Incoming text (Monday, 3:45 pm):

You still with us, Anderson? Jesus, I thought we’d lost you last week.

Shut up Quinn. I haven’t been that unreachable.

Spare me, please. I know you’ve been texting non stop with Tumblr boy. I can’t believe you finally talked to him. I just don’t get why you won’t tell me anything about him! Come on!! GIVE ME DETAILS, BOY!

Look, just because he gave me his number doesn’t mean that he wants the whole world to know who he is.

What’s that supposed to mean?

He just doesn’t want to put too much about himself out on the internet. One day we started talking and he just kind of started opening up and now we’re friends I guess. But he’s made it clear that he likes being anonymous and he trusts me, so I don’t really think I should tell you.

Whatever.

Look, can we just drop it? I have stuff I have to do. And so do you. Don’t you have some glee club thing?

Yeah. When are going to going so that I don’t have to go through this hell alone?

I seriously just moved here! I don’t want to get in over my head with any school commitments before I’m settled.

It’s been two months... You’ll be fine.

Can I just take a rain check for now?

Fine. But don’t think this gets you off the hook, I promised the group I’d get you eventually.

How do they even know who I am??

Well, they don’t really. I just said I knew a boy that could sing really well and our captains have been trying to get me to ask you for a month now.

Oh, that’s comforting.

Look, don’t be so scared. They’ll love you! You know I do.

Thanks, Q. I’ll talk to you later, I have to go finish my book for english.

Ok, see you online in a bit, ahahah

Blaine tossed his phone onto his bed, wincing as it narrowly missed the wall. Now that Kurt had let Blaine into his life, he felt even more nervous communicating with him. He was constantly scripting the perfect messages and replies to Kurt’s posts and it was taking way too long. So Kurt suggested swapping numbers. Blaine prayed his parents didn’t question the spike in his text messaging. They had texted all last week.

Blaine unzipped his backpack and pulled out his reading for the evening. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. He’d read it twice before, but he always like rereading books. It was comforting, knowing what was going to happen. Reading about Brett and Jake’s doomed love affair wasn’t the most uplifting experience, but Blaine enjoyed the journey. 

He skimmed a few pages before rubbing his forehead and setting the book down on his desk. School didn’t seem like a priority at all any more. But, it wasn’t like he’d really enjoyed it much anyway. His classmates were annoying and the work was terribly easy. Blaine spent the days staring at the clock and trying to will the hands to move quicker. He finished his homework at lunch and bolted home to spend the rest of the evening in front of his laptop. Occasionally, Quinn would come over and they’d spend their time just sitting in his room, with both their laptops out, humming along to his carefully created iTunes playlists. There wasn’t much conversation, but that’s how they liked it anyway. Spending hours humming along to Young the Giant and Foster the People while the mindlessly reblogged each other.

He jumped out of his haze when his phone buzzed. Leaping over to his bed, the box springs shook noisily as he grabbed his phone and rolled onto his back. Now that he and Kurt were mutually following each other, their relationship began to grow. They realized that they had similar interests, like singing and musicals. Kurt thought it was amazing that there was another boy in the state of Ohio that actually enjoyed those same things. He explained to Blaine in a long text one day that most of the people at his school were into football and cheerleading, while Kurt was more into glee club. Blaine admired Kurt for his fierceness. He had always loved singing and wanted to join McKinley’s glee club, but was always too scared to audition. And now that Quinn had told him that she was supposed to recruit him, he never wanted her to know he even had thought about joining. The more invisible he was, the easier it would be to get through the day.

Blaine smiled as he opened his phone, seeing that Kurt had texted him.

Good evening, Mr. Anderson :)

Ah, and a good evening to you too, Kurt.

You finished your book yet?

No, they just got to Pamplona. Still got a bit to go...

Well, take a break. Talk to meeeee! I’m bored.

Tumblr’s not really cutting it tonight?

Not really. My dash is kind of dead. Sigh. Maybe I’ll clean my room.

Blaine surveyed his room, eye the pile of clothes on the ground that he’d been meaning to put away for a week and the stacks of magazines and books that were propping up his acoustic guitar. His walls were plastered with posters and drawings and his desk was littered with old papers and empty Diet Coke cans. It looked like a typical teenage boy’s room. He wondered what Kurt’s room looked like. His mind drifted to a spacious room with a large bed covered in soft, cream colored sheets with framed black and white photos on the walls and vanilla candles burning on a dark wood dresser.

I know we’ve only known each other for week, but I can’t imagine your room needing much cleaning.

Ok, cleaning, reorganizing. Same thing ;)

So, how was your day?

