Blaine fell into step beside me as we left the dining hall the next Friday, having survived the few days apart while Blaine lived it up in Quebec City. Or saw the sights, whatever. "What's this Color War thing they were chanting about?"

I stopped in my tracks looking over to him with raised eyebrows. "Really? In all the years of living with your Dad and your brother you've never heard them tell Color War stories?" I asked incredulously.

"Should I have?" Blaine asked right back before he admitted, "I may have had a tendency to tune out their camp stories. I never wanted to be here, so what was the point in hearing about it?"

I shook with silent laughter at that last part. "Oh how the mighty have fallen." I teased lightly before I started to stroll back towards the cabin again. "Color War is one of the big end of the summer events. It will 'break' or open tomorrow night or sometime Sunday. Maybe Monday at the latest. If it breaks tomorrow night, it will run until Wednesday evening. Sunday morning will be as lazy as usual, except for the leaders, but then it's three and a half days of competition."

"That's a long event." Blaine noted. "Even Olympics only took a couple hours Saturday besides the normal Sunday afternoon competition time."

"It's huge. The whole camp gets broken into two teams. Camp Cardigan uses Green and Grey for our camp colors. They compete in just about every activity they learned the whole summer. There's also songs written, skits performed, and a banner made for each group. The point is to give campers a chance to highlight their skills even if they're not athletic." I shrugged. "Every camper has to participate in a certain number of events. It's a really, really big deal."

"Sounds like a lot of work." Blaine pointed out. "Are we on a team?"

"That might be why we haven't seen as much of Schue and the Unit Leaders and activity heads this week. I bet they've been closeted together working on it." I replied, before I shook my head. "Nope. We have our own team, the Red team. Three counselors watch over each team. The rest of the counselors are with us. We're the ones in charge of judging and running events."

Blaine nodded over. "That makes sense. Impartial judges, right?"

"Right." I grinned. "And since we have to wear as much red or orange as possible, you're in luck. I've seen your wardrobe. Red abounds in it." I teased. "The real leadership on each team are two fifteen year olds, the Captain and Lieutenant, and a thirteen year old Sargent. It's a big honor to be chosen for that. Or to be a counselor chosen to be on a team."

"Honor right. Who were the captains when you were fifteen?" Blaine asked curiously as we reached the porch.

I leaned against the wooden railing and shrugged sheepishly. "Sam and I. Mike was my team's Lieutenant. Honestly, it meant a lot. That I'd come out just a few weeks before, and they still chose me, you know? Not all the campers get to come back as CITs. It's considered a privilege, and not all the CITs may end up getting to become JCs, though that's rarer. Being a Color War officer is almost a sure in."

Blaine grinned over. "Of course you were. Wasn't the fact that you're popular here the first thing I noticed about you?" He teased right back. "That's something I can use to win my dad over to this relationship if I need to right? Oh, speaking of which." He glanced around quickly. The boys were all inside making a cheerfully large amount of noise as they changed into swimsuits for our evening activity, pretending to surf with the boards from windsurfing, a cabin favorite. "I think Wes knows about us."

I blinked in surprise, not expecting that. "What makes you think that?"

"He pulled me aside at rest hour today to have a talk about camp staff rules regarding PDA. Just out of the blue." Blaine's cheeks heated with a blush as he admitted that.

"Awkward." I noted before I nodded. "Sounds like he does. Or at least suspects. Does that bother you?"

"I thought it might, but it really doesn't." Blaine shrugged. "I know that no one is going to hurt me for it here, intellectually at least, and all the people who I'd really worry about just disapproving know and, not only to do they not care, they actually seem to think our relationship is a good thing."

"Quite a change from what we'll get back home, huh? I think I'll spend the next week basking in that."

"I think I need to head back to my cabin to change into swim gear. I'll meet all of you at the beach?"

I knew something was up when Wes called a Junior Counselor meeting after lunch on Saturday.

