Mini Sequel/ Epilogue: Part 2: Senior Year - B

AN: I'm never sure how that whole rating thing works. If you think this chapter warrants an M rating please let me know. And just so you know - I had no plans to actually write parts of the musical but because some people asked... I just hope it doesn't suck ( pun not intended ;) )

November

After Ms. Corcoran gave her okay and approved his cast – he did write with specific people in mind after all – it looked like a done deal, and Blaine had thought they would just figure out what they needed in terms of set decoration and costumes, recruit the band and start rehearsing.

Convincing principle Figgins however was harder than Blaine had anticipated, not knowing the principle believed vampires were alive and was thus terrified of them. Only when Tina dressed up in all black, put fake teeth in, and threatened the principle to send her dad, the vampire chief, to school to 'talk' to Figgins, did the principle agree – as long as they didn't use any school budget.

"I still can't believe you basically wrote a musical for me," Kurt tells him after they get home from a Halloween party for which Blaine has dressed Kurt up in a cape just to see what it would look like. His conclusion – Kurt makes a sexy creature of the night. Why anyone would find sparkling vampires attractive is beyond him. Rachel makes a great Bella though, at least now that she has forgiven him for making fun of something she is a big fan of. Having songs specifically written for her, apparently is the way to appease Rachel.

"Well, you are crazy talented but we both know there aren't many musicals with roles for people with voices like yours. So I wanted to write something for you and I don't know, after you told me about Rachel's Twilight obsession I thought it would be fun to mock it a bit and that my boyfriend has the perfect skin color to play a vampire." At Kurt's raised eyebrow he quickly adds. "His amazingly beautiful skin color."

Now that they are actually doing his musical, Kurt is helping him with the dialogues. Writing songs, he has no issues with, but he has to admit he is struggling with some of the dialogues. He just isn't naturally funny like Kurt is.

"Alright, how about that?" Kurt asks before he starts reading a revised part of the script.

Edward leads Bella into a clearing in the woods. It's time to tell her his biggest secret. He just hopes she doesn't run away screaming. He hasn't had a virgin in decades.

EDWARD: 'Bella, there's something I need to tell you.' (Bella's smile falters.)

BELLA: 'OMG, you're gay. I knew it. Why does that always happen to me?' (She wails. Edward looks puzzled and checks his outfit.)

EDWARD: 'What? NO! I'm a vampire.' (Edward blurts out. Bella wipes a tear from her cheek.)

BELLA: 'Are you sure? You are all sparkly!" (Edward makes a face and tries to wipe the glitter of his skin but to no avail.)

EDWARD: 'Please, don't remind me. There was this witch in Utah who didn't like that I seduced her daughter before our wedding night and BAM – curse. Now my whole family has to sparkle in the daylight. And you know what?' (Bella shakes her head, staring at Edward with wide eyes.)

EDWARD: 'I was fine with that whole not going out into the sun deal. I mean – have you seen my skin? The more I'm outside the more I sparkle – and to think there was a time in my life I thought freckles were a curse.'

While Edward is talking Bella has taken a step forward and is now rubbing one of his hands to see if the glitter really doesn't come of. When it doesn't she asks.

BELLA: 'So you are really not gay? You are just a vampire who sparkles when he is outside?' (Edward nods.) 'Oh, thank god. You had me worried there for a second.'

Edward smiles widely, baring his fangs. Bella swoons before she starts her solo 'Love's Bite'.

"But doesn't that make it sound that being gay is worse than being a vampire?" Blaine asks after reading Kurt's rewrite. Kurt shakes his head though. "That's why it's funny. She's been turned down by a lot of guys before, and each of them told her they were gay. So, for her, being a vampire is the lesser evil because than there is at least still a chance that they could be into her. I want people to laugh at her when she says that final line, because she is so ridiculous."

Well, if he imagines Rachel delivering in to Kurt's face, Blaine has to admit he'll probably end up laughing out loud as well. Kurt and Rachel have amazing on stage chemistry – Kurt with his great comedic timing and Rachel playing everything so seriously, and some days he actually wished they would end up going to college together because they could start their own theater group with Rachel and Kurt as the leads. But he knows what Kurt is capable of and if that TV show script is any good, Kurt will take Hollywood by storm next year. Which reminds him.

"Have you heard from Bryan about your schedule yet?" he asks but Kurt shakes his head. "It doesn't matter really. Finn and Carole are spending Thanksgiving with Carole's family and Burt is coming with us to L.A. As long as it's still when we are on break I don't care what days they need me."

Blaine nods, dropping the subject for now. He knows Kurt is nervous enough about it already as it is, because unfortunately his boyfriend is convinced he is going to get fired his first day on set. He has hoped to stage his musical before they are going to L.A, but unfortunately staging a new musical takes a lot more time than he had thought. The will do tech the week after Thanksgiving and do the show the second weekend in December. If people are interested, Ms. Corcoran has promised to ask Figgins if they can do it again after Christmas, but Blaine is not convinced the McKinley High population will be that interested in his baby.

