"Porcelain, I need to see you in my office," Sue Sylvester shouted through her megaphone.

Kurt Hummel sighed but nodded, knowing that it would be the last thing he did if he didn't listen to his cheer coach.

That being said, the Cheerio made his way into the locker room to wash his face, because heaven forbid they receive more than one cheerleading uniform – meaning that they had to continue wearing the sweaty ones until they were at their respective houses and could take them out without fear of being throttled by Coach Sylvester.

Sometimes Kurt wondered why he even became a cheerleader.

But then he remembered how popular it made him and how he'd finally stopped being picked on, and all his worries went away.

Once he was done in the locker room, he slowly walked towards the woman's office, wondering what it was she needed to see him for. Her tone made it sound like it was something important, but it was hard to tell with that woman.

Maybe she's moving me to captain, Kurt thought, a small smiling forming on his lips, Or maybe she's at least making me co-captains with Quinn.

However, he entered her office at that moment and all of his wonderings were put to rest.

"So, Porcelain," Sue said as she reclined in her chair, putting her arms behind her head and gazing at her head male cheerleader. "Word on the street is your grades aren't very good."

Kurt sighed. Of course this was about his grades. So he had let his grades slip this year. What did it matter? At this rate, he was going to end up going to college on a cheerleading scholarship, so his grades didn't even really matter.

"So?" Kurt countered, crossing his arms across his chest. "It's not like they're important anyway."

"Alright, Hummel," Sue said, narrowing her eyes at the boy. "Listen here. If you want any chance of becoming captain, or even staying on the Cheerios, you'll get your grades up within the next month."

Kurt's eyes widened. "That's not even possible," he replied stiffly. "Especially since I'm so behind."

"I'm already ahead of you, Porcelain," Sue responded quickly. "Young Burt Reynolds," she called, "Get in here."

Kurt turned towards the door where a familiar looking boy with gelled black hair and a sweater vest walked into the room, his cheeks blushing a little when he saw Kurt looking at him.

"Coach," Kurt said slowly, "What –"

"Reynolds over here has the highest grades in your class," Sue cut him off. "He's going to tutor you until you get your grades up."

"I'm sorry, what?" Kurt asked, cocking his head to the side. "You got some Glee kid nerd to tutor me?"

Sue nodded and looked at the two of them. "For two hours every day after school."

"What about practice?" Kurt countered, his eyes wide.

"Quinn can help you during P.E.," Sue explained. "It only takes you like half a second to pick up routines anyway."

Kurt shrugged and nodded. It was true.

"Now scat, both of you," Sue quipped after a moment. "Now."

Kurt instantly stood up, not waiting for the other boy whose name he still couldn't remember.

"Wait," the boy called from behind him.

"Okay, look," Kurt turned around on the boy, glancing around to make sure no one was paying him any attention. "Just because you're tutoring me, it doesn't mean we're friends. It doesn't mean we're anything, got it?"

The boy gulped and nodded as he stared at his feet.

"And we're doing this right after school, okay?" Kurt whispered after a moment.

"Yeah, okay," the boy replied quickly. "We'll meet in the library."

"Whatever."

"So you're tutoring Hummel?"

Blaine looked over at Mike Chang and blushed a little. "Ms. Sylvester's orders," he muttered.

"Does she know you have a huge crush on him?" Mike said quietly, nudging Blaine with his elbow playfully.

"Shh," Blaine instructed, his eyes widening as he glared at his friend. "You can't just say things like that."

"Aww, c'mon Blainers," Mike said. "Think about it. You're spending two hours a day with the guy for who knows how long. You never know what might happen."

Blaine sighed and turned the page in his textbook. "Too bad he'll never see me that way," he muttered. "He practically said that he wanted nothing to do with me."

Mike sighed and patted him on his shoulder. "Hang in there, man."

"You're late."

Kurt glared at Blaine as he sat down at the table across from him, setting his bag down next to him. "Sorry," he grunted, knowing that he didn't sound sorry at all.

Blaine sighed and ran a hand across his face, and Kurt felt a pang of sympathy for the boy. It looked like he had a long day and –

No. He couldn't think anything like that about this loser.

But then a large red stain on Blaine's sweater vest caught his attention.

"Slushie facial?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow at Blaine.

