WEDNESDAY - PART I

Kurt walked into Calculus with a goofy grin on his face and could almost not care less that he had a huge test ahead of him. His phone was in his pocket and he kept absentmindedly brushing his hand against it was he walked, and smiling to himself as he thought about the text Blaine sent him earlier that morning.

While Kurt was brushing his teeth before heading to class, he felt his phone vibrate. After yanking it out, ready to roll his eyes at whatever dumb picture his stepbrother was sending him, he quickly blushed when he saw the message was from Blaine.

I can’t wait to see you later – just text me where you want me to meet you after your class. Break a leg with your Calc test this morning!  xBlaine

They had exchanged numbers the night before with a promise to text each other the next day to solidify their afternoon plans. Each boy wanted to text the other as soon as he was settled for the night, but was too scared. Kurt couldn’t believe that some incredibly handsome older guy actually wanted to hang out with him while Blaine was kicking himself for not telling Kurt the entire truth about why he was in town.

It would have been so easy to just say, “Oh. I’m Devon Anderson. You’re acting teacher is my older brother and that’s why I’m in town.” But, Blaine was worried that once Kurt knew, it would change the dynamic of whatever this was going on between them. It was definitely a friendship, but felt like it could easily tip toward something more if either party was brave enough to do something about it. As it was right then, Kurt thought Blaine was just like him – someone who went through the wringer for just trying to be himself and made it out alive to try and conquer the world his own way. Blaine needed that – the feeling of being able to relate to someone and having someone be able to empathize with him.

After saying they would see each other the next day, Blaine turned to leave. He was stopped when he felt a hand on his arm and looked back to see Kurt staring at him, wordlessly. Blaine felt exposed, even though he was fully dressed, and swore he could hear his own heart beating. Turning back around to face Kurt, Blaine wrapped his arms around the other boy and held tight. His head fit perfectly on Kurt’s shoulder as he breathed in the younger boy’s scent of coffee and cologne. Though Blaine still had guitar on his back, Kurt managed to snake his arms around Blaine and hugged him, sighing contentedly into Blaine’s neck.

Eventually they pulled apart, but not before Blaine placed a gentle kiss on Kurt’s cheek near the corner of his mouth. Kurt ducked his head, dizzy with feeling so much for this other boy entirely too quickly. Blaine watched the corners of Kurt’s mouth sneak up into a private smile and his own heart melted. He knew he had to leave before he broke down. Afraid to say something for fear of his vulnerability betraying his voice, Blaine ran a hand down Kurt’s arm and briefly held his hand before completely pulling away and stepping back. He gave Kurt a knowing half smile that he hoped shared his own overwhelming feelings in that moment. They didn’t say goodbye because they couldn’t. “Goodbye” had such a finality to it and neither boy was ready to end what was only just starting.

Kurt somehow buckled down to study after his evening with Blaine, but the older boy shut down as he keyed his way into his brother’s apartment. Cooper was completely ready to tease Blaine about being out with a boy on only his second day in town, but when he saw how upset his brother was when he got in, he stopped himself before he even started.

“You okay, Blainers?” Cooper watched as Blaine silently put his guitar case in the corner of the room and crossed over to the fridge to grab a beer. “Bad date?” Blaine shook his head as he popped the cap off his bottle against the kitchen counter. “Good date?” Cooper asked, confused. How could Blaine be that distraught if he had a good time? Blaine took a swig of beer and ran a hand through his hair, pulling at his curls in frustration. Cooper knew something was definitely wrong, but was used to his brother shutting down and having to coax information out of him. “B… I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s wrong.”

Cooper walked over to his brother and stood in front of him, hoping Blaine would look up. Instead, the younger Anderson stared down at the floor. After a few moments, Cooper reached down and took the beer bottle out of his brother’s hand before placing the bottle on the counter. He then slowly pulled his brother into a hug and rubbed Blaine’s back in soothing circles just as he had done when Blaine was a little boy.

“Did he break your heart, B?” Cooper asked carefully in a soft voice. Blaine tensed in his brother’s arms at the question, but then shook his head.

“He’s putting it back together, Coop,” Blaine mumbled into his brother’s shoulder, “and I have no idea how to deal with that.” There was a few seconds of silence before Blaine started sniffling. “But he doesn’t know. He doesn’t know me.” A small sob escaped Blaine’s lips as he buried his head into Cooper’s chest.

