Chapter 22:

Something pressed down over his body and a dull pain shot across his ribs and he woke with a start and a small groan. He felt the mattress shifting beneath him and the covers shuffled next to him and then a shadow was looming over him and he blinked his eyes open.

"I'm sorry," a shaky voice said. "Damn. Are you okay?"

Kurt looked up at Blaine's concerned expression and smiled a little. "I'm fine," he told him. "You just surprised me, that's all."

Blaine nodded and his dark curls bobbed a bit. He settled back down and fell onto his side. He propped himself up on one elbow and looked down at Kurt, face still a mask of worry. Kurt lay there breathing as the pain decreased across his stomach.

"Can I..?" Blaine gestured towards Kurt's stomach and Kurt gave him a confused look, unsure of what he was asking, then he nodded, mostly because he was curious.

Kurt watched as Blaine reached up and gently tugged the covers down, until his entire upper body was on show. Kurt shivered, even though it wasn't cold. It was just that Blaine was blinking those long, dark lashes, as his copper gaze roved over his pale chest and all Kurt could do was stare back at him, trying to read what he was thinking.

"Don't.." Kurt gasped, quietly, when Blaine's right hand raised up and moved towards him.

"I wouldn't hurt you," Blaine told him, softly. "At least, not intentionally."

Kurt frowned, because Blaine was still beating himself up over everything that had occurred between them. He wanted to tell him it was okay, that he should forget about it, and he almost did, but he stopped himself, because what had happened wasn't okay and he shouldn't forget about it, at least not just yet. Blaine needed to remind himself of who he was and who he had once been and those memories were what would show him who he wasn't supposed to be.

Blaine's cool finger tips brushed slowly across Kurt's ribs and Kurt held his breath. He was docile, gentle, his fingers tracing over the ugly, pinkish-purplish, blotchy bruises. Kurt let out his breath with a quiet whimper when Blaine's fingers moved over his nipple and Blaine whispered a low 'sorry'. Kurt wanted to tell him not to apologise, that it hadn't been a bad whimper, but he didn't say anything, because he wasn't sure Blaine was apologising for just that.

Kurt blinked up at Blaine, who still had his eyes locked on Kurt's blemished torso. He had moved his hand and it was now lightly stroking Kurt's upper arm. Kurt shivered and felt goose bumps raising on his arms. He hoped Blaine would just think it was as a result of the cool air.

"I just want to take your pain away," Blaine told him, eyes finding Kurt's.

"Oh, I'll be okay," Kurt told him with a small smile.

"I know, you will," Blaine said. "But I wish we could go back, make sure none of the hurt ever happened."

Kurt eyed him for a minute. "Are we still talking about the bruising?" Blaine shrugged one shoulder, the right one, and sighed, tiredly. Kurt changed the subject then, because Blaine looked pained, his eyes sad. "So, today is the day."

Blaine nodded. "Yep," he affirmed. "I just want it over and done with."

"Think she'll cry?"

"No," Blaine chuckled. "No, she might hit me, though."

Kurt laughed then and it hurt, really hurt. He realised then that his entire body was aching, particularly his ass, because of obvious reasons. He grabbed his stomach and made a noise that sounded like an animal in pain and Blaine sat up a little, looking worried.

"Relax," Kurt choked out. "It's okay, it's just—If we're going to do this, you need to do me a favour."

"Anything," Blaine supplied.

"Buy a God damned bottle of lube."

Blaine's body covered one side of Kurt's body and he didn't seem to be in a lot of pain any more. Blaine kissed him, slowly and carefully, because he didn't want to hurt him any more than he already had. His bruises looked severe and angry and made Blaine want to hurt Kenny some more. Then he forgot about Kenny, because Kurt's tongue was slipping through his teeth and his hands were tracing patterns across his back.

"Hmmph."

"What?" Blaine breathed into Kurt's mouth. "Did I—did I hurt you?"

"No," Kurt said, flicking his tongue over his top lip. Blaine shuddered. "It's just—we should probably go."

"We should," Blaine smiled and pressed his mouth down over Kurt's again. Kurt sighed against his lips, giving in.

