"Are you okay in there?" Kurt asked from his spot on Blaines couch. It was Monday morning and Kurt had come over a little early, but Blaine didnt seem to mind. Blaine was taking an awful long time in his room, and he could have sworn he heard a thud.

There was another loud noise from Blaines room and Kurt was absolutely sure he heard something this time. "Blaine?" Kurt walked up to his bedroom door and knocked softly. "Is everything okay?" He asked as he pressed his profile against the door.

Blaine hurriedly opened the door and Kurt almost fell over. "Everythings great! You ready to go?"

Kurt peered over Blaines shoulder. "Did something happen in there?"

Blaine laughed a little too boisterously. "No way, why would you think-" Blaine sighed, and his facial expression could only be equated to that of a sad puppy. "Yes."

"Do you need any help?"

"No, I just...kinda broke my bed?"

"How on Earth did you break your bed? Youve only been here a week," Kurt laughed.

"I dont know! The mattress just crashed and I thought I had fixed it. Apparently my bed hates me."

"Well we dont have time to fix it now, at this rate well both be late for work." For the first time that morning Kurt focused himself enough to actually look at Blaine. He had on his shaded glasses and a dark blue shirt that made his arms look amazing. "Im really liking todays bowtie choice," Kurt commented.

"Thanks, my brother got it for me for my eighteenth birthday."

As they walked out the door Kurts curiosity got the best of him. "So tell me more about this brother…"

It was an absolutely beautiful morning, everyone was either out walking their dogs or walking to work. Blaine was using a cane, the ticking keeping a steady cadence as they made their way to the school, Kurt only had to say something if there was a step or they needed to turn a corner.

Kurt tried to avoid the stares of the people around them. Kurt was pretty used to people staring when he was out with another guy, but this time people werent staring at them, they were staring at Blaine. Kurt tried not to let that distract him as Blaine cheerily told him stories about his brother, Cooper.

"So anyway, I get home that night and literally everyone I know is packed into my house. I was actually pretty terrified when they all yelled surprise, but in the end Coop threw one incredible party. Thats why Ill always remember when I got this bowtie."

Kurt looked down and tried not to begin thinking about his own brother. "He seems great," he said quietly.

Within a few minutes they reached the school and had to part ways. Kurt quickly learned that this was the most difficult part of his day, because for some reason Blaine made him forget about the real world, and as soon as he walked away it was like jumping head first into reality.

Kurts first piano lesson, as part of the deal, wasnt until Thursday because Blaine had someone come in to fix his bed on Tuesday. Blaines piano was in the room that was Kurts workroom in his own apartment, and since the rooms shared a wall, it was no wonder Kurt could hear the piano so well.

Blaine was sitting in a chair next to the piano to give Kurt more room on the bench. "So I dont own any actual piano books because...well...you can probably figure out why. But," Blaine said, dropping a pile of thin paperback books onto the piano, "I asked the school if I could borrow some."

"Would you like me to call you Blaine or Mr. Anderson?" Kurt asked. He didnt really mean to say it, but the blush that creeped up on Blaines cheeks pretty adorable, to say the least.

"Whichever you prefer," Blaine smiled.

"Okay, Mr. Anderson, what is my first lesson?"

The lesson went on for about an hour and Kurt was astounded by how well Blaine taught. Kurt was ashamed that he ever thought any less.

Afterwards, Kurt spent a few minutes looking around Blaines living room as he dealt with a phone call. In front of the couch there was a large bookcase with at least one-hundred books, which were all bigger in size than most books he owned, and Kurt curiously took one out to look at. It was a braille version of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Kurt opened the book and brushed his fingers across the raised dots on the paper, wondering how difficult it must have been to learn how to read it.

"Kurt?" Blaine asked from the kitchen.

"In here!" Kurt called, taking one last look at the book before shoving it back into the bookcase.

"Sorry that took so long," Blaine apologized, handing Kurt a glass of water.

"You sure have a lot of books."

"Yeah, I have to get most of them custom ordered."

The shelf in the center was filled with framed pictures rather than books. "Nice pictures," Kurt commented, seeing a picture of a young Blaine blowing out the candles on a birthday cake.

"Sam put the pictures up. For all I know they could all be pictures of me sleeping."

"Wait, is this a picture of you and Sam?" Kurt asked, picking up a picture of Blaine and a blond guy about his age.

"Depends, if youre referring to the picture of me and Sam, then yes."

