You Drive Me Crazy || Sam Evans

53. Choke

"Let your mind start a journey through a strange new world. Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before," Kurt sang, weaving dramatically through the many flickering candles. His Phantom of the Opera cape billowed behind him as he swayed, pausing to gesture for Tina—wearing her Christine wig—to step forward.

"Let your soul take you where you long to be," Kurt continued, dramatically as Artie rolled out behind him, leaving a trail of thick fog in his wake.

"Let your dream begin. Let your darker side give in to the power of the music that I write. Help me make the music of the night." Kurt finished with flair, placing his hands gently over Tina's.

"Fantastic! I loved it!" Blaine cheered, standing up and clapping enthusiastically. Beside him, Melanie offered a less enthusiastic clap, her expression uncertain.

"I don't know..." Kurt muttered as he pulled off his mask, his brows furrowed in frustration. "My entire future is riding on this audition. It has to be perfect. What if I sequin my cape? Or sing it in German? Or... do it in the nude?" He began pacing, his voice rising with every suggestion.

"What?" Blaine asked, his face scrunching up in disbelief.

"I'm serious! I've always been ahead of the curve, and my audition needs to show that! Right now, it's... it's too safe, too predictable. It's boring—I'm bored!" Kurt exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air dramatically.

"I think you're overthinking it," Blaine offered gently.

"I don't know. It is a little..." Melanie tilted her head from side to side, as though weighing her words carefully, before finally admitting, "basic."

Kurt turned to her, wide-eyed, pointing with a horrified expression. "That's it—it's basic! I'm basic!"

"You have, like, over fifty candelabras. How is this basic?" Blaine countered, gesturing to the extravagant setup with a bemused look.

"Excuse me," Tina interrupted, raising a hand. "My foot fell asleep. I can't feel it at all. Can I go walk it off?"

"Yeah, sure, sure. Just don't go far," Kurt waved dismissively, still lost in his own thoughts. "And thanks," he added quickly. Tina gave him a quick nod and a smile before walking off, while Blaine and Melanie offered her small waves in return.

"Okay," Kurt sighed, resuming his pacing. "I'm starting from scratch. I need something fresh. Something edgy. Something completely unpredictable. Or maybe... I just need more candles."

"No," Melanie blurted out hurriedly, shaking her head.

"Oh, God, no. No more candles," Blaine muttered under his breath, earning a huff from Kurt, who turned to glare at the sea of flickering lights.

˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗

Melanie covered her eyes with one hand, the other clutching Artie's forgotten chemistry paper as she cautiously pushed open the door to the boys' locker room. "Please have clothes on, please have clothes on," she muttered under her breath. She was entering unfamiliar territory. Sure, she'd been here once before—back when Karofsky had chased Kurt—but that was different. The place had been empty then, not packed with sweaty high school boys doing whatever sweaty high school boys do.

"Mel?" Sam's voice cut through the noise, making her freeze mid-step. He frowned as he saw her peeking in hesitantly. "What are you doing in here?"

Still covering her eyes, Melanie held out Artie's paper with her free hand, waving it around blindly. "Artie left his chemistry paper in the choir room," she explained, her voice slightly muffled by the hand shielding her face.