"Yes, ma'am." He said quietly, and put it back in his pocket. It was Wednesday, four days since he and Kurt had last spoken, and it was killing him. On the outside he looked much the same; polished, well spoken, happy and polite. On the inside, he was panicky, tired, nervous, and quite frankly, miserable. By his third hour AP English (where he was now) he usually had at least three or four text messages from Kurt, but, as it had been all week, his phone was completely devoid of any sort of message from the taller boy. Blaine spent the rest of the hour paying just enough attention to Mrs. Hayes to jot down the notes on the board, waiting for the class to be over. As soon as the clock on the wall said 10:50, Blaine was out of his chair and on his way to the door. The Dalton class schedule was simple: school started at 7:30 in the morning, and ended at 3:30 in the afternoon, with each class lasting exactly one hour, with 10 minutes between them. There were no bells, so the students relied on their watches or the classroom clocks to tell them when to go, and the teachers, if they chose, could keep the students for up to five minutes after class was over.

"Blaine, what was up back there, man?" Wes followed him out of the classroom as he made his way toward his 4th hour class, world history.

"Huh?"

"With the phone. You've been acting weird all week, and now you're getting in trouble in class. You're like, every teacher's favorite, you never get in trouble."

Blaine rolled his eyes at Wes, and kept walking. "I'm not every teacher's favorite, just a few. And definitely not hers, she's never liked me."

"Okay, fine. But you still got in trouble. Why did you have your phone out, anyway?" Wes asked.

"No reason." Blaine was quiet.

"Oh, come on, Blaine. Seriously?" Wes scoffed. "Dude, if you want to talk to Kurt, you'll have to go to him. It's not like you don't know where he lives, and besides, we've got Warblers every night." Blaine shook his head. "He's not going to talk to you unless you approach him. He's got that look on his face when he's around you, that 'talk to me and you die' look. Trust me, I've seen it a lot since Saturday night and the popcorn fiasco." Wes shuddered; Kurt had made him take his sheets and comforter to the dry-cleaners, and it was not cheap.

"I can't, Wes. He told me to leave him alone. I don't want to make it worse." Blaine looked down at his feet as they walked. "He's mad at me. And he should be."

"Alright." Wes stopped walking and grabbed Blaine's shoulder, pulling him into an empty classroom they were passing. "You have got to tell me what the hell happened. You've been acting like a kicked puppy and he's never gone this long without talking to you."

"I don't have time for this, Wes." Blaine growled at his friend.

"Bullshit. We still have 8 minutes before we have to be in class. Now tell me, before I ask Kurt."

"Leave him alone." Blaine glared at Wes, who still had a hold of his arm.

"I will if you tell me what's going on. Does this have anything to do with him and Jeff leaving Saturday night?"

Blaine stepped away from Wes and sat down at one of the empty desks. He dropped his bag on the floor, and rested his head in his hands. "Yeah. Well, kind of. It's more about what happened Saturday afternoon." Wes motioned for him to continue and sat on the desk at the front of the classroom.

Blaine took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and started to talk.

.....

"Eric, I don't want to talk about it." Kurt sighed as he slung his backpack over his shoulder and the two boys left Mr. Christiansen's biology classroom.

"Why not?" Eric followed Kurt, having to jog a little to keep up with the taller boy.

"Because."

"Blaine's your best friend, and by now you've usually got your phone out, texting him so fast it looks like your fingers are going to fall off." Eric was right; between classes, Kurt and Blaine were always texting each other. Eric would bet his extensive PS3 video game collection that the majority of texts Kurt sent, were sent to Blaine.

"He's not my best friend. Mercedes is." Kurt's voice was cold.

"Okay, fine. But Blaine's your best friend here, I know he is."

"… What's your point?"

Eric knew that Kurt was getting pissed off, but he had to find out what was going on. "You and Blaine haven't talked since Saturday night. You guys are constantly talking, and I just wondered if everything was okay with you two."

"No. Not right now." Kurt kept his eyes ahead, refusing to show any emotion to his boyfriend's roommate. "He upset me, and I don't want to talk about it. Okay?"