They stayed like that, just exploring each other's mouths, until a creaking noise sounded behind Blaine. He rolled sideways and Kurt thrashed about a little and in a frantic shuffle, the covers landed over his face and he groaned after having moved too quickly. Blaine's heart was thumping loudly as he looked towards the door, ready to see his mom there.

Except his mom was not the person standing there.

"Oh my God," Quinn shouted. "You're cheating on me?"

Blaine opened his mouth to speak, but Quinn had moved closer and then she was tugging the covers off of the bed.

"You're cheating on me with a boy?" she exclaimed, as Kurt moved to cover his now exposed lower half. Kurt made a little hissing sound because he had bent his upper body before he could stop himself.

"Jesus, Qui—"

"Oh my God!" she shrieked. "You're cheating on me with a boy from glee club?"

Blaine raised an eyebrow, because apparently, Quinn still didn't know Kurt's name. She pulled the covers all the way off and Kurt's body jerked and he closed his eyes in pain.

"Quinn, what the fuck?" Blaine said, pushing himself up onto his knees. He grabbed the cover back and covered himself, then threw one side across Kurt's legs, covering him, too. "Will you stop that? It's not like he's not already bruised all over—"

"Holy shit!" Quinn exhaled, dark green eyes wide and locked on Kurt's chest. "What is this? Are you guys into really rough, painful sex, or something? Oh my God, Blaine—"

"Quinn," Blaine said, firmly. "No, no. He got in a car accident, remember?"

She gave him a blank stare that lasted for about ten seconds, then her eyes widened again. "I cannot believe you're doing this to me! You're having sex with a guy, Blaine! That's disgusting! I can't—I can't even look at you right now, oh my God."

Kurt was still doubled over and Blaine looked at him. "Are you—"

"Fine, just fine," he panted.

Blaine wasn't convinced, but he didn't get a chance to ask about it, because Quinn was flinging things across the room. He stared at her for a minute and then Kurt looked up.

"Um, Quinn," Kurt said, then. "I don't like you, but, um, you're pregnant, so I think you should probably, like, not do, um, that."

"Yes!" Quinn shrieked. "I'm pregnant! And you're sleeping with my baby's father, you fag—"

"Quinn!" Blaine said and he stood up and shuffled into his underwear. "Quinn, just—stop, okay? Stop and just—just leave."

Quinn stopped flinging things and looked at Blaine, her eyes livid. She pointed a manicured finger nail at him and said, "I can't believe you would do this to me! You're having sex with a boy!" Blaine wondered if she thought he was not aware of Kurt's gender. "So, how long, Blaine? How long have you been fucking a boy? Is this why we haven't had sex in seven months, Blaine? Because you'd rather have a di—"

"Quinn," Blaine said, tiredly.

She stared at him for a second, then gave Kurt a dirty look, before turning around and walking out, slamming the door behind her. Blaine stared after her for a few moments, then turned back to look at Kurt.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes."

"Well," Blaine exhaled. "Guess I don't have to do the dumping any more." He gave Kurt a small smile.

"Yeah," Kurt nodded, not smiling. "Except now everyone and their mother will know."

Blaine hadn't thought of that. His heart stilled for a split second, then he let out a long breath. "Right," he nodded. "Yeah, I—I guess, I'll be okay. I mean, I'll—yeah. It'll be okay." He nodded again and smiled, timidly.

Kurt smiled, then. "You shouldn't have to do this against your will, but if you're confident about that, you'll get through it. Don't let them get to you and.." Kurt trailed off and his smile disappeared. He whispered something that Blaine couldn't hear, his azure eyes wide and staring into space.

"What?" Blaine asked, worried he was hurt. "What is it?"

"Blaine," Kurt breathed, slowly. "I'm not putting words in your mouth here, but how long ago is it since you and Quinn had sex?"

Blaine eyed him, curiously. "Um, June.. Yeah, seven months, give or take a few days." He shrugged, unsure of what Kurt was getting at.

"Right," Kurt nodded, quickly. "And how far along is Quinn now?"

Blaine tried to remember. "Um," he said. "It must be, like, ten weeks now, right?"

"Okay," Kurt said. "Okay, so I want you to think about that. Like really hard."

Blaine furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Kurt, who was watching him with anticipation. He thought about it again.

"No," Blaine shrugged. "What are you getting at?"

