Audition

"No, Rachel. That's worse than suggesting My Heart Will Go On."

"But Kurt, you need to wow those guys. Channeling your inner Evita will do that for you."

Kurt just sighed, exasperated. "You don't get it. The Warblers are an a cappella group, and an all-boys group at that."

"So what? You make a living singing girl songs - Don't Cry for Me, Argentina is perfect for you. Besides, you said that first performance you saw was Teenage Dream...Katy Perry is a girl."

Kurt sighed. "Then let me rephrase that - they don't do show tunes."

"Well, they don't have to. You on the other hand, do. That's where your strengths are, and they need to see that. You show them what you can do, and they will be begging you to join."

"For the last time – NO."

"But Kurt –"

Kurt decided that he'd had enough for one day. "I'll keep it in mind Rachel, thanks. Now I need to get some work done - Dalton believes in actually challenging its students, which equates to a mound of homework. I'll talk to you later."

"Fine, Kurt, but don't forget what I said."

Kurt threw his phone on the bed with a groan. I should've never picked up the phone. Now I have a headache, and I really need to get this stuff done.

Kurt had spent two days in the hospital, before finally convincing Dr. Howard to let him go home to recuperate for an additional ten days. By the first of November, Kurt was officially at Dalton. The Headmaster - Harold Dippet - was Kurt's new favorite scholarly adult. He had arranged for Kurt to have his own room, and his schedule, though demanding, was fantastic.

While he had been stuck at home, Professor Dippet had shown up with placement tests. It was more of a formality on the school's part; originally, they were just going to refer to his McKinley schedule and work from there. However, several birdies had informed him that Kurt was smart and his old curriculum was a joke. He tested well on all of them, and ended up with several high level and advanced placement classes.

To top it off, he was able to test out of French, which led to an awesome proposal. Dippet told Kurt that students like him could opt to become tutors or student teachers, with the perk of off-setting the costs involved with attending Dalton. Since he was only going to be there for the second half of the first semester, and because of it being an emergency transfer, they only needed to worry about the next semester's full tuition. Low and behold, there was a fund to cover the initial costs for mid-transfers, until they were situated.

The only downside of being a mid-transfer, as well as a newbie in regards to private education, was playing catch-up. He was given packets for each class that were more like novel-length study guides. Even though he started on the 1st, he was still excused from physically attending class until the following Monday, so he had plenty of time to work on coursework. He didn't know whether Blaine and the guys would be distractions, but they took turns checking up on him and offering their help, learning quickly when to give him space.

Ironically, his only real distraction was Rachel Berry.

Rachel had heard from Finn that Kurt was settling well at Dalton, and had been approached by Thad, Wes, and David to audition for the Warblers. Wes almost fainted when Jeff had mentioned to him that Kurt was a countertenor, and for a second or two, considered to just let Kurt join. However, as tradition dictated, Kurt needed to prove he could sing first, which was fine by him...he just didn't know what to sing.

Just when Kurt was about to start working on some history work, his phone went off again. Rachel give it up, he thought, until he noticed that it wasn't Rachel - it was Puck.

"Noah. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Hey there Princess, what did you do to Rachel? She's stomping around the choir room, yelling about how impossible you are. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine...Rachel just thought she could help me with my audition song. She didn't seem to appreciate my concerns with her choices."

"I thought Finn said you already knew what you were singing. Besides, what difference does it make? You've got an awesome voice, dude - and not just with the girly, higher sounding stuff. Hell, we've seen you do Mellencamp, and even though it was bizarre for you, you know how to work a lower voice too."

Kurt fell against the bed with a groan. "Please don't bring that up again. I can never live that week down. If you have to mention my lower register, our funk number is much more enjoyable to remember."

"Noted. So what are you gonna sing then? I dunno what Amita thing Rachel was talking about, but I have a suggestion for you."

"It's Evita, Puck, look it up. And what's your suggestion?"

"You should do that gravity song you purposely screwed up last year."

Kurt's jaw dropped. Nobody but his dad knew he messed up on purpose during the diva-off. How did Puck, of all people, know?

