Chapter 18

The following couple of weeks was consumed by intense last-minute preparations before Burt and Carole’s wedding and the move into their new house, which was a lovely two-storey residence. Kurt took charge of any redecorations that were necessary, successfully taking his mind off the recent events. What also made him ecstatic almost to the degree of forgetting about his worries, was the fact that the new Hudson-Hummel house was located mere two blocks from Aileen’s.

With Blaine’s help, the move didn’t take as much time as they feared, and Aileen invited the four of them for dinner the first night after, giving Burt and Carole a chance to finally get to know her better. They had met before fleetingly, when they were picking Kurt up one morning after a sleepover. Spending a whole evening together – and downing a bottle of wine with the delicious meal – made them bond over movies, and their affection for the boys.

Meanwhile, things at McKinley were eerily calm. The news of Karofsky and Azimio’s suspension – even though in the latter’s case, it was only a week – made the rest of the jocks back down. They clearly needed a leader to spearhead the bullying and nobody was keen to take over. Or maybe they were afraid the Glee club boys would take revenge on them now, when the former group’s numbers had shrunk. But neither Kurt or Blaine really cared about their reasoning. For once, they could walk the halls with their heads held high, and without the need to bite their tongues not to respond to the slurs. Without the fear that someone would be waiting around the corner to shove them into the nearest wall.

‘I could get used to this,’ Kurt said absent-mindedly one quiet Wednesday, as they were walking to their lockers after lunch.

‘What? Picking up Finn’s underwear to put it in the laundry?,’ Blaine asked, confused by the sudden turn in their conversation.

Kurt rolled his eyes.

‘No. I mean the quiet. I’m fighting the urge to pinch myself, because if it turns out to be just a dream, then… Well, I don’t want it to be a dream. I want this to be real.’

‘It is real.’ A tentative smile flickered on Blaine’s lips and faded. ‘But…’

‘But?’

‘But it might not last,’ he sighed heavily.

***

Finally, the wedding day came, and everything was so perfect, Kurt thought he would explode. Long hours of planning and putting the whole thing together paid off, the church looked amazing, as did the venue. The New Directions were on the top of their game.

The cheerfulness of the event and the beauty of the surroundings made Kurt feel as though they’d been transported into another dimension. For the twenty four hours he felt completely separated from his problems, Karofsky and the bullying left behind somewhere in another universe.

There was no way Carole could ever replace his mother, but Kurt couldn’t imagine a better candidate for a step-mother. She was no villain from a fairytale; he was quite sure that had she been placed in a story, she’d end up being a fairy godmother or something of the sort. But most of all, he was convinced Carole was his father’s best bet at being happy again. And he had his suspicions she might have been giving Burt parenting tips that helped them bond anew.

What eventually became Kurt’s favourite moment of the day, however, was Finn’s speech. Hearing Finn call him his brother and promise to always have his back was almost as precious to him as seeing how deeply and happily in love his father was. Kurt’s feelings for his new sibling had been in flux for the past year, sometimes changing too fast to keep up. He went from being inanely infatuated, through a spell of resentment and hurt, to developing a brotherly love for the goofy boy that now was indeed his brother.

Somehow, Finn managed not to step on Kurt’s toes when they danced, and a smile continued to split Kurt’s face in half. This was the best day he’d had in a long time. He was surrounded by people who loved him and cared about him, he was having a great time, with all the worries pushed carefully out of his mind.

By the end of the night, Kurt could barely feel his feet. He had danced with everyone, his family, the Glee club, he even grabbed Mr Schue and spun him on the dance floor, where the teacher got soon intercepted by the girls. Most of the time, however, he spent with Blaine, talking, dancing and simply enjoying the fleeting carefreeness.

It was in the wee hours of the night, when the venue gradually emptied, and apart from a couple of the employees putting everything in order, Kurt and Blaine were the only ones to stay behind. The newlyweds had left an hour ago to the suite they had booked at Lima’s best hotel – they weren’t leaving for a honeymoon yet, as they planned it for the coming New Year’s Eve – and the guests dispersed soon thereafter. Finn had assumed the position of the designated driver and was just out getting the last of the guests incapable of driving themselves home, while his step-brother and Blaine waited for their turn.

The waitress who was placing dirty glasses on a tray sent them a weird look, as they flopped down onto the dance floor. Apparently, pairs of teenage boys didn’t often lie down in that particular spot.

‘Fabulous day,’ Kurt sighed, closing his eyes. He felt like he could fall asleep there and then, so he reluctantly lifted his eyelids back up, and turned his head to look at Blaine.

‘Well, I guess it’s all thanks to one wedding planner.’ Blaine grinned at his best friend.

Kurt rolled his eyes, but chuckled nonetheless.

‘Yeah, I suppose, it was partly me. But…’ He shifted to his side and tucked his hands under his cheek. ‘I don’t think it would be quite as fabulous if it wasn’t for everybody else.’

Blaine nodded silently, taking a moment to sift through the thoughts that were flying through his mind. Finally, he smiled softly.

‘Do you know what was a year ago yesterday? Or a year ago two days ago, more accurately?’

Kurt frowned, remembering the date. November 20th, no, it was already 21st. So November 19th 2010… A knowing smile stretched his lips.

‘That’s when we met. It’s been a year since we met.’ He paused for a moment, just to wrap his mind around the way their acquaintance developed. ‘You know, this is so strange; I kinda feel like there was never a time we didn’t know each other, but on the other hand, it’s so incredible it’s already been a year.’

‘Yeah, I know,’ Blaine replied with a smile. ‘Who would’ve thought that taking a vagrant under one’s roof results in getting a best friend for life?’

Kurt smacked him playfully on the shoulder.

‘Hey, I wasn’t a vagrant. And well, definitely your parents wouldn’t have thought that.’

They giggled in unison. So much had changed for the both of them within the short twelve months. They pulled each other out of their hopeless loneliness, they finally felt loved and had their families and friends to remind them about it, even though Blaine had barely spoken to his parents in the last three months.

Silence fell for a moment, as they reminisced those early days of their friendship, a small smile arching both boys’ mouths.

‘I love you, Blaine,’ Kurt said quietly after a few minutes.

‘I know. I love you, too, Kurt.’ Blaine’s smile grew wider.

The sound of footsteps and the door in the far end of the room pulled them back into the reality and they sat up abruptly.

‘Guys, come on,’ Finn said from the doorway.

Kurt stretched and sighed. ‘I wish we could stay. It’s so… peaceful.’

Standing up, Blaine smiled wistfully and extended his hand to help Kurt up.

‘Yeah, it is. But it wouldn’t be this special, if you got to have it forever.’