Chapter 10

“Have you noticed anything strange today?” Jeff asked Kurt the following day as they were walking to their next classes.

“What do you mean?” Kurt asked. He noticed the change in the certain trio’s behaviour but it wasn’t strange after the conversation he had had with Blaine the day before.

Jeff shrugged. “Blaine has been… civilised towards you today.”

Kurt readjusted his bag before saying anything. “We have seen him like twice today. Maybe he just didn’t see us. And since when is ignoring equal to ‘being civilised’?”

“Okay, maybe he is ignoring you but it’s not normal for him. He always notices you. He may have been sincere yesterday, you know,” Jeff said and stopped next to his classroom.

Kurt snorted. “Do you actually believe it? It must be an act. It’s some kind of a trap and I’m not falling into it,” he shook his head to emphasize his words. “Okay, I need to go; I can’t be late for my class.”

“Have fun,” Jeff said and watched Kurt disappear.

<~*~>

The next two weeks were weird for Kurt. He used to see Blaine everywhere; he was loud with his friends, always walking around, acting like they ruled the place. Now Kurt saw the boy only during the Warblers practice and some classes that they shared. He rarely saw him in the cafeteria either. They had no more private practices. It was like Blaine was avoiding him.

It also meant that Wes and David were usually by themselves. They were still acting like jerks but they left Kurt and Jeff alone. Kurt couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. He could tell that from the way the two boys whispered to each other, the worry in their eyes. Kurt had a strong feeling that it had something to do with Blaine. Somehow, he couldn’t help but wonder what it was about. He blamed it on his curiosity though.

As the sectionals drew closer Kurt noticed that Blaine became rather pale and quiet. His singing wasn’t as good as it used to be, he started making mistakes in the dancing routines as well. Everyone noticed but nobody commented on it. Kurt heard Wes telling Sebastian that Blaine was just a bit distracted and tired. He also added ‘now fuck off’ in the end.

The sectionals were on Sunday and Wednesday’s practice was a disaster. In the end they all started arguing and Wes decided they should just take a day off. There was no need to keep it going given that they were all ready to kill each other.

Blaine was the first to get out of the room and Kurt decided to take everything into his hands. It was his first competition and he didn’t want to lose it. Especially when his step-brother’s glee club was competing against them. The Warblers were really good and their chances to win were really high so he didn’t want one particular warbler to mess up their chances. That’s why Kurt found himself quickly saying ‘see you later’ to Jeff and following Blaine. Once they got to an empty corridor a few  minutes later Kurt decided to call him out.

“What’s your problem?” he asked angrily. The practice brought his mood down and he just couldn’t be polite and pretend to be calm as he usually did.

Blaine turned around clearly confused. “What do you mean?”

“First you treat me like shit. Then you apologise and ignore me. Now you are messing up with the songs. I know that you don’t want to sing that love song with me and trust me, I don’t want that either, but can’t you just forget our differences and act as a real leader of the Warblers?”

Blaine snickered, amusement evident in his eyes. “Oh, Chalmers, you really do think that you are the centre of the world, don’t you? Well, guess what? This has nothing to do with you,” he said and turned around to leave.

“Well, sort that shit out so we can win that damn thing. I don’t want to lose just because you can’t handle yourself,” he spat as Blaine walked away.

For some reason Kurt felt slightly guilty for his words.

<~*~>

“I expect the best behaviour this weekend,” David warned them on Friday when they were all sitting in one of the hotel rooms in Lima. They decided to spend the whole weekend there to do some ‘bonding stuff.’ “Today we are all staying here, practising. Tomorrow we will go to the mall and have some fun together. You kind of know what to do there. I heard they have an inside skating rink, billiard, cinema, bowling, and some other stuff. And then we will have the sectionals on Sunday. Afterwards we will go back to the hotel, take our stuff, and go back to Dalton. Is everyone okay with the plan?”

Sebastian raised his hand but spoke before anyone could say anything. “What if I’m not okay?” he asked smirking.

“We don’t give a fuck,” Wes answered texting someone. “How do you spell ‘idiot’? I want to tell my girlfriend about Sebastian.”

“It’s w-e-s,” the boy laughed and a few warblers joined in.

“We have no chance to win if we keep fighting,” Kurt said, his voice raised. “Can we all at least pretend to like each until Sunday evening?”

Jeff nodded. “Kurt has a point. We have to be united to beat the other glee clubs. We could all calm down now and start practising. We need to perfect the songs and dance moves.”

<~*~>

They ended up staying up late, going through those three songs again and again. By eleven in the evening the council decided it was time to finish. They all went to their rooms to take a shower before bed.

The boys were sleepy during the breakfast in the morning and hardly spoke. It was good given that they would have argued instead. In a way Kurt couldn’t wait for the weekend to be over. Then it would be only one week and he would go back to Lima for Christmas break. His dad promised to try to come for a few days with Carole. Promised to try didn’t sound very convincing but it was better than a strict no.

