Chapter 3

Kurt stepped out of the bathroom toweling off his damp hair and crossing the room to lie on his bed. Another habit he inherited was to take too long and hot of showers then spend a half an hour lying on his bed feeling the droplets of water drying into his skin. He loved the clean feeling that completely opened his tight skin and washed away his problems just for that moment. As he felt the cool air touching his skin, he was tempted to tiptoe back into the steaming shower. But, alas, he had things to do. He grumbled and lifted his body into a sitting position on his bed then quickly changed into a pair of skinny jeans, and a collard t-shirt. That’s when the relaxing clean feeling somewhat dwindled as his mind was active, making sure to repeat the scene of the other night over and over in his head. He didn’t know what to think of it. To feel embarrassed, or grateful. Blaine either really wanted the free dinner, consequently making Kurt embarrassed for being so vulnerable, or Blaine knew that he needed to let things out and to see that he shouldn’t give up on New York, making him grateful. Of course, with the bonus of a free dinner.

Why was he smiling? Knock it off, Kurt, he thought, quickly shaking his head and clearing his throat, as if the thoughts of Blaine becoming an actual friend rather than mutual would go away because of the immediate reaction. The thoughts lingered for a good while until he could turn his attention to something else. He pushed on his glasses and grabbed his pair of shoes then slipped them on, he slowly tied on the laces, concentrating on the strings looping into a bow. He always had difficulty tying his shoes. Kids in his Elementary classes would outshine him during recess, tying knots in a flash, or using straps. But Kurt would find himself being left behind as he tried to tie as fast as he could. He learned that the faster he tied, the looser his laces were. But he found a trick, double knotting his laces. After several days if double knotting, he had to go back to his slower ways once he was tying so fast that the laces wouldn’t turn into a knot or a bow in the end, just a jumbled mess. He still double knots today from how people would pull the end of the lace unknotting the bow, leaving Kurt to be forced to reveal how slow he was at tying his shoes. You’d think he’d learn by now, but this simple technique came last of the things Kurt wanted to achieve when in Ohio.

He left the apartment with a satchel slung over his shoulder with a clipboard at his side. His boss called earlier that morning asking if he could manage the staff and crew of that night’s performance. He wanted to feel unpressured but the boss insisted that tonight would be especially nerve racking because of the handful of understudies taking place of the larger roles that were busy. Kurt wiped a bead of nervous sweat from his forehead and tried to collect his thoughts. He needed a plan. And a good one.

As he entered the surprisingly calm building, he went into Kurt mode. The mode that wouldn’t let anything get in the way of Kurt’s determination to make everything perfect and running smoothly. He tapped his pen on his mouth as he stared at the list of understudies that were replacing the larger roles. His boss didn’t lie that there was an exceptionally larger amount of them. He quickly wrote down the names of the people and whose slots they were filling then speed walked to center stage to see his crew piling in. “Hey, guys,” Kurt greeted showing a bright smile. Some of the crew shot their head over letting out quiet responses, but the rest were clearly focused on what they were doing. Kurt could sense the feeling that everyone felt. Nervousness and doubt for the anticipated disaster of a night. “Alright, I know today is going to be very stressful but my job is to make it as smooth as possible. So if you’re okay with it, we’re going to try something a bit different.”

That turned heads. Most of the crew members stopped what they were doing and looked at him. He bit his lip then adjusted his glasses as he looked at his clipboard, letting out a shaky breath. “As most of you know there are going to be a lot of understudies tonight,” some laughed, others shook heads already stressing out. “Well, I’m going to split us into groups to make sure everything runs smoothly,” he paused to shoot them a small smile, “Where are all of my stylists for hair and makeup?” A few raised their hands, “Pick up the understudies costumes from the back then go to the dressing rooms, I’ll have the understudies brought in with scripts so you can get started on them”. The inaudibly nodded then left to the storage room of props and costumes. “Good,” he head-counted the rest of the crew quickly then looked back at his clipboard, “Now, to splitting you guys up. Who is our lighting and mic-handling crew?” A few stepped forward, “Okay, we need you to stay on stage to finish setting up the stage and wait on the finished actors from hair and makeup to put on their mics. I also need you guys to find time to test the mics and lighting. I know props aren’t really your job, but I need the rest of the crew for something else.”

The members nodded, some whispering, “How will this work?”