"Tell me the truth. You did cast Sam as constantly shirtless Jacob because of what I once said about Taylor Lautner," Kurt interrupts his musings and Blaine shrugs. He isn't going to deny that he thinks Sam has amazing abs. You'd have to be blind to miss them. And he doesn't mind Kurt staring at Taylor Lautner as long he is the one he is going home with. "Sam doesn't mind," he mumbles, wishing to change to subject as well.

"Did you finish your essay for NYU already?" he asks his boyfriend after they've read through a few more revised scenes. Kurt sighs and Blaine assumes he isn't doing much better with the task.

"It should be easy for me if I just write something about my past, but I don't want them to give me an audition because they pity me," Kurt says and Blaine understands that, he really does, because he is tempted to write about his own bad experiences to gain some sympathy.

"At least I finished the one for UCLA, the rest are just formalities," he tells Kurt but instantly knows that was the wrong thing to say. "I wish you wouldn't do that," Kurt sighs. "Act like L.A is definitely going to happen next year."

Blaine knows when not to push and so he drops it and offers Kurt help with his New York applications as well. They are applying for the same New York based schools: Tisch/ NYU, Julliard and Manhattan School of Music, Kurt for voice or musical theater, Blaine for music and composition. Rachel is the only other person out of their group of friends applying to school in New York and Blaine hopes she won't be too mad when she finds out she will be there on her own. There's Quinn who has applied to Yale to everyone's surprise, but she and Rachel aren't the bestest of friends, though they get along better now that neither of them is interested in Finn anymore.

Finn, unfortunately is still being a giant cockblock and Blaine can't wait for the next weekend to come when he and Kurt will spend the weekend in Chicago for the Lady Gaga concert and Wicked. They both are in need for a break and some alone time because since the Hummels and the Hudsons moved in together, it's been hard finding time for some uninterrupted hours.

Unfortunately, his dad hasn't miraculously forgotten either that they are going to Chicago unsupervised and so they find themselves, yet again, in the living room opposite his dad a day before they are set to leave for Chicago.

Blaine has been before, once when his mom had still been alive, but he can't remember much of it unfortunately. He can't wait though to explore the city with Kurt, because from what he heard, it's much more liberal as well, and after spending time in L.A and getting to be open about his relationship with Kurt wherever they went, being back in Lima has been hard for both of them.

"I expect a call from either of you at least once a day so I now you are safe," his dad tells them once they are all comfortable in the living room and both he and Kurt nod. He knows his dad worries about them when they are in a big city on their own, especially because this time they won't know anyone there.

"If it's late, I rather you take a cab, watch your stuff and please don't get arrested for trying to sneak into bars. I know it can be tempting to do things you aren't able to here in Lima, but use your heads." Blaine and Kurt nod again, because they don't have plans for anything like that anyway. Blaine's going to be eighteen in a few weeks and then they will be able to go to 18 and over bars legally anyway, not that they are desperate to get into one in the first place.

"And I know I've said this before, but just because you get to spend time unsupervised doesn't mean you have to do things you might not be ready for."

From the corner of his eye he can see Kurt turn bright red while avoiding to look at his dad and Blaine is keeping his eyes on his knees as well because he is sure he looks guilty and his dad would be able to tell the moment he looks up.

No one says anything for a moment before his dad clears his throat. "But it seems I'm a little late with that speech anyway." Blaine can't stop his head from jerking up and he stares at his dad wide eyed. Next to him, Kurt isn't doing much better, though he is ghostly pale now instead of the bright red from moments ago.

"I'm sorry, sir," Kurt mumbles and Blaine turns in his seat and gapes at Kurt because he can't remember a single time when Kurt has called his dad sir. "If you don't want me to live here anymore, I understand."

Fuck, Blaine has always thought Kurt wasn't a fan of breaking the house rules because he was afraid of getting caught or disappointing his dad, but he had never known that Kurt was genuinely afraid of being kicked out of the house if his dad found out they are sleeping together.

His dad looks sad before he asks. "Did you pressure or force my son to do something he didn't want to do?" Kurt's eyes widen and he shakes his head frantically. "Then you haven't done anything wrong. Do I wish you guys had waited a bit longer, maybe till you had finished high school? Yeah, but that's because I'm a parent and no parent wants to think about stuff like that when it comes to his kids. But as long as what ever you are doing is consensual and you are being careful here's what we are going to do. I don't know what deal you have with Finn, but as long as I don't see it or hear about it, I'm going to forget we had this conversation. I'm just going to say this once. I'd rather you are here where you are safe than in your car or some shady motel, but I don't want to walk in on you or overhear something you wouldn't want to hear from me and Carole either." Both Blaine and Kurt shuddered, because if parents wanted to ignore their kids had a sex life, they same went for their kids. "Do whatever you do when Carole and I aren't home, but when we are the rules stay the same – door stays open and you sleep in your own bedrooms. Are we clear?"

Blaine shares a quick look with Kurt, who already looks a lot more relaxed and has regained some color before they both nod. "Okay. Now come here and give me a hug."

