Je ne t'attendais pas (3/?)
Untitled #2 - Revolver
Don’t know many people in this town,
I don’t care, I’m hardly settled down,
Anyone can see,
I’m a stranger here,
Don’t have many reasons to have come,
To this place I’ve never been before,
I’ve walked along for days and took some time, to arrive,
Things get always better in the past,
But today, tomorrow, cannot last,
Anyone can see I’m a stranger here.
Two weeks after graduation, Kurt was ready to go to Paris. Rachel had insisted to take him to the airport and they were saying their goodbyes.
“Oh my God Kurt, you don’t even know how jealous of you I am right now. You’ll have to take, like, a thousand pictures everyday and we’ll set a Skype date at least every week!” she exclaimed, almost more excited than him.
“Yes I will, you’ve already made me swear twice!” Kurt said with a sigh, but still smiling fondly at her.
“Ok, now I guess we really have to say goodbye. So I wish you a very nice trip, send me an e-mail when you’ve arrived so that I know you didn’t die in a plane crash. Take care, and find yourself a cutie! You know how they say Parisians are all sweet and romantic…”
“I’m pretty sure that’s only a cliché but thanks I guess.”
“No it’s not! Anyway, I’m gonna hug you now.” This had become a tradition between them. In high school, Rachel had this strange habit to ask before she hugged people and even if she now knew it was fine to hug Kurt at any moment, she still asked, just like back then. She pulled him in a tight embrace. “I will miss you, Kurt. Don’t forget to come back!”
He chuckled. “Don’t worry, Rach, I would miss your craziness too much anyway!”
He reluctantly pulled back. “I really have to go, now. I’ll miss you, too.”
He kissed her on the cheek and went away. By the time he passed the boarding gates, he was freer than he had in weeks.
He slept during most of the flight but woke up just before the landing and he had the pleasure to have a beautiful aerial view of Paris in the morning sunlight. Not that one could see much from the plane, it was mostly the fields around Paris than the town, but it was still dreamy.
“Nous n’allons pas tarder à atterrir, il est actuellement 9 heures du matin à Paris et la température extérieure est de 24 degrés Celsius. Nous vous souhaitons un bon séjour sur place et vous remercions d’avoir voyagé en notre compagnie.”
Oh, how French sounded nice… He had understood the announcement but he had no idea how to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit, so he was thankful for the announcement in English that followed and informed him that it was 75 degrees outside. That was very good; he would be able to enjoy his first day in Paris just chilling on a café terrace or something.
It took about three hours to go to the hotel, between the waiting time for the luggage, the waiting time for the cab, and the time for the journey from the airport to the hotel, so Kurt was very pleased when he finally arrived. The receptionist told him that he had to wait until 2pm for his room to be ready, so he decided to go eat something in a nice café. According to his guidebook, he was right between le Marais (the gay district) and la Bastille (the former artisan area) so he decided to go to place de la Bastille first.
The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and even the sky was a different shade of blue than back home. He strolled, taking the time to properly look at the 19th century buildings with their lovely wrought-iron balconies. When he finally arrived on the place, he was stunned. Of course he recognized the column overhung by the golden genius he had seen in so many pictures and movies, but it was not quite like he had imagined. It was so crowded and just very lively. It was perfect.
He decided to stop in the Café des Phares, which was a literary café (he had seen that in the guidebook). He took a seat outside to properly enjoy the view and he was looking at the menu when he heard a well-known voice coming from his left side.
“Well well… If it isn’t Kurt “gayface” Hummel!”
Kurt turned very slowly towards the person next to him and sighed deeply when there was no doubt who that smirky face belonged to.
“Sebastian Smythe. What are you doing here?” asked Kurt, already annoyed. It was more an acknowledging of his presence than a genuine question, really. He didn’t want to know anything about Sebastian’s life.
“I’m happy to see you, too! Did your years in New York make you forget your manners? I’m sure this well-groomed hobbit of yours wouldn’t be too pleased about that! Speaking of which, he doesn’t seem to be attached to your hip anymore. Or did he become so tiny you can now put him in your pocket?”
He grinned like a Cheshire cat, clearly satisfied with himself.
“I thought it would be clear, even for someone with a poor level of understanding of relationships like you that things can change in four years. I’m not with Blaine anymore.”
“Well, that’s interesting. Yet, these four years have done you good! You finally understand that the women’s clothes section is not for you, don’t you?” Sebastian asked, in a tone that was more playful than offensive.
“Just, go away Smythe. I would like to enjoy my first day here without being bothered by the unwanted presence of some high-school acquaintance.” Kurt said with a tired voice.
“Oh, this is your first day here!” Sebastian’s grin grew wider. “You probably don’t know what to do tonight, do you? Wanna come see me perform with my band? I’m sure you miss my voice and my incredible stage presence more than you want to admit.” He wrote something on a piece of paper and handed it to Kurt.
La mécanique ondulatoire, 9pm.
Be there ;)
“I’ll see you tonight, then.” He said, leaving the money for his coffee on the table before he started to go away. He was obviously walking slowly so that Kurt would check him out. And that worked! Kurt was definitely enjoying the sight. Of course, Sebastian chose this moment to turn around and wink at Kurt. His ego was definitely proportional to his beauty. But he was actually gorgeous; there was no denying it. And his arrogance was kind of sexy. Kurt stopped his train of thoughts when he remembered this was Sebastian Smythe he was thinking about. He shook his head and called the waiter to order a “salade niçoise”. He put the piece of paper in his pocket, knowing he wouldn’t need it.
After his meal, he headed back to the hotel to take a nap; time difference really was a bitch. He woke up a few hours later. He took the time to tidy up his stuff, open his laptop, check his facebook and send an e-mail to Rachel and his dad to assure them he had arrived without problem.
By the time he was finished, it was 8 pm and he definitely wasn’t tired enough to grab dinner and go to bed. The thought of Sebastian’s show was resting somewhere in the back of his head. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all? He was going to sing so it wasn’t like they were going to spend time together; it would just be a nice first night out. At least he knew the music was going to be good! He could just take a look. No one could force him to stay anyway. BILLET PRÉCÉDENT BILLET