At 6:59pm Blaine walked Kurt to his car and they shared a chaste kiss before Kurt hopped into his Navigator and drove back to Lima. He then went back into his house, in an odd state of being overly happy about kissing his boyfriend for the first time, but still very sad about the loss of his grandmother. His parents could see their son was torn with what he was feeling (they were totally spying on him when he kissed his boyfriend goodbye and saw his smile fade to confusion as he walked through the front door) and they wrapped him in a huge hug.

The next day, Blaine walked around school in a bit of a trance. His mom phoned ahead and informed the headmaster and his teachers that Blaine lost a close family member over the weekend and they left him alone throughout the day. He perked up a bit in Warbler rehearsal when the council voted that they would arrange a Katy Perry song for the group to perform later that week in a dry-run for Sectionals.

Kurt, on the other hand, was having a horrible day. Though he started off his morning walking the halls with a shit-eating grin on his face having kissed his boyfriend not once, but thrice the night before, Kurt's day went to pot just before glee rehearsal when he got shoved into some lockers by the school's lead bully, football player Dave Karofsky. During rehearsal his mood fouled when Mr. Schuester announced they would be singing against an all-boys school and Santana made a snide comment about how a bunch of awesome gay jokes just popped into her head. Kurt was pissed he wasn't allowed to join the girl's team for the second annual boys vs. girls mashup tournament. And then, to top it all off, Karofsky shoved him into the lockers again after glee practice. Twice.

That night during their phone call, Kurt iced his shoulder while listening to Blaine talk about his uneventful day at school and the funeral arrangements his parents were setting up for the following weekend. Kurt winced at the cold, but kept "Mmm hmm"-ing in all the right places during their conversation while he eyeballed the damaged to his usually flawless skin. The bruising wasn't too prominent yet, but a purplish hue was making itself known where the top of Kurt's back met his arm.

It was nearing the time when they usually hung up when Blaine finished talking. "I feel like I've been hogging the whole conversation. How was your day?"

Kurt's face screwed up with conflict. His day was crap, but he didn't want to dump his problems on Blaine because Blaine's grandmother just died. Surely that trumps getting thrown into lockers a few times. "Oh, you know. Same old, same old." He tried to get the attention away from himself. "I miss you."

"I miss you too. We'll see each other this weekend, though, right?"

Kurt smiled and nodded even though he knew Blaine couldn't see him. "Right." He looked at the clock and saw it was past 10:00. "I have to go, Blaine. But I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

"Goodnight, Kurt."

"Night."

.

Kurt's mood was lifted a little bit the next morning when Mr. Schuester announced that the boys had to sing songs traditionally sung by girl groups for their mash-off. His eyes lit up as song choices and wardrobe ideas flew through his head. If the other guys would agree, he had this competition in the bag.

During lunch, he grabbed his sketchbook and the stack of fashion magazines he kept in his locker, and whipped up a poster board with sample costumes to enhance the overall presentation of their mashup. He asked the other guys to meet him for a few minutes after school so he could explain what his vision was for their performance.

His mood plummeted mere seconds after talking to the glee guys. His ideas were not only shot down (they rolled their eyes when he brought up feather boas), but insulted (Artie pointed out the assignment was about opposites then commented, "You in a sequin gown and feather boa is exactly what you'd expect.")

Who said anything about a gown?!

The boys told him he would make better use of his time if he went and poisoned the old people they were up against, or spy on the Garglers ("The Warblers," corrected Kurt.) to see what they were singing. Kurt rolled his eyes as his peers continued to condescend his ideas.

That night, Kurt couldn't keep his bad mood hidden from Blaine during their phone call even though he tried.

"Kurt, I know something's bothering you."

He sighed as he flopped down on his bed. "I know, but I shouldn't be complaining after the weekend you had."

"Kurt," Blaine said quietly, but firmly. "We need to be able to talk about things together. It's not fair for me to dump all my problems on you and you keep all your problems to yourself. That's not how relationships work."

"I know, but –"

"But what? Kurt." Blaine exhaled through his nose. "I am so, so thankful for everything you've done for me. I don't know how I would have made it through the weekend if you weren't there. And I know you're strong, Kurt. But it's not a weakness if you ask for help."

