Commotion

“I can’t believe you want me to do this,” Quinn said through her phone.

“Well believe it, this is an order,” Kurt said holding the phone up to his ear as he flipped through accessories in a store for the fashion show.

“God, I really hate it when you’re pushy,” Quinn sighed on the other line.

“So, you don’t want the Cole Haan Wingtip Brooke Flap tote?” he asked taking a necklace from the shelf.

“Bribe me with designer bags why don’t you?” she laughed. “Okay, I’ve got to pay for this but I’ll call you once everything is set”. She paused on the other line, “He’s not home, right?”

“I’ll text him,” he smiled, “thank you,” he added before hanging up the phone.

Kurt plucked through more accessories then walked over to the register, purchased what he wanted, then carried bags at his sides as he left the shop. “Hey, lover boy,” Sebastian smiled stopping him in his tracks. Kurt gaped at the other man then looked around him. It wasn’t all that busy in the mall but he was still uncomfortable with Sebastian lingering over him. Is it weird that he felt like he was cheating just by talking to Sebastian?

“Hi,” Kurt said pursing his lips and hanging onto the bags limply at his sides.

The other man laughed and raised an eyebrow, “Why are you so angry, I remember, quite clearly that you were screaming my name earlier this week,” he noticed Kurt’s sad look on his face, not sorry, but more like shameful. Sebastian gave him an inch of space. “Perhaps you’re falling in love with Blaine fucking Anderson?”

Kurt furrowed his eyebrows at the other man, “Why does it matter to you?” he asked glaring at him.

“Why shouldn’t it matter? I thought we had something going on!” Sebastian shouted. He knew it was a lie. There’s a difference between lust and love. All that Kurt and Sebastian ever had been lust. They were aware of how attractive they both were and for the time being, it was enjoyable to have someone to satisfy their personal needs. But now? It was so different now. Kurt felt like he wasted years of being able to discover sex in a relationship by throwing it away carelessly just for release from his fashion career stress. He remembered when he used to sing to get rid of the stress. Simple as that. He would be in this zone where nothing else mattered in those few moments he was singing. Rather, he just gave it up. Why? He couldn’t answer that question if he tried. It hurt too much knowing that he could barely remember Sebastian’s last name before they dashed right in. Well, now he knows that it wasn’t right. Like what he’s done in the past was against his Dad’s words that had been repeated in his head for the past week, “Don't throw yourself around, like you don't matter. 'Cause you matter, Kurt”. Burt cared about him. Cared about how Kurt should be treated yet here he spent all these years giving up the most delicate thing a person can have. His heart sank at the thought that Blaine might have saved it. For him? For marriage? Kurt feeling guilty would be an understatement, but he wouldn’t give up trying to turn around. He was willing to do anything; which means saying “Goodbye” to Sebastian.

Kurt tilted his head and let out a half hearted chuckle, “You think ‘friends with benefits’ is special?” Sebastian scratched and dropped his head unable to answer the question. “Look, Seb, before this happened, I told you that I wasn’t looking for a relationship. Well, now I am, with Blaine. Maybe you should, you know, try the same,” he said in a softened voice.

It took a while for Sebastian to blink and digest what had been spoken. He nodded and sighed, “It’s hard though, I’m so used to being that guy”. Kurt knew what he meant. He’s meet so many guys who would try anything and everything to get in your pants. Shower you with inappropriate comments and smack your ass when you’re not looking. A typical douche.

Kurt smiled then touched the other man’s shoulder, “Well, that guy can change”.

Sebastian bit his lip, probably the first time it didn’t seem at all seductive. Just nervous. “I hope so,” he whispered then cleared his throat. “What about you? Do you love him?”

Kurt looked at his shoes then up at Sebastian, “I- I don’t know”. It was ridiculous, it has only been a week and Kurt was already thinking of possible love. Well, that will all be decided later, he thought returning his attention to the struggling man in front of him.

