The buzz pierced the air. It was horrible. Annoying. Loud. Blaine blindly swept his hand across his bedside table, knocking his glasses well off unto the carpeted floor. He swore lightly as he found the alarm. He shut it off with perhaps more force than necessary, and hauled himself out of his bed to get ready for yet another day at Dalton. Groggily, he got on his knees and felt under his bead for his glasses. They were prescribed of course, but Blaine wore contacts. He didn’t need to give anyone more of a reason to make fun of him, especially Wes and David. Speaking of warblers Blaine took a glance to the other side of his dorm room. Trent was sprawled across his bed fast asleep. He envied the chubby warbler. He could sleep through anything; Blaine was a light sleeper, a trait he inherited from being on the defense for bullies all those years ago. He shook off the thought as he made his way to the bathroom to freshen up. He didn’t need to go down that path again.
After his shower was done, and teeth brushed, Blaine started on the task of his hair. It took him at least an hour each morning to get his curls gelled and styled impeccably and Ever since Kurt arrived he noticed himself taking more and more time. He glanced at the clock as he did his tie. It was six on the dot, and he still had an hour before school started. Blaine pulled on his blazer and grabbed his key as he made his way out the door. After a moment of thought he decided to stop by the Dalton coffee shop to get him his fix.
As he walked into the warm room he was immediately enveloped in the smell of coffee grinds and cocoa. He enjoyed the aroma. It was the one thing that stayed constant in his life. He ordered a medium drip as he pulled out his money to pay the cashier. He glanced around the shop while the waitress was giving other people their orders. The room was smaller than a Starbucks but comfortable nonetheless. A warm honey light filled the area and the burgundy plush chairs and coffee tables gave the room a regal flair. As he looked around some more his eyes set on something that made his heart stop. Upon the windowsill that looked out to the large gardens of Dalton was a bouquet of roses. They couldn’t have been natural, they weren’t a color seen in nature. They were a pale blue, but as the light outside shifted you could see the petals change from blue to an olive green, and back to an icy gray. They mesmerized him; he wondered where he’d seen the color scheme before. And then it hit him.
Kurt. Kurt’s eyes were the exact shade of the rose petals. They were beautiful, translucent. Blaine flinched when the waitress tugged on his arm and knocked him out of his reverie.
“Here’s your order sir.” She gave him a warm smile.
“T-thank you,” Blaine stuttered as he took the warm cup in his hands, he was still in awe of the flowers perched upon the window ledge.
“I see you’ve noticed the flowers, my grandfather is an extreme botanist.” She laughed as Blaine blinked and turned to her, obviously unaware that she was talking, “He was also a chemist. It took him years but he finally whipped these up.”
She motioned to the flowers, “They change with the sun.”
Blaine swallowed a lump in his throat. “They’re beautiful.”
The unknown waitress nodded, “They are.”
Blaine and the young woman fell into a comfortable silence. They were both in awe at the synthetic flowers. Blaine couldn’t believe they were man made, they looked so real. His mind wandered to Kurt again, he also noticed his head doing that lately as well. He looked down towards his warm cup of coffee. He wondered if Kurt enjoyed coffee and breakfast on school days. He made up his mind just as the waitress turned to walk away.
“Wait, miss,” he extended a hand and grabbed the white cloth on her elbow, “can you order me another medium drip and a buttered scone?”
The woman gave Blaine a warm smile, “Someone special?”
Blaine was speechless for a moment, “I honestly don’t know.”
“Well from the way you were staring at those flowers I think you already do.” She gave a small laugh, “I suppose it’s none of my business though. I’ll get right on that.”
She disappeared behind the counter and as Blaine waited he thought more about Kurt. Is he somebody special to Blaine? Did he even like him? Sure He’s had a crush on him since the day he arrived but did he love him? Blaine decided it was too early to tell. They weren’t even close friends but God did Blaine want to be.
The waitress came back with Blaine’s order, interrupting his thoughts. He thanked her and reached into his pocket for the money. Before Blaine could pull the change out the girl put a hand on his.
“It’s on the house. You’re lucky; I have a soft spot for love-struck teens.”
Blaine blushed, “Thank you,” he said with a laugh.
She waved him off and walked back to the counter. With a shake of his head and a wider smile on his face he left the shop to go find Kurt. He was going to make that boy his friend if it killed him.
