Blaine's rate of making it to class on time was now at around 75%. He still had troubles getting to Potions – granted, he had been a little distracted when Kurt was showing him the way – but other than that, he felt himself finally getting used to the turning staircases and the ever-moving paintings, which definitely didn't help with his getting used to the surroundings.
The following Wednesday found Blaine stumbling around the hallways, once again searching for the hidden Potions classroom. It really didn't help that it was sort of in the dungeon.
I think we went right, Blaine thought to himself as he turned a corner. And then it should be right ahead…
Blaine grinned once he saw the door to the classroom.
Victory.
He opened it slowly, hoping that they hadn't started class yet and that he wouldn't be marked late. But of course Professor Slughorn had started lecturing about their next brewing.
"Ah, Mr. Anderson," he said as he noted Blaine slipping into his seat. "Five minutes earlier than last time."
Blaine smiled and flushed a little. Professor Slughorn at least understood that navigating Hogwarts wasn't the easiest thing in the world.
"I'll eventually be able to get here on time," Blaine responded.
"Ah, m'boy, you'll figure it out," he said, walking behind him and patting his head fondly. "And it's not like you really need to show up for Potions anyway, you're already the best brewer in here."
Blaine flushed again and ducked his head, ignoring some of the looks and glares the other students gave him.
"Alright, class," Slughorn went on. "So for this you'll need three Unicorn hairs, a drop of…."
Blaine zoned out then, not really needing to listen to the ingredients when they were right in his book. He grabbed his text book and started skimming through the products, making a plan of action in his mind for when Slughorn sent them on their way to make their potions.
"Alright," Slughorn said after a few more minutes of lecturing. "We're doing this one in pairs, so…"
Every head in the room turned to Blaine, their eyes wide and pleading.
"Err…" Blaine started, widening his eyes at the professor and pleading for him to help him.
Slughorn opened his mouth to say something, but a different voice beat him to it.
"He's my partner," the voice sneered. "So back off."
Every head in the room turned, all the eyes simultaneously shooting away from the figure that was walking towards Blaine's table.
"Run along," the person said. "Or as you Brits say it, bugger off."
And, just like that, everyone dispersed and found different partners.
Blaine looked at the boy who'd just taken the seat next to him.
He really hadn't known that Kurt was in this class.
"This is only like the second time I've shown up this year," Kurt said nonchalantly, somehow reading Blaine's mind. "And before you ask – yes, I'm quite good at Occlumancy, but no, I didn't just use it on you."
Blaine rolled his eyes and turned back to his textbook, noting a few things in the margins before starting to prep the pot.
"I hope you know what you're doing," Kurt went on, "Because I absolutely suck at Potions. It's my worst subject."
Blaine didn't respond, absently pouring a few ingredients into the pot, watching as it turned the proper shade of purple. He could feel Kurt watching him, his eyes watching Blaine's hands as they moved deftly from ingredient to ingredient.
"Damn, Anderson," he said after a few minutes. "I only made them back off so that I could get an A, but you really do know what you're doing. It wasn't just wishful thinking on my part."
Slughorn walked by their table then, glancing into the pot.
"Well done, m'boy," he said, patting Blaine's back in approval. "I'm pretty sure that's a record brew for this potion."
Blaine grinned, his face lighting up at the professor's approval.
"What do you say to joining the Slug Club?" He asked after a few moments. "We get together every now and then and just have dinner, a little party every now and then."
Blaine thought for a moment before nodding.
"Excellent," Slughorn grinned. "Mr. Hummel can give you all the details."
Blaine almost missed the last sentence as Slughorn walked away, turning to Kurt with a curious expression once it finally sunk in.
Kurt noted his expression and shrugged. "We've always gotten along," Kurt explained. "I've been in the Slug Club since my first year, which is apparently a pretty big deal."
Blaine nodded. "What's there to know about it?" He asked.
Kurt shrugged again. Now that their potion was done and brewed, Blaine really had nothing better to do then talk to Kurt.
"It's all of Slug Horn's favorites, and he'll have a dinner for them every now and then, and then he has a Christmas party where everyone brings dates." Kurt shrugged again. "It's not as big of a deal as everyone makes it sound."
Blaine nodded and looked at the table. "Why are you so cold sometimes?" He asked suddenly. "I mean, sometimes you act like a complete bastard to me, and then other times you just aren't."
He saw Kurt gulp as he avoided his gaze.
"I get that you're rough on the edges or whatever," Blaine said. "But I don't understand it when you actually talk to me like a person, when not even a week ago you were begging to get into my pants."
