Outside, I jogged down the street and the tears finally started to fall. I was angry at Sebastian for playing me, but more so I was mad at myself for letting him. How could I have been so stupid?
Pretty soon I couldn't run anymore, even at my slow pace. I just wasn't an athlete. Sighing frustratedly, I realized I had no clue where I was or how to get home. My phone started buzzing in my back pocket.
Fantastic. A call from Sebastian. There was absolutely no way I could answer him right now, furious, out of breath, and crying. I hit decline.
As much as I really needed a ride home, I didn't want to call my dad. He's such a great guy, and me going to this school meant so much to him. I just couldn't bring myself to tell him how much everything just sucked right now. I couldn't disappoint him. The only other person I could think of is Rachel.
I called her and she picked up on the first ring.
"Hey you! What's up?"
"Um, Rach, are you busy?" I said, trying to make my voice not sound like I was crying.
"No. Why? Are you ok?"
"No. No I'm not ok. Could you pick me up here? I... I don't have a ride and I just can't ride with Sebastian and I'm just so fucking stupid and-"
"Okay okay, slow down Kurt. Where are you? What happened? Who's Sebastian?" She said sounding worried.
I tried taking a breath. "I don't know where I am." I said. "Give me a minute, I'll figure it out."
"Okay. I'm getting my jacket now and then I'll pick you up. We can get ice cream."
I smiled a little. I don't care what everyone at school said about her, Rachel was pretty okay. She was there when I needed her. Like right now.
"Thank you. You're the best."
I hung up and opened my 'maps' app. The little red dot said I'm at Laurel Estates. There's a little restaurant a bit farther down the street, and behind me I could see the big neighborhood Sebastian's house was in. Taking a few deep breaths, I told myself that I wasn't going to cry anymore. Crying is stupid and not me. I had gotten through years of bullying and harassment at McKinley, surely I could manage being played by some kid at Dalton.
But the thing is, Sebastian isn't just some kid. He was so different. He was so confident and amazing and gorgeous and smart and... manipulative.
My head hurt thinking about him again, so I tried to focus on other things. Like the fact that the sun is starting to go down and that I still haven't had dinner and that I'm far from home.
Taking back out my phone, I texted Rachel to tell her where I am. Then I picked up my bag and started walking towards the restaurant I saw earlier.
As I walked, I tried to clear my head. I didn't want to think about Sebastian, or how disappointed my dad would be that my first day was awful, or how mad I was at myself.
A few minutes later I found the restaurant. It looked decent, like a little Italian place that had probably been handed down a generation or two.
I went inside, breathing in the smell of pizza and the leather from the few booths lining the walls. All the seats were empty, surprisingly, I was their only customer. I picked the booth in the corner, just in case anyone else came in. I wanted to be alone.
A tall man with a round, rutty face came to my table.
"Hey kid! You got a date? She comin' soon? Didn't stand you up, did she?"
I rolled my eyes.
"Uh, no. No, I'm eating alone. Can I just have a water and a slice of cheese pizza?" I said.
The man nodded and left.
I took out my phone and the screen lit up. It was 7:00. There was no way I was going to be home by 8 like Dad wanted me to. Sighing, I opened Instagram and noticed I had a new follower and 3 messages.
sebastiansmythe01 started following you
Great. The messages were from him too.
sebastiansmythe01: Hey Kurt it's me. Are you ok? What happened? - 6:31
sebastiansmythe01: Did your dad pick you up yet? It's getting dark and I want to make sure you got home alright :/ Call me when you can -6:40
sebastiansmythe01: Look Kurt, I don't know what I did but I'm sorry. I was actually really enjoying your company so if I said something that upset you I'm so so sorry. Can you please call me? I'm getting worried - 6:56
I didn't know what to do. He seemed pretty sincere, but then again, he seemed pretty sincere this morning too.
But part of me wants to believe him, to stop jumping to conclusions. I mean, what if Mr. Marzock didn't say anything to him? What if Sebastian actually was just being nice and wanted to be my friend and cared about me? I suppose I can't know for certain. Maybe I should give him the benefit of the doubt.
I decided that I'm still in no shape to call him, but I can at least let him know I'm ok. He deserves that much.
khummel: I'm fine. Sorry, just wasn't feeling good.
The truth was I was far from fine, my head was spinning and my stomach was still in knots. But it's always easier to pretend everything is ok, at least for me. I know that's probably not healthy, but I'm just not good at expressing my true emotions. Not after being bullied relentlessly and having no one to turn to for help.
He replied right away.
sebastiansmythe01: Oh, glad to hear that. If you're feeling better, want to reschedule dinner at my place for tomorrow?
Fan-freakin-tastic. No Sebastian, I don't want to have dinner with you. Not now, not tomorrow, probably not any time soon. But I didn't want to tell him that. So I just left him on 'seen' and closed Instagram.
