forget your troubles, happy days are here again / you better chase all your troubles away

[highf]

So here's what you missed on Glee:

After getting slushied in the face for years and dealing with Karofsky's bullying, Kurt's decided to take a few defense lessons from the Black Widow herself - ( "I... just wanted to say thank you, again, for letting me participate in this course, and how much I'm looking forward to future lessons. You kind of blew

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[madeofstories]

Grace simply adores Grease.

She's been waiting for an opportunity to wish Kurt a happy birthday, but instead Grace finds him on stage, which is as it should be, really. She doesn't expect him to point at her with a microphone and beckon her to the stage, but she wouldn't dream of declining, even if she's not the world's best singer, especially compared to Kurt.

Grace takes the proffered microphone, hopping up on stage with a grin before she joins in.

"You better shape up, 'cause I need a man, and my heart is set on you," she sings, even though she feels a bit silly for a moment, "You better shape up; you better understand to my heart I must be true."

[highf]

This is perfect. Absolutely perfect. There are some people at the party who don't know what it's like to play with a theme, people looking around with slightly overwhelmed expressions- if nothing else, Kurt is pretty sure that some of them are afraid of the shag carpeting, which may not be the most sightly in the world, but the clothes box at least had the grace of offering up the same shag vest fifty times to provide the material. Grace isn't one of them. From the very moment she stepped in, wearing an absolutely gorgeous dress, and with an expression that could certainly break hearts, Kurt knew that she was in for it all, the mafia theme, the drama.

So when she joins him up on stage, it's just perfect, the final touch to make this moment the best it can be.

"Nothing left, nothing left for me to do," he grins, grabbing her hand and guiding her around for a twirl, if only to display the wonderful dress she wears, and the ever-perfect balance she exhibits as the dancer she is. "You're the one that I want!"

[madeofstories]

Grace spins, completely caught up in the moment. Perhaps karaoke doesn't entirely fit with a mafia theme- she certainly can't imagine gangsters crooning like John Travolta and Olivia Newton John- but she decides that it doesn't matter. It's more a variation on a theme than a strict one.

And it certainly doesn't mean that she can't still get back into character once the song's over, playing the part of a covert assassin.

"Ooh ooh ooh, honey," she joins in, "The one that I want!"

[highf]

The song continues, and Kurt only finds himself further delighted upon realizing- as he should have from the start, really- that Grace needs no prompting from the lines crawling across the karaoke machine, instead losing herself in the moment, eyes delighted as she bounces around to the beat. On a whim, Kurt only reaches out for her hand, tugging her close and spinning her in the process, sure that she'll be able to follow, being one of the most talented dancers in their ballet class, and certainly calm and coordinated.

It throws the two of them into a frenzy that he's sure any performer would envy, steps clicking against the stage quickly, only heightening the energy of the room. By the time they sing the last line in unison, Kurt's cheeks are flushed, and a laugh barely manages to keep its way from the words. "You're the one that I want!"

Without pause, and holding himself in the same pose, he simply pulls the microphone away to confide. "Grace, seriously. I couldn't have asked for a better partner right then, wow."

[madeofstories]

"I could say the exact same thing," Grace replies, smile wide and bright, "What is Sandy without Danny Zuko?"

Her first thought is who she can tell first about this; that she's just sung a song from one of her all-time favorite musicals with Kurt from Glee, but she doesn't think it will really mean anything to anyone she knows on the island. Even if her friends from home were on the island, there'd be no one to tell- Rich used to threaten to inflict bodily harm upon his person if made to watch the programme, after all.

The thought of it might make her a bit sad if the moment itself hadn't been so very perfect.

[highf]

"Oh, believe me," Kurt replies with a dismissive wave of his hand, though his smile remains bright nonetheless, and each step of his seems to bounce from the residual excitement of the dance, the energy that lingers from the shot of adrenaline. "Olivia Newton-John, not quite as much as she's cracked up to be anymore. Or maybe I'm just bitter at our cheer coach ruining this perfect image that I had of her from her prime, tainting it instead by turning 'Physical' into some kind of aerobics exercise duet. Point is, I'd pick you over her any day."

Mentally entertaining the idea of what it'd be like to have someone like Grace as part of New Directions (and wondering, still, if it would be at all pointless to wrangle a group together for an island glee club), he turns to lead both of them to the bar, holding a hand to steady her after he's hopped off of the stage, himself. "Anyway, I don't know about you, but I am in desperate need of rehydration. Drink of choice?"

[madeofstories]

Grace's expression wrinkles into a frown as she remembers that particular episode. Perhaps Sue Slyvester's rendition of the classic song had been a bit strange, but she'd definitely preferred it over the horrible version of 'Ice, Ice Baby' that had happened in that same hour.

Her frown softens and turns into something more like a smile, though, at his confession. She's not the world's best singer, by a long shot, but at least she's decently okay.