~X~
Blaine walked swiftly to Kurt’s side of the dormitories. Kurt was on the west wing as the coffee shop was on the east so he had to keep a steady pace if he wanted to get there before classes started. He passed grand structures and portraits of prestigious sponsors and students alike that lined the hallways. They all looked so serious, like all the fun and growth of high school was drained out of them, leaving them dry, barren. Blaine turned a corner and started walking up towards Kurt’s hall. He reached a wide set of stairs that led up to the rooms where the students were boarding. He ran up the stairs and nearly toppled a underclassman over, he quickly apologized continued on his way.
He finally reached Kurt’s door, Blaine could almost feel his beauty. Blaine didn’t know when he had fallen but he did, he fell far and hard for the pale boy that he met only a week ago. He shook the thought off and straightened his blazer and made sure his hair hadn’t come undone before knocking. The sound reverberated off the door loudly as it echoed down the waking halls of Dalton. After a while Blaine started fidgeting with his fingers, he was nervous. What if Kurt didn’t answer? What if Kurt thought Blaine was weird and didn’t want to talk to him again? Blaine didn’t think he could deal with that. He knew what people say about teenagers. That they don’t know what true love is. Hell Blaine didn’t even know if he was in love with Kurt but he knew he couldn’t bear not being around him.
He was shot out of his fears as he heard the gears grinding in the door. After a small moment of anticipation the door opened to Kurt half put together in his Dalton uniform. It seemed whenever Blaine visited Kurt at his door he felt the air being knocked out of him. His hair was messy and his tie was undone, as were two of the top buttons of his cotton white shirt. Blaine swallowed at the sight. He raked his eyes up and down the boy hoping he didn’t notice he was staring. After taking a few deep breaths he spoke.
“I got you a coffee and scones for breakfast, I didn’t know if you would have time to eat. You always seem rushed in class and I never see you finish your lunch so I thought I’d bring you something to snack on. I don’t even know if you like coffee, or if it’s the right flavor, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. If you don’t like it I can-“
“Blaine. You’re rambling again.” Kurt shook his head laughing, “You’re really adorable sometimes. Of course I would love breakfast. Thank you.”
Blaine would be lying if he said Kurt’s smile didn’t give him butterflies, or he gave the biggest grin possible as Kurt took his breakfast.
“I hope you like it.”
“Of course, now I need to get dressed. I probably look like an idiot.”
No. You look hot. “Not at all.”
Kurt squeezed Blaine’s shoulder and it sent a warm tingle up his spine, “You’re too sweet. See you in first period?”
“Definitely.”
Kurt gave him one last smile as he closed the door. Blaine felt like he was on cloud nine, at the top of the world. He turned from the door with a spring in his step, only to have his smile and buzz washed away by one person.
Sebastian.
“Hey Blaine, was that your pathetic attempt at flirting? I would’ve said something about his ass in those pants, but to each his own.”
He gave a shrug and started to walk pass Blaine. He was seething, he didn’t know what it was but something about Sebastian just set Blaine off. He really didn’t want to lose his cool in the halls but he’s not going down without a fight.
“Don’t talk about Kurt like that.”
Sebastian stopped abruptly. After a moment of thought he turned around, “Why not? He’s not yours. He’s definitely a pretty face.” He was choosing his words carefully, talking in a condescendingly superior tone just to piss Blaine off.
And it was working.
“He’s more than that!” Blaine’s voice was rising. He tried to calm down but he couldn’t. In his mind Kurt was his friend, Sebastian was just a piece of scenery.
Blaine could see the cogs click together in Sebastian’s mind and immediately wished he could walk away. Sebastian’s trademark sneer turned into a wicked smile, that reminded Blaine much of the Cheshire cat.
“Oh he is?”
Blaine was silent. His hands were balled into fists at his side, knuckles turning white.
“Yeah, he’s a-a friend.” Blaine finally choked out.
“Oh and it makes you mad when I talk about said friend like that?”
Sebastian was feigning intense thought, each second of his patronizing face making Blaine’s blood boil more and more. He didn’t know how much more he could take before he snapped.
“Yes, he’s a person, with thoughts and dreams and goals.” He spoke slowly, Blaine was trying his hardest to keep his cool; he really was, for Kurt’s sake.
