Aug. 1, 2015, 7 p.m.
The Switch : Chapter 16
T - Words: 5,009 - Last Updated: Aug 01, 2015 Story: Complete - Chapters: 18/? - Created: Apr 16, 2015 - Updated: Apr 16, 2015 217 0 0 0 0
Authors Note: Hey guys! Chapter 16 here! And chapter 17 Will probably be the final chapter aside from the epilogue, so please enjoy whats left to the fullest! ^_^ There are characters and concepts borrowed from CP Coulters Dalton, just to let you guys know that I dont own those!
That next month flew by incredibly fast for both of them. Kurt wrapped up his final performances for the show, letting his understudy take his part until later in the year, and he was happy to be free and able to do as he pleased. Meanwhile Blaine had been working hard on his album. It was soon to be finished and the production phase would begin once all the songs were completed. For both boys, a break could not have come at a better time. Now that summer was in full swing and most of their work had been set aside for little while, they could finally enjoy some time to themselves, or better yet, with each other. Now, both of them had packed up as much as their suitcases allowed them to and hopped onto planes from opposite sides of the country, both direct flights to their home state of Ohio. Rachel insisted on taking a 9 AM flight out to Ohio as she dragged him and Santana along with her. Kurt didnt want to argue with her, and she seemed determined to get there for unknown reasons, but he had a feeling it had to do with a certain tall, clumsy giant of a stepbrother of his who was already in town. The three arrived in Ohio fairly early that morning, happily surprised to see Burt, Carole, and Finn awaiting their arrival at the airport to take them home.
"Dad!" he exclaimed as he rushed over to the man standing with a sign saying "For Hummel, Lopez, & Berry."
Burt engulfed his son into a bone crushing hug as the boy practically jumped into his arms. "Hey kiddo, how are you?"
"Good, everythings great!" he said as he let go of the hug.
"Its good to see you back here so happy." His dad said. "Speaking of, wheres the source of this happy mood you are in?"
"His flight isnt till later, he said he had some things to finish up at the house before he left." Kurt replied. "Jake will be here soon too. He insisted on flying in after Mercedes did and didnt want to ruin the surprise."
"What surprise?" Carole asked as she hugged him tightly as well, kissing him on the temple of his forehead.
"He wont tell us, just said something about how he was excited to spend time with her outside of LA," he answered, ducking the comment. The group of seven took off towards the cars, Finn offering to take Rachel home in his car while Santana and Kurt went home with Burt and Carole. Santana snickered at the two as they drove away, muttering something about how they were so going away to do it somewhere. Kurt attempted to blocked out the mental picture of his stepbrother and his best friend, but was sadly failed.
When the group got back to the house, Santana and Kurt dropped off their stuff at the house. Santana left her bags in the guest room where she announced she was apparently staying ("My parents arent home and Id rather not stay in an empty house.") Kurt grabbed the keys to his Navigator (it felt odd for him to drive again, considering he hadnt been doing much of it lately), and left to go get coffee at the Lima Bean without Santana even asking to come along. The twenty minute drive to his favorite coffee place was completely worth it. At this time of day, which was nearing lunch time, no one was around. And with his new popularity status, it was probably a good thing. When he arrived, the shop was moderately quiet, with only five or six people scattered around the place, drinking coffee or chatting with others. Just to be safe though, he pulled on his black framed sunglasses and stood a little taller. He ordered his favorite drink, a grande non-fat mocha, and sat down at his favorite table where he was in sight, but not in the middle where he could be noticed easily. He let out a sigh as he took a sip of his coffee, closing his eyes briefly as the drink warmed his stomach. He had spent a great deal of last night just watching videos of Blaines performances from his tour as he let the feeling of separation get to him. He was excited about seeing him, especially since it had been over a month since the last time they saw each other in person. Kurt was just about to take another sip of coffee when a voice spoke up behind him.
"Oh my gosh, are you Kurt Hummel? Im such a big fan! Could I bother you for an autograph?"
Kurt whipped around so fast he thought his head mightve flown off his neck in the process. He would know that voice anywhere, and his assumptions were proven correct when he saw that a boy with curly dark hair and familiar pink sunglasses was standing in front of him with a big smile. He jumped up from his chair to pull him into a tight hug. "Oh my god, what are you doing here!? I thought your flight wasnt until later!"