"I have no idea what you're talking about Puckerman."

"Cut the crap, Hummel. Did you really think none of us would figure it out?"

"Who all knows?"

"I think everyone but Rachel has their suspicions. Even Mr. Schue admitted to it. He said he heard you before the sing-off doing scales on the piano. He was disappointed that after how hard you fought for it, you just gave up...to Rachel. You two were enemies most of sophomore year. "

"Not enemies, exactly...we're divas. There's a difference."

"Not really, Kurt, but I'll let that slide." Kurt rolled his eyes. "Seriously though, that's your song. Don't just use some top 40 song just to get in with them - that ain't your style. If nothing else, it shows off your normal vocal range and the amount of emotion you put into it is amazing. If the garblers don't take you in, they're deaf."

Kurt couldn't help but smile. "Never knew you enjoyed my singing so much Puck. I'm touched."

"Yeah, yeah. Just don't spread it around, you got that? I still have a rep to worry about." Kurt heard some scuffling over the line. "Listen, I gotta go - Satan and Berry are having a minor disagreement and I have some chips in my bag. Do the song - I'll know if you don't."

"Thanks for the pep talk, Puck...really."

"No prob. Later."

Kurt threw his phone on the bed for a second time, this time in shock. Noah Puckerman, bad ass of McKinley, just called him to tell him to do Wicked, or else.

It was the strangest threat he'd ever had.

Puck had barely hung up the phone when Finn sat down next to him, ignoring the catfight going on in front of the room.

"So...how'd it go?"

"I don't think we have anything to worry about. By the end of the week, Kurt will be a Warbler, and officially, our competition."

"Did you mention the recording I have of him singing it?"

"Nope. But do us all a favor?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't tell Rachel anything about Kurt's singing, even just in passing. The girl doesn't know when to quit."

"I've noticed." Pause. "You sure you don't have a crush on Kurt?"

"Shut up Hudson. I thought I made it clear that I approve of the hobbit...as long as he doesn't take his sweet time."

"Whatever you say dude."

As much as Kurt wanted to be a part of the Warblers, he didn't want to interrupt them mid-season like this. Sectionals were in two weeks. He'd already tried persuading the council that letting him try out after the competition was fine - he didn't want to intrude on whatever they had been working on up to this point. He also mentioned how though picking up choreography wasn't a weakness of his, he wasn't really the best dancer.

All of his excuses fell on deaf ears, as no one would take 'no' for an answer. David and Thad had already assured him that the choreography he saw during Teenage Dream was kind of the extent of it. They said the true talent of an a capella was all in the music, not the steps. They didn't use a boom box or a band, so they needed to be able to harmonize and create their own rhythms without losing their breath, which explained the easy and repetitive steps. Wes, on the other hand, told him he was trying out whether he liked it or not - end of discussion.

So when the day came for him to audition, Kurt was slightly freaking out. He was pacing outside the practice room in agitation. What if he made a fool out of himself? Or what if they didn't like it? He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt someone put their hands on his shoulders.

"Whoa - Kurt, sorry, it's just me." Kurt turned around to see Blaine. He let out a breath before slapping Blaine's arm.

"Oh my gaga, Blaine - I told you not to do that! Where did you come from? I thought you were inside already."

"Wes wanted to make sure you showed up. He seems to think you're gonna bail or something. I volunteered - I wanted to check up on you anyway. You seem nervous."

Kurt sighed, "I am nervous. I don't want to disappoint anybody, most of all myself."

"Don't worry about what they think. I've heard you sing and you're gonna knock it out of the park. Did you bring a cd or your ipod with you? You've been very secretive about your song choice."

Kurt shook his head. "I thought that it would make more sense to do something without it, I mean, I'd have to get used to it anyway, right? Why not start now?"

Blaine smiled at Kurt's show of effort, "That's very admirable of you. Does your song sound better with backup? I can always hum in the background for you."

"Thanks, but the song I'm doing has a pretty soft and simple tune, so singing it without the music won't make it sound all that different. I think I'll be fine on my own." Kurt pinched the bridge of his nose and made a noise that sounded like a growl. "Of course, I'd feel better if this headache would go away."

