Music, Love, and Other Healing Drugs: Chapter 5: The Phone Call
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
A/N: Anyway, here is the next installment and I hope that you like it! :D
Music, Love, and Other Healing Drugs: Chapter 5: The Phone Call
The chestnut- haired boy had to wait until the Sunday after the Friday that the raven- haired boy performed to call. Patients were encouraged to call their visitors and thank them for visiting following their Saturday visits on Sunday, since Saturday was the traditional visit day.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
The chestnut haired boy pressed the corded landline his ear awkwardly. He didn't remember the last time that he had talked on a 'real' phone. This was the first time that he had a conversation on a phone outside of his daily meeting with his psychotherapist calling various people on speakerphone.
"Hello, this is Blaine." A male voice on the other end of the line said.
"Hi, Blaine… This is Kurt."
"Hi, Kurt!"
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"Besides for my Sunday afternoon date with a latte and Calc. book?" The Dalton boy tried to joke.
The caller laughed awkwardly in response. "Do you have a lot of homework?" he asked.
"No more than usual. I'm beginning to think that Dalton enjoys torturing us with excessive practice homework problems."
"But you are ready for your test?"
Blaine blew out and made a fshhh noise. "I'll never be. But all of this drilling just isn't helping, either. We can't all be Wes."
"Math prodigy?" The chestnut haired boy asked.
"No. Just general overachiever." The raven- haired boy responded.
"Aren't all Dalton Academy boys overachievers?"
"Some more than others." Blaine responded truthfully.
"Not all animals are made equal." The Kurt mildly- joked back.
"Animal Farm." The raven- haired boy recognized the idea.
"I hated that book."
"Me too… Hey Kurt?"
"Yes?"
"I really don't think that you give yourself enough credit. I've talked to you for something like an hour total talking time and I can tell that you are extraordinarily intelligent."
"You know what they say- genius and insanity go hand in hand." The moment that the words came out of the chestnut- haired boy's mouth, he regretted them. He didn't want the other boy to get ideas about his unstableness. Blaine didn't know the whole story and he didn't understand the whole story- and Kurt didn't need Blaine judging him before he knew the whole story- wait- did he want other boy to know the whole story?
"You're not insane."
"How would you know?"
"I've talked to you for an hour and I can tell that you're brilliant."
"Whose to say that I'm not insane as well?"
"Well, maybe you are."
"Maybe I'm not."
"Maybe," The raven-haired boy said back, "I just haven't had the chance to get to know you well enough yet."
"Maybe you have."
"I'd like it if I could get to know you better."
"I would, too."
"Would it be okay if I visited you?"
"Yes. I would like that."
"Awesome."
"Hey, I'm sorry, but my phone time is almost up for the day and I have to cut you off." The chestnut haired boy said, feeling strangely disappointed that there was a 20 minute time limit on all out- going calls by patients.
"Don't worry about it… Were you serious about me visiting you?"
"Yes."
"Great. I'll call Green Meadows this week then."
"I'll be waiting to confirm your visit."
"See you Saturday, Kurt!"
"You too, Blaine."
And with that, the chestnut haired boy and the raven-haired boy hung up their respective phones.
"Hey, Kurt," Nurse Marie approached the chestnut haired boy from behind, slowly. She didn't want to frighten him and she knew how he still got shocked when people came up behind him. The nurse knew that it had to do with the bullying that the boy had been victim to back at his high school.
The boy flinched, but only a little bit. He turned around. "Hi, Nurse Marie."
"Who were you talking to?" she asked, not adding in extra questions or demanding to know answers. The chestnut- haired boy always liked that about her. She challenged him, but didn't need to know everything.
"My friend Blaine." The boy responded, a small expression that could have been mistaken for a smile appearing on his lips.
The nurse gave the teenage boy an all- knowing expression. "Anyway, Dr. Jackie said to remind you that you have an appointment in five minutes."
The boy thought of a witty response, but he refrained from saying anything after their conversation earlier that morning. He didn't want to give the nurse a hassle, when he knew that it wasn't her fault.
"Thanks for reminding me." The boy stood up and walked towards the doctor's offices areas. When he arrived at the third door on the right he paused and knocked softly on the door, so that he wouldn't feel the burn his wrists. Even though he had come to like the pain, all the dressing changes that the doctors would force him into if another stitch popper were a hassle.
"Come in!" A female voice called as the boy heard the shuffle of papers from behind a closed door.
The boy walked though the door. A thirty- something woman sat on a chair behind a table and look at papers. She peered over a pair of stylish glasses and looked up at the boy who had just entered her office. "Hi, Kurt."
