Kurt turned away from the window facing the other Warblers. Blaine tried to keep a face of stone, tried not to show that he had just fallen ten times more in love with him in the past thirty seconds.

As Kurt moved to the middle of the room, Blaine had a hard time keeping the smile off his face. He had just said it in his inner monologue – he had officially fallen for Kurt.

Blaine smiled at the lyrics. Don't keep your distance. Had he chosen this song on purpose? No, it couldn't be.

Kurt begun to raise his arms in a very cheesy singing pose, but Blaine quickly gestured for him to stop, not wanting him to ruin his chances by being too "big".

The beat slowed down as Kurt went into the next verse.

Kurt raised his arm again in that cheesy fashion but Blaine was too into the performance in front of him to even attempt to stop him. His singing was gorgeous and unfaltering and that last note was simply breathtaking. The Warblers all applauded him as the instrumentals began to fade out. Kurt looked nervous and unsure of himself, an expression rarely seen on his face. Blaine gave him a small, appreciative nod as a smile crept up on his face.

Wes banged his gavel. "Nick, Jeff, Kurt - All of you did wonderful. Would you please wait in the hallway while we deliberate?" Nick, Jeff and Kurt all exited the room single-file as Blaine tossed a wink Kurt's way, causing him to blush.

Blaine, as the other soloist for Sectionals (he had already rightfully won his place, singing Hey, Soul Sister.), got to be a part of the decision-making process for the next soloist. "In my opinon, it's Kurt with a bullet." Blaine said as he took a seat next to the Council table.

"There's no doubt that Kurt is very talented," Thad started. "But I don't think he's the right choice."

"What?"

"Blaine, I have to agree," Wes spoke up. "Kurt isn't exactly reflecting... a Warbler attitude. You of all people should know that, being the exemplatory Warbler you are."

Blaine opened his mouth to debate, but David cut him off. "It's true. The Warblers are a singular unit – all acapella groups are. We blend together, no one particularly stands out because no tries to – we're a team. Kurt, on the other hand, wants to be noticed so badly. He lives and breathes for attention which is indeed admirable, but not exactly what we're looking for." Blaine was silent. "Do you understand?"

"Yeah... yeah, I get it. Doesn't mean I'm happy though," Blaine answered.

Wes gave him a sympathetic look as Thad spoke up. "Okay, so between Nick and Jeff..."

Blaine plastered on his best fake smile as he opened the grand double doors to deliver the news to Nick, Jeff and Kurt. The Council would make him do it... "Hey guys," he greeted. "Nick, Jeff... Congrats, you're moving on." The boys shot up out of their seats, giving each other a quick hug. "Congratulations," Blaine smiled, shaking Jeff's hand.

Blaine looked to Kurt who sat with his legs primly crossed, hands on his knees. He looked cool and composed and... not all that surprised actually. "Any sage advice?"

Blaine crossed the room, approaching Kurt and remembering what the Council had told him earlier. "Don't try so hard next time."

"I didn't realize that caring was frowned upon," Kurt quipped.

He hated to have to go into cool, monotonus Warbler mode but it was necessary in this moment, sadly. "I don't know how it worked at your old school but did you notice that we all wear uniforms around here? It's about being part of the team," Blaine shrugged slightly.

Kurt looked into his lap. "I guess I'm just used to having to scream to get noticed."

"You're not gonna make it as a Warbler if all you care about is getting noticed."

Kurt loosened his posture, shaking his head at himself. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"I know it's going to take some getting used to but you'll fit in soon enough. I promise," Blaine tried to comfort him. Kurt gave him a small smile that Blaine could tell was fake. It was alright, he was justified to be upset. "Now, how about we go grab a coffee?"

"Don't you have to go back in there for Nick and Jeff's final audition?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah, but who cares?" Blaine grinned. "Let's go," he said, grabbing Kurt's hand and pulling him off the cushioned bench and towards the school's cafateria.

"I wish the cafateria at McKinely was half as good as this place," Kurt said. "The food there was simply vile."

Blaine grinned, taking a seat at their usual table. "I'm sure it wasn't that bad."

"You don't even know, prep school boy," Kurt joked.

Blaine laughed and they paused for a moment. "So, I have to ask... What made you choose Don't Cry? It's a wonderful song but I don't quite understand why you chose it." Blaine had to know if he was just getting ahead of himself earlier of if he really did purposely choose this song.

"Oh, remember that annoying girl I was telling you about: Rachel Berry?" Blaine nodded. "Well, she may be annoying but she's amazingly talented, so I asked her for a little help with my audition and she recommended the song."

Rachel Berry, Blaine had decided, wasn't very smart. Who recommends a Broadway classic song as an audition piece for an acapella show choir? But as well, he was disappointed. Here he had thought that maybe there was an ulterior motive as to why Kurt had chosen this song and he hadn't even chosen it himself. "I see."

"Yeah, thinking back, I guess it wasn't the smartest choice to go to Rachel Berry for help," he paused. "I should have gone to you."

"Ah, I wouldn't have been any help," Blaine shrugged.

"Shut up, Blaine. You're crazy talented."

Blaine grinned stupidly. He had been told he was talented many times but it had never come as such a compliment as it had coming from Kurt. "Thank you."

"I have no problem with telling the truth," Kurt smiled and truly, how could someone not love that smile? Okay, Blaine really had to get his emotions under control - this was getting crazy. But for some reason it really didn't bother him.