Chapter 9

Blaine looked directly in front of him at the guy on the opposite team. He looked at their white jerseys. Every person on this field with a white jersey was the enemy. He looked behind him and saw Ethan at the goal. Ethan was the best goalie the team ever had. No one could score when Ethan was goalie.

Blaine looked back at the guy in front of him.

“Did you bring the mop, Anderson?” the guy in the white jersey said.

Blaine looked at the guy and recognized him right away. It was Alex.

“Yeah, we brought it. Do you want it? Cause you'll be the one needing it,” Blaine said sarcastically.

Alex stared at Blaine with a frown.

The referee placed the lacrosse ball on the grass between Blaine and Alex. Blaine looked down and placed his lacrosse stick right next to the ball. Alex did the same. He placed his lacrosse stick on the opposite side.

As soon as the referee blew the whistle, Blaine moved his lacrosse stick and grabbed the ball. Rule of the game: do not touch the ball with your hands, hold the ball on your lacrosse stick and throw into the other team's goal. Simple rules but a difficult game to play.

Blaine held the game ball with his lacrosse stick and ran directly towards the goal of the other team. He saw two players with white jerseys running to him. They were going to tackle him. Blaine knew he had to act quickly. He looked to his far right and saw Scott wide open. Blaine threw the ball at him and Scott easily caught it. Scott looked at A. J. High School's goal and without moving, he threw the ball to the goal and scored.

McKinley – 1

A. J. – 0

The whole crowd cheered and yelled with excitement. Blaine ran up to Scott and hugged him. First goal of the lacrosse season and it belonged to McKinley. Blaine looked into the crowd and saw Kurt. Kurt was cheering and was holding a poster with Lucy that said, “Go Blaine!” That made Blaine smile.

The rest of the game was great for McKinley. For the first half of the game, McKinley was the one that mostly scored. Scott ended up scoring the second goal again and Blaine scored the third and fourth. Another McKinley team member named Troy ended up scoring the fifth goal and another player named Bryan scored the sixth and seventh.

Ethan was also doing his part. Every time a player from A. J. High School tried to score, Ethan would block it. Every shot that came his way, Ethan would block and save his school.

By halftime, A. J. High School had only scored three points.

McKinley – 7

A. J. – 3

The entire team huddled together and listened to any instructions from Blaine and the coach.

“Okay guys,” Blaine spoke. “The score is 7 to 3 and we're winning. But this doesn't mean we can let our guard down. A. J. is going to try to catch up and they'll be trying really hard to beat us. So keep up all the good work you're doing.”

Ethan spoke. “Also, Lucy has a mop over there. When we win, I'll make sure to hand it to them.”

“Make sure you give to Alex,” Scott said.

The coach looked at Ethan confused. “I don't know what you guys are talking about, but just go out there and win.”

Blaine reached out and put his hand in the center of the guys. “We can win this, guys. I know we can.”

Every team member reached in and put their hands above Blaine's.

“For McKinley!” Ethan yelled.

Every team member yelled into the sky in unison. For McKinley! As Blaine walked out into the field, he looked at the crowd and spotted Kurt waving at him. Blaine waved back and this caused a smile on both their faces.

… … …

Halftime was over and the rest of the game began. Kurt held the poster that he and Lucy made last minute and held it high in the air. He wanted Blaine to know he was rotting for him.

The referee blew his whistle and immediately Blaine had the game ball on his lacrosse stick. A guy from A. J. High School tried to tackle Blaine, but thanks to Blaine's moves and reflexes, he was able to jump out of the way and score for McKinley.

The crowd cheered and screamed with excitement.

McKinley – 8

A. J. – 3

Before this day, Kurt didn't understand the commotion about lacrosse. He didn't get why people at school liked it so much and he could care less about the sport. But now that he was here, it was a whole different story. He was getting to see why people liked the game and why they loved Blaine. Blaine was great. He was really good. He was the reason McKinley was winning.

Kurt noticed that Blaine played a fair game. He was nice and always passed the ball to his teammates and gave them a chance to score. Thanks to Finn and his dad, Kurt knew that in some sports some players were selfish and didn't like to share the spotlight. Some players didn't like to pass the ball and wanted to score every goal themselves.

But not Blaine. Blaine liked to share the spotlight.

