Just Around The Corner

6

A miserable week followed Rachel's little Q&A session at the Soda Shop. The hallways of Pleasantville High School were beginning to feel more are more like the ones at McKinley. Sure, there was no underlying threat of violence (yet) and people still treated Kurt like one of the popular kids but everywhere he looked, there were teens holding hands, flirting, even kissing in plain view. The air was so sexually charged, one could practically taste it.

'Ew,' Kurt thought and crinkled his nose. 'Bad analogy.'

As if that weren't enough, color was starting to pop up all over the place. A girl passed him wearing a bright blue beret in her hair and a boy followed shortly after, the pin in his lapel turned red. Across the hall, a couple was locking lips, both of them blushing pink. It was all Rachel's fault.

Rachel, who was currently standing in the other end of the corridor, playing tonsil-hockey with Blaine.

Okay, that was maybe putting it a bit harshly but the fact still stood that they were one of the more demonstrative couples at school. If Kurt didn't know better, he'd say that Rachel was rubbing his face in it but then she probably wasn't even aware of how it might be affecting him.

It would certainly be hard for her to tell, seeing as how Kurt had been avoiding both her and Blaine for the past week. Blaine, because the whole business with the rose confused Kurt a lot more than he'd let on at first. Rachel, because he was pissed at her for turning everything upside down but mostly because, loathe as he was to admit it, he was beginning to think she was right in doing so.

It all came back to the rose. The Blaine that had talked to him that day was not the same one Kurt had ever seen on his television screen. There had been a vulnerability to him that seemed entirely too real. Not to mention the tension between them that he was pretty sure had never existed between Bud Parker and his best pal.

Still, Kurt had never liked admitting he was wrong and he wasn't even entirely sure yet that he had been. Until then, he was avoiding Rachel unless she came and apologized to him.

So what if that left him lonely and miserable? He was used to it by now.

---

It had been a fantastic week. After her first, admittedly chaste and incomplete, foray into teaching sexual education, Rachel found she had a kind of influence over her peers she could only have dreamed of back home. They came to her if they had questions and emulated her. It was an enormous power to hold but one Rachel was fully confident she could handle.

The universe had even rewarded her for her good deeds with a charming and handsome boyfriend, one who listened intently to everything she had to say.

They stood in the hallway, exchanging their usual morning greeting when Blaine pulled away. Rachel held back a sigh of frustration. He always pulled away first. How often did she need to tell him that he didn't have to stop on her account?

"Have you talked to Bud?"

Also a part of their usual morning greeting, sadly.

"No, I haven't," she said. "I told you, I'm waiting for him to come talk to me. Bud needs to figure some things out but once he does and he comes to apologize, I will be waiting with arms wide open."

It was the same answer she had given him four times already and every time, he looked more and more unsure.

"I just want him to feel all right again," Blaine muttered.

Rachel bit her lip and even she had to admit she felt guilty when Blaine put on those puppy eyes. "How about I give him the rest of the school day and if he hasn't come talk to me by then, I'll go to him." She smiled. "We can go visit him at the Soda Shop and make a date out of it."

Blaine smiled back so radiantly, it put the sun to shame.

---

Getting a hold of Kurt proved surprisingly difficult. The Soda Shop was, if anything, even more packed than usual and Rachel and Blaine couldn't find a single empty booth, forcing them to share with Peggy Jane and her date. When Kurt came to take their orders, he barely spared them two glances and didn't even look up to meet Rachel's eyes.

"I'll be right back," Rachel whispered to Blaine. "Stay," she added when it looked like he might follow.

As she squeezed through the crowd, Rachel couldn't help but feel proud at what she saw. Mr. Johnson's Soda Shop was without question the most colorful place in town - the jukebox being the biggest item that was in complete technicolor. The music playing was also different than it had been a week ago. Instead of doo-wopping, mid-tempo ballads by artists Rachel had never heard of, there was Little Richard, Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly. It felt wonderful, seeing what the rest of Pleasantville had the potential to be.

Finally, she reached the counter. She frowned when she saw no one there.

At that moment, Kurt came swooping from the back and addressed the crowd en masse: "I'm sorry, there's some problems with the, uh, grill. Your orders will be a few minutes late."

When he saw Rachel standing there, he rolled his eyes but indicated for her to come behind the counter.

"What is it now?" he griped. "In case you hadn't noticed, I'm a bit busy at the moment."

