Chapter 14

Kurt slowly made his way over to his lunch table; tray in one hand, cell phone in the other.

His fingers worked quickly as he typed a message back to Blaine, bumping into more than a few people in the process. His phone buzzed again and he read the text, blushing a little bit but still smiling. Kurt set his tray down on the table when he finally got there, eyes still focused on the small screen as he stood, tapping out a reply.

As he took a seat at the table his phone buzzed again. He glanced down at the screen, a small laugh escaping from him when he read what Blaine had texted. He was fully engulfed in his text messages, not even noticing the strange looks his two best friends had been giving him since he entered the lunch room.

Kurt texted Blaine back, completely unaware of Mercedes's quirked eyebrow and Rachel's cocky grin that said 'I know something you don't know'. Kurt began to speak, eyes still glued to his phone.

"Oh, so I ordered these amazing shirts off of Rue La-La the other day and they finally came in last night and-…what?"

Kurt finally looked up to see Rachel and Mercedes staring straight at him, almost as if they were impatiently waiting for him to take notice of something. When they didn't reply he tried to figure out what they were looking so intently at.

"I-is there something on my face?"

He started wiping at his mouth, fearing that some of his breakfast may have stuck. Rachel's voice piped up.

"Oh. There's something, alright."

Kurt rubbed his face a little harder, but when he looked down at his hand there was nothing there.

"Did I get it?"

Mercedes jumped into the conversation, her voice dripping with cynicism and sexual implication.

"I don't know. Did you?"

Kurt scrunched his eyebrows and grabbed his phone when it buzzed, speaking as he replied to the text.

"What? Why are you guys being so weird?"

Rachel glanced over at Mercedes who gave her a little smile and a nod. Rachel's expression then suddenly changed to one of almost too much interest. She smoothly slid over to Kurt, her curious smile hiding her devious mind as she started examining his shirt. She spoke coolly, quickly looking over at Mercedes who was eagerly awaiting to see what would happen next.

"Hey is this one of the shirts you were talking about?"

Kurt was busy texting Blaine back, unaware of what was going on and only glancing up as Rachel touched his arm.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah."

"Oh it's very nice."

"Thank you."

Rachel moved her hand up to Kurt's collar, pinching the material between her fingers.

"Is that twill?"

"Oh, no. It's broadcloth."

"Oh wow."

"Mmhmm"

"Yeah I really like the- THERE IT IS I TOLD YOU!"

"Kurt!"

"Ohmygod."

Mercedes gasped and her jaw dropped as Rachel tore back his shirt, revealing a small reddish bruise right above his collar bone. Rachel had only glanced at the bruise earlier but now that she saw it and had solid proof she couldn't believe her eyes.

Kurt quickly pulled his shirt back up, trying not to panic as he looked around the room hoping no one had noticed the girls' screams. He then turned back to Rachel and Mercedes as he adjusted his shirt back into its previous position.

"Have you two completely lost your minds?!"

Rachel looked shocked as she put her little hands on her hips, her voice as squeaky as ever.

"I cannot believe you Kurt! You got a boyfriend and you didn't tell us!"

Kurt did his best to hide his face as he looked down at his salad, knowing full well that his poker face was horrible.

"What are you talking about? I don't have a boyfriend."

Well, I'm not lying.

Mercedes looked at him, clearly not buying his defense.

"Then what's with the hickey?"

He nervously poked around through his salad, trying to think up a legitimate reason for the dark spot on his neck.

"It's not a hickey. I-I burnt myself with my flat iron."

Rachel didn't seem to be buying it either as her signature smirk spread across her face.

"On your collar bone?"

Mercedes crossed her arms across her chest, confident that she was about to get Kurt to talk.

"Kurt. You got about five seconds to tell us who you're hookin' up with before I get over there and start messin' up your hair."

Kurt glared up at Mercedes through narrowed eyes.

"You. Wouldn't. Dare."

"Five…"

Mercedes uncrossed her arms.

