Extra, Extra!

"Extra, extra!" Becky called, handing out papers left, right and centre. "Read all about it! Get your Muckraker here!"

Sniggering broke out amongst those who already had their copies, opening the paper and examining the pictures with smirks and mutters of Oh My God.

"Finn!" The tall boy turned to see Rachel heading straight for him, paper clutched in her hand.

"Rachel, I'm not in the mood for one of your pep talks-"

"No, I think there's something you should see." She held out the paper with a worry in her eyes.

Looking down at the paper, Finn's eyes bulged to see Kurt Hummel on the front page. Kurt Hummel, captain of the Cheerios. On the front page of a paper which only spread scandals and cruel gossip. In the back of a car. "Holy sweet grilled cheesus," he murmured.

"Read the headline," Rachel murmured, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "The poor boy."

Finn did as she said, and read the words, in bold black for all the world to see. WHICH TOP CHEERIO WAS SPOTTED DOING THE NASTY WITH MCKINLEY'S RESIDENT NERD?

As if that headline coupled with the picture wasn't enough, there was a sub-heading below that: Looks like someone's looking at a long fall from the top of the food chain.

"We have to find him," Rachel insisted, tears glinting in her eyelashes. "He needs us, Finn. More than ever." She grabbed him by the elbow and tugged him through the cackling crowds, switching her phone on. "Mercedes? Have you seen Kurt?"

"Honey, it's cool. We've got him. Come to the choir room." Rachel hung up, wiped away a few tears, taking a deep breath to compose herself before grabbing Finn around the wrist and dragging him through the crowds heading to first period classes, following the familiar route to the choir room that was truly their home within the school.

Walking into the room, they found a scene of devastation. Santana immediately leapt up from her seat on the piano stool, locking the door, pulling the blinds down over the glass partition and jamming a chair beneath the handle for good measure. Sam sat between Santana and Lauren, awkwardly hovering at the edges of the group. Brittany sat on Artie's knee, both of them wearing identical expressions of shock and sympathy, Brittany close to tears. Quinn and Puck were sharing a seat, their eyes filled with grief and a touch of empathy for their friend. Mike was sitting on the floor by Artie's wheelchair, one of his hands clasped around Tina's. In the centre of the group were Mercedes and Tina, their arms wound protectively around a sobbing wreck in red and white cheerleading uniform.

"Oh Kurt." Tears trailed slowly down Rachel's cheek as she let go of Finn and rushed to her friend, kneeling down by his seat and taking his hand. "I'm so sorry."

"Is this about your reputation?" Puck asked. People turned to glare at him for his insensitivity. "What? I'm just asking."

"It's not about my reputation," Kurt murmured in a heartbreaking, broken,voice, choked by tears. "I just didn't want my…relationship with Blaine to come out. Not like this."

"It's not cool," Finn agreed. "You don't deserve to be front-page news in that rag, Kurt. You're a pretty cool guy."

"Where's Blaine?" Mike asked, looking around the choir room. "Shouldn't he be here too?"

"He's gone to Principal Figgins about the article," Quinn explained. "And quite right too. No one's private life should be splashed across any paper, let alone one in a high school."

"I want Blaine!" Kurt sobbed. "I want Blaine! I need him!" He was wild, thrashing around. Tina murmured soothingly to him, cradling him against her, while Mercedes watched on with something like terror flashing momentarily in her eyes.

"Lauren," she said, slowly, trying to sound calm, "go and find Blaine. Now." Looking concernedly at Kurt, usually so cool and collected about his emotions, Lauren stood up, Santana getting to her feet and undoing all the locks on the door, watching as Lauren left with something akin to respect on her face.

"Kurt, calm down," Tina murmured, pulling her hand from Mike's grasp and wrapping both arms around the boy, rocking him gently. "Everything's gonna be okay. We're here for you, no matter what. We've got your back."

"Definitely," Rachel agreed from her position, squeezing Kurt's hand in reassurance.

Hurried, heavy footsteps sounded in the corridor outside and Lauren, out of breath, burst in with Blaine right behind her. His eyes went straight to Kurt and he dashed across the room. Tina let go of Kurt, moving to sit beside Mike, burying her head in his shoulder to hide her tears.

"Blaine…hold me." Kurt's whisper choked off into a sob that brought tears to eyes around the room. A broken, desperate sob. No one could deny that Blaine treated Kurt like anything less than the world's most precious jewel as he gently wrapped his arms around the boy and held him close, rocking him and murmuring nonsensical words of comfort as Kurt sobbed into his chest.

"We need to run damage control," Santana said, standing up. "Puckerman, Frankenteen, Trouty Mouth, Zizes, come with me." The four stood up, sparing final glances back at the wreck of their friend, and followed her out of the room, leaving Kurt with those he was closest to.

"Do what you have to do," Rachel said, nodding to the group as they paused in the doorway, "but make them pay." The five nodded to her respectfully, acknowledging her order as their captain, and began their menacing journey through the school.

"Kurt…it's going to be alright," Blaine whispered. "They'll clean up this mess. I talked to Figgins; he's retracting reprints of the paper. No one else will find out."

"The whole school already knows!" Kurt sobbed. "There's no one else to find it out! What do I do? I don't know what to do!"

"You listen to your heart," Blaine answered softly. "It'll tell you what to do." He bit his lip for a moment. "And if you want to end this between us, then I understand."

"What?" Kurt met Blaine's eyes, seeing only sincerity there. "Blaine, no. I won't end our relationship. You mean more to me than my reputation or my status as Head Cheerio. We wouldn't be in this mess if you didn't mean this much to me."

Small sentimental smiles crossed the tear-stained faces of their friends at Kurt's words. Blaine blinked frantically, managing a small wobbly smile. Kurt smiled tentatively back and pressed their lips together in a sweet, chaste kiss.

"Kurt…do you need anything?" Tina asked. "Like privacy or something? We'll leave if that's what you want."

"No, no, you don't have to leave," Kurt told them, his voice a little louder, a little stronger. "What I want is my friends around me." Everyone edged a little closer at his words.

"You're so brave," Rachel whispered, tears in her eyes. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Do you want me to cover for you with Coach Sylvester?" Quinn asked. Colour flooded out of Kurt's face at her words, panic flashing back into his eyes.

"But…what would you tell her?" he asked. "This isn't like when Melanie slept with three of the football team in one night! She expressly forbid me from falling for Blaine when she threw us into glee club as spies!"

