SATURDAY

Kurt hummed to himself as he made whole grain pancakes. Carole had already left for her shift at the hospital and Finn was likely going to still be asleep by time he left to go meet Blaine, but his dad was out running an errand and said he’d be back soon, so Kurt thought that a healthy breakfast would be a nice way to greet his father upon his return.

The front door opened just as Kurt was plating the last pancake. “Excellent timing, Dad,” he called out from the kitchen. “Get ‘em while they’re hot.”

Burt entered the kitchen to find his son had set the table for the two of them. Glasses of orange juice and mugs of coffee were already poured. There were two plates of pancakes and a bottle of sugar-free syrup waiting on the table. With a smile, Burt slid into his usual seat and waited for his son to sit down before picking up his knife and fork.

“This looks great kid,” Burt said with a smile. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Kurt replied with a grin, always happy to prepare his dad something heart-healthy. “So,” he continued as he put a forkful of pancakes into his own mouth. “Where were you this morning?”

Burt finished chewing and swallowed before answering, his eyebrows furrowing in the process. “Oh, um,” he cleared his throat. “I, uh, went to the free clinic to pick up these.” He set his utensils down and pulled several crinkled pamphlets from his back pocket. Slowly, Burt slid them over the tabletop toward his son. “I flipped through them in the car and it seems like the, uh, mechanics of what you’d be doing is covered in there. I want you to read them and then talk to me about it a little later, okay?”

Kurt almost choked on his breakfast when he saw the titles on the reading material his dad was presenting him, as pamphlets about safe sex were definitely not on his agenda for the morning. He looked at his dad, mortified. “What are you – we are not talking about this!”

Shifting his chair to completely face his son, Burt looked his kid square in the eyes. “Yes we are. Now, I want to have this conversation less than you do, trust me, but we are going to get through this and we will be better men because of it.”

“Oh my god,” Kurt muttered, bringing his hands up to cover his face, wishing this was just some terribly awkward nightmare he could just wake up from.

“Now look,” Burt said, “For most guys, sex is just this thing we want to do. It feels great and we’re not really thinking about what it makes us feel like on the inside, or how the other person feels.”

Kurt’s cheeks were bright red, but he figured if he just went along with it, maybe the conversation would end sooner. “So, women are different?”

Burt broke eye contact for a moment, searching how to phrase it. “It’s just that they get that it’s more than just sex. It’s not just the physical aspect of it… it’s like, being intimate with somebody, and exposing yourself – not just your body, but your heart – that way… it means something.” Kurt nodded, taking in the information and trying to process everything as his dad continued to speak. “You’re never going to be more vulnerable with someone and that really scares the hell outta a lot of guys. And I have had so many buddies who got in way over their heads with women who said that they were cool just hooking up.”

“But that’s not going to happen to me, Dad.”

“No,” Burt said as he shook his head. “It’s not. It’s gonna be a lot worse because it’s two guys and you got two people who think that sex is just sex. It’s gonna be easier to come by and once you start doing stuff, you’re not going to want to stop.” Burt saw the frown on his son’s face. “Look, Kurt, I’m not saying you specifically are going to do this, but you gotta know that there are gonna be other guys out there who are just looking for something quick.” Burt clapped a hand on his son’s shoulder. “I just need you to realize that being intimate with someone does something to you, to your heart, to your self-esteem, even though it just feels like you’re having fun.”

“So, you’re saying that I… shouldn’t have sex.”

Burt sighed. “I think on your thirtieth birthday, it’s a great gift to yourself.” Kurt rolled his eyes as his dad leaned in. “Kurt, when you’re ready, I want you to be able to do everything. But you should use it as a way to connect to another person.” Burt waited until his son looked him in the eye before he finished speaking. “Don’t throw yourself around like you don’t matter. Because you matter, Kurt.”

The words bore into his heart. Though this was definitely one of the most awkward moments of Kurt’s life, he knew his dad was just trying to do the right thing. McKinley’s sex-ed class was a video about heterosexual intercourse and a demonstration about how to roll a condom onto an oversized cucumber. Too worried about his browser history, Kurt didn’t dare look up anything remotely scandalous on his laptop and he didn’t know how to broach the topic with any of his friends because most of them were just as clueless. The pamphlets were likely going to answer a lot of unasked questions, but Burt’s frank advice and reminder to his son that he was worthy of being treated with respect even in his most vulnerable state was definitely an eye-opener.

Kurt always felt weird for not being sexually active like some of the people who taunted him at school – as if his gayness and virginity were reason enough to get picked on. But his dad’s words made him glad he hadn’t pursued anything he wasn’t ready for. Sex was supposed to be with someone he loved, and Kurt hadn’t found that person. But now he had Blaine, and though he didn’t love Blaine yet, he could easily see himself falling for the boy.

Burt watched as his son collected the pamphlets and shoved them under his plate and out of sight for now.

“Thanks, Dad,” Kurt said softly before getting back to his pancakes.

“I love you, bud.”

“Love you too.”

…

Blaine paced in front of the entrance to Brooks Brothers. According to his pocket watch, it was 12:57 and he was a few minutes early to meet Kurt. He snapped the lid shut and placed the Anderson heirloom back in his front pocket. He put a hand up to smooth his hair, wishing he put some gel in it that morning before he left. But, he knew he would likely be pulling shirts on and off and didn’t want to run the risk of getting product on all the clothes he was trying on if he wasn’t intending on buying everything.

“Hey you.”

A smile crept across Blaine’s face as he turned around to find Kurt walking toward him. Blaine bit his lip, eternally grateful that he was seeing his beautiful boyfriend in person. They had only been apart for a couple days, but somehow Kurt’s eyes were brighter than Blaine imagined in his mind the past few nights and that voice was so much more pure and joyful in person than over the phone.

“Kurt!”

The younger boy practically skipped his last few steps to the sidewalk in front of the store. Without thinking or even bothering to look around to see if there was anyone else in the immediate area, Kurt threw his arms around Blaine’s shoulders and wrapped him in a warm hug. As they embraced, Kurt buried his nose in Blaine’s neck and breathed him in. He sighed in contentment as the smells of coffee, cologne and the distinct scent that just was Blaine filled his nose and made his heart melt.

Blaine scrunched his face as Kurt hummed into his neck. “What are you doing?”

“Mmmmmm, nothing,” Kurt said. “You just smell really good.”

“Uh, thanks.” Blaine blushed hard.

