Kurt quickly made his way over to Mercedes.

“I won’t be going back to Lima with you. Blaine… hmm… he invited me to coffee,” Kurt couldn’t suppress his smile.

Mercedes squealed, but Kurt quickly put his hand over her mouth. “Shhh… everyone doesn’t have to know that!”

“Ok, ok, I’m quiet. I’m just so happy for you,” girl was beaming at him.
“It’s not a date!” Kurt reminded one more time, more to himself than to his friend. “I’ll go find Mr. Schue and tell him I’m not going with others.”

After 20 minutes Kurt had changed his clothes and informed Mr. Schue about his plans as well as his dad. Now he was standing outside the theatre waiting for Blaine.

A few moments later the boy walked out of the building along with some other Warbler. He smiled as soon as he noticed Kurt and made his way up to him.

“Hey, Kurt,” Blaine said, “This is Wes, a fellow Warbler, his parents own the coffee shop in Westerville.”

“Nice to meet you, Kurt,” Wes stretched out his hand. “And congratulations, it was an honor to compete with the New Directions.”

“You truly deserved to win,” Kurt answered politely, shaking the boy’s hand.

“I’ll leave you both alone, have fun!” Wes smiled and winked at Blaine.

Did he seriously just wink? Kurt thought confused and looked at Blaine who was blushing and shaking his head while laughing silently.

“You ready to go?” Blaine asked turning to Kurt. “I don’t know this city well, so we could go to Westerville or I could drive you back to Lima. How do you prefer?”

“We can go to Westerville. Is there any buses that go to Lima in the evenings?” Kurt asked worrying about getting home later.

“Oh, don’t worry about that! I invited you to hang out and I’ll drive you home. If you don’t object of course,” Blaine explained.

Kurt looked taken aback a bit. How this gorgeous boy was ever real? “Thanks, that’s very kind of you.” He muttered.

“Then it’s Westerville,” Blaine smiled and started walking towards his car. Kurt followed.

Dive to the other city didn’t take so long, but it was nonetheless awkward. Kurt didn't know what to say and was trying to find the right words or topic for a conversation. Blaine on the other hand didn't seem bothered by the absence of conversations. He turned on the radio and was enjoying the songs that filled the car. From time to time he glanced at Kurt. He could see how awkward the other boy felt. Blaine wanted to initiate a conversation, but at the same time he didn't wanted to force it on Kurt. If the boy wanted to speak, he would say something, right? After everything that had happened with Jeffrey, Blaine had been avoiding any boy that could be interested in him. But then Kurt had crossed his path. And you can't ignore a boy like that. No matter how much your heart had been broken before.

Blaine pulled up in front of the Somewhere Only We Know and got out of the car. As soon as he closed the driver's door, he saw that Kurt has already standing on the street. Like he had wanted to leave the car as soon as possible. Blaine chuckled quietly at the thought. That caused Kurt to raise an eyebrow at him.

"Come on, let's get inside," he invited Kurt.

They entered the coffee shop and Blaine went straight to the counter. "Hello, Shannon," he greeted the girl.

"The usual?" Shannon asked him.

"No, thanks. Tonight I'm with a friend. I'll let him choose," with that Blaine stepped aside letting Kurt, who was looking stunned hearing word "friend", step closer to the counter.

"One caramel latte, please," Kurt ordered.

"Can I get hot chocolate, please?" Blaine added. He also immediately pulled out his wallet and offered money to Shannon who was handing boys their orders.

Kurt tried to object, wanting to pay for his own coffee, but Blaine insisted, saying that he was the one inviting Kurt, so he wanted to do everything right. This is not a date! Kurt reminded himself one more time.

They sat down in the far corner of the room and Blaine looked at Kurt curiously.

"You've been awfully quiet tonight. I feel like I've forced you to come here," Blaine said.

"No, no!" Kurt answered hurriedly. "It just that... hmm..." he didn't know how to finish the sentence he had started.

"Is something wrong, Kurt?" Blaine started to worry. Was he really forcing the boy?

"No... I'm just... I'm not used that people are so nice to me. I'm not used to making friends," Kurt said quietly. He decided that honesty is the right thing. Now Blaine will be able to leave him, before Kurt developed any serious feelings.

Blaine looked confused. How could people not want to make friends and get to know this beautiful boy. Where they blind?

"I can't see any reason for that," he finally told Kurt. "Besides, your Glee club seemed quite friendly today. Are you like that only on stage?"

"No, they are my friends. Actually they are the only friends that I've ever had. I'm not the most loved person at school," Kurt explained not raising his sight from the cup in front of him.

