"Oh," Kurt uttered softly, not knowing what else to reply with. There he was in his suit, all ready for homecoming, but for a completely different reason than Kurt had wished for. Kurt didn't anticipate that seeing Blaine dressed like this would take his breath away, either. Blaine was staring at him, a completely new expression on his face; he could hardly begin to describe it. It was filled with wonder and marvel and longing and so many more emotions—to that point Kurt couldn't imagine that it was possible to convey so many intricate feelings through just two irises.

"Excuse me, but what the hell is going on?" Burt broke up their short, shared moment. His cheeks were tinged pink as he glanced back and forth from his son to Blaine.

"I...well...I've recently come out to my parents; Kurt helped me. A lot. It was...hard, but since he made the process so much more endurable for me, I'd like to take Kurt with me to, er, tell everyone else."

Burt sent him an incredulous look. He seemed to be as shocked as Kurt, but again for another reason. "I didn't think—this is—you're not going to use my son as a little, I don't know, show-horse to parade around so you can say 'here, I took the only other gay kid at school with me to show that I'm gay'? My son is a human-"

"Yes, yes, I am well aware of that, Mr. Hummel," Blaine answered, laughing a little. "I just don't want him to be alone in that anymore. He is also far too handsome to not have a date on such a night," Kurt did a double-take, as did Burt, "Kurt was the one to suggest I come out at homecoming, and what better way than this?" He had basically followed through with Kurt's idea, but took it to a whole other level...a level that Kurt was not entirely opposed to...

"I can think of a few—" Burt began to grumble, but was interrupted by Blaine.

"So what do you say?" He interrupted Kurt's thoughts as he turned to him, his heartwarming gaze trained on the freshman. Kurt stood there like a deer frozen in the headlights, not knowing what to say. He tried to weigh the pros and cons, but he couldn't, since there didn't seem to be any cons. He was sure that there were plenty of reasons why he shouldn't go with Blaine, but he couldn't see them, and frankly didn't want to. Perhaps it was the "handsome" comment that pushed him over the edge, but simply the fact that Blaine had come back overwhelmed him.

"I'll go with you, Blaine," he stated after a tense silence, and Blaine's face broke into the most incredible smile that put all of the lights in the room to shame. "As long as it's okay with my dad, I guess," he ducked his head in embarrassment, considering that they were experiencing the much-abused, tired tradition of asking for a father's permission for any excursions. He awaited his father's reply, but it came quickly, much to his surprise.

"You two get together; I need to get my camera," he sighed in defeat, and left the room. Kurt looked up to meet Blaine's excited gaze: he made his way over to the freshman and stood before him. Blaine opened his mouth to speak, but Kurt cut him off.

"Don't say you're sorry, because you have no reason to be," he began, knowing that he'd basically read Blaine's mind. "I was too harsh on you, and I'm sorry for being such an ass-hat."

"'Ass-hat?'" Blaine grinned at the insult, "I was thinking more of a bad friend, but I guess I can deal with an ass-hat, as long as it's fashionable," Kurt smacked him lightly, his cheeks coloring. "Seriously, though, thanks. I wasn't sure if I was being really unreasonable, well, not talking to you and the. Asking you for this," he gestured towards their suits and matching ties, since Kurt started to put his red one on, "is out of the blue and out there, considering how I reacted to when you asked me to go with you, but I think you understand why I responded in that way."

"I do now-I was just being really stupid, I don't know what got into me. When I asked you the other day about going you seemed kind of on the fence about it, and I thought that if we kind of went together, having me there to...support you or whatever, you'd be more open to it."

"That's partially it," Blaine winked, and the bright flash of a camera interrupted them. A hand crept around Kurt's waist, sending a silent thrill through his body as Blaine pulled him closer to pose for the camera. "You could've given us some warning, Mr. Hummel, I was probably making some ridiculous face!" He complained, but smiled.

"Candids, Blaine, candids! You should be used to it with cheerleading, right? Now, look over here," Burt said, and the two boys grinned at the camera. Kurt was hardly aware of any of his surroundings aside from the hand resting on his hip, the arm draped across his back, just Blaine as a whole being in such a close proximity to him. He stole a quick glance up at his date, who was looking at the camera with an inexplicable look of absolute joy on his face. A white flash notified Kurt that his father had captured the quick moment. "Eyes over here, kid!"

Thankfully, Burt only took a couple more pictures before he told the boys that they should get going. "Call me if...if anything happens," he added with a hint of worry in his voice as he escorted them outside, and they nodded. Kurt had a nagging feeling that his father was more nervous for Kurt than he was for Blaine.

