A/N: Just wanted to say that this first chapter is dedicated to my best friend, Jamie, who got a sneak preview of this and persuaded me to post it ASAP.
"Do you need some help with that?"
Kurt let go of the box he was struggling with and turned around to face the person who had spoken to him. His mouth dropped as he saw the curly-haired, well-dressed and gorgeous boy in front of him.
"I-uh... My dad-I-I... Yes." Kurt spluttered, pushing a stray chestnut hair off his forehead. He took a deep breath and laughed nervously. "Yes. That'd be great thanks."
The boy smiled warmly before reaching down to pick up the cardboard box marked 'Kurt's Room'. He looked back to Kurt. "I'll follow you".
As Kurt walked into the new house, he turned his head to check that this boy was ok and by the muscles flexing in his arms, Kurt assumed he was. Walking up the stairs, Kurt prayed to every deity that his dad was unpacking a box somewhere in the garden or downstairs, because trying to explain a strange boy in his house after about 5 minutes of moving in would not be an easy thing. When he reached his room, he stopped and sighed, before facing the curly-haired boy.
"Well, this is it" He laughed, watching the boy place the box carefully on the ground.
"It's- It's nice" the boy grinned, gesturing to the ancient, peeling wallpaper on the walls.
"Oh my God, it's really not. The first thing I'm doing once all of our stuff is moved in is locating a DIY store and choosing a colour scheme. This is just horrible and the colours don't even match my complex-" Kurt stopped. Here he was with some boy, who he had just met, alone, in his room, talking away about paint. "I'm sorry, I should at least introduce myself before I go off like that. I'm Kurt" Kurt held out his hand and instantly relaxed when the curly-haired boy reciprocated.
"Hey, I'm Blaine" said boy replied, not releasing Kurt's hand. "I live just next door."
"Oh" Kurt said, staring into the boy's honey and hazel eyes.
After a few seconds, Blaine coughed awkwardly and they both quickly released each other's hands. Blaine looked around the room and ran a hand through his hair while Kurt stared at the ground, feeling the blush creep up his cheeks.
"Well.. Thanks for the help with the box. I have like no strength at all right now, it's been a tiring day" Kurt muttered, risking a glance back to Blaine, who was staring back at him with an unreadable expression on his face.
"Don't even worry about it, anytime. Do you need help with anything else?" Blaine asked
"Uh, no actually. That was like the last box"
"I'm sorry I wasn't here earlier, I would've helped. I just got back from dinner with some friends"
Kurt stiffened. He wondered whether he'd been on a date. Maybe he had a girlfriend. Of course he wasn't single. He was totally gorgeous. Hang on, Kurt thought, I don't even know this guy. I don't know if he's gay. And here I am being possessive over him and getting jealous. There was an awkward silence that seemed to go on forever.
"Kurt? Are you up there? Can you come and give me a hand?" Burt called from downstairs.
"Yeah, dad. I'll be down in a minute" Kurt shouted, giving Blaine an apologetic look. "I'm sorry"
"Don't worry about it, I understand. Maybe we can hang out tomorrow or something?" Blaine looked hopeful and Kurt found it adorable.
"Yeah, sure. That'd be great." Kurt sighed, not hiding the huge smile that was forming on his face.
"Awesome. I'll come by at 11 in the morning, if that's alright?" Kurt nodded so Blaine continued "We can go and get coffee and then maybe I'll take you to the DIY store"
"That sounds perfect." Kurt started to walk back down the stairs with Blaine following him.
"It's a date" Blaine laughed once before coughing and cursing under his breath.
Neither of them said anything until they reached the door and Kurt decided to act as if Blaine had never said anything.
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Blaine. Thanks again for the help" Kurt smiled, looking into the boy's beautiful eyes.
"Yeah, it was great to meet you, Kurt. Goodnight!" Blaine yelled back to the boy on the porch as he jogged down the path and round into his own front yard.
When Kurt heard the door shut, he leaned against the door frame and sighed loudly. He felt like he was in the beginning of a cheesy rom-com. He felt as if he was floating as he made his way into the kitchen, where his father, Burt Hummel, was stood, watching him with a slightly wary look on his face.
"You okay there, Kurt?" Burt asked
Kurt snapped out of his trance and cleared his throat, walking over to the box his dad was currently emptying.
"Uh, yeah, I'm good. Why? I'll help you with these boxes and then I'll sort some of mine out and turn in for the night. Oh, is it okay if I go out tomorrow?" Kurt rushed his sentences, somehow thinking that it would speed time up so he could sleep and then it would be his day out with his sexy-as-hell neighbour.
