A/N: Oh, gosh, so, first of all, I love this fic. It is truly one of my favorites (you don't have to agree with me at all). I wrote What I Know Now for the Klaine Prompt Bang aka the Klaine Prompt Challenge, and it is based on the following prompt:

Prompt #17: I'd love to see a fic based on the movie 13 Going On 30, with Kurt as the main character and Blaine as the love interest. It doesn't have to stick exactly to the plot of the movie, but should be along the same lines, with a happy, Klainey ending. Bonus points if Kurt's best friend/rival in the movie is Quinn and Blaine's fiancé is Sebastian. Extra double bonus points if Kurt's hockey playing boyfriend is Sam!

I had maybe too much fun writing this story, though certain parts and character interactions were definitely a challenge. The artist I was initially paired up with dropped out, but I am so very lucky to have a friend in the fandom like riverance who stepped up and came to my rescue. As always, the cover art she created for the story is breathtaking. I hope you enjoy the art and the story! :D

Kurt slammed his locker door shut, the only way it would close properly, listening for a click to be sure the lock had caught. A series of cacophonous sounds, metal clanging against metal, the pounding footfalls of rowdy kids running up and down the hallways, and friends shouting down the hall rather than walking the short distance to meet each other, filled the seventh grade sector of the junior high school and signaled the conclusion of the school day.

The end of the school year was fast approaching, giving even more reason for the noise and activity in the hallway, which was now beginning to clear out nearly as quickly as it had filled up. Kurt pivoted around, still looking down to secure his messenger bag, and as the second clasp snapped shut, he looked up, his eyes meeting those of his best friend, Blaine Anderson.

"Hey, Kurt. Are we still hanging out today after school?" Blaine asked with a shy smile, his hands in his pockets. "My mom finally bought me the High School Musical soundtrack, and I thought we could listen to it." He looked down at his shoes and swayed from side to side.

"Yeah, of course," Kurt said, grinning. He knew Blaine had been waiting for the cd ever since it came out that January, and he undoubtedly had one of his dance sessions planned.

"Hummel," a voice called down the corridor, and Kurt whipped his head around to view the source. Walking down the hallway, the sun at their backs, shining off their hair like halos, was the self-proclaimed Unholy Trinity: Lucy Fabray flanked by the equally as stunning Santana Lopez and Brittany Pierce.

They were the It girls of McKinley Middle School, the first to get boobs, and the only girls to make Junior Varsity Cheerios before they even entered the high school. They were popular. They were fierce. They were fabulous. They were everything Kurt Hummel aspired to be, and he almost died when Lucy first started talking to him after art class one day. He still couldn't believe it.

"Hey, Kurt - Hobbit," she said, acknowledging Blaine before tuning him out completely. "We got the invitation to your birthday party on Friday, but, you see, Coach Sylvester is making us practice overtime, so we're going to be exhausted. Also, the team is getting together that day to finish the new uniform design so we can pitch it in time for the new school year. I'm so sorry. We'd really like to come, but we're just too busy." She pouted, and Kurt's heart sank.

"I could help you with the design," Kurt said, hoping that, if he could lessen their burden, they could make it to his party after all. He was also hoping it would earn him a few points in their book and increase his chances of hanging out with them and making the team next year.

"You could? Are you sure?" Lucy asked. "I wouldn't want to inconvenience you."

"Yeah, it's really not a problem at all! It would be a lot of fun," Kurt insisted.

"Well, in that case..." Lucy pulled a folder out of her bag and stuffed it into Kurt's hands. "That should be everything you need! Take a look at it, IM me when you're done, and we'll see you at that party of yours." She winked, and Santana and Brittany side-eyed each other behind her back. Then they turned around, almost in unison, and headed toward the doors.

Blaine glared at the girls as they walked away, ponytails bobbing, hips swinging, until they were around the corner and out of sight.

"They're not your real friends, Kurt. Can't you see they're just using you?" Blaine finally said.

"C'mon, Blaine. I never pegged you as the jealous type. They like me, and becoming friends with them will almost guarantee me a spot on the squad in the fall." Kurt turned and began walking toward the exit, Blaine falling into step by his side. "Besides, you're not even interested in cheerleading. I thought all you wanted to do was play in the band and sing in the choir."

"I'm not jealous," Blaine grumbled. "And, yeah, I like the choir, but I thought you would too. I still don't get why you won't join."

"Honestly, Blaine. Being in the band and the choir makes you a geek! It's not cool," Kurt snapped.

Blaine's eyes were downcast, and he shuffled along, dragging his feet, clearly hurt by Kurt's words. Kurt looked over and almost immediately wished he could take back what he'd said.

"I'm sorry, Blaine. You know I didn't mean it like that. I don't think you're a loser, you know that. It's just that I'm tired of being made fun of. It's bad enough that I'm the chubby kid whose voice hasn't changed yet, and I'm practically the youngest in the grade."

