A Love That Lasts

Chapter 1

If someone would’ve told Kurt Hummel three years ago that his father would soon be the president of the United States, he would’ve laughed in their face. It wasn’t so long ago that Kurt was living a normal life, at least as normal as it could be for a fashionable gay teen in Lima, Ohio. Kurt’s father Burt owned a tire and lubes shop and had never really had any political aspirations. That all changed when Kurt was thirteen and Burt decided to stop being annoyed with the government and decided to change it by running for Congress. He won the election in a surprising landslide, and Burt Hummel was soon a leading voice in Congress and sponsored important bills that led to major reforms in education and health care. Burt was just an average guy, not a smooth politician and that was exactly what America wanted.

This turned out to be a stepping stone for Burt Hummel and soon his party was pleading for him to big for the presidency. Kurt still remembered the day that his father and step-mother Carole had a family meeting with him and his step-brother Finn to discuss the possibility of Burt running for office. Burt warned them both seriously that their lives would never be the same if he won, they would become household names and the media would never leave them alone. Burt had put this decision in Kurt and Finn’s hands, but they couldn’t stop Burt from doing something that could help so many Americans. It was unanimous; Burt was going to run for the presidency.

The campaign itself had changed their lives almost immediately. There were times when the paparazzi surrounded their Ohio home so that Finn and Kurt couldn’t get to school, and most of their weekends were spent visiting numerous rallies and conventions with their father. Kurt suddenly found himself as a target, conservatives mocked Burt for having a gay son. Though it was nice to see Burt so adamantly defending him, fight for his rights to be who he was.

Kurt’s sophomore year was when the bullying started in earnest. What started out as dumpster tosses, pee balloon attacks, and slushie facials had escalated to locker slams and death threats. When Burt became president and moved his family to the White House, Kurt was home schooled and sent his work through correspondence to his old high school, McKinley. Besides being free from the abusive student body, the only other perk was that he was still able to be part of his glee club. Although he had to attend meetings through Skype and had to fly back to Ohio for competitions, it was still worth all the trouble. Finn on the other hand decided to stay in Ohio and was currently living with his friend Puck. He’d never been bullied for one, but most importantly he found his soul mate Rachel, and Burt and Carole would never force Finn to part from her.

It was definitely a challenge for Kurt to move to D.C. He’d left so many good friends behind which was hard of course, but it was still such a privilege to call your home address the actual White House. There were times when it didn’t completely feel like home because of the strangers that wandered around at all hours of the day and night. Kurt could appreciate the architecture and the history of his home, and not just anybody could walk into the Oval Office without an invitation.

Living in Ohio and going to a school where Kurt was the only openly gay kid ensured that he never had a boyfriend or even a date to Homecoming when he still attended. The chances of Kurt finding his soul mate, of finding Blaine Anderson was growing more and more hopeless as time wore on. Kurt hoped that when he moved to Washington he would be able to find Blaine, but after almost two years in the White House Kurt was beginning to lose faith. He was so isolated from  real life social contact with other teenagers, and Kurt couldn’t even do something as simple as go to the mall without a secret service entourage following in his wake. Kurt knew his life would be different as the president’s son, he just didn’t realize how much it truly was.

“Kurt, are you ready yet?”

Kurt looked up from his vanity where he’d been idly moisturizing his cheeks. He glanced at the clock, he hadn’t been daydreaming that long, had he? “You can come in, Lily,” he called back.

The door opened and a slim woman in a business suit walked through. “You have a busy schedule today,” Lily said putting down a breakfast tray on his desk. “You have lessons with Mr. Smith from nine to noon, a meeting with your personal trainer at one, that interview and photo shoot with People magazine at two thirty, New Directions practice at four, and don’t forget that tonight your father wants you to come to the dinner with the British ambassador at six.”

Kurt frowned, was there ever a day he didn’t have a ‘busy schedule’? Perhaps Finn was the smart one, by staying in Ohio he didn’t have to deal with being the ‘First Son’ the way Kurt did. Besides the press he got because of who his father was, he was better known for being the first gay person to ever live in the White House. Organizations from the gay community were always asking him to speak at meetings and conferences, the media wanted any and all information on his life, and he was suddenly getting fan mail. It came to be so much that Burt had to hire a publicist and a personal assistant just for Kurt.

It was beyond strange for Kurt to think that he was suddenly being idolized by fans and demonized by certain media outlets at the same time when he didn’t even earn the fame he had. Long ago Kurt thought he would first become famous on Broadway when he actually accomplished one of his life’s goals, but here he was famous for just being the President’s gay son.

Like many other times in the past, Kurt couldn’t help but wonder what his soul mate would think of all this. Surely he had to know who Kurt was by now, that he was the one he was looking for.  A horrifying thought struck him, what if Blaine was one of those people who removed their marks and never sought their soul mates. No, he was determined not to think that way, some day he would find his Blaine. He rubbed the skin where the name was scarred on his palm and Kurt pulled up the glove concealing it before turning to Lily.

She was watching him curiously, “Did you hear me Kurt?”

“Sorry,” Kurt apologized.

“Your father wants to speak to you before your lessons, he is in his office.”

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A short time later Kurt walked past the two secret service agents and opened the door to the Oval Office. Burt was sitting at his desk, but stood up and approached when he spotted Kurt.

“Why the sudden meeting?” Kurt asked, amused.

“Do I really need a reason to speak to my son?” Burt asked gruffly putting a hand on Kurt’s shoulder. “So how are you doing Kurt? I know that things have been a little crazy for you lately.”

“A little bit,” Kurt admitted.

“I know that you’ve been under a lot of stress lately and I feel that is my fault,” Burt said seriously.

“Dad how can I complain about being stressed out when you are the most important person in the whole United States. I can manage it and really I never blamed you for anything, I’m lucky to have so many opportunities. Besides you shouldn’t worry about me so much, your heart-”

“Is still ticking,” Burt grumbled. “I will always worry about you Kurt; it is in the dad rulebook.”

Kurt forced a small smile.

“But if you need to take a day off, see your friends in Lima, or anything else let me know, okay?”

“Okay,” Kurt agreed.

“And if you change your mind and want to give Dalton a try, that can be arranged,” Burt pointed out.

Dalton Academy was an all boys prep school that had the best test grades and reputation in D.C. It was where the sons of senators and diplomats went and Kurt wanted nothing to do with it. For one thing he would likely feel self conscious since he would certainly stand out as the President’s son. Secondly he would feel like he was letting down his friends at McKinley if he changed schools, and besides they wore uniforms at Dalton and Kurt hated to conform especially when it came to fashion.

“No,” Kurt replied. “I still don’t want to go to Dalton.”

Burt nodded. “Well you will see Dalton’s glee club next week. They will be performing at that Veteran’s Day ceremony we are attending.”

“Well I guess it will give me a chance to scope out the competition for Nationals,” Kurt mused.

Suddenly the intercom beeped from the desk. “Mr. President, the Secretary of State is on line one.”

“Duty calls,” Burt mumbled, returning to his desk. He glanced up at his son. “See you at dinner Kurt.”

“Bye Dad,” Kurt replied and left the Oval Office, nodding at the secret service agents still posted outside the door. It was time to start his busy day. Again he rubbed the spot on his hand where Blaine Anderson’s name was written. Someday, he thought, someday we will meet.