When Blaine woke up the next morning, he felt trapped. Not trapped like caught-in-a-bad-situation trapped, but trapped as in stuck-in-a-place-he-couldn’t-get-out-of trapped. It briefly worried him as he wasn’t sure which was worse. Once he was fully awake, Blaine figured out the cause of his entrapment. Kurt and Rachel had their arms and legs wrapped around him.

He raised his head and looked over to Kurt’s purple Bedazzled alarm clock. Amazingly, it hadn’t been thrown out with so many of his other things. The display glowed 10:54 am.

“Great, just great,” Blaine moaned about his predicament as he dropped his head back on the pillow. Usually, he was an early riser, but the trio had been up talking and gossiping late into the night. Right before the break of dawn, they had crossed over into zombie mode, and everything anyone said became hilariously funny. All three had eventually crashed into a deep sleep. Blaine guessed he had passed out from sheer exhaustion first because he couldn’t remember Kurt or Rachel falling asleep before him.

Blaine tried to gently untangle himself from the knot of arms and legs but only succeeded in waking up Kurt, who immediately shut his eyes and dozed back to sleep. “Kurt, wake up. Kuurrt,” Blaine lightly teased into Kurt’s ear. When he didn’t respond, Blaine started to scoot down the center of the bed to freedom.

“Mmmm… Blainers, don’t go. You’re so comfy,” Kurt murmured, still half asleep. Blaine grinned, thinking back to the night before when Rachel called him Blainers. It’s not that he minded the nickname, of course, but it was so unlike Kurt. Rachel, thinking her favorite teddy bear was falling to the floor, hugged Blaine tighter and snuggled in, and a few seconds later started talking in her sleep about “not signing autographs please.”

“Babe, it’s almost lunchtime!” Blaine said quietly into Kurt’s ear so he wouldn’t wake Rachel. “Let me get up and get a shower, and you can sleep a little longer.”

Kurt swatted lightly at his ear. Blaine fought back the urge to give Kurt a wet-willie. Nope, he was losing that battle. Blaine licked his finger and was about to give Kurt’s ear a wakeup call when Kurt murmured, “Mmmkay.” Kurt untangled himself from Blaine before Blaine could complete his generous ear cleaning service to his boyfriend.

“Curses, foiled again,” Blaine thought as he gently moved Rachel’s arms and legs off of himself and slid down to the end of the bed, allowing Kurt to collapse back into blissful slumber. Rachel, realizing she was missing a warm body, wrapped her arm and leg around Kurt. Within seconds they were asleep again.

Once he got out of bed, Blaine looked at the two best friends with a smile. All of a sudden he had an evil thought and grabbed his phone to take a picture. “Some really hilarious blackmail material stuff,” Blaine thought gleefully to himself.

He was so in the prankster mood this morning. He had learned well from his Dalton mischief-making masters. After a very brief moment of internal conflict, he uploaded the picture to his Facebook with the caption “Bosom Buddies.” He knew he would catch hell about it from Rachel and Kurt later, but it was just so adorable! This was payback for the popcorn he was still pulling out of his pants.

Blaine put his phone on the table as he chuckled, “Mischief managed.” He was such a Potterhead!!

Blaine grabbed his robe and a clean towel from the linen closet, and he was about to go into the bathroom to shower when he heard singing coming from downstairs. He left his stuff on the counter and made his way down into the kitchen where he found Carole pulling out pots and pans and bowls to make breakfast for everyone. She had the radio on and was singing along. Her voice was really very pretty. She looked over to Blaine and smiled as she sang:

“Good morning starshine, the earth says hello.
You twinkle above us, we twinkle below.
Good morning starshine, you lead us along.
My love and me,
As we sing our,
Early morning singing song.”

Blaine loved this song! Sure, it was an oldie, but it was so much fun to sing! He started singing, or should we say butchering, the chorus enthusiastically:

 “Blippy blop bloopy.
Nibby Nobby Nooby.
Wa ha ha ho ho.
Hooby Booby Mama.
Flippy dooby wawa.
Early Morning sing song.”

Carole side-eyed her young friend. He was completely destroying the lyrics, but since he looked so happy doing it, she just let him go. He was dancing around the room, singing into a ladle.  She laughed and joined Blaine in the last chorus:

“Good morning starshine, the earth says hello.
You twinkle above us, we twinkle below.
Good morning starshine, you lead us along.
My love and me,
As we sing our,
Early morning singing song.”

