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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[highf]

"Don't think I've had the pleasure," Kurt says first as he sits himself next to the girl bold enough to wear eggshell white to the Hub. While Kurt's done his best to keep the decorations relatively bright and innocuous alike, so that no person's outfit might clash completely with the surroundings, the mix of black and red has certainly kept the look dark on the whole; though he's glad to see someone who's chosen an outfit that stands out, he has to wonder if that was her intention at all.

If it's not, he figures, he can easily step aside. But as a host, how can he abide the fact that she's alone there at the bar, solitary, with nothing more than a drink in hand?

Nursing his own champagne flute still, he tilts his head at the girl with a pleasant smile. "A friend of Santana's, perhaps? Or a plus one? Either way, that dress is absolutely ravishing; I couldn't keep myself away."

[artemiodes]

Camilla beams at the birthday boy over her glass of champagne as he strides over. No, they've never met, but she knows who he is, for Francis has pointed him out before (and not without a certain tone in his voice that inevitably means trouble of the puppy dog pining sort -- really, the skew of the island's population was going to be bad for the poor boy's health at this rate). And though she is reserving judgment, one thing can be said: he does have taste, something that is sorely lacking around here.

She offers a light, cheerful laugh and bats her eyelashes winningly. "I wish I could take the credit, but good clothes are a matter of luck around here, n'est pas?" She nods towards a redhead across the room. "I came with Francis. That's okay, yes? I wouldn't want to be caught crashing."

[highf]

Although the qualities that the two share might only seem superficial to Kurt in the moment, there's something about the young woman that reminds him so heavily of Quinn back home. The way that she was, the way that she carried herself, before the whole debacle with Puck and her ensuing fall from grace. And if there's anything that Kurt has to admit about Quinn, anything that he hasn't had the chance to express since joining the glee club, it's the fact that her unflappable nature had been one of the things that he admired most in a student at McKinley, even if the rest of the picture wasn't nearly as ideal.

He hopes that this woman will prove a little more forgiving in the ways that Kurt only ever wished that Quinn was, but finding out that she's arrived with Francis already fills him with greater confidence (even in spite of the slight brush of dismay, wondering if he's gotten the wrong impression from Francis in a number of ways). "Oh no, ma chérie, this party is open to all who would enjoy a relatively quiet night of revelry. And

[artemiodes]

"Oh, believe me, I have no intention of getting splashed by anyone." Camilla's smile is knowing, even predatory, but for merely a fraction of a moment before it disappears in a laugh. "Oh, you do have taste. No wonder Francis likes you."

She sips her drink and smiles slyly. "So you're Kurt. Happy birthday." He look is appraising, curious. Francis has already mentioned the young man enough times to make Camilla curious. The boy did have an awful habit of going through crushes like water, and she wonders if this one has caught yet.

[highf]

"Does- oh, yes, Francis does have the best taste in clothing I've encountered yet on this island, or at least among the boys; let's make no remark about the fairer sex," he allows with a wide smile, trying his best to hide the flare of excitement that had risen in him at the thought of Francis liking him, liking him beyond the choice of clothes or the ability to linger on a pleasant topic of conversation. "Anyway, yes, I am Kurt. Thank you for the well wishes. And... I don't think Francis has ever mentioned you by name, miss...?"

His eyes linger on the mischievous curve of her lips for a moment, and perhaps that's enough to explain the connection between herself and Francis. The latter did seem like the type who'd enjoy a good war of the wits.

[artemiodes]

"Macaulay," she offers, a touch wry. She hates to think that she it is actually disappointment she feels bubbling inside her at the mention that Francis had not mentioned her, seeing as they are each others' only real friends on the island. She wonders darkly if he has mentioned her brother. Charles always does come first, doesn't he? "Camilla Macaulay. Francis and I went to college together back home."

[highf]

"Well, then it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Macaulay," Kurt smiles, warm and curious- feeling a little bit better, if anything, that she refers to herself as no more than a schoolmate. While Kurt hasn't pinned any high hopes on Francis, it'd be a lie to say that he isn't curious at all about the young man's preferences; he's done his best thus far not to assume either way. "Francis did tell me a touch about the college both of you went to. I'd only recently transferred to a private school, myself, before arriving here on the island, so I guess he gave me a little... background of his own. It's an experience I still haven't- or hadn't, I suppose- grown accustomed to."

[artemiodes]

"Oh, yes?" She raises an eyebrow with amusement. "So did he tell you about his boarding school in Switzerland where they did Jungian therapy on everyone, or the prep school in Connecticut where they played polo every Thursday afternoon?" When it came to the subject of expensive schools, few people outshone Francis Abernathy. The Macaulays might have been quite comfortable, but Abernathy wealth was far and away something different entirely, and she wasn't going to miss the opportunity to tease him about it, even by proxy.

[highf]

"I... wasn't aware that there'd been more than one," Kurt confesses, a slight amount of awe working its way into his words and expression alike. In some ways, he's glad that Francis never pointed out that he'd gone to so many prestigious schools; it makes the idea of Kurt being so impressed by Dalton feel a little silly in retrospect. His world only seems to look narrower and narrower with each person he meets.

It's not a bad experience to have, Kurt knows. But if nothing else, it's certainly humbling.

"I suppose I didn't even think about the possibility of transfer between boarding schools; I always figured the point was to find one that you were sure would be effective."

[artemiodes]

"Oh, I'm pretty sure it isn't normal," Camilla assured him with a dismissive wave of her hand. Something about that look of startled awe in the face of privilege reminded her of Richard, though Kurt made the look infinitely more charming. Her eyes twinkled. "His mother's a bit, mm, eccentric, and spent a lot of time dragging him around the world."

[highf]

Kurt wouldn't have called the tone deliberately dismissive, or malicious in the least, but there was something about the way that Camilla spoke which made the young teen take pause. Feeling a bit outclassed, he bit down on his lower lip, trying to decide just what there was to say about it all. He didn't know what it was like to be born into money, and frankly, Kurt didn't mind. Dressing according to his personal sense of style would have been easier, had his father made twice the amount he did, but what was the point in dwelling over something like that, which couldn't be helped? Kurt had only ever felt blessed to have as much as he did, with parents who had been more loving than money could ever buy.

Comforted slightly by it, his lips quirked. "I feel like there could be worse things than being dragged around the world," he admitted. "I've always longed for travel, myself."