A pair of glasz eyes peered down at me over the edge of an everest of blankets, "Good morning Blaine Devon." Kurt's voice was even, proof that he had been up for awhile. He looked so cute, just the top of his face visible, latte hair in adorable disarray.

"Um, hey, how long have you been up?" I mumbled groggily.

"Not too long, I didn't want to leave you alone though, I think that would be weird."

"Oh, thanks." I reached up to scratch my head. My head, ohmygod, my head.

Freak.

"Sorry about my hair..."

"Aw! I think your curls are cute!"

"Don't lie."

"No! No, I really like them!"

"I don't believe that..."

"You should! Your hair is so cute! I mean it's cute when gelled too, but I like it curly also. I promise."

"Whatever...might you have some gel that I can use though?"

"Hmm," he clambered out of bed, all long legs and skinny arms, "I'll see what I can find. If I do happen to have anything in my never ending stock of products though, it won't smell like raspberries."

"I might be able to live..."

"I thought we could eat a quick breakfast and go out for coffee, how does that sound?" Kurt's voice reverberated out of the bathroom.

"Sounds fine, are we going to the Lima Bean?"

"Unless you object, but otherwise yeah."

"No! The Lima Bean is great."

I heard the sound of Kurt rummaging through cabinets, "Ok, um so I found a really old jar of gel, I honestly don't even know where it came from though, I don't think anyone in this house has ever gelled their hair, but I guess you can pretty much find anything in my cabinet."

"Old gel will be better than no gel."

"Not sure if I agree but whatever."

"Um, Kurt?"

"Yeah?"

"What am I supposed to wear?"

"Oh! Carole has already washed your clothes from yesterday."

"She what?"

"She washed your clothes from yesterday."

"But-why-she didn't have to, I-"

"She knows that Blaine, she's just a mother, she does those kinds of things." My mother has never done those kinds of things.

"I, um, wow...ok..."

Kurt stuffed the neatly pressed stack of my clothes into my arms and waved me to the bathroom, "Go change."

"Ok."

I came out in my same ensemble as the day before to find Kurt in unearthly tight white pants (ohmygod) and a maroon coat that stopped just above his knees. He was observing his hair skeptically in the dresser mirror as he.carefully coifed it high on his head. As I watched him curl and spray with hairspray, I carefully took apart my air mattress, folding it up and setting it on the end of Kurt's bed.

"You look nice," he hummed without straying from his current task, instead he eyed my reflection.

"Same to you." I seated myself primly against the wall, knees tucked high against my chest, just watching him.

He finally finished his hair, his facial, and finished zipping his caramel dipped ankle boots, waving for me to follow him downstairs.

The kitchen was quiet except for the low hum of the teapot, (Carole was apparently an avid green tea enthusiast) it looked peaceful, undisturbed in the natural light of a December morning. Finn was still asleep, and Mr. Hummel was already at work, so Kurt and I just made toast, not bothering to make anything that involved steps, which was fine with me, toast was great. Carole came in the kitchen as her teapot started to scream like a far away freight train.

"Hi boys, you're up!"

"Hi Carole!"

"Good morning, ma'am."

"How'd you all sleep."

"Fine."

"Good," better than I have in about a week because the boy who I like to a point of insanity was breathing just a few feet away in the dark.

"That's good, are you going to go out anywhere today?"

"Just the Lima Bean."

"Well that's somewhere."

"Yeah," Kurt chuckled, "So far it beats out any of the coffee in Westerville."

"Oh god yes..."

"Just so I know how much to prepare, and either way is fine with me, are you planning on staying for lunch Blaine?"

"Oh no, I should probably start heading back to Dalton after we get coffee."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you for everything by the way, dinner, letting me stay over, my clothes."

"It was nothing dear."

No, it was everything to me, and it hurts that it is truly nothing, truly normal, for everyone else.

•••

The world had long since lost the skeletal arms of late fall, instead it was all buffered in the white quilt of December snow. Kurt stalled outside the frosted glass doors of the Lima Bean, "You ok?" I asked, slightly worried at his furrowed brow.

"Yeah..."

"You don't look it."

"Wow Blaine, thanks."

