Kurt woke up before seven, having slept soundly for almost ten hours without interruptions. Even though he remembered all the events of the previous night, he pinched himself again, just to be sure it wasn’t a dream and the room he was in wasn’t a delusion.

He tiptoed down to the kitchen, uncertain, whether Blaine was already up or not. The first storey was empty, and before Kurt managed to even get to the kitchen, he heard movement upstairs.

Half a minute later the utterly quiet house was filled with the sound of running water and the voice of someone singing. The voice was strong and clear, piercing through the splashes of water with ease and ringing throughout the building.

The corners of Kurt’s lips twitched up, as he was trying to make out the lyrics.

Cause when I’m with him I am thinking of you…

He laughed under his breath, when he realized Blaine was singing a Katy Perry song. And was singing it very, very well. And then he started to ponder, whether the pronoun in the lyrics held any significance at all.

Blaine came downstairs ten minutes later in a bathrobe, with his hair in dripping curls. He stopped dead, seeing Kurt sitting at the counter.

‘Hi.’ His left hand went automatically up and began helplessly flattening the wet hair.

‘Oops, I guess I should be gone by now. Sorry,’ said Kurt, seeing Blaine’s surprise. He got up, heading for the door, but Blaine grabbed his arm and led him back to the counter.

‘No. I just didn’t think you’d be up already.’ He started pulling out things from the cupboards. ‘Coffee and cereal?’

‘Coffee and cereal is fine. But I can make my own breakfast. I’m bothering you as it is.’

Blaine sent him a glare.

‘You’re not bothering me. At least I have someone to talk to in the morning.’ He paused, as he set the coffee machine. ‘Until now, all I had were imaginary friends, so…’

Kurt blushed, as Blaine grinned playfully. He could swear the other boy was being flirty. Only he had no comparison, as no boy – or girl for that matter – had ever flirted with him.

They ate their breakfast in a pleasant atmosphere, and when Blaine went back to his room to get dressed and take care of his hair, Kurt went up to pack his things.

The clatter of suitcase wheels on the floor alarmed Blaine and he darted out of his room with his tie untied.

‘Kurt! What the hell are you doing again?’

‘Um, I can’t expect you to let me stay in the house alone,’ Kurt started awkwardly. ‘What if I were a thief? You don’t know anything about me. You really helped me out last night, but you don’t have to do anything more.’

Blaine took the suitcase out of Kurt’s hand and dragged it back into Cooper’s room without saying a word.

‘Why do you even care?,’ Kurt asked in a small voice. The only person he knew did care at all was Mercedes, but he couldn’t have turned to her for help after his escape.

Blaine stopped in his tracks, his back to Kurt. It was a good question. Why did he?

‘I don’t know.’ He shrugged, still facing away from Kurt.

Five minutes later Blaine was standing in the front door, and Kurt watched him put his coat on.

‘I promise not to demolish the house while you’re gone.’

Blaine smiled at him.

‘I trust you.’ And the door closed behind him, leaving Kurt alone.

***

Blaine’s thoughts were preoccupied with Kurt all day. He could hardly concentrate on any of his lessons, trying to figure out a way to handle the situation. There was no way he could tell his parents he was housing a runaway stranger, of that he was sure. But he also rejected the idea of kicking Kurt out after a second’s consideration.

He didn’t know, what drew him to the boy. All he knew he hadn’t felt happier since a long time ago. Probably since before he came out. The last fifteen months had been a living hell. And even though at Dalton things were starting to look up, he still felt utterly alone. Coming home to an empty house almost every day didn’t help.

And despite spending half of the previous evening in his room, on his own, the closeness of another human being made him feel much better. A seed of hope began to sprout in his mind. Maybe by this chance encounter he’d gain a friend.

By the time his lessons ended for the day, Blaine had made up his mind. He would let Kurt stay for as long as possible; even if it meant sneaking around his parents and keeping Kurt secret. He was quite convinced that with the amount of time his parents spent out of the house, it wasn’t going to be too big a challenge.