“Well what would you do if say, I asked him out? Would that make you mad?”
Sebastian’s face was emotionless now; he was awaiting Blaine’s answer with honest interest. Blaine was at his edge.
“I would, I-“
Blaine couldn’t finish because Sebastian had started talking again, his words were laced with a venom Blaine had never heard before, the green eyed vixen sounded evil.
“I think it would completely crush you. You’ve had so many things taken away from you. You couldn’t even find love for a while because your father threatened to disown you. You’re weak Blaine and you desperately need somebody to lift you up.”
Blaine’s mouth was dry, he felt tears pooling at his eyes. The rage had subsided for now; all he could feel were his cuts and bruises opening up. His heart was pounding and his legs felt weak. He didn’t know how he was still standing.
“I could have been that person,” Sebastian’s voice was broken, cracked. He heard the sincerity in his voice and that alone was enough to make Blaine crumble to the ground.
“But you chose Kurt, so now I’m going to make you feel what I’ve been feeling for the past 3 years. I’m going to make your heart bleed and ache every time you look at him.”
Blaine’s breathing stopped, he felt faint. He didn’t know if it was from the abrupt shift in Sebastian’s personality, or the threat itself. The boy leaned down towards Blaine’s neck. He could feel Sebastian’s warm lips grazing his ear.
“And then,” He started slowly, “I’m going to break his heart…Like you broke mine.”
The boy turned on his heel and stalked back towards the commons. Blaine was at a loss for words. He couldn’t feel anything. His tongue was tied, and if Blaine could’ve talked he was sure his words would come out in a jumbled mess. As his mind was pounding with thoughts and ideas his brain decided to stop on one thing.
He had to protect Kurt.
~X~
The Dalton classrooms smelled differently than McKinley’s. McKinley reeked of desperation, sweat and students who had nothing better to do than tweet their lives away. Dalton however, smelled prestigious, knowledgeable, and the students here actually gave a damn about their future. Kurt was glad to have a change in scenery even if he did miss his old friends. They were all unique in their own way. Kurt had even just slowly warming up to Rachel, the annoying but beautiful voice of the New Directions. He missed Mercedes most of all though. The diva had a voice, a soul and spirit Rachel could only dream of having. He frowned as his heart clenched. He really shouldn’t try to open up new wounds; it would only hurt him in the long run. As he sipped his warm coffee Blaine had brought him his heart started to feel better though.
Blaine.
Blaine was so sweet, charismatic and gentlemanly. This boy who he met not even a week ago selflessly brought him breakfast out of the blue. He smiled again as he took a small bite of his scone. It was delicious, the butter melting on his tongue sending a rush of sugar to his bloodstream. He took his seat in the front of the room to get ready for Literature. He came at a perfect time. The class had just started studying mythology, something Kurt never learned about back home. He opened his messenger bag and pulled out his Mythology textbook he had issued to him seconds within the class. As he was surveying the room, he jumped as somebody plopped into the seat next to him. He turned to find a pair of striking green eyes staring at him.
“Hi Kurt,” Sebastian swept his eyes across the countertenor, “How do you manage to look this good every morning? I try but I just don’t have the elegance you do to pull it off.”
Kurt blushed at the compliment and slowly closed his textbook. He didn’t want to admit that having Sebastian staring at him made him feel high. Wanted. He’s never felt wanted.
“I try,” He replied simply.
“Oh, I’ve noticed. Actually a lot of us have.”
Kurt arched an eyebrow, “really?”
Sebastian leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, “You really don’t realize the kind of affect you have on people,” he gave a dashing smile, “That’s cute.”
Kurt blushed through the whole lecture, he could barely focus. He didn’t retain any information the instructor sent him, he was too busy with Sebastian. The boy was a perfect gentleman the whole time. When Kurt’s pencil was out of lead, Sebastian was ready with a spare. If they needed to take notes, Sebastian would make sure to make an extra copy for Kurt. He didn’t know what to say. He just smiled and kept thanking Sebastian, over and over. Kurt couldn’t say he as getting annoyed though. He loved the extra attention. He never got any at McKinley. In glee club he was ignored, in school he was anything but. In the midst of Kurt’s daydream he heard the bell go off. He scurried to pick up his books and shove them into his bag.
