Flawed Design - (2/?)
FLAWED DESIGN
Title: Flawed Design
Pairings: Kurt/Mercedes
Rating: PG-13 (for now)
Spoilers: Season 1
Summary: Mercedes has a crush on Kurt. When this comes to light, Kurt has the opportunity to stay in the proverbial closet a bit longer, hopefully freeing himself from related bullying. But, will it all come slamming back in his face?
Kurt and the Glee club girls piled out of his Navigator when they arrived at Carmel High School. Upon the suggestion of the glee club's newly joined Cheerios, Rachel had got it in her head that they needed to hire Dakota Stanley to help choreograph their routines for Regionals. It was the only way they stood a chance to win, or so Rachel had said. So, here they were at a rival high school stalking the short man who was currently working with Vocal Adrenaline; the best of the best show choirs in the state.
"Damn Kurt, this car is fly," exclaimed Mercedes walking around the vehicle she had just exited with an impressed look on her face.
"My Dad got it for my sweet sixteen after I swore to stop wearing form-fitting sweaters that stop at the knee," replied Kurt shutting his door and turning to look back at his Navigator with pride. After speaking, he quickly swung around to face the girls gathered around him and raised his pointer finger, "what he doesn't know, doesn't hurt him."
"Are we even sure they are rehearsing today?" asked Quinn as the group began to walk up the sidewalk to the school's oversized Auditorium.
"Vocal Adrenaline rehearses every day from two thirty until midnight," replied Rachel, quickly.
The cheerleaders had moved to the head of the pack with Rachel and Tina taking up the tail end. Kurt walked beside Mercedes and reached to take her arm in his. Mercedes could feel her pulse suddenly increase at his gesture.
"I'm just so nervous these Vocal Adrenaline kids are gonna laugh at us," sighed Mercedes, trying to hide her excitement over Kurt's proximity. "They are so cool and popular, and we look like we just stepped off the short bus."
"Those sweaty Nazis have just had more time to practise," replied Kurt looking down at Mercedes as they strolled arm in arm. "We have more heart... And you don't look touched in the head; that outfit is amazing."
Mercedes smiled brightly at his words before glancing over at the three cheerleaders who gave her nods and smiles. Taking a deep breath, she turned back to Kurt.
"So, would you ever," she began. "You know, want to hang out?"
"Come over," replied Kurt without missing a beat. "It's Liza Minnelli week on AMC"
"Guys!" cut in Rachel, suddenly. "That's Andrea Cohen. She won outstanding Soloist last year at 'Absolutely Tampastic'."
Everyone stopped walking. Mercedes pulled her eyes away from Kurt to see two girls from Vocal Adrenaline standing at the garbage can just outside the doors of the auditorium. One was leaning over the can like she was vomiting, the other clutching at her back saying something that Mercedes couldn't quite make out.
"Are you guys Vocal Adrenaline?" asked Rachel, excitedly as she took a few steps toward them. "We'd like to talk to Dakota Stanley about choreography for our glee club."
"Don't," exclaimed the girl looking up from the garbage can. "He's a monster."
Mercedes grabbed at Kurt's arm at the girl's words, fearfully wondering what Rachel was getting them in to. The two Vocal Adrenaline girls straightened their outfits and walked back into the auditorium, allowing the group to follow them. The girls and Kurt settled themselves into some seats to watch the rest of the rehearsal while they waited for a chance to speak to Dakota Stanley.
It was a long wait, but Mercedes took solace in her proximity to Kurt. He was sitting in between Tina and herself with the three cheerleaders behind them and Rachel on the other side of Tina. Every once in a while, Kurt would lean over to comment about something they were watching; his breath was warm and tickly in Mercedes' ear.
Mercedes kept glancing sideways at him, running through all the compliments he had given her when they had gone shopping after school the day before. Their trip to the mall had been strictly platonic, she knew, but she couldn't help but put extra emphasis on every flattering thing he had said to her when she had shown him different outfits she tried on. When they had stopped shopping for a quick meal in the food court, he had chattered away about something to do with the latest issue of Vogue and the colours that were 'in' this season. She had been so lost staring at his face and fantasizing about what it would be like to have him for a boyfriend that she had missed most of what he had said.
