"Dad, I can't go in" Kurt swallowed.
From the driver's seat across from him, Burt raised his eyebrows. It was 8:30 on a Monday morning, and as per usual the two of them were parked in the car park of Dalton Academy as Burt dropped him off on his way to work. Smiling boys with tousled hair and practised grins streamed past them up the main steps of the school, identical in their matching navy and red blazers, lacrosse sticks in hand.
"Yeah, and why's that?" Burt replied.
Kurt scrambled around for an excuse. "I…I'm sick. God, my head is aching."
Burt was unimpressed. "Kurt, I didn't sacrifice my pension so you could go to this fancy school and then skip it for a headache."
Kurt sighed, desperately trying to think of an excuse which prevented him from stepping one foot into the school building.
After a moment of silence, he heard his father's echoing sigh as he softened. "Has this something to do with Saturday night?"
Saturday night. As in, The Worst Night Of His Life. Where he and Blaine had gone to Rachel's party, everything had been going fine, if not a bit crazy, until The Kiss happened. The Kiss Kurt refused to think about, even if that was exactly what he'd been doing all weekend. After a tortuous car ride which had involved Blaine babbling senselessly about how soft Rachel's lips had been whilst Kurt stared out the window and blinked hard, Kurt had dropped the other boy off at his house before arriving at his own home. Burt had been waiting up for him and Finn, stopping as soon as he saw Kurt's face. "How was it?" he'd asked, casual, but seeing straight through him.
"Fine" Kurt had said brightly, before shutting himself in his room. Where he'd cried for three hours straight.
"Why would it have anything to do with Saturday night?" he replied now, hearing the defensiveness in his own voice. Damn his super squeaky voice and his inability to hide what he was feeling.
"Fine" said Burt patiently, "is this about your friend? Blaine, is it?"
Just the sound of his name made Kurt want to curl up in a ball and moan with the agony of it.
Kurt wasn't obsessed or anything. Sure, he thought about him a lot. Sure, he'd startled doodling his name in little hearts all over his schoolbooks. Sure, he'd already planned where they'd live and how many children they'd have.
Ok. He was totally obsessed.
And then Blaine had kissed Rachel. In front of everybody. If it had just been a quick peck, which was normal in Spin the Bottle, it would have been fine. But the kiss had gone on. And on. Until Kurt, who had been near frantic by this point, practically yanked them apart.
"What has he been doing, Kurt?" pressed Burt, his voice suddenely turning low and serious. "Look, if he's been trying to force you to do stuff you don't want to do-"
"Dad! God, no!" Kurt said loudly, wincing at the part of him which screamed yes, please. At least then Blaine would actually like him and he wouldn't be stuck as a loser who still hadn't had his stupid first kiss. "Are you being serious right now? Stop it! We're just friends."
Just friends. Never had he hated two words in the English language more.
"Fine, fine" said Burt in amusement, holding up his hands in surrender. "Then if you have no excuse, get your butt out this car."
"Dad-"
"Kurt" he said, "now."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The main courtyard was packed full of swarms of Dalton boys, enthusiastically greeting one another after the weekend. A few greetings swirled through the air towards Kurt, who acknowledged them with only a nod as he hurried through the crowd towards the main door, head down.
It wasn't hard to miss Blaine Anderson, stood right in the centre of the courtyard surrounded by the other Warblers, easily the most popular and recognisable boys there. "Kurt!" Blaine's shout reached Kurt. Walking faster, he pulled his head down lower and pretended not to hear. Then again, "hey, Kurt!" He could hear Blaine laughing. Jesus, why did he always have to drip his honey-toned voice everywhere?
Suddenly, someone grabbed his arm, spinning him round. Kurt spun to face a slightly breathless Blaine Anderson, hair neatly combed, tie straight and blazer faultless. "Heya stranger" Blaine grinned brightly at him. "Did you forget about me?" The other Warblers were already making their way over. Kurt needed to make his escape. "Saturday night was crazy, wasn't it" Blaine went on, shaking his head. "I only just managed to sleep off my hangover-"
A sharp pain sliced inside Kurt's chest. "I've got to go" he muttered, adjusting his bag strap over his shoulder. "Late assignment due." With that, he hurried away through the crowd. Away from Blaine.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The Dalton school day was absolutely miserable without Blaine.
