Kurt sighed, and looked down at his bracelet. It had been a while since he had gotten to spend time alone with Blaine. Of course, it wasn't like he would die if he didn't see him. But with everything going on at school lately, he felt that he needed to see him. What was the problem with being a teenager for a night and sneaking out of the house to go to a party?

"I want you to call me if something happens." Blaine repeated, as they stood in line for their morning coffee. "I will come straight away the moment you need me alright? Even if he so much as says something rude to you, I want you to call me."

Kurt rolled his eyes in response. "I appreciate you being the dapper knight-in-shining-armor for me, but really it's going to be okay."

"I just want you to be safe Kurt. I don't trust him." Blaine said bitterly. "I'm serious. As soon as anything happens I will be here ASAP."

"And how exactly do you plan to get here ASAP when you're going to be hours away from Lima?" Kurt chuckled as he moved forward to place their coffee orders. "Medium drip and a grande non-fat mocha, please."

Blaine gave a small smile at the gesture. "You know my coffee order?" He teased.

"Well, since you brought it up, I just want to take the time to say that we did end up together like When Harry Met Sally." Kurt grinned as he said so.

Blaine smiled in return. "Anyways, since I play the part of Harry in this relationship I have to be here to protect you Kurt. I'm serious. And, I'll be around here today anyways so I can come at a moment's notice."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kurt raised his eyebrows suspiciously.

"The Warblers have a small gig during the day time." Blaine said coolly. When it came to surprises, he was much better than Kurt at hiding his plans.

Kurt groaned, knowing something was going on. "Well, the point is I don't want to call you over dumb things Blaine. I can handle whatever they do to me today. I'm not going to call you for a few rude names, or for a slushie to the face, or even for being pushed into a locker. I'm going back to face what I ran away from and I have to be able to stand on my own. I don't want you to come in and save me."

Blaine looked shocked at this sudden outburst.

"I didn't mean that I don't need you, Blaine. But I'm tired of playing the damsel in distress. You were there to help me when I was being bullied, when I was terrified. You've done so much for me already, I'm tired of always being the one who needs help, you know? I want to be able to stand up for myself for once. Maybe if I learn to do that, next time I'll be the one helping you instead of the other way around." Kurt finished, looking both dejected and nervous.

Blaine grabbed both of their coffees and motioned for them to go outside. He didn't speak until they were both settled in the car and ready to head to school. It took Blaine quite a while to think of an appropriate response. Kurt watched from the passenger's seat as he saw several emotions playing out on Blaine's face. It seemed as though his entire disposition changed. His shoulders got stiff and his eyes became downcast. He gripped onto the steering wheel tightly even though they were still parked outside the Lima Bean.

"Is something wrong?" Kurt whispered, growing concerned.

Blaine sighed and turned to face Kurt. "No, it's just...I don't want you to feel like the damsel in distress. I never meant to make you feel that way." Kurt looked like he was about to talk, but Blaine shook his head. "It's not your fault that you're feeling this way, it's mine. Maybe I should have said something earlier Kurt, but...this isn't about 'saving' you or anything of the sort. I'm not here to be your knight in shining armor. If anything, you've been my knight." Blaine laughed bitterly.

Kurt opened his mouth slightly, confused. "What do you mean?"

Blaine looked straight into his eyes and smiled sadly. "What I mean is that I don't see this as a job. And you shouldn't feel like the damsel in distress, because if anything you've helped me more than I've helped you." He was quiet for a moment, measuring what he was going to say next. He placed his hand on Kurt's and squeezed it. "I don't think you have any idea how much you've done for me..."

It was a weird sight. Kurt had never seen Blaine looking so serious or so visibly distressed. He could tell his boyfriend was trying to be as ambiguous as possible, but he wasn't doing a good job of hiding his feelings. His hands had gone pale and his eyes still hadn't returned to their previous joyful light. He wanted to prod more and ask what the hell was going on, but he felt that this was probably going to be a conversation saved for the future.

Kurt leaned in and kissed Blaine on the cheek.

"Aww come on, I just made myself vulnerable to you and all I get is a cheek kiss?" Blaine whined as Kurt blushed beet red and looked away.

"Cool it, Anderson." Kurt mumbled.

Blaine laughed as he start driving towards McKinley to drop Kurt off. The mood in the car eased back to playfulness, but Blaine's words stayed in Kurt's mind.

