Kurt turned and smiled at Finn. "It's been a…stressful week, to say the least."

Finn closed the door behind him and pulled his gloves out of his pockets. "Tell me about it, Rachel is driving everyone insane about—"

Kurt held up his hands. "No, no Regionals talk, remember? It's been hard enough not really being able to talk to any of my girls this past week or so, and it's been awkward between us—don't tell me it hasn't—I just want Saturday to be done and over with already."

"Tell me about it," Finn sighed. "It's like, I really want to win, but I don't want you to lose, you know?"

"That's still Regionals talk, Finn," Kurt scolded, but smiled anyway. "Care to tell me what's been on your mind? You've been playing your ultra-confused and upset playlist really loudly lately. You usually only do that when it has something to do with Rachel and I know you aren't back together with her. I would've heard about it the second it happened."

Finn groaned and fell into one of the chairs that wasn't covered in snow. "You noticed that, did you?"

Kurt arched an eyebrow and moved a chair right next to Finn's before sitting down. "Of course I noticed, just because we haven't talked much this week doesn't mean I was ignoring you. You know you can tell me anything, Finn." He reached out and placed a hand over Finn's gloved one and gave a small squeeze.

Finn puffed out his cheeks and let out a shaky breath. Then he nodded. Then he squeezed his eyes closed and shook his head. "Okay, if I tell you—then you can't tell anyone—especially Rachel, okay dude?"

Kurt slid to the edge of the chair and angled himself so he was closer to Finn. He let go of Finn's hand and set his arm around Finn's shoulders. "Finn, seriously, what's wrong?"

"IkindasleptwithSantana."

Kurt fought the urge to recoil and he had to shake his head quickly to try to process what he just heard. "You—you what?"

Finn's head dropped to his chest and he let out a pitiful whimper. "I had sex. With Santana. I lost my virginity to Santana."

"O-okay?"

"She…she basically propositioned me. And after Quinn dumped me for Sam, I've been feeling crappy so I just—" he sighed and covered his face with his hands.

Kurt nodded slowly and in that moment he didn't miss McKinley and the never ending relationship dramas that were constantly happening. It was bad enough he heard about it constantly…but not having to live right in the middle of it all? That was pretty great. "I'm almost surprised she didn't tell me."

Finn huffed out a laugh and shook his head. "I begged her not to tell anyone. It wasn't—ugh," he groaned. "She said it takes a… well, a few times in order for it to…matter, I guess? I didn't really… it wasn't—"

"Finn," Kurt said softly. "Sex is amazing when it's between two people who love each other. You and Santana don't love each other. I'm not—I won't go into how I feel about you losing your virginity to her. But… how about for next time? You wait for someone you love. Because then you'll see how amazing it really is."

Finn dropped his hands and turned his head towards Kurt. His eyes were bright. "Are you saying—have you had sex with Blaine?"

Kurt cleared his throat and was surprised that he didn't feel his cheeks flush—he was okay having this conversation with Finn. Sure, they'd skirted around the conversation before, but they had never gone into any specific detail. Finn was his best friend, besides Blaine—something he never thought he'd hear himself say a couple of years ago. "No, well. We haven't…we haven't done everything. There's more to sex than just…penetration."

"Right," Finn cleared his throat. "That's all we…did. I guess. It was just….mechanical? I don't know, dude. Wasn't what I was expecting, I guess."

"Yeah, well." Kurt rolled his eyes. "At least you don't shatter things and blow fuses while you're having sex."

Finn snorted and shook his head. "No, well. At least I have that goin' for me. How does Blaine deal with…all of that?"

Kurt noticed that Finn was shivering and his teeth were starting to rattle. He held out his hands and quickly produced two fireballs. After shaking them away, he held his warm hands against Finn's cheeks. "Better?"

"Wow," Finn blinked. "Yeah."

"I can be good for something," Kurt smirked. "And Blaine… he's great. He takes it all in stride, I guess. It's just—I wish I could figure out how to control myself better now that we're getting…further because I really don't want to have to worry about breaking shit any time we start to do anything. It's sorta a mood killer."

