Kurt stared at the small piece of paper he had ripped out of his notebook, unsure what to write. The most sensible option would definitely be notes on World History given that that was the class he was sitting in and not paying attention to. He tapped his pen against the palm of his hand, glancing to his right. Blaine was sitting in his usual seat next to Kurt's, but the air between the two was decidedly abnormal: bitingly cold and impenetrable. Despite deciding that he was, in fact, gay, Blaine had not forgiven the other boy. Kurt knew exactly why: he had been a royal bitch and deserved Blaine never speaking to him again.

Kurt watched Blaine, trying to act as though he wasn't. He had become quite practised at this during his time at Dalton. The shorter boy was studiously ignoring the boy to his left and making neat lines of notes. Kurt had long been aware of his own infatuation with Blaine, but before these two days of silence – which in Kurt's romantic mind felt more like two lifetimes – he had not been aware how much he needed Blaine. He needed his friendship, his smile as he handed Kurt coffee in the morning and unwittingly made his heart palpitate in a way that could not be healthy, his 'courage' texts which weren't even necessary now that he was at Dalton, and him brushing the backs of their hands against each other in the hallways whenever he saw Kurt looking distant in the way that meant he was thinking about McKinley or Karofsky. As pathetic as it made him feel, Kurt needed Blaine close to him: he needed to be able to see the gel in his hair and fantasise about what it was like without it; to hear him speak; to smell that amazing scent that only Blaine had.

From his seat two feet away from the boy he was in love with, Kurt felt too far away from him. Before, he could have looked away from his notes and up at the boy with forcefully restrained curly hair. Blaine would have noticed and turned his gaze to Kurt, looking up at him through his eyelashes and making Kurt's stomach do something akin to a triple axel and a back flip; he would flash him one of his many charming smiles, then roll his eyes in the teacher's direction. Kurt would nod fervently and then they'd return to taking notes, still smiling at each other every few minutes. Times like those were when it was hardest for Kurt to remember that he and Blaine were just friends. The temptation to lean across the gap between their desks and kiss him was almost overpowering.

Now, though, Kurt knew Blaine wouldn't look at him, which was why the piece of paper was sitting on his desk. It had been there since the beginning of the period and after twenty minutes Kurt still had not thought of anything to say. He couldn't sum up all of the apologies he wanted to make in a way that would fit on three lines of paper. He looked away from Blaine at last and wrote the only thing he could think of:

Can we talk, please? I'm really sorry.

Kurt looked up at the teacher and, seeing that he was facing the board, reached across to place the note, now folded, on the side of Blaine's desk. He withdrew his arm immediately and settled back into his chair, not even bothering to look as though he was paying attention any more. He watched Blaine, biting his bottom lip in his nerves. His friend did not give any indication that he had noticed the note at first and Kurt was beginning to worry that Blaine would not acknowledge it at all. Finally, after a couple of minutes during which Kurt pulled some of the skin off his lip, Blaine glanced up to check the teacher was facing away from him and reached for the note. He read it and dropped it back onto his desk with a sigh that was audible to Kurt. He watched Blaine scribble something underneath his words, fold the scrap of paper again, then toss it to Kurt, who picked it up when it landed on the blank page he had intended to fill with notes.

Coffee after Warblers practice.

Kurt caught Blaine's eye and nodded, trying not to smile. The fact that Blaine was agreeing to talk to him made him immeasurably happy, even if their conversation did not turn out the way Kurt wished. At least he hadn't been completely ignored.

World History was the last period of the day and Kurt spent the remainder of it chewing on the end of his pen as he thought about what he would say to Blaine later. This was a habit he had developed at McKinley and he hated it, but he couldn't seem to stop himself when he was stressed. When the bell rang, he watched Blaine pack his bag hurriedly and leave the classroom well before Kurt, just as he had done since their argument. Kurt walked to Warbler practice alone.

---

Kurt watched Blaine pop the lid off his coffee cup and stir the liquid inside, just like he always did. He took a sip of his own for the sake of having something to do, then flinched a little when it burned his tongue.

"So." Blaine set down his stirrer and put the lid back on. "What did you want to talk about?"

Kurt frowned at Blaine over his cup. He would have assumed that would be obvious. He sighed and lowered his hand. "I firstly wanted to apologise."

"I gathered that."

Kurt opened his mouth, but he was unsure how to continue. Blaine was very rarely sarcastic or snappy and it unsettled him. He was saved from having to think of a response, however, when Blaine spoke again.

"God, Kurt, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude. I know that's not going to make this easier."

"No, I deserve it. You can be as rude as you like."

Blaine looked down at the table. "I hate fighting with you."

Kurt leaned a little closer to Blaine. "I hate fighting with you. I can't stand it." He pulled his chair forwards. "I can't say 'I'm sorry' enough times and I know that what I said was insensitive. I was being blind and I didn't realise what it must have felt like for you. I value your friendship above almost anything else in my life, Blaine, but I understand if you never even want to look at me again. I wouldn't look at me." He turned his face from the boy in front of him, trying very hard not to let any tears fall. Now was not the time to be crying in public. He jumped when he felt Blaine's fingers wrap around his hand.

"Kurt, don't for a second think that we're not going to be friends any more. Just two days not speaking to you has shown me that I need you around. Not talking to you when you're standing right next to me is so much harder than you would imagine. Sure, I was angry for a while, but soon I just missed you. I understand why you were upset about the Rachel fiasco and, yes, you said some things that hurt me, but I know that you sometimes let your emotions get the better of you. I know you say things you don't mean in the heat of the moment. I get that because I'm your friend, and I don't want to stop being your friend just because you got carried away one afternoon in a coffee shop." While Blaine was speaking, Kurt had looked up into his eyes, surprised at the amount of warmth he found there. The corners of his mouth turned up just a little bit.

"So you don't hate me?"

Blaine laughed loudly and took a sip of coffee with the hand that was not holding Kurt's. "No. I couldn't hate you even when I tried to. You're too adorable to hate."

Kurt blushed bright red. Blaine holding his hand and calling him 'adorable' was doing crazy things to his insides. He quickly picked up his cup and drank some of his coffee, holding it in front of his face to hide his pink cheeks.

Blaine pulled his hand away from Kurt's to reach down into his bag and Kurt had to suppress a whimper. Get a grip, he chastised himself. Blaine straightened up again, a sheaf of paper in his hand.

"So, Kurt, if you promise to try to forgive me for ignoring you for two days –"

"Blaine, like I'm not going to forgive you. I'm the one that was in the wrong."

"Quiet, you're ruining my speech." Blaine grinned as Kurt pressed his lips together. "And I also forgive you. We are forgiving and forgetting. So, now that you have forgiven me, I offer you my notes from today's World History class, in which I know you paid absolutely no attention."

A frown formed between Kurt's perfectly sculpted eyebrows. "How did you -?"

"You're not the only one who can watch people out of the corner of your eye, you know."

Kurt felt himself blushing again, but he grinned nonetheless and took the notes Blaine was holding out to him. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now, do you think they have any of those Danishes again?"