Kurt sighed and it appeared to hurt, so he grunted a little, then looked at Blaine again. "Okay, so I know you've had a lot to deal with and you haven't been thinking straight, but if Quinn is ten weeks pregnant, which is, like, two and a half months?" Blaine nodded, following. "And you haven't slept with her in seven months then—"

"Then the baby can't be mine," Blaine said, incredulously. He felt something catching in his throat and then he was smiling and throwing himself on top of Kurt, who cried out. "Shit, sorry, I forgot, but OH MY GOD, Kurt."

"Glad I could help," he croaked.

"Mm," Blaine said, kissing him once. "I love you," he told him and kissed him again. "I just—I just fucking love you, come here."

And he kissed him again and Kurt smiled against his lips and Blaine felt another weight lifting. There was still more, so much more, but God, this made things a lot easier.

"God," Blaine whispered into Kurt's mouth. "I—I love you."

"Where are you going?" Kurt exclaimed when Blaine drove his car out of the driveway and turned left instead of right. "School is that way," he pointed out, gesturing to the right.

"I know where school is," Blaine smiled. "I'm taking you home."

Kurt blinked a few times as Blaine drove down the long, winding road. "Um, so I can change?"

"No," Blaine told him. "So you can go home and like, not move."

Kurt shot him an accusing glare. "I am not staying home today," he declared.

"Why must you be so difficult?" Blaine sighed.

Kurt remembered what it had been like when he had come out. He remembered the stares and the sneering and the snide remarks. He remembered being shoved against lockers and laughed at and being called an array of names. He remembered feeling ashamed—not because he was gay, but because he was the centre of attention and for all the wrong reasons. He remembered wishing he had someone, anyone, who would be there to help him through it, who would provide him with some support, no matter how small. He remembered not wanting to go through it alone.

"You're not going to want to go through this alone," Kurt apprised him. "Trust me."

Blaine opened his mouth, then closed it again. He was quiet for a while, then said, "Do you have your books at school?"

Kurt nodded. "In my locker."

They were silent as they continued on down the long road, then Blaine made a turn and reversed the car, then went back in the opposite direction. Kurt smiled to himself.

"Will your dad find out?" Kurt asked, after a while.

Blaine exhaled shakily. "I—yeah. Probably. He's sort of friends with the parents of, like, half the football team and the Cheerios."

Kurt bit his bottom lip, then, because he couldn't help thinking about what Blaine's dad would do once he did find out. He shuddered, because he had done what he had just because Blaine had skipped football game, he didn't even want to think about how he would react to this news.

"Blaine.."

"Don't," Blaine said, quietly.

Kurt didn't.

They arrived in the school parking lot a few minutes later and Blaine parked his car and pulled the keys out of the ignition and the car went dead. They were silent, again, for a few heartbeats, then Blaine turned to look at Kurt. He let out a long breath.

"You didn't have to come here today."

"Yes," Kurt told him. "I did."

"You had no one.."

"Nope."

"I'm sorry," Blaine said, solemnly.

"It's okay," Kurt shrugged, slightly.

They both went quiet again and then Blaine reached across and placed a warm hand over Kurt's. Kurt raised his eyes to Blaine's and he looked terrified, his hazel eyes wide and filled with worry.

"You'll survive, you know," Kurt told him.

"I know."

Blaine dropped his eyes again and took a few deep breaths. Kurt watched him,their hands still touching. Then Blaine looked up again.

"Thank you."

"For what?" Kurt asked, tilting his head sideways.

"Everything."

Nobody batted an eyelid.

Blaine's ears were buzzing and the world was a clouded mess and he was prepared for the worst, but it never came. He and Kurt walked down the halls in an eerie silence, because it didn't make sense that no one would say a word.

"I don't get it," Blaine muttered, glancing at Kurt out of the corner of his eye.

"Maybe she's not here yet," Kurt suggested.

"No," Blaine shook his head. "Last year whenever anything happened, she passed around a chain message, then had Jacob Ben Israel print it in the school newspaper. She wouldn't waste any time."

"Well, then," Kurt said. "I have no idea what's going on."

Blaine shrugged and they kept walking until they reached the corridor where their lockers were lined.

Kurt paused at his locker and Blaine stopped, too and watched as he fumbled with the combination. Blaine stared for a few seconds, then reached over and twisted it open for him.

