Got To Try, a glee fanfic

I was listening to For You I Will earlier today and this just demanded to be written.

"Bro, you're drooling."

"I am not!" Blaine defended himself. He rubbed his forearm against his mouth, and oh, shit, maybe he was drooling. He quickly peered in the little mirror in his locker and checked to make sure he hadn't gotten any saliva on his crisp red polo.

"You've got it so bad for him, man," Sam continued, totally unfazed by Blaine's lack of decorum. He leaned back against the nearby lockers. "Why don't you try, like, actually talking to Kurt for once instead of perving on him from your locker?"

"I'm not perving, Sam, I'm just-"

"Watching him put on more hairspray like some weird hair fetishist?"

"Oh my God, him putting on hairspray doesn't turn me on! I just – I noticed he always wraps his hair around his fingers like the little twist on top of an ice cream cone, and I think it's cute, okay?" Blaine blushed bright red as he realized that his motivations actually sounded super creepy out loud. "I promise I didn't mean that as stalkery as it came out."

"You sure I don't need to call the cops and tell them you want to kidnap the head cheerleader and tie him up in your basement?" Sam joked, easily dodging Blaine's annoyed smack at his arm. "Seriously, dude, why don't you try to start up a conversation with him? Talk about hair products or something."

"Ha ha, very funny," Blaine said. "I'm sure that wouldn't end with him threatening to have me tossed in a dumpster by the end of the day. The most he's ever said to me is a 'thank you' after I gave him my spare pen in Chem the other day."

"He gave you a thank you?" Sam asked, sounding genuinely shocked. "He usually just grunts at me, and I was in Glee with him until he quit. He might actually like you, Blaine."

"He was just being polite, Sam. He'd do it for anyone else," Blaine said, brushing off Sam's statements. "There's no way a guy like him even knows my name, much less enough about me to actually like me."

"Bro, you're selling yourself way too short," Sam said. "And you're already tiny enough, if you get any smaller you might disappear."

"And on that cheerful note, I've gotta go to Calc," Blaine said, rolling his eyes and slamming his locker shut. "See you at lun- whoa!" He turned away from Sam just in time to run smack into Kurt, knocking both of their textbooks to the ground.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" Blaine almost yelled, ignoring Sam's snickers and mutter of "Smooth, bro." "I wasn't looking where I was going, I hope I didn't step on you or anything!" He crouched down frantically and scrabbled for his books, trying not to crumple any of the corners.

"It's fine, I promise," Kurt said, laughing lightly and kneeling down next to him. "You're Anderson, right?"

"Y-yeah, I'm Blaine. Blaine Anderson," Blaine said dumbly, suddenly feeling like his tongue was too big for his mouth.

"Nice bow tie, Blaine Anderson," Kurt said as he finished gathering his things. He stood back up and gave Blaine a wink. "See you in Chem."

Blaine was left crouching on the floor with his jaw dropped, one hand absently stroking his red-and-white star spangled bow tie.

"Dude, I figured out how you can talk to Kurt," Sam said as he slid his tray onto the lunch table later that day. "Y'know how Schue's hosting that Lima's Got Talent thing Friday night as a Glee fundraiser?"

"Yeah?" Blaine said, politely setting his salad fork down and quirking an eyebrow in interest.

"Well, I just heard Kurt promise Santana he'd go watch her and Brittany perform some dance routine in it," Sam said excitedly. "This is your chance, Blaine! Go sing him some song about how you've been pining over him for like years now and see if that gets his attention! I know you like singing your feelings better than saying them."

"I dunno, man, isn't that a little too forward?" Blaine asked, looking uncertain.

"I think you should go for it, bro," Mike said, butting in. "I overheard Kurt talking to Tina in Glee last year, saying how he thought serenades were so romantic and should never have fallen out of style. If you make it clear that you're singing for him, he'd probably at least split some fries with you afterward!"

Blaine looked at the rest of the Glee guys at the lunch table, all of whom were nodding along. "You guys really think it'll work?"

"He knew your last name today, dude," Artie said. "And that you share a class. In Kurt-speak, you're practically engaged."

"I think that's a little-"

"Blaine, he and I sang the same part in Glee for six months," Artie interrupted, giving Blaine some serious side-eye. "Last week he thought my name was Joseph. No one in Glee club is named Joseph."

"...Maybe you have a point," Blaine conceded. "Oh God, what am I gonna wear? What am I gonna sing? What if I forget how to sing?!"

Sam prevented him from continuing his panicked monologue by shoving a Bosco stick into his mouth.

"You ready for this, bro?" Sam asked, popping his head into Blaine's little nook backstage where he was getting dressed.

"I think I'm gonna throw up," Blaine said, staring at himself wide-eyed in the mirror. "He's probably gonna think I'm just some weird nerdy kid who's totally out of his league and is gonna laugh directly in my face when I'm done. Or maybe he'll slushie me mid-song, that's not really out of the question."

"Blaine. Chill," Sam said, walking in and clapping his hands on Blaine's shoulders. "You're not even allowed to bring food into the auditorium, you know that."

"The Cheerios know no rules, Sam," Blaine said solemnly.

"I promise I'll be waiting in the wings the whole time you're on, and if it looks like anyone's gonna hurl something at you, I'll leap out and take the bullet in a blaze of glory. It'll be awesome. I'll probably make the news," Sam said. "Now pull yourself together and get your ass onstage! There were only like two acts left before yours when I came back here."

"Oh my God oh my God oh my God," Blaine muttered, grabbing his guitar and wandering out to the wings of the stage. "Focus, Blaine. The worst that can happen is you'll be so humiliated you'll have to transfer to some school in Indiana to escape your shame."

