"Well hello there stranger, hop in."

"Thank you so much for this," Blaine sighed in relief as he opened the passenger door to Kurt's car, pausing for a second to shake the water off of his jacket. A light rain had started up while he was waiting to Blaine's dismay and he carefully wiped off the worst of the water before climbing inside. Blaine knew how much Kurt loved his car.

"You have no idea how grateful I am."

"Yeah well, what are best friends for?" Kurt smiled at him from the driver's seat, watching Blaine fiddle with his seatbelt before pulling away from the curb, "I'm just glad to be of use."

"This night was a complete disaster. I can't believe I asked him out, what was I thinking?"

"They say love is blind," Kurt hummed happily, seemingly in a much better mood than when Blaine had talked to him an hour ago.

"I was not in love with him," Blaine muttered darkly, arms crossed across his chest as he scowled out the window.

"It can't have been that bad, what did he do exactly?"

"He insulted you."

"Wait, what?"

"I know right!" Blaine exclaimed, throwing up his hands in frustration, "What's his problem?"

"I've never had a conversation with him in my entire life. Usually people at least meet me face to face before they start bitching about me behind my back."

"He thinks there's something wrong with the way you dress or talk or... whatever."

Kurt bristled at that, straightening up as he shifted angrily.

"My fashion sense is impeccable-"

"I know!"

"-and just because some cretin in a soccer shirt who couldn't see good taste if it hit him in the face doesn't understand my choices doesn't mean that my clothes are in anyway beneath him or not practical for everyday life-"

"Exactly!" Blaine interrupted angrily, slumping back in his seat.

A silence seemed to settle over the car as Blaine rubbed at his eyes tiredly, breathing out steadily and slowly as Kurt's fingers flexed around the steering wheel.

"He called me girly, didn't he?" Kurt said quietly as he stared straight ahead. Blaine twisted in his seat to face him.

"What?"

"He said that I looked like a girl."

"No! Well... not outright."

"It's okay Blaine, it's not the first time someone's called me a girl and it certainly isn't going to be the last."

"Well it's not true," Blaine replied fiercely, staring Kurt down as the other boy avoided his eyes, "You're not girly or weak or-or lesser because you own woman's sweaters or sometimes buy girl's boots. You're the bravest, strongest person I know, braver than anybody else I've ever met and certainly braver than me."

Kurt didn't reply, his face emotionless as his eyes darted over to Blaine's side to gauge if he was being serious. Blaine leant back in his seat, his voice softer now as he tried to make Kurt understand.

"You look like a boy, you talk like a boy and nobody has the right to say that you don't. There's no such thing as a checklist to tick off how much of a guy you are, the idea of that is just..." Blaine paused in exasperation, searching for the right words, "It's ridiculous. You're a lot braver than Terry is, a better person too. Walking stereotype... I can't believe he started insulting you in front of me, what did he think was going to happen?"

"I guess he thought you didn't know me very well, or that everybody would just agree with him."

"Yeah, well he's just a..."

"Jerk?" Kurt supplied, his mouth quirking up in amusement.

"Yeah," Blaine hunched over, still scowling out the side of the window as most of his anger started to disappear, "He's a jerk."

The car was quiet after that for a minute or two, both boys lost in their thoughts as Kurt leaned over to switch on the radio so as to fill the silence. Rain was bouncing off the top of the car roof, dribbling down the windows as Blaine drew shapes in the material of his seat and watched the rain drops collect together and fall.

Some bright, bubbly song had just started playing and Blaine felt himself begin to relax as he heard Kurt humming along, his fingers no longer tight around the steering wheel but tapping along to the beat as he relaxed in the comfortable silence.

"He didn't even compliment my bow tie."

"He didn't?"

"No," Blaine slouched to the side, hating how childish he sounded. It shouldn't have been a big deal it's just... this was his first date. He'd kind of wanted Terry to notice the effort he'd put in to getting dressed.

