Chapter 21

Cooper nodded again thoughtfully. He was leaning up against the counter of the Lima Bean, watching as Blaine went on and on, explaining what had been going on with him and Kurt. Cooper hadn't said much of anything, except for telling his coffee order to the barista, only nodding along as Blaine talked.

"I just don't get why he's so upset. I mean, it was just a study date. It's not like it was a real date or anything. I told him I'd make up for it. Is it really that big a deal?"

"One Medium Drip and one Double Espresso con panna."

The two brothers flashed smiles at the barista as they grabbed their coffee and had she not had the counter to hold onto she probably would have swooned and fell to the floor at the sight of them.

Having finished his explanation, Blaine was silent as they took their seats at a table, quickly taking a drink as he waited for Cooper to say something.

The older Anderson sat there, staring down at his coffee with a look of contemplation on his face. He hadn't even taken a drink when he looked up at his brother.

"You know Blaine, I've been in a lot of relationships. Like, a lot of relationships. Short ones, long ones…mostly shorts one. But still, a lot. I literally cannot count the number of relations-"

Blaine had to stop his brother before he started in on some story of his countless girlfriends.

"Okay I get it."

Cooper shrugged and raised his hands in defense.

"I'm just saying-"

"Cooper."

Cooper laughed a bit, but sobered up. He put an elbow on the table and leaned forwards a bit.

"Can I give you some advice?"

Blaine raised his eyebrow, skeptical, as he added a dash of cinnamon to his coffee. But he decided to humor Cooper.

"I feel like I'm going to regret this, but sure."

Cooper nodded and sat back in his seat. He took a nice long sip of coffee before setting his cup back down and looking Blaine straight in the eye. With all of the confidence and self assurance in the world, he told Blaine the truth.

"You're being a douche bag."

Blaine's eyes went wide and he almost choked on the sip of coffee he just took.

"What the hell Coop?! You're my brother!"

Cooper gave a single nod and self satisfied grin.

"Exactly. And from one douche bag to another, I'm giving you some honest tough love right now."

Blaine slowly shook his head from side to side, unable to look at his brother.

"I can't believe this."

"Look, Kurt is the best damn thing that has ever happened to you. And honestly? He's too good for you."

Blaine's jaw dropped and he placed his coffee back down on the table with a thump, finally remaking eye contact.

"Are you serious right now?"

"Have you seen they way that boy dresses?! I-…Look, you blew him off, Blaine. Is he making a bigger deal out of this than he should be? Maybe. But that's not the point. You're in the wrong here and you need to make this right before you screw everything up. So pull your head out of your tight ass and apologize to him."

Blaine realized Cooper was right and a sour, grumpy look came over Blaine's face. He sat back in his seat and pouted; like a five year old too proud to admit he's wrong, even though he knows for a fact that he is.

He took in a breath; a sudden feeling of guilt washing over him as his head unclouded. Kurt deserved better than this, and the last thing Blaine wanted right now was to lose him.

"You're…You're right. I was being stupid. I got all that attention, good attention, and I loved it so much that I guess I let it get to my head."

With a loud, melodramatic sigh he stood up from his chair and grabbed his coffee, head hung in defeat.

"I'm gonna head over to school. I need to talk to him."

Cooper smiled brightly, laughing a bit at Blaine's attitude.

"Atta boy, Squirt!"

Blaine paused for a second, head slowly turning down as he glanced at his brother.

"Don't… call me that…"

He went to walk away and jumped a bit when Cooper smacked on him on the ass. He watched as Blaine left the coffee shop, glad to have everything back on track.

Cooper smiled to himself as he took a sip of coffee, enjoying the relaxing atmosphere when he noticed a girl sitting at a table across the room. Her eyes were glued on him and a happy dazed smile was on her face as she stared at Cooper and completely ignored her boyfriend who was sitting right next to her.

Cooper grinned a bit and gave her a small wink, laughing to himself when she swooned and her jaw went slack. And when he saw her boyfriend begin to try, and fail, to get her attention, he couldn't help but laugh even harder.

Just another day in the life of Cooper Anderson.

Blaine stood in front of the sink in the boys' bathroom. He pushed the soap dispenser and lathered up his hands before putting them underneath the flow of water. With a sigh Blaine thought back on the events of second hour before looking up into the mirror and seeing the frown that he didn't even know was on his face.