Kurt had come to love the school which offered him refuge from Karofsky and his troubles at McKinley, but now he realised with a jolt that this was mainly due to the fact that he was able to spend every second of his day with Blaine. He was used to waiting outside the other boy's classes with a smile, meeting him in the corridor and feeling the brush of Blaine's hand on his shoulder, the joy he got when an impromptu Warblers meeting was announced and he walked into a random classroom to find Blaine breaking into song. Without any of that, all the colour seemed to have been sucked out of Dalton.
Kurt spent a miserable morning avoiding all the places he thought Blaine might be. The truth was, he honestly couldn't face seeing the other boy right now. He knew every time he did the image of him and Rachel pressed together would enter his head and remind him that he wasn't the person Blaine had kissed.
However, there was one place he couldn't avoid the lead Warbler: his Chemistry class. When Kurt walked in the first thing he saw was Blaine sat in his usual seat in the middle, smiling at Kurt as he patted the seat beside him. For a moment, Kurt stood, swallowing, before a smirking Sebastian Smythe slid into the seat. Well. That was the decision made for him then.
Silently cursing Sebastian with all the swear words he knew (which wasn't many), Kurt took the only other available seat, two rows in front of Blaine. He sat stiffly, facing the board. Only a few minutes in he remembered something funny, immediately turning to tell Blaine when he realised the other boy was sat at the back. With Sebastian.
He didn't chose you, he reminded himself bluntly. He chose Rachel.Someone hissed his name from behind. Kurt stiffened. "Kurt!" Blaine hissed again. His voice was soft, pleading. Heat crept into Kurt's cheeks as other boys turned to stare at him.
A moment later, a boy leaned forward to pass him a note. "From Blaine" he said. Kurt was torn between wanting to roll his eyes and press the note to his chest in love-sick wonder.
Why aren't you talking to me? Blaine had written. I miss you :(
For a moment he stared at the note before choosing to ignore it. Kurt was trying to focus on what the teacher was saying, which was damn near impossible due to Blaine appearing in his head on the best of days, but now it was just ridiculous. In front of him, his jotter was covered in Blaine's initials that he'd done in previous lessons. He wanted to rip the page into shreds.
Just then, a ball of scrunched up paper hit Kurt's shoulder before rolling to a stop near the board. The teacher noticed and looked back at the class, eyebrows raised. "Who just threw this?"
There was a pause, a distinct snort from Sebastian, and then Blaine said clearly, "it was me. I'm so sorry."
Immediately, the teacher's expression cleared. "Don't worry" she said with a smile, "no harm done, Mr Anderson."
Of course she loved Blaine. The whole damn world was in love with Blaine Anderson. The only problem was that Blaine wasn't in love with Kurt.
When the bell went for the end of the lesson, Kurt grabbed his things and stormed out the classroom, ignoring the cries of the other boy echoing after him.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Where the hell have you been?" Kurt's head snapped up, his arm jerking so much in shock that he almost knocked his work to the floor.
Blaine Anderson was stood in front of his table, glaring at him. Instead of going to the canteen, Kurt had escaped to the almost empty library, hiding at a table behind a bookshelf and pretending to himself that he was going to study.
"I'm just finishing some homework" Kurt said calmly, not looking up from his textbook. Reaching over, Blaine slammed the textbook shut. Kurt and several other people sat around them looked up in surprise. Blaine was angry, Kurt realised. Had he ever seen Blaine angry before?
"You've been avoiding me all day" Blaine went on. It wasn't a question. Now Kurt saw he wasn't really angry, he was just hurt. His big brown eyes stayed on Kurt, pleading, as he took the seat opposite him. "Kurt, I can't stand not talking to you. Please tell me why you're being like this."