At some point, Kurt had lost interest in the constant replay of "Mercy" and had started playing 'Angry Birds' on his phone. He was brought back, though, when Dakota had called out that the group run through the number one last time.
The group seemed flawless and effortless, even though they had been at it for hours. They may not have had the same level of enthusiasm, but their exhaustion wasn't visible. When the group finished, Dakota angrily yelled at them to get off his stage. His voice sounded irritated and disappointed, as if they had spent the entire time flailing on the stage, stumbling through the choreography and missing notes. The look on Kurt's face as he watched the group leave the stage mirrored Mercedes' own feelings of surprise and disgust.
"Hurry," spoke Rachel, pushing back her own shock and rising to her feet. "We need to go talk to Dakota Stanley before he leaves."
The rest of the girls and Kurt rose to their feet, feeling stiff from sitting so long, and followed as Rachel bounded across the auditorium to catch up to Dakota. He had already disappeared out of the building, though, by the time they had crossed the rows of seats.
Rachel raced out of the single EXIT door on the side of the building and ran down the sidewalk to find Dakota getting into his car. The rest of the group caught up to her as she slowed to walk up to the car.
"Mr. Stanley," called out Rachel. "We're the McKinley High Glee Club!"
"No interviews," replied the short, little man.
"We'd like you to choreograph for us," put in Tina, standing next to Rachel beside the man's red sports car.
"Look, my fee is 8,000 dollars per number, plus a 10,000 dollar bonus if you place in the top three," explained Dakota. "And with Dakota Stanley at the wheel, you will place at the top three. Move it."
With that, he revved his engine and sped off leaving the small group of kids standing in dumbfounded silence.
"How are we going to get 8000 dollars?" asked Rachel, cutting through the silence moments later.
The car ride back to the school was quiet besides the soft playing of the music from Kurt's iPod. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts. Mercedes kept sneaking peeks across the vehicle at Kurt from where she sat in the front passenger seat. He was silent, his face set in an unreadable expression. Kurt dropped the group off at McKinley so that they could get their own vehicles and head home.
Rachel got into the driver's seat of her Chevrolet Cruze. Tina followed her and got into the passenger seat as Rachel was taking her home. The three cheerleaders piled into Quinn's vehicle and took off.
"So," said Mercedes from where she was still seated in Kurt's vehicle. "Liza Minnelli week, hey?"
"Yes," responded Kurt, turning to smile brightly across at Mercedes. "Come over tomorrow after school if you like."
"I would," replied Mercedes, smiling back at him.
"It's a date," chuckled Kurt before pulling out of the parking lot.
Mercedes beamed.
The next day Mercedes was at her locker when Tina and Rachel approached her.
"We need to have a Gayvention," spoke Rachel. "That's a gay intervention."
"It's Kurt," stuttered Tina, her stutter coming back. "He's lady fabulous."
"It's obvious you like him," said Rachel, choosing to ignore Mercedes' eye roll. "We just don't want you to get hurt by feelings he can't... reciprocate."
Mercedes turned back to her locker and pulled her textbooks out for her afternoon classes.
"Look," said Mercedes as she swung back around to look at her two friends. "Just because he wears nice clothes doesn't mean he's on the down-low."
"He wore a corset to second period today," exclaimed Rachel in exasperation.
"You can do better, Mercedes," said Tina.
"Really? Well, what if I can't?" asked Mercedes, finding some of her diva attitude returning. "There's not a lot of guys around here knocking down my door for a date." She stopped for a moment and turned to look pointedly at Rachel before continuing with, "Or yours, for that matter."
"Nobody notices us," explained Mercedes, her voice filling with emotion as she catapulted into a rant. "Hello? We're in glee club. And I'm tired of being lonely, Aren't you? And Kurt… Kurt is sweet to me, and he likes who I am... And I like how I feel when I'm with him. And he's in our group; he understands what I'm going through. Now, maybe that's not enough for you guys, but it's enough for me."
Mercedes shut her locker door and turned to walk away, she frowned to herself as she left her friends standing stunned at her locker. A mix of emotions was floating through her mind as she left them. Why couldn't they be happy for her? Why didn't they seem to understand? Were they right about Kurt? She had worried the same thing, but... but he had been giving her signals that he was interested... and what about what Quinn and Santana said?