Blaine immediately wrapped his arms around him, burying his face into his shoulder for a moment, basking in everything that was Kurt. "I wanted to surprise you, so I flew in early."
"How early?" Kurt asked, pulling away as he pulled his sunglasses off his face to show Blaine his raised eyebrow.
"Lets just say Im going to have to take a nap later, the time difference is a real bitch. Youd think Id be used to it by now after all of those trips back and forth to see you."
Kurt snorted, ruffling his hair and twirling his fingers through his boyfriends curly strands. "God I missed you.""I missed you too," Blaine said, quickly stealing a kiss when he thought no one was looking. He caught Kurt off guard and made him blushed deeply as a result.
"How did you even find me?"
"Rachel told me I might find you here and Trevor dropped me off."
"Ah, I see," Kurt said, smiling at the boy who pulled away, took his hand, and pulled him towards the door. "Hey, where are we going? Dont you want some coffee?"
"I dont need caffeine, I have you. And something tells me thats better then anything else I could buy."
Kurt rolled his eyes with a light smile as he followed Blaine outside. "Where are we going?"
"Anywhere but here. Ive been going to this coffee shop since high school, and I need a change in pace. Take me me somewhere Ive never been before," Blaine said.
Kurt threw him an amused look. "Youre sounding oddly like a Justin Bieber song."
"Kurrrt," Blaine groaned, earning another an eye roll from Kurt. "You know what I mean."
"Fine, you want to go somewhere youve never been? Follow me, youre coming home to meet my parents."
~
"I think we should wait a little longer."
That was the second comment Blaine had made about meeting Kurts parents within the past two hours they had been driving around. Kurt found a different coffee shop a little father out of their way and stopped to get coffee and something to eat to give Blaine time to compose himself. Blaine sat looking out the window for the half hour drive home, probably trying to get over the nerves wracking his brain. When the two finally pulled into Kurts neighborhood and drove down onto the street his house was on, Blaine was looking a little like a deer in the headlights; frozen and in a state of frantic thoughts.
"Blaine, I gave you two hours and a half hours to calm down," Kurt said in a rationalizing tone, though it didnt seem to help soothe Blaine at all. "I dont know why youre freaking out, its just my parents."
"Yeah, YOUR PARENTS! I want to make a good impression, and a highly caffeinated, half jet lagged Blaine Anderson is NOT going to be something thats going to get me on good terms with your parents!" he snapped back, running a hand through his mess of curls in an attempt to tame them (which they both knew was a lost cause).
"Youll be fine," Kurt said reassuringly as he ran a thumb over the top of Blaines hand.
"Okay," Blaine said, taking a breath before turning to look up at him. "Lets go in."
The two got out of Kurts Navigator and walked up towards the front door where Kurt walked in with out even knocking. The two entered the house as Kurt slipped out of his shoes and Blaine followed the suit. A voice rang throughout the house. "Kurt? Is that you?"
"Yeah dad, its me!" Kurt yelled as he grabbed Blaines hand, dragging him in the general direction of Burts voice. When the two boys reached the living room, they were greeted by the sight of Burt and Carole on the couch.
"Dad? Carole?" he asked, prompting his parents to turn their faces towards their son. "I want you to meet my boyfriend. Blaine, this is my dad and Carole."
Burt was the first to rise from the couch, walking slowly over to where Blaine was standing. Blaine smiled shyly, holding out his hand out for Burt to shake it. When Burt just stared at his hand, Blaine unconsciously moved his hand away before he was engulfed into a huge hug initiated by Burt. The action took him by surprise, automatically tensing him up for a moment before he hugged the man back and relaxed into the surprisingly soft hug. "Its great to meet you."
"Its nice to meet you too, Mr. Hummel," Blaine said a little breathlessly and slightly confused.
"Please, call me Burt," Kurts dad replied, patting Blaine on the back when he released him from the hug. "It makes me feel like an old man otherwise."
Blaine laughed shortly before Carole stepped up and took her own hug. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders in a way that was oddly comforting. It was like the feeling of a motherly smothering overwhelming him. "Its nice to meet you Blaine, Ive heard so much about you from Kurt."