"Oh, I don't know, the crap she wants to hear," Quinn said airily. "It didn't mean anything, mistake, drunk, blah blah blah." She met Kurt's eyes, gaze darting quickly to Blaine and back. "I know it wasn't a mistake and it meant something, but it could be saving Blaine as well as you. You know how Coach Sylvester gets."

"Yeah, she threw a slushie at Puck when he got Quinn pregnant," Brittany put in from her seat. Kurt turned even whiter and looked over at Blaine.

"It…it's nothing I haven't been through before," Blaine said hesitantly. He squeezed Kurt's hand. "Nothing I wouldn't do for you."

"Damage control has been run," Sam said loudly, walked back in to the room with a pile of newspapers in his hand.

"One Jew-Fro and one Becky Jackson threatened extensively and three hundred copies of the paper seized," Santana told them, setting a stack of paper down on the piano.

"Kurt, have you actually read this article?" Puck asked, flipping through the pages.

"Well, no," Mercedes explained. "The photo and the headline were kind of enough."

"I think you should read it," Lauren said loudly.

"It's pretty bitchy, but someone definitely said something to Jew-Fro," Finn explained. Tossing the paper across the room, he watched as Artie reached out and caught it.

Setting it down across his knees, Artie winced slightly as he reread the undeniably bitchy headline and took in the picture. How close would someone have had to be standing to get a picture that good? You could see every detail, both their faces and the extremely compromising position they were in. Shaking his head, the wheelchair-bound boy flipped the pages to read the article to accompany the headline. Several more pictures were beside the columns, including several more shots of the back of that same car and photos of both boys in their natural McKinley environment.

TOP CHEERIO, KURT HUMMEL, DOES THE DEED WITH GLEE CLUB NERD, BLAINE ANDERSON

There have been rumours running rampant about the true nature of the relationship between ruthless head cheerleader, Kurt Hummel, and glee club golden boy, Blaine Anderson, since cheerleading coach, Sue Sylvester, threw Hummel and three other Cheerios - the untouchable and sexy Quinn Fabray, Santana Lopez and Brittany Pierce - into William McKinley's glee club, New Directions - coached by Spanish teacher, William Schuester - as spies.

Since the first day Hummel and Anderson met, there was an undeniable onstage chemistry between them. Debates have always been fierce on whether this onstage spark was all an act or if it went deeper.

Well, now we may confirm that this spark ran a lot deeper than simple onstage chemistry.

While staking out local aptly-named gay bar, Scandals, after a tip-off that lesbian cheerleader, Santana Lopez, would be there, this reporter observed Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson leaving together, both quite clearly more than a little drunk. And when I say together, I mean together. At first, this reporter only saw gestures such as arms around each other and talking intimately, but what happened next clearly points to a scandal which Coach Sylvester will not let happen after Quinn Fabray's pregnancy two years ago and the subsequent loss of her ruthless reputation.

The pair were standing outside Hummel's car when this reporter, camera in hand, observed the amorous activities of the two. I, of course, took this opportunity to capture pictures of this pair in this position, which Hummel knows he should not have been in in the first place. This kissing outside the car only led to both of them climbing into the backseat, and I'm sure we all know what happened from there. Needless to say, my camera captured them in many lascivious positions.

After what happened, how will the situation change? We can all guess that Coach Sylvester will not be happy and that Hummel is looking at a long fall from the top of the social pyramid. Who would've thought the Captain of the Cheerios would betray his team in such a way?

"That bastard," Artie growled, folding the paper neatly. Rachel, who'd been reading over his shoulder, had her hand over her mouth and tears in her eyes. "How dare he?"

"He likes to spread rumours," Quinn agreed. "But it's so much worse when it's actually true."

"Two years ago, Kurt's sexuality came out in the same way," Tina said sadly. "Then Quinn's pregnancy, then the fact that Puck was the father…he's just deliberately trying to make our lives miserable."

"And clearly succeeding," Mike continued, eyes sliding to Kurt. He looked absolutely stricken, a single tear trailing a glistening line down his pale cheek.

"But not all of it is true, right Kurt?" Finn asked. "I mean, you didn't actually do it in your car." Kurt met his stepbrother's eyes and gave a barely perceptible nod. "What?"

"Frankenteen, stop playing the protective stepbrother, because this shit is serious!" Santana shouted. "Kurt, we tried to help, but…well, everyone already knows."

Kurt groaned. "Do I have to face them?"

Quinn moved closer to him, smiling reassuringly at him. "You'll have to at some point. Better now, when you've got us by your side, than alone."

Kurt stood up, smoothing the wrinkles out of his red and white uniform, bunching the hem of his shirt nervously around his hands so the WMHS CHEERIOS logo emblazoned across his chest was stretched grotesquely. He ran a hand quickly through his hair, smoothing errant strands back into the perfectly shaped style and wiping his eyes quickly. "I must look a mess," he said in distress, biting his lower lip in a panic.

Before any of his female friends could reassure him or offer drops for his swollen eyes, Blaine had taken his hand, cupping his cheek and gently pulling his face around to look into those same swollen eyes. "You look beautiful," he whispered. No one could miss the way Kurt's eyes lit up at those words, or the small smile that crept across his lips, or the way his fingers wrapped briefly and strongly around Blaine's. No one could miss the fact that these two boys were hopelessly, dizzily in love with one another.

"Come on," Puck said gruffly as Kurt gazed long and deep into Blaine's eyes, the electricity between them so powerful it seemed to burn the skin of those watching on. "Let's go show them all that they can't mess with you!" Kurt smiled, a dizzy smile, before the familiar smirk they were all used to seeing on his face replaced that dopily in love look and he stood up, smoothing his clothes, hair perfect, eyes looking disdainfully down his nose at those lower than himself. The Kurt Hummel, Captain of the Cheerios, that they all knew inside the school and outside of the choir room.

The group left the room, bunching protectively around Kurt. Blaine gave his hand a final reassuring squeeze before letting go and moving away. Brittany, Santana and Quinn flanked Kurt, their most potent glares on their recently softened faces.

They'd barely walked ten steps before the whispering started. People looked up from their lockers, staring at them. At Kurt. Sniggering, whispering bitchily, darting obvious glances at him. Those who knew him well could see the façade he was projecting. His spine was too stiff, his chin jutting defiantly out too far, his face far too set. The shouting started, these cruel words thrown without a care, sticking to Kurt's skin, to his heart, labelling him as these things he wasn't.

