Kurt was disappointed and when it came up, he often left the room so that he didn't have to hear about what he was missing out on. Many of the Warblers not only wanted to go to New York for the competition, but also to scope out the city and Kurt and Blaine were among them. They had always planned to move there for college; to get out of Lima to a place where they would be accepted with open arms, rather than hostility.

New Directions had invited Kurt and Blaine to watch them perform at McKinley, to show them what they were working on and to receive feedback. They did so politely but only the two of them noticed the disappointment in the other. They really had wanted to go to New York, though the New Directions really were wonderful and would storm the competition. Kurt and Blaine had sat in the auditorium and clapped politely, trying hard not to look too jealous. They had been so wrapped up in the performance that they hadn't noticed the figure looming in the back of the auditorium, watching Kurt with closely guarded eyes.

Kurt was getting ready for school, dressing in his uniform and trying not to grimace as he looked in the mirror. Though he missed wearing his own clothes at public school, he in no way missed the bullying and a little self-repression was a small price to pay for not being constantly terrified. Blaine had stayed the night at home so Kurt would be driving to Dalton alone. He said goodbye to Burt and Carol and headed out to his car. He slipped in the driver's seat and went to place his bag on the passenger seat beside him when he saw a small box looking up at him from the upholstery. Kurt frowned and picked it up, putting his bag down as he did so. Kurt opened it gently and his eyes widened.

Sitting inside the box was a small jewel. But it wasn't just any jewel; it was his birthstone. Kurt picked it up and twirled it between his fingers, looking at it in awe. He smiled and his thoughts instantly went to Blaine. He must have left it in the car for him. Kurt drove to Dalton, basking in the glory of having a perfect boyfriend and parked his car in his allotted space. He jumped out and saw that Blaine's car already there so he quickly headed into the school to find him.

Blaine was waiting at his locker with coffee and a grin that could have lit up the whole school. Kurt pressed a tender kiss to Blaine's lips and Blaine reciprocated eagerly, being careful not to spill any coffee down his boyfriend. That wouldn't have been the most romantic gesture to make.

"Hi," Kurt beamed and Blaine grinned back.

"Hi. Coffee?" Blaine said, holding out the cup.

Kurt took it with a soft smile. "You didn't have too," he said, taking a sip, "you already got me a gift."

"What?" Blaine asked, looking confused.

"My birthstone," Kurt said, laughing slightly. It was just like Blaine to pretend he didn't know anything about the gift.

"Your birthstone?" Blaine repeated, still looking bewildered.

"You didn't leave a box with my birthstone in on the front seat of my car?" Kurt asked, confused.

"No," Blaine said, shaking his head. "Although now I wish I had."

"Oh," Kurt replied. "Someone else must have."

"Maybe it was Finn or Carol," Blaine suggested as Kurt opened his locker.

"They would have given it to me in the house," Kurt frowned, rooting around in his locker for his books. Blaine shrugged but couldn't help but feel jealous. Someone had given his boyfriend a personal and well thought out gift that seemed very intimate and Blaine didn't like it.

The bell rang and Blaine sighed. "I'll see you later," he said and pressed a quick kiss to Kurt's cheek before heading off.

Kurt didn't get a chance to say goodbye and frowned at his boyfriend's retreating figure. Kurt sighed and grabbed his art supplies before slamming his locker door and heading to the class room. He slipped into the seat next to Nick and smiled at him.

"Hey," Kurt greeted.

"Hey," Nick grinned back.

"You didn't leave a present in my car did you?" Kurt asked, unloading his equipment from his Marc Jacobs messenger bag.

"No," Nick frowned, "should I have? Wait - it's not your birthday is it? Damn, why can't I ever remember people's birthdays?" He wailed, dropping his head onto the desk dramatically.

"Relax Nick," Kurt chuckled, "it's not my birthday. Someone just left a present in my car."

"Was it Blaine?" Nick grinned, wiggling his eyebrows.

"No, he said it wasn't him," Kurt replied and Nick's jokey demeanour instantly dropped.

"What was the gift?" Nick asked as they pulled out their work.

"My birth stone," Kurt answered.

"Wow, that's a really...romantic gesture," Nick told him. "Nobody here is stupid enough to give you a gift like that with Blaine around." Kurt frowned at Nick who shrugged. "Look, everyone at Dalton knows that you are Blaine's," Nick said, "nobody wants to screw that up for the two of you so nobody would give you a gift that symbolises that much."

"Then who gave it to me?" Kurt asked rhetorically.

Nick shrugged. "No idea."

Kurt sighed and started his work, trying to push all thoughts of his wretched gift out of his head.

Blaine was in class with Wes and David. Before either of them had had a chance to speak when he sat down, he asked them if either of them had given Kurt the birthstone.

"No," David answered, "we didn't give it to him. Why would we?"

"You didn't?" Wes asked. "Because that's a really nice gift."

"I know," Blaine growled, "don't you think I'm kicking myself that I hadn't thought of it?"

"Any idea who gave it to him?" David asked, ignoring Blaine's anger.

"No, no clue," Blaine said. "Kurt thought I gave it to him."

"Well, that's a fair assumption." Wes pointed out, shrugging. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see but it looks like Kurt has a secret admirer."

"You don't think it's one of the new kids, do you?" Blaine asked, jealousy burning under his skin.

"Who knows," David shrugged. "I guess we'll find out sooner or later."

Blaine nodded. "I'd really like it to be sooner rather than later, so that I can set them straight." He admitted and Wes patted his shoulder sympathetically. Blaine gave him a grateful smile as the teacher started the lesson, signalling that there was no more talk.

After class, Blaine met Kurt by his locker again and planted a kiss on his lips. They didn't usually show such affection in the hallways and Kurt was a bit taken aback, though not displeased. "You awfully affectionate," he murmured.

Blaine just grinned and took his hand, heading to their next class. Kurt frowned at Blaine's odd behaviour but thought better than to question it. At lunch, Kurt finally confronted him.

"What's going on, Blaine?" Kurt asked, pulling his hand from his boyfriend's grasp.

"What?" Blaine replied, looking confused.

"You're flaunting our relationship today. Why?"

"What? I can't be affectionate towards my boyfriend?" Blaine asked, frowning.

"Of course you can," Kurt assured him, "we just don't normally in public."

"What if I wanted to change that? What if I want everyone to know that you're mine?" Blaine growled, fixing Kurt with a possessive gaze.

Kurt eyes widened with surprise. "Blaine," he gasped.

"Do you not want to be seen with me?" Blaine demanded, sounding crestfallen.

Kurt glared at him. "How could you say something like that?" He hissed, well aware of the fact that they were still in public. "You know I'm not ashamed of you. How could I be? What the hell has gotten into you?"

"Why don't you ask the person that got you the present?" Blaine retorted, folding his arms over his chest petulantly.

"This is about the present? You're jealous?" Kurt asked.

"Of course I am!" Blaine cried, throwing his arms up despairingly. "How can I not be? Someone's giving my gorgeous boyfriend wonderful gifts and you expect me to just sit back and watch it happen?"

"This is ridiculous, Blaine," Kurt replied, matter-of-factly, "I don't even know who gave it to me. I'll see you when you stop being irrational." Kurt turned his back on Blaine and walked away, stopping after a few steps and looking over his shoulder. "You know I love you Blaine. I don't understand why you have to question that." Kurt told him, softly. He turned on his heel and kept walking.