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The night after Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf closed and the set was struck, Kurt and Blaine packed their bags and headed to Los Angeles to visit Mercedes Jones, who was working on a new album with Atlantic Records.
“How ironic,” said Kurt, as they sat down together on the airplane, “that we have to fly to the Pacific coast to see Atlantic’s biggest star.”
Blaine giggled. “Silly. How much have you had to drink?”
“Not a thing, my love. I’m high on life.”
Blaine leaned his head back and settled into his seat. “Well, we’re off. We have a whole week of enjoying the sun and surf at the beach, fine food, and the excellent company of Ms. Mercedes Jones.”
Kurt sighed. “I can’t wait to see you in your swim trunks.”
“And out of them, I hope.” Blaine grinned wickedly as Kurt smacked him in the arm. “Ow. No character bleed anymore, George. The show is over.”
Kurt groaned. “Whatever. Just for that, you’re sleeping on the couch.”
Blaine tried pouting, but just then the flight attendant’s voice came over the loudspeaker to introduce the safety video, and the moment was lost.
---
Mercedes greeted them as they walked out of baggage claim.
“‘Cedes! It’s been forever and a day, hasn’t it?” Blaine dropped his bags on the concrete floor and wrapped her up in a giant hug. “How’s the new album coming?”
“We’ll have plenty of time to talk shop later,” Mercedes said as she pulled back from Blaine to hug Kurt. “Tell me all about you two and your wonderful New York life. I haven’t seen you in what, now, two years?”
“When were you last in New York? I forget. Jesse and Rachel’s wedding?” asked Kurt.
Mercedes reached for their bags, but Blaine intercepted her as they started walking towards the parking garages. “That’s right,” she replied, “and I haven’t been back to Lima in longer than that, not since my parents moved down to North Carolina.”
“We still see Dad and Carole every year for Christmas,” said Kurt. “Sometimes they come to us, and sometimes we go to them, but we haven’t missed a Christmas yet.”
“Did they come see your show? I heard all about it. I read all your reviews. You’d think you were Liz Taylor and Richard Burton come back from the grave, the way they talked about you!” she said enthusiastically as she held the door open so Kurt and Blaine could pull their bags through.
As they walked through the parking lot, they caught up on all the New Directions gossip. They put their bags in the back of her car, and Mercedes asked, “So, boys, what would you like to do while you’re here?”
Kurt and Blaine smiled at each other. “Absolutely nothing that requires energy. Maybe enjoy the weather and perhaps the ocean?”
“Perfect,” she replied. “We’ll stop off at my house and head out to Venice Beach.”
It took almost an hour to get to Mercedes’ gorgeous, redwood covered home through the LA traffic. As she pulled into the gated driveway, they marveled at the amount of land she had in an area so close to the ocean. When they could finally see the house, they noticed a deck above the garage. “That’s going to be your room,” said Mercedes. “The olive trees and orange trees keep the neighbors eyes away, even if they could see past the fence.”
---
The sun shone high in the sky, sparkling over the steel blue of the Pacific. The breakers were rolling in, rumbling in the distance, as Blaine took the opportunity to slather his husband in SPF 50 sunscreen before stripping off his own shirt and heading into the water. Mercedes and Kurt waded in the shallower waves, chatting about life, the universe and everything. They laughed at Blaine’s antics as he kept swimming out, attempting to body-surf back to the beach and going under every time.
It didn’t take long for them to decide they were hungry, so they left their beach chairs and blanket to hold their spot and walked over to the food sellers along the boardwalk. Along the way, they stopped to look at the artists and their wares.
“Mercedes, look at this scarf! Isn’t it gorgeous?”
“I’m not sure orchid is really your color, Kurt.”
“I meant for you, Beautiful,” he said. “This would look fantastic on you.”
Mercedes checked the price tag and winced. “Fifty dollars? Thanks, but no thanks.”
“You can take the girl out of the bargain shopping, but can’t take the bargain shopping out of the girl, huh?”
“I don’t mind spending money on quality, but that thing already has a run in it! It’s totally not worth it.”
Kurt grabbed the scarf to inspect it more closely. “How did I miss that?”
“I have no idea. You are losing your touch in your old age!” Mercedes teased.