"Well I guess that's just another sign that he wouldn't know good fashion if it hit him in the face. I love your bow tie, it's very dapper."

"Thank you."

Blaine turned to smile at Kurt, oddly pleased when the older boy beamed back at him.

"I mean, thank you for everything. I know driving out here probably wasn't what you had in mind for tonight."

"No, it's fine, I enjoy the company."

"I still feel bad, you've had a terrible day and then I had to leave and I couldn't talk to you about it and now I'm making you come pick me up-"

"Blaine!" Kurt interrupted abruptly, "Relax, I said it was fine, don't worry so much. I know you'd do the same thing for me if I ever needed you to."

"Of course," Blaine replied, ignoring the slight twisting in his stomach at the thought of Kurt going on dates with other boys.

He was just overprotective, as tonight had proven there were a lot of ignorant, hateful people out there. Blaine didn't want Kurt getting involved with someone who would end up hurting him, Kurt had already been through enough.

"What are you doing tonight?" Kurt asked, snapping Blaine out of his confusing thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, not much probably. I might listen to a bit of music before going to sleep, I didn't really have anything planned besides going on that date with Terry."

"Forget about him, come sleep over in my room instead."

"What?"

"I have a single all to myself, we can watch your favourite movies and eat ice cream and bitch about how terrible Terry is. C'mon," Kurt grinned over at Blaine, fluttering his eyelashes persuasively, "You know you want to, it's what best friends do after horrible dates."

"Well..."

"Yes?"

"I do have homework..."

"Do it tomorrow! Tonight's about eating and complaining."

Blaine laughed, shaking his head before giving in to Kurt's bright smile.

"Fine, you've convinced me."

"Yes!" Kurt bounced up and down in his seat, enthusiasm radiating from every part of his body, "This is going to be amazing, I'll stop at a gas station on the way back to pick up supplies, usually I don't lower myself to such standards but I think everything else is closed at this time of night. What do you want to watch? Moulin rouge?"

"Ugh," Blaine wrinkled up his nose, "Not tonight thank you."

"How about Rent?"

"Can we please watch a movie where nobody dies? I'm not in the mood to cry myself to sleep."

Kurt seemed to deflate, a quick series of emotions flashing across his face before he straightened up and nodded his head slowly.

"Right, a movie where nobody... dies. Good, I agree."

"Are you okay?" Blaine asked curiously, watching as Kurt's shoulders tensed at the question.

"I'm fine, it's just... it's been a bad day."

"Want to talk about it?"

Kurt glanced over at him, seemingly scanning him up and down to take in his messy hair and askew bow tie with rain water still soaked into his jacket.

"Maybe later," He replied quietly, smiling at Blaine to ease his worries as he turned back to face the road, "Right now I think we should focus on drowning our problems in ice cream."

"Good idea."

"I know, I thought of it."

Blaine laughed, relaxing as he leaned back into his seat. The head lights and street lamps lit up Kurt's face, casting dark shadows across his cheekbones as Blaine trailed his eyes over the other boy's features. Terry had been a mistake and unless the purpose of these repeating Tuesdays was to figure out how bad of an idea it would be to date him, Blaine would be waking up tomorrow for his tenth Tuesday in a row.

He couldn't summon the energy to be angry though, not when Kurt was so excited next to him and rambling about all the things he had planned for later tonight. Blaine would figure it out sooner or later, laws of probability stated that he had to find the answer eventually and if Sebastian was to be believed, it would all be worth it in the end.

It had to be, right?

***

Blaine sat tucked away in one of the many library corners, spinning his phone slowly in circles around the polished circular table.

Day 40.

It was his 40th Tuesday and Blaine was starting to wonder if he would be stuck there forever.

Somewhere above him Blaine could hear the ticking of a clock, counting down until midnight when the day would restart all over again. He had tried everything, he had tried absolutely everything and still he was here.

It had been a month since his date with Terry, a month since he had watched movies with Kurt in Kurt's room, watching the older boy drift off on his shoulder as their breathing synchronized together and Blaine let himself be lulled into a peaceful sleep.

