Look at me, writing something that isn't a prompt for once.


Blaine was already not a huge fan of this move to Lima. The neighbor who'd come over and introduced herself earlier had told his mom that the local kids all hung out by the river on Fridays, so he'd been kicked out the second the clock struck seven that evening to "go make some friends, pumpkin!"

"Love you too, Mom," he muttered when the door slammed in his face. "What happened to unpacking together to create a family space?"

He realized he sounded like the world's most boring teenager at the moment, but he really didn't care. Large crowds of strangers weren't Blaine's thing unless he was performing for them.

Defeated, Blaine started heading down the street, happy that he at least lived close enough to walk there. It would be easier to slip away inconspicuously that way.

The distant sound of music and laughter informed him that the party had already begun. Once he rounded the corner, he could see girls dancing in truck beds and boys tossing around a frisbee and trying to make impressive catches. They were all singing along, though, which seemed like a good omen - maybe they could tell him what music groups he could join at school in the fall.

Blaine stopped a few feet away from the action, unsure of how to join in without looking like an intruder. A voice from his left helped solve that dilemma for him.

"Hey! Stranger!" a boy yelled, just loud enough to get Blaine's attention but not stop the whole party. "C'mere."

"Is there a password I'm supposed to give you?" Blaine joked nervously once he got close to the tailgate the boy was sitting on. "Because that wasn't in the welcome basket our neighbors gave us."

"I think your name will be enough for now," the boy said, smiling flirtily and making Blaine's heart skip a beat. "I've gotta know what to yell in case that frisbee comes sailing over here, after all."

"Blaine."

"Kurt." Kurt stuck his hand out for a shake, which Blaine accepted easily. "Come sit by me."

Blaine hoisted himself onto the tailgate, just close enough that he could feel Kurt's body heat next to him. "So, uh...you're not into frisbee?"

"I don't mind playing, but I just felt like watching the water go by for a bit. I'll have plenty of time to annihilate my brother and our friends later," Kurt replied. "Plus, how rude would I be to leave the new kid all by himself?"

"Don't feel stuck here on my account!" Blaine said quickly. "If you want to go-"

"Blaine," Kurt said. "It's okay. I am absolutely fine with just sitting and talking - as long as you're a decent conversationalist, at least."

"I've never bored anyone to sleep yet," Blaine said, parroting Kurt's playful tone.

"Then tonight should be a blast," Kurt said. "So tell me, what's your story, Blaine?"

Blaine launched into the familiar details - parents' divorce, fresh start, etc. - and Kurt listened attentively, showing actual interest. He responded with his own thirty-second life story before asking another question, this one about interests.

The second Blaine said he liked pop music and theatre, he knew he'd found a kindred spirit in Kurt. They started chattering away like they'd known each other their whole lives, talking about the recent Tony awards and what deserved to be the song of the summer. Just as Blaine was finishing his impassioned defense of Maroon 5, Kurt held up his hand and shushed him.

"Oooh, this is my song!" Kurt cried, cocking a head towards the speakers the girls had set up on one of the picnic tables. "C'mon, let's dance."

Kurt pushed himself up and starting shimmying around the inside of the truck bed, beckoning for Blaine to get up and join him.

Blaine couldn't resist a cute boy begging him to dance. He shoved himself upright and started bopping around with Kurt, busting out the most ridiculous dance moves he knew. Kurt instantly played along, and half of their "dance" was spent giggling at each other while still attempting to keep the beat.

The song ended all too soon, switching to something slow and sad. The girls were all belting along and swaying in their truck beds, but Kurt and Blaine simply flumped back down on their tailgate, red with exertion but still smiling.

"I told you so," Kurt said after a moment.

"Huh?" Blaine replied eloquently.

"I told you I'd have a good time as long as you could hold a conversation," Kurt explained. "In fact, I had a great time once you started dancing along with me. I was afraid you'd be a party pooper."

"How rude would I be to make my new friend dance alone?" Blaine said, purposely echoing one of Kurt's comments from earlier. He knew Kurt had gotten the reference when a pleased smile appeared across Kurt's lips.

"I'm sorry about your parents' divorce, but I'm not at all disappointed that you moved here, Blaine Anderson," Kurt said.

