Porcelain! My office, now." Coach Sylvester growled as she passed the cheerleader's locker.

Kurt sighed, pressing his forehead to the cool metal. He loved being on the Cheerios – that and Glee club were the only things that made this school bearable – but sometimes Sue was a little hard to tolerate. Being her star member, he was normally cut a lot of slack, but he knew all too well that the coach didn't have truly deep bonds with anyone on the team. Taking a deep breath, he walked the short distance to her office, knocked lightly and entered.

She gestured to the chair parallel to hers on the other side of the desk without looking up from the paper in her hand. "Take a seat."

He did as he was told and waited in a nervous silence until Sue finally looked up and fixed him with a solid gaze. "I have your latest Calculus paper here."

Kurt blanched, knowing exactly what grade he'd gotten on it.

"Now you know as well as I do that I don't care about the grades my Cheerios get – half of them wouldn't be on the squad if I did. But your dad won't let you stay on the team if your grades drop and we need you to win Nationals. If you don't excel in this subject before Sectionals next month then you're out so I can plan a Nationals routine without you. Don't let me down, Porcelain."

"I'll do it, Coach Sylvester. I promise." Kurt assured her quickly. He couldn't tell her that he had no idea how he was going to do it, but he was sure that he'd find a way somehow. He had to.

Kurt spent the rest of the day depressed, trudging around the school and – although he knew it wasn't helping anything – not paying attention to his classes.

Unlike most of his teammates, Kurt was intelligent. Calculus was just the exception, and he wasn't sure what he could do to change that.

It wasn't until Glee club last period that a remedy was found. Unable to concentrate on the dance steps, he asked Mr Schuester if he could take five. He was just starting to clear his mind properly when Blaine Anderson rushed over, dressed in the same typical sweater and bow-tie combination. Normally it would look ridiculous, but Kurt had to admit that on Blaine it looked pretty cute.

Although known to be uncool and taunted for his intelligence, it seemed as though Blaine was constantly smiling. It was nice, and although he and Kurt didn't talk much, Kurt seemed to want to get to know him better. However, no matter how hard it was, Kurt kept the boy at arm's length; the only thing stopping Kurt from being bullied mercilessly was his reputation.

Being head cheerleader meant that Kurt could remain himself and stay out of harm's way – it was the best of both worlds. But he knew that if he ever got a boyfriend – especially someone as, and he hated to say it, low down in the ranks as Blaine – then there would be no stopping the bullies. It was one thing for him to be gay and popular, but not even a Nationals trophy could allow him the luxury of flaunting a relationship.

"Mr Schue said that your five minutes are up," he informed Kurt, looking at the ground and nervously sneaking a peak at the cheerleader's face.

"Great," Kurt grumbled. Blaine flushed and Kurt realised that he was taking his anger out on the other boy. He wasn't mean like some of the girls on the squad, and he would never give up on Glee club or its members just for his reputation's sake. "I'm sorry," he sighed. "Bad day."

Blaine sat down in the seat next to Kurt. "Anything you'd care to tell me about?"

"Just pressure from Coach Sylvester; I'm failing a subject and she said that if I don't pull up my grade my dad'll probably make me step down from the team."

"If you don't mind my asking, which subject?" Blaine asked, his eyes on Kurt's. For some reason he seemed to be taking in every word Kurt said with an almost fervent concentration.

"Calculus, but I honestly don't know how I'm going to pass if I don't understand any of the work!"

"Kurt! This is awesome!" For some reason Blaine grinned.

Kurt pouted slightly, hurt. "You find me failing Calculus and almost getting kicked off the Cheerios awesome?"

"What- no! No, not that." Blaine amended hastily. "Sorry. I meant, it's just that – well not to blow my own horn or anything, but I'm pretty good at Calculus. You and I have it at different periods but we both cover the same stuff. I'd be glad to tutor you, if you wanted."

"Why would you do that?"

Blaine blushed furiously. "Well – I mean – we're on the Glee club together, and your dad might make you quit this too, and I kinda thought we were – friends?"

Kurt felt a warm surge of feelings rush up at Blaine classing them as friends, but tried to push it back down. "Yeah. Yeah, we're friends."

