The Ghost and Mr. Hummel (7/9)
Kurt happily opened the door to his room, a wide grin on his face. Flicking the volume of the TV down, Dave looked up from his crossword puzzle, noting the huge smile on the other boy’s face.
“What’s up with the face? Did the school explode?”
“No,” started Kurt, “but I asked Blaine to go to the prom with me and he said yes!”
“Oh,” said Dave. “Why do you want to go to prom?”
“Because it’s a part of the teenage experience?” Kurt walked over to his closet, and pulled out a sparkly pink suit. Wrinkling his nose, he pulled it out to show Dave. “Too flashy?”
“Just a little,” said Dave, eyeing the sequins. “Anyways, what’s so great about it? You don’t think it’ll be dangerous to go to prom with a guy?”
“It shouldn’t be, as there will be chaperones, and besides, why would it matter to anyone? They’ll all be having too much fun to mess with me and Blaine,” argued Kurt. He pulled out another item, and his eyes lit up. “Close your eyes, I’m going to try something on.”
“I thought we discussed I don’t need to close my eyes-“
“Hush, it’s for a surprise, now close them!”
Dave complied, closing his eyes, then hearing the rustling of clothes. “I just think it might not be safe for you guys to go, considering the jerks at school.”
“And I said I don’t agree.” Dave would have rolled his eyes if they were open. They conversed back and forth for half an hour, Dave twiddling his thumbs while he listened to the game on television.
“You do realize that no matter what you say, I’m going to prom, right?”
Dave sighed, his eyes still closed. Kurt had ordered him to do so since he started working on his project, which he assumed was his prom outfit. Dave had listened-well, sort of, he looked out of the corner of his eye to catch the touchdown on the TV. “Yes, I realized that because you are as stubborn as your dad, who mastered the art from a bull.”
“I would smack you if I could,” grumbled Kurt, fussing with the cuff of his suit. “You’re lucky for that, comparing me to beef.”
“Well,” Dave drawled, “If you want to get into the nitty gritty details of human flesh versus a cow’s-“
“No- no, no, no, that’s alright! Anyways, I’m pretty much done; you can open your eyes.”
Dave opened his eyes with a huge grin, ready to gross Kurt out, only to change his mind. Dave knew that he must look like a gaping fish then, but he was a bit too preoccupied with Kurt and his outfit, and completely stunned. “That’s… Wow, Kurt.”
“You like it?” Kurt spun, causing the kilt to swirl around his bare legs. “I haven’t found the proper leggings to go with the outfit yet, but this is what I have so far.” Dave’s eyes lingered on Kurt’s strong calves for a moment before looking up to the tuxedo jacket.
“It’s really cool, Kurt.” Dave stood up, walking over to stand in front of Kurt. He looked down into Kurt’s eyes and smiled. “Very you.”
Kurt dimly thought that Dave had thick eyelashes, making his eyes stand out with their golden brown hue. He felt as if he were being sucked into Dave’s presence, and moved closer. But a blast of cool air woke him up, and he moved away again. Kurt fidgeted, plucking at a loose thread. “Thank you Dave. I should probably take this off to work on it.”
“Uh, yeah, sure,” replied Dave. “Mind if we switch the channel to college basketball? I have to know who wins.”
Kurt laughed, amused. “Sure, Dave.” Kurt walked over to the TV and switched to the roaring crowd after a slam dunk. “My dad thinks I’m going crazy, watching sports. I just tell him I’m trying to understand when Finn and Blaine talk.”
“Still dating Blaine then?” Dave’s voice was gruff, almost sulking and petulant.
“Yes,” lied Kurt quickly, “I am, hence why I’m going to prom. Do you really think I would go alone with all of those couples?” Kurt pinned a cuff, and looked over at Dave with a smirk. “Otherwise, it would be pretty depressing.”
“I thought Kurt Hummel was fabulous enough to do anything?” teased Dave, wiggling his eyebrows.
“We both know that, but what’s the fun if there’s no one to share the fabulous with?” Kurt posed, tilting his neck in mock arrogance.
“Right, right, how could I forget Mr. Fabulous? That’s why I’m here, clearly.”
Kurt stuck out his tongue, feeling giddy enough to be childish. “Yes, clearly.”
Setting down the kilt on his bed, he looked down at the beginning of his outfit, pondering what else he should do. Feeling eyes on him, he tilted his head up to see Dave looking at him, concerned.
“Just promise me you’ll be safe, okay?”
Kurt smiled assuredly at Dave, and said, “I promise.”
