As was usual these days, Blaine couldn't wait for the weekend to begin. He was certain that both his happiness and his impatience grew as the week went on, and after almost a month of this, he knew that it was very likely that his friends might have taken notice.

Or not.

"Are you going to your parents' again this weekend?" David asked him as he sat down for breakfast that Friday morning.

Jeff, upon noticing that David was talking to Blaine, added, "You're always gone lately. Are your parents trying to set you up with some daughter of a colleague again?"

All the Warblers at the table shot Blaine a sympathetic glance at this. Blaine himself, however, was sufficiently confused. He hadn't gone home in almost a month, so why did his friends assume that he had?

"No," he replied, "no, they're not. Actually, I – "

"If they do, just give her my number," Nick told him from a few seats down.

David rolled his eyes. "Did you and Amanda break up again?" he asked exasperatedly, and with that, the issue of Blaine disappearing during the weekends was dropped.

When Blaine thought about it, he supposed that his friends might have a point – they probably didn't see him a lot anymore during weekends. His Saturdays were spent with Kurt, and he'd arrive back at Dalton after dinner, so he didn't bother looking for his friends much. Sundays were mostly spent in the school library, as he tried to do all his homework in one day. That method had had varying results so far.

It wasn't long before Kurt's first text of the day arrived. It had become a routine for them, trying to distract the other from whatever lesson they had, whether it was a boring one or an interesting one – or perhaps even a test. Blaine winced at the memory of last Tuesday, when Kurt had been particularly unresponsive and later turned out to have been taking an important test.

During the day, the two boys argued back and forth about various trivialities such as classes, the weather, the Buckeyes' latest match (Kurt wasn't very fond of that one) and the latest Vogue cover. That evening, Blaine had a few hours to spare, as it was Kurt's family's dinner night, so he figured he'd best get a head-start on his homework already. He did have a test next week, so it was all he could do not to have to cut his time with Kurt short tomorrow. They hardly saw each other as it was.

So the next day, Blaine was ready to spend the whole afternoon with Kurt again. They had known each other for less than a month, but Blaine already felt like the other boy knew him better than anyone else, and he liked to think that he knew Kurt pretty well too by now. Of course, there was still a lot to learn, but with Kurt, Blaine could talk about things that mattered to him. He always thought that he had plenty of friends at Dalton, but compared to what he had with Kurt, those friendships were kind of shallow. They didn't really know one another, and Blaine wasn't sure if that was Dalton, or maybe him. Either way, everything was different with Kurt – in more than one way.

And yes, maybe he was being stupid, falling this hard for virtually the first openly gay guy his age he met, but it wasn't as if he could help himself – not that he wanted to. But he was certain that even if Kurt had been the tenth, hundredth, or thousandth gay guy he met – there was something special about him, something that made Blaine notice him, and something that just drew him in further and further every day.

Of course, he didn't know how Kurt felt about him, but he did know that they understood each other in a way nobody else did. Blaine might have had the Warblers, but all they cared for was his voice and whether or not he'd be up to singing the newest song they picked out. Kurt's friends may not have been fully comparable to the Warblers – sure, they were also a Glee club, but even with all their drama, they seemed to be a closer knit group than the Warblers could ever dream of being – but none of them could ever completely comprehend what Kurt went through.

He could, though. Or at least he liked to think he had a better idea of this than they did.

It was an amazing friendship they had formed in such a short time, but to be honest, Blaine didn't know what would happen if they'd ever start dating. Would they be unable to talk to one another like this from that point onwards? Was he ready to potentially lose Kurt (and the other way around) if it didn't work out, or maybe even if Kurt simply didn't reciprocate?

Sighing, Blaine stayed in his car in the parking lot for a little longer. He wasn't late yet.

Was he ready to ruin their friendship like that? Sure, it might work out, but what were the odds? High school romances normally didn't last.

He shook it off. It wasn't as if he had to physically restrain himself from jumping Kurt every second they were together. Maybe he would fall out of like (love?) with Kurt before he'd completely fallen in like (or love) with his friend. Maybe he wouldn't. Anyway, he'd figure that part out when it became a pressing matter. Or when Kurt would do something.

At last, he got out of his car, locked it, and walked into the coffee shop that had quickly become their regular meeting place. Kurt was already present, and had been there for a while, by the looks of it. Blaine smiled as his friend flipped a page of his book, and then he swiftly checked if he wasn't late after all. Fortunately, he wasn't.

Impatiently, Blaine stood in line, checking if Kurt was still there every few seconds. All of a sudden, the other boy seemed to realise that he was being stared at, and looked up from his book. As he noticed Blaine standing there, he grinned widely. Blaine grinned back instantly, and was only brought out of his Kurt-induced haze when the man standing behind him pushed him forward lightly. Startled, Blaine turned around, only to have the barista tell him that it was his turn to order.

As he approached Kurt, his friend was smirking at him. "That'll teach you," he told Blaine, who just frowned.

"What do you – oh." He scowled. "That wasn't funny, you know. I was scared to death when that man pushed me."

Kurt nodded seriously. "Yeah, I can imagine. Just – don't ever zone out in the middle of a coffee shop anymore, alright? What were you thinking about anyway?"

Blaine coughed. There was no way he could tell Kurt the truth. White lies were allowed every now and then, right? Besides, perhaps he would tell Kurt what had been on his mind some other time – some time when they were together, as boyfriends, preferably.

"I was debating changing my order," he replied. "But, you know me."

Glancing at the coffee – Blaine's usual – Kurt smirked. "Oh, yes, I do."

