Blond Girls
Title: Blond Girls
Fandom: Glee
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Glee belongs to Ryan Murphy and Fox, not me
Characters/Pairings: Kurt Hummel, Quinn Fabray, Brittany. Mentions of canon pairings.
Word Count: 9273
Summary: Kurt develops an unlikely friendship with two blond cheerleaders over pink, heart shaped post it notes. Kurt/Brittany/Quinn friendship
Author's Notes: Okay, I admit it, I've rewatched the episodes probably one too many times for my own good. This is what came out of it. I make no apologies for any britishisms that may have snuck in, but I've tried to keep them down. Bits of this were really hard to write and try and keep in character; I hope I managed successfully enough. Brittany was especially difficult. I hope you enjoy my first foray into Glee fanfiction. I suggest getting a cup of tea to drink with this, it's a long one.
: Blond Girls :
Kurt develops an unlikely friendship with two blond cheerleaders over pink, heart shaped post it notes. Kurt/Brittany/Quinn friendship, Sectionals Spoilers.
Kurt's first real encounter with Brittany was over the Single Ladies incident. He'd known her before, of course; she shared his Maths class, had been a vague blond shape following the two other lead cheerleaders, a bystander in his various torturings (but never a participator, he thought when looking back on it). Brittany was an enigma to the entire school, no one quite knew what her agenda was, or if she was simply just that stupid, because frankly, who keeps a bird in their locker?
She'd joined Glee with the other two, after that dreadful assembly Rachel had organised - he still stood by the fact that no matter how bad it was, it was still better than the disco that they would have done in the first place - and had integrated in a better than the others as well, having little regard for the social standing that she was supposed to follow. Even when Quinn and Santana were off somewhere else - they couldn't be at cheerios practice otherwise Brittany would be there as well - she was at Glee, practising the choreography until she knew the routines back to front and even better than Kurt and Rachel.
It wasn't until Kurt walked in on her dancing madly to Single Ladies that he'd really talked to her.
"Oh, hey Kurt," Brittany had said after spotting him. She had let the music continue playing, but had stopped dancing, apart from the occasional bop of the head here and there.
"Brittany," Kurt nodded softly. He wasn't quite sure how to talk to her. "I didn't know you were a Beyonce fan," he settled for.
Brittany giggled, soft peals that were far softer than the usual harshness of cheerleaders tones that he was used to. "I'm not. Santana showed me the video and the dance was amazing, so I thought I'd learn it. Plus, it's really catchy," she said.
Kurt nodded his head in agreement. "The dance is amazing. Like everything else Beyonce does," he said.
"So you think I should check out more? Santana says I should, but Quinn doesn't like her very much," Brittany replied.
"Definitely. And who cares what they think," Kurt replied.
"It's a shame that you really need three people to get this dance looking right," Brittany said after a minor pause.
"I can do it." Kurt is surprised at the words that come tumbling out of his mouth. Even Mercedes doesn't know of his closet Single Ladies Beyonce dancing, yet something on Brittany's face makes him want to tell her, offer his services as an extra dancer. And before he even knows what's happening, he finds Brittany has dragged him to his feet, placing his messenger bag at the edge of the choir room as she reset the CD player back to the start of the track.
"Think you can keep up, Kurt?" she said, with that twinkle in her eye, and Kurt realised he and Brittany could become good friends.
Someday.
-x-
He spent rather a lot of time with Brittany that week, sorting out the final bits of the choreography for the dance, and teaching Tina, who they'd
managed to rope in as the third member of their little gang. Brittany had originally volunteered her house as the rendezvous for the final performance, but then Kurt had offered, knowing his basement was bigger and that his Dad wouldn't be home until later, so they were safe.
Of course, this plan all went down the drain when his father did turn up. Thanks to some quick thinking on his and Brittany's part, they'd avoided most of a disaster (though he was fairly certain that Brittany had just managed to dig him into an even deeper hole). Tina had gone home, after they had finally managed to get a good recording of the dance - Kurt was sure he'd be hearing from Artie about the entire, pretending Tina was his girlfriend mix-up.
For some reason, Brittany hadn't gone home, and was floating around, examining various things in Kurt's room and squeeing at various bits of designer clothing that she managed to find. Kurt was fairly glad that she hadn't managed to find his main closet, or he expected the entire street would be deafened. He managed to excuse himself, after making Brittany promise she wouldn't touch anything, to make them some drinks; he was exhausted after all of that dancing, and even just watching Brittany took enough out of him.
When he came back in, with drinks - he'd discovered he had no idea what Brittany liked, and had gone for a glass of diet soda, hoping that would be okay - Brittany is sitting peacefully on the floor, listening to the Wicked soundtrack, and he has to laugh at the scene. She turned around, looking at him before glancing the glasses in his hand, letting out a short exclamation of "Kurt, you brought drinks!"
For a moment there, Kurt almost thought she was going to hug him, and was rather relieved when she didn't. So instead, he dropped to the floor beside her, handing her one of the glasses. There was silence between them as they relaxed a bit, before Brittany spoke again, "What is this anyway?"
"The Wicked Soundtrack. My personal favourite musical of all time," Kurt explained. "This is the original Broadway cast."
"Broadway?" Brittany queried. "Isn't that like a street in New York?"
Kurt sighed. "Brittany, it's a bit more than just a street." Maybe Rachel was right with some of her kooky plans; a basic knowledge of show tunes was key to any music group.
Then again, Brittany didn't have a basic knowledge of anything.
-x-
Kurt doesn't speak to Brittany one on one for a good few weeks after that. He's first far too busy with the football team, and Finn, and convincing that bunch of Neandertholic losers that Beyonce is going to be good for them, and then there's the incident where Will brought in April Rhodes - he was never getting drunk in his life again, he knew that much. He didn't know how his Aunt Mildred stood it. True, he and Brittany had been paired off in bits of the Choreography for Last Name, but they hadn't really talked, being more concerned about other things.
And then comes the decongestant incident. Kurt still hadn't forgiven Mr Schue for making him go into the boys group, and though seeing Finn asleep and drooling had almost made up for it, he had still felt rather vengeful. Even going over to the girls and leaking the secret and being back on the right team; because, somehow, when they had been putting everything in that mash-up together, they'd forgotten about the fact that Kurt's voice just simply was not going to go that low. So a harmony was made, and everyone had been so pumped up that it didn't really matter anymore.
Now Glee had been split in two. Kurt didn't mind so much - he had Mercedes, Artie, and Tina, and it was a relief not to have Rachel down their necks at every second and to not have to worry that Puck was going to do something in rehearsals, but that had all been replaced by the monstrosity that was Sue Sylvester, and she was more terror than the pair previously mentioned put together.
When the group finally comes together in the middle of that week for their Jam session, Kurt is relieved to see everyone again. Jam sessions aren't his thing, really, but even he can't resist the lure of the catchy vocals, Puck's guitar strumming and Finn's drum playing and the atmosphere of them all being back together is contagious, so he dances first with Tina, and then with Brittany.
They high fived at the end, in celebration. As Kurt informed the group of Ms. Sylvester's threats to shave his head - he really, really couldn't rock that look, in any way - Brittany slid a note into Kurt's bag. They said their goodbyes; Kurt even hugged Rachel, in some bizarre turn of events (no, even he wasn't sure what had happened), and moved on, to another of Sue's rehearsals.
When Kurt opened his bag at the end of it, and saw Brittany's message on a pink, heart post it note, he smiled.
-x-
Kurt had been quite content befriending one blond cheerleader, but when he was in the toilets (girls, of course. He got less abuse in here than the guys, surprisingly), and heard crying, and knocked on the stall, and heard a voice reply, "Go away Brittany," and realised that it was Quinn Fabray - pregnant cheerleader Quinn, and the entire school has been informed of her pregnancy now, not just the select Glee club members - he felt that he needed to say something.
"It's not Brittany," was all Kurt can think of as a response at first, because he feels he needs to get that out there, and seriously, could she not see the shoes?
"Kurt?" came Quinn's questioning tone in response.
He was almost surprised that she knows it's him. Almost. "Who else? And I'm positively disappointed that you didn''t recognise the shoes. Do you think anyone else has shoes like these?" he replied.
"My first comment still stands, you know," Quinn replied back, but Kurt can tell she's still upset, still sobbing; he recognises the gasps of breath, the quiver in her voice all to well - this has been him, so many times. In slightly different circumstances, of course.
"Sweetie, you can't stand all day sitting and crying in the toilets. Especially not when Finn's standing outside looking worried," Kurt said. There might have been the slightest lie in that; Finn was down the hall, looking at what Kurt suspected was a Spanish book with disbelief all over his face.
Quinn picked up on it. "No he's not," she replied back, sounding just a little bit frustrated.
"You know he would be if you let him," Kurt said. He knew that this comment was probably not appropriate, but it was out of his mouth before he could stop it; of all the conversations he has practised in his head over and over 'til he's word perfect for any situation that presents itself to him, this scenario was one he's not even contemplated before.
He heard the sound of the chain being pulled and the loo flushing, as well as the creak of the old door as it opened, revealing a Quinn as Kurt has never seen her before. "What do you know?" she asked viciously.
"Admittedly, not a lot. But I know that Finn will stand by you no matter what," Kurt replied. He was leaning against the wall now, watching as Quinn tried to clear herself up a bit. "Quinn, let me help you. Honestly, has no one in this school heard of waterproof mascara?"
Quinn shook her head, though which part of the comment she is saying no to, Kurt isn't sure. "Finn's a nice guy. But he can't cope. And then there's Rachel, and the rest of Glee and I can see his mind isn't in it anymore."
Kurt has no response to this. He knew that what Quinn was saying is true, but he wanted to spring to Finn's defence, but this time, he kept track on his mouth. "Quinn, I can't help you with that," Kurt said, because he can't think of anything else he could possibly say under the circumstances. "I can help you clean yourself up though. At least let me do something."
Somehow, Quinn ended up agreeing, as she let Kurt clean her face, moisturising, cleansing, cover-up round her eyes to disguise the fact that she's been bawling her eyes out. When he was done, Quinn looked her normal, cheerleader self again, and she murmured a quiet thanks to Kurt, hugging him rather awkwardly before disappearing out the door.
Kurt packed up the make-up back into his bag, knowing that there was something in that that said that they would never speak of the incident again. But he understood just a little bit more about exactly what goes on in that pretty Cheerio head of hers, even if just slightly.
When he was next in Spanish, he waited until after class is finished and asked Mr. Schue quietly if they can sing something for Quinn. He also asked him not to mention his name in why they are singing it. Will doesn't understand why, but he does as told, and besides, the young soprano is right; Quinn needs support.
