The papers had all been signed and sorted even before Blaine met Kurt at the Lima Bean to discuss his potential transfer. Keeping it all a secret had proven to be more difficult than he expected, but he reminded himself that Kurt's reaction to the surprise would be so much better than if he just confessed that his mind was already made up.

He returned Kurt's playful banter with ease and kept his decision to himself, sipping his coffee to hide his grin every time Kurt made puppy eyes at him. The conversation quickly shifted from Nancy Grace to the latest drama at McKinley, including the lack of a musical theater department at Julliard and the discovery of a new, absolutely perfect school for both Kurt and Rachel.

“The New York Academy of the Dramatic Arts,” Kurt perked up and dug his phone out of his pocket. He tapped at his screen for a moment before passing it to Blaine. “It's extremely elite- Ms. Pillsbury says they only let in 20 students a year.”

They stayed silent while Blaine read through the school's website. After a few minutes, he hands Kurt his phone back.

“Wow, Kurt, that's- that's perfect for you,” Blaine told him honestly.

“I know!” Kurt pocketed his phone and grinned. “And they're having a mixer for potential students out in Dayton later this week, so Rachel and I are going to go check out the competition.”

“Are you going to perform something?”

“I'm not sure yet,” Kurt said. “I'm thinking something The Wizard of Oz, but I still have to discuss it with Rachel. Whatever we do, we'll blow them away. They won't know what hit them.”

“I agree,” Blaine smiled. “And I expect every detail.”

“Of course.”

A quick glance at his watch told Blaine that he had to head home soon, or risk getting yet another lecture from his parents. He sighed and smiled back at Kurt sadly.

“Walk me to my car?” Kurt asked. Blaine nodded and they stood to leave. “This is why you should come to McKinley,” Kurt nudged his shoulder as they made their way outside. “I feel like I never see you and when I do, it ends far too quickly.”

“I know,” Blaine sighed and ducked his head to keep from smiling too largely. “I'm sorry.”

“I feel like I'm pressuring you,” Kurt stepped away and leaned against his car. “I don't want you to come just for me, okay? It has to be because you want to.”

“I know, Kurt,” Blaine grabbed his hand and smiled up at him.

“I guess you really do have to go now,” Kurt glanced around before stepping a bit closer. “Same time tomorrow?”

“Of course,” he closed the distance between them and pecked Kurt on the lips quickly, cautious of their surroundings. “And yeah, I should really get going. My dad wants to act like a family tonight, so…”

“Say no more,” Kurt pulled his hand back and opened his car door. “Text me when you can, okay?”

“I will,” Blaine said and walked around to his own car. “Love you!” He called before climbing into the driver's seat. Kurt flushed pink and motioned for Blaine to roll his window down.

“I love you, too,” he said softly. “Drive safe.”

Yes, Blaine decided as he watched Kurt drive away a moment later, transferring was definitely the right decision.

…

“Are you sure you want to do this?” His mom asked for the hundredth time the following morning. “It's not too late to change your mind, sweetheart. No one would see you any differently for wanting to stay at Dalton.”

“Yes, mother, I'm sure,” Blaine sighed and sat on his bed.

“I just don't think you should risk another incide-”

“Mom,” he cut her off. “I'm sure.”

“You're really willing to go through public school again? What if there's a repeat of the Sadie Hawkins dance, Blaine?”

“It's worth it,” he told her matter-of-factly. “Kurt is worth it, mom. And I thought we discussed this already!”

“Blaine-”

“I told you my reasons,” he rubbed at his temples. “I've always regretted running away. I loved Dalton- and the Warblers!- but I don't feel like I belong there anymore. I want to stand up for myself. I'm proud of who I am and I refuse to let anyone take that away from me.”

“I'm proud of you too,” she sat next to him and placed a gentle hand on his back, “but I also want you to be safe.”

“I know,” Blaine sighed. “I'm not going to pretend that I can promise that, but I'm not going to hide my relationship with Kurt either.”

“I'd never ask that of you and you know it,” the hand on his back moved to his face instead. She pulled his face closer to her and kissed his forehead. “As long as you're sure.”

“I am,” he said.

“Alright,” she sighed. “Now, come on. You don't want to be late on your first day, do you?”

…                                                                                                   

He missed first period anyway, despite getting to school on time. There was more paperwork to fill out and he still had to be given a tour of the school along with his schedule and locker assignment; he didn't mention that he already knew his way around since Kurt had lead him through the halls during intermission on the New Direction's Night of Neglect. The bell that signaled the start of second period rang and the secretary, Ms. Denny-Brown, handed him his schedule and shooed him off to class.