"Sorry, just-"

"Nah, you're right, stop apologizing. I'm kind of afraid of running into people I know..."

"Well if you were, it WOULD probably happen here."

"Way to make me feel better."

"Sorry, it'll be fine though, I promise."

"Guess so..."

"We can go someplace else if you like."

"No, no I can do this. Courage right?" He side eyed me with a wink.

"Right." This was the first time he had ever mentioned our private sentiment, I think it took us both for a turn because we both just stood watching each other for a moment, our mouths adorned with shy smiles.

He puffed out air from his cheeks, "Let's do this."

I held open the door to him, letting out a sickening blast of old heat. That was the one thing I hated about Winter (other than Winter Break of course) everything was heated to a stifling point. We ordered our coffees as usual, I paid (after using his house for the past night I definitely owed him something, however pitifully small). We had been making small talk about the various assets of our calculus teachers, Kurt had Ms. Evertole who was about the sweetest lady anyone could ever meet, whereas I had Mr. Calvinson who was archaic, strict as a sergent, and always smelled vaguely of potted meat, when Kurt's ineffable eyes blew quite large and he froze.

"Oh. My. God."

"Um...?"

"Oh, wow, wow, ok, not good."

"Kurt?"

"See that table over there?"

"Yeah..." I followed his gaze over to a table off in the dim recess of the back corner, A saw a blonde girl who was chatting animately to the other person, her bright ponytail swinging as a sparkly pendulum. The other person could only be made out by a glorious mane of black waves.

"They were from glee."

"Really?" This was the first time I had encountered Kurt's old acquaintances, minus Rachel of course, but it was general protocol to subtract Rachel from the equation before she tried to become the answer.

"Yeah," his voice was low," the blonde one is Brittany, the one who isn't facing us is Santana."

"Are they..um, are they generally ok?"

"Well Brittany is kind of stupid, she doesn't really get anything, but yeah she's nice. Santana on the other hand can beat you up with a blink of her eye, she is a pretty angry person."

"Oh," I don't tend to care for angry people," So who are they, like other than glee club."

"Cheerleaders," and I thought glee club wasn't cool," Yeah they are pretty much clones of the plastics from 'Mean Girls' they had this girl who was kind of their leader. They followed her EVERYWHERE, and when she got pregnant," oh?" Yeah, pregnant, these things happened in a school that is co-ed Blaine. But anyways, so she had to quit the cheer team, and then Rachel Berry convinced her to join glee club somehow, and so her two plastics followed her, except they still cheer."

"Doesn't sound like you respect them all that much."

"They're fine I guess, Brittany was one of the nicer glee kids, mainly though because she never had any idea what was going on."

"Grande Non-fat mocha and Medium Drip." The barista pushed the styrofoam glasses towards us.

We sat down and continued our discussion on the pros and cons of calculus (Mr. Calvinson hogged all the cons) while Kurt watched the two singing cheerleaders with an owl's gaze, "Oh my god, she saw me, oh freak she got up, ooh she grabbed Brittany, oh freak, not good," Kurt hissed, I flipped around and stared quite obviously at the proof of Kurt's statement strut towards us.

"Porcelain." It was not a greeting, just a statement.

Kurt sat up taller and looked up at the pretty Latina girl through his light eyelashes, "Santana," he looked behind her to the blonde, who was smiling off into middle distance, "Brittany."

"DOLPHIN!" Oh now she was looking at him, and hugging him, and not letting go...

"Nice to see you," he squeaked out despite his lack of air.

"Let go of my girlfriend Lady Hummel."

"So you are together finally? Congrats, you came out." He sounded bland, cold.

"Shut up, who's your playboy."

Who does she think she is, "Excuse me?!"

"Not together then? You look at each other like you want to lick the other's face off."

"Santana this is Blaine, be nice."

"Nice is not an emotion I frequent Lady Lips."

"Dolphin! Dolphin! Come see what I bought today! Come ON!" Brittany had latched onto his coat clad arm and was pulling with the force of a leviathan.

"I-um-Brittany..." He sighed.

"Go with Brittany, Porcelain, I'm gonna talk with this over-gelled prep school mannequin.