"You can't be serious."

"Four…"

She held out a hand.

"Mercedes this is ridiculous-"

"Three…"

And began to reach for Kurt's hair.

"Mercedes if you touch my hair I swear-"

"Two…"

She had almost reached his head-

"For crying out loud, I'm not hooking up with a guy! Now will you both just drop it?!"

Mercedes held up both hands, backing off as she slid away from Kurt.

Rachel's eyes went wide at Kurt's sudden outburst and she suddenly became very sober. You could see the little wheels turning in her head. She turned to Kurt, dead serious as she placed a gentle hand on his arm.

"Kurt, is it a girl?"

Mercedes put a hand against her own forehead, letting out a frustrated groan. Kurt just stared at Rachel and lifted an eyebrow as he deadpanned.

"Seriously?"

Rachel drew back her hand as quickly as if she had been touching hot metal and crossed her arms as frown appeared on her face.

"Well if you'd just tell us who your mystery man is then we wouldn't have to go through all this."

Kurt rolled his eyes at Rachel's little phrase and began to stand.

"There is no 'mystery man.' Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go before whatever psycho disease you two have caught starts to spread."

Kurt dumped his tray into the nearby trash can and began to walk away, Rachel shouting at him as he left the room.

"You can try to avoid us all you want, Kurt! We will find out!"

The locker room was a loud mess of boys in various states of dress as they prepared for yet another grueling practice. Blaine had just gotten there when Coach Beiste walked in and gathered everyone around for a little pep talk.

"Alright boys! I know we got winter break comin' up, but that's no excuse not to keep workin' your asses off. We got one of the biggest games of the season in a few weeks. We win that game, and we're one more win away from being district champions."

Guys began to cheer and holler, making as much noise possible. A few people bumped chests and fists while others high-fived and starting banging on any surface that was close to them.

"Alright! Alright! Settle down! We haven't won, yet. From now to this game I'm gonna work you guys harder than you've ever been worked in your life. I'm gonna have you eatin', drinkin', and breathin' football. And I won't stop pushin' ya until every last one of you guys is as tough as a frostbitten Irish fig in an old swine's mouth."

The team no longer looked excited, but confused, as sat there in utter silence, exchanging a few glances trying to figure out if anyone understood what Coach Beiste meant.

"I want you all on that field, full pads in five! If you're a second late, you'll be doin' extra laps around the track!"

Beiste left the room and the guys went back to getting ready, Blaine hurrying over to his locker near the rest of his friends and quickly striking up a conversation as he began to change.

"Hey, is it just me, or does everyone seem to be looking at me weird?"

Puck and Finn exchanged a quick grin as Blaine continued on.

"Like, all week people have been staring at me."

Blaine took off his shirt and then reached into his pocket, pulling out a few pieces of folded up paper and holding them out for someone else to take.

"During lunch a couple of girls gave me these but I've kinda been afraid to open them."

Finn quickly finished tying his shoelaces and reached forwards to grab the papers, laughing a bit as he read what was inside.

"Dude chill, they're just phone numbers."

Blaine had just finished changing his shirt when he snatched the papers out of Finn's hands, skeptical about their contents.

"Phone numbers? But why would they just give me their phone numbers?"

Puck stuck out a hand as he spoke and Blaine placed the papers in his palm

"Dude, everyone knows about you kicking Karofsky's ass last week."

Puck began to look through the numbers and upon recognizing one of them he tossed it into Blaine's locker, answering his questioning gaze with a quiet; 'You'll want to keep that one, she's a slut.'

Artie reached into his locker to grab his helmet as he continued with the conversation.

"Yeah, you're like, a total badass now."

Puck turned to face Blaine with a cocky grin on his face.

"Except I'm still a bigger badass."

Blaine looked down at the numbers that Puck had placed back into his hands and then up at all of his friends.

"Wait. Seriously?"

Mike gave a small nod once he had pulled his jersey over his head.