Kurt sighed and clamped his eyes shut. He had never had someone (besides his dad) who so actively fought to help him that he didn't really understand that that's what being in a relationship was… it made you part of a team. And while he knew he shouldn't rely on Blaine to solve all his problems, he also suddenly realized that he didn't have to carry all the weight himself. "I know. It's just… I'm so used to just handling everything myself. Going it alone."

"You're not alone, Kurt. You have your dad. And Mercedes. And me." Kurt's lips curled themselves up into a smile. "So please… what happened?" Blaine listened intently as Kurt finally opened up and said how he was bullied on Monday, and that no one did anything about it. "Kurt! You have to go to the principal or something!"

"No. I'm fine, really. The shoving wasn't anything worse than normal and I was just in a bad mood because of glee club. My teacher won't let me sing with the girls and the guys don't like any of my ideas." Kurt could picture Blaine frowning on the other end of the line and probably fighting with himself because he would likely want to apologize in this situation. "I'm okay. Honest."

"But you'll tell me if you're not?"

"I promise." Kurt looked at the clock and saw he needed to go pick out an outfit for the next day and do his skin care routine. He had to leave earlier than normal if he was going to drive to Westerville in time to scope out the Warblers so he would still have enough time to drive back to Lima and attend his afternoon classes. He hadn't mentioned his plans to Blaine but thought it was best he didn't know. Kurt checked – all schools in Gahanna were in a different bracket than Lima and Westerville at Sectionals, so Blaine could be kept in the dark (for now, at least, because Kurt told himself he would eventually tell his boyfriend that he was spying on the competition). "Hey, Blaine, I gotta go… I have to leave early for some stupid thing for school and I need to get to bed. Talk to you tomorrow?"

"Of course! Goodnight, Kurt."

"Goodnight."

.

Kurt fidgeted in his car during the whole drive to Westerville on Wednesday morning. He couldn't believe he was skipping school to spy on another glee club, but felt justified in missing classes because they weren't challenging him anyway.

When he came to the fork in the highway, a large part of him wanted to turn right and take the road he knew led toward Easton and Blaine. But, Blaine was at school and he didn't feel like going to Easton since Blaine wasn't going to be there anyway. Plus, he didn't want to run into Blaine's mom and field questions as to why he wasn't in class. So, he put on his left blinker and merged, taking the highway to Westerville.

He pulled into the parking lot at Dalton and his jaw dropped. The building was gorgeous and covered with ivy. It looked like a castle or something, with turrets and a bell tower. He turned off the engine and hopped out of his Navigator, straightening his jacket all the while. He cursed himself for not going on the school's website the night before to look to see what kind of uniforms they wore and hoped that his black jacket and red tie were covert enough.

The halls were dead quiet when Kurt opened a side door to the building and snuck in. He prayed there weren't video cameras watching his every move as he went up a staircase and began roaming the halls as silently as possible. He hoped classes would change soon so he wasn't stuck being the only person in the halls anymore.

Meanwhile, Blaine was sitting in history class, bouncing his knees in anticipation of the "impromptu" performance the Warblers were about to throw in the senior commons. He was excited to sing lead on his first song with the group, but nervous at the same time. The bell rang and he shoved his notebook in his satchel and raced out of the room.

He was busy checking his grandfather's pocket watch (bequeathed to him in his grandmother's will) as he ran down the grand staircase so he wasn't quite paying attention when a voice called out in the mayhem of his peers around him.

"Excuse me. Um hi, can I ask you a question? I'm new here…"

Always one to help, Blaine turned around and was genuinely surprised when he found himself face to face with his boyfriend, "Kurt?"

"Blaine!" Kurt looked mortified. "What are you doing here?"

Blaine laughed but looked confused. "What am I doing here? Kurt, this is my school. What are you doing here?!"

Kurt's cheeks began to match his tie as he sputtered, "Um, I'm here to check out the Warblers. We're up against them… crap… you at Sectionals next month… I didn't know you went here. God, I'm a horrible boyfriend for not knowing that!" He shook his head at himself and tried to rationalize the situation even though he really couldn't. "When you said private school, I assumed you meant that one I saw down the block from your house… " His sentence drifted off as he looked at his boyfriend who looked so handsome in his Dalton uniform. In that moment, Kurt wondered if he hadn't called out when he did if he would have completely missed Blaine. His hair was slicked back with so much gel you couldn't even tell it was normally curly.

