I was hit by this wild idea one night after watching far too many So You Think You Can Dance videos on YouTube. I haven't had any inspiration for a whole chaptered story in a while, which makes me extremely happy to present this one. I hope you like it as much as I do.
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, seeing as if I did, I wouldn't be writing little stories like this.
The title is from Mika's song Ring Ring, which I don't own either.
It was a Tuesday when Blaine bumped into a boy at the Lima Bean who was struggling to free his wallet from the depths of his messenger bag.
"I know that it's somewhere in here," The boy exasperatedly said, giving an apologetic look to both the barista and Blaine.
"I'll have a medium drip," Blaine said to the barista, giving another look to the boy, "And, I'll pay for whatever he's having."
"Oh no, that's not necessary," The boy looked up at Blaine with the brightest blue eyes he had ever seen.
"It's not a problem, unless you ordered every drink in the place," Blaine charmingly said, shooting an award winning smile at the boy, and then slipped the barista his debit card without so much as a complaint from the blue-eyed boy.
"I'll pay you back," The boy muttered helplessly, as the two of them walked down to pick up their drinks.
"That's really not necessary..." Blaine said, drifting off, so the boy could supply his name.
"Kurt," The boy – Kurt – said with an extended arm.
Blaine said his name with a firm handshake, before continuing, "Like I said, it's really not necessary, Kurt."
"Are you taking your drink to go?" Kurt bashfully asked, as their drinks appear on the counter.
"I was going to try to get through some of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," Blaine admitted, knowing that the only thing keeping him going in school was his motivation for top notch grades.
"I intend on dumping the contents of my bag onto a table, so I can properly pay you back," Kurt informed Blaine, as they both walked over to the nearest booth.
"I told you that it's not necessary," Blaine said yet again, "It's not like five dollars is going to be a major setback."
They both sunk into opposite sides of the booth, shrugging off their jackets.
"Just let me pay you back, or buy you a biscotti, something," Kurt said, as Blaine's eyes lit up at the mere thought of obtaining a free biscotti.
"The hazelnut biscotti that they have here are the best," Blaine gushed with high hopes that Kurt will get the subliminal hint.
Kurt hummed in response, as he began taking textbooks and notebooks out of his bag. He fished out multiple pens and pencils, an iPhone, a charger for said iPhone, and three tubes of lotion. Blaine watched as Kurt frowned into the depths of his bag.
"I thought that it was in here," Kurt said, gently chewing at his lower lip, before unzipping an internal compartment and smiling, "I knew that I had it."
Blaine sipped at his cooling medium drip, as Kurt slid out of the booth, leaving his belongings scattered on the table, "I'll be right back with two hazelnut biscottis."
"Thanks," Blaine said, as Kurt walked over to the counter. He turned his attention to the items on the table, just trying to get a glimpse into Kurt's life.
It was clear that Kurt is heavily invested in the arts because he had two dance theory textbooks, a smaller text on Broadway musicals, Patti LuPone's memoir, and a novella titled Breakfast at Tiffany's. Blaine was instantly intrigued in everything revolving around these items on the table because his school had cut all funding for the arts back during his sophomore year.
"Two hazelnut biscottis," Kurt announced, placing the biscottis wrapped in wax paper on the table in front of Blaine.
"Thank you," Blaine earnestly said, as Kurt began to unceremoniously toss things back into his bag, "If you don't mind, where do you go to school?"
"McKinley Dance Academy," Kurt replied, as it all clicked in Blaine's head as to why he had so many text books dedicated to the arts, "What about you?"
"Hamilton High," Blaine said, holding back a shudder as he thought back to the recent incident with his biggest tormentor. He took a bite of the biscotti to cover the snarl that he desperately wanted to let out.
"It's that bad?" Kurt asked with a glimmer of just general understanding, which only amplified after Blaine sullenly nodded, "I had a similar experience during middle school. I'm not sure what your circumstances are, but it was hard for me to come out in a town like Lima. I applied to McKinley to get away from my own personal tormentors. But, you shouldn't run away from them like I did."
"Then, what am I supposed to do?" Blaine miserably asked, as Kurt gently placed his perfectly manicured hand on Blaine's calloused one with a look that said he had all the knowledge in the world.
