“What are you doing Friday night?” Blaine asked as he plopped down in the empty seat next to Kurt in the library.

“Well,” Kurt replied thoughtfully, looking up from his chemistry homework. “Probably catching up on some reruns while I pack to head home for break. I was also thinking of maybe washing my hair? It’s been awhile.”

“It is looking a little grungy,” Blaine said flipping at Kurt’s bangs. “Well, if you should decide not to wash your hair, one of David’s friends who graduated last year is having a little party at his house. It’s become a bit of a tradition for the Friday after finals that anyone who’s still here heads over for a little post-school letdown. Most of the Warblers will be going. I think it’d be good for you to come, give you a chance to get to know everyone outside of school.”

“That sounds great!” Kurt said with an eager smile. “What time does this shindig get started?”

“Well, officially it starts at seven,” Blaine said. “So, people won’t start showing up until eight, which means…”

“Nine,” they said together with a laugh.

“Sounds good,” Kurt said.

“Excellent. I’ll meet you in the commons at 8:30,” Blaine replied. It looked like he was about to say something else, his gaze holding Kurt’s a little longer than usual. But then he just winked and left Kurt to his books.

Kurt turned back to his chemistry with a smile as Blaine left the library. It seemed like Dalton was improving more than just Kurt’s educational situation.

+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+

A couple days later Kurt finally had a break long enough where he was able to call Mercedes for some advice. There was something very important he needed to know.

“How do you know if a guy likes you enough to want to go out with you?” he asked.

“Well,” she said. “Does he try and spend time alone with you? Or, like, touch your arm a lot?”

Kurt thought back over the last few weeks. Blaine did touch Kurt a lot now that he thought about it. At first, he’d just thought Blaine was an affectionate kind of guy, but he didn’t hug anyone else as often as it seemed he hugged Kurt. And he was always coming up to him in the hall and slinging an arm over his shoulders or patting his knee during dinner.

“He does,” Kurt finally answered. “And there was something that happened just the other day.” He told Mercedes all about their impromptu rehearsal for “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” and how flirty they had been. At the time, Kurt just thought it was the song helping to produce those feelings, but at the end, when it was all over, he’d been sure Blaine was going to ask him out, but he just took off and then Mr. Shue arrived and Kurt had been drawn into a major gift giving crisis.

“And honestly,” he concluded, “he really didn’t need the practice. He’s amazing.”

“Oh, yeah,” Mercedes said. “He’s got it bad.”

“Then why won’t he ask me out?”

“Maybe he’s not sure how you feel?” she replied. “He could be waiting for you to make the first move.”

“I guess,” Kurt said cautiously. “Which I can do, right?”

“Totally. You got this one, hon.”

“Hey, Mercedes? I just have one more question.”

“What’s that?”

“What should I wear?”

+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+

Kurt lingered in his room for as long as possible before heading down to meet Blaine. He’d taken entirely too long deciding on what to wear, but he’d never been to a party like this before and he wasn’t sure what the dress code was. Though one thing he was certain about was that uniforms were out for this occasion. He’d finally settled on a chunky knit gray Gucci sweater, dark wash jeans and his black ankle boots after remembering Mercedes’ advice that it wasn’t the prom, just a house party. With one last check in the mirror, he grabbed his coat and went to the commons to meet everyone.

He found Blaine and several of the other Warbler’s waiting, laughing about something.

“There you are!” Blaine said, a big smile breaking out on his face when he saw Kurt.

“Sorry I’m so late,” he replied. “I didn’t keep you guys waiting too long, did I?”

“Not at all,” Wes replied. “Just reminiscing about some of the shenanigans from last year’s party.”

“There will be shenanigans at this thing?” Kurt said with a smile.

“Well, Blaine will be there, so, yes.”

“Oh my God. Shut up!” Blaine said shoving Wes lightly. “It’s nothing that bad,” he added turning to Kurt. “There’s really nothing to worry about.”

“Oh, I’m not worried,” Kurt said. “I just can’t wait to see what kind of blackmail material I’m going to get tonight.”

The other guys “Oooh’ed” in response, causing Blaine to blush a dark red.