Blaine thought for a second, then exhaled and asked Kurt, "Do you still want to see the Warblers? We're singing in about two minutes in the senior commons and we have to leave now if you want a spot."

"So, wait, the glee club here is cool?"

Blaine grinned, "The Warblers are like rock stars." Kurt raised his eyebrows. "Come on, I know a shortcut."

Before Kurt could respond, Blaine reached out and grabbed his hand and took off down a corridor. Kurt's feet instinctively followed and the pair of them ran down an empty hallway, hand-in-hand. He couldn't help but marvel at the beautiful murals on the wall as Blaine practically dragged him across part of the building.

They stopped in front of large wooden double doors. Blaine unclasped Kurt's hands and flung open the doors, revealing a room full of uniformed boys moving chairs and milling about, getting into place for the performance. Kurt's mouth dropped at the organized chaos. As he looked about the room, his eyes widened in panic. "Oh, I stick out like a sore thumb." He hitched his satchel higher up on his shoulder, trapping his lapel under its strap in the process.

"Well, next time don't forget your jacket, new kid." Blaine teased as he leaned in and fixed Kurt's lapel. "You'll fit right in." He winked and then broke out into a sly grin. Blaine handed his satchel to a passing peer and then began to step away from Kurt. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

Kurt watched as a group of boys began harmonizing behind Blaine and his boyfriend took his place in front of the group and started singing. Seeing Blaine among his classmates made him realize why he had changed his appearance to fit in better. Although, even though everyone did look the same, Kurt still only had eyes for one Warbler.

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

At first Kurt was confused because he wondered what happened to his boyfriend and who replaced him with this super confident front man? But as soon as Blaine quickly locked eyes with him during "Valentine," he realized this was his boyfriend and Kurt was fully prepared to watch him shine. Blaine looked away and got back into the routine.

Let's go all the way tonight

No regrets, just love

We can dance, until we die

You and I, will be young forever

Once again, Blaine's eyes were back on Kurt's as he sang. All of the nerves from before were gone and he performed with purpose because his Teenage Dream was standing right in front of him. He thought of Kurt when he sang the song in rehearsals, but it meant so much more to Blaine to have his inspiration mere feet away. He pointed at Kurt when the chorus kicked in because he meant every word of it.

You make me feel

Like I'm livin' a

Teenage dream

The way you turn me on

I can't sleep

Let's run away and

Don't ever look back,

Don't ever look back

Let's go all the way tonight

No regrets, just love

Kurt almost had a mini panic attack as Blaine sang these words. He knew they were just lyrics, but for a fraction of a second, his heart raced because he realized should him and Blaine's relationship last as he hoped it would, those words could be a reality. That scared Kurt, but he was so proud of his boyfriend's performance that he forced himself to just enjoy the moment and realize how lucky it was that he happened to be here for this.

We can dance, until we die

You and I, will be young forever

Blaine pointed at Kurt again as he sang, not able to help himself because Kurt was there. And this performance was all for Kurt because Kurt gave him the courage to do this in the first place.

You make me feel

Like I'm livin' a

Teenage dream

The way you turn me on

While Blaine performed for the crowd, Kurt took a moment to take in his surroundings. He couldn't believe that a group of guys were standing around cheering on a glee club. A glee club with a gay front man, no less. He couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy for this seemingly mystical utopia of tolerance.

I can't sleep

Let's run away and

Don't ever look back,

Don't ever look back

Kurt focused his attention back on Blaine as his boyfriend raised his eyebrows and two-stepped to the side, then whipped his head around to lock hazel eyes on blue as he teased with song. Kurt's mouth dropped and his cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

I'm a get your heart racing

In my skin-tight jeans

Be your teenage dream tonight

Oooo aaaaaaaah

Oooo Oooo Oooo

Oooo Oooo Oooo

Yoooouuu

You make me feel

Like I'm livin' a

Teenage dream

The way you turn me on

Kurt was full-out grinning by this point. He couldn't help it – he was so falling for his own boyfriend. This must have been what it felt like when all those girls screamed for the Beatles except that he was actually in a relationship with the lead singer. He felt giddy and kept smiling.

