Things started off a little awkward between Blaine and Kurt. An occasional glance at Kurt that quickly turned into a stare, which only meant Kurt got snappy. Those moments where Kurt’s fa�ade would easily slip into place and Blaine would remind him it was unnecessary, which only meant Kurt got snappy. A few moments where Blaine, completely oblivious at times, would say something insensitive about Kurt’s interests without even realizing it, which only meant Kurt got snappy.

Blaine enjoys his time spent with Kurt, though. Kurt’s the closest thing he’s had to a true friend since before he transferred to Dalton his freshman year, and he doesn’t particularly care how pathetic that may sound. He cherishes his friendship with Kurt, strange as the friendship is, and would say that Kurt is his best friend without any hesitancy at all.

There’s just one issue. Well, a few issues. Blaine’s main one is his growing feelings for Kurt. Now that Kurt doesn’t hate his guts anymore, the daydreams of kissing Kurt senseless have only gained in number. He tries to swallow the desire to lean over and gently swipe away the bit of bang falling onto Kurt’s forehead; he tries to attribute his crush on the basis that this is the first gay (and openly gay, at that) boy who’s even so much as paid attention to him, much less been nice to him, so it’s completely natural to develop some romantic feelings. However, it’s just so damn hard when Kurt grins at him, eyes bright and wild, as he talks about his grand plans after graduation. It’s hard to not feel his stomach flutter when Kurt sings and twirls around the choir room without a care, freer than
Blaine will ever feel, and more beautiful than Blaine can put into words. Blaine spends every night, panting as he comes down from wicked fantasies about Kurt, wishing that he could just get over it.

Blaine also wishes that Kurt could just see how incredibly perfect his true self is. Blaine loves the fact that he and Kurt are complete opposites: where Blaine is reserved, Kurt is loud and brash; where Kurt is outgoing and thrives off of the attention of others, Blaine is shy and would prefer to be in the background. They balance each other well, and the differences between them never fail to put a smile on Blaine’s face. The fact that they’re friends is not a secret to the student body, but the irony behind it is lost on them. When Kurt’s fa�ade says something that Kurt’s true self would never say, and Blaine can’t stop laughing… he wishes they would all understand why.

Unfortunately, Kurt is adamant against that happening. Ever. For some strange reason that Blaine can’t quite put his finger on, knowing that Kurt will never show everyone else the real him breaks his heart. He supposes he should feel special, that he’s one of the few who gets to see Kurt like that, but he thinks, knows, that everyone would love Kurt for who he is. And watching Kurt slip the mask on and off is tiring for him, so he can’t imagine how Kurt must really feel. He has to develop a plan.

----

Kurt has to say that having a good friend besides Rachel after all these years is a bit strange. He’s getting used to it, though, and thoroughly enjoys Blaine’s company. However, all the time that he’s spending with Blaine is not being spent with Rachel. And he can see the slight anger in her eyes as she stomps down the hallway toward him.

“Where have you been? We were supposed to have Barbra Streisand Marathon Wednesday after school yesterday and you never showed!”

Kurt closes his locker and shrugs. “I was up here with Blaine.”

“You’re still doing that awful deal with him?” Rachel hisses, looking around the hallway. “Kurt, I know you’re extremely worried about him telling the school about your secret, but I promise you, I can read people like a book and Blaine is obviously not going to tell anyone. If he wanted to destroy you, he would have done so already. And I, for one, will not stand idly by while you spend all your time around that little-“

“Hey Kurt!” Blaine greets with a wide grin, which Kurt returns easily.

“Hey yourself,” Kurt says slyly, smirking at Rachel’s wide eyes.

“-Creep,” she finishes lamely. She clears her throat, shaking her head to get her thoughts together.
She looks back and forth between Blaine and Kurt, clearly confused, before glaring at Blaine.

“I have a few choice words for you, Bow-tie Boy. You have no right to treat Kurt this way! He’s a lovely person, and you should seriously reconsider your stupid little plan because it will get you nothing but hatred from those of us who love Kurt and know about your blackmail plans. Well, right now, that’s just me, but I hate you for it! I actually thought you were a really nice boy when you first came to McKinley, but you’ve proven me beyond wrong, and mark my words, I will-“

“Rachel, Rachel!” Kurt manages between laughs, highly amused by both Rachel’s impressive rant and the look of sheer terror on Blaine’s face.� “Let it go. Blaine and I are okay now.”