"Well, maybe," Finn shrugged. "I mean, it would suck, dude. But maybe you should ask your dad? Your mom probably had the same problem? Maybe your dad knows how to deal with it."

"Oh god," Kurt groaned and buried his fingers in his hair. "I cannot have this conversation with my dad, Finn."

Finn pulled a face and pulled Kurt's hands down from his head. "Yeah, ugh. I couldn't imagine going up to my mom now and talking to her about sex, but, dude. This is kinda important. Especially if you know… you wanna—do everything with Blaine at some point."

Kurt sighed and deep down, he knew Finn was right. He'd known ever since that first time in the library when it took everything he had almost to not send books tumbling down on them—and now that they're doing far more than that and he's blowing fuses…ugh. He can't even imagine what would happen if they went any further at this point. "This is just—I can't even worry about this right now."

His cell phone buzzed and he groaned when he pulled it from his pocket and saw the text on the screen.

"I take it that's not from Blaine if you're having that sort of reaction."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "No, definitely not. It's—ugh. It's Adam."

Finn blinked. "Adam?"

Kurt stretched his neck so it would pop and pocketed his phone without answering the text. "Yeah he's my partner in History for the semester and he's really getting on my nerves."

Finn pointed at the brick wall. "Is he why you've been crazy pyro guy all week?"

Kurt sighed and stood up. He took a step away from Finn, produced a fireball and sent it spiraling towards the wall. "Part of it, I guess. He's… I don't know. I think he might be hitting on me."

"Does Blaine know about any of this, dude? 'Cause I don't think he'd like another dude hitting on you."

"No, not really. I mean, he knows I have to spend a lot of time with him because of the project, but… I don't want to make a big deal out of something that's probably nothing," he said as he flicked all his fingers on both of his hands to produce two large fireballs and hurled both of them at the wall. "He's just being…forward. It's probably just how he is. It's fine. I'm fine, I can handle it."

"If you say so, dude," Finn shrugged. "But I'd tell Blaine if he tries to, ya know… put the moves on you, or whatever."

"He wouldn't," Kurt shook his head. "Anyway, it's not really important. I think I'm going to head to bed."

Finn stood up and brushed his hands against his thighs. "Yeah, me too. Rachel has been making us sleep a lot for our voices. So uh, are we okay, bro?"

Kurt rolled his eyes and motioned for Finn to come closer. He held out his arms and sighed a little when Finn pulled him into a hug. "Finn, we're always okay."

Kurt tugged at the knot in his tie in irritation and fought the urge to pull it off all together. He was fighting the urge to do a lot of things—like sending all the papers and books currently covering the table into a swirling mess above him just to ease some of the tension he was currently feeling. Of course he couldn't do that because he was sitting in the library. Again. With Adam.

Who was just sitting there staring at him with his…creepy green eyes and somewhat unsettlingly perfectly coifed hair. Kurt arched an eyebrow. "Yes?"

Adam smiled easily and settled back against his chair. "Oh, nothing."

Kurt sighed and pointed at the book that was sitting open in front of Adam. "You're supposed to be researching, not staring at me. We only have fifteen minutes left of lunch, get back to work."

"Oh, but you're so pretty to look at," Adam smirked and flipped a page in the book.

"We've been over this, Adam, I have a—"

"Mhm, you have a boyfriend, I know," he nodded. "Doesn't stop me from looking."

Kurt pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "Just…go back to work, Adam."

Kurt wasn't used to someone being so… blatantly obvious with their leering. Of course Blaine showered him with affection all the time, but that was different. Blaine was his boyfriend. Before Blaine and besides Blaine… no one had shown any interest in Kurt before, ever. Kurt didn't know if Adam was just fucking with him or he was actually seriously attracted to him. He really didn't know what to do with either scenario.

He flicked his eyes up quickly and thankfully Adam was busy taking notes again. It was really unnerving when he caught Adam looking at him. It was different than the way Blaine looked at him. It was almost…Kurt couldn't even describe it. Maybe he should tell Blaine about it, just so Blaine knew. Maybe Blaine could help him figure out what the hell was going on.