“Hey, trust me, it’ll work,” Kurt said calmly. The rest of the crew looked confused at the set up. “Okay, I get it, you’re confused. Don’t worry, I have it all figured out, I’m going to assign the rest of you guys to be an assistant or ‘manager’ for the understudies. You need to know their character so you can give them the right scripts, costume, and hair and makeup then get a mic on them. After that, you direct them to stage positions. Fortunately, the understudies know this musical forwards and backwards, so you guys shouldn’t worry about them screwing up a line or position”. Kurt looked around at their improved faces, some turning into a smile. “See? Not so bad. Let’s make this happen!” he cheered.

The night went as smoothly as ever, with the understudies with an assistant, there weren’t any scrambling last minute to grab the understudy to position like previous nights. Lighting and Tech did a wonderful job of completing the stage and testing out equipment as quickly as possible. Hair and makeup had absolutely no problems with the orderly way of the understudies switching chairs to get set up. It was a generally calm and a happy prepare. One of their smoothest. With the superb organization, the performance was spectacular for being chock full of understudies. Even Kurt’s manager, who could only make it to the performance pulled him aside after the show. “Kurt Hummel,” he said, face stiff.

“Yes, sir,” Kurt gulped nervously.

The man shook his head and clamped a sturdy hand on his shoulder. “You really pulled it together! The understudies looked like they knew what they were doing, the stage looks fantastic, and I haven’t heard one complaint of how you handled the situation,” he smiled, “I knew you could do it, that’s why made you in charge of this night,”

“Thank you, sir,” Kurt breathed a pillar of relief escaping from him but he then made a gasp in confusion once his words finally processed in brain.

The man nodded, as if Kurt was crazy to think that the show didn’t turn out the way he wanted, “There is a position in the Jersey Boys to manage the backstage cast and crew,” the man laughed at the shaken Kurt, “Guessing you’re familiar with it?”

Kurt nodded amiably in response.

“That’s good,” he said setting a hand on Kurt’s shoulder, “So, how’s about a little promotion?”

As soon as Kurt got the news, he called up the first person who came to mind, “Dad?” he asked.

“Hi, Kurt, it’s so great to hear from you,” he paused, “Wait, is anyone treating you wrong? ‘Cause I’ll drive right up there and kick their ass-,”

“No, Dad,” Kurt laughed, “I got a promotion,” the words fell from his lips in such a way that you could hear his tight smile.

“Really? What’s the job? Or did you get a role or something? Is that what they’re called? A role?” Burt rambled, chuckling after the last question. Something that Kurt was most happy about having Burt for a Dad. Burt was accepting to anything that Kurt did, and wanted. If Kurt wanted to be a circus clown, Burt would be the first one at his side to support him. Even going as far as to provide the colorful wigs and squeaky red noses.

“No,” Kurt’s smile slightly fell, “I’m the manager of the cast and crew of Jersey Boys. Well, just back stage leadership”.

Kurt heard Burt clear his throat, “I’m still proud of you Kurt, you made it to Broadway. Maybe not a role yet, but I can still brag about you to every of Ohioan”.

Kurt laughed. He loved that his Dad was so sure that some day he will have a role. It made him a bit more hopeful, “Thank you, Dad, I miss you and Carole and Finn so much”.

“Hey, we miss you too, bud, don’t forget how proud I am of you. And if anything happens up there, don’t forget about us little guys”

Kurt smiled, “I won’t”

“We’re still on for the sleepover right?” Rachel asked on the other line of the phone.

“Of course, honey,” Kurt answered feeling a little giddy from last night. An actual promotion for one Kurt Hummel. It wasn’t a lead role in a musical, or even a role at all, but managing the crew of the popular Jersey Boys musical on Broadway was invigorating. Thought he was technically still crew, Kurt liked to think that it was a step closer to his dream. He actually liked bossing people around. But right now, he was just so overwhelmed with happiness that any good news made him squeal in excitement. “I’m so excited, Rach, I picked out the greasiest of pizzas and the best of classic musical films,” he giggled.

Rachel squealed on the other line, “Blaine will love it!”

Kurt’s tight smile completely disappeared, “What?”

