So he was coming back. And that was that. Karofsky was coming back to McKinley tomorrow and there wasn't a damn thing he could to about it. The world really was cruel, to give Kurt Hummel a few days of happiness and then to rip it away in a harsh display of mockery. He was walking down the hall, his head a whirlwind of thoughts when his father's voice stopped him.

"Wait, Kurt. We have something we want to talk to you about."

He stared in confusion at his dad and his new stepmother as they led him out to the parking lot so as to have a private discussion.

"What's going on?" Kurt asked.

Burt looked at Carole and the woman nodded her assent. "We want you to go to Dalton."

Kurt's eyes widened in response. What were they talking about? Dalton was two hours away, the tuition was too steep, they didn't have the money.

"Wha-what? What're you - we can't affo-"

"We talked about it, honey," Carole said. "We decided to use the money we saved for our honeymoon to pay for the tuition. We talked to someone at Dalton. It's Friday tomorrow and they said you could start on Monday if you wanted to."

What could he possible say? 'Yes, yes please let me use the money you two have been saving up for so long so I can go to a school so remote that it's in another county and leave all my friends behind.' But it was a school so remote that it was so very far away from one Dave Karofsky that made the offer so appealing. It was a school so far away from McKinley where he wouldn't be slushied or shoved or harassed or robbed of his first kiss.

It was the school that had Blaine.

Blaine.

Oh god, what would Blaine say? Would he think Kurt a coward? Would he welcome him to Dalton with open arms? Would he, would he, would he?

"Kurt? You haven't said yes yet," his dad said, finally shaking him out of his reverie.

"I...don't know. I didn't...wasn't expecting this. Do I have time to think about it?"

Carole smiled sadly. "Dalton needs to know by tomorrow. They need to know if they need to have another dorm room set up by Monday."

Tomorrow. That would at least give him a few hours to think about such a drastic change. And maybe, maybe, he could talk to Blaine about it. He really wasn't too sure exactly why he needed Blaine's approval or opinion or whatever you want to call it. He just knew he needed something from him.

"Tomorrow morning. I'll let you know by tomorrow morning," Kurt finally said.

Burt clapped him on the shoulder. "Sure, son. We'll see you when you get home this afternoon."

As they were turning to walk to their car, Kurt stopped them. "Oh! I might be meeting a friend after school to...talk about some things. So I might be home a bit later than usual. Or I might not. I don't know yet."

The couple nodded their understanding and Kurt turned and walked back into the school. Passing period was over, but he really needed to ask Blaine if they could meet for coffee. He slid into the boy's bathroom and whipped out his phone.

To Blaine:

Hey. Can we meet for coffee after school? I really need someone to talk to.

He waited a minute, but he wasn't disappointed when his phone buzzed with a response.

From: Blaine

Sure, of course. 4:30 at the usual place?

To: Blaine

Perfect. I'll see you later.

He slipped his phone back into his pocket and headed for the choir room. Thankfully they had Glee Club last period and Mr. Schue wouldn't mind too terribly if he was late. His stomach churned as he opened the door and he hefted his bag a little higher on his shoulder.

"Kurt, I was wondering where you were. Have a seat, we were just discussing the final set list for Sectionals," Mr. Schue said as he gestured to the chairs.

Kurt gave a tight smile and sat in a chair on the end of the front row, the furthest away from Mercedes he could get. If he did transfer, he knew it would be the hardest on her. She really was his best friend and he couldn't dare to look at her right now.

School finally came to a close and Kurt sighed with relief as he shut his locker. He was just about to leave the building when a hand on his shoulder caught him so off guard he jerked back.

"Hey!" Mr. Schue said, holding his hands up in the air. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine," Kurt said, shaking his head, "did you need something?"

"Yeah, can I...can I talk to you for a sec?" his teacher said, sounding sort of concerned.

Kurt adjusted his collar and attempted to refrain from meeting the other man's eyes. "I'm meeting someone actually. I'm kind of in a hurry."

Mr. Schue bit his lip and nodded. "It won't take ten minutes, I promise."

Kurt sighed and dropped his hands in defeat, one clutching the strap of his shoulder bag. "Fine."

Kurt followed his teacher to his office and dropped his bag on the floor as he sunk into the chair. Mr. Schue stood in front of him, leaning against his desk and crossing his arms.

"I know things have been really hard for you lately, Kurt. I know that," Mr. Schue began.

Kurt huffed in response.

"Don't," Mr. Schue continued, "don't be like that. I know. I've watched you change. You don't talk as much as you used to. You don't smile or laugh with the other Glee kids like you used to. You've even stopped fighting Rachel for solos. I can see how all this bullying is affecting you. You can try and hide it from all the kids, all your friends, but I know. I know you're terrified."

Eyes squeezed, Kurt sighed, his breath a shudder that ached in his chest as he tried desperately not to cry.

"Yeah," he finally said, "I am terrified. I think I have a right to be."

"I never said you didn't-"

"No. You don't even know the half of it, Mr. Schue. I'm scared all the time. I'm scared of large burly football players coming around the corner even if they aren't Karofsky. I'm scared of standing at my locker too long because I'm afraid someone's going to shove me into it again. I'm scared of lingering in the parking lot for too long after school because what if someone decides it's finally time for me to become their human punching bag. And now this Neanderthal is coming back here tomorrow and it's going to be worse. Because he's going to be so angry that I got him expelled in the first place. And because this kid is so far in Narnia-"

"I'm sorry, what? Narnia?"

"Nothing. He just..." Kurt wiped a tear away. "Nothing. I'm scared. And I shouldn't have to be scared. Yeah. That's bad enough. But then it gets worse."

Mr. Schue frowned in confusion. "How could it be worse?"

"Maybe because I shouldn't have to fight Rachel for solos! Maybe because, out of everywhere in this damned school, this should be the one place I shouldn't have to fight for anything! Maybe you should be fair and let us all have chances at solos! Rachel and Finn aren't the only ones that can sing! I'm not just a back up singer; I can carry my weight too! And it isn't fair!" he cried. "And not only that, but I'm so bored in all my classes, I'm just bored! Nothing is challenging me here. I thought I could endure all the ridiculous classes because I had Glee club and it was fun. But it isn't working."

Stunned, Mr. Schue's eyebrows shot up and his mouth gaped open. "Are you...are you the only one who feels this way? About me singling Rachel and Finn out?"

"No," Kurt said simply.

"Oh. I see. Well, obviously I'll have to try harder in being a bit more fair when it comes to song choices. Keep changing it up, let you guys pick more songs-"

"It doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters," Mr. Schue said. "I never meant to seem partial to anyone."

"I meant that it doesn't matter because I might not be coming back here anyway."

The silence was defeaning.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly what I said. I have until tomorrow to decide if I want to transfer to Dalton Academy," Kurt said plainly.

"But...why Dalton?"

"They have a zero tolerance, no bullying policy. It's enforced. I visited. They don't have people being shoved against lockers on a daily basis at Dalton."

Mr. Schue nodded gravely. "I see."

"If I decide to leave, I'll tell the other Glee kids tomorrow. If not, I'll be at rehearsal as planned."

With that, Kurt stood and pulled his bag on his shoulder and turned to the door.

"I'm sorry," his teacher said quietly, "that I couldn't do more to help you."

Kurt paused. Without looked back, he whispered, "I know."

And he left.

The usual place Blaine had mentioned in his text message referred to a quaint coffee shop that was one hour away from Lima and one hour away from Westerville. As Kurt walked in, he could see Blaine was already sitting at a table in the corner, sipping at his drink in silence, another lonely cup of coffee sitting on the tabletop.

"Hey," Kurt said with a genuine smile as he slid into the chair opposite of Blaine. It really was quite difficult to not smile when he saw Blaine.

"Hey!" Blaine replied, his own dazzling smile upon his face, a smile that made Kurt's heart beat far faster than he would consider healthy. And when Blaine touched his hand briefly in greeting it beat even faster. "I ordered you what you got last time. Hope that's okay."

"Yeah, of course. Sorry I was late, my teacher wanted to talk to me."

"Oh yeah? Does it have anything to do with why you needed to talk to me?"

"Uh, sort of," Kurt said. He took a long drink of his latte. But no other words were forth coming. He really had no idea how to start this conversation.

Blaine just seemed to look at him patiently, the same way he had when they first had coffee at Dalton, with his head sort of tilted to the side and a bit forward in concern.

"What would you think of me coming to Dalton Academy?" Kurt finally asked, rushing the sentence as it came out blurted in one breath.

Blaine's eyebrows rose in shock. "I didn't know you were really considering it. It is a great school."

"I meant...what do you think?" Kurt asked again.

"Ah. I gotcha. Well. I would say...it depends. On why you would consider coming."

Kurt nodded but he didn't say anything. Really, he didn't know what to say.

"I thought Karofsky got expelled," Blaine said.

"He did. But he appealed to the school board and since there were no real 'witnesses' to the incidents they dropped the whole thing. He's coming back tomorrow."

"I see."

Blaine said nothing else. Kurt didn't say anything either. He didn't want Blaine to know he was terrified to set foot inside that school with Karofsky around every corner. He didn't want to seem a coward.

"I'm trying to have courage, like you said. But I know he's going to be even angrier when he gets back," Kurt said finally.

Blaine nodded. "And you're scared," he said. Kurt froze. "Hey. Stop. There's no reason to be afraid of being afraid. Courage only goes so far before sheer stupidity kicks in."

Kurt laughed hollowly, avoiding Blaine's eyes.