“Hello, dear. Did you sleep well?” she asked as she walked over to Blaine and gave him a hug. He nodded. She touched his messy curls and said, “That is some wild hair you have there, Blaine. Oh look, a piece of popcorn!” She pulled out a piece and showed it to Blaine.

Blaine wasn’t fazed a bit. Rolling his eyes, he said, “You’d be surprised where I might find popcorn on me today.” He put his hand to his hair and discovered that it was sticking up and all over the place and a few more pieces of broken popcorn pieces stuck to his hand. He felt slightly embarrassed. He was used to not leaving his room without a pound of hair gel. He chuckled and said, “Heh, this is me right out of bed. Let’s hope you never have to see this again.”

“Oh, don’t be silly,” giggled Carole. “I think it’s very cute.” She pointed to the coffee pot. “Coffee is fresh if you want some. I was just about to start breakfast.”

Blaine kissed Carole on the cheek. “You, my lady, are a goddess,” he exclaimed as he poured himself a mug of coffee. He always felt a special kinship with Carole, and she always encouraged Blaine to talk openly with her. She was truly the mother he wished he had.

After prepping his coffee, he sat at the kitchen table. Carole poured her own mug and joined him. “So it seems you have had a pretty hard couple days, Blaine,” she said and grabbed his hand. “Can I apologize again for not being here? I know there’s only so much you can handle. Thank you for being strong for Kurt.”

Blaine smiled sadly but was internally happy! Carole noticed how hard he was trying. Going back into therapy mode and hoping he sounded very mature, he replied, “Carole, please stop blaming yourself. I don’t think you could have ever imagined this happening. I think the shock is still wearing off on me, personally.”

“So what happened?” she asked seriously. “And I don’t mean Finn’s drama queen version. What really happened?”

Blaine spent the next several minutes explaining everything that had happened from the last two days. He told her about the NYADA letter; the worrying about missing Kurt; the New Directions emergency meeting; the run-in at Scandals, although he glossed over some details; the mall; the fight with Rachel and the aftermath. Carole’s eyes got wider and wider as the story progressed. The entire time, she held Blaine’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze every time it looked like he was going to get upset.

When he was done, she whistled and said, “That’s not like Kurt at all! What do you think happened with him?”

Blaine shook his head slowly and explained, “I’m still trying to figure that out myself. I just think the past traumas finally caught up with him. He didn’t deal with his emotions properly, and it all piled up on top of him. The only way to clear it up was to explode.”

Carole looked at Blaine with surprise. This was a very smart and serious young man. Kurt did well to find someone like him. “Blaine, that’s very insightful. You’re very mature for only 17.”

Blaine blushed and said, “Nah, not really smart. I just learned from lots and lots of negative experiences.” It was obvious to Carole that he was trying to brush off the compliment. This was about Kurt, not him, after all.

Carole put down her coffee mug and gently grabbed his arms. “Blaine, don’t you dare sell yourself short like that!” she scolded. “You’re a very bright young man, and we’re all very lucky to have you in our lives. I think you saved Kurt’s life last year when he was having issues with David. We owe you a hell of a lot.”

Blaine’s gaze softened at the mention of his boyfriend. “You know, I would do anything for Kurt, Carole. I love your son so much. I hope you know that. I would never hurt him, at least not intentionally. And I think maybe he saved my life,” he said, smiling sadly. He could never tell the Hudson-Hummels how very close to the truth that was.

Carole stood up and brought Blaine into a tight hug. “Blaine, you’re family now,” she said. “You’re welcome here anytime.”

“Carole, can I talk to you about something?” Blaine asked. He was about to tell Carole everything about his less-than-ideal home life when he was interrupted with the front door opening. Finn came in, carrying an envelope. He had a very serious look on his face until he saw Carole and Blaine, then it instantly changed to an obviously fake smile.

“Hey, Mom.” Finn said, hugging his mother. “Blaine, dude, you need to stand a little closer to the comb next time,” he said, ruffling Blaine’s messy hair further. Blaine pushed Finn’s arm away but smiled back. Finn moved close to his friend and whispered, “Hey, man, can I talk to you for a sec? It was about what we talked about last night.”