Kurt turned on Blaine, his blue eyes blazing. "Look, Anderson," Kurt sneered. "I don't know who you think you are, but I don't really think that's any of your business." He continued to hold Blaine's gaze. "I get that you want to be all Mr. Nice Guy or whatever, but I am who I am. I don't even know what this 'treating you like a person' crap you're referring to is."
Blaine stared at Kurt with wide eyes. He'd never seen Kurt angry like that before. It was a little terrifying.
"Professor Slughorn," Kurt said as he stood up. His voice had changed back to its usual tone – not exactly innocent, but not raging with fury. "Since we're done, may I go early?"
Slughorn seemed to debate that for a moment before nodding, Kurt slipping out of the room.
Blaine groaned and practically slammed his hand on the table. He didn't know what it was about Kurt that made him so frustrated all the time and in so many different ways, but it was starting to drive him nuts.
"You can go too, Blaine, if you'd like," Slughorn told him. "I'll let you know when the first Slug Club get together is."
Blaine nodded and gathered his things up, slowly walking out of the classroom.
Kurt's body writhed as the lips trailed down his torso, trailing wet kisses all the way down to his boxers.
"More," Kurt gasped, clutching the sheets for support. "God, more."
The body hovering over him chuckled, his voice low and dark and husky. The sound did something to Kurt – made him twitch and squirm in anticipation and lust. Taking initiative, he flipped the other boy, wedging his leg in between his legs so that he could feel the hardness through his boxers.
As the lips removed from his skin, he let out a small whine, bringing his own head up and crushing his lips to the other boy's, smirking at the moan it elicited from him.
"You want me, don't you babe?" Kurt whispered into his ear, slowly sucking on the spot below it. "You've wanted me for so long."
The boy whimpered a little as Kurt's tongue slowly swiped across the hickey he just formed.
"I know you do," he whispered against his skin as he worked his way down his long expanse of neck. "You were just too caught up in emotions and feelings to realize it."
"Emotions are good," the boy stuttered, his hands gripping Kurt's hips firmly. "Aren't you glad you finally opened up to them?"
Kurt grinned and moved his head lower, trailing his tongue along the waistband of the boy's boxers.
"Fuck yes," he said. "I'll probably regret it when you break my heart, but for now I'll take it."
The boy looked at him and pulled his head up so that he was staring into Kurt's eyes. "I'll never break your heart," he whispered. "Never."
He leaned in and pressed his lips to Kurt's again, softer than before.
"I never thought I'd feel this way," Kurt whispered. His eyes met the boys' again, his lips leaning in once again to catch Kurt's in his own.
And the last thing he saw before everything became a blur of bliss were those bright, hazel eyes, making him feel all the feelings, all the emotions that he'd closed himself off to, never wanting to feel broken again.
"Fuck."
Kurt bolted out of bed, nearly hitting his head on the headboard in doing so.
Sebastian stirred a few beds away. "Fuck?" He asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with a smirk on his face. "Somebody have an interesting dream?"
Kurt ignored the smirk on Sebastian's face as he tried to calm his breathing.
"Was it about Anderson?" Sebastian asked. "Because I've noticed he's not letting you get into his pants easily."
Kurt rolled his eyes and stood up, walking towards the bathroom.
"You know, you don't have to stay so closed off forever," Sebastian suggested.
Kurt whirled around, fixing his signature glare on the boy. "You know perfectly well why I'm like this, he sneered. "And I think you of all people should understand."
"I do, bro," Sebastian said. "But I'm just saying, even I let myself feel every now and then. And you know what I've been through."
"Yeah, because having your parents split up is exactly the same as having your mom die and then your dad remarrying a few months later," Kurt hissed. "It's exactly the same as having a homophobic stepbrother, despite how much he actually tries."
"Look, Kurt –" Sebastian started, but Kurt shook his head.
"Don't start again, Sebastian," Kurt snarled. "Just leave it, okay?"
Sebastian nodded, Kurt glaring at him once more before walking into the bathroom.
"I don't understand why he's so harsh one minute, and then he actually shows signs of being a person the next," Blaine said to Wes at breakfast the next day.
"Dude, would you shut up about Kurt already?" Wes chuckled, reaching over David to grab a muffin. "We told you he was bad news."
"Yeah, but then he sometimes acts almost nice," Blaine went on. "I don't understand."
"Seriously," David said. "If you don't stop talking about him, we're going to assume you have a crush on him or something."
Blaine abruptly stopped talking, quickly taking a bite of his waffles.
"Look, man," Wes said. "No one knows what happened with Kurt. His mom died when he was eight, and his dad got remarried a few months later. That's all we really know. He was okay when he was here for first and second year, and then third year he returned – well, like this. He befriended Sebastian, and no one bothered to question it."