I can't sleep

Let's run away and

Don't ever look back,

Don't ever look back

No

Blaine looked his boyfriend square in the face with pleading eyes and gave him a quick shake of the head. Blaine never wanted to look back. Not when everything he wanted and the person who helped him find that was right in front of him.

My heart stops

When you look at me

Kurt smiled widely as Blaine pointed to himself. "Look at me" was right. Look at Blaine. Kurt felt lucky to have seen the boy he cared for so much come so far over the past few months.

Just one touch

Now baby I believe

This is real

So take a chance and

Don't ever look back,

Don't ever look back

I'm a get your heart racing

In my skin-tight jeans

Be your teenage dream tonight

Let you put your hands on me

In my skin-tight jeans

Be your teenage dream tonight

The Warblers ended their song together, but Blaine's eyes were caught up in Kurt's and felt so warm and full when he saw Kurt smile and applaud loudly for the performance. He wanted to rush over toward his boyfriend right then and there, but couldn't because his fellow Warblers and other classmates were crowding him, giving him High-5s and patting him on the back. He snuck peeks over at Kurt and saw the boy was still clapping. Kurt was so happy to see Blaine fit in so well at his school and be embraced by all for his talent.

.

Kurt never made it to class that day. Instead, he changed into his outfit he was going to wear the rest of the day at McKinley and took Blaine up on his offer to get coffee with Wes and David, two of the members of the Warblers Council.

As they sat around the table, Kurt thanked them for not beating him up for spying on them. Wes assured him that they weren't going to beat him up and David said that Kurt was such a terrible spy that it was endearing. Blaine just took a sip of coffee and took it all in. He knew Kurt was there to spy, but part of him thought there was probably another reason as well. He almost spit out his coffee when Kurt asked Wes and David if everyone at the school was gay.

Wes and David chuckled and shot Blaine a look as he laughed and said, "Uh no. Well, you know I am, but these two have girlfriends."

"This is not a gay school," David told him. "We just have a zero-tolerance harassment policy."

"Everybody gets treated the same, no matter what they are," added Wes. "It's pretty simple."

Yeah, maybe for them.

Blaine noticed that Kurt had gotten quiet and started to tear up. He asked his friends if they could excuse he and Kurt. Wes and David offered warm partings to Kurt as they left the table and Blaine slid his chair around so he could be closer to his boyfriend.

"Are you okay, Kurt?"

He shook his head. "I'm the only person out of the closet at my school. And I'm trying to stay strong about it, but Karofsky keeps making my life a living hell and no one seems to notice."

Blaine put a hand on Kurt's back and started rubbing circles to try and help calm down his boyfriend. Kurt wasn't quite asking for help, but Blaine thought he could probably offer some advice anyway since he had experience with bullying too. "Hey. It's okay. I know how you feel and we'll figure something out. I dealt with that at my old school. Even told the faculty about it, and you could tell they were sympathetic and all, but no one really cared. It was like 'hey, if you're gay, your life's just gonna be miserable. Sorry. Nothing we can do about it.'" Blaine leaned in, kissed Kurt's head and sighed against his hair. "So, you have two options. I mean, I'd love to tell you to just come enroll here, but tuition at Dalton's sorta steep and I know that's not an option for everybody as much as I would love to have you here with me. OR…" Blaine scooted his chair over a little so he was facing Kurt once more. "You can refuse to be the victim… Prejudice is just ignorance, Kurt. And you have a chance right now to teach him."

Kurt wiped his eyes and looked Blaine in the eye. "How?"

Blaine threw his hands in the air. "Confront him!" He repositioned himself in his chair. "Call him out!" He sank down as he admitted, "I ran, Kurt. I didn't stand up. I let bullies chase me away and it is something that I really, really regret."

"But you look so happy," Kurt countered. "You're doing well in school and as far as I know, you haven't been beaten up since you started coming here."

Blaine sighed and nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, but not a day goes by when I think I should have at least tried to stick it out at my old school. You're the strong one, Kurt."

.