Blaine didn't like where this conversation was heading. He suddenly understood very well what Kurt might have gone through.

"I know how you feel," he told the younger boy just as quietly, like being afraid that he might scare him away.

Kurt now raised his head and was looking right at Blaine with his crystal clear eyes, thousand questions visible in them.

"Why else do you think I'm going to a preppy private school which costs a several thousands per year so far from home, if I could go to any other school in my area?" Blaine continued looking straight at Kurt.

Other boy kept quiet not knowing what to answer.

"Anyway, we didn't come here tonight to cry, did we? We just won Sectionals and that's something to celebrate!" Blaine smiled and Kurt enthusiastically nodded.

"You were really great! So different from what I heard you playing here," Kurt couldn't hold back his excitement.

Blaine laughed, "Thanks. Warblers usually hold to some popular melodies. Public trend to respond better to something they know. Here I can perform anything I want."

"In New Directions it's usually Mr. Schue, our teacher, who chooses our repertoire. We don't get to say much about it. Rachel could be an exception, though," Kurt finished with a growl.

"Rachel is the girl who was singing today? She's your lead singer?" Blaine asked.

"New Directions doesn't really have a lead singer. Theoretically everyone can try to get a solo, practically, they all are Rachel's," Kurt growled again.

"Sounds a bit unfair to me," Blaine stated.

"Tell me about it," Kurt replied.

"Hey, I've got an idea!" Blaine's face suddenly lit up. "Why don't you come to sing here?"

"Here?! In the coffee shop?" Kurt looked at him, not clearly believing his ears.

"Yeah, here. Wes parents opened this place hoping that aspiring musicians or simply music lovers would come here and perform, but at this moment there's just me and Wes. Sometimes other Warblers come too, but that's it. That would be awesome of you sang something," Blaine finished looking at Kurt with shining eyes.

"I don't know about that," Kurt replied unsure. "You perform so well, that I can't compete with that."

"Oh, come on, I'm sure you sound great. You just won the Sectionals!"

Kurt thought about it for a minute. He always wanted to perform, to prove his talent, but hardly ever got a chance. Now he was offered to sing whatever he wanted to an audience that wasn't only his fellow Glee club members. It was a real dream come true. Kurt had seen how welcoming the people here had been to Blaine, but he could communicate with the audience so well. That's something Kurt couldn't do and that made him insecure. But the temptation remained.

"Can I think about it?" he finally spoke up looking at Blaine.

"Sure! You can come here on the next week - end and maybe I won't be the only performer anymore," Blaine smiled sweetly.

With that both boys immersed in a conversation about music and Blaine's performing experience. After a short while boys noticed how easy it was to talk to each other and all the awkwardness disappeared without a trace. Kurt learned that as a child Blaine had had piano lessons that he enjoyed even in such a young age. When he was 14 his parents had bought him a guitar and Blaine taught himself to play it. He also told Kurt how he never plans his performances, but plays what comes in mind based on the atmosphere or his emotions on each night.

And Kurt listened savouring every word that left the gorgeous boy's mouth. He also noticed how Blaine's eyes shined when he was talking about his childhood or music, and how the spark died down when the topic approached his family now. Kurt's natural curiosity was trying to break out and ask something more about that, but he kept himself down. If Blaine wanted to tell him something, he will. After all this was only their second conversation ever from those that counted.

"I'm always performing other people's songs, but I've never written my own, so that's something I hope to learn in New York. Real artists create their own music," Blaine continued his story.

"Wait, you want to go to New York?!" Kurt suddenly stopped his speech.

"Yeah, I plan to attend a university there. I've already started to fill in the application forms. Hopefully I'll be good enough for some school."

"New York is my dream!" Kurt exclaimed. "If you're already applying, it means you're a Senior?"

"Yes, this is my last year at Dalton and also at Warblers, so I really hope we will get to Nationals. It's my last opportunity after all," Blaine laughed. "And you, you're a Senior too?"

"I wish I were, but no. I'm still a Junior," Kurt sighed.

"So you'll have another chance next year, after the Warblers will beat you in Nationals," Blaine laughed trying to lighten the mood.

"You wish!" Kurt smirked at him, and both boys started laughing.

Suddenly a text message interrupted their fun. Blaine took out his phone and checked what it was about. He smiled and quickly typed a response.

"Wes told me to say hi to you," he laughed.

Kurt raised an eyebrow at Blaine questioning but did't say anything out loud.

"Anyway, it's getting kind of late, so maybe we should get going?" Blaine suggested.

Kurt took out his phone and checked the time. "Oh, you're right! I promised my dad not to stay out too late. Are you sure you want to drive all the way to Lima?"