"Atta boy," Sam said. "Go get 'em, tiger." He made ridiculous snarling noises at that, complete with fake paw motions, which loosened Blaine up enough to make him chuckle a bit as he made his way onstage.

"Uh, hello, everybody," Blaine said, looking around the auditorium nervously. Thankfully, he couldn't really make out any faces because of the bright stage lights, easing his nerves a little. "I just wanted to dedicate this song to someone I quite literally ran into the other day. I hope he doesn't think it's too weird or forward of me, but I'm a lot better at singing my feelings than saying them, so here goes nothing." He took a deep breath and centered himself before launching into the song he'd prepared.

Wandering the streets, in a world underneath it all
Nothing seems to be, nothing tastes as sweet
As what I can't have
Like you and the way that you're twisting your hair round your finger
Tonight I'm not afraid to tell you
What I feel about you.

I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have
And cannon ball into the water
I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have
For you I will
For you I will

Blaine risked a quick stare out into the audience, locating Kurt after a brief moment. He looked like he'd been hit over the head with a small mallet, if Blaine could make out his expression correctly through all the lighting.

Forgive me if I st-stutter
From all of the clutter in my head
'Cause I could fall asleep in those eyes
Like a water bed
Do I seem familiar, I've crossed you in hallways a thousand times
No more camouflage, I want to be exposed
And not be afraid to fall.

I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have
And cannon ball into the water
I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have
For you I will
You always want what you can't have
But I've got to try
I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have
For you I will
For you I will
For you I will
For you

Blaine couldn't help but close his eyes as he belted the bridge, trusting his fingers to form the right chords without him watching.

If I could dim the lights in the mall
And create a mood I would
Shout out your name so it echoes in every room, yeah

That's what I'd do,
That's what I'd do,
That's what I'd do,
To get through to you, yeah

Blaine had opened his eyes again before the last chorus, noting a few phones up and swaying along out in the house, which was gratifying. He tried to find Kurt one last time, but he accidentally stared directly into a spotlight and blinded himself.

"Blaine Anderson, everybody!" Mr. Schue announced as he walked back onstage, prompting a round of applause.

"Thank you," Blaine said, not really into his mic, giving the audience a quick bow before walking back to Sam's spot in the wings.

"See, bro?! I told you you'd be fantastic," Sam said, shooting Blaine an enthusiastic thumbs up. "You almost had me willing to fling my panties at you like a real rock star."

"Thanks?" Blaine said, a little disturbed. "But could you see Kurt? Do you think he liked it?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Sam said, pointing to the nearby stage door where a sliver of light was disappearing as Kurt closed it behind himself. "I'll just go wait over there." He wandered over to Tina and Mike's changing area, leaving Blaine to his fate.

"Well, I've got to say, I wasn't expecting anything like that when I promised Santana I'd come watch her blow a bunch of losers out of the water with her dancing tonight," Kurt said once he'd closed the gap between himself and Blaine. "Or did you knock another boy off his feet this week without me hearing about it?"

"N-no, only you," Blaine said. Real smooth, Anderson.

"Good, because I'd have to terrorize my informants if they were keeping important information like that from me," Kurt said, giving Blaine a teasing smile. "I make sure I know what all the cute boys are up to in this school."

"You think I'm cute?" Blaine asked, dumbfounded.

"Especially when you speak in full sentences," Kurt hinted.

"I'm sorry," Blaine said, staring down at the floor. "I told you I'm not very good at saying my feelings. You're kind of intimidating, Kurt Hummel."

"Not that that's not flattering to hear, but I can't really agree to go on a date with you if you don't ask first," Kurt said, waving a hand in Blaine's eyeline to bring his view back up to Kurt's face.

"You- you wanna- ?" Blaine sputtered.

"I want to what? Be a renowned Broadway star someday? Redesign the Cheerios uniforms to something more fashion-forward? Win the lottery?" Kurt played dumb, and Blaine knew he had it bad because it was the cutest damn thing he'd ever seen.

"You want to go out with me?" Blaine said, nearly inaudible.

"Yes, Blaine, I want to go out with you," Kurt confirmed. "I've been using my locker mirror to spy on you since the day you transferred, how has it taken you this long to ask me?"

"What?" Blaine asked, looking Kurt dead in the eyes. "I've been spying on you since the day I transferred, how did I not notice that?"

"I've gotten very good at the art of pretending to check my hair in the mirror while really checking out the guy behind me," Kurt said, shrugging like it was no big deal. "Quinn always makes me evaluate her eye candy."

"And I always get distracted by you fixing your hair, so that solves that mystery. Good work, Scooby," Blaine teased without thinking. He clapped a hand over his mouth and blushed after he realized how dorky he sounded.

"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather be Fred and Daphne," Kurt said, pulling Blaine's hand down and intertwining it easily with his own. "Dibs on Daphne, of course."

"Whatever you want," Blaine said, still in shock at the feeling of Kurt's soft skin against his own.

"You are such a gentleman, Blaine Anderson," Kurt said. "I think that means you have to drive us to Breadstix to celebrate your fabulous performance tonight."

Blaine just nodded along mutely, trailing Kurt out to the parking lot like a tethered balloon. "You're holding my hand," he said numbly once they got to his Prius.

"If this date goes well, I'm not opposed to ending it with a good night kiss, either," Kurt teased as Blaine opened the passenger side door for him.

Blaine froze for a moment in the parking lot as Kurt shut his door behind him before almost sprinting around to the driver's side, eager to make this date the best one either of them had ever gone on.

("This was the best first date I've ever been on," Kurt confirmed later as Blaine drove him back to his car. Blaine nearly floated the entire way home, feeling the warm press of Kurt's lips against his for the rest of the night.)