It seemed all at once like summer had lasted forever and no time at all as Blaine parked at McKinley High and watched Kurts Navigator pull up beside him. Finn got out of the passenger seat as Blaine exited his own car, and they waved hello to each other before the quarterback made his way to the school, yelling to Puck who had somehow managed to already get into a fight with someone.

"How is he even going to graduate?" Blaine mused aloud as Kurt wandered over with a coffee for him, holding it out and sipping his own. "I mean, he gets in trouble so much… ISS cant count as going to class, can it? Not that much at least. Hows he even pass the tests?" He was thinking too hard about this, but it was seriously perplexing.

Kurt rolled his eyes and adjusted his satchel. "Its McKinley, Blaine. A chimp could pass the classes here. Plus, Puck gets away with a single detention if anything most of the time. He does way less damage than the other jocks now, and they dont get shit for what they do." Blaine had to agree there. It was a shame, really. McKinley was a…. special school. "Oh, fuck. Speak of the neanderthals…"

Hearing Kurts voice fall made Blaine glance over his shoulder, only to groan. Dammit. It was only the first day and already Azimio and Karofsky were stalking toward them. "We are not getting dumpster tossed on the first damn day of senior year, Kurt. We just arent." He was already balling a fist at his side while Kurt gave him a look that looked surprised and… aroused? Okay.

"Heeeey, its our favorite homos! Still pretending you have a place here, huh ladies? Well, maybe we should just show you that place. Think they remember their special dumpster?" Karofsky spoke, questioning his partner who grinned like an idiot and started for Blaine. That was all the shorter boy needed to get him going. He was not starting his senior year by getting thrown in a fucking dumpster with his boyfriend. He wasnt going to let anybody throw his boyfriend anywhere!

Blaine pulled his arm back and bit his bottom lip, swinging forward with full force and hitting the jocks jaw with a bone-crunching force. He felt Azimios jaw shift with the hit, and his knuckles almost split with the force, but it just made him want to hit the boy again. Or maybe hed hit Karofsky, since that idiot had actually just grabbed Kurts wrist and twisted it hard enough to make Kurt yell.

Blood dripped on the pavement of the parking lot and Blaine was aiming a fist for Karofskys right eye when the sound of Sue Sylvesters voice rang out from just behind him, commanding him to stop. "Dough-face, hold that fist! Moron Jock, let go of Porcelain before I personally remove your arm from your body. Useless Bleeder, get to the nurse, then to my office! Now!"

As soon as his arm was released, Kurt was rubbing his wrist and rolling it to make sure there was no real damage. He then turned to Blaine and checked over his knuckles, shooting random little glances at Coach Sylvester. "Moron Jock, go wait for your buddy in my office. No detours either. Ill know if there are any, and you do not want to know what will happen if there are…" the threat in her voice made Blaine shiver even if it wasnt directed at him. That woman was terrifying. And she might be about to lay into him for punching Azimio. Shit.

"You okay, Porcelain?" That harsh voice had a softer hint to it, which made Blaines mouth twitch at the corners. He loved that someone else looked out for his boyfriend, too, even if she didnt always catch what was happening to him. At Kurts nod, Sue turned back to Blaine and sighed. "I saw nothing. I have no idea who hit him. This time. Got it, young Burt Reynolds?"

Still a bit shocked from the whole thing, Blaine simply nodded. The cheerleading coach retreated then, yelling at some freshman about the difficulties of high school not comparing to being a prisoner of war along the way. Did she ever tell the truth? Maybe? Sometimes? Blaine honestly wasnt sure. He looked at Kurt then and grinned despite the bruising on his knuckles and the discomfort in Kurts wrist. Theyd avoided the dumpster. They could walk into the school with some semblance of pride. Together.

"Shall we?" he asked, offering his boyfriend his hand, which Kurt took with a smile and shake of his head.