As he spoke, he reached over the table and took Kurt's hand. Kurt couldn't immediately form a coherent sentence because now Blaine was rubbing his thumb over the back of his hand and he was actually feeling light-headed.
"Kurt" Blaine said again, upset.
"Uh" said Kurt intelligently, because Blaine. Was. Holding. His. Hand. When Blaine let go, he forced himself to get a grip. "Look, I'm not angry with you."
"Then why aren't you talking to me?!" An angry looking senior shushed them from behind, but Blaine ignored them.
Kurt swallowed hard. This was too much. "Because…dammit, Blaine, you really don't know?"
Blaine let out a moan of frustration, pulling his hand through his hair. "No! Jesus, if I knew I'd be trying to fix whatever it is."
Just then, Kurt's phone beeped from where it was lying on the table. It was a text from Rachel. Several actually. He'd been getting them all day. Kurt! Talk to me! Before Kurt could grab his phone, Blaine's eyes focused on the messages. Immediately his eyebrows shot up as he stared back at Kurt, understanding finally dawning.
Shit, thought Kurt. He wanted to die. He wanted to let the floor eat him up-
"You're mad because I'm struggling with my sexuality" Blaine said, flatly.
Kurt blinked at him. Once. Twice.
In an instant, Blaine was back on his feet, fuming. "I can't believe you Kurt" he snapped, glaring at him. "I thought you, of all people, would be able to understand that sometimes it's hard to understand what you really want."
Blaine hadn't realised that Kurt liked him. As in, that's the reason why the kiss had upset him so much. Kurt was so shocked that it took his confused brain a moment to finally realise that Blaine thought he was angry because…Rachel was a girl.
Kurt stared at him, stunned. He didn't really didn't care if Blaine was gay or bisexual. He only cared if Blaine was kissing people and they weren't him.
But it was too late to say this now. Blaine was in full rant. "-so what if the kiss made me confused about if I like girls too? You know what, you were bullied, Kurt, but you're just as prejudiced as that Karofsky kid."
Even though the words were untrue, they still stung. "Blaine" appealed Kurt, trying to explain, but Blaine was already grabbing his bag.
"Forget it, Kurt" he snapped, shooting him a look of pure betrayal that struck Kurt right to his core. "I really don't understand you."
Blaine left with an echo of slamming footsteps and a chorus of shushing from everyone else in the library, leaving Kurt still sat in his seat staring after him. He felt almost blank with shock about what had just happened. I really don't understand you. "Well," drawled a horribly familiar voice, "that was entertaining."
Kurt glared with loathing as Sebastian Smythe strolled round the corner, giving Kurt his usual smirk that dripped with so much arrogance it made Kurt want to rip it right off his face. "So now you just hide round corners listening to other people's private conversations?" he snapped.
"Trust me, it wasn't private. You two were yapping loud enough for the whole library to hear." Sebastian slid into the chair Blaine had just vacated, leaning back as he continued to smirk. "Sounds like you two were having problems. Really, my heart breaks for you."
"Listen, meerkat" Kurt glowered, beginning to gather up his stuff, "go and drawl to someone who actually cares."
Leaning forwards, Sebastian pressed Kurt's book to the table. "Trust me" he said quietly, "I think you're going to care about what I have to propose."
Kurt gave him a flat look, but despite himself, he was interested. "What?"
"You want Blaine, right?" Sebastian said efficiently, raising his eyebrows when Kurt blushed. "Jesus, you do know everyone knows that, right? You're so damn obvious."
"I am not."
"You write his name all over your jotter" Sebastian said flatly. "Plus you stare at him like an adoring puppy."
Kurt was so indignant all he could do was make an odd coughing noise.
"Anyway" went on Sebastian, waving this away. "Blaine, for some reason, has got it into his head that he likes girls. So we need him to realise that obviously, he only likes guys." Kurt raised his eyebrows. "What's in it for you?" Sebastian gave him an amused look. "Smart, gayface. Well, here's the thing." He leaned forward, lowering his voice to a silky whisper. "I'm going to kiss Blaine. Trust me, that will remind him who he's really interested in."