"Slut."

"Whore."

"Skank."

"Fag."

"Queer.

"Homo."

Kurt's breath was coming in shuddering gasps as he continued walking, his entire body trembling. His shoulders jerked with each insult needling him, as if each one was a blade stabbing between his jutting shoulder blades. His legs shook with each step and Mercedes and Rachel were shooting him increasingly concerned looks.

Finally a wave of ice and artificial blue dye flew over them. Each one of them gasped as what must have been at least fifteen slushies slapped them in the face, stinging their eyes and dripping down their spines, shivers wracking their bodies. Blinded, Finn staggered towards the wall and leant against it, rubbing his eyes frantically. Santana and Brittany stumbled, catching each other. Rachel flew into organised mode, rushing off towards her locker and shouting for combination numbers, collecting towels and changes of clothes.

Mercedes displayed incredible reflexes as she leapt forward to catch Kurt. His legs crumpled beneath him, but her hands caught him beneath the arms before he hit the ground, lowering him gently to the floor. Tina chased after Rachel, grabbing a towel from the pile in the diva's arms and returning, carefully wiping lumps of ice and blue dye from Kurt's face and hair and wrapping it around his violently shivering shoulders.

Lauren and Artie, who'd managed to avoid the worst of the tidal wave by ducking at the final possible second, began shooing people out of the corridor, Artie running his wheelchair into the backs of the legs of people who weren't leaving fast enough. Unearthing several full bottles of water from her bag and wads of cotton wool, Quinn handed them around, dousing the balls with water and wiping slushie out of her eyes. Santana seized a towel from Rachel and started cleaning off Brittany, wiping blue stains from her bare legs and squeezing melting ice out of the blonde's hair. Rachel tugged off her wet sweater, balling it up and throwing it into a bag, casting a critical eye at the stains on everyone's clothes.

"Bathrooms, now, or those clothes will be ruined," she advised, throwing bags of spare clothes to Mercedes, Tina and Blaine. "And your hair will turn blue until you get a shower, and I'm sure you don't want that." She walked purposefully off to the bathroom, followed by the rest of the girls. Finn led the boys off to the football lockers, where there were hot showers and decent locks on the doors.

Kurt still lay prone on the floor, eyes closed against the stinging dye running past them. Blaine knelt down, bag of clothes bunched in his fist, towel in hand. He felt, rather than heard, Kurt's shuddering breath as he gently ran the towel up his bare arm and across the stains around the neckline of his uniform shirt. Continuing carefully up the white column of Kurt's neck, Blaine breathed, "Kurt, stay still. I just need to wipe this dye off your face. Don't open your eyes until I say you can."

Kurt didn't move except to relax his muscles slightly, his hands no longer clenched in fists. Blaine wiped dye carefully from Kurt's skin, gently flicking burning cold ice from Kurt's cheeks. Finally he finished, the smooth skin still wet but no longer covered in blue dye or burning under the sheer freezing temperatures of ice lumps. Blushing a little, despite what they'd shared on Saturday night; Blaine bent his head and brushed his lips against Kurt's forehead. "You can open your eyes now, baby."

The blush just colouring his cheeks instantly darkened as he realised what he'd said. When had they progressed from being Cheerio and glee club nerd, exclusively using last names, to being boyfriends and using pet names? Kurt's eyes were still squeezed shut, but a single tear trickled from beneath his right eyelid, hot on his frozen skin. The crimson blush on Blaine's cheeks crept up his face as he bent his head again and pressed his lips to the shining drop on his boyfriend's skin. "Kurt, honey, please don't cry. Just open your eyes and look at me." He didn't realise his thumb was tracing the line of Kurt's cheekbone until a gasp escaped Kurt's lips.

"Blaine." Kurt opened his eyes slowly, those beautiful green-blue-grey irises hidden behind a sheen of tears. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to break down like this. I shouldn't be like this, I should be strong-" His words were cut off when Blaine pulled him close and pressed their lips together.

"Kurt, don't you ever dare think you're not strong," he whispered as their lips left each other's, resting their foreheads together, one hand on Kurt's hip and the other cupping his cheek tenderly. "You are so, so strong, and so brave. Braver than I ever will be." He kissed Kurt's forehead, smiling at the way Kurt's eyes fluttered shut at the contact. "Remember what I used to tell you?"

"Courage," Kurt murmured with a small smile. Blaine tapped his nose fondly, smiling directly into his eyes.

"Just have courage," he told him sternly, with a glint in his eye to undermine the strict tone of his voice. His voice dropped to a soft whisper, thumb carefully tracing the shape of Kurt's collarbone through his shirt. "Be the amazing boy I gave myself to on Saturday night and you can achieve anything. I believe in you, Kurt."

Kurt's eyes were wet with tears as he met Blaine's eyes, more droplets dripping down his flawless skin to create shining swirling patterns on his cheeks. "What did I do to deserve you?" he asked in a whisper. "You're too good for me, Blaine."

"I don't care, I want to be here for you," Blaine told him seriously, finding himself using the hand still resting on Kurt's hip to trace lazy circles into the red and white fabric of his Cheerios shirt. He was surprised by the seductive tone in his voice when he murmured, "I want you, Kurt."

Kurt growled low in his throat and raised himself off the floor, twining his arms around Blaine's neck and clashing their lips together. For a brief moment Blaine was surprised, then he was responding eagerly, the memories from their unforgettable night surging back. The way it had felt to dance like that with Kurt, the smooth metal of the car door pressing into the bare skin exposed by his rucked-up shirt, the soft malleable leather seats beneath his back while soft lips had trailed up his neck, setting every inch of him on fire…

"Boys, what did I say about the stains?" That voice grated on his nerves and he growled in frustration as he pulled away from Kurt, looking up to see a smirking Rachel leaning casually against a block of lockers, looking down at them with a knowing look in her eyes and one eyebrow quirked suggestively. "Bathroom, now."