"Thanks for everything, Mr. Hummel. I'll have him back by 10." Blaine said as he shook hands with Kurt's dad before getting into his car. Burt nodded and retreated to the house, turning at the door to watch them get into the car and leave.

"Are you sure you're okay with me taking you as an actual date?" Blaine queried, breaking the minute-long silence that had fallen in the car after they departed from Kurt's house. Kurt still flinched at the term; it was so new and unfamiliar.

"To be honest, I'm not sure how I feel about it." he answered truthfully, "I just—we're not...going out, right? You know..." he didn't want to say the word, but let it hang unsaid in the air. Blaine seemed to understand.

"No, not if you don't want to," he answered quickly, a strange tone to his voice. Kurt ignored it and decided to divulge his worries to Blaine.

"Cool...the only thing is, I'm starting to get nervous about how people will react when they see...us. Mostly about how you're taking me, a freshman. How are they going to perceive you?"

"It won't matter when they find out I'm gay. Who else at school is gay, or as attractive as you?" Blaine answered slyly, and Kurt's jaw fell slightly open.What the hell has gotten into him?He remembered the last time Blaine showed romantic interest in him, and that had not gone over so well—that was purely physical, though. This was...different. He was blatantly flirting with him, and Kurt didn't know what to do. "Okay, so here's the plan," Blaine changed the subject, "we walk in, arm-in-arm, and if anyone asks, I say that you're my date, and if they have a problem they can fuck off."

"I don't think they'll like that, Blaine." Kurt answered, feeling a little light-headed at the thought of being arm-in-arm with Blaine. "You don't want to..." He hated himself for bringing the past up, but he had to. The thought of Blaine getting hurt again could very nearly kill him. "No, it won't happen. We won't let them...they can't touch us."

"You may be a little scrawny freshman, but I didn't join Dalton's fight club just for shits and giggles. We can take them on together."

"No, Blaine, I didn't mean that we'dhitthem. Anyway, aren't you not supposed to talk about the fight club?"

And it was just like old times, back to their lively banter from the past few weeks.

"KURT!" Rachel screamed as she attacked him with a huge hug. They were standing in the school gym as others began to arrive. "Hi, Blaine," she addressed the boy next to him as she pulled away from Kurt. "I guess you two made up?"

"More than made up; he's my date tonight," Blaine said proudly, and took Kurt's arm. Rachel's mouth fell open.

"You aren't—wait—Kurt, why didn't you tell me you were going out?" She sputtered angrily, and Kurt blanched.

"No no no, we're not going out, we're just...I'm helping him come out to the school, okay?" Kurt responded quickly. Blaine nodded his head, his expression unreadable.

"Oh, it's about time then!" Rachel said. Just at that moment Mercedes walked past them, and Rachel grabbed her arm. "Mercedes, look at how cute they are!" She stared at Kurt and Blaine, just as surprised as Rachel.

"Is this a joke?" she asked in disbelief. "I was 95% sure that Blaine was straight and had an inability to attract anyone due to his lack of a sociable personality, or rather, any personality at all."

"Nope, I'm 100% gay, and if you're going to treat me like that then I can be like that," Blaine countered, and Mercedes held her hands up in defeat.

"C'mon, Blaine, no need to attack her," Kurt groaned, his mouth feeling like sandpaper as he realized that the last time he drank anything was immediately after the game. "I'm going to get something to drink; do any of you want anything?"

"No, I need to take pictures of you two! You look so cute with your matching tie and bow tie," Rachel ordered as she took out her camera from her clutch. "Yeah, put your heads together, just like that..."

After a second photo shoot with Rachel (she was even worse than his father, since she insisted on taking a large variety of pictures including the four of them), Kurt was finally free to retrieve drinks. He stood at the punch bowl and was about to take some when a hand grabbed his wrist.

"Hey pretty boy, you might want to be careful with this, you might intoxicate you and your precious little boyfriend over there." Santana leaned over and took a whiff of the drink, her nose scrunching up. "Yep, there's definitely an alcoholic stench to that drink, but I don't think it's Puckerman since he hasn't come yet. I wouldn't give any to Gay Warbler over there if I were you, since he likes getting handsy with boys when he's trashed. I, on the other hand, am the opposite." She sent him a malicious grin as she took the ladle and poured herself a cup. Kurt opted for a water bottle, but looked at her through narrowed eyes.

