"What the hell were you thinking? I'm okay with you coming home late but I have always expected you to tell me where you were," Burt growled.

Kurt forced himself to speak but his voice came out in a squeak of terror. "I lost track of time. I didn't even realize that I was out this long."

"With who? And don't you even think about telling me you were with someone from Glee. Finn told me you were out of school before the bell had even stopped ringing."

Kurt stayed silent for a few more moments before whispering. "I was out with Blaine."

"Who?" Burt thundered.

"This guy I met at that dance I attended with Rachel." Kurt whispered, his eyes focused on the floor, trying to hold back tears.

"You stayed out passed midnight with some guy you met at a party that I've never met?" Burt shifted, his voice growling in his throat. "What the hell were you two doing? I know we've never had the talk but I thought you would know better than to throw yourself at some guy!"

Kurt's eyes widened as a betrayed pain shot though this heart. "Geez, dad! We weren't doing that! I can't believe- I can't believe you would even think I would do that!"

Burt faltered for a moment as he leaned down to look Kurt in the eyes. "I know we haven't talked about, y'know, sex. I didn't think this would come up for a while."

The blood drained from Kurt's face. "Dad!" Kurt exclaimed, aghast. "No! I'm not-I wasn't having-I wouldn't!" Kurt stuttered.

"It's not a bad thing. I just want to make sure you know what you're doing. You're still so young!" Burt said, sounding as uncomfortable as Kurt felt. "Is it one of the boys from the Glee club?" Kurt shook his head quickly, blood pounding in his ears. "Do I know him?" Kurt shook his head because he couldn't force his voice to come out of his mouth. "Well, I feel that if you're ready to take such a serious step with a boy then I feel I need to-"

"I'm not having sex with some guy!" Kurt exploded.

"What other explanation do you have for staying out this late then?" His father demanded, straightening up and staring down at Kurt.

"We were on our first real date!" Kurt yelled back, desperate to be heard. His father stayed silent for a pause until he finally moved to sit on the pouf near Kurt's knees. "Blaine asked me to come to his school to see some performance his school was doing. Then he asked me to go and get a milkshake after the show and we just talked. That's it."

Burt was silent for a long time until finally he asked, "How long have you known him?"

"Two weeks. He was the guy coming out and I danced with him and then we met for coffee. We've been talking over the phone every night since we met for coffee." Kurt replied simply, trying to make himself seem small enough that his dad would leave him alone.

"Why haven't you told me about him? We share everything." The disappointment in his dad's voice made Kurt flinch.

Kurt mulled over the words he wanted to say for a long time. Finally the silence between them grew to be too heavy and Kurt finally said, "I don't want him to know we're not rich. If I told you about him you'd want to meet him."

"Are you ashamed of me Kurt?" The pain in Burt's voice broke Kurt's heart.

"Not at all. I'm proud of you. It's just—Blaine's parents are ridiculously rich and Rachel told me they want Blaine to date someone in the same tax bracket. I didn't want them to tell Blaine not to see me because we don't have as much money as them."

Burt sat back against the couch cushions looking terribly tired. "Do you think this Blaine character would stop seeing you if he knew you weren't rich?"

Kurt wanted to jump to defend his and Blaine's relationship but he knew, deep down in his heart, he really wasn't sure. He couldn't bring himself to say that though. "I'd like to believe he would want to continue seeing me."

Burt sighed and leaned forward to massage his forehead. "Okay," He said once, then repeated it again as a way of steadying himself. "Okay. I know this is your first time really breaking curfew, which is why I'm only grounding you for the week. You go to school, Glee, and home. That's it." Kurt swallowed and nodded; that wasn't too bad of a punishment. "Also," Kurt's heart froze. "I want you to call Blaine tomorrow and come clean. If he decides to continue seeing you then I want to meet him next Saturday. Do you understand?"

Kurt nodded again, feeling close to tears.

Burt clasped his hand to Kurt's shoulder and stood up. "Blaine would be an idiot to let you go because of money. Now get some sleep and I'll talk to you in the morning." Kurt waited until his dad was gone before allowing a few tears to slide down his cheek before trudging up the stairs.

The next morning came far too quickly for Kurt's liking. Breakfast was a quiet affair, mainly consisting of Burt acting eerily normal, like nothing had happened the previous night. Kurt kept glancing to him, wishing he would acknowledge him. This silent treatment was killing him, almost making him feel like a child. There was a part of him that kept hoping his father had forgotten about what happened the previous night, even though he should have realized how silly it actually was.

