Saturday afternoon, Anderson residence. Blaine’s bed, more specifically.

Blaine: Are we ever gonna talk about it?

Kurt: Yes. You should definitely use less gel in your hair.

Blaine: What?

Kurt: What?

Blaine: My hair is crazy and huge and the gel works for me.

Kurt: And I, for one, love it.

Blaine: You’re impossible.

Kurt: *grins* What did you want to talk about?

Blaine: Well, we don’t have to talk about it, I was just wondering… if you wanted to, of course,… if we were ever going to talk about what happened between you and- and Sebastian?

Kurt: …

Blaine: It’s just that it’s kind of a traumatising thing.

Kurt: …

Blaine: And, I don’t know, if you felt the need to vent about what he did and if you’re Okay, or- or anything really. I was just worried that you’re bottling it up and that it’s secretly hurting you and that one day you’re just gonna snap and throw away all my gel bottles or-

Kurt: Blaine.

Blaine: Yes?

Kurt: You’re adorable when you panic.

Blaine: Thanks.

Kurt: And I wouldn’t dream of touching your gel bottles.

Blaine: Again, thanks.

Kurt: …

Blaine: … But?

Kurt: There’s something I need to tell you.

Blaine: Uh-oh.

Kurt: What?

Blaine: I don’t know, I had flashes of you confessing to a murder or something.

Kurt: …

Blaine: What? I told you I panic under pressure and then my whole brain kicks into over drive and just bringing up this topic is making me feel very on edge.

Kurt: … Blaine.

Blaine: *breathes* Kurt.

Kurt: Calm down. What I’m about to tell you is hard enough for me, so you are going to have to remain the pillar of strength here

Blaine: I am a leaf on the wind.

Kurt: What?

Blaine: It’s a quote from- never mind.

Kurt: *slow breath* Last year the bullying at McKinley got pretty bad. There was this one kid, Dave Karofsky. He’s not at McKinley anymore, but he made it his personal mission to make my life miserable. He would shove me into lockers and come up especially cruel insults… Anyway, I considered leaving McKinley after I spied on this glee club up in Westerville. The Warblers. They were… Okay. They lacked something. Anyway, they had a zero-tolerance no bullying policy and it would have been like my own safe haven. Unfortunately, they’re quite expensive and my dad and Carol couldn’t really afford to send me there. They offered to use their honeymoon money, but I would have felt too guilty, running from my problems.

Blaine: But, you weren’t safe at McKinley.

Kurt: Well, I haven’t gotten to the worst part yet. After resolving to stay at McKinley, I decided to confront Karofsky. It took a couple of days to work up the courage, but finally I had just had enough. I followed him into the changing rooms and asked him what the hell his problem was. I yelled some more and then suddenly he-…

Blaine: What did he do, Kurt?

Kurt: … He kissed me.

Blaine: No!

Kurt: … He tried to go in for a second kiss, but I pushed him off.

Blaine: Oh, my god! Kurt, are you alright?

Kurt: *sceptical glare*

Blaine: Come here!

Blaine dives across his bed and wraps Kurt in a tight hug, hooking on of his legs around Kurt’s longer one’s in an attempt to be as physically close as they can. Kurt continues talking softly, pressed into Blaine’s shoulder.

Kurt: The threats got worse after that, but eventually Coach Sylvester stepped in and Santana formed the Bully Whips. It got better, slowly. Karofsky transferred out of McKinley at the end of the year, thank god.

Blaine gently kneads Kurt’s back with one hand. He’s silent, just letting Kurt work through the implications of telling him.

Kurt: And then when Sebastian... It just felt like I give off a signal or something: “Please, kiss me, even if I’m saying no!”

Blaine: I wonder if this is how girls also feel when a guy can’t take a hint.

Kurt: I hope not. It’s a horrible feeling.

Blaine: Oh, Kurt… And then I was so mean to you. Ugh, I’m sorry.

Kurt: Yeah, that kind of sucked too. But Blaine, it’s Okay. You don’t need to apologise anymore.

Soft moments pass. Kurt and Blaine simply lay there, letting everything that has been said sink in. Kurt clears his throat and attempts to say something, but it comes out like more of a croak. He takes a deep breath and tries again.

Kurt: So, I guess I lied to you in the bathroom.

Blaine: What?

Kurt: You weren’t my first kiss.

Blaine didn’t think he could, but he tightens his hold on Kurt as he feels a distinct wet patch form on his shoulder. Several more moments pass in silence.