Kurt pulled away and smiled at his boyfriend. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too. But guess what? I OH–”

Blaine was interrupted when a bitchy looking woman walked out of the store and practically knocked the two of them over with her bags.

“Geez, watch where you’re going, lady,” Kurt muttered under his breath as he managed to keep himself upright by grabbing onto Blaine’s arm. “Well, should we go in before we get trampled again?”

With a small sigh and a nod, Blaine agreed and held the door open for Kurt. The younger boy stepped into the store and his eyes lit up at all the potential outfits in front of them.

…

Three hours later and they were still in Brooks Brothers. Kurt sat on a bench in the dressing room area, in between stacks of clothes.

From inside his dressing room, Blaine yanked the shirt he just finished trying on over his head and slid it back on its hanger before picking up a folded black polo off the top of the pile of clothes he had yet to try on. Holding it up to the mirror, Blaine squinted, trying to imagine how such a small shirt was going to fit on him. He knew he was tiny, but there was no way he was going to get that on without ripping something or pulling a muscle.

“I don’t know about this, Kurt. I usually wear a Medium.”

Kurt rolled his eyes. “I didn’t say anything while we were on the boat because I wasn’t your boyfriend then, but your shirts were too baggy. You have nice arms and I think you should show them off a little bit more.”

Blaine had the shirt halfway on when he stopped and grinned. He called out, “You like my arms?”

“Just put the shirt on Blaine. And pair it with those red pants.”

The shirt was on and clinging to Blaine like it was a second layer of skin. He brushed his curls out of his eyes and took a closer look in the mirror. “Whoa,” he whispered as he looked at his reflection, noticing that his arms did look pretty decent before finally processing what Kurt said about red pants. “Red pants? I don’t see any –”

“Bottom of the stack.”

“Oh.” Kurt must have snuck those in there because Blaine does not remember grabbing them off the shelf. He unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, pulling them off one leg at time before shaking out the red pants and putting them on. “Uh, Kurt,” he said when he saw that the bottom of the pants were a good couple inches above his ankles. “I know I’m short, but I’m not that short.”

“That’s how they’re supposed to look, Blaine. Now would you please get out here so I can see?”

Blaine gave himself the once over in the mirror. Even though Kurt had seen him without a shirt when they were swimming and at the beach, it didn’t make him any less self-conscious about being seen in the kind of clothes he wasn’t used to wearing. He opened the door to the dressing room, but shook his head as he looked down at his bare feet. “I don’t know, I think this might look awf–”

“Amazing.” Kurt’s jaw dropped at the sight of his boyfriend. “Blaine, that looks fantastic.”

Blaine’s face turned as red as his pants. “Really? I mean I feel kinda silly.” He shoved his hands in the pockets of the short pants and rocked on the balls of his feet.

With a half smile, Kurt got up and walked over toward Blaine. The store wasn’t that crowded for some reason and they were the only people in the fitting room area (which was why Kurt was able to bogart the whole bench for stacks of clothes he wanted Blaine to try on). With a gentle touch, Kurt fixed the collar on Blaine’s shirt, smoothing it down and then running his hand down the length of Blaine’s arm until their hands were clasped. The clothes fit Blaine extremely well, but Kurt noticed that his boyfriend looked wholly uncomfortable. “This looks really good on you, but I can tell you don’t think so.” Kurt gave him a soft peck on the cheek. “Thank you for trying this on for me even though I can tell that you hate it.”

Blaine ducked his head, unwilling to accept the compliments or meet Kurt’s eye because he didn’t know how to relay to his boyfriend that it wasn’t completely terrible, it was just all so new. “I don’t hate it,” Blaine admitted quietly. “It’s just that I feel really… exposed.” He tugged at the hem of the shirt, pulling it away from his stomach where it was clinging to his abs. “I’m used to a blazer, you know?”

Kurt nodded, understanding that Blaine had adapted to blending in. “Before Dalton, at your old school, what did you like to wear then?”

A small smile crept across Blaine’s lips as if he were remembering a better time. “You’re gonna laugh,” he said with a chuckle, “but I used to wear bowties.”

Blue eyes widened with delight. “Bowties?”

Blaine laughed at Kurt’s enthusiasm and felt brave enough to look at Kurt’s face. He nodded, “Mmm hmm. Real loud ones, too. Checks. Plaids. Stripes.”

“Oh my goodness, that’s adorable!” Kurt gushed. “Please tell me you have pictures.”

“Ha. Yeah, I’m sure I do somewhere.”

Kurt hummed, raking his eyes over his boyfriend and wishing he could transfer some of his own confidence to Blaine. “You know, this outfit would look even more perfect with a bowtie,” Kurt said softly as he shook their clasped hands. “But so would a lot of the other clothes you tried on too.” He waited until Blaine locked eyes with him before he continued. “What do you say to calling it quits? I think I remember my boyfriend mentioning he was going to take me to dinner and I’d hate to keep him waiting.”

Blaine grinned, knowing it was really generous of Kurt to put an early end to their shopping. “Your boyfriend is a very lucky guy.”

With a shakes of his head, Kurt disagreed. “Not as lucky as me.”

After an all too brief kiss was cut even shorter by a fitting room attendant clearing his throat, Blaine shuffled back into his dressing room to change back into his own clothes.

While Blaine was busy sorting through the items he had with him in the fitting room, Kurt dashed around the corner to the Men’s Accessories section and quickly scanned through the bowties on display. He groaned when he thought he was taking too long, but he wasn’t going to be satisfied until he found exactly what he had in mind. Almost giving up, a swatch of fabric caught Kurt’s eye and he knew he had the most perfect bowtie for Blaine. He grabbed the tie and stepped up to the empty register, pulling out his wallet and swiping his credit card before the sales associate even had time to tell him the total with tax. Kurt grabbed a pen from the counter and scrawled a note on the back of the receipt before shoving it into the bag.

By time Kurt got back to the fitting room area, Blaine was exiting his room, with stacks of clothes draped over each arm. Kurt raised an eyebrow at his boyfriend, silently asking what Blaine was intending to do with all the clothes. “These are the keepers,” Blaine said as he raised one of the stacks. “And these are not.”

The red pants and black polo were neatly folded atop the “keep” pile.

Kurt blushed as he followed Blaine to the cash register, holding his own purchase behind his back so that Blaine wouldn’t see it.

After paying for his new clothes, they ran the bags back to Blaine’s car. Kurt snuck his bag into one of Blaine’s before placing it alongside the others in the trunk. Once their hands were free from Brooks Brothers bags, Blaine bashfully held out an arm for Kurt to take before they walked over to the seafood restaurant Blaine had in mind.