-x-
Mr. Schuester announces that they will be doing Keep Holding On in the next Glee practice. Though it might not be the song that Kurt would have chosen - though he doesn't know what he would have chosen - it fits perfectly, and there is the first glint of a smile on Quinn's face that he's seen in a few days, and when Mr. Schue hands over control of the choreography to Brittany and Santana, Kurt smiles as well, because somehow he's made both of the blond cheerleaders happy with one small move.
As they performed, Kurt's mind was really not focusing on the routine that was going on. The choreography seemed simple enough at first, but as they had been practising, he had noticed how much work Brittany had put into the little touches, and how Quinn was always central in the routine, and how everyone was involved. They'd even put a lift in, which had quite the potential to turn out disastrous; somehow, it worked perfectly, as Brittany had managed to partner herself with Artie for that part, and had done a lot of the work herself, yet it still looked completely in sync with everyone else.
Standing behind Artie, Kurt could see the tears starting to well up in Quinn's eyes. The expression on her face was so touching, Kurt almost thought he'd start crying as well. And then the routine moved again, and again, and then came the hand-offs - one with Brittany, the other with Tina - settling into formation once again before moving into places for the last time, and Kurt found himself next to Quinn, and he could see the tears running clearly down her face now.
Kurt smiles at her, because that's all he can do, but he feels like crying too. He threads his fingers through hers, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze, but her eyes remained focused straight ahead, not looking at him, or even Finn who was holding her other hand. They parted, and Kurt heard the quiet rasp of her breath as she struggled to control the sobs.
The next day, Kurt found another note in his locker. Written on the same pink post it notes that he got from Brittany all the time, but this one was in Quinn's writing.
Thanks.
-x-
Brittany came over that weekend, and Kurt subjected her to a Broadway marathon, as he was still not happy about her lack of Broadway knowledge. She later confessed that although she had thought it brilliant, she hadn't understood a word of it. With anyone else, he would have given up as a dead cause, but somewhere along the way of Glee, he feels slightly responsible for Brittany and all her madness, and besides, she makes both him and his dad laugh with her comments.
That week's Glee involves a rendition of "Bust a Move" by Mr. Schue - Finn had gotten slushied as both his and Quinn's popularity had dropped rapidly - and with Artie on guitar and Puck stubbornly refusing, Mr. Schue had taken over. It wasn't Kurt's scene, so he was quite happy to sit on the side, bobbing his head in time while the others danced; Tina and Mercedes both tried to drag him into it, but he saw no merit in it.
Unfortunately, Will seemed to have noticed that Kurt wasn't participating, so he had dragged him up, pulled him to the centre of the room and proceeded to sing with him until Kurt walked off in disgust. Standing next to Artie seemed to be safe, and he grabbed a tambourine that was sitting upon the drum kit in a vague effort to join in. And then Artie was pulled away, so Kurt edged up the steps.
It seemed Kurt's torture was not over yet, as Brittany edged towards him and started to do all number of stupid things to try and get him involved.
He gave a sigh of relief when it was all over. "Seriously, Brittany, was that necessary?" as she tugged on his hand, pulling him down to sit next to her.
"I have no idea what you're on about," Brittany replied, in her way.
"Of course you do."
"No, I have no idea. What does necessary mean?" Brittany replied.
Kurt berated himself for not thinking of that before hand, before going, "I'll tell you later," as Mr. Schue went on with another of his talks. Something about being a team player and everything.
At the end of Glee, he still hadn't finished his earlier conversation with Brittany, but she had already vanished with Santana and Mike off somewhere. Kurt wasn't surprised when he found a pink post it attached to his bag later.
-x-
The battle lines had been drawn, Kurt knew it would happen eventually. The five of them would have to pick between Football and Glee, and
that was that.
Kurt had always known what his choice would be; it was the other guys who caused the worry. There were nine of them standing, waiting in the choir room - Mr. Schue and the eight kids. Each of them waiting expectantly for who was going to show. Ideas were divided, the general assumption being that Finn would show, Puck wouldn't, and it would depend on Mike and Matt's moods that day as to what they chose.
Brittany stood by his side and Kurt knew who she was waiting for; she had told him earlier about her and Santana's efforts to persuade the other boys to choose Glee.
When the clock finally struck half three, they all stopped clock watching and turned to the wall. Sighs of disappointment went round the entire Glee Club, as various people said "They're not coming, are they?", but Kurt saw Brittany keep her eyes on the door. Kurt was about to tell her to give up, but then he heard the very soft clomp of footsteps outside.
Mike Chang, followed by Matt Rutherford stepped into the choir room, both looking fairly sheepish, and Santana and Brittany went over to hug the two boys. Brittany slid back into place beside Kurt as everyone's eyes turned towards the door once again to see if anyone else was going to come through the door. To their surprise, Puck was the next through the door; gasps were let out through the entirety of New Directions.
"I can't believe it. Puck just chose Glee over Football. Please tell me I'm hallucinating or something?" Kurt said under his breath to Brittany as they watched Rachel go and hug Puck.
"Isn't hallucinating where you can't breathe?" Brittany questioned.
"I think you're thinking of hyperventilation. But I might be doing that as well," Kurt replied.
Of course, the key issue here was that there was still one member of their club missing; Finn Hudson. Their star, who everyone had been sure would choose Glee over Football, had still not turned up. He had chosen Football over Glee. They were now eleven.
They no longer qualified for regionals.
-x-
Brittany approached Kurt as he stood by his locker. The rumours of what he had done had spread around the school, though no one quite
knew what was true and what wasn't. "Hey Kurt. Is it true?" Brittany asked as she came into step with him.
"Is what true?" he asked, shifting the books that he was holding in his arms.
"That you took a slushie for Finn?" Brittany replied.
"Yes." Kurt replied. It was short. He didn't want to talk about it; it had been painful enough at the time.
Brittany wasn't one to give up though. "Why?"
Kurt turned to her, angrily. The corridor, strangely, was practically empty. "Because he's an idiot? Because those blundering idiots on the football team would have beat him to pulp if he didn't? Because he actually bothered to ask me about it was okay? Because I'm completely and utterly in love with him?" Kurt was yelling now, but in that quiet, subdued way that so few people could.
Brittany's face turned into one of utter confusion as it finally dawned on Kurt what he'd said. "Oh god. Oh my god. I can't believe I just admitted that," he panted.
"Is this hyperventilating?" Brittany asked.
"I would think so," Kurt replied. "Wait, you're not curious at all?"
Brittany giggled. "Face it Kurt. Everyone has something going on with someone around here. It doesn't get more crazy than Puck and Rachel," she said.
"Indeed. I still can't believe that's actually happening." Kurt pulled a smile back. He straightened out his features, and then said more seriously, taking Brittany's hands and pulling her in so she was facing him, "Britt, don't tell anyone, okay? Especially not Finn."
"You're secret's safe with me, Kurt," Brittany replied.
It was times like this, Kurt thought, that he thanked god for people like Brittany.
-x-
After the slushie incident, Kurt also found another of those pink post-its in his locker; it was identical to the one he had gotten before, right down to the writing on it. He knew it was from Quinn, but it was never mentioned.
Life moved on. Brittany had forgotten - or was very good at avoiding - what he had let slip a few weeks ago, and his concerns were now on the Diva Off against Rachel, the bake sale for Artie and that Mr. Schue had tasked them with spending three hours a day in a wheelchair. Kurt had mastered his very quickly; he had recollections of his mother being ill and in a chair, and his timid voice saying that if mum had to be in a chair, so would he, and the nurses teaching him basic manoeuvring skills. Somewhere, some of this experience had obviously lodged, and he was thankful for this. One less task off his mind.
Too bad something else to his woes of confusion, a sign up sheet for the Cheerios had appeared on the notice board. Kurt had sent Brittany a text, asking if it was real or not - the Cheerios had always been exclusive, there was no reason to believe that this wasn't just a trick, and she hadn't got back to him yet.
She approached him at lunch though, with a smile on her face. "My phone wouldn't let me text you back. I don't know why," she explained, with such bewilderment on her face, though Kurt knew it was probably something stupidly simple like she was out of credit or her phone was out of charge. "Anyway, I checked with Santana, and she saw Coach Sylvester put it up this morning," Brittany said.
"Hmm," Kurt pondered. "So it is legit. I wonder if I should try out," he said to himself more than anyone else.
"Kurt, you totally should. It would be so much fun having you on the team," Brittany bounced up and down like an excited child. Kurt couldn't help being reminded of Mercedes' youngest brother.
"I shall ask 'Cedes then," Kurt declared.
Brittany hugged him there, and Kurt just stood their in a state of surprise and shock as she flung her arms around his neck. "I'll tell coach to let you in," she said, and before Kurt has a chance to respond she had gone, off to join Santana and the rest of the Cheerios.
He and Mercedes both audition for the Cheerios. Sue says no in a matter of seconds, not that they were expecting anything different. And then he fluffs the high F, on purpose, because he doesn't think he's seen his dad as upset in such a long time, and he can't do that to his dad, because all they really have is each other. And Rachel stands triumphant, and he watches Mercedes sit there and simmer at Rachel's remarks that she was the better choice, and he knows he can't tell her that he missed it on purpose because she will pummel him, kill Rachel, and then demand that Mr. Schue gives him the solo.
He thinks of telling Brittany, then realises that she just wouldn't understand, and the only other person who comes to mind is the other blond (ex-)cheerleader who's entered his life , and then realises that that's an even more preposterous thought, as all he does is trade pink, heart shaped post it notes with her. So Kurt tells no one, except from explaining to his dad why he doesn't need to march down the school and threaten to sue them.
He finds two sorry notes in his locker that time. Why, he's not quite sure, but he has Brittany over for another movie marathon and puts a dress (in a glorious yellow which is Quinn's favourite colour, and Kurt admits it does suit her, but he does wish she'd liven it up a bit) and a bit of money, as even he has realised that she is getting desperate into Quinn's locker. He's not even sure why he does it, but he wants to.
-x-
It is somewhere around when Kurt is helping Finn out with all this Ballad and Quinn stuff that he's not quite as jealous and resentful of Quinn as he thought he was before.
Kurt can't stand Rachel and her not quite as subtle as she thinks it is flirting with Finn. He resents her, for thinking that she's better than him, for trying to be all over him. He's jealous of her, for getting to be so close to him without even trying. It's even worse when he realises that the feeling is likely mutual.
Yet, Quinn was different. Kurt was jealous of her, yes; so, so jealous, that she could be in Finn's arms so effortlessly and that she was the one he loved. But he does not resent her. Perhaps it is because she is of Finn's choice, that she was there before both he and Rachel had any interaction with Finn, because Finn had knocked her up and therefore he had responsibility towards her.