Blaine beamed. "Right! Right. And friends help each other. So that's what I'll do."

"Thanks, Blaine." Kurt smiled. "Really. I don't know what I'd do otherwise."

"Don't worry about it. Well, tomorrow's Saturday so, unless you're busy, why don't you come round my house and we'll get started?"

"Your house?"

Blaine, yet again, blushed. "Well, I just thought it might be better than the library, but it's up to you."

Kurt smiled. "Your house sounds perfect."

"Kurt! Blaine!" Mr Schuester shouted. "Come on you guys, we need to focus if we want to win Sectionals!"

Rolling their eyes at each other, the boys stood up and got back to work.

Finding where Blaine lived was pretty hard. Every house in the block was beautiful but identical, and not so much as a blade of grass was out of place.

He finally found the right house and, after parking his car, he walked up the impressive driveway and stood in front of the door. There was a slight breeze in the air and Kurt found himself unconsciously fixing his hair before ringing the doorbell, though he didn't know why. He hadn't come here to impress Blaine.

The door opened, revealing Blaine. He was, of course, wearing his usual clothes that revolved around bow-ties and short pants, but had added a pair of black thick-rimmed glasses rather than the small frames he wore for school.

"I don't wear these glasses to school since some Neanderthal broke my last expensive pair – I just use a cheap replaceable pair." He explained after noticing that Kurt was staring at them.

"I like them," Kurt assured him. "It's a shame you can't wear them more."

Blaine blushed. He blushed a lot, Kurt noted. Being popular, he was used to talking to a lot of people. He'd been to a few parties – not many, because he never drank and it was kind of boring watching other people get drunk – and had even met a few other gay guys, though nothing ever came of it. They had flirted with him sometimes and he had learned to flirt back a little, but none of them had ever blushed. And he wasn't even flirting with Blaine, merely complimenting his glasses in a somewhat passive way. Still, he had to admit that the rosy tint that graced his cheeks was very becoming to him.

Blaine led him upstairs to and opened the door to his bedroom, stepping aside to allow Kurt to enter. The room was simplistic – the walls were grey, and the only furniture present was a bed, wardrobe and a desk. There was a corkboard on one wall with pictures pinned on. Kurt walked over to it and saw a photo of the New Directions, taken by someone in the audience at last year's Sectionals performance.

"Who took this?"

Blaine laughed lightly. "My mom. She loves watching me perform."

"That's sweet."

"Yeah," Blaine rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "So, shall we?" He gestured to the two chairs facing the desk.

They sat down and Blaine opened his calculus book up. "So are there any specifics that you don't understand or is it just the general topic?"

Kurt flushed, feeling stupid. "Well, I- I kind of understand the basics?" He sighed. "Yeah, okay, I don't get any of it."

Blaine laughed, but in a way that didn't sound cruel or judgemental. "That's okay; we can just start at the beginning and –"

He was cut off by a light knock on the door. It swung open to reveal a woman in her mid-forties. She had dark brown hair the same colour of Blaine's and there were laugh lines around her eyes, hinting that she was Blaine's mother.

"Sorry to disturb you two, but I thought you might want some snacks whilst you study!" She smiled and nodded to the tray in her arms.

"Oh, uh, thanks Mom," Blaine mumbled, embarrassed. "You can go now if you want."

"Blaine, where are your manners? Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" She beamed at Kurt.

"Mom, this is Kurt. Kurt, this is my mom."

"It's nice to meet you, Kurt! I've heard so much about you from Blaine here!" She winked and Blaine suppressed the urge to groan; he had never felt more embarrassed in his life. His mother, unable to take the hint, continued speaking. "I've seen all of Blaine's performances, and I always thought you had a lovely voice, dear."

"Oh, well thanks," Kurt smiled bashfully.

"And I know Blaine always goes to your pep rallies; he loves them!"

Blaine looked horrified. "I don't always go."

Blaine's mom laughed. "I think I've embarrassed Blaine enough, I should leave you boys alone to study."

"Yes, you should," Blaine couldn't help saying, sighing as the woman backed out of the room and finally left them alone. "Sorry about my mom," he blushed.

