It was foolish of him to think that maybe this day, this place, would be different.
His time at Dalton Academy had obviously put him in the same, naivé mindset he was in before he was beaten half to death at the North Lima High Sadie Hawkins dance. No more, he thought. No more putting blind trust in the population of utter cavemen that ran this place and the blind sheep who simply watched it happen. That trust is what put him in this dumpster in the first place.
Yeah. A dumpster.
What made him really mad was that he had painstakingly picked out his flawless first day of school outfit and he never even made it to first period before the idiots in the red letterman jackets grabbed him by the arms and led him outside.
His thoughts were interrupted by a small cough coming from somewhere to his right. Blaine let out a short yelp in surprise. Great, he thought, I've fallen into some homeless persons living room. He was just about to apologize to the man when he turned and saw that it wasn't a man at all. It was a boy about his age, fair brown hair and pale skin, with delicate, almost angelic features. He was beautiful, if Blaine was being honest, but what the hell was he doing in a dumpster?
"Sorry, I, uh, didn't see you there." Blaine stuttered.
"Obviously." the boy stated dryly. Blaine self-consciously straightened his blue striped bow tie, and then rolled his eyes at himself because his crooked bow tie was the least of his image problems at that moment.
"Are-" Blaine started "Are you okay?"
The boy fixed him with a dry look. "What does it look like?" he said in a biting tone.
"Sorry," Blaine said quietly. " I was just trying to make conversation." Blaine put his head down to hide the slight flush in his cheeks. Why was he so flustered by this boy he'd never even met?
"Sorry, I just…" the boy paused, glancing somewhat shyly at Blaine. "I've had a bad day, I guess."
"Yeah. I noticed" Blaine let out a short gust of a laugh. "My name's Blaine."
"Kurt"
He met Kurt's eyes, the most beautiful bluegreenhazel eyes Blaine's ever seen, gave him a small smile, and then surreptitiously glanced down at his neck, where a red bow tie not unlike Blaine's own sat tied around a neat white collar.
"I love your bow tie" Blaine blurted out, then winced. Stupid, Blaine Anderson, you are stupid! This is why people beat you up! Because you have no filter!
"Thanks. I got it on sale at the Brooks Brothers in Colombus. Too bad it's wasted on a place like this. The school, not the dumpster. Although the dumpster isn't exactly a catwalk either." Kurt smiled. Blaine stared dumbly. He was enamored by Kurt, his dry wit and impeccable fashion sense, and he found himself wanting to know everything about him.
Falling for someone you met in a dumpster, Blaine laughed to himself, Can't say I expected this.
But Blaine wasn't falling for Kurt. No, he just appreciated how Kurt dressed and his alluring voice and incredible jawline. Not falling at all.
You don't know if this guy swings your way or if he's even single, he told himself. It would be just his luck.
Blaine glanced over at Kurt, who was picking pieces of what looked like old salad off his jeans.
"At least this dumpster is somewhat empty. It hurts more landing but the mess isn't so bad. " Blaine commented. Kurt chuckled, then glanced Blaine's way.
"So, what brings you here anyways? Did you refuse to do some jocks homework or did you stand too close to one of their cheerleader girlfriends?" Kurt asked. Blaine took a breath and considered telling Kurt something other than the truth. He could say he flirted with a cheerleader and no one would be the wiser. But no, he was not about to tip toe back into the closet just because it was safer. He knew now that he might get tortured for it but he was proud of who he was. He just hoped that Kurt would be accepting of that.
"No, I, uh. I'm gay. I guess they don't take too kindly to that around here." Blaine held his breath, getting ready to high tail it out of the dumpster if Kurt became less than friendly.
He didn't have to worry though, because Kurt just looked at him with wide eyes and a very slight smile and whispered "Me, too". Blaine returned the smile, but inside his head he was doing backflips.
He stood up, wobbling slightly on the uneven surface of trash, and held his hand out towards the still sitting Kurt.