Title: Flawed Design
Pairings: Kurt/Mercedes
Rating: PG-13 (for now)
Spoilers: Season 1
Summary: Mercedes has a crush on Kurt. When this comes to light, Kurt has the opportunity to stay in the proverbial closet a bit longer, hopefully freeing himself from related bullying. But, will it all come slamming back in his face?
Kurt and the Glee club girls piled out of his Navigator when they arrived at Carmel High School. Upon the suggestion of the glee club's newly joined Cheerios, Rachel had got it in her head that they needed to hire Dakota Stanley to help choreograph their routines for Regionals. It was the only way they stood a chance to win, or so Rachel had said. So, here they were at a rival high school stalking the short man who was currently working with Vocal Adrenaline; the best of the best show choirs in the state.
"Damn Kurt, this car is fly," exclaimed Mercedes walking around the vehicle she had just exited with an impressed look on her face.
"My Dad got it for my sweet sixteen after I swore to stop wearing form-fitting sweaters that stop at the knee," replied Kurt shutting his door and turning to look back at his Navigator with pride. After speaking, he quickly swung around to face the girls gathered around him and raised his pointer finger, "what he doesn't know, doesn't hurt him."
"Are we even sure they are rehearsing today?" asked Quinn as the group began to walk up the sidewalk to the school's oversized Auditorium.
"Vocal Adrenaline rehearses every day from two thirty until midnight," replied Rachel, quickly.
The cheerleaders had moved to the head of the pack with Rachel and Tina taking up the tail end. Kurt walked beside Mercedes and reached to take her arm in his. Mercedes could feel her pulse suddenly increase at his gesture.
"I'm just so nervous these Vocal Adrenaline kids are gonna laugh at us," sighed Mercedes, trying to hide her excitement over Kurt's proximity. "They are so cool and popular, and we look like we just stepped off the short bus."
"Those sweaty Nazis have just had more time to practise," replied Kurt looking down at Mercedes as they strolled arm in arm. "We have more heart... And you don't look touched in the head; that outfit is amazing."
Mercedes smiled brightly at his words before glancing over at the three cheerleaders who gave her nods and smiles. Taking a deep breath, she turned back to Kurt.
"So, would you ever," she began. "You know, want to hang out?"
"Come over," replied Kurt without missing a beat. "It's Liza Minnelli week on AMC"
"Guys!" cut in Rachel, suddenly. "That's Andrea Cohen. She won outstanding Soloist last year at 'Absolutely Tampastic'."
Everyone stopped walking. Mercedes pulled her eyes away from Kurt to see two girls from Vocal Adrenaline standing at the garbage can just outside the doors of the auditorium. One was leaning over the can like she was vomiting, the other clutching at her back saying something that Mercedes couldn't quite make out.
"Are you guys Vocal Adrenaline?" asked Rachel, excitedly as she took a few steps toward them. "We'd like to talk to Dakota Stanley about choreography for our glee club."
"Don't," exclaimed the girl looking up from the garbage can. "He's a monster."
Mercedes grabbed at Kurt's arm at the girl's words, fearfully wondering what Rachel was getting them in to. The two Vocal Adrenaline girls straightened their outfits and walked back into the auditorium, allowing the group to follow them. The girls and Kurt settled themselves into some seats to watch the rest of the rehearsal while they waited for a chance to speak to Dakota Stanley.
It was a long wait, but Mercedes took solace in her proximity to Kurt. He was sitting in between Tina and herself with the three cheerleaders behind them and Rachel on the other side of Tina. Every once in a while, Kurt would lean over to comment about something they were watching; his breath was warm and tickly in Mercedes' ear.
Mercedes kept glancing sideways at him, running through all the compliments he had given her when they had gone shopping after school the day before. Their trip to the mall had been strictly platonic, she knew, but she couldn't help but put extra emphasis on every flattering thing he had said to her when she had shown him different outfits she tried on. When they had stopped shopping for a quick meal in the food court, he had chattered away about something to do with the latest issue of Vogue and the colours that were 'in' this season. She had been so lost staring at his face and fantasizing about what it would be like to have him for a boyfriend that she had missed most of what he had said.