He politely introduced himself to his Geometry teacher and took a seat at a desk toward the middle of the room. A glance around the room told him that no one really took the class seriously and since the board at the front of the class was blank, he assumed that even the teacher didn't really care.

Besides, Blaine mused, he was fantastic at math. And he'd taken it at a higher level at Dalton the previous year, but McKinley didn't recognize it as a high school credit. On the bright side, that meant he needed to put minimal effort into his work and still pass with flying colors.

He grinned and pulled an empty notebook out of his messenger bag. Mr. Clippinger wrote the Pythagorean Theorem on the board and explained how it worked. The majority of the class blinked up at him, confusion evident on their faces.

“Let a represent this leg of the triangle,” he droned on and gestured to the picture on the board, “and this one is b. If a is equal to 3 and b is equal to 4, what does that make c? Anyone?”

Not a single hand was raised and Blaine resisted the urge to roll his eyes and answer the question himself. He had decided to make as little of an impression today as possible since he was planning to surprise Kurt later in the day and perform a number out in the courtyard. The entire school would know about him soon enough, so he enjoyed being just another face in the crowd while he could.

“Come on, this is easy,” Mr. Clippinger sighed. “Nobody? Alright, let's try this again. If a squared plus b squared equals c squared, what is c when a is 3 and b is 4?”

His question was met with more silence and Blaine decided to tune the rest of the world out and fantasize about surprising Kurt.

Should he find Mercedes first and figure out where Kurt's next class was? He could walk in like nothing was out of the ordinary- or he could sit in Kurt's seat until he showed up.

Maybe he could find him during lunch instead. They could have their first official lunch date and walk each other to class and- wait, no, he was planning to sing during lunch today. He'd have to find Kurt before then.

Blaine was already excited enough about seeing Kurt's face when he realized that they would be together all year, so he decided to just meet Kurt at his locker after class. What should he say, though? He could plan out a whole speech about how his heart wasn't at Dalton anymore because Kurt had left, or maybe he should serenade him-

“Mr. Anderson!” Mr. Clippinger stared at him expectantly. “Would you be so kind as to answer the problem on the board?”

“Um, sure,” he said and copied the new question into his notebook. After a moment of contemplation, he determined that since c was equal to 25, that made a 15 and b 20. He told Mr. Clippinger his answer and was met with a nod of approval.

“Thank you, Mr. Anderson,” he moved on. “Now! Ms. Cohen-Chang, if you'd pass these worksheets out for me, thank you, this is your homework. I expect both the front and back to be completed and handed in to me first thing on Friday.”

The girl made her way around the room handing each student the assignment, but paused when she got to his desk.

“Oh, hey Tina!” Blaine said. “How did I not notice you?”

“Probably because you were too busy daydreaming the class away,” she told him, grinning when he blushed. “You weren't exactly subtle. When did you transfer?”

“This morning, actually,” he smiled. “Hey, could you show me where Kurt's locker is after class?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Thanks, Tina,” he perked up. “How much longer do we have in this class?”

“Not long,” she handed him one of the worksheets and moved to the next desk. “Maybe, like, three minutes.”

“Perfect.” He dug through his bag for a folder to put his homework in and put the rest of his belongings away before checking his schedule for his locker number and combination. He committed them to memory and put the sheet of paper back in his pocket right as the bell rang.

The soft murmurs around the classroom quickly morphed into full blown conversations as the students flooded out into the halls.

“Come on, we'd better hurry if you want to catch Kurt before he goes to class,” Tina grabbed his wrist and all but dragged him from the room. “So, not that I'm complaining or anything, but why are you here?”

“I, um-”

“If you came for Kurt, I don't know whether to find that sickeningly cute or kind of creepy,” she told him as they weaved through the crowd.

“No,” Blaine laughed. “I mean, sort of, but he's not the only reason I'm here.”

“Oh. So what are the other reasons?” she asked.

“Well, I'm not sure what Kurt's told you guys, but-”

“He hasn't told anyone anything,” Tina cut him off. “I don't think even Mercedes knows very much.”

“That's… actually not surprising,” Blaine said. “Anyway, I had an unfortunate experience at my first high school which basically ended with me switching to Dalton for reasons similar to Kurt's.”

