"The Non-Prom"
"At my old school there was a Sadie Hawkins dance, and I had just come out, so I asked a friend of mine, the only other gay guy at the school. While we were waiting for his dad to pick us up, these three guys, um, beat the living crap out of us."
Of every objection Kurt thought Blaine would have, he hadn't imagined that. Actually, he hadn't imagined any objection, but after Blaine's hesitation, he hadn't thought about anything so…real. "I'm so sorry." It was a useless thing to say.
"I'm out, and I'm proud, and all that, but this is just…just so much more." Blaine was close to tears.
He tried to be optimistic, but he felt like he was clawing up he side of a mountain, and it just didn't seem worth it. "This is perfect. You couldn't face up to the bullies at your school, so you can do it at mine. We can do it together. But, I have to say Blaine, that if it makes you feel uncomfortable at all, then we'll just forget about prom. We'll go to a movie instead."
"I…I…" If he weren't crying, Blaine's incredibly expressive face, mixing emotions between guilt and joy, would have been hysterical.
"Blaine, really, we'll go to a movie. We'll go to some sappy date night movie. Everyone will be at prom, so we'll be the only ones in the theater. We'll cuddle, kiss, and not watch the movie at all…and there won't be anyone there to mess it up for us. Sound good?"
Blaine finally grinned. "I am crazy about you." He reached out and took Kurt's hand again. After a pause, he looked at their joined hands, "Thank you," he said, as he idly stroked Kurt's knuckles with his thumb.
"So, movie date next Friday?"
"Definitely."
"'Cedes you really should go to prom, date or no. You're a strong enough person not to need someone to enjoy yourself." Kurt scolded as he and Mercedes walked to class.
"Kurt, really you shouldn't be talking. You're not going either."
He sighed. "I…I know. I was planning to, but…"
"What?"
"It's Blaine."
"Do I need to kick his fancy, private school butt?"
"No! No, no. He…last time he went to a school dance, he got beaten up. You should have seen him. He was crying just thinking about it." He closed his eyes, just thinking about Blaine's face, flushed with tears, made his own eyes sting with tears he had to hold back. "I'm not going to make him do something that's going to cause him that much pain." He took a breath, "And, I don't want to go without him."
Understanding and compassion flashed across Mercedes' face, before she groaned. "Ugh, this was so much easier when you and Blaine weren't dating. I'd just ask you to go as a friend."
"Mercedes, come on. You deserve an actual boyfriend, not a fake one, and until the boys of McKinley get their heads out of their asses, you should just have fun." Kurt glanced over Mercedes' shoulder, at Sam walking to his locker. "Look, if you really want a date, ask Sam. He's not with anyone, and I don't think he's planning to go because of the money thing. But, I bet he'd like to go, and I think you two would have fun."
She turned to look at the blonde football player. "I'll think about it."
As expected, Blaine and Kurt were one of the very few teens out in Lima, Ohio on prom night. Another few people sat near the screen, but they were the only people in the back row, and there wasn't anyone in the back half of the movie. Throughout Water for Elephants, Kurt rested his head on Blaine's shoulder, lifting it only when he or Blaine had the desire to place soft kisses on the other's lips, a rather frequent occurrence. They laced their hands together on the armrest, and every so often, Blaine would lift Kurt's hand and kiss the back of it.
The credits rolled, and Kurt lifted his head. "The movie actually wasn't bad." He had watched a surprising amount of it. "It would have been better if Reese Witherspoon had had any chemistry with Robert Pattinson, though."
Kurt attempted to stand, but Blaine pulled him back to his seat and silenced any objection by kissing Kurt firmly on the mouth. He kept their hands together and used his free hand to wrap around the back of Kurt's neck.
After the shock wore off, Kurt managed to grip Blaine's upper arm, gasping lightly, as Blaine managed to slowly lick his way into Kurt's mouth.
They pulled back, and Blaine kept Kurt close to him.
"I love you."
Kurt's eyes widened, "I-what?"
"I love you, Kurt Hummel."
Kurt's mind was reeling. It had taken months to get Blaine to say, "You move me," and he had just progressed from that to "I am crazy about you." In his most hopeful fantasies, they would progress to "I love you" by the end of the summer.
As Kurt struggled to find words in his shock, Blaine barreled on. "I couldn't stop thinking about you this entire time. I'm pretty sure I don't know what happened that entire movie." He smiled sheepishly, and laughed a self-deprecating chuckle. Then his face fell and looked down at their hands. "I just kept thinking…what kind of person are you?"
Kurt quirked an eyebrow.
"No, sorry. Not like that. I mean, you wanted to go to prom. You were so excited, but instead you're here with me just because I was afraid to-because I can't-" A few tears fell from Blaine's eyes, and Kurt reached out, wiping them away.