"We're not going out, Santana." He had not forgotten that she started the whole Finn fiasco.

"All right, Lady, whatever you say." She replied nonchalantly and took a sip from her beverage. Kurt took a step towards her, his nostrils flaring in anger.

"If you tell anyone that we're boyfriends I'll tell everyone how you love Brittany." He knew that he struck gold as he watched Santana's snide smile dissipate instantly. He somehow managed to mask his shock that his guess was a fact.

"Who told you, Blaine?" She asked, her voice small.

"No one. I could tell." It was partially true. Kurt noticed how close the two of them were, closer than most girls. He may or may not have overheard some rather personal conversations in the locker room between them as well.

She glared at him for a few seconds. "Fine, Porcelain, we're even. If you utter a word, I will ruin you and everything you love, got it?" Kurt nodded, and she turned and left.

"What's her problem?" Kurt whirled around to find that Blaine had just arrived behind him. He handed him his water wordlessly and shrugged his shoulder. "Whatever, let's go dance!" He took Kurt's hand and dragged him out to the dance floor where an agglutination of students had formed, despite Kurt's many protests that he couldn't dance.

There was something about the combination of Blaine dancing like a madman and the bass vibrating throughout his entire body that let something cut loose within Kurt. He followed Blaine's moves, laughing hysterically as they waved and twirled like idiots. They occasionally bumped into each other, sparks flying at their every touch, but Kurt didn't say a word about it. Rachel, Mercedes, and Tina joined them at some point and they jammed together, sometimes shouting about how they should sing the song playing at Glee club. Eventually, however, a slow song came on, which cued all of the couples to invade the dance floor in place of all of the single people.

"Can we go outside and get some air?" Blaine asked Kurt quietly as they watched boys and girls intertwined and swaying along with the slow beat, and he bobbed his head in agreement.

They walked out of the building and sat at one of the lunch tables next to each other; from what Kurt could tell, they were alone. He was still hot and a little sweaty from being inside, so the cold fall zephyrs were rather comforting. They sat in silence, taking in the beautiful night.

"Blaine?" Kurt said, and finally captured his attention. A soft breeze rustled their clothing and sent a small shiver through the both of them. "Why...me?"

Blaine sent him a questioning look. "What do you mean? We made up; we're friends. You know, you came up with this idea!"

"No," Kurt said; he didn't come up with the whole...date-date thing, but that was not what he was referring to, "why me...all this time? Why didn't you give up on me?" Blaine's expression changed from smiling to that same damn look he was wearing when he first saw Kurt in his house hours earlier. It pierced Kurt—it was as if he was unconsciously trying to convey a message to him that he couldn't decipher.

"Kurt," he began softly, letting the harsh syllable release from his tongue so lightly, so tenderly, "I feel like I've always known there was something...different about you. No, I mean, not a bad different, and not like weird different, but different...to me. Earlier, I didn't know how to deal with my feelings. I was so naive, and every day I regret how I treated you. I know I'm echoing that day at the park, but... you made me...softer, and I'm much happier that way. You helped me break down all of the thick walls I built up around myself. Everything's changed for me-especially after Glee yesterday.

"While you were singing Blackbird...it clicked. It's like...you know how it's a known fact that the world is spinning and constantly moving, but you can never feel it? The earth is traveling at such a fast speed...the ground beneath us, rotating on an invisible axis-yet here we are, completely stationary. How can we prove that it's moving? How do we know that it's the earth rotating and not the clouds suspended in the sky, or the stars scattered in the black canvas up there," he looked upwards; Kurt followed suit. "They've done so many experiments to prove this, theories upon theories, and it's accepted as truth. It's something that lingers in your mind, an unconscious whisper that sometimes reminds you, 'holy crap, the ground below you ismoving,' but it's just a tiny piece of general information that doesn't matter because you can't physically witness it. It's there, but it's not: you question its verity, but let it be." Kurt returned his gaze to Blaine, who he was surprised to find was staring back at him.

"When you were singing yesterday...I could feel the floor underneath me, hell, the entire room just...moving. It becamereal. I can feel us moving right now." He places his hand on Kurt's, which was sitting in reach on the bench. Kurt suppressed a surprised scream, swallowing it as it traveled up his throat. Blaine's hand was gentle and warm, barely there and completely present at the same time. It fit perfectly with Kurt's, his palm caressing the hard bones and knuckles sheathed by milky skin. "Can you feel it, this bench, your feet on the ground, your body traveling so quickly?"

