Road To Love: Chapter 2

Blaine Anderson could not stop thinking about Kurt Hummel.

After their eyes had met in the garage, Burt had briefly introduced Kurt to Blaine. To say that Blaine was surprised that this was the son Burt had mentioned earlier would be a huge understatement. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but it certainly wasn't the beautiful, fiery, and obviously gay boy that Blaine found himself so strongly drawn to.

Oh god, Blaine thought to himself. I have a ridiculous and unhealthy infatuation with my boss's gay son, who will be working with me, at the place my dad sent me to in the hopes of "straightening me out".

This is bad.

This is very, very bad.

He quickened his pace down the halls of Dalton Academy, the all-boys school in Westerville where he boarded during the week. Dalton was a fantastic school, and Blaine had a lot of good friends within the school. He also happened to be one of the most popular boys in school, as he was the lead singer of the school's Glee club, the Warblers. The Warblers were like rockstars at Dalton. Blaine was highly grateful for Dalton Academy's zero-tolerance anti-bullying policy, which allowed him to be out of the closet, and kept him protected in a way that his old school never could.

Turning the corner into the dining hall, Blaine finally spotted his friends that he had been searching for. He needed to speak to somebody about Kurt. This whole situation was entirely new to Blaine, and it was doing his head in.

He approached the table where his friends Wes and David were seated, arguing rather headedly over the Warblers' set list for sectionals. Blaine sighed dramatically as he dropped into the chair opposite them, hoping to attract their attention. Neither of them even looked up. Blaine frowned in irritation, and cleared his throat loudly.

"Oh, hey Blaine," Wes said distractedly, before returning to his argument with David.

"Guys, I really need to talk to you about something," Blaine said impatiently.

"Can it wait, Blaine? David and I really need to sort out this set list. It is vital that we leave enough time to practice all the numbers thoroughly if we are going to beat those New Directions kids."

Blaine's eyes widened. "Did you just say Nude Erections?"

David snorted. "Everything is nude erections with you, Blaine. No, it's N-E-W D-I-R-E-C-T-I-O-N-S. Ridiculously named, I know. Almost as bad as Aural Intensity...These Glee club directors are all a bunch of perverts, I swear."

Wes looked at David disapprovingly. "David, will you focus please?"

"Sorry. Blaine, shut up, Wes and I have songs to discuss and it is serious business."

Just then, Nick and Jeff showed up at the table, hands clasped, making goo-goo eyes at each other as usual. Blaine sighed in relief. They would probably be willing to hear him out, if they could manage to keep their tongues out of each other's mouths for five minutes.

"Thank god you guys are here. Wes and David are terrible friends and I could really use some advice."

"Sure Blaine, what's up?" Jeff asked, as he and Nick sat down. Nick promptly cuddled into Jeff's chest and began feeding him grapes. Blaine resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"My boss's son looks like an angel sent from heaven. A sexy angel that wears skinny jeans and likes other boys," he blurted out. Jeff stared at Blaine for several seconds before laughing loudly and almost choking on a grape in the process. Nick patted Jeff on the back for a few seconds until he was sure he was not dying, then burrowed his face into Jeff's neck and chuckled. Blaine frowned.

"It is not funny! I don't know what to do! I won't be able to concentrate if I have to work with him! I will end up either breaking something because I am too distracted and getting myself fired, or pushing him up against a car and ravishing him and getting myself fired, or doing some other stupid thing that ends in me getting fired!" Jeff stopped laughing at this, and regarded Blaine seriously.

"You serious, bro? You met this guy what, once, and you're already like, in love with him or something?"

Blaine considered this for a moment. He had never believed in love at first sight. It had always seemed so cliché and unrealistic. He still didn't know anything about Kurt, really. He couldn't possibly be in love with him, could he? "I don't know...I mean, I don't think that I'm in love with him," he said finally, his brow furrowing as he tried to think of the best way to describe how he felt. "I just…like…can't stop thinking about him. And it's not just that he's gorgeous…although he is, definitely…but when I looked at him, something felt different. I felt like something inside me finally clicked. It was like, 'oh, there you are. I've been looking for you forever'. Y'know?"

Blaine swallowed nervously, as he waited for Jeff to start laughing at him again. Instead, Jeff looked at Nick, and they stared into each other's eyes for a moment before turning back to Blaine with soft smiles on their faces. Jeff wrapped his arm tighter around his boyfriend. "Blaine, I think I understand exactly what you mean."

