Even as they boarded the bus to Sectionals, Kurt could feel Rachel's eyes on him. She had been alternating between glaring at him and glaring at Santana ever since Mr Schue had told them who would get the solos at this year's Sectional competition.

Rachel's first reaction had been to ask Finn to help her out, but since Santana had still been practically blackmailing him at the time, and since he had to trust Kurt to cook his food every night (as their parents had gone on their honeymoon the day before the announcement and Finn had been told to stay at the Hummels'), he hadn't really known how to go about that. That caused Rachel to huff indignantly and start shouting at their director that he was trying to sabotage her; when that didn't work, she had stormed out.

Luckily, since this was Rachel Berry they were talking about, she had come back a day later, still indignant (and with tape on her mouth), but not wanting to miss Sectionals for anything.

As Kurt sat down next to Mercedes on the bus, Rachel plopped down in the seat across the aisle. Kurt was surprised that she didn't sit with Finn, as she'd been bothering him to no end the day before about him never telling her about the fact that he had slept with Santana a year earlier.

"You know, Kurt, if the pressure gets to you, I'll be more than happy to take over your solo," Rachel told him as sincerely as she probably could, which wasn't saying much in this situation.

"Sorry," Kurt told her, not feeling sorry at all, "I already promised Mercedes that she'd get to take over in case I get stage fright." He hadn't, but neither he nor Mercedes would tell Rachel about that. "Besides, it's not even a girl's song."

Apparently, Mr Schuester had decided that Kurt had shown that he could sing songs meant for guys – which Kurt had always known, but that wasn't really the point. Either way, that was the excuse their director had used to give Kurt this particular song. Kurt still wasn't completely sure if it fit his voice, but he didn't dwell on that matter for too long. He had a solo, and he didn't care a whole lot about the reason why he'd been given one. He himself suspected that it was more of a pity solo than anything else – the bullying had only increased lately – and it would be too controversial for him, being a guy with a fairly high voice and all, to sing a girl's song.

He turned back to Mercedes, who just smirked at him, before telling him all about the fashion monstrosities she'd come across during her shopping trip with her mum the night before.

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

By the time they were at the venue where Sectionals was held, Kurt was nervous. This would be the first time he'd be singing a solo in front of a crowd this big – what if no one like it? What if it was his solo that would cause them to lose?

Needless to say, he wasn't happy when he heard that they'd, once again, drawn the third slot. Rachel tried to cheer them all up, saying that they'd won the previous time they had performed last. That might be true, but it did nothing to ease Kurt's nerves.

The drama in the green room didn't help much either – Rachel was shouting at Finn, who was trying to reason with her the best he could (but because this was Rachel and Finn, it didn't help at all); Santana, who was about to perform a solo in front of everyone in the audience as well, seemed to feed off this fighting; Tina and Artie were, for some reason, upset with Mike and Brittany; Quinn was freaking out too – so, Kurt figured there would be less noise and drama going in the main hall than in this room.

Slipping out of the room, he took a deep breath in, and let it out. He was feeling much better already. Maybe he could get himself something to drink; perhaps that would calm him down. No – if he was going to drink something now, he was sure that he'd have to pee the moment he stepped onto that stage, and he was not going to let that happen to him. On the other hand – if he didn't drink, his throat would be all dry later.

Kurt was facing quite a dilemma.

In the end, he walked over towards the bar anyway and asked for a glass of water. Sipping it slowly, he glanced around. There were people milling about everywhere, and from where he was sitting, he could just make out the sign in spot near the entrance. A group of boys in blazers were at the front of the line, and Kurt watched them with interest. They must be the Warblers, he guessed. Why else would it seem like they were wearing school uniforms?

Glancing down at the outfit he'd just put on – a maroon shirt and dark pants – he supposed that he could pose as just some audience member (at least, if the other guys stayed in the green room, and out of sight). There was no way those guys could, though.

In the end, he looked away from the Warblers and instead watched the other people in the area. He was actually quite amazed that there were so many people here – most of these people probably didn't know anyone who was competing, so why would they bother coming?

