The next morning flew by in a haze of cranberry juice and waffles at the hotel restaurant and costume arrangements.
“Will you be performing tonight?” One of the costumers asked as she searched through a rack of clothes in search of the one with the tag that said Darren.
Kurt laughed and shook his head. “Everyone keeps telling me I will be but I think they’re kidding.” Kurt replied. “At least, I hope they’re kidding.”
“Well if they’re not, what you’re wearing is fine anyway.” She said, pulling a t-shirt off the rack and handing it to the angelic boy. “Will you bring this to Darren? He’s losing his head looking for it.”
Kurt nodded and took off towards Blaine’s dressing room. “Darren? The costumer found your shirt!” he said through the door.
“Oh thank god!” Blaine said as he opened the door and quickly ushered Kurt inside. “I don’t understand why we have to have someone okay our clothes now. We’ve made our own costumes for years now.”
Kurt gave Blaine a look of sympathy. “At least they said yes to it?” He offered.
Blaine moved around the room in search of his other shoe. “They made me change jeans though.”
Kurt laughed. “They were neon high waters; of course they made you change!”
Kurt looked around the dressing room, finding that it was smaller than what you’d see in the movies but just as nice. He walked across the off-white carpet and plopped down on the leather armchair in the corner. “What time is it?” He asked, searching the walls for a clock but not seeing any.
“Uh… Quarter to 7. We’re on in fifteen so I better get backstage!” He said, leaning down to kiss Kurt lightly on the cheek before running out the door, calling a quick ‘I’ll watch for you!’ over his shoulder.
Kurt smiled and sighed in content. He could definitely get used to this stuff. The table next to Blaine’s mirror was filled with a variety of snacks, everything from bananas to mini steak sandwiches. “Wow.” He whispered to himself and picked up a pizza roll from the display and popped it into his mouth. Oh my god this food is fantastic. Kurt thought as a man wearing a headset stepped through the door.
“Hey, the show’s about to start so you might wanna get out there!” He suggested before leaving just as quickly as he came.
…
Kurt walked through the crowded front of the stage, elbowing his way past other fans sporting a wide range of Starkid merchandise, everything from pins and hats to tennis shoes and sweat pants. He found an empty space between two sets of teenage girls; one of which was wearing matching shirts that said ‘The Mickey to My Minnie’ on one and ‘The Tigger to My Winnie’ on the other with arrows pointing at each other. Kurt smiled slightly at the idea and scratched his neck.
The Starkids took the stage and started with a high-energy rendition of ‘Status Quo’ and the crowd sang along enthusiastically, dancing in their places and bringing the heat in the building up. Kurt wiped the sweat off his brow and danced around with the girls next to him.
“I can’t believe I managed to get these tickets.” The blonde girl in the ‘Tigger to My Winnie’ shirt said. “When Starkid announced the show I had to beg my parents for days to get them to let me go.”
Kurt clearing his throat and nodded. “Same here, I can’t believe my dad let me fly out here.” He was beginning to feel a little dizzy so he stopped dancing and grabbed the rail that kept fans away from the stage.
“You flew?” The blonde’s friend said with a bewildered look on her face. “From where?” She asked as Bla- Darren took the stage to start ‘Harry Freaking Potter’.
Kurt scratched at his arm and side and shrugged. “Ohio.”
“Are you feeling okay? Your um, your neck is getting all red a splotchy. So is your face!” One of the girls told him.
Kurt’s eyes widened, thinking about what he’d eaten. Nothing I’ve eaten had peanuts in it… Nonetheless, he could feel his tongue starting to tingle and swell, along with his cheeks. “I-I think I’m having an allergic reaction.” He said calmly. “I need to get out of here.” He said as he started making his way back through the crowd.
He caught Blaine’s eye for a split second and he saw a look of concern pass through his face but he kept singing to the audience, playing his way across the stage with the others.
Kurt made it through the crowd and into a walkway, looking around for a security guard or something since he was getting too dizzy to walk himself. He felt himself about to stumble before someone grabbed his arm and pulled him back upright.
“You’re Kurt, right?” The security guard asked and the angelic boy nodded, wiping his nose on his sleeve and leaning his weight on the man. “Hey, hey! What’s the matter? What happened?” He asked, lifting Kurt off the ground to carry him backstage.
“I’m… I’m allergic to peanuts.” Kurt stuttered out. “But I don’t think I ate anything with them.” He whispered.
“Well I’m Jerry and we’re going to get you help. Do you have your EpiPen on you?” He asked hopefully.
Kurt sighed and shook his head. “It’s in my hotel room…” He admitted. “I didn’t think I’d need it.”
Jerry pressed the talk button on his radio and said “I need a medic on stage left. We have a severe allergic reaction to peanuts.”
“Can I get a name on the fan?” The radio said. “Medic is heading your way.”
Jerry pressed the button again. “Not a fan. It’s Kurt Hummel.”