He had tried to take Cooper's advice and talk to Kurt during math class, tried to make things right between them and apologize. But Kurt just ignored him, simply staying silent and turning away with a look of disdain. He didn't even glance at his phone when Blaine tried to text him and he practically ran out of the classroom the moment the bell rang.

He hated it. He hated Kurt ignoring him. And he felt even more horrible realizing he was getting a taste of his own medicine. He almost snapped the handle off the dispenser when he got paper towels to dry his hands.

Just as Blaine tossed the paper in the garbage bin, the door slammed open, quickly snapping him out of his thoughts as Santana sauntered inside. A boy at the urinal whipped his head around at the noise; Santana glanced at him and gave a quick nod to the door, signaling for him to get the hell out. With a swift zip he was gone, leaving Blaine and Santana by themselves.

Blaine felt the beginnings of nerves as the Latina Cheerio made her way over to him, unsure what to make of her sudden arrival.

"Um….isn't this the boy's bathroom?"

But his question was ignored.

"Blaine Anderson. You know, when I first saw you I didn't think much. I mean, you practically reek of virgin and that ridiculous Joe Jonas hair cut makes you look like a hobbit that could be easily be related to the Gay Berry Clan. But still, you're pretty cute and watching you kick Karofsky in the emotional balls yesterday was all kinds of sexy. Now, Britt and I usually double team this but for some reason she's sticking with the mayor of Crippletown, so it's just gonna be you and me tomorrow night."

Blaine just stood confused, still not completely clear on what Santana meant by her little tirade.

"Um…excuse me?"

"I'm a girl who knows what she wants, and what I wants is some of that smoking hot swagger you've been lucky enough to ride on."

Blaine gave a small, nervous chuckle, finally understanding the situation and realizing what was being asked.

"I'm flattered Santana, really I am, but I just…I'm not interested."

Santana raised an eyebrow before letting out a breath that sounded a lot like a laugh and began to walk away.

"Figures. The cute ones always turn out to be gay-"

Blaine immediately reached forward to grab Santana on the shoulder and keep her from leaving.

"No!"

She slowly turned around and crossed her arms over her chest to see Blaine looking nervous as he tried to come up with an excuse for rejecting her.

"No…I'm…I'm not gay I just…um…I just broke up with my girlfriend…from my old school. It was a rough break up…you know, that distance and all and…I'm not really ready to start, uh, dating yet, so…yeah."

Santana stared at him, skeptical of his story, and he couldn't help but fidget under her discerning gaze. Just when he thought she had decided to call him out on his lie, she rolled her eyes and handed him a piece of paper held between two fingers.

"Alright, well, call me when you change your mind."

Blaine gave an unsure smile as he reached out to take the paper. With the brush of a long, tan finger across his chest and the swish of a red skirt, Santana was gone. The door slammed shut and Blaine let himself breath again, feeling like he had just dodged a sexy, Latin bullet.

Kurt walked down the hallway, upset and unsure, books clutched tight to his chest. He didn't want to think about Blaine right now, and even the mere mention of Karofsky's name made him feel sick to his stomach. He barely forced a smile at Rachel and Mercedes as he passed by them.

He turned a corner, heading down one of the more secluded halls when he felt a hand wrap around his arm and drag him into an empty classroom.

"What the-"

Kurt barely had any time to speak, but as soon as the door shut Kurt pulled away from the other person, surprised when the grip released rather quickly.

"Kurt!"

He realized it was only Blaine who had taken him into the room but when he tried to lean forward for a kiss Kurt still backed away sharply.

"I thought I made it clear that I didn't want to talk to you today."

Blaine looked like a hurt puppy, but he still tried to grab Kurt's hand and kiss him on the cheek.

"I know, I just, I need to talk to you. I need to make things righ-"

Kurt gently pushed him backwards and Blaine let himself be moved away, no resistance in his actions.

Kurt crossed his arms and stared down at the floor.

"I'm gonna go."

He was about to turn and leave but Blaine's voice held him there.

"Kurt- I… Don't go. Can you just listen to what I have to say? …please?"

The last word was a near whisper and Kurt shut his eyes tight. After a second, they opened and he looked up at Blaine.

