Chapter 3: slips and slip-ups

When Kurt went to his second period of the day and sat down in his seat between Tina and Mercedes in the back left corner of the room, both girls eyed him suspiciously. 

After a bit more staring, Mercedes spoke up. "What are you so happy about?"

"I mean, we're happy that you're happy," Tina clarified, "but it's the first day of school. No one is ever this happy on the first day of school. And I don't think I've seen you this happy ever . You might have come close when we did that Gaga number a while ago, but not even then, really, so, what I mean to say is—"

"What's up with you today, boy?!" interjected Mercedes.

"Yeah, that. Pretty much."

Kurt panicked. Should he tell them? I mean, they were his friends. At the same time though, it was pretty embarrassing. Instead of deciding, he babbled. "I remember when we did the Gaga number. That was fun. We should do another one, I really think 'Born This Way' would suit our group rather nicely, and—"

"Oh, HELL to the no, you cannot change the subject. Spill."

Both girls looked at him expectantly and he realized he had no choice. He huffed and, in a single breath, offered an explanation so fast it might as well have been one word.

"I-ran-into-a-guy-this-morning-who's-new-here-and-he-was-amazing-and-we-got-slushied-and-we-helped-each-other-clean-up-and-then-he-was-in-boxing-clothes-and-really-hot-and-I-helped-him-find-his-first-class-and-he-wants-to-join-glee-club-and-I-think-he's-straight-but-there's-a-minuscule-chance-he-might-be-gay-but-it's-probably-wishful-thinking-and-I-really-like-him-and-I'm-seeing-him-again-at-lunch."

He flushed red, cursing his complexion for its transparency, and held his breath waiting for their reaction. Both girls were looking at him with shocked expressions for a bit before simultaneously breaking into excited grins and scooting their desks closer to his.

"Tell us everything. Now."

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Blaine discovered that Kurt was right about Spanish class. Even if it had been an amazing class, though, he would have still requested to switch to French just to be with Kurt. Kurt, the most incredibly enthralling person he had ever met. It took extreme effort not to gape constantly around him. Blaine had been stunned by Kurt's appearance at first—not because he was shallow, but because it was the first thing he encountered when he met Kurt—because he was so stunning. Then, as his time with Kurt went on, he found his fascination with the beautiful boy growing. He was perfect. Another thing about Kurt that intrigued Blaine was how wonderfully different he was from everyone he had ever encountered. Not only was he different, but he was... superior, in a way. Not full of himself or condescending, but his differences just seemed to make him better than everyone else. He dressed like no one else, with distinctive, creative, high-quality, impeccable taste. He moved with a sensual grace unlike any other. He was beautiful, his distinctive smooth pale skin, galaxy-like eyes, pretty pink lips, perfect chestnut-colored hair, and lithe figure that was also strong and toned. His broad chest, muscular arms, and surprisingly masculine hands contrasting with the more delicate aspects of his appearance in a way that made Blaine's breath hitch just thinking about it. His personality was different than that of anyone he had ever met. His voice had an almost musical quality and Blaine couldn't wait to hear him sing, knowing the sound would be shocking, wonderful, and unique like every other aspect of the boy. While he was so very different, though, he wasn't unreachable. He still seemed relatable and warm, even though (to Blaine, at least) he was obviously far superior to every other creature ever created. 

He didn't absorb much of his first few classes, his mind occupied with thoughts of Kurt, which were far more compelling than any of the mediocre lesson plans of the teachers. With the newly obtained schedule, he was able to navigate well enough. He found his locker and only got lost a few times. He got all the textbooks from his teachers (except for Mr. Schuester) and he organized his locker as best he could during the intervals between classes. He had one free period, since the AP Calculus BC class had been cancelled due to lack of students. The only two who had signed up for the class were Blaine and a girl named Quinn, who seemed nice enough, but they didn't talk. Instead, they both decided to get a head start on other things—homework and such. Apparently, they were to be moved to the AP Calculus AB course for the rest of the year, unless anyone dropped the class, in which case, they would be relegated to the same Calculus class as the other students. They worked in comfortable silence, save for the teacher tapping his foot and staring angrily at the clock. Wasn't that what the students were supposed to do? Oh, we'll, it didn't matter. All that mattered right now was Kurt.

When, at last, the lunch bell rang, he fought the urge to shove everyone in the hallway to get to the cafeteria faster, to get to Kurt faster. When he finally arrived at the cafeteria, he looked around and gulped. So. Many. People. It was honestly a bit terrifying, having come from a much smaller school, but his anxiety was assuaged as soon as he saw Kurt's face. He stared for a moment until Kurt looked up and noticed him, face lighting up as he smiled wide and beckoned him over. Blaine smiled back and began to make his way over. He saw Kurt gesturing to the others at the table to move over to make room next to him and his stomach flipped. Could this glorious creature actually like him? He dismissed the thought as quickly as it came, focusing on getting to Kurt. 

Unfortunately, he didn't seem to be focusing enough, and he felt himself falling. Confused, he looked around and found he had slipped on a banana peel.   Fantastic. How to entice a guy. Well, it was effective in bringing him closer to Kurt—or, rather, in bringing Kurt closer to him—because as soon as Kurt saw Blaine fall, he rushed to his side. 

"Are you always this clumsy, or are you just freaking out so much that you've lost your coordination? Are you okay?"

"My butt hurts a bit, but I'm fine." Really? Had he really said that? "And, um, freaking out. I'm usually quite graceful."