"Ha. Well that was an amusing joke, Sebastian, well done. I think I'm going to go now."
"Wait." Sebastian grabbed his arm before Kurt could leave. "If you're worried about me stealing your man, don't be. I don't do commitment. The longest relationship I've had was twenty minutes, if you catch my drift." Kurt glared at him, but a stupid, foolish part of him was actually starting to sit up and listen. A slow smile spread over Sebastian's face as he sensed Kurt's wavering. "What about a party at my house, Friday night? It would be the perfect time to do it. All I do is kiss him, pass him onto you and then the job is done. He'll totally forget Rachel's name."
"So all you get out of this is kissing Blaine?" Kurt said suspiciously, trying to find any loopholes in what already seemed like a completely ridiculous plan.
"All I get out of it?" Sebastian arched an eyebrow. "Jesus Kurt, it isn't only you that thinks Blaine Anderson is the hottest fucking thing in Ohio."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"So, are you doing anything Friday night?" Blaine asked.
Kurt, who had been scanning the appealing selection of cakes their favourite café The Lima Bean had to offer, glanced back to him. Somehow, their argument on Monday had slipped away and they'd fallen straight back into talking and laughing with each other as usual, but Kurt could still feel it hovering in the background, waiting to be mentioned again.
They often went to the café to catch up after school or a tiring Warblers rehearsal, which Kurt loved as they often ran into his McKinley friends in here. Now, though, he was praying they didn't see Rachel. He hadn't spoken to her all week, and though she knew how much she'd hurt him, the absence of their conversation was a sharp hole.
"Have you heard about Sebastian's party?" Kurt asked casually. "Might be fun."
He focused on moving forward in the line, trying to ignore the way Blaine's jaw dropped as he stared him. "Kurt Hummel wants to go to Sebastian's party? I thought you hated each other."
"I heard he throws really good parties though" Kurt shrugged, unable to stop himself as he reached over and adjusted Blaine's striped tie, which had become slightly crooked.
Blaine gave him a warm smile of thanks which made Kurt's stomach swoop before he shrugged."Well sure we can go if you want to, but I thought it might be fun for just us two to hang out. Watch a movie or whatever."
The idea sounded divine, but after all the time he and Sebastian had spent planning Friday evening, Kurt was eager to see it through. The whole week he had veered violently for cursing himself in horror over such a resoundingly stupid plan, the next minute he was hopeful and optimistic that it might actually work.
When they reached the till Blaine fired off his order and then Kurt's, before Kurt had even opened his mouth. "Put your money away" Blaine smiled at him, waving away Kurt's wallet.
Kurt swallowed. "You know my coffee order?"
Blaine gave him a look. "Duh, Kurt."
A warm rush swooping up through his chest, Kurt grinned at the girl behind the till as she handed them their drinks and he followed his friend to their usual table.
His good mood evaporated like burst soap bubble as Blaine's phone buzzed and he slid it out for Kurt to see Rachel's name blazing on the screen. His smile dropped to the floor. "She's messaging you?"
Blaine gave a heavy sigh, keeping his eyes on his phone. "Yes, she is. I told you Kurt, I'm confused right now, okay? Rachel is being really nice about the whole thing."
"I bet she is" Kurt muttered, hardly realising he was speaking out loud.
Blaine shot him a look, their mutual good mood slinking out the door. "Can you please just try and be my friend and support me? Jesus. Don't you think this is already so hard for me?" Blaine's voice rose in anger before it turned low, biting his lip hard as he slapped his phone back on the table. "I need you on my side to work this out."
"I know" said Kurt, hating the miserable expression on his friend's face. He reached out to squeeze his arm. "I do support you. Whatever sexuality you are."
"Then why are you being like this?"
"Because…" Kurt looked at the floor, taking in a deep breath., but just couldn't continue.
