Kurt hummed softly as he slid the casserole into the oven, then gently closed the door. He reached forward to set the timer. As he turned to put the oven mitts away, he nearly collided with another body.

"Blaine!" He jumped, startled. "You're early…."

"I let myself in…I hope that's alright…" Blaine glanced away, shifting his stance a little.

Kurt smiled and rolled his eyes. "Of course it is. You know you're always welcome here."

They'd been dating for four months, but Blaine still hadn't grown accustomed to the welcoming atmosphere of the Hudmel household. He'd been raised to announce his presence when arriving at someone's home—even his own—and being asked—no, ordered—to "just open the door and come on in" (Carole's words) was incredibly foreign to him.

But he liked it. He liked it more than he would ever admit.

"Blaine?"

Blaine blinked, shaken from his thoughts. "Yes?"

"I asked you how long you'd been standing there," Kurt said, a small smile on his lips and a twinkle in his eyes.

Blaine glanced around the room before looking back at Kurt. "Oh…not long." That's not a complete lie. I stood next to him for just a few moments. He doesn't need to know I stood in the doorway, watching him cook and sing for nearly 30 minutes. He'd kill me.

Kurt raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"What were you singing?" Blaine asked, hoping to distract Kurt from questioning him further.

Kurt's cheeks flushed. He mumbled something Blaine didn't quite catch.

"Say again?"

Kurt's eyes were trained on the floor and he shifted uncomfortably.

"Teenage Dream," he said quietly.

Blaine smirked.

"Oh, really? Isn't that a little too...'Top 40' for your taste?"

Kurt glared at him, trying to muster up the fury to do so properly.

The moment was ruined as Blaine started laughing at him. Kurt couldn't help but join in.

Once their breathing had slowed to a more normal pace, Blaine repeated his question.

"So...why that song?" He asked. He stared steadily into Kurt's eyes.

Kurt looked away, shifting his feet and wrapping his arms around himself.

Blaine shook his head. "Come on, is the reason really that bad?" He placed a finger under Kurt's chin, forcing him to look up. "Just tell me, alright? I promise I won't make fun of you."

Kurt's stance relaxed a little, but his arms remained wrapped around his body. He raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Really? I have a hard time believing you."

Of all the promises Blaine would make-and they are numerous-this is the one he always had a hard time keeping. Kurt was just so much fun to tease. Blaine loved to see the flush climb his cheeks and his lips form into a pout. And he would turn his head away, hoping Blaine wouldn't be able to see the laughter in his eyes.

Blaine held out his hand. "Pinky swear!" He said, eyes twinkling merrily.

Kurt's arms dropped to his sides, and he felt his jaw drop open. "Pinky swear? Really? Are we five years old?"

"Pinky swears aren't just for little kids, you know," Blaine said seriously, as if Kurt had missed something very important.

"Really?" Kurt said, eyes wide and tone skeptical.

"Really. It's a promise between best friends. And best friends don't break promises."

Blaine still had his hand raised, the fingers curled into a fist except for his pinky. His lips were turned up in a small smile and Kurt could see the laughter (and...was that hope? or fear?..) in his eyes.

Kurt sighed and linked his pinky with Blaine's. "You are so ridiculous," he said, laughter and disbelief in his voice.

Blaine tightened his hold on Kurt's finger. "But that's why you love me!" He said, his smile morphing into a full-out grin.

Kurt felt his breath catch in his lungs. There it was...that word. Blaine could use it so casually, so effortlessly, as if it were very obvious. And Kurt, after spending so many years holding back what he really felt, never being able to use that word-except with his father, which wasn't the same thing at all-without worrying about it being misinterpreted, was finally able to say:

"Well, that's not the only reason I love you, you know."

Blaine chuckled, releasing his hold on Kurt's hand. Kurt missed the contact immediately.

"I got you to say it first!" Blaine said, a satisfied smirk on his face.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Are you really going to make this a contest every time we see each other? Please tell me you're not actually keeping track of who says 'I love you' first each time."

Blaine rolled his eyes toward the ceiling, whistling innocently.

Kurt gasped. "You are. Oh my gosh, why would you do that." A horrifying thought crossed his mind. "You're not going to use that to guilt me into doing you a favor sometime, are you? Because that's just mean."

Blaine laughed. "You're so ridiculous. It's for myself, and I have no plans to use it to guilt you into anything."

Kurt frowned slightly, not understanding. "So...why are you keeping track then?"

"Because I want to stay ahead of you."

Kurt was speechless. "Because I want to stay ahead of you." For a guy who says he's not very good at romance, he's doing a damn good job so far. Kurt had no idea what to say. Blaine was beginning to look slightly uncomfortable, and Kurt realized he was probably overthinking what he'd said, worrying that it was the wrong thing. And since Kurt's brain couldn't come up with any words nearly as sweet as what he'd just heard, he did the only other logical thing.

He took a step forward and pressed his lips to Blaine's, resting one hand on the back of his neck and the other on his waist. He felt Blaine relax immediately, a soft sigh whispering from his lips. Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt, pressing them closer together, just enough so they could feel the warmth from each other's bodies.

They kissed for what seemed like forever, and yet, when they pulled away and Kurt touched his forehead to Blaine's, no time seemed to have passed at all. They stood quietly from a moment before Blaine said, "So now that you've tried to dodge my question twice, will you please tell me why you were thinking about Teenage Dream?"