"Yeah man. That fight made you a total hero. You're like Batman. But, you know, without the awesome weapons or the cool car-"

Artie quickly cut in.

"Or the swag."

I…I don't have swag…?

But Blaine just nodded his head, looking a bit more excited now that he was beginning to understand why he was given phone numbers.

"Oh! Gotcha. Awesome!"

Finn pointed over to the papers in his hands.

"Looks like the ladies are finding it awesome too."

Blaine reached over to grab his cleats from his locker.

"Wait, but they like, like me now? That's so weird."

Sam jumped into the conversation, unsure if it was him or Blaine that wasn't getting something.

"Why is that weird?"

Oh. Shit. Girls would like me…. 'cause I'm straight… right…

"I dunno. Guess I'm just not use to it."

"Shouldn't you guys be out singing show tunes or something?"

Blaine's back went stiff the second he heard Karofsky's voice and the mood in the locker room immediately changed. Finn's head shot up, a sneer on his face as he slowly walked over to the jock, ready to start a fight.

"You know what, Karofsky? I am sick and tired of all of your bullshit comments. You know Kurt couldn't even stand properly when he got home Friday?"

Karofsky smirked a bit.

"Well, it's not my fault your brother's a freaking girl and couldn't take a few hits."

Images of Kurt's broken body flooded into Blaine mind along with those words. An indescribable sense of rage rushed through him and he looked like he was about to spring forward and tear Karofsky limb from limb. But Finn stood between them, and seemed oddly relaxed. The tension in the room was visible as he looked back to his friends, laughing a bit.

"Girl. Ha. Yeah, that, that's real funny-"

Finn's last word was punctuated by a loud smack as he suddenly turned back and swung his fist straight into Karofsky's jaw.

Karofsky stumbled back a bit and placed a hand on his chin, moving around his jaw to make sure it wasn't broken. He regained his footing and lunged at Finn.

"You son of a bitch!"

But before anything could happen, Blaine was already in between them, holding the boys away from each other as he nearly yelled at Karofsky.

"You really want us to kick your ass again?"

The locker room was dead silent as everyone waited for Karofsky's reaction. He looked around, realizing that there was no way for him to retaliate without starting a fight and possibly getting kicked off the team. Instead Karofsky just brought up his hands to shove Blaine away.

"Get the hell off of me, fag."

Everyone watched as Karofsky left the locker room, the door slamming behind him as he headed out towards the field. The team was silent for a second but then Finn turned to Blaine, a huge smile on his face as he clapped the smaller boy on the shoulder, acting as if nothing had just happened.

"So, hey! About those numbers!"

It was around nine o'clock at night and Kurt and Blaine were tucked away in a corner of the library's empty second floor.

They had been sitting right next to each other on the floor all evening, each of them in their own little world, but still aware of the other's presence. Absentmindedly brushing the other's hand, occasionally leaning over for a peck on the cheek, sometimes reaching out and intertwining their fingers.

It had been like this for hours, the pair sitting and studying, but still joined at the hip. Well, at least they were studying, that is until Blaine decided to show Kurt the little slips of paper he had received that confirmed his newfound popularity.

As soon as the cheerleader saw the numbers and names scribble on the pieces of paper he let out a thunderous laugh, earning him a cold glare from the librarian. He mouthed out an apology before turning back to the pieces of paper Blaine had showed him.

The shorter boy immediately tried to grab the papers, but Kurt kept them well out of reach, resulting in Blaine just sitting there, his arms grasping at thin air as he tried to get them back.

"Come on, it's not that funny."

Kurt smirked and then turned so his back was facing the other boy, the numbers safely out of reach.

"Oh, I don't know, it's pretty funny."

Blaine twisted his body around so he could lean his chest up against Kurt's back, his arms wrapping around the taller boy's stomach and his chin resting his shoulder. Kurt leaned back into him and began flipping through the numbers, trying to see if he recognized any of them.