All the image of the seductive boy he'd briefly become faded from Blaine's persona as he blushed deeply, realising how it must look to Rachel. Not only had he been kissing Kurt while the older boy lay on the floor, but he'd been almost on top of him, running his hands all over the boy and practically shoving his tongue down Kurt's throat. Avoiding Rachel's knowing eyes, dancing with the glint of laughter, he mumbled an unintelligible apology to her and ran towards the bathroom - girls, of course, where they could be trusted not to spread gossip like the boys would. Her laughter echoed piercingly in his ears as he ducked into the bathroom, finding the six other girls bent over various sinks, rinsing blue dye and ice out of their hair or scrubbing frantically at clothes. Santana was swearing under her breath as she scrubbed at the blue patches on her uniform, though she raised her head long enough to wiggle her eyebrows suggestively at him.

Flushing vivid crimson, Blaine slid into a stall and locked the door, leaning against the solid wall and breathing heavily, trying to calm the blush on his cheek by pressing his face against the cool wood. The sharp rap of knuckles came right next to his ear, making him start. "Blaine?" Quinn called out. "We're all clean, so we're leaving. Spare uniforms and stuff. Give one of us a buzz when you're sorted out, okay?"

Blaine nodded before remembering she couldn't see him and breathing out a hoarse, "Okay." His face grew hotter as he heard giggling, most likely from Tina, and heard the smack of a hand against skin and an indignant exclamation from Santana.

He pretended he couldn't hear the suggestive tone in the Latina cheerleader's voice as she called out, "Enjoy your privacy." More giggling sounded as the door clattered shut. Tentatively unlocking the door and peering out, Blaine found that he was indeed alone. He pulled out his change of clothes, pulling a face when he remembered this was his last resort outfit. Something his mother had bought him and he'd vowed never to wear.

The door opened again and he started, looking up and hoping it wouldn't be an unknown female face, someone who would look at him and sneer. But it wasn't. Nor was it one of the girls who were his friends, or at least someone who wouldn't ridicule him for being in their bathroom. It was Kurt. Blaine blushed again, thinking of what had happened in the hallway, as Kurt smirked at him and slid the silver lock on the main door shut. There was barely a moment before Kurt had crossed the room and pressed not just his mouth, but his entire body against Blaine's, sliding him back against the wall with a thud.

"Kurt, we can't," Blaine murmured as Kurt's lips left his to trail down his neck, biting back a moan. "Not in the school bathroom."

"You, Blaine Anderson, are such a tease," Kurt hissed seductively, punctuating each word with a kiss to Blaine's neck, moving lower until he finally found that sensitive spot where his shoulder flowed smoothly into his neck.

Blaine's breath hitched in his throat before he was growling and pushing Kurt back, switching their positions and pressing Kurt firmly back against the wall, their lips meeting in a passionate, almost animal kiss. For a moment their tongues battled for dominance before Kurt pulled back, eyes dark and shining, lips swollen and skin flushed. "You drive me crazy," he whispered, his voice a low, seductive hum. "I can't get you out of my mind."

"I should hope so." There was no time for Blaine to wonder where this new, confident person was coming from before Kurt was kissing him again, short-circuiting that part of his mind capable of logical thought until the only thing spinning through his head was Kurt and Kurt's lips and the hard lines of Kurt's body against his and the way Kurt moaned and that it was him, Blaine, him making Kurt feel that way.

They left the bathroom a good half-hour later, fingers entwined, glowing with happiness and occasionally letting out breathy sighs that drew giggles from Tina and Brittany and knowing smirks from Santana and Puck. Finn kept shooting them suspicious looks over their lunches, reminding both of them that the monstrously tall boy was a lot more perceptive than he appeared. While the sneering continued despite truly terrifying quelling glares from his team mates, several even going so far as to yell slurs at him from across the cafeteria, Kurt barely seemed to notice. Of course, Blaine's finger tracing patterns into his thigh might have had something to do with it.

"So tell me, baby gays," Santana said, the smirk on her face evident even in her voice as she leant across the table, her eyebrows raised knowingly at them, "what did go down on Saturday night? I wants all the details." She winked at them and added, "The dirty details."

"Santana!" At least three people were giving her bug-eyed stares around the table, looking absolutely horrified that she would even think of such things. Santana gave their innocence an eye-roll and continued smirking at Kurt and Blaine, fixing them with a probing stare.

The memories rolled back to Blaine's mind, a vivid blush rising up his neck and jaw at how clear, how tangible all the memories, all the feelings,were. The flashing lights and sensual aura of the bar, the smoky air drifting into his lungs, the lights that illuminated rotating hips and beckoning fingers, the sharp lines of hip bones grinding against him, the hungry way lips claimed his, the sharp scrape of teeth against his neck, the hard grip of normally gentle fingers on his hips, the whispers in his ear all night and how it had felt to wake up in the morning, in the back of that same car in the same space but with a warm body against his and soft lips to claim his once more.

"Okay, Blaine, we never asked for pure bedroom eyes," Santana said, the smirk still evident in her voice. "Jesus, you just can't keep your hands off him, can you? That good a lay, huh?"

"Santana!" This shriek came from Tina and attracted plenty of attention. People sneered at them, yelling those same insults as Kurt snuggled into Blaine's side, smirking wickedly at his hand slipped under Blaine's shirt. Neither of the pair noticed, too wrapped up in each other. Their friends rolled their eyes and looked away, affording them considerate privacy when Blaine slid his hand around the back of Kurt's neck and smashed their lips together.

"Boys, break it up!" The entire club whipped their heads around as one, panic flashing in widening eyes as they saw one Sue Sylvester stalking towards the, eyes trained firmly on Kurt and Blaine. Kurt appeared to quite literally sink lower in his seat as his coach approached them, a steely look in her eyes. "Please refrain from such extreme public displays of affection in the cafeteria. Porcelain, I need to see you in my office after lunch."

"Well," Santana remarked as the imposing woman walked away, leaving a speechless and terrified Kurt, "you're screwed."

"And as intelligent as your input is, Santana," Quinn said scathingly, giving the Latina a glare, "we're supposed to be cheering Kurt up and not reminding him of just how much Coach Sylvester is going to torture him." Santana just raised an eyebrow at her as Kurt groaned and sank lower in his seat.

"We'll miss having you as captain, Kurt," Brittany said, stretching across Santana to rub Kurt's forearm in reassurance.

To his shame, Kurt's eyes prickled with hot tears at her words. "She…she's going to kick me off, isn't she?" The silence that greeted his question was all he needed. "I can't believe it. Three years and it's all destroyed by something that shouldn't matter to my cheerleading coach."