"Fine."

He dropped his stuff on a nearby counter and leaned up against one of the empty desks, waiting for Blaine to speak.

"Kurt, you have every right to be mad at me."

Blaine was standing in front of Kurt, hands gesturing wildly as he tried to apologize.

"I was out of line and I…I've been so stupid and I keep messing up and…and the truth is I'm really not good at romance. I don't know that first thing about maintaining relationships and…and it's not an excuse. I shouldn't have blown you off. And I should have at least called you and…and…and I'm sorry. Look, I can't promise that I won't make any more mistakes. Chances are I'll make a lot more…I just care about you so much Kurt."

He paused for a second to look Kurt in the eyes.

"You deserve so much more than this, than the way I've been treating you and if you want to end it…I…I understand. But I'm not ready to give up on us yet."

Kurt studied his face, he saw the worry as Blaine tried to figure out whether Kurt would take his apology or not. Kurt's face softened when he finally spoke.

"I never wanted to end this."

Kurt smiled lightly, and took hold of one of his hands, causing Blaine's once rigid shoulders to slump forward in relief.

"I was just hurt, that's all."

Kurt stood up straight and placed a soft kiss on Blaine's cheek, watching as his eyes fluttered shut at the sensation. He pulled Blaine into a warm embrace and began to kiss him on the neck, enjoying the hitch in Blaine's breath when his lips met with his skin.

Kurt eventually pulled away, smiling when he saw the light flush on Blaine's cheeks. He reached over to grab his books and Blaine watched, his voice eager as he questioned Kurt.

"Can I come over today? We don't have to make out. I mean…unless you want to. I just…I want to spend more time with you."

Kurt stood with a grin on his face as Blaine babbled on.

"We can just snuggle. Or maybe watch another movie? A new episode of Jersey Shore is on tonight. We could watch that! I-"

Kurt grabbed Blaine's shirt and quieted his rambling with a kiss.

"I'd love that."

Blaine's smile grew brighter.

"Great! I'll meet you by your car in a few minutes?"

Kurt nodded and turned to leave to room.

"Sounds good. I better go."

"Okay."

The door closed and Blaine was left alone in the silence. He was surrounded in a cloud of pure bliss, though unsure if it was how he really felt or if he was just high off of Kurt's lips. But for a moment, things finally seemed okay again, manageable. And Blaine swore he could have stayed in that moment forever; wrapped in Kurt's arms, sharing kisses in school. No worries.

Five minutes passed in a flash and before Blaine knew it, the coast was clear and he decided it would be okay to leave the room. He walked out into the hall, casually waving to a few Cheerios standing next to the lockers.

Blaine turned the corner, only to be met with what could be described as a burning cold slap in the face.

Red dye number 6 dripped down his face and the sting of artificial flavors invaded his eyes. A sharp chill ran down his spine as colored ice blanketed his torso and his mind desperately tried to process what had just happened; Karofsky's laughter echoing loudly in his ears.

"God! Why does it still burn?!"

Blaine pushed the heels of his palms into his eyes, rubbing at them for the thousandth time since they had headed back to Kurt's house. Kurt was sitting on the end of his bed with a wet towel as he watched Blaine pace back and forth, trying to provide some sort of calm when he held out a hand.

"Come here."

Blaine had one palm still on his eyes as he reached out for Kurt, taking hold of his hand and sitting down between Kurt's legs on the bed.

"Shhh…"

Blaine grunted a little bit as he leaned back into Kurt and let his hand fall away from his face. Kurt placed the cool towel over his eyes and began to run his fingers through Blaine's curls, picking off small pieces of ice that had yet to melt away.

"The burning goes away in a few hours."

Blaine nodded lightly, eyes still closed underneath the towel as he snuggled backwards into his boyfriend. Once Kurt was satisfied that he had gotten all of the ice out, he wrapped his arms around Blaine's waist and placed a small kiss on his temple. Blaine felt a nice warmth spread throughout his body at the touch.

"Thanks for letting me borrow a clean shirt."

A goofy smile appeared on his face and Kurt immediately noticed.

"What?"

Blaine placed his hands over Kurt's and intertwined their fingers.

"Nothing. It just…it smells like you. It's nice."

