost and more than a little hurt. More like he had been slapped in the face, really. “What? Why didn’t you call me? Your boyfriend.”
“I couldn’t do it, Kurt,” Blaine admitted, realizing he was trembling slightly. “I started to call you about ten times, but I kept hanging up before it started ringing. I knew what you’d say to me, how I had to be an actor and go with you to NYADA.”
“But why Sebastian? Why him above absolutely anyone else?”
“His dad’s a lawyer. He wants to act. Like me,” Blaine pointed out. “I thought, if anyone could relate…”
Kurt pressed his lips together, crossing his arms tightly over his chest and saying nothing.
“I just wanted some objective advice from someone who knew what I was going through,” he defended weakly, knowing it was hopeless at this point.
“I knew what you were going through,” Kurt protested.
“You didn’t. Your dad has never been anything but supportive of you your entire life. Sebastian understood in a way you never could.
“It wasn’t your fault,” Blaine added, seeing Kurt open his mouth to speak again. “It was mine. But I did it, that’s what matters. And Sebastian told me that if I wasn’t absolutely positive acting was the path for me, then I needed to consider a different career. So I called my dad. Enrolled early-decision in Columbia. And then… well, you know the rest.
“I knew what you’d say when I told you, of course. But hearing it was ten times worse than I could have possibly imagined, and I lost my temper. And I’m so, so sorry, Kurt,” Blaine heard his voice crack when he said the other boy’s name. Do not cry, he warned himself. Not in front of Kurt.
Kurt, who probably hated him more than ever now. Any chance of them even being friends had gone out the window the minute the name “Sebastian” had left his mouth.
“Is that why you were with him at the Lima Bean?” Kurt asked evenly, his poker-face betraying nothing.
Blaine nodded, gulping down the lump forming in his throat. “We met three times that week. I needed to talk to someone who understood, to distract myself. When he put his hand on mine… he was just trying to make you jealous.”
“It worked.”
“I know,” he said. “I yelled at him for it afterward, for what it’s worth. I’m sorry Kurt. I told you that you have every right to hate me- now you know why, the whole story.”
I don’t hate you, Blaine,” Kurt insisted.
Blaine stared at the sincerity ringing in Kurt’s every tiny pore, utterly flabbergasted. “How can you possibly not hate me?”
Kurt looked away from Blaine, speaking instead to his thumbnail. “I understand what you did. I mean, I don’t agree with it. But I get it, I know why you did it.”
Blaine felt a small spark of hope that chose to express itself in the form of a single tear falling from his eye, tracing a path down his cheek.
“Now, now, there’s no need to cry about it,” Kurt scolded gently, leaning across the table to wipe the salty droplet off Blaine’s face.
“I know,” Blaine said, lips trembling. “I’m just glad you understand. I thought you’d be so disgusted with me, and I never wanted to see your face glaring at me again. I wasn’t sure if I could handle that. I still want to be friends with you, Kurt.” Or more than that. Not that I deserve it, he added silently.
“Of course we can be friends,” Kurt smiled the most tearfully beautiful smile Blaine had ever seen.
“Now you’re crying,” he observed.
“I missed having you to talk to.”
“You don’t have to anymore.”
“Good.”
“Good.”
“So, how did you decide to audition after all?” Kurt wondered suddenly.
Blaine felt his phone vibrate with an alarm. “Crap, I have to be at the theatre in two hours. I should get going,” he realized.
“Blaine! You have to tell me what happened!” Kurt whined, gently socking Blaine in the arm.
“I guess you’ll have to meet me again to hear the rest of the story,” Blaine teased.
Kurt didn’t hesitate. “It’s a deal.”
Blaine’s heart soared. He tried and failed to keep himself from beaming at Kurt as he asked, as casually as possible, “same time, same place?”
“Can’t wait,” Kurt chirped, returning the grin.
***
When Kurt got back to NYADA, Jake was lounging casually on his bed. He cocked an eyebrow at Kurt when he entered the small dorm room.