Kurt's look of concern gave way to one of amusement. "I'm sure." Kurt took Blaine's hand to help him up and Blaine felt a sudden jolt of electricity shoot through him, warming up his insides and awakening the butterflies in his stomach. "Come on, I'll introduce you to my friends. They're all in glee club, so you'll see a lot of them if you join. We're a lot like family."

Blaine felt a small pang of homesickness as he thought about the Warblers and how they had been a family to him, but it was soon forgotten as Kurt took his hand and dragged him through the crowd toward the table. When they got there, Kurt sat down and Blaine settled in next to him, perhaps a bit closer than was absolutely necessary. 

Kurt was about to speak when suddenly a small girl in a dreadful sweater with dark hair and bangs reached out across the table to him with an extremely enthusiastic smile on her face. 

"Hello! My name is Rachel Berry and I am the lead soloist of our glee club," many of the others at the table rolled their eyes at the comment, "the Mckinley High New Directions."

Blaine choked a bit on the apple juice he had been drinking. Smooth, Blaine. Attractive. Way to make an impression on the boy of your dreams.

"The what ?

"The New Di-rec-tions," she annunciated more carefully.

Oh. Oh. Oops. Wow, had he heard that wrong. He blushed up to his ears with embarrassment. Maybe it was because he was thinking inappropriate things being so close to Kurt? He noticed some of the others at the table smirking and snickering—especially the tan guy with the mohawk near the end of the table, who seemed about to explode with suppressed laughter—and relaxed a bit, since it was obviously a common mistake.

"Mr. Schue had good intentions when naming our group, but didn't think it through enough. Anyway, I hear from Kurt that you are thinking about joining our group of merry music-makers. As such, I feel it is my obligation to inform you that, should you ever be in need of a duet partner, I will try to make myself available to you."

"Well, miss Rachel Berry, it's a pleasure to meet you." Kurt actually snorted a bit trying to hold back laughter, earning a glare from Rachel. "I have actually never had the opportunity to duet with anyone before, although I'd really like to someday. Unfortunately, Rachel, I think I will decline your generous offer for now. I always wanted to duet with a guy. Kurt, would you be willing to duet with me?"

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Blaine shouldn't be allowed to say things like that. He should not be allowed to say perfectly innocent things that make Kurt's mind conjure up not-so-innocent things. He shouldn't be allowed to say things like what he just said.

"I have actually never had the opportunity to duet with anyone before, although I'd really like to someday. Unfortunately, Rachel, I think I will decline your generous offer for now. I always wanted to duet with a guy. Kurt, would you be willing to duet with me?"

What the actual fuck. NOT OKAY. Especially not okay because when he said things like what he just said, he made Kurt reply with stupid things, like he just had.

"I would love to do it with you!" 

The entire table went quiet and stared at him in shock, save for Puck, who was actually laughing out loud at the scene before him. Blaine wore a shocked, pleased, and amused expression. Puck was tearing up due to the force of his laughter. A few seconds went by before Kurt realized what he had said and rapidly reddened. 

"DUET!" he squeaked, "I mean, I would love to sing a duet with you!" 

Everyone at the table was laughing now and Kurt wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

"Shut up!" he said, no avail, before hiding his face in his hands and murmuring "oh my god, just let me die."

A calloused hand reached out to grab Kurt's and pull it gently away from his face, revealing an amused looking Blaine. "I wouldn't let you die, Kurt, the world would be so dull without you." Kurt then met Blaine's eyes with what must have still been a very embarrassed face, as Blaine continued to speak "Relax, it's fine. Everyone trips over their words sometimes. This trip just happened to be slightly more entertaining than others. Come on, you look like you're not going to eat much, anyway. Want to show me around the school some more? Like I said, I'd really appreciate your help figuring this place out."

Kurt was about to agree when Puck regained enough breath to speak up.

"So, Hummel, gonna introduce us to the boyfriend?"

Both boys attempted to stutter a response at once, each unable to formulate intelligible words for a few seconds until finally Kurt managed "We're not—I mean, we aren't—he's not my boyfriend! I mean, we met today and he's a boy and my friend but not my boyfriend ." Kurt saw Blaine's face fall a bit out of the corner of his eye, and quickly added "not that it would be a bad thing if we were. In fact, if he were gay, I'd probably be pining over him and trying to figure out a way to win his affections, but he's not, so—"

"You'd pine over me and try to win my affections?"

Oh crap. He freaked Blaine out, he just knew it. It was nice while it lasted. He would need to organize an emergency girls' night to help him recover.

"Well, um...I..."

"There's no need for that. I am gay and I happen to like you very much."

Puck was watching the action like it was his favorite movie, and had been all along, really. The rest of the table was in shock. Mercedes and Tina exchanged significant looks and squealed with excitement, Finn seemed confused (as usual), Quinn's interest had been piqued, Rachel's mouth was hanging open unattractively, Santana looked entertained, and the others had reacted somewhere in that range. Brittany leapt from her seat and ran to Blaine, embracing him enthusiastically and turning her head toward Kurt, joyfully exclaiming "Kurt! You found a dolphin buddy!" and proceeding to wrap her arms around both of them at once to pull them all together in a tight group hug. Then, she skipped back around the table and went to cuddle with Santana. At Blaine's bewildered expression, Kurt answered his unasked question by saying "That's Brittany. You get used to it. She's really nice." 

Then he leaned closer. "So, you really like me...and I really like you...now what?" 

"Kurt, would you do me the great honor of accompanying me on a date?"

Kurt smiled "I would love to."