Blaine watched as he stopped at one piece of paper and held it up for him to look at. Kurt turned his head just enough so Blaine could see his amused expression.

"I hear that she is a slut."

Blaine pretended to be annoyed but he couldn't hide his smile.

"Alright, fine it's a little funny."

Blaine gave the other boy a kiss on the cheek and he handed the numbers back to Blaine, who unwrapped himself from Kurt and put them back into his bag. Kurt then repositioned himself so they were once again sitting side to side as he spoke.

"Please. It's hilarious!"

The shorter boy scrunched his brow and turned to Kurt with an amused smile.

"Why do you find it so hilarious that girls like me?"

He gave a slightly sympathetic smile and reached out to push some of Blaine's curls behind his ear, letting his hand rest on the side of his face.

"You mean besides the fact that you're totally gay and it flies right over everyone's head?"

Blaine rolled his eyes before grabbing the other boy's hand and placing a kiss to his knuckles, smiling up at him as he spoke.

"Yes, besides that."

Kurt dropped his head, hiding his smile.

"Well It's just…"

Blaine's head tilted to the side in question.

"What? What is it?"

This mischievous smile was on Kurt's face when he looked back up at him.

"Nothing, it's just…I'm dating the hottest stud in school."

He leaned forwards and placed a quick peck onto Blaine's lips.

"Who would've guessed?"

Blaine sat perfectly still, completely stunned by the fact that he was now considered a 'stud'. He regained his composure and grabbed his science notes, trying to avoid eye contact with Kurt.

"Alright, I'm adding 'stud' to the list of words you are not allowed to call me."

Kurt moved to face Blaine and curled his legs beneath him so he could lean forwards and pinch his cheek.

"Aww but you're such a stud."

"Kurt, stop it."

Blaine playfully batted at his hands, but it was no use. Kurt put a hand on either side of his face and held him there.

"You don't like it when I call you a stud you big studly stud you-"

"Shhhhhhh!"

The pair looked back towards the librarian who once again looked like she was attempting to set them both on fire with her eyes. They were completely still for a split second and then quickly split apart, Kurt laughing a bit as he apologized to the librarian for probably the fiftieth time that night.

"Sorry…"

He turned back to Blaine to find an almost worried look on his face.

"Kurt, we're in a public library. Can you try to…"

"Oh, please! We are literally the only ones here! Well, except for that obnoxious librarian…"

Kurt's laughter stopped and he immediately sobered up when he saw the look on Blaine's face.

"I know. I'm sorry. It's just really hard not to act like that when we're together."

He reached forwards and clasped his hand with Blaine's

"Especially now since it seems like I'm gonna have to fight for you."

Kurt brought their now intertwined fingers up and kissed the back of Blaine's hand while he just rolled his eyes.

"Well at least you're taking this lightly."

Kurt spoke matter-of-factly, twirling one of Blaine's curls between his fingers.

"Of course. They're girls, Blaine. It's not like any of them really stands a chance. Oh, and by the way 'Mr. Nobody Can Know About Us', you need to be more careful with the hickeys because Rachel and Mercedes are catching on."

Blaine's eyes went wide.

"That's what all the screaming was about at lunch?"

Kurt laughed a bit as he nodded his head and Blaine suddenly looked very playful.

"I can't help it. I like the noises you make."

Kurt's cheeks immediately flushed with color and he almost downright yelped when Blaine swiftly bent forwards to kiss him on the exact spot where the hickey was, his free hand grasping Kurt's hip as he did so.

"Blaine!"

The librarian's face was beet red as she held up a finger to her lips in the universal sign to be quiet, her lips pursing as she let out a loud,

"SHHHHHH!"

Blaine was still leaning over him as he apologized again.

"Sorry!"

Kurt turned back to him, whose face was only inches from his.

"You wanna go? I know a place outside that might be better and it's a bit more…private."

Blaine put on his classic impish smile and nodded his head quickly.

"Sounds good."