Brittany dragged Kurt out, dragging the toes of his boots of the floor as he scrambled to keep his shoulder in it's socket, "Um-I guess I'll be right back.." He managed to call before being thrust out into the snow globe of the parking lot.

I tried to get up so as not to be left with this increasingly scary woman when a copper hand latched firmly around my wrist, "Woah there Prince Charming, Cinderella Boy will be back in a while."

"Um.." What do you say to such an intimidating person?

"So you and Hummel huh?"

"You can call him Kurt you know."

"Defensive much?"

"He has a name."

"Fine. So you and KUUURT?" She sucked, as what I supposed was supposed to be seductively, on a coffee stirrer.

"Friends."

"Yeah right," she scoffed and leaned back, propping her stiletto heels up on the table in a very uncouth fashion (how does one not kill themselves walking in six inch heels on black ice? The wonders of this female...)

"Just friends."

"Whatever, you'll be French kissing soon enough."

"Um..."

"Cat got your pretty little tongue pretty boy?" She leaned forward, waaay into my personal space, her shirt was very low cut to be leaning like that, though I have a feeling that low cut was the whole point.

"I thought you had a girlfriend?"

"Doesn't mean I can't look." What a person...

"So what do you want?"

"Someone doesn't play nice."

"No, no you don't."

"Oh, a little wit? Sexy."

"What do you want."

"Hummel-Kurt, sorry," she rolled her licorice eyes," Hates us doesn't he."

"Not my place."

"Oh pleeaaase, spill Hobbit."

"It's not so much hate as resentment."

"For what?"

"Letting him get hurt to the point where his actual life was in danger. Letting him get hurt at all."

Santana sat back in her chair again, sucking on the wooden stirrer, just twirling it in her mouth though now, looking unhappy. She sighed and spoke softly, "When I heard what his did I beat him up you know. Gave him a black eye and a broken nose, got suspended for a week, but Dave deserves it." She glanced back over at me, her face soft now, not stiff with adolescent anger.

Although I didn't condole violence in any form, I liked to think that David Karofsky got what he had coming for him. I returned her lucid gaze, "Thank you."

"Mm." When her face was quiet you could truly appreciate how much this girl could glow with stunning beauty, true beauty. If I were straight I think I would be a melting puddle of hormones on the floor right now.

"Does Kurt know?"

"About what I did? No."

"He might like you a bit more if you did."

"I hate myself for it you know, for not doing a single thing? I was too caught up in my own rise in popularity. I knew that if I helped out the gay kid it would all go to waste. I hate myself for it. After Kurt transferred I kind of realized how awful I had been, I was so angry with myself that I took it out on Dave, not that I regret beating him up though. I came out too finally, I guess I thought that if Kurt had to go through all that crap when no one did anything, so should I. I have Brittany though, he had nothing." In just a few minutes she had changed completely, instead of an angry mare she was now just looking at her cuticles, slouched down with regret.

"Tell him. Tell him what you just told me."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"It's not that easy you know." Not that easy to expose yourself.

Yeah, I definitely know.

"You could tell him for me?"

"No, not my story to tell."

"God, you're so freaking honorable..."

Honor is part of reputation. It's what my family runs on.

"All the glee kids feel bad too, except Berry but she doesn't count. We all miss our gay diva."

"Maybe you should all tell him that. He's still probably going to be mad, and I don't blame him, but it would probably help."

"Yeah, guess so....we'll see."

Suddenly Kurt was being pulled back in the shop, his scarf unraveled and face pasted with the sort of look one gives a two-year-old who has had one too many lollipops, "it is very nice Brittany, I'm sure he will love it."

"Yes! He will! Hey Tana, Kurt liked it!"

"That's great Britt," she gave a warm smile, the kind I could safely assume was only meant for her girlfriend.

I raised an eyebrow at Santana, signaling that if she wanted to try and win back Kurt's good graces, she had better do it now. She rolled her eyes but detached Kurt from Brittany's fierce grip and led him off to her former table," We gotta talk, Cinderella Boy."

"Sorry Blaine," he shrugged as he passed me.

"Are you Kurt's Dolphin?" Brittany had sat down across from me, looking at me with wide eyed whimsy.