Kurt gave a small laugh and removed the towel, pressing a small kiss onto the other boy's lips. Blaine's eyes were still closed, his lips just barely brushing against Kurt's as he spoke.

"You're wonderful."

Blaine paused, his eyes flicking open to look right at Kurt.

"I hate this so much."

Kurt leaned away and nodded sadly in agreement.

"I know. Slushies are horribl-"

"Not that."

Blaine pushed himself away from Kurt and sat across from him on the bed, their hands still intertwined as he explained his frustrations.

"I hate that we have to deal with this. It's not fair. I want to be able to talk to you and hold your hand down the hallway and walk you to class and…and be proud of you."

Blaine paused and quickly kissed the back of Kurt's hand.

"'Cause I am. I am so proud to be your boyfriend and I can't even show it. Do you know how often I hear Sam talk about Quinn? And Artie about Brittany? Mike about Tina? And all I want to do is talk about you and…and I can't! We can't even go out on a freaking date!"

Kurt's head tilted to the side as he placed a hand on Blaine's cheek.

"We've had dates before. We had that one at your house not too long ago-"

Blaine threw his hands up in the air and stood up from the bed, unable to contain his aggravation.

"I mean a real date Kurt. Like, dressing up nice and going out. Like every other couple gets to do. All I want is a normal night out with my freaking boyfriend without having to worry about rumors and whispers and idiots throwing slushies in my face!"

And with that Blaine collapsed onto the bed on his stomach and buried his face into a pillow with a groan. Kurt looked at his boyfriend for a moment, trying to think of an answer.

"Let's do it."

Blaine's head perked up suddenly in surprise.

"What?"

Kurt smiled at the simplicity of his solution.

"Let's go on a date."

Blaine buried his face back into the pillow, his voice muffled by the fabric.

"Kurtttt, we can't-"

Kurt scooted over until his was sitting next to Blaine and he began to rub his hand in soothing circles on Blaine's back.

"We'll drive out to Columbus or something. There's this really nice, small restaurant there that I went to once. I think I saw a lesbian couple there. No one seemed to have a problem with it. We can go out to dinner. I'll drive."

Blaine turned his head to look up at his boyfriend.

"Kurt…I don't know…."

"No one we know will be there, it's really small, 'off the beaten path', you know? And it's Friday night so it's not like we have school tomorrow and there's no game tonight either. Please?"

"Isn't it a two hour drive?"

"Yeah, but it's early. We'll be back by…"

Kurt did some quick mental math.

"Around nine o'clock."

Blaine gave a small nod but still seemed nervous.

"What if we see someone that we know?"

Kurt shook his head.

"We won't. I only found this place when I got lost one time."

Blaine began to chew on the inside of his cheek, contemplating the pros and cons, trying to figure out if they should actually go out tonight.

"Are you sure, Kurt?"

"One-hundred percent."

Blaine looked down for a second, a bit of worry still on his face before finally meeting Kurt's gaze with a semi-confident smile.

"Okay. But if you're driving then I'm paying."

"Blaine-"

"Kurt."

"Fine."

They laughed for a second before Kurt bent down to give Blaine a quick kiss. Blaine pulled him back in, wanting more. A smile spread across Kurt's face as he kissed back, finally placing one last peck on his cheek. Blaine pulled himself up from the bed into a sitting position.

"Do you mind if I borrow some of your clothes?"

"Not at all. Help yourself. I'll step outside so you can change."

After a quick change into an outfit which received Kurt's approval, the couple piled into Kurt's car and began the two hour drive. After hours of holding hands and loudly singing along to the radio, they finally made it to the little restaurant.

Kurt pulled into one of the few parking spaces and walked around the car to open Blaine's door. He took Kurt's hand and they walked into the restaurant, arms swinging back and forth. Once inside, they were immediately greeted by the hostess, a lovely old woman whose face lit up when she saw the young couple. Blaine couldn't help but smile back when he spoke up.

"Uh, table for two please? And, can we have one more towards the back?"

"Of course, dearies, right this way."

She smiled at them again before leading them to their seats: two, charming bistro-like chairs with a circular, metal table. The hostess gave them one last sweet glance before heading back to the front of the restaurant. Blaine pulled out Kurt's chair for him, and placed a quick kiss on his cheek as he sat. Blaine was taking his chair just as the waitress came up, a young lady who could have been the hostess's daughter and who looked just as bright and cheery.