They had packed everything into their bags and the next thing Blaine knew Kurt was dragging him down a long hallway he didn't even know existed. They turned left down another hallway and then right down another and suddenly they were standing in front of a huge wooden door.

He reached forwards and placed a hand on the door handle, turning to Blaine before he opened it.

"You ready?"

Blaine nodded, though he wasn't really sure what he was supposed to be ready for. Kurt opened the door and he couldn't believe his eyes.

Behind the door was an enchanting scene, a small courtyard blanketed in a thin layer of frost and snow, the full moon above bathing the space in light and making it seem as though everything was glowing.

There were wild flowers sprouting up everywhere, splashes of color muffled by snow. Straight down the middle of courtyard, cutting through the flowers, was an old brick path. This path led to an small wooden bench with a tall oak tree sitting right next to it, it's leaves having already fallen. It was almost silent save for the sound of the wind lightly blowing and the light rustle of leaves on the ground.

Blaine took a deep breath, his lungs adjusting to the cold nip in the air. He stood there for a moment, simply taking everything in and letting the winter air settle around him.

He turned to Kurt, whispering when he spoke, afraid that anything above almost silence would break the peace of the courtyard.

"What is this place?"

Kurt clasped his hand tighter and they slowly began to walk forwards, their shoes leaving prints in the previously untouched snow. He spoke softly, anything louder and his voice would have been echoing against the walls.

"One summer, when I was younger, my mother and I used to come to the library every Sunday. It was time for her and me, just the two of us, and I loved every second of it. She would wait here for me while I ran through the kid's section, gathering as many books as my little arms could carry. And then I would bring the books back here, where she would read me every last one."

Kurt laughed to himself as they sat down on the old bench.

"She would maybe sit on this bench, me at her feet, or we would both lay in the flowers and I would follow along as she read me the words. We spent entire days here, bringing along little sack lunches so we didn't have to leave to get food."

Kurt's voice drifted off as his mind wandered away, captured by some memory of so many years ago.

"Of course it was summer then, and this place looked very different, but still just as amazing. They built this little square as a place for people to come and relax, but over time it's been forgotten and now it's almost always…empty."

Kurt was staring off into the distance, lost in his own thoughts, the moonlight outlining his features and making him look almost angelic.

They sat for a minute or two like that, right next to each other on the bench, hands clasped tightly, quiet and content in each other's warmth. But Blaine couldn't help but stare at the cheerleader and as each second ticked by, his heart began to beat louder. Kurt just looked so serene, so calm,

"So beautiful."

Kurt looked up at the night sky, clear of clouds and twinkling with stars.

"I know, I love it here."

Kurt turned to face the other boy, his breath hitching in his throat when Blaine suddenly leaned forwards, catching his lips in a deep kiss. Blaine brought his free hand to settle on his hip as the kiss went on, slow and lazy but fueled by passion. He finally broke free and let his forehead rest against Kurt's, his thumb rubbing circles into his hip as their breathing returned to normal. Kurt's eyes were closed as he relaxed under Blaine's touch, his breath coming in warm puffs which were visible in the night air.

"Kurt?"

"Mmm?"

"You're so beautiful."

Kurt's eyes blinked open and he shivered, the cold finally seeping through his jacket.

"W- What?"

Blaine smiled and kissed him again.

"You are beautiful."

Kurt ducked his head and then looked up at Blaine with teary eyes, his voice barely audible.

"No one has ever called me beautiful before."

Blaine pulled Kurt into a warm embrace, his arms wrapping around the other boy's back and holding him close, chasing away the cheerleader's shivers with the warmth of his body. The couple sat like that until a light snow began to fall, forcing them out of their fairytale courtyard and back into reality.

Kurt stood in the kitchen finishing the last of the dishes from dinner. It had been his turn to clean up and, honestly, he was glad for the bit of alone time it gave him. Burt and Carol had already gone to bed and the muffled sounds of the football game that Finn was watching in the living room echoed through the first floor of the house.

I should go talk to him.

