forget your troubles, happy days are here again / you better chase all your troubles away

[highf]

So here's what you missed on Glee:

After getting slushied in the face for years and dealing with Karofsky's bullying, Kurt's decided to take a few defense lessons from the Black Widow herself - ( "I... just wanted to say thank you, again, for letting me participate in this course, and how much I'm looking forward to future lessons. You kind of blew

Comments

[vestalstone]

Pierrette hadn't really known what to make of it, having never been invited to a party in her entire life. She stood just off from the doorway, her shiny black shoes pressed primly together and her arms drawn in close with her bundle clutched protectively before her. The glossy leaves of the sapling curled charmingly, small and diminutive in the earthenware pot which housed it. She had picked this tree specifically, as even young and flowerless it held a waxy shine and the dark green of the foliage danced in the light, something aesthetically lovely she suspected he may appreciate. The invitation had said presents were not necessary, but she felt a sort of obligation to Kurt, regardless if she had brought nothing for the friend he celebrated with.

Slowly easing through the crowd, Pierrette raised up on tip toes to peek around strangers to find her host, the lace of her dress sliding against skin and tickling as she waded further into the room. The excitement she felt intrigued her, a giddiness which bubbled in her belly and rose high

[vestalstone]

For all her skill at observation and perception, Pierrette had not been anticipating that. For a moment she is startled, her eyes wide and her mouth a small 'o' of surprise. But as the heat stains her cheeks a flattering pink, she finds herself shaking free of the shock that bound her and felt both honored and self conscious by the request.

"Of course." She managed, and cursing the blush that warmed her face she slipped her smaller hand into his. "You will have to forgive me though, it may be me who steps on your feet. I have never danced with a partner before."

[tooktheblack]

"Never? Surely we must change that," Jon said, squeezing her hand. "Every girl has to have the chance to dance once in a while. Even if it does have to wait until one shows up on a magical island."

Jon wasn't entirely sure how dancing went on the island and he hadn't thought to ask Kurt but he hoped Pierrette, at least, was more accustomed to his style of dancing. He opened with a bow.

"May I have the pleasure, my lady?"

[vestalstone]

She had been to the festivals of Citharista, stood to the side of the crowd and watched girls turn and spin, seen the boys move with and against them in both harmony and disarray. Pierrette had always watched and learned and seen, and now she thought of every movement, every turn and tried to call forth the memory of it.

But with her burning cheeks and nervous smile it his hand in her's what made her start; her returning bow a little short, her knees a little shaky. "Such a nobleman," she teased, embarrassed and pleased. "All I ask is you be patient with me. And to not laugh."

[tooktheblack]

"Just a noble bastard," Jon said wryly, leading her gently into the dance. It wasn't like the dancing of the island, not from what Jon could tell, but it was something closer to his home and he thought it was more appropriate, considering Pierrette.

"Tell me, how do you know Kurt?"

[vestalstone]

"I heard him sing." Pierrette answered, mirroring Jon's steps carefully. "It was so lovely I had to remark on it. I had not expected him to be so charming, sitting down with him was more like meeting with an old friend than a stranger."

She glanced up at her dance partner curiously. "And you? From what I know of him, he came from a place far different than Citharista or your Westeros."

[tooktheblack]

"Much the same, actually, I heard him sing and singing isn't so common in Westeros aside from the odd minstrel," Jon explained.

"His voice was unlike anything I'd ever really heard before and Kurt is a good friend. I owe him much for explaining some of the customs of his world and of the island."

[vestalstone]

"Indeed." Pierrette agreed warmly. "I have always known songs to be for mothers and children, or for men working in the fields to keep their spirits high. The way he talks of all sorts of people making their life of it is... fanciful."

She tilted her head and studied Jon for a moment, her expression inquiring."As much as I care for our host, I feel it rude to focus on him when it is you I have for company." She admitted, smiling wanly. "If it pleases you, I would like to learn more about you."

[highf]

Although Pierrette was a few months too young for the age limits of the party, Kurt couldn't even dream of leaving her out of the festivities, being a good friend of his as she was. For a while, he'd even considered scrapping the idea of drinks and water balloons at the party altogether, to Santana's great and rather vocal dismay, but in the end, he'd settled for informing all of the adults at the party of her presence there, making it clear that she wasn't to be served any alcohol, that she was someone who needed to be watched to a little more closely. Less concerned about the adherence to island laws, Kurt simply knew that the girl was rather skittish and shy on the whole, and certainly didn't want to do anything to make her time on the island any less enjoyable, or to raise her levels of anxiety. When she finally arrived, Kurt immediately held up a hand to stall his conversation, offered his quick apologies, and breezed his way on over.

"My dear, you look absolutely ravishing tonight," he noted first with a bright smile, reaching

[vestalstone]

All too often she felt her cheeks warm when he said such things and despite her initial temptation to stall Pierrette felt her smile blossom and she turned, the skirt too fitted to flare and bloom, but perfect to gently swish and stir. For a moment it was almost like dancing, and Pierrette tried to imagine what the gens would have thought of it, to see the boy turned girl as the fey woman she was meant to be. She felt careless and feminine and the oddity of it was delightful.