Blaine was perusing the cart across the way during their exchange, and called out “Kurt! Check this out!”
Mercedes and Kurt set the scarf down and walked over. “What did you find, Honey?”
“It’s an original Polaroid OneStep! And they’ve got film for it, too!” Blaine looked at Kurt with puppy dog eyes. “Can I get it? It would totally fit in with my collection!”
“True, but would you even be able to find film for it anymore? This only has what, 15 pictures left?” asked Kurt.
“You can find anything on the internet, Kurt,” Mercedes interjected. “That’s really cool. How does it work?”
Kurt took out his phone to look for film options while Blaine showed Mercedes how the camera popped out a picture right away by taking a shot of her mugging for the camera. “Check it out! It’s vintage!”
“Be careful with that film, Blaine. It’ll cost us $1.69 per picture, you know!” Kurt was smiling indulgently, so Blaine knew he’d just gotten himself a camera.
They left the merchant with their new camera and moved on to the food carts down the path. They decided to try Jody Maroni’s infamous hot dog stand. Blaine selected a traditional bratwurst. Mercedes wanted to try their molé, and Kurt went with the italian. They all decided to split some chili-cheese fries. After grabbing their food and sodas, they made their way back to their spot overlooking the ocean.
After lunch, Kurt and Blaine waded a bit and stretched out for a nap. Before they could fall asleep, Mercedes asked, “I’m thinking about playing a pop-up concert this weekend. Would you guys be interested in backing me up?”
“Where?”
“I got a call from a friend who books the space at the Troubadour over in West Hollywood. Their Sunday night act cancelled, and they need a fill-in.” Mercedes set her drink down on the blanket, put her hands behind her and leaned back, looking out over the water. “You know I’ve done pop-up concerts before. I thought it might be fun if we did one together. What do you think?”
Kurt looked at Blaine. “It really could be fun, couldn’t it?”
“I think we’ve got a few duets up our sleeves.”
Mercedes squealed. “Yeeeesss! It’s a deal!” She pulled out her phone and opened the Twitter app.
Watch out LA! Surprise Cedes and guests coming Sunday. Watch this space for details #poppinup
They planned to stay late on the beach that night, and Kurt diligently reapplied his sunscreen every hour. Blaine made sure to help at every opportunity, slowly and thoroughly.
“Damn, boys. You’ve been married forever! Don’t those hormones ever give you a rest?”
Kurt grinned. “Nope. And might I just say, I hope they never do!” He leaned back onto Blaine’s chest, wrapped Blaine’s arms around his waist, and kissed him on the cheek. “What about you, ‘Cedes? Anything new in your love life?”
Mercedes sighed. “Nope. Nuff said.”
“Oh, c’mon. No dates? No text buddies?”
Blaine laughingly grabbed at her phone. “Let’s see who you’ve been texting.”
“Let’s not,” she said, holding her phone out of his reach. “Instead, let’s take some more pictures of you gorgeous boys before the sun sets.”
They used their new camera to snap a couple of photos of Blaine wearing the blanket they had brought, as well as of the beach itself; then Mercedes took several photos of them as they walked out into the water, the sun radiating orange and yellow as it set on the horizon. Finally, it got too dark to see, so they packed up and meandered back to the car.
The next morning, they woke up, showered together in the luxurious ensuite bathroom, and headed downstairs to find Mercedes almost ready to serve a delicious array of fresh citrus fruits and whole grain cereals. They joined her at the island between her kitchen and dining room, as they continued talking about their life together since they’d seen her last.
“I can’t believe your first fight was over something that ridiculous!” Mercedes threw her head back and laughed as they ate.
“What? It was a serious discussion!” protested Blaine.
Kurt grinned. “And I won, so all is well.”
Mercedes wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. “Fettucine Alfredo? As a kid’s name? For real?”
“We’ve been talking about that one for years! I still can’t believe that’s what Kurt picked as the name for the cat.”
“Blaine, it is the perfect name for her and you know it!”
“Still. I wanted the opportunity to have a ridiculous celebrity baby name, and now it’s that damn cat’s name.” Blaine turned his head to look at Mercedes. “And you know what else? That cat destroyed the vase you sent us as a housewarming gift when we moved back into the loft in New York.”