It was odd to be back in the cabin we'd shared for the first part of summer. I was even sitting on my original cot in the corner, sandwiched between Sam and Mike.

I knew something was even more up when I saw Schue standing at the front of the little open area beside Wes. We hadn't done anything bad enough to get a lecture from Schue lately, that I knew of anyway.

"As many of you have probably guessed, we're breaking Color War tonight." Schue announced, then had to pause while we all chattered excitedly for a moment. We knew better than to whoop and holler. That would give everything away, if this already hadn't. "Due to the schedule of the girls camp, we had to schedule the last social for tonight. The Seniors are here, and you're going over to girls side. The story we're spreading is that we've decided to have a supervised co-ed lock in just for the JCs. That part is actually true. You all can pack sleeping bags and PJs for a movie fest in their playhouse. Everything will just have to stay packed away until both camps finish their breaks."

We nodded and Sam leaned across Mike to give him a high five. "Whole night with the girls!" He mouthed over.

"Like you have someone to spend it with." I whispered back.

Wes held up his hand, waiting for us to stop talking before he added, "I will be there and so will my partner in crime from their side. We will be strictly endorsing the PDA rules. No hanky panky will be allowed." He might have just looked straight at Sam at that last part, too.

"We're doing a nighttime break. I need all of you to round up a layer of all black clothes and bring them here while you're packing. After the CITs leave the social, we'll sneak you back here to get your gear on. Each of you will wake up one cabin to bring them to the field. Unless you get assigned junior cabins, and no one is waking up their own kids, we're painting your faces black. You'll have a torch for light. The counselors know to get the kids in shoes and follow you. You will not say a word the whole time. We'll be ringing the bell slowly. Your goal is to knock at the same speed."

"We're going with the freak out the older campers mode this year?" Sam whispered over with a grin on his face.

"Seems like it." Mike whispered back.

"This is going to be fun." I added with a grin.

Walking beside Blaine to the last social of the year had to bring back memories of walking beside him to the first. It was hard to believe that it had only been six weeks before. That I'd only known him for seven. It felt like I'd known him forever.

On our last walk, he'd come out to me. Apparently coming out was going to be a theme of walking towards our sister camp.

"If I ask you to slow dance with me tonight, will you?" Blaine asked over, eyes wide and showing all the joy and nervousness going through him at that question.

"Of course." I answered quickly before adding, "Are you sure you're ready for that?" I knew there was so much more behind this than simply coming out, even. This was sure to bring back memories of the last dance he'd gone to with a boy.

"I am. I'm going to have to face this sometime. The longer I leave it, the more chance it'll have to fester. Besides, better here than back in Ohio, right?" Blaine said, hands clenched at his side.

I had to admire his bravery here, just in making that choice, so how could I do anything but nod agreement?

This social was structured a lot like the first one. In between we'd had sports games together, a bingo night, and even a night of karaoke. Now we were back to a spot to hang out and space to dance.

"Our last social. Ever really." Sam stated, wrapping his arms around Mike and I's shoulders. "Let's make the best of it boys!"

"Thus says the single man." I joked shrugging off his arm with a grin to take the sting out. "Is it too late for your summer fling?"

"Never too late!" Sam stated with a big grin.

"By all means then, Kurt, set him up and stop having him talk like this." Mike joked with a roll of his eyes. "Now, I'm off to find Tina, and I'm sure Kurt wants to reconnect himself to Blaine. Maybe you should try the fine art of flirting, Sam?"

At Mike's mention of Blaine I glanced around, looking to see where he'd gotten off to. I spotted him off to the side, talking to a group including Nick, Nick's current fling, and Mercedes. "If you'll excuse me, I think I'll go do just that."

With a last wave, I made my way over, sliding my arm around Blaine's waist, giving in to more PDA than we'd ever committed in public. Blaine tensed for just a second then smiled shyly over at me, resting his head on my shoulder for just a second.

I could see that that was the exact moment that Mercedes realized just what our relationship was. Her eyes got big, and a smile flashed up on her face. "Kurt." She greeted, but I could tell that wasn't going to be the end of the comments for the night.