Carole and Finn wandered away until finally it was Kurt and Burt left alone. Kurt finally couldn't take the silence any longer and moved to leave table but just as he was getting to his feet his father spoke. "Are you going to call Blane?" Kurt stopped in his tracks, make a quick, senseless sound, and practically flew up the stairs to his room.

His dad passed his room four times before Kurt finally pressed call. Blaine picked up after the third ring. "Morning! You won't believe what I found!" He sounded so bright and chipper that it broke Kurt's heart a little.

Kurt paused, trying to build up the courage to speak. "What?"

"I couldn't sleep after I got home, I was just too excited, so I went through all my old records because after you mentioned your love for Judy Garland I remembered I actually have a vinyl recording of her singing right around the time the Wizard of OZ came out."

"Really?" Kurt asked, his curiosity and excitement overriding his anxiety.

"Yep! I was so excited that my mom hadn't gotten rid of it. For a woman who's so fascinated by old traditions she has little respect for anything vintage. Everything has to be new." Blaine ranted. He continued on the strain about his mother for a while as Kurt make little noises to indicate he was still listening to him.

In all honesty, not much was making it into Kurt's mind. He could barely think about anything but how worried he was. It was getting to the point that Kurt couldn't keep it in any longer.

"-so, she told 'Vette that the empire waist-line on her dress was too out of style and she needed a fitted bodice instead-"

Kurt vacillated for a moment before blurting, "I'm not who you think I am!"

There was a pause the, "What?"

"I'm not rich!" Kurt's hands were shaking so much that he had to cradle his phone between his shoulder and cheek. "I'm not rich. My family is middle class all the way. My dad is the owner of Hummel Tires and Lube. Most of my clothes are knock offs and the actual authentic articles take chunks out of the money I make working part time at the shop." He stopped, gasping a little and waiting for Blaine's reply.

"What made you think you needed to lie to me about this?" Blaine's tone was hard to decipher.

"Rachel." Kurt answered automatically.

"Rachel?"

"When she found out I was interested in you and we were talking she gave me some advice. She told me your parents wouldn't let you date me if they knew I wasn't rich. I wanted to continue seeing you so I went along with her idea. I am so sorry. I-I'll understand if you don't want to keep seeing me after this."

Blaine stayed silent for so long Kurt almost begged him to say something. Finally Blaine took a deep breath. "I should be offended that you thought you needed to lie… but I understand why you did. My parents are nice people but they are too focused on society." He paused. "It doesn't mean I don't want to continue dating you. Because I do."

Kurt sat in silence for a moment. "Really."

"Yes. Kurt, you are probably one of the most interesting and wonderful guys I've ever met. I understand why you were worried but I'm glad you've come clean. Speaking of which, why did you?"

Kurt sighed and fell back against his pillows, his heart beat slowing to normal speed. "My dad gave me an ultimatum. He caught me right after I got home and made me tell him the whole story... and then promptly grounded me. I-I'm glad he made me do this. I hated lying to you."

"This just reinforces my desire to meet him." Blaine said, chuckling lightly.

"That brings up the second thing I wanted to talk to you about."

"And that is?"

"My dad wants to meet you. Next Saturday if possible."

Blaine was silent for a few seconds and Kurt could hear papers shuffling. "I think that works well. Tell him I'd love to."

"Great." Kurt murmured. "And thank you for giving me second chance."

Blaine chuckled softly. "You're worth it. Just as long as we're honest for now on."

"Deal."

"I'm going to have to figure out how to tell my parents about this new development. My dad hasn't mentioned meeting you yesterday to my mother, hopefully he keeps his mouth shut so I can have time to work things out." Blaine mused, worry seeping back into his voice. There was a silence for a moment, both boys mulling over the past few minutes. Finally Blaine spoke again. "So, are you grounded for your phone and this was your one phone call or-?"

Kurt chuckled and rolled on his side, propping his head up on his elbow. "No. I'm home grounded. Home, school, Glee. Rinse and repeat."

"Then we still get to continue our night time chats?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Kurt could hear the smile in Blaine's voice. "I'm glad. Let's count this as a pre-night chat and I'll call you again before bed."

"Definitely. Talk to you tonight." When they hung up Kurt went down the stairs with a spring in his step. His dad was in the living room when Kurt flounced in.

