Chapter 14

No more talk of darkness
Forget these wide-eyed fears
I'm here, nothing can harm you
My words will warm and calm you

Let me be your freedom
Let daylight dry your tears
I'm here, with you, beside you
To guard you and to guide you

Kurt was staring into Julianna’s eyes as he sang the lyrics, as he was told to do, but it was so difficult when she was staring back with such intensity. He’d been avoiding her prying gaze for the last hour. That’s why they had sung ‘All I Ask of You’ fifty times now. The director wasn’t happy with the emotion Kurt was giving off, and if he didn’t pick up his game, things weren’t looking too good for the budding star.

So Kurt put as much emotion as he could into the words, trying to see something in Julianna’s eyes besides a wanting that shouldn’t have been there. Her high-pitched voice picked up where he left off.

Say you'll love me every waking moment
Turn my head with talk of summer time
Say you need me with you now and always
Promise me that all you say is true
That's all I ask of you

He had to admit, her voice was absolutely astonishing. It soared above them and she hit every note exactly on pitch. But where Kurt lacked emotion, Julianna picked it up. The song was always meant to be a sweet, sensual ballad, but Julianna’s voice carried an almost fiery desire.

When the song was finally over, their voices blending perfectly together on the last verse, Paul gave a short clap, and joined them on the stage.

“Better, Kurt, better. Still needs some work, but you’re getting there. I think you should let Julianna give you a few pointers on just laying it out there though. She really has it down. Take fifteen minutes, you guys deserve it,” he gave the pair a small nod and walked off.

Kurt sighed and walked to the dressing rooms. He walked to the nearest bathroom and locked himself in. Not needing to actually go, he just sat down on the seat and put his head in his hands.

For the last week, Julianna had been all over Kurt.  After denying her invitations for dates on multiple occasions, she would not leave him alone. She would rub his knee when they sat near each other during rehearsal. She would always get really close to him when she spoke and lower her voice. She even pinched his butt a few times on stage when they were practicing. He had tried everything to get her away from him, but every time he turned a corner, she was there, staring at him. He thought it verging on sexual harassment, but he was a grown man and there was no way he would claim anything. Not yet, at least.

When he thought it had been about ten minutes, he got up and decided to get some water. As soon as he opened the door though, he was pushed roughly against it.

“Okay, look Hummel, I don’t know what I have to do to get into those pretty boy jeans of yours, but this will happen.  I don’t care what it takes. I’m not giving you an option here, Kurt.” The insidious glint in her eyes seemed to have taken over. Kurt couldn’t help but wonder how this girl could play the almost innocent character of Christine so well.

While Kurt was still staring wide-eyed at her, she grabbed both sides of his face and pressed her lips roughly to his.

Just as he was trying to push her off, another voice joined the scene.

“What the fuck are you doing, Jules?” The girl tore her lips from Kurt’s and turned to see a man standing just a few yards away. “Who is this dipshit?”

She sighed, sounding annoyed at the man’s presence, “Go away, Damon. Nobody wants you here.”

Damon…Damon. The name registered in Kurt’s brain. The guy who he could be replacing. The man was tall and blonde. He seemed built, but not overly so. He was also very, very mad. Oh, crap. He’s this mad and he doesn’t even know I’m the one taking his part.

Kurt attempted to back away from the two who were now at each other’s throats yelling. He wondered briefly what their relationship had been as he scooted away. He didn’t get far before Damon was looking directly at him.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he spat.

“I was actually…um…er. Gonna go get some water. You want some?” Kurt couldn’t put a finger on it, but there was definitely something about this guy that rubbed him the wrong way. He was intimidating.

“What do you think you’re doing kissing my girlfriend?”

“She kissed me!”

“I am not your girlfriend!”

Damon took a few steps toward Kurt, and easily pushed him against the wall with an open palm. Kurt could hear his heartbeat in his ears, beating faster by the second. “Give me one good reason to believe you.” The words almost came out as a snarl, making Kurt that much more scared.

He attempted to take a deep breath unsuccessfully, and said the first thing that came to mind. “I wouldn’t kiss her, because, well, because I’m gay.”

Damon faltered when he heard the words, loosening his grasp on Kurt’s shirt, but Kurt was surprised to hear a laugh from Julianna, followed by her saying, “Like that matters.” Damon shot a glare in her direction. She shrugged her shoulders and walked away, obviously done with the drama.

On the other hand, Damon did not seem to be done yet. “Look, kid, I don’t know who you are, or why you’re here, but know one thing, this is my show, and that,” he pointed in the direction Julianna had left, “is my girl. So if I ever see you doing that again, I will beat your ass to a pulp. Do you understand?”