Cooper felt he tears soaking into his shirt but he didn’t ask any more questions that night.

…

The Calculus test did not go as bad as Kurt thought it was going to and he walked out of the room with confidence and a few extra minutes to spare before the class period was actually over. Grateful to cross that off his list of things to do today before he had a chance to see Blaine again, Kurt started walking to the drama building a little early, hoping to catch his acting teacher before the rest of the class got there.

On his way into the auditorium, Kurt pulled out his phone and responded to Blaine’s earlier text.

I think I kicked my Calc test’s ass. Can you meet me in the drama building at 2? There’s an auditorium on the main floor - I want to show you something. Lemme know if you need directions. xKurt

Just before he walked through the door at the back of the stage, Blaine responded back, causing Kurt to smile widely.

I’ll find it. See you at 2!! (and YAY on the test)  xBlaine

“Hey Kurt!”

And just like that, Kurt realized he was not the only person on stage. Embarrassed for being so smiley and giddy, Kurt quickly tried to shove his phone in his pocket as he walked over toward Cooper who was sorting through some papers on top of the piano.

“Hey, Mr. Anderson,” Kurt said as he approached his teacher who looked as if his mind was somewhere else.

Cooper looked at his watch and noticed Kurt was several minutes early. “You know, you didn’t have to come early today just because you were late on Monday.”

Kurt let out a little laugh, “No, I know. I actually came early today because I had to ask you a favor. Do you, uh, have any extra tickets for your brother’s concert tomorrow?”

Of all the questions Kurt could have asked, that was not one that Cooper was expecting to hear, especially since Kurt had questioned going to the concert to begin with. “Extra tickets? Like, how many do you need?” Cooper put down the papers he was holding and pulled his satchel over to dig through it. He was pretty sure he had a couple tickets floating around in there somewhere.

“Oh, just one,” Kurt replied quickly.

Cooper raised his eyebrows. The freshmen class of actors was small enough for him to know his students’ quirks and he could tell Kurt was bursting at the seams with excitement, but was trying extremely hard to keep it in. “Just one, huh? For someone special?”

Kurt’s smile betrayed him as he cocked his head to consider what his teacher had asked him. “Kind of. I mean, I think he’s more than just a friend, but… I don’t know. It’s complicated?”

Cooper’s student had never told him outright that he was gay, but he had figured as much. Though not all of the boys in the theater program were members of the LGBTQ community, Copper was aware that several of his students were, including Kurt. He had never overheard Kurt talk about anyone before and it made Cooper happy to see his student so happy. Having an out younger brother around Kurt’s age allowed Cooper to empathize more with his situation. He wished Blaine was that happy the night before when he came home from his evening with some mystery guy instead of breaking down so badly that Blaine cried himself to sleep.

With a nod and a knowing smile, Cooper dug around a couple more moments in his bag and found a stray ticket. “Ah ha!” He pulled the ticket out of his bag and looked at his brother’s name in the center of it before handing it over to Kurt. “Well, I hope your complicated friend enjoys the show. My brother really is a great pianist.”

He was also a talented guitar player.

While Kurt was thanking his teacher and putting his extra ticket to Devon Anderson’s concert in his wallet, Blaine Anderson was back in the park for a third day in a row, strumming his guitar under that same tree and just enjoying playing music for anyone who wanted to listen.

Blaine had a little while before he had to head over to the auditorium. He had figured out from the map on his phone that the building was a few blocks away, so he was going to allow himself a little more time to play before he collected his things and headed toward Kurt.

Another person walking by dropped a dollar into his guitar case causing Blaine to smile and nod his head, not missing a beat of the song he was singing. He found that more people were likely to stop and listen and throw in a dollar or two if he played his own arrangements of pop songs from the past few years. So, Blaine spent the last couple hours singing along to every Katy Perry and Pink song he knew, mixed in with some fun. and a few classic rock numbers that everyone loved, regardless of age.

Not wanting to be late to meet up with Kurt, Blaine finished up his last song and thanked the people who were standing around him for listening, but that he had to leave. Another few dollars fluttered down into his guitar case as he sat on the ground to sort the money and put his guitar away.

After meeting up with Kurt, Blaine was hoping to take the younger boy to the homeless shelter to donate that day’s money. He thought that would help him explain to Kurt that he had a job and had no need to pocket the money that he had earned by busking in the park. Blaine had it all planned out in his head – he would take Kurt to the shelter, donate some more money and then reveal that he was in town to play at the concert Kurt would already be attending the next night. Kurt would laugh heartily at the whole situation, they would then go to dinner and live happily ever after.

