Chapter Two

While walking down the hall, the stares and open mouths were to be expected. Kurt appreciated them, used them as fuel for his mission because it was more important than what they thought at the moment. His eyes scanned the lockers and locked onto his target.

"Hello," Kurt greeted as Blaine closed his locker. He held out his hand. "Kurt Hummel."

Blaine looked around confused before taking the offered hand. "B-"

"Blaine Anderson, I know." Kurt smiled brightly, his cheeks already aching from the effort. "I heard that you're the new kid." For this mission Kurt had taken out his piercings and tried a little color - instead of a black shirt he wore a blue tee with a Plain White T's monogram. He hid his streaks with a black beanie hat.

"Um, yeah," he said. "I'm in tenth grade."

"Aw." Kurt pouted. "I'm in eleventh grade but that doesn't matter. I love your sweater, by the way." Kurt knew he had said the right thing when Blaine's face lit up. He looked down at his blue and purple plaid sweater vest and fingered it.

"Thanks. Not a lot of people are into them."

"I know. I personally think sweater vests can never go out of style." In his head Kurt was gagging, hating the very color of it but his smile was unmoving. "What class do you have next?"

"Literature with Mr. Warden." Kurt didn't miss the one-second look of disappointment.

He made a face. "Balding, baggy clothes, talks as though he's teaching kindergarteners?"

Blaine nodded. "I don't mean to sound mean but he's boring as hell." Kurt would have said boring as fuck but Blaine was too nice for that.

"Trust me - no one likes Mr. Warden and on top of his monotony he marks really hardly. The best thing to do is warm up to him and he'd give you an extra mark, two if you’re lucky."

Blaine laughed lightly then looked down the quickly clearing hallway. "Did bell ring or something?"

"Nah. The bell rings late sometimes. But that's not important." He turned Blaine's face to his, his fingers on the boy's jaw. Blaine's eyes widened, a slight blush on his cheeks. "Can I take you out this afternoon? Maybe for coffee? I know a cute little coffee shop whose lattes are to die for."

The brunette grinned showing all teeth and Kurt was caught unexpected at how adorable he looked then even with the gelled hair and the ugly clothes. "Sure. Coffee sounds great."

"Awesome. Can I get your number?" Blaine pulled out his phone and Kurt typed in his number then sent a text to his phone so he could get Blaine's. The bell rang just then. "Meet me in the parking lot at three.”

He turned to leave but stopped. "One more thing.” He clucked his tongue. “Don't mean to sound rude but...you're paying." He winked then with a little wave, left Blaine blushing and slightly awed.

Part one of his plan had been initiated.

During AP Biology Mrs. Conner had decided to ask him a question on their topic. He was in a good mood and it fed his ego even more when he answered correctly. Mrs. Conner had turned back to the board with a grim look since she had expected him not to know anything at all considering that he doodled throughout most of her classes. Although he didn't look it, Kurt had finished the Biology scheme of work a week ago so this was like revision for him.

At lunch he bragged about his success with Blaine and to prove it, he waved over at the boy who returned it shyly. All four of the Skanks had gaped at him and after barraged him with questions of how, when and where he did it. He had answered all with dramatic flair then they had begged him to tell them what part two was. Much to their chagrin, he told them it was a secret.

"Kurt isn't the only one who could recruit, yanno," Ronnie said haughtily. Kurt had noticed her increasing distress at how much of the attention was placed on him. He had ignored it until then.

"Sure Ronnie," The Mack said. "I think I'll try my hand at recruiting too. I'm thinking Mark from the choir since I dated him two summers ago." Everyone laughed except for Ronnie whose scowl was about to become permanent.

After they ate they retired to the bleachers, smoked some cigarettes and then left for their classes. The Skanks were hitting The Rig that afternoon and mocked him as he was being left all alone with a virgin schoolboy. Kurt had rolled his eyes, flipped them the finger and then left to go into the car park.

He opened Quinn's car and hopped in. She had lent it to him on this special occasion and was willing to take the bus in his place. He texted Blaine.

I'm in a blue Sedan.

Blaine replied seconds after. Seeing you. A knock on the window and Kurt opened the door, plastering on a smile.

