"What time did you say Finn was getting here?" Burt asked his son, for the third time in the past hour. "It's almost time for the first pitch!"
"He texted earlier and said he'd be here, Dad. Don't worry, I'm sure he's on his way," Kurt responded, hiding a smile. Finn had been very busy lately with extra football practices in addition to his regular hours at the shop, so it had been longer than usual since he had made a visit. Unlike Kurt, the other boy actually wanted to watch the baseball games, which made it a much more enjoyable experience for his dad; Kurt's only usual commentary involved which players needed to shave and that knee socks were so last season.
Kurt grabbed his phone anyways to check if Finn had texted with an update. "Wait, I do have a new message, maybe he's running a little late." Kurt opened the message, quickly realizing it wasn't from Finn, but from an unknown number. Thoughts of McKinley jocks flashed through his head and he almost deleted it unread, then remembered that he had given Blaine his number the other day. He hadn't been expecting his neighbor to text him immediately, but he had been a little disappointed when almost two full days went by without hearing anything. His eyes lit up as he read the words on the screen:
"Hey Kurt, it's Blaine from next door. I know it probably sounds like a boring way to spend your afternoon, but I could use some help unpacking if you don't have any plans. Hope to see you soon!"
"Finn is still coming, right? What did the message say?" asked his dad from across the living room. Kurt looked up at his dad, grin disappearing off his face. As much as he'd like to go help Blaine – after all, unpacking would probably involve either decorating or clothing – he really couldn't leave his dad alone this afternoon, especially since Finn had yet to arrive.
"Oh, it was just Blaine," Kurt answered nonchalantly. He saved the number in his contacts, pausing when he realized he didn't know the other boy's last name. He smiled and quickly added 'Warbler' as the surname.
"Blaine?" his dad asked. "That boy from last week?" Kurt nodded as he continued speaking. "What did he want this time, the best Italian restaurant in town?" Burt chuckled at his own joke.
"Um, actually he wanted me to go over there and help him unpack, but I'm about to text him back and tell him I already have plans."
"I hope you don't mean watching the baseball game with me and Finn," Burt answered skeptically.
"Of course that's what I mean – I haven't seen Finn in awhile and this is what we do every Sunday –"
His dad cut him off right there, saying, "Kurt, me and you both know that you don't give a damn about the Indians game. And you won't be leaving me alone – Finn is more than capable of getting me a glass of water or helping me up the stairs."
"I know, Dad, but it's my responsibility-" Kurt tried to argue but Burt gave him an exasperated look, and said, "I think I can handle myself until Finn gets here. I won't even move from this couch. You deserve an afternoon off from old-man duty. Now stop wasting time arguing with me, and text that boy that you'll be over as soon as you change your outfit."
Kurt looked down at his clothes, realizing he definitely would have to change before leaving the house. He grabbed his phone, gave his dad a hug, and practically ran downstairs to his room, mentally putting together an outfit that would be fashionable yet also acceptable for moving furniture if necessary. Fifteen minutes later, the baseball game had started (although Finn had yet to show his face) and Kurt was dressed and headed out the door. He yelled out, "Dad, call me if you need anything, even just a glass of water, and call me if Finn doesn't show up in an hour, or if…"
"Kurt, stop worrying and go have a little fun!" Burt replied from the living room. "I'll see you in a few hours for dinner." And with that, Kurt closed the door behind him, feeling the first bit of freedom in weeks; on occasion he had gone out when Finn was over, but usually only long enough to run to the grocery store. This felt different, like he actually had a few hours to relax, socialize with a friend, and act like a normal teenager, without all the extra responsibilities he had assumed in the past month. Perhaps it was a stretch to call Blaine a friend at this point, but Kurt had been thinking about him a lot since their last conversation.
Before he knew it, Kurt had reached Mrs. Phillips' front door. He had texted Blaine to let him know he would be coming, but he still felt very apprehensive about actually knocking on the door. However at that moment, Blaine opened the door with a big smile, saying, "I saw you walking over here. Come on in!" He closed the door behind Kurt and led him down the hall to a small room on the left. Inside were a large duffle bag and a few half-opened boxes. "Sorry it's kind of disorganized. I don't have a ton of room to put stuff, and I'm only going to be here for the summer so I didn't bring that much," Blaine explained as he shrugged and looked around his bedroom
"What can I help with?" inquired Kurt, surveying the mess.
"Well, I was hoping to rearrange the furniture a bit, other than that it's mostly clothes, books, and a few posters."
"You had me at rearranging and clothes," answered Kurt jokingly. They chatted easily while they rotated the bed, and moved the bookshelf and desk to the opposite wall. "Please tell me those aren't your clothes stuffed in that duffel bag, Blaine Warbler," Kurt demanded.