Rachel looks at Kurt and frowns. “Wait, so, you’re not doing homework with him because he’s making you?”

“Nope,” Kurt shakes his head. “That ended about a week or so ago. Blaine felt really bad about doing it in the first place and we decided to let bygones be bygones and be friends.”

Rachel gasps and smacks Kurt on the arm. “Why didn’t you tell me? Oh my gosh, Kurt! You just made me look like such a bitch!”

“That was the plan.”

“Oh, Blaine, I’m sorry! I had no idea!” Rachel continues, rushing to pull Blaine into a hug. “I was just looking out for my best friend and you were automatically the bad guy here and I’m so sorry! Any friend of Kurt’s is a friend of mine and we’ll gladly welcome you into our group. Well, duo. Well, it’s trio, now, but semantics! It’ll be the three of us now, all best buddies!”

Blaine looks at Kurt with bewildered eyes as he hugs the girl back, and Kurt just chuckles at his two friends, his heart kind of soaring at the idea that now he and Blaine and Rachel are now friends. He ushers them to follow him to lunch, where they sit alone, getting to know each other, catching Rachel up on the Kurt and Blaine friendship, and creating new memories. Yes, things were looking up indeed.

----

“I’m in love with Blaine.”

Kurt wheels around, nearly dropping his novels for English as he turns to look at Rachel.

“Uh… really? Are you sure? I mean, you’ve known him for, like, a week. If even that.”

“The heart knows what it wants, Kurt!” Rachel pleads dramatically, clutching at her chest. “And I know it wants Blaine. Everytime he smiles at me, my stomach swoops and I feel like singing!”

“You always feel like singing,” Kurt points out as he switches books in his locker.

“It’s the principle of the thing! Yeah, I always feel like singing, but just looking at him makes me
want to sing! It’s like he gives me new inspiration to be a better performer, if that’s possible. He motivates me. He completes me.”

Kurt sighs, wondering where in the hell he got such a dramatic friend, and looks at her.

“That’s all really great, Rach, but why are you telling me this?”

He’s a little intimidated by the wicked grin that graces her face.

“Set me up with him. I know you two are closer than he and I at the moment, so you know, talk me up. Make me seem irresistible to him. Find out what he wants and then let me know so I can become his perfect girl.”

“Shouldn’t you want someone who will love you for you?”

“Well, I promise you that I am his perfect girl, but just in case, I can fake it until he falls in love with me and then he’ll have no choice but to love me no matter what!”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works.”

“Oh, please, please, please, Kurt,” Rachel begs, grabbed his hands in hers, tears in her eyes. Kurt takes one look at the pathetic look on her face and breaks. Dating Blaine will make Rachel ecstatic, and Kurt can’t deny that they’d be good together. A little incestuous looking perhaps, seeing as they look like fraternal twins, but he can forgive it. Who knows, maybe even Blaine would be a little happier with someone in his life. He ignores the random, slightly jealous pang in his stomach as he nods.

“Fine, fine, I’ll do it.” Kurt grins as Rachel squeals and jumps up and down, knowing he made the right choice if only for his friend’s happiness.

----

Blaine’s seated across from Kurt in the library, trying to pay attention to his calculus homework, but he’s mostly distracted by the way Kurt bites on the edge of his pencil as he reads, or the way he rolls his neck when he stretches, or the way he sticks his tongue out as he turns the page. He shifts in his seat and sighs as he looks down at all the unanswered questions on his page.� Blaine used to be a good student, he swears.

He feels Kurt staring at him, and immediately feels himself begin to blush. He hadn’t been too obvious, had he?

“So, Rachel’s a nice girl,” Kurt begins, and Blaine’s suddenly confused.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, she is,” Blaine agrees, nodding.

“You can’t deny that she’s somewhat intelligent, extremely talented, and quite pretty, in her own way,” Kurt points out, eyes never leaving his book.