The next morning he had woken up alone in his dorm room, his phone blaring out Katy Perry with Jeff's bed absent and rumpled. It had been disheartening to say the least but he had gotten up anyway, smiling at the boys he passed in the hall as he made his way determinedly to his classes.

Over the course of the last thirty days he had payed attention in every lesson and answered every question.

Then he had stopped paying attention and hadn't even pretended to get his books out.

He had skipped class completely and walked aimlessly around the school, even going outside to wander around the neighbourhood.

He had learnt the names of the janitors and the cafeteria ladies and sat next to everybody in his class at some point or another, asking them about their lives and if they needed help with anything and what he could do to make their problems easier. Quite a few boys had seemed in awe that the famous Blaine Anderson had wanted to talk to them, stuttering over their words as they gave him nervous glances.

It had been flattering at first, but now it was starting to become irritating and confusing. What had he done to garner such a reaction? How many of these people actually knew him?

For the first time since Blaine had come to Dalton, it may have slowly started to dawn on him that he didn't have quite as many friends as he thought.

Admirers yes, team mates and study partners and guys he smiled at in the hall, but it was through sitting down with new people every day that Blaine had come to a confronting realization.

He barely knew the people he had always thought of as friends. He discussed Warbler issues and problems with homework; he talked about the fencing team with the guys on the fencing team and gay rights with the members of the LGBT squad. He had clear conversation structures that he repeated over and over again with the boys around him but he didn't talk to them about personal things, about things going on in their lives like fights and break ups.

Usually Blaine would have considered that to be rude, he would have considered himself to be above gossiping and pushing himself into conversations which didn't concern him but now as he sat in the library, mentally counting off people he knew well and trusted, he realized that what he had initially thought to be a long and in depth list was in fact quite short. All those people he had thought he trusted, they knew nothing about him.

They knew nothing about his family, nothing about Sadie Hawkins, nothing about his life before Dalton. Had he been isolating himself without even realizing it?

Blaine had somehow convinced himself that the fake, confident persona he'd created when he'd first come to Dalton had disappeared with time, but instead it seemed he had just gotten so used to using it that he'd forgotten it was there in the first place.

He could remember himself at fourteen; photographs of back then almost looked as if they had been taken of another boy all together. He'd been alone and scared and insecure about everything, jumpy after the Sadie Hawkins attack and wary of the safety Dalton had promised. He'd become more confident when he transferred, but how could he know if that had been real confidence he'd been projecting or confidence he desperately wished he could have?

Blaine had known for a long time that everyone around him saw the Blaine that he wanted people to see. Everyone around him saw the carefully maintained image that he worked hard to keep. But it was deeper than that, what Blaine was starting to suspect was that the Warbler's weren't just seeing the Blaine he wanted them to see, but that they were seeing the Blaine they wanted to see as well.

What would happen if they saw a version of Blaine they didn't like? How long could Blaine pretend he had everything under control?

It was with a slightly shaky hand that Blaine picked up his phone, sliding it up open as he tapped at the screen until his list of contacts came up.

Cooper Anderson.

The first name he had on his list.

Blaine had pressed the button to call him before he was even aware of what he was doing, holding the phone up to his ear as he swallowed nervously.

Ringing.

Ringing again.

He hadn't talked to Cooper in months, he'd gotten a phone call on his birthday but that had only been so Cooper could apologise about not coming to see him, something about not being able to afford the plane tickets and he was auditioning for some kind of commercial and the director had winked at him and Blaine had stopped listening half way through.

Still ringing.

The phone clicked as someone picked up and Blaine straightened his back, opening his mouth to speak as a thousand thoughts filled his head.

"¡Hola mis amigos! You have reached the voicemail of the one and only Cooper Anderson, unfortunately for you; I'm not here to grace you with my presence, HOWEVER!" Cooper yelled suddenly, making Blaine flinch, "If you were to leave your name and number I'll get my secretary to get back to you-"

What secretary? Blaine rolled his eyes.