"Well?" He asked gruffly, eyeing Kurt carefully.

"We talked it out and Blaine would love to meet you this Saturday." Kurt announced.

"He wasn't upset?"

"No, more disappointed. But he understood where I was coming from. He told me I was worth it."

Burt's expression softened. "Well, then he obviously has good taste. Now go upstairs and do your homework." Kurt moved to give his dad a quick hug before flouncing up the stairs to his room, humming the entire way.

He was worth it.

The rest of the week wasn't that bad. Kurt went through his classes like usual and spent the majority of the evenings talking with Blaine. Since they couldn't see each other face to face because of Kurt's grounding, most of their time they sat on Skype Video Chat while they did homework. Sometimes Blaine would sing and one day, about three days into Kurt's grounding, Kurt joined in with a perfect harmony, stopping Blaine in his tracks.

At the look on Blaine's slightly pixelated face Kurt stopped singing. "What? I've told you I can sing, haven't I?

"Yes, but you never said you were so good." Immediately a blush rose on Kurt's cheeks.

"I'm not that good."

"Yes you are! Sing something else for me, please?" Blaine begged and Kurt only resisted for a moment before opening his mouth to sing again. It was a simple Beatles tune and Blaine stayed silent for the entirety of the song until the end came and he gave Kurt a rousing round of applause.

"Bravo, bravo!" Blaine said brightly and Kurt gave an awkward bow. "When you're ungrounded I vote that our next date should be to this really cool coffee shop where they have an open mic and we should perform."

"Together?" Kurt asked, hardly believing his ears. It was difficult getting used to the idea that another guy wanted to sing with him.

"Of course! We sound amazing together. Would you want to sing with me?" Blaine asked, suddenly wary.

Kurt's back straightened. "I would be nuts to say no."

Blaine's expression softened. "Great. Wonderful!"

Friday night came fast and Kurt found himself waiting for Blaine to get on Skype at his usual time but tonight he was a few minutes late. When Blaine's face finally appeared on his screen he looked worried and Kurt was immediately on edge. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know what to wear!" Blaine sounded a on the brink of panic.

"To what? Do you have another deb ball coming up?" Kurt tried not to let the hurt slip into his voice at the thought that Blaine was going to a cotillion and hadn't asked him. Not that Blaine needed to ask him. But still. For a boy with a huge crush on a guy, it hurt.

Blaine shook his head quickly. "No, not yet. There's still two weeks to go until the DDAR ball. I-I don't know what to wear tomorrow to meet your dad."

Kurt sat for a few seconds, letting it sink in. Blaine was worried about how to present himself for Kurt's father. Never had he even imagined he'd meet a guy who was willing to go through all this just to be with him. He knew he'd be terrified of meeting his father if he was in Blaine's shoes. Finally he let his lips quirk into a smile and he leaned closer to the mic. "Show me your wardrobe."

Blaine did as he was told and turned his computer to face his closet. Kurt stared at the screen hard, wishing the screen was clearer. A soft blue article caught his eye and Kurt told him to grab it along with a pair of his favorite jeans. "If you overdress my dad will think you're trying too hard. He's a man's man. He likes casual. But not too casual because that could give the wrong impression too." Kurt instructed him and Blaine listened intently.

Once Kurt was certain that Blaine was presentable he logged off for the night with the promise of seeing the boy tomorrow.

In the morning Kurt was jittery and excited. He started cooking far earlier than he actually needed and refused Carole's help when she poked her head in to check on him. Kurt wanted everything to be perfect. He wanted his dad to love Blaine and he wanted to impress Blaine. His dad didn't say much, only shook his head at Kurt and went to watch the game on TV. As the set dinner time got closer Kurt left the food in the stove to cook so he could shower and change.

Finally, at 6:30 the doorbell rang and Kurt outsprinted Finn to get to the door, stopping at the door to check his hair in the mirror. When he pulled the door open Blaine stood on the other side with his hands clamped behind his back. His eyes sparkled at Kurt and immediately he moved to pull Kurt into a hug.

"Hi, I missed you." Blaine muttered and Kurt had to restrain his happy little giggle.

"We've talked every night!" Kurt said, slipping out and pulling the door closed behind him so that they were alone on the porch.

"It's not the same." Blaine said and Kurt's eyes caught the bowtie wrapped around Blaine's neck.