Rachel frowned. "What happened? Where's Mr. Johnson?"

"He's in the back," Kurt nodded in the direction of the kitchen, "having some sort of mid-life crisis about not being able to paint when it isn't Christmas."

"What?"

"Exactly," Kurt exclaimed. "You know, this kind of stuff didn't happen before. Everyone in Pleasantville was happy with their jobs."

Rachel could feel her anger flaring up. She'd come here to tell Kurt that she was ready to accept his apology but if this was how he was gonna be, then fine. "So, what, you want to deny this man a regular creative outlet? He's a person, Kurt, not a hamburger making... machine." She clenched her jaw. "I thought giving you some space would make you see things my way but you're clearly beyond redemption."

"Rachel-"

Rachel held up her hand, determined to have the last word. "I thought you of all people would be on board with this. You should know well enough how painful it is when people tell you that you can't be yourself."

With that last triumphant remark, she swirled around and stormed off into the crowd, ignoring the guilt weighing at her heart.

Because Kurt, ice queen Kurt with his nerves of steel and impenetrable mask of indifference, had looked hurt.

---

He hadn't meant to snap at her, he really hadn't, but Rachel just made it so easy. Although maybe she hadn't been entirely to blame this time. Kurt had been feeling stressed and his fuse was already short, even before Mr. Johnson's sudden bout of ennui. Being at odds with Rachel felt a lot worse here than it might in the real world because here, she was all he had.

And wasn't that a depressing thought.

Kurt made the decision to close the shop early that night and Mr. Johnson was only too happy to go along with it. They could both use a bit of a break from flipping hamburgers.

On the short walk home, Kurt couldn't help but think back on Rachel's words.

He didn't like that she'd tried to use his own past issues against him (tried and succeeded, if he was being perfectly honest with himself) but she was still right. Mr. Johnson deserved better than to be pigeonholed by some teenager who had far too much influence on his life. They all did.

God, and Kurt might as well come out right now and admit that he had been wrong, but he was still hurting after his last argument with Rachel. There was also the fact that once he conceded that Rachel had been right, he would have to do something about it. He would have to teach the people of Pleasantville how to live properly and how could he do that if he himself had barely been surviving for the past few months?

It was almost a relief to enter the Parker house. Kurt planned on going right to bed and shutting off his brain for the night but before he could go upstairs, Betty came out into the hallway.

"Home so soon?"

"Why are you always here?" Kurt huffed in frustration.

Betty looked taken a back by the question. "Where else would I be, sweetheart?"

She said it quietly, almost sadly and Kurt could feel himself deflate instantly. "Nevermind," he mumbled.

Betty grabbed his shoulder and squeezed it softly, feeling his forehead with her other hand. "You're looking a little under the weather. Have you been eating properly?"

It was almost too much for Kurt to take, this motherly concern. She reminded him a bit of Carol but whereas she looked at Kurt and saw a stepson, Betty just saw him as her son.

To his horror, Kurt could feel himself tearing up and he quickly blinked. "I'm fine."

Betty looked him over for a moment. "If you're sure," she finally said.

She looked at a loss for what to do and that helped Kurt pull himself together for a moment. She saw him as her son, yes, but he wasn't. He was infinitely more complicated than her son and she was way out of her league in trying to understand him. Hell, Bud probably hadn't cried since he was a newborn. He'd never had reason to.

"I am," Kurt assured her. "I just need some sleep."

"Oh." Betty's lips twitched in an attempted smile. "Well, goodnight then, darling."

"Good night."

Kurt made it to the second floor before his eyes began to water again. He could hear George call down the hallway, "Goodnight, champ", but he didn't even attempt to answer.

He missed his dad. He missed his friends back at McKinley. Hell, he even missed the slushies. At least they were in color.

More than anything, though, he missed his mom. He closed his eyes and tried to remember how she smelled but all he could come up with was Betty's flowery perfume.

He needed to make up with Rachel, before he lost his mind. First thing tomorrow.

---

First thing tomorrow turned into after first period, which turned into after second period and then during lunch. But come lunch time, Kurt found himself wandering around the school library, idly reading the book spines and hoping that something would catch his interest. It seemed a lot safer than the alternative.

He turned a corner and almost jumped with fright when he saw Blaine standing there, leaning against the shelves.

"You scared me," Kurt said, hoping to come off as nonchalant.