"Have you now?" he said curiously, turning his towards Kurt who was slowly turning red.
"Oh yeah, I couldnt get him to stop talking on the way home. I dont think Ive ever heard him talking about anything that doesnt have to do with Broadway or fashion so much."
"Carole!" Kurt whined, ducking his head into Blaines shoulder.
"Aww, youre cute when your embarrassed," he teased, earning a playful punch from Kurt.
Burt cleared his throat, "So, ah, Blaine. Kurt mentioned you were a singer in LA. How did the two of you meet?"
"Yes, thats right," he answered, focusing on Burt. "I was on tour with Mercedes Jones and my best friend, Jake Miller. The last night of our tour, I ran into him at a party in New York. Quite literally actually. Both of us accidentally switched phones, and when we found out, we were already on the opposite sides of the country."
Burt raised an eyebrow and shifted his gaze towards the boy hiding his face on Blaines shoulder. "So thats why you gave me a different phone number to call you on?"
"Yes…" Kurt said sheepishly, a smile on his face.
"What an interesting story!" Carole said, placing an arm around her husbands shoulder. "So I assume it was Kurts plan to drag you here all the way from LA?"
"Well, yes and no. I grew up here in Ohio, Westerville to be exact, and I was already planning on flying down here in the for a high school reunion. Dalton holds a midsummer reunion for past members each year, and I thought it would be a good opportunity to let Kurt meet my extended family."
"You were a Warbler?" Carole asked, "Didnt the New Directions compete against you guys one year, Kurt?"
"Small word, isnt it?"
"Wow." Carole said, slightly flabbergasted. "So Blaine, are you staying with your parents then?"
"No, theyre out of down on a cruise, so my house is empty. I felt odd sleeping in a house alone, so I just got a room at the hotel in town and had Trevor drop off my things at the hotel and drive me down here."
"Oh honey, youre welcome to stay here." Carole pipped up, "You dont need to spend money on a hotel, weve got space here."
"Oh, I mean I dont want to intrude…" Blaine started before he trailed off.
"You are not intruding at all," Burt chimed in, "You can stay in Kurts room."
Kurt lifted his head off Blaines shoulder to send him a look.
"What? Youre old enough for you to stay in the same room," Burt said, then hastily added, "I assume its normal for you by now."
Kurt once again felt the heat rush up to his cheeks, coloring them a bright red.
"Thanks, Mr- Burt."
"Youre welcome, kiddo."
"Erm, Blaine and I are going to head upstairs then, let him unwind from the flight." Kurt said, grabbing Blaines hand and dragging towards the front hall where the stairs were.
"Okay kiddo. No funny business, got it?"
Kurt groaned an oh god under his breath before yelling "OKAY DAD!" over his shoulder.
Blaine couldnt contain his laughter as they headed up the stairs. "Nice meeting both of you!" he yelled over his shoulder before he went back into his laughing fit as Kurt pulled him down the hall and into his room, shutting the door behind them.
~
A few hours and a nap later, Blaine woke up to Kurt wrapped in his arms, softly breathing as he slept peacefully. Blaine smiled as he watched his chest rise and fall next to Blaine, whose arms held him in something akin to a death grip. He had been told by his mother and Kurt that he was a cuddle whore, so it wasnt a surprise to wake up to this. After watching for a moment, he pressed a soft kiss to the back of Kurts neck. He stirred briefly, letting a soft exhale escape his lips and moving just a bit closer to Blaines chest.
"I could get used to this," Kurt said after a moment of silence.
"So could I," Blaine said in a rough voice still thick from sleep.
Kurt rolled around to face Blaine, smiling sleepily and staring into Blaines hazel eyes. Blaine returned the smile and gazed into Kurts blue eyes, which always felt like they were looking into his soul and reading his mind. Kurt ducked in to peck Blaines nose, which earned a soft laugh from Blaine. Blaine swooped in and kissed Kurt softly on the lips. He felt Kurt sigh quietly. He drew back after a moment, simply watching Kurt contently.
"We should really get up if we dont want to be late. Something tells me we dont have much time."
Kurt whined, "I wish we could lay here forever."
"You and me both, but I have a feeling my friends will begin to miss us." Blaine responded. Kurt rolled his eyes, and pillow playfully found its way to Blaines face.