Blaine looked at Kurt with concern. "Are you up to doing this today? You've had that headache all day."

"More like the last week. I'm fine. It's probably from a bunch of things. It's not every day I go from being in the hospital to transferring to a new school with a completely different understanding to what I've been accustomed to, not to mention fitting in with everyone and not having panic attacks. Oh and not sleeping well and worrying about this damn audition..."

Blaine could tell that Kurt wasn't aware of his pending panic attack, so he took care of that for him. He tugged Kurt forward and pulled him to his chest into a hug. Kurt sucked in a lot of air, before slowly letting it out. He laid his head on Blaine's shoulder and couldn't deny how nice it felt. He always calmed down quickly whenever Blaine did this for him. When he felt better, he stepped back and saw worry-filled hazel eyes looking at him.

"You alright, Kurt? Can't say I wasn't expecting that."

"I will be...thanks. Can we go in now?"

Blaine knew they'd talk later, but for now, he'd let it go. He pulled out his phone and sent a text to David to see if they could come in yet. He got a quick answer back and looked at Kurt.

"They're ready for you...you prepared to wow them?"

Kurt smirked and said, "Definitely - lead the way."

The Warblers were sitting all over the practice room; some were in chairs, and some were on the floor. Jeff had made himself comfortable by cuddling into Nick's side. Everyone was eager to hear Kurt's audition. They had heard rumors about his singing voice, and some of them had placed bets to see how high or low he could actually go. However, nobody was more excited than Wes.

David, Wes, and Thad were behind the table in the front of the room, waiting for Kurt and Blaine to come in from the hallway. David and Thad had mutually agreed to hide the gavel, at least for now, something that Wes was less than pleased about. Thankfully everyone backed the duo up - they didn't want to scare Kurt away just yet.

Everyone had found out by accident that the loud noise it made reminded Kurt too much of the sound of his head hitting the bench in the locker room. Some of them didn't understand how a head hitting a bench could sound like a gavel hitting a table, but in retrospect, none of them really wanted to think about that happening.

Surprisingly, the sound of David's cell got everyone's attention, almost better than Wes's feared gavel. David looked at the text message and looked to Wes and Thad for the okay.

"It's Blaine - he wants to know if it's safe to come in now."

There was barely a pause when Wes answered with a resounding "YES! Tell him to get their butts in here."

Needless to say, several jaws dropped around the room. Wes was usually the proper one, and hearing him say 'butts' was a shock. No one had time to comment on it - the missing boys had just entered the room.

So this must be what animals at the zoo feel like.

That was the first thought that came to Kurt's mind as he followed Blaine into the room. He was surprised at the smiles of encouragement he received as he walked towards the council's table. Even though he'd been able to keep the panic attack at bay outside, he wasn't so sure now. Wes was bouncing in his seat, and only after David whispered in his ear - probably a threat - did the Asian calm down...kinda.

"Attention fellow Warblers. I'm sure you're all as excited as I am to hear from our potential new member, who will be auditioning today to join us. Kurt, why don't you give us a brief summary of your vocal background, for those that don't know."

Kurt didn't think he was going to be given a chance to talk about himself ahead of time, but since there were a lot of people he hadn't met yet, it was only fair.

"Um, sure. As Wes said, my name is Kurt and I've just transferred from McKinley High in Lima. I was one of the original members of the New Directions, which was formed at the beginning of last year. We managed to make it to Regionals before losing to Vocal Adrenaline - "

Groans, boos, and the sound of a sob - from Thad, oddly enough - showed that they knew of Vocal Adrenaline...and there was no love lost.

" - and when we weren't doing whatever we could to make people like us, we'd have weekly assignments or projects for fun. I was also on the Cheerios for a while, where I did vocals at the same time as the routines - "

"Oh my god - I knew I recognized you when we met! You guys won Nationals when you did that insane 14-minute Celine Dion song in FRENCH!" yelled Beatz.

Trent looked at him with wide eyes, "How the hell do you know that?"