At some point, Kurt had lost interest in the constant replay of "Mercy" and had started playing 'Angry Birds' on his phone. He was brought back, though, when Dakota had called out that the group run through the number one last time.
The group seemed flawless and effortless, even though they had been at it for hours. They may not have had the same level of enthusiasm, but their exhaustion wasn't visible. When the group finished, Dakota angrily yelled at them to get off his stage. His voice sounded irritated and disappointed, as if they had spent the entire time flailing on the stage, stumbling through the choreography and missing notes. The look on Kurt's face as he watched the group leave the stage mirrored Mercedes' own feelings of surprise and disgust.
"Hurry," spoke Rachel, pushing back her own shock and rising to her feet. "We need to go talk to Dakota Stanley before he leaves."
The rest of the girls and Kurt rose to their feet, feeling stiff from sitting so long, and followed as Rachel bounded across the auditorium to catch up to Dakota. He had already disappeared out of the building, though, by the time they had crossed the rows of seats.
Rachel raced out of the single EXIT door on the side of the building and ran down the sidewalk to find Dakota getting into his car. The rest of the group caught up to her as she slowed to walk up to the car.
"Mr. Stanley," called out Rachel. "We're the McKinley High Glee Club!"
"No interviews," replied the short, little man.
"We'd like you to choreograph for us," put in Tina, standing next to Rachel beside the man's red sports car.
"Look, my fee is 8,000 dollars per number, plus a 10,000 dollar bonus if you place in the top three," explained Dakota. "And with Dakota Stanley at the wheel, you will place at the top three. Move it."
With that, he revved his engine and sped off leaving the small group of kids standing in dumbfounded silence.
"How are we going to get 8000 dollars?" asked Rachel, cutting through the silence moments later.
The car ride back to the school was quiet besides the soft playing of the music from Kurt's iPod. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts. Mercedes kept sneaking peeks across the vehicle at Kurt from where she sat in the front passenger seat. He was silent, his face set in an unreadable expression. Kurt dropped the group off at McKinley so that they could get their own vehicles and head home.
Rachel got into the driver's seat of her Chevrolet Cruze. Tina followed her and got into the passenger seat as Rachel was taking her home. The three cheerleaders piled into Quinn's vehicle and took off.
"So," said Mercedes from where she was still seated in Kurt's vehicle. "Liza Minnelli week, hey?"
"Yes," responded Kurt, turning to smile brightly across at Mercedes. "Come over tomorrow after school if you like."
"I would," replied Mercedes, smiling back at him.
"It's a date," chuckled Kurt before pulling out of the parking lot.
Mercedes beamed.
The next day Mercedes was at her locker when Tina and Rachel approached her.
"We need to have a Gayvention," spoke Rachel. "That's a gay intervention."
"It's Kurt," stuttered Tina, her stutter coming back. "He's lady fabulous."
"It's obvious you like him," said Rachel, choosing to ignore Mercedes' eye roll. "We just don't want you to get hurt by feelings he can't... reciprocate."
Mercedes turned back to her locker and pulled her textbooks out for her afternoon classes.
"Look," said Mercedes as she swung back around to look at her two friends. "Just because he wears nice clothes doesn't mean he's on the down-low."
"He wore a corset to second period today," exclaimed Rachel in exasperation.
"You can do better, Mercedes," said Tina.
"Really? Well, what if I can't?" asked Mercedes, finding some of her diva attitude returning. "There's not a lot of guys around here knocking down my door for a date." She stopped for a moment and turned to look pointedly at Rachel before continuing with, "Or yours, for that matter."
"Nobody notices us," explained Mercedes, her voice filling with emotion as she catapulted into a rant. "Hello? We're in glee club. And I'm tired of being lonely, Aren't you? And Kurt… Kurt is sweet to me, and he likes who I am... And I like how I feel when I'm with him. And he's in our group; he understands what I'm going through. Now, maybe that's not enough for you guys, but it's enough for me."
Mercedes shut her locker door and turned to walk away, she frowned to herself as she left her friends standing stunned at her locker. A mix of emotions was floating through her mind as she left them. Why couldn't they be happy for her? Why didn't they seem to understand? Were they right about Kurt? She had worried the same thing, but... but he had been giving her signals that he was interested... and what about what Quinn and Santana said?