“So I take it your ‘audition’ went well?” he asked, noting Kurt’s ear-to-ear grin that was impossible to suppress.
“Yeah, thanks for covering for me,” Kurt said gratefully. “I love Candi, but she can get a little…”
“Yeah, I know.” Jake nodded, understanding perfectly. “It was nothing. Don’t worry about it.” He shrugged. “Although, I can’t say I’m not a bit curious myself. You’re not usually the private, sneaky type,” he pointed out, smirking slightly.
Kurt contemplated what to say, deciding Jake deserved a piece of the truth at the very least. “I… was with a friend.”
“Boyfriend?”
“No,” Kurt said hastily. “Just a friend. I mean, it’s complicated. But Candi’ll never let it go if she finds out.”
“My lips are sealed,” Jake promised.
***
By lunchtime the following Friday, Kurt could hardly sit still he was so excited and nervous.
Of course, he was incredibly excited to see Blaine again. But he was also more than a bit apprehensive. Sure, the last date (get- together, Kurt reminded himself), had gone well, but just barely; Kurt would be lying if he said he hadn’t considered walking away when he found out about Sebastian, the painful memories of seeing them at the Lima Bean resurfacing. But he could sort of see were Blaine was coming from, and he didn’t want to mess this up again. Whatever “this” was. So he had grit his teeth and left it in the past.
But what if Blaine said something today that Kurt couldn’t forgive? He didn’t know what could have possibly happened at law school that would upset Kurt as much as the mention of Sebastian had, but you could never tell.
By the time 1:00 rolled around, Kurt was a nervous wreck, going so far as to chew his thumbnail, something he never did under any circumstances.
Avoiding Candi’s suspicious stare at his muttered excuse of a callback (“You don’t look very excited, Kurt…”), he slipped out of the building and over to the bench, where Blaine was sitting, curls free from gel and body clad in a pair of bright turquoise jeans and the same leather jacket he had worn last week. A polka-dotted bowtie peeked out from beneath the coat’s collar.
“Hey,” Blaine greeted him, standing up and giving him a slightly awkward hug. Kurt nearly melted at the touch, but it was over far too quickly for his liking. He shook himself- what was wrong with him? Blaine had broken his heart, and they were lucky they were even friends now. Anything more could not be an option under any circumstances.
“So, same place as before?” Kurt wondered, hating how ridiculously excited his voice sounded.
“Fine with me. Hey, how was your voice test?”
Kurt flushed. Blaine had remembered. “I got a 9 out of 10, so it went pretty well, I suppose.”
“That’s great!” Blaine sounded genuinely pleased.
Kurt nodded in agreement, wondering why he never knew what to say around Blaine anymore. They never used to run out of things to talk about. And when they did, that was when the other stuff happened. Stop. Don’t you dare go getting turned on at the thought of what you used to do in high school.
Luckily, they made it to the tea shop in a matter of minutes, just as snow began to fall. Ducking inside, Kurt hurried to get a table while Blaine placed their orders. Just like old times, he thought, hating himself even more.
Blaine quickly joined Kurt at the table, sliding over his mug. Kurt took a sip of the hot liquid and waited for Blaine to decide what to say.
“So I guess you wanted to know how I got the audition?” Blaine said, his voice suddenly more businesslike, though still warm.
“I’ll admit I’m rather curious,” Kurt matched his tone, leaning in to watch the other boy’s eyes sparkle at the memory. Or was it at Kurt’s nearly-flirty tone?
Stop it, stop it. He. Is. Off. Limits.
“Well, I guess it had been a thought in my mind since I started Columbia the year after you left. I barely lasted two months before I knew it wasn’t for me,” Blaine recalled.
“You dropped out?” Kurt wasn’t sure why he was so surprised- obviously Blaine didn’t have time for law school and Broadway. It was just… “I can’t imagine your dad liked that conversation very much.”
Blaine’s clear eyes narrowed slightly at the memory and he shook his head slightly before responding. “No. He didn’t. But you were right, Kurt. Before I called him, I thought of everything you said to me, how I was so afraid of the unknown that I wouldn’t let myself be great. And I knew I had to do it.”