McKinley managed to place two more scores. Kurt was really enjoying the game. He would cheer at the appropriate time and even boo when a team member from McKinley would get tackled.

Into the third quarter, Blaine had the ball. Kurt looked at Blaine as he sprinted to the other team's goal and that's when he saw it. He saw a player from A. J. High School running towards him. Oh no. The player from A. J. High School tackled Blaine to the ground and stole the ball from him. The guy that had the ball ran to McKinley's goal and managed to score. Ethan was caught off guard and didn't get to block the ball in time. He was worried and was looking at Blaine in case he was hurt.

McKinley – 10

A. J. – 4

This caused Kurt to get angry. Blaine was still on the ground. The entire crowd began to boo and make a thumbs down. The A. J. High School players cheered but no one was cheering with them. The boos of the crowd drowned any sort of cheer. Looks like there were more Titans fans then Generals.

“What the hell's your problem!?” Lucy yelled.

Kurt looked at Lucy surprised. That was the first time he had ever heard her yell and cuss. But she had every right to yell. Kurt was just as angry as everyone in the crowd. How could someone tackle Blaine? Was he okay?

Ethan, Scott and the entire team from McKinley ran into the field to see if Blaine was okay. Kurt looked at the field too. Was Blaine okay?  Kurt was really worried. But his worry went away when he saw Blaine get up and wave to the crowd. He was okay. He was going to be fine.

The entire crowd burst out cheering when they saw Blaine stand up. Kurt wooed with excitement. Blaine was okay. That was good.

The rest of the game couldn't have gone better. McKinley ended up scoring another point. A. J. had scored none thanks to Ethan's great blocking skills. During the fourth quarter of the game, Scott ended up tackling the guy that tackled Blaine.

“No one hurts my best friend. No one,” Scott told him.

McKinley – 11

A. J. – 4

The last minute of the game was here.

Blaine had the ball on his lacrosse stick and ran to the A. J. High School goal. It was no doubt that McKinley was going to win, but would they score another shot? Would they win with 12 points instead of 11?

Blaine ran to the goal and realized that none of his McKinley teammates were on the field with him. They were all still behind, running to catch up with him. It was now or never. Blaine threw the ball into the goal and it was if time was running in slow motion. The A. J. High School goalie moved to block the ball. But he was too late. The ball entered the goal just as the buzzer sounded.

The game was over.

McKinley – 12

A.J. – 4

Everyone cheered and screamed into the sky. McKinley had won again. Blaine took off his helmet just as Ethan and Scott hugged him and screamed into the sky. Everyone was happy. First win of the season.

Kurt had to admit. He was also really happy. He looked over at Lucy who grabbed the mop from the ground and ran into the field to give Ethan a big hug. Kurt walked over as well to congratulate Blaine. He saw Lucy kiss Ethan and hand him the mop. Similar situation happened to Scott. He was being hugged tightly by his girlfriend. What was her name? Oh right, Kira.

Kurt walked up to Blaine.

“Congratulations,” Kurt told him.

“Thank you,” Blaine said. “Did you have a good time?”

Kurt nodded. “I did. It was fun.”

“I'm glad to hear that. I was really happy when I saw your sign.”

“The ‘Go Blaine' sign? Yep, I had to cheer for my favorite player,” Kurt said. Both boys smiled.

Suddenly Ethan, Scott and their girlfriends walked over to Blaine and Kurt.

“Hey guys,” Ethan said.

Blaine and Kurt looked at them.

“So the four of us are going out to celebrate,” Ethan said. “We want to go eat at some restaurant. Blaine you're going. Kurt, do you want to come with us?”

Kurt looked at them surprised. “Me? Really?”

“Yeah, it'll be fun,” Scott said.

“We usually go to Olive Garden or Chilies,” Lucy said.

Blaine looked at Kurt. “Please go?”

Kurt smiled. “Okay. I'll go.”

“Yes,” Blaine said.

Ethan turned around and yelled at a player from A. J. High School. “Hey, Alex! Alex come over here!”

Alex walked over to the group with a frown.

“This is for you.” Ethan handed Alex the mop. “Don't forget to wipe all your tears as you cry all the way home.”

Kurt tried his best to not laugh. Did stuff like this always happen at lacrosse games? The guy named Alex grabbed the mop and threw it on the floor and left without a word.

“Well that was rude,” Ethan said. “If someone gave me a present, I say thank you.”