"Alright." Eric clapped Kurt's shoulder, then walked away. He needed to find Jeff.

.....

Jeff was leaving his junior English class, on his way to biology. Eric had the opposite; he went from biology to English. Since the beginning of the semester, the two had passed their class notes to each other when they passed in the hall. It wasn't exactly 'Dalton-acceptable' behavior, but it was a way to make classes easier.

"Jeff! Jeff, come here, man." Jeff saw Eric coming toward him, a determined look on his face.

"What's up?" he asked once Eric got to him.

"You need to talk to Kurt."

"I have been talking to him. He's kind of my boyfriend." Jeff laughed, but then stopped at the look on Eric's face. "What's going on?"

"He and Blaine aren't talking."

"So?" Jeff knew that they weren't talking, but he didn't know why. Honestly, he didn't really care. He was just enjoying the fact that Blaine no longer took up any part of their time together, except at rehearsal. "What's your point?"

"Something's gotta be going on between them if they're not talking. Do you know if anything happened between them Saturday night?" Eric asked.

"No, nothi-" Jeff stopped. Something had happened that night. Kurt had gone out in the hall with Blaine for a few minutes and came back upset. Even though Jeff had planned to ask him what had happened out there, Kurt had practically thrown himself on Jeff when he came back in. Kurt seemed to have been fine by the time they fell asleep, so Jeff didn't think about it again. "Where's Blaine going this hour?" he asked.

"Uh, I think he's going to world history. Wait, where are you going?" Eric yelled after Jeff as he turned on his heel and started running down the hall.

"Shit." Eric muttered as he got his phone out and texted Nick.

911: Jeff's looking for Blaine, he looked pissed. Stop him if you see him! – prince eric

Nick had World Civilizations 4th hour, which was right across the hall from Blaine's class. Maybe Nick could stop Jeff.

.....

"Ugh, I freaking hate it when Mr. Wilkins goes on about the Rolling Stones." Nick said as he and another senior trudged out of their music tech class. They had midterms the next week, and their teacher insisted on playing his favorite music non-stop while they were studying. Nick felt like his brain was going to explode.

"Uggghhh." Brian groaned in response.

Nick felt his pocket vibrate, and slipped out his phone.

911: Jeff's looking for Blaine, he looked pissed. Stop him if you see him! – prince eric

"Great." Nick mumbled. "Just great." He looked around the hall as he walked, not really listening to Brian's complaints about Mick Jagger, just looking for the tall blonde boyfriend of his roommate. He didn't have to wait long, Jeff was jogging up the hall just a few minutes later.

"Nick, have you seen Blaine?" he was just a little breathless after running from one end of the school to the other.

"Nope." He truthfully hadn't.

"Damn." Jeff swore.

"Why? You'll see him tonight at rehearsal." Nick really wanted Jeff to go to his 4th hour class before Blaine came around the corner. He didn't know what was going on, but he could tell that Jeff didn't look pleased with Blaine.

"I just need to talk to him." Jeff looked at his watch. "Dammit. I've only got three minutes to get back over to the science hall. Do me a favor?" Nick nodded. "If you see Blaine, can you tell him I need to talk to him?"

"Sure."

"Awesome. See you later." Jeff turned around and ran back down the hall.

"What was that all about?" Brian, who had seen all this happen, asked.

"No freaking idea man, no idea." He shook his head and kept walking.

.....

Meet me out at my car for lunch? – jeff

Kurt smiled and texted him back.

Of course. Want me to bring anything? – k

Just you. You're all I need. :) – jeff

Kurt grinned wider; Jeff made him so happy.

Alrighty, then. See you in an hour. :* - k

Kissy-face emoticon was okay, right?

Can't wait. :* - jeff

Apparently so. Kurt slid his phone back into his pocket, before Mr. Stark could see it and take it away. He looked at the clock on the wall: 11:06 am. Drawing just might be the longest class of the day.

.....

At 12:03 in the afternoon, Kurt found himself walking out to the parking lot, searching for his boyfriend. He finally saw Jeff, who was leaning on the hood of his charcoal gray Camaro. He had gotten it as a Christmas present, even though the new car wasn't exactly fit for Ohio weather. Now that there was less snow on the ground, though, Jeff took every chance to show it off.
"You know, that car looks much better with you next to it." He said as he got to his boyfriend.