"Hey!" Blaine yelped, sitting up and grabbing the pillow before sending it flying right into Kurts face.
The two of them kept hitting pillows back and forth, until Kurt found himself on the verge of hysteria from laughing. "OKAY OKAY, I GOT IT! Im getting up!"
Blaine smirked happily as he watched Kurt get up and walk over to his closet before throwing the door open. It revealed a walk in closet, smaller than the one in New York, but still filled with a boat load of clothes.
"God, do you have ENDLESS closets of clothes? I could LIVE in the one you have in New York!" Blaine exclaimed as he got up from the bed and walked over to where Kurt was glancing through the doorway.
"Thats not a bad idea, Mr. Anderson," Kurt teased.
"You wish," Blaine teased back, turning away from him to look around the room. He hadnt had much of a chance to look around when the two first came up here. They had both flopped onto the bed and almost instantly passed out, or at least Blaine had. He had no idea how long it took Kurt to fall asleep though, considering he had a cup of coffee in his system. The walls were painted a lavender color, with picture frames of photos that Kurt had taken scattered around the walls. There was a nightstand on the left side of the bed with an alarm clock that read 6 PM in bright red letters, reminding him they needed to leave in half an hour. He spun around on his heels as his eyes landed on the desk his suitcase sat on top of. He wandered over to it and looked at the top of the bag where a note was placed. He picked it up and read the the curly handwriting.
I didnt want to wake you two up since you looked so peaceful sleeping. Trevor dropped by and left this with us. He decided to stay at the hotel alone. -Carole
Blaine smiled at the note, wishing his mother was as warm and fuzzy as Carole seemed to be. He unzipped his bag, rummaging through his things to find what he was looking for. He quickly stripped down out of his jeans and dark green dress shirt (Kurt was really starting to rub off on him) and pulled on his fitted navy blue dress pants, a long sleeved navy dress shirt, and a pair of matching navy loafers. He was just about to pull out his Dalton tie when he heard Kurts closet door open, revealing Kurt who just walked out. His hair was still flat and drooping down, but he was fully dressed in tight navy pants, a red long sleeved dress shirt, and matching navy dress shoes.
Blaine glanced down at his own outfit then back towards Kurt. "Somehow we almost dressed exactly the same AND in Dalton colors.."
"I may have looked up the school colors before choosing my outfit..." Kurt said, blushing slightly. He looked up and saw the tie that was dangling from Blaines hand. "Here, let me help you with that."
He walked up to Blaine, taking the tie from his hand, and in one swift movement, swung it around the back of Blaines neck. He held the boys gaze as he knotted the tie, tightening it to the appropriate length. His eyes wandered to the red W pin in the shape of Daltons crest. "W?"
"It stands for Windsor, the dorm I stayed in. All of the alumni have one. Theres three houses: Windsor, my house, Hanover, and Stuart."
"Wow. Blazers, dorm houses, sounds like Harry Potter to me," Kurt said.
"Well, with the amount of explosions in Windsor, it basically was."
Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Interesting."
"You have no idea."
After Kurt spent a good twenty minutes on his hair, which was expected, and Blaines curls were not a huge mess, the two were on the road and on their way to Dalton. Kurt kept bouncing around in his seat, singing along to every song that came on as Blaine drove them down the highway. After an hour and a half of sing-a-longs, they were pulling up to Dalton, which in Kurts opinion looked more like a mansion then a school. They parked in the front lot, taking the first available spot, since there were tons of cars already parked. God, how big was this event? Kurt wondered as he and Blaine exited the car and walked up to the front steps of the school. The doors were held wide open by staff, who greeted the two of them as they walked in.
Upon entering, the two walked into a grand hallway, where a glittering chandelier was hanging thirty or so feet above them. A small group of adults and boys dressed in what Kurt remembered to be the Dalton blazer were scattered around the area, chatting with the people around them. Kurt stared in awe as Blaine took his hand, leading him down some more partially filled hallways.
"THIS is a SCHOOL? Where you LIVED?" Kurt asked and Blaine just smiled and laughed softly.
"Youll get used to it."