Ethan reached down and picked up the mop.

“It's okay Ethan,” Lucy said as she rubbed Ethan's back. “He didn't deserve your present.”

Blaine turned around and saw his parents and grandma walking over to him.

“Blaine! I'm so happy,” his grandmother said as she hugged Blaine.

Kurt looked at Blaine's parents. This was the first time he saw them in person. And they looked like really nice people.

“Good job, Son,” Blaine's father said as he hugged his son.

“I knew you'd win. I knew it all along,” his mother said, giving Blaine a big hug.

“Thanks Mom, Dad, Grandma,” Blaine said.

Every one of Blaine's friends went over and gave his grandmother a hug. Ethan kept his arms around her while Scott, Lucy and Kira hugged her individually.

“How are you, Liz?” Ethan asked.

“I'm good, sweetie. Doing very good,” Blaine's grandmother replied.

Liz. Everyone called her Liz. That was her nickname. She insisted everyone call her by a nickname because it made her feel young again. And she picked the name, Liz.

She looked at Kurt and smiled. “Kurt, darling, I didn't know you came to the games,” she said while reaching out to give Kurt a hug.

Kurt hugged her back. “It's my first game actually.”

Blaine's mother looked over at Ethan and Scott. “Congratulations boys. You were all great as well.”

Blaine's dad looked at Scott. “Scott, thanks for tackling that guy that hurt Blaine.” Everyone agreed and thanked Scott.

Blaine turned a little red. “Thanks everyone. I'm glad you all care.”

His mother looked at Blaine. “Blaine, we're going home now. Are you and your friends planning to celebrate your first win of the season?”

“We're planning to go eat at Olive Garden,” Blaine said. “So I'll probably be home around 8:30.”

“Okay, just not too late. It's still a school night.” Both of Blaine's parents gave him a goodbye hug and left. His grandmother stayed behind and gave Blaine a 50 dollar bill.

“Buy yourself a big dinner. You've earned it,” she said as she kissed him goodbye and left.

“Alright guys,” Ethan said. “Are you all ready? Because I'm starving.”

“We'll meet you there,” Blaine said. “Which Olive Garden are we going to?”

“The one by Berkley Lake,” Scott said.

“Okay, meet you there.”

Both Ethan and Scott left to their cars and held hands with their girlfriends. Blaine looked at Kurt. “Come on Kurt. We'll go in my car.”

Kurt agreed. “Sounds good.”

The boys walked to Blaine's car and Kurt thought to himself. Today had certainly taken a turn of events.

… … …

Blaine turned off the car as he and Kurt arrived to Olive Garden. He turned his head looking around the parking lot. “I don't see Scott or Ethan's cars anywhere. Looks like we beat them here.” Blaine sat back and looked at Kurt. “I was really happy when I saw you at the game.”

“Of course I would be there, Blaine. And I'm glad I went.”

Blaine looked at him and smiled, showing his beautiful eyes. There was something about those eyes that made Kurt just smile back.

Blaine looked down at his lacrosse jersey. “We're about to eat at a public place. I should change out of my dirty jersey,” Blaine said. “Where's my gym bag?”

Blaine looked at the back seat of the car and spotted his gym bag. Kurt looked surprised at Blaine. Wait. Was Blaine going to change into his clothes? Now? Blaine got out of the car and closed the door. He opened the back door and got inside.

“I always carry a clean set of clothes. Can you do me a favor Kurt? ”

“Yeah,” Kurt responded.

“Can you tell me if anyone walks by? I'm going to change into my clothes back here.”

“Sure,” Kurt said.

Kurt looked around. The coast was clear. There was no one around to see Blaine change. They were parked away from the restaurant towards the back, so no one was around. Kurt heard Blaine moving in the back. He didn't see what Blaine was doing, but by the sound of things, he assumed Blaine had just taken off his shirt. Kurt glimpsed at the rear-view mirror and saw Blaine shirtless. Blaine then took off his pants and Kurt saw him in his jockstrap.

Kurt looked away immediately as his heart was beating fast. Blaine was basically naked in the back. Oh god Blaine. Naked. In the back. Suddenly, he realized he was getting hard. He was getting a boner. The sight of Blaine in this situation was turning him on. Kurt looked out the window and returned to his job. No one was around. That was good.

