From The Start [4/?]
Title: From The Start 04
Genre: Drama/romance/LGBT study
Ratings/Warnings: T
Fandom: Glee
Characters/Pairings: Kurt-centric; ensemble / Kurtofsky (main), Brittanna, Davetana friendship, etc.
Summary: Relationships are messy and teenagers are confusing. Kurt tries to make sense of all of this, but maybe it's better if it doesn't make sense. (Vague summary subject to change as I get more planned.)
Other:
-Spoilers up to “Original Song,” and some of what has been confirmed/rumored about future episodes.
“We need to switch.” Santana said, out of the blue.
“Switch what?” Kurt sincerely hoped she wasn’t talking about clothing; there were some outfits that even he couldn’t pull off, and short-shorts and a strapless top definitely fell into that category.
Santana looked at him like he was crazy. “Our dancing parts. Why the hell am I even dancing with Dave? There’s no point. You should do it.”
“Uh, no. He’ll kill me.”
“I doubt that. He agreed to the singing part--“
“Yes, but that’s not super-gay. Singing about how gay is okay is just being an ally, but in meathead jock language, dancing with another guy makes you gay. He won’t do it. No way.”
“Then we’ll surprise him.” Santana pulled him up. “I’ll teach you my part dancing with him, and you teach me whatever you’re supposed to do when that happens. We’ll find a way to switch during the song at the performance.”
Kurt pulled his arm out of her grasp. “I thought you weren’t trying to out each other.”
“That’s not what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to get him used to the idea so that eventually he’ll out himself.”
“You’re far kinder than I am.”
Santana laughed. “You wish. I just get how he feels. You were always flaming--“
“I prefer ‘flamboyant’.”
“--so no one was surprised when you came out. We aren’t that obvious, so we have to stick up for each other.” She shrugged. “Just because I don’t say anything about the rumors doesn’t mean I’m ready to come out. I just don’t care as long as all they have is have rumors. But he’s even afraid of that.”
“Then why did he join Glee club? If there were any reason for anyone to suspect he’s gay, this is it.”
“He didn’t have a choice, remember? Figgins made him do it. Listen, they’ll say things whether he dances with you or me, just because he’s there. The least we can do is make it seem like he doesn’t care.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him into a twirl. His head hit her arm as he tried to go under it. “When did you get so tall? What did they feed you at Dalton?”
Kurt laughed. “Whatever it was, Blaine obviously didn’t have enough of it.” He sighed. “I guess I might as well do it. Teach me.”
000
They had only two days to switch parts, and even with the extra hours they managed to put in, it still felt like a miracle when Thursday came and they felt completely ready.
They all went through the performance more times than any of them felt was necessary. Kurt and Santana did what the choreography laid out for them, planning to surprise everyone at the assembly.
The only thing Kurt was nervous about was the thirty seconds of Extreme Swing Dancing that would include Dave flipping Kurt over his back. It looked effortless with Santana, but Kurt was heavier than her and didn’t think he’d take too well to being dropped on his head.
Oh, and Dave’s reaction. Can’t forget that.
000
“All right, now, just write down six numbers, your shirt size, and what you want your shirt to say and drop it in this box.” Kurt held out a shoebox with a hole cut in the top. One by one, the Gleeks dropped little slips of paper into it. “Mercedes and I will be making them tonight and Finn will be handing them out tomorrow. No one gets to know whose shirt says what until the performance. Are we clear?”
Affirmations were mumbled as most of the students filed out. Finn and Mercedes waited next to Kurt, as he was their ride home. Mr. Schue hung around to talk to Brad and the band. Santana and Dave sat next to each other on the temporary steps set up on the stage, staring at their half-sheets, trying to figure out how to word their shirts.
Sanatana scribbled something down and stood suddenly, blowing a kiss to Dave for show. She folded her paper in half, fourths, eighths, and then messy sixteenths before slipping it into the box and giving Kurt a very poignant look.
Dave still sat there, looking lost without his beard. Kurt took pity on him and sat down next to him.
“Having trouble?”
“Hrm.”
Kurt chewed on his bottom lip. “Well… Just pick something you’ve been made fun of for.”
“I got that.” Dave sighed. “I just don’t know what to say about it.”
“What hurt the most?”
“What?”
