You Drive Me Crazy || Sam Evans

14. Audition

"Kurt!" Melanie squealed, running to hug him after not seeing him the entire summer.

"Uh, I missed you," he said, squeezing her back tightly.

"I know! It feels like it's been forever," she added as they released from the hug.

"I still don't understand why you were so determined not to see anyone this summer," Kurt said as they walked into the school.

"Because I spent the entire summer working on me," she explained. "I've been meditating, working on breathing exercises to help with my anxiety, and I start every morning with affirmations. I started taking dance classes—I'm still not at Brittany's level, but I've gotten pretty good. I even went to the grocery store by myself and had a full conversation with the bagger and the lady behind me in line—without saying or doing anything that would keep me up at night afterward."

She beamed. "I haven't had a panic attack in two whole months!" She emphasized, holding up two fingers proudly. "The old, shy, invisible, mousy Melanie is gone. You're looking at the new and improved Melanie 2.0!" she finished excitedly.

Kurt smiled happily at her, giving her a high five. "Very proud of you," he praised.

"Thank you," she nodded.

"So, is Melanie 2.0 gonna be vying for any solos this year?" he asked, linking his arm with hers as they walked down the hall.

"Maybe! You may have some competition this year," she said playfully nudging him.

The two teens' upbeat mood immediately soured at the sight of JBI approaching. They quickly turned around, speeding up their pace to avoid the blogger, but to no avail, as he raced after them.

"When will you Glee clubbers accept the fact that people hate you and think you're nothing..." JBI began.

"I'm busy," Kurt interrupted, not bothering to turn around.

"...but a glorified karaoke club..." JBI continued.

"Go away," Kurt blurted.

"...designed to make the inventors of auto-tune millions of dollars?" JBI finished as Kurt rushed into the boys' bathroom.

"Wait, Kurt, I can't..." Melanie sighed as the bathroom door shut. "Go in there," she muttered under her breath. Slowly turning around, she found JBI's microphone shoved in her face.

"Why have you chosen to associate with the school's loser club on your first day, new girl?" he asked.

Melanie furrowed her brows. "What do you mean—Jacob, I'm in Glee club," she stated, receiving a blank stare from the ginger-haired boy. "I was here almost all of last year... You sat next to me during sectionals."

Jacob continued to stare at her before turning to the cameraman. "Do you remember her?" he asked. The cameraman shook the camera in response, indicating a 'no,' causing Melanie to glare at them, her mouth open in disbelief.

Kurt reappeared from the bathroom. "You know what, Jacob? It doesn't take much courage for people to park their cottage cheese behinds in their Barcaloungers, log on to the internet, and start tearing people down, does it?" he started. "But you know what does take courage? Standing up and singing about something. So here's a message for everyone who reads your blog: next time, instead of posting an anonymous comment online, say what you have to say to my face."

Before he could continue, a familiar sensation hit the side of Melanie's face as Azimio slushied Kurt.

"Welcome back, Lady!" Azimio laughed.

Melanie quickly wiped her face before rushing to help Kurt clear the slush from his eyes. Kurt put his hand on his hip, trying to exude a sense of aloofness despite the icy drink dripping from his face.