…

Kurt’s eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets when he saw the prices on the menu, causing Blaine to chuckle.

“Get whatever you want, Kurt,” Blaine said. “Today’s adventure has been completely compt by Mama and Papa Anderson for uprooting their son slash, and I quote, ‘being so happy that you’re dating that nice boy, you should take him to that place we took you and Coop for your birthday that one time,’ unquote.” He shrugged when Kurt smiled. “Being the lowest maintenance child has its perks.”

A waiter came by and took their order. The boys thanked him and smiled as they handed over their menus.

“So, you just have the one brother, right?”

Blaine took a sip of his water and nodded. “Mmm hmm,” he answered after he swallowed. “Yeah, Cooper. He’s a little over ten years older than me.”

Kurt cocked his head as he thought. Ten years was a big age gap. “Are you two close?”

Blaine shrugged. “We weren’t, but we kind of are now. After the whole me getting beat up thing, he’s made more of an effort to check in on me. I’m supposed to go visit him for a few weeks this summer.”

Just as Kurt was about to ask where his brother lived, his phone started ringing. The “Free Credit Rating Today” jingle sounded softly, but loud enough for Blaine to hear it. Kurt’s cheeks flushed red in embarrassment as he quickly fumbled to shut the volume off on his phone. “Oh my god, I’m sorry about that. I thought I had turned it off.” Blaine’s eyes were wide in near-shock, causing Kurt to wonder what was up. “Blaine?”

“Why is that your ringtone?”

Kurt was confused, but embarrassed at the same time. “Oh, that? I mean… this is going to sound dumb, but it’s really catchy and I thought the guy in the commercial was kind of cute.” Blaine clenched his jaw as Kurt tried to back peddle. “I mean, it was obviously just a silly crush on some actor and I’ve been meaning to change it, but I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.” He quickly changed the topic, or sat least so he thought. “So, that’s cool that you’ll get to stay with your brother! Do you have a picture of him or anything?”

Almost mechanically, Blaine retrieved his phone from his pocket and turned it on. He went to the photo app and scrolled down to a family photo album. There were several pictures of him and Cooper, but he stopped on one of when Cooper came to visit him while he was in physical therapy. Blaine had just finished walking the length of the room with his walker for the first time and Cooper’s face was lit up with pride, giving a huge grin and thumbs up to the camera. The youngest Anderson slid his phone across the table toward Kurt.

Kurt gingerly picked up the phone and to his credit, his eyes immediately found Blaine in the picture first. “This was from after you were in the hospital, wasn’t it?” His eyes were still on the photo, but he could see Blaine nod in his peripherals. “Gosh, you look so determined and – wait a second.” His eyes finally found the other person in the photo. “Why is the Free Credit Rating guy there? I asked to see a picture of your – OH.” Kurt lifted his head to find Blaine looking at the phone in Kurt’s hand. Kurt scrolled through a couple more pictures, seeing the same two faces over and over again before holding the phone out for Blaine to take.

Blaine accepted the phone, quickly turned it off and placed it back in his pocket. “Yeah… oh,” he said softly, looking at the table top instead of his boyfriend. Growing up, Cooper was always the center of attention. Though Blaine didn’t mind being in the shadows, it hurt a little bit that Kurt was infatuated with Cooper too, even though it was obvious that Kurt didn’t actually know they were related. It was weird, though; finding out your boyfriend had a crush on your brother - enough so for him to be his ringtone.

“Blaine,” Kurt pled as he reached a hand across the table, hoping Blaine would take that as well. “Hey, look at me, please?” It took a few seconds longer than it probably should, but Blaine brought his eyes up to lock with Kurt’s. “I don’t know what you’re thinking right now, but this doesn’t change anything. I mean, yeah, I like your brother – your family obviously has some ridiculously handsome gene – but I like you.”

At that, Blaine gave a small smile and inched his hand towards Kurt’s. Instead of slotting their hands together, Blaine grabbed two of Kurt’s fingers and flipped his hand over so that Blaine could rub his thumb over Kurt’s knuckles. He didn’t say anything, but the gesture allowed Kurt to know that Blaine was okay.

Their hands stayed together while Blaine changed the topic for real. “So, have you seen any of your friend since you’ve been back?”

Kurt shook his head. “I texted Mercedes last night, and I think we’re hanging out tomorrow, but I’m going to just wait until Monday to see everybody else. I mean, love them and everything, but it’s actually been kinda nice not having to deal with everybody else’s drama for a week.”

Blaine raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

The sound of plates clacking against each other momentarily pulled them out of conversation as their food was brought to the table. Hands were separated as each boy was served. Several Thank Yous were offered to the server who also brought them another carafe of water.

Kurt placed his napkin on his lap and picked up his fork, twirling his fettuccini as he explained to Blaine about the catfights that had sprouted up regarding junior prom. Half the girls in the glee club were running against each other for Prom Queen and their pettiness plagued Facebook and Twitter.

“Wow,” Blaine remarked while dipping some of his lobster in butter sauce. “Is that how things normally are at your school?” It was probably best if he knew what he was getting himself into before starting at McKinley on Monday. He hoped to join the glee club and potentially befriend Kurt’s peer group, but he was afraid that entering a battle already in progress was not going to be to his advantage.

Kurt shrugged as he chewed, giving himself a little time to properly word things. “Well,” he said after he swallowed. “Everyone’s great, but really selfish at times. I mean, we sound amazing as a group, but everyone’s always fighting for their turn in the spotlight, you know?”

Blaine nodded, “I think I understand.”

“I hope things are better for you at your new school,” Kurt muttered as he stabbed a piece of shrimp.

“What’s that?” Blaine asked. He heard what Kurt said, but was hoping his boyfriend would expand on his comment.

“Nothing,” Kurt said. “Well, no, I guess it’s not nothing. It’s just…” he sighed. “I hope you get to be yourself at your new school and that nobody picks on you for it.”

Blaine set his fork down and sat back, letting Kurt’s words wash over him. He knew about the bullying Kurt dealt with, but it seemed like Kurt also put up with crap from his friends. Maybe being at McKinley was a bad idea. Blaine’s heart started to race a bit, worrying that it was going to be a repeat of the last public school he went to. Maybe he could ask his parents if there was another school in the area that he could go to instead.

Preoccupied with panic about McKinley, Blaine completely missed that Kurt asked him a question.

“Blaine?”

At the sound of his name, Blaine snapped back to the conversation. “Hmm?”