He couldn’t turn down Rachel’s begging with his giddy mood and Blaine’s plan. He tried to not think of how the night would turn out but rather, he thought of enjoying a nice sleepover with his best friend. Not that “friend” isn’t plural. He prepared for the party, slipping into some silk pajamas and ordering some pizza. There was a knock at the door as he waited for the pizza, he crossed the room and opened the door only to be attacked by Rachel, “Hugs!” she cheered as he tightened his arms around her and lifted her from the ground. She screamed playfully until she was smoothly returned to the ground. Blaine entered the apartment from behind her with a grin on his face as he looked at Rachel then glanced at Kurt for a split second. His eyes a striking hazel and curls ruffled a little. Kurt almost didn’t notice his pajamas that defined his growing muscles and slim figure. He must be a dancer; Kurt noted tearing his eyes from Blaine’s body.

“We’re friends now, Kurt, give him the sleepover hug,” she tilted her head toward Blaine.

Kurt laughed awkwardly and looked over at the other man, he then looked back at Rachel who was still grinning, “Wait, you’re serious?” he said as friendly as he possible could but he was sure that a sliver of sass slipped through.

The lady nodded encouragingly in response. Blaine laughed uncomfortably then turned towards him as Kurt hesitantly took two long strides, closing the gap between them and forced himself to wrap his arms around him. Rachel clasped her hands together in happiness. Blaine tightened his hold, strong arms pulling Kurt’s weight from the ground. Kurt panicked, shrieking and kicking his feet into the air until he somehow unknowingly got them to fold around Blaine’s waist. “Whoa,” Blaine whispered as Kurt clung on tightly to his body, frozen in fear until he lowered him. Once Kurt felt his feet touch the ground, he immediately let go of him. He bore his eyes into the ground then looked up at the laughing Rachel. Thankfully, there was another knock at the door. He sighed then forced a smile as he reached for the door knob, paid for the pizzas, mumbled a “Thank you”, then closed the door. He turned around and took a sniff of the pepperoni pizzas then placed the boxes on the floor next to a stack of paper plates, paper cups, napkins, and 2 liters of sodas.

Rachel and Blaine helped themselves to the pizza while Kurt popped in “Oliver!” They rested on pillows that were scattered on the carpeted floors and wrapped themselves in a few blankets. Rachel was nestled between Kurt and Blaine as they took big sloppy bits of pizzas, humming to the songs that played on the screen. Rachel was knocked out after her second slice during the song “Be Back Soon”. Kurt was sure he heard Blaine sniff during “As Long As He Needs Me”. Kurt suddenly felt his phone vibrating when the film ended and the credits were rolling on the screen.

You were blushing – Blaine

What are you talking about? – Kurt

After I hugged you. You were blushing, now Rachel thinks we’re best friends. – Blaine

You’re complaining? I’m a fantastic actor; you should thank me – Kurt

Blaine lifted his head from the other side of Rachel, checking to see if she was awake, he then reached around her and thumped Kurt sharply on the head. “Blaine!” Kurt hissed quietly touching his hurt head.

That’s what you get – Blaine

After letting you come over to my sleepover? I don’t think so – Kurt

Hey, it was a sleepover with Rach or shopping with Chandler, and you *don’t* want to go shopping with him – Blaine

Why would you skip shopping with your boyfriend? – Kurt

Trust me; he’s not exactly the kindest of shoppers – Blaine

Ah, I see. He would be the guy ripping a scarf from my hands on Black Friday, right? – Kurt

Oh, you have no idea – Blaine

Kurt chuckled at the text then yawned, turning to his side, facing Rachel. He rested his head on her shoulder lifting the phone to his face.

I forgot to thank you for listening to my babbling the other night – Kurt

Don’t thank me; you’re the one paying for the dinner – Blaine

Kurt let out a laugh, covering his mouth to not wake the sleeping woman next to him.

Well, still, I got a promotion because of your insisting I stay – Kurt

Like I said, “Free dinner”. Who wouldn’t pass that up? – Blaine

Kurt chuckled, feeling his eyes drooping in front of him until he fell asleep.

It must have been five in the morning when he woke up suddenly. He felt his side empty; he must have rolled away from Rachel. His impulse was to stretch his arms lazily until he felt the woman’s fabric of her pajamas then rolled into her body, resting his head back on her shoulder and hugging his arms across her flat chest. Yup, feels like Rachel alright, he sighed contently and dozed back into a deep sleep.