Mercedes giggled again. “How did Kurt even talk you into getting a cat anyway?”
Blaine blushed and looked down at his hands in his lap. “Umm, well . . .”
Kurt giggled this time. “Should I tell it?”
“Uh oh, I don’t know if I really want to know, now!”
“No, it’s not like that!” Blaine protested. “Mercedes, get your mind out of the gutter.”
“Well, excu-u-use me, boys, but let’s not forget who kept having to pull you two out of compromising positions,” replied Mercedes. “Remember Mr. Schue’s wedding to Miss Pillsbury? Who had to get you out of the backseat of that car?”
“That was one time, Mercedes.”
Kurt responded, “Don’t get her started!”
“Oh no you didn’t!” Mercedes leaned forward and put her elbows on the table. “Let’s talk about the back of the bus on the way to regionals. And sectionals. And invitationals. As if you two could ever keep your hands out of each other’s pants on the damn bus. And who asked to ‘borrow’ my room at nationals in Chicago, huh? I get off my sick bed to propel us to victory and you wanted to celebrate by defiling my sheets.”
Blaine tried to interrupt to apologize but she kept right on going.
“And how about all those duet ‘rehearsals’, huh? I had to learn to knock REAL fast if you all had the practice room signed out. Then, Blaine lived with me in New York for how long? Like I couldn’t hear you from every room in that damned apartment. Don’t you tell me it was only one time! Oh, hell to the no!”
Kurt sighed. “But it really wasn’t like that this time, ‘Cedes. Really. I promise.”
Mercedes whipped her head around to look at Kurt through narrowed eyes. “So, I ask again: how did you convince him to get you, and I quote, ‘that damned cat?’“
Blaine sighed. “I lost a bet.”
“You what?”
“I lost a bet.”
Kurt smirked over on his side of the table, and took a long sip of his coffee.
“What exactly did you bet on? Or is that another one of those things I don’t want to know about?”
“I bet him that I could make better pancakes than he does. Rachel was supposed to be the judge, along with Sam and Elliot. I didn’t think it was possible that I would lose. I mean, I made him breakfast in bed for the better part of a year.”
“So what happened?”
“I lost. I made my lemon chiffon blueberry pancakes. How was I supposed to know Elliot was allergic to blueberries?” Blaine looked positively stricken.
Mercedes snorted. “You didn’t think to ask?”
“NO! And Kurt didn’t volunteer that little tidbit, so he had an unfair advantage.”
Kurt interjected,“Hey now, just because I knew doesn’t mean I had to tell you.”
“Alrighty then, Mr. Slytherin. I would have told you if I’d have known.”
“That’s not my problem. Anyway, ‘Cedes, Sam felt so bad that Elliot couldn’t even try Blaine’s pancakes that he voted for mine because they were more equitable. Everyone could eat them. Of course, Elliot voted for mine as well, so it was two-to-one.”
“So you won a cat?”
“No, I won the right to whatever I wanted.”
“How was I supposed to know he’d pick a shedding furball and name it my favorite baby name?”
“Ha! You probably thought he’d pick a blowjob, am I right?”
Blaine grinned. “We-e-l-l . . .”
“I knew it! I knew there would be sex in this story!”
They all dissolved into laughter. They finished cleaning up their dishes and went back to the table to chat some more.
“So let’s talk songs for the Troubadour,” said Kurt. “What’s your set going to be like?”
“Well, the Troubadour is an epic venue, so I’m thinking a set of classics, with some of my newer stuff as well,” replied Mercedes. “A little Motown, a lot of R and B.”
“Where do you want us to fit in?” asked Blaine.
“Well,” said Mercedes, as she thought out loud, “I would love for you guys to join me on a couple of songs in the middle of the set. I’m going to start out with some Anita Baker, some Aretha Franklin, maybe some Sam Cooke . . .”
“Ooh, I love Sam Cooke!” said Kurt. “Blaine, love, do you remember that time you did ‘Bring it on Home to Me’ at Sam’s party?”
“Ooh, where was I?” asked Mercedes. “That’s one of my favorite songs!”
Kurt stood up to pour himself a cup of coffee from the pot as he replied. “It was after you went on tour with Beyoncé. We were still here in Lima until Nationals, and Sam threw a party for everyone who came back over Spring Break.”
