After their big fight, Blaine began to realize that no, Kurt isn’t perfect. He always thought he was, but after their big fight he realized that he makes mistakes just like everybody else.  Kurt had been so patient and understanding with Blaine when he was still in the closet, and he always knew exactly how to make him feel better. When Kurt was the one who had hurt him, though, he froze. He was just as terrified of losing Blaine as Blaine was of losing him. Blaine decided to take Kurt off the pedestal he’d put him on. He wanted to learn more about the real Kurt, the one who was in front of him when he took off his love goggles.

He recognized this Kurt on Monday morning. They had agreed that this would be the day Blaine came out at school, the day they showed everybody that they were together. They stood outside the main doors, watching anxiously as kids went inside or chatted with their friends by the flag pole.

“Ready?” Blaine asked, finally looking at Kurt.

“Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.” Kurt never looked at Blaine, but he took his hand and marched him towards the building. Blaine noticed a few kids watching them, some looking curious, others angry. He pulled Kurt a little closer but kept his head up as they walked. The reaction was the same from everyone as they walked to their lockers; just looks but nothing more.

When the warning bell rang, Kurt finally looked at him.

“I love you. Good luck today,” he said.

“Thanks. I love you, too.” Blaine kissed Kurt’s cheek lightly before turning and heading to class. He noticed a group of jocks and quickened his pace, but as he passed they watched him.

“Faggot,” one of them said, and the others laughed around him. He adjusted his glasses as he walked, avoiding the questioning eyes of the students who’d heard them.

Really, though, that was as bad as it got. All day was the same—questioning eyes and whispered insults. Well, to be honest, one kid pushed him into a locker, but it was pretty half-hearted, Blaine thought. The glee kids were around all day and they were ecstatic that the two had finally come out as a couple at school.

“Hey, man. How’s your day going?” Mike asked in the afternoon. He sounded casual, but Blaine could see the concern in his eyes. He was so grateful for Mike. The two would always hang out whenever Tina and Kurt went shopping together, or sometimes they’d meet for lunch on the weekends just to hang out. Besides Kurt, he was Blaine’s closest friend, and he appreciated his keeping an eye out for him now that the school knew he was gay.

“It’s been okay. I’ve gotten a few comments and somebody tried to push me into a locker but it didn’t really work. Honestly I was kind of expecting worse.”

“I’m sorry, man. But I’m glad it wasn’t as bad as you thought at least.” Mike patted him on the back and gave him an encouraging smile. “So, are you coming to Regionals on Saturday?”

“To what?”

“Regionals. For glee club? We won at sectionals so now we go on to Regionals and hopefully Nationals next month. Did Kurt not tell you about it?”

“No, he didn’t, but I’d love to come. I like watching you guys, you’re good.”

“Thanks,” Tina said as she walked towards them. “We are good, aren’t we?”

“Tina has a solo on Saturday,” Mike said.

“Wow, cool! Good for you, Tina.”
            “Thanks,” she said, a smile on her face. “I’ve never had a solo in competition before so I’m really excited. I am a little nervous though, too.”

“I’m sure you’ll sound amazing,” Blaine said.

“Yeah, it’ll be great. We can rehearse it after school if you want,” Mike said. Suddenly the two were making out in front of Blaine, so he turned and walked to his next class, a smile on his face.

That evening Blaine had dinner with Burt and Kurt. They were having pasta, which Kurt normally didn’t allow but decided Blaine’s first day out was a special enough occasion. Kurt was happy Blaine’s first day had gone well, as was Burt.

“Well I’m glad it went well, although those kids shouldn’t have called you that. Shouldn’t call either of you that. Ever,” he said. Blaine just nodded and blushed, chewing furiously so he could respond. He hated when people said things to him just as he stuck giant bites in his mouth. Burt just laughed and stuffed his mouth full, too.

            After dinner the boys went up to Kurt’s room to watch another one of Kurt’s musicals. They crawled on the bed and Kurt put in some movie Blaine had never heard of.

            “Mike invited me to Regionals this Saturday. I said I would go. Is that okay?”

            “Oh my gosh! Did I never tell you about regionals?” Kurt sat up, staring at Blaine with wide eyes. “I’m so sorry, Blaine. I meant to ask you ages ago. I finally have a solo so, between that and our fight, I guess it just slipped my mind.”

            “You have a solo? Kurt, that’s amazing!” Blaine exclaimed, a giant smile on his face. He was going to get to hear Kurt sing again, up on a stage surrounded by all of his friends. That Rachel Berry was going to be backing Kurt this time. Blaine had heard enough crap about her from Kurt that, even though she’d been to their movie nights, he still didn’t like her very much.

            “I’m so proud of you,” he said as he wrapped his arms around Kurt.

            “Thanks. I’m really excited for you to hear it!”

            They didn’t watch much of the movie. They spent most of the night making out and telling each other how proud they were of each other: Blaine for coming out at school, Kurt for finally getting the solo he deserved.

            It wasn’t until Thursday that Blaine got a real taste of homophobic bullying. He’d tried not to fool himself into thinking that, if the first few days were okay, people would leave him alone. Honestly, though, he’d had a tiny flicker of hope in the back of his mind. But this was high school.

