Fic: Days Gone By
Rating: G/PG
Pairing/Character(s): Kurt, Mercedes
Spoilers: just assume blanket spoilers for all episodes. Nothing specific, though.
Warnings: None
Word Count: 757
Summary: a short vignette about Kurt and Mercedes' friendship.
A/N: this is gen with some light angst. It came about because I really miss the Kurt and Mercedes dynamic from previous episodes, but also because I've lost a lot of friends lately.
~
Kurt watches Mercedes and Tina walk, directing a little wave and a smile at them as they go by, and is both warmed and disheartened at the same time as they give little distracted nods and keep going. Just a few months ago they would have stopped to include him in whatever they were laughing and gossiping about.
Their backs fade into the masses of students in the halls of McKinley high, blending in until they are gone from sight, and Kurt also remembers a time that he would have ran after them.
Sighing and shutting his locker, Kurt turns and walks toward his classroom. He doesn't feel upset, exactly; it's like he has been hollowed out and drained. He's tired and he's maybe a little barren, but he isn't mad or on the edge of tears.
He can't pinpoint when things changed, somewhere between Quinn moving in with Mercedes and him going to Dalton he supposes, but it wasn't one incident that changed his friendships, it was a hundred. So many little things that wore away at the strong foundations that they had built, until there was nothing left but the barest of rock anchoring them together.
He misses Mercedes and, if it wasn't for what he imagines as a sea of regret between them, he would start mending their friendship this very moment.
Kurt's mind wanders during his class; the teacher is prattling on about biomes, something that he's sure will be on the next quiz, but he's far enough ahead on the material that he doesn't worry about missing a little.
Kurt moves the tip of his mechanical pencil back and forth on his paper, shaping the lead into a chisel, and uses the re-modeled end to doodle in the margins of his page. He almost laughs out loud when the first thing he draws is a stylized 'M'.
He still talks to Mercedes and they will sometimes meet for lunch in the cafeteria or for a coffee after classes finish, but those times are becoming further and further between with each passing week. Soon they will only see each other in their one shared class and in Glee club.
He wishes he could blame Mercedes for the deterioration of their friendship, but he can't. She played a part, there is no doubt, but he is just as much at fault as she is.
Between meeting Blaine and spending so much time away from McKinley, he's allowed a lot of his friendships to fade. Some hurt more than others to see go though, and the connection he's had with Mercedes since they first started together in Glee was a powerful one.
But people change and relationships come and go. He knows this now, has experienced it through the friendships he has made and lost in Glee, and as much as he wants to stay close to all of his friends, he knows that life doesn't work that way.
People don't stick with you when you aren't someone they want to be around anymore; they move on and make new connections. They gravitate toward what works best for them.
It hurts because at one point he was what Mercedes wanted in a friend, who she wanted to share the good times and the bad times with, but he also can't forget that she wasn't what he thought he wanted as a friend all of the times he didn't meet with her.
They moved on.
He'll always think of Mercedes as a friend and as a sister, but they aren't close anymore. He doesn't text or call her when something exciting happens; he finds out about her new boyfriends through other people.
He will smile and remember the good times, send her a message to see if they can meet for lunch when he thinks about her, but they aren't who they used to be.
As Kurt leaves his class, one hand clutching the strap of his bag and the other holding his cell phone, he sees Blaine coming toward him. His face lights up with a smile as they meet, sharing a brief brush of shoulders in greeting, and Kurt feels the emptiness fill the tiniest bit.
Losing his close friendship to Mercedes left its mark, but hasn't lost her completely and he's isn't alone.
Later that night as he leans back in his chair at the desk in his room, Kurt fiddles with his phone, thoughts contemplative and reminiscent. His fingers type out a message to Mercedes almost absently.
How about lunch tomorrow? --Kurt
----
I know I skipped over Tina after the beginning and, honestly, I just don’t have a good grasp of their friendship, so I let it be.
