Just Around The Corner

5

"I do hope that you're ready to apologize."

Kurt glared at his friend. "Rachel, I am not in the mood for this. I spent half the night searching for the remote - our ticket home, in case you forgot - and for the second morning in a row, I had to eat my body weight in pancakes and bacon. I'd like it if we could just not talk until we get to school."

"There's no need to be hostile," Rachel sniffed. "I had to eat my share of that breakfast, too."

"After asking Betty about the contents of every single item," Kurt reminded her. "You're going to give us away. But then that's exactly what you want, isn't it?"

Rachel squared her shoulders defiantly. "Yes, it is."

"I'm still not entirely sure you didn't hit your head or something. How could you change your mind so drastically after a twenty minute date?"

"You weren't there," Rachel said insistently. "You didn't see what happened when I started talking. It was like -" she paused, struggling for words, "it was like we went off script. Like we stopped playing characters and started just being... us."

She had stopped walking, without seemingly realizing it, so focused on what she was saying. Kurt turned to face her, his stomach clenching with worry.

"You didn't see how he changed when I told him about New York," she continued. She stared up at Kurt, imploring him. "He was coming to life in front of me, Kurt. I know that feeling, suddenly discovering a part of yourself you didn't even know was missing. That's how I felt when I became friends with you, and everyone in Glee. It's not until afterwards that you realize how dull your life was before. How... colorless."

This was what Kurt loved about Rachel Berry. Right when she was at her most obnoxious, she'd turn around and say something like this. He almost felt bad about having to burst her bubble. "You're talking about real life. This isn't it."

"But what if it is?" Rachel asked, then hastily added, "Or it isn't, but it's supposed to be? I think that's why you can't find the remote. Because we were sent here for a purpose and we can't go back until it's completed."

"I'm sure that appeals to you," Kurt snarked. "Rachel Berry, savior of Pleasantville. Or maybe the reason I can't find the remote is because you keep messing things around. Maybe we can't go home until everything is back to the way it was."

It was obvious that his words affected her but to her credit, Rachel shook them off rather quickly. "Then why couldn't we go back the minute we came?"

Kurt had no answer to that.

They stayed silent for the rest of their walk and separated the minute they reached the school, even though Kurt was pretty sure neither of them knew where they were supposed to be going.

"Bud!"

Kurt turned to see Blaine Anderson come jogging down the hallway, as if he had somehow sensed Kurt's distress.

"I was hoping to catch you before gym," he said when he reached Kurt. So they had gym first thing in the morning, again. Lovely. "I have something to show you."

"Oh?"

Blaine glanced around the hallway. "Could it be in private?"

Kurt frowned. "Sure."

He followed Blaine to the locker room, which was empty at the moment and, for some inexplicable reason, smelling of newly baked cookies.

Blaine closed the door behind them and smiled at Kurt. "I saw it last night and I just had to show someone." He looked a bit guilty for a moment. "I picked it out of your garden. I sure hope Mrs. Parker doesn't mind."

"I'm sure she won't," Kurt said dismissively, now growing curious. "What is it?"

Blaine dug into his bag and pulled out a rose.

A pink rose.

"Have you ever seen anything like it?" Blaine asked in hushed reverence. "I mean, I've seen dozens of pink roses but this is the first one," he laughed nervously, "I mean, the first that's a real pink."

He continued talking but Kurt could barely hear him. This was bad. This was so, so bad.

"Stay here," he instructed, cutting Blaine off probably mid-word. "I need to find Rachel."

He stumbled out of the room, vaguely hearing Blaine call after him: "Who's Rachel?"

On his way out, he bumped into the other boys from his class. "Where are you going, Bud?" asked one of them but Kurt just shook his head and kept going.

He needed to find Rachel. She was responsible for this, he just knew it. And if she'd done it, she could undo it.

He hoped.

---

Rachel was beginning to be able to tell Mary Sue's friends apart. The one to her left, who squealed the loudest, was Lisa Anne. Next to her was Betty Jean, the only one with dark hair, and then Peggy Jane, the tall one.

Or maybe that was Betty Jean?

"-can't believe you were on a date with Blaine Anderson," Lisa Anne gushed for the third time.

"What was he like?" giggled Peggy Jane. "Was he dreamy? I bet he was dreamy."

"He was perfect," Rachel told them, relishing in the fact that she finally had girlfriends to talk about her date with. Somehow, she'd never managed to both have a boyfriend and friends at the same time. "We had a lovely time at the Soda Shop and he drove me home afterwards."