"Are you ever going to get the hang of that?" he teased, but his heart wasn't in it.

"Apparently not," Kurt told him, as he reached inside his locker and chose the books he needed for the morning. "Luckily, I have you to do it for me," he smirked.

"True," Blaine smiled. "What do—"

"Blaine!"

Blaine swung around and saw Quinn coming towards him, grinning. She was walking with another Cheerio, Blaine didn't remember her name. He and Kurt stared at her, open-mouthed, as she walked up to Blaine and leaned across and placed a small kiss on his cheek.

"Quinn, what are y—"

"I missed you," she said, sweetly. "I'll see you later, okay?"

Blaine couldn't form a complete sentence. He watched as she continued on down the hall. He came back to earth at the sound of Kurt slamming his locker shut. He turned back to look at him and Kurt shook his head.

"What just happened?" Blaine breathed.

"I," Kurt told him. "Have no idea."

Blaine felt his pocket vibrating, then and he reached inside to pull out his phone.

1 NEW MESSAGE FROM: QUINN.

We need to talk. Meet me at 4.30 at the Lima Bean. Bring your stupid boyfriend.

Blaine didn't think there was much to talk about, but he wanted to know what was going on. He handed the phone to Kurt. He read the message, then smiled crookedly.

"Boyfriend, huh?"

Blaine's face tilted pink and he stammered over his words. "I—um, that—I just—we—uh.."

Kurt raised a thin eyebrow and smiled. Blaine tried to retain his composure. Boyfriend, though. It was strange to think of things in those terms. He had never had a boyfriend, obviously. He had only ever been the boyfriend. The thing was that Kurt sort of was his boyfriend, in every sense of the word and eventually, Blaine was going to have to get used to that.

"Yeah he said, finally. "Yeah, boyfriend."

He watched the surprise light up Kurt's face, his mouth parting as if he might speak, but he didn't. His eyes widened, all blue and sparkling and then he smiled and took a step closer.

"Well, then," he began. "I'll see you later, boyfriend."

Kurt gave Blaine's arm a small pat, before walking on down the hall, leaving Blaine staring after him. Blaine smiled when he saw how slowly Kurt was walking. He wondered if he was more hurt from the injuries he had gained from the car crash, or from what they had done the night before. He was probably regretting having worn those skin tight pants now, but God, they looked good.

Blaine watched as Kurt stopped to talk to Mercedes. He was smiling and saying something and his eyes were bright and he was blinking in that pretty way that Blaine found so enchanting, even if it was still a creepy thing to notice. Blaine saw Azimio walk by Kurt and he said something to him, something Blaine couldn't hear. Kurt rolled his blue eyes and shot back with what was probably a snarky reply. Azimio scowled and walked on. Blaine loved how Kurt was, how he was so confident in himself and behaved as if nothing phased him.

Yes, he was proud to have Kurt Hummel as his boyfriend.

"I know."

Blaine looked up as Kenny slipped into the seat next to him. Blaine wanted to get up and go sit somewhere else, because Kenny infuriated him, especially when he thought about Kurt's bruises and sprained wrist.

"You know what?" Blaine spat out.

"I know," Kenny repeated. "That you are sleeping with Hummel."

Blaine sighed. He wasn't sure if he should deny it or not, because for one, he was scared, scared of the consequences, scared of everything, on the other hand, he was so damned tired, he just didn't want to care any more.

"I thought we were over that rumour," he said anyway.

"No, no," Kenny grinned, slouching back in his chair. "I had a little chat with one Dave Karofsky last night—well, it was more than a chat, actually." He smirked sideways at Blaine, who was staring at him with his mouth open. "But the thing with Dave Karofsky is that he's just trying to work himself out, you know? So, he'll take any chance to do that and when I sauntered in and gave him my best smile, he was all over me, if you know what I mean."

Blaine raised his eyebrows. "I don't want all the gory details, thanks, Kenny."