"Oh, really?" Jeff wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist, then kissed him. Kurt smiled into the kiss and pulled his head back.

"Really." He pecked Jeff on the cheek as he stepped back, then asked, "So where are we going for lunch today?"

Jeff walked around to the passenger door and held it open, waiting for Kurt to get in. "I figured we could go back to Little Bits. You haven't had any of their lunch food yet, so I thought I'd treat you today. Is that okay?" he asked.

Kurt smiled up at him from his seat. "As long as I'm with you, it's more than okay." Jeff leaned down to kiss him properly, then shut the door. He didn't see the curly-haired boy who was watching from a window in the main hall. He didn't see the pain in his eyes, or the way his fist hit the window ledge. Jeff didn't see Blaine, but Kurt did. Kurt saw him, and had to stop himself from running inside to hold him, and tell him it was okay. By the time Jeff had gotten into his seat and started the car, Kurt had plastered a smile on his face, and Blaine was pushed to the back of his mind.

.....

"Awesome, guys, awesome. The harmonization there was perfect." Thad praised the other Warblers. "I guess since everyone did so well…" he smiled, "we could let out early." He was met with loud shouts of agreement.

The large group of boys filed out of the rehearsal hall, everyone happy that for once, Thad had loosened up a little and let them out at 5 instead of 6. He had discussed it with Wes and David beforehand, but they had all agreed that if they did a good job, rehearsal could be cut short.

Blaine thought he was the last one out of the room, but he hadn't noticed Jeff hanging back, over by the piano.

"What's up, Blaine?" Jeff asked as Blaine reached the door.

"Oh, hey, Jeff." Blaine tried to keep his voice even. He was sure this was about Kurt, and about Saturday, but he didn't know how much Jeff knew.

"I want to talk to you, is that alright?" Jeff sounded nice enough, maybe he didn't know anything.

"Uh, yeah. Sure." Blaine set his bag down on the piano bench and turned to face Jeff. "What's going on?"

"I need you to tell me what happened Saturday night." Blaine felt his stomach drop. Jeff was looking him straight in the eyes, his jaw set and his eyes cold.

"Saturday?" Dammit.

"Yeah. Tell me what you talked to Kurt about Saturday night, outside my room." Jeff was quiet, his voice even.

"He didn't tell you?" Jeff shook his head. "How about you ask him, then? He is your boyfriend now, right?"

"I don't want to upset him. Seems to me that any time someone brings you up in conversation, or says your name, he gets upset. I don't want to do that to him." Jeff shrugged.

"But you'll ask me." Blaine sighed. "Fine. You want to know what happened?" Jeff nodded. "I told him how I felt, okay?"

Jeff stared. "What do you mean, you 'told him how you felt'? How exactly do you feel?"

Blaine gathered up all the courage he had (ha), and opened his mouth. "I want him, Jeff. I want to be with him."

"… What?" it was barely a whisper. Jeff felt like someone had hit him in the stomach with a crowbar; this is what he had been afraid of. He knew that Blaine had been there for Kurt when things were getting bad at McKinley, and he knew that they were close, but he didn't think this would actually happen; that Blaine had feelings for his boyfriend. Eric was right.

"I'm sorry, Jeff, I really am, but I can't make it go away. I really, really like Kurt, and I had to tell him." Blaine tried to look Jeff in the eyes, but Jeff looked away.

"You're sorry? You're fucking sorry?" Jeff slammed his fist on top of the piano, making Blaine jump at the sound. He spun back around, fury in his eyes. "You told Kurt, my boyfriend, that you want him? What the hell made you think you could do that?"

"You don't know him like you think you do, Jeff. You only know the happy Kurt, the Dalton Kurt. You don't know a damn thing about who he really is." Blaine got closer to the taller boy. "Did he ever tell you about what happened at McKinley? Huh? Did he tell you about Karofsky? About slushie facials, being tossed into dumpsters?" Jeff took a step back from the angry boy in front of him. "You don't know shit, okay, Jeff? You don't know anything about who he really is. You really want to know who your boyfriend is? Then ask him about his life before you." Blaine was seething with anger, his heart pounding in time with his breathing. "Good night, Jeff." He snapped up his book bag and stormed out of the rehearsal hall, leaving Jeff standing by the piano, a shocked look on his face.