"Here are your menus. Can I start you off with something to drink?"

Kurt smiled up at the young lady as he took both of the menus.

"Water, please."

The waitress looked to Blaine as Kurt handed him his menu.

"And for you, sir?"

Blaine glanced at Kurt before giving the waitress his order.

"Water as well."

She gave them a small nod and a knowing smile.

"Okay. I'll give you two lovebirds a moment to decide what you want to eat."

Blaine's cheeks flushed red as she walked away, barely squeaking out a 'Thank you' before she was out of earshot.

Kurt smiled at Blaine as they interlocked their fingers.

"Well she seems nice."

Blaine nodded mutely as he began to peruse the menu, Kurt still gazing around at the restaurant, just enjoying the atmosphere that the place gave off.

After a few seconds of content silence, Blaine looked up from his menu.

"You don't mind do you? That we're in the back?"

Kurt blinked a few times, his little daydream interrupted.

"What? Oh, no. No, not at all. I completely understand. I'm just glad to be with you."

Kurt's smile radiated warmth and Blaine couldn't help but gaze at him, his words lazily slipping past his lips.

"Me too."

The waitress came back over, her eyes immediately going to their clasped hands and a smile coming over her face as she set down their drinks. Blaine noticed and he felt self-conscious, dropping Kurt's hand and taking hold of the menu once more.

"Have you decided on anything?"

Kurt glanced down at the page, ordering the first thing his eyes hit.

"I would love the chicken alfredo, please. And light on the sauce?"

She scribbled something down on her pad of paper.

"Of course, hun."

Blaine waited for her to finish writing before he ordered.

"I'll just have the tomato bisque."

The waitress nodded and immediately took down his order.

"Alright, I will have that out just as soon as possible. You tell me if you need anything, okay?"

Kurt answered for the both of them.

"Okay, thank you."

She gave them another one of her lovely smiles before taking their menus and walking away. Blaine still had his hands in his lap and Kurt gave him a concerned look.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Blaine shrugged nonchalantly.

"Yeah."

Kurt tilted his head to the side, clearly unconvinced. Blaine took noticed and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Yesss. I'm fine, Kurt."

He reached a hand across the table as if to physically prove to Kurt how 'fine' he was feeling. Kurt took hold of his hand and smiled and Blaine smiled back at him and soon they were both just smiling at each other.

"I'm more than fine."

Blaine's words were whispered but just loud enough for Kurt to hear and when he did hear them he couldn't help but blush and look away. And Blaine loved it, he loved how bashful Kurt looked, how perfect he was, and soon Blaine found himself sitting with a charming smile on his face, shamelessly gazing at Kurt. The cheerleader finally looked back at Blaine after his blush had faded and saw the smile on his face and Kurt wanted to know what he was thinking.

"What?"

Blaine began to brush his thumb back and forth over Kurt's knuckles.

"You're just so handsome. I don't always get to appreciate it, especially in such a flattering light."

Kurt blushed again and his mouth formed a surprised little 'o' when he felt Blaine's foot brush up against his own.

"One chicken alfredo and one tomato bisque."

Blaine was surprised by the waitress' sudden appearance and his hand shot back underneath the table just as she set down their meals.

"It would have been here a bit sooner, but you two looked like you were having a moment and I didn't want to interrupt."

Kurt smiled at her thoughtfulness.

"Thank you."

She gave a small nod.

"Enjoy."

They both began in on their meals, everything seeming to be back to normal when Blaine decided to take a look around the restaurant. He let his vision sweep back and forth over the people in the room when he suddenly focused in on someone.

"Wait. Is…is that Mike?"

Kurt didn't even have to glance up to know that it was only some random stranger.

"What? No. Tina told me they were going out to the movies tonight."

Blaine turned back to Kurt, looking more than just a bit worried.

"Are you sure 'cause-"

Kurt paused, his fork still twisted in his pasta.

"Blaine."

He paused his frantic searching of the restaurant to look at Kurt.

"Yeah?...I'm sorry. Guess I'm just a bit nervous."

Kurt looked Blaine in the eye, a calm, reassuring gaze.

"It's fine. Just relax. No one we know is here."

Blaine nodded.