“Well, yeah,” Blaine laughs, still feeling confused, but he’s mostly amused by how Kurt manages to underhandedly insult his best friend at the same time as complimenting her.

Kurt looks up and returns Blaine’s huge grin before they both turn back to their homework. After a few seconds, Blaine’s confusion sets back in.

“Kurt? Why were you asking me about Rachel?”

“No reason!” Kurt answers in a sing-song voice, grin still playing on his lips. Blaine feels even more confused, so he just brushes it off and goes back to trying to pay attention to his calculus
homework.

----

A week later, Kurt and Blaine are due to perform their duet. Blaine has no problem with the song Kurt picked out, really. He thinks it’s fantastic, and Kurt sounds fantastic singing it. But he has a plan. A plan to help convey to Kurt exactly how special Blaine thinks he is. He marches up to Kurt during one of their after-school meetings with a purpose.

“Hey, Blaine! Are you ready to practice? We’re going on tomorrow,” Kurt greets excitedly, bouncing on the piano bench.

Blaine nods before taking a deep breath. “I think we should change songs.”

Kurt double takes, eyebrow arched in confusion, and he looks a little hurt.

“Why? What’s wrong with ‘La Isla Bonita’?” Kurt asks, confused. His eyes flash dark and he sets his jaw defiantly. “Is there something wrong with Madonna? Is it because she’s a gay icon?”

“What?” Blaine asks, completely shocked. “What? No! Not at all, Kurt, I mean I’m�-“

“Then what the fuck is the problem?” Kurt snaps.

“I… there’s not a problem. At all. I just… think that if we want to blow everyone out of the water, we
need something upbeat. Something that everyone knows, and you know that the majority of glee club won’t appreciate Madonna the way they should,” Blaine lies as smoothly as he can manage. He had always been a terrible liar, but he’s hoping that Kurt buys this. He gives Kurt a reassuring smile.

The smile remains frozen on his face as Kurt looks him over with scrutinizing eyes for what feels like hours, and when Kurt lets out a defeated sigh and nods, he lets out his own sigh of relief.

“Fine,” Kurt agrees sharply. “What did you have in mind?”

Blaine practically stumbles running to the music library in the choir room and quickly returns with two pieces of sheet music. “We’ll still have to add some harmonies… I know we perform tomorrow, but it shouldn’t be too hard. And we can just divide the verses up to make it easier.”

Kurt looks down at the sheet music in his hand and snorts with laughter. “Pink? How very Top 40’s of you.”

Blaine gives a sheepish grin as Kurt begins to play the beginning notes on the piano. This just might work.

----

Kurt stands in the wings, peaking from behind the dingy blue curtains at his fellow club members in the audience. He’s not really nervous from a performer’s standpoint. He knows he’ll be amazing; he always is. He’s more worried about the song choice; whether or not everyone will like the song, whether or not everyone will like the performance. He kind of regrets letting Blaine change the song so soon, but hindsight is 20/20, and there’s no turning back now. Especially as the band begins to play the opening notes of the song and everyone in the audience begins to quiet down. Kurt takes a deep breath and walks out onto the stage.

“Made a wrong turn, once or twice.
Dug my way out, blood and fire.
Bad decisions, that’s alright.
Welcome to my silly life.”

He looks over to where Blaine is entering from the opposite side of the wings, biting his lip in anticipation. He can’t help but smile a little as Blaine opens his mouth and closes his eyes to sing.

“Mistreated, misplaced, misunderstood,
Miss ‘no way it’s all good’, it didn’t slow me down.
Mistaken, always second guessing, underestimated,
Look, I’m still around.”

Kurt’s heart aches at the emotion raw on Blaine’s face, and he swallows thickly before joining Blaine for the chorus, his voice a high and soaring harmony over Blaine’s baritone.

“Pretty, pretty please.
Don’t you ever, ever feel
Like you’re less than, less than perfect.
Pretty, pretty please.
If you ever, ever feel
Like you’re nothing, you are perfect to me.”

Blaine steps forward, taking a deep breath before he carries on.