Okay, Blaine knew some of his plan would likely not happen just like that, but he thought Kurt was compassionate and patient enough to understand why he was scared to tell him about the piano playing. He hoped he knew Kurt as well as he thought he did for only having spent a couple hours with him the day before.

Guitar case in hand and busking money tucked safely in his front pocket, Blaine made his way toward the drama building. He made sure that he looked nicer that day than he had the day before, hoping that the extra effort to look presentable for Kurt would help when he told Kurt the truth about everything. Blaine was still wearing jeans, but they were a cleaner, and much darker, pair that were cuffed at the ankle. He had on a gray cardigan overtop a white button-up shirt with a bright red bowtie. It was a little breezy while he was playing outdoors, so his curls had blown around and loosened a bit. He didn’t like using hair gel when he wasn’t performing, so he had just gotten used to his hair being a little messy if he didn’t want to cover it with a hat.

Blaine got to the drama building in less time than he anticipated and had a couple minutes to wait until Kurt’s class was over. He took out his phone and started Googling different restaurants in the area, wanting to take Kurt somewhere nice for dinner so they could have some privacy and talk.

Just as he was about to click to find out more about a Thai place, Blaine heard a familiar voice through the auditorium doors.

“Okay, guys. Remember you got that concert tomorrow night,” Cooper announced to his students over top of some groans. “I’m telling you, you’re going to thank me for free tickets. People normally pay big bucks to my brother play. If you hate it, feel free to blame me, but be nice to him because I’ve asked him to come speak to you on Friday. He’s only a couple years older than you, so he’ll be able to answer any questions you have about being in a performance career right out of college. Okay?”

Blaine groaned. He didn’t remember actually agreeing to speak with Cooper’s class, but he guessed now that was on his list of things to do. Squeezing his eyes shut tight, he realized this meant speaking in front of Kurt, and while it was going to be great getting to spend that much more time around him, he had to clear the air with Kurt – and soon.

“Blaine!”

The pianist’s eyes flew open and he looked around at the source of his name. He smiled as he saw Kurt walking toward him. For a fraction of a second, all his worries melted away when the younger boy threw his arms around Blaine’s neck. There was no hesitation as Blaine wrapped his arms behind Kurt and splayed his hands across his back.

“Hey you! You have any tests to study for for tomorrow, or are you free for a little while?”

Kurt smiled widely, knowing how open his schedule was for the rest of the day. “Free as a bird!”

Blaine smiled as they pulled apart and he could get a good look at Kurt. The younger boy looked so happy, he couldn’t help but feel amazing in that moment. He couldn’t remember the last time someone he liked was that excited to spend time with him. With a content sigh, Blaine held his hand out for Kurt to take if he wanted. Kurt looked down at the proffered hand and then shyly back up at Blaine before sliding his own hand in Blaine’s. Eight fingers and two thumbs quickly tangled themselves together and it just felt right.

“So,” Blaine started, “you said you wanted to show me something?” He squeezed Kurt’s hand as he swung their joined hands slightly in between them, liking the ease of it all even though this was definitely something Blaine wasn’t used to.

Nodding his head, Kurt beamed. “Yeah, I wanted to show you a costume I made last semester, if that’s all right with you?”

It was Blaine’s turn to grin, “Yes, of course!”

Kurt tugged on Blaine’s hand to wordlessly tell him to walk back toward the direction of the auditorium door to go down the hallway. Just as they were about to cross in front of the door, they collided with someone walking out of it.

“Oh my god, we’re so sorry, Mr. Anderson!” Kurt quickly apologized to his teacher, who had dropped the stack of papers he was carrying.

Cooper immediately dropped to his knees to pick up the papers. “No worries, I should have looked where I was going, Kurt.” Upon saying his student’s name, he looked up to assure Kurt that everything was okay, but found himself drawn to the boy next to Kurt. The Anderson brothers locked eyes as Kurt unclasped his hand from Blaine’s to kneel down and help Cooper pick up the loose papers. Cooper’s face screwed into a look of confusion and just as he was about to open his mouth to ask his brother what was going on, Blaine shook him off as if he were a pitcher wanting his catcher to call for a different pitch.