Kurts voice was soft and sweet when he spoke. "Thank you, Blaine. You really shouldnt have punched him. I dont condone violence, you know. But thank you. That was very sweet." Then, Kurt leaned over and kissed Blaines cheek as they reached the doors. They entered the school to start their final year of high school together, and Blaine didnt even care that he had a slight blush on his cheeks. He held Kurts hand happily, and it felt so much more… right walking in those doors than it had last year. Blaine felt like he was actually where he belonged.

_________________________________________________________

Getting back into the swing of things wasnt as hard as usual for Blaine. Well, it hadnt been hard at all at Dalton, but that had been different. The public school scene was always changing and there was so much more pressure socially. He didnt have to worry about the academic pressures of Dalton now, and the social pressures were mostly null and void thanks to the boy at his side and the club at his back. Even his first slushie facial of the year wasnt too big of a deal.

Hed made it half a week before the puckheads got him on his way to his locker before one of the two classes he actually had with Kurt. He was still upset that they only got history and PE together this year, but at least it was something, right? It would have been nice if the idiot Rick the Stick had tossed the obnoxiously red ice at him before gym instead of his daily lecture about the founding of America.

"Maybe you and your boyfriend need to cool off, Anderson!" the boy had called with a harsh laugh when his target winced at the chill running down his spine and straight toward the waist of his jeans. That was a particularly unfortunate hit in that there was already ice sliding down into Blaines jeans, which meant he needed a whole new outfit and to hurry up if he didnt want to experience the utter pain of soggy ice pressed against his balls. Slushies were definitely not enjoyable. They werent so bad when you werent alone anymore, though…

Since hed been almost to the history classroom, it wasnt surprising for Blaine to be spotted by two familiar faces. Kurt, of course, came running while Santana muttered a whole string of Spanish, half of which Blaine recognized as curses, while striding toward the nearest girls bathroom and holding the door open for them with her hip. "Where are you spare duds, Curly?" she asked, still standing in the door and waiting for Blaines answer. Was she really going to go fetch his clothes for him and let Kurt help him deal with the immediate problem of ice in his boxers?

Blaine stared at her for a moment too long apparently, since Kurt piped up with an answer involving the fact that they each only kept upper body replacements in the school so shed need to go to Blaines car for his always-ready overnight bag. The countertenor then reached into Blaines pocket and tossed his keys to the Latina, who nodded and bounced away. Kurt tilted his head at the door while blindly helping Blaine get as much of the ice away from his skin as fast as possible. "Rick better watch out. Im pretty sure she just threatened to rip his balls off and feed them to him…"

Well, that was… graphic. Blaine yelped as the ice finally made its way to rest against his balls, making him do a little jig while shimmying out of the snug jeans that were soaked and slightly purple thanks to the red dye. "C-c-cold! Oh, God, this puts a whole new meaning to the term blue balls!" Once the pants were down to his knees, Blaine adjusted his boxers so that ice slid out of the legs of them and he let out a relieved sigh. Only then did he focus on Kurts laughter. "Shut up! Its really cold and painful. Are you gonna make fun or are you going to help me? Santanas going to be back soon and Id kind of like to be past the point of dancing in my underwear by then."

Of course, that only made Kurt laugh harder, which made Blaine roll his eyes. "Im so glad to be so damn entertaining," he muttered, tossing his wet, pink shirt at his boyfriend, who dodged it with a glare.

"Watch it! This is McQueen, thank you." Blaine rolled his eyes, then they were both laughing and Kurt had manhandled his boyfriend over the sink so he could wash the slushie out of Blaines curls, and that was how Santana found them when she sauntered back into the bathroom.

The Latina rolled her eyes at them both before dropping Blaines bag on the ground and approaching with her own Cheerios bag which held all of her post-practice supplies. "It is way too early to lack proper shampoo, baby gays," she said simply, pulling a bottle of sweet smelling shampoo from her bag along with a small yet useful towel. Blaine couldnt help but grin at her.

Kurt looked at her with a cocked brow, however. "Why are you being so nice, Satan?" Blaine had to admit it was a legitimate question. The girl was usually snarky and downright rude. Why would she decide to take care of a slushied Blaine all of a sudden?