Kurt dropped his voice down to a whisper. “That I said to you. What hurt the most?”
Dave stared at him. Kurt dropped his eyes down to his hands, folded over his legs. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dave nod and scribble something down before dropping it in the box.
“See you guys,” Dave mumbled. He grabbed his jacket and speed-walked out.
000
“What’s the next one say?” Kurt cleared the screen and checked the new printout; perfect again.
“Uh…” Mercedes wiped at her sleepy eyes. The clock read 10:57. They’d been at this for nearly three hours, doing three shirts at a time. She grabbed the next slip of paper and read out, “Sweet lady kisses.” She squinted at the little picture drawn on the side. A sheep?
Puck, I’ll guess. Kurt typed it in and dragged the words around the screen. He printed it and cleared the screen again. “This should be the last one, right?”
“Mm-hmm. ‘Not his type’.”
“Sorry?”
“That’s the last one. ‘Not his type’. I guess someone’s having relationship problems.”
Kurt stared at the blank screen. Well, his suspicions were confirmed. He typed it in and printed it, then plugged the half-cooled iron back in.
Mercedes stood up. “I’m gonna go change, and then I’m going to sleep.”
“All right.” Kurt was suddenly very, very awake. “I’ll be putting these in the boxes, so I’ll be up in a half hour or so.”
He ended up burning the last shirt and was very thankful that he had extras.
000
Kurt didn’t sleep well that night. He was able to fall asleep easily at first, but he woke up multiple times and found it harder to get back to sleep each time, until, at four in the morning, he decided to just get up and spend some extra time getting rid of the dark circles that had surely already formed.
Mercedes got up two hours later and found him in the bathroom, wiping some sort of French skin cream off his face.
“Couldn’t sleep?”
“Sort of. I was thinking about the shirts. I didn’t realize that doing this would be so hard. I know all these things that have hurt people and I think I know who some of them belong to and I can’t stop thinking about it.”
Mercedes put her arm around him. “Hey, it’s fine. You were gonna find out all this sooner or later, anyways. Don’t stress out about it. Now get dressed. I know you need plenty of time to get fabulous enough for school.”
Kurt smiled at her.
Genre: Drama/romance/LGBT study
Ratings/Warnings: T
Fandom: Glee
Characters/Pairings: Kurt-centric; ensemble / Kurtofsky (main), Brittanna, Davetana friendship, etc.
Summary: Relationships are messy and teenagers are confusing. Kurt tries to make sense of all of this, but maybe it's better if it doesn't make sense. (Vague summary subject to change as I get more planned.)
Other:
-Spoilers up to “Original Song,” and some of what has been confirmed/rumored about future episodes.
“We need to switch.” Santana said, out of the blue.
“Switch what?” Kurt sincerely hoped she wasn’t talking about clothing; there were some outfits that even he couldn’t pull off, and short-shorts and a strapless top definitely fell into that category.
Santana looked at him like he was crazy. “Our dancing parts. Why the hell am I even dancing with Dave? There’s no point. You should do it.”
“Uh, no. He’ll kill me.”
“I doubt that. He agreed to the singing part--“
“Yes, but that’s not super-gay. Singing about how gay is okay is just being an ally, but in meathead jock language, dancing with another guy makes you gay. He won’t do it. No way.”
“Then we’ll surprise him.” Santana pulled him up. “I’ll teach you my part dancing with him, and you teach me whatever you’re supposed to do when that happens. We’ll find a way to switch during the song at the performance.”
Kurt pulled his arm out of her grasp. “I thought you weren’t trying to out each other.”
“That’s not what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to get him used to the idea so that eventually he’ll out himself.”
“You’re far kinder than I am.”
Santana laughed. “You wish. I just get how he feels. You were always flaming--“
“I prefer ‘flamboyant’.”
“--so no one was surprised when you came out. We aren’t that obvious, so we have to stick up for each other.” She shrugged. “Just because I don’t say anything about the rumors doesn’t mean I’m ready to come out. I just don’t care as long as all they have is have rumors. But he’s even afraid of that.”
“Then why did he join Glee club? If there were any reason for anyone to suspect he’s gay, this is it.”