Kurt tried to pull away, but Blaine's arms tightened around his waist. "Come on, Kurt. I promised not to make fun of you. I even pinky swore, just for you!"

Kurt sighed and rolled his eyes. He leaned closer to Blaine, pressing his lips to the other boy's ear.

"I was remembering the day I met you," he whispered.

This time, it was Blaine who was left without words. He felt his breath catch in his throat. His eyes widened.

"Any...ah..." He coughed, trying to clear his throat. "Any particular reason? Not that you need one, of course..."

Kurt pulled away, just enough to be able to look into Blaine's eyes. He smiled shyly, a flush creeping up his cheeks again, and his eyes darted to the side. He couldn't think straight with Blaine giving him that look.

He cleared his throat. "It's been exactly seven months since I happened to stop you on the steps at Dalton."

Blaine's face split into a grin. "Whoa, really?" He pursed his lips and rolled his eyes toward the ceiling, searching his mind for the memory. "Wow," he breathed. "I can't believe I didn't remember..." His voice trailed off, his eyes losing focus slightly as he replayed that day.

He was late for Warblers practice, once again. Wes was going to kill him; not only for being late for the fourth time within a week, but also for "being such a terrible example for the new Warblers. If we keep letting your lateness slide, they'll assume they can begin doing the same, and before we know it, practices will become chaos."

It wasn't Blaine's fault so many people insisted upon distracting him as he walked the Dalton halls. It would be unspeakably rude to brush them off, and a Warbler wasn't ever to be rude.

He raced down the down the stairs, head down, brushing quickly past the other students. As he reached floor level, a voice he didn't recognize said, "Excuse me." Blaine turned and glanced up at the young man on the staircase. The boy continued, "Um...hi. Can I ask you a question? I...I'm new here."

Blaine immediately knew the boy wasn't telling the truth. New students were given a uniform along with their class schedules and were expected to wear them right away. New students were also assigned an upper classman to be their guide for their first day.

Blaine was about to call him out for telling an untruth...but something in the boy's eyes stopped him. Blaine smiled, held out his hand, and said, "My name is Blaine."

The boy glanced down at their clasped hands, then looked up at Blaine with a smile. "Kurt," he said, sounding a little breathless.

Blaine released the boy's hand and watched as he glanced around at the bustling students.

The boy (Kurt, Blaine corrected himself), sighed and said"So...what exactly is going on?"

"The Warblers," Blaine said, excitement in his voice. He glanced at the students milling around, then looked back at Kurt and continued, "Every now and then they throw an impromptu performance in the senior commons." He glanced away again. "It tends to shut the school down for a while," he finished with a wink.

Kurt's eyes widened as he watched the students flowing down the hall. "So...wait. The glee club here is kind of...cool?"

"The Warblers are like...rockstars," Blaine said, grinning.

Kurt's eyebrows climbed his forehead, a look of sheer disbelief on his face. Blaine couldn't stop smiling. He reached for Kurt's hand and said, "Come on. I know a shortcut."

They raced down the empty hallway. Blaine realized that Kurt's arm was awkwardly crossing his body, but he didn't want to release the boy's hand. As they reached the senior commons, the doors swung open. Blaine released Kurt's hand and turned to face him.

"Oh, I stick out like a sore thumb," Kurt said, observing the attire of the other students.

"Next time, don't forget your jacket, new kid," Blaine said, reaching out to adjust the lapel of his jacket. "You'll fit right in," he said, winking and setting aside his bag.

"Now if you'll excuse me," Blaine said, turning away and joining the Warblers, who had begun their background vocals for their number.

As the song began, Blaine turned in a slow circle, glancing around the room, a huge grin on his face, making eye contact with several students.

And then...he looked at Kurt. As he sang, "You'll be my valentine...valentine," his eyes met Kurt's. The other boy was watching tentatively, hesitation in his eyes, a half-smile on his lips.

Blaine began moving in time with the rest of the Warblers, shifting his gaze to other students, and stopping to look at Kurt often. As the performance continued, Blaine found himself looking at Kurt more than any of the other students or his fellow performers. He found himself singing to Kurt, pointing at him as he sang "You make me...feel like I'm living a teenage dream..." He repeated the motion each time the chorus began again.

As the performance went on, Blaine continued to keep an eye on Kurt's expression. He saw the boy begin swaying with the music and a smile begin to form on his face. He watched as Kurt observed the reactions of the other students. He looked so...happy.

Halfway through the song, Blaine sang "...when you look at me..." he looked into Kurt's eyes, drinking in the boy's ecstatic expression, the joy that could clearly be seen in his eyes and in the wide smile on his face.

"Just one touch..." Blaine saw Kurt giggle and duck his head but he kept his eyes locked on Blaine's. Blaine decided he liked seeing Kurt smile, so he hammed up his performance a little bit, smiling wider, gesturing more dramatically, and making sure to look at Kurt as he sang.

"Don't ever look back..don't ever look back..." He pointed at Kurt again, hazel eyes locking with blue once more. If possible, he saw Kurt's smile grow wider, his eyes scrunching shut.

And as the song came to a close, the Warblers singing, "Be your teenage dream tonight," Blaine once again locked eyes with Kurt. Blaine was quickly mobbed by the students, but before his vision was completely blocked, he saw Kurt begin to clap wildly, his grin splitting his face and his eyes shining.

I'm glad I didn't call him out on his lie, Blaine thought, this was a lot of fun.