Kurt leaned up against the bar, sipping a ginger ale as his eyes roamed the room. The banquet hall was packed with people - some on the dance floor, others stuffing themselves at the buffet on the far end of the room and still more people lining up to take pictures in the photobooth. Yes, it was definitely a Sugar party. 

Then, almost as if she had been reading his mind, a squeal from behind indicated that Sugar was rapidly approaching. Sure enough, just moments later a pair of fur-clad arms wrapped around his waist and a high-pitched voice practically shrieked into his ear, “Isn’t this like, the BEST party you’ve ever been to?”

“The best, definitely,” Kurt quickly agreed, knowing that any answer other than that was definitely the wrong one. “Who are all these people? It looks like you invited all the schools from Regionals, plus their extended families…”

Sugar giggled loudly, shaking her head as another crowd of people came swarming into the room from the grand entrance across from them. “Of course not,” she paused to wave at a boy who was trying desperately to catch her attention. “I invited everyone from Regionals, plus all the schools that weren’t there because they lost their Sectionals”

“Sugar, that’s like… 12 schools,” Kurt said, fascinated that anyone could afford to throw such insane parties on a semi-regular basis.

“Didn’t you learn anything in elementary school, Kurt? If you’re going to invite one then you have to invite them all,” Sugar said, as if it was the most logical and simple conclusion to come by. Kurt could only nod, still staring around the room at the hundreds of people who were enjoying the party.  

His eyes stopped briefly on a group of boys in private school uniforms that were being flocked by a large group of girls. He remembered seeing them at Sectionals, though they’d lost to McKinley. They were from Dalton Academy, if he recalled correctly. He found it odd, and slightly amusing, that they’d worn their blazers to the party. His eyes fell on one of the boys in particular, the one who belted the lead for all of their top 40 song choices.

His dark hair was slicked down with an almost obscene amount of gel, but Kurt could see that the heat in the crowded room had caused some of the curls at the base of his neck to begin springing free. He was shorter than most of the guys in the group, but carried himself with a presence that seemed to demand attention (or at least, that’s what Kurt gathered from the six girls all clamoring to give him their phone numbers).

The boy looked up then, catching Kurt watching before blushing and turning his attention back to the group around him. Strange… Kurt almost thought he’d heard the feeblest little warning sound from his gaydar.

“Sugar,” he whispered, jabbing his finger into her side. “Who is that?” Kurt nodded his head in the boy’s direction, watching as he excused himself from the growing group of girls that surrounded him and his friends. Maybe they knew what they were doing when they showed up in those uniforms. After all, a little schoolboy fantasy never hurt anyone… Not that Kurt was having one of his own, or anything. No, not at all.

Still, his eyes followed the boy closely as he escaped the main room, much to Kurt’s disappointment.

“Oh, the dreamy little leader of the Warblers that all those girls are drooling over? That’s Blaine Anderson. They shouldn’t waste their time though. They have a ‘v’ where he’d rather see a ‘p’. Sorry, it’s the Asperger’s,” she said, noticing Kurt’s shocked expression. He should be used to it by now, despite her name she never sugarcoated anything. But at least he knew that his initial instincts were right. Based on what Sugar said, the boy, Blaine, was as queer as a three-dollar bill.

“Gotta go,” she shouted, dragging two heart-eyed boys behind her to the dance floor. Kurt was alone again, watching the crowd. He could see Mercedes and Sam in the corner, trying desperately (and failing) to hide the fact that they were holding hands. Finn and Rachel were fighting near the buffet table – by the looks of it, he’d tried to kiss her after eating meat, something that even Kurt knew was a big no-no. The rest of the Glee club was nowhere to be seen.

“Cool party, huh?” The voice came out of nowhere, startling Kurt slightly as he turned to see who was talking to him. Blaine had walked up sometime during Kurt’s stakeout of the party and was leaning casually against the bar, a cup of Sugar’s famous punch in his hand (Kurt made a mental note to check if Puck had managed to spike it this time).

“Definitely. You look like you’ve been having a lot of fun,” Kurt said, blushing slightly as he realized he’d just admitted to watching (more like stalking) Blaine. 

“Yeah, that… I think it’s the blazer,” Blaine said, laughing as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“Well, I hope you let them down gently. They’re too young for heartbreak,” Kurt said, his pulse speeding as he noticed Blaine’s confused expression.

“Let them down?” 