"Hey," Blaine said then closed the door. He flung his satchel into the backseat.

"Hi," Kurt said. "Ready to go?"

"Let's go."

He started the engine and it took fifteen minutes to get to the Lima Bean. It was a small, wooden coffee store with a fading sign for its name and doors that always gave trouble, especially as the sign said push when you had to pull - but it was the only one in the whole of Lima, Ohio that sold fresh pastries. The coffee wasn't spectacular but it was good enough.

On the way in, Kurt opened the door for Blaine to enter before him. The circular wooden tables were placed at random locations around the room. On the right side was the ordering counter and a door in the back led into the kitchen. Kurt had been there once after coaxing one of the workers to give him a peek. They had been making out on top of a counter when his boss entered. Kurt had been warned never to come back to the Lima Bean ever again and the guy was fired. Of course he came back and all the boss could do was glare daggers at him from the sidelines because his store was still getting his money.

The brunette blushed at his chivalry. He was rather easy to play, Kurt thought. A little compliment here, a little gentlemanly act there and Kurt had him won over. Things were going easier than he expected. Blaine ordered a medium drip and Kurt his usual non-fat mocha. He stored to memory Blaine's order so he could impress him the next time they came here. They took a seat at a table with two chairs in the center of the store and started their drinks. Blaine had ordered two plain donuts and he took a bagel. He wasn't paying for it anyways.

Kurt started the conversation. "So Blaine, rumor has it that you transferred from Dalton Academy."

"Yeah I did," Blaine answered with a sad smile.

"What was it like there?" Kurt asked. He sipped his drink. "I've never been to a private school before."

"It was amazing," Blaine said, his eyes clouding over in reminiscence. "I felt a lot like home there. The people were great, the school was beautiful and even the teachers were spectacular." Kurt was confused. If the school was so spectacular, why did Blaine even leave? He asked the question and Blaine's smile faltered. "My dad thought that I was getting too comfortable with the easy life and he wanted me to get a taste of the real world."

Harsh. "That's awful!" Kurt empathized. He knew what it was like to be living like a king on a golden throne and then to be snatched cruelly out of your comfort zone and left to fend for yourself. That was how he felt when he heard the news of his parents.

Blaine merely shrugged, but Kurt could see the deeper pain hidden in the lines on his forehead and the furrow of his brows. Those eyebrows that were strangely shaped like scalene triangles... "It was a hassle between here and St. Jefferson's but my parents were voting for McKinley. Kind of had no choice." He laughed bitterly and tore into his second donut.

"Your parents sound kind of controlling," Kurt muttered.

"Yours aren't?" Blaine asked. It was supposed to be a joke but the words hit him hard and deep.

"My parents died ten years ago, when I was seven." Suddenly it became harder to swallow past the lump that formed in his throat. His eyes started to prick but he swallowed a mouthful of mocha, the pain from the heat distracting him from his sorrow.

"I'm so-" Blaine began but Kurt held up his hand. He hated when people pitied him because it reminded him too much of the reason why it was done. It wasn't as though they understood anyways, and try as they might, no one would know the trauma and mental implications he went through at that age. No one could ever fathom the pain, the psychological defiance that his parents had simply gone to work and were coming home late. Ten years late.

Blaine had begun to become increasingly worried at Kurt's silence and was surprised when he smiled again, as though he was a robot whose battery had just died and were eventually replaced. "So what are your interests, Blaine?" Changing the topic was always good.

The brunette caught on and finally answered. "Music. I like music a lot." He grinned. "That's why I joined the Glee club even though people have told me its social suicide."

"That's great," he said, forcing a smile. He was still hurting. "I'm a bit of a fan of music myself. Have you ever seen the musical Wicked?"

"Well we can't all come and go by bubble!" Blaine quoted and Kurt laughed, and it wasn't a fake one. It felt good to talk about music, sometimes, something that the Skanks detested and Kurt had learned by trial and error. It was true that he had to pretend around them, but it wasn't hard to do it. It had become a part of him to be drab and boring and only talk about who to fuck or what to smoke. "I saw it three times already on Broadway."

"Never been to Broadway," Kurt said dismally. He sipped his drink.

"Maybe I can take you some day?" Blaine said with a raise of his brow.