And maybe, in time, Kurt would be ready to go back home. Blaine felt a pang in his chest at the thought.

***

Sitting over his coldish coffee for half an hour, Kurt was starting to get bored. He was uncomfortable with being alone in a stranger’s house, but decided he would be even more uncomfortable wandering aimlessly around Ohio as he had been the previous week.

Finally, he set his mug down and started to explore the house. Sitting still was killing him, and what Blaine didn’t see, couldn’t hurt him.

The living room was spacious, but cozy, with black leather sofas, a 50-inch plasma TV, a grand piano, a fireplace, and the walls in a subdued hue of orange. The mantelpiece was the first place where Kurt spotted any evidence that a family lived there; a dozen of pictures stood in frames, each a different shape and size. The pictures showed a handsome middle-aged man with dark hair threaded with grey, and a pretty brunette of a similar age. There were also two boys, both black-haired and good-looking, but the age difference could be easily spotted; Cooper seemed to be about ten years older than Blaine, and had piercing blue eyes, instead of hazel. Kurt studied the photos of the brothers for a while; on each of them, the boys were smiling in a way that gave the impression of falsehood. Neither of them seemed truly happy. Kurt felt sorry for them. He himself had been forcing smiles for photographs since his mother’s death.

He examined the first floor and proceeded upstairs, heading straight to the room he knew was Blaine’s. He felt a pang of guilt, as he opened the door, but pushed the feeling away. After all, he didn’t mean to snoop; he was just curious.

The room was dark, its walls covered in a dark grey striped wallpaper. The centre of the room was occupied by a wide bed with a beige upholstered headboard. The wooden shelves were stacked full with books. There were a few drawings on the walls and a mirror over a big chest of drawers, which served as a display shelf for numerous awards. Kurt chuckled under his breath, seeing prizes in polo and fencing. It suited the dapper prep school boy perfectly. A deep red leather armchair stood by the window; it looked worn out, as if someone had spent many hours sitting there with a book in hand.

Kurt sat down in the armchair, inhaling deeply. The room had its own scent, different from the rest of the house. But not only the smell was different; Blaine’s room somehow felt warmer and yet sadder than the other ones.

He stayed seated for another moment, and then left the room, casting one more glance over it. It made him feel like he knew Blaine a little bit better.

Once in the hallway, Kurt checked the time; it wasn’t even eleven yet. He sighed. It was going to be a long day.

***

Blaine pushed the front door open and froze. That seemed odd. He took a step back to make sure he really did walk into his own house. Everything fit. At least everything except the perfect order in the hall and the delicate sounds of piano coming from the living room.

Once the door shut behind him with a bang, the playing stopped and Kurt emerged into the hall.

‘Hi.’ He waved sheepishly at Blaine, who was still dumbstruck at the entrance.

‘Um, hi.’ He paused, scanning the room with his eyes. ‘What happened here?’

Kurt bit his lip and lifted his hand to readjust his hair and try to mask his unease.

‘I got kinda bored,’ he mumbled. ‘And I’m not a big fan of mess, so…’

‘Wow. I don’t live in a pigsty anymore. Thanks.’ Blaine took of his coat and shoes and placed them carefully in their rightful places. He didn’t want to waste Kurt’s efforts. ‘You’re better than our cleaning lady.’

Blaine headed for the kitchen, with Kurt following close behind.

‘I also made dinner. Hope you don’t mind?’

An expression of pleasant surprise on Blaine’s face told him enough.

‘It’s just mac-n-cheese, nothing fancy.’ Kurt shrugged. ‘I don’t know how else I could thank you for letting me stay here.’

For a moment they were silent, while Kurt got to dishing out their food and Blaine took out two glasses and poured them some orange juice.

‘You don’t have to thank me, you know,’ Blaine spoke finally. ‘It’s nice having someone to come home to.’

Something in that last sentence made both of them drop their gazes, while their cheeks became scarlet and hot.