Deciding that he would ponder that question some other time (though it did distract him from thinking about his impending solo for a whole minute), Kurt turned back to the bar and almost jumped in surprise as he noticed someone sitting next to him all of a sudden. Sure – it was to be expected, as this place was crowded, but with all the bullying going on at McKinley, Kurt was now a little jumpier than he'd been before. Sudden movements didn't sit well with him.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the someone next to him apologised. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Kurt looked sideways and blinked. Sitting there was one of the guys he'd just seen at the check-in; one of the Warblers. And a good-looking one at that.

"It's fine," he replied, shrugging. "You probably didn't do it on purpose."

"That's true," the boy admitted, grinning slightly at him. "My name's Blaine, by the way. And you are?"

Blaine, Kurt thought. Yes, that fit him. "I'm Kurt," he told Blaine, shaking his hand.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Kurt," Blaine said. Turning towards the people behind the bar, he asked, "Could I have some water as well, please? Thanks." Smiling, he took the water and glanced at Kurt again. "I always need to drink something before a performance," he said conversationally, and Kurt mentally agreed; now that he had had some water, he didn't think he could've sung properly without it. "I love coffee, but my teammates won't let me have that – they're afraid that I'll start bouncing across the stage if I do and that doesn't really go with the rest of our choreography."

Wasn't this just great – Kurt finally had some information about the Warblers that he could tell the rest of New Directions, but it was right before their performance. They couldn't very well slip Blaine some coffee now, could they? No, he'd definitely notice. And besides, Kurt didn't exactly want to sabotage the competition. Especially not this boy here in front of him.

"Are you okay?" Blaine asked concernedly. "You looked like you were spacing out there for a moment…"

"Sorry," Kurt quickly apologised. "I didn't mean to."

"Anyway, what I was asking," Blaine said, "is this your first time watching a show choir competition?"

Aha. So Blaine, apparently, fell for this rather casual look, then. It appeared that the Warblers, like New Directions, hadn't gone through much trouble to figure out all the different members of the choirs they would be competing against.

"No, it's not," Kurt responded, smiling. After all, he'd never watched a full show choir competition, and he definitely wasn't here to watch now, so… it was a truthful answer, right?

Blaine's eyes lit up. "It's going to be great, I can tell you that! We're going to blow everyone away with our performance this year! Our council – we don't have a director, just a couple of seniors who make decisions and stuff – decided to shake things up a little this year. Of course, we're not moving around on stage like Vocal Adrenaline yet, but there's some progress. Last year, we were standing completely still all the time, but now, we're moving around a little, so that should increase our chances by a whole lot! Besides, we're not even competing against Vocal Adrenaline this year, so I'm sure we'll win!"

Kurt shut his mouth to avoid catching flies but, wow, this boy could give Rachel a run for her money. "Are you sure you didn't have any coffee lately?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at the Warbler. When the other boy shook his head with a sheepish grin on his face, Kurt asked, "Are you just on a pre-performance high, or are you usually this hyperactive? Because if you are, I know someone you have to meet…"

"Sorry," Blaine said guiltily. "I'm usually like this before a big performance. Though it is my first big performance in which I have a solo, so maybe I am a little more hyperactive than usual." He drank some water before continuing. "Would this someone you want me to meet happen to be a girl? Because I'm not exactly… you know, interested."

"You have a girlfriend?" Kurt asked (quasi-)knowingly. "Don't worry, she's got a boyfriend." Though, at the rate they were going, he wasn't sure for how much longer Rachel and Finn would be together.

"No, I'm not in a relationship." Blaine's voice sounded a little strained now. "And even if I was, I doubt it would be with… a girl, if you get what I mean."

"Oh." Kurt was surprised, to say the least. Here he was, chatting with a cute, gay boy his age who, unfortunately, was part of one of the other teams, and who may or may not be aware of the fact that Kurt was here to sing as well. "Yeah, I completely get it." He smiled reassuringly at Blaine, trying to let him know that he wasn't going to beat him up or something along those lines.

Blaine looked him up and down before asking, "You too? I – don't mean to make assumptions, just – "

"Yes, me too," Kurt interrupted him swiftly. "What are the odds, right?"