            He was walking to history when it happened. He and Kurt had split up earlier in the hallway and he just knew he was walking down the hallway with the biggest, dopiest grin on his face. That was probably his downfall. He barely registered the flash of red before he felt icy sludge hit him. The glee kids weren’t kidding—that hurt.

            “Go to hell, homo!” he heard, followed by laughter and what had to have been a high five.

            Blaine panicked. He stood in the middle of the hallway, cold slush dripping in his eyes, sliding down his skin and ruining his clothes. It was cold and humiliating and he could feel the stares, could hear the whispers. He wanted Kurt’s help, but knew Kurt would beat himself up over this, and Blaine didn’t want that. He also didn’t want there to be any secrets in their relationship; he and Kurt had agreed on that as they cuddled in bed over the weekend. He cleaned the sludge out of his eyes and ran to the fine arts bathroom. Nobody used that one except the arts kids, and they all knew what a slushie to the face felt like (or so Kurt had told him). Once he was in the bathroom he pulled out his phone and texted Kurt.

            SOS. It said. Slushie. FA bathroom. Blaine didn’t have to wait long for Kurt’s response.

            On my way. Blaine sighed in relief and started washing the slushie off his face. He had just moved on to his hair when Kurt walked into the bathroom, a sad look on his face.

            “Oh, Blaine. I’m so sorry,” he said, approaching Blaine with a towel and a clean shirt. Blaine was grateful for his boyfriend’s preparedness, but he felt a stab of regret at the thought of this happening so much that Kurt had to be prepared. Nobody deserved to be treated like that, especially not Kurt.

            Kurt took over, rinsing the slushie out of Blaine’s hair and whispering soothingly in his ears. Blaine steadied his breathing, refusing to let the bullies’ actions get to him. He still had Kurt, whom he loved. Who loved him. That’s all that matters, Blaine reminded himself. If those jocks wanted to bully and harass them, well, Blaine thought it was worth it. It sucked, it hurt, it was humiliating, but now here was Kurt, whispering to him how wonderful he was, how beautiful, how much he loved him. Blaine smiled at the realization that he would probably get a kiss out of this. Whoever threw the slushie at him wouldn’t.

            “What’s so funny?” Kurt asked, pulling the towel off of Blaine’s now-clean head. He gestured to Blaine’s shirt, silently asking him to take it off. Blaine blushed, but the feeling of the slush on his skin was currently more important than his own insecurities. He pulled the shirt off and gasped when Kurt started wiping the sticky mess off of his skin.

            “Nothing’s funny,” he whispered, “I just love you.” Kurt stilled and looked up at Blaine, his expression unreadable. Blaine found that he often couldn’t read the look in Kurt’s eyes, and it was both the most endearing and most frustrating thing about him.

            “God, Blaine. I love you so much.” Kurt had tears in his eyes, but a giant smile on his face. “I don’t know how you do it. The first time I got slushied I went home and cried all night, and here you are smiling and telling me you love me.” Blaine thought he must have looked confused because Kurt sighed and pursed his lips in the most adorable look of concentration he’d had ever seen.

            “You see the good in everything, Blaine. I was so worried about you and how you would handle this. I thought you’d be so upset. Somehow, though, you always find the silver lining and that’s one of the things I love most about you. I think I seriously underestimated you in some respects, but every day you become more and more amazing. You’re so smart, smarter than I’ll ever be. At first I didn’t know how to act around you because you spend so much time up in that head of yours. Is it weird that I sometimes like to sit and watch you think?”

            “What?” Blaine laughed.

            “I wonder what goes on up there. Sometimes I try to guess what you’re thinking based on your facial expressions.” Kurt looked up at him shyly before the two burst into laughter. They gripped each other in an attempt to stay upright, but it was in vain. They were soon both on the floor, pointing and laughing and unable to breath.

            “Really?” Blaine finally choked out. Kurt just nodded, his eyes squeezed shut and his shoulders shaking.

            “At first I did it just to fill the time,” he said when they’d calmed down a little bit, “but now I really enjoy it. It used to frustrate me so much that I didn’t know what you were thinking. Now, I dunno, it’s just kind of part of who you are. It’s a little mysterious and exciting. It’s just more I get to learn,” he added in a whisper.

            Blaine smiled at him, unsure of how to answer. He’d always felt so guilty when he realized he’d wandered away from Kurt. He likes it, though, Blaine thought. More importantly, he wants to learn more, which means he sees us together for a while. He pulled Kurt towards him and laid back, wrapping his arms around Kurt. The weight of his body on top of him was somehow comforting. He leaned up and kissed Kurt passionately, his hand twisting in the hair at the nape of his neck. They’d already missed half the class period, he reasoned, and although the bathroom wasn’t the most romantic place, he was the one on the floor, not Kurt and his precious clothes. The cold floor on his bare back was unpleasant and reminded him suddenly of his state of undress, but Kurt was on top of him with his tongue pushing its way down Blaine’s throat and how could he care about anything when Kurt was kissing him like that? They spent the rest of the period on the floor, kissing and laughing and yeah, the jerk who’d slushied him definitely wasn’t counting on this. Blaine thought he’d have to thank him later.