"-and if you're looking to offer me a job you can contact my agent at Beverly Hills' talent agency for the ridiculously talented and we'll try to fit you in. Ciao mon ami!"

The phone beeped and Blaine sat in a stunned silence, trying to think up something to say as he suddenly realized he was being recorded.

"Right! Sorry, hey Cooper, it's me. Blaine, your younger brother," Blaine flinched, hating that he felt as if he had to remind Cooper who he was, "Anyway I was just calling to say hi, I haven't talked to you in... wow, I can't even remember, a long time anyway and I just wanted to see how you were. I'm fine, doing great you know... actually I'm not fine at all. I've just been feeling... really alone lately, I kind of need someone to talk to and well, what are brothers for?"

Blaine laughed weakly, trying to ignore how close he felt to crying.

"So I was wondering if when you get this-"

The phone beeped loudly, signalling the end of the recording as there was a long pause before Blaine could hear the dial tone beeping quietly.

Slowly lowering his hand, he dropped his phone to the floor.

That was just typical.

What had he been expecting?

Cooper would get the message and write it on a post it note but then he'd forget about it. After a certain amount of time the note would be taken down and thrown in the bin and then Blaine would be forgotten about. It was the same cycle that had been going on since Cooper had moved out.

In fact, why was Blaine kidding himself? Cooper had been ignoring him and incredibly self absorbed since the moment Blaine had been born.

He loved Blaine, Blaine sort of knew that, but he was so distanced and barely a part of Blaine's life. He wouldn't notice if Blaine had dropped off the edge of the earth until the school contacted his parents and Blaine's mum called Cooper up to leave the news in a voicemail.

When was the last time Blaine had talked to his parents?

He'd talked to his mum sometime last month, she was on a book tour and then would be joining his father in Chicago on his business trip.

Blaine couldn't remember the last time he'd had a real conversation with his dad, a conversation beyond 'How is school going?' 'Have you thought about what universities you'll be applying to?' 'Blaine, do you really think your show choir crap is going to lead anywhere?'

His parents had always been a little distant but there wasn't much Blaine could do about that.

Who else did he have at this school? Who did he have in total to rely on?

Kurt was the immediate response.

Kurt was his best friend, the only person who really knew him and still liked him regardless, who didn't care about the confident, lead soloist that everyone seemed to be in love with, but instead liked the Blaine who danced on furniture and could be a little oblivious at times.

But other than Kurt, how many of Blaine's friends had no idea what he was really like? Did they know his favourite movie? His favourite book or song? Did they even know simple things like his birthday?

Blaine sat in the corner of the library, hunched over as he hugged himself tightly around his middle.

He was alone.

Was this the big revelation that Sebastian had wanted him to have?

Well great, fantastic, Blaine had finally realized that he really only had one true friend.

Did he get to wake up now? Did he get to move on to Wednesday and join the rest of the world?

Blaine might not be as lonely as he was when he was fourteen, but he was still alone. The Warblers didn't know him, not really, and it made Blaine wonder how long it would take them to turn on him if someone better came along.

Oh, God.

Blaine sat up straight, eyes widening as he realized what he had just thought.

There was always someone better, someone who was a better singer, whose dance moves were more fluid, who had better ideas for the team. They'd probably even be taller too with hair that didn't need to be covered in gel to control.

They would transfer to Dalton and within minutes become the favourite, they would be made lead soloist and Wes would ask Blaine "Are you sure you don't mind?" and Blaine would laugh and shake his head and say "Of course not, it's all about what's best for the team, right?"

Blaine minded a lot actually.

He needed to be lead soloist, who was he if not the lead of the Warblers?

Kurt would probably like the new guy more than him, he'd ignore Blaine's phone calls and go hang out with the other guy and slowly forget about Blaine and the fact that they were friends.