He lead them down around a corner where a set of double doors were pushed open to reveal a huge courtyard. Crowds of people were standing around socializing and drinking champagne. Tents were pitched with tables under them, food lined up on a buffet style table with a white table cloth draped over it. A little further into the courtyard was a small stage with lights draped around the top. "Nope, I dont think Ill ever get used to this."
"Blaine?!"
The two of them turned to see two men with Dalton ties smiling widely at them.
"Shane! Reed!" Blaine exclaimed, hugging the two of them tightly. "Its so good to see you!"
"So good to see you too! Oh my gosh, I almost didnt recognized you without your gel helmet! Its been too long, we really need to plan to see each other more!" The guy with the blond hair said.
The dark haired boy, who looked eerily similar to Blaine, glanced over at Kurt. "Whos this?"
"This is my boyfriend, Kurt. Kurt, this is my brother, Shane, and his boyfriend Reed."
"Oh, so YOURE Kurt! Nice to finally meet you!" Shane said, reaching out and hugging Kurt softly. Yup, this definitely was Blaines brother.
"Nice to meet you too, I remember Blaine mentioning you," Kurt said when he pulled away. Reed just smiled and Kurt returned the smile with a nod.
"Blaine, do the others know you are here? They are going to flip when they see you!" Shane said, glancing at Blaine then back around the courtyard.
"No, not yet, we just got here," Blaine replied.
"Oh, well, cmon! Lets go find the others! Theyre probably wreaking havoc somewhere." Shane said, waving for them to follow him and Reed. They followed them through the crowded courtyard and down a small set of stone stairs where another tent was pitched and full of guests eating and chatting at the white clothed picnic tables. The four of them were about to settle down by the entrance when they heard their names being called.
"Reed! Shane! Blaine!" They saw a group of boys walking towards them with happy expressions on their faces and chests bearing Warbler ties.
"Hey guys!" The group joined the four boys, hugging and conversing excitedly.
"Its good to see you!" One of them said.
"Its good to see you too!" Blaine replied. He felt Kurt tighten his grip slight on Blaines hand, which was like a mental kick in the head.
"Oh right, guys, this is my boyfriend, Kurt. Kurt, these are my friends from the Warblers."
"We know Blaine, weve all seen Ellen," the asian guy said, before holding out his hand. "Im Wes. The man over there is David, standing with his wife, Katherine, the guy who looks like he came out of the Matrix is Dwight, Logan and Julian are the guys you probably recognize from tv, and of course, these are the Brightman twins, Evan and Ethan."
"Hello Alice!" the twin blonds, Evan and Ethan, exclaimed.
Kurt raised an eyebrow at the two of them as the group groaned.
"Already? Him too? I thought you would have run out of names by now," David said, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, or would have grown out of it by now," Dwight added.
"If they could have, it would have already happened," Julian commented.
"Someone care to fill me in here?" Kurt asked confused.
"Whenever the boys find someone they are particularly fond of, they give them a nickname. So far its mostly been characters from Alice in Wonderland," a boy with blond hair, who Kurt assumed to be Logan, seeing as Julians hand was intertwined with his. At the very least he knew Julian from TV.
"Correct you are, Knave!" the twins said together.
They all smiled and rolled their eyes. "Ive missed you Tweedles," Blaine said.
"Weve missed you too Rabbit. You and Alice need to visit Wonderland again soon."
Kurt just stared at them with a dumbfound look on his face.
"Dont think about it too much, its not worth it to figure it out," Blaine whispered in Kurts ear, making Kurt look at him and smile.
"This is nothing, just wait till you meet Brittany. Shes just like them," Kurt whispered back.
"So, now that everyones all together, I have something to announce," Shane said, changing the subject. Blaine eyed the younger Anderson with questioning eyes. Shane glanced over at Reed who smiled at him in encouragement. "Were engaged!"
The group exploded with cheers, congratulations and hugs going around. Even Kurt hugged the younger Anderson, who welcomed him with open arms. "This is amazing guys!"
"Do mom and dad know yet?" Blaine asked.
"Yeah, they know. Moms thrilled, she already told me she was coming, but I dont know about dad. I didnt expect him to show anyway," Shane replied, a sad gleam in his eye.
"Whens the wedding? Do you guys have a date yet?" David asked.