Kurt found it odd than no one questioned why he wasn't at school on Wednesday but was thankful for this oversight. He didn't tell anyone, not even Mercedes, that he went to Dalton, but he thought long and hard about what Blaine told him the day before. He still wasn't sure if he wanted to confront Karofsky or not, but he hoped he could at least avoid any more locker slams for the week.

As he sat in the choir room and watched the girls do their mashup of "Livin' on a Prayer" and "Start Me Up" he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He dug it out of his pants and smiled when he saw a message from his boyfriend.

Blaine (Thursday 10:14am)

Courage

Later in the hallway, Kurt was feeling pretty smug, having received another text from his boyfriend.

Blaine (Thursday 1:18pm)

COURAGE - Blaine

Kurt smiled, admiring the text and loving that he had a happy secret that no one could take away from him.

Then, all of a sudden, his phone was smacked out of his hand and he was shoved harder than ever into the lockers.

Karofsky.

As Karofsky walked away, Kurt collected himself and made the spilt decision to run after his assailant. Blaine told him to confront his bully, so confront him he would.

"HEY!" Kurt yelled down the hall louder than he intended, but kept going because he was running on pure adrenaline. He flung open the locker room door and addressed his anger at David, "I'm talking to you!"

"Girls locker room is next door," Karofsky replied.

Furious, Kurt stormed up to the taller boy. "What is your problem?"

"Excuse me?" Karofsky stepped up into his personal space, but Kurt didn't back down.

"What are you so scared of?"

"Besides you sneakin' in here to peek at my junk?"

"Oh yeah, every straight guy's nightmare, because all us gays are secretly out to molest or convert you." Kurt's eyes followed Karofsky as he took stuff out of his locker. "Well guess what, ham hock? You're not my type."

For some reason that seemed to offend Karofsky, but Kurt was so on a roll that he didn't notice.

"That right?"

"Yeah," Kurt exclaimed. "I don't dig on chubby boys who sweat too much and are going to be bald by time they're 30."

Karofsky raised his fist near Kurt's face. "Do not push me Hummel," he threatened.

Kurt eyed the fist and stood his ground. "You gonna hit me? Do it."

With a slam, Karofsky loudly closed his locker. "Don't push me!"

"Hit me cuz it's not going to change who I am. You can't punch the gay out of me any more than I could punch the ignoramus out of you!"

"SO GET OUTTA MY FACE!" Karofsky was yelling, upset to the point where he was almost crying.

Kurt pointed a finger in the other boy's face and stared him down. He felt really strong now. "You are nothing but a scared little boy who can't handle how extraordinarily ordinary you are!"

And then Kurt felt hands on his face and lips on his lips. And those lips weren't warm and soft like his boyfriend's. No, these lips were chapped and wet with tears.

Kurt's eyes were wide by time Karofsky pulled away. His heart was racing and he felt violated. When the taller boy leaned in for round two, Kurt put both his hands on his chest and shoved him away as hard as he could. He scurried backward and put a hand up to his own mouth, covering his lips to protect them from a second attack. There were several moments of silence before Karofsky slammed his hands into the lockers and stormed off. Kurt was left alone, shaking and feeling sick to his stomach.

.

Later that night, Kurt tucked himself in bed and pulled out his phone to make his nightly call to Blaine. Mercedes found Kurt's phone in the hallway and gave it to him during their last class of the day. He was acting weird but told her it was nothing when she asked.

Blaine picked up after two rings and sounded super happy. "Hey Kurt! So I was thinking this weekend we could meet up at The Wilds. Does that sound good to you?" When Blaine's question was met with silence, Blaine wondered if Kurt called him on accident. "Kurt, you there? Did you butt dial me again?" Blaine laughed at the memory.

"Blaine?"

The laughing stopped immediately because Kurt sounded sick. "Kurt? Kurt, are you okay?"

"Blaine."

"Kurt? Kurt, what's wrong?"

"He…" Blaine waited but there was no end to that sentence.

"He… Kurt? He what? Please Kurt, you're scaring me."

After a beat, the reply came quietly. "He kissed me."

Blaine's eyebrows shot up. "Who kissed you, Kurt?"

"I did what you said Blaine and I…" Blaine heard a thump, footsteps and then the distant sound of someone throwing up.