Blaine already hated the new transfer student and he didn't even exist.

Blaine was replaceable, the thought left him feeling hollow, especially when he thought about Kurt slowly forgetting and then ignoring him.

He could almost picture it, the hundreds of students around him laughing and going out with friends and setting out into the world while he was left behind. The few friendships he had now would fade with time and he would graduate with empty promises from the boys around him to meet up sometime, and three empty chairs in his graduation audience where his family was supposed to sit. Nobody cared about him, Kurt was right when he said that he kept people at a distance but maybe it was true that others kept him at a distance too.

The hard truth was that Blaine was isolated and lonely and starting to feel as if he was just playing a part. He didn't know how he'd become this person who couldn't connect with others, who couldn't be the sort of person others would want to keep around. He felt expendable, replaceable. The worst part was the Blaine had no idea how to fix it.

"I've been looking for you everywhere!" Kurt dropped his books on to the table, making Blaine jump up in shock, "I've had four different people text me to ask where you are. I mean seriously, do I look like your babysitter? What are you doing here anyway?"

"Thinking," Blaine muttered, reaching down to pick up his phone and slide it back into his pocket.

"Ah," Kurt sat down and dragged his chair closer to Blaine's side, "Family, school or other?"

"Excuse me?" Blaine looked up in confusion.

"Family, school or other? What's bothering you?"

"I-" Blaine blinked in surprise, taking in Kurt's sympathetic expression as he tried to sprout the words, "Family and school. I suppose you could also say other."

"Rough day?"

"Something like that."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Blaine didn't reply, biting his lip as he clasped his hands together, staring down at his lap. He could feel Kurt's gaze on his face but it didn't feel piercing or as if Kurt was trying to drag the information out of him, it was calmer, gentle.

Blaine was really going to miss him when Kurt lost interest in Blaine and started hanging out with the new transfer student.

"Blaine?"

Blaine paused, ready to make up some kind of excuse when the words caught in his throat.

"Let me in," Kurt had said, "Tell me when you're upset, let me help you."

The idea of letting himself be vulnerable still terrified Blaine a little, but if there was anyone in the world that he felt close enough to talk to about his problems with it would definitely be Kurt. Besides, he had promised he would try to open up a little more, it didn't matter that Kurt couldn't remember their conversation, Blaine remembered and he knew that he should at least try it once to see if it did any good.

If he left the conversation feeling worse then it wouldn't even matter, everything about this day would be wiped from Kurt's mind by the time the clock stuck twelve the following night. It was with this thought in mind that Blaine took a deep breath, raising his head to make eye contact with Kurt.

"I don't have friends here," Blaine admitted quietly, the words difficult to force out as Kurt leant in to hear him more clearly, "My family doesn't talk to me and it's only going to be a matter of time before someone better comes along and replaces me as lead soloist. I thought I was popular and happy, but these people don't know me, they only like the Blaine who's confident and-and perfect."

"Hey, where's this coming from?" Kurt pushed his chair closer, his hand hovering over Blaine's uncertainly for a few seconds before he closed his hand over Blaine's tight fist.

"Of course you have friends here."

"Nobody knows me, they don't know about my family or interests besides a few general things. I think Wes and David know I have problems with my dad but I've never gone into much more detail than that, I don't know anything too serious about them either. I'm meant to be one of their best friends and we don't... talk."

"Well maybe you just need to give them a chance, open up a bit more, go see a movie together with the guys."

Blaine was shaking his head before Kurt had even finished his sentence. He wrapped his hands around Kurt's, wanting desperately to have more physical contact but not knowing how to ask.

"They won't like me, they only like me when I'm perfect and good at everything and golden boy or whatever. We won't have anything to talk about."

Kurt pulled his chair up right next to Blaine and tugged him closer, wrapping his arm around Blaine's shoulders as Blaine breathed a sigh of relief and leant into Kurt's embrace, resting his cheek against Kurt's shoulder.

"You don't know that; don't write them off before you've even tried. They already love you."