“The zero-tolerance, no bullying policy?”

“Got it in one,” he smiled at her. “I regretted running, and this was kind of… a second chance. Kurt being here is definitely a huge plus, though.”

“That's sweet,” Tina commented. “His locker is around that corner. I'll leave you to it, then.”

“Thanks, Tina.”

“See you in glee?” she asked.

“Of course!” He grinned at her and straightened his bowtie as he walked down the hall. He rounded the corner to find Kurt standing at his open locker, spraying his hair with an annoyed look on his face. Blaine bit his lip and leaned against the locker next to him.

“Hey you,” Blaine smiled.

“Aren't you a sight for these sore eyes,” Kurt sighed and put the can of hairspray back, poking at his hair for a moment before slamming his locker shut.

“Bad day?” He asked, barely able to keep himself from grinning.

“Bad week, more like it,” Kurt huffed before turning away and walking down the hall. Blaine followed quickly, still smug. “Wait, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at a Warbler practice? You know, putting the fine-tuning touches on a new Katy Perry showstopper.”

Blaine slowed his pace, amused that Kurt hadn't caught on yet. Maybe it would be best to just come out with it.

“Okay, for someone who loves clothes so much, I can't believe you haven't noticed that I'm not in my Warbler outfit,” he gestured down at himself, bursting with excitement. Kurt blinked rapidly and understanding dawned on him.

“Wait, wait,” he gasped and Blaine nodded. “Oh!”

Before he could even blink, Kurt had launched himself into Blaine's arms. He caught the older boy easily, holding him tight and allowing his own giddiness to overflow. He was about to ask Kurt to walk him to his own locker when Kurt pulled away, suddenly unsure.

“Wait, wait, you didn't do this for me, did you?” He demanded. “Because if you did this for me it would be very romantic for one, but it could lead to resentment which could lead to anger which could lead to a horrible, horrible, nasty breakup like you know on the bachelorette have you watched that episode-”

“Hey, hey.” Blaine interrupted Kurt's rambling before it got too out of control. “I came here for me because I can't stand to be apart from the person I love.”

The tension melted from Kurt's shoulders and he grinned.

“Well, I guess we'll just have to find a way to ease you into the New Directions now, huh?”

“I already have that figured out,” Blaine told him, smugly. “Walk me to my locker?”

“With pleasure,” Kurt offered him his arm. “Number?”

“I had it memorized, but- hang on, let me make sure it's right,” he pulled his schedule from his pocket and showed it to Kurt.

“Oh!” he exclaimed. “That's just down the hall.”

“Then by all means, lead the way,” Blaine smiled up at him and put his schedule back in his pocket.

…

Third period was fairly uneventful, and his fourth period was English. He'd already read the book his teacher assigned for the semester, so this school year was already looking like it was going to be a breeze.

The bell rang and released them all to lunch and he made his way out to the courtyard with a spring in his step.

“Hey!” Kurt called from behind him. “How's life at McKinley treating you so far?”

“Surprisingly fantastic, actually,” Blaine told him enthusiastically. “We're reading Jane Eyre in English this semester.”

“And of course, you read that for fun last year,” Kurt teased.

“Of course,” Blaine nudged him with his shoulder as they walked outside.

“Oh, there's another purple piano!” Kurt said and sped up a bit. “Do you want to sing something with me, maybe?”

“Actually,” Blaine started, “you know how I said I figured out how I'm auditioning for the New Directions?”

“Yes,” Kurt said slowly. “Oh. Did you plan this?”

“Maybe,” he winked. “Is that okay?”

“That is so much more than okay, Blaine.”

He beamed at Kurt and pulled his yellow sunglasses off of his belt loop.

“Let's do this then,” he said and gestured for the music to begin.

A few lines into the song, he ripped his sunglasses off and tossed them to Kurt, who caught them with an amused smile. Santana Lopez and some other nameless Cheerios surrounded him on the stairs and danced in a semi-circle. After his initial anxiety wore off, he let himself really get into the performance, shaking his hips and grinning at Kurt.

Dalton never let him stand out, aside from his vocals. He loved the Warblers to death, he really did, but unlike the rest of them, he actually enjoyed dancing. Blaine loosened up even more when he realized that there was no Senior Council to tell him to tone it down on the hips and gestures.

Santana led him down the stairs and around the piano before releasing his hand and joining the rest of the Cheerios. He made his way over to where Kurt was sitting and continued dancing in front of him. Kurt's expression was full of a fondness that made his heart do flips in his chest.