Blaine handed Kurt his cup for a refill. “Mmm, thanks, hon.”
“So who all was there?” asked Mercedes.
“Puck and Quinn, Rachel, Mr. and Mrs. Schuester, us, Santana and Brittany,” Kurt replied, as he returned to the table and set Blaine’s coffee in front of him. “Also, Tina was there with her boyfriend at the time, there were a couple of other teachers from McKinley, and one of Blaine’s teacher friends from Dalton that Sam had a crush on.”
Blaine snorted. “God, I forgot about her! I remember singing ‘Uptown Girl’ to her senior year. It was so weird to be with her at a party a couple years later.”
“She was beautiful, though,” said Kurt.
“She was?” asked Mercedes.
Blaine replied, “Not as gorgeous as you, though, ‘Cedes.”
She retorted, “Damn straight!”
They all laughed.
“So, song selection?” asked Kurt.
“Well, if you guys wanted to, we could bring you up after I open with a few songs, and you could do a couple of songs yourselves. Then we could all sing a song together then and I can finish up the show.”
“That sounds cool, but what if we came up and finished the last song, like a grand finale?” asked Blaine.
“Or better yet,” thought Mercedes, “what if you joined me for the encore?”
“Excellent,” said Kurt, rubbing his hands together. “Let’s start thinking songs.”
They moved from the breakfast table into the living room so they could all sit side by side on the couch. Kurt sat in the middle with his laptop on his lap, and the other two looked over his shoulders at the Word document on his screen.
“So I usually start with ‘R-E-S-P-E-C-T’ to get things moving.”
“Ooh, yes. You nail that one every time,” Kurt said as he typed it into the document.
“Then I do the ‘Stronger’ mashup from senior year.”
“Still?” asked Kurt. “I can’t believe you still perform songs from Glee club!”
“‘R-E-S-P-E-C-T’ was my audition song, boy,” replied Mercedes. “Why would I stop singing good songs just because Mr. Schue put them on a set list? That’s ridiculous!”
“True, true. I wouldn’t stop singing The Beatles just because we did Beatles week for two weeks,” said Blaine.
Kurt elbowed him in the chest. “That whole week of the proposal was Beatles week. Every single one of those songs is a happy memory. If you stopped singing them, I’d kill you!”
“You guys should totally sing ‘Got to Get you into My Life’ as one of your songs. You’d kill it!”
“That would be way better than ‘Candles’” said Kurt.
“Hey now, that was the first duet we performed on stage,” said Blaine.
Kurt replied, “Yes, and we sang a break up song right after we got together.”
Mercedes threw her head back and whooped with laughter. “Oh my God, I forgot all about that!”
Kurt all of a sudden looked serious. “Do you remember the throwdown with the Warblers senior year?” asked Kurt.
“Of course! Blaine was almost blinded. How could anyone forget that?” replied Mercedes.
Blaine smirked. “You’ll never guess who we saw at the stage door for Virginia Woolf!”
“Who? That Trent kid?”
“Nope.” Kurt got an almost identical smirk to Blaine’s.
“That little girl with the big voice that tried to become a Warbler?” tried Mercedes.
“Jane? No,” laughed Blaine. “She came to see us backstage, like the rest of our friends.”
Mercedes smiled in triumph. “That Sebastian character didn’t actually show up at your show, did he?”
“He did!” exclaimed Kurt and Blaine at the same time. “We didn’t realize he was there until we left to go sign at the stage door. He waited near the back of the crowd, letting all the teenagers have their turn, and when we turned back to get into the car, he was on the other side of the barrier with a Playbill asking us for our autographs, ‘for old times’ sake.’ We signed, said ‘Nice to see you,’ got in the car and left.”
Mercedes looked at them in confusion. “I thought you guys were friendly with him.”
“Friendly, yes,” replied Blaine, “but we aren’t friends. We acknowledge each other if we see each other at a Dalton reunion or alumni banquet, but we aren’t even close enough to be Facebook friends. Who needs him when I have this man right here?”
Kurt smiled at Blaine with hearts in his eyes. “I love you so much, Blaine.”
“Stop it boys, before I lose my lunch,” said Mercedes, laughing. “Where were we? Oh yeah, figuring out songs for my show!”