Well, Rachel could go on being hated. And besides, he couldn't help but feel sorry for Quinn, even if she was an ex-cheerio, and had been responsible for various bits of torment he had endured - never directly, but a small comment from the queen-bee was enough to have the football and hockey team hopping to her every order, whether she commanded them or not.
Kurt was distracted from this by his phone ringing (and the fact that he really needed to pay attention to his ironing. It was an art). He knew from the caller ID it was Finn, and composed himself before answering.
As he had almost expected, Finn was freaking out. And it was a highly odd phone call. And when it ended, Kurt just hoped that, for Quinn's sake, it wasn't all going to backfire badly on him.
-x-
Kurt's mind was numb as Finn told him what had happened the night before. It wasn't quite going in; Kurt couldn't plausibly see how any parent could treat their child like that. And then came the dreaded question of what Ballad he wanted to sing.
Kurt knew what he wanted to sing. He also had a back up answer for a song, but his real choice was tumbling out of his mouth before he had a chance to stop it. And as he watches Finn stumble through a reply, he reflects on just how Brittany-like his answer is, and how sweet
it is.
He has never been more thankful for Mercedes in his life when she comes in then and they lead Finn to the choir room, and sing Lean on
Me, and Kurt means every word he sings, to both of them.
He steals two more pink post it notes from Brittany, and both Quinn and Finn find a note in a cursive script neither of them recognise - Kurt, somewhere along the line, had gotten very good at disguising his handwriting - but they both take comfort in the note from a stranger, saying, very simply, Sorry.
-x-
Kurt isn't quite sure he can handle what he'd just done. He knows that he's setting Rachel up for a fall, but he can't help it; he is so tired of her automatically thinking that she is better than him, thinking that she is ahead of him, and she is giving him such a perfect opportunity for him to screw her over, that Kurt's vengeful side can't help but take it.
He still isn't quite sure why he'd done this in the first place. It had something to do with the fact that he was just a sucker for makeovers, and that Quinn had asked him, in that horrible, barbed conversation that they had had (he meant it about the fashion tips though. Seriously,
enough with the baby-doll dresses!). That and he had been dying to give Rachel a makeover since day one.
There is a moment when he just sits in his car, and then realises he's being stupid, and if he is going to mope, he might as well at least do it in the comfort of his room, with a good musical and comfort food of some kind. So, Kurt drove off from Rachel's house.
He ends up in his dad's garage, as he kinda knew would happen all along, because fixing cars does relax him, and for some reason his dad is not around (upon prompting, Kurt does remember that his dad had said he was doing something).
When Burt Hummel comes back to the garage, and finds his son working away, with a selection of show tunes blaring away behind him and Kurt singing along, he doesn't even question it. He carries on with his work, and decides that Kurt is at it for another hour, he will go and call Mercedes over and get her to deal with the boy, and he would talk to him himself.
It doesn't come to that, as Kurt declares himself finished not long after Burt arrives.
-x-
It is Brittany who finds Kurt crying in the bathroom that time. She has no idea what he's upset about, but just hovers there until he's stopped
crying long enough to look up and notice that she is there.
"Brittany?" Kurt asked tentatively, as he wiped the last few tears off his face.
"Hey Kurt." Brittany smiled. "You alright now?" she asked slowly, not knowing if he really has stopped crying or not.
Kurt smiled back, because Brittany never failed to put a smile on his face. "Not really," he admitted.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Brittany asked as Kurt took a bag of cosmetics out his bag. "I always think that talking about stuff makes it better, though Santana says that I need to stop talking about everything sometimes."
Kurt stays silent as he started to apply the make up and disguise the fact that he's been crying. After a few moments, he drew back and turned to Brittany. "Rachel and I had an argument. She accused me of setting her up with Finn - which admittedly, I am completely guilty of. And then we argued over Finn, and she realised that I like him. And that's an understatement of the year, as I'm in love with him and I can't even stop thinking about him and who does she think that she can just come in and have him without any consideration for anyone else. And I'm just as guilty as she is because he's Quinn's and there's nothing either of us can do about it," Kurt confessed.
Brittany sat there and absorbed everything Kurt just said, because she has no idea whose side she's supposed to come down on this; Kurt is her friend, and then there's Quinn and the mess between Quinn, Santana, and Puck and she has no idea what's actually going on anymore. Finally, she said, "What did you do to Rachel?" feeling that it is a neutral response, and hell, she actually wants to know.
"Made her dress like a hoe. Sandy in Grease era you're the one that I want, etc. I think I even picked out a catsuit for her. I have no clue if she wore it," Kurt said as he turned back to his make-up, glad that Brittany has skirted round the real issue at hand, because he really doesn't want to talk about it.
Brittany giggled at the mental image of Rachel dressed as Kurt described - she has seen Grease far too many times, and knew exactly what Kurt was referring to. "How'd you manage that?" she asked.
"Something about Finn being attracted to loose women," Kurt replied. He is practically done, and looks perfectly normal again, but is reluctant to actually leave. "I still can't believe she fell for it. That's how deep she's in."
Silence fell over the pair, but they both have smiles on their faces. "Shouldn't we be at Glee?" Brittany asked after a few minutes.
Kurt thought for a moment, grabbing bags and placing everything back into it's proper place in his messenger bag. "Come on Britt, let's go and show those Haverbrook kids what we're made of!"
In the choir room they perform their Hair/Crazy in Love mash up, and everyone knows that they look like idiots; Brittany is the only one of them who has any mastery of Hairography, and even she knows that it is a bit of a cheap trick and that they look like idiots with all the guys in their wigs. They take to their seats as the Haverbrook kids get up to perform, and Kurt finds himself pulled into a seat besides Brittany
(also Quinn, but that is entirely accidental).
None of them knew exactly what they were expecting when the deaf choir started to sing, but the kids of Glee all agreed that they hadn't expected to be that moved. The simplicity and honesty of what the deaf choir was doing amazed them all. And when Mercedes added her voice to theirs, Kurt just smiled at his best friend, thinking that she was so amazing for doing so. Then Artie joined in, wheeling his wheelchair in line with another of the choir. Before Kurt knows what's happening, he finds Brittany has found his hand and has dragged him up and they are singing as well, moving and filtering in with the choir. Soon, the entirety of New Directions is on their feet and singing.
Kurt hasn't been so moved by a group performance since Keep Holding On. But he feels like crying, just by the simplicity of the performance and the emotion expressed and how that while one of their opponents may have set them completely off track, they are now being put back on the road by their other opponents.
There should be a pink, heart shaped post it note in here somewhere, Kurt thinks, but one doesn't materialise, and Kurt finds that he doesn't mind.
-x-
Encounters between blond cheerleaders and Kurt in bathrooms - generally involving rather a lot of tears - seem to be coming common occurrences. Kurt was only going in to the bathroom to do a general check up before heading home after they perform Imagine, and found that there was someone crying in one of the stalls, and Kurt somehow knows it was Quinn, because he just does and he can't explain why he does.
"Quinn," Kurt said quietly. "What are you crying about this time?" he asked softly.
"You wouldn't understand," Quinn replied. Her sobbing was softer this time than it was before, and on previous occasions.
"Try me," Kurt dared.
Quinn scoffed quietly. "Seriously, you wouldn't. It's none of your business anyway. And don't you have your own problems to be worrying about anyway?"
"Quinn, darling, we all have our problems," Kurt replied. "We get through them by talking about them, as Brittany reminded me earlier."
"You and Brittany are friends?" Quinn asked back. Suddenly, a lot of things slot into place in her brain. "Kurt. Those post it notes, the dress, and the money. It was all from you."
Kurt stood shocked for a minute. He hadn't expected her to ever figure out, but he supposed it was fairly expected. "And? Princess, you've been leaving post its in my locker as well," he added.
"I suppose I have," Quinn admitted. She had come out of the stall now, and stood beside Kurt. "You didn't have to, you know," she told him.
"Think of it as a before present apology for getting you kicked out," Kurt said, mainly as an excuse, because even he has no idea why he really did it.
"That wasn't your fault," Quinn said. "And don't make excuses that you told Finn to do it, they'd have found out eventually. He told me afterwards that it had been your idea. I won't deny I was angry at first, but I realised it was for the best eventually," Quinn admitted.
"Anyway, I'm sorry. I really didn't think they'd react that way," Kurt apologised anyway. Quinn smiled back shyly. "As an extra apology, how about I take you shopping? I meant what I said about the fashion tips," Kurt offered gently, not having a clue if Quinn would accept his offer.
Quinn smiled. "I have no money though. Doctor's bills and everything."
"My treat." Kurt offers his arm to her, and Quinn takes it, slightly awkwardly.
Both of the pair find post it notes in their lockers after that weekend. It was almost expected now.
-x-
"Blue is not your colour," Kurt said to Quinn. They are preparing for the Mattress shoot and Kurt was despairing over what he was going to do with Quinn's make-up. "That being said, it's not as bad as the red was on you. That was a travesty."
"Kurt, stop moaning and hurry up. Rachel's got that crazy look in her eyes like she wants to give us a pep talk and I'd really like to be ready by the time she starts," Quinn said back. She'd have done her make-up already, had Kurt not decided that he was going to do it.
"Cheer up. We'll be done in no time," Kurt replied, selecting an eye-shadow from a pile that lies in front of him. "Hmm, this shade tones and doesn't look too bad with the blue. Close your eyes."
Quinn did as Kurt asked as he swept the shadow against her eyelids. "And a light gloss," Kurt continued as his hand hovered over various tubes of gloss sitting on the shelf. "This one I think," he said, picking it up. He applied it lightly as Quinn sat in silence.
"Come on, Quinn, smile. We're doing a commercial," Kurt said. Quinn smiled back and was going to formulate a reply when the entire group is interrupted by the director and store manager taking them through what they are supposed to be doing.
When they start the routine, for some reason Quinn is more nervous than usual. Kurt noticed, and threaded his fingers together with hers and squeezed her hand, and she turned behind and looked at him and smiled.
Kurt stole another post it note from Brittany later, and writes on it and passes it to Quinn.
You did great.
-x-
Everything came crashing down in Kurt's so-almost-perfect world one day when Brittany is round for yet another round of musical theatre. Somehow, the conversation had morphed into one about Quinn and Finn and everything else surrounding babygate.
"I can't help but feel sorry for her, you know? She's got no one but Finn and the rest of us in Glee, and she doesn't even seem to know what she's going to do about the baby," Kurt said. "And Finn's so confused about everything."