Kurt's the first who falls into his dad's arms and a small smile graces his face after his dad whispers something into his ear. Once Kurt is released, Blaine lets his dad give him a bone crushing hug as well, already planning to get his dad another 'best dad in the world' mug. He hasn't actually thought his dad would be angry with them if he found out – maybe about the sneaking around and breaking the house rules – but not about the fact that he and Kurt have discovered new ways to show one another how much they love each other.

"What did my dad say to you?" he asks his boyfriend when they are finally back upstairs in Blaine's room – door open – where Kurt is helping him pack. Kurt smiles so wide, Blaine can see all his teeth. "That he loves me no matter what."

Kurt knows Blaine isn't as into Lady Gaga as Kurt is – and he will be forever grateful that Blaine introduced him to her music – so he is happy his boyfriend is enjoying the concert as much as he is. He's never been to such a huge concert before and at first he doesn't even know what to look at first.

As soon as the music starts however he can only look at one person and if he couldn't stop himself and sang most of the songs with her, sue him.

They are exhausted after the concert and take a cab back to their hotel – per Burt's orders – where they crash as soon as they have finished the cheesecake they have ordered from room service. They spend some time in bed together the next morning however, taking advantage of the fact that they are in a hotel room and don't have to worry about nosy quasi step-siblings or Burt and Carole coming home early.

He and Blaine had talked some more after their talk with Burt, because Blaine had been disappointed that Kurt hadn't told him how he really felt about sneaking around Burt's back. Kurt knows why he didn't say anything. He had known that it was an irrational fear, that Burt wouldn't really kick him out if he found out about him and Blaine, but he had also been afraid to test the theory.

When they finally manage to get out of bed, breakfast is long over, so he and Blaine bundle up – it's quite cold in Chicago – and head outside in search of early lunch or brunch. Blaine coaxes him up John Hancock tower after lunch with the promise to let Kurt go shopping on the street below afterward, and though Kurt is scared as hell at first, he does enjoy the view in the end, with Blaine's arms wrapped around him to keep him safe.

Once they are back on the street they walk down Michigan Avenue until the reach Millennium Park, stopping occasionally at stores Kurt wants to check out. Fortunately there are low budget stores as well so it doesn't take long until Blaine has his hands full with Kurt's bags.

By the time the L drops them off at Clark and Lake, five minutes walking distance from their hotel, they are both exhausted. After Millennium Park they had gone on a stroll through Grant Park before checking out the exhibitions at the Art Institute of Chicago, just so they were doing something Blaine was interested in as well.

They shower together to save time, both trying to keep their hands to themselves because they need to leave on time if they want to have dinner before the musical.

Kurt's wearing his new blue shirt, black skinny jeans, a grey vest and black tie, forgoing a suit because he didn't want to look overdressed. Blaine cleans up nice as well, though his pants are less tight than Kurt's and he is wearing a bowtie.

He has tears in his eyes by the time they leave their seats for intermission, and Kurt pulls Blaine behind a pillar for a moment to press their lips together. "Thank you so much," he whispers into Blaine's ear. "I still can't believe I'm getting to see Wicked."

"You know I'd do anything to make you happy," Blaine pants into his ear after they share another passionate kiss, hopefully hidden from view by the pillar. And Kurt knows Blaine means it. If Kurt suddenly announced his plans to join a Siberian Circus next fall, all Blaine would probably do would be asking if Kurt needed help carrying his suitcases. Sometimes it worries him that Blaine would drop everything for him without any consideration for himself, but he also won't deny that it makes him feel safe, knowing Blaine isn't going to abandon him.

Blaine's given him everything, but Kurt is still holding things back, is still withholding things from Blaine, not because he doesn't trust his boyfriend – never that – but because, because. He doesn't know. Or better he doesn't have the words to explain it.

It's not really fear anymore, it's more like a reflex now to pull back when Blaine touches him a certain way – on purpose or not. It's time to change that though, he thinks as he and Blaine are waiting in front of the stage door after the show is over and Kurt has wiped away the rest of his tears.

It's not the original Broadway cast, the one that is singing on his Wicked CD, but the performers have done an amazing job in Kurt's opinion and he feels the need to tell them that. If he ever gets to be on stage and to do stage door, he hopes there will be people as well he inspired, moved or just entertained for one night.

In the cab back to their hotel, he feels oddly calm, not like his is about to let Blaine break down his last remaining walls, not like his about to offer Blaine all of him. They haven't talked about it again since L.A, coming to the agreement that Kurt would let Blaine know if something changed, if Kurt wanted something different.

So he knows that whatever is going to happen tonight has to be on him; he has to take the lead instead of just following Blaine's, at least until Blaine understands what he wants. It's not even a physical craving that is propelling him to make the leap, it's the need to be fully Blaine's like Blaine is fully his. No more walls between them, no more hiding their feelings – total honesty and trust.

Back at the hotel, he takes his time taking his and Blaine's clothes of, folding them carefully and putting them on a chair in the corner of their room. Their kisses, once they are lying next to each other are passionate but not rushed, their tongues caressing each other lazily, lips never straying far from the other's lips at first.