Kurt shook his head. "I think it's nice she cares so much." He grinned slyly. "So you talk about me a lot, hm?"

Blaine froze. "Well, I mean, I talk about all of the New Directions, you know. I don't talk about just you. Not that I don't want to talk about you, you know, just…" Blaine sighed. "I'll be quiet now."

Kurt laughed, his eyes glistening and crinkling at the corners. Blaine decided he'd do whatever he could to make Kurt smile like that as much as possible, no matter how much of a fool he made himself look in the process.

"Why don't we just get on with Calculus before I make an even bigger idiot of myself?" He suggested, skimming through the book and smiling as Kurt laughed again in agreement.

Their tutoring sessions always consisted of the same thing; Kurt would go over to Blaine's house, make polite chit-chat with his mother whilst Blaine died of embarrassment, and then work through Calculus problems for as long as they could. Sometimes Kurt wouldn't leave until just before his curfew, meaning they spent hours together, though after a certain point the Calculus book would lay forgotten as they just talked. Kurt knew he shouldn't feel like this, knew that the bullies would have a field day if they ever found out, but he couldn't help it – he kind of had a soft spot for Blaine.

"So I had the most awkward conversation with my mom ever last night," Blaine started as he threw his pencil down on his desk, stretching his arms above his head. A thin strip of skin peeked out from between his shirt and the waistline of his pants. Kurt averted his eyes to avoid imitating Blaine and blushing like a schoolgirl.

"Tell me all about it," Kurt smiled. Blaine had spent two weeks tutoring Kurt and the latter was pleased to note that Blaine had come out of his shell considerably.

"She basically sat me down and had The Talk with me," he grimaced. "I had to sit through it and then spend another five minutes convincing her that I was only tutoring you, nothing else."

Kurt laughed but blushed again. "My dad's a little suspicious, too. So she doesn't mind, then? You being gay?" There was a slight pause and Kurt cursed under his breath. "I'm sorry, I don't want to pry or anything – "

"No, it's fine! My mom is actually really supportive of me. My dad… my dad found it harder to accept. My parents were having problems anyway, and I think me coming out didn't help; they ended up getting a divorce. It's just me and my mom now, but we're really happy."

"Yeah, before he met Carole it was only me and my dad." Kurt smiled, feeling happy that he was actually talking with Blaine about something other than Calculus or a superficial topic starter. "Finn's a much better brother than I expected; he can at least do things with my dad that I'm not interested in."

"I guess your dad never expected to be watching the cheerleader at the games instead of the footballer?" Blaine grinned.

Kurt laughed. "I guess not. So what else do you do, besides your amazing tutoring?"

Smiling, Blaine bit his lip as though ashamed. "Uh, nothing much? I mean, I have glee club which I love but I prefer to focus on my school work. Not very cool, I know, but I just want to get to a great college."

"It's sensible," Kurt shrugged. "I think it's sweet that you're thinking of your future – most of the idiots at school won't be."

Blaine blushed. "Thanks."

Kurt couldn't help but notice the way his stomach fluttered as Blaine smiled at him, but again forced himself to push the feelings away. He couldn't afford to fall for him; if they ever started dating Kurt's popularity would spiral downward, causing the bullying that was only being held at bay due to his cheerleading to come back even stronger than before.

They got on with their work in silence, broken only by Blaine correcting Kurt's mistakes, though Kurt's mind was on different things than Calculus entirely.

Blaine closed the door after Kurt left that night and sighed, rubbing his hands over his face tiredly.

He may be getting straight A's in every lesson but he was so stupid. He was stupid because he actually thought that Kurt might like him if he started tutoring him. He'd hoped that Kurt would notice him and fall for him, but instead Kurt had called him sweet. Sweet! Blaine groaned. He'd liked Kurt ever since he'd set his eyes on him, but never knew what to say to him until now. He wished that he could be as confident as the guys on the football team, who could get anybody they wanted. But of course someone as popular and beautiful as Kurt wouldn't be interested in a guy like Blaine. His gelled hair, glasses and outfits were enough to turn anyone off, surely. And he actually told Kurt that he studied in his free time!