Kurt Hummel could not stop thinking about Blaine Anderson.

He had been wandering around school all day in somewhat of a daze, his head filled with images of big warm hazel eyes framed by long eyelashes. He imagined running his fingers through the thick, curly black hair on Blaine's head (after washing that ridiculous amount of hair gel out, of course). Sitting in math class, he remembered how the sweat had shined on the light brown skin of Blaine's neck, and how his toned body had been visible even beneath the coveralls he wore, which had been slightly unbuttoned at the front. Kurt struggled to suppress a moan, and attempted to focus on the equations in front of him, but his efforts were in vain. His thoughts kept drifting back to the mind-blowingly handsome boy, who was now working for his dad and was almost definitely straight. Shit.

As Kurt headed to the cafeteria for lunch, not really taking note of his surroundings, he was suddenly shoved violently into a locker. His head hit the metal with a loud bang and he winced. He looked up at the face of David Karofsky, the bully who had been picking on him for years. He glared up at Karofsky with as much anger and fierceness as he could muster, but the large boy just sneered at him. "Later, faggot," he snarled, sauntering off down the hall. The crowd parted for him as they did for all the guys who wore letterman jackets. The students at McKinley had quickly learned that unless you wanted to be slushied every day, you didn't get in the way of the football players. Kurt thanked his lucky starts that he hadn't been slushied today, as he had risked wearing his brand-new Alexander McQueen jacket.

He sighed dejectedly and made his way into the cafeteria, sitting with the rest of McKinley High's Glee club, New Directions. His best friend Mercedes, a curvy and stunning African-American girl with an attitude to rival Kurt's, took in his facial expression and immediately tensed in her seat.

"Was it Karofsky again? Are you okay, Boo?"

Kurt hesitated before nodding. "Yeah…I just wish the stupid Neanderthal would leave me alone. It's not like I've done anything to him."

"That asshole," Puck hissed. "What did he do this time?"

"Just the usual crap, shoving me and throwing gay slurs around. Please don't do anything. You'll only make it worse, and get yourselves suspended." His friends seemed unwilling to back down, but Kurt was sick of this. He was sick of everyone getting angry but nothing ever changing. He picked at his salad with a frown on his face. Karofsky never failed to put him in a horrible mood every time he showed his stupid face. He was like a constant reminder that Kurt was neither accepted nor safe, even in an environment that was supposedly meant to protect him from harm. His friends did their best to shelter him when they could, but there wasn't that much they could do, really. Not when the school seemed determined to turn a blind eye to all forms of bullying that would actually require some kind of effort to resolve.

When Kurt arrived back home after school, his palms were sweaty and his heart was racing. He knew that Blaine was working in the garage today, right next to his house. He may or may not have glanced at his work schedule on his dad's desk the day before. He mentally berated himself for having such a ridiculous reaction to a straight male employee of his father's that he had only just met. Geez, Kurt. You sure know how to pick 'em, he thought to himself.

He stomped into his room and decided to attempt to read his novel for English class, but his mind kept wandering back to Blaine, and that shift that he had felt when their eyes had met. Blaine had looked at him with such a strange, unreadable expression on his face. Kurt sighed. He had probably just been trying to hide his disgust and disappointment at the fact that Kurt was Burt's son.

After an hour of frustration and reading the same sentence over and over again without taking anything in, Kurt swore loudly and got off his bed. He paced back and forth in his room for a moment, before marching into the living room. He knew this was a bad idea, but he just needed to see Blaine again. He was surprised to find see Rachel Berry seated on his couch.

"Hey Rachel, what's up?"

"Oh, hello Kurt. I'm just waiting for Finn, we have a date, but he said he was running a bit late. Where are you headed off to in such a rush? You look a little agitated."

Kurt blinked at Rachel. She was good at reading people, he'd give her that. "I was just going to take a drink out to my dad and the new guy he hired," he answered honestly.

"Great, I'll help you!" Rachel smiled widely, and Kurt was actually a little grateful that he would have somebody with him when he faced Blaine again. He wanted to avoid a repeat performance of the other day when they had met. Upon seeing Blaine, his brain had decided to short-circuit and he had ended up standing there and staring like an idiot before practically sprinting from the room.

