likesboys | i'm only a radio star with just one weekly show

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i'm only a radio star with just one weekly show

Strange as the displacement in time has been, if there's one thing that Kurt's seized pretty quickly upon, it's the idea of an extended summer break. With all the new things to grow accustomed to in Darrow, even trying to imagine piling school on top of everything else has been too much for Kurt, who's found himself far more focused on the idea that ghosts can be real, that monsters can be real, that this city somehow truly is keeping them closed in without any foreseeable means of leaving. While some part of him wonders how it's become so easy to ignore the thought of fighting to go home, another part only sees it as an inevitability. He's barely able to hold himself together in Darrow, and what holds him together most is routine. Patterns that he can follow.

Living with Blaine has been one of the very few, if not only enjoyable parts to Darrow, so he clings to that, and the life he's built around that other person.

But if he really does expect to be living in Darrow for any amount of time, it's also become pretty clear that Kurt needs to finish school. Testing for the Darrow equivalent of a GED is easy enough — truthfully, he probably should have just finished up the missing credits over the summer, but he doesn't have his records on him, and the Darrowites are alarmingly welcoming of quick transfers besides — but it's acting, singing, musical theater that Kurt wants to start building on in the fall.

So he takes a walk by one of the local colleges, wondering if there's even a chance that he'll find a rewarding experience there.

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Ichigo takes a walk into Kurt.

He's never been particularly sensitive to his surroundings, physically, spiritually, metaphorically. Doubly so when he's got his face buried in a freshly printed class schedule, thin red brows furrowing over his eyes. He looks up and over his shoulder at whoever it is that he's just pretty rudely brushed into - hoping, firstly, they're still standing and they haven't dropped all their things all over the college's sidewalk, and secondly ... sort of ... that it isn't a girl (and equal parts, that it isn't anyone looking for a fight.)

Even more surprising: it's ... what's his name?

It's Kurt.

"Go--" he says, eloquently, before the recognition has truly set in, staring owlishly. "Kurt. Hi."

It's not that Kurt really minds being run into, provided it isn't with enough force to send him slamming to the pavement or into the wall. Which this isn't. But after years of having people deliberately shove him in the direction of lockers and anything else that would provide a nice crash, it shouldn't be too surprising that Kurt immediately ducks from whoever it is that's walked into him, just because... well, he's a little afraid of what comes next. And it has been an awfully long time since he's been bullied — almost long enough to make him believe that it's just a matter of time.

But he doesn't slam into a wall. He doesn't slam into anything. He looks up to find Ichigo standing there, looking completely dumbfounded.

Kurt tilts his head in curiosity.

"Ichigo," he nods, raising a brow. "Believe me when I say I'm not pointing this out because I need an apology, but you... might want to better watch where you're going next time."

Grabbing Kurt's shoulder in a gentle grip, he gives him a little shake as if a way to say hello - and to Ichigo, it is, at least to someone like Kurt. If he were a girl, he might have been struck by shyness, but Kurt's not, and weirdly, there's something about him that puts Ichigo at ease more than most. Like Kurt is something weirdly familiar in all of this ... Darrow everything. Just because they're about the same age. Just because they did the things that all other people their age had to do.

The normalcy of it, it's weirdly comforting.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to. I was just looking over my class schedule for summer courses. I'm only taking a few but ... somehow they all managed to be early in the morning. I sort of don't ... I don't really live an early-morning life schedule." It was complicated. And all of this is just Ichigo's luck.

Still, it's good to see Kurt, and the stare-down Ichigo gives him so that he doesn't try to leave and assume Ichigo doesn't want to talk is a relatively intent one.

There's a stare being aimed his way, and Kurt's just not quite sure what to do with it. Untrue though he knows it generally to be, there's something about Ichigo that comes off a bit unkind, intimidating perhaps, and it's only the fact that Kurt has no idea how people conduct themselves normally in Japan that keeps his feet rooted. He can only hope that Ichigo's the type of person who won't just put up with a person until their patience snaps. Not that Kurt's done that to anyone in quite some time.