"Kurt," Blaine said quietly, "if it's really that terrifying, what could possibly be keeping you there?"

Kurt finally looked into the other boys eyes, and when he did, they were so full of concern and they seemed to see right through him. He swallowed the enormous lump in his throat and the few tears he had kept at bay trickled down his cheeks.

"I can't leave my friends. They're all I've got." The words came out in a harsh whisper, and they were so unlike him and he hated it. "And I don't want to...you...I want to be strong like you said."

Blaine reached out and put a hand on Kurt's. The boy's fingers were holding so tightly to the cup he feared they might burst the thing. But when Blaine's fingers touched his, his grip loosened and he allowed one of them to be pried off and held.

"You put a lot of stock into what I've said to you," Blaine said quietly. "It's very sweet. But you need to do what's best for you."

"I just don't want to be alone there anymore. I don't want to be the only gay kid at that school."

"Well, you can't exactly force any of the others out of the closet. It's obvious that, if there are any other gay students at McKinley, they weren't as brave as you. You came out. You stopped pretending to be something you're not. And that, Kurt, that takes a hell of a lot of courage," Blaine said, smiling.

And so Kurt smiled too because it was so damn hard not too when Blaine was looking at him like that. "I suppose." He couldn't help but notice Blaine still held his hand.

"I think it would be wonderful if you transferred to Dalton. I think you would enjoy it. I think you would benefit from it. However...Dalton isn't the real world," Blaine admitted with a tone of sadness. "In Dalton, we're confined and safe inside these huge beautiful walls. We're pretty remote from other schools. We have our rules and our policies and they keep kids from getting bullied, yes. But think about what happens after you graduate? The real world? That's McKinley. Where some people are nice to your face, where some people really are friends, and, sadly, where some people are vicious."

Kurt nodded. "I don't...know where you're going with this, honestly. Are you saying you want me to come to Dalton? Or are you telling me that there really isn't any point in coming because in a year and half I'll just be subjected to the same bullshit that I'm enduring now?"

"I guess a little of both, actually," Blaine laughed.

Kurt laughed too. "So why, if you're so adamant about this real world, are you there?"

Blaine finally released Kurt's hand and sat back, looking at his coffee and fidgeting with the plastic rim on the lid. It was odd, Kurt thought, because he'd never seen Blaine shy away from anything really. Granted, he hadn't really known him that long; it had only been a few weeks since they met.

"My courage failed me," Blaine said simply.

"How bad was it? At your old school, I mean, for you," Kurt asked quietly.

Blaine shrugged. "It really wasn't that awful."

"But...it was awful enough for you to leave, obviously."

"Yeah," Blaine sighed. "But it wasn't so much physical violence, as it seems to be with you. It was mostly just...slurs on my locker. Horrible death threats scribbled on paper and shoved in pockets of my bag when I wasn't looking. I left when a bunch of, well, Neanderthals as you would say, locked me in a supply closet in a rarely visited hallway for three hours."

Kurt's breath hitched. "They locked you in a closet?"

Blaine nodded. "I suppose there was supposed to be some irony to it, in the closet and all that, as if that's where I belonged. My parents transferred me at once."

"Wow, I...I don't know what to say," Kurt admitted. "That's absolutely horrific."

"It was. And that's why it's so hard for me to tell you what to do. I want you to stand up for yourself, fight, do what I was obviously unable to do, be the champion in a way. But then again, I don't want it to escalate to such a point. Especially since your problem seems to be one specific person who doesn't care whether he violates you or not," Blaine said with a weary smile. "And it wouldn't be so bad if I were able to see you every day instead of once a week for a short coffee break in the middle of nowhere."

Kurt could have sworn his heart stopped. He watched Blaine take a sip of his coffee, obviously making a show of not looking at Kurt as if he couldn't believe he'd actually said that aloud.

"Come to McKinley," Kurt breathed, before he even really knew what he was saying or why he was saying it, "come to McKinley."

Blaine froze and his eyes shot to Kurt's. "What...what?"

"Come to McKinley. Go to school with me. Be in Glee club with me."

Jesus, Kurt thought, mentally slapping himself, what the hell are you doing? That idea is so not plausible! You're setting yourself up for failure, you idiot! Of course he isn't going to transfer to the hell hole you've been complaining about for the past three weeks! You're asking him to leave all of his friends, everything he's grown to love about Dalton.

"Why?" Blaine finally asked after what seemed like an eternity of strained silence.

"I...I don't know. I don't even know why I said that. Just forget it," Kurt said quickly, standing with coffee in hand. "Thanks for this."

He made a bee line for the door but as soon as he walked outside, a hand on his wrist stopped him and spun him around.

"No wait, Kurt. Please. You don't have to run away from me. You don't have to be embarrassed by whatever comes out of your mouth around me. Just tell me. I'll listen."

Kurt shook his head. No, this was ridiculous!

"Please. Please tell me what you meant," Blaine was practically pleading.

"I just-" Kurt huffed, smoothing his hair back like he always does, "for a moment, the idea came into my mind of you coming to McKinley instead of me coming to Dalton. I could see us walking to class together, talking and laughing, ignoring all the stares. I...I could just see us putting up a united front against all the barbarians at that institution."

Blaine bit his lip, still staring at Kurt, as though he was trying to sift through every little bit of information in Kurt's mind he could get with one glance.

"And then I realized just how stupid that idea sounded," Kurt finished.

"Why is it stupid?" Blaine asked quietly.

"Because you have friends at Dalton! Just like I have friends at McKinley! And me asking you to leave a place that's so safe, a place I'm considering transferring to, the whole idea is laughable!" Kurt replied, a nervous laugh escaping him as he finally broke eye contact.

Blaine stayed silent for a few moments and Kurt could have sworn his heart stopped beating in anticipation to Blaine's next words.

"It isn't laughable at all," he finally said.

Kurt's eyes widened and he clutched the strap of his bag. "It...isn't?"

"Not at all. The idea in itself isn't laughable or stupid. Perhaps a bit...far-fetched, but certainly not stupid. Of course you don't want to be there alone."

"Yeah," Kurt said, nodding slowly, "the idea..."

"Then again, if it was more than just an idea, I'd have to have more than a few minutes to think about it," Blaine said off-handedly, adjusting his tie.

"You...what?"

"It is a big decision to make. You can't expect me to decide in the short time span of a coffee break."

Kurt shook his head in disbelief. "I'm sorry. Were you just implying that you'll actually think about transferring to McKinley?"

"I was," Blaine replied with a coy smile.

"But...why? I was only telling you the things I had running through my mind, dreams, if you will. I wasn't serious-"

"Oh? You weren't?"

"Well. Perhaps a little serious," Kurt admitted shyly.

"I know you were. Which is why I said I'll need time to think about it. I'll give you a call tonight, okay?" Blaine said, grasping Kurt's shoulder with his warm hand.

Kurt blushed. "Yeah. Okay." And he watched Blaine disappear into his car and head back toward Dalton.

Kurt arrived home that night and walked to his room in silence. No one tried to stop him, not his father, his new stepmother, or his new brother. He slipped his jacket (Marc Jacobs of course) off and hung it up with all his others and slid his boots off before lying on his bed.

His mind had been made up on the drive home. If Blaine decided he wanted to transfer to McKinley, then of course he, Kurt, would stay as well. If he decided not to (which was infinitely more likely), then Kurt would transfer to Dalton.

He had to reassure himself more than once that, no, his decision didn't rest solely on Blaine. It wasn't that he simply needed to be wherever Blaine was. He wasn't that smitten. Yet. It was merely the idea of another out and proud member of the gay community being around at McKinley. Kurt really could not bear the idea of facing another day alone without the prospect of the situation getting better. If, indeed, Blaine did come to the conclusion that he was better off at Dalton (which he most certainly was), then Kurt really would be alone at his horrid high school. And he was pretty certain things with Karofsky would escalate to a much more violent level. But maybe, just maybe, if Blaine were there too, Karofsky would mellow out. Okay, so maybe mellow out wasn't the best term; perhaps he'd back off a bit.

His phone vibrated and the sounds of Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" filled the air.

"Hello?"

"Hey Kurt, it's me."

"Hey Blaine."

There was an odd silence. And then Kurt could hear Blaine clearing his throat on the other end.

"So I've come to a decision. I've decided-"

"Wait. Blaine. Before you say anything, I need you to know something. I don't want you to...come to McKinley just for me. Because if you choose to stay at Dalton, then I'll be coming to Dalton. I don't want you to make a decision based on the fact that I feel...alone. I guess."

He heard Blaine chuckle a little. "You're sweet, Kurt. But I've made up my mind. I talked to my parents. And they said they'd be behind me no matter what I chose."

That brought a question to Kurt's mind. "Where do your parents live, anyway?"

"Oh, about twenty minutes outside of Lima, actually. Big fancy house in a big fancy suburban neighborhood. Anyway. They said...that they were okay with me moving back in."

Kurt was silent.

"Kurt? Did you hear me?"

"I...yeah. So...if you're moving back in with them, out of the Dalton dorms, then I guess that means..."

"Yup. I start at McKinley on Monday. I've already spoken to the headmaster here, gave him my reasons, and I'm packing up my things as we speak."

Kurt couldn't help but let a stupid goofy grin greet his lips but then he stopped. "What...were your reasons, exactly?"

There was silence on the line and fear settled in the bottom of Kurt's stomach. What if he'd pushed Blaine too hard? What if he was only doing this to make Kurt happy? Damn, he felt selfish.

"Remember when we first met?" Blaine finally said. "When we had our first lattes at Dalton?"