He heard Blaine put on his pants and shirt. Kurt looked at the mirror to check if he was right and yeah he was right. Blaine was in his normal, everyday clothes.

“All done. Thanks,” Blaine said.

“You're welcome,” Kurt responded.

Kurt looked away from the mirror as Blaine got out of the car and got in the front seat. Blaine took out his phone to see if either Ethan or Scott had texted him. When he saw no messages, he put away his phone back in his pocket. The two boys sat in silence for a few seconds.

“Hey Kurt,” Blaine said, breaking the silence.

Kurt looked at him. “Yeah?”

“I… I-uh, I wanted to ask you something,” Blaine said.

“Sure, what is it?”

“I umm… I was wondering… if you…” Before Blaine could finish his sentence, he heard someone knocking at his window. He turned around and saw Ethan. Even though the door was closed, the boys could easily hear Ethan.

“Come on you two. Let's go,” Ethan said.

Blaine and Kurt got out of the car and closed the doors. They saw the same group of people as before: Ethan, Lucy, Scott and Kira. Kurt noticed the boys had removed their lacrosse uniforms and were also in their normal clothes. Scott's girlfriend walked up to Kurt.

“Hi Kurt, I don't think we've officially met. My name's Kira.” Kira reached out and shook Kurt's hand.

“Nice to meet you, Kira,” Kurt shook her hand back.

Kira had long, straight, black hair and her eyes were a nice, brown color. Just like Lucy, Kurt had never spoken to her. Until now. The group entered the restaurant and were immediately greeted by a waiter.

“Welcome to Olive Garden,” the waiter said. “How many?”

“Six people,” Blaine said.

“Okay. Please wait while we set your table.” The waiter turned back and disappeared into the crowd of people.

It was a full night. Kurt looked at the place and loved how beautiful it was. Never in his mind had he ever thought he would he having dinner with Blaine and his friends.

… … …

After a couple of minutes, the waiter came back and took the group to their table. Kurt took a seat and Blaine sat next to him. They all ordered drinks and looked at their menus. Kurt was overhearing and it looked like Kira and Scott were going to share their dinner and also Ethan and Lucy were sharing a plate.

Blaine turned to talk to Kurt. “Hey Kurt, want to share a plate together? I'll buy it for the both of us.”

Kurt looked at him. “Wait Blaine, are you sure? You don't have to pay for all of it. We can split it.”

“I'll be happy to pay. Please?” Blaine pleaded.

Kurt thought about it.

“Please-e-e. I really want to.” Blaine gave Kurt puppies eyes and that was it. Kurt could not say no to those eyes.

“Okay, you can buy it. But next time we have dinner, I'm buying.”

Blaine smiled and showed Kurt the menu. “So, what do you want to share?”

Kurt looked at the menu. There were so many delicious plates. He then spotted one of his favorites. “How does spaghetti sound?” he asked.

Blaine nodded. “Spaghetti sounds delicious.”

The rest of the afternoon was great. The group spent the dinner chatting and telling jokes. Since none of them really knew Kurt, they mostly asked him questions and got to know him more. Kurt happily answered their questions. Whenever the group started to talk about a topic Kurt could not relate to, the friends would tell Kurt what they were talking about and include him in their conversation. They made sure he didn't feel left out.

They were all nice people. All of them. They weren't bad. Not at all. They were all sweet, kind, and fun. Why did the Glee Club hate them so much? Kurt knew no one in the Glee Club liked the lacrosse players, but what was the reason? They were all great people.

When the food came, Kurt loved that he was sharing his dish with Blaine. It made him smile.

“Okay, I have a joke,” Ethan said.

The entire table paid their attention to Ethan.

“Okay, so since we're at Olive Garden, an Italian restaurant, this joke is very appropriate,” Ethan said. “What do you call a fake noodle?”

Everyone at the table stayed silent.

“An impasta!” Ethan said laughing. “Get it because impasta sounds like imposter? And the noodle was being fake. So he's an imposter, but I said impasta.”

Kurt was the only one who chuckled. Everyone else was silent.

Blaine looked at Kurt. “Kurt, you don't have to pretend Ethan is funny,” Blaine jokingly said out loud.

“Hey, I heard that!” Ethan said from across from the table.

Both Blaine and Kurt started laughing.