"No, but we have one in mind. Were enjoying a long engagement. Weve been together for so long, and I dont see why we need to rush into anything," Reed said, smiling and squeezing Shanes hand.
"Were really happy for you," Wes said, smiling.
"Anyone up for some food?" The twins asked, and everyone chimed in agreement. They all followed the twins over to the table full of food and began to take things to put on their plates. Blaine squeezed Kurts hand and Kurt turned around to smile at him. This was the beginning of a good night.
~
As the night progressed, the group scattered to chat with the other guests at the party. Kurt sat on a bench over by a large oak tree that stood tall with its many branches. He was enjoying the band play some soft music as he watched Blaine chat with a few boys in Dalton ties. Other members of the Warblers he presumed. He smiled when Blaine snuck a glance in his direction a winked, causing Kurts face to break into a smile. He waved a small wave in Blaines direction, and Blaine returned it before jumping back into the conversation.
"Quite remarkable, isnt he?"
Kurt turned to see Logan standing there alone, hands in the pockets of his fitted pants. He was watching Blaine as well, smiling softly before turning back to Kurt.
"Hes something all right," Kurt said, silently gesturing for Logan to sit down in the empty spot on the bench next to him. He got the idea and took the seat, watching Kurts line of vision flicker back to Blaine.
"You know, back in high school, everyone knew he was going to make a name for himself one day. He had his heart set on making in this world, getting a record deal with a big name in music, finding someone he loved to stand beside him through all of it."
Kurt turned to look at Logan, who was still watching Blaine from across the courtyard. "And hes exactly on track. Hes made a name for himself, signed for a record deal, and, even found someone to stand by him that has stood by through all of it." Logan turned away from Blaine and looked at Kurt, green eyes looking directly into his blue ones. "Just by watching Blaine look at you and smile at you tonight, laughing at the things you say or even just what you do, it all clearly shows how much hes really falling for you."
"How do you know?" Kurt suddenly asked, watching the way Logans expression fell and changed into something else.
"I just do," he replied, but Kurt could tell there was something else there. "Im really happy Blaine found you. I think this is the happiest Ive ever seen him in a long time."
Kurt just watched as Logan turned to look at Blaine again, who was laughing at something one of the guys said. Kurt didnt say anything as Logan slowly got up from the bench. "I better go find Julian. It was really nice meeting you, Kurt."
"It was nice to meet you too, Logan," Kurt finally said as Logan turned to walk away.
"Oh, and Kurt?" Logan said, turning around again to look at him.
"Yeah?"
"Ill see you soon. I have a feeling youll be around for a while," Logan said as he gave a small nod before turning back around and disappearing into the courtyard.
Kurt watched the crowd for a moment before turning his attention back towards where Blaine was walking over to him. "Hey, you."
"Hey," Kurt said, smiling as he stood up from the bench to wrap an arm around Blaines waist.
"What did Logan have to say?" Blaine asked as he leaned onto Kurts chest slightly.
"Oh nothing, just stuff," Kurt replied simply. "Nothing too interesting."
"Oh," Blaine said."Well I dont know about you, but Im exhausted. You ready to go home?"
"Yeah, sure, its getting pretty late anyway and I really dont want to get home in the middle of the night," Kurt replied, letting out a small yawn he couldnt contain.
The two of them said their goodbyes with promises that they would all go out and get coffee or something before they all left town. The two got in the car and started the two hour drive back to the house. It was pretty silent the entire ride, seeing as both of them were pretty exhausted and were ready to go to bed. When they got home, it was pretty late, so they tried their best to be quiet as they headed upstairs. When they finally made it into Kurts room, they both quickly changed into something comfortable to sleep in and climbed into bed. Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt, pulling the both of them under the covers and relaxing into the soft mattress.
"Thanks for coming with me tonight, it means a lot to me," Blaine said quietly, resting his head on Kurts shoulder and tangling his legs with his boyfriends.
"I was happy to go, you have amazing friends."
"Youre amazing."
The two were silent for a moment, and the only thing that could be heard through the silence was their soft breathing.
"Kurt?"
"Hm?"
"I love you."
The comment made Kurts heart melt as he closed his eyes and smiled. "I love you too."
A sense of peace fell over the quiet house, and the two boys fell asleep in each others arms.