"Didn't she basically order you not to fall for Blaine back when she first chucked us in here as spies?" Santana asked. "I mean, she told us not to get too cuddly with the loser club, but that didn't work out either. But you did fall for Blaine, and have been dating him for nine months, and had sex with him, and got it splashed across the school paper. She's got plenty of ammo to throw you out."

"Coach Sylvester gives you weird orders," Artie muttered, low noises of agreement coming from the various others seated around the table.

"Oh, they get weirder than that," Quinn told them, smirking. "She tried to order us to climb through Schuester's window and steal away his hair gel once." People around the table frowned in confusion while Santana and Brittany exchanged a high five at the memory of the first time they'd defied their coach, and the adrenaline rush that had come with it.

Lunch continued in easy companionship, Santana falling into an argument with Mercedes about hairstyles while Brittany explained the gifts unicorns possessed to Artie. Finn, Mike, Sam and Puck talked loudly with their mouths full, their words all about girls and football and more about girls while everyone made disgusted faces at them. Rachel and Quinn discussed their college choices while Tina, Sugar and Rory talked about junior year and their possible plans for the future. And while Blaine joined that conversation and Kurt submitted his expertise to Santana and Mercedes' heated discussion, Blaine's hand never left Kurt's, thumb occasionally brushing his knuckles in reassurance.

When the bell rang, loud and obnoxious, to signal the end of lunch, they groaned as one. Stacking empty trays and plates, Rachel piled them onto the rack awaiting dirty dishes before rushing off to her locker, barely sparing a quick kiss to the cheek for Finn. Grumbling to themselves, the group wandered off in various directions for their different classes, Puck swearing loudly as he realised he'd forgotten his homework again.

Kurt's hand, clasped in Blaine's, shook as he walked the quickly emptying corridors to Sue Sylvester's office. His legs seemed heavier with every step he took towards the door where the plaque hung, still as shiny as the fateful day ten years ago when it had been placed there. MS. SUE SYLVESTER: CHEERLEADING COACH.

Blaine's hand tightened around his in a comforting squeeze and that deliciously familiar hand briefly massaged his tensed spine. "Do you want me to come in there with you?" Blaine asked, running a hand nervously through his dark curls. Kurt looked down at him, a small smile crossing his lips in spite of everything.

"No, it's okay," he said, not having to force himself to keep his voice calm and level. Something about Blaine's presence and Blaine's hand around his just calmed in like soothing words and reassurances never could. "I'm a big boy, I can handle myself." Thinking of his coach, he added darkly, "She'll probably be insulting you anyway."

"My boyfriend is the bravest, strongest, most amazing guy I know," Blaine whispered, lifting Kurt's hand to his lips and brushing a delicate kiss across his knuckles. Kurt's eyes fluttered closed at the contact, that same thrill coursing through his veins at Blaine's use of the word boyfriend. "I'll be out here the whole time if you need me."

Kurt kissed Blaine's cheek and gave him a truly genuine brave smile. One that instantly slipped from his lips as he forced his trembling hand to lower the gleaming silver handle and push the door open, wincing as the hinges creaked in protest. He avoided letting his eyes stray to the desk where his coach sat, relishing one last time in the warmth of Blaine's presence before shutting the door with a small snap. "Coach Sylvester, I-"

"Sit down." Fear flooded, icy cold, through Kurt's veins at the cold, calculating tone of her voice. He'd heard her speak that way once before - when she'd kicked Quinn off the squad for getting pregnant.

"I can explain," Kurt repeated in a tremulous voice, dropping into the rigid seat and wriggling as subtly as he could into a more comfortable position. Coach Sylvester clearly didn't believe in giving those she was torturing a comfortable seat while they squirmed under her constant gaze.

"Porcelain, when I strategically placed you into that club of mouthbreathers as a spy, I warned you about that nerdy golden boy. I told you not to fall for him and you swore you wouldn't. You betrayed me."

"Coach, you don't understand-"

"Don't interrupt. I spent a year rebuilding our reputation as a squad after all the drama. Your sexuality. Quinn's pregnancy. Santana's sexuality. And now, after my Cheerios have regained their reputation as a ruthless killing machine, you ruin it by chasing after some dwarf in a nerd costume. I will not have that, Porcelain."

Kurt bit his lip and tried not to show weakness. Tried not to show how much he wanted to break down right then and there. Tried not to show how much he longed to just leave and have Blaine's arms around him. A slight smirk twisted Coach Sylvester's lips as she continued talking. "But lucky for you, Porcelain, I am a tolerant woman. I can rebuild our reputation. This scandal can be minor. All I need is for you to break up with young Burt Reynolds in the next twenty-four hours.

Kurt's eyes widened. Out of all the things he'd expected his coach to ask of him, not one of the hazy half-formed ideas floating through his mind had been this. So he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and spoke the only words he knew he truthfully could. "Coach, I can't."

There was a slight strain in the smirk on Coach Sylvester's face as she gave him her most steely and frightening glare. "Can't? You can't break up with Gay McGeeky the same way I can't insult William Schuester's hair every time I see him. You can, quite easily, and it'll probably be a pleasure."

"Coach, you don't understand, I can't break up with Blaine."

"Porcelain, I know you have your morals, but this is for the good of the team."

"But Coach, I love him!"

Kurt felt his own jaw drop at the words that had come out of his mouth, hardly daring to believe this moment was real. Sue Sylvester stared at him for a moment, rendered speechless for once in her life. But she quickly regained her composure, and her voice was cold as she told him, "I told you not to fall for him, Porcelain. You're on your own. I expect that uniform on my desk by tomorrow." She gave him a glare, all traces of possible warmth or the genuine bond they'd once had as coach and captain gone from her demeanour. "Not get the hell out of my office."

Kurt was silent as he slowly stood and walked out of the room, each step seeming to take an age, each footfall too loud in the silent room. He bit his lip hard, hoping the pain would distract from the tears prickling his eyes and the lump rising in his throat. The door creaked loudly, shattering the silence of the office, as he opened it, sidled out and pushed it closed. "Kurt?" Blaine's voice came from a far-off plain, distant and distorted. "Kurt, are you okay? Honey, what happened?"

Leaning against the solid block of wood, blinking frantically and trying to focus on Blaine's concerned face through a sheen of tears, Kurt murmured, "She kicked me off. She kicked me off the squad, just for loving you."