"Right." Kurt was certain that there must either be something on his face, or something going on behind him, since that look on the other boy's face couldn't mean much else, right? "Uh – anyway," Blaine continued, "I think I have to head back to our green room now. I doubt I'll catch you during intermission or afterwards, but do you think we could maybe meet up some time? It doesn't happen often that I come across another… person like me."

Now, Kurt eyed him a little suspiciously. "You're not still in the closet, are you?" he asked sternly. "Because if you are – "

"No, I'm not," Blaine quickly assured him. "I'm just not entirely used to talking about it so openly, in public."

Smiling, Kurt held out his hand. "Give me your phone," he instructed Blaine. "I'll give you my number."

And he really hoped that Blaine would still want to see him again after this competition. As he watched the other boy walk off, Kurt got up as well, but headed straight to the auditorium. At least he'd forgotten about how nervous he was for a little longer.

It appeared that the rest of New Directions had entered the auditorium only a few seconds before Kurt did, so it wasn't too hard to find them. Rachel seemed happy enough to give up her seat – next to Finn – to him, and as he caught Mercedes' eye, she sent him a curious look, before pretending to strangle Rachel (who, fortunately, didn't notice; she was too busy glaring at Santana). If possible, Kurt was happier than ever to have escaped that green room in time.

At that moment, the Warblers walked in. They weren't talking, shouting or even humming a tune like Kurt's teammates were at that moment; no, the private school boys were much better behaved. They glanced around the room, and Kurt hastily sat back in his seat, hoping to avoid Blaine spotting him before it was New Directions' turn to perform. It was times like this that he was glad that his stepbrother was so tall.

"So they are the Warblers," he heard Rachel mutter from next to him. Turning towards her, Kurt noticed that she was watching the group of boys with a slightly maniacal look on her face. Santana and Mercedes seemed, from what he could see, incredibly… interested in them for an entirely other reason than them being the competition.

Smiling to himself, Kurt looked back at the aisle. It was empty now; the Warblers had found their seats, apparently – a few rows down from where Kurt and his friends were sitting.

"You mean you honestly didn't check YouTube for any performances?" he asked Rachel. "Or searched for information on their school's web site?"

"There were no performances on YouTube," Rachel hissed back. "And to get access to the information about the Warblers on that web site, you had to register."

"Isn't that what fake e-mail addresses are for?" Kurt wondered out loud.

"Those can also be tracked down," Rachel replied softly.

For some reason, that sounded like something coach Sylvester would do – track down and threaten anyone who tried to get some information about the Cheerios during competition season. Kurt never would've thought that other people did that as well.

At that moment, the Hipsters were announced, and okay, a whole bunch of old people occupied the stage. Several people in the audience seemed to enjoy the performance, but Kurt saw Finn, Mike and a couple of others glance around like they were expecting the group on stage to either drop dead at the spot or interrupt their song to tell them that this was all a joke, and they had successfully been pranked. From what he could see, Puck seemed really into it, though.

When everybody applauded politely, he leaned over towards Rachel (his number one rival she might be, but the two of them usually had the same opinions about matters like this) and whispered, "Is it me, or are they not really a show choir?"

"They would do better in a competition for regular choirs," Rachel agreed. "I wonder what they did to have the show choir board allow them to perform here…"

More people started giving their opinions on the Hipsters' performance while the Warblers hastily walked out of the auditorium to get ready. As far as Kurt saw, Blaine was still skipping along enthusiastically. No coffee… yeah right.

Staring stoically at the stage in front of him, Kurt knew that his face must be paling considerably. Just the thought that after this, he was supposed to sing a song in front of all these people… what if they thought he sucked and didn't even bother to clap? It had been decided that he'd sing a ballad of sorts – not that it was originally a ballad, but that's what Mr Schuester had arranged it into, a slower version than the original. Plus, there were no guitars, no drums – it would be just Brad accompanying him on the piano.

"Kurt? You okay?" Mercedes shot him a concerned glance. He forced himself to smile at her and nod.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said. "Just a little nervous."