“What would you like to start with today once we get to the mall?” Jeff asked, mouth full of omelette.

From the corner of his eye Kurt could see Blaine glancing at them from time to time. “I was thinking of going to the cinema. If I’m not mistaken they are showing that new romantic comedy we talked about last week. I would like to go.”

“You are so romantic… I love that about you,” Jeff said and winked at him.

“You have no idea,” Kurt laughed and sipped some juice. “What do you want to do?”

“Anything as long as I can be with you. I lo–”

But he couldn’t finish. They heard Blaine starting coughing frantically and saw David hitting his back. In a few moments Blaine was able to talk.

“I’m fine,” he said. “It just went down the wrong way.”

Kurt hid a grin in the glass, pretending to drink.

<~*~>

Jeff ended up going to the cinema with Kurt and a few other warblers. They had no idea where the others went but they didn’t really care. They knew what time they had to meet by the bus and that was all they cared about.

Kurt left the cinema with Jeff, discussing what they had just seen. Kurt was fascinated while in Jeff’s opinion the film was quite dull.

“I’m just saying that it’s very sweet that she forgave him,” Kurt insisted. “It’s what you do when you love someone.”

Jeff was about to answer but someone else got their attention.

“Kurt!” he heard. Kurt turned around to face an angry looking Finn. “Why the hell haven’t you told me you would be here?”

“Fuck off,” Blaine, who came out of nowhere, said as he stepped in front of Kurt not even bothering to ask what was going on. Finn raised his eyebrow in confusion as well as Kurt.

Wes and David as always were by Blaine’s side in no time. “Don’t bother Kurt. Just keep going and nothing is going to happen,” David warned him.

“If you don’t, I will personally make sure your mom doesn’t recognise you when I finish so you better get lost,” Wes added.

Kurt cleared his throat. “How about you, guys, get lost and let me talk to my step-brother?”

“Your what?” Blaine asked, his cheeks getting a bit darker.

“Um, I’m his step-brother, dude,” Finn said rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s not like I’m bothering him, am I?”

Kurt rolled his eyes. “Of course not. Now leave us alone.”

The trio murmured some apologies and left. Jeff couldn’t stop himself from laughing. “Oh god, I can’t believe this just happened! Their faces, oh god, I wish I took a photo!”

“What photo?” a girl asked coming closer. “Hi, boys.”

“Hi, Cedes,” Jeff winked playfully at her. “I would kiss you but–”

Mercedes faked a yawn. “Stop talking, you are boring me. Better introduce me to your friend. I’m assuming it’s Kurt.”

“Yes, I am,” Kurt said smiling at her. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“Why can’t Jeff kiss Mercedes?” Finn asked confused. “I mean, you, guys, are dating, aren’t you?”

Kurt’s face turned pink. “My glee club kind of thinks that meandjeffaredating.”

“Sorry, what?”

“They think that Kurt and I are dating,” Jeff said silently and laughed.

“I don’t get it. Why would they think you are a couple?”

Jeff shrugged. “For fun. But don’t worry,” he quickly added seeing Finn’s confused face turning into a protective one, “we don’t kiss or anything.”

“You better don’t,” Finn frowned.

Mercedes patted his shoulder, smiling widely. “Come on, Finn, even I am fine with them kissing and I’m the girlfriend.”

“Yeah, but I’m the big brother.”

“Still my argument is stronger,” Mercedes shrugged. “So, do you want to get some coffee or something? We have a few minutes before the practice.”

The boys nodded in agreement and Mercedes showed the way to one of the cafes. On the way Kurt saw a toilet and decided to pop in. He told everyone he would join them in the cafe. Once he reached the door and opened it he bumped into someone big.

“Watch where you are going, homo,” the jock said and Kurt stepped back to let him leave.

Two others boys with the same jackets followed him with some insulting comments but Kurt tried to ignore them. He let a sigh of relief once they were out of his sight. He was a bit worried that they may go back so he quickly went in. The first thing he noticed was a boy in the corner. He was white as a sheet, breathing heavily, his eyes full of terror looking at the ground. Kurt was next to the boy in a heartbeat. It only made the boy flinch.

“Blaine? Look at me, it’s me, Kurt,” he said desperately, not knowing what to do.

Blaine didn’t react in any way so Kurt decided that a touch would be the best way to get his attention. He raised one hand and cupped his cheek making the boy look at him with eyes that told him that Blaine was somewhere far away from the place they were actually in.

“Blaine, focus on my voice,” he said slowly and saw something change in the boy’s eyes. “Do you know who I am?”

Finally Blaine really looked at him and a few seconds later he answered. “Kurt?”

“Let’s get you out of here.”

Preview:

"Why do you even care?" Blaine snapped against his own will.

Kurt shrugged. "I don't know."