"Mercedes." I replied simply, smirking back.

"Is there something you've been remiss in telling me?" She asked, grin still lighting up her face.

"Maybe." I said, giving Blaine a reassuring squeeze. I could practically feel the blush heating up his cheeks.

Nick glanced over at that and then grinned between us. "Took them long enough to tell any of us." He pointed out, casually accepting of our relationship. "Feel free to give them Hell for that."

"That was my fault." Blaine admitted softly, clearly not completely comfortable with this conversation. "I asked him to wait."

"And I was happy to, however long it took you to be comfortable." I reassured before just beaming at Mercedes. "I finally got the chance for a summer relationship. And it's been amazing." I turned to stick my tongue out at Nick for the playful gagging noises he was making. I'm sure that was going a long way toward winning the heart of the girl with him.

"I think it's sweet." Mercedes insisted, reaching out to grab me by the arm, giving the one that wasn't wrapped around Blaine a gentle yank. "Come tell me more."

After a quick glance, checking in with Blaine, I left him there with Nick, heading off to give Mercedes a play by play, though I did leave out a few details of Blaine's story.

We'd settled down onto one of the old ragged couches set off to the side of the room, gossiping cheerfully. The subject had moved from Blaine and I to Tina and Mike by the time Blaine stepped over, a hopeful look on his face.

"Are you still up for a dance with me?" He asked, eyes in full puppy dog mode.

Mercedes pushed me up, as if I would have said no to that in the first place. "Go. We'll have more time to catch up at the sleepover."

I took Blaine's hand, smiling widely. "Of course I am, Blaine. Yes, Mercedes. Save me space for my sleeping bag if you set up first, alright?" I told Mercedes before letting Blaine lead me off onto the dance floor.

The first few moments were the end of a faster song, so I got a chance to show off the sillier of my moves, getting Blaine to crack up. That had the been the intent, hoping to kill the last of his nerves.

As it faded into a slower song, I offered my hand out to Blaine, feeling the slight tremor in his as he took it into his. I could hear the hush of a whisper through the room. It was a hell of a way for Blaine to come out to the rest of the camps if nothing else. I knew that as soon as the CITs and JCs were back over to our side of the lake, this would fly around the whole staff.

"You are so wonderfully brave." I whispered close to his ear, letting him take the lead in this slow sway to the beat.

"I want to be. I don't want to let any of this beat me."

"It won't. And I'll be right here beside you as long as you want me here."

There was a huge thrum of excitement on the walk back around the lake. We'd let the CITs get a head start on us, but we weren't bothering being quiet quite yet. I got a whole lot of pats on the back and congratulations on 'getting some' from the rest of the JC guys. I could swear that Wes had the smuggest little look on his face at having his suspicions confirmed.

"Hush!" He finally called out, pulling all of us aside into the same little clearing I'd had that first heart to heart with Blaine in so long ago. Decades, it felt like. Wes snapped on his flashlight. "There will be no talking at camp above a whisper and then only as necessary." He insisted. "So we'll go over assignments here. The bell will start ringing at 10:30 sharp, so we have exactly a half hour to be in place."

I turned to grin over at Sam. I couldn't wait to do this. "This is going to be perfect." I whispered over. "Telling everyone we're staying on on the girl's side means no one will be expecting this."

"Exactly." Wes stated, even if I hadn't meant for him to overhear. "As long as all of you can be /quiet/." He looked right at Sam and I with raised eyebrows. I just grinned back, but I nodded. I got the message there. "Assignments. Tyler, Cabin one and two. Sam, three and four. No face paint for the two of you. Sorry." Wes continued down the list until he called out my name. "Kurt. I know they were your group last summer, so you get the fine honor of trying to scare the shit out of the fifteen year olds. They're old enough for you to go for it."

I flashed a bright smile back over. "I can handle that."

