Kurt shouted over his shoulder on his way out the front door, "I love you Dad!" He didn't even hear if his father responded as he flung open the door of his Navigator, jumped in and started the car.

Armed with two credit cards, Kurt was on a mission: talk to Blaine and finish his back-to-school shopping.

During the two-hour drive to Easton, Kurt almost made himself sick trying to come up with topics of conversation for him and Blaine. He hoped the other boy's eye had healed and even though he was desperate to know how it got that way to begin with, Kurt vowed to himself not to pry. He didn't want to scare away his new friend.

New friend.

...

Blaine didn't tell his mom why he offered to work at her kiosk again. Vanessa knew something was up when Blaine stopped talking about Derrek and thought that maybe her son was offering to work so he didn't have to deal with boy problems. It was killing her not to know what was going on inside her son's personal life, but she didn't want to pry because she didn't want to push him away. So, Vanessa allowed Blaine to take her car and drive to Easton. She loved her son; she just didn't know how to help him.

Blaine parked and walked inside the enclosed area of the mall. He unlocked the sides of the kiosk and flung up the shutters. He turned on the lights and made sure his mom's designs were neatly displayed. He climbed up onto his stool, closed his eyes and sighed. Biting his lip, he looked around and wondered if Kurt was going to show up today. He had a lot of time to think over the week and he decided he really wanted to talk to someone about what happened and even though he just met Kurt, he felt comfortable around him; like it was okay to be honest about who he was. Maybe he could ask Kurt if he wanted to get coffee or something. He could do that. It was just coffee.

...

After Kurt pulled into the parking lot, he wanted to jump out of his car and run straight to the Designs by Vanessa kiosk and say Hi to Blaine. But he didn't. Instead, he kept his seat belt on while he gave himself a pep talk. "Just calm down. You barely know the guy. You can go and say Hi, but then you need to get some school clothes." Kurt stopped talking to himself after he realized what he just said. He was convincing himself he had to take time to actually shop. His eyes widened as his brain caught up with his feelings. "Get a grip, Hummel and take Blaine off of the pedestal. He's your friend. Say Hi to your friend and then buy some clothes." Kurt took several deep breaths before finally unbuckling his seat belt and getting out of his car.

Blaine was just saying goodbye to a customer when he saw Kurt walking toward him. A huge smile sprouted across his face, "Hey Kurt!"

Kurt couldn't help but return the grin, especially because he was close enough to see Blaine's black eye was almost all the way gone. "Hi Blaine! I'm glad to see your eye is looking so much better."

"Yeah, it's healing pretty fast. But I have to thank you for it looking so good," Blaine leaned over and loudly stage whispered to Kurt, "see, I have some make up on." Kurt chuckled and his cheeks flushed pink. He was laughing at Blaine, but also tickled that Blaine used the concealer he gave him. As Kurt watched Blaine chuckle to himself at his own joke, Kurt could also tell that Blaine must have used the hair products too as his curly hair looked extra shiny and frizz-free.

There were a few moments of silence, but they weren't as awkward as times in the past. Both of the boys were thinking similar thoughts at the exact same time, though neither knew it. Each wished the other could hang out and just talk all day, but knew that wasn't a likely possibility. Kurt knew Blaine had to work, and Blaine figured Kurt didn't drive two hours just to talk to him. But Kurt had offered to listen if Blaine ever needed to talk.

They both started talking at the same time.

"I should let you get back –"

"Do you want to get – "

Both boys stopped before they finished their own sentences. Kurt silently hoped that Blaine would repeat what he was saying because if he wasn't mistaken, it sounded like Blaine was asking him a question.

He was.

"Um, I know I have to work, but do you, um, maybe want to get coffee later? I'm done with work at 4 and my mom let me borrow her car, so I don't have to go home right away."

Kurt nodded his head slowly, "Yeah, that would be great. I need to get some shopping done – you know, back to school clothes and stuff. But coffee, um, coffee would be great." He shot Blaine a small smile. "I should probably let you get back to work. But I'll meet you back here at 4?"

Blaine smiled and nodded. "Yeah. See you at 4."

Kurt lifted his hand to wave goodbye, but then quickly closed his hand into a fist and then tried to pretend he was flexing out his hand. (Who waves when you're still, like, four feet away from a person?!) He gave an embarrassed chuckle, smiled one last time at Blaine, and then walked away. Kurt checked his watch. It was just after noon. He sighed, but knew he could spend four hours shopping for clothes.