Once Kurt hooks his arms around Blaine's waist and pulls him on top of him, relishing the feeling of skin on skin, their movements become more frantic as Blaine presses him into the mattress. Instead of being uncomfortable, Blaine's weight on top of him is grounding him, keeps him from floating away especially when Blaine's lips travel down his chest, worshipping him with kisses until Kurt is loose-limbed and pliable underneath him.

Blaine must sense that something is different because for once he doesn't behave like a typical teenage boy, he takes his time kissing Kurt all over, telling him how beautiful he thinks Kurt is.

Kurt shoves the voice who needs to analyze, to dissect Blaine's compliments to the back of his mind, and let's Blaine's words heal the wounds that haven't healed yet, the wounds that are prone to reopen sometimes for the stupidest of reasons.

When Blaine has finished mapping out every inch of Kurt's skin, Kurt pulls him up again so they are face to face. The kiss he is pressing against Blaine's lips is probably one of the chastest they have ever exchanged, but he doesn't need more to express how he feels. "I love you so much," he whispers against Blaine's lips and he can feel Blaine's heartbeat speed up where their chests are pressed together.

"What do you want?" Blaine asks him and Kurt knows there's still time to bow out, to climb on top of Blaine and love one another like they've done for months now, but Kurt doesn't want that now, knows that in the end it was always just a question of time and he feels that time is right.

So he wiggles out from underneath Blaine, reaches across the bed to the nightstand and removes a bottle of clear liquid before passing it to Blaine. There are no more explanations required afterward, no questioning if he is really sure. When Blaine looks at him, searching his face all Kurt has to do is nod.

Kurt doesn't think he has ever felt this vulnerable before, but it doesn't scare him anymore, not once, as Blaine breaks him down and rebuilds him again, a constant stream of 'I love yous' and reassurances falling from his lips while Kurt can barely think of anything besides BlaineBlaineBlaine.

He is still shaking, long after his heartbeat has returned to its normal rhythm and Blaine has cleaned him up lovingly, his head pressed against Blaine's chest and his arm around his waist. He feels like laughing and crying at the same time, feels so much he can't stop his body from shaking.

He can't see his boyfriend's face but he knows his eyes are on him, his hand gently stroking through his hair, and Kurt is certain, if he were a cat he would surely be purring right now. It doesn't matter what tomorrow might bring, he is so happy in the moment and nothing is going to take that away from him.

Edward is sitting with his family after Bella's safe home and no one has actually eaten her.

EDWARD: 'I know you think it's crazy that I want to be with her, but god, you did smell her, right? She smells exquisite and if I can just butter her up a bit more, she just might let me have a taste.' (Alice snorts.)

ALICE: 'The way I see it, you have to marry her first before she'll let you have a taste. You'd better find yourself a chick who doesn't think baring her neck before marriage is a sin.'

EDWARD: 'You don't understand. She is the first one who didn't take one look at me and started laughing. We've been the laughing stock of the vampire community since that bitch put that curse on us, so excuse me for not giving up on her.'

Edward leads the family into 'Times are hard'

Blaine puts down Kurt's latest rewrite – a scene Ms. Pillsbury felt they couldn't leave in it's original because it made fun of abstinence – and smiles at his boyfriend. "So do you think it will actually get past the censors this time?" he asked, referring to Ms. Pillsbury and principle Figgins, who though he was still afraid of Tina's dad was insisting he read the script before they were allowed to stage it.

He and Kurt had changed a lot of blatantly obvious jokes and double entendre over the last few weeks because of Figgins, but in the end they are happy with the result because they are a lot subtler now and, how Blaine likes to call it, more subversive than in the first draft of the script.

Song rehearsals are going well fortunately, Blaine loving seeing everything come together. Even the other students seem to be interested in what they are doing, after Puck coerced Jacob Ben Israel to write a piece about their show.

Before he knows it however, he, Kurt and his dad are at the Columbus airport where he and Kurt board a plane to L.A two hours after school lets out the Friday before Thanksgiving. His dad is going to join them on Thursday so they don't have to celebrate Thanksgiving on their own.

It had been difficult to explain to Rachel why they 'abandoned ship' two weeks before opening night, but after Kurt told her for the fifth time that they had bought the tickets to visit his brother months ago she finally gave it a rest and announced she would hold rehearsals while Blaine and Kurt are out of town.

At LAX it isn't Cooper who picks them up but a driver sent by the studio that is producing the pilot of 'SING'. They are set up in a hotel in West Hollywood for the week, but before they have time to look around the hotel, Kurt gets a call that a driver is coming to pick him up for a meeting.

He doesn't see his boyfriend much during the week because Kurt always leaves early and comes back to the hotel late, but he is always smiling when he does, telling Blaine about the scenes they filmed, the song he recorded and the dance rehearsal he was struggling with.

Kurt's not the youngest in the cast but the only one still in high school. What they have in common is that they are all relatively new in the business – most, like Kurt, aren't even on IMBD yet, Blaine found out – and Blaine thinks that it makes it easier for Kurt to relax on set, knowing he isn't the only inexperienced one.