Or… Kurt shook his head. Kurt knew very well what he could do to figure out what was going on in Adam's head. It was tempting, but…Kurt knew better.

Plus he couldn't risk Adam seeing his eyes change.

"Well, good luck tomorrow. I'll see you Monday then, I guess?"

Kurt startled and looked up at Adam, who had already put away his half of the books and papers (when had that happened?). "Oh, right. Thanks. Yeah, see you Monday."

Adam licked his lips and shifted his bag on his shoulder. "Text me if you get bored this weekend."

Kurt rolled his eyes and started closing the books he had open in front of him. "Unlikely," he muttered once Adam was out of earshot.

Kurt was well prepared and rehearsed. They'd gone over his solo song so many times in rehearsals that Kurt was surprised he still even liked the song.

He also spent a good portion of time at home—when Finn wasn't around—singing, practicing facial expressions in the mirror…ugh he felt like Rachel Berry.

So, he was ready.

He. Was. Ready.

"Babe? You don't look so good—are you okay?"

Okay, so maybe he wasn't ready. Or okay. Maybe he was freaking out because he had a solo. In front a whole theater full of people. And, why, why god why did his head currently sound like a television that was constantly changing channels? He could hear bits and pieces of everything. Why couldn't he turn it off?

He opened his eyes and tried to focus on Blaine in front of him. "Get Finn," he managed.

Blaine's eyes widened and he nodded immediately. He took off in the direction of where New Directions were starting to get ready.

Kurt closed his eyes again and leaned back against the wall. He clenched his fists tight and tried to control his erratic breathing –he felt completely out of control and this was absurd.

He'd performed his song countless times in front of all of the Warblers—he should be fine. Why on earth was he getting stage fright now? He felt like he couldn't control anything right now.

"Kurt, dude, what's wrong?"

He peeked an eye open at Finn who was already in his competition outfit and let out a strangled noise. "I—Finn. I—"

Blaine was at his side immediately, trying to calm him down by rubbing his back and kissing his temple but Kurt could hardly feel any of that.

"We need to get him to a… a bathroom, or something. Do you know where one is around here?"

Kurt squeezed his eyes tight and nodded, thankful that Finn could be counted on and Blaine had some idea as to what was going on. He could hear random thoughts bouncing around in his head between the two of them—mostly about how worried they were about him—and he just wanted it all to stop.

He felt himself being led down a hallway and thankfully it was early enough before the competition that not many other people had shown up yet so they didn't run into anyone before they got to the bathroom.

Blaine's head was noisy. Good lord the boy worried a lot. Finn was calmer, having dealt with this a bit more often. He finally opened his eyes when he heard the bathroom door click behind them. He nodded at Finn who held his arm up, holding Blaine back.

"But—" Blaine protested.

"Dude, you need to stand back, I promise," Finn said. "Go ahead, Kurt."

Kurt sighed and rolled his neck. "Sorry you have to see this, Blaine. I—I don't know why I'm so freaked out."

Blaine relaxed behind Finn's arm and worried his lip between his teeth. "Don't…don't worry about me. Just do what you need to do, but you're going to be amazing. You are amazing."

Taking a deep breath, Kurt held his hands—still balled into fists—out to his sides and popped the buttons to his blazer open. He maneuvered his arms so his blazer could slide off and Finn caught it when it flew in his direction.

Dude, Blaine looks like he's going to start crying, or something—

Oh my god, what is happening? Okay, I just caught his tie, right. He's stripping, what?

Great, how naked is he going to get? I don't really want to see it all, dude. No offense, may be Blaine's thing, but it's sure not mine—

Kurt rolled his eyes and unbuttoned his shirt all at once and rolled up his sleeves to his elbows. "You two have very noisy heads…I love you both but shut up. And yes, I can hear both of you at the same time. I can hear everyone. I can't close it off right now."

"Oh god, I'm so sorry, baby," Blaine said. "What can I do? You're going to go out there and blow everyone away, because you're phenomenal."