"You just need to stand up to them. You need to have courage, Blaine," Kurt said, easily giving the exact pep talk that Blaine desperately needed to hear in that one moment.
Blaine didn't say anything for a minute, just letting all of the advice soak in before coming up with the perfectly eloquent response. However, his train of thought was shattered as a ridiculously tall kid came clobbering over to their table.
"Finn?" Kurt asked out of shock, as Blaine tried to comprehend all that was happening in this one moment. He looked up at Finn, who was clearly distraught over something.
"Did I interrupt something?" Finn meekly asked Kurt, after looking between the two of them and catching sight of Kurt's hand that was still haphazardly thrown over Blaine's. Blaine quickly withdrew his hand from beneath Kurt's under Finn's glance.
"No, no, nothing like that, Finn," Kurt said, shaking his newly freed hand in the air to dispel the whole idea, before a look of pure concern crossed over his face, "Are you okay?"
"I'm not sure," Finn admitted, making an indescribable face, before sputtering out, "Rachel found out about Quinn. They're both upset with me. I just don't –"
"Hold on, Finn," Kurt said, holding up his hand to silence the boy, before turning back to Blaine, "I have to handle this. I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Blaine lied, nonchalantly fiddling with the half eaten biscotti in hopes that it disguised his misery at the idea of Kurt leaving. Kurt grabbed a pen from his bag and scrawled something on Blaine's cup.
"Here's my number," Kurt hastily said in lieu of a proper goodbye.
Blaine just blinked as Kurt bustled out of the Lima Bean with Finn in tow. He couldn't figure out what had just happened, but he did have a coffee cup with enough digits to make his heart swell. He pulled out his worn school copy of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and he went in to finish the first biscotti.
In a single burst of courage, Blaine decided on a whim that he was going to go to the Winter Semi-Formal with the only flamboyantly gay student at Hamilton High, Maxxie. He refused to let anyone know about his budding friendship with Kurt, whom he had met two weeks prior to making his courageous decision. It baffled Wes and David to the point where they had been calling daily to check up on Blaine's mental status about attending the Hamilton High Winter Semi-Formal. Now was one of those times.
"Hey Wes," Blaine answered his phone, as he straightened his bowtie in the mirror for the millionth time.
"Are you sure that you don't want to go laser tagging with us?" Wes's tinny voice asked, as Blaine could distinctly hear David asking similar questions in the background.
Blaine sighed. He had been friends with Wes and David since they were in the Boy Scouts together, even though the pair was a year older than Blaine. The three of them were inseparable, until Wes and David were packed up for Dalton Academy in Westerville for an advantage on their college applications. Meanwhile, they had left Blaine to fend off his demons at Hamilton High School alone.
"You know how important going to the semi-formal is to me," Blaine said, knowing for a fact that he had listed umpteen reasons why he needed to do this, even though not a single one of them included Kurt by name.
"Blainers, do you want us to go with you?" David asked, using the pet name they had established when they could still pull at Blaine's long curls to watch them bounce back into shape.
"I told you that it wouldn't help," Blaine sullenly said, before thinking back to the moment when he asked Maxxie to accompany him, "Besides, I'm going with Maxxie."
"Have fun, Blaine," David said as a goodbye, before passing the phone back to Wes.
"If you need us, we can be there in ten minutes flat," Wes wholeheartedly said, as Blaine chuckled.
"I know," Blaine said, even though he had never taken up Wes on any of those offers, "Thank you. I'll call you later tonight, deal?"
"Deal," Wes said, as Blaine clicked the END button on his phone.
Blaine put his phone down, straightened his bowtie yet again, and then tugged on his suit jacket. He looked himself over in the mirror, more than proud at how well he had cleaned up.
"You look so sharp, baby," Ella Anderson cooed, crossing her son's room to fix a fallen curl from his helmet of gelled hair.
"Thanks, mom," Blaine blushed at the compliment, giving his most charming smile to his mirror reflection, "Do you think I'm doing the right thing?"
"What do you mean?" Ella asked, as Blaine turned his back to the mirror to face her.
