Kurt is sure it was just his over-active imagination getting the better of him again, but he can't help but wonder if the dream really was a dream. It just fit into reality so perfectly! 'Of course it was a dream' Kurt reprimands himself, Blaine could never feel that way about him. Though the fact still remains, the minivan is insanely quiet…
"What's going on? Why is everyone so quiet?"Kurt slowly rubs his eyes preparing for the intrusion of sunlight that was soon to follow once he opened them. Though when he does open them, instead of being faced by the unwanted beams of light, Kurt eyes are met with the sight of a very relieved Blaine. Before he can get to lost in the sight, Kurt quickly looks to the front of the minivan, wincing slightly at the discomfort in his neck, only to see that not only were the Warblers all being unusually quiet, they were also keeping to themselves, all seated like normal human beings….something was clearly going on.
Glancing back to the look of relief on Blaine face Kurt understands. They had finally given the absurd topic of been eaten a rest! Unfortunately they had not done it soon enough because they had still disturbed Kurt's wonderful dream if only his gorgeous, talented, goofy best friend was head over heels in love with him…
Kurt turns back to find Blaine's eyes now pleading for him not to ask any questions. Kurt obliges, willingly dissolving plans of breaching the topic again. Instead he tenderly leans his head back onto the backrest, not wanting to trigger the shots of pain he felt when he had diverted his attention to the front of the minivan a few seconds ago. Although sleeping on Blaine's shoulder was one of the most pleasant things Kurt could ask for, it did not have the best effect on his neck, especially not while sitting in a minivan.
Kurt feels Blaine's concerned eyes on him and does his best to ignore the magnetism , choosing instead to look away and focus on the passing pines, reaching up into the sky. For a moment Kurt imagines this is how the skyscrapers tower above the lucky souls who got to call New York their home. The buildings serving as protection like the tree bark to the life streaming through them during the busy processes that go on throughout the day.
Soon the Warblers return to their spontaneous singing selves, throwing snacks at one another and playing car-games, which never last more than a few minutes before someone yells out another game to switch to. Kurt hears Blaine play along a few times but it seems like he is as happy as Kurt to remain in their comfortable silence. That is until Kurt tummy lets out an embarrassingly loud grumble and he hears Blaine chuckle beside him. Kurt decides to finally turn to Blaine to give him his infamous "Bitch-Please" look but stops when he sees the kindness and concern in Blaine eyes as Blaine packs away his writing book.
Blaine had noticed Kurt's discomfort and chastised himself for even contemplating offering Kurt a massage, besides he knew Kurt never liked admitting to any weaknesses, so he had allowed Kurt to enjoy the scenery. Before Blaine even knew what he was doing, he had his song-writing book opened on his lap and his pen was gliding across the smooth pages, his writing flowing more easily and sincerely than they had in ages. All the feelings he had allowed himself to feel during the song, bursting through the dam walls, letting the words flood his brain seeking an escape and finding it in a route through his hand, streaming onto the pages, filling their blankness with replenishing honesty and meaning.
Blaine lets out a sigh of relief once the words stop rushing onto the page and looks down at what he has just written. Somehow seeing his feelings on paper made them more real, now afraid he'd do something he'd regret like grabbing the peaceful boy next to him and confessing all that he'd just confessed to the book that had been his anchor through the good times and the bad over the years. Blaine forces himself to shift his attention to his friends, who were all trying to guess what on Earth Wes had spied that started with the letter 'G'. Blaine rolls his eyes, knowing his friend of 3 years well enough, before putting the others out of their misery by announcing "Gavel" and receiving a smirk and nod from Wes.
"How did you do that?" Jeff moans
"Unfair," Cameron groans, "You aren't even playing!"
"In Blaine's defense, I have been holding it the entire time." Wes laughs as he tosses his beloved gavel into the air.
Blaine just shrugs and leans back, but just as his mind drifts off again he hears a small grumble from his right and can't help the chuckle that escapes his lips as he sees the blush colour Kurt's cheeks as Kurt glares down at his demanding tummy before turning to Blaine.
"Feeling hungry?" he asks Kurt as his chuckles die down and he scolds himself for not thinking of Kurt's reluctance to eat junk food and failing to pack for his best friend.
"I'd say no but I'm afraid my tummy will voice its opinions again…" Kurt replies, staring down accusingly at his tummy again.
"Don't worry," Blaine couldn't help but chuckle again at Kurt's glare directed towards the front of his designer cardigan, "We should be stopping to get gas soon and there's a diner close by with amazing food!"
Thad seemed to have heard their conversation over the bustle of the mini-van and drove a little faster, getting them to the diner in no time at all.
