When we got there I ushered Kurt and Liz in and than closed the door behind us. We kicked off our shoes and I told him to wait where he was while I got some towels to dry off with.
I pulled out a chair from the dining room and called him over to sit so I could dry his now messy hair.
"Blaine."
I hummed in response as I brought the towel to his head.
"You know I can dry myself right?"
"Oh, right, sorry." I said nervously as I handed him the towel and stepped back to dry myself off quickly.
I was in the middle of scolding myself in my head when my thoughts were interuppted by water dripping on my feet. I realized Liz had come over and was rubbing against my leg. I'd figured while Kurt's busy I would take care of Liz for him.
As I made work of Liz's fur, I began quietly mumbling to her. Even though I knew she was just a dog and probably wouldn't understand a word I was saying, it made me feel better saying my thoughts about the whole Kurt being at my house for the first time situation, out loud. I mumbled about the first time I met Kurt and the way his fingered glided across the piano keys had me in a trance, and about all the times I watched him while he conversed with the other customers when he visited me at work, the way he managed to get on everyone's good side, about how proud I was to see him get the job today, about how I keep messing up around him and staying up every night hoping that he won't suddenly realize just how lame I am.
After I was sure that Liz was good and dry I gave her gentle scratch behind the ear. She looked at me with her big puppy eyes, looked towards Kurt, who was now casually drying his legs, looked back to me than tilted her head ever so slightly, and in that moment I swear it was like she understood. I smiled softly and pet her one last time before I stood up and made my way to my room to grab some spare clothes for Kurt and I.
After rummaging around my closet I found some that would suit his style and set them out on the bathroom counter.
I went back to the livingroom to see Kurt was finished drying himself off and was now casually sitting on the couch while patting Liz who was laying at his feet.
"Kurt." I called, reluctant to break the simple yet beautiful moment.
He stopped petting Liz and looked up in the direction of my voice.
"I set out some clothes for you on the bathroom counter, so if you wanna change out of those clothes and have a shower while I start dinner that's fine."
"Thank you, a shower sounds perfect right about now." He said with a grateful smile.
I smiled back, upset that he couldn't see the reaction he evoked from me, so I just informed him what door the bathroom was as I made my way to the kitchen.
As I heard him get up and make his way through the hallway, I looked back in his direction. I never noticed before but the way his hips and backside move when he walks is extremely cute. No, I chastised myself, I have got to stop thinking like that, especially when he's in the same house. It's not like I'd have a shot anyway, he's probably not even gay.
~Time Skip~
Just as I was finishing up dinner, finally deciding on a simple chicken stirfry to warm us up from the earlier chill of the rain, from the corner of my eye I saw Kurt walk into the room. I turned to face him completely and what I saw caused me to nearly drop the bowl I was holding. There Kurt was in my baggy grey track pants and a purple t-shirt that hung ever so slightly off his one shoulder. Seeing such baggy clothes on his small frame made him look even more fragile and I had to hold back the urge to just take him in my arms and hug him.
After managing to calm my fluttering heart, I grabbed his hand and lead him to the table and sat him in front of one of the waiting bowls, making sure to leave a small bowl of chicken under the table for Liz.
"Mmm, what smells so good?"
"It's chicken stirfry, I wasn't sure what you liked, so I just went with something warm." I shrugged
After taking my seat across from Kurt, we both started to eat and continue the conversation we were having on our way here.
We talked about how my parents moved to Denver years ago to take care of my sick grandmother, how Kurt spent the first three years of his life in and out of hospitals, how we both think of music as an escape, how he's in the Glee Club at his school, and how I'm transfering to a new school for my last year because of situation that occurred at my current school.
"What school are you transferring to?" He asked curiously.
"McKinley." I said as I finished the last of my stirfry.
I heard Kurt's spoon suddenly clatter on the table and looked up to see his mouth was wide open in what I assumed to be shock.