"Did he hold your hand?" Betty Jean wanted to know.

"Did he take you to Lover's Lane?" Lisa Anne tittered.

"Did he pin you?" they chorused.

Rachel gaped at them. This was the last question she would expect to hear in a place like this. It seemed even Pleasantville wasn't devoid of teenage debauchery. "No, of course not! I mean, we kissed but we certainly didn't do anything close to that. I would never have sex on the first date."

The tree girls stilled.

"You kissed?" Peggy Jane repeated in a small voice, looking both shocked and a little bit curious. "But you two aren't married or anything."

Lisa Anne nodded. "Gosh, I've never even seen my parents kiss and they've been married for years."

They shared glances.

"W-what's sex?" Betty Jean asked.

Rachel's jaw dropped. She stared at them and they stared back, all questions and wide, innocent eyes. "I thought you knew," she said lamely. "What did you mean when you asked if he'd pinned me?"

The girls laughed shakily.

"We were asking if he'd given you his pin," Lisa Anne said. "Gee whizz, Mary Sue, you know that."

"Right," Rachel muttered. "Of course I do."

Peggy Jane smiled, looking relieved. "So is 'sex' something like pinning?"

Rachel bit her lip. She wanted to lie but then, that wasn't why she came here, was it? She came here to educate the people of Pleasantville. So what if it was a slightly bigger task than she'd previously realized? She was still up to it.

"Not exactly," she finally said. She was saved from continuing when she saw Kurt step out into the hallway, gesturing for her to come over. "I'll explain it later, I have to go talk to my brother."

She ran over to Kurt, her heart beating wildly with relief. She knew that this was a conversation she would need to have sooner or later but she'd rather not have to go into it unprepared

Kurt grabbed her arm and dragged her into an empty corner. "What did you do?" he hissed, short-circuiting her relief. Had he heard her talk with the girls? "Blaine just showed me a rose he found. A pink rose."

"So?" At Kurt's raised eyebrow, it hit her. "Wait, pink? Pink pink?"

Kurt huffed. "Yes, pink pink."

"This is wonderful," Rachel exclaimed giddily, bouncing on her feet with sudden excitement.

"It's terrible," Kurt protested. "You need to fix this."

"I hadn't realized how much we could change," Rachel laughed, ignoring him. "That we could literally bring color to Pleasantville."

The bell rang.

"Rachel," Kurt pleaded, "this has to stop."

Rachel smiled, a new-found rush of energy flowing through her. This was just the encouragement she needed. "Oh, it's only beginning. If you'll excuse me, I have a class to go to."

Not even Kurt's nay-saying could bring her down now. There was an entire town out there, waiting for someone to bring them to life and Rachel Berry was going to be that someone.

---

Kurt returned to the locker room, something close to panic gripping at his heart. He breathed heavily, trying to calm himself. He hadn't panicked when Karofsky kissed him and he certainly wasn't going to panic now.

He changed clothes in a hurry, hoping against hope that no one had noticed how late he was. When he got out on the field, however, he saw all the boys huddled together, talking intently. So intently, that they completely ignored The Coach's whistle.

"What's the matter with you boys?" The Coach shouted. "The big game is in just a few days!"

Kurt ran up to the huddle and his worst fears were confirmed when he saw what had so deeply fascinated everyone: Blaine and that damn pink rose of his.

Behind him, he heard a gasp. The Coach had approached to see what the commotion was about as well.

"I'll be," he whispered in awe.

Kurt swallowed heavily. This was spinning out of control. "Don't we have a big game to prepare for?"

Everyone turned to him at the sound of his voice.

"I'm sorry," Blaine said sheepishly. "I'll go put it away."

As soon as the rose was gone from view, it was as if a spell were lifted. The huddle broke and the boys gathered around the hoops, throwing their basketballs in quick succession.

Every one of them missed.

---

Kurt didn't see Rachel again until school had ended. She was standing by the flag pole with a small crowd gathered around her.

"They're going to the Soda Shop," Blaine said in answer to Kurt's unasked question. "Peggy Jane and Lily Anne both told me. Mary Sue's going to answer some questions they have."

"Fantastic," Kurt grumbled.

Blaine glanced at him. "Do you want to go?"

"Not for all the tea in China," Kurt replied dryly.