Only when Blaine's breath came in a shocked gasp and he managed to focus in on hazel eyes glistening with incredulous tears did Kurt realise what he had said. "Y-you…you love…me?" Blaine asked in a soft amazed whisper. "You love me?"

"Crap, I didn't want to tell you like this. It's all backwards anyway, because we had sex on Saturday night and I'm only just now telling you and you're finding out because my coach kicked me off the squad. This isn't at all how I pictured it." He managed to meet Blaine's eyes. "I wanted it to be beautiful and perfect and romantic. For you."

Blaine took Kurt's hand, holding it against his frantically pounding heart. "Kurt, you here with me and saying those three words are all I need for this to be beautiful and perfect and romantic. Because I love you."

"I love you too." With his hand still feeling the thrumming of a heart that beat for him beneath his fingertips, Kurt leant forward and melded their mouths together in a kiss that could only come from the sort of delicious love they had together. From heated glances and subtle caresses and whispered smoky endearments in dark rooms. Kurt's tongue traced the curve of Blaine's lower lip, hands sinking into the boy's curly hair. Blaine moaned into the older boy's mouth, winding his arms tighter around Kurt, pulling their bodies flush together.

A vivid flash of white light dragged them from their passionate embrace. Jacob Ben Israel stood there, camera in hand, smirking triumphantly at him. "I'm sure the readers of my gossip blog will be very interested to know that, not only has Kurt Hummel been fired from his prestigious position as captain and kicked off the Cheerios entirely for being a typical slutty cheerleader, but that he also admits to loving the biggest nerd in McKinley," he said slowly, satisfaction written across his face.

The smirking boy turned to walk away victorious, but Blaine yelled after him. "Hey, Jew-Fro!" As Jacob turned, that smirk still twisting his unattractive features, Blaine ran after him, clamping a hand down on his shoulder. "Don't you dare talk about my boyfriend like that!" he growled. "Kurt is the most moral, compassionate person I've ever met, and you're just a horrible, disgusting sorry excuse for a human being who lives to post your hateful gossip online and make people's lives miserable!"

Jacob actually looked legitimately scared as Blaine drew back a fist to punch him square in the jaw. "Blaine, don't!" Kurt screamed. "He's not worth it!" Blaine hesitated momentarily, which was just enough time for Jacob to tear himself away and run down the corridor.

"I still have pictorial evidence!" he shouted as one final parting shot. Kurt ignored the jibe, rushing to Blaine's side as the younger boy, breathing heavily as a bull after charging, leant back against the nearest block of lockers.

"You should've let me punch him," he muttered angrily, punching his hand with his clenched fist. "I want to hurt him, after what he did to you. He deserves it." Kurt took his hands, carefully easing the right one out of a firm fist and massaging his knuckles.

"You'd be suspended, and Jew-Fro isn't worth a permanent blip on your disciplinary record," Kurt said softly, wrapping a soothing arm around Blaine's furiously shaking shoulders. "Besides, I'm not a slut." He raised Blaine's chin to look into those shining hazel eyes. "You were my first, and that's why I intent on holding on to you as long as I can."

"You're amazing," Blaine murmured, brushing his lips briefly across Kurt's. When the taller boy moved to deepen the kiss, Blaine pulled away slightly. "But what are you going to do about the bullying now? You know it's going to get worse because you're not a Cheerio anymore. I couldn't bear to see you go through what I do every day, just for being gay and in glee club. You might get it worse. You're gay, you're in glee club, you were kicked off the cheerleading squad and your private life has been splashed across the school paper for two years, leaving you open to ridicule in every way, shape or form."

"I still have glee, and my friends, my family, my talent," Kurt said. His voice dropped as he lovingly meshed their fingers together. "I still have you." Blaine smiled up at him and slid their hands together as they walked down the corridor, returning to class and those same boring lectures for a hint of normalcy in what had otherwise been a crazy day. He admired the way their hands fit perfectly together, the natural beauty of their contrasting skintones. They were silent as they walked, touching, feeling, tasting with their fingers.

The delicate silence and balance in their world was shattered when a crash sounded in the otherwise still corridor and Kurt found himself seeing stars as the back of his head slammed into a locker door. The sharp edges of metal doors caught at his shirt, scraping his skin through the thin red and white material as he slid slowly to the floor. He heard Blaine's voice, a little distant and wavery like a failing radio signal, screaming, "What is your problem?"

"Fuck off, faggot," someone sneered. "Have fun being Hummel's quick fuck." Of course a broad back covered by a letterman jacket would swim into view, the sharp slap of a high five echoing through the corridor as heavy footsteps left the area.

Shaking his head hopelessly, Blaine bent down next to Kurt, running a cool head across the burgeoning lump on the back of his head. "Are you okay, baby? What hurts?" His callused fingers caressed Kurt's cheek, the older boy leaning naturally into the touch.

"I'm f-fine…I think," Kurt murmured, manoeuvring his folded legs out from underneath him. Blaine stood up, holding out a hand and pulling Kurt gently to his feet. The boy looked pale, but strong, despite his stumble when he took a few hesitant steps to test for any loss of equilibrium.

"Can you walk?" Blaine asked softly. Kurt nodded slowly, returning to Blaine's side and blinking away the lights popping in front of his eyes. Blaine wrapped an arm securely around Kurt's waist, supporting him as they made their way through the relatively quiet and empty corridors to the choir room.

"You need to go to class," Kurt told him weakly as Blaine shut the door to the room firmly, but not going quite so far as to jam a chair underneath the handle. He smiled almost indulgently at Kurt, steering into one of the ugly brown plastic chairs.

"I asked Rachel to cover for me," he explained, sliding into the seat beside his boyfriend. "She can be trusted to conjure up a halfway decent convincing cover story." He brushed his lips softly against Kurt's before murmuring, "As long as you need me, I'm not going anywhere."

"You really are too good for me," Kurt whispered, his arms naturally sliding into their familiar position around Blaine's neck. "I love you." He moved forward and pressed their lips together in a sweet, innocent kiss that left Blaine weak at the knees and seeing bright fireworks bursting into showers of sparks behind his eyelids. It was amazing that their kisses could still be so sweet, so innocent, so chaste, after the way they'd given themselves to each other. Amazing that, after nine months, every touch was still intoxicating, every kiss still brought breathy sighs to their lips, every long uninterrupted gaze still sent shivers down their spines.