"They love the fake me, I'm fake."

"You're not fake! So what if you sometimes act more confident than you feel? This may come as a shock to you but so does everybody else. We all act differently in public than we do by ourselves, its normal."

"I'm not fake around you," Blaine mumbled.

Kurt's hand clenched around his bicep, hugging him tightly as Blaine nestled into the curve of his shoulder.

"I'm not fake around you either, I never have been."

"I'm just so tired of feeling alone."

"You're not alone, you have so many friends here Blaine, even if you're not as close as you'd like to be. You have me as well, you're my best friend."

Blaine didn't reply, twisted into Kurt's side as he closed his eyes and breathed deeply. He could feel a lump in his throat and knew that if he tried to speak he would probably end up crying.

Above all the repeating Tuesdays had made him feel isolated, Sebastian had disappeared and now Blaine was completely alone, the only person on the entire face of the planet who was aware of what was happening.

The day reset over and over again, the same conversations with the same people as everyone went about their day in routinely order. Blaine was the odd one out, the only one left out of the reset with no one to talk to about how he was feeling and no one who could understand.

The levels of loneliness he was reaching was starting to remind him of middle school.

"I heard you quit the fencing team."

"How'd you hear that?" Blaine looked up in surprise.

He'd bumped into one of the team members accidently while wandering around during his third lesson and they had immediately started rambling about practices and team equipment cleaning and a whole manner of other things. It had only taken thirty seconds before Blaine had snapped and told them he was quitting to get them to shut up and leave him alone. Although it had been a rash decision, it had felt surprisingly good. No matter what he did it would be forgotten by this time tomorrow, but for some reason having one less obligation eased the knot in his chest and made him breathe a little easier.

"Jake from the team texted me," Kurt replied in answer to Blaine's question, "I'm starting to get worried about how these people have my number and why I'm seemingly the go to person when you do something out of character."

"I've never liked fencing," Blaine muttered, distracting himself by tracing shapes on Kurt's knee, "At least not enough to pursue it full time but my dad said it was a man's sport."

"Are we getting into the family section of your problems?"

"I always have family problems."

Blaine sniffed and rubbed at his eyes, trying to ignore the way they were stinging as he forced himself not to cry. Kurt's left hand was rubbing over the back of Blaine's, tracing up and down his fingers and across his knuckles in a slow, comforting pattern.

"What happened?"

"My dad... I have no idea how he feels about me, he seems uncomfortable whenever we're alone together and I can't ignore the fact that he views me as some big disappointment. I haven't talked to my mum in a month and the only thing consistent about Cooper is that he will always ignore my phone calls. I don't understand why I'm not good enough. I try so hard but it's like I can never quite make it. I'm not enough to hold their interest, I'm not a good enough son or brother and sometimes I feel like a complete disappointment. Sometimes it feels like they've forgotten about me completely."

"You haven't done anything wrong-"

"Then why does it feel like I'm constantly screwing up? Rachel, Jeremiah, Terry..."

"Wait, what?" Kurt pulled back frowning, "What happened with Terry? Who's Terry?"

"Just some loser," Blaine sniffed again, pushing his face further into Kurt's neck, "He's not worth your time."

"Well if he's so terrible Blaine, then he's probably not worth your time either."

"I just don't understand, I don't know what I'm doing wrong."

"Sweetheart," Kurt sighed, resting the cheek against the top of Blaine's head, "I don't know if you've noticed, but it's kind of in your nature to be not only a perfectionist but also a people pleaser."

"People pl- you're a perfectionist too!"

"Yes, well, I didn't say it was a good thing."

"I..." Blaine sighed, "What's your point?"

"At times it's endearing and makes me like you even more. But at other times I think you're only hurting yourself. It feels like you're pushing yourself to be perfect every minute of every day, and I'm worried you're going to wear yourself out."