Smooth Blaine, real smooth. He thought miserably. As he ascended the stairs to his room once more, he decided something. If he ever wanted to get Kurt, he needed a game plan. And if Kurt refused him then he would just have to live with the embarrassment. Somehow.

When Kurt knocked on his front door the next week, Blaine had to take a deep breath. It would be their last tutoring session, as Kurt's exam was the following day, and so Blaine really needed to act before it was too late.

He opened the door with a nervous smile. As usual, Kurt looked stunning. Little did Blaine know that Kurt had spent thirty minutes debating what he should wear, depending on what would impress Blaine the most. His emotions over Blaine were extremely conflicting but he still wanted to look good for the other boy.

Blaine led him upstairs to his room and opened the door to reveal the scene he'd worked so hard on. A picnic blanket was spread on the floor with two pillows to rest on and a huge spread of food.

"Uh, Blaine?" Kurt asked uncertainly when he took in the sight.

"We've been studying for weeks," Blaine started. "If you don't understand it now then one more day of revision won't help."

The smile that graced Kurt's lips caused his whole face to light up brilliantly. "You're so sweet," he noted as he sat down on one of the pillows.

Blaine flashed a tight grin as he sat down. He was pretty sure he'd never hated a word so much as "sweet" before.

"So, Blaine," Kurt popped a strawberry in his mouth, ate it delicately and then continued. "Is there any particular reason you did this for me?" He couldn't help the hope that was rising inside of him, even if he hadn't decided whether or not he should take the chance with Blaine. He desperately wanted to, but he was so terrified of what the bullies would do to him if he did that he couldn't bring himself to let go.

Blaine hesitated. The words were right there on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't force them out. Even if Kurt did feel the same way about him – which was so not going to happen – their relationship could never work. Kurt was popular, he was the freaking head cheerleader and Sue Sylvester's prodigy. Whereas Blaine… he was the geeky Calculus tutor. He never stood a chance. "There's no reason," he mumbled weakly. "Just… didn't want you to get too stressed before the test."

Kurt smiled through his disappointment and changed the subject.

"I'm so full," Kurt grumbled as he stretched out on the blanket. "I shouldn't have eaten so much; Coach Sylvester'll probably kill me."

"Why?" Blaine asked as he moved the empty plates and leftovers onto his desk and sat back down.

"Oh, she just goes kind of crazy about our weight." Kurt shrugged. "I mean, it doesn't really bother me – I like how I look."

"I like how you look, too," Blaine whispered and then froze. He hadn't given those words permission to come out of his mouth, and the room was so quiet that there was no way Kurt didn't hear. He exhaled slowly and closed his eyes before adding more, figuring he may as well say the whole thing. "And you don't need to change for anyone, especially not Coach Sylvester."

Before Kurt could respond, Blaine had stood up and strode to his bedside table. He pulled out a thin box that was decorated with a present bow. He handed it to Kurt with shaky hands and watched as the other boy removed the lid.

"It's a fountain pen," Blaine blushed, "to use for your test tomorrow. It might give you good luck, not that you need it."

"It's beautiful," Kurt whispered as he stared at the pen. It was sleek and black and when Kurt took off the lid he noticed the detailed engraving on the nib.

Before he'd even realised what he was doing Kurt had surged at Blaine and kissed him. Blaine froze for a millisecond and then responded with just as much enthusiasm, holding onto Kurt's hips to keep him there as Kurt's arms wound round his neck, fingers carding through his curls.

Images suddenly flooded Kurt's brain of the jocks at school finding out about this and beating him – or even worse, Blaine. He imagined Blaine lying on the floor, bloody and bruised, and broke away from the real Blaine with a sob.

"Kurt?"

Kurt shook his head frantically. "I can't." He cried, starting to feel slightly hysterical. Before the kiss he had never thought of what the bullies what do to Blaine, but now the image wouldn't leave his mind. He refused to let it become a reality. "We can't. I'm so sorry, Blaine, I just… I can't!"

"Kurt!" Blaine shouted, but Kurt was already halfway down the stairs. Within a few minutes he was in his car trying to compose himself. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he realised that he couldn't avoid his feelings anymore, it was too late.