"But I like all those things about you, Kurt," Blaine said. "I wish you did too."

"Well I don't. And the only way for me to get people to back off is to find an in with the popular crowd, and Lucy is that in...or high school is going to eat me alive."

-s-

That evening, Kurt spent a good hour flipping through his mother's old Vogue collection, admiring the strong women in the pictures and trying to find inspiration for the design he'd promised Lucy.

After his mother had passed, Kurt had found a box of her things which included a small stash of fashion magazines, old perfume bottles, and vintage clothing accessories. He claimed them as his own without his father's knowledge and hid them away. They were precious to him. Blaine caught him one day with one of the magazines, and Kurt was embarrassed and scared that Blaine would laugh at him. But he didn't. Instead, he crawled up next to Kurt on the bed, grabbed one of the magazines, and they began to look through them together, every few minutes striking up conversation about items or people that caught their eye.

Kurt secretly wanted to be like the women in the magazine, and he wanted to be like Anna Wintour, a fearless, sophisticated, successful New Yorker and editor-in-chief of the top fashion magazine in the world. It was a dream of his that he never even told Blaine about.

There were other things about Kurt that set him apart from his peers. His affinity for Beyoncé was viewed as strange for a boy his age, and for boys in general, but something about her music, the power of her voice, lyrics, and rhythms, really struck a chord with Kurt. Sometimes he and Blaine would choreograph their own dances to the songs or watch the music videos, study and learn the moves, and dance along in the basement. But the fashion and the music were some things they generally kept inside and under wraps. The two always had so much fun, but no one had to know, and Kurt didn't want them to. It was just for him and Blaine.

It was the reason why when Blaine wanted Kurt to join the choir, telling him all about how in high school there was a show choir where they would get to sing and dance, Blaine was confused and disappointed by Kurt's lack of interest and refusal to be swayed. Blaine also wanted choir to be their thing, but Kurt was afraid of how it would damage the image he was trying to project and how it would surely bring the bullies down harder on him.

Kurt rolled over onto his back and closed the magazine. He slid it under his pillow and out of sight just in time before his dad knocked on the doorframe and entered his room.

"Lights out, Kurt," he said. "What did I tell you about sticking to your bedtime?"

"I know," Kurt groaned. "Alright, alright...good night, Dad."

"Good night, Kiddo." And Burt flipped off the light switch and left the room.

-s-

The night before Kurt's thirteenth birthday, Kurt heard something lightly strike his bedroom window, and he rolled over and off the bed, a grin already stretching across his face, and rushed to the window to lift it up.

"Hey, Kurt!" Blaine waved from across the way, only about an eight-foot gap separating their neighboring houses. Kurt waved back, slid the screen up, and leaned out the window. He stretched his arm out to take hold of the device Blaine was now passing over on the end of a broom handle, his end of two tin cans on a string. It was something silly that they'd been doing since elementary school, but neither of them wanted to end the tradition. So, late at night, and especially on special occasions, they would connect their bedrooms via cans on a string and talk until they grew too tired to keep their eyes open.

"It's almost midnight," Blaine said through the can. Kurt held it closer to his ear and smiled. "You know what that means?"

"I'm gonna be a teenager," Kurt said.

"Yep. You'll finally be catching up with the rest of us."

"I wonder if I'll feel any different," Kurt said.

"Maybe. But, hey, I have an early present for you," Blaine said. "Give me one second." He set his can down and disappeared from the window for a moment. When he returned, he had a keyboard, and Kurt's eyes lit up. Blaine set it in his lap and picked the can up again. "I wrote a song. It's probably not very good, but I wanted to surprise you with it."

"Oh! I'm so excited," Kurt squealed, but then he quieted down again, not wanting to wake his dad, and listened, waiting for Blaine to begin.

"It's called 'It's Not Silly'." Blaine placed the can on the keyboard and began to play. It was a slow melody, and then Blaine began to sing, and Kurt broke out into a fit of giggles. He didn't know what he was expecting, but his birthday serenade was anything but serious in nature. Blaine's immature sense of humor showed through with lyrics that left Kurt in stitches. He was loving this birthday already, and it technically hadn't started yet.

"I love it," Kurt said when Blaine finished, still giggling but trying hard to conceal it.

"I thought you would." Blaine was quiet for a few moments, and Kurt got up on his knees to peer out the window.

"Are you tired?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah, I think it's time for bed," Blaine answered. "I'll see you tomorrow though." Kurt could hear the smile in his voice. "Happy birthday, Kurt."

"Thank you, Blaine. I can't wait until the party."

Then Blaine pulled the cans back over to his side, and, with one final wave good night, they both slid their windows down, locked them, and climbed into their beds for the night.