Blaine paused for a minute or two, letting the words sink in as he considered what Kurt had just said. He could feel Kurt's breath brushing against the top of his head and for some reason it made him want to curl up smaller into Kurt's side and fall asleep, letting all his worries be brushed aside in the protective circle of Kurt's arms.

"I just want people to like me," Blaine said quietly.

"I know. I want people to like me too."

"But you don't care if they don't, you don't try to change yourself to fit in. You're just you, you don't let anybody tell you what you can or can't do."

"I'm flattered you have such a high opinion of me," Kurt raised an eyebrow, "But even I do a certain amount of conforming. I'd probably do anything my dad asked of me, I told you about the horrible flannel incident of sophomore year, didn't I?"

"Yes," Blaine smiled half heartedly at Kurt's wry tone before sighing and closing his eyes, trying to push everything that was bothering him away.

There were a few moments of silence as Kurt's fingers traced circles into the back of Blaine's hand, leaving goosebumps in their wake. Blaine tried to ignore the shiver it sent up his arm every time Kurt stroked gently across his knuckles and in between his fingers, enjoying the comfort he was being offered.

"You shouldn't feel pressured to do anything you don't want to," Kurt said softly, his words seeping into Blaine's skin as he listened with his eyes closed, "It's only high school. In a couple of years it's going to be over and no one will care if you were on the fencing team or debating team or student council. It looks good on a college resume, but if you're not enjoying yourself then there's no point in doing it."

"You make it sound so easy," Blaine muttered.

"Yeah well, that's the rule I live by. I don't like watching football but I'll agree to watch a game or two with my dad because watching it together makes him happy, which makes me happy. I quit the cheerleading team because although they were popular and it would look good for college I didn't like the people and the schedule was insane. I'm more a yoga sort of person anyway."

"You do yoga?"Blaine perked up in interest, "Wait, you were a cheerleader?"

"You can't force yourself to enjoy something if you don't like it and frankly, what does it matter if other people want you to do it? It's your life, if your dad likes the idea of fencing teams so much then he can go join one himself. It's not your job to go out of your way to relate to him."

"It's easier though, it's easier if we have common ground to talk about and not topics that will lead to a fight."

"If it's making you unhappy then it's not worth it. Your dad's the one who should be trying to relate to you and if he doesn't like the fact that you like singing or that you're gay then that's his problem."

Kurt paused for a second, squeezing at Blaine's bicep as he started to talk again in a slightly softer voice, "I can't really give you a lot of advice on your family life seeing as my own has always been fine, but I do know that if they can't be bothered to become involved in your life then they don't deserve a place. You're amazing; it's their problem if they can't see that, you haven't done anything wrong."

"Really?"

"Yes," Kurt said firmly.

Blaine smiled into Kurt's shoulder, feeling the lump loosen in his throat as some of the tension seemed to leave his shoulders.

"Thank you, I mean..."

"I know."

Kurt stroked his hand down Blaine's arm, Blaine shivering slightly at the feeling as his whole arm seemed to tingle.

"How are you feeling?"

Kurt's hands were very distracting and Blaine had to pause for a few seconds before the question sunk in.

"Better, much better now. Sometimes it just..."

"Piles up?"

"Yeah," Blaine sighed, sagging into Kurt's side again, "I can't think straight and then I start stressing myself out. It's like I get buried under all these obligations and I forget about everything else. Someone told me not that long ago that I'm kind of oblivious and often overlook what's most important."

Kurt remained silent for a few seconds, still dragging his fingers up and down the sleeve of Blaine's blazer.

"While I may agree with that in certain aspects-"

Blaine pulled back to look at him in surprise and slight hurt.

"-I don't think you should spend so much time worrying about it. What does it matter what anyone else thinks? They're not you. They don't know what it's like to live your life. They don't have any right to judge."

"I suppose so..."

"Lead soloist of the Warblers isn't all you are Blaine, and being on the fencing team or getting straight A's doesn't make you a better human being or more of a likeable person."