Blaine opened his mouth as if to apologize, then closed it and visibly steeled himself. "You've been avoiding me."

"I've been avoiding Mary Sue," he argued. When Blaine continued to stare at him accusingly, he broke. "Maybe you too, a little bit."

"Why?" Blaine asked.

Kurt smiled self-depreciatingly. "I'm just being stupid. Mary Sue and I had an argument and I can't admit that she was right."

"And me?"

"It's just..." Kurt threw up his hands in defeat, "really confusing."

"I don't understand," Blaine mumbled.

Kurt winced. "Neither do I."

There was a short silence.

"But," Blaine hesitated, "can't we still be friends? I miss you."

So this was what running over a puppy felt like. "We never stopped being friends," Kurt assured him. "I'm sorry if I made you believe that."

A smile broke out on Blaine's face. "So you'll talk to me again?"

Kurt nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

"And Mary Sue, too?" Blaine pressed on.

"Later," Kurt said, well aware that with such a vague statement he could probably get away with avoiding Rachel for another week.

It seemed good enough for Blaine. "What were you doing in the library, anyway?"

Kurt sighed, thankful for the change in subject. "It's a comfort thing. When I'm upset, I like getting lost in a good book."

"I've never really read any books," Blaine admitted.

Kurt started. "What? Never?"

"I would like to," Blaine said, a little defensively. "It's just, I've never thought about it before. No one reads books when they could be hanging at the Soda Shop or preparing for the big game."

"Oh." Kurt was stumped. "Well, I could recommend you something?" He looked around the shelves and spotted a title he'd never expected to see. He pulled it out and handed it to Blaine. "Like this."

"The Catcher in the Rye," Blaine read out loud. He looked up at Kurt. "I've never heard of it."

"You liked talking to Mary Sue about New York, right?" Kurt had to bite back a laugh when Blaine nodded enthusiastically. "Most of this book takes place there."

Blaine opened it and frowned. "But... is it supposed to look like this?"

He showed it to Kurt. The pages were blank. He grabbed it and Blaine allowed him, looking disappointed. "No, definitely not."

"Well, you could tell me about it," Blaine suggested.

Kurt flipped through it, beginning to end and then back to the beginning. It was all empty. "I don't remember all of it," he began. "It's about this kid named Holden Caulfield who runs away from his dorm and goes to New York-"

He let out a small gasp. Blaine followed his gaze down to the book in his hands. Words had begun to appear on the pages. Kurt flipped ahead. Most of the pages were still empty.

"More," Blaine insisted, his voice throaty.

Kurt could feel his face heat up and he nodded.

---

"Wow."

Kurt closed the book and stared down at the now red cover. At some point during the reading, both he and Blaine had ended up sitting on the floor. "Yeah."

"I mean... wow."

Risking a glance up, Kurt could see Blaine running a hand through his hair, looking flustered and out of breath.

'He looks like he just - no. Not going there.'

"I - I need to go," Kurt said, slowly, talking more to himself than Blaine. "I need to go apologize to Mary Sue."

He made to stand up but was stopped by a hand on his knee. He stared wide-eyed at Blaine, who drew his hand back immediately. "I just wanted to thank you."

Kurt laughed nervously and handed him the book. "Hold on to this for me."

"I will," Blaine promised, accepting the book and cradling it to his chest as if it were the world's greatest treasure.

---

Kurt ran into Rachel right outside the school.

"You were right," he blurted out before she could do more than open her mouth. "You were right and even though you were kind of a bitch about it, I'm still sorry for being so stubborn."

Rachel blinked a couple of times. "Well," she said. "While I don't appreciate being called names, I do admit that some of my blows may have been below the belt." She looked slightly pained. "So I'm sorry, too. Just know that I did it because I really wanted you by my side."

"You did?" Kurt asked, kind of hating himself for how happy he sounded.

"I've been floundering," Rachel admitted, now looking more than slightly pained. "I told myself that I was doing fine but the truth is, I can't do this alone. And if I had to have any one person help me," she paused and focused her gaze on the ground, "well, I'm glad it's you."

Kurt felt his heart swell. He knew how much this meant, coming from Rachel Berry. "I'm going to hug you now," he told her teasingly.

Rachel laughed and hugged him back, as fiercely as her small frame allowed. "Friends?" she muttered into his ear.

"Friends."