He wonders if they would be getting ready for Regionals right now if Wes had given the solo to anyone else.

No one blames him, and even if they do, they’re keeping quiet about it. Wes is already going over possible song selections for their next try at Sectionals in the fall. Blaine has been dropping hints about feeling more comfortable in the background, but Wes isn’t hearing a word of it.

“You’ll do great, Blaine.”

Blaine somehow doubts that.

The Warblers sing at every nursing home and hospital in the tri-county area. With each performance, Blaine starts to feel more comfortable in the spotlight. It’s like putting on a pair of shoes that need to be broken in a little bit more.

He doesn’t feel like the Warblers’ leading man yet, but maybe someday he’ll fit the bill.

-

Blaine isn’t sure when Dalton stopped feeling like the place he lives and started feeling like home. He still has bad days, but there aren’t nearly as many. He can walk down the halls with his head held high. It’s a good feeling.

He’s learning not to rely on Kurt as much. It’s not that he’s pulling away, but he is learning to cling less. Blaine waits for Kurt to make the first contact of the day. He doesn’t live for the next text.

He’s branching out and talking to the others during the NYADA mixers. Harmony likes Mario Kart and their voices sound nice together. She works at King’s Island in the summers, and she might be able to get Blaine a job there too.

Sure, he’s still waiting for the Warblers to change their mind about him, but he’s starting to think he might have a friend or two among them. Especially Wes, kind hearted Wes who picked him up by the scruff of his neck and kicked him into social interaction outside of his comfort zone. Who led him to Kurt.

It’s funny how it always goes back to Kurt.

Maybe if Kurt sees that Blaine doesn’t need him, he’ll start to see him in a different light. Perhaps this light will be more flattering than his current one.

Kurt thinks he’s fake, and Blaine can’t blame him. The Dalton veneer is so easy to slip into. It’s a well-worn blanket and Blaine is reluctant to let go of it.

So he gels his hair into submission and tries to say the right thing. He practices his songs and choreography until it’s perfect.

When Blaine looks in the mirror sometimes, he still sees the bruises. He blinks and they’re gone.

“Hey stranger.”

Blaine turns to see Kurt standing in the doorway. He’s gotten used to keeping his door cracked open - a universal sign in the dorms that he is open for visitors.

“Shouldn’t you be getting ready for Regionals?” he asks, wringing his hands nervously. They have been on awkward terms since the mess with Brittany, and Blaine is still terrified of saying the wrong thing. He said too many wrong things, back then. He fears he will never make up for it.

“I’m hiding.” Kurt flops down on Blaine’s bed gracelessly, not even bothering to take off his boots. “It’s a shitshow, Blaine. Don’t make me go back.”

Blaine hovers by the bed for a moment, not sure what he should do. What he’s even allowed to do. “Oh?”

Kurt shifts over on the bed to make room for Blaine, a silent invitation. “Jesse egged Rachel.”

He climbs into bed and lays down beside Kurt, careful to leave a considerable amount of room between them. “You should have told her what he was up to.”

“I should have done a lot of things,” comes Kurt’s sharp reply.

They’re laying head to toe facing each other. The toes of Kurt’s boots brush Blaine’s ankles. Blaine knows that Kurt is getting taller, he hasn’t missed the way he has had to look up at him less and less to make eye contact these days.

Blaine wonders if Kurt’s limbs ache from his sudden growth spurt as much as his did.

“It sucks, not knowing what’s coming,” Blaine frowns. He might not know Rachel personally, but the situation with Jesse sounds upsetting. He at least knows what it’s like to feel let down.

“Not always,” Kurt smiles.

Why is he smiling? Blaine feels unsettled.

“He threw eggs at her,” he deadpans. “She’s vegan.”

“Not what I was talking about.”

Kurt’s nose brushes Blaine’s own. When Kurt exhales, his breath tickles Blaine’s lips.

It reminds Blaine of the movies. His eyes fall closed on instinct. He leans forward, and hopes he doesn’t screw this up. He’s not sure how he can screw this up, but if his recent track record is any indication - he’ll find a way.

The door opens.

“Uh, I can come back,” Jeff calls from the doorway. “In fact, I think I will.”

When Blaine finally opens his eyes, Kurt is scrambling to sit up. He catches Kurt’s wrist. “Where are you going?”

“To find my brain,” Kurt mutters. “I left it around here somewhere.”

Kurt’s flustered, so Blaine doesn’t press, even though he’s dying to know what that was about.

And more importantly, when they could try it again.

“Tell me about Regionals,” he says instead. “You have to know I’m dying of jealousy over here.”

“Well, it all started when Mr. Shue had his Journey epiphany...”

-

“We lost Regionals and Quinn had her baby,” Kurt says in a breathless voice as Blaine answers the phone.

“Hi, Kurt,” he greets. Blaine loves the way Kurt will start the middle of a conversation at the beginning, like he can’t wait to dive into the meat of the topic.

“I held her. She’s so little, Blaine. I didn’t know they made humans that little.”

“What’s her name?”

“Beth,” Kurt says quietly. “Elizabeth.”

“How’s Quinn?”

“She seems like she’s holding up okay, but I’m worried about her. She’s already talking about getting back into a Cheerio uniform and I feel like she’s not taking time to... I don’t know. Process? She just made a tiny person. That has to be exhausting.”

Blaine loves how much Kurt cares about people, even the ones he claims not to be close to. He remembers birthdays and favorite colors and favorite foods. He tries to make everyone feel special in his own little way.

“Just keep an eye on her, yeah? It’s all you can do.”

But what goes unspoken?

I’m a mess. Keep an eye on me too.