“I asked if you knew where you’ll be going to school?”

“Oh, um,” Blaine stalled. He could easily say McKinley, but what if he could find somewhere safer to go? It would be wrong to get Kurt’s hopes up only to crush them if or when he got transferred before he even started. “I don’t know. I mean, I don’t remember the name of it.” He lied. “But it’s in, uh, Dayton somewhere.” He lied again and felt awful. He felt even worse when Kurt seemed to accept what he said as truth.

“Hmm. Dayton.” Kurt looked up at the ceiling, calculating about how long it would take to get there. “That’s like, what, an hour and a half away from Lima?”

“Um, yeah, I think so,” Blaine stammered.

“That’s not so bad,” Kurt said with a warm smile that quickly turned to a look of embarrassment. “I was worried you had moved to Youngstown or Cleveland or something and that I wouldn’t get to see you.”

“Oh,” Blaine said, his heart melting at Kurt’s words. “Hey, no. We’ll see each other a lot.” He reached out for Kurt’s hand and the younger boy eagerly took it. “I promise.” Kurt’s grin made Blaine feel sick on the inside for lying. He would hopefully be able to explain himself later, but first he needed to talk to his parents about other school options in their general vicinity. “New topic?” Kurt shrugged and nodded his head. “Um…” He blushed. “I actually have nothing. I unpacked some more stuff, but that’s really about all since I talked to you yesterday.” He picked up his water glass and took a sip as he raised his eyebrows to Kurt, silently asking if he had anything to share.

“Well, my dad gave me the sex talk this morning…”

Blaine choked on his water, sending the sip he had in his mouth partially back into his cup, but mostly down his chin and onto his lap with the rest of the contents of his glass.

The rest of their meal was less eventful. They quickly eased into conversation about favorite musicals and movies and the rest of the evening was spent giggling at each other’s guilty pleasures.

After sharing two slices of cheesecake for dessert, the boys walked back to their cars. Hands tangled between them as they leaned in for a blissfully sweet kiss. Upon parting, Kurt leaned his forehead against Blaine’s and made the older boy promise to call him the following night. Another kiss turned into three more before Kurt’s phone beeped with a text from his father asking him to pick up some more milk on his way home because of something stupid Finn did on a dare from Puck. Blaine gave Kurt a look only to have the younger boy shake him off with a final kiss and whispered words of “another time.”

Though his pants were still damp by time he drove home, Blaine figured he deserved that discomfort having lied to his boyfriend.

...

SUNDAY

Finn winced when Kurt set the new gallon of milk down in front of him at the breakfast table.

“Thirsty?” Kurt couldn’t help but smirk as he watched Finn squirm in his seat. “I mean, really Finn? What on earth could make you think you could do the Gallon Challenge? You’ve seen the youtube videos. And I know you’ve seen the youtube videos because you made me watch the youtube videos.” Finn buried his face in his hands and Kurt’s eyes widened. “Oh my god, you’re one of the youtube videos now aren’t you?! Puck taped you puking, didn’t he?”

Burt called out from the other room, “Leave your brother alone, Kurt.”

Kurt smiled smugly as he sat down across the table from Finn. He would have teased his brother some more, but he was distracted when his phone beeped. A text from Mercedes inquired as to when Kurt would be getting to her house. Fingers flying as he typed out a response, he promised to be there after lunch.

…

Vanessa Anderson was kissing her husband goodbye as she was leaving the house for work by the time her youngest son meandered down the steps. Though she needed to get going, Vanessa noticed Blaine looked a little panicked. She locked eyes with her husband and nodded to their son, who was trudging from the foyer steps to the kitchen. Having been together for thirty years, Ethan Anderson knew his wife wanted him to find out what was wrong with Blaine and let her know his findings. With a nod, Ethan gave his wife a half smile before she closed the front door behind herself.

Ethan walked into the kitchen to find Blaine pouring himself some Cocoa Puffs. There was a rule in the house that sugary cereal was only allowed to be consumed on birthdays, major holidays and bad days. The last time Ethan saw Blaine eat Cocoa Puffs on a non-birthday or holiday was the day before he started at Dalton. With a sigh, Ethan grabbed a bowl from the cupboard and placed it on the counter next to the bowl Blaine was pouring for himself. As Blaine readied a second bowl, Ethan grabbed milk from the refrigerator and placed that on the counter before taking their mugs off the hooks on the wall and filling them with freshly brewed coffee.

In comfortable silence, Blaine finished preparing their cereal while Ethan put their coffee mugs and a couple spoons onto the table. They sat down and started eating their Cocoa Puffs. Ethan knew better than to ask Blaine what was wrong because prying was not going to get him anywhere. For best results, it was wise to let Blaine get a few spoonfuls of his chocolate cereal into his stomach and allow him to bring up what was troubling him on his own accord.

Ethan began to assume the worst when it took Blaine one and a half bowls of cereal to finally start talking.

When Blaine finally spoke, his voice was quiet. “Are you sure I can’t stay at Dalton?”

Ethan exhaled through his nose. He didn’t answer right away because he knew what he was about to say was going to disappoint his son. “I’m sorry, Blaine, but that just isn’t an option. Your mom and I talked it about it, but the commute is too far and we really don’t want you to board because we’d never get to see you.”

Blaine nodded, but kept his gaze on his half-eaten bowl of cereal. He knew this was going to be his dad’s answer, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt any less. “Do I have to go to McKinley, though?”

This was definitely something Ethan was not expecting. The first thing Vanessa told him about enrolling Blaine in school on Friday was how excited he was to find out that it was the same school that Kurt and Finn attended. It made them both feel better knowing he already had friends at his new school. Well, not just friends, but a boyfriend. Ethan laughed when Vanessa told him that their son was dating the Hummel boy because he had a feeling on the boat that they were headed in that direction.

“I thought you were looking forward to being at the same school as Kurt?”

Blaine sighed and started fiddling with his coffee mug. “I was. It’s just that… well, he gets bullied at school and nothing ever gets done about it and I…” His voice got real low. “I don’t want to go to the hospital again, dad.”

That confession broke Ethan’s heart. He knew Blaine was a stronger man than people gave him credit for, but it killed him knowing his son still feared for his safety.

“Blaine, I know I can never apologize enough for what happened to you your freshman year. But I can promise you that your mother and I will continue to do everything we can to make sure that that will never happen again – to you, or any other kid.”

Blaine looked up at his father through tearful eyes, knowing that by “any other kid” he meant Kurt. He had seen his dad upset before, but the look on his dad’s face was more determined than anything else. “Dad.” Blaine’s own voice cracked, thick with emotion.