He was in love with Blaine.

The next day Kurt sat at his desk in Calculus about to retake the test, though he wasn't feeling at all confident. He'd barely slept the night before, the real memory of his first kiss with Blaine mixing with the false images of what would surely happen to them if they started dating.

When he pulled out the fountain pen to complete the test his stomach twisted guiltily. The nervous feeling regarding the test didn't help, however as he opened the booklet and looked at the first question he realised that he actually knew the answers. It probably should have felt better than it did, but he was in such a state that he hardly paid much attention.

He made a note to thank Blaine profusely as he rattled off the answers before remembering exactly what situation he was in and groaning to himself quietly.

Kurt hung around at the end of the class so his teacher would mark it and give it back to him straight away, unable to bear waiting until his next lesson.

"Congratulations, Kurt," his teacher smiled as she handed back the paper. "You did great."

Suddenly his problems with Blaine were forgotten as he realised what passing that test meant: he could stay in the Glee club and on the Cheerios, meaning he could graduate high school with two national titles under his belt.

Kurt ran out of the room clutching his paper with the biggest smile on his face and almost ran into Blaine, who had been waiting outside of the room eagerly to find out whether or not Kurt had passed.

"I did it!" Kurt shouted happily, thoughts still revolving around the Cheerios and New Directions. "You did it, Blaine! Thank you so much!"

Flustered, Blaine tried to shrug off the compliment. "It was all you, really."

"I can't believe I get to stay in glee club and on the Cheerios!" Kurt made a noise very close to a squeal and flung his arms around Blaine's neck, hugging him tightly. Almost immediately, however, he realised two things: one, that they were in a very homophobic school in Ohio and two, that he had ran out on Blaine after kissing him yesterday and so probably shouldn't be hugging him right now.

"I – have to go to practice," Kurt lied as he retracted his arms and pinned them against his sides as though he was afraid that they would wind themselves back around Blaine on their own accord. "But really, thank you so much, Blaine."

"Kurt!" Blaine called to the other boy's retreating figure. Now was the time, surely, to confess his feelings for Kurt. The longer they let the kiss hang unspoken in the air between them, the harder it would be for things to progress. He opened his mouth but the words he so badly needed to voice wouldn't come out. Maybe he shouldn't say it here, in the hallway at school between periods. Where was the romance in that? He should probably ask him on a date first. Aware of the expectant look Kurt was shooting him, he took a deep breath. "Do you wanna get coffee with me tonight? Maybe?" He blurted out.

Looking pained, Kurt shook his head slowly. "I- I can't, Blaine. I'm really, really sorry but – "

"No, I get it. It's- it's cool. Don't worry about it." He smiled sadly, not needing to hear the reason. You're not popular enough. Being with you would kill my reputation.

Looking like he wanted to say more, Kurt hesitated for a second before turning away again.

Well, Blaine thought resolutely as he walked to his locker and busied his trembling hands by switching over textbooks, I guess this calls for stage two.

Blaine looked at himself in the mirror before he left for school the next morning and was shocked at what he saw. He had replaced his glasses for contacts and his normally gelled hair was now curly and free. The suspenders and bow ties had been ditched for dark skinny jeans and a leather jacket with a plain fitted white t-shirt underneath. He looked different and – he blushed even thinking it – kind of sexy.

Driving to school, however, proved difficult. His stupid hair kept flopping in his face and he must not have used enough solution for his contacts because his eyes felt sticky and dry. His jeans felt way too tight and altogether he just didn't feel like himself. Reminding himself that this was for Kurt, he pushed past his insecurities. Kurt was worth it all.

He walked into school with a jaunt in his stride and a rather serious expression, trying to act cool. He winked at a girl as he passed her, only his contact was so dry he had to literally wrench his eye back open. The girl shot him a somewhat frightened look and hurried off.

The day only got harder as it progressed. The building was warm, causing Blaine to bake in his leather jacket, the material sticking to him uncomfortably. Whenever he tried to act passive in a lesson the teachers would get worried and ask if he was okay, as he was normally the first to answer any and all questions. He was secretly hoping to get detention to boost his reputation, however because he was such a good student the staff simply assumed he was having a bad day and let him off.