Beatz had the decency to blush and half-mumbled a response, "My cousin was on one of the squads and showed me the video afterwards. She was so jealous by the way, Kurt. And to be honest, if you didn't win, I would've demanded a re-vote."

It was Kurt's turn to blush, "Um, thanks. Yeah, I've been singing for as long as I can remember. As I've said to my friends before, I make my living singing girl songs, since it's easier and more natural for me to sing high. However, I can sing in a lower register, which classifies me as a countertenor, which from my understanding, is why part of your council is bouncing in his seat."

The rest of the boys looked at Wes, and sure enough, was still bouncing in his seat. "Don't look at me like that. Once you hear him, you'll be amazed."

Thad leaned toward Wes, "Dude, calm down. If you spook him, he'll leave." David took a more direct approach and just smacked Wes in the back of the head.

Blaine also saw the look on Kurt's face and decided to move things along, "Kurt, what song are you going to sing for us? You've been keeping everyone in the dark, including myself, and I can't wait to hear it."

Kurt threw him a grateful look, "I'm going to sing Defying Gravity from the fantastic show that is Wicked. And as a way to show my gratitude to you all for helping me get situated here, I will be doing it with me, myself, and I - no backup music." He looked to the council for the go ahead.

Wes was more than ready. "Whenever you're ready then, Kurt."

Kurt took a deep breath, got a 'thumbs up' from both Blaine and Jeff, and just sang.

Something has changed within me,

Something is not the same.

I'm through with playing by the rules

Of someone else's game.

Too late for second-guessing,

Too late to go back to sleep.

It's time to trust my instincts,

Close my eyes and leap.

It's time to try

Defying gravity

I think I'll try

Defying gravity

Kiss me goodbye I'm

Defying Gravity

And you won't bring me down...

I'm through accepting limits

'Cause someone says they're so.

Some things I cannot change,

But till I try, I'll never know.

Too long I've been afraid of

Losing love I guess I've lost.

Well, if that's love,

It comes at much too high a cost!

I'd sooner buy

Defying gravity.

Kiss me goodbye,

I'm defying gravity.

I think I'll try

Defying Gravity

And you won't bring me down.

I'd sooner buy

Defying gravity.

Kiss me goodbye,

I'm defying gravity.

I think I'll try

Defying Gravity

And you won't bring me down.

Bring me down!

Kurt had closed his eyes after holding out the last note, slightly afraid to see the reactions of the Warblers now that he was done. It was quiet for a full five seconds before the boys broke out of their stupor and noise filled the room. There was applause, whistling, and some interesting comments, including but not limited to:

"Holy shit - that was amazing!"

"I don't think we need to vote."

"Kurt, you killed it! Bravo!"

Eventually everyone calmed down, though without the beloved gavel, it took longer than usual. In the end, Wes stole David's phone and made it chime again, and when that didn't work, sent a mass text with the message 'shut up so we can vote him in!!'

Blaine saw Kurt looking slightly distressed, especially when cell phones started going off. He got up from the sofa and approached Kurt, pulling him into another hug.

"I don't know what to say, Kurt. That was incredible."

"Thanks, Blaine. You don't know what that means to me."

Blaine stepped back, giving Kurt a full view of the council, all three showing smiles and deliberating amongst themselves. Put me out of my misery, Wes. Kurt just wanted to know what the final decision was. He put a lot of emotion into that song, and combined with the headache, he was in desperate need of his bed.

Wes, Thad, and David broke out of their huddle, with Wes clearing his throat and looking first at Kurt, then the room as a whole.

"All in favor of allowing Kurt to join the Warb - "

"Hell yes!"

"Jeffrey! Nick control your boyfriend."

"Sorry Wesley, I've tried. It's a lost cause."

Wes sighed, "All in favor of allowing Kurt to join the Warblers, raise your hand."

Every hand went up, though Jeff made sure both of his and Nick's arms were in the air.

"Any opposed?"

Nope.

"Congratulations Kurt. Welcome to the Warblers."