---
Later that afternoon Mercedes sent out another teaser tweet, Are U ready for Sunday Night? #poppinup and this time, Kurt and Blaine retweeted it. Less than ten minutes later, Rachel called from New York. “Are you guys seriously performing with Mercedes this weekend? I thought you were on vacation?”
Kurt rolled his eyes at Blaine over his phone before answering her. “We are on vacation, but we thought it would be fun to sing together for old time's sake. Why? Are you jealous?”
“Of course! Mercedes is a power house. I’d love to have the chance to sing alongside her again, are you kidding?”
“I think you’re on the wrong coast to be able to join us, though, honey.” Kurt’s voice dripped with sarcasm, despite his smile. Mercedes and Blaine were trying hard not to laugh out loud, listening to Kurt’s side of the conversation. “Could you find it in your heart to let us have our fun?”
“What do you mean? Why would I try to stop you?” Rachel asked, sounding confused.
Kurt laughed. “Because you’d try and make me feel guilty for singing with her when you can’t, duh.”
“Well, of course, it would be better if we were all together, but I have workshops for Jane Austen Sings. You know that.”
“I’m just kidding, Rach. I know you’d join us if you were here, and we will miss you,” Kurt said. “Nevertheless, we are going to sing on Sunday and we are going to rock the world.”
“Of course you are. I wouldn’t expect anything less,” Rachel replied. “Can someone record the show to put up on youtube so I can see it?”
“Let me ask Mercedes.” Kurt covered the microphone on his phone and asked, “Are you okay if we record Sunday’s gig and it goes up on youtube for Rachel?”
Mercedes burst out laughing. “Like we could stop it! Have you checked out my name on youtube? Every song from every show ends up there somehow!”
Kurt went back to his call with Rachel. “She says it will be there anyway, but yes, I’ll see if someone can record it especially for you.”
“Yay! Have fun, Kurt. Break a leg!”
“Good bye, Rachel.”
---
Blaine and Kurt arrived at The Troubadour with Mercedes for their sound check at noon that Sunday. “Have you sent out the details on Twitter yet?”
“Oooh, I think now would be a good time, don’t you?” replied Mercedes.
Concert today at the Troubadour, WeHo, 4PM. First 250 people get in. $10 donation to Trevor Project required.
Kurt and Blaine each retweeted Mercedes’ original tweet, then added one of their own.
Join us with our pal @MsMercedesJones today at the Troubadour LA at 4PM. Cost is $10 donation to Trevor Project
During the soundcheck, they worked out all the introductions and endings for each song, and the transitions they would need. After they worked out all the details for the show they began goofing around while the band jammed with a twelve bar blues pattern. Mercedes and Blaine got into a sing off, scatting and riffing, while Kurt filmed it all on his phone. He sent a few snippets of it out through instagram and twitter, knowing their fans would love it and retweet it, which would publicize the event even more.
They took a break while the audience came in, sitting backstage listening to the crowd noise, reminiscing about Lima and other shows that weren’t nearly so well attended.
“Seriously, boys, I was crazy in high school to even dream about doing shows like this, but here we are!” Mercedes said. “Do you remember the Night of Neglect, junior year?”
“I’m never gonna forget that night,” replied Blaine. “That was the night we found out Santana kept razor blades in her hair.”
“What?” asked Mercedes. “When did she say that?”
“When we ran into Karofsky in the hallway,” replied Kurt.
“What was he doing there?” asked Mercedes. “I don’t remember him in the audience. It was just you guys and Mr. Ryerson, right?”
“He wasn’t there for the show. He was there for some sports thing,” replied Kurt. “There were more people there in the first half. They left at intermission.”
“I didn’t come in until later. I was throwing a diva fit.”
“The first of many?” asked Kurt, laughing.
“Watch it, Hummel. I don’t have to let you sing!”
“I was always kind of bummed that I didn’t get to sing with you guys that night. There are so many songs I would have loved to have sung by neglected gay artists.”
“Let’s do one tonight! What do you think?” said Blaine.
“Ugh,” replied Mercedes. “Who wants to relive being neglected in high school, for real?”
“We don’t have to call it that! Let’s just sing our favorite songs instead of our popular ones!” replied Blaine.