Instead of jumping at the chance to perform another solo herself, Rachel just patted his back comfortingly. "You'll be fine," she told him, and Mercedes nodded.

"You're going to kill that song," she told him firmly, and Kurt smiled at the two girls. He hoped that he could live up to their expectations.

It wasn't long before the Warblers were announced, and the curtains opened once more. True to his word, Blaine was at the front of the group. The other boys stood behind him, divided in two rows, and they were all harmonising. After a couple of seconds, Blaine started singing, and, well, Kurt was impressed, to say the least.

And even though he now knew that he was not the only guy in the world who occasionally sang songs originally sung by women, he also slightly resented the fact that he'd almost been forced to sing a guy's song during this competition, while the Warblers were happily singing Teenage Dream by Katy Perry. After the song, everyone started applauding again, and now Rachel leaned over to him. She looked far from happy.

"Their choreography isn't very exciting," she stated, "but the lead vocals are amazing. And the fact that they're an a cappella choir makes them stand out in the crowd." She bit her lip nervously. "Don't let it get to you, though," she added in an afterthought. "We're going to beat them, I'm sure of that."

The Warblers sang another song (Hey Soul Sister), and Kurt realised that Rachel was right – their choreography mainly consisted of most Warblers just side-stepping the entire time. Even without his coffee, Blaine was still bouncing across the stage, pulling weird faces and generally being a dork. But, Kurt decided, he made it work. It was cute.

Yeah, because he really needed to start having that kind of thoughts about his competition, mere minutes before he had to be on stage himself.

The Warblers proved to be more popular than the Hipsters, if the applause they were getting was any indication. Kurt could only hope that New Directions would be able to surpass the Warblers.

Before he knew what was happening, he was ushered out of his seat by an anxious Rachel, and he followed Finn and the others towards their green room for a final pep talk. Or not – Mr Schuester stayed were he was, so they were on their own now. No big deal, of course. Last year, their director hadn't even been present for their Sectionals competition.

"Okay, is everyone ready for this?" Rachel asked excitedly when they were all gathered backstage.

A few murmurs arose here and there, but generally, she was just ignored.

"Anyway," she continued, "I know we can do this. We may not be as well-polished as the Warblers or as… adorably old as the Hipsters, but we've got our own charm, right?"

Kurt never thought this would ever happen, but he actually appreciated Rachel's chatter at this moment. Not that the rest of their team did, but that was beside the point. He smiled back at her, which seemed enough of an encouragement for her.

Noticing that nobody but Kurt was listening, she just turned to him. "You're going to be amazing out there, Kurt," she told him earnestly. "Just… focus on the song, we'll fuss over the choreography. Don't worry about that. And you know where to stand when you're done, right?" He nodded; they'd been over this countless times by now. The choreography accompanying Santana's song was much more complicated than the one they'd come up with for his song, but it didn't stop him from worrying. Especially since Santana had vocal back up from virtually everyone, and he did not. It was nerve-wracking.

"At least you don't have to walk down the aisle all by yourself," Rachel reminded him, as if sensing what he was thinking.

"Now I have to stand on that stage all by myself," he retorted with a small smile.

Rachel sent him one final encouraging smile before ushering everyone else away while Kurt tried to calm his nerves because this was it. Just like their previous Sectionals performance, he would end up on the stage alone, and then everyone else would appear from the doors opposite him. It was somewhat reminiscent of Don't Rain On My Parade, but for the first time since they'd come up with the idea, he found that he didn't care much about that. This was it – his chance to shine, to prove that he, too, was worthy of a solo performance during a competition.

When he heard the announcer's voice, Kurt knew he had to start walking towards the front of the stage. He was halfway there when the curtains opened, and he promptly concluded that sitting in that audience hadn't adequately prepared him for the sheer size of it.

He smiled nervously at the audience while the lights blinded him, and he waited for the music to start. It was only then that he remembered that he'd planned to used the loo before going on stage. Well, there was nothing he could do about it now. Hoping that his voice wouldn't tremble too much, or that his throat would go dry all of a sudden, he opened his mouth and started singing.