"Hi, Dr. J."
"How are you today… and is that a slight smile on your face that I see?" the doctor asked.
"What do you think?" The boy challenged.
"Tell me about why you're smiing, Kurt." The doctor instructed, looking the teenager in the eye
"This weekend a singing group of boys from the Dalton Academy called the Warblers came and performed for us. I talked with one of the members named Blaine. It was awesome talking to a guy my own age, who's, you know, pretty normal."
The psychologist chuckled dryly. "Sometimes I forget that you're a teenager, you act so grown up sometimes."
"I had to act grown- up. It was what distinguished me from those Neanderthals back at McKinley."
"Speaking of McKinley…" The doctor trailed off as she waited for a groan. Any person who didn't want to talk about what they were about to talk about would groan, except foe the boy. "I know…" The doctor paused. "I'm sorry… But we have to talk about this eventually. And your dad is coming tomorrow, so it's best to have discussed this now than be surprised by our talk later. Surprises do no one any good."
"I know." The boy admitted, feeling small. He hated it when the doctors sometimes looked down on him like he was a small child. He was sure that they knew he was a mature adult, but sometimes, he supposed, when you were a doctor with such troubled patients for so long, it was hard not to after so many years. Still, it was no excuse.
"Have you thought about where you might want to go once you leave?"
"Not back to McKinley," The boy said without a moment's though. He had months to think about it, but that thought had not changed.
"And not anywhere in small town Ohio, that's for sure."
"What about other places?" The doctor asked.
"We've been through this, Dr. Jackie, Burt has his business, his wife, and his step- kid in Lima, I couldn't make them all move for me."
"What about moving to another school- it might be a drive- but you would be safe."
"I don't want to start at another school that might be safe. I don't care how much administrators talk- no where is as safe as they claim."
"What about grandparents? Aunts? Uncles?" The doctor suggested.
"I couldn't take that much from them. I'm already taking so much from Burt. I can't imagine how much financial burden my hospital bills are putting on him. Besides, if I live with them, then they'll have to know about everything. And who's to say that they'll be accepting of me?" The boy paused, then said, "Remind me again why I can't take online classes?"
"We've been through this, Kurt."
"I know- I need to function in the 'real world'- connect myself to people for the future."
"Speaking of strings- let's talk about them. You've mentioned your friend Mercedes. Let's talk about why you and her drifted."
"She was one of my closest friends- at times my only friend- but I didn't want her to get attached. I didn't want the bullies to hurt her by association with me- I'm not worth that much. And when I finally made the decision to leave this place, I didn't want her hurting."
"Don't you think that you hurt her when you severed her friendship? Don't you think that you hurt her when you tried to kill yourself?"
"Thanks for the self- esteem boost, Doc," The boy said, dripping with sarcasm.
"Yes, but I think that I would have hurt her more if she was attached. She'd have even more regrets that way."
"What about your acquaintance, Rachel? You've mentioned her before. Did you detach from her, as well?"
"I wasn't as attached to her, like I was to Mercedes. We sang together and sometimes worked on things together, but it wasn't like it was with Mercedes."
The doctor nodded. "And how do you think that Rachel took it?"
"Rachel is tough. She gets bullied a lot at school for many different reasons, but she knows who she is. It would have been hard on her, but she would have gotten through."
The doctor nodded again. "You've made a lot of progress. You really do have an good understanding of what repercussions your actions have or might have had on others."
Kurt looked around. Complements were awkward for him. He hadn't received many in his life- especially since his mom died- and she always complemented him and thanked him for helping her.
Things were different at McKinley.
Correction: Things were fucked up at McKinley.
It was survival of the fittest. Bullies would always be bullies, tadpoles might turn into frogs, but at the end of the day the bullies would still be that kid who snatched up frogs from the pond and tortured them to death after stabbing them with a stick.
The teachers witnessed violence every day and never did anything about it.
Teachers claimed that death threats would get bullies suspended or expelled, but they were rarely taken seriously. How could daily slushy facials, being dumped in the dumpsters, and getting smashed against your friend and then into lockers be taken seriously if death threats weren't? Surely, faculty had seen the attacks. The chestnut- haired boy thought that they were all cowards.
Kurt thought Mercedes and Rachel were brave- they still braved McKinley- and with few friends and little happiness. The boy couldn't handle it- or maybe he could for a while- but then he snapped. That's what the boy detail- oriented boy hated- not knowing exactly what made him snap. Maybe, some day he could write a memoir, analyze the data, and make up his mind. Until then, he would have to live with his never- ending questions.
