DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, and this is my first fan-fic attempt. Reviews/comments/suggestions are greatly appreciated! Story begins after the dinner scene in 2:07 "The Substitute"
Blaine leaned against the cool metal of his car door and sighed happily. Dinner at Breadsticks had gone even better than he had hoped, and it was nice to finally meet Kurt's friend Mercedes. She was exactly as Kurt described, funny and vivacious, but at times a little spacey. He was glad that Kurt had at least one friend like her close-by when he couldn't be around all the time. Then Blaine's deep brown eyes lowered at the thought of that word, and his satisfied smile waned.
Friend.
He loved spending time with Kurt, and Kurt seemed to enjoy their outings and texts too. But he couldn't shake the nagging suspicion that Kurt only liked him as a friend, someone who finally cared to get to know him instead of judging him at a distance just because he dressed like the world was his runway.
The Mustang's engine roared to life with a satisfying growl as Blaine turned the key and shifted gears to start his way home. Everything seemed perfect since he transferred to Dalton, on the surface at least. He couldn't believe he had been in Kurt's position not so long ago. Unlike Kurt, he tried desperately to hide the fact that he was gay. He joined the soccer team as a freshman at his old high school and did well—well enough to draw the attention of more than a few of his female classmates. He dated one or two casually, but never went past kissing; he just couldn't handle the idea of betraying his true feelings that badly.
The real benefit of the soccer team was Scott, a junior and the quintessential jock—with the exception of one little detail. Scott was gay and fighting it too, but he read Blaine like an open book. Blaine remembered how desperate he was then to feel loved and wanted, and to know what kissing another boy felt like. He started hanging out with Scott, and then Scott kissed him. It was incredible; everything felt like he always imagined it should. Over the next few weeks, Blaine realized Scott wanted more than kisses, but he wasn't ready for anything more. Why rush when things were so good as they were?
Unfortunately, Scott wasn't inclined toward patience with the nervous freshman. He planned to make Blaine regret not giving in to him. So one day after soccer practice, Scott had his friends hide in the locker room. They, of course, did not know anything about Scott's tryst with Blaine or that he was gay. Scott only told them he had something funny to show them. When Blaine and Scott appeared to be alone, Scott got Blaine to kiss him, and as they were making out, Scott signaled the other boys to come just as he pushed Blaine's hand to his inner thigh and pulled back from the kiss. Blaine was so startled by Scott's sudden actions that it took him a second or two to realize he was practically fondling him while still making kissey faces in the air as a half-dozen soccer players looked on.
He'd be duped by the first guy he ever had a crush on. For the rest of the year, his team mates and other students teased and taunted him for the locker room incident. Scott most of all, telling the story over and over about how the little gay freshman tried to rape him in the locker room and how lucky it was that his buddies were there to come to the rescue. If high school wasn't bad enough to begin with, Blaine was suddenly exposed, friendless and adrift, and branded with one of the worst appellations possible in a small-town high school. But, looking back, Blaine realized it wasn't all bad. If he hadn't been running as fast and far from the soccer team and jocks as he could, he wouldn't have ended up in the choir. And without the choir, he wouldn't have had the chance to audition for a partial music scholarship at Dalton. And without Dalton…well, he didn't know what would have happened without Dalton, but it was better not to think about that.
Blaine barely realized he was already in his neighborhood. The trip down the darker paths of memory lane consumed him and the miles on the road home had escaped his attention. His palms were wet with perspiration, and his heart felt heavy in his chest just thinking about the bad old days. Then he remembered Kurt. Where did he find the strength to go on and put up with all the torment at McKinley day after day? "And who the hell was I," Blaine thought, "to try to give him advice about dealing with bullies? All I learned to do is run away…" Blaine wanted so much to make things ok for Kurt, for someone to protect him and love him the way he wanted to be loved at his old school when things got bad.
Blaine leaned back in his seat after shutting the engine off in the driveway. All he could think of was Karofsky kissing Kurt. It brought back his own memories of hurt and betrayal in the locker room. "At least I had a few good kisses before it all fell apart," he mused. But he realized it was only the infatuation of an innocent and lonely teenager that gave any meaning to his first kiss with Scott. There was no depth, no magic, not the slightest hint of the electrical connection he felt when he gripped Kurt's hand and led him to the senior commons for the Warblers' performance. He wished he could hug Kurt right then, gaze into his grey eyes and convince him the world was his and that the people who tried to get him down didn't matter. Because he, Blaine, would be there for him.
As he turned the door knob to go inside, Blaine's phone buzzed.
From: Kurt
"I'm home safe! I had an amazing time with you tonight. Thanks for hanging with me and Mercedes!"
From: Blaine
"I just got back too. Glad you had fun! I had a blast Patti LuPone lol"
From: Kurt
"Just don't expect me to start learning Buckeyes' stats, k?"
From: Blaine
"Your wish is my command. Ttys!"
From: Blaine
"Oh btw since I met your friend maybe you can come see Harry Potter with Wes and David and me"
From: Kurt
"That sounds like fun, let's!"
From: Blaine
"Sure thing. G'night! :-)"
From: Kurt
"Good night Blaine :-)"
Blaine cursed under his breath. As much fun as it was to hang out with Wes and David, he really just wanted to go on a proper date with Kurt. But, something would be better than nothing, at least until he figured out what Kurt really felt. A guy can dream, right?
Kurt, meanwhile, was unsure how to take Blaine's movie invitation. "I guess he really does just want to be friends," Kurt muttered to the mirror as he performed his nightly ablutions. Kurt thought Blaine liked him beyond just friendship. They had an instant connection that day at Dalton, and Blaine only had eyes for him throughout the entire song. He had come to McKinley to help address the Karofsky situation. They laughed at all the same things at dinner. But maybe it was too much to expect from the world for the first gay guy he met to be nice, caring, attractive, talented, intelligent, encouraging—oh, did he say attractive yet?—and also have him be interested in a relationship. Oh well. A guy can dream, right?
More to come...Thanks for reading! Reviewers receive an application fee waiver for Santa's "Nice" list! (Warning: offer not actually valid in any of the 50 states or elsewhere)