Kurt had almost forgotten that tomorrow was an in-service day, which meant three day weekend. They had had a half-day of classes before the Warblers meeting, so it was only about three o'clock. Apparently, many of the boys were going home for the weekend. Blaine and Kurt were walking back to the dorms, with Kurt still in a state of shock and Blaine making fun of him for it.

"I don't know why you're so surprised, Kurt. Your voice is one of a kind. And I don't know if you noticed, but everyone voted for you."

"I noticed. Hey, what did the text say? The one Wes sent out before the vote?"

"See for yourself." Blaine gave his phone to Kurt after opening the message again.

"Wow...he's not going to leave me alone, is he?"

"Probably not. Just keep in mind that if you can last through Sectionals, you're definitely a Warbler for life. Wes goes a little crazy for the competitions."

"Geez Blaine. You wait til now to tell me?"

Blaine just smirked in reply, and decided to change the subject. "So what are you gonna do now that we have a three day weekend?"

"I'm going home. I didn't get to spend a lot of time in the new house before coming here - we only finished moving in two days before I had to move in here. I still haven't set my room up the way I want it, so I figured I'd take advantage of the break.

"What about you? Are you going home or staying put?"

Blaine actually had a small smile on his face. "My parents are supposed to be in town, so I thought it'd be nice for us to do something. My brother is stuck at school, though. Would've been nice for us all to be in the same place again."

Kurt wasn't sure if he completely believed him. From what he knew, the Andersons weren't the most lovable parents, well, at least to Blaine. That didn't mean he didn't try to gain their approval. He'd only known Blaine for two months and was impressed. He was smart, helpful, popular and athletic - in short, awesome. Even his dad was impressed, and they'd only spoken to each other a handful of times.

"Well, that's great Blaine. I hope you have a good time with them, then." Kurt heard his phone beep. "Oh crap, I forgot about that meeting."

"What meeting?"

"I'm supposed to be meeting with Madame Moreau to talk about the tutoring job. She's giving me a copy of her syllabi so I know what students are doing in class. Can't help them if I don't know what they're doing, right? Especially if they're anything like Beatz, who really should've taken another language, though I give him points for effort. Do you know where her office is?"

"Umm...maybe? If it's near Signore Franco's office, we'll be good. I'll take you there and we'll hope for the best, sound good?"

Lucky for Kurt, Blaine's assumption was right, and after quick introductions in French, with Blaine replying in Italian, Kurt was left in the French teacher's office, while Blaine returned to his room to pack.

Almost an hour later, Kurt was on his way back to the dorms carrying a box full of binders. Madame Moreau was very organized. Each binder had a syllabus for each grade level, including practice sheets and old exams that could be used as teaching aides. Kurt was glad for the weekend to look them over, and excited to formally get started.

He was just passing by Blaine's room when he noticed that something wasn't quite right. Blaine's door was cracked open, and Kurt could hear him talking to someone. It wasn't until he moved around that he realized Blaine was on the phone, and from the sad look on his face, it wasn't good news.

"Yes Mom, I understand." Pause. "But you promised you would be home - " Sigh. "No, I'll just stay here. There's no point going home to an empty house, when at least I have a chance of hanging around here with someone." Another pause. "Love you too. Say hi to Dad for me. Bye."

Blaine sighed again before throwing his phone on the desk, and himself on the bed. Kurt could just make out him talking to himself.

"'Sorry dear, but we're still in California...thought your next break wasn't until Thanksgiving'...give me a freaking break. Rather be here anyway." Kurt took that as his cue to go to his room, just as he heard Blaine throw his packed bag at the wall.

"Hey Kurt. Ready for the weekend?"

"Hi Dad...yeah, can't wait."

Burt stared at the phone. As he's said before, he may be slow on the uptake, but when it counts, he could tell when something is wrong.

"Okay - spill. I was expecting excitement, and it was there last night. What's wrong?"

Kurt mentally smacked his head. Of course his father could tell that something was wrong. He bit his lip, wanting to tell him about Blaine, but at the same time, wanting to keep it to himself.

"It's Blaine...well not Blaine, exactly. More like his parents."

Yeah, so much for not talking.