A sly grin slipped onto his lips and he touched his fingers to the cloth of Blaine's bowtie. "Really Blaine?"

Blaine blushed a little. "I like bowties. Because of the uniform I barely get to wear them."

"I like it. It's a nice touch." His hand slipped down to Blaine's and his grin wavered a little. "Are you ready for this?

Blaine chuckled. "No, but I'm sure this'll prove to be an interesting evening." He squeezed Kurt's hand and let the other boy lead him into the house.

Burt stood just inside the entryway, watching Blaine and Kurt enter through narrowed eyes. Blaine immediately settled into a charming smile and moved forward to offer his hand to Kurt's father. "It's a pleasure meeting you sir."

Burt looked Blaine up and down and then over his shoulder to Kurt who hovered nearby with a worried expression. "You too kid. Blaine, right?"

"Yes sir. Thank you for allowing me to come to dinner with your family." Kurt was incredibly impressed by Blaine's ability to appear so calm and sweetly charming. He was worried that his father would see the other boy's cheer as something akin to smarmy but his father didn't seem too disgruntled—which meant that Blaine was doing a good job impressing him.

Carole appeared at the doorway, beaming at Blaine while Finn peered over her shoulder. Carole moved forward to take Blaine's hand and introduced her and then Finn who only shrugged at Blaine with a crooked smile. "It's a pleasure to meet the boy who has been making Kurt smile so much. He's put so much into this dinner. Why don't we go into the kitchen?" Blaine nodded and allowed the older woman to lead him to the kitchen.

Kurt hung back with his father. "What do you think of him?"

Burt's lips tightened. "It's too early to tell." But Kurt could see his eyes softening and grinned as he followed his father to the table.

Not much was said while Kurt doled out the food and conversation was light and simple until about halfway through the dinner when Burt finally started the interrogation. "So, Blaine…"

Kurt, who was sitting across the table from Blaine, looked up sharply at the other boy and then at his father. Blaine looked a little panicked but swallowed it long enough to ask, "Yes?"

"Where do you go to school?"

"Dalton Academy. It's an all-boys private school."

"How are your grades?"

"Very good. Except in Math. I'm horrible with numbers."

"I can understand that. Are you in any clubs?"

"I've been attending cotillions since I was thirteen and I do polo in the summer. I'm the lead soloist for the Dalton Warblers."

Kurt broke in then to clarify. "They're basically his school's Glee club."

Finn's eyes left his plate and his brow wrinkled. "Do you guys compete?"

Blaine shrugged. "It depends on what the council decides. We're a student driven organization. This is wonderful chicken Kurt."

Kurt grinned back, his foot moving under the table to hook around Blaine's ankle, causing Blaine to jump a little. "Thank you."

Burt glanced between the two of them and cleared his throat to get attention once more. "And you met Kurt at your… coming out party?"

Blaine sighed, "It's a long story." Burt sent a quick look Blaine's way as if to tell him 'We've got time'. Quickly, Blaine ducked his head a little and started speaking, "My mother has always wanted to throw one and since I'm her only son she never thought she could. But when I told her I was gay she decided that party would be a good idea."

"Your parents are okay with you being gay?"

"Basically, yes. They acknowledge my sexuality more than embrace it. But I'm lucky. I know other people have it far worse than I do." Blaine gave a small, timid smile, hoping that it would be enough to pacify Kurt's father.

Burt only grunted once and then nodded to the bowl of bread in front of Blaine's plate and asked, "Pass the bread." Kurt took that as a sign that Burt approved and grinned at Blaine over his drink cup while Blaine let go of the breath he'd been holding.

"That went well." Blaine whispered half an hour later to Kurt as he brought him up the stairs to show the other boy his room. It was just a quick jaunt upstairs to be alone under the guise of Kurt wanting to give Blaine a CD. He was sure that his dad had seen right through it, but he hadn't stopped them so that helped to ease his worry.

"He didn't kill you or forbid you from seeing me so I take that as a good sign." Kurt murmured, pushing open the door and letting Blaine in before pushing the door almost closed behind him so that he could claim it was still partially open if his dad asked.

"Definitely," Blaine sighed, moving to sit on Kurt's bed. "I really like your room. It's very you."

Kurt grinned and hovered off to the side a little. "Thanks." It felt so weird to have a boy in his room.

Blaine patted the mattress next to him and Kurt moved to sit, leaning closer to Blaine, his hands shaking slightly. "Thank you for asking me to come today."