"Of course," Kurt said. It was a day he'd never forget.

"Yeah. Well, do you remember me telling you...how I ran? I ran away from my bullies and from my school. And do you remember me telling you that I really regretted it?"

"Yes," Kurt said softly.

"Well I was completely truthful. I've regretted it every single day since. How could I, the one who ran, give you all this sage advice about courage and standing up for yourself and confronting your tormentors...when I didn't?"

"You're just...wise."

Blaine laughed quietly. "Yes, well, hindsight's generally always wise."

"And so?"

"And so I've decided to fight with you."

As happy as Kurt was, he couldn't help feeling guilty. Blaine was leaving the safety of Dalton. He was leaving his friends. "But...we haven't even known each other an entire month. How do you know I'm a worthy teammate?" he asked, a bit of sarcasm in his lilt.

"I don't know. I just...do. For some reason, I can't help but think you're the only one whom I'd stand by. The only one who I'd go into battle with, per say."

"What about your friends? Your schoolwork? The curriculum at McKinley will be like kindergarten to you!"

"Relax," Blaine laughed, "Wes, David, and all the other guys understand. I talked about it a bit to them too. They get it. And as for the schoolwork, after all the hard work I've done at Dalton, I'll be glad to be a bit lazy."

And Kurt was finally able to let a real smile grace his lips. "Blaine...I don't know what to say."

"Say you'll come help me pack. You wouldn't even believe the amount of shit I have in this tiny room."

"Of course! I'll be there tomorrow morning."

It was of course, the least he could do for the other boy.

"Awesome. I'll see you tomorrow then. The other guys are hounding me to watch some TV show."

"Okay. Goodbye, Blaine."

"Bye Kurt."

Kurt hung up the phone. He sat, staring at the thing in silence for a moment before he laughed out loud.

Time to tell his dad and his stepmom what he decided.

Friday went by in a flurry of motion. His father granted him permission to skip school so he could help his friend pack. Blaine really did have a ridiculous amount of crap in his dorm room. They moved him out completely by Friday night and on Saturday, Kurt resolved to take Blaine shopping.

"No more uniforms for you, thank god," Kurt had said. "Not that you looked bad in it, quite the opposite, but they just weren't the best choice."

"I always sort of liked the pants. They fit the butt rather nicely."

"Oh I know."

"Do you?" Blaine had asked, his eyebrow lifted in question.

"Hard not to," Kurt had said simply, attempting to hide his blush while dragging Blaine around the mall and to other various stores.

Sunday found Kurt on his bed, trying to catch up on the small amount of homework he'd let sit idle while he was focused on Blaine the rest of the weekend. That night, it was very difficult to sleep. It seemed so, too, for Blaine, who kept texting him until they both fell asleep around two in the morning.

When Monday morning came, Kurt was up at the crack of dawn, ready to look his best. He'd told Blaine he would pick him up and they could drive to school together. So when Finn came out of his room with sleep still in his eyes, he looked at Kurt with confusion, who was already dressed, finished his breakfast, and washing his dishes.

"Why are you up so early?" Finn asked groggily, making his way to the fridge for some orange juice.

"Oh, I just promised I'd take a friend to school. I didn't want to be late."

"Who?"

"He's a transfer student. It's his first day. I'm really the only person he knows at this school right now," Kurt said, fixing his hair. "I'll see you later."

Kurt walked out of the kitchen and snatched his keys off the hook, leaving behind a bewildered Finn Hudson.

He made it to Blaine's house in record time. He sent a text to his friend to let him know he was out front.

To Blaine:

I'm here!

From Blaine:

Thank god! I NEED YOUR HELP! Just knock on the front door, the maid will let you in.

Now confused himself, Kurt turned off his car and approached the front door. About ten seconds after he knocked, a short dark-headed woman answered the door and smiled.

"He's upstairs," she said.

Kurt nodded his thanks and raced up the stairs. "What's wro-"

But he stopped mid-sentence. The problem was quite obvious. Blaine stood in front of a mirror in a pair of dark-washed jeans...with no shirt on. (Kurt's mind reeled.) Scattered all over the bed and on the floor were various pieces of clothing. It was like Blaine's closet belched out his entire wardrobe.

"Problems?"

"Help," Blaine pleaded.

Kurt laughed outright. "I'm glad it's only a wardrobe crisis and not something serious."

"ONLY A - ONLY A WARDROBE CRISIS. I never thought I'd hear that phrase come out of your mouth."

"You're hopeless."

"I haven't had to pick out clothes to wear to school in years! I've always had my uniform," Blaine explained.

Kurt was having an immense amount of trouble forcing himself to look at Blaine's face. The boy's chest was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, slightly tan, the hair as dark as the curls on his head.

"-urt. Kurt! My eyes are up here," he finally heard Blaine saying, a slight smile on his lips.

Kurt shook his head and nodded. "Right. Yes. What look were you attempting to try for?"

Blaine turned back to look in the mirror. "I don't know. As much as I love the way you dress, I really can't pull it off. I'm...er...a bit more low..."

"Maintenance. Yes, I know. Not everyone can dress as fabulous as I can. It's something I've come to live with. And I remember the types of things you picked out on Saturday."

With that said, in less than five minutes, Blaine was still dressed in his tight dark jeans, but he wore a nice belt and his chest was covered with a white t-shirt and a grey sweater.

"Perfect."

"My hero," Blaine pretended to swoon, eyelids fluttering.

"Oh shut up. If we leave now we can get coffee on the way to school."

On the way to the coffee shop, Kurt finally had to ask the question.

"Are you nervous at all?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," Blaine replied immediately.

"You don't look it," Kurt noted.

"Of course not! I'm mister sensible and composed on the outside. But I can't help but wonder what it'll be like. I saw how Karofsky treated you that day we confronted him about the kiss."

Kurt nodded as they pulled into the parking lot of the coffee shop. "I feel like I forced this on you," he admitted quietly.

"What? No! Kurt, don't even think that. You gave me an option I previously hadn't thought of. When you asked me the other day to come to McKinley with you, I think I had a paradigm shift."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It was like, 'Oh, there's door number three'."

"I don't want you to be scared," Kurt said.

Blaine gave a small smile and put his hand on Kurt's thigh and squeezed. "I think I'm allowed to be scared. But I won't allow you to be scared for me."

Kurt took a deep breath and nodded, putting his hand over Blaine's. "I suppose you're right. Now. Latte?"

Blaine snorted elegantly. Kurt thought it was odd how anyone could snort elegantly. "Do you even have to ask?"

So by the time they arrived at McKinley, they had caffeine and adrenaline rushing through their veins. But, oddly enough, Blaine was calmer than Kurt.

"Hey, look at me," Blaine said as they stood in front of Kurt's car. He took the younger boy's hands and noticed they were shaking. "Remember what you told me? About us walking in together?"

Kurt nodded nervously.

"Well we're gonna do that. Everything will be alright. We've got each other."

And Blaine was looking into Kurt's eyes so intensely that Kurt thought his heart might burst. Or that Blaine would kiss him. He preferred the latter of course, but when that didn't happen, he just nodded again and Blaine released his hands.

"Okay."

So they approached the front doors together. The busy morning commotion of the hallways stopped dead as everyone turned to stare at them as they walked in. The boys, too, paused. But Blaine purposefully brushed his hand against Kurt's and he was finally able to breathe again.

"Mind showing me where the principal's office is?" he asked Kurt, ignoring all the stares.

"Certainly."

And that was that. Blaine followed him to Principal Figgins' office where he was greeted with a warm handshake and given his class schedule and locker assignment. But when they walked out of the principal's office they were greeted by none other than Sue Sylvester herself, tracksuit and all.

"Hey Porcelain!" she said, clapping him on the shoulder. "Who're you?" she asked after finally noticing Blaine.

"Blaine Anderson," the boy said with a smile, holding out his hand. "I just transferred here today."

Coach Sylvester looked at Blaine's hand and then back to his face. "Right. Tickle-Me-Doe-Face it is." And then she walked off.

Blaine didn't let his hand drop back to his side until she'd been gone for a few seconds.

"Uh...what just happened?"

"That was Coach Sue Sylvester being nice."

"She called me...Tickle-Me-Doe-Face."

"Yeah. You get used to it."

They meandered through the hallways, Kurt pointing out various rooms as he went along.

"Where's my locker?" Blaine asked, showing Kurt the number.

"Same row as mine, just a few doors down. Come on."

"Cool. Neighbors," Blaine said with a goofy grin.

"You're ridiculous," replied Kurt.

He went to his own locker to stash a few books and do a final hairspray touch up. He watched Blaine fiddle with the combination lock and open his locker to arrange his school things. Kurt couldn't help but smile. He'd never felt so lucky. That is, not to say a relationship between them was inevitable. But now he knew he had a friend at McKinley. A boy just like him in so many ways. His thoughts were interrupted when Mercedes came to his side.

"Kurt! I missed you on Friday!" she squealed, practically tackling him with the enthusiasm of her hug. "Where were you?"

"I had to help a friend pack," he said smugly.

"But we were all here on Friday. Who were you-"

"Hey Mercedes," Blaine said, coming up behind Kurt. His eyes strayed to the inside of Kurt's locker door where he saw a picture of himself and the letters spelling out 'courage' taped below it.

Kurt realized what he was looking at and slammed his locker door shut. Shit. He probably should have taken those down. Now Blaine would think Kurt was obsessed with him.

"Well that's not fair," Blaine said finally. "I don't have a picture of you to put up in my locker."