"You know, I think I'm seeing the bright side myself," Blaine said, moving his hand tentatively on top of Kurt's. His watch happened to be on that wrist, allowing Blaine to catch a glimpse of the time. "Oh shit, it's almost ten o'clock and I still haven't unpacked my bedsheets."

"Don't leave just yet!" Kurt said. He knee-walked across the truck bed to the open back window, where he leaned in and pulled out something from the center console before scuttling back. "You need this."

He leaned over and wrote his phone number and Kurt :) on the back of Blaine's hand in permanent marker, blowing gently to dry the ink. A shiver ran down Blaine's spine at the fairly intimate gesture.

"Thanks," Blaine said softly. "You want me to text you when I get back?"

"For starters," Kurt replied. "But yeah, knowing you didn't get lost on the way back would be great."

"I can do that," Blaine said. "Um...see you next week?"

"Sounds like a...like a plan," Kurt said, flushing.

Blaine couldn't help but hope Kurt had intended to say like a date.

The next week seemed to drag, in Blaine's opinion. He knew he could always try to make plans with Kurt so they could see each other sooner, but he was afraid that a change of venue would disturb their rapport somehow. Waiting for the next riverside party felt safer.

That didn't mean he and Kurt weren't texting daily, though. Their conversation from the first party had continued and expanded, and Blaine was definitely guilty of including a few comments that could be interpreted flirtatiously. He noticed a few distinctly non-platonic remarks in Kurt's replies, though, leading him to believe that his interest was returned.

Thankfully, Friday rolled back around before Blaine could do anything too rash, like show up at his house with a boom box a la Say Anything.

(Which was good, because Blaine thought he remembered Kurt saying his room faced the back of his house. Also, he didn't actually own a boom box.)

Just ask him tonight, Blaine thought as he got ready. You don't even have to call it a date if he doesn't seem interested. Just ask if he'd be willing to show you the rest of town sometime or something.

He took a deep breath, straightened the collar of his emerald green polo, and headed out of the house, calling a quick goodbye to his mom as he did.

The walk down the street felt much quicker this week, and not just because Blaine knew where he was going this time. When he arrived at the little park, he noticed Kurt was already dancing away in his truck bed, carefree and happy. Blaine couldn't help but smile in response.

At least until he saw Kurt trip over the hinge of the tailgate and start to fall, flailing his arms desperately in an attempt to not faceplant onto the ground below.

Blaine instantly started running, hoping the ten or fifteen feet between them wasn't too much. He reached Kurt's truck just in time for Kurt's balance to finally give way and extended his arms, figuring he might be able to push Kurt back into the truck.

Instead, he caught an armful of torso and landed flat on his back.

"Oof," Blaine wheezed.

The weight on his chest rolled off then, allowing him to suck in a much-needed breath.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" Kurt asked, hands fluttering nervously above Blaine's body. "Did I break anything?"

"No, just knocked the wind out of me," Blaine said, pushing himself into a sitting position. "Better that than you biting it on the rocks down here, though."

"I didn't even see you get here, how did you manage to break my fall like that?" Kurt said.

"I had just arrived when I saw you trip," Blaine said. "So I bolted the last few feet and hoped I'd get here in time to help somehow. It was just...instinct."

On that word, he looked directly into Kurt's eyes, which were full of worry and gratitude and some other emotion Blaine couldn't quite place. The swirling blues and grays of Kurt's irises mesmerized him too much to really care about defining it just then, though.

"Instinct for you to try and catch me," Kurt muttered, incredulous. "God, I just - I need to-"

Needed to kiss Blaine, apparently, as he broke off there to cup Blaine's cheeks and pull him in.

Blaine wasn't upset with this turn of events.

"That was...that was something," he said breathlessly when Kurt finally let him go.

"A good something?" Kurt asked hopefully.

"A great something," Blaine answered. "Would you maybe like to continue this something with me over dinner tomorrow? You can pick the restaurant, since I kind of don't know what's good around here yet."

"As long as we can also continue this something while we watch the fireworks Finn and Puck brought with them later," Kurt said, smiling giddily.

"Sounds like a date," Blaine said, returning Kurt's grin.

(Once they started cuddling under the spare blanket Kurt had brought along with him, Blaine knew there was nothing 'like' about this date. The kisses they started trading again a few minutes later only confirmed that notion, as did Kurt's quiet "Bye, sweetheart," when he had to leave.)