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Another day at Glee Club, another day of Mr. Schue assigning his students a song.
Except it was a bit different this time.
The holiday season had fallen upon the town of Lima, and Mr. Schue had decided to assign all of his students a solo as a gift: a Christmas song of their choice that they would all take turns performing before school let out for winter break.
Mercedes had chosen “All I Want For Christmas Is You” while Kurt had picked “Underneath The Tree”. And being the best friends that they were, they complimented each other on their choices (well, it went a bit beyond that. It was more like gushing about them on both ends).
As the club meeting ended, Kurt turned to Mercedes. “Hey, Cedes. Do you want to stay here a bit longer and practice together?”
“You know it,” Mercedes agreed, shooting him a grin.
Now here they were in a spare room, practicing their songs.
Well…”practicing” was probably a pretty generous word. It was more like they'd started out practicing but quickly grew distracted and instead began chatting with each other about anything and everything like they always did whenever they spent time together.
That was the only downside to trying to practice for a Glee club performance when they were best friends; not much practicing actually ended up occurring.
“Okay, okay,” Mercedes said, laughing. “Maybe we should actually practice a bit.”
Kurt joined in on the laughter. “Hmm, perhaps we should. Ladies first.” He took a bow and extended a hand forward.
“Why, thank you.” Mercedes grinned at him before pulling up an instrumental on her phone. She stood behind the microphone and opened her mouth. “I…don't want a lot for Christmas. There is just one thing I need…”
Kurt listened, once again finding himself transfixed by the beautiful voice that his friend possessed.
“I don't care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree. I just want you for my own, more than you can ever know,” Mercedes crooned, her eyes fluttering closed.
Kurt watched her.
Mercedes opened her eyes again, her gaze falling onto her friend. “Make my wish come true…all I want for Christmas…is..yoooouu.”
Kurt grinned and clapped. “You sound amazing already. Can't wait to hear the rest.”
“Aw.” Mercedes waved off the compliment, a smile spreading across her own face. “Thanks.”
“Just being honest,” Kurt replied.
Mercedes laughed. “Okay. Should I continue, or do you want a turn to practice?”
“Hm…” Kurt thought. “I'll pick a verse and practice it real quick, and then you can continue.”
“Sure, sounds good,” Mercedes agreed, stepping away from the mic.
Satisfied, Kurt pulled out his own phone and turned on the instrumental to his song choice. He stepped over to the microphone. He took a deep breath, then began to sing. “You’re here, where you should be. Snow is falling as the carolers sing! It just wasn't the same, alone on Christmas day. Presents, what a beautiful sight, don't mean a thing if you ain't holding me right! You're all that I need underneath the tree!”
Mercedes smiled and clapped, already loving what she heard.
Kurt closed his eyes and continued to sing, letting himself get lost in the moment and letting the music and his voice carry him to another world.
Once he finished singing, he opened his eyes again and looked over at his friend.
Mercedes beamed at him. “That was amazing, Kurt!”
Kurt smiled back. “Aw. Thanks, Cedes. I hope Mr. Schue agrees.”
Mercedes waved a hand. “Well, even if he doesn't, just know that you did amazing regardless.”
Kurt smiled a bit more, the genuine praise warming him up inside despite how cold it was both outside and in the room. “I'm glad you think so.”
“Obviously I do.” Mercedes elbowed him.
Kurt laughed, barely dodging the contact. He stepped away from the microphone stand. “Okay, it's your turn now.”
“That it is.” Mercedes took his place, turned on an instrumental on her phone, and began to sing in time with the music.
Much like Kurt had, Mercedes closed her eyes and let herself get lost in the moment and the music as she belted out the lyrics.
Kurt watched her, transfixed just as he always was whenever his best friend sang.
Once Mercedes had finished singing, she opened her eyes.
Kurt stood there, still transfixed and unable to utter a word.
Mercedes tilted her head. “Kurt?”
Kurt blinked a few times, then looked at her. “That…was…AWESOME!” He gave her a round of applause.
Mercedes grinned from ear to ear. “Aw, thanks.”
“Hey, just giving credit where credit’s due.” Kurt returned the smile.
“So…should we practice more or do you want to call it a day for now?” Mercedes asked.
Kurt thought about it. “I say we call it a day for now. We have two weeks to practice.”
“True,” Mercedes conceded. “So…what to do instead?”
Kurt thought for a minute, then snapped his fingers and gave Mercedes a grin. “How about we hang out a bit longer…after we get some hot chocolate?”
Mercedes’ eyes lit up at that proposal. “Ooh, now you're speaking my language! My place or yours?”
“How about yours?” Kurt asked.
“Sure!” Mercedes responded.
The two of them grabbed their backpacks, slung them on, and began to exit school together. They laughed and chatted all the way to get the hot chocolate and then all the way to Mercedes’ house.
It was official, the holiday spirit had settled over them and not just because of their assignment of singing a Christmas song.
No, it was also because they were in each other's presence. Cheesy as it may sound, they viewed each other as some of the best gifts.