But he knows he's probably capable of it. High-strung, high-maintenance, if less so than Rachel Berry herself.

"Oh, you're taking summer courses," Kurt exclaims, pushing himself subtly onto the balls of his feet before righting his balance again. "I was thinking about signing up for fall term, didn't know if summer was already too far underway... it's kind of eerie, isn't it? Being able to sign up for such things without having all your transfer documents. I mean, I've put together a resume, but it seems to hold a little less weight when none of the contact information works."

Struck suddenly with a thought, Kurt falls silent, then pushes on. "What kinds of courses are you taking?" An inquiry into Ichigo's interests, if nothing else. He's a hard one to peg.

"Signing up for fall, too," Ichigo explains quickly, looking just slightly awkward about what he's about to admit to Kurt who, for all Ichigo's sentiment toward was honest and heartfelt, is still mostly a stranger, in the greater sense that Kurt doesn't know Ichigo's history, and Ichigo doesn't know squat about Kurt's.

"Right now I'm just taking catch-up courses. So that I can pass placement exams. I need to work on my English. I did okay in English class at home, but that's different." Okay in class is not necessarily okay when shoved out into a world of chiefly English-speakers. "And math," he admits. "I was good at English, and History, but not as good at math." Because, of course, something about having to go back and prove why he knows the answer and show his work for it rubs Ichigo the wrong way, and maybe that says a lot.

"Because I don't know what program I want. But I am thinking about, maybe, nursing, and the woman in the office said I needed good scores for it."

"Sit with me," Kurt decides before Ichigo's really finished, guiding the both of them to a bench, because it's awkward to be talking about plans and classes and everything else while standing in the middle of a walkway that's still seeing some traffic. Besides which, although Ichigo may not be the closest of friends, Kurt still thinks that there's something about the other guy that he'd like to hang onto, if possible. "Let's talk this through."

Planting himself neatly on the bench — but only after checking it for any dirt — Kurt exhales softly and glances up Ichigo's way, eyes narrowing in thought. "You know, your English seems fine to me. I've never had any issue communicating with you, and I daresay I've had an easier time of it than a lot of people I knew back home. If you need help with grammar, of course, I could certainly help you. I'm not bad with math either, although it's... admittedly not my preference," Kurt admits with a nod of his head and an arch of his brow. "Although if you plan on going into nursing, isn't that something you need? Or am I overgeneralizing the whole math and science partnership?"

Doing as he's told without argument, Ichigo sits, a little awkwardly, next to Kurt on the bench and leans over his lap, sharp elbows resting on his knees to prop his torso up as he stares and, mostly out of confusion, listens quietly until Kurt is done.

Talking it out had never been Ichigo's intention, for much of anything. But lately, everything is a new experience, and he doesn't know what to do with himself when greeted with them.

"I read a lot of magazines," Ichigo admits. "Like Rolling Stone. I like music." Kurt's comment about difficulty communicating with people back home gets a briefly raised brow, but Ichigo doesn't do anything else with it.

"I'm good enough to do the work. I still got As mostly in math. But I don't know if good enough will pass the test." He's not a huge fan of tests, especially the kind that seem arbitrary, and despite evidence to the contrary, he's managed to convince himself he's going to fail them without extra help.

"It's just that I can't think of anything else as useful. I mean, to learn here before we get back home." A skill that could follow him wherever.

"Well... if math to you means things like calculus, I'm halfway decent at that. Decent enough that I always managed to do well in class, anyway, even if asking me about what all of that actually means is something I'm less likely to give a decent response to," remarks Kurt with a slightly wry purse of his lips. It's one of the greatest criticisms he feels qualified to make about public education in general — he's never quite sure when or why he'll use any of the things he learns.

"Otherwise." He presses his fingers to his lips for a moment, considering Ichigo's comment about music. About Rolling Stone. "Okay, this is going to seem really random, but do you sing? Or play an instrument?"

It really have nothing at all to do with school, but if there's one thing that Kurt misses from glee, it's having a place where everyone can come together and just enjoy music, nothing else being necessary at all.