“You’re so mean, when you talk
About yourself, you were wrong.
Change the voices in your head.
Make them like you instead.”

He turns to look at Kurt, and Kurt steps forward to sing, as planned. As he sings, though, he can’t explain the emotion lodged in his throat or the feeling in his eyes so tight he has to close them.

“So complicated, look how happy you’ll make it.
Filled with so much hatred, such a tired game.
It’s enough. I’ve done all I can think of.
Chased down all my demons, I’ve seen you do the same, oh.”

He looks over at Blaine, who is smiling softly, and Kurt feels himself nodding. They grab hands and jump on the downbeat before singing passionately toward the audience, where the glee club members are now on their feet, cheering loudly.

“Pretty, pretty please.
Don’t you ever, ever feel
Like you’re less than, less than perfect.
Pretty, pretty please
If you ever, ever feel
Like you’re nothing, you are perfect to me.”

Kurt looks away from the audience as the music slows to find Blaine looking at him so earnestly, his eyes absolutely pleading, and suddenly, everything clicks. Why Blaine wanted to do this song, why this song is suddenly makes him so emotional. He stares at Blaine, eyes wide and jaw slack, as Blaine sings that last chorus to him alone, so soft and sincere

“Pretty, pretty please
If you ever, ever feel
Like you’re nothing, you are perfect to me.”

He snatches his hand from Blaine as if he’s been burnt. The crowd goes insane, and Kurt pulls his eyes away from Blaine’s in time to plaster on a fake grin and bow to the audience. He gives a small wave before bolting toward the wings and heading backstage.

“Kurt! Kurt, stop! Wait!” he hears Blaine yelling behind him as he chases him down, but Kurt ignores him. He clenches his eyes shut, willing the tears to stop, as he busts into the men’s dressing room. He places his hands against the mirror as he breathes in and out, trying to calm himself down. It isn’t long before he hears clunky footsteps as Blaine runs into the room.

“Kurt, what’s wr-“

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Kurt hisses, not opening his eyes and remaining in his
stance against the mirror. He can hear Blaine fumbling for an answer and he growls as he spins around to face Blaine.

“What were you thinking, Blaine?” he cries out, throwing his hands up in frustration. “Please, tell me what the hell was going through that simple little mind of yours, because if it’s what I think it is? Not fucking funny. And I don’t have the patience for it.”

“I was just trying to show you that you don’t have to hide who you are, Kurt!” Blaine snaps, and Kurt is taken aback by how forceful the boy’s voice is. “You’re stupid if you think you’re going to be able to do this forever. You’re lying to yourself – lying – and as your best friend, I just can’t watch you practically destroy yourself anymore. You may not realize it, but this going back and forth between two completely different personalities isn’t exactly healthy, Kurt!”

“I realize that! Do you not think I realize that? It sucks, really, it does. But you wouldn’t know what it feels like to be hated for who you are, Blaine. You’re perfect Blaine Anderson, you can do no wrong. You’re true self is the person that everyone loves. I don’t get that luxury because the real Kurt Hummel would be an outcast. A nobody. And I can’t be a nobody, Blaine. I can’t!”

“You’re not a nobody. You wouldn’t be a nobody. People would love the real you. People do love the real you! Your family does, Rachel does, I do!” Blaine cries out, hitting himself in the chest. He bites his lip and freezes, wondering if maybe he’s said too much, but Kurt just sniffs and wipes tears away from his eyes. “Rachel’s told me that she’s tried talking to you about this, but you absolutely refuse to get rid of this fa�ade. I’m not… I’m not saying you have to, because I’ll be your friend no matter what. I just think… I think it’s time to drop the act, Kurt.”

“You’ve been talking to Rachel?” Kurt asks, eyebrow raised curiously.

“Yes? I mean, she’s my friend. Anyway, that’s not the point here, Kurt.”

Kurt sighs and moves to sit on the dressing room counter, leaning against the mirror.

“I know what you guys want me to do,” he begins softly, so softly that Blaine has to move forward to hear him. “And I really appreciate it. You two don’t even know how much you mean to me, and it means a lot that you care. But I just… I can’t, Blaine. At least not right now. It’s too hard.”

