Inside the Senior Commons of Dalton Academy all was peaceful and all was quiet. The fire crackled merrily in the grate and the slow pendulum of the clock ticked gently on. The only other sounds to be heard were the near silent brush of a pen against paper or the low rustle of a page occasionally being turned. Perhaps this was because the soft rugs and curtains which adorned the room muffled sounds such as the foot tapping absentmindedly against the floor or, perhaps, it was because this room had only a single occupant, a boy, who was at present seated in one of the deep leather armchairs trying to concentrate on the thick textbook before him.
Kurt Hummel leaned back in his chair with a sigh and pushed the book away from him, rubbing his tired eyes. His mind wandered and he thought back to his conversation with Mr Schuester in that very room. He gave a slight chuckle. He hadn't been lying: classes were definitely much harder. He had taken to staying in school and studying after hours to keep on top of his daunting workload .
Letting his mind wander further back, he paused on those moments before Mr Schue had come in: those glorious moments when, alone in that fire lit room, he and Blaine had sung together, their eyes meeting as their voices overlapped in duet. Head resting against the back of the chair, Kurt sighed again more deeply, breathing in the comforting smell of old leather. He stared into the distance seeing only Blaine and himself, happiness visible on both their faces, moving lightly around one another in time with the music…
A sudden buzzing made Kurt jolt upright. Seeing that his phone was flashing, he gave his head a small shake and picked it up. The text was from a withheld number. His mind flashed at once to Karofsky and he hesitated slightly before opening it.
As soon as he had, Kurt burst out laughing. The text read 'Stop. Studying. So. Hard. – Marley'. Kurt looked up grinning and immediately caught sight of Blaine's face at the window, his grin just as wide as Kurt's. Blaine held up two coffee cups and gingerly gestured that he was about to come into the school.
Kurt nodded back and, still smiling, mouthed, 'See you soon'.
A few moments later, Blaine's shoulder emerged through the door as he manoeuvred through it backwards, trying not to spill anything.
Depositing the cups on the table in front of Kurt, he pulled up a chair to sit opposite and, flashing him a disarming smile, said, 'Thought you might appreciate a grande non fat mocha'.
The smell coming from the coffee cup was amazing and Kurt took it up delightedly. After taking a long draught he sighed with content. 'Eugh, I need that so badly'.
Blain grinned as Kurt explained, gesturing at the book, 'I've been trying to get through that for the past two hours.'
A small crease appeared in between Blaine's eyes as they flicked quickly up and down, looking at Kurt.
'Kurt, are you sure you're not spending too much time on this? I mean, seriously, what are the Warblers going to do if you die from overwork before we get to regionals?'
The sight of Blaine's concerned eyes, half joking, half serious was enough to render Kurt momentarily speechless as Blaine gazed at him.
He managed to arrange his face into a disapproving expression before saying in a serious tone, 'Do you mind, I'm trying to work?'
Blaine made an attempt to fix his features into a similarly serious expression but a grin broke through.
' So I can't tempt you with chess?' he said through a laugh. He gestured lightly to the board on one of the tables. 'Just give me half an hour, I'm sure we could make some real progress.'
Kurt's pretension of seriousness was shattered as he snorted loudly.
'Blaine, we both know I'm not going to make any progress at chess in half an hour.'
This was inarguably true. All attempts by Blaine to teach Kurt had unfailingly resulted in Kurt confusing, not only himself, but Blaine as well, despite Blaine's was chess playing prowess. A small smile flickered around Blaine's lips as he remembered these past efforts.
'Don't be so hard on yourself', he said, his wide eyes earnest.
Kurt raised his eyebrows.
'Ok, true', Blaine conceded, grinning broadly. 'Very well then, I'll sit here while you finish up but then I'm taking you to get something to eat.'
'Sounds great', said Kurt, abandoning any attempt to act cool as his smile widened still further. 'Give me fifteen minutes, tops.'
Heart soaring, he returned to his notes while Blaine pulled out a thick book from his bag. Kurt looked up at the old dust jacket with its long, complex title and felt his heart sink slightly. Was there any aspect of Blaine that wasn't perfect? Probably not, he answered himself, regarding the demigod before him. He forced himself back to his comparatively simple book but every so often he couldn't stop his eyes flicking back up to Blaine's face, staring at the deep, hazel eyes which gazed intently out from under the usually smooth brow, now furrowed in concentration.
Ten minutes later, Kurt reached his last page and triumphantly announced, 'Done', as he finished his final note with a flourish.
Blaine looked up with a smile and set his tome down, 'Excellent.'
Kurt eyed it warily, 'Good book?'
'The best', said Blaine, his eyes twinkling. 'Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus.'
Kurt look at the author's name which visible in dull gold lettering on the cover.
'Radleigh?', he asked.
'Rowling', Blaine replied with a mischievous grin.
Kurt regarded him quizzically for a moment before comprehension dawned.
'Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus!' he laughed, reaching for the book.
He flicked through the well-thumbed book to the title page and there, sure enough, was the Hogwarts crest with the Latin motto printed underneath: Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus. Removing the false dust jacket, Kurt saw that the book was in actual fact Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling, battered from all the times it had been read and re-read.
Kurt laughed as Blaine, grinning explained 'What my father doesn't know, can't hurt him'.
'Not a fan?'
'Not at all', Blaine confirmed with a solemn shake of his head.
'Tragic', said Kurt, his face also serious.
Blaine nodded in agreement but then a wide smile broke through on his face, lighting up his eyes as he said, 'But you recognised the motto.'
'Obsessive', Kurt admitted, smiling back. 'I just can't stop reading them. They're just so…', he searched for the right word.
'Awesome?' Blaine supplied, grinning.
'Totally', said Kurt with a vigorous nod, 'Totally awesome'.
Blaine chuckled once more then briefly brushed Kurt's arm as he stood and, courteous as ever, said, 'Come on. I insist.'
Both of them pulled on their blazers and, still smiling, walked through the great oak front doors and out into the night.