"Last name's Anderson and um… yes, actually, they are," he replied sheepishly. Kurt gave him one of his patent glares as Blaine protested, "My parents took all of the good luggage with them to Nantucket! Besides I didn't bring that many nice clothes with me other than my Warblers uniform."
Kurt sighed and got to work hanging the clothes in the closet, tsk-ing at the wrinkles, as Blaine alphabetized the books on the shelf across the room. "So that was a uniform I saw you wearing that first day," Kurt said. "Thank God. If that blazer was your own choosing, we may have required a serious fashion intervention."
Blaine chuckled and answered, "Yes, the polyester blend isn't the best jacket, but we all look rather dashing when we perform. Speaking of which, I'm sorry I didn't text you yesterday – Wes called an emergency practice. He had a new song idea that apparently required us all to drop everything and rehearse it a million times."
"Wow, he sounds just as bad as Rachel," Kurt responded. He noticed a confused look on Blaine's face, and continued, "She's a friend of mine from high school. Famous for storming out of rehearsals when she didn't get her way. She's in New York now, studying at Juliard this fall."
"Oh, awesome!" said Blaine. "Maybe I'll see her in the city in a few months – sounds like she and Wes would get along well," he joked.
Wanting to talk about anything but New York on his free afternoon, Kurt noticed the stack of DVDs the other boy was organizing, and exclaimed, "Oh, you like Rent?"
"Of course I do," answered Blaine, appearing almost offended at the thought that he didn't like the musical. "It's one of my favorites. Obviously the stage version is ten times better than the film, but I own it on DVD and Blu-Ray anyways."
Kurt grinned broadly at his reply and soon unpacking was abandoned in favor of sitting on the floor, comparing favorite musicals and Broadway legends. Halfway through an argument about Patti Lupone versus Barbra Streisand, Kurt glanced at the alarm clock and felt his heart drop into his stomach. There is no way he had been here for that long… Ignoring whatever Blaine was saying, he grabbed his phone to double check the time and saw half a dozen texts and a missed call from Finn. "Shit shit shit shit," Kurt mumbled as he scrambled around the room, grabbing his keys. "Hey, hey, what's wrong?" asked Blaine, looking very concerned at Kurt's sudden change in behavior. "If this is about Patti Lupone…"
"No, no, no," said Kurt agitatedly, trying to put on his boots while standing up. "I was supposed to be home an hour ago to make dinner for my dad! And Finn probably doesn't know what medicine he gets at night. I knew I shouldn't have left…" Kurt rambled, as Blaine watched in confusion. Kurt continued as he walked into the hallway, saying, "This was fun, Blaine, but I really need to get going. See you later, I hope," and with that he was out the door, leaving a stunned Blaine in his wake.
Kurt sprinted all the way across the lawn, not even caring about his boots in the grass and dirt. He burst into the living room to find his dad sleeping on the couch, and Finn glaring at him from the recliner. Burt woke up to the sound of the screen door slamming, and groggily looked over at Kurt. "Hey kiddo, how was Blaine?" he asked sleepily.
"Good, we got a lot of unpacking done," answered Kurt. "I am so sorry I lost track of time – did you take your medicine, do you need any food or water, can I help you upstairs?"
"Relax, I'm fine. Finn made some grilled cheese for dinner. Hey, it was that non-fat cheese with whole wheat toast so don't give me that look," he protested.
"Alright, let's get you up to bed, Dad." As he grabbed Burt's arm, he realized Finn had yet to say a word. When he came downstairs, Finn was waiting for him in the kitchen. "Where were you?" the other boy demanded. "I was at the neighbor's house," Kurt responded, "and I'm really sorry I was late but I was helping Blaine unpack and totally lost track of time-"
"Dude, how could you leave Burt here alone?"
"You were the one who was late for the game! Plus my dad convinced me to go in the first place!" Kurt exclaimed, getting defensive.
"Well, you didn't answer any of my calls or texts and I was getting worried," Finn continued. "Burt was really tired but refused to go to bed until you came home."
"I'm sorry that I wanted to get out of the house this afternoon. You're not the one who has to be here every day, all day!"
Finn backed off at Kurt's tone, saying, "Dude, it's not a big deal, it's just not like you to ignore texts, or to leave Burt here alone."
"I'm sorry I didn't see your messages," said Kurt, calming down. "And sorry I didn't get to visit with you this afternoon. How is the tire shop these days?" The boys chatted for awhile, about football training sessions and gossip from New Directions, before Finn finally headed home.
As Kurt got ready for bed, he thought about his easy conversation with Blaine this afternoon, and how quickly the day went by while spending time with the other boy. Kurt did feel guilty about neglecting his dad, but it sounded like Finn took good care of him; of course he would never leave Burt to his own defenses for hours on end. He was far more responsible than that and Finn was out of line to imply that he wasn't. One thing was for certain: with Blaine next door, this summer was turning out to be much more interesting than Kurt had anticipated.