A/N: Anyway, here is the next installment and I hope that you like it! :D
Music, Love, and Other Healing Drugs: Chapter 5: The Phone Call
The chestnut- haired boy had to wait until the Sunday after the Friday that the raven- haired boy performed to call. Patients were encouraged to call their visitors and thank them for visiting following their Saturday visits on Sunday, since Saturday was the traditional visit day.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
The chestnut haired boy pressed the corded landline his ear awkwardly. He didn't remember the last time that he had talked on a 'real' phone. This was the first time that he had a conversation on a phone outside of his daily meeting with his psychotherapist calling various people on speakerphone.
"Hello, this is Blaine." A male voice on the other end of the line said.
"Hi, Blaine… This is Kurt."
"Hi, Kurt!"
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"Besides for my Sunday afternoon date with a latte and Calc. book?" The Dalton boy tried to joke.
The caller laughed awkwardly in response. "Do you have a lot of homework?" he asked.
"No more than usual. I'm beginning to think that Dalton enjoys torturing us with excessive practice homework problems."
"But you are ready for your test?"
Blaine blew out and made a fshhh noise. "I'll never be. But all of this drilling just isn't helping, either. We can't all be Wes."
"Math prodigy?" The chestnut haired boy asked.
"No. Just general overachiever." The raven- haired boy responded.
"Aren't all Dalton Academy boys overachievers?"
"Some more than others." Blaine responded truthfully.
"Not all animals are made equal." The Kurt mildly- joked back.
"Animal Farm." The raven- haired boy recognized the idea.
"I hated that book."
"Me too… Hey Kurt?"
"Yes?"
"I really don't think that you give yourself enough credit. I've talked to you for something like an hour total talking time and I can tell that you are extraordinarily intelligent."
"You know what they say- genius and insanity go hand in hand." The moment that the words came out of the chestnut- haired boy's mouth, he regretted them. He didn't want the other boy to get ideas about his unstableness. Blaine didn't know the whole story and he didn't understand the whole story- and Kurt didn't need Blaine judging him before he knew the whole story- wait- did he want other boy to know the whole story?
"You're not insane."
"How would you know?"
"I've talked to you for an hour and I can tell that you're brilliant."
"Whose to say that I'm not insane as well?"
"Well, maybe you are."
"Maybe I'm not."
"Maybe," The raven-haired boy said back, "I just haven't had the chance to get to know you well enough yet."
"Maybe you have."
"I'd like it if I could get to know you better."
"I would, too."
"Would it be okay if I visited you?"
"Yes. I would like that."
"Awesome."
"Hey, I'm sorry, but my phone time is almost up for the day and I have to cut you off." The chestnut haired boy said, feeling strangely disappointed that there was a 20 minute time limit on all out- going calls by patients.
"Don't worry about it… Were you serious about me visiting you?"
"Yes."
"Great. I'll call Green Meadows this week then."
"I'll be waiting to confirm your visit."
"See you Saturday, Kurt!"
"You too, Blaine."
And with that, the chestnut haired boy and the raven-haired boy hung up their respective phones.
"Hey, Kurt," Nurse Marie approached the chestnut haired boy from behind, slowly. She didn't want to frighten him and she knew how he still got shocked when people came up behind him. The nurse knew that it had to do with the bullying that the boy had been victim to back at his high school.
The boy flinched, but only a little bit. He turned around. "Hi, Nurse Marie."
"Who were you talking to?" she asked, not adding in extra questions or demanding to know answers. The chestnut- haired boy always liked that about her. She challenged him, but didn't need to know everything.
"My friend Blaine." The boy responded, a small expression that could have been mistaken for a smile appearing on his lips.
The nurse gave the teenage boy an all- knowing expression. "Anyway, Dr. Jackie said to remind you that you have an appointment in five minutes."
The boy thought of a witty response, but he refrained from saying anything after their conversation earlier that morning. He didn't want to give the nurse a hassle, when he knew that it wasn't her fault.
"Thanks for reminding me." The boy stood up and walked towards the doctor's offices areas. When he arrived at the third door on the right he paused and knocked softly on the door, so that he wouldn't feel the burn his wrists. Even though he had come to like the pain, all the dressing changes that the doctors would force him into if another stitch popper were a hassle.
"Come in!" A female voice called as the boy heard the shuffle of papers from behind a closed door.
The boy walked though the door. A thirty- something woman sat on a chair behind a table and look at papers. She peered over a pair of stylish glasses and looked up at the boy who had just entered her office. "Hi, Kurt."
