"Blaine, please come out. No one thinks you're an idiot." Cooper knocked on the door for a third time. The door remained locked and the room, still silent. Cooper knelt down and looked through the keyhole of Blaine's door. The hole was very tiny and all Cooper could see were the bottoms his little brother's sneakers as he lay on his stomach on the bed.
"Blaine, I'm going downstairs to make you some hot chocolate. I'll be back up in five minutes, please unlock your door so I can come in when I get back, okay?" Blaine remained silent, but Cooper knew Blaine would comply, especially if there was hot chocolate involved. Blaine waited until he heard Cooper's feet on the stairs, then reluctantly rolled off his bed and, still clutching his pillow, stumbled over to the door and unlocked it, before collapsing back onto his bed again. He kicked off his sneakers and pulled his knees into his chest, curling up around his pillow. How could he have done something so stupid? Jeremiah's disappointed face burned its way back into Blaine's mind, making his eyes sting with unshed tears. At least the Warblers had been sympathetic, Blaine thought. Kurt had sat with him, while Jeff went to get his car and drove them home. Blaine had been silent the whole ride home, his head resting on the window, reliving the whole humiliating experience over and over in his head until Jeff pulled up to Blaine's driveway. Nodding in thanks to Jeff, Blaine slammed the front door and sprinted up to his bedroom holding back tears.
Kurt had called Cooper as soon as he got home, figuring that Blaine would need someone to talk to, and knowing he would not benefit from explaining what had happened at the GAP Attack to the brother who he idolized. As soon as he hung up the phone, Cooper had gone to talk to his brother but found the door locked. Cooper valued his little brother more than anything else in the world and hated seeing him so upset.
Carrying the hot chocolate carefully up to Blaine's room, Cooper was pleased but unsurprised to find Blaine's door unlocked. He walked in and put the mug down on Blaine's bedside table before sitting down on the bed next to him. Blaine squeezed his eyes tightly together, not wanting to cry in front of Cooper. As Cooper looked at him, Blaine turned his face away and hid it in his pillow. Cooper stood up and walked around to the other side of the bed and knelt down on the floor so that he and Blaine were at the same level. Pushing Blaine's curls out of his eyes, he said,
"Blaine, we all screw up, okay? It's part of being human. As much as I hate seeing you hurt, I'm glad you messed up. I was starting to get worried that you were too perfect."
"This is the worst Valentine's Day ever. Kurt's gonna think I'm an idiot." He mumbled into his pillow.
"Blaine, that boy idolizes you, it would take a lot more than that to make him think you were an idiot. I'm sure he'll forget about it much sooner than you will." Cooper said. But Blaine shook his head into his pillow, pulling his knees tighter into his chest and wrapping his arms around them. Cooper sat on the bed and began rubbing circles on his little brother's back as Blaine gave in and began to cry.
"Hey, shhh, it's okay kiddo, you just made a mistake, it was just a mistake, that's all." Blaine untangled one of his arms, grabbed Cooper's hand and pulled it in, holding it to his own face. Holding tight to Blaine's hand, he moved his thumb over the back of it and felt tears run down Blaine's face onto his wrist. Blaine seemed so tiny and scared and Cooper was suddenly reminded of the first time he took Blaine to the doctor and how tiny he had felt curled up in a tight, shivering ball on Cooper's lap. Cooper wasn't aware of how long they sat there, but eventually, Blaine released Cooper's hand and sat up to face him. Wiping his face with the pillowcase, Blaine looked eagerly up into his brother's face.
"Do you really think that Kurt's gonna forget?"
"Of course I do!" Cooper said, smiling into Blaine's tear stained face and wondering if Kurt was really just a friend as both boys had insisted.
"Do you want your hot chocolate now?" Cooper asked and Blaine nodded fervently.
"Do you want to order pizza and watch a movie?" Cooper asked. Blaine nodded, eyes open wide to see Cooper over the brim of his hot chocolate mug and mumbled something. Pulling the mug away from Blaine with a smile, he said, "Slow down, kiddo, or you'll drown yourself. What did you say?" Blaine looked ashamed and said, "Could we watch Deathly Hallows?" Cooper looked perplexed at his brother, whose eyes were back on the half finished mug of hot chocolate in Cooper's hand.
"Again?" Blaine nodded. Eyes still glued to the mug.
"Alright, if that's what you want." Blaine reached for the hot chocolate, which Cooper finally past back to him. Downing the rest of in one big gulp, Blaine looked up at his brother for a long time before finally saying, "I think—I think I like Kurt." Cooper laughed out loud and said, "It's about time you figured it out!" Cooper grabbed Blaine's now empty mug, set it back on the bedside table and pulled his brother into a hug.