Lost myself again,
Didn't care,
I was missin',
Said goodbye to friends,
And drove away.

Kurt vaguely wondered if Mr Schue had been paying more attention to his situation than he'd thought. But even then, it didn't seem like a song he would pick for someone to sing at Sectionals. Nobody probably even knew it.

I just don't belong in a town,
Where no one listens,
Even if I'm wrong,
I'll find a way.

It had been quite a challenge to find a good pace and the right way to sing this song, but Kurt was convinced that they'd done alright. As he sang on, he felt himself growing more and more confident, and he wondered why he'd been so consumed by nerves before. It was like this came natural to him. Now used to the bright lights shining in his eyes, he managed to find their director in the audience – at least he was smiling, so that was good, right? Just like he'd expected, Kurt immediately noticed Blaine sitting in the seat Finn had previously occupied. He seemed… surprised. Hopefully in a good way.

Gotta get away from here,
Find a way to disappear,
Say goodbye to everything and everyone I know

The lyrics weren't entirely true, of course – sure, he wanted to get out of Lima, but he didn't want to disappear at all – but he had been rather relieved when he heard that at least he didn't have to sing a cheesy love song or something like it. Or another Journey song, at that.

Gotta go and leave this town,
All it does is bring me down,
I just wanna tell my friends no matter where I go,
I'll see them down the road

That was his friends' cue to appear at the back of the auditorium. And they did, fortunately. Instead of walking, however, they seemed to dance towards the stage, not in a hurry at all. Of course, Kurt knew that it was scripted, but every time, he was anxious that they wouldn't make it before his song was over and it was Santana's turn.

Lost myself again,
No one new I was missing,
Said goodbye to dad,
And his new wife.

Finn in particular had appreciated that part of the song. He had even suggested that he be the one to accompany Kurt – playing the drums, not the piano, of course – but in the end, they had decided that it might work better with the piano than with drums in the background.

And of course, his teammates always managed to surprise him when it came to the choreography – some of them were already near the stage, ready to get on and get into formation.

Gotta get away from here,
Find a way to disappear,
Say goodbye to everything and everyone I know,
Gotta go and leave this town,
All it does is bring me down,
I just wanna tell my friends no matter where I go,
I'll see them down the road.
I'll see them down the road.

Kurt knew that he was grinning like an idiot by the time the song came to an end, but he didn't care. People were clapping their hands together, so they didn't hate it, he reckoned. He was glad for that – now that he was here, he would do it all again in a heartbeat. But he couldn't, of course. It was now time for Santana's song, so he bowed happily before walking towards the group and handing the microphone to Rachel, who, in turn, gave it to Santana. As he took his place in between Finn and Sam, he glanced at Mercedes for a second. She grinned widely at him, and for the first time today, he responded in kind.

Once the audience had quieted down, Santana started singing. Kurt may have forgotten to sing his parts at times, but that was only because he'd been so busy preparing his own song that he hadn't had as much time to rehearse this choreography. Besides, it wasn't as if someone would notice that his voice was missing here and there. Fortunately, the hardest part of the choreography was performed by Mike and Brittany, and Kurt could keep up with his own part well enough. It was just a little bit harder when he had to sing as well.

They got a standing ovation when they were done – which was more than the Warblers and the Hipsters had gotten – and when the applause died down, it was announced that the judges would take twenty minutes to reach their decision. After that, they would know which team had made it to Regionals.

For some reason, the tension caused by this announcement culminated in another shouting match between Rachel and Santana, while Artie and Brittany were happily together again, and Tina and Mike appeared to have made up as well. Because of the aforementioned shouting match, however, it didn't surprise Kurt as much as he thought it would've when Finn all but pushed him out of the green room, making an excuse that nobody paid attention to.

"What is it, Finn?" Kurt asked when they'd walked a fair distance away from their team.

Finn shrugged and shuffled his feet awkwardly. "Just wanted to get out of there, actually. I don't think they're ever going to let this go, right?"

Kurt patted his new stepbrother's back (which was awkward as well, since Finn was so tall). "No, they won't," he agreed. "At least all this drama didn't ruin the performance."