Kurt nodded and closed his eyes. He held his arms out at his sides and let fire erupt from his hands. He heard both Finn and Blaine gasp. Good lord it felt good. He shook the fire away and immediately Blaine ran up to him and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Kurt…Kurt—are you? Please tell me you're okay."

Kurt blinked quickly a few times and sighed happily when he noticed he no longer heard the rapidly moving thoughts of both Finn and Blaine. He wrapped his arms around Blaine's waist and nodded. "Yeah, I'm going to be fine. Sorry, I don't know what came over me, I've never been that nervous before."

"Hey, dude. It's cool, we all get stage fright—you just… take it to a whole 'nother level. If it's alright with you, I'm going to go back? I think Blaine can take it from here, yeah?"

Kurt smiled at Finn over Blaine's shoulder. "Thank you, Finn. Good luck today. Tell everyone I said that, and I mean it." He held out his hand and reclaimed his blazer from Finn.

"You scared me," Blaine sighed into Kurt's neck after Finn left.

Kurt pulled back a little and leaned his forehead against Blaine's. "I'm sorry…go ahead and judge me. I completely lost it just then."

"No, I'm just glad you're okay," Blaine said softly and leaned in to kiss Kurt, his lips slightly chapped and rough.

Kurt smiled into the kiss and let Blaine deepen it slightly before he pulled back. "I need to get dressed again."

Blaine nodded and stepped back. "You do sorta look like we just had a romp in the bathroom," he laughed and held out Kurt's tie.

"Blaine!" Kurt scolded and grabbed his tie from Blaine's hand. He slung it back around his neck while he buttoned up his shirt all at once, smirking when Blaine gave an impressive nod. "Comes in handy when I'm in a hurry."

"Mhm," Blaine grinned.

Kurt rolled his eyes and worked on knotting his tie into a perfect Windsor knot, then pulled his blazer back on. He held out his arms. "So, how do I look?"

"Amazing, but you should probably fix your hair again."

"Oh, right," Kurt nodded and turned toward the mirror. He tilted his head and shifted his hair back into place. When everything looked perfect again, he felt completely calm. "Thank you, Blaine," he said softly.

"Hey," Blaine said, curling an arm around Kurt's waist. "You know I'd do anything to help you. I love you. Now let's get out there because I'm sure everyone else is showing up and wondering where we are. We need to warm up."

Kurt smiled and kissed Blaine's cheek. "I love you too."

Kurt gripped his microphone and closed his eyes. This was it. He was going to go out there and do this. He was alone in the wings, the rest of the Warblers were already on the risers behind the curtain—but Kurt would go out first. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes when he heard the announcement come over the loudspeaker.

"And now from Westerville, Ohio – The Dalton Academy Warblers!"

He stepped on to the stage and forced himself not to squint when the spotlight hit him right in the face. As soon as he made it to center stage he held up the microphone and started.

Have you lost your way

Living in the shadows

Of the messes that you made

He heard the beatboxing start and knew that soon he would no longer be alone on stage, but he couldn't focus on that right now. Right now he had to power through the song. He didn't worry about the full auditorium; he just focused on putting on his best performance.

And so it goes

Everything inside

Your circle starts to overflow

He couldn't help but smile when he heard the rest of the voices join in with him while the curtain was rising, because it sounded amazing. And whole. This is what an acapella group was supposed to sound like. In that moment he couldn't believe he had any ounce of stage fright before because right now he felt at home.

He let himself get lost in the song and out of the corner of his eye he saw Blaine smiling, which made his heart swell with love. Now he understood why Blaine loved this so much. It was such a rush.

Before you break

You have to shed your armor

Take a trip and fall into the glitter

Tell a stranger that they're beautiful

So all you feel is love, love

All you feel is love, love

As they settled into the final chorus, the entire group met Kurt at the end of the stage as they finished out the last few words of the song. Kurt finally let himself focus on the audience and he saw that the entirety of New Directions was on their feet, clapping wildly—with Artie cheering like crazy in his chair.