Kurt stood in silence, eyes wide. "I'll...uh...have to get you one then. If you want."

"Oh, I want."

Kurt could have sworn Blaine's eyes were smoldering. Smoldering.

"Wait!" Mercedes said. "So you go here now?"

"I do," Blaine smiled.

"Really?"

"Really, really."

"Wow! Are you gonna be in Glee Club too?"

"It's on my schedule, but I'm sure I'll have to have some sort of audition to set things in stone."

"Cute and modest," came a drawl from behind Mercedes. "Can't wait to see you in class, hotness."

Blaine's eyes widened. "Um...who was that?"

"That would be Santana. She's the resident slut here at McKinley," Kurt explained. "But somehow we love her anyway. And she can sing, I'll give her that."

"She ain't got nothin' on me," Mercedes interjected.

"Never!" Kurt laughed. "Anyways. What's your first class?"

Blaine glanced at his schedule. "Looks like...history."

"Perfect! Us too," Kurt said. "Let's go to class."

There were no Neanderthals in history. Kurt silently thanked every non-existent omniscient being everywhere. He would have felt awful if Blaine had a bad first class experience. The teacher introduced Blaine and ushered him to take a seat next to Kurt. Blaine winked at him as he sat.

The lesson was long and boring, as he'd expected. He spent most of his time watching Blaine out of the corner of his eye. His friend was diligently taking notes, his hand quickly scribbling across the page. He was gazing out the window while the teacher wrote something on the board when he noticed Blaine slipping a note onto his desk.

Why aren't you taking notes?

Kurt almost laughed out loud and glanced at Blaine who looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Kurt penned a reply.

Because her lecture is straight from the book.

He passed it back. He saw Blaine look a little shocked.

Really? They don't expect you to read the chapters outside of class? At Dalton the lecture was only vaguely related to the reading.

Blaine slid the piece of paper back onto Kurt's desk.

Welcome to McKinley! :)

Blaine had to repress a scoff. The bell finally rang and everyone packed up their things.

"Well. I guess you were right. This is going to be much easier," Blaine noted as they stood in the hallway by their lockers.

"I told you so," Kurt replied as he opened his locker to throw his history book inside.

Blaine smiled and leaned his elbow on the lockers, resting his head against his hand as he watched Kurt check himself in his mirror. "I don't know what you're checking for every time you look into that thing. You look perfect."

Kurt led out a hard laugh. "No need to patronize me, sweetheart."

"It's not patronizing at all," Blaine said. "It's truth."

"You're too sweet for your own good, Blaine Anderson," Kurt said as he shut his locker.

And then he froze. Karofsky was walking up to them, looking even larger than usual. This was it. The moment of truth. This was when his theory was put to the test. Would Blaine being here help things? Or would they just get worse?

"What's this? Brought your boyfriend to school for show and tell, Hummel?"

"First of all," Kurt said harshly, not knowing where this newfound courage was coming from, "you must really be that stupid if your classes still do show and tell. Secondly, Blaine is-"

"Surprised that you're the first one who's asked," Blaine interrupted, bringing his arm around Kurt's chest to pull him towards him. "I transferred here so we could be together. Kurt and I had a bet to see who would guess it first. Looks like I won."

This was said far too brightly for Kurt's taste. And he was so caught off guard that he couldn't do anything but let his mouth hang open.

He wasn't the only one. Karofsky's mouth was gaping and then closing. But then Kurt finally cleared his throat and brought his hand up to rest on Blaine's arm that was still around his chest and shoulders.

"As much as I'd love to see more of your fish-on-land impersonation, we have to get to class. Let's go Blaine."

And they walked off, leaving Karofsky behind. But as soon as they turned the corner, Kurt rounded on Blaine.

"What the hell were you thinking? Now he's going to tell everyone!"

Blaine shrugged, adjusting his sweater and his bag on his shoulder. "So let him. The ones you care about will know the truth. That's all that matters, right? Besides, maybe if he thinks we're together he'll leave you alone."

Kurt stood still and realized he didn't have any kind of argument for that logic.

Blaine smiled knowingly. "Come on. You have to show me where my next class is."

Kurt nodded slowly. While walking Blaine to his next class, he vaguely realized how being held against Blaine's chest like that felt like the most perfectly right thing in the world.

Lunch was sort of awkward. He and Blaine sat alone with Mercedes while the rest of the Glee kids sat a ways away, giving them strange glances. Kurt attempted to ignore it, firmly telling himself that all would be revealed by the time rehearsal came around.

Kurt was surprised when they didn't have anymore run-ins with Karofsky the rest of the day.

Not. Once.

Besides History, the only other classes he and Blaine had together were French (where Kurt realized he was actually better at something than Blaine) and Glee.

And when Glee finally came around, Blaine noticed that Kurt was shaking as they made their way to the choir room.

"Hey. What's wrong?" Blaine finally asked, stopping them outside the door.

Kurt looked in the classroom and saw everyone sitting in their chairs, talking and laughing.

"I just...these are the people I care about. These are the only people...I care what they think."

Blaine smiled indulgently. "Kurt, me being here has nothing to do with you. They won't dislike you. Hell, they might even like you more for bringing me here."

"I'm not too sure about that."

"Well, it doesn't matter now. Because I'm here."

Kurt nodded and gave Blaine a small smile. The bell rang and he knew they had no more time to waste. So they walked in together.

Mr. Schue was standing by the piano with a paper in his hands.

"It says here we have a new student...ah! Here he is then. Everyone, give a warm Glee welcome to Blaine Anderson!"

Blaine gave a smile and a small bow and Kurt snorted at his antics.

"Wonderful," Kurt said, rolling his eyes and taking a seat next to Mercedes.

"Wait. So he just gets to walk in here and be in Glee Club? Just like that?" Rachel asked pointedly, her eyes passionate and full of anger.

"Who cares, he reeks sexy," came Santana's voice.

"I don't care what he reeks of, it isn't fair!" Rachel snapped. "Mr. Schue-"

"No, no, I would never expect to just waltz in here as if I deserved a spot," Blaine explained. "I know you all had to audition to get in, I figured I would too."

"Sexy and sweet," Brittany said, "Like Sour Patch Kids."

"Those are sour and sweet, Brittany," Artie reminded her. "And I'm sitting right here."

"Don't worry, Artie. You're still my Sour Patch Kids."

Artie smiled while Rachel still looked uneasy. "Well what if he can't even sing?"

"He can, Rachel," Kurt finally commented.

"How do you know?" Finn finally asked.

"Because I've heard him."

"Okay! Why don't we just let Blaine audition, just like Sam had to when he was the new kid."

"Fine," Rachel finally said, crossing her arms, sitting back in a huff.

Mr. Schue looked at her sternly before turning his gaze back to Blaine. "Now, I'm guessing you have something prepared?"

"I do. Mind if I borrow the piano"

"Not at all," Mr. Schue said, gesturing to the piano bench.

"Sexy and he plays piano? I'm dead," Santana said in a not-whisper.

Blaine smiled and sat on the stool by the piano and Mr. Schue moved to sit in a chair next to Kurt.

"This is actually one I wrote myself a few weeks ago. After someone very special came into my life," Blaine said, hazel eyes glancing at Kurt before he turned his attention back to the piano. When he started playing and finally started singing, Kurt was absolutely swooning.

"I've been alone,

Surrounded by darkness,

I've seen how heartless

The world

Can be

I've seen you cryin'

Felt like it's hopeless,

I'll always do my best

To make you see

Baby, you're not alone,

Cause you're here with me,

And nothing's ever gonna bring us down

Cause nothing

Can keep me from loving you,

And you know it's true,

It don't matter what'll come to be

Our love is all we need

To make it through"

Blaine kept playing the piano and kept on singing about 'it ain't easy', 'see you smiling' and all these other things. During the entire song, Kurt's face was almost splitting in half and his cheeks were aching because he was smiling so hard. He wanted to turn and look at the other Glee kids' reactions, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the dark haired beauty at the piano. The song was coming to an end.

"...cause nothing, Nothing, NOTHING

Can keep me from loving yooou"

Kurt felt a tear slide down his cheek as Blaine pitched his voice higher.

"Aaand you know it's true

Hmmm

It don't matter what'll come to be,

You know our Looove is all we need,

Our love is all we need,

To maaaake it

Through"

He finished by playing a few notes to the end of the keys and then he stopped and looked directly at Kurt and smiled.

The entire group was silent and then a near violent cheer erupted from everyone, even Rachel was clapping, her eyes wide.

"I think I can safely say, Blaine, welcome to New Directions!"

Everyone else jumped up as Blaine smiled in gratitude. They proceeded to hug him and welcome him happily.

"Thanks, thank you," he kept saying to everyone, but his eyes kept looking past the group to where Kurt still sat in his chair, a grin on his face.

By the time Glee Club rehearsal came to an end, even Mr. Schue was practically smitten with Blaine. The man was smiling when Blaine chimed in with song selections, dance moves, and harmonizing tips. Because he was putting his two sense in with respect, not expecting everyone to go along with his idea come hell or high water, like Rachel always did.

When everyone was packing up their things, Blaine sat by Kurt while the younger boy tucked some sheet music into his bag.

Quite abruptly, Blaine had his lap full of Santana. He froze, confused, as she wrapped her arms around his neck, his own hands up in surrender.

"So I was thinking. Me, you, Breadstix. Tonight. Seven," she said with no hesitation at all.

"Santana, get off," Kurt said sternly.

"Not until I get my answer," she said, with what Kurt was sure she deemed a seductive smile on his face.