…
As soon as the set ended ten minutes later, Blaine was running backstage and grabbing the arm of the closest PA. “Where’s Kurt Hummel?” He demanded.
The woman’s eyes widened in surprise at the sight of Blaine, pointing him in the direction of his boyfriend. He squeezed her arm lightly and released her with a ‘thanks!’ as he took off down the hall. The sight of Kurt hurrying through the crowd with his skin looking irritated and face swelling haunted Blaine’s vision. As he speed-walked. It had taken everything he had to finish the set before hurrying back here to see what was wrong.
“Kurt!” He called when he saw the boy lying on a couch in the lounge backstage. “What happened? Are you okay?”
Kurt smiled weakly. “I was having an allergic reaction to peanuts in something I ate.” He explained. “I don’t know what though; the only thing I’ve had was one of those pizza bite things in your dressing room.” He said, confused. “Luckily, the medics had an EpiPen on hand.”
“Wait, pizza bites?” said the nurse standing next to Kurt and he nodded in response. “Did they have Pesto in them?”
Kurt bit his lip. “Probably, but what would that have anything to do with… Oh my god Pesto is usually made with peanuts! My dad always buys that non-peanut one so I never thought anything of it…” He admitted.
“Well thank god you’re okay.” The nurse said. “Darren, shouldn’t you be getting back on stage? We’ve got it covered back here; Kurt’s going to be fine.” She insisted.
Blaine looked to Kurt for affirmation and when Kurt motioned for him to go back out there he leaned down to kiss Kurt’s swollen cheek before running back to the stage.
After that disaster, the concert went entirely smooth and Kurt and Blaine were on their way back to the hotel by midnight.
“Sorry you had to see me like that… I know it’s not the exactly cute when my face is swollen up like that.” Kurt apologized in the elevator.
Blaine laughed and put his arm around Kurt’s shoulders. “I still thought you were the cutest person in the room, red splotches and all.” He admitted.
“Well that’s good to know! Now I guess you won’t mind me covered in flour then when I’m baking? Or calamine lotion when mosquitoes eat me alive?” He asked.
Blaine smiled and kissed him slowly on the mouth. “You scared me tonight. I was on stage and I saw you walking out and I couldn’t tell what was wrong. And then the girls you were with during the show looked really worried about you too.” He said. “It took everything I had not to run off stage when I saw you; I was so worried.”
Kurt sighed and tilted his forehead to rest against Blaine’s. “I’m sorry I scared you.” He whispered honestly.
“I love you.” Blaine said. “And from now on, none of the food in my dressing room will contain peanuts so you’re safe.”
Kurt laughed and kissed Blaine again. “I love you too.” He whispered, slightly mesmerized by Blaine’s confession.
The doors to the elevator opened and the two boys stepped out, walking to their joint room and collapsing on the same bed.
“So besides almost dying, how was the show?” Blaine asked, turning his head to look at Kurt.
“It was good, at least what I saw of it. I loved that you guys ended with ‘Not Alone’ since it’s the core of what you guys are about. It was great.” Kurt said.
The taller boy thought for a moment, about the girls in the matching t-shirts and how excitd they’d been about seeing a Starkid show for the first time. He really did owe them for pointing out how bad his reaction was.
“You know the girls that I was standing next to at the show? Do you have any idea if security would be able to get me contact information on them?” Kurt asked. “I really want to thank them for helping me out tonight.” Kurt admitted.
Blaine thought for a moment before answering. “I can try and get in contact with them for you, not promises though. There were a lot of people there last night so it’ll be difficult to say the least.”
“Thank you. I’m really tired; do you want to just go to bed instead of going down to the pool? Allergic reactions tend to take a lot out of me.” Kurt said with a laugh and Blaine joined him.
“I agree, worrying about you isn’t exactly good for my energy levels.” Blaine laughed. “Please never accidently eat peanuts ever again.”
Kurt laughed snuggled closer to Blaine on the bed. “I’ll try.” He whispered, tucking his head underneath Blaine’s chin.
Blaine kissed the top of Kurt’s head and sighed in content. He had a feeling the two of them wouldn’t be getting up any time soon, which meant disaster for their clothes. The curly-haired boy was slightly disappointed, the Starkids had all collectively decided to pull Kurt up on stage tonight during “Gotta Get Back to Hogwarts” but it hadn’t happened because of the incident. Now they’d have to keep it a secret from Kurt even longer if they wanted it to be a surprise; which was a feat Blaine wasn’t sure his friends could handle. They loved announcing things. Like, really loved it.
“Goodnight Blaine.” Kurt whispered sleepily, waking Blaine from his daydream as he snuggled impossibly closer on top of the covers.
Blaine smiled lovingly at his beautiful boyfriend and closed his eyes; he knew they’d find a way to keep their plan under wraps. “Goodnight, Kurt.” He replied.