"Oh, right!" Finn exclaimed, and before Kurt knew what was happening, Finn was hugging him happily. "You were great up there, dude! Awesome job!"

After Finn released him, Kurt opened his mouth to form an appropriate answer to that, but before any sound had come out, someone else spoke up. "You were great indeed, Kurt. Why didn't you tell me you were here to sing as well?"

Kurt didn't need to turn around to know who it was, but since it was more polite to do so, he turned anyway. "You never asked," he easily replied. "Oh, and by the way," he continued, smirking a little, "I, for one, don't believe that you didn't have any coffee before going on."

"Uh, Kurt?" Finn asked, seeming rather confused. "You know that guy?"

"We met before the competition started," Kurt informed him. "It's okay, Finn. He's not going to beat me up or anything."

Finn shot Blaine one final distrusting glance before muttering something about Rachel and Santana and walking back to New Directions' green room. Just like he'd promised, Finn had tried to stick up for Kurt more this past week. The other boys in Glee had helped him with that, and while Kurt still got harassed, the amount of slurs, slushies and locker slams had definitely decreased.

Blaine was staring after Finn, looking slightly confused as well. "My stepbrother," Kurt said quickly. "He's… starting to become oddly protective of me."

Blaine merely blinked. Then, he seemed to realise why he was there. "I may not have asked, but I did tell you about our performance," he reminded Kurt. "And I'll have you know, I haven't touched any coffee since yesterday afternoon."

Kurt shrugged. If this boy was so adamant to deny his obvious coffee high, then so be it. He wasn't going to push the matter because honestly, he had better things to discuss. Like the competition.

"You were pretty great as well," he told Blaine. "I'm not a huge fan of Katy Perry, but I suppose I could get used to her music if you sang it all a cappella."

Blaine now sported a silly grin on his face. "Thanks," he said modestly. "I'm just lucky that all the other guys produce such amazing background vocals. I can't imagine what it must be like to stand on that stage alone, without anyone to back me up."

"It's unbelievably scary," Kurt told him. "Once you get started, though, it feels… incredible. For me, at least."

Blaine smiled. "You seemed completely at ease up there," he said. "And I think I almost fell out of my seat when I saw you on that stage. So, did you choose that outfit on purpose, to remain inconspicuous?"

"I didn't choose it," Kurt immediately told him. "No, I must look awful in this colour."

"No, you don't," Blaine countered.

"Anyway," Kurt hastily continued, trying not to ponder the meaning of that statement for too long, "no, we never thought about that, actually."

Blaine was silent for a moment, before asking, "That song you sang – the original is more up-tempo, isn't it?"

"It is. But apparently, when I sing a song, it sounds much better in a slower and less happy arrangement, without many of the accompanying instruments." Kurt rolled his eyes at the memory of Mr Schuester trying to explain this to him without making it sound offensive in any way.

"It was beautiful," Blaine said bluntly, and Kurt couldn't help it; he blushed at the compliment. Sure, his teammates had told him this as well (using a different wording, though), but for some reason, this was different. Kurt decided it must be because Blaine was on a rival team – not because he was gay as well, or something as equally unlikely.

"Thank you," he managed to say cheerfully. "I hope the judges think so as well."

He wanted to talk to Blaine for a little longer, but no – an announcement filled the whole building, telling everyone to return to their seats, because the judges had, surprisingly, managed to make their decision quicker than they normally did.

"Can I call you later?" Blaine asked suddenly. "Not – today, I think, but maybe tomorrow? Or can I text you, or anything?"

Kurt grinned, glad to see he didn't seem to be the only one who was new to this. "I gave you my number, didn't I? I suppose you can text me first," he said thoughtfully, "and then I'll let you know when to call, I guess? Would that be alright?"

"That would be perfect," Blaine assured him with a grin. "Well – good luck up there, and I'll… text you later!"

Kurt waved at him before hurrying back to his own green room. For some reason, he felt calmer after talking to Blaine. If the other boy would always have such an effect on him, Kurt didn't know if he'd ever get to see enough of him.