Kurt was touched by his speech, considering that his song made him feel this way, but didn't quite understand the point of it. He was rambling on about science-related things, which he did not really care for. "No..." He answered truthfully, even though he could feel Blaine's pulse thumping against his skin at a very fast pace.

Blaine let out a small laugh, and then changed his expression to that unfathomable stare, his eyes locked on Kurt's again. "Interesting...I feel this way because...because I realizeyoumake the world turn-at least for me. You move me, Kurt." A beat. Kurt could feel his heart hammering in his throat, a pleasant humming in his head, as he watched Blaine near him. "I just...I've been looking for you forever, and the moment finally came. The moment when I realized you'rehere. You've always been here..."

Blaine let his voice trail off as his blazing gaze tore from Kurt's eyes to his lips. Kurt sat as still as a statue, watching Blaine with wide eyes as he leaned in, closer and closer. Time turned to molasses as he felt Blaine's warm breath sigh against his lips, his head turning to the side as his eyes fluttered shut, long black eyelashes fanning across his cheeks. He could not believe what was taking place, but took no action to resist, because he wanted this. He felt his own eyes close as something unfamiliar hesitantly brushed against his lips.

The gentle contact instantaneously gave way into a fervent collision; Kurt felt his lips become consumed with Blaine's lustful, Chapstick-covered ones, and God, they were delicious. His brain momentarily short-circuited as Blaine kissed him. It seemed as if he was trying to translate all of his passion into that one touch of their mouths. When Kurt's mind began to work again after a few blissful seconds, he realized that his hand had unconsciously found Blaine's cheek, caressing it and urging him to kiss him harder. He also realized that he was kissing him back, his mouth working furiously against Blaine's. His mouth fell open at the revelation, and Blaine took it as an invitation to slowly introduce his tongue. Kurt wasn't sure what it was, whether it was from reading and watching too many Nicholas Sparks movies or just instinct, but his body responded so enthusiastically that little fireworks exploded behind his shut eyelids.

As the world around him began to spin from lack of air, Blaine finally ended the kiss with an audiblesmack, staring up at Kurt with heavily-lidded eyes. Kurt's body was completely numb; a strange contrast to while Blaine was kissing him when his nerves were hypersensitive. His hand hit the table hard as it left Blaine's smooth cheek. Blaine turned away and brought his hand to his mouth, obviously trying to hide a smile.

"Are...are you okay?" he asked after a few moments while Kurt tried to gain his bearings.

"I...I don't know. Can we—I think we need to do that again so I can figure my feelings out." He had no idea where the response came from; his hormone-addled brain somehow thought it up in his bewildered state.

Blaine responded with so much enthusiasm that Kurt nearly fell over: he had to grip the table with his hand. Their noses clashed as their mouths hungrily attacked each other, hot and wet in the cool, arid night. Fingers threaded through the back of Kurt's parted hair, pushing Kurt's face closer to Blaine's.

"Kurt, Blaine?" They broke apart quickly at the sound of Tina's voice. Kurt fixed his mussed hair and stood up when Tina came into view; his knees nearly buckled from the aftermath of his latest interaction with Blaine. "They're going to announce homecoming court now," she called out from the stairs. She obviously had not seen anything—Kurt let out a sigh of relief. Blaine grunted as he got up.

"I'm not done with you," he whispered as they returned to the gym.

It was just twenty to ten, and Kurt was sitting down in a chair, feeling exhausted. Quinn had unsurprisingly won homecoming queen, with Finn as her king. He danced again with the others, a new beat drumming in his chest that stuttered every time his eyes met Blaine's. There was an unspoken bond between them; Kurt had no idea if the others noticed. All he knew was that his gaze fell on Blaine's lips an unhealthy amount. He couldn't stop replaying their velvety feel on his own.

Another slow song came on, and a shadow overcame Kurt. Blaine stood in front of him, a hand outstretched. "I know you're tired, but do you think you can handle one last dance with me?"

Without a thought, Kurt nodded and took his hand; they stuck together like magnets. He felt as if he was floating as they walked into the crowd holding hands. They stood amongst indiscernible couples, the 3/4 beat leading their heartbeats. Blaine took a hold of Kurt's thin waist as Kurt hesitantly placed his hands on Blaine's broad shoulders. As they grew accustomed to this contact, they began to move along with the song; Blaine's hands felt so natural at his hips, and Kurt found that it was more comfortable to wrap his arms around Blaine's neck, letting his hands rest between his shoulder blades. He was lucky that Blaine was just a little taller than him.