“Here,” He felt Sebastian’s hand on his arm, “I’ll get those for you.”
Kurt watched in awe as Sebastian picked up all his books and notes and tentatively slid them into his bag. He snapped the buttons shut and slid it on Kurt’s shoulder. He blushed once again at the close contact; it was ridiculous how much Kurt was blushing today.
“Thank you, I have lunch next-“
“Me too! I can walk you there, if you want I mean.”
Kurt gave a huge smile, “That’d be great.”
“Well Mr. Hummel,” Sebastian extended his elbow while quirking an eyebrow, “Shall we?”
Kurt giggled and slipped his hand through the crook of Sebastian’s arm and together they made their way towards the lunch room. The halls of Dalton were always crowded around lunch time, and as students came through the doors from other academic buildings cold January air swept into the building making Kurt shiver slightly.
“Are you cold? Do you need me to find you a jacket?”
Kurt smiled at Sebastian’s caring gesture but shook his head, “No you’ve done enough, thank you though.”
The green eyed boy nodded and they pushed into the cafeteria, arm in arm.
They got many strange looks as they walked towards the lunch line. To Kurt’s surprise they weren’t dirty looks, they were just surprised. A lot of the other boy’s faces were morphed into a look of confusion. He lifted a hand to his hair to make sure he it was still in place when he figured it wasn’t him they were staring at.
It was Sebastian.
It all clicked to place. Sebastian was known as a whore, he never did lovey-dovey stuff like he had done with Kurt for the past hour. He felt his face turn into a frown. He kind of wanted this, whatever it was with Sebastian to be real.
“Be right back, I’ll get us lunch.”
He was brought back to reality by Sebastian’s smooth voice.
“You don’t know my lunch order.” Kurt said negatively.
Sebastian scoffed, “Kurt I’ve watched you eat for a week now, I know what you get.” With a rub on Kurt’s cheek he left.
Kurt was in awe. Not only did this boy notice him, but he showed a pretty big sign of affection just now. He didn’t know how to take it. Should he listen to the rumors about Sebastian’s promiscuous ways? Or should he go with the flow. He was enjoying this side of Sebastian, like it was reserved only for him.
He felt a tug on his hand and looked down to find Blaine standing in front of him. Kurt smiled down at the raven haired Warbler, only to get a worried frown in return.
“Something wrong?” Kurt asked tentatively. He turned his head slightly to see if Sebastian had returned.
“Kurt,” Blaine started slowly, he could see the gears turning in his head. “I see you and Sebastian are getting along.”
If Kurt didn’t know better he’d say Blaine was jealous. But he knew Blaine and Sebastian’s past; he knew that hated each other. Blaine probably thought he was a bad influence.
“Yeah, he’s been really sweet.”
Blaine chewed his lip as he glanced around worriedly, “Do you wanna find a seat?” Blaine clasped his hands in front of him; Kurt could tell he was nervous about something. But that was the question.
What?
“Can’t we wait on Sebastian? He’s buying me lunch.”
“We don’t really have to wait on him do we?” Blaine’s voice was slightly frantic. What has gotten into him today?
“Wait on who? Here you go Kurt.”
Sebastian handed Kurt his lunch with a smile.
“Thanks, wow,” Kurt said in awe, “You even got the dressing right.”
“Of course I did,” Sebastian waved it off. “Do you wanna find a seat?”
Kurt smiled, “Yeah, you wanna come Blaine?”
Sebastian heard him mutter something that sounded like ‘might as well’. He was getting a kick out of seeing Blaine all flustered and nervous; he was going to make him know what it was like for Sebastian for the first three years of Dalton. Pining over somebody who will never love you. Getting heartbroken over that said someone. Sebastian took a deep breath, he took his medicine as soon as he left Blaine this morning so he could focus on the task with Kurt. He made a show of looping his hand through Kurt’s arm in front of Blaine.
“C’mon Kurt.” He gave him one of his best smiles and he got satisfaction out of every time he made Kurt blush. Every time he got Kurt to smile. It meant every little thing he was doing was getting him closer to his goal. Sebastian saw Blaine’s fist clenching and decided to point it out or not. He decided on the latter, there were plenty more altercations with Blaine ahead. And as Sebastian’s unrequited love passed by, he gave him one of the most menacing smiles he could.