Sebastian sighed, “You do. I know you do”. He cupped Kurt’s chin with his hand, “You’re even blushing”. Kurt nodded slowly and adjusted the bag on his arm. Sebastian sadly looked down at Kurt one hand still on his chin and the other on his shoulder, “Could I have one last kiss?” he asked, eyes begging, hand propping his chin up.

He knew what his immediate answer should be but as he saw Sebastian’s sad look, he decided that it was the last. A kiss to end it all. A kiss that with end the past and begin the future. A future with someone new, possibly love for the each of him. “Okay,” Kurt said quietly. Sebastian leaned in closer, raising the other man’s chin then pressed his lips against Kurt’s lightly. Was it weird that Kurt was glad they kissed goodbye? It was a reassurance that he did want to be with Blaine. As his eyes were closed, he imagined they were Blaine’s lips, Blaine’s taste, Blaine’s hands, Blaine. Even if he enjoyed the thought that he was kissing Blaine, his heart sank when he pulled away to see Sebastian. He craved to see those strikingly hazel eyes, warm tan skin, and delicious lips. But Blaine wasn’t just a body with lips, taste, and hands. It was more of an essence. A feeling that Kurt only felt around Blaine. The feeling that made his heart throb, head whiz, and stomach swoop. The feeling of being sickly in love which he grew to enjoy the feeling. Crave it, even. It made him look forward to 8:00pm even more. Maybe, maybe then he will tell him. Confess that he has certain feelings for his past best friend. It felt odd, almost impossible, that he use to not have this feeling around Blaine as a teenager. He enjoyed snuggling and watching movies with him but it was more of a brotherly thing. And now? Now, it was so different. Like a door to the unknown that had been locked for so many years finally handed Kurt the key. All he had to do was twist the key. Pull off the lock. Open the door. And fall.

“Hello?” Kurt asked with a phone to his ear as he left the mall. It must have been a few hours since the bump-in with Sebastian. He was planning on picking up lunch for Quinn and himself before they head to the runway of the fashion show and watch the dress rehearsal.

“Kurt! I totally forgot that you got scheduled for an emergency press conference in twenty minutes!”

“What?” Kurt asked shakily, walking more frantically to his rental car.

“Skip lunch and meet me at the runway in fifteen minutes, got it?”

“Yes, yes, I’m on my way,” he hung up the phone and rushed the bags into the car and speed out of the parking lot. Thoughts were swarming in his head on the drive over. He was trying to prepare himself for the ridiculous questions that were going to be asked but the thought of later tonight seemed to clog any other thought from coming through. He couldn’t have this now. Not with a press conference in just a few minutes. Especially since there was a scandal in a magazine about Kurt and Blaine having drinks, how was he supposed to explain that?

The outside of the building was swarming with press when he arrived. Men and women with large cameras and clipboards ready to slam Kurt with personal questions. He parked in his reserved space then sat in his car, scared to be trampled by the massive crowd. Kurt heard a tap on the window beside him. He turned his head toward the glass and saw Quinn waving he hands for him to hurry. Kurt opened the door and left the car with bags in it. The two were hunched over with dark sunglasses to try to mask them as Quinn ushered him around the crowd and into the building. Once she closed the door behind them, she slipped off her shades then gave and tried to catch her breath. In no way, shape, or form did they run far enough to lose their breath but the nervousness seemed to do it for them.

“Kurt,” she breathed, “this conference could very well be easy to screw up, given that you fell in love with a guy you supposedly meet at a bar. You know how these stories can be twisted,” the woman bit her lip, unable to give him immediate advice. “It’s just that you have a fashion show tomorrow. Who’s going to take you seriously when you’ve got a scandal like that on a magazine?” she pointed at a stack of magazines that had Kurt and Blaine’s face plastered on the cover. “I understand that you want to tell the truth but, for the sake of your reputation and knowing that they will most likely bring this topic up, you need to stay calm and try to change the subject to your fashion show or something along those lines. The throw off will distract them to start asking less personal things. Kurt, I believe in you, but future reference, keep these damn sunglasses on so we won’t have another scandal!” She tapped her pointer finger on the fame on his glasses.

