Just Around The Corner

4

That evening found Kurt and Rachel in Mary Sue's bedroom. Rachel had insisted that Kurt help her dress for her date and Kurt, still a little woozy from the afternoon feast he had been forced to consume (yes, forced. No one may have held a gun to his head, but Betty's expectant smile was just as effective as any weapon), had agreed.

Then Rachel had opened the closet and it became painfully clear that Kurt's help was not needed. Because there was nothing there but woolen sweaters and poodle skirts.

"I can work with this," Rachel assured herself, looking a little distressed as she picked up two pads that were clearly meant to go under her sweater.

Kurt lied down on the bed, groaning at his poor, stuffed stomach. "Of course you can. This is only a step away from your usual wardrobe."

"Like Bud's wardrobe's gonna look any better," Rachel shot back.

"I already looked," Kurt said mournfully. "It's horrid. It's all polyester shirts, sweater vests and pants that go up to your waist. We need to get out of here."

Rachel hummed in agreement, busy stuffing the pads down her shirt. "While I'm on the date, keeping our cover, you can look for the remote."

"Wonderful."

Kurt complained but, really, he had no one to blame but himself. He could have told Blaine not to ask Rachel out, since it was pretty clear that the boy wouldn't dream of doing so without his best pal's permission. He could have just dragged Rachel home without telling her about Blaine's intentions, though that seemed a bit cruel. Or he could have asked Blaine what the hell was up with the seven second eye contact (not that he had counted) in front of the Parker house.

But all of those options meant rocking the boat and for now the act was all they had.

"How do I look?"

Kurt raised his head. Rachel had changed into a slightly thinner sweater and a shorter skirt (though it still reached mid-calf). The pads made her breasts look twice as big and a bit conical. Along with the blonde hair and smaller nose, the overall effect was unnervingly familiar.

"Like a Barbie doll."

Rachel frowned and turned to look at herself in the mirror. "But it's okay, right? Blaine's going to like it?"

"Blaine's not going to care," Kurt told her bluntly. "He's not a real person, he's a two-dimensional character from a two-dimensional show. He's your designated love interest so that means that he'll like you no matter what you look like."

Even as he was saying it, Kurt found that he didn't quite believe his own words. Sure enough, Blaine acted exactly like an extra on a not too well-written TV show but there was something in his mannerism that spoke of more.

But Kurt wasn't going to try and decipher what it might mean. The lines between fantasy and reality were already blurring and if they wanted to make it back home safe and sane, they needed to keep the two separated.

That was, if this wasn't all a dream. Kurt hadn't totally ruled out that possibility yet.

"You're right," Rachel sighed. She tugged at her sweater and smiled. "But it's okay. I'll just use this opportunity as practice for when I'm a well known Broadway actress. It's important to be able to immerse yourself in a role."

"Just don't immerse yourself too deep," Kurt warned her.

There was a light knock on the door and Betty entered, smiling proudly when he saw Rachel.

"Oh, Mary Sue, don't you look lovely," she gushed. "But Bud, sweetie, I thought you were working at the Soda Shop tonight."

"Shit," Kurt exclaimed, jumping off the bed. At Betty's shocked expression, he corrected himself: "Eh, shoot, I'd almost forgotten."

Betty laughed. "Well, hurry along, then."

With one last warning look at Rachel, Kurt ran up to Bud's room, where his work uniform was. He changed clothes in a hurry, not allowing himself to think what cheap fabrics were touching his skin. He'd probably get a rash.

---

This whole ordeal had been a complete nightmare. She'd gotten an unwanted nose and dye job, been forced to spend an hour locked in a room with twenty Stepford smilers, found out that she could no longer sweat or... excrete waste... and to top it all off, she was still in black and white.

But right now, none of that mattered. None of that could matter, because Rachel Berry had a job to do.

It just so happened that this job involved going on a date with the cutest, most dapper boy she had ever met.

Blaine picked her up at six on the dot. He charmed the pants off George and Betty and then escorted Rachel to his car. They drove to Mr. Johnson's Soda Shop, which took less than a minute, and Rachel considered lecturing him on his carbon footprint but thought better of it. If this really was just a television show like Kurt had said, then it didn't matter.

They got inside and Kurt greeted them, wearing an apron and a little paper hat. Rachel thought he looked kind of adorable but Kurt clearly didn't agree, judging by his twitching left eye as he struggled to keep smiling. He showed them to the only available booth.

Rachel sat and had a look around. The place was absolutely packed but somehow the commotion didn't quite seem to reach their booth. "This is lovely. Did you order a reservation?"

It was meant as meaningless small talk but Blaine just stared at her in incomprehension. "What?"

"Nothing," Rachel muttered.

They fell silent for a moment. Thankfully, Kurt interrupted before things could get awkward.

"What can I get you?" he droned.

"Hey Bud," Blaine greeted brightly. "I guess I'll have a cheeseburger and a coke."

Rachel fidgeted. "Don't we get menus?"