"I'm glad you did. I was worried that you would want nothing to do with me after-"

Blaine's hand slipped into Kurt's and Kurt focused on how different their coloring actually was. Blaine's hand was so tanned compared to his. He wondered if this was a color left over from the sun when Blaine had been playing polo. "I really like you Kurt. A lot. I understand why you did that. If anything I should apologize. I still haven't explained to my parents about you."

Kurt suddenly felt a pang of worry jolt through him. "Don't rush. You can tell them when you want."

Blaine licked his lips and Kurt's attention immediately zeroed in on how pink they were and the slight shine on them. "I have something I wanted to talk to you about." Blaine added and Kurt attention was immediately back to his eyes.

Blaine had really nice eyes.

And he smelled good too.

It took Kurt a moment to realize that Blaine had finished speaking was waiting for him to say something, but for the life of him he couldn't remember if Blaine had asked a question so he nodded.

"Really? That's great! I'm so excited!"

Kurt blinked, snapping back to attention. "Wait, what?"

Blaine's giddy expression lessened. "I just asked you to be my escort to the DDAR Ball."

"Really?"

"…yes…?"

Kurt's face lit up and he launched himself at Blaine. "I would love to! Please tell me I get to help you pick out your outfit?"

Blaine laughed and wrapped his strong arms around Kurt's shoulders to keep him close. "I would love to see you revamp the white suit I'm being forced to wear."

Kurt's eyes flashed as the possibilities slipped through his mind. He was so caught up in the idea of a white suit and pink shirt that he didn't realize how close their faces actually were until Blaine stilled next to him and he came back to reality to find Blaine's eyes weren't on his but instead were on his own lips.

The moment was broken a second later when a small cough from the door startled them. Both boys turned to see Finn hovering in the doorway, looking wholly uncomfortable. "Burt says it's getting late and Blaine shouldn't be out driving home too late."

Kurt cleared his throat and slipped out of Blaine's embrace. "Fine. I'll walk to your car, okay?" Blaine nodded and eagerly took the hand that Kurt offered him. Finn had already fled from the door within seconds of Kurt pulling away. Their hands stay connected all the way down the stairs until they reached Burt, who was barring their way out the door.

Burt held his hand to Blaine who quickly let go long enough to accept Burt's shake. "Thank you for having me over sir."

"No problem kid. You make sure to have Kurt bring you around sometime soon."

"Definitely." Blaine said as Kurt dragged him out the front door, the tips of his ears turning red.

Kurt tugged Blaine away from the house, making sure they were far enough that if Burt stared out the window he wouldn't be able to see them. Once he rounded Blaine's car to come to the driver's side of the car he stopped and leaned against the driver's side of the car.

They didn't speak for a while and it gave Kurt the time to realize just how perfect the setting was. There Blaine was, standing there, looking at him like that. And it was perfect. Blaine looked so handsome with his pea coat and slicked back hair. It was like a scene out of the movies.

And then Blaine was moving towards him slowly until they were only a few inches between them and Blaine was looking at him through his ridiculously long eyelashes and Kurt's breath was caught in his throat. Then Blaine's lips were on his and it wasn't perfect, by any means. Blaine's lips were a little off center and his nose pressed oddly against the side of Kurt's. But his hand was curled in Kurt's sweater and his chest was pushed up against Kurt and it was absolutely amazing.

As Blaine pulled away Kurt's hand moved to grasp the arm of Blaine's coat. Blaine's smile was almost blinding and he leaned in again for another quick kiss and this time Kurt moved forward to catch him halfway in a slightly more forceful and desperate kiss. Blaine's hand moved to cup Kurt's cheek while Kurt's fingers tangled tighter in the fabric of Blaine's coat. They stayed like that, pressed together until Kurt pulled away and gave a breathy laugh.

"You need to go home."

"Do I have to?" Blaine sighed, licking his lips in a horrible distracting manner.

"Yes. Or else I'll keep kissing you until my dad comes out here and pulls us apart."

Blaine's expression slipped into a frown and he pulled away reluctantly. "You play dirty."

Kurt's fingers tangled with Blaine's, "Text me so I know you got home safe."

"Will do." Blaine breathed and gave Kurt one last kiss before Kurt stepped to the side and let Blaine get in his car and drive way, leaving him by the street side, feeling far to giddy to ever come down again.
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