Cooper, fortunately isn't busy that week and so Blaine mostly hangs out with him while he waits for Kurt to be done for the day. On Wednesday, Cooper takes him to the UCLA campus after Blaine tells him that he applied for the school.

He likes the people milling around outside, likes the atmosphere, likes that he can sit outside on the quad wearing just a t-shirt in November. He can see himself as a student here, more than he could in New York and now that he is actually here, touring the school, he really hopes it's going to work out.

He has sent in his script and the music he has written for the musical, hoping it is good enough to be allowed to become a composition major.

The next day he helps Cooper push the couch against the wall and together they carry the table into the center of the living room so they'll have enough space for Thanksgiving dinner. While Cooper drives to the airport to pick up Blaine's dad, Blaine takes first the underground and then a bus to get to the farmer's market where he picks up their pre-ordered turkey and a bunch of other stuff Kurt has written down on the shopping list.

Arms full with shopping bags he tries to get a cab, vowing that he will bring his car with him next year because public transportation really sucks if you are in a hurry or have a lot of things to carry. Fortunately, Kurt is at Cooper's apartment by the time Blaine gets back with the food and after a quick kiss hello, Blaine is banned from the kitchen until further notice.

Kurt tells him about the meeting he has had in the morning while Blaine tells him about braving the farmer's market and fighting for cabs.

"When are you going to be done with filming? Did they tell you today?" he asks while they are waiting for Cooper and Burt to return from the airport and Kurt is stuffing the turkey.

"Well, I only talked to Bryan's assistant Rocky today but she assured me we would finish filming the big group number on Saturday so I can catch my flight back home Sunday morning," Kurt replies, some flour on his cheek as he peeks his head out of the kitchen.

The turkey's been barely five minutes in the oven and they are just getting comfortable on the couch when his dad and Cooper return and he and Kurt jump apart.

His dad just raises an eyebrow and mumbles something under his breath that sounds suspiciously like horny teenagers and hotel room for the week that has him and Kurt blushing while Cooper just stands there and sniggers.

Kurt flees back into the kitchen as soon as he has hugged Blaine's dad hello and Blaine glares at his dad because he knows Kurt still isn't all that comfortable with his dad knowing about them.

His gaze softens though when his dad pulls him into a hug as well and tells him that he is going to miss being able to tease them once they'll move out next summer. It's just been the two of them for so long and he knows it's going to be hard on his dad when he leaves for college even though he has Carole now.

Kurt lets them help cutting up pumpkins for the pie while Cooper is carving them to use as decorations because he apparently didn't get enough of them during Halloween.

Four hours later, when Kurt finally deems dinner ready and the table is set, they all sit down together and watch as Kurt carves the turkey while his dad is filling their glasses with a bottle of white wine he has picked up on the way from the airport.

Even Kurt takes a few sips while they chat about their week, stuffing themselves with turkey when they aren't talking. Before Blaine and his dad can carry the empty plates back into the kitchen Kurt stops them though.

"We've never really done Thanksgiving at my house, but I know some people say what they are thankful for," Kurt says fiddling with the hem of his shirt. "And I just wanted to let you know that I'm so thankful that you came back into my life last year, that you didn't give up on me and that you saved me," he tells Blaine and his dad, and Blaine has to fight back the tears that are welling up in his eyes.

"And Cooper, we haven't know each other long, but I'm happy that you are part of my life as well."

The dirty plates end up staying on the table as they come together for a group hug, their strange little patchwork family clinging to one another. When the kitchen is finally clean again, they take the pies Kurt has baked downstairs where a group of Cooper's neighbors is already sitting outside in the backyard, ending up sharing with the others and eating way too much pie – in Blaine's case.

Only when it's getting really late, Blaine hands his dad the key to Kurt's hotel room, opting to just crash with Kurt on Cooper's couch again.

Kurt's already gone by the time his dad drops by the next morning, joining him and Cooper for breakfast.

"What are you doing for Christmas Cooper?" his dad asks Kurt's brother after accepting a cup of decaf coffee. Copper shrugs. "Probably going to see my mom. My grandparents are going on some weird oldie cruise and I don't want her to be on her own."

"Well, you and her are welcome to come to our place for Christmas. My girlfriend's family is coming as well and I'm sure Kurt would be happy to have you with us for Christmas."

"He's going to go crazy in the kitchen that's for sure," Blaine can't stop himself from saying, because he knows that once Kurt hears about the amount of people coming to their house he'll want to go all out.

"That's nice of you, but I haven't told her about Kurt yet. I didn't want to bring up bad memories, but I'll talk her, see if she wants to come with me."

They don't tell Kurt about the conversation because they don't want him to be disappointed if Cooper can't make it and so the brothers say goodbye to one another at the airport Sunday morning, promising each other to visit again as soon as possible.

December

'Love Bites' opens the second weekend of December and compared to their Sectionals performance before Thanksgiving break, Kurt isn't nervous at all. Shooting the pilot and getting praised for his acting and singing talents has done wonders for his self-esteem and he can't wait for people to see what Blaine created.