“All right!” he cried, shutting everyone up. “Let’s get going. We don’t want to be too late.”

Blaine hung back a bit and walked with Kurt out to the parking lot, filling him in a bit more as to who would all be at the party and how it had all started. Their gloved hands brushed on occasion, Blaine smiling softly at Kurt the whole time. Kurt just smiled back a little nervously. He just wished Blaine would get up the nerve and ask him out. The anticipation was killing him and he wasn’t sure how much more he could take.

Somehow in the shuffle to get everyone situated in the cars they would be taking, Kurt got separated from Blaine. Which, honestly, wasn’t too bad. He really should start getting to know his other classmates better. However, Mike ended up having to stop for gas and everyone wanted snacks, so they arrived much later than the car Blaine had been in. He followed the other guys slowly up to the house, taking everything in. The house was huge with a large wrap-around porch and a three car garage. He thought he’d spotted a swimming pool out back as they walked by, too.

Kurt stood awkwardly in the foyer as everyone immediately split off into groups. There were a lot of people here and the music was so loud he could hardly hear himself think. He looked around the inside, which was just as lavish as the outside suggested it would be. There was a formal dining room off to this left, decorated almost entirely in white and also completely devoid of any guests. Kurt didn’t blame them. He feared just breathing too close to the room would ruin something.

He turned toward the source of the music coming from his right and saw most of the people gathered in the less formal looking den. There was a lush leather couch and a couple arm chairs. A large entertainment center with shelf after shelf of movies took up most of one wall. Kurt was starting to feel very out of place.

He looked around for Blaine, but it was almost impossible to find anyone in the sea of people. They hadn’t been that far behind, had they? He slowly wandered through the rest of the first floor, saying hi to some of the people he knew, but never stopping too long. He finally found the kitchen and grabbed some food to nibble on. This night was not going how Kurt had planned. Luckily, David saved him from complete and utter boredom by introducing him to their host for the evening. His name was Steven and he and David had grown up together, though Steven was a year older and home from his first semester at college. They’d attended Dalton together and David had even dated Steven’s sister for awhile.

They were in the middle of a conversation about the teachers Kurt had, giving him tips on how to survive when someone jumped on Kurt’s back, nearly knocking him into David. He turned and found Blaine smiling widely at him.

“There you are!” Blaine said pulling Kurt into a hug. “I was wondering when you’d get here. Come with me. I’ll give you the five cent tour.”

Kurt tried to say goodbye without being rude, but Blaine just grabbed Kurt’s hand and dragged him up the grand marble staircase that took up most of the entry. Kurt smiled to himself at the touches from Blaine. He really hoped Mercedes has been right. Kurt decided to take the time, while he could, to admire Blaine in his casual clothes. He hadn’t seen Blaine out of his uniform much, but the jeans and white polo shirt hugged Blaine in all the right places, showing off his broad chest and trim waist. Kurt was almost drooling at the sight.

“Now, the second floor is strictly off limits except for –” Blaine said pausing to open a door on his left to reveal a simply decorated bedroom. “The coat room!” He held out his hands and Kurt quickly shrugged off his coat, tucking his scarf into one of the sleeves, glad to finally be rid of it. Blaine simply tossed it on the large pile already occupying the bed. “It’s actually one of the guest rooms, as you can see, but, well. It serves a greater purpose on nights like this.”

“Yes, I see,” Kurt said, overwhelmed by everything.

“The two of us, alone in the coat room,” Blaine remarked with a smirk.

“Yes. It is quite the clich�, isn’t it?” Kurt laughed nervously.

The smile fell off Blaine’s face and Kurt immediately wished he could take back what he’d said. The night did not seem to be getting any better.

“Right, well, I’ll let you in on a little secret, too,” Blaine said leaning in close and throwing an arm over Kurt’s shoulders. “There’s only one bathroom downstairs, and, well, it can get kind of crowded. The second door on the right is the guest bath up here. But, shh. Don’t tell anyone else.”

“I won’t,” Kurt promised, furrowing his brow at the stench of beer that seemed to be drifting from Blaine. “Are you drunk?” he asked.

“Uh, maybe a little,” Blaine giggled. “Come on!”

