“I missed you too, Hummel.” Puck laughed a bit then turned to Blaine with a tilt of his head. “That would make you that Blaine kid I’ve been hearing about, right?”

Blaine didn’t answer. His eyes squinted with a bit of confusion at Puck. Seeing so, Puck rolled his eyes before shaking his head. “I know what you’re doing.” Blaine just tilted his head, becoming more confused than a second ago.

“Jesus! Burt has another son – well step, Finn. I’m pretty sure you already knew that though. He’s kept us all in the loop about what’s been going on with you and this one.” Puck threw a light nod over at Kurt before shrugging.

“You know, I thought you were this smart kid for doing all of this but I guess Finn’s finally been tackled too many times.” Kurt, who had been standing there the whole time, decided to finally step in.

“Before you were about to show yourself out, Puckerman, because really? It’s rude to interrupt.” He pursed his lips in an all knowing look. “What did you do to land yourself in here?”

“Drove into a convenience store and left with the ATM. No biggie.” Puck explained nonchalantly, walking away to leave the music room. He got to the doorway and stopped, turning back to Blaine and Kurt before he strode out. “Wrap it up. You’ve got about 5 minutes before the rest of us pile in here.”

Kurt dismissed any feeling of emotion that built up regarding Puck’s surprising entrance. He was able to put them off and deal with those later seeing as Puck would be around more often. Blaine on the other hand, wouldn’t be and he had to take the opportunity to sort things out now.

“Blaine,” He said in a soft voice. “Puck, including everyone else besides me apparently knows what you’re doing here.” Folding his arms across his chest, he pleaded. “Why do they get to know and I don’t?”

It killed Blaine to hear the pain in Kurt’s voice, the yearning for truth. But he couldn’t just come out and tell Kurt why he was really here. He wouldn't allow it. “Why does it matter?”

Trying to avoid Kurt’s question, he moved back behind the piano. He retreated to what he was originally doing before Kurt came into the room. Fidgeting with some sheet music, Blaine was sure to downcast his gaze.

He couldn’t look at Kurt. He knew he would be able to see right through him. He always could. “It matters to me.” Kurt replied automatically, walking over in front of the piano. “Listen.” He rested his hands on top of the piano with a bang. Not a loud bang, but a bang loud enough that made Blaine look up.

“We don’t have time to leisurely dance around the subject, Blaine. Clearly, you volunteering at Crawford wasn’t such a coincidence as I thought. So I need to know why you’re here.” Blaine tentatively opened his mouth, words desperate to come out.

Unfortunately, they did not and Kurt realized that maybe the softer approach wasn’t going to cut it. “Now!” Blaine flinched at the harshness of Kurt’s voice and it snapped him back into reality. “That’s why I’m here. That attitude.”

Kurt all but rolled his eyes before Blaine continued. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand why you didn’t come to me, Kurt. And don’t use the whole not-your-problem-I’m-a-burden excuse either. You knew I would have helped you. I bet you didn’t even consider coming to me, did you?”

Blaine’s eyes pierced through Kurt, who was standing there taking everything in. Scoffing, Blaine started again. “When I heard what happened, it broke me. I wasn’t going to sit there and let my best friend rot in here when I knew he shouldn’t be. So essentially, I went to Burt. We talked. He filled me in on what was happening. Need I remind you, this was the same week you landed in here.”

Kurt’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped. That was how many months ago? “I wanted to visit you but he wasn’t going to give up his time with you. And I respected that. So he’d tell me how you were doing, looking, acting. So you could imagine how displeased I was to hear you changed. And I wasn’t going to have that. I came up with a plan, with your father’s approval, to try to coax you out of your new ways.

I’d volunteer here. Well, I’d try. It wasn’t easy. They wanted the best of the best and I had to work my way there. I needed experience. I had to do some other volunteer work before this. Those annual performances Wes has arranged us since last year at the nursing homes around Westerville paid off.

Then the whole “female only staff” thing didn’t help either. The only way I was going to be able to work here was as a guard and seeing as I don’t meet the physical requirements that idea was out. So I pulled a few strings, also happened to mention that I was gay. I got a call one day and here I am.”

Kurt was sure his head was about to explode. What the actual fuck? “I wanted to help by doing anything I could to get you out of here and to help you change your attitude. Courage, right? I knew my chances were slim and this plan wasn’t foolproof but I had to try. I knew something wasn’t right. This isn’t you. The Kurt I know and love wouldn’t lash out for any reason.

There had to be something more and I had to figure it out. And when your dad said no one could get you to talk, I thought maybe you would for me.” Blaine trailed off, shrugging.

Kurt took in Blaine’s words thoroughly, seriously. But only one thing stood out in his mind right now. “The Kurt you know and love?” Love? Blaine probably let it slip in the midst of his heavy explanation. It was nothing Kurt had to take seriously, right? Right?

Blaine’s face fell for a moment. Shit. He said that, didn’t he? Well he didn’t plan for that to come out. But what did it matter anymore? “That’s all you got out from that? Me saying I love you?”

And if Kurt had any luck in the world, a pile of boys wouldn’t have walked in that second, taking their seats for their lesson to start. But Kurt wasn’t that lucky because they did. And with that, Blaine and Kurt’s conversation had to end. They both knew it.

Taking one last good look at Kurt, Blaine sat down at the piano, leaving Kurt hovering in front of the piano.