Blaine's last class of the day was Glee and he psyched himself as he walked to the choir room. Mr Schuester didn't appear to have any sort of lesson to teach them that week and instead was just allowing them to sing whatever they felt like singing. Blaine's hand shot up faster than even Rachel's and Mr Schuester, shocked, gave him the floor. Making sure to keep eye contact with Kurt, he began to sing.

Is it still me that makes you sweat?
Am I who you think about in bed?
When the lights are dim and your hands are shaking as you're sliding off your dress?

The Glee club watched on in slight horror as they realised what song Blaine – of all people, Blaine – was singing.

Then think of what you did
And how I hope to God he was worth it.
When the lights are dim and your heart is racing as your fingers touch his skin.
I've got more wit, a better kiss, a hotter touch, a better fu –

"Blaine!" Mr Schuester called, stopping him mid-lyric. "Don't you think that's a little inappropriate for school?"

Embarrassment washed over Blaine. "But it's different when Puck sings a song about his teacher, or you all do a Britney song in front of the whole school and practically cause a sex riot?"

The club broke out into a chorus of "oooooh!" as Blaine tried to stare down his teacher.

"Okay guys, let's just call it a day. Your homework is to rehearse a song you think we should sing for Sectionals. Blaine, can I see you in my office?"

Rachel stood up to argue. "Mr Schue! We're way too close to Sectionals to just call off a practice!" Mr Schue just shrugged tiredly and ushered her out of the door. "Thanks a lot, Blaine." She added nastily as she stormed out.

The rest of the club filtered out, seeming a lot less irate than Rachel and a lot more amused.

Blaine and Mr Schuester stepped into the office connected to the choir room. Blaine began to apologise for his actions, saying he was just having a bad day and hadn't realised until now that the song was so inappropriate. As he was leaving he heard Kurt's voice coming from the choir room. Peeking out, he saw that Kurt was packing his things up with Santana. He was about to leave but heard his name, so hid behind the doorframe and eavesdropped.

"I've been sticking up for Blaine all day whenever the idiots on the football team said anything, but even I wanna know what the hell he's doing. What d'you think's going on?" Blaine heard Santana say.

"Oh, I- I don't know." Kurt said. "Besides the song I haven't really noticed a difference." Blaine's heart sank; all of his efforts had been for nothing, as Kurt hadn't even noticed.

"Probably because you've had your damn head in the clouds for the last two weeks. Who's getting you all misty eyed?" Santana pried playfully.

Kurt froze. "I- it's no one."

Santana raised one perfect eyebrow and Kurt sighed.

"Fine. It's just… this guy on the football team. Yeah. But he's not gay and if he found out it'd only mean trouble for me so I'd appreciate it if – "

"Don't worry about it," Santana grinned. "Your secret's safe with me."

Santana's phone bleeped suddenly and she said goodbye, walking out of the door with her eyes glued to her phone. She didn't even notice Blaine as she close to him. Nobody ever noticed him. Feeling the tears welling in his eyes, Blaine moved from the doorway and was about to make a quick exit from the choir room when Kurt spotted him.

"Oh, hey Blaine, I didn't see you there – " Kurt, flustered, tried to apologise.

"What is your problem with me, Kurt?" Blaine exploded, completely fed up. His contacts were itching, his hair had frizzed up during the course of the day and he missed his damn bow ties.

"W-what?" Kurt asked, confused.

"I didn't have to help you with your test, but I did, because I like you and I wanted you to stay in glee and I know how much you love being on the Cheerios. And then we kissed and I thought we were both on the same page, but I guess I was wrong. So I thought that dressing better and boosting my popularity might make you happy and make you want me, but no, I was wrong again. Because you're actually more interested in some guy from the football team and I'm just an idiot for even thinking I had a chance."

Kurt looked at Blaine with a heartbroken expression. He waited as Mr Schuester exited the room, saying goodbye to both of them as he went, before slamming the door closed and turning to the other boy. He kissed Blaine fiercely, gripping the back of his head with his hands and pushing his fingers through the curls.