Carole looked at the two boys curiously, but she knew it was best stay out of their private business.

“Oh, of course!” said Blaine, caught off guard. “Let’s go out back. I can finish my coffee out there.” He turned to Carole. “We can talk later. When I’m done talking to Finn, I’ll help you make breakfast.”

Carole gave a motherly smile. She put Blaine’s coffee mug in his hand and said sweetly, “So polite! I love my boys.”

Blaine beamed and followed Finn out to the backyard. Blaine grabbed a seat in a patio chair on the porch. Finn handed the envelope his was carrying to Blaine, picked up a chair and flipped it over and showed him some nail holes in the bottom of the legs. “There’s a funny story behind this. I’ll tell you about it someday,” Finn shared. He turned the chair right side up again and took back the envelope. His serious look returned.

Blaine tried not to squirm in his seat. There were times that Finn made him nervous and he wasn’t sure if he was in trouble with his big friend. Finn looked at the envelope again and pushed it back towards Blaine.

Blaine took it and glanced back at Finn. Finn pointed to the envelope and said, “Go on. Open it and look at the stuff inside.”

Blaine recognized it as a recruitment packet. His father had made him look at something very similar, except it was for military schools.

Finn explained, “After I calmed Puck down, I crashed at his house for the night. Early this morning I got up and went to see the recruiters again. They’re really interested in pursuing the application process. They gave me all this stuff to look over, and someone is going to call me later in the week.”

Blaine looked in the envelope and murmured, “Um… wow.” This was moving forward faster than he thought it might. Usually Finn moved a lot slower, almost aimlessly at times.

“I mean, I haven’t made any decisions yet or anything. I need to talk to my family about it, and Rachel needs to know, too. I feel like I’m being pulled in so many directions and I’m just confused. It sucks…” Finn said and put his head in his hands.

Blaine gave the envelope back to Finn and advised, “Finn, ultimately the decision rests on you. No one can make this decision for you. We’re all here to give advice, but you need to decide.”

Finn sighed. Blaine wondered if Finn simply wanted someone to tell him what to do. However, he knew that if he outright told Finn to join the army and something went wrong, Blaine would receive all the blame. He had figured out the blame game a long time ago. Cooper was a master teacher.

“But you are right,” Blaine continued. “You need to talk to your family and, most importantly, Rachel. If this is something that you really want to do, I’m sure they’ll be supportive. If it’s any consolation, you have my support.”

“There, that was a good compromise,” Blaine thought.

Finn raised his head and gave a crooked smile. “Thanks, man! At least I have one person in my corner,” he said.

“Just don’t ask me to join with you. I’m a pacifist. Except for the Dalton Fight Club, but there were reasons for it. I joined so I wouldn’t murder anyone. Well, a certain someone, anyway,” said Blaine offhandedly.

“Dude… what?” asked Finn, confused. He was discovering that Blaine had so many more layers than he expected.

“Nevermind,” said Blaine quickly. He had to be careful. He was starting to let things slip. “Don’t let down your guard, Blaine,” he warned himself.  There were things he didn’t want anyone to know about, at least not yet. Kurt didn’t even know all of his past. Blaine stood up and said, “Let’s go in. Your mom is making breakfast, and I promised I would help. Let me know if you want to talk about this some more.” He pointed to the envelope.

“Okay,” Finn replied. “Do you know where Rachel is?”

“She’s still sleeping with Kurt. I mean in Kurt’s bed… Um…wow,” Blaine sputtered.

Finn looked surprised and then mildly amused. Poor Blaine, he was clearly flustered!

Changing the subject quickly, an embarrassed Blaine asked, “So what’s wrong with Puck? Is everything figured out now?”

Finn stopped and looked at Blaine with wide eyes. “Oh wow, dude. Get this! Puck just found out he has a half-brother named Jake. How messed up is that?” he exclaimed.

Blaine looked at Finn with surprise. “That IS messed up! And he had no idea?” he asked.

“Nope,” Finn responded, shaking his head emphatically. “He just showed up at the door yesterday afternoon with no explanation. After talking to Jake for several hours, Puck called me and he was wasted. Puck, that is. Not Jake. That’s when I went over last night.”

Blaine shook his head and didn’t say anything as they returned to the kitchen. It appeared that they weren’t the only ones from New Directions dealing with major changes.