Ethan looked his son square in the eyes. “If you don’t want to go to McKinley, we can find you a school in a neighboring district. But if you want to give it a try, I will go in and speak to the principal myself and make sure that you and your boyfriend don’t have to put up with any shit from ignorant asshole kids.” He added quickly, “Pardon my French.”

Eyes still glassy, Blaine chuckled around the lump that was forming in his throat. There was never any doubt that his parents were behind him, but it was always reassuring to hear it firsthand and even better when his dad got riled up and swore (which rarely happened). “Good thing mom already left for work or she would have demanded at least fifty cents for those oratorical fireworks.”

With a smile, Ethan clapped a hand on his son’s back. “You’re worth it. You’re always worth it.”

Blaine felt the tears welling up again, but he kept them at bay. He did, though, leap out of his chair and throw his arms around his dad.

…

Kurt knocked on Mercedes’s front door just before 2:00pm and was greeted with an enthusiastic hug from his best friend.

“Oh my god, I haven’t seen you in forever!! Come in, come in!”

Mercedes ushered Kurt into the house and then called out to her mom that Kurt was there and that they were headed up to her room. Shouts of hellos were exchanged between Mrs. Jones and Kurt as Mercedes chased him up the stairs, giggling all the while.

Kurt flopped down onto Mercedes’s bed. Her room was basically his second home and he felt completely at ease making himself as comfortable as possible. Dozens of sleepovers and countless secrets were shared within these walls.

Mercedes cozied up next to Kurt on the bed and asked a barrage of questions before Kurt had a chance to say anything. “So, how was the wedding? Are you already sick of having Finn as a brother? Did you have fun on the cruise? Meet any cute boys? Are you going to go to junior prom with me or not?”

A startled laugh escaped from Kurt’s mouth. “Whoa there.” He situated himself against the headboard as he thought about all that she was asking. “Um…” What was the first thing she asked him? Oh right, the wedding. “Well, the wedding was nice. A bit tacky, but somehow completely fitting of my dad and Carole. They really are perfect for each other.”

A nod and giggle from Mercedes indicated that she agreed. “And how’s your new brother?”

“Same old Finn. Last night he tried to drink a whole gallon of milk,” Kurt said as he rolled his eyes. But, he smiled and shook his head. “I mean, I still can’t believe I used to have a crush on him, but he’s the best brother I could have ever hoped for. Don’t tell him I said that, but it’s the truth. I love him.”

“Awwwwwww,” Mercedes teased as she tickled Kurt’s side, much to his chagrin. “What about the cruise?! Did you have fuuuuuuun? Meet any boooooooooys? Have any sssssssex on the beach?”

Kurt’s cheeks burned bright red. “Mercedes!”

“You are too cute to not have other cute gay boys throwing themselves at you, boo.”

“Well, there was this one guy who kept hitting on me.” Mercedes waggled her eyebrows, hoping for a lascivious tale. “Don’t get your hopes up, Cedes. He was vile and kept harassing me and Blaine.”

“Blaine?”

Whoops.

As much as Kurt wanted to gush about his gorgeous and kind boyfriend, Kurt also wanted to keep his relationship under wraps – at least for the time being. Kurt loved Mercedes and thought of her as a sister from another mister, but what he had with Blaine was so new and kind of complicated. They had only known each other for a week and even though in some ways it felt like he had known Blaine forever, Kurt wasn’t quite ready to divulge the details of their burgeoning relationship quite yet.

“Kurt,” Mercedes said with an emphasis on the t before asking again. “Who is Blaine?”

“Oh,” Kurt said with a flick of his wrist. “He’s just a friend I made on the boat. We met at an LGBTQ meeting the first night and then kinda hung out a few times during the rest of the trip. His family and my family got along really well, so we, like, went to the beach together and played trivia.” They also kissed a few times and fell asleep in each other’s arms and Kurt was pretty sure he was going to fall in love with Blaine someday, but Mercedes didn’t have to know that. Not yet, anyway.

Mercedes raised a questioning eyebrow. “Just a friend?”

Kurt nodded. “Mmm hmm.”

Her shoulders sank in disappointment. “Was he at least cute?”

A wide smile sprouted crookedly across Kurt’s face. “The cutest.”

Kurt was grateful but a little sad when Mercedes steered the conversation toward their upcoming junior prom. He was surprised when she wasn’t mad when he said he wasn’t going to go with her, and even more shocked when she mentioned that she was likely going to be going with Sam and Rachel as a group, so if Kurt wanted to join them, he could, but there was no pressure. She explained that they decided to do “prom on a budget” and that she and Rachel already got their dresses from the thrift store.

While Mercedes was in the bathroom changing into her dress so Kurt could see her in it and give her pointers on how she could accessorize, Kurt sat on her bed and hugged her teddy bear. He heaved a heavy sigh and thought about the school dance. Part of him really wanted to ask Blaine to go, but knowing how Blaine’s last school dance left him physically broken, Kurt thought it would be extremely selfish and completely distasteful to even broach the topic with his boyfriend. Even though he would be sad to leave his custom-made kilt in his closet, maybe he and Blaine could go out on a date to see a movie or something while everyone else was at the dance. He smiled a small smile to himself as he buried his chin into the teddy bear’s head. He might not be able to go to his junior prom and slow dance with his boyfriend, but at least he had a boyfriend.

“So, how do I look?”

Kurt looked up to find Mercedes in a gorgeous purple gown, twirling around for him to see her dress from all sides. His cheeks hurt from smiling at how beautiful his best friend was, both inside and out.

“You look amazing.”

…

Blaine was seated on the floor of his bedroom with the Brooks Brothers bags surrounding him. He knew if he wanted to wear any of his new clothes tomorrow, he needed to get them in the washing machine soon so they would be out of the dryer before he went to bed. With a sigh, he reached into one of the bags and pulled out its contents. He smiled when he noticed the red pants among a sweater vest, fitted jeans and several cardigans.

When he went to grab clothes out of a second bag, his hand closed on a plastic bag among the softer materials of the shirts. “What the…?” he muttered to himself as he set the clothes down and settled the mysterious plastic bag in his lap.

His eyes crinkled in confusion as he pulled a red, white and black striped bowtie from the bag. He turned the material over in his hand, admiring the quality of the tie and wondering for the life of him how that ended up with his purchases. Seeing there was a receipt in the bag, Blaine pulled it out wondering if he could identify whose it was. He didn’t have plans to return to Polaris anytime soon, but maybe he could call them and let them know that someone else’s tie accidentally ended up in his bag.