"See?" said Blaine bitterly. "You don't have an answer."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Early Friday night saw Kurt turning in front of his glitzy floor-length mirror, making a face as he inspected the outfit he'd been stressing over for the last forty-five minutes. Barbara Streisand was crooning from the radio on his desk, and clothes were sprawled out of his closet and across every available surface. "Is it ok?"
"Perfect" Rachel grinned, from where she was idly flicking through one of Kurt's many Vogue magazines on the bed.
After almost a week of not talking, Kurt had finally caved early that morning, calling Rachel and giving a sigh of relief as she picked up on the first ring. They'd forgiven each other almost instantaneously; having his friend back was a huge relief.
"I'm so sorry" Rachel had moaned when she got to his house earlier that evening, hiding her face in her hands. "I knew how you felt about Blaine. God, Kurt, I'm an awful friend!"
"No, I'm the awful one. It was just a stupid kiss for Spin the Bottle, and even if you did start to date Blaine, I'd be happy for you." Rachel had just looked at him then. And then cracked up laughing.
"Ok, maybe not" Kurt admitted sheepishly. Now, he gave his reflection one last doubtful look- he'd even put on a bit of mascara, which Rachel said looked fabulous. "Is it too much?"
"You're seriously asking that?"
Kurt laughed and threw a cushion at her, wondering how much of a wreck he'd be if Rachel wasn't there to take the edge off his nerves.
"You should go" she said excitedly, getting to her feet as she checked her watch. "Can't keep Blaine waiting at the party."
Kurt shrivelled. "Wish me luck."
Grinning, Rachel kissed his cheek. "Sweetie, you don't need luck."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Maybe not, but it would have been nice to have it, Kurt thought as he stood outside Sebastian's house.
Typically, it was in Lima's most wealthy gated community, full of towering white mansions with rolling lawns and gravelled drives. Already the long drive was packed with cars- most of them Aston Martins and BMWs and Porches, and lights from the tall windows were bleeding onto the neatly trimmed grass. The beat of the music was pounding out through the night.
Taking a deep breath, he ran his sweaty palms down his obnoxiously tight pants and strode in. Inside, everything was clean and white and screaming of money. It was also packed with people- dancing, laughing, drinking, kissing. Kurt swallowed. He'd only been to a few parties in his life, and he doubted any of them would be quite like Sebastian Smythe's.
The heaving throng surrounded him as he pushed through, clumsy and apologetic, unable to think under the pounding of the music. A few girls in the corner appeared to be lap dancing, whilst one boy lying on the coffee table had his shirt off and was letting people snort cocaine off his chest.
This had been a big mistake, Kurt panicked, trying to push through the crowd. What was he doing here?
"Hey." For a moment he thought the boy's voice behind him was Blaine's, and he turned in a mixture of numbing nerves and excitement. But it wasn't. Instead it was a tall, good-looking blonde boy wearing a t-shirt with a deep v-neck. "It's Kurt, right?"
Kurt nodded a yes, knowing his voice would only get lost in the noise. He'd seen the boy around Dalton a few times.
The other boy said his name which Kurt didn't catch, and he was too embarrassed to ask him to repeat it, before he stepped closer. Kurt took a step backwards the wall, as the boy gave him a soft smile at him, eyes locked on his own. "You're really cute, by the way."
"That's…er, kind, but I'm actually looking for my friend-" said Kurt. He could feel himself blushing. Where the heck were Sebastian and Blaine?
"How come we haven't spoken at school before?" the other boy asked, touching Kurt's arm. Abruptly, Kurt straightened up off the wall. People touching him without his consent was definitely a no-go zone. "Woah" said the boy, his eyes widening slightly, "I didn't-"
Then the voice of an angel floated to his ears from behind the tall blonde boy: "Kurt, is that you?" Blaine Anderson appeared, grabbing Kurt's arm.
Kurt almost sagged against the wall in relief, but also due to another reason entirely- Blaine wasn't wearing his uniform. As in, he was wearing braces and a little bow tie and really tight pants. Like really really tight pants.
Blaine stared at the other boy. "Who's this?" he smiled, ever the polite gentleman. Somehow his smile didn't look quite as charming as usual though.