“Okay, I got it. Thank you, Quinn,” he smiled pulling her into a hug.

As she pulled away she stared back at him, eyes upset, “It’s time for to go out there. Please, just think about your reputation and how they can interpret anything you say into something else. Be careful”.

“You’re scaring me,” he sighed dropping his head, “I can’t do this, we didn’t even practice with flashcards!”

“You don’t need them, you’ll be fine,” Quinn assured then pushed him out the door with her and taking his glasses from his eyes, “Good luck, okay?”

Kurt nodded giving her another smile then settled behind a podium with a decent amount of microphones attached to it. He stood in front of the mass, lights flashing pictures, and people were already writing notes on their clipboards. He sighed taking a last look at Quinn and smiled at the crowd. “Hello, I’m Kurt Hummel, the head and designer at ‘A Hummel Design’ where I will be featuring my latest collection here tomorrow night”.

“Alright, first question, here,” Quinn announced pointing at a lady with a voice recorder reached out to the podium.

“Okay. Hi, Kurt Hummel, how did you deal with the mix up of your collection at the airport? Should we expect less of you because of that?”

“Well, I couldn’t just give up after the entire work put into this months prior to now. Luckily, I finished the new collection at the Hotel I’m currently staying at with the help of some close friends earlier this week. I’m very pleased with outcome and can’t wait to show everyone. I also don’t think you should be expected of less. Though not a lot of time was put into it, the passion I put into each piece is evident which is the most important part”. Hmm, that came out better than he thought; then again, this wasn’t exactly personal. But definitely a good start. Don’t jinx yourself, Kurt thought.

“Thank you,” the woman nodded and retracted the voice recorder then jotted some notes onto her clipboard.

“Next, you,” Quinn pointed to a man holding a video camera.

The man shifted the video camera on his shoulder to get a better shot, “Hummel, could you give us a hint as to what your new collection will look like?”

“I don’t want to give too much away but let’s just say a little birdie told me that the color scheme is very uniform,” he smiled nervously. Maybe these questions won’t be personal after all.

“Do you regret not being able to show the collection you worked months on that got lost in the planes?”

“Like I’ve said before, I can’t really change the past. I was sort of upset it happened but, things happen for a reason. I can’t regret that it made me a better designer. I’m actually kind of glad it happened. I’m really proud of my most recent collection”. This is kind of fun, he thought stepping closer to the microphone, his nerves dwindling. He didn’t say that the true reason he was glad the plane incident happened was because his article about it brought Blaine back to him. He laughed and dropped his head happily. Maybe things were turning out great for him.

“Thanks. And you?” Quinn pointed to a woman with a notebook in her hand with a huge smile plastered to her face.

“What inspires you to design?” she asked.

Kurt tilted his head in thought, “Honestly, all of my inspirations for my collections stem from things in my past. But there’s also a creation aspect of it so whatever art I’ve grown up around, it really shows in my designs. Thank you for asking,” he smiled. The woman nodded and wrote on the clipboard. Nothing juicy there. How long do these things last usually? he thought turning his head in Quinn’s direction for the next question.

“Alright, next? You there,” Quinn pointed at a woman in a dress suit with a camera man next to her.

She smiled and lowered her clipboard for her eyes, “Let’s cut to the chase here, who was that guy you drank with at the bar?” Some of the crowd laughed and the rest jotted furiously into their notebooks.

Kurt shakily laughed with them and used this time to try to think of how to changethe subject. “We were celebrating finishing the collection. Though it was all made in a short amount of time, I know you will all love it. I can’t wait!” 

The woman lifted her head from the clipboard and raised an eyebrow, “Very sneaky, Hummel, but really, who is he? A friend? More than a friend?”

“He’s one of my models,” he panicked. Why did I say that? he thought watching the mass gasping and scrambling to write on their boards.