"How about we back up for a second? Take a breath and help your old man out. Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"Is Blaine okay?"

"Not exactly."

Okay, we're getting somewhere, thought Burt.

"What's wrong with Blaine? Is he hurt?"

"Yeah, just not physically."

"And it has something to deal with his parents?"

"Yeah." Pause. "Dad, how long have you known I had a break coming up?"

"Since we got the school calendar and hung it up, why?"

"Blaine's parents promised to be home, and they forgot about him...they're currently on the west coast, with no intentions of changing their plans."

That's absurd, Burt thought. I know he said his parents weren't home much, but this is ridiculous.

"So what's Blaine doing now? Is he going to someone else's house?"

"Apparently not. He's planning on staying here in the dorms, but almost everyone is either gone or leaving soon. I don't think he's planning on saying anything to anyone."

Another pause.

"I don't wanna just leave him here, Dad. It's not fair."

Burt didn't miss a beat before telling Kurt, "Well, bring him here then. Finn is spending the night at Puck's... said something about a video game, duty calls or something."

"You mean Call of Duty, Dad. They're probably fighting Sam and Artie again for bragging rights. Wait, you said 'bring Blaine here'?"

"Yeah why not. You still need to set up your room here anyway. The two of you will have a good time, he can help you unpack, and you can keep him company. Besides, Carole would love to get to know him too. She's in love with his 'dapper charm' or something to that effect. It's a win-win for everybody."

Kurt didn't know what to say at first.

"...are you sure?"

"Positive. We'll set the table for four...think you'll be here by 6:30?"

"Definitely doable...thanks Dad."

"No problem. If he's reluctant, call me back and give him the phone. I'll get him to the car."

"DAD! Seriously? I don't think that'll be necessary."

"See you soon Kurt." And with that, the conversation was over. Kurt was left staring at the phone.

Well, you heard Dad, Kurt thought to himself. Time to get a certain Warbler out of his room and on the road.

Blaine was still face down on his bed when he heard a soft knock on the door. He wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone and was about to tell them to go away, when -

"Blaine? It's Kurt...can I come in?"

Blaine lifted himself off the bed and sat on the edge of it before telling Kurt to come in.

"Hey Kurt, I thought you were leaving right from your meeting."

"Well, I had to get my stuff first...are you alright Blaine? I thought you would've been gone by now."

"Oh, yeah, um...I had to do a few things first, so I figured I could leave later. My parents can wait for me."

Kurt knew he had to go about this lightly. He bit his lip again, and decided to just go ahead and say it,

"Why are you lying to me?"

"Kurt, I'm not lying - "

"Blaine, I heard your conversation earlier when I got back."

Oh. Crap.

"Your door wasn't closed, and you weren't exactly quiet about it. I know they're your parents, but obviously they don't know you like I do. You may seem like you don't care about it, but I can tell it's hurting you."

Blaine was surprised at the amount of concern and caring that was on Kurt's face. Two months, and this boy knew him almost as well as he knew himself.

"I didn't want anyone's pity. Everybody was so excited to go home, and even though I figured this would happen, I was still wishing that for once, they'd come through for me. What am supposed to do?"

"Come home with me."

Blaine knew he must've heard wrong. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Come with me to Lima. My dad practically invited you himself. I'm under instructions to make you speak with him if you don't comply. Besides, we'll have more fun together than if you stay here alone. I still need to unpack my room, but I have quite an impressive dvd collection. We can have a movie marathon and eat junk food, go shopping, or whatever.

"Sounds better than just hanging out here, doesn't it?"

For a moment, Kurt wasn't sure if he'd been successful, and was ready to pull out his phone when -

"Are you sure it's okay if I come?" Blaine sounded so pathetic that Kurt almost wanted to cry.

"Yes, and if we leave now, we'll make it home in time for dinner. Carole is cooking tonight and she makes a great chicken and rice meal."

"I do like chicken and rice." Blaine smiled at Kurt, got off of his bed, and asked, "What are we waiting for? Dinner awaits."

Kurt sent a quick text to his dad before following Blaine out the door.

WE'LL be there soon. :-)