A body shifted under him, waking Kurt into a realization that he was still resting on Rachel. He felt the steady rise and fall of her chest as she breathed and felt his own body sprawled over her, but strangely, she felt more bulky. Maybe her boobs were growing. He snuggled into her, letting his arms lazily hug around her warm torso. “When did you become so comfortable, Rach?” he smiled, eyes still closed and hair brushing her neck.

“Right after she left to go to rehearsal,” a low groggy voice said under him. As soon as he heard the voice, his head jerked up, eyes widening at the sleepy Blaine that looked back at him, not surprised by it at all. His curls were splayed messily on his forehead, his collarbone peeking from his deeply cut V-neck shirt. That damn tan skin, haunting Kurt’s thoughts. “What?” Blaine laughed, closing his eyes in amusement as he did, “You were the one who decided to sleep on me”.

“I thought you were Rachel,” Kurt answered.

Blaine tilted his head curiously to the side, “You aren’t exactly freaking out like I thought you would, are you?”

“I’m sorry, I’m tired,” he lowered his head to rest on Blaine’s chest once again, “I haven’t slept that good in days,” he sighed closing his eyes and retracting his arms from around Blaine to settle on his chest. Blaine chuckled in reply as Kurt felt the chest vibrating against Kurt’s cheek. “I still despise you,” Kurt informed him.

“As do I,” Blaine answered. Kurt felt Blaine’s eyes on him, he didn’t know why he had an instinct to snuggle into his chest, but he did. Kurt quickly fell back to sleep listening to Blaine’s soft snores under him.

He woke up, head resting in a pillow and a blanket draped over his body. It might have been noon. He whipped the hot fabric of blanket off his body then lifted himself to a sitting position. Kurt reached for his phone to check the time, instead, found a missed text written on the screen.

Goodnight, Kurt – Blaine

Stop smiling, he thought, willing himself to stand and make his Sunday worth something. Kurt rook a fast shower, dressed in a comfortable outfit then strolled down the street. The sun was strong today, lighting the streets in a violent yellow. Kurt focused on his shoes as he walked, not sure where he was going but decided to let his feet lead the way. Then the puppy. He was staring into the puppy’s eyes once again. He was not sure when or how he got here but he was glad that this loving puppy was still jumping in joy in front of him. “Sampson!” Kurt laughed nearing the cage. The dog’s ears perked at the new name, and then his tail wagged furiously as it jumped, scratching its hooves on the metal cage.

“I missed you!” he laughed ignoring the promise screaming in the back of his head. You’re only hurting yourself by being her! Get out now! Kurt shook his head kneeling in from of the dog and scratching behind its fluffy ears. He wanted to buy the dog every chew toy in the world. Spoil him to bits with treats and walks through central park. As soon as he looked in the dog’s chocolate eyes, brightly shining back at Kurt, he knew that this was going to be a problem. He wanted to nickname him “Sammy” and feed him Thanksgiving turkey under the table. He wanted to have memories with this dog but it only hurt that he couldn’t have him. He wouldn’t have enough time to. Enough money. But for one thing’s for sure, even if he didn’t have enough time or money, the dog yelping happily from its caged surroundings would have more than enough supply of love from Kurt.

When he got home from his pet shop visit, his phone beeped in his pocket.

So you guys are best friends now? – Rachel

Why would you think that? – Kurt

As soon as he sent the message he got a message quickly following it.

I’m hanging out with Rach right now, whatever she texts, remember our plan! – Blaine

Well, the other night, he left the dinner table to find you *and* before I left, you replaced me with Blaine! That’s best friendship, right? – Rachel 

He hated this plan. He even hated himself for finding that jerk comfortable that morning. Okay, maybe he wasn’t really a jerk.

I guess we’re friends – Kurt

As he sent the text, another text came in, though a little quicker than Rachel’s hands could manage.

You guess? – Blaine

Never mind, take back the part where Blaine wasn’t a jerk.

Great! I got you guys two tickets for my opening night show Friday – Rachel

Oh, God – Jerk

The name “Jerk” defining Blaine was a little more comforting. A glorious reminder that he isn’t likable in any way shape or form.