Ichigo blinks at the sudden, slipping direction of the conversation away from actual studies and toward extracurriculars, but he doesn't object. He welcomes it a little, honestly. He's never been a great talker on any level, and it's much easier to talk about something less dry, more personal.

He gives a strong shake of his head in the negative, face slightly worried. Like Kurt's next move might be to try to make Ichigo sing, or something, and Ichigo very much thinks he can't. "I don't sing. Other people do it better. I just play guitar and things. Never with anyone though, I ... " Don't get out much. He trails off. And clams up. Kurt doesn't particularly need to know that Ichigo's never had much of a social life. For very large reasons.

Even if Ichigo refuses to sing, Kurt can't help but perk up at the realization that not only does he have a steady friend outside of his small circle of Blaine and Lisbeth, but that said friend's also interested in music. Truth be told, Kurt believes that most people are invested in music in one way or another, even if they don't necessarily want to acknowledge it, even if they don't do much in the way of maintaining it with a hobby.

"I bet you could learn to sing. Just because someone does it better doesn't mean that you shouldn't even try," Kurt points out helpfully, his entire demeanor brought to attention. "Or if not, guitar as accompaniment? I guess I ask because I... plan on going into musical theater, if I can."

Ichigo balks a little at Kurt's laser-bright interest now, but only a little - Kurt's not the first person like this that Ichigo's ever met, although Kurt's nevertheless his own thing. He turns practically pink under the attention, but still, it's not like he immediately dislikes what Kurt's suggesting.

He needs things to kill time. Things that have nothing to do with death, dying and the already dead. Something to fill his living hours.

"I don't think it's a good idea. In front of an audience. I mean, it's not the people I'm afraid of. I can do lots of things in front of people. But not that. I can play guitar. I could probably do that." It's still not kicking butt and taking names, but at least Ichigo is reasonably sure he can't screw up guitar by being Ichigo.

"I'm sure that you're not half as bad as you think you are," Kurt says with confidence, if only because there's something about Ichigo that strikes Kurt as being that kind of guy. The one who never says too much about what he can do — the one who, if anything, understates everything when it comes to his own skills and abilities. The opposite of what people tend to be in the glee club.

He misses the more exuberant personalities these days, suddenly bereft of the three or four afternoons a week that he used to spend around the other members of New Directions, but there's a part of Kurt that's also fully aware of how it's nice to have the quieter personalities around him now and again as well. Ichigo could fill that type of spot for him.

"I only ask because, well, I plan on going into musical theater by any means possible, but I think the best way to ease into that study is to make sure to engage in as many musical activities as I can. A band, for instance, would be a great exercise in singing along to live performers. I used to do that all the time in high school, but... less since I arrived here, obviously."

Ichigo gives a tiny shrug at the praise, as uncomfortable as ever beneath it, still unaccustomed to receiving it. But he doesn't refuse Kurt outright, and certainly doesn't refuse Kurt's weirdly comforting company.

"I think it suits you," Ichigo says, grumbling it out almost grudgingly, but it's honest as anything. He even slides a half-shy look at Kurt's face before he speaks again, gripping his schedule in his lap still.

"A band?"

"Performing?" Kurt asks, eyes lighting up at the remark. It's honestly more of a compliment than Kurt was expecting, coming from Ichigo. The other boy hasn't heard Kurt sing, after all, and hasn't seen Kurt on stage, but Kurt doesn't mind the thought that some part of him comes off as that type, meant to stand under the spotlight. Theater types definitely have a more animated side to them, Kurt thinks, and he's never been pressed about being easily spotted as that type. Everyone needs a little drama in their lives.

He doesn't wait much for Ichigo to respond before barreling on, too pleased to pause. "But yes, a band. You know. You play guitar, we have a couple of vocalists, someone on keyboard... what are your favorite bands or musical artists?"