Blaine nods and wraps his arms around Kurt in a tight, comforting hug. “I know, Kurt. I know. But we’ll be here for you when you decide to, okay? And we’ll be here until then, I promise.”

Kurt sniffs again and nods against Blaine’s chest. He pats Blaine on the back awkwardly (he never was one for physical affection) and pulls back, giving the boy in front of him a soft smile, which Blaine returns.

“So,” Kurt begins after a long moment of silence. “You’ve seriously been talking to Rachel?”

“Just every now and then,” Blaine shrugs. “Why? Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing’s wrong. She’s just completely in love with you.”

Blaine shakes his head as he starts. “Excuse me?”

“Rachel! She’s completely in love with you. Come on, Anderson. I know you’re completely oblivious, but she’s not exactly subtle.”

“I… wow, um, that’s really nice, but-“

“I think you two would make an excellent couple,” Kurt continues over Blaine’s protest. “You’re both very attractive, very talented. She’s relatively intelligent. And by that, I mean, not as smart as you, but do you really want to date someone smarter than you? You two should go out this weekend!” He finishes with a bright smile and Blaine just laughs in disbelief.

“I’m not disputing any of those points, but, Kurt-“

“But, what?” Kurt presses impatiently.

“I’m gay.”

Kurt stares at him unblinkingly for a moment before throwing his head back against the mirror as he laughs loudly, his hand curled over his stomach. “Oh, that’s something else. Damn, Blaine. If you don’t want to date Rachel, just say so, but you don’t have to lie!”

“I’m not lying!” Blaine defends, bristling at Kurt’s accusation. It only causes Kurt to sputter out more laughter.

“Please! You? Gay? You’re hilarious, Blaine. You’re about as gay as I am straight. I mean, I would maybe put you at a 1.5 on the Kinsey scale, only because you appreciate musicals and Judy Garland, but that’s a maybe. And, really-“

“I would think that I would know if I’m really gay or not, Kurt. Especially because I’m pretty sure I’ve made my feelings for you more than obvious,” Blaine yells and turns on his heel. He stomps out of the dressing room, slamming the door behind him, and leaves Kurt completely speechless.

Blaine, his best friend, his former arch-enemy, Blaine Anderson, is gay.

Blaine Anderson is gay, and likes him.

It’s a lot to take in. He just hadn’t been expecting that at all. He gets up, shaking slightly, and walks out of the backstage area and toward the choir room.

He doesn’t care that Blaine’s gay. Hell, he’s more than happy to welcome a fellow homosexual at McKinley. But something about the news twists his stomach in a weird way, one that he can’t classify as necessarily bad, but it’s not good, because it’s unfamiliar and new.

He thinks on the way he feels about Blaine. Is it in more than a friendly way? He honestly has no idea. He knows he likes boys, but he’s never truly liked a boy before, so he has no idea how liking someone would feel. Does it feel like singing? Or baking? Does it feel like the movies make it feel; where that one person is all you think about to the point that you breathe them and there’s no one else? Kurt thinks and thinks and thinks, and by the time he enters the choir room, he’s still at a complete loss.

It’s not often that Kurt doesn’t know the answers to something. Usually, if he doesn’t, he can just go look it up in a book or on the internet. This, however, is a completely different situation. One that he’s going to have to figure out on his own. And that scares him. A lot.

“Kurt? Kurt, are you and Blaine alright? He came in here like five minutes ago and grabbed his stuff, not saying a word to anyone. And now, you’re here, looking like you’ve seen a ghost. Great performance, by the way! The emotion you and Blaine put into the song gave me complete chills. Oh, he’s such a natural performer! Like myself, of course, which means that our children are going to be great performers and I’ll probably have to enroll them in dance classes as soon as they can walk, but that’s not a problem because that’s what my dads did to me and-“

“Rachel,” Kurt rasps out, interrupting her monologue. “Rachel, Blaine’s gay.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Rachel laughs, slapping Kurt on the back. “Oh, that’s just silly. That can’t be true.” She falls silent when she sees the look on his face.�

“Another one!” She yells to the ceiling. “Another gay! I swear, I must have some sort of disorder where I do nothing but fall in love with gay men. This is completely unfair. I think I’ll have to write an auto-biography on this. And, of course, I’ll have to star as myself when it becomes a Broadway musical and… Kurt, are you alright?”