"You're right. Sorry."

He went back to his soup, about to put the spoon into his mouth when he looked over at Kurt.

"Do you want to try some?"

"Some of your soup? Yes, please!"

Blaine smiled and held out the spoon for Kurt, who just leaned forwards, not even bothering to take the spoon from Blaine's hand as he slipped the spoon into his mouth. Blaine was captivated by the sight, his jaw going a bit slack as he watched his boyfriend. Kurt saw Blaine's mouth hanging open and it took everything inside of him not to burst out into laughter.

"I feel like I always do this to you, first with the candy cane, now with this spoon."

Blaine smiled, standing as he set the spoon back on the table.

"I'll be right back; I have to go to the bathroom."

Kurt paused, lifting an eyebrow at Blaine's statement.

"Not like that!"

Kurt shrugged, still silent as he raised his hands in the air a bit as Blaine walked away. Kurt watched as Blaine headed for the bathroom, this bit of alone time giving him a second to think. To think about Karofsky, about how this would be the perfect time to tell Blaine, about how, no, he couldn't tell Blaine because that wouldn't help and it would only make Blaine worry even more, if that was possible.

So when Blaine came back from the bathroom a few minutes later looking panicked, Kurt couldn't help but be a bit on edge.

"Is everything okay, Blaine?"

He spoke quietly in reply, eyes darting around the room.

"I think I just saw a guy from the team in the bathroom."

Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Blaine. Calm down. Let's just have a nice night. Please? Sit down."

Blaine sat but he wasn't calm, fidgeting in his chair and looking altogether uneasy as his hand tapped out a spastic rhythm on the table top. Kurt tried to reach for his hand, but he immediately pulled it off the table.

"Kurt, can we not…"

Kurt was staring him straight in the eye, searching for an answer and Blaine had to turn away.

"I…I feel like people are staring."

Kurt slowly pulled his hand back to his side of the table.

"Fine."

The next few minutes were tense as Kurt tried to strike up conversation; Blaine kept giving one word answers until it turned into a completely one-sided conversation with Kurt talking while Blaine sat there, a ball of nerves in his seat.

"…And so this one girl got so excited because you had bumped into her. Do you hear me? Because you had bumped into her. Isn't that hilarious, Blaine?…Blaine? Blaine!"

"Huh? I'm sorry. I got distracted."

Kurt sharply set his fork down and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Do you want to just go?"

"But-"

"You're obviously uncomfortable and it's getting harder to enjoy this."

Kurt was staring at him with a hard gaze and Blaine had to pause, trying to figure out how to phrase his question.

"Would you be upset if we did?"

Kurt's jaw clenched and he looked down at the table for a second.

"I'd…I'd understand."

After getting the check and a sad smile from their waitress, Blaine paid for their meal and they took the rest home in to-go boxes.

The ride home was silent except for the radio, but after hearing Taio Cruz's Dynamite play for the fifth time, Kurt reached over and shut off the music, leaving the car in complete silence for the rest of the drive.

They reached Blaine's house and Kurt walked him to the door, Blaine's head hung low the entire way.

"I'm sorry about ruining our night."

"It's fine."

Kurt shrugged and acted like it was nothing, but Blaine knew him better than that and he knew he was disappointed.

"I'll call you later?"

Blaine's voice was hopeful and strained, and Kurt only gave him a meek smile.

"Goodnight, Kurt."

"Night."

Blaine went to give him a kiss on the lips but Kurt turned his head just before Blaine's lips met his. He paused for a second, wanting to say something but instead just giving Kurt a light kiss on the cheek.

He watched as Kurt walked back to his car and drove away, only going inside when Kurt's car was out of sight. Blaine entered the front door of his empty house, feeling horribly guilty. But more than anything, he was worried. He went into the kitchen to get a glass of water to calm his nerves. Blaine took a sip, trying to ignore the thought that had been circling around in his head since he got slushied. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and set it out on the counter. He took another drink of water, desperately trying to push the thought out of his mind, but it was no use.

He set the glass down on the counter, grabbed his phone and dialed a number, each ring adding to his nerves. It had rung about three times and they still hadn't answered. Blaine was about to end the call when the ringing stopped and her heard a voice on the other line.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Santana? It's Blaine. Um…about that date…"