“Well, what would you sing then?” she asked.
Kurt said, “That’s easy. George Michael’s ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me.’”
“Ooooh, good one! You have to sing that one!”
“‘Cedes, won’t the band kill us for changing the set after the soundcheck?”
She burst out laughing. “Nope. Half these guys worked with Mr. Schuester in the choir room at one point or another. They’re totally used to that by now.”
“Alright then,” said Kurt. “Sweetie, what’s your song? --No wait, let me guess!”
Blaine quirked an eyebrow at Kurt. “Okay?”
“Hmmm. . . under appreciated artist. . . Blaine’s favorites. Simon LeBon perhaps?”
“You are my Dreamboy, after all,” Blaine teased. “But no, think again.”
Mercedes giggled. “C’mon Kurt. I bet I know.”
Kurt smiled sweetly. “Perhaps a little Roxy Music?”
Blaine’s face lit up with a toothy grin and his eyes got squinty. “But of course. You know you turn me on.”
Mecedes made gagging noises on her side of the room while Kurt and Blaine laughed.
Mercedes passed the changes in the set list to the guitar player, who shrugged and gathered the rest of the band. They, in turn, immediately opened up their tablets to scroll the internet for the right songs in the right keys.
Mercedes opened the show as planned, with an incredible rendition of Aretha Franklin’s “Respect.” Kurt and Blaine had a hard time resisting stepping out on stage to sing background vocals with her. She continued with “Stronger,” then “Color Blind", and Kurt and Blaine raised eyebrows at each other when she dedicated it to her “best friend, Trouty”.
Kurt leaned over and whispered to Blaine, “Maybe there is more there than she wanted us to know about?”
“Perhaps.” Blaine kissed Kurt’s ear after his whisper, and watched a shiver travel all the way down Kurt’s spine. Kurt leaned over and wrapped Blaine in a full body hug, kissing him until he shivered right back, grateful that they couldn’t see the crowd nor be seen from their vantage point as he worked his husband into a bit of a frenzy.
When Mercedes started telling her story about high school, about feeling neglected and alone until she met her very best friends, Kurt and Blaine knew it was time to go on. As they walked out from the wings, upstage, to stand directly behind her, she introduced them and their first song, which they had agreed would be “Got to Get You Into My Life”, despite not having a full marching band to dance with. As the introduction started, Mercedes moved to a seat in the front row. After they finished their first song, Blaine launched into a solo version of Katy Perry’s “Unconditionally,” making heart eyes at Kurt through every chorus while Kurt smiled sweetly from a stool near the piano. Mercedes looked exasperated from her seat.
Kurt then stepped up to take the mike, and as he started to speak to the crowd to introduce his song, he requested, “Could we bring the house lights up a bit, please?” as he put his hand over his eyes to block some of the bright stage lights.
Blaine gasped from next to him, and stepped up to whisper in Kurt’s ear. “Cooper’s back there!” he hissed, and Kurt’s eyes widened. They had deliberately not told Cooper they would be in town for a few days, wanting to keep things low key and not have to be paraded around to all the parties and events Cooper would find to show them off. They hadn’t anticipated him noticing their tweets, since he tended to ignore their public social media in favor of text messages at all hours of the day or night.
Kurt was a consummate professional, so he came right in on his cue from the band and sang George Michael’s arrangement of “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” as Blaine slipped offstage to sit next to Mercedes. Kurt could see that they were whispering all through his song, but pretended he didn’t notice. When his song was over, he invited Blaine back up to sing with him as the band kicked into Roxy Music’s own neglected gem, “To Turn You On,” and Blaine flirted through the whole thing. Mercedes came up as the song was ending, and Kurt assumed it was time to step backstage for her to take on her Whitney Houston tribute, but Blaine didn’t head to the wings. Instead he stepped over to the guitar player, who rolled his eyes and started gathering the band around him. Kurt quirked an eyebrow at Blaine when he heard Mercedes say “The one and only Cooper Anderson, ladies and gentlemen!” and the spotlights found their way to the back of the room.