"We were just talking" Kurt muttered, yanking on Blaine's arm and leading them both out of the crush of bodies. "See you around" he said carelessly over his shoulder to the other boy, without really meaning it.
Thankfully, they managed to reach the kitchen which was a lot less crowded and crazy. Kurt leaned against the counter, catching his breath as Blaine grabbed two beers and handed one to him. "You look really amazing tonight" he said softly, smiling at him.
"Thanks" Kurt replied, feeling that swoop in his stomach again before adding, "and thanks for saving me."
Blaine's face hardened into granite. "What, was he trying to-?"
"No." Why was he always blushing when Blaine was around? "It was just awkward, that's all."
Blaine's voice was still stiff as he sipped his drink. "Kurt, I know you wanted to come tonight but to be honest I really don't-"
"Well if it isn't my two favourite fellow Warblers." Sebastian appeared in front of them, shirtless and smirking, a love bite already blooming on his white neck.
"Hi" said Blaine, with a cautious glance at Kurt.
Sebastian kept his eyes on Blaine, his smile slow and appreciative. "Can I say how sexy you're looking tonight, Anderson?"
Though it was part of the plan, it was all Kurt could do not to slap Sebastian round the face for the way he was undressing Blaine with his eyes. Blaine's eyes widened slightly in surprise before they dropped down to Sebastian's chest, and then the way his dark jeans were hanging low around his hips. He cleared his throat, looking away. Kurt's hand tightened into a fist around his cup.
Sebastian placed a hand on Blaine's arm. "I want to show you something" he said in a low voice, leaning close to Blaine's ear. Blaine couldn't look any more awkward. "Let's-"
"No" Kurt said, his voice reaching a new level of pitch thanks to his sudden outburst. Both Sebastian and Blaine looked at him in surprise. Sebastian's eyes narrowed- what the hell are you doing? "I…er…"Kurt floundered. What was he doing? His voice was super high and breezy as he slung an arm around Blaine's shoulders. "This is my boyfriend you're flirting with, Sebastian."
A long pause. Sebastian gave him the most scathing look possible. Blaine, on the other hand, opened his mouth in shock before Kurt pinched him hard, making him gasp. At least he shut up though.
"Boyfriend" Sebastian repeated flatly. Eyebrows raised.
"Uh huh" Kurt said, pressing his nose into Blaine's cheek. He could feel the other boy's pulse racing. "Since yesterday. We were at the Lima Bean as usual and then it just kinda…happened." He gave Blaine what he hoped was a soppy smile.
Stunned, Blaine was just staring at him. Kurt pinched him again. "Uh…yeah" Blaine said suddenely, fixing a huge smile at Sebastian that was so beautiful Kurt was surprised he didn't fall over to be the recipient of it. "I think we've both been feeling it for a while, though." Smoothly, he slid his hand into Kurt's back pocket. Kurt smiled like he wasn't mentally hyperventilating inside.
"Right" said Sebastian after a long moment, drawing out the word.
"Well, see you later I guess" Kurt said breezily, already yanking Blaine towards the door before either of them could say another word. "We're going dancing!"
Kurt didn't stop dragging a perplexed Blaine through the crowd until they were right in the thick of it, pressed close by the moving bodies all around them.
"What was that?" Blaine yelled over the music.
"Please just go with it" Kurt begged, noticing Sebastian slide out the kitchen after them and leaning on the wall, watching them with his arms crossed.
Quickly, Kurt looped his arms round Blaine's neck, meaning their bodies were almost flush against each other. Breathe, Kurt.Blaine stared at him. "Kurt, I don't-"
Kurt leaned down to his ear to be heard. "Dance with me."
Seeing as Kurt couldn't dance without hopping around like an awkward grasshopper, he just shuffled around a bit before Blaine started dancing.
Oh Jesus, thought Kurt. Because Blaine's hips. Could move. Already many people across the room were glancing over in appreciation. Blaine leaned closer, whispering in Kurt's ear as he smiled. "Relax, Kurt. You're too tense."