The song ended and he beamed, pleased that it had gone well. People around him gasped and he turned around, confused- until the piano burst into flames.

Kurt leaned away from the fire and the rest of the students looked on in awe. No one moved for a minute until Finn jumped up and ran inside, only to return a few minutes later with Mr. Schue and a fire extinguisher.

Once the flames were out and the piano was gone, everyone turned back to their own conversations.

“So,” Blaine started happily after sliding into the seat next to Kurt, “flaming piano aside, what did you think?”

“I'm all for drama, Blaine, but was that really necessary?” Kurt teased.

“Hey, you and I both know I had nothing to do with that,” Blaine said, the smile fading from his face. “Pianos- any instrument, really- are sacred to me.”

“I know, I know,” Kurt sighed. “It was Santana. I bet Coach Sylvester put her up to it. Nothing like a little friendly felony to start off the school year.”

“So this sort of thing really does happen often,” Blaine mused. “I'd always kind of thought it was all exaggerated.”

“Oh, no,” Kurt laughed humorlessly. “You met Coach once, you know how she is.”

“True,” he answered, “but I still hoped it wasn't so bad.”

“Hey… you're not reconsidering, are you?”

“Wha- Kurt, no,” Blaine reassured him. “I love it here. So far, anyway. I kind of feel like I won't officially belong until I get slushied, though.”

“Oh, God,” Kurt groaned. “Don't even joke about that. It's the worst.”

Blaine laughed for a moment before composing himself.

“Seriously, though,” he leaned toward Kurt, “how was it?”

“You were incredible, Blaine.”

“Do you think it was too much?” He worried. “What about the rest of the club, will they be okay with me? I don't want to seem like I-”

“Blaine,” Kurt interrupted. “You were wonderful. The others will love you, okay? You have nothing to worry about.” He stood and offered Blaine his hand. “Now, come on. The bell is going to ring soon and the hall by my locker is usually empty right about now.”

“Oh, really?” Blaine let himself be pulled to his feet and followed Kurt back inside the school.

“Mhmm,” Kurt answered. “We should have a good five minutes of semi-privacy before class starts.”

“Then by all means, let's go,” he grinned. They walked silently through the halls, the energy around them buzzing a bit with anticipation. As predicted, the hall was empty, save for a few students chatting in the corners and at their lockers.

“No sign of anyone who would be offended by a little PDA,” Kurt told him happily. Blaine reached down and laced their fingers together and his heart leapt into his throat.

“Kurt,” he started, “I'm… I'm really glad I'm here.”

“Me too,” he whispered. “You have no idea.”

Blaine hummed happily and stepped closer until Kurt was pressed against his locker. The rest of the world fell away when their lips met.

He ignored whatever audience they had and reached up with his free hand to cup Kurt's cheek, deepening the kiss just a bit. He felt Kurt sigh happily against his lips and fought the urge to grin, choosing instead to melt into his boyfriend's embrace.

Kurt pulled away a moment later, glancing around to make sure no one was watching them.

“Thank you,” he murmured.

“For what?”

“Just… being here,” Kurt smiled softly and pecked him on the lips once more as the bell rang.

“Well, I'm glad you're happy,” Blaine told him, linking their arms together. “Because I'm pretty sure you're stuck with me now.”

“How will I ever survive?” Kurt grinned.

“I'm sure you'll figure something out.”

…

Blaine had a few people comment on his performance during the day, but most people ignored him. He was okay with that, he supposed. Being ignored meant you were under the radar and not in the line of fire. For now, at least, he was safe.

There was no glee club meeting until the following day, so he met Kurt at his car after school.

“Do you still want to go to the Lima Bean?” Kurt asked. “Because we have some extra time now, since you're already here.”

“Actually, I think my mom wants me to go straight home today,” Blaine sighed. “She was kind of overprotective this morning and I think she wants to make sure I didn't, you know, die.”

“Oh,” Kurt said, only slightly deflated. “Okay. Call me when you can, then?”

Blaine stepped forward and kissed him, quickly but sweetly. “Don't I always?”

“You do,” Kurt pressed their lips together again, this kiss lasting a bit longer than the last. “I love you.”

Blaine's heart soared and he refrained from throwing his arms around Kurt and burying his face in his neck. Instead, he settled for lacing their fingers together and kissing Kurt's knuckles.

“I love you, too.”