He finally let himself relax when he felt Blaine's hand on his back and he held up the mic for the last few words, both thankful and sad that it was over.

Just remember that you're not alone

In the aftermath

Kurt laughed as they bowed when he could've sworn he heard a 'we love you Kurt' chant but had no time to do anything about it because he was quickly passing off his microphone to Blaine and getting into position for their next song.

As usual, Blaine killed it. With a little help from Nick (a suggestion from Blaine, actually), their duet was amazing. They were all high on performance adrenaline as they bounded off the stage into the wings while New Directions were preparing to go on.

Kurt didn't know what he was feeling allofasudden again.

Performing with the Warblers felt amazing. That solo felt so great and he knew it went well—and lord knows Mr. Shue had never given him a competition solo before. But his heart still felt heavy as he followed the rest of the Warblers to their seats and the lights dimmed. He grasped Blaine's hand and smiled at him when the announcer's voice boomed through the auditorium.

"And from Lima, Ohio- William McKinley High's New Directions!"

Kurt wasn't surprised to see Rachel out alone on stage because of course she'd get a competition solo. Real original, Mr. Shue. What really surprised him was the fact that he didn't recognize the song she was singing at all. He gasped and leaned over to whisper in Blaine's ear. "They're doing original songs."

Rachel's song was really beautiful, Kurt thought. He knew at once that it was directed toward Finn and he knew Finn was going to need a serious talk tonight after hearing that. After Rachel was finished and the rest of New Directions joined her on stage Kurt leaned over towards Blaine again. "We're screwed, you know that, right?"

Blaine laughed and squeezed Kurt's hand. "Yeah, they've totally got this."

Kurt moved his feet and felt his foot hit something underneath his chair. He looked down and shook his head laughing. As soon as the next song started, Kurt realized what they were for. He grabbed the foam finger and gestured for all the other Warblers to do the same. Standing up, he started cheering for his friends.

You wanna be, a loser like me.

Kurt wasn't surprised at all when New Directions took first place. Yes, he was disappointed that the Warblers wouldn't be going to New York for Nationals—because it was New York and holy crap he wanted to go, but…New Directions deserved the win. He still had next year, after all.

"Maybe I can pack you in my suitcase and take you with me."

"Britt, you can't pack a person in a suitcase. It's okay; you guys will have a great time. Don't worry about me," Kurt laughed and held Brittany up with one arm, her legs tight around his waist.

"You were flawless, boy. How come you didn't tell me you had a solo? I about cried!"

Kurt smiled and used his free hand to give Mercedes as much of a hug as he could with Brittany still clinging to him. "Thank you. I didn't want to ruin the surprise!"

Brittany inhaled and sighed happily. "You smell so good, Kurt. Do all dolphins always smell as good as you?"

"Okay, that's enough, Britt. You can come down off baby gay," Santana smiled and snapped her fingers. "You did blow that song out of the water though, Hummel. Your boy toy couldn't stop eye-fucking you across the stage. You tap that yet?"

Kurt set Brittany down and rolled his eyes. "Santana…that is hardly your—"

"What Kurt and I do behind closed doors is our business and our business alone," Blaine said coolly, sliding up next to Kurt. He smiled and wrapped an arm around Kurt's waist. "Ready to get going?"

Kurt bumped his hip against Blaine's. "I can handle Santana, you know," he laughed. "But, yes. I am." He stepped out of Blaine's grasp and pulled Brittany into a hug, kissing her lightly on the side of her mouth. He gave Mercedes a goodbye hug and when he approached Santana she rolled her eyes and pulled him into a surprisingly tight hug. "Miss you too, Satan."

"Oh shut it, Hummel."

Kurt laughed and waved as the girls made their way back towards their bus. He wrapped his arms around Blaine and sighed.

"Aw, you miss them."

Kurt nodded. "I do, and you didn't even see when the rest of them were here, just now. It was crazy. I could hardly breathe."

Blaine took a deep breath and exhaled. "Do you ever think about going back to McKinley?"