11Title: song selections from a drag queen's ipod on shuffle
Author: SVZ
Pairing: Kurt/Blaine
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 3300
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.
Spoilers/Warnings: 2x08, questionable taste in music
Summary: Alternative title:'my itunes was totally screwing with me'. 10 ficlet/drabbles inspired by the popular music meme.
Notes: Unbeta'd and I cheated in two ways: I skipped my Integrated Chinese Mandarin recordings when they came up on shuffle and I kept the song on repeat until finished writing. I'm not quite sure my brain knows what a 'drabble' is.
Also, please listen to the songs while reading (just search for the song on YouTube). Most of them are pretty awesome!
song selections from a drag queen's ipod on shuffle
1.
UNC Clefhangers - Time is Running Out (Muse Cover)
{how did it come to this?}
The timing couldn't be any worse.
"There's something I have to tell you."
Blaine's voice sounds urgent and very strained.
The bookcase he's attempting to move to block the door of the library turns out to be a lot heavier than it looked.
Kurt immediately drops what he's doing (trying to find all the 'Zombie 101' survival guides he could, seriously, this is a guys school- surely there are a couple copies lying around in the library somewhere) and rushes over to help him.
"Stop, let me help you before you hurt yourself," he orders, trying hard not to think of the possibility- if something were to happen to Blaine.
The two of them manage to successfully block the most traffic-heavy exit. Panting a little from the exertion, Kurt returns to one of the computers and attempts to look up the call number of Max Brook's book.
Blaine tries again. "No, there's really something I have to tell- "
Light is streaming through the highly arched windows and skylight; the sky is a calm blue and cloudless.
Kurt can hear the loud groans and moans of the walking undead trying to make their way into their school. They've been trying to ram the door open.
There hasn't been screaming from the quad for at least ten minutes - Kurt prays that's a good sign. Maybe the zombies are ready to give up, to retreat.
"-love you," he finishes, sounding desperate and worried and so many different emotions that it takes Kurt a few seconds before the meaning of the words finally hits him.
His eyes widen and he may have gasped a little.
"Did you just..."
They hear a loud crash downstairs and some muffled yells that doesn't sound promising at all. Somewhere at the far end of the library, Wes, David, and some of their other classmates are yelling for them to get their asses over there. They just got a text from a fellow Warbler that some zombies have gotten into their building and the library has too many ways in and out to be safe.
Currently, their best shot is the practice room a floor up. There's only one way in, the door is made of steel, and it's connected to a tea pantry with a semi-stocked fridge.
"We'll discuss this later," Kurt says firmly, swallowing hard. "I - now is a bad time. A really bad time, but we'll talk about this after we're safe."
Blaine looks like he's about to protest but stops when Kurt grabs his wrist and sprints into the stacks to hunt down those books they so desperately need.
2.
Joanna Wang - The Best Mistake I've Ever Made
{if i lose myself with you tonight
fall apart or hold on tight/wrong or right
i won't be afraid
'cause even if my heart should break –
you'd be the best mistake i ever made }
Everything is easy until it's suddenly not.
Blaine has resigned himself to the fact he was attracted to Kurt Hummel from the moment he locked eyes with the other boy at the foot of the staircase.
It's cliche, but the moment he caught sight of Kurt's light eyes - he remembered thinking, wow and then he knew he had to introduce himself.
But after "Teenage Dream", after their heavy conversation over coffee, even heavier conversations over the phone and email after the Karofsky Incident, Blaine realizes that Kurt needs a friend more than a potential boyfriend.
What Kurt really needs is a guide or a mentor; someone who's gone through what he's going through right now.
So he tries his best to push his attraction and inappropriate crush to the back of his mind and focus on helping him.
But the thing is - he's the one who keeps fucking things up.
It's his fault that Kurt got into trouble with that Kurofsky kid. It's because of his stupid advice that's not even his - he read it somewhere and thought it sounded good so he repeated it - that had been the catalyst which escalated Kurt's bullying and harassment at McKinley so Kurt doesn't feel fucking safe at his own high school anymore, that his parents agree that sending him to a boarding school two hours away from everyone he loves is his (their) only option to keep him safe.
