It’s Kurt’s senior year. He wants it to be magical.

This year is all about getting ready for the future, hopefully in New York. It’s also Blaine’s senior year. He hasn’t seen Blaine since that day in the mall, but Mercedes made amends with Kurt in the last week of summer, and she told him that Blaine’s fine.

Blaine is still one of the biggest stars of the school, so when he comes in looking different, the gossip mill starts. Blaine’s toned it down since the summer. There’s no bowtie in sight. A part of him is probably still scared, since you can’t unlearn internalised homophobia that easily, but it’s different enough to be noticeable.

It’s also noticeable when he walks around with his arm linked around Mercedes’s. Blaine and Mercedes really bonded during the summer and Kurt’s glad that Blaine has the friend that he deserves. Some Cheerios point at Mercedes and laugh, and Rachel is staring daggers at the pair. Jacob Ben Israel harasses them the entire day, hoping for an interview, but the only soundbite that he gets is a “No comment.”

Mercedes has never cared about status and popularity. She’s always been strong minded and true to herself. Blaine might need that.

Kurt didn’t really think he’d see Blaine much, but by the end of the first day of school, he and Mercedes enter the choir room together. When Blaine walks in, the room goes silent. Rachel looks livid.

After the initial confusion, Finn is the one who welcomes him.

“Hey! Are you joining?” he claps Blaine on the shoulder. Rachel scoffs.

“Mercedes said that there’s an open audition?” Blaine directs his question towards Mr. Schue. The teacher is incredibly happy to have anyone show interest in glee club, and Blaine is McKinley royalty. Mr. Schue is more than happy to let Blaine audition.

Blaine moves to the piano and he sings a wonderful acoustic rendition of Teenage Dream. He’s in.

Being in glee club together doesn’t automatically make Kurt and Blaine friends again. Everyone in the glee club is close, and Blaine makes his way into the club with ease, but there have always been little cliques within. Kurt and Blaine are not in the same cliques. Apart from Mercedes, Blaine mostly hangs out with the jocks and Cheerios in the glee club, since they were hanging out before, and that is fine. Blaine even shows up at Kurt’s house once to pick up Finn. They’re going to the new superhero movie with Sam, Artie, Puck and Mike.

They win Sectionals and Tina throws a party. It’s fun. Blaine needs friends, since his social status in McKinley has definitely been hit. He’s already gotten his first slushie. But Blaine seems happier than before and during the rare moments that he talks with Kurt, Kurt can recognise the happy and upbeat Blaine from Facebook.

Kurt’s trying to be okay with them not being friends. He deserves to be ignored by Blaine. It still hurts, though. He still misses the friendship and being closer to Blaine makes Kurt notice more great things about him. He wonders if Blaine still has feelings for him, since Kurt’s feelings only seem to grow.

Others notice.

“So, when are the two of you going to bang?” Santana asks one day during lunch. Kurt is sitting on one side of the table, talking to Tina, and Blaine is sitting on the other side, talking to Sam. It’s still clear that Santana is talking about the two of them.

Kurt and Blaine stare at each other in shock, before both looking away.

No one in the glee club knows about what happened between them, except for Mercedes, Rachel and Finn. Out of those three, only Mercedes knows the emotional baggage that Santana’s question brings.

Therefore she interferes and says: “Lay off, Santana.”

Santana rolls her eyes. “Puh-lease. Everyone is thinking the same thing.”

Brittany nods and she’s her facetious self as always. “The sexual tension is too much to handle sometimes.”

“We- we barely speak to each other,” Blaine blurts out and he turns red. He has a point. How can others know this when Kurt and Blaine try their hardest to ignore each other?

“Puh-lease,” Santana says again, but she doesn’t elaborate. The topic gets dropped when Sam tries out a new impression. Blaine’s laughing loudly and Finn asks for another impression. No one talks about Kurt and Blaine again.

Kurt gets home and he does a double take when he sees that Blaine’s sent him a message. They barely talk at school so they definitely don’t talk outside school. Till now, apparently.

Blaine Anderson: Hey.

Kurt Hummel: Hello.

Blaine Anderson: Can I ask you
a favour?

Kurt Hummel: Anything.

Kurt will do anything for Blaine, just to make up for what he did.

Blaine Anderson: I asked Mercedes
to come to my house this weekend.
I want to tell her what happened to me.
About my parents and Dalton.

Kurt Hummel: Wow. Really?
Blaine, that is huge!

Blaine Anderson: She’s a great friend.
She’s the first real friend I’ve had since…
Well, since Eddie. I guess.

Kurt feels like he’s been punched in the gut.

Kurt Hummel: Oh.

Blaine Anderson: Anyway. Are you
free this weekend?

Kurt Hummel: Yes. Why?

Blaine Anderson: I know this might
be weird and feel free to say no, but
you are the only other person who knows.
Can you come over too? I don’t
want to do this alone. I’m scared.

Kurt Hummel: Text me the address.
I’ll be there.