A little over a month after losing to New Directions at Regionals, the Warblers were back to what they usually did during the year: preparing impromptu performances for the other students at Dalton Academy and allowing themselves to relax more than was possible when there was a competition coming up.

This particular weekend found about half of them hanging around in the mall in Westerville – the very same as the one where they'd helped Blaine get his Gap-employee fired just before Valentine's Day. As long as they made sure not to get too close to the Gap, Blaine (and the rest of them as well; not that they would ever admit it) wouldn't freak out too much.

All of a sudden, they noticed a small commotion near their usual coffee shop. A small audience had formed around the makeshift stage that was located there (mostly used in the summer, during special occasions or festivals), and there were some people talking. Then, the show began, and Blaine snorted as he recognised the song.

"Lady Gaga has nothing on Katy Perry," he said defiantly while they approached the singing (or, at this moment, talking).

When they reached the group, however, Blaine's jaw dropped, and he could hear the snickers of his friends around him.

"But I bet Katy Perry has nothing on this guy, right, Blaine?" Wes asked with an amused smile. Blaine didn't care, though – his ears, just like his eyes, were fixed on the boy who'd opened the song, and who was now moving across the stage with two girls while they sang.

David added, "At least he likes guys, according to his shirt…" Now, Blaine nodded – that was very fortunate indeed.

"I like his shirt," Blaine commented, still staring at the boy. He even sounded a little envious.

"Maybe you can just ask him to give it to you, since he'd look much better without it anyway?" Jeff joked. "I mean, that's what you could tell him…"

Blaine tore his eyes away from the performance to give Jeff an incredulous look. No way – there was no way he was going to do that. He was supposed to be a gentleman, right? What gentleman asks someone to take off their shirt just because of the view?

Quickly looking back at the stage, he revelled some more in the idea that the boy up there was not into girls, but into guys. As he watched the group (of five, currently) dance, he definitely counted himself lucky.

And then, the chorus started. The kids on stage all walked towards the back of the stage, giving the audience a pretty good view of their backs – and Blaine didn't mind at all. More people joined them on stage and they were good.

Blaine was temporarily distracted from the first boy when three others stood at the front – an Asian boy who apparently couldn't sing, a blonde whose hair colour didn't look entirely real, and a guy in a wheelchair.

Wait – a guy in a wheelchair?

"Oh God," Wes muttered at that moment so that only the Warblers standing around him heard, "it's New Directions!"

As he pointed out various members – mainly the people who had sung solos at Sectionals and Regionals, Blaine's attention was once more caught by the boy who, apparently, liked boys. He strode forward once more (Blaine was very surprised that nobody in the audience was jeering at the group, and more specifically at the boy), pulling his jacket off and throwing it into the audience –

The other Warblers laughed hysterically as the piece of clothing hit Blaine right on the head. Mindlessly, Blaine disentangled it from his gelled curls and stared at it stupidly for a moment before focussing on the performance again. All the guys were now standing at the front, pulling off their jackets and showing their own shirts. Blaine wasn't complaining at all at the sight. Shortly after that, the girls stepped forward to show off what their shirts said, which was met by the approval of the other Warblers. Well – to each his own, Blaine supposed.

Soon after, the performance was over, and Blaine felt rather sad. That was, until Nick grabbed his arm.

"What are you still doing here, Blaine?" Blaine looked at him non-understandingly, and Nick nodded at the group. "They're all trying to find their jackets again. Just go up there, give the guy his jacket back, and, I don't know, compliment him on the performance?"

"Yeah," Trent chimed in, "and ask him to introduce us to any single female friends he has while you're at it."

"Or what some of their shirts meant," Thad added.

"Like why the Hispanic girl is wearing a shirt that says 'Lebanese'," Jeff said with a frown.

Wes nodded enthusiastically. "It's always good to know where the weaknesses of the competition lie," he told them seriously. "Who knows, maybe we're up against New Directions again next year!"

"We are graduating this year, Wes," Thad told him, rolling his eyes.

Blaine hurriedly left, before they could say anything else.

He didn't have to look far, as he bumped into the person he was looking for within ten seconds after running off. "Hi," he greeted the boy, most likely sporting an incredibly dopey grin on his face. "I uh… have your jacket."

"Thanks," the boy said with a smile. "Hey – don't I know you?"