Blaine laughed, stopping abruptly when he saw that Kurt was scowling. "Gee, I'm sorry Bud. I didn't mean to laugh at you. You and Mary Sue just talk about the funniest places." He laughed again. "China, New York... who ever heard such names?"

"Haven't you?"

Blaine shook his head. "I've heard of Main street," he said, "and Elm Street and Lover's Lane and other such places."

"Nothing outside of Pleasantville?" Kurt asked, immediately regretting it. He'd been lecturing Rachel all day and yet here he was, rocking the boat.

"Not until yesterday." Blaine looked so lost, almost frightened, but there was an unquestionable gleam in his eyes. "I want to learn more."

"Well," Kurt said, "you'll have to learn from someone else. I'm going home." When Blaine made to follow him, he held up his hand. "Alone."

He left, ignoring the wounded look on Blaine's face. It didn't mean anything. Blaine was a character, incapable of feeling anything other than what his script told him to.

The thought did little to cheer Kurt up.

---

Rachel was used to being on stage. She liked being the center of attention, all eyes on her, and she'd been doing it before she even learned to crawl.

But as she stood in Mr. Johnson's Soda Shop with less than twenty pairs of eyes on her, Rachel had to admit that she was feeling something of a stage fright. She had been so sure of herself just a couple of hours ago but in the intervening time, she'd realized that she had no idea of where to start in explaining sex or even how to do it properly.

"Um," she said. All at once, her audience leaned in closer. "Thank you all for coming. I thought I would just, er, open the floor for questions and- yes, Peggy Jane?"

Peggy lowered her arm, which she had raised to catch Rachel's attention. "You said that you were going to explain 'sex'."

She said the word in a tone of voice that suggested that she had no idea of its meaning, other than that it was slightly taboo.

"Well, uh, yes," Rachel stammered. "But I was thinking we could maybe save that for a later date. We could work our way up to it."

There was a wave of disappointed groans but Lisa Anne raised her arm, looking determined.

"Work our way up to it how?" she asked.

"Kissing," Rachel blurted out. "I could tell you about kissing and making out and such. Sex doesn't generally come until after all that."

She had their full attention again.

"How does it feel?"

"What's 'making out'?"

"Is it anything like holding hands?"

Rachel smiled nervously. "One at a time, please."

She could do this. She totally could.

---

"Bud, sweetie, Blaine is here to see you!"

Kurt almost banged his head against the living room table, where he had been looking for the remote. Again. He knew that it was probably hopeless by now, but maybe seventh time was the charm.

Blaine entered, his head slightly hung, scuffing his feet against the floor. "Hi, Bud."

"Hi," Kurt replied, getting up and dusting his pants. "What brings you back so soon? I thought you'd be at the Soda Shop."

Blaine shrugged. "Someone will tell me what happened. This is more important." He drew a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"I don't know," Blaine admitted. "For making you mad."

Kurt's expression softened. "Oh Blaine, I'm not-"

"Wait," Blaine cut in, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the pink rose. "I was gonna give this to Mary Sue but now I want you to have it."

He handed the rose to Kurt, who could only stare at him speechless.

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "I won't do whatever I did to make you mad again. You're my best friend, Bud. I don't like it when you're angry with me."

"I was never angry with you," Kurt said, ignoring the fluttering in his chest, the voice that screamed 'it's a flower it's a flower from a boy' and the much more insideous one that whispered 'everytime he says "best friend" it sounds more like something else'. He reached out his hand. "So I can't take the rose. You should give it to Mary Sue."

Blaine's lips quirked in a sweet, vulnurable smile. "No, you keep it. Even if I didn't do anything wrong, you were still mad. I want you to feel better."

"Oh." Kurt licked his lips, which had suddenly dried up. "Well. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Betty poked her head around the corner. "Is Blaine staying for dinner?"

Kurt wanted to groan. This was the second time she had interrupted them in the middle of... whatever had been happening. He should probably be glad for it but he couldn't help but feel robbed.

"I'd love to Mrs. Parker," Blaine said earnestly, "but I promise my folks I'd be home soon. It's meatloaf night." He turned to Kurt. "I'll see you at school tomorrow, Bud."

"See you at school," Kurt echoed.

When Blaine had gone, Betty sighed. "He is such a sweet young man. Isn't Mary Sue lucky to have him?"

Kurt ducked his head, feeling a familiar jealousy coil in his belly. "Yeah. She is."