Chapter 16

Blaine had told Kurt to meet him after this last lesson the following day so that they could decide on what song to practice for Regionals. Kurt arrived first and had opened one of his books to do a few minutes of work as he waited for Blaine. As he was working, he didn't hear Blaine pacing outside the heavy wooden door that separated the two boys. Blaine had seen Kurt go into the rehearsal room but hadn't been able to pluck up the courage to go in and see him. Blaine already had the perfect song in mind for his and Kurt's duet, so the real reason behind the meeting was to tell Kurt how he felt. After making Kurt wait for five minutes, Blaine knew he would have to go in or risk Kurt thinking that he had been stood up.

Kurt looked up as he heard the door sing open and watched Blaine walk into the room. As the shorter boy made his way over to his friend, Kurt shut his textbook and made some space on the sofa next to him.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, my teacher doesn't seem to be able to tell the time!” Blaine had thought of his excuse whilst he was outside pacing.

“That's ok B. It gave me some time to do some work so I don't have to spend my weekend slaving away over it.” Kurt said with a small smile.

“Oh no, I completely forgot that you must have overheard Trent when he called me that at the meeting a few days ago.” Blaine said with a grimace.

“Why do you not like it?” Kurt managed to answer through his smile.

“Not really, but I guess I have to put up with it even though I dislike it as my mother has refused to call me anything else since my dad left us when he found out I was gay.” Blaine hadn't meant to divulge this information but he nudged Kurt in the side with his elbow to show that he had moved on since that day. “Anyway, I have been think about our duet since your audition and I thought a good song might be Candles by Hey Monday, have you heard of it?” Kurt was surprised by this choice of song.

“Yes I have, but that seems so unlike you. You are usually so much more top 40.” Kurt looked confused for a few seconds as he realised the Blaine had very similar music tastes to his soulmate.

“True, but I wanted to choose something a little different to both of our usual types of music, but that still shows off your incredible range. Besides, the emotion in the song really appeals to me.” Blaine wondered if Kurt had managed to pick up on the subtle implications in his words and luckily he had.

“How did you know that this type of music isn't my usual style either?” Blaine blushed and ducked his head so he was looking at the floor.

“You like Broadway songs right? And female pop icons?” Kurt nodded his head slowly. “You want to know how I know that?” Another nod. “I know that because I feel inextricably linked to you Kurt. It feels like I have been looking for you for my whole life, but it's only been since I found out about my soulmate. I know you Kurt, because I have heard your songs almost every day for months and it has made me feel closer to you than anyone else I know.

“I knew you would be special from the first time I saw you on that stage at Sectionals and when you tripped off the last step on your visit day and I had to catch you to stop you face planting. The real reason why I chose you to duet with is because your singing moved me, and I guess that this is my way of forcing us to spend more time together so I can get to know you even better than I already do.” Blaine paused to let all of that information sink in and to give Kurt the chance to reply. Kurt sat in silence for a minute before taking a deep breath and replying.

“I don't have the same way with words as you do Blaine, but I think I feel the same way about you. I was hoping it would be you when I found out that my soulmate was a Warbler, but I never thought that it would actually turn out to be you. I don't really know what else to say or what we do now, but I do know that I want to spend more time with you and get to know you better too.” Blaine's eyes were starting to swim with tears that matched Kurt's.

Both boys fell into a silence that echoed emotion and blossoming romance. Blaine shifted towards Kurt and both boys felt like they had been hit by a lightning bolt as Blaine rested a hand on Kurt's neck to stop the taller boy from turning away. As Blaine began to lean closer, all Kurt could see was the hulking form of a footballer moving towards him. Kurt could not snap himself out of the flashback he found himself in, so when he felt Blaine's lips connect with his own, he did not feel the electricity he had when they almost kissed at Rachel's, but instead felt pure fear and pushed Blaine away forcefully. He could see the hurt and confusion in the younger boy's eyes.

“I'm sorry, I will explain later but I can't… not now… I'm so sorry.” Kurt stood up suddenly, which caused Blaine's hand to fall from Kurt's neck and land by his own side, and ran from the room after grabbing his satchel and throwing it over his shoulder.