"Um...I don't know..."

"Santana said that she and I were also like Dolphins too, she said if Kurt was a Dolphin, then we were too." She was so matter of fact, like she had no idea how dumb she sounded.

I was going for the off chance that Dolphins had something to do with being gay, "I guess I am a Dolphin."

"Are you Kurt's?"

"I'd like to be."

"You have shiny hair."

Wow, change of subject, ok, "Thanks?"

"It's pretty. I like that it's shiny."

"Yeah...thanks...."

"I like Santana a lot. I think you like Kurt like I like Tana."

"I think I do too."

"She's nice to me."

"She cares about you."

Brittany just nodded, staring off into her imaginary space that was probably filled with all kinds of ponies and unicorns. So we sat in a peaceful silence until Kurt and Santana returned. Santana led the way, followed by a very confused looking Kurt.

"See you around maybe Porcelain."

"Yeah...maybe..." His voice was soft, bewildered.

"You ready Britt?"

"Yes!"

"Bye Prince Charming, have fun sucking your Princess' face."

"Um, right, bye Santana."

Kurt and I figured we might as well leave, seeing as our coffee date had been well and thoroughly interrupted. We took the remaining dregs of our coffees out to my Lincoln and sat down, Kurt letting out a sigh as he stared straight ahead, "I don't know what to do..."

"She told you everything?"

"Wait, she told you everything?" He was facing me now, "I thought she was just hitting on you or something."

"Isn't she a lesbian?"

"Yeah, but she's also Santana."

"Okaaay...but back to your earlier question, yeah she told me what I assume was everything."

"I can't believe she beat up Karofsky."

"She's a pretty scary person."

Kurt's laugh was dry, "Yeah, I-I want to be mad you know? After she, well everyone, turned so many blind eyes. But I just can't, not after she beat him up, and especially not after she came out. That's-I don't even know what to think...."

"Do you think you could be friends again?"

"I don't know, I sort of hope so but I don't trust her yet at all, and I wasn't ever her friend in the first place..."

"That's reasonable."

"She said that Mercedes and Tina, two other glee girls, wanted to see me, but unlike Santana, they actually have my phone number. If they want to see me so bad why don't they just call?"

"I don't know Kurt, I don't know."

He rubbed his hand over his face and took a gulp of air, "Do you have to go to Dalton straight away?" He sounded desperate.

"No, no I don't, " I said, quiet in the little car, "Would you like to go somewhere?"

"Sure, anywhere."

I tried to think of anywhere that I knew that would be close, "Is another library okay?"

"Libraries are always okay, Blaine Devon."

Now that is my kind of answer, ten points for Kurt Evan Hummel.

"What did Brittany have that she was so excited about?" I had just realized that I hadn't yet asked.

"A new bed for her cat. She lives for her cat I swear. She had to show me like every single detail about the cat bed, like seriously, they aren't that cool!"

"I really don't like cats."

"They're fun to watch but I wouldn't want one."

"I like dogs though."

"If you could have any dog what would it be?"

"A spotted Great Dane."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah! They're so cute!"

"They slobber everywhere though..."

"Yeah but their cuteness makes up for it. What dog would you get?"

"A Pomeranian."

"What! Kurt no. Big dogs are sooo much better."

"I disagree."

"You can't like run and play and stuff with a small dog though! They just sit there and bark!"

"But little dogs can cuddle!"

"They're just like little fluffy dolls though! What are you supposed to do with them."

"Cuddle, Blaine, they're good for cuddling."

"We will be, once again, agreeing to disagree."

"Fine, fine...have your big dogs..."

We both continued to watch the snow dusted road.

"You know something?"

"Hm?" I side eyed him as I began to drive.

"You really look a lot like Prince Charming."

"No I don't!"

"No! No it's a compliment! I always like Prince Charming! You look a lot like him! Like your hair, eyes, skin, demeanor."

"Demeanor?"

"Well duh, you're both quite charming."

I chuckled at that as I drove on into the midday winter sun, out towards the Lima Public Library.

"Well then, for the record? You're so much prettier than Cinderella."









Sent from my iPod