We made our way back to the dining hall, where a couple of counselors had moved our black clothes during the seniors dance. We changed silently, and I got the pleasure of smearing black paint all over Mike's face. He returned the favor and then reached out for the final element digging into his pocket to pull out a tube of lipstick.

I raised my eyebrows curiously over at him, getting a whispered reply of. "I got this from Tina." Well that half explained it.

The rest of it was explained when he opened it. The light color of the lipstick would make our lips stand out from the black paint of our face. "It's supposed to glow in the dark."

"Thank goodness for Tina's unique fashion sense." I whispered back, letting him use a q-tip to apply it to my lips.

At ten twenty five, we all assembled on the porch to gather up the torches that had been waiting for us. I swear they were probably full size tiki torches in another life, but at least they hadn't asked one of the British staff to fill a box with torches. Then we'd have probably ended up with a ton of flashlights. Not nearly as good for this as even freaking tiki torches. Wes quietly lit all of them up then with a nod, sent us off in search of our cabins.

Everything went so fast from there. Right on cue the bell started to ring, and I reached out to knock on the door of the extra large cabin that the fifteen year olds shared. There was an excited flutter of voices inside, leaving me knocking for awhile before someone finally pulled the door open, giving a satisfying shriek at my appearance.

I stood stock still simply staring at all of them while they shoved shoes on. Then I turned and started silently off towards the sports fields, just assuming they'd all follow me. Their fault if they didn't.

"Is that Kurt?" I heard whispered behind me as we neared the bonfire that blazed in a dead spot between fields.

Suddenly, Schue's voice called out over the crowd of campers, silencing them. I moved with the rest of the JCs to ring the fire, giving Sam a quick grin as we settled next to each other. "Welcome! I hope all of you are having a pleasant dream. Dreaming perhaps of Color War?"

A cheer went up, especially loudly from the oldest boys I'd brought. "Well then, I suppose we had better make that dream a reality! Welcome to Color War 2011."

David had the best job there really, as the Seniors UL, walking out into the crowd of boys to start pulling up the officers, leaning down to whisper congratulations into each of their ears. From there it always started to drag a bit for me. Boys were pulled aside into their units for each Unit Leader to start passing out blue or grey tokens, letting boys know of their assigned teams. I could see that Thad had the juniors well under control. That had always been an exciting moment as a camper, but now? Kind of boring. Once the boys were all divided there was finally a lull in the voices again as Schue called everyone back together.

The boys had teams but no counselors. That would be the last big event here before Finn and Rory faced the task of attempting to get the boys back to sleep. I was glad that tomorrow would include a chance to sleep in. Not like I'd be getting sleep either way though. I had full plans to spend most of the night whispering with Mercedes.

"This year, we had a wonderful group of counselors leaving us a difficult choice of team leaders!" Schue called out. I clapped around the torch as the first pair were called out, two supremely organized people. The next pair called out made my life for the next week that much busier.

"For the Grey team, Finn! For the Green team, Puck!" Yep. Finn would have so little time for the cabin that Rory and I would be picking up slack. Fun. Well, that's what those two were made team leaders for. Fun and spirit. At least the picking up the slack wouldn't have to start until tomorrow. As everyone started to disperse back towards their cabins, calling out team cheers, the JCs extinguished our torches to hike back through the dark around the lake to where our sleepover things were already waiting for us.

The girls had produced several packs of baby wipes upon seeing our faces, each yanking one of us closer to wipe the black gunk off. Mercedes ran a wipe over my cheek as I whispered, "I bet you wish Sam hadn't been skipped on the makeup."

She smacked my shoulder laughing. "Shut up or I won't show you want I brought, just for you, for when we get the worst of this off."

"Skin care products? For that I can stop the teasing. This was fun, but it'll be hell on my complexion." I whined lightly.

"Deal." Mercedes noted, reaching in her back to pull out a good brand of actual makeup removing wipes. "Nothing fancy, but it'll get this out of your pores."

"God yes. I knew there was a reason I was your friend."