The program says additional dialogue by Kurt Anderson because Blaine insisted but Kurt has plans to frame the front page that says 'Love Bites – A Twilight Musical Parody' created by Blaine Hummel for his boyfriend.

They are backstage, applying another layer of glitter to Santana's skin because she keeps rubbing it off on Brittany who as a rival vampire isn't supposed to glitter at all. Finn looks awkward in his police uniform and Kurt shares another look with his boyfriend who his flitting around backstage making sure everything is in order. Only Blaine would cast Finn as Bella's dad, knowing full well that he is crushing on Rachel again who is playing his daughter.

After the problems they had during tech week, fortunately everything goes well during opening night and Kurt can barely believe the turn out. Apparently even the Neanderthals at school are interested in a Twilight parody, even if it's the musical kind, and Kurt has high hopes that they might be able to perform the show in January as well.

Burt rents them a backroom at Breadstix for their celebration where they party till they are thrown out at one in the morning, celebrating their successful opening night.

"I'm so proud of you," Kurt tells Blaine when they are saying good night in Blaine's room. "Those schools you applied to would be crazy not to take you."

"The same goes for you," his boyfriend replies. "I wouldn't worry about your future. You are going to be amazing whether it's in that show or in theater."

After that Kurt can't not kiss him again and they only break apart when Burt reminds them that they are supposed to sleep in their own rooms.

The next two weeks are spent studying for finals and shopping for Christmas presents – a new tool belt for Burt, sheet music for Blaine's compositions, a video game for Finn, he and Blaine buy together, and a new scarf for Carole. His girls get gift cards for a Kurt Anderson spa treatment because he can't afford much more, but they are all ecstatic and tell him they can't wait to come by for their manicures and facials.

Carole's family – her mother, sister and niece - arrives on December 23, and while Finn's grandmother opts to stay in a hotel, Kurt, Blaine and Finn have to share a room to make space for his aunt and cousin. Kurt has never met any of Blaine's relatives before but he knows only his paternal grandmother is coming because his maternal one still has a hard time seeing him ever since her daughter died.

They are all nice to him – and Kurt suspects Burt and Carole have explained his situation before they arrived because no one questions why there are three teenage boys in the house - and on the 24th, he, Carole, Carole's mom and Burt's mom take over the kitchen to prepare a huge dinner for all the relatives.

He is elbow deep in a turkey when Burt knocks on the door and asks to speak to him for a moment and Kurt gratefully withdraws his hands and lets Carole take over.

"What's wrong?" he asks Burt when he sees the serious expression on his face and Burt passes him a letter. When he sees where it's from – the Ohio State Penitentiary – he nearly drops it and looks at Burt in alarm.

"What does it say?" he asks dreading knowing the answer. "I haven't opened it," Burt replies. "It's addressed to you."

He takes a deep breath before ripping the envelope open and withdraws what looks like a Christmas card. It's definitely not what he expected. Inside the card is a check for one thousand dollars made out to Burt Hummel and a hundred dollar bill 'for Kurt.' His father's messy hand writing is wishing him merry Christmas and tells him he hopes he is well.

He has the presence of mind to hand Burt the check before he slumps down on the couch and lets the letter fall to the floor. He doesn't know what to make of it, doesn't understand why his father feels the need to get into contact with him now, months after the court hearing, when Kurt finally feels like a real part of the Hummel family.

"Are you okay?" Burt asks him after picking up the card and reading through it. Kurt shrugs because he honestly doesn't know. After all he's been through he has never expected that it would be his father who would repent, who would feel guilty about the way he treated him. He had always thought it would be his mother – at least he had until his social worker had told him about how she had refused to cooperate with them.

"You should take the check," he tells Burt. "I know having me here as well can't be easy financially." Burt shakes his head though. "We're doing alright. I'm going to put this into your college fund."

Kurt wants to argue but he knows it's no use. He's offered before to pay rent but Burt had turned him down every time. And if the TV show doesn't work out and he doesn't get a scholarship for college he'll need every penny he has saved so far. There isn't much money in his college fund. A few thousand dollars from a grandmother he has never met before she died and now another thousand from his father.

Before he can analyze his feelings further the doorbell rings and Finn bounds down the stairs, followed by his eleven-year-old cousin. Kurt's head snaps up when he recognizes the voice at the door and he rushes over himself, throwing his arms around his brother.

"I didn't know you were coming," he tells Cooper after releasing him before realizing that Cooper isn't alone. Behind him is a tall woman in her mid forties, her dark hair framing her face. It isn't hard to guess who she is because Cooper is much more his mother's son than he is their father's.

"Won't you come in Mrs. Anderson," he tells her, hoping she is still using that name and the woman nods. "Please call me Carla. You must be Kurt. Cooper's told me so much about you," she says with a kind smile on her face.

Christmas this year is nothing like Christmas last year, with his father awaiting trial and his mother out drinking with friends while Kurt spend the evening with the Hummels. They had to move some furniture out of the way and put the kitchen table next to the dining room table to make room for all the people in their house. Fortunately, nobody says anything when he and Blaine hold hands on the table and other than having to answer a few questions about their relationship it is largely ignored.