"I don't like some guy on the football team," Kurt confessed as they broke apart. "I love you, Blaine."

Blaine's breath hitched. "You do? But – then why were you – I don't understand – "

"I'm scared, Blaine," Kurt whispered. "The only thing saving me from harassment at this school is my status. If I start dating someone it'll be seen as me flaunting my sexuality in their faces and we'd both be bullied. I couldn't stand for you to be hurt because of me."

Blaine felt relieved as he finally discovered the real problem. "Kurt, I don't care about the bullies. I care about you. I want to be with you."

Tears stung Kurt's eyes. "It's not that simple, Blaine."

"Why not? Those idiots have dictated too much of my life. I've switched schools three times and I can't even wear a pair of freaking designer glasses without being scared they're gunna break them like they could have broken me. But I'm not broken and they won't break me. Those guys are never going to go anywhere, have any of the things we'll get to have one day."

The tears that had been threatening to fall for some time now finally splashed down Kurt's cheeks. He was conflicted, wanting to be with Blaine so badly but unsure if he was brave enough. He stared into Blaine's earnest eyes and clasped their hands together slowly, cautiously linking fingers.

"I didn't plan on finding someone like you until I left Lima," he whispered as he stared at their interlocked hands.

"Me either," Blaine laughed shyly. "I mean, New York's way more accepting than Ohio will ever be, so I didn't think there'd be many opportunities to find someone until I moved there."

Kurt's head snapped up. "You want to live in New York?"

"Yeah. I'd really like to be a teacher. I'd teach mathematics – maybe even Calculus," he grinned, "and run a glee club, like Mr Schue does. Or maybe I'll try out for a college like NYADA, I don't know yet."

Kurt sighed. "You're way too perfect," he blurted out and both boys blushed. "I'm applying for NYADA, too."

"The point is," Blaine continued, "I was kind of putting my life on hold until I left for college. But then I started spending more time with you and realised that I really didn't want to do that anymore. And I fully understand it if you're not ready to face the bullies, but maybe we could face them. Together."

Kurt bit his lip and thought hard. It was true – those idiots shouldn't control his life, and in what world did Kurt Hummel let them? Here was this amazing boy who actually liked him, who Kurt loved, and he'd be crazy to let him go.

"Alright," Kurt grinned. "Maybe it'll prove to those Neanderthals that what we have is normal."

"What we have? Does this mean I get to take you on a date?" Blaine asked hopefully.

Kurt laughed. "Yes, Blaine, it does."

"Good." Blaine blushed. "Because I'd really love to take you out on one."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah… because…" Blaine took a deep breath, turning even redder, "because I love you, too. Just, uh, so you know."

Kurt's breathing stuttered a little as he smiled back, before flinging his arms back around Blaine's neck and kissing him once more.

They were planning to go on a date that weekend and walk into McKinley as a couple the following Monday, so the next day at school Blaine tried not to see Kurt too much; he was still quite shy and didn't want it to be awkward. As he tried to dodge Kurt without doing it too obviously and hurting his feelings he bumped into Coach Bieste.

"Oh, Anderson! I was looking for you," she stopped him and said. "I remember you'd tried out for Kicker in September? The space reopened and if you want to I'd be more than happy to have you on the team. Just let me know." She smiled and walked away, leaving Blaine dumbfounded.

He had tried out for the team at the start of the year but wasn't surprised when he hadn't got in. He would have loved to be on the team but knew that there were probably dozens of other guys better than him that had also tried out. However, according to Coach Bieste, he was good enough. As he walked to his next class he felt like he had a thousand thoughts swimming around in his head; he had a lot to think about.

He picked Kurt up at his house that weekend for their date, conversed rather awkwardly with Kurt's father Burt, and then drove them both to a local theatre where Gyspsy, one of Kurt's favourite musicals, was playing. After the play they went out for dinner to a fairly large restaurant where they could blend in unnoticed.

At the end of the night they parked a block away from Kurt's house and sat in Blaine's car for as long as they could ignore their curfews for. Kurt was laughing at something Blaine had just said, his eyes crinkling at the corners and his hand slapped over his mouth. His head was bent backward slightly and he looked, in a word, beautiful. Just the image of him gave Blaine the courage to mention what had been on his mind for days.