He grabbed Kurt’s hand again and dragged him back downstairs before he could utter a protest. They pushed their way through the crowd, Blaine never letting go.

“Beer?” Blaine asked, pulling a Bud Light out of the fridge.

“Oh, no thanks,” Kurt said. “I’ve pretty much sworn off alcohol until I’m at least 21, if not longer. Long story,” he said in response to Blaine’s raised eyebrows “Just a Coke or whatever will be fine.”

Blaine grabbed Kurt a Coke from the fridge while popping the Bud Light open for himself and gave him a quick tour of the rest of the main floor, a guiding hand on his lower back for most of it. Kurt couldn’t help smiling at Blaine’s continued affection and was starting to feel pretty good about asking Blaine out later.

He followed Blaine back out to the den and the rest of the guests. He sat awkwardly on the arm of the couch, laughing politely when any jokes were made, but still feeling slightly out of place. Soon enough, though, he found himself actually being drawn in to the conversation and finally getting to know his classmates and fellow Warblers.

A little while later, during a break in the conversation, he looked around and noticed Blaine was missing. Again. He casually excused himself and started looking for him. He wasn’t in any of the rooms downstairs, and no one was brave enough to venture out onto the patio in weather like this. As discretely as possible, he slipped up the stairs to see if Blaine was there. He hoped that wherever he was, Blaine was alone, at least. He’d decided it was now or never and was going to ask Blaine out. Courage, he remembered Blaine telling him. He smiled at the thought. He could do this. He would do this.

He checked the bathroom first, but it was empty, so he tried the coat room next. The door was almost closed entirely, but there was enough light from the hall for Kurt to see what was happening.

His stomach dropped, his heart froze, his jaw fell open and tears sprang to his eyes as he took in the scene. Blaine was up against the wall by the bed, his shirt rucked up under his armpits, his eyes closed in ecstasy, his mouth slack. He was pinned there by a red-headed kid Kurt thought was named Sean. Sean’s shirt was unbuttoned, his hands roaming freely over Blaine’s chest as his lips nibbled at Blaine’s neck. Kurt watched, horrified, as those lips slowly trailed back up to Blaine’s mouth and it was hard to ignore the moan that Sean let out as their lips met.

Kurt had seen enough. He felt sick to his stomach as he turned and ran. He had to find Mike to see if he could get him home. Luckily, he found him quickly and made some excuses about not feeling well. Mike bought it and was more than happy to give Kurt a ride back to Dalton. He just waved off Mike asking if he needed to get his coat from somewhere. He needed to get out of there as quickly as possible. They didn’t talk on the drive, and Kurt just muttered a quiet thanks before heading up to his room.

He solemnly got ready for bed, his heart breaking more each minute. He didn’t understand how Blaine could do this. Did all that flirting mean nothing? He really didn’t want to think the worst of Blaine but it was hard not to. He ignored his phone as it rang, seeing Blaine’s name on the display. He finished packing his bag for the Christmas break and changed for bed. He was very happy that his roommate had left earlier this week; he really needed to be alone. He set his alarm for six a.m. hoping to be on the road early and avoid any possibility of running into Blaine. He didn’t think he could look at Blaine right now without breaking down. He had just turned out the light and crawled under the covers when he heard a knock at the door.

“Kurt?” Blaine said. “Are you all right? Mike said you weren’t feeling well.”

After a short pause there was another knock. “Kurt? I have your jacket.”

Kurt wanted nothing more than to open the door and demand an explanation for what he’d seen. But he knew in the state of mind he was in, he wouldn’t be very willing to listen to anything Blaine might have to say. He wanted to hold out hope that Blaine was better than that.

“OK. Well, it’s on the door knob so you don’t forget it. Have a good break,” Blaine said.

Kurt just laid there, tears silently streaming down his face, willing Blaine to go away. After a moment, he heard heavy footsteps walking off down the hall. He buried his face in the pillow and cried, his heart shattering with each sob. If this is what happened when you fell in love, then Kurt didn’t want any part of it.

+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+

He made it home quickly, the early morning traffic light. He managed to say hello to his dad and Carole as they ate breakfast, waving off their questions about why he was home so early, before heading down to the room he had shared with Finn. He raced down the stairs and collapsed on the couch before he broke down.