"Okay, listen. People dont throw this shit at me because I terrify them. That, and they know Coach Sue would kill them for ruining the uniform. If I wasnt so… me, well, Id be you." In a weird way her words did make sense. After all, she was a lesbian in a school that hated gays. She was at least mostly out about it, too. Santana was… their natural ally? Or something. "Consider yourselves adopted by Auntie Snix. Besides, it isnt like I can let Frankenteen and Puckzilla take all the knight in shining armor positions."

She winked then, which made Blaine giggle, before capping her shampoo and slinging her bag back over her shoulder. "Well be to class in ten minutes," Kurt said softly, giving Santana a look that said much more than words, which got a nod in reply before the girl bounded out of the bathroom to report their lack of absence to the teacher.

"This is going to be a strange year, isnt it?" Blaine asked as Kurt massaged the shampoo out of his hair until the water ran clean, pulling the raven-haired boy from the sink and drying his hair as best he could with Santanas towel. Theyd have to give that back later, freshly laundered of course.

Kurt just shook his head and sighed, but smiled all the while. "Strange never quite covers McKinley, sweetie. At least we have a lot of people on our side though," he commented, the genuine smile growing and making Blaines chest swell with warmth. Kurt was happy with his friends, and that made Blaine happier than anything. He quickly got dressed in the change of clothes Santana had brought, shoving the stained ones and the damp towel into the bag. "Lets go sit through another boring history class, shall we?" Kurt asked, offering his hand, which Blaine took without any hesitation. Hed take a million slushies as long as he could hold his boyfriends hand. Hed do anything for Kurt.

______________________________________________________

"Oh my God, if I get one more fucking slushie facial today I swear I am going to turn into a fucking smurf!" Kurts voice was high and full of rage as he wiped at the blue ice that clung to his face. It was already the third slushie hed taken and it was only just barely into the lunch period. Theyd been walking out to the tables to enjoy the warm September day, only for Kurt and, surprisingly, Finn to get hit with at least four slushies.

For some reason all the slushies that day had been an obnoxious shade of blue, too, and Kurt already had two shirts and a scarf covered in the shade. Now he had another shirt, and it was seeping down to his grey pants too. He cursed, which made Blaine wince while Finn danced from foot to foot squealing about the cold. "Now will you tell me what you did this morning to set Azimio and Karofsky off? I think theyve founded a "We Hate Kurt Hummel" club and decided Finn was guilty by association."

Blaine wasnt really trying to demand answers from his boyfriend, but he was starting to grow concerned. One slushie per day was understandable. Three? And all before afternoon classes even started? That seemed a bit… excessive. He was helping the step-brothers to the locker room in the hopes of showers and gym clothes until they could get to Kurts Navigator and then home to actually change. They probably wouldnt have lunch today. Lovely.

"Fine! Karofsky shoved me into my car this morning after Finn ran off to find Noah. When I was waiting for you to get here," Kurt started, looking at Blaine, then averting his eyes. "One of my buckles scraped on the door and it fucked up the paint. On my baby. He fucked up my baby, Blaine. So I screamed at him to come out of the fucking closet already and leave me the hell alone."

The silence stretched on as both Blaine and Finn gaped at the countertenor. For his part, Kurt at least shifted a little guiltily. "I should have hit him. I mean, wait til you guys see this scratch. My dad is going to kill me. Im lucky my hip didnt dent the door, too, honestly…"

"Youre lucky he didnt beat the shit out of you! Kurt! What the hell were you even thinking, dude?!" Finn was sufficiently losing his cool, and Blaine was happy that theyd at least made it to the locker room by now. "I cant believe you said that to him! Karofsky is the biggest douche ever and he hates you. He hates gay people, Kurt. Why would you call him one? Jesus, and everybody says Im stupid…" In Blaines opinion, Finn had a very good point.

Kurt was seething at this point, and Blaine thought it best to stay silent and start two showers so the water could warm up for the boys. "Im tired of just taking it, Finn. Dave Karofsky is a judgmental prick and it isnt up to me to put up with that anymore. He needs to get over himself," the boy stated as if that was simply that, the end of the conversation.