Blaine sighed again and nodded. "It's a daily occurrence for me," he said slowly. "I usually keep a spare pair of clothes in my locker but I forgot."

Kurt remembered those days vividly – more vividly than he would like to.

"I used to get slushied," Kurt said after a moment. "Before I joined the Cheerios."

"Well, I probably get it twice as bad," Blaine huffed. "Since I'm both in Glee Club and gay."

Kurt nodded, even though he didn't know Blaine was gay prior to this conversation. But he didn't let the boy know that the fact had fazed him as much as it had.

Blaine cleared his throat after a moment and pulled out some paper and a pencil. "So," he said. "Where should we start?"

The weeks wore on, Kurt's grades starting to slowly improve. At this rate, he should be able to be done with the tutoring within a few weeks or so.

But, if Kurt was being truthful with himself, he didn't really want to stop tutoring with Blaine.

Blaine was genuinely nice – unlike a lot of the jocks and cheerleaders with whom he associated himself with.

They chatted easily, their two hours a day turning in to about one hour of actual school work and the other spent just chatting.

And it was nice.

At least until someone Kurt knew would walk into the library, and then Kurt would curl in on himself and turn back into his bitchy popular persona.

But Blaine could see that, underneath his popularity and superiority, Kurt was a person. He was a person with feelings, who just used his popularity to save him from having his feelings hurt.

Yes, Blaine learned all this about the boy from only a few weeks.

And he could honestly say that his crush on the cheerleader had only gotten worse. Now that he knew Kurt actually had a personality under his ridiculously good looks, it had increased tenfold.

And yeah, he still looked incredible in that cheerleading uniform.

A few days later, Kurt was walking down the hallway when he heard the sound of a body hitting the lockers.

He cringed, remembering how that felt.

So he started walking in the direction of the noise, stopping when he saw who it was.

Blaine was on the ground, Karofsky hovering over him, jeering.

"That's what you get you little faggot," he sneered as he placed a kick to Blaine's side. "Next time maybe you won't sing those girly songs in that little Glee club of yours."

Blaine whimpered a little and curled into himself, clutching his stomach.

And, between the noise and the sight of the boy on the floor, Kurt about had enough.

"Hey!" He called, glaring daggers at Karofsky. "Leave him alone?"

Karofsky took one look at Kurt and his furious face before turning and walking away, shooting Kurt a look that clearly said it wasn't over.

Once he was gone, Kurt ran over to Blaine and helped him roll onto his back. Blaine hissed in pain but obliged, his eyes shut tightly.

"Did you hit your head?" Kurt asked as he smoothed the boys hair, trying to comfort in any way he could.

Blaine nodded and cringed again. "Yeah," he mumbled. "Not as bad as other times, though."

Kurt sighed and rubbed his face with his hand. Blaine just looked so broken.

"Can you get up?" Kurt asked, staring at Blaine's face intently.

Blaine nodded again and sat up slowly, using Kurt's shoulder for support as he slowly got up off the ground.

"Thank you," he said softly once he was somewhat stable, still gripping Kurt's shoulder. "For, you know, saving me like that."

Kurt gave the boy a weak smile and looped his arm around his shoulders, starting his trek towards the nurse's office. "Don't worry about it," he replied.

He didn't know why he did it. He wanted to say it was because he'd been there before.

But he knew somewhere in himself that that wasn't the whole truth.

Following that day, Kurt took Blaine under his wing. He didn't let the jocks near him, and he tried to ignore the strange looks everyone was giving him.

"What's this, Hummel?" Azimio jeered a few days later. "Got yourself a new little boyfriend?"

"Buzz off," Kurt sneered back.

Blaine looked at Kurt's face and could see how much it hurt, for him to be made fun of like that. He knew that was why Kurt initially stayed away from people like him, and he couldn't help but feel guilty because he was the reason Kurt's popularity was decreasing.

But, as he told Mike the other day, he honestly believed that Kurt might actually reciprocate his feelings for him.

And, if not, it was still nice to be at least somewhat friends with the boy. He wasn't sure why Kurt was suddenly following him around, but he wasn't complaining.

Months later, and Kurt had reluctantly ended their tutoring sessions – mainly because Coach Sylvester demanded it and proclaimed that she couldn't stand practicing without her sweet Porcelain anymore.