Kurt felt his face go red. Blaine had remembered his speech, had somehow heard it over their tempers and had really taken it to heart.
“That’s the first reason you’re responsible for my relative success,” Blaine continued.
“There’s more?”
“Tons more,” Blaine promised.
“Do tell.”
“Well, I mean, right before I set foot in the building for my audition-” Blaine was interrupted by a buzzing phone.
“Crap,” Blaine glanced at the number on the screen. “It’s my director, I’ve gotta take this.”
Kurt nodded understandly as Blaine pressed the RECEIVE button and began speaking quietly into the phone.
“Hello? Yeah, of course I remember! Oh! Well, I’m actually kinda in the middle of something,” he shot an apologetic glance in Kurt’s direction. “Yes, sir. I understand. I’ll be right over.” Blaine hung up, sighing.
“Everything alright?”
Blaine sighed again. “I’m really sorry, Kurt, but I have to go. They bumped up our photoshoot for Broadway magazine to tonight, so I have to be at the theatre a couple of hours early. Can I make it up to you?”
“You don’t need to make anything up to me,” Kurt said, trying not to let his disappointment show. “This was fun, but you have a job. Go! Don’t worry about me!” It almost pained him to say it, but he didn’t want to be clingy and scare Blaine off again.
“Thank you so much, Kurt. Tell you what- wanna do it again next weekend?”
Kurt felt briefly elated before he remembered- “It’s my roommate’s birthday next Friday. The week after that?”
“Sounds perfect.” Blaine hugged him briefly, then turned and hurried from the shop.
***
That evening, Kurt sighed and rolled over on his bed restlessly, thumbing at his iPhone screen. He had nowhere to go- Candi, Jake, and Olivia had gone out, presumably to a bar, and he didn’t feel like singing karaoke with Isobel and Company. He just wanted to see Blaine, but the younger boy was at the theatre- OH!
Kurt pushed himself off the bed and tapped a few key words into his laptop to check ticket times. There were still a few seats towards the back of the theatre for Blaine’s 8:00 show.
Suddenly, Kurt knew what he had to do.
***
Blaine was incredible. His energy was addictive and he nailed every note and landed every joke. He spotted Kurt in the audience after “Grand Old Ivy,” flashing him a tiny, unprofessional wink. He was even better than Kurt remembered from the first time he had seen the show. When the show ended, Kurt was the first to give a standing ovation and one of the last to leave the theatre. He was about to turn right and head back to NYADA when he overheard a couple of giggling teenagers.
“C’mon, I don’t wanna miss Blaine Anderson! I want his autograph!”
“He’s cuuuuuuuuuuute!”
Kurt grinned to himself- Blaine had always had a way with the ladies. He turned left, following after the group of girls to the stage door. A small crowd of theatergoers, mostly teenage girls like the group Kurt was behind, was gathered by the door, ignoring the steadily falling snow in the hope of meeting the dapper star. Kurt slipped quietly to the front of the line to await Blaine with the others.
Finally, after nearly an hour of waiting- by which time it was nearly midnight and only the most dedicated of audience members was still waiting- Blaine came out of the stage door. His sweaty curls and flushed face were met with cheers by the shivering group. Kurt gave a loud whoop, catching Blaine’s attention. The boy grinned when he recognized him, motioning that he’d be over to talk when he was done signing autographs.
“Someone’s popular,” Kurt noted as Blaine grabbed his Playbill on the pretense of signing it so as not to anger the eager girls nearby.
“Just a few fans,” Blaine muttered, sounding deeply embarrassed. “It’s no big deal. Okay, it is. I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful. I just meant, I’m hardly famous or anything.”
“I know what you meant,” Kurt smiled at his friend’s rambling. “You were incredible.”
“I’m glad you came. I didn’t want to wait two weeks to see you again,” he admitted.
“Me neither,” Kurt agreed. I’m kinda sad I have to go now, actually, especially without hearing the rest of your story.”