"Oh, but I think you do, Blaine," Kenny informed him. "See, Karofsky isn't looking for a relationship per se, and God only knows I'm certainly not, but," Kenny said, emphasising the word 'but'. "Like myself—hell, like all of us—David has a sex drive." Blaine spluttered a little, then grimaced, because this was Dave Karofsky they were talking about. Kenny ignored him and went on. "Therefore, he thinks that if he tells me stuff, that I'll continue sleeping with him and you know what, Blaine? Let him think that. If he's going to give me all the juicy gossip, then, yes, I'll let him think I'll sleep with him again. I'm not going to, obviously. I mean, it's not like it was the best night of my life, or anything—"

"Is there a point to all this?" Blaine cut in. "Because I just don't need the images you're providing me with, right now."

Kenny laughed then, cruel and high. "There's always a point, Anderson," he told him. "So, David told me a little secret about you and Mr Kurt Hummel."

"Did he?" Blaine said, tiredly.

"He did and you can pretend all you want, I know it's true," Kenny said, confidently. "I put the pieces together, Anderson. I figure if you weren't closer to Hummel—and by closer I mean 'having sex with'—then there wouldn't really be any reason for you to come around and beat me up for what I did, would there?"

Blaine knew he was right. He couldn't really hide it any more. He sighed again and sat back.

"Okay," he nodded. "So what? What's your point?"

"My point," Kenny told him. "Is that you—Mr Alpha Male—have a girlfriend."

"No," Blaine apprised him. "I don't."

Which wasn't a lie. Regardless of what happened, Quinn was not his girlfriend any more, she never really had been in any real sense, anyway.

"Well, last time I checked, you did."

"Do you spend a lot of time checking up on me, Kenneth?" Blaine enquired.

Kenny glared at him. "Don't flatter yourself, Anderson."

"So, what is this?" Blaine asked. "Some kind of sour grapes because you had to drug Kurt to get his clothes off and all I had to do was give him a smile?"

Which wasn't true, exactly. He didn't remember much of what he had done to first get Kurt to sleep with him. He remembered every time after that, though. These were the things he never wanted to forget.

"Not even close, Blaine," Kenny smiled again. "I'm just letting you know that I have something on you, that's all."

"You don't, not really," Blaine informed him. "If you want to tell people, go for it. I'm sick of people trying to blackmail me. I don't suppose Karofsky told you about the incident in the janitor's closet with Kurt?"

Kenny stared at Blaine and it was clear that he had no idea what he was talking about.

"You should ask him about that," Blaine smiled, happily. "You might find that you guys are a lot more alike than you think."

Kurt was on his way to glee and the halls were completely empty. He was early, so he could walk slowly, which he needed, because every part of him hurt. The only sound was the clip clop of his shoes against the tiles, echoing through the corridors. Then he heard noises from behind him. He turned and saw Blaine jogging towards him. Kurt smiled.

"Are you running to mock me, Anderson?"

"No, I just wanted to catch up with you," Blaine chuckled and stopped jogging and started walking instead.

Kurt stopped to wait for him, then he felt himself being shoved roughly against the lockers. His stomach and ribs throbbed as he slipped down to the ground. He looked up and saw Karofsky laughing.

"I thought we had a deal," Blaine said, angrily.

"At no point did we say violence was put of the question," Karofsky made his excuse.

Kurt stayed where he was, just breathing, but he wanted to stand up and drag Blaine away by the arm, because Karofsky wasn't worth it. Except he really could not move right now.

"Karofsky," Blaine said, sounding weary. "Remember how we were sort of blackmailing each other?"

Karofsky said nothing, he simply scowled at Blaine.

"The thing is, I don't care," Blaine said and Kurt looked up at him. He knew he was terrified, but he also knew he was getting tired of keeping up the facade. He wasn't ready for what coming out entailed, so Kurt really hoped he wouldn't push Karofsky to a point that would make him tell everyone about him.

"Blaine, I don't thi—" Kurt tried, but Blaine cut him off.

"It's okay," he assured him, then looked back at Karofsky, soft expression hardening again. "Dave, I talked to Kenneth Puckerman in history, today and do you know what he told me?"

Kurt looked up at Blaine, wondering what he could possibly be getting at. Karofksy looked panicked, his mouth open, eyes wide with shock.

"He told me that you.. How did he put it? Oh, yeah. He helped you with your 'sex drive'."

"Oh my God," Kurt whispered and Karofsky shot him a less than amused look, which he ignored.

"So, really, what you have on me," Blaine went on. "Is nothing compared to what I have on you."