"KURT!" Blaine was helpless as he listened to heaving sounds over the line. After a moment, a toilet flushed, and then there was the sound of a faucet, then silence, and then water being spit into a sink. There were more footsteps and Blaine prayed it was Kurt walking back to pick up his phone. "Kurt? You did what I said? What did I say?"

Over the next few minutes, Blaine sat on the floor in his room and rocked himself back and forth as he listened to Kurt recount his confrontation with Karofsky. He felt sick to his stomach as Kurt described the ferocity of the kiss and how Karofsky leaned in to do it again. Blaine felt wholly responsible for everything and apologized profusely to his boyfriend.

"I am so sorry, Kurt. I am such an idiot. I never should have told you to do that and I wish I could take it back. I'm sorry. I – I, god, I wish I could be with you right now so I could hold you or something. I can't believe he did that. I'm so sorry, Kurt."

Kurt sighed and closed his eyes. It wasn't completely Blaine's fault and he knew his boyfriend was just trying to give him advice. He didn't have to take it, but then again, Karofsky didn't have to kiss him. Everyone was in the wrong here and he would just have to deal with the fact that he could never un-do what happened earlier that day.

"It's okay, Blaine. I mean, it's not, but there's really nothing you can do about it."

"I bet you wish you never met me," Blaine said quietly into the phone.

Kurt got mad for a second. "Blaine Anderson! Don't you dare say that, you asshole. Meeting you was one of the best things that's happened to me in a long time, so don't you dare say that, you hear me?" There was silence. "You better be nodding right now. Or fighting really hard not to apologize because I don't want to hear 'I'm sorry' out of your mouth ever again."

There was silence before Kurt heard Blaine exhaled.

"I still wish there was something I could do," Blaine sheepishly admitted.

Kurt thought to himself and breathed heavily through his nose. He didn't like what he was about to suggest, but thought it might be necessary. Everyone deserved a second chance, right? "Well, there might be something."

.

Blaine was sure he was going to get in trouble for skipping out after first period on Friday, but he didn't care. He plugged Kurt's high school's address into his GPS and drove two hours to Lima. He didn't even allow himself to listen to music as penance for practically ruining his boyfriend's life the day before with his stupid, unsolicited advice.

After he parked, he texted Kurt to find out where they were to meet.

A few minutes later, he found himself walking up some stairs with Kurt out near the courtyard.

"Thanks for coming," Kurt said.

"Don't worry about it," Blaine replied earnestly. "Just let me do the talking."

Kurt rolled his eyes but was ready to let Blaine take the lead. He just didn't feel like dealing with Karofsky right now, but knew he had to confront him about the kiss because that was going to haunt him forever.

They walked up the stairs and finding Karofsky turned out to be easier than expected because the bully was walking down toward them. "There he is."

"I got your back," Blaine told his boyfriend. He mustered up a false sense of confidence as he walked toward Kurt's bully. "Excuse me."

Karofsky did not look impressed as he eyed Kurt and this prep school stranger. "Hey ladyboys." Kurt rolled his eyes for the second time in so many minutes as Blaine flared his nostrils in anger. Karofsky scoffed, not in the least bit afraid of this new short guy. "This your boyfriend, Kurt?"

Kurt didn't have time to respond, but somehow the look that he shot Karofsky confirmed that it was.

Blaine stepped in and addressed the towering boy as civilly as he could. "Kurt and I would like to talk to you about something."

"I gotta go to class," Karofsky retorted and brushed past the boys, forcefully shoving Kurt on his way down the steps.

"Kurt told me what you did," Blaine called after him, stopping Karofsky dead in his tracks.

"Oh yeah?" Karofsky questioned, daring the uniform to continue. "What's that?"

Blaine looked at him with an "I'm not afraid to call you out" look on his face, but he turned to Kurt instead since it was his story to tell.

Kurt's voice was void of emotion as he stated the truth very matter-of-factly, "You kissed me."

The jock looked around, praying no one heard him, yet also reacting like this was news to him. He scoffed, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Blaine saw his boyfriend take in a deep breath and turn to him for help. He decided to take the high road. "It seems you might be a little confused, and that's totally normal." Karofsky started to turn away but Blaine didn't want to lose his attention just yet so he called after him and followed him down the steps. "This is a very hard thing to come to terms with and you should just know that you're not alone." Blaine stopped on the landing and Kurt joined him by his side.