The rest of the club looked on with curiosity, except Mercedes, who was laughing quietly to herself, knowing how this was going to turn out.

"As lovely an offer as it is-" Blaine began.

"I know. I'm lovely like that," Santana interrupted, her hand caressing the back of Blaine's neck.

"Yes. It is a lovely offer. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline," Blaine said with an apologetic smile.

"You...you have to decline?" Santana repeated, obviously not believing her ears.

"Yes. I'm terribly sorry. But I'm afraid you're not quite...my type."

She scrambled off his lap to stand in front of him, arms crossed. "What, are you calling me a slut?"

"No!" Blaine said at once. "No, never. That's not what I meant at all!"

"Well then spit it out, boy," she said harshly, not used to being rejected.

"Santana, I'm very sorry to disappoint you. But I'm actually very gay."

The silence that followed seemed eternal.

That is, until Mercedes started laughing out loud.

"Shut up!" Santana shouted before she stormed out of the room.

The others were still silent until Blaine spoke again.

"Well. I think that went well."

Then everyone else joined in on Mercedes' laughter, even Kurt. They all grabbed their bags and headed out to their lockers together. Rachel walked quickly up to Blaine, her books clutched to her chest, Finn following awkwardly behind her.

"It's nice to know there's another gay guy at this school," she began, "McKinley needs all the diversity it can get. My dads are gay. To this day we still don't know which one is my real dad."

"That's sweet, Rachel, thank you for the nice welcome," Blaine said diplomatically, unsure of what he should say to the latter part of the greeting. He turned to his locker and opened it as she continued to ramble about the merits of diversity and glee club and solos and other things. When he closed it, he saw Finn give the girl a slight nudge.

"Are you Kurt's boyfriend?" she asked with no reservation.

"Ah," he looked at Kurt who stood with wide eyes before looking back at her, "no, I'm afraid not. He and I are just friends. Very good friends, but it's nothing more than that."

Kurt couldn't tell if there was a tone of sadness in the other boy's voice as he admitted the truth.

"I thought so. I told you, Finn. Just because he's the only other gay guy to come through this school doesn't mean Kurt is automatically in his pants."

"Rachel!" Finn squawked, ushering her out of the building, whispering to her as they left.

Kurt walked over to Blaine and smiled. "Thanks."

"For what? It was only the truth," Blaine replied. "Come on, I feel the need for another latte. We can get a copy of the latest Vogue magazine!"

Kurt laughed and followed him out to his car.

He couldn't remember having a better day.

The next couple of weeks passed in relatively the same fashion. Kurt and Blaine would pass notes in history, they would chit chat at their lockers between classes and at lunch, Kurt would help Blaine with his French pronunciations and conjugations, and then everything ended happily in Glee Club.

However, Santana (wisely, Kurt thought) steered clear of Blaine unless she absolutely had to stand by him or dance with him in a routine.

There were no more incidents with Karofsky the entire week. Kurt thought he was on cloud nine. His friendship with Blaine was progressing wonderfully. Sometimes Kurt would pick Blaine up in the morning for school or vice versa. Very rarely did they drive separately. An entire world was opened for Kurt. Here he had someone who was interested in so many of the same things as he was (except fashion, Blaine was one of the few hopeless fashion-challenged gays ever), someone who liked to sing two part harmonies to Disney songs, someone who never got bored with the Wicked soundtrack, someone whose company he never seemed to tire of. They even sat in his or Blaine's bedrooms talking about boys.

Sure, he'd talked to Mercedes and occasionally Tina about boys, but it wasn't the same as having another gay guy around to talk to about them.

After school one afternoon, they were lounging around Blaine's bedroom, listening to the Beatles on Blaine's iPod and gorging themselves on hummus and vegetable crackers when Kurt finally plucked up the courage to ask Blaine what had been on his mind for at least a week now.

"Blaine, have you ever had a boyfriend?"

"Two, actually. Why do you ask?"

Kurt shrugged. "I've never had one. I was just...wondering what it was like. I've never had anyone to ask about it before."

Blaine smiled and brushed the crumbs off his hands. Kurt inwardly cringed as they fell to the floor. But it was Blaine's room so he didn't say anything.

"Both were at Dalton. The first one was Daniel. He was nice to me as soon as I transferred there. We had a lot of classes together and his room was down the hall from mine, so we had plenty of time to spend together. I think we were in study hall in the library the first time he told me he was gay. He'd known I was. I still don't know why he never told me when he already knew for a while that I was. Anyway. We lasted a good four months before he decided that, since I wasn't putting out, he was going to get it from somewhere else."

"Wow," Kurt said, "what a jackass."

"I thought so. I mean, it's not like we weren't doing anything but he wanted more than I could give him."

"I see."

"Yeah. The second was Aydyn. That was last year. He was...well, let's just say I thought I was actually in love with him. He was very sweet to me. Proudly held my hand as we walked down the halls and all that, something Daniel never really did. Aydyn was very publically affectionate. We were in the Warblers together and so we spent countless hours together, rehearsing or going to see musicals and stuff like that. He was a very good boyfriend. I lost it to him."

"...lost what, exactly?" Kurt asked, a little lost.

"My virginity," Blaine stated simply.

"Oh."

"Yeah," Blaine shrugged. "It was...alright, I guess. It wasn't super special, like you see in movies and things. But he didn't force me or rush me or anything. It was in between class and Warbler rehearsal though. It just kind of happened; neither of us was expecting it. Like I said, nothing special."

Kurt nodded. He didn't really know what else to say. He had never stopped to think how much more experience Blaine had than he did. Hell, up until Karofsky, he'd never even had a proper kiss from a guy. And even that wasn't a proper kiss.

All of Kurt's hopes and dreams seemed to go down the drain after Blaine's story. What would a gorgeous, talented, funny, intelligent, lovely guy want with Kurt?

He finally cleared his throat to ask, "So if he was so good to you, why did you guys break things off?"

"His parents moved to Europe and they didn't want Aydyn to be so far away from him. So he ended up going to some boarding school in France. We tried the long distance thing, it just didn't work out. He found some little French boy over there, I figured. We broke things off about...two weeks before school ended last year? Yeah, I think that was it."

"Ah. Well I guess it's good he didn't really break your heart or anything."

Blaine laughed harshly. "Oh, he did. I was up for waiting for him. I planned to see him every summer in between school and then after we graduated we'd run off to Canada or somewhere else and get married and live happily ever after."

"Oh."

"I was just young and very, very naïve. He was old and wise, you know? Didn't hurt any less at the time. But, alas, there's-"

"Hindsight," Kurt finished for him. "Everything's always clearer in hindsight."

"Exactly. By the end of the first month of summer I was over him. My broken heart had mended," Blaine said, dramatically clutching his chest.

"You're such a dork," Kurt laughed.

"Maybe. But you love me anyway," Blaine said offhandedly.

Kurt froze and Blaine realized his faux pas and continued hurriedly. "Well. I hope whoever your first is, they'll treat with the respect, love, and kindness you deserve. Your first time should be special, something to remember and cherish. Not like your first kiss, which was out rightly stolen from you."

"Yeah. Let's hope," Kurt said quietly.

Their eyes lingered on each other for almost a good thirty seconds before the playlist on Blaine's iPod came to an end and they had something to do and moved on to other conversation.

It was three days before sectionals and the Glee Club was just finishing its rehearsal. This past week, Mr. Schue kept them until six at night to make sure they had everything just perfect for the competition.

"Now remember, I think our only real competition here is going to be Dalton Academy," Mr. Schue was saying. "But don't hold me to that."

"Yeah, I really don't think we have to worry about a bunch of old people," Puck said. "I bet they all have walkers and canes and crap."

"You never know," Mr. Schue said.

"Didn't you go spy on those Dalton kids, Kurt?" Puck asked with a gleam in his eye. "What'd you find out?"

Kurt's eyes widened. "I...uh..."

"So you really were there to spy on us, huh? Next time, you might want to check out the dress code before you go," Blaine said jokingly, nudging Kurt's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Rachel interrupted sternly, "did you just say us?"

"Yeah," Blaine replied, a look of confusion on his face. "I transferred here from Dalton."

There was silence. And then all hell broke lose.

"Oh, no freakin way!" Puck shouted.

"Mr. Schue, did you know about this?" Quinn asked in terror.

"SPY!" Rachel said, her finger directed at Blaine.

"I don't get it..." Sam said, just as confused as Blaine. "What does Blaine being from Dalton have to do with anything?"

"Rachel dated Jesse St. James last year before Regionals," Tina explained for the benefit of Sam. "He transferred here in the middle of the semester and acted like he was on our team. He was a spy the entire time. Right before the competition, he went back to Vocal Adrenaline, our biggest rivals, and competed against us. They won."

"Oh. That's uh...pretty bad," Sam concluded.

"You guys, Blaine is not here to spy on us!" Kurt finally interjected, standing up and putting himself between Blaine and the rest of the Glee Club.

"That's so hypocritical, Kurt!" Rachel lashed out. "You kept telling me Jesse was a spy and you all wanted me to break up with him!"

"Rachel, in case it has slipped your tiny, self-absorbed mind, Jesse WAS a spy!" Kurt yelled back.

"But I was so sure he wasn't! How can you be sure Blaine isn't either?"

"Because I know why he transferred and it has absolutely NOTHING to do with Glee Club!"

"Then you should be able to tell us why he transferred!"

The two were literally in each other's faces when Mr. Schue finally stepped in to make them back away from each other.