They have the room to themselves later that night because Finn's cousin had begged him to share the room with her and it's when they are getting ready for bed when Blaine brings up his letter.

"Well, if he thinks he can buy my forgiveness, he can think again," Kurt replies angrily because after thinking about it for a bit that is the conclusion he has come to." Blaine doesn't argue with him and lets him rant for a bit before Kurt deflates. "And the worst thing is that I still appreciate the sentiment – that he thought it through and realized what your dad is doing for me," he tells Blaine, angry with himself for even taking the time to think about his father's motivations. "It's just, I think this is the nicest thing he has ever done for me for Christmas."

"You don't have to do anything about it if you don't want to. You don't owe him anything." "I know."

And still, he ends up getting up in the middle of the night to compose a short letter. "Thank you for the check. I passed it on the Burt Hummel. Merry Christmas." It wasn't like he was forgiving his father, he just couldn't not let him know he had gotten the message.

January

On the first day of the new year Blaine wakes up wrapped around Kurt and for a moment he is right back in that hospital room where they confessed their feelings to one another a year ago. He can barely believe that they've been together a year already – hopefully just the first of many.

His dad and Carole have gone away for the weekend leaving Kurt in charge because apparently he is the most responsible of the three of them. Thankfully, Puck has offered to host the party so they are in no hurry to get up and clean up the house.

After untangling himself carefully he makes his way downstairs to surprise Kurt with breakfast in bed as they had agreed not to buy gifts for their one year anniversary.

Finn is still passed out on the couch, not having been in any state to make it up the stairs after drinking too much at Puck's party. They had taken off his shoes and jacket but when they had tried to get him upstairs they had to admit defeat because Finn was a lot taller and heavier than he and Kurt.

He puts a glass of water and two aspirin on the coffee table next to Finn before starting on the only breakfast food he is actually good at making – French toast.

Kurt's still asleep when he gets back to his bedroom, cuddling his pillow now that Blaine isn't there anymore and he looks just adorable. If he didn't have so many pictures of sleeping Kurt already he would take yet another one, but he doesn't want his boyfriend to think he is a creep.

He puts the tray with the toast, orange juice and cut up fruit on his nightstand before lying down next to Kurt and dropping a kiss on his cheek, causing his boyfriend's eyelids to flutter before he slowly opens his eyes and smiles when he sees Blaine.

"Happy one year anniversary," Blaine tells him after stealing another kiss, from his lips before Kurt remembers his morning breath. Kurt's eyes brighten when spots the tray on the nightstand and before he knows it Kurt has tackled him on the bed and is covering his face with kisses.

"Love you so much," Kurt mumbles between kisses so Blaine assumes Kurt is happy about his surprise. They feed each other fruit in bed, trying to avoid spilling onto the freshly changed sheets until they hear a groan coming from downstairs alerting them to the fact that Finn has returned to the land of the living.

Kurt just rolls his eyes before climbing out of bed and putting clothes on to Blaine's dismay. "I go check if he's up for some food," he says. "Thank you so much for breakfast."

If someone had told him a year ago that Finn would become his quasi step-brother and that he, Finn and Kurt would all be living in one house – and get along – he would have told them to check into a mental hospital. Surprisingly, they do get along just fine though, now that Finn isn't so concerned any more with what the other guys on the team might think about him if he is nice to Kurt.

At times he can be the biggest cockblock on earth but at least he isn't making faces anymore when he sees them kissing on the living room couch and he has never said anything when their door was still closed by the time Finn came home from hanging out with Pucks while their parents were still at work.

When his dad and Carole come back home from their weekend they look super happy and Blaine is actually surprised his dad hasn't proposed yet. Carole is never going to replace his mom but he has grown quite fond of her – as has Kurt – and Blaine wouldn't mind anymore if his dad wanted to make it official one day.

The first week of school letters from the various colleges they applied to start arriving and when they hear that the other performing arts colleges hopefuls have started getting letters about possible auditions as well they decide to open them together in the choir room after Glee practice.

Other than him and Kurt, Rachel, Mike and Mercedes are there as well and because no one wants to go first they throw their letters onto the piano and take turns reading them out loud.

In the end, Mike gets an audition for a prestigious dance school in Chicago, Mercedes is invited to audition for UCLA and Berklee School of Music, Rachel has positive replies from Tisch and the Manhattan School of Music and he and Kurt are invited to audition for all the schools they applied for.

Thankfully all schools offer them the chance to audition in Columbus at the Ohio State campus and luckily the dates don't overlap. All auditions for the New York based schools are in the last week of January while his and Mercedes' UCLA auditions are being held the first week of February.

"I can't wait to live in New York with you guys," Rachel exclaims happily and Blaine can see Kurt tense. Not wanting to jinx anything Kurt still hasn't told Rachel about L.A. and Blaine is surprised she hasn't questioned yet why Blaine has applied for college there.