Just as the doors of the mini-van open, Jeff and David bolt to the rest rooms. Blaine knew that them daring each other to see who could chug down a gallon of orange soda the fastest would back-fire on the two but when they decided on something, nothing stopped them. Besides the adorable laugh Kurt giggles into Blaine's shoulder is definitely worth it.
The rest of the Warblers play 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' over who has to wait till the mini-van's gas is topped up , when Blaine snatches Kurt's hand and frees him from the heated battle, now down to Thad, Wes, Dean, Eric and Cameron. Blaine relaxes as they make their way to the diner door, in no rush at all. That is until he notices Kurt's unease.
"Hey, don't worry the food isn't bad at all. In fact some of it is organic and is definitely up for the Kurt Hummel stamp of approval." he jokes, nudging Kurt playfully
"It's not that, I trust you," he smiles, bumping their shoulders together.
Blaine tries not to grin too widely at the last part, reminding himself that there was still something on Kurt's mind, causing his perfectly sculpted eyebrows to scrunch as he tries to sort through his thoughts.
"What is it?" Blaine encourages.
"I didn't mean to snoop or anything but I noticed that you were writing again. What gave you the inspiration?"
Oh crap. Nice move Blaine! Writing a love song declaring your feelings for your best friend when he's sitting right next to you, even James Bond himself couldn't have done a better job! Blaine went through hundreds of excuses in his head, some believable...some not so believable, but he couldn't seem to get himself to lie to Kurt. Taking a deep breath...he gathers all his courage...
Suddenly the rest of the Warblers practically carry Kurt and him off their feet as they rush through the doors of the diner in search of food. Clearly the battle had ended, glancing quickly over is shoulder Blaine sees a defeated Cameron slouching against the side of the mini-van.
The diner is just as Blaine remembers; the all-American read and blue with bar stools along a long counter and red leather booths. A friendly brunette greets them with a cheery "Welcome to Al's" introducing herself as their waitress "but you guys can just call me Kaylie" she added pointing to the curly letters on her name tag before showing the group of hungry boys to their tables. As Blaine and Kurt pass the counter Blaine notices three burly teenage boys looking at their linked hands in disgust. Blaine merely tightens his grip on Kurt's hand, grounding himself, and continues forward. Peeking to his side as he did so, to check if Kurt had noticed the undeserved waves of hate radiating from the boys at the counter. He sighs in relief when he sees the radiant smile on Kurt's face as Kurt watches the Warblers snatching the menu's Kaylie had set down at the centre if each table. Kurt looks down at their hands for a second as he notices Blaine's increased pressure and returns to smiling at their friends, only now his smile a little bit wider.
The two round back-to-back booths easily fit their group and Blaine and Kurt slide comfortably into one of the them joining Thad, Wes, Nick and Dean, who are busy studying their menus. Kurt nudges one of the menus towards Blaine, giving him a concerned smile when he sees Blaine's tightened jaw. Blaine manages to muster up a slight smile in return but he knows Kurt knows that something is wrong. So before Kurt can ask, Blaine opens his menu and stares at it in fake interest, barely concentrating on the curly font as he tries to calm himself down and remind himself that if he did do anything it would only ruin Kurt's experience and make Kurt unhappy. So when Kaylie comes to take their orders, Blaine orders the first thing his eyes settle on, which turns out to be the 'Manly Meal', while Kurt opts for chicken and a salad with lemonade and adds a double thick chocolate milkshake before Kaylie could take the rest of the table's orders. This time Blaine's returning smile actually reaches his eyes, 'how did Kurt always know how to make him feels better?'
Kurt grins, proud that he knows Blaine well enough to trigger his adorable eye-crinkling smile which never failed to make his heart do little flips in his chest. He doesn't know what's bothering Blaine, maybe asking about something as personal as Blaine's writing hadn't been such a good idea but how could he resist knowing that he had clearly seen a lopsided heart sketched in the margin of the page Blaine had been writing on?
Blaine is smiling again though and instead of risking getting lost in his buttery eyes Kurt watches with empathy, and slight amusement, as the chirpy waitress tries to get down the massive order which David and Jeff, who had joined their table followed closely by a defeated Cameron, were reciting. How on Earth they could even think of that much of food after all they had consumed on the drive was beyond Kurt.
To Kurt the diner looked like it was straight out of a movie. Kurt had never thought that he would be enjoying such a clich� atmosphere but he was. Being surrounded by his friends, sitting next to a very special one in particular, on a road trip to his first camping experience celebrating their win at Nationals in New York! Kurt Hummel was having a pretty good year.
Kaylie disrupts Kurt's thoughts as she brings them their food, announcing each one and receiving enthusiastic replies as the Warblers claim their respective meals.