"Hi, Dr. J."
"How are you today… and is that a slight smile on your face that I see?" the doctor asked.
"What do you think?" The boy challenged.
"Tell me about why you're smiing, Kurt." The doctor instructed, looking the teenager in the eye
"This weekend a singing group of boys from the Dalton Academy called the Warblers came and performed for us. I talked with one of the members named Blaine. It was awesome talking to a guy my own age, who's, you know, pretty normal."
The psychologist chuckled dryly. "Sometimes I forget that you're a teenager, you act so grown up sometimes."
"I had to act grown- up. It was what distinguished me from those Neanderthals back at McKinley."
"Speaking of McKinley…" The doctor trailed off as she waited for a groan. Any person who didn't want to talk about what they were about to talk about would groan, except foe the boy. "I know…" The doctor paused. "I'm sorry… But we have to talk about this eventually. And your dad is coming tomorrow, so it's best to have discussed this now than be surprised by our talk later. Surprises do no one any good."
"I know." The boy admitted, feeling small. He hated it when the doctors sometimes looked down on him like he was a small child. He was sure that they knew he was a mature adult, but sometimes, he supposed, when you were a doctor with such troubled patients for so long, it was hard not to after so many years. Still, it was no excuse.
"Have you thought about where you might want to go once you leave?"
"Not back to McKinley," The boy said without a moment's though. He had months to think about it, but that thought had not changed.
"And not anywhere in small town Ohio, that's for sure."
"What about other places?" The doctor asked.
"We've been through this, Dr. Jackie, Burt has his business, his wife, and his step- kid in Lima, I couldn't make them all move for me."
"What about moving to another school- it might be a drive- but you would be safe."
"I don't want to start at another school that might be safe. I don't care how much administrators talk- no where is as safe as they claim."
"What about grandparents? Aunts? Uncles?" The doctor suggested.
"I couldn't take that much from them. I'm already taking so much from Burt. I can't imagine how much financial burden my hospital bills are putting on him. Besides, if I live with them, then they'll have to know about everything. And who's to say that they'll be accepting of me?" The boy paused, then said, "Remind me again why I can't take online classes?"
"We've been through this, Kurt."
"I know- I need to function in the 'real world'- connect myself to people for the future."
"Speaking of strings- let's talk about them. You've mentioned your friend Mercedes. Let's talk about why you and her drifted."
"She was one of my closest friends- at times my only friend- but I didn't want her to get attached. I didn't want the bullies to hurt her by association with me- I'm not worth that much. And when I finally made the decision to leave this place, I didn't want her hurting."
"Don't you think that you hurt her when you severed her friendship? Don't you think that you hurt her when you tried to kill yourself?"
"Thanks for the self- esteem boost, Doc," The boy said, dripping with sarcasm.
"Yes, but I think that I would have hurt her more if she was attached. She'd have even more regrets that way."
"What about your acquaintance, Rachel? You've mentioned her before. Did you detach from her, as well?"
"I wasn't as attached to her, like I was to Mercedes. We sang together and sometimes worked on things together, but it wasn't like it was with Mercedes."
The doctor nodded. "And how do you think that Rachel took it?"
"Rachel is tough. She gets bullied a lot at school for many different reasons, but she knows who she is. It would have been hard on her, but she would have gotten through."
The doctor nodded again. "You've made a lot of progress. You really do have an good understanding of what repercussions your actions have or might have had on others."
Kurt looked around. Complements were awkward for him. He hadn't received many in his life- especially since his mom died- and she always complemented him and thanked him for helping her.
Things were different at McKinley.
Correction: Things were fucked up at McKinley.
It was survival of the fittest. Bullies would always be bullies, tadpoles might turn into frogs, but at the end of the day the bullies would still be that kid who snatched up frogs from the pond and tortured them to death after stabbing them with a stick.
The teachers witnessed violence every day and never did anything about it.
Teachers claimed that death threats would get bullies suspended or expelled, but they were rarely taken seriously. How could daily slushy facials, being dumped in the dumpsters, and getting smashed against your friend and then into lockers be taken seriously if death threats weren't? Surely, faculty had seen the attacks. The chestnut- haired boy thought that they were all cowards.
Kurt thought Mercedes and Rachel were brave- they still braved McKinley- and with few friends and little happiness. The boy couldn't handle it- or maybe he could for a while- but then he snapped. That's what the boy detail- oriented boy hated- not knowing exactly what made him snap. Maybe, some day he could write a memoir, analyze the data, and make up his mind. Until then, he would have to live with his never- ending questions.