After Kurt walked away, Blaine pulled out his phone to check the time. It was just after noon. He sighed, and knew it was going to be a long few hours before he saw Kurt again. He hoped he had a lot of customers. Even rude customers would make the time pass faster than no customers at all.

...

Kurt went into several stores and busied himself by trying on everything in his size. He modeled clothes in the mirror, texting Mercedes some pictures of outfits he liked best. He didn't tell her about his upcoming coffee with Blaine because he didn't want her to make a big deal about it. He had already talked himself out of it being a date. It wasn't a date, it was just coffee. Coffee with a friend. Coffee with Blaine.

After a couple hours of trying stuff on, Kurt realized he should call his dad and let him know that he wasn't going to be home around 6:00 like he originally thought.

It took two rings for Burt Hummel to pick up the phone, "You okay, kid?"

Kurt smiled, "Yeah, dad, I'm fine. Um, I just wanted to let you know that I'm not going to be able to make it home for dinner at 6:00. You guys can go ahead and eat without me."

"Should I be worried that you're going to be late, son?" Burt sounded concerned.

"No, dad, it's just that a friend asked if I would get coffee with him at 4:00."

"Him?"

Whoops.

"Kurt, you still there?"

"Yeah, dad. I'm still here."

"So, what is this, um, a date, or something?" Burt tried to sound casual, but Kurt could sense a hint of panic in his dad's voice.

Kurt's face flushed red even though his dad couldn't see it. "No, dad, he's just a friend. He works at the mall. His mom designed the necklace you gave Carole for her birthday a few weeks ago?"

The phone went silence, but Kurt somehow knew that his dad was nodding.

"Okay, kid." There was a pause. "Look, we'll miss you at dinner, but have fun with your friend, all right? We'll see you tonight. I love you, son."

"I love you too, dad. Bye."

Kurt clicked the "end call" button on his phone.

...

As it neared 4:00, Kurt hauled his purchases to his car so he wouldn't have to deal with any bags when he met back up with Blaine. He was pleased with the clothes he found and knew exactly how to incorporate them into his already massive wardrobe.

After composing himself and giving himself another little pep talk ("It's just coffee with a friend."), Kurt headed back into the enclosed area of the mall and saw that Blaine turned off the lights at the kiosk and was closing the shutters.

"Need any help?" Blaine turned around to see Kurt standing behind him. He smiled.

"Sure! You wanna hand me a couple of those locks near the register?" Blaine motioned around to the other side of the kiosk. Kurt walked over and saw several numbered locks sitting ready to be fastened over by the register. He grabbed the locks labeled "1" and "2" and carried them over to Blaine. "Thanks!"

Kurt helped Blaine finish shutting the shutters and locking up. "Since you've been stuck in here all day, do you want to get out of here? There's a coffee shop a few miles down the road."

Blaine was grateful for the suggestion. "That would be awesome. Can I follow you in my car?"

Kurt nodded and they walked out to the parking lot together in a nervous silence that was broken when they realized they were parked next to each other. They laughed and got in their respective cars, acknowledging that they would see each other in a few minutes.

Once they were at the coffee shop, they walked in together and placed their orders. Though the paid for their own drinks, and in Blaine's case, some biscotti, each boy made a mental note of the other's coffee order. When they got their drinks, they wandered over to an empty table in the corner.

It was awkward at first. They made small talk about the heat and the poor quality of summer television. Kurt took a long sip of coffee, trying to give himself a moment to think of something more substantial to say, but Blaine beat him to it.

"Can I ask you something?" Kurt swallowed and nodded at his friend, wondering where this was going. "Why are you so nice to me?"

Kurt was thankful he had already swallowed his sip of coffee because the earnestness of Blaine's voice and the vulnerability he was showing would have made Kurt choke. Kurt looked at Blaine was almost a pained look. "Why wouldn't I be nice to you? You're a nice person."

Blaine lowered his eyes and looked at the table. "I'm sorry, that was a dumb question."

Kurt waned to reach across the table so badly and put a reassuring hand on Blaine's, but he didn't dare. "Hey. Hey." Blaine looked up at him. "Don't do that. I haven't known you for very long, but I have noticed that you always do that."

"Always do what?"

"Apologize when you ask something you think you shouldn't have asked."