"I love you too." Amazing the way they loved each other. The memories they'd created together, from that first electrifying touch of the fingertips to the first delicious uncertain kiss to tangled tongues and needy moans to skin against skin on the smooth leather seats. The experiences they'd shared, the lives they'd brought together in a potent collision and the love they'd found against all odds.

Their lips collided once more, breath coming in heavy gasps as their fingers tangled in her and clothes, kissing each other needily, hungrily. Blaine pulled away for a moment and Kurt actually whined at the loss of contact before Blaine was pushing him back in his seat, straddling his lap and pressing tens upon hundreds of insistent kisses to his mouth. Kurt moaned against the touch, hands gliding down Blaine's spine to the small of his back, pulling him closer. Blaine's breath came in a ragged gasp as Kurt's hand slid under his shirt, caressing every inch of skin he could reach, mapping the contours of Blaine's back and chest. Kurt arched his head back in ecstasy as Blaine pressed his lips to the white column of Kurt's neck, sucking gently on the flawless skin.

"Fuck, Blaine!"

Blaine only continued his attentions to Kurt's neck for a few more moments before returning to his lips, leaving the skin faintly discoloured. As their lips met they devoured each other, Blaine running his hand up Kurt's leg while Kurt's cool fingers began undoing the buttons of Blaine's shirt.

"Boys! Cease and desist!"

They sprang apart, skin flushed, eyes dark with lust and lips swollen, to see Mr. Schuester standing in the doorway, coffee stains patterning his clothes and the smashed remains of a mug at his feet. "Shouldn't you be in class?"

"K-Kurt had to go see Coach Sylvester and I g-got permission from Ms. Whyte to go with him," Blaine murmured, eyes firmly concentrated on the floor, slight stammer in his voice and blushing vivid crimson from his neck to his hairline.

"Well, I begin to doubt that either of you have permission to be in here in the first place, let alone together or in this position," Mr. Schuester said, gesturing dumbly at them. Blaine's blush turned even darker as he realised he was still straddling Kurt's lap. Mr. Schuester gulped nervously, tugging awkwardly at his collar, and continued, "And seeing as this sort of thing got you into your current situation, I would've thought you'd be staying away from such…displays in areas where you could be caught."

Keeping his eyes trained on a crack in the floor, Blaine moved back to his own seat, refusing to so much as look up. Crossing his legs neatly and smoothing his messy hair, Kurt smirked and drawled, "Well, Mr. Schuester, we're not psychic. We weren't to know that you were outside or intended on coming in here."

Mr. Schuester gave Kurt a disapproving glare. "Either way, you two should not be in here," he said sternly. "I'm going to have to ask you to get back to class." Taking another look at their faces and generally ravished appearances, he added, "Now. No detours."

Bright blush still colouring his cheeks, Blaine leapt gratefully up from his seat and scuttled out of the room while Kurt followed at a more leisurely pace, tossing a careless apology to Mr. Schuester as he left. "I can't believe our teacher caught us!" Blaine groaned, burying his head in his hands. "I won't be able to look him in the eye now!"

"Don't worry it wasn't that bad," Kurt said reassuringly. Blaine turned to him with wide eyes.

"It was that bad!" he exclaimed. "Kurt, I can't think of a more compromising position for us to be caught in!" Kurt smirked at him and he blushed, adding, "Oh, you know what I mean!"

"It could've been worse," Kurt murmured, pressing himself closer to Blaine. "He could've caught us after I'd got your shirt off." The dark crimson blush crept higher up Blaine's face and he found his throat quite suddenly dry. Kurt chuckled quietly to himself and kissed Blaine quickly. "I have to go to French, so I'll see you in glee." Blaine nodded wordlessly, his cheeks still crimson, as Kurt winked and sashayed away.

He spent the rest of the afternoon constantly fighting down the heat of a blush, pretending he couldn't see the quirked eyebrows and knowing smirks of his friends and ignoring the notes they none-too-subtly tossed onto his desk.

When four o'clock rolled around and they all shuffled to the choir room, Blaine blushed furiously and kept his eyes trained firmly on the linoleum floor, avoiding the bright welcoming smile of their director. "Hey everyone," Mr. Schuester said cheerfully, moving to his usual position at the front of the room and scrawling REGIONALS on the board. "I hope you've come loaded up with ideas for Regionals!"

Most of the room made general murmurs of ascent, but, unfortunately for Blaine, Santana noticed the vivid crimson his entire face had turning. "Yo, baby gay número dos, why you blushing so hard?" she asked loudly, attracting the attention of all their team mates, who turned with smirks and sniggers to examine the blush turning even darker on Blaine's skin.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Puck exclaimed, holding up a hand, a knowing smirk on his lips. "In here? You…you didn't? Badass!"

"Boy, your reputation as glee club stud is in serious jeopardy!" Mercedes teased him with a smirk. "What with Kurt over there sexin' it up in the bathroom and getting his mack on in the choir room!"

"Guys!" Mr. Schuester interrupted. "We're here to talk about Regionals, not private lives that should remain private!"

"I agree," Rachel said. "For many of us, this is our last year to place first at Nationals, the pinnacle for any competing show choir. We should be focusing on giving the best performances we ever have, not discussing things which aren't for the choir room."

"Hear that, boys?" Santana teased. "Not for the choir room." Sniggering broke out through the room and Blaine blushed again.

An hour later, the meeting was over and everyone was gathering their belongings to leave. Santana, Brittany and Quinn started off towards the gymnasium for cheerleading practice, and Kurt almost automatically followed them before remembering what Coach Sylvester had done to him.

"She kicked me off," he muttered in answer to Brittany's questioning look. The blonde looked close to tears and enveloped him in a tight hug.

"I'm gonna miss you," she whispered. "You were a great captain." She scampered off after Quinn and Santana, who both gave Kurt something like a salute before running off to face the wrath of Sue Sylvester.

Blinking away the tears that threatened to fall, Kurt turned and smiled at Blaine, trying desperately to escape from Puck's questions about their sex life. "Hands off my boyfriend, Puckerman," he ordered, taking Blaine's hand. "Come on, honey, I'll give you a ride." He smirked at Blaine's grateful look and added, "No dirtiness in the back seat this time, I promise."

Puck stared after them with wide eyes and his jaw hanging unattractively open. Laughing, Blaine ran with Kurt out into the cloudy afternoon and climbed into the front passenger seat. When Kurt, already belted safely into the driver's seat, turning to ask him a question, Blaine immediately kissed him, shifting as close as he could. "Blaine, I said no dirtiness in the back seat," Kurt murmured, the smile even evident in his voice as he pulled off his seatbelt in order to properly hold Blaine.