******

Tina and Mike were enjoying a rare parent-free night at her home. It was as good a time as ever to get intimate. But Mike was fretting over the lack of a condom, so instead of letting things come to a screeching halt, she concocted a little white lie. “I didn’t want to tell you this before, but I’m on the pill now,” she told Mike confidently.

“Really? That’s awesome. Why didn’t you tell me?” Mike questioned her. It really simplified things for him, err, he meant them.

“I wanted to wait until I had completed a full cycle to be sure they were fully in my system. Don’t want any little Cohen-Chang-Changs in 9 months, do we?” Tina assured him. It was a fib of course but what Mike didn’t know could keep her near to him. She smiled to herself. This was going to be a good night after all.

******

Santana and Brittany had spent the night at Santana’s house. Santana was getting really frustrated with Brittany. She had hoped to discuss their future together, and Brittany didn’t seem to get it. Santana wasn’t going to stay in Lima. She had debated between college and New York and had come down on the side of college. However, she had changed her mind about ten times since.

Meanwhile, Brittany went on and on about Perdue.

“Brittany, the Perdue that you’re interested in isn’t a college. It’s a place where they process chickens,” Santana tried to gently explain.

“I’d get to work with chickens? That would be wonderful! I’m going to teach them to dance. I could help them stay thin so they could have long, healthy lives. You know it’s the overeating that kills them off so young,” Brittany leaned in and shared with Santana. “It’s a conspiracy.”

Santana rolled her eyes. Brittany didn’t get it. She tried to break the news to her as carefully as possible. “Brittany, Perdue isn’t a place where you would get to work with live chickens. It’s where they go to…” Santana struggled to find the right word to use with her. “End their days and then they package them up for the grocery store.”

“OH MY GOD, NO!  Like a concentration camp for chickens?” a shocked Brittany asked. She slapped her hand over her mouth, horrified. In her wildest dreams she had never thought she could inadvertently be a part of something so horrible.

Santana was floored. “Brittany knew what a concentration camp was? Oh right! She was in Mrs. Hagberg’s revisionist history classroom,” she thought to herself. She patted Brittany on the hand and told her, “Which is why, Brit, I want you to stay in high school another year and learn to write with a pencil. You’re needed to save those chickens. But you can’t help them unless you’re a high school graduate.”

Brittany nodded her head in agreement. She would go back to school and graduate. She had a new cause now, a purpose in life, and her heart was beating hard with excitement.

******

To escape all the drama over at Finn and Kurt’s house, Sam spent the night over at Rory’s host house. The two boys shared their plans to go back home. Sam was going back to Kentucky for the summer. He missed his mom and dad and little brother and sister. He knew Rory was missing his family, too. Then he figured Rory would be coming back in the fall, so he was surprised to find out that Rory was planning on going home for good. It bothered Sam that Rory wouldn’t tell him why. But he couldn’t find the right words to ask him to explain it. Sam would have to accept it for what it was.  

Joe was having a great night at Vacation Bible School training. He had met a girl, and the two of them hit it off really well. She had the loveliest voice and the prettiest smile he had ever seen. The two of them shared a duet of “Noah’s Ark” to teach it to the rest of the volunteers, and it was magic. “Shame she is homeschooled,” he thought. ”She would have been a lovely addition to the choir room.”

As for the rest of the kids, Quinn and Mercedes were both at home mentally packing for their new future. Mercedes was leaving very soon, and she was dealing with last-minute preparations. She had found a roommate. The contracts were signed, and she would be in the recording studio before she knew it! She was so excited to be leaving Lima, and Mercedes had no intentions of ever looking back. Quinn, on the other hand, wasn’t so sure. Yes, she was going to Yale, and yes, she looked forward to leaving, but a small part of her wanted to come back to Lima to settle down and raise a family.

Sugar was fretting over the news of Rory going back to Ireland. She made the decision to take charge. She called Artie to see what he was doing. “After all, he was a good second choice,” she thought. Artie was a bit surprised to hear from Sugar, but after she confirmed Rory was leaving for good (as was currently making the rounds through the rumor mill) he thought, “Why not?” The two talked for over an hour about this and that, nothing specific. When Artie looked back at the conversation later that night, he couldn’t remember them talking about anything important at all.