Blaine nodded and continued to eat his waffles in silence.
"He does seem to hang out with you a lot though," David mused after a few moments. "And it's usually him coming to you, right?"
Blaine nodded, quirking one of his eyebrows at him.
"So maybe he's comfortable around you or something," he said. "I don't know, but if you say he sometimes acts normal around you, maybe you're breaking the shell?"
Blaine shrugged. "I just don't understand it," he said. "Because I'll say something about it or something will come up, and then he'll just completely withdraw and snap at me before walking away."
Wes gave Blaine a curious look before turning to David. "I think he does like him a little," he smirked.
"What?" Blaine choked on his waffle. "No – no no, it's not like that –"
"Oh but Blainers," Wes taunted, wagging his finger in front of Blaine's eyes. "It is kind of like that, isn't it?"
"I mean – maybe if he wasn't so harsh –"
"Which would explain your obsessing over his multiple personality issues," David added.
Blaine groaned and stuffed his mouth with waffles, ignoring the snickers Wes and David were sending his way.
That Saturday was Blaine's first Quidditch match.
And he was nervous. It was Hufflepuff vs. Ravenclaw, and at least according to Marley, the odds were in their favor.
"We've got Anderson now," she said as they got ready, and even though David was technically Captain, she'd sort of taken the position, more or less. "He's good. And they'll just see him as a newbie who doesn't know what he's doing."
Blaine could feel himself already sweating through his uniform.
"We've got this, mate," Wes said, clapping him on the shoulder as the team started to drift off on the field to warm up. "You're going to do great."
Blaine nodded, but it didn't help his nerves at all.
"Do I have time to use the bathroom?" He asked.
Wes laughed and nodded. "Go on, nervous pee-er."
Blaine let out a nervous chuckle before rushing off towards the nearest set of bathrooms, hoping to just do his business quickly so he could have as much warm up time as he possibly could.
Once he emerged from the bathroom, feeling relieved but still nervous, a hand caught his arm and dragged him into a small corner.
"You look nervous," a voice whispered in his ear.
Blaine gulped, already knowing whose voice that was.
"I can help you with that."
Blaine groaned and pulled away from Kurt, walking back down the hallway and out to the Quidditch field.
"For the thousandth time, Hummel, I'm not interested," Blaine said, knowing that Kurt was following him.
"Won't stop me from trying," Kurt replied swiftly.
Blaine groaned and rolled his eyes, turning around once he was outside the entrance to the field. "Look," he said. "I know that you're all rough and tough and whatnot, but I know there's more to you." He paused, taking in Kurt's smirk on his face. "Merlin, Kurt, could you just not smirk like that for once?"
Kurt didn't stop smirking. "Can't help it," he replied. "You're body makes me smirk, babe. What can I say?"
"I'm leaving now," Blaine told him. "I'm going to play a Quidditch match, so if you'll excuse me…"
Kurt nodded and turned around, walking back the way he'd come, his hips swaying as he walked. His head turned a little, sending Blaine a wink when he saw him staring after him.
Blaine grabbed his broom and gulped.
What the hell was Kurt doing to him?
Blaine watched as David and the Hufflepuff Captain shook hands, exchanging best wishes along with a competitive look.
And then the Snitch was released and the Quaffle was in the air, and all of Blaine's nerves vanished. Before he knew what was happening, the Hufflepuff chasers were coming at him, the red ball was being thrown towards a hoop and –
He caught it. Effortlessly, at that.
The game continued on like that, Blaine saving shot after shot, one save almost managing to throw him off of his broom. But he regained his balance just in time to see Marley score another 10 points.
It was exciting, it was thrilling, and Blaine felt great.
And then he saw out of the corner of his eye the Seekers speeding up, extending their arms, reaching for something that looked invisible to Blaine and –
The Ravenclaw Seeker raised his arm in victory, his hand clasped tightly around a small gold object.
The whole Ravenclaw team stopped as the announcer came over the loudspeakers, none of them evening listening.
Blaine whooped and cheered, carefully balancing himself on his broom.
He heard someone shout from a ways away, something about 'Watch out, Blaine' and 'It's headed right in your direction.'
And then, before he knew what was happening, something round and hard and metal crashed into his broom, sending him toppling to the ground.
He heard the screams around him, he heard someone cast a spell to slow his fall, not quite strong enough to stop him completely.
So when he hit the ground, it wasn't enough to kill him.
But it must have been enough to knock him out for a while, seeing as the last thing he saw before he drifted off into unconsciousness was a pair of blue, worried eyes.
"Is he waking up?"
"Is he going to be okay?"
"He didn't hit his head that hard, right?"
"This really blows."