Kurt gave Blaine a dirty look. "Im glaring at you, just so youre aware."

Blaine smirked and Kurt looked back at the picture. "Sam used to be in my high school Glee Club. I cant believe I didnt put the pieces together before."

"What a small world. Ill have to call you next time he comes over."

They were incredibly close again, and Kurt couldnt help but notice the sweet way Blaines mouth would twitch when he was happy. Kurt also couldnt help but notice the way Blaines bowtie was slightly crooked, and when Kurt instinctually began to fix it, Blaine froze and pushed his hand away, and Kurts cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "Your bowtie was- Im sorry," Kurt forced out as he dropped his arms to his side.

Kurt took out his phone to check the time and was completely astonished by how late it was. "Oh no," Kurt sighed. "I really should get back and work on my designs. Im incredibly behind as it is." Behind, not started, same thing.

"Kurt, I didnt-" Blaine finally said, trying to reach out for his arm.

Kurt, however, was already moving toward the front door. "Thank you so much for the lesson. I left the glass on the left corner of the counter. See you tomorrow."

And with that, Kurt was gone. He didnt work at all that night-which wasnt much of a surprise-but rather sat at his desk for the remainder of that evening listening to Blaine play the piano, thinking that if life were a movie, hed want that to be his opening track.

The next morning they barely spoke, and the silence wasnt the easy silence they usually had, it was the awkward silence, like the silence that occurs after a theater attendant tells someone to "enjoy the movie" and they reply with "you too." Kurt wanted to apologize for being rude the day before, but there was a part of him that believed if he didnt say anything maybe they could pretend it never happened.

When Kurt returned that afternoon Blaine wasnt sitting in his usual spot at the bench near the front of the school. Kurt waited for a few minutes before entering the school, afraid that something might be wrong.

"Excuse me?" Kurt asked the woman sitting at the front desk of the schools office. "Hi. Im looking for Blaine- Mr. Anderson. Hes the music teacher here."

"Blind guy?" She asked. Kurt reluctantly nodded. "Sign in here," she said, shoving a clipboard in front of him. "Hes in room 506."

After thanking the woman Kurt made his way down the hallway of lockers and lingering students. When Kurt reached Blaines classroom he looked in the window of the door to see if Blaine was inside.

There Blaine was, at the piano, accompanying a boy as he sang Bring Him Home. The boy was short and had a small frame to match, which made Kurt conclude that he couldnt have been any older than fifteen. Kurt pressed himself up against the door, but could barely hear his voice over the piano. But what he could hear of the boys voice was pretty spectacular.

Kurt continued to wait outside the door until they were finished, not wanting to interrupt. When the boy walked out, he and Kurt shared a quick moment of eye-contact before the boy ducked his head and moved swiftly into the next hallway.

"Did you forget something, Billy?" Blaine asked when Kurt opened the door, still sitting at the piano.

"Hey Blaine, its-"

"Kurt," they said simultaneously.

"Oh my god." Blaine turned around and covered his face with his hands. "A student asked me for some help and I just lost track of time. Im so sorry."

"Its fine. Can I sit next to you?" Blaine made room for Kurt as he Kurt inched his way to Blaine and sat next to him. "About yesterday…"

"You didnt do anything wrong," Blaine began. "I just have a weird reflex thing when people touch me. When I was younger...lets just say when people touched me it wasnt usually a good thing."

Kurt understood, at least partially. He still jumped when people came up on him from behind. Being forcefully tossed into dumpsters can do that to a person.

"Things got really bad after I came out," Blaine continued. "I had to change schools and everything." Not that Kurt really doubted that Blaine was gay, but it was nice to have confirmation.

"People really suck, dont they?" Kurt mentally reprimanded himself. Thats the best he could do?

Blaine laughed. "Yeah. Although there are a few the dont suck too bad."

For the next few weeks Kurt tip-toed around his feelings, keeping his relationship with Blaine as platonic as possible. There were a few reasons for this. One, Kurt wasnt ready for the vulnerability a romantic relationship required, and although it wasnt very fair to Blaine-or himself for that matter-it protected his most precious possession: his heart.

Two, Kurt wasnt sure that Blaine felt the same way about him, and he didnt want to ruin the friendship that, in itself, had only barely begun.

Kurt was on a balance beam and one shift in gravity meant falling for Blaine Anderson. But this was assuming he hadnt already.