“I’m sorry, I just assumed… I mean, Sugar said that you were, well, that you’re… Oh god, I’m so sorry.” Kurt stammered over his words, certain that he was now blushing furiously. Maybe Blaine was further in the closet than Sugar had indicated.

“No, no,” Blaine corrected quickly. “I am, definitely. Definitely gay.” It was Blaine’s turn to blush as he glanced down at the floor. 

“Right. Same,” Kurt said, wanting to punch himself in the face. This conversation could not be further from what he’d hoped it would be. “Well, I’m Kurt,” he said finally, hoping to end the awkward silence.

“Blaine. It’s nice to meet you,” Blaine said, reaching his hand out to shake Kurt’s. Blaine’s hand was warm and slightly dry, but it felt just right against Kurt’s skin. He wasn’t used to touching guys that weren’t a family member or someone in Glee club (and hell, they might as well be family). The contact gave him a low swooping feeling in his stomach, and he hoped he wasn’t still blushing. 

“Nice to meet you too. You guys were great at Sectionals, by the way.”

“Not as good as you. And the girl, Rachel?” Blaine asked as Kurt nodded his head. “Yeah, well you guys were incredible. Brought the roof down.”

“It’s hard not to grab attention when you’re singing with Rachel. She’s a star.”

“I think you grabbed attention just fine on your own. You grabbed mine, anyways,” Blaine said, smiling as he turned to look out at the dance floor. “Do you want to dance?” 

Kurt looked down at his outfit – tight pants and lots of zippers – before smiling sheepishly at Blaine. “I’m not sure I’m dressed for that.”           

“Right, another time then.”

“Okay,” Kurt agreed, feeling slightly breathless. Was Blaine flirting with him? He couldn’t be sure; he wasn’t as experienced in the area as he hoped to be. “How’s the punch,” Kurt asked, desperate to keep Blaine’s attention.

“Good,” Blaine smiled, scrunching up his nose. “A bit strong…” 

“Ah, so Puck did spike it?” Kurt laughed, shaking his head affectionately. McKinley’s Glee club might be a bit of a dysfunctional family, but it was his dysfunctional family.

“Do you want to try it,” Blaine asked, reaching the cup out to Kurt’s lips. Kurt nodded his head slightly before taking a sip, squeezing his eyes shut tightly as the liquid poured down his throat.

“Wow. You weren’t kidding,” he laughed, taking a huge sip of his ginger ale to get the liquor taste out of his mouth.

“Not at all,” Blaine said, setting the cup down on the counter behind him, unfinished. “I should quit drink anyways, we’re singing at a nursing home tonight. Gotta start practicing for next year.”

“Already,” Kurt asked incredulously. “Don’t you guys ever take a break?”

“No way, gotta beat those kids from McKinley… I heard they’re pretty good,” Blaine said, grinning. Kurt smiled back, unable to keep the blush from spreading over his cheeks (in fact, he didn’t think he’d stopped blushing since Blaine had walked over). “Actually, we should probably get going… It’s a bit of a drive.”

“Oh, already?” Kurt asked, hating the disappointment that was clear in his voice.

“Yeah,” Blaine said, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Hey, Kurt?”

“Mmm?” 

“Would you like to go out sometime?” Blaine asked, watching Kurt carefully.

“Me,” Kurt clarified, a little confused. Nobody had ever asked him on a date before, especially not someone as nice and handsome (and older, Kurt realized) as Blaine.

“Yes, you,” Blaine laughed. He wondered why Kurt seemed so surprised; surely he had to have tons of guys knocking down his door. “Kurt, you’re beautiful,” Blaine said sincerely, wondering if the two cups of punch were behind his sudden confidence boost.

“Oh, well… so are you,” Kurt said, wringing his hands nervously. 

“So, is that a yes?”

“Yes,” Kurt said, laughing. “It’s a yes.”

“Great, I’d better get going then. I’ll give you a call,” Blaine said, turning to go round up the rest of the Warblers.

“Blaine,” Kurt called. “I have to give you my number first.”

“Right, sorry… I’m not very good at this kind of thing.”

“Me neither,” Kurt admitted, as if his babbling and blushing hadn’t already revealed that fact.

“Well then, maybe we can figure it out together,” Blaine said, taking Kurt’s number before jogging over to where the rest of his group was waiting.

Kurt smiled, watching as Blaine and the Warblers left the party, arms around each other and already starting their warm-up scales. Yes, Kurt had a lot of learning to do, and he was convinced that Blaine would make an excellent teacher.