It was Tuesday. The first night Kurt will manage the crew of Jersey Boys. For Kurt, the day was going unbearably slow. Each lecture was dragging on, seconds ticking like minutes, with a thousand nerves fluttering in his stomach and possibilities of the night clouding his attention from every lesson. He resulted in him staring blankly ahead of him, every noise drowned out by his loud and heavy thoughts that recited each song from the musical. “Kurt?” a voice called. Kurt snapped himself from his thoughts and into reality. The classroom was empty, the professor looking down at him in curiosity, “Class is dismissed”. Kurt nodded embarrassingly, gathered his things in his satchel then slung it on his shoulder. “What’s wrong?” the teacher asked as Kurt began to leave the classroom.

“Just tired,” he answered quickly turning to dodge further questioning. His answer wasn’t exactly a lie, his nerves the night before kept him up a fair amount of hours. The thoughts racing through his mind were a mix of negative and positive. Different ways he could be harsh and piss off the cast and crew into making their show a complete mess. Or being so lenient that he would leave everything mediocre looking and get kicked out. There was no room for screwing up on that sta-, correction, in back of that stage. Other thoughts were how he wanted to be on the stage singing with the cast; instead he will very familiarly be backstage, once again watching. Dreaming of being in front of the large audience accepting the well deserved roaring of applause. But he will only ever receive muffled claps meant for the adoring actors settled in a fashioned line on stage.

He scuffed his feet on the ground heading towards the theater. The theater. He stopped in front of the door and stared up at the blinking lights surrounding the large poster of the Jersey Boys. A kick of nerves crowded over him as he entered the building.

“Wait, who are you?” a security man asked placing a strong hand to Kurt’s chest to stop him from walking into the theatre.

“Kurt Hummel,” he said nervously, suddenly he felt like he didn’t belong. Like he wasn’t allowed to step into the building because this wasn’t a job, just a dream. Well, not exactly what he wanted but close enough.

“Oh, we do have a new backstage manager coming in today,” the man quirked an eyebrow.

Kurt nodded trying to not look like he was shaking as hard as he was.

“Then this must be yours,” the man retracted his hand then held up a lanyard with a tag at the end labeled with a picture of Jersey Boys and Kurt’s name along with “Manager” boldly printed on it.

“Yeah, that’s me,” Kurt smiled taking the lanyard and looping it around his neck and letting it swing to his chest. “Thanks,” he laughed nervously and walked towards the entrance to the stage.

“Hey, don’t worry, kid, you’ll do great. The cast and crew are really friendly,” the security called from behind him. Kurt turned just as much for the man to see his grateful smile before he entered the double doors and into the actual theatre. The stage was broad and already decorated with seats packed multiple levels high. He’d seen a Broadway show a few times but being on the actual stage working was so different. He’s always said he worked crew on Broadway, but it was a lie, he’s only worked Off-Broadway shows. But now, he had some dignity, no lies to play around, it was true. Kurt’s on Broadway. People didn’t need to know the dirty details that he wasn’t acting on this stage, but being in this theatre was good enough.

There were a few cast members on the stage; rather, they appeared to be understudies. He hadn’t recognized the faces before and Kurt had memorized the whole cast of Jersey Boys the following night just so that he could get the individuals attention. Maybe studying could only do so much since here; there were quite a few understudies. Possibly five understudies? He wasn’t sure because there was also crew mixed in with them. Kurt tried to push his confused thoughts away until he reached the stage but he heard his name being called instead. They knew his name?

“Kurt? We’re so glad you came early! We wanted to introduce you to a few of the understudies so we can get started on organizing and setting up like your amazing works the other night,” the woman speaking had a similar lanyard and a microphone attached to her headphones.

Kurt smiled at the compliment then walked up the steps of the stage, scared to look at the other members, just at the person who talked to him, “Thank you, Mrs.…”

“Just call me Abby. I’m assistant manager but for today, I’ll fill you in on what’s going on. Tomorrow though, you can boss me around,” she laughed then turned towards the few people on stage. “First, we’ve got six understudies,” she pointed at a group of actors. “Understudies!” she called. The group made their way to them and stretched as they listened. “This is Mark, that’s Jim, she’s Sherry, uhm, Carl, and Jamie,” she then tilted her head, “Wait, that’s only five, where’s the last one?”

There was a noise of fast footsteps echoing from backstage. What looked to be the last understudy ran in quickly, breathing heavily, and sweaty, “Sorry, Abby, I was just practic-,” the man stopped once he scanned his eyes over Kurt. Blaine gulped nervously wiping a beam of sweat on his forehead, chest heaving from his exercise, “Kurt”.