Kurt looks up at her with heavy eyes and shakes his head. “He said he likes me.”

She makes a little surprised noise as she wraps him up in a hug.

“Do you like him?” she whispers into his ear as she runs her fingers through his hair.

“I have no idea. I mean, I haven’t really thought about it because I had no idea he was gay and, god, I told him that and I made myself look like a complete douche. He probably hates me now.”

Rachel pulls back and looks at him questioningly, obviously wanting a description about what exactly happened backstage, but Kurt just waves her off.

“Besides, it’s not like I’ve ever liked anyone before,” he continues bitterly. “I wouldn’t have any idea
where to even start when it comes to feelings.”

He starts when he feels Rachel grab his hand and squeeze tightly. He looks up to find determination bright in her eyes.

“I’ll help you.”

----

Blaine is still cross when he enters his house. How dare Kurt not know he was gay? How dare Kurt ridicule him for the idea of being gay? And then Blaine had gotten so angry and admitted his feelings for Kurt, just yelled them in Kurt’s face, which only made matters worse, and Kurt didn’t go after him; Kurt didn’t feel the same way. It hurt. It hurt so much. This boy, this lovely boy that Blaine would probably cross oceans for, made fun of him, rejected him. It felt like freshman year all over again.

“Oh, Blaine! You scared me,” Charlotte yelps as she enters the living room, jumping slightly at Blaine’s slumped form as he sprawls on the couch.

“Hi, mom,” he answers dully. He hears heavy footsteps from behind him and automatically sits up straight.

“You’re home late again, Blaine,” Harald comments as he moves to sit in his armchair. Blaine rubs his hands across his face tiredly, trying to get rid of his bad mood, because if his father picks up on it, things won’t be good.

“Yeah, sorry, we had a performance for glee club.”

And then, he freezes. And he can feel that his mom and dad have frozen as well. How could he be so stupid? How could he have let that slip when it was the one most important thing that Blaine was supposed to keep to himself? He shrinks in on himself automatically. He’s such an idiot.

“I thought you quit glee club?” Harald asks, his voice cold, and the armchair squeaks as he gets up, moving to stand in front of Blaine.

Blaine can do nothing but stare up with his father with wide, scared eyes. He can’t bring himself to answer as terror seizes his throat. Harald lunges, grabs Blaine tight by his wrists and shakes him.

“You told us you quit glee club! You lied to us, Blaine. I can’t believe you would just lie to my face that way!” Harald yells, shaking Blaine harder and faster, and Blaine whimpers at the searing pain in his arms.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Blaine cries out, tears in his eyes. Whether he’s crying from pain or shame, he’s not entirely sure.

“Harald! Stop it, you’re hurting him! It’s just a stupid show choir!”

“This has nothing to do with that glee club! He lied to us, Charlotte! We didn’t raise our son to be a filthy, fag liar!” Harald shouts at his wife, before turning back to Blaine. He stops shaking him, although the grip around Blaine’s seems to grow impossibly tighter, and he leans in close to Blaine’s face. Blaine immediately cowers, turning his head away, squeezing his eyes shut in a juvenile hope of I can’t see him, he can’t hurt me.

“You will never, and I mean never lie to us again, do you hear me Blaine?” He hisses into Blaine’s face, and Blaine nods so furiously, his neck aches. Harald steps back, dropping his arms, and Blaine relaxes slightly. Suddenly, his dad grips Blaine tight around the wrist and throws him to the ground. Charlotte shrieks but Blaine immediately stands up, wobbling slightly as he makes his way up the stairs and to his room.

“Make sure of it, Blaine,” Harald calls after him before returning to his armchair.

That night, Blaine doesn’t dream of Kurt as he usually does. He can’t even be angry at himself for spilling his feelings for Kurt and possibly ruining their friendship. Blaine doesn’t even sleep. All Blaine can do is hold his bruising arms, cry, and wish hopelessly upon stars.