Obviously Finn decided this wasnt even worth fighting anymore, so he shut up and threw his stained shirt across the room before stripping the rest of the way and walking into the running shower to wash the blue dye out of his hair and skin. Blaine, however, was far from finished with this whole situation.

"Kurt…" he started, looking at his boyfriend with pleading hazel eyes. "He could have really hurt you. I… I dont think you need to just let him be a jerk to you or anything, but…" He swallowed heavily and reached out to help the brunette remove some of the ice before he took off his clothes. "Id be devastated if something happened to you, baby. Id just… I dont even know. Please be careful, Kurt. Dont stand up alone when you have plenty of people to stand by your side, okay? I love you too much to lose you."

Blue eyes filled with tears and Kurt leaned forward, hugging Blaine and kissing his neck softly before pulling away and sniffing, pulling himself together. "Right. No more being suicidally brave. Got it. Im still going to turn into a smurf before the days over, though. Better bring a couple extra shirts with me…" He gave Blaine a quick kiss on the lips before taking his own shower, then he and Finn escaped to the house to change while Blaine attempted to gather some food for his boyfriends return.

There were two more slushies that day, solely for Kurt, who seemed to fully regret his words with Karofsky by the time they all sat in the choir room. There was also a prominent dent in the hood of his Navigator, which made Kurt actually wail in the parking lot. He was still sulking a week (and a good chunk of his summer pay) later.

_____________________________________________________

It shouldnt have surprised Blaine that his friends and Kurts friends had all added each other on social media. After all, his friends had become Kurts friends and vice versa. It only made sense that they would all intermingle eventually. For some reason it just shocked Blaine to see Wes and Rachel making plans for a New Directions/Warblers Joint Halloween Costume Extravaganza to come at the end of October.

It was especially strange because both of them were awkwardly flirting, rather publicly on Facebook, and the infamous Finchel was on an off period so no one could really call either of them on it. Even if Finn did keep commenting every time they got too cutesy with each other. Which was entertaining to watch, at least.

Kurt groaned when he collapsed beside his boyfriend in the choir room. It was a week and a half until the Halloween party, and even after a month and a half of school, the countertenor was still working to adjust out of summer mode. Or at least that was his story to everyone who wasnt Blaine. The ex-Warbler knew that Kurt was only so exhausted because he was dealing with extra bullying ever since hed mouthed off to Karofsky, plus Sebastian had yet to back down from his advances on Blaine.

The brunette was just plain tired, and Blaine wanted to make it all better. It was killing him that he couldnt just magically make Kurt feel good again. He frowned at his boyfriend, then smiled because they had a duet to perform that day. "Singing together always cheers you up," he said happily, grabbing Kurts hands and pulling him over toward the piano.

Mr. Schuester had assigned Movie Duets for the week, and the pair had almost immediately made their choice. Sure, they could have gone musicals, but neither wanted to be that predictable. They were going with a move, and a classic at that, and they were even doing the dance that went with it.

The first notes of the song filled the room and recognition lit in most everyones eyes. Mr. Schue clapped as he saw the two get into position for the iconic Dirty Dancing routine, then Blaines voice filled the room.

"Now Ive had the time of my life

No I never felt like this before

Yes I swear its the truth

and I owe it all to you"

Kurt shimmied his shoulders and sang with a grin.

"Cause Ive had the time of my life

And I owe it all to you"

They continued, killing the song as they knew they would, finally reaching the point where they sang back and forth, focused solely on each other and the sparks flaring between them.

"Just remember

Youre the one thing

I cant get enough of

So Ill tell you something

This could be love because"

Their voices rang out together to the cat calls of Santana and Puck while Mike and Tina got up and joined the dancing. Soon enough, Brittany pulled Santana up to join in as well, and the main couple kept singing up until their very last lines, Kurt held up in Blaines strong arms.

"Cause Ive had the time of my life

No Ive never felt this way before

Yes I swear its the truth

And I owe it all to you"

They all laughed and smiled and clapped, then Mr. Schue stood up and gave one final loud clap. "Guys, I think we just found our duet for Sectionals!"