Kurt frowned, because Blaine was threatening to out him again and he wasn't sure if he was serious or not.

"And unless you want to end up on probation—or worse—like your boyfriend," Blaine laughed then. "Sorry, he's not really your boyfriend, though, is he? He's more of a fu—"

"Blaine," Kurt said, warningly, but he smiled a little. Blaine smiled, too.

"Whatever he is," Blaine said. "He's on probation for drugging Kurt and trying to have his way with him. If memory serves, you didn't drug him, but you did try to have your way with him, didn't you?"

"I didn't do anything like tha—"

Blaine spoke over Karofsky, who groaned.

"Maybe not," Blaine stated. "But it doesn't sound good, does it? Shoving a guy in a dark, empty closet and forcing yourself on him?"

Karofsky looked flustered, but he didn't say anything. Kurt pushed himself to sit straight and Blaine frowned at him, probably for moving. Kurt shrugged and pressed his back against the cool metal of the lockers.

"So, apologise to Kurt for shoving him when he's already severely hurt from what Kenny did, which I'm sure you heard all the little details about," Blaine ordered. "Also, please refrain from doing that again."

Karofsky groaned and punched a locker, emitting a loud crash. Blaine simply smiled and they watched Karofsky storming off down the halls, cursing under his breath. Blaine walked closer to Kurt and outstretched an arm.

"Come on, pretty boy," he sighed. Kurt took his hand and allowed him to pull him gently to his feet. Blaine steadied him, eyes watching him warily. "You okay?"

"Fine," Kurt told him.

Blaine was smiling at him, his copper-coloured eyes watching him intently.

"What?" Kurt asked, finally.

"What am I going to do with you?" Blaine chuckled and Kurt just continued to stare in confusion. "Is there a gay guy in town that doesn't want to get inside those tight, tight pants of yours?"

Kurt scoffed a little and felt heat spreading up his neck and then up into his cheeks. Blaine raised an eyebrow, which only caused Kurt to blush even more and then Blaine was laughing.

"Come on, gorgeous," Blaine said, absently and Kurt's heart skipped a beat. He stood stuck to the spot and Blaine looked back at him, quizzically.

"Coming," Kurt squeaked and followed him, but his head was still spinning and his heart was still racing and the butterflies in his stomach were still dancing, because Blaine Anderson had called him gorgeous.

"Show time," Blaine uttered, when he saw Quinn pushing the glass door open and walking inside, her nose high in the air.

"Blaine," Kurt said, beside him.

"Hmm?"

"Can you loosen your grip a little? You're cutting off my circulation."

Blaine looked down at their hands under the table. He was clinging to Kurt like the world was trying to pull him away and he just couldn't let him go. He let go, then and gave Kurt an apologetic look.

"Sorry."

Kurt smiled and looked back up. Blaine followed his gaze and saw Quinn, who had now spotted them, scowling as she made her way towards them, slipping in and out of the occupied chairs and tables. When she reached them, she gave them her best 'I am superior to you and you are not fit to wipe my shoes' look, then pulled out the chair and sat down.

The three of them sat in silence for a long time, just listening to the sounds of cups clacking against each other and people laughing and talking around them. It was, Blaine had to admit, extremely awkward. Finally, he decided it was time to break the ice.

"So, what do you want?" he asked and both Kurt and Quinn looked up quickly, as if they were surprised that he had spoken. "Why haven't you told anyone? What's your angle? And by the way, Quinn—"

"How many questions are you going to ask in one breath, Blaine?" Quinn asked, narrowing her eyes. "Which one would you like me to answer first?"

Blaine didn't flinch, because he was sick of this, sick of Quinn acting like she was better than everyone, sick of her treating everyone—including himself—like crap.

"How about you tell me whose baby you're having?"

Kurt almost laughed, he was so close to just spluttering that he had to bite down hard on his lip to stop himself. It was her face that did it to him. He didn't like seeing others suffer, but she had been going on with such crap and she was looking down at everyone around her and then when Blaine asked her about the baby, her face just fell and she looked speechless.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she stammered.

"Yes," Blaine said. "You do. We figured it out. The last time was June, Quinn."

Quinn looked ready to protest, but she looked from Blaine to Kurt and then back again and sighed, clearly frustrated.