But then the two had started going out for coffee a few times a week, just chatting with each other and getting to know one another better.

And, by the end of their third month of knowing each other, Blaine could easily say that Kurt Hummel was probably his best friend.

But he knew that it was taking a toll on Kurt still. He was still being teased by others, but he seemed to just shake it off.

Blaine knew better, though. He knew that his friendship with Kurt was something that would take Kurt a little getting used to.

Kurt seemed to genuinely enjoy the time they spent together though, so Blaine knew that he didn't really have to worry.

"So, I'm thinking of joining Glee Club," Kurt said one afternoon as he took a sip of his coffee.

Blaine's eyes widened as he stared at the boy across from him, quickly setting his coffee cup down so that he wouldn't spill it. "Are you serious?"

Kurt nodded and opened the lid of his cup, stirring in another cream.

That, also, was something unusual for Kurt. The Cheerios were all on such a tight eating regimen, so he usually limited his sugars and creams to one or none.

"You know that'll put you on, like, the bottom of the pyramid again, right?"

Kurt lifted his eyes up to meet Blaine's, his bright blue eyes boring holes into hazel.

"I know," he replied slowly, his eyes never leaving Blaine's.

Blaine broke the gaze after a few intense moments, clearing his throat in that oh-so-awkward way.

"I'll, uhh, I can tell Mr. Shue that you're coming," Blaine stated after a moment.

Kurt nodded. "Tell him I'll audition on Friday."

Friday came quicker than Kurt would have liked, but he knew that this was something he needed to do.

Ever since he and Blaine had started hanging out outside of school, Kurt had felt like the past few years he hadn't really been himself. But he felt like himself when he was around Blaine.

So he shyly walked into the choir room, noting Quinn and the other Cheerio's wide eyes. He gave them a small smile but continued to stare at the ground, waiting for the instructor to say something.

"Okay, we've got a new member today!" He eventually said. "Do you have something prepared?"

Kurt nodded and clasped his hands in front of him, signaling to the piano name – whose name he couldn't remember – to start playing.

Blaine wasn't sure whether or not his mouth fell open, but the sound coming out of the boy's mouth was absolutely angelic. He didn't know Kurt – or anyone – could sound like that.

And then the song was over, and Blaine had to restrain himself from begging for more. He knew that the rest of the room was shocked because – well, they hadn't heard a voice quite like Kurt's before.

"Welcome to the club, Kurt," Mr. Shuster said. Kurt smiled at him weakly before going to sit next to Blaine, giving him a small smile.

"Porcelain," Sue Sylvester said through her megaphone the following Monday. "Come hither."

Kurt gulped and trotted over to where his cheer coach was standing. "Yes?"

"I heard you joined the Glee Club," she said slowly, staring at him intently.

Kurt nodded but didn't say anything in response.

"Without my permission."

Oh. That's why she didn't look happy.

"Look, Coach Sylvester –"

"The other Cheerios joined because I told them to, Porcelain," the woman went on. "So, please enlighten me as to why you joined?"

Kurt gulped and looked down at his tennis shoes, noting that he would need to buy a new pair before the next competition.

"I'm waiting."

Kurt took a deep breath and looked back up at his cheer coach. "Blaine," he said softly. "I joined because of Blaine."

Sue laughed, throwing her head back and all. "Young Burt Reynolds?" She laughed. "Seriously, Porcelain? Him?"

Kurt shrugged and blushed a little. "I like him," he whispered, and that was the first time he'd admitted it to anyone, including himself.

"Porcelain," Sue said slowly. "I'm not kicking you off the Cheerios like I originally planned."

Kurt's eyes widened, but the woman went on.

"However," she continued. "I am going to have to ask you to spy on them and report to me weekly."

And now Kurt's eyes narrowed. "You know what, Coach," he said slowly, a small grin spreading on his face. "I quit."

Sue froze, her eyes widening at the boy in front of her. "You what?"

"Quit," Kurt repeated as he took of the sweatband on his arm and tossing it to her. "Like, no longer part of your team."

"You can't just quit!" Sue yelled as Kurt began to walk away.

"Watch me."

Blaine rounded the corner to see Kurt standing by his locker. This was a normal occurrence, but something was off.