"The Manly Meal?"
"That's me" Blaine answers sheepishly as Kurt giggles at the name while unwrapping his silverware.
"You sure that's right?" A crude voice from behind Kaylie sneers.
All the Warblers and Kaylie go silent as the boy, with appalling fashion sense, who had spoken, stands and approaches their table flanked on either side by boys who some how manage to dress even worse than their obvious leader. Blaine reaches across the seat for Kurt's hand and Kurt willingly takes his hand, despite his confusion, as he looks up and notices Blaine's tightly clenched jaw again.
"Sorry?" Kayie asks in a small voice.
"I don't think this queer deserves to eat that, only real men should eat it."
"Yeah!" his minion added.
Everyone in the diner froze, stunned by the sudden change in atmosphere. Kurt went rigid. 'Is this really happening?' He could feel his throat clench and the angry tears fill his eyes. 'Why is the world so cruel? Couldn't he have just one happy day with his friends without some Neanderthal ruining it all?'
"Aaaw look Linc, you made his girlfriend cry" the other minion mocked.
Blaine's grip on Kurt's hand tightens, this gives Kurt a slight level of composure. Swallowing hard on the lump in his throat Kurt tries to speak.
"We're not-"
"-interested in what you think of us." Blaine interjects, putting their linked hands on the cool surface of the table.
Kurt stares at his best friend, trying to figure out if he wants to cause a fight.
"My boyfriend and I are proud of who we are and despite what you may think we deserve everything that you do." Blaine continued "You think that you can just throw us dirty looks when we walk into a room just because you 'disapprove' of who we are without even knowing anything about us? Ignorance is not bliss it's just an opportunity to learn more and I think you would benefit from educating yourself. Then maybe you'd see how great my Kurt and everyone else who you deem unworthy in this world actually is. Besides," Blaine added glancing at Kurt with passion radiating from his hazel eyes, "We aren't afraid of you because you can't take away what we have. What we have is special and you may never find it if you keep hurting others and not caring about the consequences of what you do."
Blaine has rendered Kurt speechless and stunned yet again. He had somehow managed to contain his anger and arrange his thoughts into such an amazing speech. Kurt could never keep his calm like that and to be honest the only thing keeping him in the present was Blaine's hand and his amazing words. Those words which he would have to store away to think about later but just as he pushes them into a filing cabinet at the back of this mind two words pop out 'My Kurt'...Kurt decided to hold onto these two, to get him through this mess of a situation, hoping every second that one day they would be true.
Blaine had definitely hit a nerve, this much Kurt could see from the contorted look on the man's face.
"Well, you're- you're just a fag! What would you know?"
The 'f' word is surely what triggers everything that happens next because before Kurt even registers anything, Wes and Thad are holding back Cameron as Jeff tries to get across the table only to be held back by Nick. Blaine's hold on Kurt's hand loosens as he prepares to join in but Kurt squeezes his hand, fastening Blaine's in a death grip. Blaine turns to Kurt at the unexpected pressure and his eyes soften as they meet Kurt's. Kurt knows that his fear for Blaine's safety is clear in his eyes but he doesn't care at the moment. All he actually cares about is this whole thing being over. Luckily Kaylie seems to share his thoughts.
"Linc, Dan, Steve," she addresses each of them, "I've known you since you were kids, your parents used to pay me to babysit you, but I'm not afraid to kick you out. These guys haven't done anything to you-"
"Not yet!" Cameron cuts in while wriggling in Wes and Thad's grasp.
Kaylie turns to him with a raised eyebrow before returning her attention back to the Neanderthals hovering over her petite frame.
"Why don't you just leave before things get out of hand, I'm sure Jim wouldn't mind helping you out, would you Jim?" she continued, raising her voice at the last part and directing it towards the bulky cook at the kitchen window, receiving a grunt in confirmation.
Very hesitantly, the ignorant boys turn around, throwing one last disapproving look at the Warblers, eyes lingering on Kurt and Blaine, before strolling out to a rusty old pick-up truck. The silence inside the diner lasts till the choking of the Chevy's engine finally fades completely.
"I'm so sorry, I knew they had joined the wrong crowd but steeping so low? That was totally unacceptable. Round of sundaes on me?" the brunette offered hopefully.
The waitress' apology seems to kick everyone back into prep-school mode, chivalrously declining her offer and reassuring her, despite their own shock. She couldn't control what others did besides, she shouldn't be the one apologising anyway. But Kurt can see the shame and disappointment in her eyes and nudges Blaine. They manage to have one of their silent conversations, despite the ordeal they had just been through, and Blaine easily turns on him charm.
"Okay, but only if you join us."