"Fine," she groaned. "Fine. We're even. We're cheating on each other. Are you happy?"

"Do I get to know who?" Blaine asked.

"No."

"How about how long?"

"October," Quinn muttered.

Kurt felt out of place, like he was eavesdropping on something he shouldn't have been. He sat in silence, staring down at the round table, feeling extremely awkward.

"October," Blaine repeated, thoughtfully. It seemed as if a light bulb went on over his head then, as his eyes widened and he leaned forward an inch. "Puck! I remember him acting weird the next day. The night of his party, right?"

Quinn said nothing, she simply reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear, eyes darting around. Kurt could tell that this meant Blaine was right.

"Do you want to know what the most ironic part of all this is?" he smiled. Quinn did not reply. "The ironic thing is that we started cheating on each other on the same night."

Kurt looked up then, realising it was true. Blaine was sort of just sitting there by then and Quinn looked a little shell shocked, so Kurt thought he would say something.

"Why haven't you told anyone?" he asked.

"I have nothing to say to you," she informed him, eyes never leaving her nails.

"Didn't you tell him to bring me?" Kurt reminded her.

"That doesn't mean you have to speak!"

"Oh, what am I here for then?" Kurt asked, smiling a little. ""Just to look pretty? Or—"

"Can we just get to the point of all this, Quinn?" Blaine asked, glancing at Kurt. "Why didn't you tell anyone? And why did you bring us here?"

Quinn sat up straight and flicked her blonde hair over her shoulder. "We need each other," she said, looking at Blaine.

"Um, no," he told her. "We don't."

"Yes, we do!" she stressed. "I need to stay with the most popular guy at school. I need to win this stupid Valentine's princess and then prom queen! I need to put all of that on a college application. I need to get through this pregnancy without people staring because it's not yours! I need to hand it up for adoption and I need to get out of this place. Then you're free of me, you can go back to being gay, or whatever, I don't care. But I need you until then," she said and Kurt saw the tears in her eyes. he heard the lump that was caught in her throat and he couldn't help feeling sorry for her. "And you," she went on. "You don't want people to know about him," she said, pointing at Kurt. "You don't want them all to find out that Blaine Anderson is a big, huge fake, who likes boys. And you most definitely do not want your daddy to know. So, I'm proposing a deal."

"A deal," Blaine repeated.

"Yes," she breathed. "You pretend to be my boyfriend. It'll be just like always, because it's always been pretending, hasn't it, Blaine?" She didn't give him a chance to reply, just kept talking. "Do this for me. You can still go on screwing whatever-his-name-is, we don't even have to talk, we just have to put on a show. Do that for me and I won't tell a soul about what I saw this morning."

"No—"

"Do it," Kurt urged and Blaine looked at him like he was crazy, and so did Quinn.

"What?" Blaine asked, surprise laced in his voice.

"Yeah," Kurt nodded. "Do it. Accept her offer."

Blaine stared at Kurt for another few moments, then looked back to Quinn. "Can we just have a moment alone?"

Quinn sighed and stood up. "I guess I'll go get a coffee."

They watched her walking away and then Blaine looked at Kurt. "Why would I do what she's asking?"

"Because don't you remember how you were when this all started? Don't you remember being scared and feeling alone and wanting nothing more than for everyone to perceive you as this perfect guy and for your dad to just approve of what you were doing? Do you remember that?" Blaine nodded, but Kurt could tell he had no idea where he was going with this. "That's how she is. Plus, she's having a baby. Yeah, she's a bitch and she would step all over both of us just to get to what she wants, but don't you think she deserves a break? You of all people know what it's like to live under the watchful eye of society. She's afraid and she's clinging to the last thing she has: You. Don't ruin her, Blaine. You wouldn't have acted very kindly if I had told everyone after that first night. You deserved a chance to come into yourself, to find yourself. She does, too."

Blaine was quiet, thinking about what Kurt had said.

"Plus, there's also the part where you're not ready to come out," Kurt reminded him. "Look, the pregnancy can't stay a secret forever. At some point, Puck will put two and two together and come up with the baby. Until people find out, just pretend. Like she said, you don't even have to talk, just act as you always have. You're doing better with everything, with coming to terms with who you are and what you want. By the time Puck finds out, you'll be even more comfortable with who you are, you'll have had more time with it. If you don't do this for her, do it for you."