"I haven't gone to a single dance in all of high school," Blaine said, not sure how to properly get the words out, "Now, all of a sudden, I'm going with Maxxie. Is that weird?"
"Do you like Maxxie?" Ella asked, as Blaine twisted his face up in thought.
"I'm not sure," Blaine admitted, "I think I could."
At the same time, Blaine also thought that he could like Kurt, but that's a different story. It's one that he planned on keeping to himself for quite some time.
"Then, you're not doing anything wrong, sweetie," Ella said with a smile, as she carefully reached out to smooth the lapel of his blazer.
"Wes and David want to come to make sure that no taunting happens," Blaine carefully said because nobody knew that the bullying had escalated from verbal to intensely physical.
"That's very thoughtful of them," Ella said, barely catching Blaine roll his eyes, "I'll assume that you're not letting them go."
"I don't need a babysitter," Blaine defiantly said, noting the time; he had to meet Maxxie at the front door in ten minutes, "And, I'm going to be late."
"Have a wonderful time, Blaine," Ella said, watching her son straighten his bowtie in the mirror yet again.
"I'll be home in time for curfew," Blaine promised, kissing his mom's cheek, before booking it out of his room. He grabbed his keys from the table by the front door, before walking into the chilling mid-December air.
It took all of Blaine's willpower to not shake on his drive over to school. He wasn't sure if he would be able to make it through the night under the scrutinizing looks of everyone in the school. Just when he thought he wasn't going to be able to do it, his phone vibrated with a text from Kurt. At a red light, he looked at the message, Courage – Kurt . He smiled as he maneuvered into the Hamilton High School parking lot.
You here yet? Blaine typed a quick text to Maxxie once he parked his car in his normal spot.
I'm by the side doors. Blaine got a reply from Maxxie. He pocketed his phone and keys, before heading to the side doors.
Blaine barely stepped three feet around the corner of the building before a decent chunk of the football teams caught up with him. It was in his instinct to take a defensive stance to watch out for himself, which caused all thoughts of meeting up with Maxxie to completely slip his mind.
"Hey gay boy, you know this is a couples' dance, right?" One of them snidely asked, which usually didn't get a rise out of Blaine. However, Blaine was currently buzzing on pure adrenaline, and a burst of courage from Kurt.
"I'm here with someone," Blaine replied causing the group of boys to heartedly laugh.
"With who? Your invisible friend?" One asked through his barking chuckles. It only caused the rest of the boys to laugh harder.
"Now, Mitch, I'm sure you remember that Maxxie said that he was waiting for his date," Joshua corrected his wingman, stepping through the throng of football players. Blaine barely sized up to his biggest tormentor, but he tried to stand a little taller upon seeing him.
"What did you do to Maxxie?" Blaine asked, sensing that something was off with this situation, since Maxxie was nowhere to be seen.
"Don't worry about your butt buddy," Josh flippantly said, as the football players enveloped Blaine in a circle. He did his best not to externally panic, even though inside of him was going off with all sorts of bells and whistles of distress.
"Are you going to punch me?" Blaine asked, glancing at Josh's balled up fists, "Go ahead. You can't punch the gay out of me."
It took two seconds for Blaine to realize what he said and want to retract his words, which was a play on Kurt's story of how he had stood up to his tormentors in middle school. It ended up getting him sexually harassed, but at least the Neanderthal had more than some bullying strikes to get him suspended.
"Wanna bet?" Josh taunted, before his fists made crunching contact with Blaine's face. It caused the small boy to waver against the footballs jocks standing behind him, who pushed him towards Josh. Blaine caught himself from falling by pressing his hands against Josh's chest, who screeched, "Don't touch me homo!" at the contact.
Blaine brought back his leg and forcefully kicked Josh's shin, which resulted in him getting smacked across the back with some hard, cold, and metal. He flopped against Josh from the force with an overwhelming inability to catch his breath. Josh pushed him backwards onto the icy concrete, where Blaine's head bounced like a basketball. The world started to spin around him, as a few swift kicks were administered to his torso.
"Oh shit," One of the jocks said, just before Blaine blacked out.
I promise that it won't stay this angsty. Reviews make the world go 'round.