“Why would you have dinner with one of your models?” another person shouted over the crowds talking.

“I- we- we’re also friends,” he stammered.

“Friends with a model?” one piped up.

“Yeah- we-,” Kurt said but was muffled by the next question.

“Are all of your friends this cute?” one held up the cover of a magazine with Kurt and Blaine drinking.

Kurt let out a nervous laugh into the microphone but it came out more like a squeak through the loud speakers for all to hear.

“When did you guys meet?” a woman shouted.

“Uh,” he tried to answer but questions kept coming, making it impossible to think, let alone process what had been asked. Just imagine what it would be like for a movie star. The crowd literally bombarded him with personal questions though he’s only a fashion designer.

“You guys seemed awfully flirtatious in those pictures” another woman laughed.

“Are you guys secretly dating?” someone gasped then the crowd chatted loudly. Cameras flashing Kurt’s reaction and video cameras zooming into the designers face.

“If he’s your model, does he live with you?” Kurt whipped his head at all of the calls from different parts of the crowd. How was he supposed to answer these questions? How was he going to change the subject? How do they expect him to answer this fast? They’re so loud, so heartless. The mass were writing feverishly in their notepads and holding up their technologies ready for something Kurt will say. Anything. Why did his personal business matter so much to their lives? Are his personal affairs so important that people actually have jobs to try to do the latest scoop on him? God, this is like a bad Bold and the Beautiful soap opera episode. Will he have to start popping online bought drugs to keep him from breaking down? I need to lay off the midday soap operas, Kurt thought to himself as he decided to just wait until the chatting died down. It was absolutely impossible trying to get in a sentence with all of this noise.

“Wait!” someone shouted holding a phone to his ear. The crowd was silent, except for the noise of scribbling in their notebooks. The man widened his eyes and hung up his phone, this made a few in the mass watch him closely. “I just got news that Kurt Hummel reportedly kissed a guy at the mall,” the crowd gasped and snapped Kurt’s shocked face in pictures. “Guys!” the same man shouted, the some still talked while the others were still, “And,” he elongated the word and raised his eyebrows as if the next piece of information was the most important thing in the world, “it wasn’t the model at the bar”. The crowd busted into chatter, spewing questions and getting louder and louder.

“I- I-,” Kurt spoke into the microphones, echoing throughout the area. The crowd stilled and had their pens ready, equipment recording, cameras flashing violently. They were waiting for something. Confirmation, a juicy piece of information for their sleazy magazines. “Uh,” he whispered, heart pounding ferociously in his chest. He tried to say something but all that came out was a choked sob.

Quinn rushed over, gripping Kurt’s arm and ushering him into the building. Though she could hear Kurt’s heart pounding and the whimpers escaping from his mouth, she kept moving. She made sure to keep a straight face with no sign of panic while leading Kurt through the building. “God, Kurt, you owe me a good explanation,” she whispered ducking out of the back door with Kurt and leading him sneakily to his rental car in the parking lot. She opened his door and shoved his to sit in his car. “Get the Hell out of here and meet me at the hotel,” she paused then slid on Kurt’s glasses to his face, “Blaine’s gone, right?” Kurt nodded in response, evident tears pooling from under the glasses and onto his cheeks. “We need to hurry,” her face was pained, like she hated that she couldn’t give in and hold him while he cries on her shoulder but with the crowd of paparazzi appearing from a distance, she handed Kurt his keys and held onto the door. “I’ll pick up some lunch, and then we’ll talk later, okay?” Before he could answer, the woman slammed his door shut and gestured him to go while she ran to her own car.

Blaine’s phone rang loudly at his side as he tied one of his shoelaces. He smiled and held his phone to his ear, “Don’t worry, Kurt, I got your text,” he said. “Blaine, I think we need to have a little chat,” his father’s voice sounded. Blaine widened his eyes in shock and cleared his throat, shifting his phone to his other ear, “O-okay”. The father breathed on the other line, “No, not over the phone. Here. In Lima”.