Kurt twirled the straw between his lips. Blaine was actually flirting with him. "I'd like that."

Blaine finished off his second donut and was about to talk when the coffee store door chimed open. A tall, lanky boy dressed in a Dalton Academy uniform entered with short blonde hair and a smug look on his slim face. His eyes scanned the room and when they fell on Kurt and Blaine's table, the boy's grin turned feral.

He stalked over towards them, puffed up with pheromones. "Hello, Blaine. How's it going?"

"Sebastian," Blaine said, his lips drawn in a tight line. "I'm fine, thank you. What are you doing here? I thought you hated coffee."

Sebastian spared Kurt a glance and winked. "I'm guessing you're on a date. I'm surprised you've recovered that quickly to be with someone again."

"Kurt," he said loudly. "Kurt Hummel. Nice to meet you, Sebastian. You and Blaine had a close friendship at Dalton?"

Sebastian chuckled. "Oh, it was more than a friendship but I won't ruin the story for you when Blaine here himself could tell you." He stared at Blaine who had his head down and was fiddling with his fingers in his lap.

"Maybe some other time," Kurt said quickly, sensing Blaine's distress. It wouldn't do good to have an upset date added to his plan. "You could go now."

The blonde boy had a moment of surprise at the dismissal but followed up with a leer. "Nice seeing you again, Blaine. Call me sometime." He touched Blaine's cheek. "By the way," he turned to Kurt, "aren't you in that group with the pretty blonde chick. The Sluts, I think?"

"Fuck you," Kurt spat then regretted it when he saw Blaine's jaw drop. Shit. His facade was breaking already.

Sebastian laughed like if he knew it would happen. "Feisty one you got there, Blaine. Better watch him." With that he turned and left. Kurt wondered if Sebastian knew that Blaine was going to be here today. His walk was bold, the tilt to his shoulders assured as he left the store, like if he had just accomplished something no one else could.

"Isn't he a prick…" Kurt bit into his bagel angrily.

Several counts of silence passed with Blaine toying with the last bit of his donut on the plate, or sometimes sipping bits of the coffee he seemed to already be getting fed up of. Kurt was uncomfortable, trying to look at any place but in front of him. He didn't know how to pick up the conversation again after that awkward confrontation. Sebastian's face was familiar, but he couldn't place why.

Blaine finally spoke. "You seem like a really nice guy, Kurt," he said "And I heard all of your classes are AP. Why are you a part of the Skanks anyways?" He fumbled with his words a little as though they took too much effort to get out, or he felt guilty of saying them.

Kurt's body tensed. He gritted his teeth and tried to sip his mocha nonchalantly. He wondered why the brunette even knew about his AP classes. When Blaine noticed he wasn't answering, he cleared his throat awkwardly and started again. "Are you into sports by chance?"

He smiled like if the distressing question hadn't been asked. He was an expert at ignoring uncomfortable or upsetting things. "Hate them, honestly."

*o*o*o*

The date ended at minutes to five pm. All in all Kurt thought it was pretty successful. He drove Blaine home and walked him up to his doorstep. He knew he was pushing it but before he could change his mind he planted a chaste kiss on Blaine's lips. The boy's lips tasted like the bitter coffee he drank, but it was a pleasant taste. The brunette had stood frozen to the spot and when Kurt smiled, a goofy grin replaced the shock. He was still red in the face when Kurt said goodbye and went back into the car.

He found himself thinking about the cute look on Blaine's face all the way home.

He snorted some more coke that evening, then remembered that he needed the weed to help him down. He had totally forgotten that he was supposed to meet Quinn at four pm. The date wasn't supposed to last for so long. He quickly texted her an apology.

Sorry I forgot to meet you. I got caught up on the date. Maybe tomorrow?

At least that was what he wanted to text. He guessed that since he was still high the words barely looked like English. It was probably readable as Quinn replied twenty minutes later. She must have been upset to take so long. It was a terrible idea to keep a supplier waiting.

Whatever. We'll talk tomorrow, k? Kinda busy right now.