"You are too kind," she assured him, as she would after any compliment. "The dress is the loveliest I could find. I am afraid I did not know quite what black tie called for... I assumed black would be sufficient." Her head ducked, her smile small and coy. "Also, I look nothing compared to you and your friend. I have never before seen people look so beautiful. But I suppose I should not be surprised, with how polished you always appear."

[highf]

"Nonsense," Kurt replied, shaking his head lightly, his smile widening a touch as he watched the fabric fall back to place with a gentle, smooth movement. "Your outfit matches the black tie theme perfectly, I assure you. And while it may not be as outlandish as Santana's dress- which, by the way, isn't saying much, she always needs to be the one who stands out most in the crowd- I think that there is so much more to be said for subtlety. A quiet beauty, you know? The kind where everyone's forced to look more closely once their eyes land on you, because trust me, most of them won't know what hit them."

Tilting his head over towards the food and the music, Kurt graciously leads her there, feeling more than a bit protective of the girl. "Are you hungry? Thirsty? I'm making them hold back on serving you any wine, I know, it makes me a total fun sponge, but we've got a wide assortment of juices and lots of ice water, if you're more interested in the dance floor than the refreshments."

[vestalstone]

Pierrette's nose crinkled, her amusement loud enough whether she chose to laugh or not. She was not a head turner, at least never in the typical sense. If she was noticed at all she was only ever whispered about, cruel barbs and hateful words to be murmured behind her back. But more than that she had only ever been invisible, like a shade passing through a crowd unheeded and unnoticed. She was seen, she was merely nothing to be considered. Then again, she thought looking down at her dress. Perhaps she was only as noticeable as what she wore. She determined to experiment with that later on

[highf]

"Let me guess," he interjected, shaking his head in light dismay at the thought that anyone could make Pierrette doubt her own appearance- although, then again, hadn't Quinn also had her periods of shaken confidence, perfect though she seemed from head to toe? "Hair of some type of impossibly bright color, like spun gold or a setting sun? And then, to top that off, a thin yet still somehow curvy frame, the kind that most boys keep their eyes on from miles away? Trust me, Pierrette, that kind of nearly-manufactured beauty is overrated, and its time on the top of the podium will someday come to an end. Actually, I think with many crowds, exoticism is already starting to outweigh Barbie doll looks."

Glancing over at Ianto with a winning smile, before the bar owner slides over a couple of passionfruit smoothies, Kurt pushes one towards Pierrette and leans against the bar, intent on keeping her company as she's requested. "Either way, darling, I am totally yours for as long as you'd like. The others can wait. Until Assassins starts,

[vestalstone]

Pierrette offered an amused smile. "You forgot that she is tall. Marie took after our father's blood, the blood of Gauls and Celts. I am my mother's child, in spirit as well as face." That much she had learned after so many mornings and father's drunken nights, where simply walking into the room and he would look to her, face suddenly pale and slack as if seeing a ghost, a figment of his broken past. "I am aware that as a girl coming of age I am not unattractive, I know this on an academic level. I have sufficient features but I suppose there is a piece of me that has not fully come into itself yet. I was Piers for so long that now I struggle to be Pierrette at all."

Pierrette pulled one of the colorful drinks towards her, sipping the cold sweet nectar delicately. "Is it strange that I always feel more like I should when I am with you?" She asked, curious. "You just have this way of it."

[highf]

"Height is... a detail which receives greater contention in my world," Kurt explained with a knowing arch of his brow. "At least, when it comes to women, certainly. With men, taller might be better a majority of the time, but expectations run pretty far and wide with the fairer sex, to be a little blunt. Supermodels, those supposedly painted as ideals in our world, have to be pretty tall to make it by. My height, at least, if not significantly taller in many cases. Yet, when you see the girls with most dates at my age, I'd have to say that shorter girls get just as much attention, if not more, than taller ones. Maybe it has something to do with men often feeling intimidated by having to approach someone taller than themselves."

Tempted though Kurt was to ask more about the line between Piers and Pierrette, the slight gap in time caught him just before he could, silencing him instead as he considered her question with an expression pleasantly surprised. "As for feeling more like you should, darling, that's all I could ever want for

[vestalstone]

"I have always been petite, even amongst the children who were younger." She explained earnestly. "But suddenly in this place I was so much more aware of it. I'm not a child anymore, but here I am towered over. The men here are taller than the men of home, and the women as well. I feel so small some days, like I am so much younger than I really am." Pierrette had grown accustomed to that feeling even before the island, thanks to her years of study in Anselm's keep. So much time passed with her master, decades blurring together. When she finally went home after weeks and months she had difficulty remembering how old she really was.

The look she gave Kurt was fond and not for the first time she felt that dangerous tumble in her belly, the one that made her think of Marcus and of Lovi of home. "You have a blessing," she told him, and for that moment she could believe that Ma had sent him to the island so she could have moments like this, where they could talk and joke and be friends. "There are no men like you in Citharista, I find