"Guys! Calm down! Sit down!"

Kurt sat without another word. Rachel did as well, albeit quite reluctantly. Mr. Schue sighed and finally turned to Blaine, who had been sitting with his eyes very wide and his mouth agape.

"Listen, Blaine. I know I have no right to ask you this, but if you could just...we were really wronged last time we competed and it would help to know you're not here to do the same thing."

Blaine nodded slowly, completely understanding. "I...I'm sorry," he said softly. "Kurt didn't tell me any of this. Had I known, I'd have never auditioned."

"Blaine, don't say that. I'm sorry," Kurt pleaded.

"No, no, Kurt. I was just saying. Hindsight, you know?"

Kurt nodded and shut himself up so Blaine could talk.

"You guys deserve to know. I mean, besides Kurt here, you're the only friends I have," Blaine said, taking a deep breath. "I met Kurt the day you guys, I guess, sent him to spy on us. I realized at once that he wasn't really a new student. He didn't even have his uniform."

Kurt laughed quietly and Blaine smiled at him before continuing.

"We talked over coffee after he watched us sing. I admitted to him that I was gay too, and the conversation just flowed from there. He talked about how he was being bullied here and I...I told him that I had been too, at my school before Dalton. I told him that he had every right to stand up for himself. I was trying to be the inspiring, wiser, gay kid, you know? Well. It kind of backfired and things got worse. Kurt, I assume they know?" Blaine asked.

Kurt nodded and he continued. "So then Karofsky threatened Kurt's life and Kurt almost decided to transfer to Dalton. We talked a lot about it. In the end, I ended up feeling like a hypocrite for trying to tell Kurt to stand up for himself when I never did. I didn't try to confront the people that hurt me. I ran. I ran to Dalton because they have a zero tolerance bullying policy. And then...well, Kurt gave me the chance to come here. And I chose to transfer because I was tired of hiding behind walls there. I saw...Kurt was strong. He had courage," he emphasized, looking directly at Kurt when he said it. "I wanted to have it too. So I came here."

By the time he finished his story, Quinn and Rachel were in tears and all the others looked on in pure astonishment. Kurt gazed at Blaine proudly. He desperately wanted to reach out to him, hold his hand, hug him, anything to erase that sad gleam in his eyes.

"So...you're not here to spy on us?" Brittany finally asked.

Blaine shook his head. "No, no I'm not, Brittany."

"Okay," she said, shrugging.

Everyone gave a small laugh as Mr. Schue finally stood beside Blaine and put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's good to have you with us, then," their teacher said with a smile.

Blaine nodded and his eyes locked on Kurt's. The older boy's bright smile made Kurt's heart beat at that extremely unhealthy pace he was slowly coming to terms with.

The night before sectionals found Blaine sitting on Kurt's bed rehearsing their harmonization. They'd had an audition in regards to who would sing the duet at Sectionals and Kurt and Blaine won with their rendition of 'Hey Jude' by the Beatles.

"So how're you feeling about competing against Dalton?" Kurt finally asked Blaine as they laid on his bed after practicing the song four times in a row.

"I don't know, honestly. It's gonna be weird, that's for sure. Especially after I sang with them for so long. But...I like McKinley better. Dalton's all about fitting in, for the good of the team kind of stuff. Now that I'm here, I realize I was sort of in a cage. I made the right choice, transferring. No matter how awkward it'll be competing against them, at least I know that. And I am excited to see Wes and David again. I haven't seen them since I left."

"Oh, I hadn't realized. You've been spending too much time with me, haven't you?'

"No amount of time is too much time with you, Kurt," Blaine said immediately, dazzling Kurt with one of his smiles. "But I really should make an attempt to see them more. I don't want them to think I've forgotten them. I text them and we Skype sometimes, but..."

"It's not the same," Kurt finished. "Of course it isn't. You should see your friends."

"I will. After Sectionals, I'll make sure to see them every couple of weeks."

They talked for another hour or so, interspersed with a bit of rehearsing. They were lying on Kurt's bed talking about the absurdity of Santana. When they fell asleep next to each other, they didn't even think about it.

"-urt! Kurt! Wake up! You're late for - oh."

Burt Hummel stopped dead in his tracks.

Kurt and Blaine were asleep on Kurt's bed (on top of the covers, thank god). But they were wrapped around each other, Kurt's back pressed against Blaine's front, their legs intertwined, and Blaine had his hand in Kurt's, with both pressed to Kurt's chest.

They stirred a little at Burt's voice but didn't wake up.

"Ah...Kurt. KURT!"

"Wha...?" Kurt's eyes began to open, still drowsy from a very nice sleep. "What's wrong?" he asked groggily.

"Uh...you're late for school. Don't you have that competition thing today? And why is Blaine...in your bed with you?"

Kurt yawned, but none of his dad's words processed in his brain until he attempted to sit up, wherein which he realized Blaine, indeed, was sleeping in his bed. What was more, they were wrapped around each other like a couple of octopi.

"Oh, sh - Blaine. Blaine!" he whispered harshly, shaking the older boy's shoulder.

"Five more minutes," he heard Blaine mumble before his grip tightened on Kurt, attempting to pull him closer.

"Uh...give us a few minutes, dad?" Kurt asked with a blush in his cheeks.

"Yeah. Um, sure. Yeah. Right."

He watched his dad walk up the stairs and out of his basement room, but noticed his father didn't close the door.

"Blaine, wake up! We're late for school!" Kurt tried again. "We've got to get going or we'll miss Sectionals!"

"So warm," Blaine muttered behind Kurt's ear. "Don't wanna get up, stay here."

And then he proceeded to kiss Kurt's neck.

Kurt didn't make a move.

What should he do in this situation?

Because he was really liking what Blaine was doing with his lips and he really didn't want him to stop. But he didn't want this to come from Blaine being half asleep and possibly not even realizing just exactly whose neck he was kissing. And they were running very late.

So he tried to untangle his legs from Blaine's and he rolled over and sat up.

"Blaine," he whispered a little bit louder. "Blaine, come on, wake up."

Blaine only snuggled further, burying his head into Kurt's hip.

"BLAINE!" he finally shouted.

The effect was instantaneous. Blaine's eyes snapped open and it only took him a few seconds to realize where he was and who he was with.

"Kurt?" he asked, sitting up and yawning.

"Yeah. Get up, we're late, we've got to get to the school so we can go to Sectionals."

"Oh. OH! That's today! Yeah, okay. Wait. Why am I in your bed?"

"I guess we fell asleep last night when we were talking. I didn't even realize," Kurt said.

"Me neither. But I slept so well."

"Me too," Kurt admitted. Then he smirked. "I especially like the way you attempted to keep me in bed by molesting my neck with your lips and tongue."

Blaine's eyes widened. "I...what?"

"You heard me," Kurt said with as much nonchalance as he could as he climbed out of the bed. "It was quite pleasant."

Blaine blushed. Kurt could only remember a scant few times that he'd actually seen the boy blush.

"Ah...sorry. I was...good dream," Blaine attempted to explain.

"I see. Terribly sorry you had to wake up next to me then," Kurt said, studying his closet, trying to figure out what to wear.

"What're you talking about? I loved waking up to...never mind," Blaine said quietly. And then he noticed the clock. "Oh my god, is that clock right?"

Kurt nodded absently, still browsing his wardrobe. "Why?"

"Maybe because it's 8:47 and we're supposed to leave for Sectionals at NINE," Blaine clarified.

"WHAT?" Kurt squeaked, turning to look at the clock in question. "I don't have time to change or shower or anything?"

"No, just throw on your shoes and jacket, we have to go," Blaine said, fumbling around for his own shoes and jacket.

"I can't fix my hair?" Kurt asked, shocked and appalled.

"Your ha...you're hair? Kurt, we can fix it on the bus! Toss some stuff in a bag and let's go! Thank god the costumes are at the school so I don't have to run to my house to get it," Blaine said as he finished tying his shoes and had one arm in his jacket already.

"On the bus? Are you crazy, I can't-"

"KURT!" Blaine gestured to the clock, which now read 8:49.

"Okay! Okay!" Kurt surrendered, grabbed the nearest bag and pretty much tossed every hair product he had into it. He pulled on his jacket but couldn't find the shoes he wore yesterday.

"Here, I've got them. Come on, let's just go, you can put them on when we get to the school," Blaine said, urging Kurt and his ridiculously full bag up the stairs.

They ran out of the house, jumped into the car and sped to McKinley. Kurt parked quickly and they rushed to the side of the school where the busses were. They both sighed with relief as they saw the other members of New Directions standing around, checking cell phones and sighing with what seemed like annoyance.

"Kurt! Blaine! There you are, the costumes have already been packed, get on the - Kurt? Are you not wearing any shoes?" Mr. Schue asked.

Blaine handed Kurt his shoes and they made their way to their teacher as the rest of the students started piling onto the bus.

"Sorry, Mr. Schue, we woke up really late," Kurt explained. Then he should have put his foot in his mouth after he heard how that sounded. "I mean, wait. We weren't - we fell asleep when we were rehearsing last night and - it isn't-"

"Kurt it doesn't matter. Just get on the bus," Mr. Schue said, ushering them in.

The rest of the Glee kids looked at them as if they knew the real story, which in fact, was not the real story, since sleeping really was all they did.

Kurt and Blaine sat in the back near Mercedes. The next half hour was spent with Kurt trying to fix his hair and make his complexion look somewhat acceptable. When he sighed irritably as he was putting everything back in his bag, Blaine leaned over to whisper in his ear.