"But we're not in the back seat," Blaine whispered. Kurt smirked at him and pulled him in for another kiss.

Questions arose when Kurt arrived home an entire hour later than usual, just as Finn returned from football training demanding food and a long shower. Under Burt's suspicious gaze, Kurt just sighed to himself and drifted dreamily up to his bedroom to relive all the amazing parts of his day. Which included the insanity of Puck and Santana during the glee meeting. Blaine was just adorable when he blushed.

There was to be a cheerleading display the next day. Which, of course, had meant not only practicing until seven thirty that afternoon instead of six thirty to take out Kurt's position in the routines and replace the gaps left by the loss of his voice, but also a practice at five o'clock in the morning that the group of girls had staggered groggily through with the aid of copious amounts of caffeine.

And, as on all cheerleading display days, Sue Sylvester had arranged for the rest of the school to be fumigated, leaving the gymnasium the only place with breathable air. It was packed from top the bottom, every seat filled as well as people sitting on the stairs or on the floor at the bottom of the tiers of seats.

The glee club occupied the first row, chattering merrily and occasionally pausing to spare a glance for the stretching cheerleaders. Without fail, every time she caught the eyes of one of her friends, Brittany waved and the entire club waved cheerfully back.

"Where's Kurt?" Mercedes asked, looking up and down the row for the familiar face. "I mean, Blaine's here so we know he's not getting his mack on."

"Actually, I haven't seen him all day," Finn said thoughtfully, looking around as if expecting his stepbrother to appear from nowhere. "He went out about six this morning and I haven't seen him since. He didn't even turn up for lunch."

Puck frantically shushed them all as the music began. Cheerleaders started dancing to appreciative whoops and wolf whistles and Santana began singing. She danced as she sang, the song a perfect fit for her voice and the cheerleaders themselves, the choreography flawless as per usual. Yet there was something missing, and everyone knew it was the ex-captain and his unique voice and way of moving that was the missing link in the chain.

As Quinn took over the song and Finn stood up to cheer, Rachel and Mercedes yanked him back down by the elbows, glaring at him. "We're refusing to cheer," Rachel explained. "As protest that Kurt was kicked off."

"But what about Santana and Quinn and Brittany?" Finn asked. "They're our friends too, we should cheer for them!"

"We explained to them, and they were all for it," Mercedes told him. "We can give them a proper standing ovation later, but we're protesting. Sylvester does not kick my boy off the cheerleading squad and get away with her." Lauren grinned and leaned over to give her a fist bump.

The music changed, slowing down and quieting. The cheerleaders moved into two lines and Finn, with his height advantage, could see that they were parting, making way for someone he couldn't quite make through the blur of red and white uniforms. The group abruptly stopped talking, because that voice was decidedly familiar.

"Oh baby-baby, got me feeling so right

Oh baby-baby, dancing in the moonlight.

Oh baby-baby, got me feeling so right

Oh baby-baby, dancing in the moonlight.

"Oh baby-baby, got me feeling so right

Oh baby-baby, dancing in the moonlight.

Oh baby-baby, got me feeling so right

Oh baby-baby, dancing in the moonlight."

A scream came from Rachel as Quinn and Santana moved aside to reveal Kurt, still proudly wearing his WMHS CHEERIOS uniform, microphone wrapped around his head and smiling straight at them. Brittany smiled at the boy, putting a hand on his shoulder and dancing with him as they sang together.

"I can taste the tension

Like a cloud of smoke in the air

Now I'm breathing like I'm running

'Cause you're taking me there

Don't you know-oh

You spin me outta control."

Santana's voice replaced Brittany's for the next lines. The blonde returned to the neat formation of cheerleaders behind Kurt and Santana, dancing to the perfect choreography. Sue Sylvester's face on seeing her recently fired captain still dancing with them was a perfect picture of hilarity, yet she did nothing to stop it.

"We can do this all night

Turn this club, skin-tight

Baby, come on.

"Pull me like a bass drum

Sparking up a rhythm

Baby, come on."

Quinn and Brittany moved forward to sing with the pair, though Kurt still held the spotlight, all the attention, every eye in the gymnasium on him. Mercedes and Rachel rocketed to their feet, screaming and cheering for their friends, followed quickly by the rest of the club. Kurt met Blaine's eyes, even across a crowded room as he danced, and there was no doubt in anyone's mind who he was singing for.

"Rock my world into the sunlight

Make this dream the best I've ever known

Dirty dancing in the moonlight

Take me down like I'm a domino.

"Every second is a highlight

When we touch don't ever let me go

Dirty dancing in the moonlight

Take me down like I'm a domino."

The music ended and the Cheerios stood still, panting and smiling as the entire audience got to their feet and gave them the standing ovation they deserved. Kurt turned and smiled at his friends and team mates, all screaming and cheering and applauding, tears on Rachel's cheeks.

"Yeah, I know our coach don't like it," Santana said into her microphone, voice booming out through the enormous room, "but my boy Kurt over there was a fantastic captain and we wanted to thank him and say goodbye." She met Blaine's eyes. "Blaine Anderson is a damn lucky boy to have him. He better know that, or a little someone called my fist will be happy to meet his face. I will go all Lima Heights Adjacent on your white ass if you hurt him, Bow Ties."

Rachel pushed Blaine forward a little, smiling and inclining her head towards the group of uniformed cheerleaders when he turned to her with a questioning look. Santana beckoned him with one finger and he obediently trudged across the suddenly silent gymnasium to her. Was it his imagination, or did the entire audience seem to be holding its breath?

"Well, Bow Ties," Santana prompted, still speaking into her microphone. "Do you know how lucky you are to have Kurt Hummel on your arm?"

Blaine met Kurt's eyes, his voice soft as he spoke. "I do." Santana smirked at him and shoved him forward. Straight into Kurt's arms.

For a moment Blaine stood still, his arms finding their way around Kurt's torso. Kurt's microphone echoed his words from floor to ceiling, wall to wall and all around the shocked audience. "I love you."

Blaine met Kurt's eyes, hazel gazing into blue. Their fingers meshed together, fitting perfectly, never to let go again. "I love you too."

And when their lips met in front of the entire school, it was perfect.