Glancing at the piece of paper in his hand, Blaine saw that the name on the receipt belonged to his boyfriend and that there were bumpy lines all over it, as if someone wrote something on the back. Flipping over the receipt, Blaine’s heart swelled when he saw a message meant just for him.

Blaine – You are going to kick ass at your new school. I don’t expect you to wear this right away, but when you feel the time is right to embrace the bowtie again, I will expect to see pictures. I’m so proud to be with you. Yours, Kurt xoxo

Kurt.

Blaine bit his lip as he smiled, overwhelmed by how much he adored his boyfriend and how touching it was for Kurt to have so much belief in him when sometimes Blaine didn’t feel like he had any in himself.

With the tie in between his fingers, Blaine’s eyes grazed over the piles of clothes on the floor around him. He gently set the tie down and started ripping tags off of whatever was in reach. He knew what he would wear the next day, but it was probably better to wash everything he could so that he had new outfits ready for his first week at McKinley.

…

Blaine talked with his parents over dinner and was feeling more confident about going to school the following day. While seeing Kurt was definitely going to be the biggest perk of going to McKinley, his parents swore they would address Blaine’s safety concerns with his new principal. Ethan went so far to say that he would contact Burt Hummel and see if he wanted to approach the school board with them to ensure their sons’ safety. Blaine’s eyes widened at his father’s suggestion and Ethan could only shrug. Ethan liked Burt and was actually looking forward to getting to know him better, especially now that their sons were together. Blaine agreed, but jokingly asked his dad to hold off on asking his new BFF to storm the school until a little later in the week. He sheepishly confessed he hadn’t actually told Kurt that they were going to the same school in case it was decided that he ended up transferring before he even started. Vanessa and Ethan nodded, promising that they would not contact Burt and Carole until Blaine had a chance to explain to Kurt that he hadn’t exactly told the truth.

…

As promised, Blaine called Kurt that night. Blaine could hardly describe the feeling he got when he heard Kurt sigh with contentment into his ear over the phone. It was a good feeling, that was for sure, but something that made him giddy and warm all over as opposed to just happy.

Blaine thanked Kurt for the bowtie and promised that he would wear it soon. Kurt was elated, not only because he knew Blaine would look adorable in the tie, but because he could hear the growing confidence in Blaine’s voice. He wondered how it was possible for him to already care so dearly for the older boy, but knew better than to over think it.

They talked about Blaine’s first day back at public school and Blaine admitted to being nervous. Kurt tried to calm some of his fears by saying how Blaine was likely to make a slew of friends on his first day because he was so nice and charming. Blaine blushed and was grateful Kurt couldn’t see how embarrassed he was at the compliments. It also took a lot of willpower for Blaine not to blurt out that he already had a couple friends at his new school and that one of them was his boyfriend. While he was desperate to tell Kurt the good news, Blaine really wanted to see the look on Kurt’s face when he surprised him the following morning.

When it got to be late, Kurt said that he had to go and do his nightly skincare routine before he went to bed. Blaine chuckled and said that while he had no such routine, he should probably lay out his clothes and double check that he had everything he would need for school.

The two boys wished each other good night and the call ended after Blaine promised to text Kurt when he could throughout the following day so that Kurt knew he was okay.

Once his nightly routine was done and he was in bed, Kurt stared at the ceiling, praying to a god he didn’t believe in that Blaine would make it through his first day at his new school.

On the other side of town, Blaine tossed and turned, hoping McKinley would not be a repeat of his old school. Though his brow was creased with worry when he finally drifted off to sleep, it softened throughout the night when he dreamed of walking down the halls with his boyfriend.

... 

MONDAY

“Oh my god, what are you doing here?!” Kurt asked, beyond confused. Blaine was supposed to be at his new school in Dayton.

Blaine blushed, “I go here.” He swallowed and then began to ramble when Kurt didn’t say anything right away. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It’s just that, for some reason when I found out we’d be together, I thought it was too good to be true. But then at dinner when you said you wished things were better for me at my new school, I panicked and thought maybe I should switch schools before I even started here. Then I realized I was an idiot because why would I want to be anywhere else when I could be with you, so I figured I would surprise you, but now I realize that was dumb. Like, really dumb. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you. And… yeah. Hi.” Blaine’s face almost matched his pants as he bit his lip, waiting for Kurt to get mad at him. They had been dating less than a week and Blaine was mentally preparing himself to get dumped.

Mercedes had no idea what was going on and Kurt still wasn’t talking. She addressed the handsome stranger. “Um, hello there. I see you know Kurt… I’m Mercedes Jones, Kurt’s best friend. And you are?”

Kurt’s eyes were still wide, in complete disbelief that Blaine was standing right there – dressed to perfection in the outfit he picked out for him just a couple days prior, complete with the bowtie. However, before Blaine could answer, Kurt chimed in, “My boyfriend.”

“Excuse me?” Mercedes asked. “I know I must be hearing things because you didn’t tell me anything about a boyfriend yesterday, Kurt. Elizabeth. Hummel.” She punctuated his name with smacks on his arm. She could instantly tell this was the Blaine guy from the cruise because of the way they were staring at each other, and she knew they were obviously more than just friends. Jealous and a little hurt, she was mostly happy for Kurt and whoever this other cute white boy was.

Kurt blushed hard, realizing he needed to make introductions (and fast). “Mercedes, this is Blaine,” he said as Blaine reached a hand out toward the girl. “Blaine,” Kurt said, very much enjoying the way his boyfriend’s name sounded in his mouth when he said it out loud to his best friend, “this is Mercedes.”

Mercedes lifted a hand up to slide into Blaine’s and they shook. She was surprised at the gentle, yet still enthusiastic manner at which he shook her hand. His smile reached his eyes as he said, “It’s so nice to meet you.” Their hands dropped and there was an awkward silence. Luckily, that was soon filled by a familiar booming voice.

“Blaine!” The three of them whipped their heads around to see a smiling Finn walking toward them. He held a hand up for Blaine to high-5, which he did with a grin. “Hey man. Almost didn’t recognize you with the gel helmet,” Blaine chuckled as he put a hesitant hand up to his hair, not wanting to mess anything up. “What’re you doing here?”

The youngest Anderson shifted on his feet, glancing quickly at a still-shocked Kurt before answering Finn. “I transferred here. Um, my dad works in Lima now.”

