As he checked his wristwatch for the sixth time, he clicked his tongue impatiently to the beat of the song he was sure he was going to miss at home. To Kurt Hummel, every second spent at school was simply a second off the countdown to the Corny Collins show that afternoon, and that countdown was dangerously low right now. If he missed even a second of the show, missed a single note of a new song or another glimpse of Blaine Anderson's face he could never forgive himself (well, he could never forgive Finn, his brother, who was taking for ever to come out of school). He hopped off the fence he had been perched upon and looked down at his feet, deciding to practise the steps from the dance of the week, as though he didn't know them flawlessly already.

Tapping his feet on the pavement, he let his mind wander to his favourite daydream. He was dancing on the Corny Collins show, in a sharp powder blue suit and hair coiffed perfectly with Ultra-Clutch. Finn seemed to think it was funny that Kurt used hairspray, but Kurt knew the boys on the council would understand. He'd be at the front of the council, shooting a cheeky grin at the camera before stepping back and taking Blaine's arm so they could dance the finale together. Sometimes this daydream was almost painful to think about – because, in reality, even if Blaine knew of Kurt's existence, even if by some divine miracle he took any time to interact with Kurt, there was no way he'd be into him like that. Plus, it was pretty clear Quinn Fabray had already staked her claim with flirty glances on the show and death stares to any other girl who dared come within ten feet of him, and due to this Kurt had just decided to leave well enough alone.

But sometimes it was the sweetest daydream in the world, because it was an escape from what Kurt had deemed the most shockingly dull adolescence in the world. An escape that almost always ended in a kiss.

He still wondered what would happen, if two boys danced together on TV. Would people riot? Would they attack?

Would they start to see how normal homosexuals were?

His train of thought was interrupted by the medley of voices floating over from where Finn's class was finally, finally, being let out. He bent to pick up his satchel and then hurried over to meet Finn, who greeted him with a grin and a wave.

'Hey, Kurt!'

'Hello, Finn. May we leave?'

'Hang on –'

'Finn! I swear to God if you make me miss –'

'Hey! I'm just waiting for the new kid. He moved here a few days ago so I'm helping him out, showing him 'round.'

'How very gracious of you.'

'Sam!' Finn didn't get a chance to process Kurt's sarcasm before he spotted his new friend over his brother's shoulder. Kurt turned and ran his eyes over the new arrival.

'Hey, Finn,' the boy returned Finn's high-five with a smile, before turning to Kurt and nodding his head in greeting. 'Hey.'

'This is Kurt.'

'Hey, Kurt.'

'Hi.' Kurt couldn't summon any manners, so the smile he shot Sam didn't come across as anything but forced. 'We should go.'

'Right.' Finn nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets and following Kurt. 'Wait, dude, Sam wanted to see the park; I thought we could walk the long way –' Kurt turned to glare at him.

'What?'

'T-tomorrow. I meant – I meant we could do that tomorrow.' Finn amended his plan. 'Because obviously we have to go home now.'

'Obviously.' Kurt turned back round and hurried off. Usually he didn't like exerting himself physically in front of his classmates – his growth spurt the previous year had gifted him with a stunning lack of co-ordination when it came to athletics – but his practised stride soon escalated into what could only be described as a power-walk, and soon Finn and Sam had to jog in order to keep up.

'So – is he, like, really into running, or what?' Sam puffed a little beside Finn.

'Nah, his show is on after school. Well, not his show, he isn't in it, but – well, he wants to be, but that's not really – um, yeah. He wants to watch TV.' Sam nodded as Finn dazedly tried to make sense of his own words.

Kurt burst through the front door about a minute ahead of the other two, and was already midway through a twist when they caught him up. He didn't acknowledge their arrival; his eyes were fixed on the screen a few feet in front of him, and his grin was set as his hips moved.

'What is this show?' Sam murmured to Finn, as they both watched Kurt mimic the onscreen dancers with impressive accuracy.

'Corny Collins. I don't really get it, but they have some cool music sometimes.' Finn shrugged. 'And Kurt likes it, so it can't be too bad. Hey, want some food?' The blond nodded absently, taking a few steps into the living room. Finn shrugged, moving into the kitchen. Sam unconsciously started copying Kurt as best he could, and a little timidly.