I ran my hands through my hair, realizing how tired I was. It was a long day at school, and, well, afterwards was even worse.
The man came back with my food and sat down on the other side of me.
"So, bad day?" He asked, eyeing me.
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, for starters you don't look good. You're face looks a little funny, like maybe you've been crying. Then you were on your phone and didn't look too happy about whatever you were seeing. Thirdly, your hair's a bit of a mess, and you just don't strike me as the kind of man who likes his hair to be messy. You've also been sitting over here sighing and taking deep breaths like you're mad or something." He gave a big sigh to demonstrate and continued. "Also you're here alone, and no offense, but boys your age don't often eat alone. And you haven't taken a bite of my pizza yet, and here, the pizza is so good that it's gone in a flash. So, bad day?"
I smiled a little. He pretty much got everything spot on. "Yeah, pretty bad."
"Well, what's troubling you? You can tell me, I won't judge." He asked, his eyes wide.
Normally I wouldn't pour my heart out to a complete stranger, but I figured talking to him would give me something better to do then sit here and cry.
"It's kind of a long story." I started. The man nodded and gestured for me to go on. "Today was my first day at a new school, Dalton Academy, maybe you've heard of it?"
"Ah, yes! Dalton, that's Donald Marzock's school! I know him. Donald and his two new sons, Sebastian and Seth are their names, come in on Fridays. Seth, the older one, he always brings this friend, Cooper is his name, Cooper Anderson. He's famous. Maybe you've seen him on the car commercial, you know the one? Anyways, but that Sebastian kid, if you ask me, he seems lonely. He's probably your age, maybe you two can be friends. You could keep him company. Real sweet family, the bunch of them. Anyways, sorry, I'll let you get back to your story."
I didn't know what to say. I obviously wasn't about to sit here and talk about Sebastian if this guy knew him.
Luckily, then the door opened and I heard someone come in. With my back to the door, I couldn't see them, but the chef I was talking to could.
"Hey! We were just talking about you! Come on over and sit down here, I got someone I wanna introduce you to Sebastian." He said.
My stomach fell for what felt like the millionth time tonight. Why on Earth did Sebastian just have to come here? My heart started pounding as I heard Sebastian walk towards the booth. I had no clue what to say to him or if I would even be able to look at him.
Sebastian rounded the corner, allowing us to see each other.
His eyebrows scrunched together, looking like a mixture of confusion and hurt. "Kurt? What, what are you doing here? Where's your dad?"
"Um... I'm going to leave you kiddos alone." Said the pizza man, eyeing us up and down uncertainly before disappearing into the kitchen.
Sebastian stood for a few more seconds, waiting for my answer, but he sat down realizing I don't have one.
We sat in silence, both of us unsure of what to say. I noticed Sebastian had changed out of his school uniform into a white hoodie, dark jeans, and sneakers. He had washed the gel out of his hair so that now it was sort of going every which way. Even as I sat here hating him, I have to admit, he looked really hot right now. And I couldn't help but notice he looks genuinely hurt and upset.
I decided to swallow my pride and be the first to say something. It's not possible to make a bigger fool out of myself then I already have.
"Hey." I mumbled, staring at the table.
"Um, hi. You ok? You look really sick." He replied, looking at me with one eyebrow slightly raised.
"I'm fine." I said, a little harsher then I intended.
Sebastian didn't say anything, just bit his lip and nodded.
After a few moments of silence, I took a small breath and decided to confront him, since sitting here in awkward silence obviously wasn't working.
"So, Sebastian, did your dad, or adoptive dad or whatever, did he... make you be nice to me?"'
Sebastian sighed. He sounded half relieved and half disappointed. "No, I mean, sort of, but no." He stammered. "This morning he told me that a new kid was transferring and that he wanted it to be a good first day for you. He thought that maybe you joining The Warblers would be nice, so that you would make some friends. So yes, this morning, when I texted you before school, that was his idea. But then when I saw you out in the courtyard, it changed." Sebastian's cheeks flushed.
I was confused. What did he mean it changed?
"What? Why, why did it change?" I asked.
"Well, I mean, you're different Kurt. You're not one of the stuck up rich-boy snobs like most of the other guys at Dalton. Plus," here Sebastian hesitated, his face getting red as he looked down at the table, "I thought you were cute."
Now my cheeks flushed. Sebastian, who's gorgeous, smart, and talented, thought I was cute? Does that mean that maybe, just maybe, I have a chance to be with him?
Sebastian continued, his face still a little red. "And the more I talked to you, the more I liked you. So I texted all the Warblers telling them that I wanted them to make your first day great. By lunch, you were all I could think about. So I took you to that cafe to eat and and invited you for dinner. That part was all me."
I processed the information for a second. So Sebastian actually liked me, he wasn't just pretending to be nice? And he thought I was different and... cute?