.....

Kurt was sitting on his bed, listening to music and doing homework when he heard the little beep that signaled a text. He picked up his iPhone (with the new fake diamond-studded cover) and read the message.

,i>We need to talk. Now. – jeff

Okay… what's up? – k

He didn't have to wait long for a response.

I talked to Blaine. Meet me at my room in five minutes. - jeff

Kurt's stomach flipped, and he felt sick. What did Blaine tell him? What did Jeff say to Blaine? Oh, god, was Jeff going to break up with him?

"Kurt, you okay over there, man?" Nick asked when he heard Kurt's panicked breathing. He sat up in his own bed and looked at his roommate, who's eyes were wide. Kurt's knuckles were white from how tight he was holding his phone, and Nick wondered if he had insurance on it.

"Y-yeah." Kurt slowed down his breathing and closed his eyes. "Yes, I'm okay." He took a deep breath.

"You sure?" Nick was wary; he knew that Kurt's dad had a heart attack a while ago, and he hoped this had nothing to do with that. "Everything okay, like, at home?"

"Yeah! No, um, everything's fine at home. Fine." Kurt was still trying to control his breathing. "I've got to go over to Jeff's room for a bit, though. I'll be back." He put on a fake smile, and got up from the bed. Nick nodded at him, still worried.

It wasn't until a second later, once Kurt was already out the door, that he realized something was up with his roommate and his boyfriend.

"Crap." Nick grabbed his phone and sent a quick message to Eric, hoping he would get it before Kurt got over there.

Dude, you might want to get out of your room. Kurt's on his way over, and it doesn't look pretty. – nick

.....

Eric had noticed how pissed Jeff was when he got to the room and slammed the door behind him.

"Um, what the hell?" he asked. He was at his desk, trying to study for his world history midterm, and he couldn't do that if his roommate was slamming doors and throwing his shit around like he was now. "Whoa, watch it!" he shouted as Jeff's bag almost hit him. It landed behind the chair, but still, it was close enough.

Jeff mumbled an apology and picked up his bag. He dropped it on his own desk, then collapsed onto his bed. Eric heard more mumbling, something about "fucking Blaine Anderson", "stupid asshole", and "what's a Karofsky?".

"Jeff, what the fu-" Eric was about to ask, but stopped when Jeff gave him a death glare. "… Never mind, then." Eric turned back to his workbook.

"Blaine likes Kurt." It was muffled by the pillow Jeff had pulled over his face, but Eric still heard it.

"Told you." He ducked out of the way of the pillow just in time; it hit the window instead. "You missed."

"Shut up." Jeff sounded strangely pathetic.

Eric spun his chair around so he could face Nick. "Okay, so Blaine likes Kurt. You like Kurt. You know what the difference here is?" Jeff shook his head. "You are the one with Kurt. You are the one who is his boyfriend. Understand?" it really was like talking to a 4-year-old. "Now chill out." He moved to turn around but Jeff spoke up.

"Blaine told him how he felt. Saturday night. That's what they were talking about in the hall." Jeff let out a miserable groan.

"And you told me he came back in and jumped your bones after they talked."

"Your point?"

"Um, he didn't jump Blaine's bones, did he?" Jeff's eyes widened at the thought. "No! No, dude, calm down. I'm not saying he did, I'm saying he didn't!" Eric had his hands up in a defensive position; it looked like another pillow might make it's way over to him. "I'm saying he decided to come in and make out with you rather than stay in the hall and even talk to Blaine!"

Jeff lowered the pillow. "True." He flopped back down on the bed. "But what do I do? I mean, I know Kurt told Blaine he liked him last month, but he said he didn't feel that way anymore. What if Blaine saying it back means Kurt feels that way again?"