"Kurt, you don't care that I'm unpopular, right?" He started hesitantly.

"What?" Kurt asked, smile faltering slightly. "No! Of course I don't. You know my only worry is what the bullies will do to us when they find out we're dating, and you being… unpopular probably doesn't help, but it has nothing to do with status."

"So you love me just as much now as if I was popular?"

Kurt's hand covered Blaine's and squeezed tightly. "Of course."

"So… if I was to join the football team, you'd say…?"

Kurt looked confused. "I'd say that try-outs were in September, and that if you wanted to be on the team you might wanna grow a little more, no offence, unless you were trying out for Kicker…" he trailed off at the look on Blaine's face.

"I, uh, I did try out in September. For Kicker. And I didn't get the spot, obviously, but there's a vacancy now and Coach Bieste offered it to me. I really want to be on the team, and I think it'd be cool, you know?"

"That's great, Blaine!" Kurt congratulated him. "I'm happy for you. So then what were you just talking about?"

Blaine bit his lip, embarrassed. "Well, I just wanted to make sure that you liked me for me before I told you about this. Which is stupid, I know, but –"

"Don't worry, I get it." Kurt grinned deviously. "So you know this means I have to cheer for you now."

Blaine blushed and shifted slightly in his seat. "O-oh, yeah, I guess it does."

"Maybe I'll make up a new routine just for you." Kurt added as he moved closer to Blaine.

Blaine felt himself flush even deeper. "Y-yeah?"

"Mhmm. Only, you'd probably have to help me practice," he concluded suggestively.

"Kurt!" Blaine mumbled, practically feeling the heat radiating from his face. He was still far too new to all of this.

Kurt giggled and kissed him, making the most of the time they had left before the night ended.

"Go Titans!" Kurt screamed, jumping up and down and clapping from his position at the side-line. The team was just walking onto the pitch and the cheerleader spotted Blaine near the back, looking nervous, as could be expected – it was his first game, after all. Blaine looked so much smaller than the rest of the boys but Kurt tried not to worry too much about him; he was much faster than he looked and his small frame only benefitted his agility.

The week before had practically been a blur as Blaine practiced ruthlessly for his first game and both boys adjusted to being out and in a relationship together in a school like McKinley. Although Kurt's popularity had definitely decreased, there were no huge instances of bullying. Coach Bieste caught Azimio just as he was about to throw a slushy at the new couple and kicked him off the team straight away. She said she was sick of the rumours that he was bullying other students and told him straight out that she had a lot of options for his replacement. It scared the other football players enough to stop them from doing the same.

The game was close, and Kurt was beyond proud when Blaine scored at the very end, winning the game for the Titans. He screamed until his throat hurt and then ran out to hug him, not caring that everybody was watching. To Kurt's surprise, most of them didn't even care.

"You were amazing!" He yelled over the cheers. "Did you see me cheering for you?"

"Yes!" Blaine laughed. "It was amazing, if not slightly distracting." He winked and Kurt's heart pounded even faster.

As time passed it was harder and harder for the school to ignore Blaine's obvious talent at football – although, Blaine himself admitted, it did kind of come out of nowhere. What with Blaine becoming the star of the team, and Kurt being the captain of the Cheerios, technically, Kurt and Blaine were…

"The 'It' couple, Kurt?" Blaine laughed as he met Kurt at his locker. "Really?"

"Hey, I didn't come up with it!" Kurt giggled. "But you're on the football team, I'm a cheerleader…"

"We're such a clich�!" Blaine declared dramatically, causing Kurt to laugh even harder.

"Only in that sense." Kurt rebutted. "The cheerleader and the geek, who would have thought it?" He added with a wink.

Blaine laughed and pulled a mock offended expression.

Their status didn't help them escape all forms of torment by any means. They still had to endure the occasional name call, and when Kurt once tried to steal a kiss between classes they were reminded all too clearly where exactly they were thanks to a nice, cold slushy. But whenever things got especially bad they only needed to remind themselves that next year they'd be miles away in New York, where everything was so much better and where they could finally start the rest of their lives. Together.