Finn nodded, as if that was super logical and really the only explanation he needed. “Cool. Well, good to see you, dude.” He gave Blaine another smile before clapping his stepbrother on the back. “Come on, bro, homeroom time.”

Kurt cocked his head and looked at Finn as if to say Give me a minute, because my boyfriend is standing in front of me and I still don’t quite know what’s going on. “You go on and I’ll catch up.”

Sensing Kurt and Blaine needed a minute together, Mercedes looped her arm in Finn’s and dragged him toward a classroom. “Let’s go, Finn.”

Though there was a small sea of other students in the hallway, both Kurt and Blaine only had eyes for each other.

“You’re here,” Kurt said quietly and in awe, still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that his boyfriend was standing right in front of him. He tentatively reached a hand out and ran it down one of Blaine’s arms, needing to feel the other boy in order to fully believe that he was actually there.

At the touch, Blaine smiled and ducked his head. “I’m here,” he murmured before forcing himself to look back up at his boyfriend. “Kurt, I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you the other day. It’s just that I couldn’t believe that we were actually going to be together and it all got really overwhelming.”

Kurt shook him off, “Blaine, stop apologizing. I mean, yeah, it would have been nice of you to tell me that you went here instead of almost giving me a heart attack.” Blaine clenched his jaw at the thought of upsetting Kurt. “But you’re here. And I’m here. And we get to see each other every day… I think that makes up for everything else, don’t you?”

Blaine nodded, completely relieved that Kurt was gladder to see him than he was upset that he was lied to. Though Blaine still felt bad for lying to Kurt, he was determined to think of a way to make it up to him.

A bell sounded throughout the hallway, visibly startling Blaine. Kurt couldn’t help but chuckle. “That’s just the warning bell. We still have five minutes to actually get to homeroom. What room are you supposed to be in, anyway?”

Blaine pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it, checking where he needed to be. “Um, 208?”

Kurt smiled. “Great, I’m next door in 206… I’ll walk ya to homeroom if you want?”

Quickly nodding, Blaine gladly accepted his boyfriend’s offer.

During their short walk to homeroom, Kurt held out a hand, wordlessly asking to see Blaine’s schedule, which the older boy immediately handed over. Kurt hummed as he glanced over Blaine’s class list, seeing that they had AP American History, Pre-Calculus and lunch together. He noticed Blaine had a study hall his last period which was when the glee club met. Before he could ask if Blaine was going to audition for the New Directions, Blaine supplied the answer for him. “Oh, Miss Pillsbury talked to the glee supervisor and, um, I’m auditioning for it today. I hope that’s okay with you? I mean, I probably should have asked you first, but she got me the audition before I found out that this was your school and –”

“Blaine.” Kurt’s voice was firm, but kind. “I would love if you were in glee club with me.”

“Really?”

Kurt rolled his eyes. “God, of course, Blaine. Spending time with you is a good thing, remember?” Their peers began filing into the classrooms around them and Kurt knew he had to get going. “Go on into your homeroom. You have Mrs. Fielding. She’s nice – she’ll like you because you’re cute.” Blaine blushed and ducked his head. “Look, I gotta get in there,” Kurt said as he nodded to the classroom behind him. “But I’ll see you in third period, okay? I think we’re watching All the President’s Men because it usually takes Mr. Williamson a couple days to detox after a school break, so I’ll save you a seat next to me.” Blaine nodded. “See you later!”

Blaine really wanted to hug Kurt goodbye, but he was anxious to do anything with so many unfamiliar kids around him. So, he gave Kurt as genuine a smile as he could muster and waved goodbye before walking into Room 208.

…

Third period couldn’t come soon enough. Blaine didn’t have any problems in his homeroom or first two classes, but everything just seemed kind of boring and a little too easy for his liking. When it came time for AP American History, he found the class with ease and slid quietly into the open seat Kurt reserved for him. They exchanged shy smiles, still getting used to the fact that they were in school together.

Kurt was right about the teacher showing a movie, so they scooted their desks together as close as they could. Some of the other glee club kids were in the classroom and saw Kurt and the new boy acting all cute together, so by time it was lunch, everyone was wondering what the story was with the two of them.

Blaine and Kurt were the last to arrive at the table and missed Mercedes filling everyone in on Kurt’s updated relationship status. Since she didn’t have a lot of information to go off of, she told Finn to tell them everything he knew about Blaine.

“Um, he’s like really good at sports trivia?” Finn was trying really hard to remember other stuff he learned about Blaine during the cruise. “Oh, and he likes tropical fish and he has this scar on his back that looks like a – Hey guys!”

Kurt and Blaine set down their lunch trays and found all eyes staring up at Blaine, except for Finn’s.

“Hey Finn,” Kurt said slowly. “Hey everyone else…” Everyone’s gaze remained on Blaine, who waved at them awkwardly. He wasn’t used to this kind of attention and it was a little off-putting to have Kurt’s friends gawking at him. “So, this is Blaine. You can stop staring at him now.”

“Hi,” Blaine said as he sat down and moved his chair as close to Kurt’s as he could.

Kurt’s cheeks flushed pink as Blaine’s entire leg pressed up against his. He could tell Blaine was nervous because everyone was still looking at him so he tried to change the subject. “Blaine’s going to be around for awhile so feel free to go about your regularly scheduled lunch period. Someone talk about something, please.”

Though the group grumbled their discontent, they stopped staring at Blaine for fear that Kurt would cut them down with his icy glare. The topic soon shifted to junior prom and while that was a sore spot for both Kurt and Blaine, at least it got attention off of them for a little bit.

But only for a little bit.

“So, Kurt... Are you and Blaine going to go to junior prom together?”

Both Kurt and Blaine’s eyebrows rose as they looked at each other in slight panic.

“Um, we haven’t talked about it, but I don’t think – I mean, probably not, but we didn’t really, like… but it’s not something that we, I mean…” Kurt knew he was rambling. He knew he wanted to go to the dance, but also knew that given Blaine’s history and the fact that he just started at their school, like, a few hours ago, that he more than likely would not want to attend junior prom. They hadn’t talked about it because Kurt didn’t want to make him uncomfortable. But now there they were, both uncomfortable at the lunch table.

The glee kids fell into an awkward silence at the table. Everyone tried to play it off that nothing was wrong, but each person would sneak glances over at Kurt and Blaine. It was so weird to them that Kurt had a boyfriend and everyone wanted to know everything they could about Blaine, but it appeared that this new kid was not ready to let them in quite yet.