"If he did, he wouldn't be with you today. You guys have been damn near inseparable since Saturday, so I doubt he feels anything at all for Blaine. You have nothing to worry about."

"I don't know…" Jeff raised an eyebrow. "Why the hell am I talking about it with you?" it was like he had an epiphany.

"Um, I don't know. Why are you talking about this with me? Why not talk to Kurt?" Eric knew he had made a mistake as soon as the words left his lips.

"Good idea." Jeff got up and went over to his bag, searching for his Droid. Eric had already started gathering his things, knowing that Kurt and Jeff were either going to end up arguing or heavily making out (and either way, he didn't want to be there for it), when his cell beeped, and he read Nick's message. Well. At least he could study in Nick's room.

.....

Jeff had barely noticed Eric's departure, he was so nervous about what was going to happen. He was just going to ask Kurt for his version of Saturday night. And maybe ask about McKinley. He hated to admit it, but Blaine was right; Jeff really didn't know as much about Kurt as he should. Blaine had been the one who was there for Kurt when things got bad at his old school; he had been the one who got him the audition for the Warblers, and who helped him get used to the school. He obviously knew more about his boyfriend than he did, and he needed to fix that right away. Three timid knocks sounded at his door, and he hurried over to open it. As soon as he did, he wanted to wrap the boy on the other side up in his arms, and kiss away the scared look on his face. It took all his strength not to.

"Come in, Kurt." His voice sounded strangely formal. Kurt said nothing, but stepped inside the room. Jeff had to take a step back before he touched Kurt, because he knew as soon as he did, any anger he had for the situation at hand would dissipate, as would his control.

Kurt shut the door behind him, and ran a hand through his hair before he sat down on Jeff's bed. "What's going on, Jeff?" his voice was quiet, and Jeff could hear the fear.

Before he spoke, Jeff sat on Eric's bed. He didn't want to sit next to Kurt; he needed to see his face when he told him what happened. "I need to know exactly what happened Saturday night. Out in the hall, with you and Blaine." Jeff kept his voice steady. "And I need you to be honest with me."

Kurt could feel himself shaking. How much did he know? Had Blaine told him anything? Oh, god, did he know about the almost-kiss?

"Kurt. I need you to start talking. Please. I-I really, really need to know what happened." Jeff heard his voice break a little, and he realized just how upset Blaine had made him.

Kurt took a deep breath, then began. "Blaine told me that he thought he wanted me." He kept his eyes on the ground, not daring to look at Jeff. "But I told him he had his chance, Jeff. And I told him he blew it." He looked up through his bangs, afraid of what he'd see. Jeff just looked at him, his eyes curious.

"Is that it?" he asked.

"Basically. I mean, he was a lot more wordy, but yeah, that was the gist." He really didn't want to tell Jeff about what had happened earlier in the day; telling him that could really screw up their fledgling relationship.

Jeff let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding in. "And that's it? Nothing else?" Kurt shook his head. "Blaine said something to me today, after rehearsal."

Kurt had wondered where Jeff was. "What did he say?" he was scared now.

"The same thing. That he told you how he felt." Kurt felt relieved, but that was short-lived. "And that I only know the happy you. That I don't know anything about McKinley. I mean, he brought up the slushies, and you told me about that. But he said something about dumpsters. And someone named Karofsky." Kurt couldn't stop it, he actually convulsed as Jeff said the name. Even here, 4 months after the fact, he still couldn't escape. "Baby?" Jeff had rushed over to Kurt's side after he saw him shake. He brushed a tear from his cheek (Jesus, he was always crying. This was when Kurt really hated his lack of self-control), and pulled Kurt into a hug.

"I, I can't." Kurt was shaking, but let himself settle into Jeff's arms.

"You need to tell me. We haven't been together long, but that doesn't matter. I need to be able to trust you, and I can't do that if you won't tell me about your life." He held Kurt tighter. "I really care about you, okay? But I can't be there for you unless you tell me about your past." Jeff moved one of his hands from Kurt's back to run it through his soft brown hair.

Kurt closed his eyes, and thought for a moment. Jeff was right; they needed to tell each other things to really get to trust each other. And there really wasn't any reason to not tell him about his life back at McKinley, since he was safe at Dalton. "If I tell you, you can't tell anyone else. Promise?" he moved a little so he could see Jeff's face.

