Blaine Anderson sat on the sofa of his small apartment, his gaze cast but not focused on the cartoon playing on his television, filling the silence of his quiet home.

As the episode ended and the credits rolled, he switched off the TV and finally allowed his mind to wonder off to what had happened today, something he'd been avoiding since coming home.

He was now certain of three things. One, Kurt Hummel, the cute barista who worked at The Lima Bean, was also one of his students in the English Literature class he taught. Two, nothing more could happen between them. And three- the way he'd handled their little…situation, today, was more than appalling.

Blaine buried his face in his hands, cringing as he remembered what an absoluteasshole he'd been. While the two could have spoken about it in a civil manner, he'd actually pretended not to know what Kurt had been talking about.

He'd seen the hurt expression Kurt's face held after he'd coldly repudiated anything to do with him. The way his lips had trembled and Blaine's mind had briefly escaped to the backroom of The Lima Bean, remembering the way they'd felt upon his own.

But no, Blaine had acted like a child, denying that anything had happened. And while nothing could ever happen between the two, he didn't want anything to be awkward. Neither had known that Blaine would be teaching Kurt, and he still wanted to maintain a completely professional, easy relationship with the boy.
So with that, Blaine promised himself that he'd apologise to Kurt, first thing tomorrow.

And then everything will be back to normal, he thought, as he closed his eyes and let his hazed, worried mind drifted off to sleep.

The day was bright and sunny, a welcome change to the chill fall air that Lima had been experiencing for some time.

Sitting at his desk at the front, Blaine bid each student a 'good afternoon' as they filed into the classroom, chuckling inwardly at their grunted replies. He spied Kurt walking in, navy messenger bag slung upon his shoulder. Dressed in a black sweater and grey skinny jeans, a pair of black Doc Martens hugging his calves, Blaine forced himself to refrain from staring.

"Mr. Humm- Kurt. I'd just like to say I'm-" he began, before he realized Kurt had already brushed past, completely ignoring him.

Okay. I guess I deserved that, Blaine thought, getting up off his chair to begin the lesson.

"Good afternoon! How are we all?" When he received a murmured reply of 'good, sir', he continued.

"So, I thought we'd start with a general quiz on 'To Kill a Mockingbird."
The class groaned, and Blaine laughed. "Don't worry guys, we'll be answering all the questions together…as a class! So it won't be hard at all." The students laughed at his enthusiasm, happy about this. Class discussions were always fun.

Blaine was glad to know that the students knew the novel rather well. However, as they progressed on, and the questions became slightly more difficult, fewer arms were raised to answer them.

"Okay, we'll come back to that last question later." He said. "Number twelve: 'Some critics believe that the author, Harper Lee, had made the narrator a little bit too…perceptive for a seven year old.' What do you guys think about this? Do you agree?" The class was silent, until a boy- Finn- Blaine thought his name was, piped up; "What does that mean?"

"Well… do you think that the author took advantage of the narrator's voice?" he replied. "Scout was only seven years old. Surely the way Lee wrote her stance throughout the book was a bit too… adult-like."
Receiving blank looks from the class, Blaine got ready to explain exactly what he'd meant- until he noticed an arm extended in the air from the back of the classroom. Kurt.

"Do you have any input on this, Kurt?" Blaine asked.
His face reddening from the sudden attention being directed towards him, Kurt cleared his throat.
"Well…I think that whoever said that didn't really get it." he began. "The author was writing from an adult's perspective as a child…about things that she remembered as a kid… that she felt strongly about."

Blaine tilted his head to the side, curious to hear what else Kurt had to say.
"And do you think that it was fair for the author to apply this perceptiveness in retrospect? "

"Well… why not?" Kurt said. "I mean, kids see things every day. They…notice more. Probably more than adults. But they don't have the words yet to express what they feel just yet."

"Elaborate."
Kurt huffed. "What more is there to elaborate on? Kids see more. They're curious. They act on their feelings."
Blaine felt his heart beat rapidly increasing. He could see where this was going.

"You think adults have lost that ability? To…to act on their feelings?"
"Not the clever ones." Kurt sneered.
Witty, too, Blaine thought.

"And what do you think happens to those adults who lose it?" Blaine asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"They become pretty fucking frustrated, that's what." Kurt replied smugly.

The class erupted into laughter, surprised but humored by the f-bomb Kurt had suddenly thrown into the discussion. As they noticed the death-glare their teacher was shooting them, they silenced right away, the only sound left being the quiet buzz of a fly near the windowsill.
The students' eyes darted between Kurt and Blaine, wondering what the teacher's reaction would be.

"I'll have no vulgar words used in my class, Mr. Hummel." Blaine said, breaking the silence. "Since Principal Figgins is busy with the Dairy Queen executives visiting today, you'll see me after class."
Kurt let out an irritated sound, sighed loudly, and looked down at his books, cheeks tinged a rosy pink.

"Moving on to question 13…"

As the students filed out of the classroom one by one, Blaine's attention was directed towards the boy named Finn, he had affirmed, who was looming above him at that moment.
"Great lesson Mr. A. I like class discussions. They're fun!" he exclaimed, grinning as gave him a thumbs up.
"It was my pleasure." Blaine smiled, and the boy waved as he departed from the classroom, leaving only he and Kurt, who was still seated at his desk in the back row.

Blaine approached him, pulling up a chair and sitting down.
"So I think we need to talk." He said, and as he noticed Kurt about to say something, his expression angry, he quickly added, "Just please…hear me out, I won't keep you long."
Kurt nodded, and so he began.

"You have every right to be angry at me Kurt. I behaved like an idiot… pretending not to remember what had happened at The Lima Bean." Blaine heaved a sigh. "I'm a bit of a…perfectionist. I tend to try to avoid problems at all times. But now, what I want to say, is that I'm sorry. For being such an asshole. You didn't deserve the way I spoke to you yesterday, at all. So…so I'm sorry."

Blaine exhaled deeply, happy to see that the angry expression on Kurt's face had wavered into a slight smile.

"I-it's okay." Kurt said.
"I'm not going to lie…as much as I enjoyed our little…rendezvous the other day, it just can't continue. I'm your teacher. You're my student. And…that's pretty much it."

He noticed Kurt's smile falter at this, but the boy gave a nod, a faint blush present on his cheeks.

"And about what happened during our…discussion -" Blaine began, before being interrupted.

"I-I'm sorry about that…I got frustrated." Kurt said.
"Oh, no, I didn't really mind. The word 'fuck' is pretty much part of the average human's vocabulary nowadays, isn't it?" Blaine said, wiggling his eyebrows and grinning at the giggle emitting from the boy.

As Kurt deposited his exercise book and novel into his bag, slinging it onto his shoulder, Blaine stood up and walked towards the door, holding it open for him.
He smiled to himself. While he still felt like a bit of a douche, Blaine was glad that he'd redeemed himself in the boy's eyes.

Kurt began to walk out the classroom, apologizing once more about his small outburst.
"Kurt, it really is okay. And…besides, you had a very valid point." Blaine smiled, albeit sadly. "We adults have lost the ability to act on our feelings."

Mouth parted slightly, Kurt stared at Blaine, their gaze focused intently on each other. Giving a small cough, Blaine turned away, moving towards his desk and sitting down. As they bade each other farewell, he buried his face into his hands, wondering what had possessed him to say such a thing to the boy. Blaine scolded himself for being so stupid. Surely, Kurt would believe he was sending him mixed signals.

However, try as he might, Blaine could not ignore the content he felt at seeing Kurt smile at him again.
This was going to be a long year.