"I know that, but-"

"No. Stop thinking that you need to accomplish something or be perfect to be of worth, I like you the way you are and you should too. Who else would be able to talk football with my stepbrother and Dad but still understand the finer points of vogue and Broadway?"

Blaine smiled reluctantly at that, ducking his head bashfully.

"I guess so, I just... is it wrong to want to be the best at something? To be noticed and wanted?"

"Of course not, it would be pretty hypocritical of me to say that knowing some of the crazier things I've done to get attention. But there's a difference between ambition and obsession, and willing to give up your own happiness for a goal that may or may not pay off is just going to lead you down a dangerous, crazy road. Think Rachel Berry crazy."

"The horror," Blaine grinned as Kurt rolled his eyes fondly.

"You know what I mean."

"I do, I-"

Blaine cut himself off, leaning back against his chair with a sigh as Kurt pulled his arm back from around his shoulders.

"Thank you," Blaine said softly, eyes darting up to meet Kurt's, "Thank you for being my best friend and for skipping class to come find me. Thank you for caring about me enough to listen to my problems and thank you for always being there for me when I need you. I don't deserve you."

"Yeah well, don't beat yourself up about it, I'm out of everyone's league."

Blaine laughed as the faux haughty look disappeared from Kurt's face, settling into something more sincere as he leant forward to meet Blaine's gaze.

"I'm really glad I met you Blaine, sometimes I might get irritated at you or upset, but at the end of the day you should remember that I'm always so grateful that I get to have you in my life."

Blaine smiled, feeling the threat of tears pushing at the back of his eyes as he pressed a hand to them, trying to make the feeling disappear.

"Thank you," He said again, wishing he had more adequate words to describe what everything Kurt had said meant to him.

"Don't thank me it's the truth. Besides," Kurt sat up straighter to grin at Blaine in almost conspiring way, "You shouldn't worry that people won't like you. If anyone says anything mean I'll use my martial arts knowledge to tackle them to the ground."

"Three and a half classes of a self defence course that your Dad signed you up for is not martial arts knowledge, Kurt," Blaine chuckled weakly, smiling despite himself as he rubbed at his eyes, "As I remember it you quit after two weeks because the instructor wanted you to take off your scarf."

"It was a completely bizarre request."

"He said it was a choking hazard and would get in the way of the practical exercises."

"Look Blaine," Kurt fixed him with a patient stare, "If I get attacked in a dark alleyway at night, nine times out of ten I'm going to be wearing a scarf. The obvious thing to do would be to learn how to fight while wearing one, if my instructor was too pig headed to see that then it wasn't my fault."

Blaine laughed, ducking his head as his shoulders shook in amusement.

The tension from their previous conversation vanished as Blaine rested back into his chair, grinning as Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Okay, I guess you have a point there."

"I'm always right, the sooner you accept that the easier your life will be."

Blaine smiled at Kurt in amusement, his eyes still prickling slightly from the build up of tears but most of the emotions had simmered down to a relaxed state.

"Seriously Blaine," Kurt dropped his tone to lean forward and place a sympathetic hand on Blaine's knee, "It's not too late for you to become more involved with other people if you want to. You're sixteen, go out to movies with the guys, strike up conversations with new people to try and find things you have in common, who knows, you might even make friends with people you've never considered. You're entirely too charming for your own good, I'm sure there are a whole heap of people who would love to be closer to you."

"You think so?" Blaine asked hopefully.

"Absolutely. In fact it might get people to stop asking me if you're okay and whether they should bring a fruit basket around and are there any types of fruit Blaine's allergic to. I swear to this day I still have no idea who gave Trent my number but he needs to stop spamming my inbox. In fact maybe you should start with him, go tell him you're okay. Immediately or as soon as possible, my phone needs a break."

Blaine laughed again, squeezing Kurt's hand where it rested on his knee.

"Thank you," He said, trying to inject as much sincerity into his voice as possible, "Thank you for everything."

"Well," Kurt said with a shrug, "What are best friends for?"