“Who says you have to go?” Blaine’s eyes sparkled in the dark, reflecting the falling snow and the lights from the stage door. He leaned in to whisper in Kurt’s ear. “Come to the other side of the theatre. I’ll have the escalade pick you up and drop us off a couple blocks down the road.”
“Aren’t you a big-shot?” Kurt teased, but agreed to Blaine’s plan all the same.
He waited a few minutes for Blaine to finish thanking the theatergoers before heaving himself into the big black car, at which point Kurt hurried to the front of the theatre. True to his word, the escalade slid warm and inviting to the curb, and Blaine threw the door open for Kurt to climb in.
“Drop us off at West 52nd and 10th Avenue, please,” Blaine called to the driver. Then he turned to Kurt. “Feel like going for a midnight walk in the best city on Earth?”
“Absolutely,” Kurt beamed.
***
Blaine walked shoulder-to-shoulder with Kurt, trying not to think about how close they were standing. Kurt certainly had other things on his mind if the way he was now spinning in circles was any indication.
“I think I left my iPhone at the theatre!”
“Want me to call and ask if they found it?” Blaine offered.
“Yeah, would you?”
Blaine called, but the ushers had found nothing. Kurt looked on the verge of a panic attack when suddenly he slapped himself on the forehead. “I left it on my desk when I was buying tickets!” he realized. “What a relief.”
Blaine laughed. “You were about to call NYPD or something from the looks of it.”
“Screw, NYPD, I was gonna hire a freakin’ SWAT Team!” Kurt exclaimed, nearly slipping a patch of ice in his enthusiasm.
“Whoa!” Blaine cried, grabbing the older boy’s arm to catch him. “Don’t fall!”
Kurt laughed it off, but Blaine wondered if his heart was pounding from the contact, too. Shaking it off, Blaine turned detached his eyes from where they were locked on the other boy’s flushed face, instead looking at the near-empty streets.
“Where are we even going?” Kurt wondered.
“Central Park.”
“At midnight? Blaine, we’re gonna get mugged, or worse!”
“Well, you don’t have your phone on you anyways, so I can’t imagine they’ll find anything of real value to take,” Blaine joked. “Besides, it’s freezing. All the muggers are indoors right now.”
“Oh, is that how it works?” Kurt asked sarcastically. “Seriously, if we get mugged I’m running the other direction, and I don’t have a phone to call 911 for you. You’re on your own.”
“C’mon, Kurt!” Blaine whined, tugging on his jacket. “Don’t you wanna see Central Park when it’s all freshly snowed and pretty like this?!”
Kurt giggled into his hand.
***
Blaine was right. The park was gorgeous, no footprints except for the ones leading toward a small group of people smoking a questionable substance a little ways away. Kurt breathed in the wintry scent of the snow, turning to see Blaine nibbling on some of the stuff.
“Ew, Blaine, gross!”
“What?” Blaine asked innocently, dropping the remaining snow and breathing on his bare fingers to warm them up. “It’s fresh!”
“You don’t know what’s on that!”
“It’s brand-new nice snow, Kurt. Nothing’s on it!”
“Well, since you like it so much…” Kurt leaned over and scooped up his own handful, chucking it in Blaine’s general direction. Blaine ducked, swiftly scooping up his own handful and packing it tightly. It skimmed Kurt’s right shoulder when he threw it, barely making contact.
“You’re gonna have to try harder than that, Anderson!” Kurt shouted gleefully, throwing a flurry of powdery snow at the other boy.
“Ku-urt! At least make it into a real snowball so I stand a chance!” Blaine protested, shaking the cool flakes off his collar.
“All’s fair in snowball war,” Kurt informed him calmly, grinning at the wet-dog look of Blaine’s now thoroughly soaked curls.
“Fine,” Blaine responded. “Have it your way.” He bent over, scooping up a huge ball of snow. Kurt eyed him suspiciously.
“You wouldn’t.”
“Oh, wouldn’t I?”