"What?! Kurt, what's wrong?" I asked urgently, suddenly very worried.
"McKinley?"
"Yeah, is something wrong?"
"No, nothing's wrong. It's just, that's my school." He smiled shyly.
"It is?!" I was stunned. I had no idea the school I was transferring to was the same one that Kurt was going to. Oh my God, that means I'm going to get to see him everyday. I couldn't hold back the smile that broke across my face at the thought.
"That's awesome." I said excitedly.
"Yeah, now I won't be alone anymore."
"What do you mean alone?" I questioned. I thought for sure he had friends in the glee club.
"Well I have friends, just not close ones. Not ones that understand me the way you do." He shrugged.
Hearing him say that put my heart in a huge conflict. I was debating whether to be sad because he felt alone and immensely happy knowing that he thought I understood him well.
This time I didn't stop myself from walking around the table and hugging him. At first he was hesitant, like when I first held his hand, but slowly he relaxed and even went as far as to hug me back. I don't know how but just the way his head fit perfectly againt my neck and the way his small frame moulded perfectly to my larger one had me weak. I had to use all my strength just to hold me up and keep my knees from caving beneath me. I just wished I could give him the same feeling.
After we finished our dinner and did the dishes, I looked out the window to see if it was still raining. Turned out it had just gotten worse, it had went from a little rain to a full on thunderstorm. After much discussion I had managed to convince Kurt to stay the night until the rain let up. I don't care how well he's able to navigate himself, I just didn't feel right sending him home in a storm when I knew I had the room here.
In an attempt to keep us entertained, I played some music from my Ipod, already kmowing he would like the songs since half of them were his suggesstions.
Half way through the third song the powerr went out when a huge flash of lightning happened. I jumped not expecting the sudden darkness. I immediately scoured the room for any spare candles, only to realize I had used the last ones about a month ago.
I re-joined Kurt on the couch and told him how the lights went out and I had no candles left.
"It's okay, the dark's not so bad." he shrugged.
"Oh yeah, so is this what it's like for you, like a blackout?" I asked without even realizing.
I could just barely make out the shape of his head as it turned in my direction. At first I thought he was going to freak out or get mad, so I immediately tried to apologize.
I felt his hand on mine and the couch dip as he shifted his position. "It's alright, I'm not mad. I understand you're curious and I'll try and explain things as much as possible. Yes, in a way it is like a constant blackout, only with no flashes of light every few seconds." He explained sadly.
"But it's alright", he continued, "the darkness isn't so bad, you'll learn a lot frrom it. Like how you don't need to see to experience the world around you, if anything the darkness heightens your other senses and you realize just how incredible some things can be. Like the sound of the music, haven't you ever noticed that when you close your eyes, suddenly the whole sound changes even though it's the exact same song. The fell of it just seems more intense."
I hummed lightly in agreement. He was right when it came to music.
"That's why I prefer closing my eyes when I listen to it. I always get a deeper feel when I do."
"Exactly. That's why sometimes it's good to embrace the darkness, it's actually quite helpful at times. And although I've never experienced it myself, I can only imagine just how much it will intensify experiences regarding love." He said wistfully.
"But don't you ever want to see what your soulmate looks like?"
"Sure, but how often is it that people focus more on looks than what's on the inside. After all isn't the word soulmate for a reason? It's all about the soul, not the body that encloses it."
I never would have thought of the darkness like he did. The way he made it sound, it was almost like it could be more useful than the light. By now I had realized, I was falling hard for him and there was no turning back, not that I would anyway.
After his beautiful explanation of darkness, we spent the rest of the night on the couch, huddled under the blankets that I had brought out from my room, listening to the sound of the rain and the music softly playing from my Ipod.
Eventually I felt his head on my shoulder, and by then my eyes had adjusted to the darkness enough to see his peaceful face. I smiled softly as I felt my head lean on his and my eyes slowly fall shut, until I drifted off into a land where even the darkest places weren't scary anymore.