Unfortunately he has no idea how TV productions work, so he doesn't know how soon Kurt will find out if his show got picked up or not. He still thinks Kurt should give Rachel some kind of warning but it isn't his decision and Rachel isn't one of his best friends. He'll just have to be there for Kurt when it inevitably will blow up in Kurt's face.

Kurt's grateful that Blaine's spending so much time in front of the piano preparing for his audition because he has plans to repay the favor and throw Blaine a surprise party for his eighteenth birthday late January.

Now that Rachel has heard back from college she is more willing to help out as well and Burt has told him to do whatever he wants as long as the house is still standing after the party.

Unfortunately, Blaine and Santana seem to have grown closer over the past year and she demands to be involved in the party planning as well, though Kurt is a bit afraid they'll end up with a stripper if he lets her join the planning committee.

In the end he gives her the job of distracting Blaine on his birthday threatening her with bodily harm though if she doesn't return his boyfriend in one piece.

Finn helps him hang the decorations because he is freakishly tall and doesn't even need a ladder for most of the things Kurt wants to put up. The rest of New Directions and Wes and David arrive an hour before the party, bringing with them even more food and booze causing both Burt and Carole to look the other way.

"Don't let anyone drive who's drinking," Burt tells him before he and Carole leave for the night and Kurt nods because that had been the plan anyway.

They all hide in the living room when they hear a car approaching outside and Kurt smirks when he can hear Blaine's voice as he is berating Santana.

"I can't believe you made me drive you all the way to Columbus just to buy underwear. You are my friend, but that's not something I needed to see you in." "Could have picked up something for Kurt," Santana retorts and Kurt is glad it's dark inside because he knows he's blushing.

No one seems to have spilled the beans about the party because Blaine looks genuinely surprised when they all jump up and shout surprise when he and Santana enter the living room and Blaine ends up sucking the breath right out of his lungs in front of everyone to express his gratitude.

To repay him for the Wicked tickets Kurt has gotten him tickets to a Katy Perry concert in L.A the coming summer and they end up putting on a show for all their friends again because Blaine just has to show him how happy that makes him.

He is glad that Burt and Carole are spending the night elsewhere and that Finn is already tipsy because he has a feeling Blaine won't want to sleep in his own room tonight.

By the time three o'clock rolls around, half the members of ND are passed out on the living room floor while Santana and Brittany have taken over Blaine's room doing god knows what in there.

When Burt and Carole return the next morning and shake him and Blaine awake – apparently after making the mistake of checking Blaine's room first judging by the blush on Carole's face – Kurt's grateful he and Blaine had the presence of mind to get dressed again the night before.

Fortunately Burt doesn't comment on the violation of the you sleep in your own room rule – probably because they have figured out by now that they only honor it when Burt and Carole are actually home - and after Blaine just falls asleep again, Kurt rolls out of bed and goes downstairs to help Carole make breakfast for the hungover teens in the living room just waking up.

"Sorry about that," Kurt mumbles, because sometimes he forgets that Burt and Carole are less strict than his own parents were. "Don't tell him, but Finn was conceived on a pinball machine after a party. So as long as no one drives home drunk or actually gets pregnant in this house I don't mind you kids having a little fun," Carole replies with a wink and Kurt shudders for a moment because that was more than he ever wanted to know about Carole.

The last week of January, he, Blaine and Rachel drive up to Columbus for their college audition. Kurt's initial plan had been to use the same piece for every school but Ms. Corcoran had told him to look into what the schools specialize in and to tailor his audition to the specific schools.

So he ends up auditioning with 'The boy next door' for the musical theater program at NYU, 'Being Alive' for Julliard and 'As if we never said goodbye' for the Manhattan School of Music.

He and Rachel's bio mom have managed to convince Rachel to broaden her repertoire as well and not use 'Don't rain on my parade' which ends up being good advice because she chokes during the last run through before her audition.

She ends up using 'Somewhere' for Tish and 'I dreamed a dream' for the Manhattan School of Music and Kurt thinks she sounded amazing.

Blaine, aces his audition as well in Kurt's opinion, playing a piece from 'Love Bites' and another song he has been working on recently – a purely instrumental piece which he calls Kurt's song in private.

He knows there's a chance he might not need to get into college in New York but he still wants to know if he could do it, if he could actually manage to get into a great performing arts college. Because who knows if he doesn't want to go to college still once the show is over if it does get picked up. Because Cooper might think college is a waste of time, but Kurt doesn't.

"You could take a few summer classes with me in L.A," Blaine tells him when Kurt confides in him that he would be sad to miss out on the college experience if 'SING' gets produced. He doesn't know what his schedule would be like, but it is something he'd be interested in looking into if he does end up in L.A.

"I'm just happy freshmen don't have to live on campus at UCLA because I really want to live with you next year," Blaine continues and Kurt just smiles at him because he's been thinking the same thing.

Because it's the one thing he is sure of. He might not know yet where he and Blaine will end up but at least they will be together – sharing an apartment or dorm room, away from nosey step siblings and parents who might pretend they don't know what's happening but are still in the way of them waking up together every morning.

Up next: February - May