“He didn’t have a choice, remember? Figgins made him do it. Listen, they’ll say things whether he dances with you or me, just because he’s there. The least we can do is make it seem like he doesn’t care.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him into a twirl. His head hit her arm as he tried to go under it. “When did you get so tall? What did they feed you at Dalton?”
Kurt laughed. “Whatever it was, Blaine obviously didn’t have enough of it.” He sighed. “I guess I might as well do it. Teach me.”
000
They had only two days to switch parts, and even with the extra hours they managed to put in, it still felt like a miracle when Thursday came and they felt completely ready.
They all went through the performance more times than any of them felt was necessary. Kurt and Santana did what the choreography laid out for them, planning to surprise everyone at the assembly.
The only thing Kurt was nervous about was the thirty seconds of Extreme Swing Dancing that would include Dave flipping Kurt over his back. It looked effortless with Santana, but Kurt was heavier than her and didn’t think he’d take too well to being dropped on his head.
Oh, and Dave’s reaction. Can’t forget that.
000
“All right, now, just write down six numbers, your shirt size, and what you want your shirt to say and drop it in this box.” Kurt held out a shoebox with a hole cut in the top. One by one, the Gleeks dropped little slips of paper into it. “Mercedes and I will be making them tonight and Finn will be handing them out tomorrow. No one gets to know whose shirt says what until the performance. Are we clear?”
Affirmations were mumbled as most of the students filed out. Finn and Mercedes waited next to Kurt, as he was their ride home. Mr. Schue hung around to talk to Brad and the band. Santana and Dave sat next to each other on the temporary steps set up on the stage, staring at their half-sheets, trying to figure out how to word their shirts.
Sanatana scribbled something down and stood suddenly, blowing a kiss to Dave for show. She folded her paper in half, fourths, eighths, and then messy sixteenths before slipping it into the box and giving Kurt a very poignant look.
Dave still sat there, looking lost without his beard. Kurt took pity on him and sat down next to him.
“Having trouble?”
“Hrm.”
Kurt chewed on his bottom lip. “Well… Just pick something you’ve been made fun of for.”
“I got that.” Dave sighed. “I just don’t know what to say about it.”
“What hurt the most?”
“What?”
Kurt dropped his voice down to a whisper. “That I said to you. What hurt the most?”
Dave stared at him. Kurt dropped his eyes down to his hands, folded over his legs. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dave nod and scribble something down before dropping it in the box.
“See you guys,” Dave mumbled. He grabbed his jacket and speed-walked out.
000
“What’s the next one say?” Kurt cleared the screen and checked the new printout; perfect again.
“Uh…” Mercedes wiped at her sleepy eyes. The clock read 10:57. They’d been at this for nearly three hours, doing three shirts at a time. She grabbed the next slip of paper and read out, “Sweet lady kisses.” She squinted at the little picture drawn on the side. A sheep?
Puck, I’ll guess. Kurt typed it in and dragged the words around the screen. He printed it and cleared the screen again. “This should be the last one, right?”
“Mm-hmm. ‘Not his type’.”
“Sorry?”
“That’s the last one. ‘Not his type’. I guess someone’s having relationship problems.”
Kurt stared at the blank screen. Well, his suspicions were confirmed. He typed it in and printed it, then plugged the half-cooled iron back in.
Mercedes stood up. “I’m gonna go change, and then I’m going to sleep.”
“All right.” Kurt was suddenly very, very awake. “I’ll be putting these in the boxes, so I’ll be up in a half hour or so.”
He ended up burning the last shirt and was very thankful that he had extras.
000
Kurt didn’t sleep well that night. He was able to fall asleep easily at first, but he woke up multiple times and found it harder to get back to sleep each time, until, at four in the morning, he decided to just get up and spend some extra time getting rid of the dark circles that had surely already formed.
Mercedes got up two hours later and found him in the bathroom, wiping some sort of French skin cream off his face.
“Couldn’t sleep?”
“Sort of. I was thinking about the shirts. I didn’t realize that doing this would be so hard. I know all these things that have hurt people and I think I know who some of them belong to and I can’t stop thinking about it.”
Mercedes put her arm around him. “Hey, it’s fine. You were gonna find out all this sooner or later, anyways. Don’t stress out about it. Now get dressed. I know you need plenty of time to get fabulous enough for school.”
Kurt smiled at her.