"There are no menus, Mary Sue," Kurt replied, sounding slightly manic. "Everyone always orders the same thing."

"Um..." While Rachel was willing to do many things while committing to a role, eating meat or dairy was not one of them. Nudity was another, but she doubted it would come to that.

Kurt's eyes softened. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you," Rachel whispered.

Kurt left and the silence settled in again.

"I don't know if I've ever told you this," Blaine started, glancing coyly between Rachel and the table, "but I think you're just about the keenest girl in the whole school."

"The keenest?" Rachel laughed, then scolded herself. She had to maintain face. "Well, I think you're pretty... keen, yourself."

Blaine looked happy at that. He stared at her expectantly, as if waiting for her to continue the conversation. That much, Rachel could do.

---

Working at Mr. Johnson's was fairly easy. It was menial work, preparing burgers and taking orders, but it was simple and, this being Pleasantville, everything ran smoothly.

The only problem was Mr. Johnson. When Kurt showed up, twenty minutes late for his shift, Mr. Johnson just stood there by the counter, wiping the same spot over and over. Apparently he was unable to go any further without Kurt or, well, Bud, to do his part of the work.

It was unsettling, this feeling that all of Pleasantville pretty much revolved around two people who right now had no idea what they were doing.

After Kurt had assured Mr. Johnson that he could do Kurt's share of the work if Kurt wasn't there to do it (a concept that both excited and frightened Mr. Johnson), the evening went well.

Or so Kurt thought, until he brought Rachel and Blaine their food (cheeseburgers for both, minus the cheese and the burger for Rachel).

"-of course no one could replace Idina Menzel but I'm confident that in a few years-"

"Your order," Kurt hissed, cutting Rachel off mid-monologue. She smiled sweetly at him, as if she hadn't been doing anything terribly wrong.

He put the burgers down but Blaine didn't even notice, he was too busy staring starry-eyed at Rachel.

"Would you excuse us for a moment?" Kurt said, finally catching Blaine's attention.

Blaine nodded, still looking out of sorts.

He grabbed Rachel's hand and pulled her behind the counter.

"There's no meat in my burger, is there?" she asked.

Kurt breathed deeply, trying to regain his composure. "What on earth were you doing?"

"Talking?" Rachel answered uncertainly. "He wasn't saying anything, so I had to get the conversation going."

"You can't tell him about Broadway, Rachel!"

Rachel looked guilty at that. "I started talking about some classic movie musicals and he wanted to know more. He was so curious and you know that Finn's never shown even the slightest interest-"

"He would have been curious no matter what you talked about," Kurt argued. "Designated love interest, remember?"

"Well, I think you're wrong," Rachel insisted. "There's more to him than that. And to all of these people." There was an intense gleam in her eye. "I think we were sent here for a purpose."

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "What? To teach the people of Pleasantville the wonders of Broadway?"

Rachel shook her head. "Not just Broadway. Think about it, Kurt. Do you think it's a coincidence that the two of us ended up here?"

"Yes."

"You're gay," she pointed at his chest, "I'm Jewish and a strong, independent woman." At Kurt's disbelieving snort, she glared. "I am. You heard me sing 'Firework' this week in Glee. My point is, we can teach these people so much about different lifestyles. If only Mercedes had been with us, it would have been perfect."

"Oh, yes, the token minority trifecta would have been complete," Kurt said flatly. "Are you even listening to yourself talk?"

Rachel huffed. "I'm going back to the bathroom and then I'm going to continue my date with Blaine. Just give it some thought, Kurt. We could do so much good here if we stopped playing along and started actually doing something. These people's lives are stagnant and they deserve better."

She stormed off.

"These people aren't real," Kurt countered, even though Rachel was out of earshot. His hands itched to grab the stupid paper hat off his head and throw it at Rachel but he somehow managed to resist the urge.

He'd deal with her delusions later. Right now he had work to do.

---

Kurt's stubborn reluctance to go along with her amazing plan left Rachel in a bit of a slump for the rest of the evening. Blaine was charming as ever, though, and by the end of the date, she had perked up considerably.

"I had a great time tonight," she told Blaine as he dropped her off at her doorstep.

"Oh, me too," he agreed breathlessly. "How do you know so much?"

Rachel bit her lip and decided to stay vague, for now at least. "I've been places."

"Like New York?"

"No," Rachel admitted, a bit disheartened. "But I'll be going there soon. Assuming we win Regionals, that is. But if I'm going to be the featured soloist, and this time I will be, then there's no way we're going to lose."

Blaine grinned goofily. "I don't know what you're talking about but I'm sure it's wonderful."

Rachel giggled and put her hand on his shoulder. "You're sweet, Blaine Anderson."

She kissed him goodnight and went inside without thinking anything of it. Blaine, however, stood on the patio for some time, trying to regain his senses.

"Wow," he whispered at last.

He walked to his car in a daze and by pure coincidence happened to glance at the rose bush on the Parkers' front lawn.

Sitting there inconspicuously in a sea of grey was a single pink rose.