"Well, since we've missed first period entirely, what do you say we go to the Lima Bean for coffee and a late breakfast? And then maybe the mall, because I don't know about you, but I don't feel like walking around in pants smeared with pudding and God knows what else all day. Actually, we should probably go to the mall first since I don't think the employees of the Lima Bean would enjoy being surrounded by the smell of garbage and I don't know about you but -"
"Blaine, are you asking me out?" Kurt asked, looking up at him from his still sitting position. Blaine's face went pink and he took his still outstretched, empty hand and pulled it up to scratch shyly at the back of his neck.
"N-no I just thought-I mean if you want it to be then of course but- I-I was just thinking-" Kurt cut him of with a laugh.
"You ramble when you're nervous, did you know that?" Kurt smirked. Blaine looked at his feet, knowing a rejection when he heard one.
"R-right, I'll just..." he was just about to turn around and climb out of the dumpster, not wanting Kurt to see the disappointment on his face, but Kurt caught his hand. Kurt stood up and turned Blaine to face him, their hands still clasped, making Blaine's heart beat faster.
"I'd love to have coffee, Blaine. " Kurt said. He smiled, and then added "But I need to go home and change first, because as much as I love shopping, I refuse to go into any respectable establishment looking like I just stepped out of...well, a dumpster." Blaine threw his head back and laughed, earning a wide grin from Kurt. Blaine vowed that second that whether or not he and Kurt became anything more than friends, he would do his best to keep that smile on his face.
"That sounds like a good idea. How about we both go home and change and then meet back at the Lima Bean in...30 minutes?" Blaine suggested.
"Sure" Kurt paused. "You know, when I woke up this morning, I couldn't have imagined that this is how my day would turn out."
"The dumpster part or the 'being asked out by the guy you met inside the dumpster' part?" Blaine asked
"The dumpster part is unfortunately rather common, along with slushies and being slammed against the lockers. But no, being asked out was definitely a surprise. For once I am actually happier coming out of the dumpster than I was before, so I call that a win. Speaking of which, why are we still standing inside the dumpster?"
"Oh! Right, of course." Blaine shouted, releasing Kurt's hand and scrambling around to try to find something to use as a step to get out of the garbage. He found a rather sturdy cardboard box full of paper and climbed up, turning back around to offer his hand to Kurt. Once they were both on solid ground, they started back for their cars, walking close enough together that their shoulders brushed.
"So, I guess I'll see you at the Lima Bean?" Blaine asked.
"Yes. 30 minutes." Kurt smiled at Blaine, then turned for his car.
Hm. Maybe today won't be so bad after all. The thought made him happier than he had been in a long while.
"So, I was thinking that this weekend we could go to Between The Sheets, because while my iTunes is full of great songs having to do with facing adversity, I really think we should-"
Kurt was interrupted by a loud shout belonging to Dave Karofsky. Kurt tightened the arm that was currently entwined with Blaine's and turned them around, knowing that Karofsky's shout was directed toward them. Normally they would just ignore the neanderthal, but Kurt had something to say this time.
"Hey fairies!" Karofsky yelled. Kurt rolled his eyes, not allowing the insult to do anything but roll off his back. "You two need to quit shoving your gay in my face, I can barely keep my lunch down."
"Actually, Karofsky, I want to thank you." Kurt said with the sweetest smile he could muster in the presence of his tormentor. Karofsky's face darkened with confusion, unable to determine what Kurt was talking about.
"You see, if you hadn't thrown us both in the same dumpster last week, we might not have met, and now we're dating! Isn't that something?"
Karofsky's jaw dropped, and while he mainly had a look of disgust on his face, Kurt could definitely see jealousy in his eyes. He filed that in the back of his mind to be discussed later.
"Can't believe this" Karofsky grumbled as he stalked away. Kurt turned to Blaine and smiled. Blaine slid his arm down Kurt's until their hands were entwined, and they continued walking down the halls, both feeling like nothing could ever touch them and what they had.