It's his fault that he pressured Kurt into joining the Warblers when it's clear that he's still hurting from leaving New Directions.
(And it's going to be his fault if he screws this up too.)
Kurt answers after the third knock; he's dressed in pajama bottoms, his hair is rumpled, and he looks exhausted.
"Blaine?" He blinks owlishly at him, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "What are - it's past curfew."
Marcus, Kurt's roommate, is out of town for the weekend. Wes is Marcus' lab partner and told him.
Hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans – nails digging into his palms - Blaine swallows hard, praying he hasn't been misreading Kurt's body language all week. "Can I... come in?"
For a moment, Kurt looks like he's about to remind him about how much trouble they'll be in if he's caught after hours, but he steps aside and motions him to take a seat on Marcus' empty bed.
The door shuts quietly behind them.
3.
The Wonder Girls - Nobody
{i want nobody, nobody but you!}
It takes him three days before he finally caves and watches the music video.
Tina posted the link on his Facebook and told him that it was a) life-changing and b) he needed to watch it.
It's another two days before the group of Warblers arrive a half hour to practice ("Uh, lab was let out early," David explains, afterwards) to the music blasting from his iPod hookup, just in time to witness him trying to get the moves down because if Jackie Chan can manage to do it- well, so can he.
There's a moment of silence when everyone stares.
Kurt prepares himself for the teasing that's sure to follow. It could be worse, at least he's not wearing a sparkly unitard this time.
Then Wes says:
"Dude, can you teach us that? That's wicked!"
He winds up teaching his new glee club the entire routine.
4.
Tegan and Sara - Nineteen
{ i felt you in my heart and i don't even know you}
He has a standing Skype date with Tina every Wednesday at 10 PM sharp, Eastern Standard Time.
"Did you just know?" Tina asks one night.
Her webcam is functional at best and the lighting in her dorm room is terrible, but Kurt can make out her pensive expression and dark undereye circles - he thinks he knows what's coming next.
She clarifies, "You and Blaine, I mean."
Kurt hesitates; he thinks of their first meeting - Blaine's friendly hazel eyes and easy smile, remembers how his heart stuttered in his chest the when Blaine took his hand the first time.
He exhales and answers, "Yes."
Tina offers him a bittersweet smile over her Geology lab report. "I'm breaking up with Artie over Christmas break. The distance - it's just not working. We've been trying, but it's..."
"Tina," he says gently, cutting her off. He wished they weren't on opposite coasts. He vows to send her a care package the next chance he gets. "I understand."
(And he honestly does.)
5.
High School Musical 2- You Are the Music in Me
{your harmony to the melody
is echoing inside my head }
"Oh my god."
Looking up from his Biology homework, Wes is greeted with the sight of Kurt standing at the doorway of his and Blaine's shared room. "Hey Kurt," he greets cheerfully, turning the page of his textbook. "Blaine went to borrow David's English notes, he should be right back."
Blaine had mentioned that Kurt was transferring and moving in over the weekend over dinner last night.
After a short silence with no returned greeting, Wes looks up again and follows Kurt's gaze to the poster hanging above Blaine's bed. He looks so scandalized that Wes can't help but laugh at him.
"That's Blaine's, in case you were wondering."
"Blaine has a picture of Zac Efron up on his wall. ... Why? Did he lose a bet or something?"
"Well, technically it's a poster of the High School Musical cast from the third movie." Wes eyes Kurt with great interest; amused that the other boy could managed to look so betrayed by a 16 x 16 piece of laminated paper. "And no, it's not a joke. We stopped by Target at the beginning of the year so I could pick up a drying rack and a waste basket, and this was the only thing Blaine bought."
"But he's so... orange."
Clearly, Kurt's still stuck on the Zefron poster.
"Blaine's a little convinced that Vanessa Hudgens is just his beard," Wes informs him. "He finds Zefron's height endearing."
When his roommate returns, Wes has to leave the room to keep from laughing. Kurt keeps shooting looks at the poster and shaking his head while Blaine asks him questions about settling in and offers him a tour of Dalton's grounds.