Rachel helped Kurt grab the drinks from the fridge before heading out to the garage. Kurt opened the door.

"Hey, kiddo," Burt said cheerfully, taking the beer from Kurt's hand. "Thanks. How was school?"

"It was…umm…fine," Kurt stammered, desperately trying to look anywhere but at Blaine, whose shape he could vaguely make out in his peripheral vision. When he heard Blaine thanking Rachel for his drink, he nearly swooned. His voice was so smooth and gentlemanly, dripping with sweetness and a hint of seductiveness…he sounded like a goddamn Disney prince, or something.

Kurt caved and looked over at Blaine, who was now making small talk with Rachel. Blaine suddenly looked up and made direct eye contact with Kurt once again. He froze, and Blaine looked like a deer caught in the headlights, before blushing bright red and quickly turning back to Rachel. Kurt felt heat rising in his own cheeks, and looked down at his feet. Shit, he thought. Shit, shit, shit. Now you've done it, you've gone and been blatantly obvious. He knows you like him and now you've made it awkward and uncomfortable. Stupid, stupid…

"I'll see you later, dad!" He squeaked, and hurried from the room. He walked over to one of the windows and peeked in, seeing Blaine and Rachel still talking and laughing. If he didn't know any better, he'd say Rachel was flirting with Blaine. The way she giggled and touched his arm, and twirled her own hair around her index finger…Kurt felt a sudden pang of jealousy and anger, and tried to decipher Blaine's reactions to her flirting. He looked a tad skittish, yet seemed to be responding. Kurt glared at Rachel's back.

After about five minutes, Rachel said goodbye to Blaine and joined Kurt outside. Kurt grabbed her roughly by the arm and dragged her back towards his house.

"What the hell was that, Rachel? You're with Finn! You're dating my stepbrother, why were you flirting with Blaine?" Rachel just smirked at him.

"Yeah, but Blaine doesn't know that I'm with Finn. I was doing you a favour." Kurt blinked down at the short girl. He didn't like the way her eyes were twinkling knowingly.

"How is flirting with Blaine doing me a favour?"

"Well," Rachel stated matter-of-factly, "I happened to notice the way you avoided looking at him and then blushed when you accidentally made eye contact, so I figured I'd help you to determine his sexuality for sure, as you are very clearly interested in him and I am an expert matchmaker."

Kurt stared at Rachel in shock and horror. She kept talking without missing a beat.

"I approve of your tastes, Kurt. He is certainly very attractive, and quite the gentleman. He seemed to be responding to my advances, but it could simply be that he is a very nice and rather clueless person. I would say there is at least a 40% chance that he plays for your team, based on the fact that he kept glancing at you every few seconds before you left, and blushed when you two made eye contact." Rachel stated this figure as if it were a concrete, incontestable fact.

"He…he was probably just uncomfortable, and trying to figure out the best way to kick my ass!" Kurt spluttered. "He's a mechanic. He fixes cars, and stuff. There's no way he's gay."

Rachel raised an eyebrow and regarded Kurt for a moment.

"Oh, shut up," he muttered. "It's different with me. I do it because of my dad."

"Well, Kurt, despite your rather ironic stereotyping of mechanics," Rachel said as Kurt glared at her, "I think you should find out for sure, then you maybe you'll be able to work with him without blushing every time he glances in your direction." With that, she smiled, turning on her heel and skipping back towards the house.

Damn Rachel Berry and her people-reading skills.

As much as he hated to admit it, however, Kurt knew that Rachel had a good point. If he really wanted to get over his stupid crush or whatever it was, his first step would be to determine with absolute certainty whether Blaine was, in fact, straight. Then hopefully the knowledge that nothing could ever happen between the two of them would be enough to snap Kurt out of this ridiculous state. He had learnt his lesson with Finn. Straight guys are off-limits and there is absolutely no point in wasting time pining over them. Also, they usually have lots of disgusting secret habits anyway. Like passing gas in public and not conditioning their hair. He wrinkled his nose.

Now he just needed to formulate a plan. A "gay test", one might say. Kurt smirked slightly as he ran inside the house and straight up to his room, ignoring Rachel and Finn who were now making out on the living room couch. Grabbing his cellphone, Kurt dialled a number that he had never thought he would ever call, and held the phone to his ear.

"Hello, Santana? It's Kurt. I need your help."