"Are you glad you went?" Kurt asked, feeling the need to break the silence. Blaine's hands squeezed his hips in response.

"More than glad. I did a little more than come out, didn't I?" He grinned and swooped down to peck Kurt's cheek. Embarrassed yet flattered, Kurt ducked his head so Blaine couldn't see his flushed cheeks.

"No one really seemed to notice, though," Kurt mumbled, realizing that their plan basically failed as only members of the Glee club commented on it. A few fingers found Kurt's chin and lifted it so he was looking into Blaine's eyes.

"Do you want them to? Through...through us?" Blaine inquired, his hand creeping up to stroke Kurt's cheek with his thumb.

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked, feeling as if he already knew the answer.

"Oh God, I'm the worst at this, aren't I?" Blaine grinned, "I mean that I want to walk down the halls of this school with you, holding hands." His free hand reached behind his back to grab one of Kurt's and brought it between their chests. "I want to kiss you goodbye before we go to our classes." The hand on his cheek moved to graze Kurt's lips, smiling as he probably remembered how they felt on his. "I want to take you out to Breadstix and have un-spiked beverages, unlike here." The tension broke for a second, but then returned as Blaine beseeched Kurt with his eyes. "What I'm trying to say is, I want to be able to call you my boyfriend, Kurt. I've never done this before, and I don't want to screw this up."

"I've never done this either, but I think we won't be able to say that anymore," Kurt answered, and Blaine sighed in response.

"You always know exactly what to say." Blaine's hands were back on his hips; Kurt's cheek was pressing into his chest. He looked up at the clock on the wall opposite of them and felt reality begin to set in again.

"You're not going to like what I have to say now, because we have to go if you don't want to piss off my father." Blaine groaned and pushed them apart. The song ended on cue, and everyone began to disperse. Kurt led him towards the door and they exited the building, saying a quick goodbye to Glee members as they left. They headed towards Blaine's car, a brisk breeze urging them forward.

"Is it okay if we keep this...private?" Kurt asked as they began to drive away from the school. Blaine stole a quick glance towards Kurt, a questioning look on his face.

"Why? I thought you were okay with this, and people need to find out somehow," Blaine said, hurt evident in his voice.

"I am, I am, and I understand, but...people will find out somehow, and I don't think Coach will like it too much. Don't think that I'm just coming up with excuses," he clarified, "but I'm pretty sure she wouldn't take too kindly to her captain dating another member on the squad. You know her better than I do."

"You're right, actually; last year this guy tried to join the Cheerios with the obvious motive to get together with this girl and Coach found out—she told him that unless he cut off his balls he couldn't join the team. I don't want to lose—yeah, I think we should wait...at least until the football season is over. God, that's such a long time, and right after that is basketball season, so it never really ends." Blaine griped. "We'll just have to go to the Lima Bean incognito tomorrow, I guess."

"Is that your way of asking me out?" Kurt asked as he turned onto his street.

"I really need to work on this, don't I?" Blaine replied.

"No, it's kind of cute," Kurt confessed before thinking, and felt his cheeks warm as he watched Blaine's smile widen. He pulled into Kurt's driveway and parked the car. "So, what time?"

"I'll let you know when I walk you up to the door," Blaine responded as he got out of the car, surprising Kurt. He walked over and opened the passenger side for Kurt, finally able to hear his many protests.

"My dad is either going to be passed out on the couch or he's peering through the windows right now; I don't want to risk it!" He objected, but let Blaine pull him up from his seat.

"Loosen up, Hummel," Blaine leaned over and kissed Kurt on the mouth with such intensity that it made his head spin. "There, your dad couldn't see that; I was planning to do that at your doorstep like some typical romance movie, but that'll have to do." Kurt smiled up at him, still a little dazed as they meandered over to the door.

"One o'clock, is that okay?" Blaine whispered in Kurt's ear as he pulled him into a hug.

"Sounds like a plan," Kurt answered, and let go, waving his fingers at Blaine's retreating figure as he opened the door and entered. He felt a little regret in his stomach when he saw that Burt was nowhere to be found, and stayed by the window to watch Blaine's Pathfinder drive away, something ballooning in his heart. He stayed there for a moment, trying to drink in the fact that that was hisboyfriendthat just kissed him—three times that night, as a matter of fact. After what felt like a long time, Kurt decided it was time for the incredible night to end and go to sleep.

Upon further inspection, he discovered that as he suspected, Burt was asleep on the couch.