This probably makes him a terrible person, but Wes finds it hilarious when Kurt ruins his perfect posture and honest-to-god slouches in attempt to make himself shorter next to Blaine for the next couple of days.
6.
Freelance Whales - Kilojules
{you shoot me one of those glances
i need to interpret
i've been feeling well-rested and healthy}
David lucked out in the beginning of the year; there's an odd number of guys in their year, he ends up with a double for himself which is a pretty sweet deal. He has a lot of extra space for his stuff - the spare bed serves as a couch when his friends visits, the extra desk comes in handy when he's bogged down with fifteen library books or folders with thick packets of readings.
It's also nice being able to sneak his girlfriend Jessica and not having to worry about disturbing his roommate by staying up late.
That changes when Kurt officially transfers in the middle of the semester.
David doesn't mind too much.
Sure, he has give up some of the perks, but from what he heard from Blaine - Kurt had it pretty tough, so he'll be a jerk if he begrudges him for something he didn't really owned to begin with.
And Kurt also makes a decent roommate, all things considered.
He's polite and neat, he listens to music with his headphones on, and whenever David tells him that Jessica's visiting - he just packs up his stuff and heads to the library. He'll rolls his eyes good-naturedly and tells him to text him when it's safe for him to return.
So, not many complaints.
Except one.
"You know, I don't remember you visiting me this often," David tells Blaine when his friend is sitting on Kurt's bed, waiting for Kurt to come back from the gym. "I feel like I should be offended."
"I.. have no idea what you're talking about." From the way Blaine is studiously staring the thread count of Kurt's sheets, it's obvious that he does.
When Kurt comes back; sweaty and flushed from the physical exertion, yoga pants riding indecently low on his hips, Blaine looks like he's trying his best not to jump David's roommate.
"Riiight, " David says slowly, when Blaine and Kurt sit close to each other, heads bowed over their French textbooks. "I think I'm going to go to the library. To study."
Blaine is definitely butchering the language on purpose (every time he does, Kurt shakes his head in horror and leans in closer to point to the troublesome word in the book), but his distractedness is genuine. At the sound of David's voice, his head shoots up. "What? Oh - sorry, are we being too loud?"
Kurt looks just as concerned. "We can keep the noise level down."
"No," David replies, gathering his books and papers. "It's not that."
One of these days, the two of them will look up at the same time and figure out that they've been staring at each other from across the room.
Until then, he and Wes are going to suffocate in the sexual tension that exists between their two roommates.
"Maybe we should just lock them in the broom closet on the second floor," Wes suggests. Seeing David's expression, he raises an eyebrow. "What, too cliche?"
"Definitely. I think the practice room is a better option."
And then two crazy kids finally get together.
Jessica informs him that one of the reasons why she comes over so often is to watch the two of them like they're some kind of zoo exhibit or one of her favorite shows: "I haven't been so emotionally invested in a relationship since Jim and Pam from The Office." He pretends to be offended and she rolls her eyes, "You know what I mean - I like seeing them happy."
(Kurt and David are about even when it comes to sexiling each other. They keep track on a whiteboard that hangs above David's desk.)
7.
The Battery's Down - This is Your Life
{This is your life, you're gonna be okay}
So okay, the only thing that makes him feel slightly better about his current situation is that last he's heard, Rachel Berry isn't having any better luck with auditions.
And she got into and graduated from Juilliard.
"This is ridiculous," Kurt says to his webcam, frowning at the small little box at the corner of his screen - he immediately adjusts it so the angle's more flattering. He knows he looks like complete shit, but that doesn't mean he has to worry his boyfriend about it when Blaine's already swamped with law school. "Why did I think that I could do this? Why did I even think that this was a possibility? I should move back to Lima. I wonder if it's too late to call Coach Sylvester up. She offered me the job of assistant coach last year, it might not be too late."
"Um, babe," Blaine laughs, "You got a callback for that workshop, right? And you're the first understudy for that show. You're doing fine. You have UMichigan's theater department on your resume."