******

Kurt woke up feeling fuzzy and groggy. He felt arms and legs encircling him. In his sleep induced stupor he thought, “Must be Blaine,” so he pulled him in for a nice good morning kiss on the lips. “Hey love,” he whispered.

“Mmmm” was the reply he got.

Wait, that didn’t sound right. That didn’t feel right, either!  Whoever this was felt soft, and there was long and straight hair instead of short and curly. And there were curves where there really shouldn’t be. Kurt tentatively put out his hand and felt a face. This face had distinctly feminine features and the nose was way too big to be Blaine’s.

“Oh, shit!” Kurt said to himself and opened his eyes. He was almost nose to nose with Rachel. All of a sudden she opened her eyes.

“Aaaarrrghhhh!!!!!” screamed Kurt. A split second later, Rachel screeched, “Eeeeeeeee!!!”

Kurt detangled himself from Rachel and his blankets and scooted to the edge of the bed, horrified. “What happened? Where’s Blaine? You? Me? What? Did we get drunk?” he stammered. His mind wasn’t cleared yet, and he jumped to the worst possible conclusion.

Rachel sat up and covered herself with the blanket, even though she was fully clothed in her pink jammies. “Drunk? No, I don’t think so, Kurt. We just stayed up really late talking. Did you just kiss me?” she asked as she looked horrified at her best friend.

Kurt shook his head. “Wasn’t me,” he insisted, trying to look all wide-eyed and innocent.

Rachel looked around the room, asking, “But where’s Blaine? Maybe he kissed me. I could swear he was here with us!” Not seeing him on top of the bed, she decided to check under the bed to be sure. Rachel was a little off balance as well as a bit groggy from waking up. She misjudged the distance to the floor and slowly fell off the edge when she tried looking under the bed.

Kurt tried not to laugh. It was like watching something in slow-motion. Rachel’s butt went up in the air and disappeared over the side, her journey ending with a loud thump. After a bit of a delay, he heard her say, “Ouch?”

Kurt looked over the bed to see if she was okay. Rachel looked up at him and in all seriousness stated, “Nope, no Blaine under here.”

Kurt leaned over the side and was offering a hand to help Rachel up off the floor when she accidently pulled him down face first. “Owweeee,” Kurt yelled as he hit the floor with the second loud thump to emit from the room. Kurt suffered a face plant. The bottom half of his body was still on top of the bed, and he hung precariously over the edge.

Kurt started complaining, “That’s the second time in less than 24 hours you’ve hurt me. First the back of my head, now the front. Not nice, Rachel Berry!”

And that was how Blaine found them a few seconds later after he ran upstairs to check where those two loud screams and two loud thumps came from.

Finn had followed Blaine up the stairs and upon looking in the room, began to laugh hysterically.

Blaine gave out an explosive sigh and slumped against the door, relieved no one was hurt, at least not seriously.

“Jeez, Kurt. Way to give us a heart attack!” admonished Blaine. Kurt shot a dirty look up at him, and Blaine realized that it might have been a poor choice of words. Considering what Burt went through last year, Blaine revised himself and said, “I mean you scared the crap out of me. What happened?”

Kurt looked over to Rachel and back up to Blaine, his arms waving frantically. His mind still wasn’t quite awake and he was starting to freak out. He rolled himself off the bed and on to floor with yet another large thump, barely missing Rachel in the process. He picked himself up off the floor, ran over to Blaine, grabbed him by the arms and said hysterically, “Blaine, please tell me nothing happened last night! Please say all we did was talk? I can’t remember anything. Rachel thinks I KISSED her!” He started to hyperventilate. Finn just looked at the scene in shock and amusement.

Blaine gently held Kurt’s face and found no new bumps forming. “Babe… you need to calm down. Breathe in...” Kurt took a deep breath. “And out…” He slowly exhaled. Blaine got him to do deep breathing for a minute and then sat him down at the end of the bed. He kneeled in front of his boyfriend and asked, “Now what is this all about?”

Kurt responded, “Well, when I woke up I opened my eyes and I was holding Rachel, and you weren’t there and I guess I just panicked. My mind is racing, and I can’t remember what happened last night.”

“You have to admit, what just happened was pretty funny. And yes, you kissed me,” interjected Rachel from the floor, who had figured out what was going on a few seconds before.