Cooper looked startled when Mercedes called him out, but as soon as the spotlights hit him he smiled from ear to ear and waved at the audience. He stayed at the back of the hall until Mercedes yelled “Get up here, Cooper!” and the band started playing Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like the Wolf.” Blaine took the first verse while Kurt harmonized on the “doot doots” as Cooper made his way through the crowd, beaming brightly. Kurt passed him a microphone as he got on stage and the brothers sang their way through the chorus together. Then Mercedes got back up as the band transitioned into a different song. The crowd jumped to their feet as soon as they recognized it.
Blaine motioned to Cooper, who led out with the introductory chorus:
"Oh don't you dare look back.
Just keep your eyes on me."
I said, "You're holding back, "
She said,
At that moment, the other three joined in with
“Shut up and Dance with me”
Cooper continued with the next line, taking Mercedes’s free hand with his own:
“This woman is my destiny
She said, "Ooh-ooh-hoo,”
and the entire crowd roared with the last line of the chorus as all four singers on stage jumped up and down with the beat:
“SHUT UP AND DANCE WITH ME”
The crowd cheered and danced along for the rest of the song as Kurt, Blaine, Cooper and Mercedes bopped all around the stage, singing their hearts out. At the end of the song, Mercedes whooped as she set her microphone on its stand, grabbed hands with Kurt and Blaine, who grabbed Cooper and pulled him into the line as they all bowed together. Mercedes then turned to the right, walked off stage, and pulled the guys along with her.
“Okay, boys. That was fantastic!” They gathered in a group hug, moving closer to each other in order to hear over the crowd noise. “We need to close out with a showstopper for the encore. How are you on your Supremes?”
Kurt and Blaine’s eyes lit up immediately; they knew what was coming. Cooper looked a bit confused until Blaine leaned over and shouted over the crowd noise, “‘Someday We’ll Be Together’!”
Mercedes went through a quick change, as her dresser wrapped her up in a quick zip, full-length skirt over her mini-dress, and added a matching shawl over the top. When it was finished, she practically floated out to the middle of the stage. As she reached the microphone, she lifted her hands to quiet the roar of the crowd.
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for your support here tonight. Can I have another hand for my incredibly talented friends, Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson?”
Kurt and Blaine came out and waved at the crowd, then took their microphones out of their stands at the front of the stage and took several steps backwards.
As the applause began to slow down, Mercedes continued, “And what about Blaine’s dreamy brother, Cooper Anderson, everyone!”
Cooper came out and took over another microphone. The band began to play and the boys began to step-touch together in the background, waiting for their cue.
Mercedes said, over the top of the introduction, “This is for you, Sammy,” and she began to sing.
Someday we'll be together
Say, say, say it again
Someday we'll be together
Oh, yeah, oh yeah
You're far away
From me my love
And just as sure my, my baby
As there are stars above
I wanna say, I wanna say, I wanna say
Someday we'll be together
After they were done singing and soaking up the applause, the four of them once again went backstage, where Cooper finally had a chance to talk to Blaine.
“Squirt! Kurt! Why did I have to find out you were in town from my manager, huh?” He grinned at them both. “Why didn’t you guys tell me you were coming?”
Kurt and Blaine looked at each other and Blaine began speaking, “Well, Coop, we weren’t sure we’d have time to see you while we were here. We’re staying out with Mercedes and you live so far apart.”
Cooper sighed. “But Blainey, there are so many things I’d have loved to show you while you were here. When do you head back to New York?”
“We’re here a couple more days. We fly out Wednesday afternoon. Maybe we could grab lunch tomorrow?”
---
Monday morning, as Kurt and Blaine were getting ready to go out for lunch with Cooper, Kurt received a series of text messages from Rachel.
You guys were great last night!
OMG! Cooper was there?
Damn you all. You made me cry with that last number.
Did you see the comments on some of these videos? You’re a hit for sure!
They chuckled as they scanned through the hundreds of hits on youtube from their show the night before while they rode in Mercedes’ hired car.
Mercedes Jones smokin’ it again, this time with a couple of hotties!
Watch those guys bouncing. Too bad we can’t see it from the back! Amirite?
--I like the front view just fine, honey!
Is that the Free Credit Report guy? He has a brother? And Mercedes knows them both? **dead**
Cooper had made them reservations at an Italian restaurant called Madeo, which was apparently a place that celebrities often visited. So, of course, Cooper wanted to go there. Kurt and Blaine stepped out of the car, thanked Mercedes’ driver, and walked into the restaurant.