Blaine: I’m the first kiss that counted, though. I don’t know about you, but I felt that kiss all the way down to my toes.

Kurt: *sniffs* It filled up my shoes.

Blaine: I don’t know how I managed to type those texts to you afterwards, my hands were shaking.

Kurt: I could feel that kiss on my lips the next day.

Blaine: I wanted to hunt you down and never stop kissing you.

Kurt: I would have been Okay with that.

Blaine: Unfortunately, I was attempting to play it cool.

Kurt: Thank god, I thought I was the only one. Never have I worked so hard not to say something uncharacteristically bitchy, than that first week of school.

Blaine smiles and slowly Kurt disentangles himself from Blaine’s limbs. He lies on his side, facing the shorter boy. The minutes softly tick by, but it might has well have been hours.

Blaine: I’m glad that Karofsky guy left.

Kurt: Me too. He ended up apologising to me near the end of the year, but he was still a reminder of bad things, you know?

Blaine: Uh, in my case, I was the one that left.

Kurt: What?!

Blaine: Never wondered why I transferred to McKinley in the middle of the last semester of sophomore year?

Kurt: … You’re parents like moving?

Blaine: Definitely not the reason.

Kurt: Tell me.

Blaine: I was taunted at my old school and it pissed me off. I even complained to the faculty and they were sympathetic and all but… Anyway, I let the bullies chase me away after… I didn’t have the courage you did, to stand and fight. Funnily enough, I also looked into Dalton. My parents were amped about sending me there, but I don’t know. It felt … fake. Too good to be true, you know? McKinley spoke to me, and I’m really glad it did.

Kurt: You almost went to Dalton, too? Really?

Blaine: Yes.

Kurt: I wonder if we would have met, had we both gone there.

Blaine: I don’t think there’s a force in the universe that could have kept me away from you.

Kurt: Yeah, your clumsiness is pretty All-Encompassing. You would have run me over eventually.

Blaine: Hey! I am not that bad.

Kurt: *laughs* No, I suppose not. You managed to charm the casting judges for Westside Story pretty well.

Blaine: Oh my god, I can’t believe I’m going to be in the school musical.

Kurt: You’re going to be amazing.

Blaine: You think?

Kurt: I do. After hearing you kill the audition, I’ve been plotting ways of convincing you to join glee club.

Blaine: Uh oh. I thought that might be on the horizon.

Kurt: So, what do you think?

Blaine: I – I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about it before.

Kurt: So think about it now! You beat me in the auditions for Tony, which must say something about you!

Blaine: *laughs* I’ll think about it.

Kurt: Well, don’t think too long, we have sectionals in a couple of weeks and we’re seriously short on members.

Blaine: Ugh, can’t we go back to talking about bullying?

Kurt: Definitely not. We’ve been through enough of that, are still going through enough of that, without having to add to it by discussing it further.

Blaine: Where are these fabled Bully Whips now?

Kurt: It sort of petered out after Karofsky left. He was the main reason they were needed. The bullying this year hasn’t been so bad, it’s more an annoyance than anything else.

Blaine: It’s a little more than an annoyance.

Kurt: Comparatively speaking.

Blaine: There shouldn’t be anything to compare!

Kurt: And same-sex marriages should be legal in all fifty states, but we’re not living in a perfect world. Not yet.

Blaine: How are you so calm about this?

Kurt: I wasn’t, for a long time. But I’m strong enough now to take the dumpster tosses and the slushies without any damage to my self-esteem. I just think about the kids the Neanderthals are leaving alone in favour of bullying me and I know that some of them can’t take it.

Blaine: What if I can’t take it.

Kurt: Can’t you?

Blaine: I don’t know. It’s not quite what I experienced at my old school, so I’m still figuring it out.

Kurt: What happened at your old school?

Blaine: Just… worse insults and stuff. I suppose I don’t really wanna talk about it.

Kurt: Hey, I just cried into your shoulder. We’re past That Point.

Blaine: I know. But I’m good on the talking front.

Kurt: *sigh* Well, whatever else shall we do?

Blaine: I don’t know. I was hoping you had a suggestion.

Kurt: Well, we are two hormonal teenagers. We have needs. We could always… You know. If you want to, of course.

Blaine: Facials?

Kurt: *expectant look*

Blaine: *laughs* My face masks are in the bathroom.

Kurt: Oh, *claps* I’ll be right back!