"I swear." Jeff kissed his forehead.

"Okay." Jeff pulled them both farther up his bed, and let him lay on his chest. Kurt took a shaky breath, then started his story. "I was the only out gay kid at McKinley, and it wasn't too bad at first. I mean, I told you about the slushie facials, but that wasn't all they did."

.....

It was only 7 pm when Kurt got back to his room. He had told Jeff almost everything, including Karofsky's death threat. He told Jeff about Blaine's part in his life, although he did leave out just how bad his crush on him was. The only other part of the story he left out was Karofsky forcibly kissing him; he really didn't want to tell anyone. The only person who knew exactly why Karofsky threatened him was Blaine, and he wanted it to stay that way. It didn't feel right, no matter how much Kurt hated Karofsky, to out him like that. No, Kurt would be the bigger man, and leave him alone. Let him suffer in his own closet for a while.

He had been thinking about Jeff and how nice his arms felt when he heard a knock at the door. He glanced at Nick, who shook his head; neither one of them was expecting anyone. Since Nick had turned back to his book, Kurt hopped out of his bed to answer the door. He was about to tell whoever it was to go away when he was swept up in a bone-crushing hug.

"Brother from another mother! What's up!" Oh god. Finn was here.

.....

"Mmffpht!" Kurt was trying not to get smothered, but it wasn't working.

"What?" Finn hadn't gotten the clue, and was still holding tight.

"Mmfpht!" This time, Kurt used his hands and tried to push away from his step-brother.

"Oh! Crap! Uh, sorry dude." He let go, and Kurt gasped.

"What, the hell!" Kurt leaned over, trying to catch his breath.

"I wanted to come see you. You haven't been home since before Regionals. We, uh, well, I missed you." Finn smiled his half-smile, the one that used to make the butterflies in Kurt's stomach to backflips. Now it was just the goofy smile of his goofy step-brother.

"I miss you, too, Finn. Um, come on in. This is Nick, my roommate. You've met before." Kurt gestured to Nick, who smiled, then went right on back to reading his book. "You wanna go down to the kitchen with me? I'll make us some food. You're probably hungry." As if in response, Kurt heard Finn's stomach growl. Finn smiled, and followed Kurt out of the room.

"So how's everything at home? How're the parents?" Kurt asked as they made their way down the stairs.

"Eh, they're good. I never see them, though. Mom keeps working extra shifts at the hospital, and your dad is always at the shop." Finn looked around as they walked; he would always be in awe of this place. He was even in awe of Kurt, who had always been one to push the boundaries of fashion, but was walking in front of him wearing the uniform of a boys school.

"He better not be pushing it." Kurt sighed as they got to the Windsor kitchen, which was thankfully empty.

"No, man, he's just like, sitting behind the desk and doing boss stuff. I've been helping him out." Finn said proudly. He really liked working in the shop, surprisingly.

"Good." Kurt started going through the fridge, while Finn sat down at one of the barstools. He pulled out a carton of eggs, and decided to make omelettes and biscuits. That was the great thing about breakfast food; it was always good. "I really feel so much better about being here now that you and Carole are at home with him."

"Yeah, but dude, we miss you." Finn sounded sad.

"I know, Finn. And I miss you guys, too, but I've got a life here now. Plus you know I won't go back. Not while…" it was quiet. "Not while he's there." Kurt focused on trying to gather the ingredients for the biscuits.

"I get it. I do. We just want to see you more. All of us, not just the family. New Directions really misses you, too." Kurt wondered if Finn was trying to guilt him into coming back. "But we want you to be safe more than we need to see you. I'm just glad you're okay here." Kurt heard the smile in Finn's voice.

"And I'm glad you came to visit. I'm sorry I didn't come home this weekend, but we've got midterms next week and believe me when I say the testing in here makes the tests at McKinley seem like learning your ABC's in kindergarten." They both laughed.

"Well, at least we know Brittany would never last at a school like this." Finn joked, and they kept laughing. They talked and joked for a bit while Kurt was mixing ingredients.

