Disclaimer- I don't own Glee.
Also, please, please play this song (the Boyce Avenue cover of Teenage Dream, it's on Youtube) when it comes up in the fic
It was late, the cafeteria was closed, and somehow, Kurt had acquired a pile of homework in one night at Dalton which he might have been required to complete over the course of several weeks at McKinley. Wes had insisted that the Warblers' rehearsal run longer and longer because of "the altos' severe lack to produce a harmony line anywhere remotely near the quality needed to produce a win at a karaoke sing-off, let alone Regionals." It was utterly ridiculous, of course; the Dalton Warblers were an incredibly talented group of singers, and the simple fact, in their minds, was that Regionals were looming, and sometimes the high-strung senior needed to let off steam. All of them were well aware of the fact that Wes's criticisms held no objective to offend.
All but one, that is. Kurt, being new to the Warblers and Wes in general, had never had the misfortune to be around the latter before a competition. The other Warblers assumed he understood their leader's mechanics and behaviors; Kurt therefore assumed that he should take Wes at face value. So, when what would normally have been a polite parting comment alerting Kurt to his slight sharp on the second to last measure of their rehearsal number came out as a condescending snarl instead, Kurt's temper flared and he tersely nodded before storming down the hall and all but grabbing Blaine by the collar as he passed.
At first, Blaine had objected, but was quickly quieted by the look on Kurt's face, and chose instead to simply sigh and follow his strange friend back to his dorm. By the time they got there, Kurt's rage had cooled down to a simmer, but he was still irritated enough to accidentally pelt a book at Blaine's head when he meant to merely toss it. Blaine deftly caught it and cocked an eyebrow. "What am I supposed to do with this?"
"You," Kurt had said as he dug three other texts and assorted notebooks out of his bag, "are supposed to turn to page 357 and start helping me with the math homework I know you've probably already done."
"Guilty as charged, although I don't see why you didn't do it earlier."
"Not important," Kurt had replied flippantly, choosing not to tell Blaine that his pre-rehearsal free time had only resulted in another notebook filled with romantic doodles.
Blaine had rolled his eyes but started scratching out equations nonetheless. "Just so you know, I have to have my music playing while I do homework. It's how I concentrate. Can I?" he had asked, gesturing to Kurt's stereo.
Kurt had waved a hand dismissively. "Go ahead. I don't mind." What he hadn't anticipated was Blaine's apparent "need" to blast Katy Perry and sing along at the top of his lungs, which led them to the current situation.
"You- make- me! Feel like I'm living a teen- age- dream, the way you turn me on! I- can't-"
At this point, Kurt had had just about enough. "Blaine Anderson. I swear on all things LuPone, if you don't shut up right now, I will take your Katy Perry CD and I will happily shove it up your-"
"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry! Touchy much?" Blaine notched the volume down until it was merely earsplitting. "You have to admit it's a catchy song though."
"Catchy but meaningless," Kurt scoffed. Unbidden, images of the first time he saw Blaine perform popped into his head (Let you put your hands on me in my skintight jeans) and he fought back a blush. He doesn't think of you like that, and this is so not the time. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it. "It's just another sex song."
Blaine smiled. "That's what you think," he said easily, and continued working on Kurt's math homework, oblivious to the sharp look Kurt sent him over a chemistry textbook.
A while passed; the two boys each making some more headway and Blaine humming along to the songs that came on the stereo. After about an hour of studying, when they had finished most of the work and Kurt had decided that Blaine should never be allowed to edit his English papers ever again, Blaine stood and stretched. "Well, I should probably go. It's late, and we've got classes tomorrow."
Kurt nodded, relieved to have an excuse to look up from his French grammar. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Thanks so much for your help."
"Not a problem," Blaine said with a shrug. "God knows I needed all the help I could get when I started here." He collected his bag and started for the door, but stopped just short of it and turned around, grinning. "At least I can play my music in peace in my room," he teased Kurt.
"Oh, just leave!" Kurt laughed, throwing a crumpled-up piece of paper at the shorter boy.
Blaine obliged. "It's a good song! I'll prove it to you!" he called as he walked down the hall.
Kurt walked over to shut the door behind him, smiling. Tonight hadn't been so bad after all.
By the time classes were dismissed the next day, Kurt had forgotten about Blaine's promise to prove to him the value of cheap trash-pop, and was therefore completely caught off guard when the Warblers' dapper lead grabbed his arm and pulled him into the empty choir room without giving him a chance to respond.
Without thinking, Kurt yelped and flailed about, pulling his arm out of Blaine's grasp and managing to smack his friend across the face by accident. "Ow! Kurt, my face…" Blaine whined, rubbing his eye and pouting.
"Oh my God, Blaine, I'm so sorry, I totally didn't realize it was you!" Kurt gasped, hands going to his mouth in shock. "Are you okay?"