Blaine's cheeks flushed pink. "Sorry." Kurt raised his eyebrows, causing Blaine to chuckle. "Sorry. Shit. I can't help it!" He was genuinely smiling at this point, as was Kurt. "Um, Kurt?"

"Yeah?"

Blaine sighed. "Last week you said that if I needed to talk about," he gestured to his face, " that I could talk to you."

Kurt nodded. "Uh huh." He still wasn't going to pry.

"I got beat up…" he took a deep breath and let it out, then almost whispered, "because I'm gay."

Kurt clenched his teeth and his eyes widened. There was a horrible mix of relief and heartbreak happening in his chest. He swallowed hard and fought back tears he knew were threatening to well up. He looked at the boy across from him, whose eyes were cast back down at the table, as if he were ashamed of his confession. Kurt needed Blaine to know he was okay. "I'm sorry, Blaine. No one deserves that." Kurt swallowed and offered his own confession, hoping it would help Blaine understand that he wasn't alone. "My bullies toss me into dumpsters or shove me against lockers. That how I, um, knew the concealer would help with your bruises."

Blaine looked up at Kurt with tears in his eyes, his chest heaving from trying to internalize all his emotions. "You too?" Kurt nodded.

As initially painful as it was for each boy to confess to the other that he was bullied for being gay, this shared experience erased any remaining shred of awkwardness that was looming about. In that instant, their friendship was bonded by something very few of their peers understood. Blaine had been around other gay guys his age before (as upset he was about the whole Derrek snafu, he realized he was lucky to have had a confidant before), but Kurt hadn't - at least none that were open about it (though he had a feeling there were probably some closeted kids at his high school). He didn't realize how much he needed the opportunity to talk with someone who just got it, someone who just knew what he was going through. Someone who asked himself the same awful question he did everyday - "Why can't people just accept me for who I am?"

Conversation flowed freely between the boys. They segued to more cheerful topics and talked about favorite books and movies. Kurt almost fell out of his chair when Blaine started gushing over his love of Vogue and how he especially loved the cover that featured Marion Cotillard. ("What?! Oh my god, me too!"). You couldn't smack the smiles off of their faces; they were just so happy that they found a friend who they could laugh with, or wouldn't judge him if he talked about finding another guy attractive.

"So tell me, Kurt. How do you not get bored shopping at the same mall every week?"

Kurt brought his coffee up to his lips and blinked a few times, stalling before he answered. He knew Blaine was probably genuinely interested in his response but he couldn't help but think (hope?) that there was a subtle hint of flirting happening. After taking a sip of his drink and swallowing, Kurt gave Blaine a small smile and shrugged. "There are better stores here than any strip mall near where I live. I've been coming here a lot since I got my license…" Kurt's eyes found Blaine's but then lowered toward the table as he confessed quietly, "Plus it's kinda nice having someone to talk to."

It was one thing for Blaine to secretly hope Kurt liked coming to the mall talk with him, but it was another to actually hear the other boy vocalize it. That made everything real.

The silence between them should have been more awkward, but it wasn't. Two sets of cheeks flushed pink as they both took sips of coffee. Both boys were growing fonder of the other; thankful for this newfound friendship of kindness and understanding. Both boys also found themselves liking the other one; enamored by his strength to keep going after being bullied, attracted to the other's inner and outer beauty, and just completely smitten with the fact that his new friend is ridiculously adorable and quirky. This caused momentary feelings of panic within each of their chests. Though the friendship was new, it was already very precious and dear to them. If one boy made a "more than friends" pass at the other this early on, he could potentially ruin what they had just started. Neither boy wanted to compromise their friendship with the other, and each was too scared to make a first move (though he desperately hoped the other one would).

It started getting late and Kurt still had a two-hour drive ahead of him, so he was forced to end their coffee non-date. Blaine understood and walked with his friend out of the shop and toward their cars.

Though Kurt really meant to leave right then, they ended up talking for another fifteen minutes or so. It wasn't until Kurt's phone buzzed with a text from his father that they realized how late it actually was.

"Oh, crap. I gotta go. But, um, are you going to be working again next weekend?"

Blaine nodded, "Yeah, I told my mom I would do her weekend shifts so she could be with her mom" (who was already out of the hospital and doing better at this point, but Kurt didn't have to know that...). He shrugged, "So I'll be in my usual spot if you happen to be at Easton and wanted to stop by..."

Kurt smiled. "Well, I'm sure if I'm here, I will make sure to say Hi."

"Bye, Kurt."

"See you next week, Blaine."