"Oh, crap Finn! I'm so sorry!" Kurt gasped and covered his mouth after he accidentally covered his step-brother in a large amount of flour. He had turned the beaters on too early; they had barely touched the flour, and the resulting mess made Finn look like a ghost.

"…" Finn was silent. He just stood up. Kurt thought for one terrifying second that Finn would hit him or shove him as he moved closer, but he hadn't expected Finn to dip his hand into the large mixing bowl, grab a handful of flour, and blow it in Kurt's face.

"Ohmigod!" Kurt shrieked. "Finn!" Kurt dropped the beaters on the counter, reached into the bowl and grabbed a decent amount of the flour mixture. Before they knew it, Kurt and Finn were having an all-out flour war.

.....

"Finn! Not fair! Not fair!" Jeff heard Kurt's high-pitched voice as he went down the stairs. Wasn't Finn his step-brother? Jeff was worried, it sounded like a fight or something was going on. He jumped the last couple steps and ran into the kitchen, right into the solid frame that was one Finn Hudson.

"Jeff!" Kurt looked at his surprised boyfriend, who was torn between fear and anger and staring up at Finn.

"Kurt?" Jeff looked at Kurt, waiting to hear what was going on.

"Jeff, this is Finn, my step-brother…" he motioned with a powdery-white arm toward the giant boy in front of him. Wait.

"What's going on? Why are you guys all white? And… whoa. This kitchen looks like Scarface's desk…" Jeff's eyes widened at the mess in front of him. "Babe? You wanna tell me what's going on?" Kurt looked like he was about to answer when Finn said something.

"Babe?" He asked, looking at Kurt. "Uh, like the pig?"

Kurt turned pink under the mask of flour on his face. "Um, no, Finn." He walked over to Jeff and took his hand; he liked it that Jeff didn't pull back from the flour-covered arm. "Jeff is, well, he's… my boyfriend." Kurt smiled.

"…Boyfriend?" Finn was quiet. "Like, boyfriend, boyfriend?" he looked Jeff up and down.

"Yes, Finn. Like boyfriend, boyfriend." He shook his head.

"Nice to meet you, Finn." Jeff extended the hand that wasn't currently taken.

"Mmph." Finn grunted as he shook Jeff's hand.

"Finn." Kurt's voice warned.

"Nice to meet you." Finn mumbled. The boys all shared an awkward smile.

"Well, guys, I'll be right back to finish the food in a second. I'm just going to change real quick. Finn, I'll bring you down a hoodie." Kurt gave Jeff a powdery kiss on the cheek and left the kitchen, not seeing (or possibly ignoring) the pleading looks on both boy's faces.

Jeff cleared his throat, then stepped past Finn to grab the cleaning wipes under the sink. Finn went back over to the bar stool (in the part of the room that wasn't dirty) and sat down.

"So how long have you been dating my brother?" He asked, sounding a lot like an overprotective father.

Jeff didn't skip a beat. "Since last Monday, I guess. That was our first date."

Finn nodded. "So a little over a week, huh?"

"Yup." Jeff was careful to keep his face smooth while he cleaned.

"You like him?"

"More than you know."

"You hurt him, you die."

"I wouldn't." Jeff's voice was strong.

"You might." Finn shrugged. "And then you wouldn't just have to deal with me, you'd deal with his dad. You don't want that."

"Understood." Jeff grabbed another wipe.

"Plus our glee club." Finn thought about Puck coming here and kicking Jeff's ass, and it made him smile. "Everyone there loves Kurt."

"I know."

"Just saying. Kurt's important to a lot of people. We don't like seeing him hurt, and we will hurt whoever makes him feel that way." Finn was really good at this big brother stuff, wasn't he? Granted, he was only older by a few months, but still. It mattered.

Jeff turned to face Finn, and couldn't help but laugh when he saw that he was still covered in flour. "Here, dude." He handed him a wet washcloth so he could clean himself up.

"Thanks." Finn started wiping the flour off his face.

"I understand, you know. And I really do like Kurt. I don't want to hurt him, I just want to make him happy." He smiled.

