A/N: I don't know what I'm doing, posting this today of all days. But the idea won't let me go. I'm gonna keep this canon as long as I possibly can... as in I'll include today's episode.
Once I see it.
Enjoy!
Dalton was a busy, beautiful place. Kurt loved every inch of it, and from the moment he was enrolled he promised himself that he wouldn't miss a thing.
Of course, he'd read all the Harry Potter books, and A Separate Piece as part of school. He'd even read a not as well-known book titled Looking for Alaska. He knew that something might be up with a dorm full of boys. He wasn't going to be caught off guard by any pranks, and didn't want to be the one who was pranked either.
But everyone was perfectly dapper, hair short and styled, uniforms followed in every moment, and the Warblers were even more presentable. They all followed the party line, always respectable and perfect gentlemen. Dalton was a real haven for Kurt.
So he almost didn't notice the off days.
"Blaine, your hair!" Kurt hadn't seen the other Warbler at all that day. At lunch he'd texted about getting some last minute reading in before a big test, but they usually met up in the library to study after classes.
Blaine smiled, running his fingers through the usually stiff locks. They were a mess today, fluffy and tall. "Yeah." He nodded, but didn't give explanation.
Kurt blinked; usually Blaine explained his every motive for an action. "Is this a new thing?"
Blaine scrunched up his nose playfully, which really made Kurt's mind melt, and shook his head in the negative.
And that was that.
The next day Blaine was as put-together as always, singing with him to Baby, It's Cold Outside.
And yet, a few weeks after the Christmas break Blaine's hair was natural again. Kurt barely caught a glimpse of it before Blaine headed away again, saying he had a lot of studying to do.
After the Gap attack, however, Kurt started paying attention. Maybe there was something about this free and crazy hair. Jeremiah had it, and Blaine was serenading him with the other Warblers. Kurt was happy, conflicting with his surprise that anyone could turn down Blaine at all, when Jeremiah really didn't seem to care about Blaine.
Four days after the holiday, Blaine's hair was natural again… as were the styles of almost half the Warblers. All of the "natural" Warblers were also avoiding him. Kurt may not have noticed, but Blaine's main group of friends was almost all he had at Dalton. David, Wes, Jeff, and Nick were busy and moody and not even bothering to make the excuses that Blaine did.
But nothing happened for weeks, and then Blaine was dating him, and they were doing a duet together and everything seemed perfect.
Until days before regionals, during a marathon practice, half the Warblers showed up with horrible attitudes. Jeff was practically jumping off of every wall, hugging people left and right. David and Wes looked snappy, pacing around unhappily in the short breaks. Nick and Blaine didn't say a word to anyone, their attention shot even as they tried with all their might to focus. It also didn't help that the other Warblers treated the crazy ones with a sort of smug superiority.
But what Kurt noticed about that day was the way that all the crazy ones never left him alone with the jerks being full of themselves. Blaine, especially, was annoying. He wouldn't say a word to Kurt except when others were talking to him, and even then he seemed snappish.
Everyone was relieved when the day was over. Blaine dragged Kurt to his room with a barely concealed smile on his face. They were so new, but it was so amazing. Kurt could love this boy.
"What's the hurry, we doing anything tonight?" Kurt asked as they headed towards Kurt's room. "More practicing before regionals?"
Blaine looked unhappy at Kurt's suggestion, though. Oh god, what's wrong with me? Kurt thought, and then what's his problem anyways.
They reached Kurt's room rather fast. Blaine was the first to speak. "I'd love to spend time with you, babe, any night but tonight. If you haven't noticed… I'm kinda frazzled right now."
"What's up?"
Blaine sighed, "It's not anything I can really talk about…"
"You can tell me. Anything. You're always here for me."
"Kurt." Blaine kissed him, short and sweet, "I'll tell you someday, okay?"
Kurt sighed, and let it go. Blaine was asking for space, and that was fine. They'd lived in each other's pockets since that first kiss. Kurt kissed him again, slightly disappointed when Blaine kept it short, and went into his room alone.
In the morning everything was back to normal, and with the flurry of Regionals Kurt let everything else slide.
Kurt really noticed the next time all the Warblers let their looks ago, and didn't even want to risk the possibility of a fight with Blaine due to his curiosity. It'd been months, he'd been at Dalton for almost half a year, and he really missed McKinley. He didn't know how he could handle a possessively distant Blaine, so it was his turn to do the avoiding.
And then he was back at McKinley, and it was summer, and if Blaine had those days where he let his hair down and snapped at everyone, Kurt wasn't there to see it.
And then, days after the cast was announced, Blaine came to school with his hair natural. His style was completely shot for the day, which was the first thing that Kurt noticed other than the hair. The next thing that he noticed was the way that Blaine kept his phone in his hands all day texting Nick and Jeff.
It felt like Blaine was slipping away from him, that despite landing a lead all he wanted to do was be at Dalton. Kurt could hardly handle the thought of this, especially after Rachel's betrayal. This distance between them could hardly be tolerated, not this year. This year was supposed to be magical.
Kurt kissed him at lunch while settling down beside Blaine. "So, are you ever going to take me out on one of your off days?"
That got Blaine to look up from his phone again, looking at Kurt carefully. "You want that?"
Which made Kurt feel like a shitty boyfriend, because everyone had their off days and how could he not support Blaine through this? "We could watch a movie, and I'd run my fingers through your hair because it'd be so easy to do. And we wouldn't have to do anything special; we wouldn't even have to talk."
Blaine tilted his head, as if the words were exactly what he wanted. Kurt settled for the easiest thing as tentatively sent his fingers through Blaine's hair.
Blaine's head was resting on his shoulder, arms around his waist in almost no time. They were usually so careful about PDA at McKinley, but Kurt couldn't complain now. He'd done this. He'd made Blaine this vulnerable and he had to protect him.
When the lunch bell rang, Blaine pulled himself together and left Kurt's arms. The look on his face as he did so left Kurt breathless.
"So, tonight?"
Something filled Blaine's eyes, like it had that March long ago. "I can't. I'm going to visit some of the Dalton boys tonight and… you can't come with me."
"Oh."
"Kurt, I'm really sorry. I'll… I'll tell you everything. I promise. Please don't be mad."
That something in his eyes wasn't disinterest, or disappointment in him. It was something else entirely. "Blaine, whatever it is that keeps you away from me… you don't have to tell me everything if you don't want to."
"I want to!"
"Blaine, it's okay. You'll be better tomorrow, right?"
Blaine nodded, biting his lip as if to keep them closed. Kurt thought they talked about everything. This was so odd.
"We'll make plans tomorrow, then. I'm okay for tonight."
Blaine nodded, and that was the end of the discussion. It left no room for Kurt to even wonder might be going on, but he wasn't worried. Everything would turn out fine. This was his magical senior year.