Kurt’s eyes grew wider than anyone thought possible. “That was a mistake! I thought you were Blaine!” he yelled, defending himself. Finn just laughed harder and had to excuse himself to take a quick bathroom break.

Rachel twirled her finger at Kurt and teased him by saying, “You tried to rock my world, Kurt Hummel!”

Kurt gave Rachel one of his looks and turned to Blaine for comfort. Blaine, trying desperately to hold in a laugh, said, “Nothing happened last night, Kurt. We just stayed up too late talking and catching up. You’re just suffering from sleep deprivation, that’s all.”

“So nothing happened?” asked Kurt quietly.

Blaine put his hand on the side of Kurt’s face. “Nothing happened,” he assured kindly. He couldn’t do it. Holding in the laugh was just making him hurt. He let out a loud guffaw and Kurt gave him the same look he just gave Rachel.

Blaine stood up, pulling Kurt up with him. “Why don’t you get cleaned up. I’m helping Carole with breakfast,” he said to his boyfriend.

Kurt nodded and grabbed his shower stuff, but not before giving Blaine a kiss. As he left the room, he said over his shoulder, “I require pancakes. And bacon, lots and lots of bacon.”

Blaine dramatically put his hand over his heart and said with a fake theatrical flair, “Be still my heart. My man wants bacon.”

Kurt just rolled his eyes with a smile and left the room. The other three returned to the kitchen. They spent several minutes talking, cooking and laughing with Carole when Kurt came into the kitchen. Blaine gave one look and did a double take.

Either Kurt bought several copies of the same outfit, or Carole did his laundry that morning, because he was wearing the same outfit he had worn to Scandals two days ago. The bandana around his spiky hair, the black ribbed tank top, and black pocketed pants all looked the same. He even had the black makeup, bracelets, and Crocs to complete the ensemble. If it was at all possible, he looked even more attractive today than he did that night at the bar. Maybe it was because the stress surrounding him was much less palpable.

Finn and Rachel just looked at each other knowingly. Kurt strode to the counter and grabbed a piece of bacon. After taking a big bite he smiled and walked over to Carole.

“Same outfit twice in one week, Kurt? That’s so unlike you!” Blaine commented.

“It’s totally different!” Kurt said. “See the stitching on the jean legs and pocket? The pattern isn’t the same. These jeans are river washed, too. It’s a different style dye job altogether. Also, the top is charcoal, not basic black. Honestly, Blaine, I thought I taught you better.”

He turned to Carole. “Hi Mom,” he said in his low voice and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Great bacon.”

Blaine sighed in frustration. He thought they had made a breakthrough last night concerning Kurt’s voice and attitude, but it seemed like Kurt was back to the way he was before the fight with Rachel. Well, he did tell Kurt that he was going to revert from time to time. He just wasn’t expecting it to happen so soon.

 “Hi, Kurt,” said Carole with amusement. “That outfit is… umm… interesting? Do you have a cold, dear?” She looked at Blaine and he looked back, giving a small shrug.

“No, why do you ask?” Kurt replied, oblivious. “And thanks for the compliment. These clothes are simple and way easier to maintain, although from now on I may make my own. These are subpar,” he said, gently pulling at the fabric of his tank top. He looked at them working in the kitchen. “Need any help?” he asked.

“I think Blaine and I have it under control,” said Carole. “Why don’t you go watch TV or something?”

“Suit yourself,” shrugged Kurt. He looked over to Finn. “Hey, Finn, why don’t you bring down that game box thingie and show me how to blow myself up. Blaine seemed to enjoy it.” Although Kurt wasn’t doing it on purpose, he had just unintentionally zinged his boyfriend.

Finn looked at Kurt in shock, and then he started laughing uproariously. Blaine was cutting fresh fruit and let out a choking sound, then blushed a deep red. Kurt looked at them, wondering what he said wrong. He really wanted to learn how to play the game, and he thought the goal of said game was to blow oneself up. At least that’s what Blaine said to him the day before in the park!

“Kurt, you are so hilarious,” said Finn sarcastically, took his brother in a headlock, and started dragging him towards the door.

“Finn, for the love of god, watch the hair! Don’t be an asshole!” Kurt yelled, struggling to get free.

Carole called out, “Language, Kurt!”

“Sorry!” Kurt apologized.

“I don’t think so, Kurt,” Finn informed.