"Honestly, though, he had an amazing first game."
Blaine groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, squinting into the light as a few figures formed around him.
"Blaine?" A female voice said, crouching down next to him on the side of the bed and gripping his hand. "Blaine, are there?"
Blaine groaned again and nodded a little before wincing. His vision cleared, revealing Marley, Wes, and David gathered around his bed.
"I'll go get Madam Pomfrey," Marley said, getting up from where she was knelt beside his bed. "Don't move too much, alright?"
Blaine nodded a little in response, Wes and David coming around to either side of him.
"You gave us quite a fright there," Wes said, letting out a long breath.
"That's happened to everyone, but never on their first game," David added. "You're lucky someone casted that spell, though, otherwise you would have pummeled straight to your death."
"Who was that, anyway?" Blaine said, his voice horse.
He saw Wes glance at David, David nodding slowly. "We think – that it was Kurt," Wes told him. "Mainly because he's the only one at this school who can cast that spell – or any of the more difficult spells – successfully."
Well. That was interesting.
"That boy confuses me so much," Blaine groaned, closing his eyes.
"We know," David said, chuckling. "It's okay, little Blainers. Everything will work out."
"Right," Blaine scoffed, his head beginning to throb again. "Is Madam Pomfrey coming?"
And then he heard the shuffle of the woman's feet.
"We should be leaving now, Blaine," Wes said, gripping Blaine's arm before walking out of the room. "We'll come back later."
Blaine groaned and gave them a thumbs up.
"Dear, can you open your eyes so I can hand you this?" The woman said.
Blaine did so, just enough so that he could successfully take the cup from her hand. "That should help your concussion," she told Blaine. "And then after you sleep for a little longer you should be good to go."
Blaine nodded and downed the vile tasting liquid, making a face as he swallowed.
"I don't know why they always think it's going to taste like Pumpkin Juice," she muttered to herself as she walked away.
Blaine sighed, his head already feeling better. He wasn't sure if he was drifting off to sleep or not, but the sound of someone sitting down in the chair next to him startled him.
"No visitors right now," Blaine muttered to the person. "Pomfrey's orders."
The voice chuckled softly.
Blaine recognized that sound, but it was – different.
He slowly opened his eyes, giving Kurt a confused look.
His blue eyes were filled with something – worry, maybe? There was a small crease in his forehead, his hands fiddling with his fingers anxiously.
"What's wrong?" Blaine asked, despite knowing better.
"I – you scared me there for a minute," Kurt said, his voice different than Blaine had ever heard it before. "I was the one who casted that spell. And then once you hit the ground I was right there beside you and – and you went unconscious and I couldn't wake you up and –"
"Hey," Blaine said gently, extending his arm out so that it rested on Kurt's knee. "I'm okay. I'm fine. It's okay."
Kurt nodded and swallowed a lump in his throat, keeping his eyes on his hands.
"Can I ask you something?" Blaine asked after a moment.
Kurt didn't respond, so Blaine went on.
"Why were you worried about me?" He asked. "From what I've gathered, you don't do the emotions thing."
"I don't," Kurt responded, his voice gaining a little more of its sternness back. "But I don't deal with death well, either."
Blaine nodded in understanding, squeezing Kurt's knee gently.
"I still don't know why you would care if I died," Blaine said. "We've only known each other for a few months, and every time we've talked it's usually been about you wanting to fuck me and one of us walking away angry."
Kurt chuckled and rolled his eyes. "I don't know, either," he said. "I can't explain it. I'm resisting it, but – I was just worried, okay? Can't that be enough for you?"
Blaine could see Kurt drawing in on himself again, like he always did when Blaine tried to get information out of him.
He sighed and nodded, moving his hand to grab Kurt's. Kurt looked at him questioningly, raising an eyebrow at him precariously. Blaine squeezed his hand before releasing it, bringing it back to his side and closing his eyes gently.
He could feel himself drifting back off to sleep, his breathing slowing and his mind blanking over.
"Before you're totally out," Kurt said, Blaine knowing that a smirk was on his lips by his voice, "My offer for fuckage totally still stands."
Blaine groaned and rolled over on his side so that his back was to Kurt.
Kurt chuckled, and Blaine didn't know whether he was still there or not.
But when he was almost out, just a few seconds away from a deep slumber, he felt a small, smooth pair of lips press against his forehead, followed by the sound of footsteps becoming more and more distant.
I almost left this at the part after he falls. But I didn't want to do that to you guys.
And lskjflksj i'm being really mushy in my updated today. Both this chapter and the latest chapter of No One Else Compares have mounds of mushiness in them.
Again, I thank you for your continued support with this fic XD