“Wha?” Finn said, rolling over in bed and looking at Kurt all confused.

“Sorry, Finn,” he said, wiping at his eyes. “I didn’t mean to wake you. Go back to sleep.”

“No, that’s OK,” he said getting up moving to sit next to Kurt. “What’s going on?”

Once Kurt calmed down, he got the story out of how Blaine had been so flirtatious at the party at first and then the compromising position he’d found him in not long after. Just reliving it had his stomach dropping again. By the time he was done, Finn was sitting back against the far cushion, his arms crossed over his chest, appearing a little uncomfortable with the detail Kurt had just gone into. Well, he asked, Kurt thought.

“What an ass!” Finn exclaimed after absorbing everything Kurt had told him. “I can’t believe he would do something like that. Being all handsy with you and going off with some other… guy. He is obviously totally unworthy of you. I should go beat his ass for treating you like that.”

“Thanks, Finn,” Kurt smiled. “But I don’t know. I mean, it’s not like he knew how I really felt or what I was planning to do. We’ve never really talked about anything. Besides, it was a party. Things like that happen, right?”

“Well, sure. I guess,” Finn said. “That still doesn’t make him any less of a dick.”

Kurt nodded sadly, as he couldn’t help agreeing with Finn a little bit.

“But, look,” Finn added. “You’ll never get the whole story, if you want it, unless you talk to him. So, just ask him what happened.”

“Right,” Kurt added. “I’m probably totally overreacting. I’ll just talk to him when we get back from break and get the whole story.”

Kurt spent most of his break avoiding Blaine as much as possible. The emails were easy enough to ignore by just not logging into his account. He couldn’t avoid all the phone calls, though and did talk to him a few times. He kept the conversations brief and polite as possible, if not a little distant. Everything was fine; he would get past this.

+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+

The day Kurt was supposed to head back to Dalton dawned bleak and gray, the sky threatening snow. Kurt found it an oddly fitting scene for his mood. He packed slowly, apprehensive about meeting up with Blaine and what he would say. Unfortunately, luck was not on his side and Blaine was waiting outside his room when he arrived.

“Hey,” Kurt greeted him as he opened the door to his room to let them in.

“Hey. So, you’ve been ignoring me,” Blaine remarked.

And there it is, Kurt thought. He really didn’t want to get into this now.

“Can we talk later?” Kurt replied. “I’d really like to unpack and just rest for a bit.”

“Did something happen?” Blaine asked quietly, laying a soft hand on Kurt’s shoulder.

You could say that, Kurt thought. He just shook his head, dismissing Blaine.

“All right,” Blaine replied, backing away. “I’ll see you for dinner?”

“That sounds great,” Kurt said, squeezing out a smile. He ushered Blaine out and softly shut the door behind him, cutting off any reply he may have had.

He sat heavily on his bed, breathing deeply to stave off any possible panic attack. After a few last calming breaths, he opened his suitcase to put everything away. His sweaters went back in their drawers, the pants on their hangars in the closet, his books were back up on their shelves. Then he started cleaning everything in the room, from the blinds to the floor. Anything he could do to avoid thinking about Blaine and the talk they were going to have to have.

But Kurt couldn’t stop time and dinner arrived as it always does. He thought about just staying in his room, but he knew Blaine would track him down if he did. So, he gathered his nerves and slowly made his way to the dining hall. Blaine was waiting for him right outside the door and joined Kurt in the line. They silently walked through getting their meals – chicken and rice for Kurt, the lasagna for Blaine. Instead of joining the rest of their classmates at the tables, Blaine steered Kurt towards the commons. They really shouldn’t be there, but it was still technically break and the rules were usually more relaxed. They ate in silence for a few minutes before Blaine put down his food and turned to face Kurt.

“What happened?” he asked.

Kurt just sighed and put down his plate. “It’s nothing like you’re thinking,” he started. “There was something I had wanted to ask you, and you had disappeared, so I went looking for you.” Kurt paused, taking a deep breath to settle himself. “And then I found you up on the second floor. With Sean.”

A moment passed where they just stared at each other, Blaine seemingly trying to remember what Kurt was talking about. And then he nodded in understanding.