"You always find a way of ruining my efforts to make sweet moments, don't you?" Kurt said, glaring at Blaine.

"It's cute to see you embarrassed when you pull moves like that," Blaine said sticking out his tongue. A while later, he pulled up into the student parking lot and turned to look at Kurt once again. "Anyways, you know the deal. Call me if anything happens."

Kurt gave him a look in response.

"Okay, okay, just if you get anything worse than a slushie." Blaine amended. He leaned in and kissed Kurt on the cheek, and watched as his boyfriend got out of the car and walked towards the school entrance. I hope he makes it through the morning okay, he thought.

Kurt had spent the entire morning in the office, working out last minute details concerning his transfer. He had to fix his schedule, fill out forms and talk to Mr. Figgins again about precautions that should be taken in case Kurt met any more trouble.

It wasn't until lunch that Kurt was able to finally surprise his friends. He ran with anticipation to the courtyard outside, knowing that Mercedes was waiting down by the tables with the rest of his friends. His heart was beating wildly and he was positively relishing in every step he took towards them. When he reached the stop of the steps he announced his return. His friends broke out in applause and laughter as he ran down the steps to hug Mercedes, Brittany and Tina. But before he could do anything else, Mercedes turned him around and pointed to the courtyard entrance.

"There's some people here that want to say goodbye to you." She said, smiling.

Kurt gasped at the group that was now walking towards him. The Warblers piled in behind Blaine as he stopped in front of him.

Blaine gave him a smile, closed his eyes, and began singing.

He took Kurt's hand and pulled him down the steps, not caring who was looking. A crowd had gathered around the group and everyone's eyes were on Kurt and Blaine.

He pulled Kurt into an embrace, placing his hands on his waist. And out of nowhere, he began swaying to the music. He pulled Kurt's left hand into his own and started to slow dance. Kurt blushed immediately, but didn't resist. It didn't matter if the whole school was staring, it didn't matter that two boys were now slow dancing in front of everyone; all they cared about was being with each other in that moment.

Blaine kept singing as he danced with Kurt, pulling him away to twirl him and then wrap him back up in his arms. He stepped back and merged with the Warblers who formed a circle around Kurt.

On the last note, all of the Warblers ran towards Kurt and hugged him. The crowd of students that had gathered around to watch the performance were all clapping, much to Kurt's surprise. But all that really mattered to him in that moment were his friends and Blaine. After hugging all of the Warblers separately, he ran towards Blaine and jumped into his arms. Tears were streaming down both of their cheeks as they held on to each other.

"Thank you..." Kurt whispered, his head tucked into Blaine's shoulder.

"I told you I'd be around today..." Blaine smiled. "I wanted to make sure that your first day back was amazing, no matter what happened."

Kurt looked up at Blaine and smiled. They pressed their foreheads together and sighed. This was going to be one of their last moments spent together before they were forced to deal with the distance. "It was amazing." He pulled his left hand up to show Blaine the bracelet. "And you can be sure that we'll make it. I'm never saying goodbye to you."

They hugged each other once more and broke away to return to their group of friends. Kurt took his turn to hug every single one of them, even Puckerman. Blaine shook all of their hands and then stepped back. "Well, since I skipped my morning classes it's time for me to go. Make sure to keep an eye out for Kurt, guys."

"Don't worry, we'll look out for him." Sam said patting Kurt on the back.

"Yeah, I'll make sure all the jocks chill out." Puck said.

"Thanks. I'll see you all later, then." Blaine grinned and followed the Warblers out of the courtyard. Kurt wiped away the last of his tears and laughed as he was attacked with more hugs by Mercedes and Rachel. In that moment, everything was alright. I'm home, Kurt thought. The fear of his first day back had melted away with his friends' reassurance and Blaine's surprise. He was so caught up in the joy of it all that he didn't notice the only person who didn't seem happy about the performance.

Somewhere in the distance, the boy stood under the shade of a tree, glaring at Kurt and his friends. Someone came up behind him and looked in the direction of his gaze. "You gonna do something about this?" He asked the pensive boy.

He stayed quiet, not looking back at his friend. "If he shows up here with his boyfriend again, I might have to."

"I thought you were a part of that Bully Whips group or something," his friend laughed.

"Like they say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer." The boy chuckled. "I have to play the part well, don't I?" He balled his hand into a fist and after staring a little longer, he stalked off.