'What is this dance?' He asked, eyeing Kurt's feet.

'It's the Stricken Chicken!' came the reply, a little breathily. 'It's almost done.' Sam jumped out of the way as Kurt made a sudden move to the left and twirled, before taking a majestic bow. He turned to Sam, cheeks a little pink. 'Have you ever seen the show before?'

'Nuh-uh.' Sam shook his head. 'Never heard of the stricken chicken; never heard of Corny Collins.' Kurt looked at him with a pitying smile.

'We simply must fix that.' He leaned forward and turned the volume up. 'This is the council.' He gestured towards the kids moving onscreen that, in Sam's opinion, looked far too happy to be sober. 'They're a bunch of kids who were picked to dance on TV and bring all the new routines to the little people.' He cocked his head to the side, the pitying smile descending into longing.

'Lemme guess, you want in?' Sam nudged him. Kurt blushed.

'I wouldn't say no...' He shook his head. 'It would never ever happen.'

'Why not?'

'Look at those kids. The boys. They're all... manly. Grown-up. I'm not... normal enough to be on there.'

'What does being normal have to do with it?'

'Shh – they're doing a role call; you need to listen!' Kurt bit his lip in anticipation, mouthing the names along with the council.

Rachel, Quinn, Noah, Brittany, Jesse, Mike, Matt, Thad, Sheila, Rory, Sugar!

And I'm... Blaine.

Kurt tried to disguise the blush that crept over his cheeks when Blaine Anderson appeared onscreen, but there was no hiding from the butterflies in his stomach. Blaine Anderson... If Kurt was home alone right now, he would definitely be kneeling in front of the TV set and screaming, but since even he thought that was pathetic, he didn't want to consider what Sam might have thought of it. It was just that... God, Blaine was so cool, and he was so confident and sexy and he just had this thing about him that oh, just thinking about him made Kurt want to crawl under his bed and cry. They went to the same school, but no words had been passed between them, simply several longing glances from Kurt and one curt nod from Blaine as he edged past him in the hall (Wednesday 9th May, it had happened, and if Kurt ever forgot about it he could refresh himself using the four-page diary entry he wrote about it) but Kurt had a feeling – he just knew that their voices would sound amazing together. In song, or in speech. Or in loud moans echoing off his ceiling.

He flushed again, praying to whatever deity that was listening that Sam wasn't a mindreader. He tried to regulate his breaths.

Sam couldn't help but notice Kurt squirm next to him as the tan guy with the eyebrows introduced himself. He discreetly turned his attention to the fairer boy and become aware of his slightly forced breathing. Was he okay? And his fingertips were digging into his knees, like he had to restrain himself from making any sudden movements. His eyes were still trained on the screen, wide as saucers. The last kid, Blaine, he was still up and he was singing something. And Kurt seemed awfully... lost in it. His tongue poked out and moistened his lips, which remained slightly parted so he could breathe in more. Sam suddenly had a hunch. And he had to keep his mouth shut – he had to keep his mouth –

'Kurt?' It took the boy a few seconds to drag his eyes away from the screen.

'Mmm?'

'When you said you weren't normal...' Sam bowed his head a little and looked up at Kurt searchingly. Kurt looked uncomfortable.

'I...' He shrugged. 'I guess I... I just –' He sighed. He had never realised that there was an issue with his sexual orientation until Finn caught him staring one time, before they were brothers. Thankfully he was cool with it – well, cooler than he could have been - but it had led to an awkward conversation with his father who also, thankfully, was fine, however it was after that conversation that Kurt had learned about how there might be some people who weren't cool with it, and didn't like what he was; who he found himself attracted to. It was because of this that he had tried to keep his longings under wraps, and it startled him that Sam had picked up on it.

'It's cool.' Kurt looked alarmed.

'What?'

'It's cool. Just...' Sam made a vague hand gesture. 'Whatever.' He smiled at Kurt.

'Oh.' Kurt smiled back, nodding. 'Um, thanks. I guess.' Sam nodded his head once before turning his attention back to the TV.

'So... Blaine, huh?' he elbowed Kurt gently, his voice light and teasing.