So Kurt forced his eyes to shut, to forget everything else and feel the pounding beat take up residence in his blood, thundering along with his heart.
Slowly, he let the music take over him, losing himself in the sensation of the moment. When he opened his eyes again, Blaine's arms were now resting round his hips. The ground seemed to rock beneath Kurt's feet as their eyes met, sending sparks igniting through his body. Blaine kept on looking at him, his eyes softening. Oh God, his eyes. When Kurt fell into them it was hard to know which way was up and which way was down.
All of a sudden, Kurt stepped back, dropping his arms. He hated the cold air that rushed in to fill the space between their bodies. Blaine blinked at him, seeming as lost at the break of contact as he was. "I need to tell you something" Kurt said, taking his hand and leading him back out through the crowd.
He pushed through as quickly as possible, suddenely suffocated by the noise and the heat. He wanted space. And quiet. And the truth. He couldn't bear another minute with Blaine not truly understanding why he'd been so upset.
When they spilled out into the fresh night air, free from the stuffy heat and noise, Kurt strode down to the end of the drive, running a hand through his hair. Now he was out here the thought of actually speaking the truth out loud was freezing him up.
"Kurt, what is it?" Behind him, Blaine stood with his arms wrapped around himself to ward off the chill in the air. His voice was close, concerned. "I…"
Kurt took a long breath, shaking out his hands. "Jesus, Blaine, this is so much harder to say than I thought it would be." He squeezed his eyes shut, forcing himself to speak. "The truth about why I was so upset about Saturday isn't that-"
"-I kissed a girl, but that I kissed someone that wasn't you."
"Yeah" said Kurt, turning back round to face him, "I- wait, what?"
Blaine gave him a small, uncharacteristically shy smile as he fiddled with his bow tie. "I kind of figured it out. Or I hoped I had. After we had that fight in the library I couldn't stop thinking about how quickly I'd jumped to unfair conclusions- of course you wouldn't be as prejudiced as that, after all we've both been through. Therefore the only explanation I could think of was that you…liked me."
Kurt opened his mouth but couldn't speak. Couldn't do anything. Except stand and stare like an attractive gawping goldfish.
"I'm sorry I didn't say anything" Blaine hurried on, taking a step towards him. "But I didn't want to be wrong. I'd never want to force you to do anything with me you didn't want to." He blushed, and it was damn near the best thing Kurt had ever seen.
"Force me?" he choked out.
"I've always liked you" Blaine admitted, taking a shaky breath. "But I guess I didn't want to ruin our friendship if you weren't ready for that sort of thing, so I never really let myself accept it."
Some part of Kurt's brain that hadn't been completely obliterated was struggling desperately for a foothold of logic. "Are you…are you sure? I mean, you're you and I'm so awkward and, you know, inexperienced-"
"Kurt, are you serious?" Blaine demanded breathily, touching his cheek. "You're funny and ridiculously talented and fun and outrageously handsome. I'm obsessed with you."
Kurt was pretty sure he'd floated off the ground several metres into the air. Or that any minute now his alarm would go off and he would awake with a jolt. Blaine's hand was now smoothing back his hair whilst the other pressed against his chest, as he took a step closer towards him. Their patch of darkness was completely untouched by the light and music coming from the house.
"Are you sure you're being serious?" Kurt whispered. "You're not teasing me?"
"Kurt" Blaine huffed out impatiently, before leaning in and kissing him. Softly, cupping the back of his neck as his other hand tangled in Kurt's hair. Kurt was awkward and fumbling and unsure but it was so beautiful and amazing and he could explode right now because he had never been this happy ever. When they broke apart, breathless and leaning against each other's foreheads, Kurt said, "please, promise me you won't ever get drunk and play Spin the Bottle again." Blaine laughed, low in his throat. "Promise. Oh, and by the way, thank you for clearing one thing up for me."
"What?"
"That kiss totally just proved to me that I like boys more than girls." Blaine grinned at him, leaning upwards to open his lips against Kurt's again. "A lot more."