“NO! BLAINE, NO!” Kurt squealed, leaping sideways to avoid the giant ball of ice and snow headed his way. The next thing he knew, his legs were sliding out from under him as he landed on a patch of ice, arms flailing wildly as he tried to regain his balance. And then he fell, landing hard on his side.
“Ow.”
“Kurt, are you okay?” Blaine hurried over to him, an expression of deep concern on his shadowy face.
“Ow. Shit. That hurt. I’m fine,” he said, glancing up at Blaine, who still looked worried. “Nothing’s broken, I don’t think. Ow. I’m gonna have a bruise tomorrow,” he noted.
“Here, let me help you up,” Blaine offered, reaching out a hand to grab Kurt’s.
“Thanks,” Kurt allowed himself to be pulled up, promptly losing his balance and slamming into Blaine’s chest as a sharp pain stabbed through his ankle.
“Whoa there!”
“Sorry,” Kurt mumbled into his chest. “I think it’s sprained. Ow,” he said, testing out his weight on the ankle again.
“Can you walk?”
“Yeah. I just wasn’t expecting it.” He looked up, suddenly realizing how close Blaine’s face was to his own.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Blaine asked quietly.
“I’m fine,” Kurt breathed, distinctly aware of the other boy’s hot breath on his face. He smelled like peppermint gum and aftershave.
“Good. I’m glad you’re fine,” Blaine whispered, sounding slightly dazed.
“I’m always fine when I’m with you,” Kurt whispered before he could stop himself.
“What?”
“What?” Kurt wasn’t sure what had made him say it. He giggled breathily, licking his dry lips. His tongue barely grazed Blaine’s lower lip.
The next thing he knew, he was being grasped tightly against Blaine, chest-to-chest, their mouths pressing together firmly. Blaine’s eyes widened, then slowly shut, and Kurt’s own followed suit. He felt Blaine’s lips move with his, strong hands travelling down his back to lock in place at the base of his spine, massaging him slightly. Kurt ran his hands over Blaine’s neck, pushing his jacket collar out of the way to wrap his fingers in the damp curls at the base of the other boy’s neck. Blaine shuddered at the cool touch, groaning slightly. His tongue slid along Kurt’s teeth, demanding entry. Kurt was only too happy to obey, allowing Blaine’s warm tongue to meet with his own as their lips continued to move against each other’s. He pushed his hands farther into the curly hair, feeling weak-kneed and slightly dizzy. Blaine removed his hands from Kurt’s back, sliding them along his chest and unzipping his jacket to run them over his new button-down shirt. Kurt let out a moan of his own, but it got lost in Blaine’s mouth as the boy hummed against him, throat vibrating. He leaned in, deepening the kiss and loving how perfect it felt to be in Blaine’s warm embrace again, lips fitting together perfectly.
Kurt wasn’t sure if a minute or an hour passed by before a shout of laughter from the potheads broke him out of his Blaine-induced haze. He pulled away, staring deeply into Blaine’s lust-blown eyes.
“Hi,” he breathed, as though seeing the other boy for the first time.
“Hi,” Blaine responded breathlessly.
“Shit.”
“I know.”
“That was-”
“Completely uncalled for.”
“So uncalled for.”
“A huge mistake.”
“Why did we do that?”
“It was amazing.”
“What did it even mean?”
“I don’t know. But it was nice,” Blaine allowed.
“It was incredible,” Kurt agreed. “It can’t happen again.”
***
Comments
Oh Kurt, you silly man. You know its going to happen again. Really good chapter, that really was an amazing kiss. Four for you! :D
Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And we all know it's gonna happen again. I'm fairly certain Kurt knows it too, on some level. Thank you so much for the review, glad you enjoyed it :)...maybe a kiss from Blaine's POV is in order?
OMG! I absolutely love this!!! Please update soon!
Thank you so much!!!!!!!! Wow. I'm in the middle of a show right now and then I have auditions for ANOTHER show after that... so I don't know when I'll have time to update but I'll do my very best to get one done ASAP! <33