He wasn't in his Cheerios uniform.

"Uhh, hey," Blaine said tentatively as he approached Kurt.

Kurt turned to smile at him, noting Blaine's quirked eyebrow. "I quit the Cheerios," Kurt explained, knowing what Blaine was thinking.

"Umm, why?" Blaine asked again, because he honestly couldn't wrap his mind around why Kurt would do that.

Kurt shrugged and closed his locker before straightening his shirt. "She wanted me to be a spy," he replied. "I wasn't interested."

That was why Blaine had thought Kurt joined.

But if it wasn't – then what was?

"Are you going to the football game on Friday?" Blaine asked as he took a bite of his pizza at lunch a few days later.

Kurt nodded as he devoured his own slice. Ever since he quit the Cheerios, he was eating anything and everything that he could get his hands on. "I've never been on the bleachers before," he replied.

Blaine laughed and glanced up at Kurt, blushing when he met the other boy's gaze. "Maybe," Blaine said slowly, "We could go to dinner first?"

Kurt looked up, his blue eyes shining a little. "Like a date?"

And oh god, did he not want it to be a date? "Only if you want," Blaine rushed out.

Kurt took another bite of his pizza and thought for a moment. He then stood up slowly and grabbed his tray, pausing before he started to walk away. "Okay," he said. "It's a date."

Blaine felt his mouth go dry as he watched Kurt walk - no strut - out of the cafeteria.

"What's going on with you, Hummel?" Karofsky jeered. "First you stand up for the hobbit, and then you quit Cheerios? You're going soft."

"Stay away from me," Kurt said, his voice low. "I have to leave."

"Why?" Karofsky threw his head back and laughed. "Got a little date with your little Glee star?"

"Actually, yes," Kurt replied as he attempted to shove past the burly football player. "So if you'll just excuse me . . ."

Karofsky's hand gripped Kurt's bicep, holding him tightly. "Oh no, Hummel," he sneered, his voice low and dangerous. "You're not on the top of the pyramid anymore. You're way, way at the bottom."

Kurt gulped and prepared himself for Karofsky's fist – something he hadn't felt in years.

"Get away from him," another low, stern voice said.

Kurt slowly opened his eyes to see Blaine standing there, his eyes dark as he glared at Karofsky.

"Oh, and what are you gonna do about it?" Karofsky released Kurt and turned to Blaine. "I'm like three times your size."

Blaine gulped and glanced at Kurt, who nodded.

And then Blaine ran.

Karofsky stood there confused before turning back around to where Kurt had been moments before, only to find that he had ran out after Blaine.

Once they were safely in Blaine's car – somehow they'd come to that mutual agreement during their silent communication – they broke out into a fit of laughter.

"Did you see his –"

"And then he was like –"

"And his face –"

And then they both abruptly stopped talking and just stared at each other.

Blaine gulped a little, feeling a lump forming in his throat as Kurt's blue eyes bore into his own.

And then Blaine found his hand reaching up to cup Kurt's face, his thumb softly caressing Kurt's cheek.

"Can I kiss you?" Blaine whispered softly, watching as Kurt's eyelids drooped shut.

"Yes," Kurt breathed back, and he could practically feel his lips begging for Blaine to kiss him.

"Good," Blaine replied just as breathless as he leant in. "Because I had a crush on you even before you knew who I was."

He saw Kurt's cheeks flush before he gently brushed his lips against Kurt's, his hand still holding Kurt's face.

Kurt responded after the initial shock wore off, bringing his hand up cup the back of Blaine's neck, pulling the boy that much closer.

Yes, Blaine thought as his lips moved a little more forcefully, more passionately against Kurt's, This was definitely worth the wait.

Blaine pulled away after a moment, only far enough so that he could see Kurt and talk to him. "You know this will ruin my reputation," he murmured, his breath blowing across Kurt's face.

And Kurt just grinned at him. A genuine grin that Blaine swore was going to stop his heart. "I don't care," Kurt whispered, his blue eyes shining. "You're worth my than a reputation ever will be."

Blaine smiled back and Kurt pressed his lips against Blaine's again, because he didn't realize just how long he's been waiting to do this until it had already happened.

And, for all Kurt knew, Sue Sylvester set them up on purpose.

If that was the case, Kurt was going to have to thank her.