Brittany agreed as she flicked through a magazine. "Quinn can't handle it. She won't even tell Finn that he isn't the father," she continued, glancing up at the movie that was playing that neither of them were paying attention to anymore.
It took Kurt a moment to realise what Brittany had said. "Brittany," he started slowly.
"Yes, Kurt?" Brittany turned towards him with a smile.
"Finn is the father. He and Quinn are having a baby together. They're boyfriend and girlfriend. What makes you think any different?" Kurt was slow, picking his words carefully so Brittany wouldn't misunderstand.
"No, Finn's not the father. Puck is. Santana told me," Brittany replied.
Kurt sighed slightly. "Britt, don't you think Santana might just be jealous and making it up to get back at Puck and Quinn?"
Brittany turned her head to the side slightly as she looked at Kurt. "That's what I thought at first. But Santana says she was told by Mercedes, and Puck told her, so I guess it must be true because why would they lie about it, and it makes sense when you think about it..." Brittany trailed off, looking at Kurt whose eyes had gone wide. "Kurt?"
Kurt wasn't listening. His brain had stopped after Brittany had mentioned Mercedes. His best friend had known, and she hadn't thought it was important to tell him? It was hard enough to try and think of the fact that Quinn had deceived them all by telling everyone that Finn was the baby's father, and now to find out that his best friend had known and hadn't bothered to tell him.
"Kurt?" Brittany asked again. "Kurt, are you okay?"
Brittany's voice got through, and Kurt lifted his head up to face her. "Can you just leave me alone, Britt? I need some time to myself," he
asked her gently.
"Kurt," Brittany started.
Kurt hadn't a clue why this pushed him over the edge, but it did. "Brittany!" he yelled impatiently. "Look, I don't want to talk. So can you just
go."
Brittany didn't have a response to this. Kurt had never been angry at her before, she was confused. She didn't even know what she'd managed to do wrong, but she thought that it would probably be a good idea to leave Kurt alone. So, she gathered her stuff up and made her way up the stairs leaving to the hall and the exit. "Bye Kurt," Brittany said softly. She wasn't sure whether Kurt heard it or not.
Kurt heaved a sigh of relief when he heard Brittany close the door and the latch click shut. "Bye Brit," he muttered under his breath.
-x-
Mercedes managed to avoid Kurt for most of the morning; Brittany had told her what had transpired between Kurt and her on the weekend
and Mercedes is smart enough to realise that Kurt is most likely mad at her. Kurt did the same thing, because he isn't sure how he would react upon seeing his friend after what he had learnt from Brittany over the weekend.
However, there was a Glee practice later that day and they couldn't avoid each other forever. So that was how they came to blows, both of them having arrived early to Glee and no one else is in the room.
"Kurt, look, I'm sorry," Mercedes began. She thought that by starting with an apology would make it better.
Kurt sat there in silence on the piano stool. He was still reeling from the news. "Sorry for what, Mercedes?" he asked.
There was a biting force to Kurt's tone which Mercedes really didn't like. "I know you're upset that none of us told you," she said.
Kurt whirled around, facing her. "You didn't think that I should know? You didn't think that maybe, if there was anyone who you were going to share gossip with it was your best friend? You told Santana Lopez, of all people!"
Mercedes hated seeing Kurt angry. It didn't happen very often, he was very good at keeping a grip on his emotions and wasn't one to give in often. "Kurt..." Mercedes started, before she noticed that the choir room has become full of people (Artie and Tina, things still tense between them, and Santana and Brittany, Brittany with a look of horror on her face).
"Kurt," Brittany said as well. The rest of them looked sheepish.
The penny dropped on Kurt. "You knew. You all knew. And not one of you thought that I could be trusted to keep secret the fact that Finn's not the father. I love that boy. I'm not about to go and cause him more pain," Kurt said, his voice dropping lower than they had ever heard it before. "How long have you know?" he asked after a silence that had fallen over all of them.
"Since we did the ballads." Tina was the one to offer the answer here.
"You and Finn seemed so chummy, and I didn't want to ruin it. And then everyone else found out, and you and Quinn were getting on and there was never a right moment to let you in," Mercedes said.
The six of them sat in silence as everyone processed what was going on. Finally, Santana decided that something needed doing. "Listen you," she started, and everyone looked up surprised. "I have no clue why you're so upset about this. It doesn't concern you, get it. What we need is everyone in top shape for sectionals, and if this gets out, that's not going to happen. Ever think about that? You're making a big deal out of nothing!"
This time, everyone has been shocked into silence. "Look, I have no idea what the rest of you want to do, but lets just get on with this thing. And Kurt, stop being such a wimp." Kurt looked up, realising that she was right. "Come on Brittany, let's blow this joint."
Santana swept out with Brittany on her arm, though it is clear that she doesn't understand what is going on. The remaining three look at Kurt, who was still sitting on the piano stool. "She's right, isn't she?" Kurt said. "I really am being an idiot."
"I hate to agree with her," Artie said. "But she did have a point. It's not really our gossip to tell."
"I screwed up ever mentioning it in the first place," Mercedes said.
Kurt smiled at his best friend. "You're forgiven, 'Cedes."
-x-
Tensions mount even higher in the next few days as Sectionals draws closer and closer and they they still haven't gotten a replacement for
Mr. Schue. Everyone is reaching breaking point; Kurt has no talked to Brittany or Quinn since he found out, and they are all starting to show the strain of keeping the secret as Rachel gets closer and closer to finding out.
Brittany's slipped confession that there is something going on between her and Santana came as no surprise to Kurt, he had suspected it for long enough. It is another knife in his and Brittany's friendship though; he is hurt that she never felt that she could trust him with the knowledge.
Kurt hated himself as he watched Finn punch Puck repeatedly, desperately, clutching at straws and it was all he could do to be defensive about it. The look on Quinn's face as she told Finn the truth just makes Kurt despair, and he finds that he can stand Rachel even less now, because in his twisted world, this is all her fault.
It was all Kurt could do not to scream and shout at the top of his voice as he watched the other schools steal their numbers. And he can only think of one person who would give their set list to the other schools: Sue Sylvester.
From there, it was only a logical step to assume that it must have been Brittany or Santana that gave her the set list. And as Kurt really wasn't getting on with Brittany at that moment, and he had had it up to there with everything lately, he accuses both of them of it openly.
"You leaked the setlist. You don't want to be here, you're just Sue Sylvester's little moles," Kurt said.
Brittany looked so hurt by the accusation that Kurt almost wished he could take back what he had said, but Quinn comes in and confirms his suspicions. Kurt can't help but wonder what he ever saw in both blond cheerleaders.
Luckily, Santana does have some sense in her head, and Rachel has been pushed just enough to believe it. And then Finn shows up with a song, and things start to look up, and maybe - just maybe - they might have a shot at this after all.
-x-
They all congratulate each other on a job well done after their win at Sectionals. Kurt doesn't fail to notice that Brittany avoids him. He doesn't blame her, he has been horrible to her and she has done nothing wrong.
Kurt has no idea what he should do to try and win her back, because he does truly miss the blond and her friendship (he still isn't ready to contemplate the betrayal by the other blond cheerleader. He decides he will handle that when he gets to it). He thinks of the pink, heart shaped post it notes which helped define friendship so much earlier on, but he doesn't have any, because he has always taken them off Brittany when he needs them, and now without Brittany's friendship, there is no way to steal them.
Which had led Kurt to his current decision. After all, he had managed to befriend two cheerleaders without any problem. So, what trouble would a third be? (He was ignoring the fact that he is talking about Santana Lopez here, and she rules the school and would have no problem getting a bunch of jocks to chuck him in the dumpster for every morning for the rest of his life.)
Everyone in Glee has everyone else's numbers after everything; they don't know quite how it happened, but after working so closely, everyone just does have numbers programmed into their cells, and Kurt has enough people's house phone numbers as well. Still, selecting the contact named "Santana Lopez" and hitting call was a momentous step.
"Kurt?" came Santana's voice on the other end of the phone. "What do you want?"
"I was hoping you could do me a favour," Kurt started timidly.
"Why should I help you? Can't you call Mercedes or Wheels or something?" Santana said. "I'm not even supposed to be talking to you.
Brittany's still upset over it. Bye." Santana moved to press the end call button on her cell, but Kurt's voice pleaded on the other end.
"Santana. Listen. I need your help making it up to Brittany," said Kurt.
"You better make this good, or I'm hanging up," she replied.
Kurt took a breath and continued. "You know those pink post it notes that she always has? Could you steal some from her for me?"
"I can do better. I can tell you where to get your own stash," Santana replied. Seriously, do these people not consider that they might be able
to get their own post it notes and not keep taking Brittany's all the time? She knows how much Britt loves those notes, but she gets sad as well when she realises the post its have run out before they're supposed to.
Santana gave Kurt the location of the store Brittany got those adorable post its from, and then hangs up on him. He better make this good.
-x-
Brittany comes into school on Monday not expecting anything in particular. When she found a post it note in her locker at the start of the day, she was totally not expecting it. "Santana, look," Brittany squealed as she showed the other girl the post it. Santana smiled, glad that Kurt was coming good on his promise.
The post it notes keep coming throughout the day, full of smiles, I'm sorrys and Brittany's favourite song lyrics. Santana has to admit that even she would struggle to put such a massive smile on Brittany's face as Kurt has managed that day.
Brittany wanted to talk to Kurt before Glee, but he was too busy with various other things and Brittany does not see him until the twelve of them are all in Glee later. They present Mr. Schuester with the trophy, and then they perform one more number; My life would suck without
you.
Kurt has forgotten whose idea it originally was to do a song for Mr. Schue, but it was a good idea regardless. Rachel had called emergency summons at lunch and had told them of the plan, and made them rehearse; all the choreography had been recycled from previous numbers, so there was no real memorisation for them to do.
It was a laugh getting to look back at all the old choreography again. Bits from Last Name - someone has managed to find some cowboy hats to accompany them - both the boys and girls mash ups - Kurt, Brittany, and Tina even get to perform bits from Single Ladies.
Kurt not expecting the hug that Brittany pulled him into as the number reached it's end. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear as she wrapped her arms around him; he responds as well, pulling her closer.
"So is my apology accepted?" Kurt asked gently.
"There was nothing to apologise for," Brittany replied.
Kurt knows that nothing is perfect in a life of High School. But he has found a place that he vaguely belongs, befriended people that he never thought he'd talk to in a million years. Some of those friendships still have a long way to go, and some still need repairing, but everything is just there and this is looking to be a heck of a better years than it was at the start of it.
He has Glee and a set of pink, heart shaped post it notes to thank for it.