Blaine groaned, quietly. "It's like you know everything," he said, smiling a little.

"I do," Kurt smirked. "So, you'll do it?"

"You really think this is the right thing to do?"

Kurt nodded.

"And me and you will still—"

"We did say boyfriends, didn't we?" Kurt smiled, heart beating faster, because every time he said the word to Blaine he was prepared for the rejection, which he knew probably wasn't going to come, but he couldn't help feeling like that, because he had learned to expect the worst.

"Yes," Blaine smiled back at him, golden eyes shining. "We did, didn't we?" Kurt nodded. "And you're okay with it?" Blaine asked.

He was fine with it, because circumstances meant the whole thing would be a big mess and he would just have to deal with that, because Blaine was worth it.

"Absolutely," Kurt assured him. "It won't last for long, trust me."

"What about me and you?"

"I'm hoping that will," Kurt smiled, shyly. They had one of those movie moments, where they just stared at each other and it seemed as if everyone else wasn't even there. Kurt couldn't help thinking about how cheesy it was that he had felt like that. Blaine cleared his throat then and Quinn came back across the coffee shop, coffee cup in one hand, and sat back down.

"Well?"

"You've got a deal," Blaine said.

"Cool," Quinn said, quickly and she stood up again. "Good. Now you can go on with your blow jobs."

They watched her go and when she had closed the door behind her, Kurt sighed.

"As tempting as the blow jobs sound," Kurt began. "I sort of need to go home and sleep for about two weeks, because I feel like my entire body might cave in and stop working."

"Oh, well," Blaine said. "We can't have that, can we? Let's go."

Blaine stood up and offered Kurt some help, which he took, because he was exhausted. He helped him out to the car and then got in, himself. He started to drive, then.

"So, Quinn and Puck," Kurt said.

"Yeah," Blaine nodded. "Am I.. Should I feel mad at him? He was supposed to be my friend and then he just.. I don't, though. I feel nothing. Is that crazy?"

"No," Kurt said. "I think you're just done caring about people who don't care about you."

"You're right," Blaine said, quietly. "Hey, maybe next I could work on not caring about my dad."

Kurt looked at him, curiously. "You don't think your dad cares about you?"

"What, you think he does?" Blaine asked, as if it was the stupidest question ever asked. "He cares about himself, Kurt. The only reason he wants me to do these things is so that he gets to keep his status."

"Sounds familiar," Kurt muttered.

"I'm nothing like him," Blaine told him.

Kurt sighed and thought for a few minutes, trying to come up with a way to explain what he meant. "I would never, ever condone what he did to you and I didn't mean to say you were alike," Kurt began. "I just think that so many people are so caught up with wanting to please others, that they forget who they really are. And that's where the likeness stops, Blaine. You're not like him, you're nothing like him."

"Sometimes I worry that at the end of everything, after having been so fake and so concerned with everyone else around me, that I would end up like him; Hurting the people that have only ever loved me."

"You love your dad?" Kurt asked, but he already knew the answer.

"Yeah," Blaine said. "I might be crazy, a sucker for punishment and all that, but he's still my dad and even if he doesn't give a damn about me, I can't be like him, I can't not care about him. He wasn't always like this and I remember those times, the times when he was just my dad. Now, it's different, but I won't forget those times. The thing about loving someone, Kurt," Blaine said. "Is that they can do all these awful, horrible things that you would never, ever agree with in a million years and they can sicken you to the point that you regret not having reported them to the police, or whatever. But you'll always remember the times when things weren't so bad and then you'll be glad you didn't take any drastic actions. I don't know what goes through his head, Kurt and I don't even want to know, but loving him is something I can't make go away. I hate him, too, most of the time, but those times when I didn't hate him will always be with me.

"Most of the time, the good won't cancel out the bad, because you'll always remember how you felt when the bad thing was happening, but sometimes you just can't stop how you feel about someone, regardless of what they've done."

"I know that," Kurt told Blaine and he saw Blaine's face when he realised just what he meant, that he was referring to Blaine and how he had hurt him, but that didn't have any impact on his feelings for him, stupid as that made him.

"I'll never forgive him, though," Blaine said. "What about you?"

"I already have."