"Stop worrying, Kurt. You look great."

Kurt caught Blaine's eyes and noticed he was smiling that smile that you couldn't help but smile along with, so of course Kurt smiled too.

"Thanks," Kurt said softly, turning to stare out the window.

He didn't even flinch when he felt Blaine's hand settle on his knee for the rest of the ride to the competition.

"Okay guys, girls dressing room is here, boys is here," Mr. Schue pointed out to them when they had finally made it to the venue where Sectionals was to be held. "In twenty minutes I want us to start warming up."

The McKinley Glee Club split up into their separate rooms, arm's laden with bags and their outfits for the competition.

"I cannot believe I didn't have time to shower this morning," Kurt grumbled as he slipped off his jacket. "I feel disgusting."

"I didn't get to shower either, don't be so pissy," Blaine said.

"Yeah, what's with that?" Puck asked in the midst of sliding off his shirt. "You both show up late in the same clothes you wore yesterday. Saying you fell asleep. That you BOTH fell asleep. I thought you guys weren't gay together."

Kurt turned about twelve different shades of red but before he could answer, Blaine intervened. Thankfully.

"I was at Kurt's house last night practicing our duet. We got to talking and didn't even notice the time and we just fell asleep. Honestly, that's all that happened."

"Suuuure," Puck said.

"Oh shut up, Puckerman," Kurt snapped. "Besides, even if we were gay together it wouldn't be any of your damn business!"

Puck held up his hands in mock surrender and stepped back. "Alright, alright. Damn, lighten up."

Kurt let out a huff and continued to change, hoping Blaine wasn't watching. Now that was an odd thought. Besides that first day Blaine came to McKinley, this was the first time they'd ever seen each other without clothes on. But Blaine was beautiful. He remembered that. And he was just as beautiful now, too, with the little bit of chest hair, and the trail of hair that Kurt followed with his eyes that disappeared under the waistband of Blaine's jeans. Oh but he was slipping them off now and he stood only in a pair of boxers and -

"Kurt," Blaine nudged him with his shoulder as he pulled on the trousers for the competition. "You might wanna change into your costume."

"Wha - yeah. I know. Yeah."

God, Kurt thought to himself, if you were anymore transparent...

"Not that I mind you looking," Blaine said, just loud enough for Kurt to hear. And he had his lovely hazel eyes trained on Kurt's baby blues and a crooked, sexy smile on his face. Kurt thought he was going to melt.

He shook himself out of his reverie and quickly changed, so he was dressed in time along with all the other guys. He looked in a mirror and did a final touch up to his hair.

An hour later they found themselves sitting in the audience with hundreds of other people waiting for the competition to begin. They would be going last, just after the Warblers. As the announcer opened the show and the first group, the Hispters, started to sing, Kurt's palms began sweating. He didn't know why, really, it wasn't as if he hadn't performed in front of people before. But this was the first competition where he was going to have an almost solo with the boy he'd suddenly found himself in love wi -

Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa, brain, Kurt thought.

In love?

And then he turned to glance at Blaine next to him, and saw him tapping his leg to the beat of the song. Blaine turned and looked at him. With another gorgeous, heart stopping, dazzling smile. Kurt smiled back feebly in response and turned his eyes back to the stage.

Oh.

So maybe he was a little bit in love with him.

That was unexpected. Okay, not completely. But he didn't expect to fall head over heels for the first gay guy who shows him any attention that's not in the form of outright harassment.

There was a fifteen minute break between each school's act because the judges wanted to allow each group to see all the others sing. So when the house lights went up, Kurt stiffened. Now, for some strange ridiculous reason, he found it really hard to look Blaine in the eye.

"I'm gonna go say good luck to my friends before they perform," Blaine was saying while Kurt was busy trying to stop his heart from beating out of his chest, "did you want to come?"

"No," Kurt said, ashamed at how high pitched his voice was. He cleared his throat. "No, they're your friends, not mine. You don't have to take me everywhere."

Blaine paused and gave Kurt an odd look. Probably because that last statement was said so out of character and with such attitude and he wasn't expecting it.

"I just meant...I mean, you met some of them before and I didn't really want to go alone, but...never mind. It's fine. I'll be back in a minute."

With that Blaine stood, looking slightly dejected, as if someone had just denied him a puppy, and walked over to where the Warblers were standing, about to go to the green room.

Kurt let out a frustrated sigh.

"Is he actually talking with our competition? What if he's giving them our set list right now? What if-"

"Rachel, he's just going to tell them good luck. His best friends are in the Warblers and he hasn't seen them since he transferred. Besides, even if he was going to give them our set list, how the hell would they have the chance to sabotage us in the next ten minutes?" Kurt snapped.

"I'm just being cautious," Rachel said immediately. And then she stopped and actually looked at Kurt. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Kurt... it's obviously not nothing..." and then she followed his line of sight and saw that his eyes were practically glued to the back of Blaine's head while the other boy shook hands and shared hugs with his old friends.

"Are you jealous? He did offer you the chance to go over there with him," she pointed out.

"No," Kurt sighed once more. "It isn't jealousy at all."

And then, with a bit of wisdom she'd only very rarely imparted and with a sad smile, Rachel said, "You're in love with him, aren't you?"

"I don't know what to do," Kurt replied in a broken whisper. "What am I supposed to do?"

Now Kurt had never had any kind of heart to heart with Rachel Berry, nor did he approve of her fashion sense (or lack thereof) or her extreme case of self-importance, but somehow right then and there, she seemed like the perfect person to be having this conversation with.

"You should probably tell him," she said.

"What? No, I...I can't. He doesn't even feel the same-"

"Stop right there, Kurt Hummel. Are you trying to tell me you don't think that boy likes you at all?"

"Uh...pretty much," Kurt replied, as if it should be obvious.

But then the way Rachel smiled had him confused. "Wow. And I thought Brittany was the most oblivious person in the club," she said, shaking her head. "Kurt, do you really not see the way he looks at you?"

"What're you talking about?"

"He doesn't smile at any of us the way he smiles at you. He doesn't sit hip to hip on the bus with any of us. He doesn't ride to school with any of us every single day. He doesn't wait by my locker after school or in between classes, he doesn't sit apart from the rest of the group with Artie or Finn or Puck or Sam and have quiet little chats. And he certainly doesn't fall asleep at night next to any of us."

"That was an accide-"

"Kurt shut up. And look," she said, gesturing to where Blaine was laughing with his old friends.

And what Kurt saw made his heart swell. Every couple of seconds Blaine would be in the middle of laughing or talking and he would turn back to where New Directions sat and look at Kurt. When he finally caught his eye, Blaine gave another smile and a little wave and then turned back to his friends. Kurt saw Wes and David say something and then Blaine punched Wes in the shoulder.

"The boy's a smitten kitten," Rachel finally said.

Kurt looked down into his lap to watch his hands wring and then looked back up to Rachel. For once, she seemed completely right. Damn it.

"You really think I should just come out and say it? Just lay it out like that?"

"Yes," Rachel replied with no hesitation at all.

Kurt bit his lip and nodded. "Yeah. Okay. But in the meantime, can you please not tell anyone about this? Especially Finn?"

"My lips are sealed," she said with a genuine smile. "Oh, he's coming back. Don't wimp out."

And with that, she turned back to Finn (who was almost, thankfully, as oblivious as Brittany) and struck up a conversation.

"How was the visit?" Kurt asked when Blaine sat back down.

"Good. I hadn't realized how much I missed them. Wes and David are gonna meet me for dinner sometime next week."

"Oh, that's nice. Listen, Blaine, about earlier, I didn't mean to-"

"Kurt, it's fine. We're all nervous and little on edge. It's totally understandable," Blaine reassured him.

"No, I mean yes, I am nervous. But it wasn't-"

"Oh hey, they're starting," Blaine said, turning his attention back to the stage as the house lights dimmed.

Kurt clenched his fists in anger but turned too. Well, this probably wasn't the right time to profess your undying love to someone anyway.

The Warblers did wonderfully in their performance and Blaine seemed to be enjoying himself. Kurt could tell that, even though they were the competition, Blaine was still silently cheering for them to do their best. When the curtain closed, they all rushed to the green room, everyone in their own state of pre-performance jitters. Kurt saw Rachel give him a meaningful look but he just shook his head, as if to say, "No, now's not the time."

The lights flickered in the green room to let them know to take their places. They all filed out and went to their respective sides of the stage, Blaine and Kurt on stage left since they were the opening number, and everyone else on stage right. It was about a minute and a half before the music would start to play. For some strange reason, Kurt decided that it was now or never.

"Blaine," he whispered as loudly as he dared.

"Yeah?" Blaine asked, turning to face him.

"Before we go on, I need to tell you something."

"Uh...okay, sure. Anything."

But Kurt's voice decided to abandon him at that precise moment so he did the next best thing he could think of.

With no time to waste, he leaned and pressed his lips to Blaine's. Even though the kiss was slight, soft, and precious, a jolt of something Kurt had never before experienced rushed through his veins and straight to his heart. He felt Blaine's hand cup his cheek and then he pulled away from his face to look directly in Blaine's beautiful, trusting eyes.

"I'm so in love with you," Kurt whispered, hoping he sounded as sure of himself as he knew he was.

And then the lights in the audience dimmed and the music began to play and there was nothing else to be said because they had to sing. And they had to go onstage and pretend the most amazing moment in Kurt's life hadn't just happened.

The performance went far better than New Directions could ever, ever have hoped. As soon as the music ended and the curtain dropped, everyone was hugging and laughing and running off the stage to return to the room where all the groups would be waiting while the judges tallied their scores.