Fandom: Glee
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Glee belongs to Ryan Murphy and Fox, not me
Characters/Pairings: Kurt Hummel, Quinn Fabray, Brittany. Mentions of canon pairings.
Word Count: 9273
Summary: Kurt develops an unlikely friendship with two blond cheerleaders over pink, heart shaped post it notes. Kurt/Brittany/Quinn friendship
Author's Notes: Okay, I admit it, I've rewatched the episodes probably one too many times for my own good. This is what came out of it. I make no apologies for any britishisms that may have snuck in, but I've tried to keep them down. Bits of this were really hard to write and try and keep in character; I hope I managed successfully enough. Brittany was especially difficult. I hope you enjoy my first foray into Glee fanfiction. I suggest getting a cup of tea to drink with this, it's a long one.
: Blond Girls :
Kurt develops an unlikely friendship with two blond cheerleaders over pink, heart shaped post it notes. Kurt/Brittany/Quinn friendship, Sectionals Spoilers.
Kurt's first real encounter with Brittany was over the Single Ladies incident. He'd known her before, of course; she shared his Maths class, had been a vague blond shape following the two other lead cheerleaders, a bystander in his various torturings (but never a participator, he thought when looking back on it). Brittany was an enigma to the entire school, no one quite knew what her agenda was, or if she was simply just that stupid, because frankly, who keeps a bird in their locker?
She'd joined Glee with the other two, after that dreadful assembly Rachel had organised - he still stood by the fact that no matter how bad it was, it was still better than the disco that they would have done in the first place - and had integrated in a better than the others as well, having little regard for the social standing that she was supposed to follow. Even when Quinn and Santana were off somewhere else - they couldn't be at cheerios practice otherwise Brittany would be there as well - she was at Glee, practising the choreography until she knew the routines back to front and even better than Kurt and Rachel.
It wasn't until Kurt walked in on her dancing madly to Single Ladies that he'd really talked to her.
"Oh, hey Kurt," Brittany had said after spotting him. She had let the music continue playing, but had stopped dancing, apart from the occasional bop of the head here and there.
"Brittany," Kurt nodded softly. He wasn't quite sure how to talk to her. "I didn't know you were a Beyonce fan," he settled for.
Brittany giggled, soft peals that were far softer than the usual harshness of cheerleaders tones that he was used to. "I'm not. Santana showed me the video and the dance was amazing, so I thought I'd learn it. Plus, it's really catchy," she said.
Kurt nodded his head in agreement. "The dance is amazing. Like everything else Beyonce does," he said.
"So you think I should check out more? Santana says I should, but Quinn doesn't like her very much," Brittany replied.
"Definitely. And who cares what they think," Kurt replied.
"It's a shame that you really need three people to get this dance looking right," Brittany said after a minor pause.
"I can do it." Kurt is surprised at the words that come tumbling out of his mouth. Even Mercedes doesn't know of his closet Single Ladies Beyonce dancing, yet something on Brittany's face makes him want to tell her, offer his services as an extra dancer. And before he even knows what's happening, he finds Brittany has dragged him to his feet, placing his messenger bag at the edge of the choir room as she reset the CD player back to the start of the track.
"Think you can keep up, Kurt?" she said, with that twinkle in her eye, and Kurt realised he and Brittany could become good friends.
Someday.
-x-
He spent rather a lot of time with Brittany that week, sorting out the final bits of the choreography for the dance, and teaching Tina, who they'd
managed to rope in as the third member of their little gang. Brittany had originally volunteered her house as the rendezvous for the final performance, but then Kurt had offered, knowing his basement was bigger and that his Dad wouldn't be home until later, so they were safe.
Of course, this plan all went down the drain when his father did turn up. Thanks to some quick thinking on his and Brittany's part, they'd avoided most of a disaster (though he was fairly certain that Brittany had just managed to dig him into an even deeper hole). Tina had gone home, after they had finally managed to get a good recording of the dance - Kurt was sure he'd be hearing from Artie about the entire, pretending Tina was his girlfriend mix-up.
For some reason, Brittany hadn't gone home, and was floating around, examining various things in Kurt's room and squeeing at various bits of designer clothing that she managed to find. Kurt was fairly glad that she hadn't managed to find his main closet, or he expected the entire street would be deafened. He managed to excuse himself, after making Brittany promise she wouldn't touch anything, to make them some drinks; he was exhausted after all of that dancing, and even just watching Brittany took enough out of him.
When he came back in, with drinks - he'd discovered he had no idea what Brittany liked, and had gone for a glass of diet soda, hoping that would be okay - Brittany is sitting peacefully on the floor, listening to the Wicked soundtrack, and he has to laugh at the scene. She turned around, looking at him before glancing the glasses in his hand, letting out a short exclamation of "Kurt, you brought drinks!"
For a moment there, Kurt almost thought she was going to hug him, and was rather relieved when she didn't. So instead, he dropped to the floor beside her, handing her one of the glasses. There was silence between them as they relaxed a bit, before Brittany spoke again, "What is this anyway?"
"The Wicked Soundtrack. My personal favourite musical of all time," Kurt explained. "This is the original Broadway cast."
"Broadway?" Brittany queried. "Isn't that like a street in New York?"
Kurt sighed. "Brittany, it's a bit more than just a street." Maybe Rachel was right with some of her kooky plans; a basic knowledge of show tunes was key to any music group.
Then again, Brittany didn't have a basic knowledge of anything.
-x-
Kurt doesn't speak to Brittany one on one for a good few weeks after that. He's first far too busy with the football team, and Finn, and convincing that bunch of Neandertholic losers that Beyonce is going to be good for them, and then there's the incident where Will brought in April Rhodes - he was never getting drunk in his life again, he knew that much. He didn't know how his Aunt Mildred stood it. True, he and Brittany had been paired off in bits of the Choreography for Last Name, but they hadn't really talked, being more concerned about other things.
And then comes the decongestant incident. Kurt still hadn't forgiven Mr Schue for making him go into the boys group, and though seeing Finn asleep and drooling had almost made up for it, he had still felt rather vengeful. Even going over to the girls and leaking the secret and being back on the right team; because, somehow, when they had been putting everything in that mash-up together, they'd forgotten about the fact that Kurt's voice just simply was not going to go that low. So a harmony was made, and everyone had been so pumped up that it didn't really matter anymore.
Now Glee had been split in two. Kurt didn't mind so much - he had Mercedes, Artie, and Tina, and it was a relief not to have Rachel down their necks at every second and to not have to worry that Puck was going to do something in rehearsals, but that had all been replaced by the monstrosity that was Sue Sylvester, and she was more terror than the pair previously mentioned put together.
When the group finally comes together in the middle of that week for their Jam session, Kurt is relieved to see everyone again. Jam sessions aren't his thing, really, but even he can't resist the lure of the catchy vocals, Puck's guitar strumming and Finn's drum playing and the atmosphere of them all being back together is contagious, so he dances first with Tina, and then with Brittany.
They high fived at the end, in celebration. As Kurt informed the group of Ms. Sylvester's threats to shave his head - he really, really couldn't rock that look, in any way - Brittany slid a note into Kurt's bag. They said their goodbyes; Kurt even hugged Rachel, in some bizarre turn of events (no, even he wasn't sure what had happened), and moved on, to another of Sue's rehearsals.
When Kurt opened his bag at the end of it, and saw Brittany's message on a pink, heart post it note, he smiled.
-x-
Kurt had been quite content befriending one blond cheerleader, but when he was in the toilets (girls, of course. He got less abuse in here than the guys, surprisingly), and heard crying, and knocked on the stall, and heard a voice reply, "Go away Brittany," and realised that it was Quinn Fabray - pregnant cheerleader Quinn, and the entire school has been informed of her pregnancy now, not just the select Glee club members - he felt that he needed to say something.
"It's not Brittany," was all Kurt can think of as a response at first, because he feels he needs to get that out there, and seriously, could she not see the shoes?
"Kurt?" came Quinn's questioning tone in response.
He was almost surprised that she knows it's him. Almost. "Who else? And I'm positively disappointed that you didn''t recognise the shoes. Do you think anyone else has shoes like these?" he replied.
"My first comment still stands, you know," Quinn replied back, but Kurt can tell she's still upset, still sobbing; he recognises the gasps of breath, the quiver in her voice all to well - this has been him, so many times. In slightly different circumstances, of course.
"Sweetie, you can't stand all day sitting and crying in the toilets. Especially not when Finn's standing outside looking worried," Kurt said. There might have been the slightest lie in that; Finn was down the hall, looking at what Kurt suspected was a Spanish book with disbelief all over his face.
Quinn picked up on it. "No he's not," she replied back, sounding just a little bit frustrated.
"You know he would be if you let him," Kurt said. He knew that this comment was probably not appropriate, but it was out of his mouth before he could stop it; of all the conversations he has practised in his head over and over 'til he's word perfect for any situation that presents itself to him, this scenario was one he's not even contemplated before.
He heard the sound of the chain being pulled and the loo flushing, as well as the creak of the old door as it opened, revealing a Quinn as Kurt has never seen her before. "What do you know?" she asked viciously.
"Admittedly, not a lot. But I know that Finn will stand by you no matter what," Kurt replied. He was leaning against the wall now, watching as Quinn tried to clear herself up a bit. "Quinn, let me help you. Honestly, has no one in this school heard of waterproof mascara?"
Quinn shook her head, though which part of the comment she is saying no to, Kurt isn't sure. "Finn's a nice guy. But he can't cope. And then there's Rachel, and the rest of Glee and I can see his mind isn't in it anymore."
Kurt has no response to this. He knew that what Quinn was saying is true, but he wanted to spring to Finn's defence, but this time, he kept track on his mouth. "Quinn, I can't help you with that," Kurt said, because he can't think of anything else he could possibly say under the circumstances. "I can help you clean yourself up though. At least let me do something."
Somehow, Quinn ended up agreeing, as she let Kurt clean her face, moisturising, cleansing, cover-up round her eyes to disguise the fact that she's been bawling her eyes out. When he was done, Quinn looked her normal, cheerleader self again, and she murmured a quiet thanks to Kurt, hugging him rather awkwardly before disappearing out the door.
Kurt packed up the make-up back into his bag, knowing that there was something in that that said that they would never speak of the incident again. But he understood just a little bit more about exactly what goes on in that pretty Cheerio head of hers, even if just slightly.
When he was next in Spanish, he waited until after class is finished and asked Mr. Schue quietly if they can sing something for Quinn. He also asked him not to mention his name in why they are singing it. Will doesn't understand why, but he does as told, and besides, the young soprano is right; Quinn needs support.
