The title of this fic and my Tumblr/AO3 usernames are from the same song. I'm so proud of me.
Kurt took a moment to center himself on the first day of senior year, pausing outside the front doors of McKinley to take a deep breath, straighten his leather jacket-clad shoulders, and assume a disdainful attitude before walking in. He had a reputation to maintain, after all.
He strutted down the dingy, somewhat poorly lit hallway, smirking as the other kids instantly jumped out of his way (literally, in JBI's case) so he'd have a clear path to his locker. Everything was going exactly as planned.
Then he saw Blaine Anderson turn and smile across the hall at someone, radiating happiness from every single pore and follicle on his cute, compact body.
Kurt tripped over thin air and ended up sprawled across the hallway on his stomach. The nearby students all gasped and started muttering to one another.
"What are you looking at?" he snarled, glaring at one particularly terrified looking girl. She squeaked and hurried away, prompting the rest of the bystanders to quickly go back to their original conversations as he pushed himself onto his knees, huffing at the pain.
"Here, let me help you."
A tanned, gentle hand came into Kurt's line of sight, offering him some support for getting off the ground. It also happened to be connected to the boy who'd caused this problem in the first place.
"Th-thanks," Kurt stuttered once he was upright again, unable to think of anything clever when standing so close to Blaine's sparkling hazel eyes.
"You feeling alright? That looked like a rough landing," Blaine said, genuinely concerned. "And it's not like you to trip."
"Oh, I just - snagged my boot on the floor," Kurt said, desperately hoping the lie didn't sound too blatant. "Stupid me."
Luckily, the bell rang just then, preventing any further questioning.
"Well, be careful, okay? Adding a black eye to your already impressively intimidating look would just be overkill," Blaine teased. He waved briefly before turning away and heading to class, peppy as ever.
Kurt just stood there and watched Blaine go, easily keeping track of his lavender cardigan in the blandly colored sea of humanity surrounding him.
He notices you, a tiny voice in Kurt's head said. And he's not afraid.
Against his will, a tiny seed of hope planted itself in Kurt's stomach, and he had to fight to keep from smiling dreamily all through trig.
The morning passed painlessly, and soon enough Kurt was waiting in line at the hot lunch station. Grilled cheese and tomato soup acquired, he roamed down the aisles of the cafeteria, looking for a decent place to sit.
Too many people...too near the jocks...Blaine.
Mustering up his courage, he decided to sit at the opposite end of Blaine's otherwise deserted table, figuring he could always claim it was the most convenient seat should Blaine ask him why he was there.
"Oh, hi, Kurt," Blaine said, surprised yet cheerful. "How's your day going?"
"So far, so g- shit," Kurt said, scooting off the bench seat. He'd knocked over his bowl while reaching for a bite of his sandwich, spilling the contents all over the table and his hand. "Ow!"
Blaine sprang into action, draping his napkin over as much of the spill as possible before getting up. "I'm going to go get paper towels."
"No, I'll do it, you stay here," Kurt said, flapping his soup-covered hand at Blaine and splattering them both. "Oh God, sorry!"
"It's fine, it's only a couple drops," Blaine said kindly. "And you need to rinse off your hand in case you got burned, so we'll both go to the men's room."
Kurt couldn't argue with this logic, much as he wanted to, so he silently followed Blaine, blushing the whole time.
After Kurt had rinsed his hand, Blaine took it gently and dried it off, saying, "I took a first aid course over the summer, let me see." He inspected it thoroughly, running light fingers over Kurt's knuckles and making him shiver.
"Cold," Kurt muttered lamely when Blaine gave him an inquisitive look.
"Your hand's okay," Blaine said, squeezing it softly before letting go. "Thankfully."
"It really wasn't that hot. God forbid they serve us palatable food here," Kurt said.
"You'd think they could at least serve us hot slop," Blaine said, laughing. "It's got to be cruel and unusual punishment for the food here to be both disgusting and cold."
"Constitutional rights don't apply in high school," Kurt said, amazed that Blaine thought something he'd said was funny. Before he could say anything else, though, another boy came barging into the room and ruined the moment by releasing a massive fart, prompting them both to leave before they passed out.
Kurt was loitering against the rear bumper of his car after classes ended, flicking a lighter on and off against his thigh. The jocks found that gesture intimidating for some reason, so Kurt made a point of doing it while they were out stretching before football practice to keep them on their toes.
Just as another flame sparked to life, Blaine walked past and called out a goodbye, smiling another one of those sunshiny smiles.
Kurt singed his jeans, dropping his lighter and swearing as he beat his thigh viciously to prevent any more damage from occurring.
"Oh my God, are you alright?" Blaine asked, rushing back to Kurt. "What happened?"
"You happened!" Kurt said, brain not quite catching up to his mouth.
Blaine froze, gaping at Kurt in confusion.
"You and your cute smile and your kindness and the fact that you aren't afraid of me, God," Kurt continued. "That's why I keep making an ass out of myself, Blaine. Because of you."
"I fluster you?" Blaine asked, looking incredibly satisfied.
"Oh God, and now I've made it weird," Kurt said, finally aware of what he'd just said. "I won't blame you if you just want to ignore me from here on out, that's fine, I-"
Blaine leaned in and cut him off with a chaste, short kiss.
"I don't think it's weird. It's kind of flattering, especially since I've been trying to work up the nerve to talk to you for the past year," he said, smiling.
"You - me?" Kurt stuttered, not expecting this turn of events.
"All your accidents today finally gave me a chance," Blaine teased. "I'm glad you aren't hurt, don't get me wrong, but I can't complain about how they let me get close to you."
"The feeling's mutual," Kurt said breathily. "So, uh...would you like to go for a coffee with me? I promise to do my best not to spill it all over."
"That sounds lovely," Blaine said. "Are you safe to drive, or do I need to be in charge of getting us there in one piece?"
"I'll be fine, thank you," Kurt said haughtily, pushing off of his bumper to walk toward his door and immediately stumbling over a pothole.
Blaine's laughter was somehow adorable and annoying at the same time.