Kurt was so busy trying to organize the papers in his hand that he didn’t notice the seemingly strange interaction between who he assumed were two strangers. However, when he finally stood back up and saw Mr. Anderson looking at Blaine, he blushed. “Mr. Anderson, this is Blaine, my … um… yeah. And Blaine, this is my acting teacher, Mr. Anderson.”

Both Andersons immediately stuck out their hands toward each other and gave a firm handshake.

“Nice to meet you, sir,” Blaine said to his brother, pleading with his eyes not to ask anything right then.

Cooper could tell his brother didn’t want to be questioned right then and there, but he made a mental not to talk to him later that evening. If Kurt was the same person that Blaine was with yesterday, than he needed to get a few things straight – like why Kurt needed an extra ticket for Blaine to see his own concert. “Yes. Nice to meet you too, Blaine.”

Blaine shot Cooper a look that was a cross between “I’m going to kill you” and “If you let me off the hook right now, I will be forever in your debt” and the older Anderson backed off. Cooper gave him one in return that screamed “We’re talking about this later.”

After a pause, Cooper assumed a wide smile. “Well, you two have a nice afternoon. See you tomorrow, Kurt,” Cooper said to his student before giving both boys a wave and walking down the hallway, shaking his head to himself.

“Bye,” Kurt called after him before turning to Blaine, a slightly embarrassed look on his face.

“Sooooooo,” Blaine said, hoping to steer conversation away from the slight awkwardness that just happened between them and his brother. “Costume?”

Kurt’s eyes lit up. “Right! Costume! Come on – this way!” He reached over and took Blaine’s hand and the two of them continued down the hallway toward the costume shop.

It amazed Blaine how much magic was hidden behind a plain door. Kurt walked him through the rows and rows of costumes, separated into different themes or time periods. Blaine watched as Kurt would gingerly touch different costumes that he saw in various shows or used a particular kind of fabric that he loved. He understood that these weren’t just pieces of clothes to Kurt, and that there were so many stories behind every costume and if they had more time that day, Blaine would have loved to have heard every one.

In the farthest corner of the room, Kurt led Blaine down a narrow aisle of wardrobe labeled “Fairies.” The younger boy blushed, knowing how both appropriate and altogether horrible it was that he made a costume for a fairy. He gently shoved aside the costumes surrounding the one that he created and Blaine watched as Kurt grabbed the hanger and gently removed his creation from the rack.

Blaine’s eyes wandered the length of the costume, trying to summon the words to tell Kurt how beautiful it was.

When Blaine didn’t say anything right away, Kurt tried to fill the silence and make excuses for his costume. “It’s silly, I know. It was for a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This was the first thing I ever sewed that wasn’t for me. I know it’s not, like, the best thing ever, but I just thought – ”

“Kurt,” Blaine said softly, stopping the other boy mid-ramble. “It’s not silly.” He lifted a hand to the sparkling wings and ran a finger slowly down their delicate edge. “This is beautiful,” he murmured with such reverence. “This is beautiful and you made this.”

A heavy silence filled the cramped room as all they stared at each other. It was all just too much to take in. They still didn’t know much about each other, but there was this inherent need to be with each other and they both felt it. It was exhilarating, but extremely scary.

Kurt hung the costume back on the rack and adjusted the costumes around it so that everything was evenly spaced out once again. He turned around to find Blaine staring at the floor, looking lost.

“What’s wrong?” Kurt asked, reaching out to run a finger along Blaine’s hand.

Blaine looked up at Kurt and his shoulders slumped a bit when he saw the concerned look in Kurt’s eyes. “What are we doing?” Kurt’s eyebrows furrowed at Blaine’s question, not quite understanding. “Friday, Kurt. I have to leave on Friday.”

With that reminder of the ever-ticking clock, Kurt’s eyes became glassy with tears he refused to shed. He swallowed back the lump forming in his throat and nodded that he finally understood what Blaine was getting at. “I know.” He slid a hand into Blaine’s and squeezed it. “I know.”  After a stuttered sigh, Kurt collected himself the best he could, determined to make the most out of their situation. If it was meant to be, they would figure it out. But for now, Kurt wanted to spend time with Blaine and not be sad in the costume shop. “I know we’re on borrowed time here, and we’re going to need to talk about this,” he motioned between the two of them, “soon… but for now, can we just be happy spending the rest of the day together? Please?”

Blaine closed his eyes and nodded, wishing he were stronger. He allowed Kurt to lead him out of the costume shop and out the door of the drama building.