-x-
Mr. Schuester announces that they will be doing Keep Holding On in the next Glee practice. Though it might not be the song that Kurt would have chosen - though he doesn't know what he would have chosen - it fits perfectly, and there is the first glint of a smile on Quinn's face that he's seen in a few days, and when Mr. Schue hands over control of the choreography to Brittany and Santana, Kurt smiles as well, because somehow he's made both of the blond cheerleaders happy with one small move.
As they performed, Kurt's mind was really not focusing on the routine that was going on. The choreography seemed simple enough at first, but as they had been practising, he had noticed how much work Brittany had put into the little touches, and how Quinn was always central in the routine, and how everyone was involved. They'd even put a lift in, which had quite the potential to turn out disastrous; somehow, it worked perfectly, as Brittany had managed to partner herself with Artie for that part, and had done a lot of the work herself, yet it still looked completely in sync with everyone else.
Standing behind Artie, Kurt could see the tears starting to well up in Quinn's eyes. The expression on her face was so touching, Kurt almost thought he'd start crying as well. And then the routine moved again, and again, and then came the hand-offs - one with Brittany, the other with Tina - settling into formation once again before moving into places for the last time, and Kurt found himself next to Quinn, and he could see the tears running clearly down her face now.
Kurt smiles at her, because that's all he can do, but he feels like crying too. He threads his fingers through hers, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze, but her eyes remained focused straight ahead, not looking at him, or even Finn who was holding her other hand. They parted, and Kurt heard the quiet rasp of her breath as she struggled to control the sobs.
The next day, Kurt found another note in his locker. Written on the same pink post it notes that he got from Brittany all the time, but this one was in Quinn's writing.
Thanks.
-x-
Brittany came over that weekend, and Kurt subjected her to a Broadway marathon, as he was still not happy about her lack of Broadway knowledge. She later confessed that although she had thought it brilliant, she hadn't understood a word of it. With anyone else, he would have given up as a dead cause, but somewhere along the way of Glee, he feels slightly responsible for Brittany and all her madness, and besides, she makes both him and his dad laugh with her comments.
That week's Glee involves a rendition of "Bust a Move" by Mr. Schue - Finn had gotten slushied as both his and Quinn's popularity had dropped rapidly - and with Artie on guitar and Puck stubbornly refusing, Mr. Schue had taken over. It wasn't Kurt's scene, so he was quite happy to sit on the side, bobbing his head in time while the others danced; Tina and Mercedes both tried to drag him into it, but he saw no merit in it.
Unfortunately, Will seemed to have noticed that Kurt wasn't participating, so he had dragged him up, pulled him to the centre of the room and proceeded to sing with him until Kurt walked off in disgust. Standing next to Artie seemed to be safe, and he grabbed a tambourine that was sitting upon the drum kit in a vague effort to join in. And then Artie was pulled away, so Kurt edged up the steps.
It seemed Kurt's torture was not over yet, as Brittany edged towards him and started to do all number of stupid things to try and get him involved.
He gave a sigh of relief when it was all over. "Seriously, Brittany, was that necessary?" as she tugged on his hand, pulling him down to sit next to her.
"I have no idea what you're on about," Brittany replied, in her way.
"Of course you do."
"No, I have no idea. What does necessary mean?" Brittany replied.
Kurt berated himself for not thinking of that before hand, before going, "I'll tell you later," as Mr. Schue went on with another of his talks. Something about being a team player and everything.
At the end of Glee, he still hadn't finished his earlier conversation with Brittany, but she had already vanished with Santana and Mike off somewhere. Kurt wasn't surprised when he found a pink post it attached to his bag later.
-x-
The battle lines had been drawn, Kurt knew it would happen eventually. The five of them would have to pick between Football and Glee, and
that was that.
Kurt had always known what his choice would be; it was the other guys who caused the worry. There were nine of them standing, waiting in the choir room - Mr. Schue and the eight kids. Each of them waiting expectantly for who was going to show. Ideas were divided, the general assumption being that Finn would show, Puck wouldn't, and it would depend on Mike and Matt's moods that day as to what they chose.
Brittany stood by his side and Kurt knew who she was waiting for; she had told him earlier about her and Santana's efforts to persuade the other boys to choose Glee.
When the clock finally struck half three, they all stopped clock watching and turned to the wall. Sighs of disappointment went round the entire Glee Club, as various people said "They're not coming, are they?", but Kurt saw Brittany keep her eyes on the door. Kurt was about to tell her to give up, but then he heard the very soft clomp of footsteps outside.
Mike Chang, followed by Matt Rutherford stepped into the choir room, both looking fairly sheepish, and Santana and Brittany went over to hug the two boys. Brittany slid back into place beside Kurt as everyone's eyes turned towards the door once again to see if anyone else was going to come through the door. To their surprise, Puck was the next through the door; gasps were let out through the entirety of New Directions.
"I can't believe it. Puck just chose Glee over Football. Please tell me I'm hallucinating or something?" Kurt said under his breath to Brittany as they watched Rachel go and hug Puck.
"Isn't hallucinating where you can't breathe?" Brittany questioned.
"I think you're thinking of hyperventilation. But I might be doing that as well," Kurt replied.
Of course, the key issue here was that there was still one member of their club missing; Finn Hudson. Their star, who everyone had been sure would choose Glee over Football, had still not turned up. He had chosen Football over Glee. They were now eleven.
They no longer qualified for regionals.
-x-
Brittany approached Kurt as he stood by his locker. The rumours of what he had done had spread around the school, though no one quite
knew what was true and what wasn't. "Hey Kurt. Is it true?" Brittany asked as she came into step with him.
"Is what true?" he asked, shifting the books that he was holding in his arms.
"That you took a slushie for Finn?" Brittany replied.
"Yes." Kurt replied. It was short. He didn't want to talk about it; it had been painful enough at the time.
Brittany wasn't one to give up though. "Why?"
Kurt turned to her, angrily. The corridor, strangely, was practically empty. "Because he's an idiot? Because those blundering idiots on the football team would have beat him to pulp if he didn't? Because he actually bothered to ask me about it was okay? Because I'm completely and utterly in love with him?" Kurt was yelling now, but in that quiet, subdued way that so few people could.
Brittany's face turned into one of utter confusion as it finally dawned on Kurt what he'd said. "Oh god. Oh my god. I can't believe I just admitted that," he panted.
"Is this hyperventilating?" Brittany asked.
"I would think so," Kurt replied. "Wait, you're not curious at all?"
Brittany giggled. "Face it Kurt. Everyone has something going on with someone around here. It doesn't get more crazy than Puck and Rachel," she said.
"Indeed. I still can't believe that's actually happening." Kurt pulled a smile back. He straightened out his features, and then said more seriously, taking Brittany's hands and pulling her in so she was facing him, "Britt, don't tell anyone, okay? Especially not Finn."
"You're secret's safe with me, Kurt," Brittany replied.
It was times like this, Kurt thought, that he thanked god for people like Brittany.
-x-
After the slushie incident, Kurt also found another of those pink post-its in his locker; it was identical to the one he had gotten before, right down to the writing on it. He knew it was from Quinn, but it was never mentioned.
Life moved on. Brittany had forgotten - or was very good at avoiding - what he had let slip a few weeks ago, and his concerns were now on the Diva Off against Rachel, the bake sale for Artie and that Mr. Schue had tasked them with spending three hours a day in a wheelchair. Kurt had mastered his very quickly; he had recollections of his mother being ill and in a chair, and his timid voice saying that if mum had to be in a chair, so would he, and the nurses teaching him basic manoeuvring skills. Somewhere, some of this experience had obviously lodged, and he was thankful for this. One less task off his mind.
Too bad something else to his woes of confusion, a sign up sheet for the Cheerios had appeared on the notice board. Kurt had sent Brittany a text, asking if it was real or not - the Cheerios had always been exclusive, there was no reason to believe that this wasn't just a trick, and she hadn't got back to him yet.
She approached him at lunch though, with a smile on her face. "My phone wouldn't let me text you back. I don't know why," she explained, with such bewilderment on her face, though Kurt knew it was probably something stupidly simple like she was out of credit or her phone was out of charge. "Anyway, I checked with Santana, and she saw Coach Sylvester put it up this morning," Brittany said.
"Hmm," Kurt pondered. "So it is legit. I wonder if I should try out," he said to himself more than anyone else.
"Kurt, you totally should. It would be so much fun having you on the team," Brittany bounced up and down like an excited child. Kurt couldn't help being reminded of Mercedes' youngest brother.
"I shall ask 'Cedes then," Kurt declared.
Brittany hugged him there, and Kurt just stood their in a state of surprise and shock as she flung her arms around his neck. "I'll tell coach to let you in," she said, and before Kurt has a chance to respond she had gone, off to join Santana and the rest of the Cheerios.
He and Mercedes both audition for the Cheerios. Sue says no in a matter of seconds, not that they were expecting anything different. And then he fluffs the high F, on purpose, because he doesn't think he's seen his dad as upset in such a long time, and he can't do that to his dad, because all they really have is each other. And Rachel stands triumphant, and he watches Mercedes sit there and simmer at Rachel's remarks that she was the better choice, and he knows he can't tell her that he missed it on purpose because she will pummel him, kill Rachel, and then demand that Mr. Schue gives him the solo.
He thinks of telling Brittany, then realises that she just wouldn't understand, and the only other person who comes to mind is the other blond (ex-)cheerleader who's entered his life , and then realises that that's an even more preposterous thought, as all he does is trade pink, heart shaped post it notes with her. So Kurt tells no one, except from explaining to his dad why he doesn't need to march down the school and threaten to sue them.
He finds two sorry notes in his locker that time. Why, he's not quite sure, but he has Brittany over for another movie marathon and puts a dress (in a glorious yellow which is Quinn's favourite colour, and Kurt admits it does suit her, but he does wish she'd liven it up a bit) and a bit of money, as even he has realised that she is getting desperate into Quinn's locker. He's not even sure why he does it, but he wants to.
-x-
It is somewhere around when Kurt is helping Finn out with all this Ballad and Quinn stuff that he's not quite as jealous and resentful of Quinn as he thought he was before.
Kurt can't stand Rachel and her not quite as subtle as she thinks it is flirting with Finn. He resents her, for thinking that she's better than him, for trying to be all over him. He's jealous of her, for getting to be so close to him without even trying. It's even worse when he realises that the feeling is likely mutual.
Yet, Quinn was different. Kurt was jealous of her, yes; so, so jealous, that she could be in Finn's arms so effortlessly and that she was the one he loved. But he does not resent her. Perhaps it is because she is of Finn's choice, that she was there before both he and Rachel had any interaction with Finn, because Finn had knocked her up and therefore he had responsibility towards her.