"I don't know," Blaine blurted out, realising too late that, as the lead vocalist of the Warblers, their competition probably knew him. "But – you were really great up there. I liked the performance. And I like boys too."

He groaned and covered his face with his hands, mortified; had he really just said that? They had barely had a normal conversation and already, this boy would think he was a freak.

"Really?" To Blaine's immense surprise, the boy sounded interested. "And you're… out, and everything?" When Blaine nodded, the boy stared at him for a moment (not that Blaine minded). "Wow. You're the first out gay guy besides myself who I've ever met."

"You're kidding, right?"

The boy shook his head. "I doubt there are an awful lot of out gay guys in Ohio, so it's not that weird, is it?"

Blaine thought about this. The student body at Dalton was mostly made up out of straight guys, but even with the not as big amount of gay boys, it might still be distortion of the reality.

He shrugged. "I guess. That's just what an all-boys school does to you, I suppose."

The boy looked him over once more, and concluded, "You go to Dalton, right? And if I'm not mistaken, you're in the Warblers, too."

Blaine smiled hesitantly. "Guilty as charged, I'm afraid. You were fantastic, though. It was a great performance."

"Thanks," the boy said, beaming at him. "I have to admit, I didn't think the audience – if there was even going to be one – would react like this."

"Because of your shirt," Blaine guessed.

"Mostly, yes. Then again, we don't ever stick to the norm, so this performance isn't really anything out of the ordinary for us."

"Seriously?" Blaine was having some trouble wrapping his mind around that fact. "You don't… practise everything thoroughly and mostly just focus on the competition?"

The boy eyed him oddly. "You mean you do?"

Blaine grinned, sensing an opportunity there. "Why don't we go inside?" he asked, nodding towards the coffee shop they were still outside of. "We can talk all we want over some coffee."

For a moment, the boy just regarded him, with his eyebrows raised. "I don't even know your name," he stated drily.

Oh, wow. That was bad. Blaine never forgot to introduce himself, and now he did? "I'm Blaine," he said, extending his right hand.

"Kurt," the other boy replied, shaking his hand. "So… shall we go in?"

Blaine allowed a grin to take over his face, and he nodded quickly. "Let's go."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Wes pretended to wipe a tear away as he watched Blaine lead the way into the coffee shop, and David commented, "They're growing up so fast!"

"He didn't even send the hot girls our way!" Trent protested from behind them, and Wes shook his head. Nobody got the chance to say anything to that, as one of the New Direction girls did come their way all of a sudden.

"She doesn't look too happy," David muttered worriedly. Whispers broke out among the other Warblers, and when the two council members looked around after a few seconds, they were just in time to see their friends walk off hurriedly.

"You two, Warblers," the girl greeted them, standing right in front of them right now. She looked far from happy, with her pointed stare and her arms crossed over her chest, making it impossible for the guys to read what was on her shirt.

"What can we help you with?" Wes asked as politely as he could at that moment. "If you're looking for available guys, we both have girlfriends. But some of that lot," (with that, he pointed at the other Warblers, now standing a good distance away) "will probably fight for your attention and affection."

The girl just narrowed her eyes at them, and Wes and David stared back, bemused. What was this girl doing? Still, the longer she glared at them, the more uncomfortable the two boys became. This girl knew how to be intimidating.

"What is it?" David suddenly exclaimed, unable to take it anymore. "What do you want from us?"

David had always been a little (or a lot, depending on the situation) dramatic.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Wes noticed that their friends were now surrounded by the rest of the New Directions group. It was all Blaine's fault, he decided – and where was said boy? Sitting in a coffee shop, chatting up some guy he'd just met.

"I know what you're doing," the girl said confidently. "You're spying on us, and you're trying to mess with our heads. Well, I can tell you this – mess with one of us, and we'll mess with you."

Now, Wes and David wouldn't have been very intimidated by that threat – sure, the girl could make them feel like incompetent toddlers by just staring them down, but she didn't look very strong physically – if it wasn't for the New Directions guys, who all looked like typical jocks. Yeah, they seemed pretty dangerous.

"We're not spying," Wes hastily told her. "This is a public place, in Westerville – two hours away from where you live, whereas we go to school here. Besides, you beat us at Regionals, remember? Why would we want to spy on you now?"

"You're in cahoots with Vocal Adrenaline," the girl said, pursing her lips together.

