Kurt's presence overwhelmed him. Finn could feel his stepbrother sitting behind him, but he didn't dare turn to even catch a glimpse. The way he was feeling, he had no idea what he might say or do. Finn didn't even have the balls to say 'hello', especially after last night's blow up between them.

Mr. Schuester clapped his hands to bring everyone's attention forward. "Alright, who wants to start us off today?"

Kurt rose at once. "I have something I've been working on."

"Barbara? Madonna?" Mr. Schue smiled as he ceded the stage to the young man.

"Something a little more serious," Kurt answered. He sashayed up to the front of the room and stood confidently even though he felt a flicker of nerves. At first he kept his gaze carefully averted from Finn as he cued the start of the music.

What a performance tonight
Should I react or turn off
the light?
Looks like you're picking
a fight
in a blurring of wrong
and right
But how your mood changes
You're a devil, now an angel
Suddenly subtle and solemn
and silent as a monk
You only tell me you love me
when you're drunk

Kurt couldn't resist letting his eyes move to Finn at last. There was no mistaking the meaning of the lyrics - or at least he hoped not. He knew, and Kurt didn't want either of them to be able to pretend otherwise.

It's better than nothing,
I suppose
some doors have opened,
others closed
but I couldn't see you exposed
to the horrors behind some
of those
Somebody said: listen
don't you know what
you're missing?
You should be kissing him
instead of dissing him like
a punk
But you only tell me you love
me when you're drunk
You only tell me you love me
when you're drunk

All of my friends keep
asking me
Why, oh, why
do you not say goodbye?
If you don't even try
you'll be sunk
'cause you only tell me you
love me when you're drunk

What's the meaning
when you speak with so
much feeling?
Is it over when you're sober?
Am I junk?
You only tell me you love me
when you're drunk
You only tell me you love me
when you're drunk

Kurt finished and smiled briefly before taking his seat again. He stared at the back of Finn's head while Rachel took the stage to regale them with her favorite show tune of the moment. Though normally Kurt loved her voice, he couldn't even pretend to listen as he wondered what Finn might be thinking.

Although Finn had resigned himself to being known as perpetually dim, the meaning of Kurt's song hit home hard. He felt terrible, then suddenly panicked. What had brought this on? //Did he... hear me last night?// Warmth spread across Finn's face, making even the tips of his ears glow bright red. How the hell was he going to get out of this? It was hard enough trying to deny his feelings for Kurt, and Finn scrambled to think of something - anything - to explain himself. He turned in his seat, opened his mouth and said the dumbest thing possible to Kurt, "Good song."

"I've always thought so," Kurt answered calmly. He found that he rather enjoyed having the upper hand so firmly, making Finn squirm a bit. Certainly the other boy had done plenty of that to him. "For some reason it's been on my mind." His eyes never left Finn's face, and he wondered just how strange the conversation might have looked to Quinn or anyone else watching it. Judging from the raised eyebrow he got from Mercedes, probably pretty strange. //Oh well.// "I take it speaks to you too?"

"Erm, yeah, I guess." Finn shrugged, then yelped when Quinn elbowed him in the ribs. Her brows mirroring Mercedes', Quinn was glaring at him with her patented 'What's going on?' look. //I am so not getting into this with her...// "It's nothing," he murmured, brushing the whole incident off with a mock casual wave of his hand. "We had a fight; it's no big deal." Biggest lie ever. It was a HUGE deal. Finn turned back in his seat and leaned in toward Kurt. "Can we talk after class?"

Kurt considered that. Could he really trust himself to stay strong one on one? He thought of the fact that he'd gotten less than two hours of sleep the night before and nodded. He could do it. Finn deserved to have to be honest. "Of course." He flashed Quinn a tight smile and received a glare in return. Fine by him. There was something about the blond that put him off no matter how gorgeous she was. He wondered briefly what lie Finn had told her to explain away the fact that he'd swept his stepbrother off in their limo instead of taking her home.

Finn could not relax through the rest of glee practice. His legs bounced impatiently, his eyes darting toward the clock as time ticked by more slowly than ever before. He had a golden opportunity to smooth things over with Kurt, and Finn thought furiously of a way to explain himself and not fuck things up worse than he already had. When the bell finally rang, Finn expressed his need to talk to Kurt with Quinn, who shot Kurt another death glare before reluctantly moving on her way. Finn's heart thundered, and he swore he could hear it amplified off the choir room walls.

"Thanks for staying behind," he started off, feeling worse about the whole situation by the minute. "Kurt, I'm sorry about last night. I don't know what got into me, but I was wrong and I hope you'll forgive me."