Well, Rachel could go on being hated. And besides, he couldn't help but feel sorry for Quinn, even if she was an ex-cheerio, and had been responsible for various bits of torment he had endured - never directly, but a small comment from the queen-bee was enough to have the football and hockey team hopping to her every order, whether she commanded them or not.
Kurt was distracted from this by his phone ringing (and the fact that he really needed to pay attention to his ironing. It was an art). He knew from the caller ID it was Finn, and composed himself before answering.
As he had almost expected, Finn was freaking out. And it was a highly odd phone call. And when it ended, Kurt just hoped that, for Quinn's sake, it wasn't all going to backfire badly on him.
-x-
Kurt's mind was numb as Finn told him what had happened the night before. It wasn't quite going in; Kurt couldn't plausibly see how any parent could treat their child like that. And then came the dreaded question of what Ballad he wanted to sing.
Kurt knew what he wanted to sing. He also had a back up answer for a song, but his real choice was tumbling out of his mouth before he had a chance to stop it. And as he watches Finn stumble through a reply, he reflects on just how Brittany-like his answer is, and how sweet
it is.
He has never been more thankful for Mercedes in his life when she comes in then and they lead Finn to the choir room, and sing Lean on
Me, and Kurt means every word he sings, to both of them.
He steals two more pink post it notes from Brittany, and both Quinn and Finn find a note in a cursive script neither of them recognise - Kurt, somewhere along the line, had gotten very good at disguising his handwriting - but they both take comfort in the note from a stranger, saying, very simply, Sorry.
-x-
Kurt isn't quite sure he can handle what he'd just done. He knows that he's setting Rachel up for a fall, but he can't help it; he is so tired of her automatically thinking that she is better than him, thinking that she is ahead of him, and she is giving him such a perfect opportunity for him to screw her over, that Kurt's vengeful side can't help but take it.
He still isn't quite sure why he'd done this in the first place. It had something to do with the fact that he was just a sucker for makeovers, and that Quinn had asked him, in that horrible, barbed conversation that they had had (he meant it about the fashion tips though. Seriously,
enough with the baby-doll dresses!). That and he had been dying to give Rachel a makeover since day one.
There is a moment when he just sits in his car, and then realises he's being stupid, and if he is going to mope, he might as well at least do it in the comfort of his room, with a good musical and comfort food of some kind. So, Kurt drove off from Rachel's house.
He ends up in his dad's garage, as he kinda knew would happen all along, because fixing cars does relax him, and for some reason his dad is not around (upon prompting, Kurt does remember that his dad had said he was doing something).
When Burt Hummel comes back to the garage, and finds his son working away, with a selection of show tunes blaring away behind him and Kurt singing along, he doesn't even question it. He carries on with his work, and decides that Kurt is at it for another hour, he will go and call Mercedes over and get her to deal with the boy, and he would talk to him himself.
It doesn't come to that, as Kurt declares himself finished not long after Burt arrives.
-x-
It is Brittany who finds Kurt crying in the bathroom that time. She has no idea what he's upset about, but just hovers there until he's stopped
crying long enough to look up and notice that she is there.
"Brittany?" Kurt asked tentatively, as he wiped the last few tears off his face.
"Hey Kurt." Brittany smiled. "You alright now?" she asked slowly, not knowing if he really has stopped crying or not.
Kurt smiled back, because Brittany never failed to put a smile on his face. "Not really," he admitted.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Brittany asked as Kurt took a bag of cosmetics out his bag. "I always think that talking about stuff makes it better, though Santana says that I need to stop talking about everything sometimes."
Kurt stays silent as he started to apply the make up and disguise the fact that he's been crying. After a few moments, he drew back and turned to Brittany. "Rachel and I had an argument. She accused me of setting her up with Finn - which admittedly, I am completely guilty of. And then we argued over Finn, and she realised that I like him. And that's an understatement of the year, as I'm in love with him and I can't even stop thinking about him and who does she think that she can just come in and have him without any consideration for anyone else. And I'm just as guilty as she is because he's Quinn's and there's nothing either of us can do about it," Kurt confessed.
Brittany sat there and absorbed everything Kurt just said, because she has no idea whose side she's supposed to come down on this; Kurt is her friend, and then there's Quinn and the mess between Quinn, Santana, and Puck and she has no idea what's actually going on anymore. Finally, she said, "What did you do to Rachel?" feeling that it is a neutral response, and hell, she actually wants to know.
"Made her dress like a hoe. Sandy in Grease era you're the one that I want, etc. I think I even picked out a catsuit for her. I have no clue if she wore it," Kurt said as he turned back to his make-up, glad that Brittany has skirted round the real issue at hand, because he really doesn't want to talk about it.
Brittany giggled at the mental image of Rachel dressed as Kurt described - she has seen Grease far too many times, and knew exactly what Kurt was referring to. "How'd you manage that?" she asked.
"Something about Finn being attracted to loose women," Kurt replied. He is practically done, and looks perfectly normal again, but is reluctant to actually leave. "I still can't believe she fell for it. That's how deep she's in."
Silence fell over the pair, but they both have smiles on their faces. "Shouldn't we be at Glee?" Brittany asked after a few minutes.
Kurt thought for a moment, grabbing bags and placing everything back into it's proper place in his messenger bag. "Come on Britt, let's go and show those Haverbrook kids what we're made of!"
In the choir room they perform their Hair/Crazy in Love mash up, and everyone knows that they look like idiots; Brittany is the only one of them who has any mastery of Hairography, and even she knows that it is a bit of a cheap trick and that they look like idiots with all the guys in their wigs. They take to their seats as the Haverbrook kids get up to perform, and Kurt finds himself pulled into a seat besides Brittany
(also Quinn, but that is entirely accidental).
None of them knew exactly what they were expecting when the deaf choir started to sing, but the kids of Glee all agreed that they hadn't expected to be that moved. The simplicity and honesty of what the deaf choir was doing amazed them all. And when Mercedes added her voice to theirs, Kurt just smiled at his best friend, thinking that she was so amazing for doing so. Then Artie joined in, wheeling his wheelchair in line with another of the choir. Before Kurt knows what's happening, he finds Brittany has found his hand and has dragged him up and they are singing as well, moving and filtering in with the choir. Soon, the entirety of New Directions is on their feet and singing.
Kurt hasn't been so moved by a group performance since Keep Holding On. But he feels like crying, just by the simplicity of the performance and the emotion expressed and how that while one of their opponents may have set them completely off track, they are now being put back on the road by their other opponents.
There should be a pink, heart shaped post it note in here somewhere, Kurt thinks, but one doesn't materialise, and Kurt finds that he doesn't mind.
-x-
Encounters between blond cheerleaders and Kurt in bathrooms - generally involving rather a lot of tears - seem to be coming common occurrences. Kurt was only going in to the bathroom to do a general check up before heading home after they perform Imagine, and found that there was someone crying in one of the stalls, and Kurt somehow knows it was Quinn, because he just does and he can't explain why he does.
"Quinn," Kurt said quietly. "What are you crying about this time?" he asked softly.
"You wouldn't understand," Quinn replied. Her sobbing was softer this time than it was before, and on previous occasions.
"Try me," Kurt dared.
Quinn scoffed quietly. "Seriously, you wouldn't. It's none of your business anyway. And don't you have your own problems to be worrying about anyway?"
"Quinn, darling, we all have our problems," Kurt replied. "We get through them by talking about them, as Brittany reminded me earlier."
"You and Brittany are friends?" Quinn asked back. Suddenly, a lot of things slot into place in her brain. "Kurt. Those post it notes, the dress, and the money. It was all from you."
Kurt stood shocked for a minute. He hadn't expected her to ever figure out, but he supposed it was fairly expected. "And? Princess, you've been leaving post its in my locker as well," he added.
"I suppose I have," Quinn admitted. She had come out of the stall now, and stood beside Kurt. "You didn't have to, you know," she told him.
"Think of it as a before present apology for getting you kicked out," Kurt said, mainly as an excuse, because even he has no idea why he really did it.
"That wasn't your fault," Quinn said. "And don't make excuses that you told Finn to do it, they'd have found out eventually. He told me afterwards that it had been your idea. I won't deny I was angry at first, but I realised it was for the best eventually," Quinn admitted.
"Anyway, I'm sorry. I really didn't think they'd react that way," Kurt apologised anyway. Quinn smiled back shyly. "As an extra apology, how about I take you shopping? I meant what I said about the fashion tips," Kurt offered gently, not having a clue if Quinn would accept his offer.
Quinn smiled. "I have no money though. Doctor's bills and everything."
"My treat." Kurt offers his arm to her, and Quinn takes it, slightly awkwardly.
Both of the pair find post it notes in their lockers after that weekend. It was almost expected now.
-x-
"Blue is not your colour," Kurt said to Quinn. They are preparing for the Mattress shoot and Kurt was despairing over what he was going to do with Quinn's make-up. "That being said, it's not as bad as the red was on you. That was a travesty."
"Kurt, stop moaning and hurry up. Rachel's got that crazy look in her eyes like she wants to give us a pep talk and I'd really like to be ready by the time she starts," Quinn said back. She'd have done her make-up already, had Kurt not decided that he was going to do it.
"Cheer up. We'll be done in no time," Kurt replied, selecting an eye-shadow from a pile that lies in front of him. "Hmm, this shade tones and doesn't look too bad with the blue. Close your eyes."
Quinn did as Kurt asked as he swept the shadow against her eyelids. "And a light gloss," Kurt continued as his hand hovered over various tubes of gloss sitting on the shelf. "This one I think," he said, picking it up. He applied it lightly as Quinn sat in silence.
"Come on, Quinn, smile. We're doing a commercial," Kurt said. Quinn smiled back and was going to formulate a reply when the entire group is interrupted by the director and store manager taking them through what they are supposed to be doing.
When they start the routine, for some reason Quinn is more nervous than usual. Kurt noticed, and threaded his fingers together with hers and squeezed her hand, and she turned behind and looked at him and smiled.
Kurt stole another post it note from Brittany later, and writes on it and passes it to Quinn.
You did great.
-x-
Everything came crashing down in Kurt's so-almost-perfect world one day when Brittany is round for yet another round of musical theatre. Somehow, the conversation had morphed into one about Quinn and Finn and everything else surrounding babygate.
"I can't help but feel sorry for her, you know? She's got no one but Finn and the rest of us in Glee, and she doesn't even seem to know what she's going to do about the baby," Kurt said. "And Finn's so confused about everything."