Normal, I guess. Went to class, had glee club practice. Now I’m scrolling through my barren dashboard.

Can I try to make your day more exciting?

Haha, you can try.

Well, rumor is that I am a world class joke teller.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

Uh, why couldn’t the kid get into the pirate movie?

Why?

It was rated ARRRRRGHH

.... That was the lamest joke ever.

But you’re laughing, right?

No.

I see. And the fact you just posted it on your blog has nothing to do with the fact that it was hilarious?

I’m just posting to warn everyone not to ever laugh that horrible attempt at a joke.

Fine, don’t acknowledge my amazing joke telling skills. Well, I’m going to veg for a while and scroll mindlessly through my dashboard.

Good life choice.

Blaine set his phone down on the bed and grabbed his laptop. He laid down and refreshed the pages, settling down for a nice evening of doing nothing. Blaine smiled absentmindedly. His relationship with Kurt made him happy. It was just easy.

-----------------------------

Later in the week, Blaine was texting furiously while he sat with Quinn in their local coffee shop, the Lima Bean. She glanced at Blaine over the top of her caramel latte, rolling her eyes as she spied his furrowed brow and cheeks flushing red.

“What’s Lover Boy up to now,” she drawled after taking a long sip of her drink.

“He’s refusing to send me a picture of his face.”

Quinn cocked an eyebrow. “Well, I guess that’s... What if he’s a creepy old guy? Maybe he’s trying to kidnap you and doesn’t want you to know.”

Blaine rolled his eyes. “I just figured we’re comfortable with each other now. I mean, he’s seen my face before.”

“Because you’re a camera whore and post stupid pictures of you eating and brushing your hair and shit. I’m sure he’s seen way more than he wants to.”

“God, do you always have to be so cruel?” Blaine whined.

Quinn smiled fondly and patted Blaine on the cheek.

“It’s called wit.”

Blaine scowled at her.

“Why does it make you so upset? Maybe he just likes his privacy.”

Blaine didn’t look up from his phone.

“I just don’t understand why he’s so weird about it. I mean, we were talking about getting hair cuts and he started talking about they new way he’s been styling his hair and I asked him if I could see it and then he got all weird,” rambled Blaine, “So I flat out asked him if he’d send me a picture of himself and he said no and won’t answer my texts.”

“Look, badgering this guy isn’t going to get you anywhere. From what you’ve told me, the fact that this guy even started talking to you is an achievement. He’ll open up, just give him time.”

Blaine rested his cheek in his hand and looked up at Quinn.

“Why do you have to be wise and right all the time?”

Quinn just laughed and crossed her legs.

-----------------------------

Inbox message, (Thursday, 11:20 pm):

Hey, sorry I was being weird earlier.

You weren’t being weird, I was being pushy. Sorry.

No, I get where you’re coming from.

I just... We’re friends right?

Right...

I just thought that we had become close enough that we could make that step. I know you like your privacy. You know my whole name, what my face looks like, things about where I live. I just have a first name. And honestly, you’re so cryptic online. I don’t think I’m, you know, entitled to anything. But you can’t blame me for thinking we’ve progressed enough to at least knowing what the other looks like.

No, I can’t. I just don’t know how I feel about this.

Sorry, You’ve become this vision in my head. It just don’t want this is be only a fantasy.

Haha, I can promise you, I’m very real

Can I just ask why?

Why what?

Why you’re hesitant on sending me a picture.

Five minutes passed before Blaine got an answer.

Look, I want to thank you for being amazing. You’ve proven that you’re a caring person and you really helped me that first night. I don’t want to seem distant, but letting people in isn’t my strong suit. You are kind and wonderful and I don’t want to disappoint you. I’m fragile. And letting someone become close scares me. I’ve just... I’ve been hurt before. Really hurt. And I don’t know what I’d do if I let someone in and they just stomped on my heart. I don’t make friends easily. I don’t trust people. And I’m beginning to trust you. I don’t want to rush this and ruin a perfectly good friendship. Maybe soon you’ll see what I look like. But, I don’t know. People just give up on me. I’m not the easiest to be friends with. I can be judgmental and snide and so many people don’t get that it’s a coping mechanism. I have to be strong. I can’t let people get me down.

Blaine smiled softly as he typed out his reply.

That was really brave of you to tell me all that. I don’t want to lose this friendship either. You are one of the most genuine people I’ve ever met and talking with you has been so easy.

I know. I really like you, Blaine.

I really like you, Kurt. I’m not going to hurt you. You’re become to special to me.

:)

And that was good enough for Blaine. Kurt was interesting and kind and funny and Blaine never wanted to lose him.

Even if he had to wait forever. Kurt was worth it.