He’d spent the entire afternoon with his best friend talking about her new guy. As much as Kurt loved Mercedes, he was kind of happy to have gotten into his car. He still remembered his slight crush on Sam and even though they’d laughed it off, he still felt quite awkward when talking of the blond football player. It reminded him of yet another guy who didn’t want him. He was tired of pining over straight guys. He was tired of guys, period. Why couldn’t I have been born straight? He asked himself half-heartedly. He knew very well why: those kinds of abs and biceps would just not look good on a woman.

Kurt drove down the empty road with loud music blasting out of the speakers when he noticed a shadow further down the road. Normally he’d have ignored this; many people were walking around at night in the summer. But the rain was heavy and there was at least a few miles to the next town; Lima, where Kurt was headed himself. Why would anyone go out in this weather? He shrugged and kept driving while he sang out his frustrations over the male part of the world with Lady GaGa as his duet partner.

When he passed the dark figure, he felt his voice get stuck in his throat and his right foot moved from the speeder to the break of its own accord. He pulled onto the side of the road and debated with himself for a while. Why did he even pull over? He sighed. Maybe he was too nice for his own good. The stranger could be a psychopath for all he knew. Kurt rolled the left window down and yelled out to the stranger who was slowly getting closer to the car.

“Do you need a ride?”

The stranger stopped in front of his window and Kurt squinted to get a better look at the person. It was a man - or maybe more like a boy - with dark hair clinging to his forehead. He had thick eyebrows and a slightly crooked nose. His eyes were the color of sugary honey with green sparks. Kurt felt his mouth dry out. The boy was drop dead gorgeous. And he was also leaning closer to the car.

”No, thank you.”

“Are… Are you sure? It doesn’t look like it’ll stop raining for a while?”

“I don’t wanna be a bother,” the boy mumbled. Kurt rolled his eyes.

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s a lazy, rainy Saturday night, you are not bothering me. Now get in the car.” He looked as the stranger swallowed nervously. “Please,” he added.

The dark haired boy looked like he was debating something with himself; he looked down at the ground, then further down the road and then he sighed heavily. He opened the car door and slid into the seat. He buckled the seatbelt and then uttered a quiet “Thank you.”

After a few moments of awkward silence, Kurt decided to start with an easy topic.

“Kurt,” he said.

“W-what?”

“My name’s Kurt.”

“Blaine,” the boy mumbled and took Kurt’s outstretched hand. An electric shock went through Kurt and he looked up to see Blaine staring at him with big, frightened eyes. He quickly pulled his hands back and placed them in his lap.

Kurt stared at the road for a while, but he saw Blaine fidgeting in his seat. He was squirming and he looked overall uncomfortable. Maybe he sensed the gay radiating off of me. Kurt sighed and tried again to break the silence.

“Why are you… Eh. Do you want me to… I mean, where do you want me to drop you off?”

“I… I’m not sure.”

”Don’t you have a place to stay?” Kurt asked, surprised. Why would you wander alone at night if you didn’t have a place to go? Oh my god, maybe he is a psychopath.

“Not really,” Blaine mumbled.

“How come?”

“My… parents kicked me out.” Kurt instantly felt a stab of guilt for having thought a single bad thought about the poor guy.

“Why?” He asked gently.

“…” The boy opened his mouth but nothing seemed to want to make its way out. He closed it again.

“C’mon, I picked you up, it’s not like I’m going to judge,” Kurt reassured.

“I’m…” Memories flashed before Blaine’s eyes. Losing control. Hurting their perfect image. Slipping away. Fucked up. “Gay.”

“Oh.”

“I’m sorry if it makes you uncomfortable,” he mumbled with a blush.

“Oh no, no! I’m… Me too,” Kurt said with a small smile.

“Oh.” The responds might not have been all that great if it hadn’t been for the slight - and first Kurt had seen on the boy’s face - smile. Kurt’s own smile grew; so this Blaine wasn’t a total silent type with no facial expressions.

“Okay, um, parents are a no go,” he started and quickly rummaged around for a polite way to pry without actually prying. “So where should I take you?”

In this seat. The backseat. On the hood of your car. Up against the car. Wherever you want, as long as you…

Kurt noticed the red color staining Blaine’s cheeks but he didn’t understand why. Maybe he’d said something wrong?

“Um, maybe… Maybe, um, near the Lima Bean? I have an older brother who lives near there. He might let me stay with him,” Blaine said.

“Oh sure, I-“ He was interrupted by a loud crash. The road lit up as the lightning split the sky. “Um, maybe I should drive us to my place and you can wait there until the rain at least lets up a bit?” He didn’t know what had gotten into him. Inviting a complete stranger to stay in his house? On the other hand the boy in wet jeans and a too-big sweater didn’t look all that threatening.

“I- Um.” Blaine bit his lip and his brows furrowed as if he was in deep thought. “Okay. Thank you.”

“You really don’t have to say thank you after every sentence, Blaine.”

“I’m sorry.” His face turned a dark shade of red as if he’d just done the most embarrassing thing ever. Kurt choked down a giggle. It wouldn’t do to scare the poor boy, when he clearly felt uncomfortable already.

“So, um, where do you live? Or used to live, maybe?” Kurt asked just to hear Blaine speak again.

“Westerville,” the boy said quietly.

“Please tell me you didn’t walk from Westerville?!”

“Um, well…” Blaine shrugged slightly.

“Oh wow.”

“Yea.” A small smile washed over his features and Kurt wished he could make it stay there.

“Where do you go to school?” Blaine blurted out after another quiet moment and then looked like he wanted to bang his head against the window. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

“McKinley in Lima. Where do you go?” Kurt was mildly surprised that Blaine had asked, but he didn’t mind at all. It was more fun than to drive in absolute silence.

“Um, I used to go to Dalton Academy. But I guess I’ll need to figure out another alternative now.”

“Oh. Right.” Kurt mentally kicked himself. Make the boy feel worse about himself, why don’t you. “Um, well if you decide to come to McKinley, I’d love to show you around,” he quickly added with what he hoped was a kind smile.

“Thanks.” They turned into Kurt’s driveway and he quickly pulled in and parked.

“Ready to run?” He asked.

“Sure,” Blaine answered with that same small smile. They both jumped out of the car and sped to the doorway, which Burt luckily hadn’t locked and then they ran inside.