“Okay fine, what about this joke? What did the baby light bulb say to the momma light bulb?” Ethan asked.

“What?” Lucy asked.

“I love you watts and watts,” Ethan said giggling.

Again no one laughed.

“You guys all suck. Except for you Kurt. You're pretty cool,” Ethan said.

“It was a lame joke,” Scott said.

“No it wasn't. It was a cute and funny joke. You know how light bulbs are measured by watts? And you know how babies nowadays don't talk normally? They put the letter ‘w' in front of every word? Example, ‘I wove you.' So instead of the baby light bulb saying ‘I love you lots and lots,' the baby light bulb said ‘I love you watts and watts.'”

“Yeah, I get, it's just not funny,” Scott said with a smile.

“You suck.” Ethan told Scott. Ethan then turned to Lucy. “That was a funny joke, right baby?”

“I love you,” that was the only thing Lucy said, not bothering to answer Ethan's question.

“You suck too,” Ethan said.

Kurt laughed to himself at the humor of these people. He was just about done with his share of the spaghetti. And it was good. He looked over at Blaine. “I'm going to the bathroom to wash my hands. Be right back,” Kurt said.

“Okay, we'll be here. We're not going anywhere without you,” Blaine said.

Kurt stood up from the table and walked over to the bathroom to wash his hands. He was really happy. He was smiling all the way. He was having a good time. Before Kurt could enter the bathroom, he heard a familiar voice.

“Kurt?”

Oh no. Not now. Not now.

Kurt turned around and saw Finn.

“Kurt?” Finn asked again. “What are you doing here?”

Kurt remained speechless. He didn't know what to say. What could he say? He thought quick and said the first idea that came to his mind.

“I was in the mood for Italian food. I decided to come to Olive Garden and order some spaghetti.”

“Wow, crazy coincidence, Rachel and I were also in the mood for Italian.”

Kurt looked behind Finn and saw Rachel at a table, an empty plate in front of her. She waved hello when she saw Kurt. Had Rachel and Finn always been there? It was clear they didn't see Kurt hanging out with the lacrosse players. Otherwise they would have been angry.

Kurt and Finn walked over to Rachel.

“Hi Kurt,” Rachel said smiling. “I didn't know you were here. We could have sat together.”

Kurt had to come up with some quick lies. “Yeah, I was here with a couple people in my Math class. We were working on a project after school and came here for dinner. I was craving spaghetti and it was delicious.”

“People from school are here?” Rachel asked.

“Yeah, but they just left,” Kurt told her.

“They just left without you?” Finn asked.

“Yeah, I told them to. I told them I'd catch the bus and go to school to get my car,” Kurt said.

“Well no need to catch the bus to school,” Finn said. “We'll give you a ride. We were just about to leave.”

Rachel stood up and grabbed her purse.

“How long have you been here?” Kurt asked curiously.

“About an hour,” Rachel said.

An hour!? That meant they got here around the same time that he, Blaine and the lacrosse players did.

Finn and Rachel walked to the exit of the restaurant.

“Hey guys,” Kurt said. “I'm going to the bathroom really quick. Be right back.”

“Okay,” Rachel responded as she and Finn left the building.

Kurt walked back to the table to Blaine and his friends.

“Blaine,” Kurt said.

Blaine looked up at him and smiled. “Hey.”

“I have some bad news. I really need to leave. My brother is here and he said he'll give me a ride to school.”

The smile on Blaine's face disappeared. “Oh, okay. Sorry you have to go. I wish you didn't.”

“I'm so sorry,” Kurt said. “But congratulations on your win today. And thank you for dinner.”

“I understand,” Blaine said. “I'll see you at school tomorrow.”

Kurt waved goodbye to everyone and they all waved back. “Goodbye Kurt.” “See you later.” “It was nice meeting you,” they all said.

Kurt waved goodbye to Blaine and Blaine waved back. It hurt Kurt a little on the inside as he left the building and got into Finn's car.

“All good?” Rachel asked.

“Yeah, all good,” Kurt replied.

But honestly he was not good at all. He didn't want to leave. He wanted to continue spending time with Blaine. He was starting to like him. Just seeing him made him smile and happy. Being in Blaine's presence gave him butterflies and wonderful laughter. Being with Blaine was all Kurt wanted. Even if Blaine didn't feel the same way back. He just wanted to be with him. But at this point, what could he do?