"No, we're not," David was quick to inform her. "We're not on anyone's side. Not on yours, not on theirs. We were just walking around when we noticed your performance."

"Right," Wes added, "and as fellow performers, we can appreciate a good show when we see one. This was definitely a good show."

The girl still seemed to have some trouble believing them. "Then why was your friend so eager to talk to Kurt, if you don't want to break him completely?" she asked, confused.

Was this girl crazy? Wes and David exchanged glances before turning back to her. "It's not that complicated," Wes told her, and David started explaining.

"It's really not. See, he's a single gay guy in the middle of Ohio. There's not much of a chance for him to meet a like-minded person here, and then, all of a sudden, he does see someone. Not just someone, but a boy who is exactly his type, and who's not too shy to wear a shirt proclaiming he likes boys in, well, the middle of Ohio. If you were in his situation, wouldn't you have been eager to talk to that guy?"

"Did we break her?" Wes asked concernedly when the girl didn't react in any way within the next five seconds.

"So… what are his motives?" she asked finally, obviously shocked that there had been such a simple explanation for Blaine's behaviour.

"Didn't we make that clear?" David had the feeling that they were repeating the same stuff over and over again. "He's just interested and wants to get to know that guy. I don't know, I can't read his mind – especially from this distance."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Our friends are weird," Blaine commented, observing the groups from inside the coffee shop. Next to him, Kurt nodded.

"They certainly are. Do you think they would notice if we snuck out of here? You really need a new pair of shoes and I think I know just where to get them…"

"How often have you been in Westerville?" Blaine asked, frowning at Kurt confusedly.

Kurt shrugged. "Never. But I do my research before going somewhere new."

Blaine contemplated this for a few seconds before giving in. "Alright, let's see if we can get past them."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Meanwhile, the small group of Warblers was being accosted by twice as many New Directions members. It wasn't a comfortable situation for the Dalton boys.

Just like their short friend, they started interrogating the Warblers about Blaine's intentions with Kurt – which was odd in itself – and passing out threats on their friend's behalf.

"Why aren't you telling Blaine all this?" Nick asked exasperatedly after a few minutes. "What are you talking to us for?"

"Kurt would kill us if we did," the Asian girl said simply.

"And we trust you to pass the message to your friend," one of the blond girls added.

"Isn't this the sort of conversation Blaine should be having with this Kurt's parents before their first date, or something?" Jeff asked, a little shocked at the fact that all these people (who all seemed so different from one another) seemed to have such a tight bond anyway.

"We're a family, in a way," the same Asian girl replied.

"And I'm really his stepbrother," a tall boy announced. "So I get to threaten him if he ever comes around, right?"

The Warblers exchanged glances, already feeling bad for Blaine. This guy was about twice as tall as their friend.

"Yes, Finn, you do," a dark girl told him. "So do I, though, Kurt is my best friend." She glared at the Warblers, as if daring them to dispute this.

Then, all the New Directions members started naming their own reasons that would give them the right to threaten Blaine if he would ever start dating Kurt. As far as the Warblers knew, they were only getting a coffee together, or whatever it was they were doing inside. That didn't mean anything.

"Doesn't his dad own a shotgun?" the Mohawked guy asked the stepbrother, who nodded solemnly.

"He showed me when we moved into the new house. I'm not sure why, though. He also has a flamethrower."

"And he's very protective of Kurt," the dark girl clarified, as if the Warblers hadn't realised that yet.

One of the blond girls (who hadn't spoken up until now) nodded gravely. "I think he has a whole lot of burglar alarms."

"…What?" Thad was clearly caught off guard, but then again, most New Directions members didn't appear to have a clue as to what the girl meant either. That wasn't much of a consolation, though.

"Nothing," the Latina snapped, looking away from her blond friend to glare at the Warblers.

She scrutinised them all closely, and Jeff blurted out, "Why does your shirt say you're Lebanese?"

"That's none of your business," she told him coolly, but slightly nervously, "and stop trying to change the subject."

"What subject?" Nick asked. "Aren't you done yet? We know by now that if Blaine starts going out with your friend and hurts him in any way, he'll never survive."

"Why are you doing this now?" the tall boy asked, seeming a bit uneasy. "Wouldn't it have been more bene…bone… whatever – before Regionals?" Now, he just looked confused.