“Good afternoon. Reservations for Anderson?”
“Oh yes. The other member of your party arrived. Right this way.”
Kurt and Blaine followed the host back to a table right smack in the middle of the restaurant. Cooper noticed them coming and stood up to greet them, loudly. He shouted so loudly that some of the other patrons in the restaurant startled, and several turned to see who was making such a ruckus in a bad British accent.
“Coop, tone it done, would you? We’re on vacation. We don’t need to be the center of attention!”
“Aw, Blainey. It’s never a bad time to be the center of attention,” replied Cooper with a smile.
Kurt glared at Cooper, annoyed. “We’re not here to show off. We’re here for lunch. Can we just sit down, please?”
Cooper pulled out chairs for Kurt and Blaine, bowing slightly as they sat down. Blaine’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Trying to get Cooper to tone it down, he asked, “So what’s good here?”
Cooper started in immediately with a detailed explanation of several menu items, which Kurt and Blaine were able to tune out while they looked over their menus. The waitress appeared to take their order, and Blaine’s phone buzzed in his pocket while Kurt was ordering.
He pulled out the phone and apologized to Kurt and Cooper. “Excuse me guys, but it’s our agent. I’d better take this.”
He accepted the call, but didn’t say anything until he’d stepped out the front door onto the sidewalk. “Blaine Anderson.”
“Blaine! It’s Joanna. How’s your vacation going?”
Blaine responded smoothly, “Fine. Is everything okay?”
“Better than okay! You performed at the Troubadour last night, didn’t you? You and Kurt?”
“Yeah. We had fun with an old friend. Why?” Blaine looked around for a bench to sit on. He didn’t see one, so he leaned on the railing of the wheelchair ramp for the store next door.
“Are you sitting down?”
“What?” Blaine asked. “What are you talking about?”
His agent laughed. “Blaine, we just got a call from the LA office. Someone tweeted your video to Katy Perry. She wants to meet you.”
Blaine sat down on the edge of the ramp. “You’re kidding.”
“Not at all!” she squealed. “The Katy Perry.”
“She wants to meet us? Did she say why?” Blaine could hardly talk. His voice kept cracking as it went higher.
“As a matter of fact, she did,” Joanna continued. “She wants to record a track with you guys on her next album!”
“Oh my God. Oh. My. God. ohmygod.” Blaine dropped his head back against the railing. “Katy Perry?”
Just then, Kurt came out of the restaurant looking for him. “Blaine? Is everything okay?”
“OH MY GOD, KURT!” Blaine said. He stood up, grabbed him and twirled him around. “KATY PERRY!”
Kurt gasped as he was spun off his feet. “What about Katy Perry?”
Blaine thrust his phone into Kurt’s hand. “It’s Joanna. KATY PERRY, KURT!”
Kurt put the phone next to his ear and heard laughing coming down the line. “Um, hello? Joanna? What’s going on? Have you recently turned into Katy Perry?”
Joanna continued to giggle. “Oh, hi Kurt. Has Blaine come down from cloud nine yet?”
“No, he’s still spinning in circles saying ‘Katy Perry, Katy Perry’ like some kind of mantra,” Kurt replied. “What’s happening?”
“We got a call from LA. Katy Perry saw some video of you guys from yesterday and would like to record with you guys. It sounds like Blaine is in. What do you think?”
“Oh my God! Of course I’m in!” Kurt said. “Oh my God!”
“I’ll call you guys later with the details. Go celebrate,” said Joanna.
“Thank you so much!” Kurt ended the call, grabbed Blaine by both hands, and they jumped around in a circle together, nearly falling off the curb into the street with cars whizzing by. “We have to go tell your brother!”
“Katy Perry, Kurt! Katy Perry!” Blaine responded.
Kurt kept ahold of one of Blaine’s hands and pulled him back into the restaurant, back to the table where Cooper was still sitting, all three of their entrees in front of him.
“What’s up, guys? I thought I was going to have to eat all of this myself!”
Kurt and Blaine looked at each other and smiled. “What are the chances you have a spare room we can sleep in for awhile?”