Blaine blinked a few times. "Yeah, I'll be fine." He sent Kurt a wry grin. "I'm not going to be surprising you again anytime soon, though. It's dangerous."
Kurt blushed. "What are we doing in here anyway?"
Blaine moved over to the piano, motioning Kurt to follow him over. "I'm changing your mind about Katy Perry."
"Are you still going on about that? It's not going to work, Anderson."
"Believe me, Hummel," said Blaine with a wink and a mock tone of superiority, "you will never look at 'Teenage Dream' the same way again."
Kurt swallowed. He was normally convinced that Blaine was just possessing of a flirty personality, but this seemed like more. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking. Pay attention, he scolded himself as Blaine struck the opening chord of the song. But it was wrong: too soft; too slow. He waited for Blaine to laugh at his mistake and start over, but what happened next was unexpected.
*"I think you're pretty, without any makeup on. I think you're funny, when you tell the punch line wrong. I knew you got me when you let your walls come down… down." Blaine's face softened as he gently moved through the altered lyrics, closing his eyes as he moved into the falsetto on the last note. Kurt's heart skipped a beat and he reminded himself to breathe.
"Before you met me, I was alright, but things were kinda heavy; you brought me to life, now every February, you'll be my Valentine… Valentine." Kurt was struck speechless. The normally flirty, carefree style Blaine used so often had disappeared; replaced by this vulnerable, utterly in love sort of crooning, and Kurt couldn't get enough.
"Let's just talk, all though the night. There's no need… to rush. We can dance, until we die. You and I... will be young forever…"
Blaine looked up at Kurt and smiled gently, one corner of his mouth turning up. "You make me, feel like I'm living a teenage dream, the way you turn me on." A little raspy quality slipped back into his voice along with a jolt of passion, but it seemed romantic rather than sultry the way the original did. "I can't sleep, let's run away and don't ever look back, don't ever look back. My heart stops, when you look at me. Just one touch, now baby I believe: This is real, so take a chance and don't ever look back, don't ever look back."
Just as suddenly as he had begun, Blaine reined back the speed and power of the chorus for the second verse, tapping back into his wider, floating range. "When you're around me, life's like a movie scene. I wasn't happy, **but now you're my everything. I finally found you, my missing puzzle piece: I'm complete."
Kurt reflected on the lyrics and the subtle meaning behind them as the chorus began again: the lucky accident that led to his meeting Blaine, straight off of the big screen; how he fell not just for Blaine's charming smile but for his protective, courteous nature (I care about you, Kurt).
He nearly expected the sweet, sensitive tone to remain as the second chorus lapsed into the bridge, but was caught off guard by something entirely new. Blaine's playing became faster, and his voice sounded deeper, nearly husky, as if he desperately needed Kurt to catch the meaning behind the song.
"I'mma get your heart racing, if that's what you need, in this teenage dream tonight. Let you rest your head on me, if that's what you need, in this teenage dream tonight, tonight, tonight… tonight." Blaine closed his eyes again and took a breath before opening them and looking straight across the piano into Kurt's, brown on blue, both searching. He was quiet for a beat before launching into a powerhouse note that sent chills down Kurt's spine.
"You," he sang, drawing out the word, before falling back into the familiar chorus with renewed vigor. His voice almost contained a note of urgency now. "Make me, feel like I'm living a teenage dream, the way you turn me on," –Kurt was reminded of the night before as Blaine belted this out loud- "I can't sleep; let's run away and don't ever look back, don't ever look back. And my heart stops, when you look at me. Just one touch, now baby, I believe: This is real, so take a chance and don't ever look back, don't ever!"
"I'mma get your heart racing, if that's what you need, in this teenage dream tonight. Let you rest your head on me, if that's what you need, in this teenage dream tonight." Blaine slowed down again, eyes tender once more. "Tonight… tonight."
As the last note faded out on the piano, Blaine slid out from the bench and popped up cheerfully. He seemed as dapper as ever, and if Kurt didn't know him better, he would have missed the flash of emotion that passed through his eyes. "So… How'd I do?"
Kurt opened and closed his suddenly dry mouth a couple times before offering a small nod and a half smile. "I… suppose it was alright," he stammered, trying to appear casual. It was a weak act, and they both knew it.
Blaine grinned. "Admit it. I was right. You love this song."
No, I love you, Kurt wanted to say, but he just laughed. "Only when you're singing," he replied, and he could have sworn he saw a hint of a blush in return.
AN:
*From here down, I like to think of this as somewhat of an alternate entrance to Blaine's admissions in OS, though I loved the original scene. Just plug in the "You move me, Kurt." and then the Klissing instead of my last few sentences, and there you go. There are so many songs that would fit perfectly for the show... *sigh* Ignore my rambling.
** The original Boyce Avenue lyrics were "… until you became my queen." But that doesn't exactly work for two guys, so I just changed it a bit.
More to come!