"Rachel has Juilliard on her resume and that hasn't gotten her anywhere." Kurt rakes a hand through his hair and sighs, a little relieved that his apartment-mate is out for the evening. "Why didn't I do something practical like major in business or political science. I should have been an English major." He narrows his eyes when Blaine starts snickering, "Oh, shut up. If you quote Avenue Q at me, I'll eviscerate you."
"Kurt, you know you're damn good at what you're doing."
Kurt sighs, rubbing his forehead. "I know. I'm just - I knew it would be hard, but I didn't know that it would be this hard. Being a starving artist is nowhere as glamorous as Jonathan Larson would like you to believe."
"Well," Blaine pauses, looking thoughtful. "Are you happy?"
Kurt thinks about the two hour drive between Philadelphia and New York; how it's like the McKinley-Dalton commute again because he and Blaine can only see each other every other weekend because UPenn's law school is amazing but works him to the bone, how Kurt's schedule is equally as intense with his auditions, workshops, more auditions, and part-time job at Starbucks.
He thinks about the exhilaration and adrenaline pumping through his veins whenever he nails a note so well that the audience cheers or goes quiet (in a good way).
When he's on stage, when he's singing and performing, no matter how small the role, he feels like he's reliving New Directions - and it makes it all worth it.
Kurt sighs, "Yes, I'm happy. Satisfied?"
Blaine leans back in his chair, looking pleased. "There you go."
8.
Metric- Sick Muse
{i'll write you harmony in c}
Kurt didn't think he could be more attracted to Blaine than he already was.
Then he sees him goofing off at the piano before Warblers practice; coaxing out melodies, reinterpreting Top 40 songs, singing along and laughing whenever he stumbles a line.
"I never knew Blaine played," Kurt blurts out, after David and Wes calls his name a few times. He pretend to be nonchalant, "I mean - I knew he had a guitar, so I just assumed..."
If David and Wes' identical amused expressions are of indication, god, his poker-face needs some serious work.
"Oh, he does play guitar," David reassures him. "He actually writes some of his own stuff."
"And he also plays the cello and violin," Wes adds, a touch too casual. He positively grins when Kurt makes an involuntary choked sound at the news. "I know, isn't it absolutely disgusting?" He's positively cheerful.
"We're just grateful that he's so short, otherwise he'd be so full of himself that he won't have any friends."
Kurt ponders for a moment. "Well, have either of you ever heard of the Napoleon Complex?"
Wes and David christen Blaine with his new nickname and refuse to call him anything else for the rest of the semester.
9.
OLIVIA - Collecting Sparkles
{darling, i'm eager
to know of your everlasting beam
my melancholy drama has
ultimately puzzled me
what is it that you do
that makes you the way you are?}
Both Wes and David warn him against putting Blaine on a pedestal.
"He's not infallible, you know," Wes tells him over coffee one day, "He looks put together now, but he was a wreck when he first arrived in Dalton."
"I'll keep that in mind," Kurt promises, but later during practice all he can think concentrate on is Blaine's voice - whenever Blaine smiles while performing, everyone can hear it.
His heart feels like it's stuck in his throat every time Blaine catches his eye, pats him on the back for keeping up with the steps, or even smiles at him.
10.
Idina Menzel - Penny
{don't know much about practicing what i preach}
After the Karofsky confrontation, he keeps expecting Kurt to stop turning to him for advice because honestly, he's crap at it; what does he know about bullying or getting slushied in the face, or thrown in the dumpster?
He ran from his bullies when at their worst, they threw slurs in his direction in between periods and tampered with his locker.
He's never known what it's like to scrub green jello from his jacket in the boys bathroom in before homeroom or what it's like to feel unsafe at school.
He keeps waiting for the text messages to die down, for Kurt to realize that he's a fraud and a hypocrite - that he's not qualified to give anyone any advice about courage or standing up for one's beliefs.
But when Kurt doesn't stop, Blaine reads more and more self-help books. He parrots more second-hand words of wisdom and hopes that what he's doing is the right thing, that he's not making things worse.
Feedback and comments are welcome! I always appreciate reviews; they're a definite pick-me-up especially since it's finals season for me.