Kurt whispered to Blaine throughout the rest of lunch, explaining who all these other people at the table were and a brief back-story of the drama they added to the glee club. Blaine nodded while he ate his salad, trying to keep track of who dated whom, what grade people were in, and where they stood in the glee club hierarchy. Apparently Rachel, the brown haired girl with the hideous cat sweater, was the lead vocalist of the group and the tall Asian boy, Mike, couldn’t sing very well, but he was the best dancer in the whole of the Midwest.

Though Blaine tried to pay attention to his boyfriend, his mind kept wandering back to the question of whether he and Kurt were going to junior prom. The thought of going to another public school dance terrified him, but maybe that was a way he could make it up to Kurt for lying about moving to Dayton.

The dance wasn’t until Saturday, which meant Blaine had a couple days to mull it over if he needed to.

…

It shouldn’t have been a huge surprise to the glee kids to see Kurt and Blaine walk through the choir room doors together before rehearsal was about to start. Of course the new kid sang.

The pair of them walked to the top row of chairs and sat down next to each other, immediately bowing their heads and talking quietly between themselves. Santana rolled her eyes at how happy they looked. She was about to make some snide remark when Mr. Schuester walked into the room and clapped his hands together, attempting to get everyone’s attention.

“So, Miss Pillsbury told me we have a new student who wants to audition with us today.” He glanced around the room and found no one was looking at him. “Does anyone know who Blaine Anderson is?”

“Oh, um, that’s me.”

Mr. Schuester saw a hand rise from the back row as a shorter boy wearing some bright red highwaters stood up. “Blaine?”

The boy nodded as he made his way down to the middle of the choir room floor. When he got to Mr. Schuester he held out a hand to introduce himself. “Yes, I’m Blaine. Blaine Anderson. I just transferred here from Dalton. I was the, uh, lead singer for the Warblers?”

The room got quiet for a moment before Finn said loudly, “Oh yeah, I knew that too.” Kurt turned toward his stepbrother with a confused look on his face. Finn just shrugged and said, “What? They were asking me at lunch what I knew about Blaine and I said he was good at sports trivia, likes fish and has that sweet scar on his back, but I forgot to mention he was in the Warblers.”

Kurt was horrified that Finn brought up the scar and immediately looked toward Blaine who was standing like a deer in the headlights in the middle of the floor while everyone else stared at him. Luckily, no one except for Kurt knew that Blaine’s “sweet scar” was actually the result of a vicious hate crime, but he still felt terrible that Blaine was put on the spot like that. “Um, so since Blaine was already in a glee club, he shouldn’t have to audition then, right?” Kurt was hoping Blaine’s prior experience would allow him automatic entry into the New Directions and that his boyfriend could sit down and not be gawked at anymore.

“I want to hear the pretty pony sing,” Santana said from her seat in the front row.

Rachel nodded her head in agreement. “Yes. I feel it would be unfair to let him into the group without a proper audition. Plus, I need to hear if his voice is compatible with mine.”

The other glee kids started mumbling their agreements of wanting to hear Blaine sing. Mr. Schuester looked at Blaine and asked him if he had anything prepared. Blaine nodded and asked if he could have a minute to talk to the guys in the band to see if they could back him up. Though Blaine was used to singing a cappella, there was always a dozen or so voices to support him. He was nervous enough already and was hoping that the addition of some guitars and drums would help him get through what he was planning to sing.

Mr. Schuester sat down on a shelf at the side of the room and watched Blaine speak to the band guys. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but after a few moments, he saw Blaine talking animatedly with his hands, miming guitar chords and the band guys smiling and nodding in agreement. Apparently this new kid was a musician as well as a singer. Mr. Schuester filed that information in the back of his mind for future reference. He then scoped out the rest of the kids in the room. Everyone except for Kurt was whispering among each other in their little groups. Kurt, however, was slumped back in his chair, watching Blaine’s every move. He didn’t know how Kurt knew this Blaine Anderson kid, but at least the new boy seemed to already have a friend in Kurt. Mr. Schuester smiled to himself, glad that Kurt had another friend in the group. He knew Kurt got picked on by a majority of the rest of the student body, so it was nice to see that there was one more person on Kurt’s side at the school.

Blaine finished up talking to the band kids and situated himself on the center of the floor. He cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention and felt his heart race a bit when he actually got it.

“Um, this is a song I was working on with the Warblers. It wasn’t any of our competition pieces or anything, just something we were arranging before spring break. I, uh, apologize in advance for the dancing. I kind of had my part memorized in time to the steps and I can’t sing it right without moving around a little bit.” Blaine’s faced flushed crimson as he rambled, both eager to sing because it was something he loved to do, but terrified to perform in front of this seemingly hostile group.

Blaine flashed a quick look up toward Kurt (who offered him a small smile) before turning toward the band. The guitar player gave Blaine a quick nod, indicating he was ready whenever Blaine was. Blaine took a deep breath and nodded in return. It was Showtime.

The guitar player started strumming his instrument, and after two bars of solid eighth notes, Blaine started to sing:

Before you met me I was alright

But things were kinda heavy

You brought me to life,

Now every February

You'll be my Valentine, Valentine

Kurt’s eyes widened as he watched Blaine two-step his way through the most interesting arrangement of “Teenage Dream” that he ever heard. Reminded of his dream from the cruise, Kurt blushed hard as Blaine directed the whole song at him, biting the inside of his cheek as Blaine sung about going all the way and skintight jeans. He giggled a bit as Blaine’s cheeks got pinker and pinker while he sang, knowing Blaine was likely thinking the same thing as he was and finding the whole thing wholly ironic as they literally just had a conversation the other day about not being ready for any of those things. And yet, Kurt found Blaine’s performance completely endearing and incredibly breathtaking. His voice, like his entire person, was gorgeous.

When Blaine finished the song, there was a moment of silence throughout the room while everyone picked their jaws up off the floor before showering Blaine with genuine applause.

Still clapping, Mr. Schuester got up from where he was sitting and walked toward Blaine. “That was great, Blaine. Welcome to the New Directions!”

Blaine beamed with pride, grateful for the official word that he was in the glee club and tickled at the positive reception he just received from the rest of the group from who he had been getting a mixed vibe. He smiled all the way back to his seat, gladly reciprocating the hug Kurt gave him after he sat down.

“You were amazing,” Kurt whispered in his ear before giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

On cloud nine and still on a high from his adrenaline rush, Blaine forgot to stop and think twice before he asked Kurt, “Will you go to junior prom with me?”

…