“Ah. Well, that is a little embarrassing,” Blaine admitted. “What did you see, exactly?”

Kurt turned away as he remembered what happened that night. “You were up against the wall, Sean was kissing you,” Kurt said, becoming sick to his stomach. “You looked like you were enjoying yourself and I left before I saw any more.”

Blaine just nodded and gently placed a hand on Kurt’s arm, urging Kurt to look at him.

“That was a mistake,” Blaine said softly. “I’d gone to get my iPod to play a song for Wes that I thought would be great for us to do at Regionals. Sean found me in the coat room, and we’d both had a bit to drink by that point. We’d tried dating last year, but realized we didn’t have a lot in common and worked better as friends. Dalton may be an all boys school, but there aren’t really a lot of gay kids here. So, one thing kind of led to another and I guess that’s when you walked in on us.”

“Oh,” Kurt replied, trying to process everything Blaine had just told him. He could understand why Blaine might make out with someone he didn’t necessarily have feelings for. And he was also glad to know that it hadn’t gone any further than that.

“So, is this something you do often?” Kurt asked.

“No, no. Not at all,” Blaine reassured. “This is the first time anything like this has happened since we stopped seeing each other. And I’m so sorry you had to see that.”

Kurt nodded, filing that new information away. It was a one time thing and Blaine did sound truly upset that Kurt had seen it. Kurt wanted to believe him, he really did. So far, Blaine had proven to be nothing but an amazing friend and mentor. Kurt wanted to believe the best of Blaine.

“What did you want to ask me?” Blaine asked a few minutes later.

“It doesn’t matter,” Kurt said, shaking his head.

“Come on,” he said, nudging Kurt’s shoulder. “What?”

“I just…. I wanted to know if you wanted to go out with me.”

“I’d love to.”

Kurt’s head snapped up, his eyes locking on Blaine. Blaine was just smiling at him as if most of the previous conversation hadn’t just happened.

“What?” Kurt said.

“I’d love to go out with you.”

“Really?” Kurt said.

“Yeah. The King’s Speech is playing over at the Rave.”

“That sounds great.”

“Great,” Blaine said, leaning over and quickly pecking Kurt on the cheek.

Kurt smiled and went back to his dinner. Blaine wanted to go out with him. He was actually going on a date with Blaine. This was officially the greatest day of Kurt’s life. The mood became much lighter after that and the conversation turned to what they had done over break. Blaine’s performance at King’s Island had been a smashing success and he’d been invited back to be a summer performer, if he wanted.

“That’s fantastic!” Kurt said. “Are you going to go back?”

“I think so,” Blaine replied. “It’ll be really good for my resume, of course. And everyone there was really nice.”

“Excellent. Well, you’ll have to let me know what show you end up doing so I can come see you.”

“I’d like that,” Blaine said with a smile. “What about you? How was your break?”

“Pretty low-key, actually,” Kurt said. “We’re still settling in as an official family after the wedding and everything. But it was nice. Christmas was just us and Carole is a fantastic cook. She might even be better than me, which I am loathe to admit. But her turkey was delicious.”

“I’d like to meet them sometime,” Blaine said.

“Really?”

“Yeah. Your family sounds important to you and I’d like to get to know them.”

“That’d be great,” Kurt replied.

They had finished dinner by that point and taken their trays back to the dining hall. They were standing at the top of the stairs, Kurt’s room down one hall and Blaine’s the other. Blaine scratched his ear as the awkward tension mounted.

“Well, I should go finish unpacking,” Blaine said.

“Right. I should make sure I have everything I need for tomorrow,” Kurt said.

Kurt felt like he should say something, but he had no idea what. He finally laughed, breaking the tension.

“Sorry,” he said.

“No, it’s okay,” Blaine said, stifling his own laughter. “We’re being a little ridiculous, aren’t we?”

“Maybe just a little.”

“Well, good luck with your classes tomorrow,” Blaine said heading off towards his room. “And don’t forget about practice!”

“I won’t. Don’t forget about Friday,” Kurt added with a grin.

“Friday, yes,” Blaine said with a big smile. “You can pick me up at seven.”

THE END