The night had finally arrived, and Kurt was so excited to have one of his high school dreams come to life. He wasn’t exactly going with the man of his dreams, but he loved Blaine in a different way. Getting to spend this evening with him would still be wonderful, and he couldn’t have asked for a more courteous person to go to the dance with him. As they took photos by the fireplace and Blaine’s hand fell delicately on his waist, he felt like the night couldn’t go wrong.
“Dad, you don’t have to stay up, Finn and I can let ourselves in tonight!” said Kurt. Kurt felt his arm getting stiff after standing in the same pose for the past half an hour, taking prom photos much to the delight of Rachel, and the dismay of the rest of the prom-goers.
“If you say so, but don’t blame me if you forget your keys,” teased Burt. “Now one last photo of all of you and we’ll release you.” The last flash lit up the mantle.
“Finally!” exclaimed Finn. He pulled on Rachel’s hand, dragging her toward the front door. “Let’s get out of here before they take any more.”
“Wouldn’t be worst thing in the world, we didn’t get to my behind-the-shoulder look!” said Rachel indignantly.
Blaine and Kurt looked at each other and rolled their eyes, grinning. “Same old Rachel,” said Kurt.
“Well, this is a special night,” argued Blaine. He took Kurt’s hand and gazed up into his eyes. “A special night I get to spend with you.”
Kurt smiled, and said, “Oh, you’re cheesy, but I like you too much. Let’s enjoy tonight, okay?”
“Sounds like a plan,” said Blaine with a smile.
Kurt smiled back, but his thoughts were elsewhere. Thinking about his prom, he wished that Dave could be a physical person for one day. It reminded him of Casper - the last movie he’d watched with Dave. The way he whispered “can I keep you?” after their one and only dance together had been haunting Kurt’s dreams ever since.
But unlike Casper, there was no supernatural fairy godmother there to make his prom night be what he wanted it to be, to give him that one dance with Dave, if only to hold him for a few minutes.
For now, he would enjoy his junior prom to the fullest, with one of the best friends he could have ever asked for. The night was going to still be amazing, a night he would always remember.
When Kurt got home that night, Dave saw a very downtrodden young man walk into his room. Eyeing the crown and scepter, Dave asked “What, did you steal the Prom Queen’s crown?”
“I was the Prom Queen,” Kurt said softly. He walked over to the bed and promptly flopped on it. After a moment, he yelled into the comforter.
Dave went over, and sat on the bed. “What happened?”
Kurt turned over, his cheeks wet. “McKinley thought it would be funny for the gay kid to add another tiara to his collection.”
“So they haven’t changed, I see,” muttered Dave.
“Not much.” Kurt looked up at Dave from his comforter, and Dave had never seen his eyes so blue before. “Why are people so cruel?”
Dave sighed. “Who knows. Probably because they think their life sucks so everyone should be like them. Rude of them, if you ask me.”
Kurt chuckled. “Yes, rude of them to rain on my parade.”
They sat there in silence for a while, just enjoying the company.
“Dave?”
“Yeah?”
“Could you sing for me? Anything really, I feel like Mr. Schuester who believes every problem can be fixed with a song.”
Dave licked his lips, an instinct he had whenever he was nervous. “Alright. But don’t laugh if I’m bad, okay?”
“I promise.”
Dave let out a sigh, trying to think of what to sing. But at the moment, there was only one song he could remember. He was going to slow it down, but it could work. “Child, don’t you worry,” he began, his voice cracking just a bit. He coughed and continued. “It’s enough you’re growing up in such a hurry. Brings you down, the news they sell you, to put in your mind that all mankind is a failure.”
Dave looked at Kurt, who was gazing up at him from his curled up position under the covers. He smiled and sang, “But nobody knows what’s gonna happen tomorrow-we try not to show how frightened we are.” He winked at Kurt, his pale face poking out of the covers, causing Dave to imagine a much younger Kurt listening to his mother sing. Even Kurt’s eyes began to close sleepily like a young child as he rubbed the back of his hand to his eyes. “If you let me, I’ll protect you, however I can.” Kurt smiled, rubbing a tear from his face before snuggling a little closer to Dave’s thigh.
“You’ve got to believe,” Dave sang quietly, “it’ll be alright in the end.” He skipped to the end, realizing his audience’s eyes were completely shut.
“We’ve got to believe it’ll be alright my friend-so don’t let go,” Dave crooned, concluding, “Unless we believe it’ll be alright again.”
By the time he was done singing, Kurt was asleep, clutching the scepter. Dave gazed at the reddened cheeks and felt such anger that those kids would do this to Kurt. But at least Kurt was stronger than he was. With that thought, he flicked off the light and quietly lay next to him on the bed.