Thinking back to that incredibly tacky disco week that Will forced the New Directions to endure, Kurt remembered a line from Saturday Night Fever. “Would you just watch the hair? You know, I work on my hair for like two minutes, and you hit it,” Kurt quoted then tried to look up at Blaine. “He hits my hair!” he added while stomping on Finn’s foot.

Blaine smiled. That sounded like the Kurt he loved so much. Sort of.

Finn came back into the kitchen in obvious distress. “MOM, MOM!” he cried out. “Kurt stepped on my foot!” Carole picked up a hot mitt and threw it at Finn, hitting him square in the chest.

“Now get out of here, you big tattletale!” Carole responded. “Or I’ll take this wooden spoon to you!” Blaine flinched at Carole’s words, but nobody noticed.

Finn scurried out of the kitchen as fast he could. Rachel just giggled, and Blaine tried to cover up his flinch by joining in.

After they left, Rachel pretended to be offended. “Such a potty mouth!” she said, putting her left hand on her chest.

“You weren’t much better last night, Rach,” said Blaine, almost under his breath.

“Excuse me?” she asked politely as she didn’t hear him.

“Nothing,” said Blaine and snickered.

Carole started putting the cut fruit in the bowl and said to Blaine, “I see what you were talking about there. That’s quite a drastic change.”

Rachel stood up and moved over to where the other two stood. “I personally think it’s just a phase Kurt needs to get through. I’m sure he’ll be back to normal in no time!” she said confidently.

Blaine turned around to face them. “Guys, I’m not too sure about that. I mean, the real Kurt is in there, deep inside, but I think he’s a little bit lost. Actually, no, I think he’s a lot lost. I think we’re in for a long, hard road.”

Rachel let out a gasp and said quickly, so the words kind of flowed together, “It’s so simple! Kurt feels lost and he needs to find himself. I know EXACTLY what Kurt needs. He needs his friends. Heneedsnooderections.” As she spoke, she got more excited and high pitched. She started pacing the room, talking to herself faster and faster.

Blaine looked at her, trying to figure out what she had just said. Then he looked at Carole and asked, “Did she just say he needs nude erections? ‘Cause that is more than a little inappropriate.”

Carole just laughed and continued prepping the breakfast. Blaine could be so funny sometimes!

Rachel stopped mid-sentence and stared at Blaine, horrified. “Blaine! That is NOT what I said! You are a dirty, disgusting human being! What I did say was that Kurt needs the New Directions. He needs his friends!” She put her finger on her lips thoughtfully and added, “Although I can see how one could get confused. Maybe I should talk to Mr. Schue and ask him to change the name to avoid further confusion.”

“I’m not sure how good of an idea that is,” Blaine said, feeling uneasy about the idea. Kurt needed a little more time adjusting to things.

“Of course it is! The last thing we need is my old show choir’s name being made fun of, especially when I’m a famous Broadway actress!” said Rachel proudly, having no idea what Blaine was actually talking about.

Blaine sighed heavily. “Not that, Rachel! I’m talking about calling in the gang. I think Kurt just needs some space for a little bit.”

Rachel ignored him, putting her hands on her hips and exclaiming, “Nonsense, Blainers!” That got a snicker from Carole. “I think that’s exactly what he needs. I’ll use Finn’s computer to set up something for later today. Carole, do you mind if we have a gathering of friends tonight?”

“Of course not, dear. Finn can fire up the BBQ and we can get you some tofu burgers. Would that be okay?” Carole asked.

“That would be PERFECT!” Rachel squealed and left the kitchen to use Finn’s computer to invite her friends over.

After Rachel left the kitchen, Carole grinned over to Blaine and asked, “Blainers?”

“Don’t ask,” mumbled Blaine then turned to Carole. “Are you sure this is a good idea? I just see bad things happening.”

“Blaine, when Rachel gets something in her head, it’s just about impossible to change her mind. The wedding is a good example,” Carole said as if it was a matter of fact. “Let’s just see what happens. She does have a point, though. Kurt could use his friends. They all knew what he went through.”

“I guess,” said Blaine, shrugging. “Well, mother knows best, after all.”

“And don’t you forget it,” said Carole, giving Blaine a warm smile. She pulled him in for a one-arm hug. “Let’s finish this breakfast so we can start shopping for the party tonight.”