The night that Kurt got settled into his apartment with Rachel he made a point to talk to her. He needed to badly. He had a cup of hot chocolate for him and her made in preparation.
“So what's on your mind?” she asked concerned.
“I may have met somebody new...” he said uncertainly. She looked at him confused.
“Did you and Cooper break up?” she asked. Kurt shook his head.
“What is going on then?” she asked.
“I met his little brother.”
“Who?”
“His name is Blaine. He was a sweetheart when we met and feelings all of a sudden developed and I slept with him,” Kurt said avoiding eye contact. He heard the gasp and looked up to see her angry.
“Kurt! You know better! How could you do that to Cooper? Please tell me it's over with Blaine...” she begged.
“It's not...I'm with Blaine behind his back. Rachel...I can't tell him...every time I try I can't say the words.”
“Kurt you can't keep doing this...Blaine is okay with this?”
“He said he'd do whatever needs to be done to be with me...he's willing to do this...” Kurt said.
“How old is 'little' brother?”
“He's eighteen. A senior in high school. Rachel...he might be coming to NYADA in the fall. He auditioned and now he's just waiting,” Kurt said.
“So, once he gets here you can fool around with him while poor Cooper sits in Ohio thinking about you while he works thinking you two are happy?” she asked. Kurt looked away from her biting back tears.
“I tried Rachel...I was going to call it off before I came back but me and him made a deal to try and work things out,” he said.
“Why? Was there trouble in paradise?” she asked.
“Things have been tough...he can get possessive and jealous easily. I found out that his last two boyfriends left him because of Blaine. One liked Blaine and once he broke up with Cooper they started dating. Another broke up with Cooper going for Blaine but Blaine hated him,” Kurt replied.
“You're just like them. The Kurt Hummel I remember would never cheat. He wouldn't keep it from the person either,” she said sternly. Kurt let the tears fall and let out a broken sob.
“Cooper gave me a promise ring before I left...I couldn't say no to him. He was so happy to give it to me...” he said pulling the ring out from under his shirt to show her. She smiled at it and then glared at him.
“I'm sorry Kurt...I have no sympathy for you right now. You need to talk to Cooper and call things off. Now. Stop dragging him around,” she said. Kurt looked up at her shocked.
“It's him or Blaine...make your choice and make it wisely,” she said. Kurt watched her get up and go to her bedroom. It felt like somebody had punched him in the gut and it hurt. Bad.
“I don't know...” he said. He'd never been in the position to actually decide and it hurt to have to think about it. He loved them both so much. He put his cup down and pulled his knees to his chest. He laid on the couch like that until his phone rang. He picked it up and saw Blaine's name across the screen. He hit answer and placed it to his ear.
“Hey!” Blaine said excitedly.
“Hi,” Kurt replied glumly.
“Are you okay?” Blaine asked worried.
“I'm fine. Just tired.”
“How was your flight?”
“It was good. I just got done unpacking not too long ago,” he replied.
“That's good. Sorry, parents just got home. I'll talk to you later,” Blaine said sighing. Kurt hadn't met the parents yet but he knew they did not fully approve of Cooper and his life style. They didn't know about Blaine's either.
“I'll talk to you later.”
Kurt hit the end button and cried. Why didn't he tell Blaine about the ring? Maybe he wasn't ready to end things with Cooper. Maybe he was meant to be with Cooper after all.
“I don't think I can do this anymore...” he mumbled. He felt arms wrap around him and he looked up to see Rachel by him.
“It's going to be okay...” she whispered. Kurt turned to her and cried into her shoulder.
“I can't choose between them...” he said.
“You need to though. You have to. You can't keep going on with both of them. What happens if Cooper proposes officially?” she asked.
“He wouldn't. Not for a while...we talked about this,” he said. She shook her head and sighed.
“Go to bed. You need some sleep and school starts Monday,” she said. Kurt took his mug into the kitchen and cleaned it out. He put it away and walked into his room. On his night stand was a brand new photo in a frame. He had taken the photo of him and Blaine together when they were in Columbus for Blaine's audition. He sat on his bed and looked at it thinking.
“Is this all worth it in the end?” he whispered.