The little moment in episode 4 gives me hope that we will see some more Kurt/Mercedes friendship. I miss them. Anyway. Hope you liked :)
Pairing/Character(s): Kurt, Mercedes
Spoilers: just assume blanket spoilers for all episodes. Nothing specific, though.
Warnings: None
Word Count: 757
Summary: a short vignette about Kurt and Mercedes' friendship.
A/N: this is gen with some light angst. It came about because I really miss the Kurt and Mercedes dynamic from previous episodes, but also because I've lost a lot of friends lately.
~
Kurt watches Mercedes and Tina walk, directing a little wave and a smile at them as they go by, and is both warmed and disheartened at the same time as they give little distracted nods and keep going. Just a few months ago they would have stopped to include him in whatever they were laughing and gossiping about.
Their backs fade into the masses of students in the halls of McKinley high, blending in until they are gone from sight, and Kurt also remembers a time that he would have ran after them.
Sighing and shutting his locker, Kurt turns and walks toward his classroom. He doesn't feel upset, exactly; it's like he has been hollowed out and drained. He's tired and he's maybe a little barren, but he isn't mad or on the edge of tears.
He can't pinpoint when things changed, somewhere between Quinn moving in with Mercedes and him going to Dalton he supposes, but it wasn't one incident that changed his friendships, it was a hundred. So many little things that wore away at the strong foundations that they had built, until there was nothing left but the barest of rock anchoring them together.
He misses Mercedes and, if it wasn't for what he imagines as a sea of regret between them, he would start mending their friendship this very moment.
Kurt's mind wanders during his class; the teacher is prattling on about biomes, something that he's sure will be on the next quiz, but he's far enough ahead on the material that he doesn't worry about missing a little.
Kurt moves the tip of his mechanical pencil back and forth on his paper, shaping the lead into a chisel, and uses the re-modeled end to doodle in the margins of his page. He almost laughs out loud when the first thing he draws is a stylized 'M'.
He still talks to Mercedes and they will sometimes meet for lunch in the cafeteria or for a coffee after classes finish, but those times are becoming further and further between with each passing week. Soon they will only see each other in their one shared class and in Glee club.
He wishes he could blame Mercedes for the deterioration of their friendship, but he can't. She played a part, there is no doubt, but he is just as much at fault as she is.
Between meeting Blaine and spending so much time away from McKinley, he's allowed a lot of his friendships to fade. Some hurt more than others to see go though, and the connection he's had with Mercedes since they first started together in Glee was a powerful one.
But people change and relationships come and go. He knows this now, has experienced it through the friendships he has made and lost in Glee, and as much as he wants to stay close to all of his friends, he knows that life doesn't work that way.
People don't stick with you when you aren't someone they want to be around anymore; they move on and make new connections. They gravitate toward what works best for them.
It hurts because at one point he was what Mercedes wanted in a friend, who she wanted to share the good times and the bad times with, but he also can't forget that she wasn't what he thought he wanted as a friend all of the times he didn't meet with her.
They moved on.
He'll always think of Mercedes as a friend and as a sister, but they aren't close anymore. He doesn't text or call her when something exciting happens; he finds out about her new boyfriends through other people.
He will smile and remember the good times, send her a message to see if they can meet for lunch when he thinks about her, but they aren't who they used to be.
As Kurt leaves his class, one hand clutching the strap of his bag and the other holding his cell phone, he sees Blaine coming toward him. His face lights up with a smile as they meet, sharing a brief brush of shoulders in greeting, and Kurt feels the emptiness fill the tiniest bit.
Losing his close friendship to Mercedes left its mark, but hasn't lost her completely and he's isn't alone.
Later that night as he leans back in his chair at the desk in his room, Kurt fiddles with his phone, thoughts contemplative and reminiscent. His fingers type out a message to Mercedes almost absently.
How about lunch tomorrow? --Kurt
----
I know I skipped over Tina after the beginning and, honestly, I just don’t have a good grasp of their friendship, so I let it be.
The little moment in episode 4 gives me hope that we will see some more Kurt/Mercedes friendship. I miss them. Anyway. Hope you liked :)