"Whoa, slow down there. You just seem a little on edge, that's all. And of course you can go out, as long you aren't out all day; I'll need help sorting all of this stuff out" Burt replied, gesturing to the piles of boxes scattered around all surfaces throughout the house.
"I shouldn't be out all day, I'm going to the DIY store anyway to get paint for my room because there is no way I can keep it like that"
"Do you want me to find you some directions, bud?"
"No, it's fine. Blaine's taking me" Shit.
"Who's Blaine?" Burt asked, looking directly at his son, raising an eyebrow questioningly.
"Um. Well, he's our new neighbour. He helped me carry a box upstairs and offered to take me to the store" Kurt avoided his dad's eyes, just wishing that he could escape and go up to his room.
"Oh, okay. Well, be careful. We're in Ohio now, so there's a lot of people that will just be out to hurt you because of who you are."
Kurt rolled his eyes "I think if he was a homophobe, he would have either ignored me or beaten the crap out of me when he was upstairs."
"Fine, I trust you." Burt glanced at his watch and then around the room, sighing "I say we just leave all of this until the morning. It's not going anywhere and I'm about ready to drop."
Kurt, as if on cue, yawned and nodded, stretching his arms above his head. He was pretty tired. He walked over and hugged his dad and then made his way upstairs with a 'goodnight' to his dad. He looked around his new room, walking over to the window and sitting on the windowsill, looking out up into the clear sky.
"Hey mom" he smiled, speaking quietly. "Well, we've moved. I was really scared because I thought that you'd be mad but I think it was for the best. I have a good feeling about this place. I miss you. I don't care how long it's been, I'll never stop wishing you were still here. Love you, mom"
Kurt opened his window and let the cool, gentle night breeze blow across his face. Maybe it was weird that he spoke to his mom every once in a while, but it was like a release. Even if he didn't for certain believe that she could hear him, just getting stuff out in the open in this way just felt so good. He decided to examine his new surroundings. The street was nice. It was a more quiet neighbourhood than what he was used to, but that was a good thing. It felt nice to be able to hear the sounds of night time, instead of cars and motorcycles revving up until insane hours in the night. From his new room, which was at the back of the house, he could see the small stream that was right at the end of the garden. He also swore he could see a treehouse in a tree. He would have to check that out some time. Suddenly, he heard a squeal of laughter coming from the garden next door. As the sun was still setting, he had enough light that he could make out a little girl with long curly hair, running around the yard, being chased around by a familiar boy with the same curly hair. Kurt grinned to himself as he saw Blaine dramatically fall to the ground and cry out in mock pain as the girl pushed him playfully. He sighed and closed his window, cringing when it slammed shut. When he looked out to check if he'd been heard, he saw a pair of eyes watching him and an arm waving in his direction. Waving back, Kurt closed the out-dated, ugly curtains and changed into his pyjamas. He couldn't wait for tomorrow, whether it was a date or not.
Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo o
"Kurt?!"
Kurt's eyes flew open as he heard the frantic tone of his father. His imagination went into overdrive as he considered what could have happened to make his dad shout like that. He shot out of bed and ran downstairs in his pyjamas, expecting to see something horrific. What he saw was more horrible than he could have imagined... Burt was sat at the kitchen table. With Blaine. While Kurt was still in his pyjamas and hadn't even brushed his hair. Oh God, this isn't happening, Kurt thought. The only people who have seen me looking like this are my dad and Mercedes.
"Dad!" Kurt hissed "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?!"
"Well, I tried to but each time you told me to 'get out of your damn room before you do something you'll regret'" Burt chuckled, causing Blaine to laugh as well.
"But daaaaaaaaad. You knew I was going out today." Kurt whined, his eyes flicking to Blaine, who Kurt had only just realised was looking even more perfect than the night before.
"Don't worry, Kurt. Trust me, you look a million times better than I do in the mornings." Blaine cut in, winking at him, and Kurt tried to figure out whether this was meant to be a flirty compliment or just Blaine being genuinely nice.