-s-

Kurt took a deep breath as he set the final bowl of chips out on the table. His heart was already racing, and he couldn't contain the flurry of emotions he was feeling about the day. The Unholy Trinity would be at his party, Lucy told him over instant messenger that they were bringing Finn Hudson - oh, Finn Hudson! - and Blaine would be over soon with mix cds to play. Kurt was happy, but he was also a bit nervous and scared, because Finn was the most popular guy in school. He played football and basketball and just about every sport under the sun, and he was good at all of them. Sometimes Kurt wished he could be as well-liked as Finn was. Finn was everything Kurt was not: popular, tall, muscular, athletic...charming.

Every time he passed him in the hallway or glanced his way during the one class they had in common, Kurt's stomach erupted into butterflies, and he'd often find himself staring at his broad shoulders or watching his lips move when he talked to friends.

Sometimes he wanted to be Finn, and other times he wanted to be best friends with him.

Blaine had arrived first, wanting to be the first one to wish Kurt happy birthday on his big day and to give him his present.

"But you already gave me a present," Kurt said, puzzled. "I thought that's what the song was."

"That was more of a pre-birthday present, but I have something else for you," Blaine said, suddenly growing shy. He pulled a small, red box out of his pocket and handed it over to Kurt. "I hope you like it."

Kurt stared at it curiously before lifting the top, and his mouth fell agape in shock when he saw what was inside. "A...ring?"

"It's a friendship ring," Blaine said hurriedly. "I made it out of Juicy Fruit gum wrappers, since it's your favorite and all. And, I almost forgot something..." Blaine dug in his pocket and pulled out a small paper packet.

"What's that?"

"Magic wishing dust. So all your wishes and dreams come true today and every day, Kurt." Blaine smiled and then tore open the packet.

Kurt watched as he sprinkled it over the handcrafted gift, and then he giggled, admiring the glitter now stuck to the gum wrapper ring. But then his face fell, and he grew quiet.

"Do you like it...?" Blaine asked uncertainly.

"I love it, I really do." But Kurt didn't want to admit that he found it embarrassing. They had been best friends ever since Blaine moved into the neighborhood in second grade, and he loved everything he and Blaine shared, but Kurt wondered what kind of insults the kids at school would throw at him if he wore it or if they even found out about it. And what would Lucy and the other Cheerios think? There was no way they could see this, and they would be arriving soon, so Kurt thought quickly. "Weren't you going to bring music, Blaine?"

"Oh, yeah. Oops. I forgot. I can go get it though. I'll be right back." He ran up the stairs and out of the house.

Kurt looked around frantically for a place to hide it. Then he pulled open the closet door and set the box on the highest shelf he could reach and shut the door again.

The doorbell rang, and Kurt heard his father let in some guests. Kurt stood before the basement steps and waited impatiently until he saw Lucy, followed by Santana, Brittany, and...Finn. He was really here. Finn Hudson was in Kurt's house at his birthday party.

"Hey, Hummel. Did you finish that design for the new cheer uniform? We're gonna need it asap," Lucy said, flashing him a post-braces, flawless smile.

"Yeah, I'll go get it!" And Kurt raced up the two sets of stairs to his room on the second floor, grabbed the folder, and rushed back down to the basement to rejoin the party. His chest heaved as he caught his breath, and he handed over the work he had done.

She opened it up, turned it sideways, and flipped through the pages, a look of approval on her face. "Not bad at all, Kurt. This is actually really impressive."

"I'm so glad you like it!" He clasped his hands together and looked around at everyone to gauge their reactions, but the other guests seemed aloof and were more concerned with their fingernails or the bowls of pretzels and other snacks on the table. Finn sniffed at a cheese doodle and then popped it into his mouth.

"I do, and I'm sure Sue will be just as impressed." Santana leaned over and whispered something into Lucy's ear, and Lucy perked back up. "How about we play a game, shake things up a bit?" she said.

"Sure, like what?" Kurt asked.

"Seven Minutes in Heaven!" At that, Brittany turned around, and Finn stuffed a few more cheese doodles into his mouth before wiping the orange powder off it with his sleeve. He turned around to face the others, his interest now piqued.

"How do you play that?" Kurt asked.

"Two people go into the closet for seven whole minutes and do whatever they want with each other," she explained.

"Santana and I usually just make out," Brittany piped up, and Santana smacked her hard on the arm. "Ow! What?" Santana just glared at her and crossed her arms.

Kurt felt a prickling heat rise in his neck and face, and his pulse quickened. He had never kissed anyone before, and he didn't have the slightest idea how to kiss. He had fantasized about it, yes, but he wasn't even sure there was anyone he really wanted to be his first kiss. He wanted it to be special. But he couldn't tell them that. It would reveal to them just how big of an inexperienced loser he was.