Karofsky stopped walking and wrestled briefly with his own mixed emotions before he turned around and ran back up the stairs straight at Blaine. He shoved him hard against the chained walls of the stairwell. "Do not mess with me," he growled, pressing Blaine further into the wall. Blaine's hands went up in surrender, his eyes cast toward the ground and then Karofsky's chin. For a moment he was terrified and couldn't bring himself to look this other boy in the eye.

Blaine only found the courage to look up when Kurt shoved Karofsky off of him, and scolded, "Stop this!"

The bully was knocked off balance and took several steps back before he stopped at the edge of the landing. He realized what he did just then was wrong and that he shouldn't have threatened this stranger, especially since Kurt cared so much about him. But then his guard went back up as Karofsky looked at the other boys. He wanted so badly what they had, but he couldn't bring himself to admit it, so he stormed off down the steps.

Kurt exhaled loudly and Blaine tried to diffuse the tension and cover his own fear by cracking a horrible joke. "Well he's not coming out any time soon." His boyfriend dropped his satchel on the ground and slumped down onto the stairs. Blaine dusted some nonexistent dirt off of his blazer. "What's going on?" Kurt looked miserable so Blaine walked over and sat on the step behind him. "Why are you so upset?"

"Because up until yesterday, you were the only person I ever kissed," Kurt replied. "Or the only person that counted, anyway."

Blaine's heart broke. How could he have been so callous? He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then opened them back up and put a hand on his boyfriend's back. "Come on. I'll buy you lunch. We can talk, okay?" He got up and waited for Kurt to do the same before walking down the stairs.

.

Kurt and Blaine set their lunch trays down at a table in the corner of the cafeteria. It was in no way private, but it was farthest away from they prying eyes and ears of the rest of the glee club who only knew that the mystery boy was Blaine and he was Kurt's "friend" from the summer, so said Mercedes.

"People are staring at us," Kurt warned as he sat down and opened up his bottle of water.

Blaine looked up at his boyfriend and then over to the table of people that Kurt pointed out where his fellow glee club members. He only recognized Mercedes who gave him a huge smile as they passed them on their way to the corner table. He smiled back and followed Kurt. He would follow Kurt anywhere.

Some short girl with brown hair waved frantically at Blaine and he gave a small wave back before turning his attention to Kurt. "Are you okay with this? I can leave right now."

After swallowing his water, Kurt sighed and shook his head. "No, stay. Let the rumor mill start. I don't care anymore."

"Kurt." Blaine's eyes were wide and apologetic.

"Look, this isn't your fault, okay? And even though you probably don't believe me, I'm glad you're here right now," Kurt offered. "Really."

"About what you said on the stairs," Blaine started. "About me being the only person you kissed that counted up until yesterday…"

Kurt looked down at his tray. "You were my first real kiss. And I know this sounds stupid, but I feel like I cheated on your or something, even though I didn't mean to."

"Kurt." Blaine went to grab Kurt's hand in his own but stopped when he realized they weren't in a safe place for physical contact. Instead, he found Kurt's foot under the table and rubbed it with his own. Kurt looked up at Blaine and both boys had glassy eyes. "I would never think that and I don't want you to feel that way. You didn't do anything wrong." He offered Kurt a small smile and rubbed his foot again. "Okay?"

Kurt nodded and after they collected themselves, they dug into their salads and were eventually able to settle into easy conversation.

Mercedes and the rest of the glee club watched from afar as Kurt leaned back in his chair and genuinely laughed at something the blazer-wearing boy said. They had never seen Kurt so happy and bombarded Mercedes with questions she refused to answer.

As the lunch period drew to a close, Kurt and Blaine pushed their chairs under the table and threw their trash away. They waved to the other kids at the glee table and headed toward the exit. Just before they were completely out of sight, Blaine slid his hand into Kurt's and the glee girls squealed when Kurt squeezed his hand back and leaned his head onto the other boy's shoulder.

Mercedes smiled widely as she watched her friends disappear. When she turned her attention back to the table, she was met with questioning eyes.

"Mercedes! Come on. You have to tell us where Kurt found him."

She couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she shrugged and replied, "At the mall."