"Performing," he agrees. "It suits you. Yeah. You're ... " He picks his arms up and waves them through the air expansively, a sort of pantomime of Kurt's presence, how Ichigo feels it, but a second later he's scrambling to make sure his papers and folders don't fall off of his lap and all over the path in front of the bench they're occupying.

"I like punk music," he admits, a little pink for it, like it might lead to some kind of judging. "And rock and roll. Alternative. Classic rock. Slipknot and the Gorillaz and the Rolling Stones and AC/DC and ... anything is better than silence, though. Except Nickelback. Even silence is better than Nickelback."

"Larger than life?" Kurt suggests, grinning from cheek to cheek as Ichigo waves his arms, then chortling a little as Ichigo quickly bends forward to make sure that all the pamphlets he's collected don't scatter to the wind. It's a compliment, Kurt knows, and so he'll leave it at that. As much as he wants to soak up the attention, he wants just as much to actually get a group together to sing.

"Punk and... rock," he murmurs, tilting his head in thought. It does match what he's seen of Ichigo, although it isn't at all close to Kurt's own strengths. "And no Nickelback, which I obviously agree with. Hmm... I haven't sung much rock in my life, but I imagine that it couldn't be bad to work outside of one's repertoire. Would I be able to persuade you at all?"

"Larger than life," Ichigo agrees, since there's hopefully no way that Kurt can get too upset about something phrased in Kurt's own words. Folding his loose papers up between a thicker, stapled book of financial policies and whatever else, he leans toward Kurt on the bench, ignoring the slow traffic still passing them by.

"Sing whatever you want," Ichigo says. "I don't think it's that hard to play if I just listen. Nobody's ever asked me to do anything like this before. Well, there was the soccer team. But they offered me money like I was gonna say no. Or maybe say no and then punch them." His face glazes over at the memory in irritation. Even if it's not like he doesn't understand why they generally tried to avoid him unless necessary.

Also, he'd taken the money. So.

Kurt blinks in slight disbelief. He's not sure whether or not there's any technical rule against bribing someone onto a team if that person already goes to the school — and either way, it isn't like he hasn't seen schools go to huge lengths to bring people over already. Sunshine Corazon comes first to mind, Kurt thinks to himself with a purse of his lips.

Which probably means that Ichigo must be just as awesome as far as sports are concerned.

"Wait, they offered you money?" Kurt asks, his brow arched and stance impressed. "You must be one hell of an athlete. I'm not sure that anyone at my school was good enough to merit that. Well, except for the cheerleaders, I guess, but that team's success can definitely be attributed to the coach, and there's never a shortage of people trying out. I do have to admit, though... sometimes when you get thinking, there's a furrow that shows up between your brows. Kinda intimidating to those who don't know better."

"It wasn't like I didn't need the money," he says, with a defensive shrug of the shoulders. The mention of the stand-out feature of his face is enough to make his forehead wrinkle even more, though in concern, rather than irritation, and he slides to slump a little more in his seat on the bench.

"And I had the time. For a little while. I'd have just joined if somebody would have asked me nicely, but everyone's afraid I'm going to pick a fight with them or something anymore if they don't act careful around me. I don't pick fights. I just finish them when they find me first."

"Anyone who thinks you're the type to pick a fight isn't trying hard enough to get to know you," Kurt concludes, raising a hand thoughtfully to his chin as he leans back and tilts his head, getting a better look at Ichigo. "Honestly, I think you're more of a quiet guy than you are a confrontational guy. God only knows why you put up with me; sometimes it's like I can't stop talking."

Tugging a leg up on the seat, Kurt nods. "I think a band would be lucky to have you, though. If nothing else, that brooding look is undoubtedly going to be popular with the ladies. And some guys, too, I'd wager."

It's basically one of the nicer compliments Ichigo's ever received, and at that he bows his head, scrubbing at the hair on the back of his neck.

"I don't brood," he argues, but holds a hand out to Kurt anyway, for a shake. If Kurt wants to try to start making music, Ichigo is happy to agree to help if he can. It's a deal.

"You do this, I'll help you," he says.

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i'm only a radio star with just one weekly show

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