Kurt loved the funfair. Every summer he would go with his friends and ride the rollercoaster and the big wheel and play the stalls. It was his favourite part of the summer. There was only one thing that tainted Kurts enjoyment of the fair. The jocks. All through the school year Kurt endured bullying and harassment at the hands of Karofsky and his meat head friends. At least he escaped them during the summer. But the fair always attracted them. Lima was such a small town; it was almost inevitable Kurt would bump into them.
As soon as they saw Kurt, it started.
"Hey fag!"
Kurts head snapped up. Oh no. He turned to Mercedes, who grabbed his hand and squeezed it. She hated this. She hated being so powerless and having to watch Kurt being hurt, both mentally and physically, day after day. Kurt, Mercedes and Rachel were in the que for the giant Ferris wheel when Karaofsky and his friends walked past and noticed Kurt. Kurt put his head down and stared at the floor, hoping they'd just leave him alone. But he knew they wouldn't. They never did.
"Hey! I'm talking to you fag! Look at me when I'm talking to you!"
Kurt turned his back to them, his eyes filling with tears. He was angry with himself. He was determined not to cry. When he cried at school it was always out of sight, on his own in the bathroom or in his car. But he wasn't prepared for this. He built a wall around himself at school. He knew what was coming. But here Kurt wasn't prepared. He was relaxed and having fun with his friends. His guard was down. Why did they have to ruin everything? The one thing Kurt enjoyed the most, and here they were again. His tormentors.
"Leave him alone Karofsky!" Rachel shouted. "Haven't you got better things to do?"
"Shut it gleeot! Just wait until school starts again. There's a slushy facial waiting for you" Karofsky snarled.
"Yeh!" Azimio piped up, "you and your faggy friend are in for some harsh times". Karofsky high fived his friend.
Tears were falling down Kurts cheeks. He was cuddling into Mercedes.
"Sshhh, its ok Kurt. Just ignore them. They're just jealous of your fabulousness babe", she soothed. This produced a small chuckle from Kurt, and a sniffle.
"Excuse me", and unfamiliar voice came from the front of the que. Kurt looked up and saw a curly haired boy glaring at Karofsky and his group. The boy continued, "I would appreciate it if you stopped harassing my customers".
"Oh yeah? And just who the fuck are you shortass?"
"I'm someone you don't wanna mess with. Unless you wanna get you and your douchebag friends kicked out and banned?" the curly haired boy shot back.
This seemed to shock Karofsky. "Ok dude, chill out, we're going. Bye Kurtsie! See ya at school" he taunted. Kurt didn't look at him. He always tried to avoid eye contact if he could help it. Karofsky walked away laughing.
Kurt was in shock. Had this boy actually defended him? Why had he done that? Kurt looked up again and locked eyes with the boy. He had hazel eyes, and once the two boys had locked eyes Kurt had trouble looking away. The boy smiled at Kurt. Kurt smiled back. This was weird. In a good way.
After the boy looked away Kurt began chatting with Mercedes and Rachel. But he kept sneaking glances at the other boy. The boy was busy taking money from the people in the que and checking they were locked into the pod of the wheel safely. By the time Kurt reached the front of the line he had deduced as much as he could about the Ferris wheel boy. He had dark curly hair, hypnotic brown eyes and, from what Kurt could see under his tight white vest, a hot body. Kurt put him at about 18. He had light stubble, and was slightly shorter than average. Kurt glanced at him again, and met the boys eyes again. Kurt blushed and immediately averted his gaze. He didn't look again. He was too embarrassed.
Unbeknownst to Kurt, Mercedes had noticed the silent exchange between the two boys. She also didn't miss the way Kurt kept sneaking glances at him, or the way he blushed when they caught each other's eye.
They eventually reached the front of the que. Kurt was feeling jittery. He didn't know what to say to the boy. Should he thank him? It had been really nice of him to say those things.
"Hey there, just the three of you is it?" asked the mystery man, looking directly at Kurt.
Kurt was slightly dazed, so Mercedes answered from him. "Yes, just us three" she said with smile.
"Ok then, in you go guys. Oh my name's Blaine by the way. Just in case any of you were wondering" he smiled back, his eyes flickering back to Kurt. Blaine gestured for the group to step into the Ferris wheel pod. Mercedes and Rachel stepped in. Just as Kurt was about to follow, Blaine put a gentle hand on his arm.
"Are you ok? I can't believe the way those assholes were talking to you". Blaine looked straight into Kurts eyes. Kurt wasn't used to this kind of intensity. He stammered out an answer. "Yeh, thanks… thank you. For that, for what you said to them. It doesn't happen very often". Kurt looked away, not meeting Blaines eyes. Blaine was silent, waiting for Kurt to look at him again.
"You're welcome…"
"Oh, sorry. Kurt, my names Kurt" he said as he supressed a smile.
Blaine beamed at him.
"Well it's really nice to meet you Kurt. Enjoy you trip on my wheel".
Kurt blushed and hurried into the pod before his new acquaintance noticed. Blaine closed the door and hit the safety catch. The wheel began to move. There was a short silence between the three friends, Kurt feeling the girls eyes on him but refusing to look up. Eventually Mercedes broke the silence.
"Kurt, he was so hot!"
"Yeh", agreed Rachel, "and he's totally into you, he couldn't keep his eyes off you for more than 10 seconds at a time!"
Mercedes squealed and gave him a brief hug. Kurt smiled at his friends. He knew Rachel was wrong of course. If, by some small miracle, Blaine was actually gay, there was no chance he'd ever be interested in Kurt. But he was flattered his friends were trying to cheer him up.
Blaine continued to take money from the teenagers at the fair and see them safely onto the wheel. He looked up. Kurt would be at the very top by now. Kurt. Blaine bounced the name around in his head. Not what he was expecting when he first saw the boy. He had guessed maybe a Ryan, or Jonathan. It was a game Blaine liked to play in his head. The Name Guessing Game. Of course he very rarely guessed correctly. But it was often a good conversation starter. Maybe he'd tell Kurt about it when he go off the wheel. Maybe he'd tell him how stunning he was, and how he couldn't tear his eyes away from him, and how he was so distracted that he wouldn't be surprised if he'd neglected to lock one of the pods and there was the possibility that several teenagers may plummet to their death this evening. Or not. Maybe that was a bit much. Not as subtle as he would have like.