There were a dozen different ways he could respond, and Kurt went through all of them quickly in his mind. In the end, he did chicken out just a little. "At least you noticed," he allowed, wishing that Finn had made a more honest apology. Was he really going to pretend that nothing had happened? Even now? "You said you want us to be able to talk. You don't seem to be doing much of that lately." When it came right down to it, Kurt still cared too much for his stepbrother to force his hand, to push him into admitting something he wasn't ready for even if Kurt knew he deserved the explanation. When Finn still didn't add anything, he sighed. "I hope you'll have this sorted out before Blaine gets here."

"When Blaine gets here?" Finn, dumbstruck, stared uncomprehendingly at Kurt for a long moment. What was he talking about? "You mean he's coming to pick you up today or something?" At least Finn guessed that was what Kurt meant. That assumption only caused another sharp pang of jealousy. "That's fine." He tried to remain calm. "I promise I'm not going to get into your business anymore." Finn managed a crooked grin. "Thing is, I don't like it when you're mad at me." //And I like it even less with you’re off with Blaine.//

Kurt sighed again and rolled his eyes. "I don't like being mad at you." That was the simple truth of the matter. He cared about Finn, loved him even if it was a strange, complicated sort of love, and he didn't like them fighting. "As for Blaine, he'll be starting here at McKinley in a few days. As soon as the paperwork is done, really." Kurt searched Finn's face, wishing he could get an honest, direct reaction. "He said he doesn't like being away from me so much... and I don't really like it either."

"Wait, what?" Thinking he had simply misheard, Finn grasped for clarification. "Blaine's transferring?" If Kurt's expression - not to mention the way those blue eyes sparkled - was any indication, then it was definitely true, and Finn felt blindsided, as if Kurt had hauled back and sucker punched him. "That's just great!" He puffed out his cheeks, exasperated. "If Blaine's here, then..." Finn paused, staring openly at Kurt, his emotions barely contained, "...that means he's going to take over lead vocals." That wasn't what he meant at all. Blaine and Kurt would be inseparable, and his stepbrother would be even further away from him than before.

Kurt almost screamed with frustration. Even now Finn was playing word games. It took a moment for him to get his emotions under control enough to even respond. Unwilling to let it go so easily, Kurt met his stepbrother's gaze and challenged, "Have you remembered anything about the other night? Anything at all?" It was a way to give Finn an out. He could pretend he was only just recalling things and then maybe they could actually talk about it. //Then again, if he wanted to talk, wouldn't he have said something already?//

Freezing on the spot Finn realized that Kurt had indeed overheard what he was doing last night. Why else would he bring up the subject? "The other night?" he echoed dumbly. His world crashing around him, Finn vacillated hopelessly. He could either deny everything again or admit what he was feeling for Kurt. His pulse hammering, he clenched and unclenched his fists reflexively until, without warning, he was surging forward and pressing Kurt against the nearest wall. Finn's mouth, hot and demanding, covered his stepbrother's, kissing him recklessly.

Kurt hadn't exactly anticipated the reaction, and he couldn't even think enough to protest. The feeling of Finn's body against his own awoke at once the thrill of prom night, the illicit pleasure of being wanted by someone who had never wanted him in return. Kurt knew he should have been stopping things. As soon as his thoughts caught up with the action, he should have shoved Finn away and told him to go to hell. That would have been the right thing to do. Instead Kurt found himself responding instinctively to the stimulation and wrapping his arms around Finn's neck.

Even through the thick haze of reckless desire, Finn expected Kurt to push him away, yell at him, anything but this. To his amazement, Kurt was not resisting. He was accepting and kissing him back in the most agonizingly passionate kiss Finn had ever experienced. His mouth expressed his longing and lust, searching, probing, searing Kurt's, until he was panting and mewling softly in a sweet delirium of need.

It was just as good as before, perhaps better. Now Kurt knew that Finn really did want him. The alcohol had brought down the walls, but in the end, Finn was kissing him because he wanted to. That he was making the same stupid mistake all over again didn't really occur to Kurt as he relished the moment and the passionate embrace. The fingers of one hand carded into Finn's hair as if he were afraid that the other teen might draw away otherwise.

Finn had completely lost his mind, or at least that's how it seemed. Kissing Kurt again was exactly the most wrong thing he could have ever done, but it felt so good, so right. The simmering passion and shy awakening Finn had gradually experienced gave way in an abrupt rush of need. He could not keep his shaking hands off Kurt, cradling his body as their heated kisses eventually forced Finn to break away to catch his breath. His eyes were dark and begging, imploring Kurt. He put his fingers to his stepbrother's mouth. "Don't say anything." Finn almost confessed, //I dreamed of doing this...// only to stop short when a familiar voice called outside the choir room door.

"Kurt?" It was Blaine.