Shaking with fear, it was everything Kurt could do to keep eye-contact with the other man and nod his head.

“Good, but just to make sure you do, let’s go ahead and give you a taste.” Before Kurt could process his words, the man was bring his fist up, and everything after that was darkness.

“Kurt? Kurt, are you awake?”

The voice sounded far off, but vaguely familiar. Kurt’s eyelids felts very heavy and there was an intense throbbing near his left eye and at the back of his head. He tried to open his eyes slowly, the light flooding his vision. Everything came into focus and he saw a face hovering above him. He realized it was Rachel, and managed a smile. “Hey, Rach.”

Rachel let out a breath she had been holding and looked down gratefully. “Thank, God.” She lifted her hand to move the hair off of his forehead. “I didn’t know how long it would be until you woke up.”

Kurt looked around, seeing he was in Rachel’s apartment. “How long have I been out?” He tried to scrunch his eyebrows in confusion, but made a noise when he felt the searing pain.

“Just a couple of hours.” When it seemed like she was going to explain furthere what had happened, another familiar voice came from the kitchen.

“Do you need and more ice, Rach?”

“Uh, no, Finn, I think he’s fine for a little while.” She looked back down at him, and saw his puzzled expression. “Oh, right. Um, Finn’s here.”

“Why is my stepbrother at your apartment?” Kurt lifted his head and watched as Finn walked into the room, wearing his usual goofy grin.

“Hey, Kurt, you’re up, man! We thought you were gonna be knocked out for the night. You look like crap, dude.” He plopped down in a chair close to Rachel.

“Nice to see you, too, Finn. It’s been a while.” He was till glaring at Rachel as he spoke to his stepbrother, willing her to explain.

Rachel shifted uncomfortably in her seat before saying the words so fast, Kurt barely understood, “FinnandIarekindofdating.”

Kurt gasped, even though he had already made his assumptions. “And you get mad at me for not telling you what I had for breakfast most of the time. Seriously, Rachel! What the hell?” He would have kept chastising except the anger was making his head ache.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, Kurt. I just didn’t know how to tell you without you getting mad. I mean it’s Finn. Your brother!”

In unison, Kurt and Finn said “Step brother.”

“It doesn’t matter! He’s still related to you, and I just didn’t want to make things awkward.”

The thoughts were spinning in Kurt’s brain. He couldn’t believe he couldn’t see the signs. He and Rachel hung out a lot less lately, but he had assumed that was because they both just had busier schedules. Rachel hadn’t talked about dating anyone in a long time. And normally she would tell Kurt about every single date she went on. She’s been dressing and nicer, and buying new things. How had he been so ignorant?

Kurt sighed and leaned his head back against the arm of the couch, feeling the sore spot on the back of his head. “It’s fine, Rachel. I just wish you had told me that’s all.” He felt much too tired to argue at the moment.

Rachel looked awkwardly between Kurt and Finn for a moment, before deciding to break the silence. “So what happened Kurt? They told us that they just found you passed out back stage. You had a lump on the back of your head and a black eye. They called me because I was the last dialed number on your phone. I must say I am quite curious.”

Kurt thought back, his brain rummaging through the blurry memories. “Well, I got punched.” He lifted a hand to rub the back of his head before remembering everything suddenly. “By Damon. By the guy who I might be replacing. But not because of that. I…er…Julianna, the girl who plays Christine, she kissed me, and he saw, and well he punched me. He pushed me against a wall, so the force from the punch probably threw my head into the wall behind me.”

“She kissed you? Why did she kiss you?” Rachel’s eyes were wide, staring at Kurt in shock.

“I don’t know. She’s been bothering me since I started.”

Finn rejoined the conversation, even though Kurt had thought from his blank expression, he hadn’t been paying attention. “Dude, that sounds like a problem.”

Kurt sighed, exasperated, “I know. It is.”

Rachel spoke, her voice laced with concern, “Have you told anyone? The director, or other cast members?”

“No…I didn’t think it was that big of a deal, I guess.”

Rachel gestured to Kurt’s face. “Yeah, well now it seems like a big deal.”

“I know.” Kurt couldn’t bare to think what would happen if Paul thought he couldn’t work with the cast. As the newbie, Kurt would definitely be the smallest priority. If there was a problem between cast members, seniority would rule. “Can you take me home, Rachel?”

“Of course. Just let me get my keys.” When she left the room , Finn and Kurt were left, staring at each other.

Finn spoke up, “So how are you doing these days, Kurt?”

“Great, actually. How about you?”

“Pretty good. You talked to Mom and Dad recently?”

