This was why it caught Blaine by surprise when Kurt called him one Thursday night. "Hey, Kurt," Blaine answered, confusion laced in his tone. "What's up?"

"Are you busy?"

Busy was an understatement. Sprawled around him were three different textbooks and their corresponding binders and cue cards. His exams were coming up fast and he was taking today to prepare but he'd make time for Kurt. "Not at all. What's up?" he repeated.

"How would you feel about... about me transferring... to Dalton?"

Blaine's breath caught in his throat. Kurt at Dalton would be a dream; getting to see him everyday and that uniform would do wonders for him (Blaine had always loved a man in uniform.). But if there was one thing Blaine had learned about Kurt in the short time he had known him it was that, despite the bullying and the lack of solos, Kurt loved McKinely... Something had to be seriously wrong. "What happened?" Blaine managed.

"Karofsky," Kurt sighed and Blaine felt himself tense.

"Oh God, Kurt. What now?" Anger ebbed in his tone.

"He - Can you promise me something first?"

"Anything."

"Don't go... crazy," Kurt requested. "I saw how close you got to snapping with Karofsky the first time."

"I promise," Blaine said, but he wasn't so sure if he'd be able to keep it.

"He threatened to kill me."

And yup, right about there was when Blaine lost it. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me!" Blaine nearly roared, standing and beginning to pace. "When? Why? Fuck that! How can you tell me not to freak out? Don't you want him to get a taste of his own medicine?"

"No," Kurt answered simply. "He's damaged. He's doing this out of self-hatred, not hatred towards me. He's already beating himself up on the inside enough to make up for you not beating him up on the outside."

Blaine fell back onto the bed. "Kurt, believe me when I say I don't mean this in a bad way, but I just don't understand how you can look at it like that."

"Because I was there once," Kurt answered. "Hating myself for being gay, thinking everyone else would hate me as well. I'm sure you went through that too."

And Blaine knew he had been. Surely every gay kid, even for a split second, hated themselves for being gay, knowing how much easier everything would be if it had been different. "Of course."

"So Karofsky is taking it out on others. Yes, it's wrong, but if we try and intervene, it's only going to make things worse."

"Kurt, you're the most moral and compassionate person I have ever met," Blaine gushed and God, he could actually see himself falling for this boy. Why did things have to be this way?

"Thank you," Kurt replied and Blaine could just imagine the way he must have blushed at that comment.

"But your story," Blaine remembered. "Was there anything more?"

"Oh, right. So, my dad found out and he complained to the principal and she – surprisingly – expelled him but his parents appealed to the school board and got him back in," Kurt explained. "There's no way I can go back there with Karofsky after this. He'll be out for blood."

"Yet you still don't want to see him hurt."

"No," Kurt answered, not elaborating anymore.

"Wait, don't take any offence to this, but how can you come to Dalton? Tuition is pretty steep."

"My parents are giving up their honeymoon money," Kurt explained.

There was silence for a few moments. "Why did you ask me if it was okay?" Blaine asked.

Kurt laughed to himself. "I didn't want you to think I was some creepy stalker who followed you to school to spend more time with you or anything."

If anyone of us would be the type to do that, it would be me. "No! Of course not! Kurt, I'm gonna make a bit of a confession right now – I consider you one of my best friends. Having you around all the time would be... amazing."

"Great," Kurt grinned. "In that case, I'll be seeing you on Monday."

"Wait!" Blaine called before Kurt could hang up.

"Yes?"

"In all seriousness... Courage. Leaving is hard..."

Blaine could hear the smile in Kurt's voice. "Bye, Blaine."

"Goodbye, Kurt."

"Oh no."

"Oh dear Lord, no."

"It's never going to stop now. It's just going to be a constant rambling about how perfect and amazing he is."

"I swear I'm going to have to be sent to an insane asylum if I have to hear Teenage Dream one more time."

"I'm hearing it in my dreams, Wesley."

"Oh, thank God, it's not just me."

"Will you guys stop?" Blaine sighed. "You're ruining it. And besides, I'm not that bad."

David and Wes each gave him a bitch, please look that even Kurt himself would be proud of. "I was right, David. He really can't hear himself speak."

"Kurt coming to Dalton is a good thing, you guys. He needs to get out of McKinely."

"Kurt coming to Dalton is great for him," David agreed. "Not so much for us."

"At least we won't have to hear the same story about 'that time at Breadstix' over and over again."

"'That time at band camp...'"

"If you guys hate hearing about Kurt that much you could have just said so," Blaine muttered.

"Aw, Blaine! Man, c'mon! It's not like that!" Wes argued. "Look, he makes you happy and we understand that but you have to agree that you're going a little bit overboard considering you just met him a couple weeks ago."

"I guess so."

"You don't wanna freak him out before you guys even have a chance to get off the ground," David advised.

Blaine paused for a minute, taking it all in. "When did you guys get so smart?"

"We always have been. You just don't know how to recognize true genius."

At that moment, Blaine's phone buzzed in his pocket. "Oh, hang on. I have a call." Blaine walked over to the corner of the room to take the call. "Hello?"

"Hey. Blaine? It's Kurt."

"Oh, hey! What's up, Kurt?" Wes and David face-palmed off to the side.

"I was actually just wondering if you could do me a favour," Kurt started.

"Anything," Blaine echoed their earlier conversation.

"Well, I'm going to be boarding at Dalton because it's so far away," Blaine allowed a silent cheer of victory in his head. "So I was wondering if you may be able to help me move my stuff from my house over to Dalton."

"Of course," Blaine smiled. Anything to spend time with Kurt, one part of his brain reminded him. You're just being a good friend, the other part told him. And great, now he had voices in his head; he was officially going crazy.

"Say Saturday morning at 11am?" Kurt suggested.

"I'll be there."

"Was that our darling damsel in distress?" David teased playfully.

Blaine rolled his eyes. "Kurt just needs some help moving his things over to Dalton."

"He'll be boarding?" Wes clarified.

"It's too far away for him to make the drive everyday," Blaine explained.

"Good," David said. "Maybe that will cut into your swooning time," David quipped.

"Oh, will you two stop already?" Blaine sighed.

"C'mon, David. It's nine o'clock, the pancake from the ceiling is probably soft enough to peel off."

Blaine blinked. "How... I – Do I want to know?"

"Probably not," David sighed, hanging his head in shame. "You don't wanna get caught in the middle of this..."

"Wouldn't want to be interrogated," Wes sing-songed innocently.

David shushed him. "Let's go, Wesley."

Blaine shook his head as the pair exited the room. Sometimes, he really didn't understand why he was friends with those two... Or why they weren't dating. Their friendship was just way too homoerotic for his liking... And he was gay.