Deciding that this was an excellent time to change the subject, Blaine asked, "So how've you been? Is everything alright, at home and at school?"

Kurt raised an eyebrow at him. "Blaine," he started, "we're constantly texting each other, calling or Skyping basically every night, and you ask how I've been?"

Blaine shrugged. "There are always things you don't discuss unless you're face to face. So, tell me. Your dad's still okay?" Kurt had told Blaine about Burt's stroke earlier that year, after Blaine had asked why Kurt was always acting so concerned about his father's health. It had certainly explained a whole lot to him.

"Yes, he is," Kurt replied, shifting in his seat. "He's still working more than he should, but he says that he'll be in even more stress if he doesn't get all his work done each day. I guess I'll just have to trust him there." Smiling a bit, he continued, "Oh – I have a feeling that he might propose to Carole soon, you know. With his heart… I don't think he'll wait for much longer."

Blaine grinned. "That would be great, Kurt!"

Kurt nodded. "It would," he agreed. "Though I hope Finn and I will get separate rooms this time around. I doubt anyone wants a repeat of the last time they tried to have us sleep in the same room." Seeing Blaine's confused face, he quickly launched into that particular story. At the end, Blaine was still a bit confused.

"But – didn't you say that your friends in Glee club accepted you?" he asked carefully. From what he just heard, that wasn't the case at all.

"They do, most of the time," Kurt answered. "Finn… well, I guess he tries. I suppose I may have made him a little uncomfortable last year when I had a crush on him." He frowned. "I still don't know how that happened, so let's not dwell on that for too long."

"That doesn't give him the right to call you that," Blaine said immediately. "No one should call you that, Kurt."

Kurt gave him a small smile. "I know," he replied. After a few seconds, he added, "The same goes for you, though. You don't have… people in your life calling you that, right?"

Blaine thought of his father. Occasionally, he would throw insults at Blaine, who, by now, paid him no mind when he did so. "No, not really," he said. "I spend most of my time at Dalton anyway, and if someone were to call me, or anyone else for that matter, such a thing, they risk being expelled." Kurt's face fell, though he tried to cover it up. "Is the bullying still as bad?" Blaine asked worriedly.

Kurt shrugged in response, taking a while before replying, "I'm fine, Blaine. It's alright. Sure, they're still throwing slushies and hurling slurs at me… it's nothing I'm not used to by now." Glancing up, he caught Blaine's eye, and Blaine was shocked to see how insecure Kurt looked at that moment. Taking a deep breath, Kurt continued. "There's this one football player though… who really seems intent on making my life hell. I feel like… he's constantly following me around, watching me, threatening to beat me up, pushing me into lockers multiple times a day. I try to stay strong about it all, but… it just gets to me, you know? I can feel so intimidated, so small and just… useless." He sighed. "Of course, my friends try to help me, but they hardly ever witness it anymore. And if they do see me getting harassed… there's not much they can do against that Neanderthal." He spit out that word as if it was the filthiest thing he'd ever tasted. "It just frightens me, I guess. It's like he has some weird power over me… and I hate it." Seeing the incredulous look on Blaine's face, he tried to smile. "I'll get over it, though," he muttered. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't burden you with this."

Blaine sat in silence for a minute after Kurt finished. He hadn't realised that the bullying had gotten that bad this quickly. He tried to remember what Kurt had told him during their first coffee meeting, but for once, he didn't recall the exact words, which frustrated him. He just wished he could put his arms around the other boy and hug him tight, never letting go, making sure nothing would ever harm him ever again. Was that a normal thought for just-a-friend to have? Blaine wasn't sure, and either way, there was no way he could make that happen. Oh, if only he could…

"Blaine?" Kurt asked tentatively, glancing at him sadly over the rim of his cup. "Are you okay?"

Blaine let out a shaky laugh. "You just – you just told me what you go through daily and you're asking me if I'm okay?" he asked disbelievingly. "Kurt – "

"I'm used to it," Kurt muttered, no longer looking at Blaine. He even sounded sadder than usual, and it nearly broke Blaine's heart.

"Nobody should be used to that sort of treatment," he said softly, carefully reaching out for Kurt's right hand, which was lying on the table, and squeezing it. Friends could do that, right?

Kurt seemed to shiver slightly, but that might have been Blaine's imagination. "I know," he replied, staring at his hand – and Blaine's – on the table. "But there's not much I can do about it, right?" With that, he looked up at Blaine somewhat uncertainly.

Blaine's mind worked quickly, or at least tried to. Kurt was well aware that he had run, so why was he expecting advice from Blaine? "You could…," he started, not really knowing where he was headed, "you could stand up to him. Call him out. Show him you're not afraid of him."

Kurt sighed. "I've stood up to him – and his friends – so often, Blaine. It only makes them angrier, it doesn't help at all. It's just getting worse. Besides – most of those guys, Karofsky included, are twice my size, if not even bigger. They would snap me in half if they had the chance." Blaine could see how that could potentially turn out to be a problem.

"Right," he said, "stupid idea. Forget I mentioned it."

Kurt nodded absent-mindedly, frowning slightly. "Yeah," he said vaguely. "I suppose I'll just… keep hoping that it'll all get better someday."

"It will," Blaine assured him. "If I have any say in it – it will." Too late did he realise that he'd said that out loud.

Nevertheless, Kurt smiled, not pointing out that honestly, Blaine didn't have much of a say of what went down in Kurt's life. "Now," he broke the silence, grinning at Blaine – though it did look a bit fake – "let's talk about something less depressing. Have you read anything good recently?"