"Yeah, and Kurt, if you're going to be painting today, is there any point getting all dressed up, unless you're trying to impress someone" Burt trailed off, getting up and putting his mug in the sink. "Anyway, I'm going to get started on these boxes, so you two can head off if you'd like"
"At least give me a half hour to get ready?" Kurt begged, looking over at Blaine who seemed quite content and comfortable with watching Kurt interact with his father
"You can have half of that. Blaine's already been waiting for 10 minutes"
"Fine" Kurt huffed and turned to Blaine "I really am so sorry, I hope you don't mind"
Blaine smiled "It's fine, Kurt. I haven't got any plans apart from this today, anyway. And I've been talking to your dad and he's really cool. Go on, I'll still be here when you're ready" Blaine waved Kurt out of the room.
Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooo
"You must've bought the wrong type of lube then because that should not happen" Burt warned.
Kurt's eyes quite nearly popped out his head as he walked back into the kitchen. He was about to make a comment when Blaine nodded and carried on the conversation.
"Could you come and take a look at it sometime? The mechanic I take it to doesn't seem to even give a crap about cars"
"Yeah, of course I will. Oh, Kurt's ready"
Kurt gave a strained smile and looked at his father and then Blaine. He hadn't had enough time to do his hair, so it looked awful in his opinion. His outfit was great, as always. At least that was a positive.
"Oh, hey Kurt! You want to get going?" Blaine asked, grabbing his jacket from the chair next to him and putting it on, causing Kurt to frown a tiny bit at having to see Blaine cover up his arms.
"Sure, see you later, dad!" Kurt called as he and Blaine made their way towards Blaine's car.
Blaine decided to take Kurt to a coffee shop before they went anywhere else, and although at first Kurt was adamant that he didn't want to go in in because of how awful he thought he looked, Blaine eventually talked him around to the idea. When they got inside, Blaine paid for the coffees, much to Kurt's annoyance and they sat down at a table at the back of the shop. They sat and drank in a comfortable silence for a few minutes until Blaine broke it.
"So, Kurt, how old are you?" Blaine asked, running his finger around the rim of his coffee cup.
"I'm 17, nearly 18. How about you?" Kurt replied, not knowing where this conversation was going.
"We're the same age! That's awesome. So you'll be a senior?" Kurt nodded in confirmation "Which school are you going to?"
"Well, I haven't got everything sorted out yet. It's either going to be McKinley or some place called Dalton if we can afford the tuition" Kurt took another sip of his coffee when he felt an arm on his.
"Don't go to McKinley. Come to Dalton, it's great. I know tuition is pretty steep but it'll be worth it." Blaine looked into Kurt's eyes and Kurt sensed there was something else behind what Blaine was saying, but chose to let it go.
"I'm going to try. I looked at the website and it seems really nice. And there's a choir, right? Dalton is definitely my first choice and hopefully we still have some money from my mom's will, so th-" Kurt slapped a hand to his mouth. What was he doing? He felt his eyes well up and before he knew it, he was being dragged out of the Lima Bean. He felt himself being pulled into a tight hug and then he felt the tears start to flow.
"Shhhh, I'm here, Kurt." Blaine whispered into Kurt's ear.
"I j-just. I h-hadn't even told you about my m-m-mom and there I just was t-talking about her as if she was n-nothing" Kurt choked out, holding onto Blaine desperately.
"Come on, let's go and sit in my car" Blaine suggested, pulling out of the hug and taking Kurt's hand.
If it was any other situation, Kurt would've been utterly thrilled that Blaine was holding his hand and had just hugged him. However, all he felt was shame. Kurt had just about come to terms with the loss of his mother a few months ago. He missed her like crazy but he wasn't one to sit around and cry all day; he decided that what his mom would want him and his dad to move on, and although it hurt sometimes, Kurt knew that it was for the best. But sitting and talking about her will as if it was the most casual thing ever made him feel dirty. It made him feel as if he was spitting on her grave. That's why he had broken down. Not because he missed her, but because he had been so flippant in talking about her will.
When Kurt's tears subsided, Blaine unwrapped his arms from around the upset boy and waited for him to look him in the eyes before speaking.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Kurt shook his head sharply, thinking that Blaine would consider it a stupid reason. "Okay then, shall we head to the DIY store?"
A/N: Hey! This is going to be a long rambling thing but you can obviously skip it. So, I know that I had 2 other stories and that I haven't updated them in months. Partly because I've had a lot going on in my life that I just haven't had the motivation to write, but mostly because I just literally can't think of anything else to write because it's been so long and my mind is blank. So, if you were enjoying those stories, I apologise so much because I KNOW how annoying it is to be reading something and it just stops at a random point. So, yeah. I am really sorry and feel free to cyber slap me for being an asshole. Anyways, if you enjoy this, then drop me a review and I'll flail and cry because people like it.
-Erin