"You can go first. You're the birthday boy, after all," Lucy said, and the other girls smirked. Kurt gulped but then nodded, turning toward the closet. "Wait!" She took the scarf out of Brittany's hair and blindfolded Kurt, taking care to tie it tightly. "Go on. One of us lucky girls will meet you in there." She guided him along until his hand was on the doorknob.

Hesitantly, he opened the door, and stepped into the closet. It was closed behind him, and then he sank down to the floor. He sat there curled up in a ball, his arms wrapped around his knees. His mouth had gone completely dry from nerves, and he wondered how much longer they'd be and who would be joining him. Kurt began to rock back and forth. He didn't want to do this, but he wanted them to like him, so he couldn't chicken out. With a few deep breaths, he calmed himself down.

The door opened again upstairs, and Blaine plodded down the steps, arms laden with a stack of CDs and a small CD player. When he got to the landing, he looked around, surprised to see the girls and Finn sans Kurt.

"We're playing Seven Minutes in Heaven. He's in the closet waiting for you," Lucy said quietly in response to the bemused look Blaine gave her.

Blaine grew flush. "W-what?" he stammered, but they simply laughed and began to make their way up the stairs.

"Come on, guys. Santana picked the lock on her mom's liquor cabinet, and I'm sure that will be way less lame than this party." She had them laughing again, and soon they were up the stairs and out the door.

Blaine wasn't sure what was going on, but he set the player and the CDs down on the corner of the table and made his way over to the closet. He reached his hand out and slowly turned the knob.

Kurt heard the door click open, and a new wave of panic washed over him, but he tried to play it cool. He had to. "You finally came. I felt like I was waiting forever," Kurt said, in the sweetest, flirtiest voice he could muster. Then he reached both hands out toward Blaine.

Blaine stared at the blindfolded Kurt and then watched the corners of his perfectly pink lips turn upward. Was this really happening? Did Kurt really want this? Blaine had been thinking about it a lot lately, what it might be like to kiss Kurt, but he was his best friend - his best guy friend. It was all wrong, and he didn't want to screw everything up between them. Then Kurt tilted his head and puckered his lips slightly. Blaine threw all caution to the wind and kneeled down, leaning in, nervous as anything, reaching out to interlock their fingers, which slid together so perfectly. Then he slowly brought his face closer to Kurt's, his heart beating fit to burst.

Kurt got a whiff of what smelled like raspberry and thought it must be lip gloss. "Is that you, Brittany?" Kurt asked, knowing she wore it.

"Brittany?" Blaine said, confused. "No, it's me."

Kurt froze, and his blood turned to ice. He ripped the blindfold off and backed up against the shelf, staring in confusion and disgust at Blaine, unable to form any words. Blaine stood up and took a step back, gently shaking his head, and he felt hot tears begin to gather behind his eyes as he put all the pieces together.

"Blaine!? What are you - Get out," Kurt said, fighting to keep his voice steady. Blaine backed up even more. "Get out!" Kurt yelled this time. Blaine, appalled at himself and what he had almost done, turned around and raced up the stairs and out of the house.

Kurt looked around the now empty basement, and his stomach twisted painfully before he completely lost it. He slammed the closet door in his fury, closing himself inside again. He was so humiliated that he wanted nothing more than to curl up and just die. He sank back down to the floor, sobbing brokenly, his tears streaking his face and soaking his shirt and pants. Then he began to rock back and forth again, banging his back and shoulders against the shelves.

"I hate myself. I hate everybody. I wanna be older. I wish I was a fearless, sophisticated, successful New Yorker. Then no one would pick on me. I would be in charge and calling the shots," Kurt sobbed, burying his face in his hands.

Being a teenager was not at all what he'd expected and hoped for it to be. He was doomed to be the butt of everyone's cruel jokes, to take the brunt of the popular kids' abuse as they stomped all over him to remain on top. Because he was different, but he knew that different wasn't bad, different was special. He just wished that how he felt inside could reflect on the outside. If only he could skip past it all, become an older, wiser, more attractive version of himself, go right to a time when he could be happy...

Something fell off the shelf and clattered to the floor. Kurt looked over and saw the ring box had split in two, and the gum wrapper ring was laying there, slightly crinkled. Great. Even that stupid ring was taunting him. What had Blaine even been thinking giving it to him? What was Blaine trying to do in the closet? It was all so confusing, and his stomach turned again from thinking about it. He scooped the ring and its container up in his hand, and, with a strangled yell, chucked them against the door, sending some of the glittery wishing dust up into the air. Kurt trembled for a moment, finding it hard to breathe, and then, realizing what he had done, to Blaine and to ring that he'd put so much care into making for Kurt, he closed his eyes again and cried until he couldn't anymore.