"I think I'll stick with just champagne," she replies, and while she's aware that the Hub has a lot more to offer, it's not really that type of party. Even if mobsters might be more likely to drink whiskey or martinis, "It wouldn't do to have too much before the game, after all."

[highf]

"Very strategic choice," Kurt complimented, though he allowed himself a playful grin in her direction as he lightly shook his head, reaching behind the counter while Ianto and Ishiah both seemed occupied, and pulling out the bottle to pour Grace a drink. "The effects of champagne do seem to wear off faster for me, too, than other drinks, even the mixed ones. Though I don't know how successful it really is at rehydrating. Then again, chemistry is not my strongest subject by far."

Pouring a tall flute of champagne, Kurt holds it out for Grace with a widening smile. "Think I'll look far less intimidating if all I have's a glass of water?"

[madeofstories]

"Of course not, but your secret can be safe with me, if you'd like," is Grace's reply as she takes the flute of champagne and takes a sip. The art of surprise is especially important in games like the one they're going to play a bit later, and Grace thinks that Kurt should take every advantage that he can.

"Do you know, I read somewhere that Frank Sinatra never really drank at his own parties either."

[highf]

"I think I've read something along those lines, and frankly- no pun intended- I'm not too surprised. I mean, the whole idea of Frank Sinatra is just that, he... made something out of himself, almost a phenomenon, from that persona that he showed other people. A gentleman, a romantic. In truth, he was actually quite troubled, according to the accounts of those he was close to," Kurt sighs, tilting his head. "I imagine that drink would only have made it worse."

With a small grin, he takes up his glass of water. "But I guess all the more reason to pay homage to a man who really weathered through a lot. Most classic icons definitely made it to that status for a reason."

[madeofstories]

"It was more about image than anything else back then, I suppose," Grace guesses, and there's an almost wistful quality to her voice as she speaks. It's not the first time that she's wished that she could have been alive back then, that she could have met some of the people back then.

Maybe not Sinatra, exactly, but Grace Kelly or Audrey Hepburn perhaps. It would have been amazing to meet either of them.

"He can't really be blamed for figuring it all out and using it to his advantage."

[highf]

"It's difficult to decide which is better, I guess. I mean, part of the reason why so many stars and celebrities are willing to come out with their problems nowadays is because the world is so much better informed about things like alcoholism, depression, and so forth, so for a celebrity to suffer from any of the above is human. Makes them relatable," Kurt guesses with a small shrug of his shoulders. And he knows this much, that he would never want to wish anything negative upon the stars just in an effort to have them shine. "I just feel that what we haven't found yet is, you know, the balance. Get people to care a little more about image, without making it impossible for them to find help when they need."

With a small grin, his eyes narrow. "Kind of a heavy topic for a birthday party, though."

[madeofstories]

"You're absolutely right, sorry," she replies, feeling awful for having lead the conversation in that direction. It's a direction that'll ultimately lead to talking about wonderful people like Frank Sinatra dying, and that just makes think of an article she found in a magazine recently about Amy Winehouse. Grace isn't sure that she's really ready to talk about that.

"Something else, then. What's your favorite musical? I think mine might be 'A Star is Born'."

[highf]

"Impossible," he shakes his head, pursing his lips tightly together with faint disapproval. "That is the absolutely most impossible question to answer. Depends on mood, depends on if you're asking about the plot, the music, the original casting, the overall impression left. I've tried asking myself that very question countless times over the years, and it's like Chicago and Les Misérables and Wicked keep on duking it out in my head. Although, I can tell you this much."

He sneaks a gaze in either direction, before confessing with a grin. "I think Cats is a bit overrated."

[madeofstories]

"I don't know, I don't really mind it," Grace says, and while she's never seen a live performance of it- she always wanted to see it in London, but was never able- the version that she's seen on DVD have always been fantastic as far as she's concerned.

There's a moment where Grace becomes incredibly aware of the fact that she's named a film while all of his choices are stage plays, and she feels as if maybe she should go back and change her answer. But he doesn't seem to have judged her for it, at least on the outside.

"Right now, then," she says, with a grin, "What's your absolute favorite right now? And Grease doesn't count."

[highf]

"RENT," Kurt answers without a pause, before he quickly scans the party, worried that Roger Davis might be waiting somewhere in the wings. He doesn't think that Roger would; it's not really his type of scene. Still, Roger's somewhere on the island, after all, and seemed kind enough, tolerant of Kurt's burgeoning excitement over first spotting the guy. "Which... may be more a result of the fact that Adam Pascal's face is running around the island twice over. Like, how are you supposed to turn that down? Chess might have worked itself up a little more if I didn't know that Josh Groban's kind of, well. He was none too kind to the glee club when we met him."

His smile widens as Kurt tilts his head back and forth. "But RENT, definitely. Might change once I actually manage to find a few musicals on the bookshelf; there are many I haven't seen for months now, which is just unacceptable."