Finn set down the washcloth when he was done. "Good." They stared at each other for a while, until Kurt came back in. He was now dressed in his New York City shirt and black sweats, his hair wet and brushed back.

"Dude, did you take a shower?" Finn asked.

"No, just sprayed it down. I didn't want all that flour to sit there forever, it would not keep my hair soft." He shuddered, and moved to his boyfriend. Jeff kissed him on the cheek. "Aw, thank you for cleaning up. I was going to do that."

"Anything for you." He smiled. Finn smiled too, knowing Kurt was obviously happy here. He didn't like that Kurt was so far away and barely ever came home, but if it meant he was safe and happy, then that's all that mattered.

"Kurt, seriously, you've got to start cooking. I've got to drive all the way back to Lima tonight and I'll need a full stomach for that." Finn patted his belly.

"Um, Finn, I don't think there's enough food in the entire school to fill your stomach." They all laughed, and Finn watched as Kurt and Jeff worked in tandem, making their food. Dalton was good for Kurt.

.....

"No, Mia, everything's fine." Blaine was sitting in the Windsor common room, talking to his sister on the phone.

"Blainie, something's up. I can always hear it in your voice." She sighed. "Listen, I've got to go, Paul and I have dinner reservations at this great place here in LA. I love you, though, okay? And you better call me tomorrow and tell me what's going on. You don't sound too great, baby brother." Blaine fought back the tears that were threatening to spill again.

"I will. Give Paul my love. I'll talk you later." They said their goodbyes, then hung up. Blaine felt awful, lying to his sister; he never lied to her. She was the first person he came out to, and held his hand as he came out to his parents. She was his rock, and the one who suggested Dalton after the bullying at his old school got bad. He wanted to tell her what was going on, but he didn't want to think about it.

He had heard Finn knock on the door earlier, and watched David let him in. He watched him walk up the stairs, and had basically seen or heard everything in the kitchen, including the conversation Finn had with Jeff. Part of him wanted Finn to really threaten Jeff; scare him enough to back off from Kurt. Another part of him just wanted Finn to leave him alone, and let them be. Finn was good at the older brother part, Blaine had to give him that. Just enough threat with just enough support. It was hard for Blaine not to feel jealous that Finn wasn't saying those things to him, but he needed to get over that.

He was still sitting in the corner of the common room, tucked away from all the light and all the people in the building when Kurt came up to him. Finn had left a few minutes earlier (it was 8:15 and it was a two hour drive back to Lima) and Jeff had gone up to his room.

"Blaine." Kurt was quiet.

Blaine slowly turned to look at him. "Yes?" his voice was so quiet that Kurt could barely hear him, but he definitely heard the pain in it. Kurt almost wrapped his arms around him, but stopped himself.

"This Friday night. You and I, we're going to spend some time together. We need to talk. Okay?" Blaine looked confused. "No matter what, Blaine, you're my friend. If you hadn't been there for me when I needed you…" he shuddered. "Then I don't know what would have happened to me." Blaine felt sick when he thought of what could have happened. "And now you need someone. I can be there for you, but first, we need to talk. Alright?"

Blaine nodded slowly. "Okay."

Kurt looked at him, and this time he didn't stop himself; he sat down next to him and pulled him into a warm hug. "It'll be okay." He whispered. He felt Blaine shake slightly, and knew that he was crying. "It'll be okay, I promise." He rubbed circles into Blaine's strong back, wanting nothing more than to make the pain go away.

.....

Jeff stood at the top of the stairs and watched his boyfriend walk over to Blaine. He watched as Kurt said something to him, then, with a twist in his stomach, he watched as Kurt sat down next to him and hugged him. There was something about that hug: it was more than that. Kurt was rocking back and forth, and Blaine was almost clutching him.

Jeff wanted so badly to run down the stairs and tear Kurt away from him, but he knew he couldn't. He turned away from the scene downstairs and walked to his room. Instead of fighting Blaine for Kurt's affections, he'd make Kurt fight for his. He'd make Kurt fight for him, and make him forget about Blaine.

.....

Next: Jeff discovers a secret, Blaine falls apart, and Kurt ends up more confused than ever.