"Blaine, it's just a dance. Being with you is always going to be more important to me. If something makes you that uncomfortable, you don't need to do it-"
"Yes, but how many people are generous enough to do that? To offer going to a movie and mean it? Kurt, you are brave, sweet, smart, beautiful, and you don't need to say anything back, but I realized I am absolutely in love with you."
Kurt smiled. He could say "I love you" and mean it, but he didn't think Blaine would believe him, so he settled for a lean forward and another kiss. "Let's just go home. Okay?"
Blaine nodded, and they left the empty theater.
Just as they reached the parking lot, Kurt's eyes widened, as Rachel called "Kurt! Blaine!" from across the lot, and almost the entire group of New Directions moved towards them.
"Hey." Blaine greeted them. "What are you guys doing here?"
"We decided to take in a movie together after prom." Tina answered.
Kurt scanned the group. "Uh-huh. Where's Finn?"
Quinn frowned. "He and Jesse got into a fight and got themselves kicked out of the prom."
"Oh, Gaga." Kurt rolled his eyes and clasped Blaine's hand tighter. "You guys and your drama. Honestly, this and all your prom queen competition." Kurt barreled on, but Blaine noticed the New Directions shooting each other strange glances. "I love all you ladies. Seriously, why don't you understand you don't need a crown to be special? I seriously hope prom queen went to someone who didn't go through all that fighting. Mercedes, Tina. Rachel, I'd even accept you. How much stupid in-fighting happened, when we should have been rehearsing. What?" Kurt finally noticed the looks.
Tina stared at the ground"Umm, Kurt, you, uh, you got prom queen."
Kurt stared in shock. "Huh? How…Oh my god."
Blaine winced, as Kurt's grip tightened around his hand.
"Kurt, we're sorry. Everyone just stared for the longest time. Eventually Mercedes just walked up and got the crown…" Rachel tried to explain.
"I wanted to read them the riot act, but when I got there…I just froze. All I could say was, 'I hope you're happy.'" Mercedes sighed and pulled out the prom queen crown and sceptre, meekly holding them out.
After a moment, Kurt took them and stared. Blaine gazed cautiously at him. Then, Kurt let go of Blaine's hand and he walked, really ran away.
"Kurt!" Rachel called.
A look of horror crossed Blaine's face, and he took of after the boy. He noticed tears falling from Kurt's eyes. As Blaine reached him, Kurt stopped and rounded on the glee club. "Why the hell did you guys tell me? You could have left me the hell alone and let me have a good night! You could have even pretended one of you won! Quinn, Santana, Lauren? I bet that would have fucking thrilled you! I could go back to school on Monday and not even know that the people at McKinley are just as horrible as they always were. You could have let me believe that we had made some sort of progress! But no, you had to ruin a perfect night!" He glanced at Blaine, who had taken his had again. "Goddamn." He mumbled to himself and turned, jumping into his car and angrily wiping his eyes.
Blaine jumped into the car and pulled Kurt against him in a hug. It was slightly uncomfortable over the gear shift, but Kurt still sobbed into Blaine's shoulder.
"Kurt, it was a joke. A stupid joke-"
"No." He cut Blaine off. "Those kids are just as hateful as they always were. They didn't show it because of Santana and Dave, but they are still close-minded bigots, and I was just too stupid to see it. You were right. It's good we didn't go."
Blaine shook his head. "You're wrong. What did our not going do? It only makes them think they're right, when they say we're wrong."
Kurt pulled away. His eyes glinted dangerously, before Blaine pulled him back.
"And, I know it's my fault. You wanted to go. You wanted to show them how strong we are, and I was too afraid to do it, too afraid to stand up to them. But, Kurt, you're right. We're right. We're strong. No matter what they do or say, they can't change us."
Kurt's anger had melted into a determination. His eyes were serious. He leaned forward and kissed Blaine hard.
"You're right. And, next year, I'm going to senior prom. It doesn't matter what bullshit they pulled or try to pull. They won't stop me from going and being more fabulous than anyone else in the room. I am going to go and show them that they can yell or scream or send in secret ballots, but I am still proud of who I am, which is more than ninety-nine percent of them can say about themselves."
Blaine leaned forward to kiss him gently. "And, I'll be right there next to you, supporting you, and showing them we're proud of who we are, and showing them that they're idiots not to realize how incredible you are."
Kurt smiled. He stroked Blaine's cheek and whispered, "You didn't let me say it before, but, I love you, too, Blaine Anderson."
They kissed softly one more time before pulling away, each sending each other a look of understanding and determination. Kurt started the engine, and looked over at Blaine with a smile.
As he pulled away, he said, "Come on, let's get back to my house. I think it will take the two of us to make sense of Finn's Rachel Berry-related issues."