"We already had this conversation, Kurt. I invited you, I'm taking you home. Let me just call Elise and ask if it's okay for me to come home."

Kurt looked confused again. Why Blaine couldn't go home? He lived there after all...

"Hey, El! I might need to stay at Lima tonight, are mum and dad at home?"

...

"That's great! And how long they'll be away?"

...

"Yeah, El, I know. Don't start this again."

...

"Bye, I'll talk to you tonight," with that Blaine hung up and looked at Kurt expectantly, ignoring boy's confusion. "So, you're ready?"

Kurt just nodded and stood up. Both boys left the coffee shop and headed to Blaine's car.

As soon as they started to drive, Blaine felt the awkwardness building up again. He had seen Kurt's confusion when he had talked to Elise, but knew Kurt was too polite to ask anything. He was simply staring through the window on the road ahead.

"You can ask me," Blaine simply stated when the silence had gotten too much for him to handle.

"Ask what?" Kurt was not looking startled at him.

"The things that are on your mind. You can ask them to me," Blaine explained in a softer tone. "I think tonight proved that we can talk freely." He was a bit surprised about his frankness to Kurt, but he wanted the boy to get to know him just as much as he wanted to get to know Kurt. And being open was the only possibility to achieve that.

Kurt was silent for a moment. Could he really ask these things to Blaine? They barely knew each other, but tonight they had been so open. And this boy had a strange ability to make Kurt feel safe.

So after a moment of inner conflict, Kurt finally asked, "Why did you ask Elise about your parents? Do you have problems with them?"

Kurt wasn’t sure how to bring this subject up. He didn’t feel like he had the rights to ask, but Blaine had insisted that he could, so Kurt did. He also wasn’t sure if Blaine was really gay, but, if he was and his family had problems with that, Kurt wanted to be there for the boy. Kurt understood how blessed he was having an accepting father who cared about him and a loving step – mother, but he also knew that not everyone was so lucky.

“I guess the only problem there is me,” Blaine interrupted Kurt’s thoughts by starting to speak.

“What do you mean?” Kurt wasn’t sure he understood.

“I’m gay, Kurt, but I assume you could probably tell that,” Blaine continued quietly. “I’ve known that since I was about 14 or 15 years old. At first I tried to… overcome it,” he searched for the right word, “I thought that maybe I’m just very young and confused, but that didn’t go away. Until it all became too much for me and I had to tell someone. My parents have always been amazing to me. I had a really happy childhood. No child could wish for anything better, so I decided to tell them.”

Blaine stopped talking for a second, his eyes never leaving the road ahead. Kurt watched him silently; afraid that the smallest sound could disturb Blaine.

“There wasn’t any screaming or insulting. There was simply nothing. I guess that was their way of reconciliation. My parents never brought this topic up again, and they never stopped doing their parent duties. But at the same time so many things changed. My dad’s a businessman and that means going on lot of business trips and countless dinners with the clients and the partners. Before, me and Elise, we were always taken along. After, only Elise. Not that I enjoyed those dinners, but it gave me some sense of belonging. Now they were making up excuses for my absence; that their son is busy with studies or music, or simply away in a luxury private school.”

Blaine stopped talking again, as trying to compose himself. And Kurt just watched, not knowing what to say or do. He had even forgotten how to move. Never had he expected Blaine to be so open with him after such a short time.

“I know they love me,” Blaine said. “When the bullying at school became too much for me to handle, they sent me to Dalton. Since the moment I moved into my dorms I stopped going home, except for Christmas and summer break. And not once did they call me. I don’t reproach my parents for anything, but I can’t stand to see the disappointment in their eyes and hear it in their voices, while knowing that I’m the cause of it. They won’t admit it, but I know that nothing will ever be as it was. Our relationship will never be the same,” with that Blaine finished his story not being able to look at Kurt.

You couldn’t ruin this night even more, Blaine, he thought to himself. Great way to scare away a potential friend. Go on and tell him how fucked up your life really is! Blaine’s mind was screaming at him.

Sitting next to Blaine, Kurt didn’t know what to say. Was it even possible to make this all better with just some words? So Kurt gathered all his courage and did the only thing that came to his mind. He reached and placed his hand over Blaine’s.

At first the older boy was startled, but then he finally looked up to Kurt and saw his gentle eyes. Kurt offered Blaine a small smile, hoping that this simple gesture would be enough to tell Blaine that he wasn’t alone. And Blaine understood. After telling Kurt everything he felt so much lighter, like it was easier to breathe now. He smiled back at the young boy next to him.

“What’s your favourite song?” Blaine asked.