Kurt felt another hand slip into his and yank him to the side as the others rushed out the stage door. But before he could put up any kind of protest, he felt himself being pushed up against the wall next to the door and another set of lips on his and two hands framing his face. His brain realized that it was Blaine before his body did, but he finally let his hands tangle into the other boy's dark hair. The kiss was fierce and hot and he felt Blaine's tongue trace his lips before he opened in kind.

He actually thought he might die. Or melt. Or wake up from the greatest dream he'd ever had. But he didn't. Blaine's mouth was warm and wet and sweet and he tasted like Christmas. Kurt couldn't help but kiss back with as much fervor as he was getting. But just when he thought he might pass out from lack of oxygen, Blaine pulled away. Their breathing was heavy and mingled together as Blaine let his forehead rest on Kurt's.

"Me too," Blaine whispered, his voice ragged. "I mean I do too. I love you."

As far as Kurt was concerned, no matter how Blaine stumbled over his words, it was the most perfect declaration of love he could ever have hoped to hear.

"You...you do?" Kurt had to ask. Because this kind of thing didn't happen to him. He had a hard time believing he was this lucky.

"Yes. So much," Blaine replied. "You don't know how long I've wanted to do that."

"What, push me up against a wall and shove your tongue down my throat?"

Blaine laughed and the sound was one of the loveliest Kurt had ever heard. "Exactly."

"Why didn't you then?"

"Maybe because I didn't want my first kiss with you to be anything like what happened with Karofsky?" Blaine offered. "I wanted it to be your decision."

"What if I never kissed you first?"

"I would have gone insane!" Blaine said immediately with a sweet smile. "But I would have dealt with it, because it had to be your choice. It just had to."

"Ever the gentleman," Kurt said, wrapping his arms around Blaine's neck to pull him in for another kiss.

Neither noticed Rachel Berry come back through the stage door. She stopped herself from letting out a surprised squeak and hurried back into the hallway to tell Mr. Schue that yes, Kurt and Blaine were fine, they were just inside having a little...heart to heart.

New Directions drove back to Lima that evening with a huge first place trophy and light hearts. Kurt and Blaine sat in the back seat, knuckles brushing, thighs pressed together, and dopey smiles on their faces. Rachel gave Kurt a thumbs up. Kurt had never felt so happy. He finally had a boyfriend.

A boyfriend.

He was so damn lucky he could hardly stand it.

Mr. Schuester offered to pay for pizza when they got back to the school. Kurt and Blaine respectfully declined, saying no thank you, they had somewhere they had to be. Rachel winked at them when they left.

The two boys once again fell asleep on Kurt's bed, but this time, it wasn't by accident at all.

The next couple of weeks put the last happy month to shame. If Kurt thought he was happy before, his heart was bursting out of his chest now. He and Blaine were officially a couple and everyone in New Directions knew it. Hell, everyone outside of New Directions knew as well. It was hard to miss the hand holding, the stolen kisses in between classes, and the goofy looks the boys constantly shared.

Kurt and Blaine were sitting on the sofa in Kurt's living room one day after school when Burt Hummel walked in. Neither had heard the front door open so, naturally, their lips were glued to each other's when Kurt's dad cleared his throat behind him. They jumped apart as if they were on fire and Kurt stared, wide eyed and wordlessly at his father.

"Ah, Kurt...can I talk to you in the kitchen for a minute?"

"Uh...yeah, dad. Sure," Kurt said nervously. "Be right back," he whispered to Blaine.

His father was standing awkwardly against the counter when he walked into the kitchen. Kurt stopped in front of him and shuffled his feet.

"So. I guess you and that boy-"

"Blaine," Kurt said at once. "He has a name."

"Blaine, then. Right. So I guess he's your...uh...boyfriend then," Burt said, obviously ill at ease himself.

Kurt couldn't stop the blush from spreading over his cheeks. "Yeah. He is."

Burt nodded. "Okay. Yeah. Alright. So...okay."

"Dad, I know it's weird for-"

"No!" Burt said suddenly. "Okay, yeah maybe it's a little weird. But it's not like it was totally out of the blue. I did see you guys wake up wrapped around each other that mo-"

"Dad, please," Kurt begged, really, really, not wanting to have this discussion.

"Sorry," Burt cleared his throat. "But so...you're happy? With him?"

Kurt's cheeks were aflame once again. "Yeah. Yeah I am. Really happy."

"Good. That's all that matters then."

Kurt nodded and the two settled into an awkward silence. "I should..."

"Yeah. Go ahead."

Kurt spun on his designer clad foot and made his way back into the living room. Blaine turned to greet him and then stood quickly. Kurt looked over his shoulder and saw his father right behind him.

"So Blaine," Burt began, "I don't have a problem with you dating my son. Kurt says he's happy with you and I trust his judgment. So I can't say anything against you."

"Thank you, Mr. Hum-"

"But," Kurt's father interrupted swiftly, "If you ever hurt him, and...break his heart or whatever, or if you push him to do something he's not ready for-"

"Dad!"

"Then you should be aware I've got a .45 in my nightstand drawer and I'm not afraid to use it."

Kurt could not understand how Blaine just stood there with a smile, calm as you please, while he was utterly mortified.

"I have absolutely no intention of ever hurting your son, Mr. Hummel. And if Kurt's not ready for certain intimacies then I completely respect that. I respect him, sir. And I'm in love with him."

Burt nodded. "Good. And if things do...get to that point where you guys wanna...well just use protection. At least I don't have to worry about either of you getting pregnant."

"Dad!" Kurt said again, wishing he could just die and crawl under the nearest rock.

"No, Kurt, don't be embarrassed," Blaine said. "It's good that your dad cares. And you have every ounce of faith in me, sir. I know all about being safe."

"Right, then. So...did you wanna stay for dinner, Blaine?" Burt asked.

Blaine smiled. "I'd be honored."

"Good. Okay. I'll let Carole know. You boys...uh...have fun," Burt said, looking extremely uncomfortable before leaving the room again.

For a few seconds, Kurt just stood there, completely horrified, staring at Blaine. "Oh. My. God. I cannot believe that just happened."

"I figured I'd get that speech eventually," Blaine laughed. "At least he's concerned about you. That's always a good sign."

"Yeah but did it have to happen like that? I can't believe he actually broached the topic of sex."

"Don't worry about it, Kurt. At least it's out of the way."

Kurt nodded, still a little stunned, and then sat back on the sofa.

Later that night, Kurt, Blaine, Burt, Carole, and Finn were gathered around the kitchen table eating Italian food Carole had picked up on her way home from work.

"So, Finn," Blaine began, breaking the awkward silence that had settled over the table, "did you catch that Ohio State Buckeyes game on TV the other day?"

Finn was so caught off guard that he dropped his fork and it clattered loudly onto his plate.

"What?" he asked.

"Oh, do you not like the Buckeyes?" Blaine asked.

'Uh...I mean, yeah. I just...didn't think you did. You know, 'cause you're..."

"Gay?" Blaine laughed outright. "Yeah, I get that a lot. But I like sports too. I've been told I'm relatively manly for a gay guy. I mean I like musicals and performing and the Sound of Music as much as the next Gleek, but I like tons of other stuff too. I'm kind of fanatic when it comes to Ohio State football, actually."

"Really?" Finn asked in complete surprise.

"Oh, yeah. I try and catch every game. I've only been to two live games though. But it was so much fun!"

"Yeah, Burt took me to one once it was so awesome," Finn agreed, his reservations having disappeared after the shock passed. "Have you ever been to a pro game?"

"No," Blaine said, sounding genuinely disappointed. "I want to, though."

"Me too," Finn said.

"Maybe one day we can all go," Burt put in.

"That would be so awesome!" Finn said loudly.

Blaine smiled and turned to Kurt who, oddly enough was smiling too. As much as he really did not like football, attending a game with Blaine and his whole family would be worth it just to see Blaine happy.

A week later found Blaine straddling Kurt on Kurt's sofa in his room, kissing as if they needed each other's tongues more than they needed air.

"Kurt...I..."Blaine said in between kisses in a ragged voice, "we have to stop."

"No we don't," Kurt breathed, "we should never stop." He pulled Blaine's face closer to his for another kiss but Blaine put his hand on his chest and pulled away.

"No, you don't...I can't..."

Kurt stopped trying to pull him closer and looked into Blaine's eyes with concern. "What...why, what's wrong?"

Blaine laughed harshly. "Nothing. That's the point, everything is going perfectly. It's so perfect that I can't..."

"What?" Kurt asked again.

"If we don't stop now I won't be able to stop."

"What do you - oh," Kurt whispered when Blaine rolled his hips into Kurt's. He could feel Blaine's erection through his tight jeans.

"At least I know I'm not alone," Blaine laughed nervously, as he could feel a second, answering hardness in between them.

"But I don't want to stop," Kurt protested, slowly sliding his hands from the back of Blaine's neck, down over his back until he finally grabbed the boy's (very well toned) butt and squeezing.

Blaine thought he just might die.

"I don't want to make you do something you're not ready for. We've only been together a few weeks," Blaine said, resting his forehead against Kurt's.

"I know. But I'll tell you if we start doing something I'm not comfortable with," Kurt assured him.

Blaine caught his eye and they stared at each other for a few long seconds.

"And to think I started out with such good intentions," the older boy said, rolling his hips once more to make Kurt gasp.

"Yeah well...ah, oh my god...the road to hell is paved with tons of those," Kurt breathed.