Brittany agreed as she flicked through a magazine. "Quinn can't handle it. She won't even tell Finn that he isn't the father," she continued, glancing up at the movie that was playing that neither of them were paying attention to anymore.
It took Kurt a moment to realise what Brittany had said. "Brittany," he started slowly.
"Yes, Kurt?" Brittany turned towards him with a smile.
"Finn is the father. He and Quinn are having a baby together. They're boyfriend and girlfriend. What makes you think any different?" Kurt was slow, picking his words carefully so Brittany wouldn't misunderstand.
"No, Finn's not the father. Puck is. Santana told me," Brittany replied.
Kurt sighed slightly. "Britt, don't you think Santana might just be jealous and making it up to get back at Puck and Quinn?"
Brittany turned her head to the side slightly as she looked at Kurt. "That's what I thought at first. But Santana says she was told by Mercedes, and Puck told her, so I guess it must be true because why would they lie about it, and it makes sense when you think about it..." Brittany trailed off, looking at Kurt whose eyes had gone wide. "Kurt?"
Kurt wasn't listening. His brain had stopped after Brittany had mentioned Mercedes. His best friend had known, and she hadn't thought it was important to tell him? It was hard enough to try and think of the fact that Quinn had deceived them all by telling everyone that Finn was the baby's father, and now to find out that his best friend had known and hadn't bothered to tell him.
"Kurt?" Brittany asked again. "Kurt, are you okay?"
Brittany's voice got through, and Kurt lifted his head up to face her. "Can you just leave me alone, Britt? I need some time to myself," he
asked her gently.
"Kurt," Brittany started.
Kurt hadn't a clue why this pushed him over the edge, but it did. "Brittany!" he yelled impatiently. "Look, I don't want to talk. So can you just
go."
Brittany didn't have a response to this. Kurt had never been angry at her before, she was confused. She didn't even know what she'd managed to do wrong, but she thought that it would probably be a good idea to leave Kurt alone. So, she gathered her stuff up and made her way up the stairs leaving to the hall and the exit. "Bye Kurt," Brittany said softly. She wasn't sure whether Kurt heard it or not.
Kurt heaved a sigh of relief when he heard Brittany close the door and the latch click shut. "Bye Brit," he muttered under his breath.
-x-
Mercedes managed to avoid Kurt for most of the morning; Brittany had told her what had transpired between Kurt and her on the weekend
and Mercedes is smart enough to realise that Kurt is most likely mad at her. Kurt did the same thing, because he isn't sure how he would react upon seeing his friend after what he had learnt from Brittany over the weekend.
However, there was a Glee practice later that day and they couldn't avoid each other forever. So that was how they came to blows, both of them having arrived early to Glee and no one else is in the room.
"Kurt, look, I'm sorry," Mercedes began. She thought that by starting with an apology would make it better.
Kurt sat there in silence on the piano stool. He was still reeling from the news. "Sorry for what, Mercedes?" he asked.
There was a biting force to Kurt's tone which Mercedes really didn't like. "I know you're upset that none of us told you," she said.
Kurt whirled around, facing her. "You didn't think that I should know? You didn't think that maybe, if there was anyone who you were going to share gossip with it was your best friend? You told Santana Lopez, of all people!"
Mercedes hated seeing Kurt angry. It didn't happen very often, he was very good at keeping a grip on his emotions and wasn't one to give in often. "Kurt..." Mercedes started, before she noticed that the choir room has become full of people (Artie and Tina, things still tense between them, and Santana and Brittany, Brittany with a look of horror on her face).
"Kurt," Brittany said as well. The rest of them looked sheepish.
The penny dropped on Kurt. "You knew. You all knew. And not one of you thought that I could be trusted to keep secret the fact that Finn's not the father. I love that boy. I'm not about to go and cause him more pain," Kurt said, his voice dropping lower than they had ever heard it before. "How long have you know?" he asked after a silence that had fallen over all of them.
"Since we did the ballads." Tina was the one to offer the answer here.
"You and Finn seemed so chummy, and I didn't want to ruin it. And then everyone else found out, and you and Quinn were getting on and there was never a right moment to let you in," Mercedes said.
The six of them sat in silence as everyone processed what was going on. Finally, Santana decided that something needed doing. "Listen you," she started, and everyone looked up surprised. "I have no clue why you're so upset about this. It doesn't concern you, get it. What we need is everyone in top shape for sectionals, and if this gets out, that's not going to happen. Ever think about that? You're making a big deal out of nothing!"
This time, everyone has been shocked into silence. "Look, I have no idea what the rest of you want to do, but lets just get on with this thing. And Kurt, stop being such a wimp." Kurt looked up, realising that she was right. "Come on Brittany, let's blow this joint."
Santana swept out with Brittany on her arm, though it is clear that she doesn't understand what is going on. The remaining three look at Kurt, who was still sitting on the piano stool. "She's right, isn't she?" Kurt said. "I really am being an idiot."
"I hate to agree with her," Artie said. "But she did have a point. It's not really our gossip to tell."
"I screwed up ever mentioning it in the first place," Mercedes said.
Kurt smiled at his best friend. "You're forgiven, 'Cedes."
-x-
Tensions mount even higher in the next few days as Sectionals draws closer and closer and they they still haven't gotten a replacement for
Mr. Schue. Everyone is reaching breaking point; Kurt has no talked to Brittany or Quinn since he found out, and they are all starting to show the strain of keeping the secret as Rachel gets closer and closer to finding out.
Brittany's slipped confession that there is something going on between her and Santana came as no surprise to Kurt, he had suspected it for long enough. It is another knife in his and Brittany's friendship though; he is hurt that she never felt that she could trust him with the knowledge.
Kurt hated himself as he watched Finn punch Puck repeatedly, desperately, clutching at straws and it was all he could do to be defensive about it. The look on Quinn's face as she told Finn the truth just makes Kurt despair, and he finds that he can stand Rachel even less now, because in his twisted world, this is all her fault.
It was all Kurt could do not to scream and shout at the top of his voice as he watched the other schools steal their numbers. And he can only think of one person who would give their set list to the other schools: Sue Sylvester.
From there, it was only a logical step to assume that it must have been Brittany or Santana that gave her the set list. And as Kurt really wasn't getting on with Brittany at that moment, and he had had it up to there with everything lately, he accuses both of them of it openly.
"You leaked the setlist. You don't want to be here, you're just Sue Sylvester's little moles," Kurt said.
Brittany looked so hurt by the accusation that Kurt almost wished he could take back what he had said, but Quinn comes in and confirms his suspicions. Kurt can't help but wonder what he ever saw in both blond cheerleaders.
Luckily, Santana does have some sense in her head, and Rachel has been pushed just enough to believe it. And then Finn shows up with a song, and things start to look up, and maybe - just maybe - they might have a shot at this after all.
-x-
They all congratulate each other on a job well done after their win at Sectionals. Kurt doesn't fail to notice that Brittany avoids him. He doesn't blame her, he has been horrible to her and she has done nothing wrong.
Kurt has no idea what he should do to try and win her back, because he does truly miss the blond and her friendship (he still isn't ready to contemplate the betrayal by the other blond cheerleader. He decides he will handle that when he gets to it). He thinks of the pink, heart shaped post it notes which helped define friendship so much earlier on, but he doesn't have any, because he has always taken them off Brittany when he needs them, and now without Brittany's friendship, there is no way to steal them.
Which had led Kurt to his current decision. After all, he had managed to befriend two cheerleaders without any problem. So, what trouble would a third be? (He was ignoring the fact that he is talking about Santana Lopez here, and she rules the school and would have no problem getting a bunch of jocks to chuck him in the dumpster for every morning for the rest of his life.)
Everyone in Glee has everyone else's numbers after everything; they don't know quite how it happened, but after working so closely, everyone just does have numbers programmed into their cells, and Kurt has enough people's house phone numbers as well. Still, selecting the contact named "Santana Lopez" and hitting call was a momentous step.
"Kurt?" came Santana's voice on the other end of the phone. "What do you want?"
"I was hoping you could do me a favour," Kurt started timidly.
"Why should I help you? Can't you call Mercedes or Wheels or something?" Santana said. "I'm not even supposed to be talking to you.
Brittany's still upset over it. Bye." Santana moved to press the end call button on her cell, but Kurt's voice pleaded on the other end.
"Santana. Listen. I need your help making it up to Brittany," said Kurt.
"You better make this good, or I'm hanging up," she replied.
Kurt took a breath and continued. "You know those pink post it notes that she always has? Could you steal some from her for me?"
"I can do better. I can tell you where to get your own stash," Santana replied. Seriously, do these people not consider that they might be able
to get their own post it notes and not keep taking Brittany's all the time? She knows how much Britt loves those notes, but she gets sad as well when she realises the post its have run out before they're supposed to.
Santana gave Kurt the location of the store Brittany got those adorable post its from, and then hangs up on him. He better make this good.
-x-
Brittany comes into school on Monday not expecting anything in particular. When she found a post it note in her locker at the start of the day, she was totally not expecting it. "Santana, look," Brittany squealed as she showed the other girl the post it. Santana smiled, glad that Kurt was coming good on his promise.
The post it notes keep coming throughout the day, full of smiles, I'm sorrys and Brittany's favourite song lyrics. Santana has to admit that even she would struggle to put such a massive smile on Brittany's face as Kurt has managed that day.
Brittany wanted to talk to Kurt before Glee, but he was too busy with various other things and Brittany does not see him until the twelve of them are all in Glee later. They present Mr. Schuester with the trophy, and then they perform one more number; My life would suck without
you.
Kurt has forgotten whose idea it originally was to do a song for Mr. Schue, but it was a good idea regardless. Rachel had called emergency summons at lunch and had told them of the plan, and made them rehearse; all the choreography had been recycled from previous numbers, so there was no real memorisation for them to do.
It was a laugh getting to look back at all the old choreography again. Bits from Last Name - someone has managed to find some cowboy hats to accompany them - both the boys and girls mash ups - Kurt, Brittany, and Tina even get to perform bits from Single Ladies.
Kurt not expecting the hug that Brittany pulled him into as the number reached it's end. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear as she wrapped her arms around him; he responds as well, pulling her closer.
"So is my apology accepted?" Kurt asked gently.
"There was nothing to apologise for," Brittany replied.
Kurt knows that nothing is perfect in a life of High School. But he has found a place that he vaguely belongs, befriended people that he never thought he'd talk to in a million years. Some of those friendships still have a long way to go, and some still need repairing, but everything is just there and this is looking to be a heck of a better years than it was at the start of it.
He has Glee and a set of pink, heart shaped post it notes to thank for it.