Thad, probably feeling the need to show off what a good council member he was, shrugged and informed the other group, "The Warblers don't spy on the competition. We want to win fair and square, without any cheating. We had no idea that you had an openly gay guy in your midst as well, and even then, Blaine is the perfect gentleman and would never take advantage of your friend, before or after our competition season is over."

"So what's he doing with Kurt?" the dark girl wanted to know.

"How are we supposed to know?" Thad cried out while the other three boys started laughing uncontrollably. "To be honest, I don't need to know everything Blaine does in his free time, thank you very much! We respect each other's privacy perfectly well!"

"But," Nick interjected, before Thad could start ranting for real, "think about it this way. He's an openly gay guy in high school in Ohio, who suddenly meets another openly gay guy. They both enjoy singing, most likely know about the hardships of being gay in Ohio – "

"They're hot," the Latina interjected matter-of-factly, actually looking a little bored as she said this, and instantly received a few confused looks, and a lot of eye-rolls.

"Uh – yeah," Nick continued, feeling a little flustered. "I suppose, objectively speaking, they're both… reasonably attractive…"

"But, as Thad just told you, Blaine's too much of a gentleman to pressure your friend into anything he doesn't want," Trent quickly saved Nick from further embarrassment. "They're probably talking now, and maybe they'll go on a date some time, since Blaine looked absolutely smitten during your performance – "

"So that's… all?" the Asian girl asked uncertainly. "You're not trying to destroy our chances at Nationals?"

"No, we're not," Wes called from behind them as he, David and the girl (whose name turned out to be Rachel) approached.

"Don't worry," the girl told her team mates. "I've interrogated them sufficiently, and I think Kurt should be safe."

The New Directions members seemed to relax immediately as she said this, even though they also seemed a little annoyed by the girl's attempt to sound superior to them.

"Who's up for a little espionage?" David asked happily, rubbing his hands together and glancing at the coffee shop.

The tall stepbrother turned towards the other Warblers, obviously confused. "Weren't you Warblers against spying?" he asked, doubt evident in his voice.

"We're against spying on the competition," Thad repeated.

Wes added, "Which doesn't mean that we're also opposed to spying on our own members."

With that, the Dalton boys walked towards the door of the coffee shop, leaving the other students to follow them hurriedly. Wes threw the door open dramatically, but their friends were nowhere in sight. Turning back to the bunch of teenagers behind him, he announced sheepishly, "They escaped…"

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Blaine grinned as Kurt frowned down at his phone for at least the twentieth time. "Another text inquiring about your whereabouts?" he asked, amused.

Kurt shot him a pointed look. "Like your friends are any better."

That was true; apparently, Wes and David had discovered a new side of themselves – namely, their overdramatic side. Kurt said that it was probably due to their obvious exposal to one Rachel Berry. They had also been called many times, but had quickly put their phones on mute after the first few occurrences.

"Maybe we should at least send them a text that we're okay, and not kidnapped, hurt, or dead?" Blaine proposed.

"Let's," Kurt agreed. Once he was done, he eyed Blaine critically. "And don't you think you're done quite yet. We may have found you new shoes, but – don't you have any clothes besides your uniform?"

"I do," Blaine protested. "You know – a few things here and there."

Kurt shook his head. "Why on earth would you wear your school uniform during a weekend?"

"It's so much easier than having to pick out what you're going to wear every single day," Blaine countered. "Trust me, I know – I attended public school for some time."

Kurt's hands flew to his hips and the other boy outright glared at him. Well – that was more than slightly scary in Blaine's opinion.

"Let me ask you a question, Blaine – were you planning on asking me out after this?"

Blaine stared at Kurt disbelievingly. Out of all the questions he'd expected, this hadn't been it. Kurt's bluntness was definitely something he'd have to get used to.

"Yes?" he replied hesitantly.

"And did you expect me to accept that offer?" Kurt demanded.

This was an awkward situation – to Blaine at least. "I was hoping you would," he answered.

Kurt's facial features visibly relaxed, and he folded his arms. "Well then," he said, "you'd have to lose the uniform first, and we'd have to find some clothes for you to wear. As good as that school uniform looks on you, it's simply not an acceptable clothing choice for a date."

"I know that," Blaine assured him. "I'm gay as well, remember?"

Kurt smiled slightly. "Good. Then I see no reason why I shouldn't go on a date with you."

Blaine was sure that the resulting happy grin didn't leave his face until much, much later.