Ever since Kurt's blow up on Friday the pair had been tiptoeing around each other, careful not to overstep some invisible boundary line that had gone up the second Kurt had begun to yell.

But Kurt missed his brother.

He missed his dopey, loveable grins, and his clueless, oblivious comments. Kurt just wanted his brother back and he knew that he would have to suck up his pride to do it. He grabbed a tray filled with two hot fudge sundaes and headed out into the living room.

Finn was nearly on the edge of his seat, completely enthralled by the football game playing on the TV, and not even realizing when Kurt entered the room.

"Come on come on come one….YES!"

Kurt had to hold back his laughter when he saw Finn actually jump out of his seat; he always got way too into the games he watched.

"Hey."

Finn turned around, immediately calming down when he saw Kurt.

"Oh. Uh, hey."

Kurt held the tray out a little bit, almost like a peace offering in the middle of war.

"I, uh, I brought dessert. Hot fudge sundaes."

Kurt gave him a hopeful smile, but Finn had already focused in on the sweets, Kurt had lost him the second he said 'dessert'.

"That sounds awesome! Thanks!"

Kurt nervously walked over to the couch to set down the tray. But by the time he had even taken a seat and started eating his own, Finn had gotten halfway through with his.

Finn turned to him with a mouth full of ice cream and hot fudge, not even bothering to clear his mouth before he spoke with a smile.

"Dude, thish ish amazing!"

Kurt smiled in response as he swallowed his bite of ice cream. Finn turned back to the screen suddenly very excited that someone was about to catch the ball. Kurt soon realized that he had lost Finn's attention, but he wasn't about to let it stop there.

"So… who's playing?"

Finn was barely paying attention and he gave Kurt a quick, incomplete answer.

"It's…uh, it's on the screen."

Kurt nodded his head, squinting as he read the tiny letters next to the teams' scores, and trying to act like he knew what was going on.

"Oh. I see. Yeah, of course. The Byu's verses The Utemp's. Gotcha."

Finn slowly turned his head until he was looking at Kurt, completely dumbfounded by Kurt's 'teams'.

"It's the Cougars vs. the Miners."

Kurt let a sheepish grin onto his face, sinking back into his seat a bit.

"I never would've guessed."

Kurt felt defeated but he knew he had to fix this, so he waited patiently until the commercials came on and he could actually have a real conversation with Finn.

An ad for laundry detergent began to play and Kurt immediately started to speak.

"Hey, um, I know we haven't really talked lately but Blaine told me about what happened with you and Karofsky in the locker room and I just wanted to say that I appreciate it."

Finn cut in, trying to keep his brother from babbling.

"Kurt-"

But it was no use.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. I mean you were just trying to help and-"

Finn reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Kurt. It's cool. I…I'm just glad you're okay."

Kurt felt his heartbeat return to normal as he shared a smile with Finn. As the game came back on Kurt picked up the two empty sundae glasses and started to stand up.

"I think I'm gonna go do some work in my room before bed. Good night."

Finn flashed another smile at Kurt.

"Night Kurt. Thanks for the sundae."

"No problem. I'm glad you liked it."

Kurt grinned back and then turned to go into the kitchen and he was almost there when Finn called back out to him.

"And Kurt?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

Kurt did his best to dim the brilliance of the smile that was practically bursting out of him. He knew it was pretty silly to want to cry, but he could feel his eyes starting to fog as he repressed the urge to run over and hug Finn with all his strength. Yeah, it was silly, and all Kurt could think about was how a year ago he would have given anything to hear those words from Finn. But hearing them now, in this context, was better than anything he could have ever imaged.

"I love you too."

And with that, suppressing every sappy emotion running through him, he left Finn to watch his game in peace, never feeling so grateful to have this kind of relationship with him. One in which they would bump heads sometimes and get under each other's skin and nag and pester and yell at each other, but still, at the end of it all, they loved each other unconditionally. Because even though they may not be siblings, they were brothers. And that was that.