“Yeah, actually, I just talked to Dad the other day.”

“That’s good, I need to call them. It’s great that you got a part on Broadway,” he smiled at Kurt.

“Technically I don’t have a part yet, but I’m hoping. Maybe it’s not a good thing though. That cast seems very drama-induced.”

Finn laughed, then added, “I can see where you’re coming from.”

Rachel walked back into the room, and gestured for Kurt to go with her. “It was nice seeing you, Finn. We need to stay in touch more.”

“Yeah. That’d be nice, Kurt. Good seeing you too.” Both boys stood up and hugged their brother, reveling in the sense of family they had lost.

“See ya later then, Finn.” He gave his brother a small smile and left with Rachel. Once the door had closed behind them, he looked at her and said, almost shyly, “Actually, Rachel, do you think you could take me to Blaine’s?”

Rachel smiled, knowingly, and nodded, “Sure, but you’ll have to help me get there.”

Blaine heard his phone ringing and picked it up without looking at the name on the screen. “Hello?”

“Blaine! Buddy, brother of mine. How are you doing?”

Blaine almost cringed when he heard his brother’s voice. “Cooper. I’m good. How are you?” Wes looked up from where he was sitting on the couch, when he heard Blaine’s brother’s name, smirk plastered on his face. It wasn’t that Blaine had anything against Cooper as a person. Or as a brother. Well, maybe as a brother. He had never been the most humble of people. More than anything what made him cringe was the reminder of the disappointment Blaine aroused in everyone around him.

“I’m amazing. Outstanding! I just got cast for a role in a movie, and I am heading for the big time. What about you, Blaine? What tales of achievement do you have to tell your big brother?”

“I’m actually working at a clothes store, because Dad fired me.” He figured he might as well lay it all out on the line. No reason to hide anything, Cooper would find out soon enough.

“The old man fired you, eh? That’s rough. I wonder why,” but Cooper didn’t take much time to wonder before going on to explain the most recent successes he’d had. His voice was filled with arrogance and pride. He never missed an opportunity to rub his wonderful life in Blaine’s face. Blaine made sure to make a listening noise occasionally, but he stopped listening after about five minutes in, only hearing, “Me, me…memememe. Me and Me. Me.”

After a while, Cooper took a break to breathe and Blaine cut him off, “Sounds amazing, Coop,” he heard the doorbell ring and motioned to the laughing Wes to get the door for him. “How about you say hi to Dad for me, and I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

Cooper wasn’t done talking though, “Wait, little brother, I called for a reason. I have news, Blaine.”

“Okay, shoot,” Blaine said, now annoyed.

“I’m getting married, Blaine. And I want you to be the best man.”

Rachel had dropped Kurt off, after confirming he was okay to make his way to the apartment by himself, and Kurt had made a labored trip to Blaine’s apartment. When the door opened, it was Blaine’s roommate, Wes.

Almost immediately, Kurt reared back, “Oh. If Blaine isn’t here, I’ll…um. I’ll just…”

Wes scanned over Kurt before opening the door wider and waving him in, “No. Kurt, right? Blaine’s on the phone. You can wait for him if you want.”

Kurt cautiously entered the apartment and stayed by the door. Wes didn’t leave, and Kurt felt the tension rising. “I, um. You must be Wes. Sorry, I guess we never really officially introduced ourselves.” He stuck out a hand for Wes, and the other boy eagerly returned the motion.

“Yes. I am, you want to sit down? Blaine might be a few minutes.” He led Kurt to the couch and they sat on opposite ends, the tension still palpabe. They watched whatever Wes had been watching before Wes said, “I hope you don’t mind my asking, but what, um, happened?” He made a circular motion around his own eye to hint at what he was asking.

“Oh, just a little misunderstanding, I guess you could say.”

Blaine walked over then, and Kurt instantly saw the dazed expression on his face. He didn’t even seem phased that Kurt was sitting in his living room, he just plopped down next to him on the couch. He curled into a ball at Kurt’s side. Even though the intimacy was still new, Kurt enjoyed the warmth. He was instantly worried about the other boy though. This didn’t seem normal.

“Hey, Kurt,” Blaine whispered, leaning even further into his side.

“Um, hi, Blaine. What’s wrong?”

Blaine grabbed his hand then and looked up at him, he wasn’t entirely sure what he was doing. He was already scared about facing his family. Scared shitless actually, but he knew what he wanted to do, what he had to do. He needed Kurt to face this with him. “Will you be my date to my brother’s wedding?”

Kurt’s eyes glistened as he stared down at the man practically in his lap, and he answered without a doubt, “Yeah, of course I will.”