Right. They were at The Rig. Kurt put down his phone and tried to calm his racing mind but the coke was having none of it. Instead he went out to his living room and popped in Wicked in his DVD Player. He sang along to every song, repeated almost every line and was grinning like a fool when the line Blaine quoted came up. By the time the movie was done he was still singing. He just didn't realize that he was singing at the top of his lungs.

Someone was banging on his door.

He shuffled over and in his haze, forgot to check the peephole. He opened it to the pudgy face of the owner of the complex. Even through the high he felt a ripple of fear as the memories of extreme pain and harsh embarrassment came back to him. Never again Kurt thought fiercely.

"Shut the fuck up!" the man shouted. Kurt had forgotten his name. "Some people are trying to get some sleep here."

Unfortunately, he was too drugged to think coherently. "You don't have to shout, you cunt!" He never saw the punch coming. It hit him square on the side of his face and sent his head reeling. He stumbled and his feet went out from under him. His arm shot out to break his fall and ended up bending in the wrong direction. He cried out in pain.

"That'll teach you to talk back, you fucking slut,” he spat then slammed the door closed.

Kurt clutched his hand to his stomach and rolled onto his side, curled up in the fetal position. That was completely unnecessary! He was high so he barely felt anything but the impact alone was enough to make him recoil. Slowly he got to his feet and limped over to the couch where he threw himself down. By the next hour he would feel the pain and Kurt hoped that he would fall asleep by then.

In half an hour he did and when he woke up, there were vivid marks to show it.

*o*o*o*

The next day everyone kept staring at his face. There was no way to hide a swollen cheek anyways so he had prepared a lie after concealing as much of the purple as possible. He was glad that the Skanks had said not a word and instead just brought him some ice and offered a weed roll. The school nurse had bandaged his wrist for him without a word.

Blaine, however was more than worried.

"Oh my God. Kurt! What happened?" You could have sworn that he and Blaine were friends since preschool.

Kurt tried to put on a smile but failed. "I woke up still sleepy this morning, opened the door and walked right into it. My cheek took the brunt of it. I fell badly on my hand."

"Oh," Blaine said, visibly calming down. "Are you okay, though?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Don't worry about me." He laughed a fake laugh. Blaine stayed silent for a while, watching the mark on Kurt's face intently. "Can you...can you stop staring at it? I've had enough of that all morning."

"Sorry, sorry. It's just that...that's a weird door you got there." Blaine laughed a little but Kurt had the uncanny feeling that Blaine thought the mark on his face was more than a door. "What class do you have this morning?" His eyes finally met Kurt's and he was surprised at the concern he found in them.

"AP English with Robertson."

"Oh me too!" Blaine said cheerily.

"Great! Shall we go then?"

Blaine held out his hand and it took Kurt a few seconds to notice that he wanted him to hook his arm with him. Kurt smiled, not disturbed by the prospect at all. He didn't even flip off the disgusted stares he got. In his head he thought that Blaine was a clingy one - one date and they were already close to holding hands.

In a way, part two of his plan was already completed.

*o*o*o*

At the end of the day, Kurt had caused Blaine's first detention. The brunette had been distraught but Kurt had taken the slip nonchalantly.

"It's ok," Kurt said calmly. He petted Blaine's head as the boy was close to tears. He ignored the gross, sticky gel on his hand. "It's not going on your permanent record anyways."

"But," Blaine had started, his lip quivering. "It's only my second week of school." During English Kurt had slipped Blaine a note asking for them to go on a date that Saturday to the water park in the nearby town. Unfortunately, Blaine wasn't an expert in being secretive and with his large grin and the way he kept staring down at the note in his lap, he gave them away to Mr. Robertson all too easily. One look at Kurt and the teacher had given them both detentions, no questions asked. Of course that was after he read out the note to the class which burst into laughter. Kurt had used some choice words and had gotten an extra hour.

"I get detention all the time, Blaine," he offered. "And look where I am. I'm still doing AP subjects."

Blaine sniffed and the puppy-dog look he gave him made his heart clench. He fought back the wide smile and the feeling to cuddle such cuteness. "Are you sure?" That small, sad voice caused an emotion in Kurt that he couldn't name.

He nodded confidently. "Plus, you'll be with me." That lightened Blaine up. They had five minutes to get to the classroom before their detention started. "Let's go. I think Robertson's watch is five minutes fast."