"So what do you guys think?" I asked after explaining the situation to Mercedes, Finn, and Quinn after glee club.
"Dude, there is no way I can help you with that," Finn said, putting his hands up defensively. "I mean, I think your heart is in the right place, but I think you'll be doing more harm than good."
"I agree. Kurt's my best friend, and even though I really wish he believed in God and went to church, I wouldn't want to force it on him, and I respect that he believes something else," Mercedes said. "Besides, Kurt won't go for it. And how would you like it if the roles were flipped and Kurt was trying to make you into an atheist?"
"But this is different Mercedes," I said, although I wasn't really sure how. I had to think for a second. "Nothing against atheists, but with that belief you really don't get the sense of a higher purpose in life, and you get stuck thinking that this sucky world is the only one out there."
Mercedes sighed, staring at me. "If you keep pushing this on him, he's going to break up with you," she said. I sighed too, realizing that she's probably right. Finn and Mercedes left me in the hallway, feeling a little stupid.
"I'll help you," Quinn said, giving me a small smile. I must've looked as shocked as I felt, since I'd barely ever said 3 words to Quinn before this, even though we both go to the same church. "I think you're right. Everyone needs something to believe in."
"But what do you think I should do?" I asked as we walked out to the parking lot. Kurt was already long gone. "I tried talking to him about it, and all he did was throw my shoes at me and freak out."
"Well, I heard him talking about staying over your house this weekend. Couldn't you just ask if he wants to go to church with you? Not force him, just ask. And just keep doing that until he says yes. Invite him to youth group. We always do some kind of interesting project. Invite him to the 30 hour famine or one of our church sleepovers," she said, throwing out suggestions. "Just don't go flat out and say anything. If Kurt wants to change, he will. But he isn't going to if he thinks he's being forced into it."
"He'll get mad if I ask," Blaine said.
"Well, it's just in the way you ask. Just say 'hey, wanna come with me to church today?' or 'hey, my youth group is doing this fun thing, want to come?' something like that," she said. I'd followed her all the way to her car, shocked that she could think of this approach and I couldn't.
"I feel really dumb for not thinking that way before," I said. She smiled.
"You were just so worried that you thought you had to try and get him to believe within the week," she said smiling. "I can tell you two are crazy about each other."
"That's what he doesn't understand. He thinks I'm doing this because I want to upset him or make a big deal out of 'nothing,'"
"But really, you just want to protect him," Quinn said, finishing what I was saying. "I get it." She pulled out a pen and a piece of paper. "Here's my phone number. Text me the nights you go to youth group, and I'll make sure to be there."
"Thanks Quinn," I said, slipping her number into my back pocket. She smiled and nodded, getting in her car and waving bye. I waved back and ran to my car, realizing we'd been talking for too long and my parents were probably freaking out because I'm not home yet. My phone buzzed. I flipped it open and put it to my ear as I maneuvered out of the almost empty parking lot.
"I'm on my way, I promise Mom," I said into the phone that I held against my ear with my shoulder.
"Uh, Blaine?" Kurt said. I could hear his smile through the phone, which was a good thing.
"Oh! Sorry. I thought you were my mom. What's up Babe?" I asked once I finally made it out of the weird parking lot.
"Are you still in Lima?" he asked. I could hear something in the background. It sounded like a blender and some kind of music.
"Yea, just pulled out of the parking lot," I said, trying to pay attention to the road, even though I'm terrible at multitasking. "Can I just call you when I get home? I'm driving."
"Actually, I wanted to see if you could come over," he said quickly, talking faster now that he knows I'm driving.
"Sure, I'll come over for a little bit. Bye," I said, hanging up so I could get there alive. He knew how much I hated talking on the phone while driving, so I figured he wouldn't be upset.
Once I got to his house and he let me in, I thought for sure I was still in trouble. He was baking. He was baking a lot, more than his entire family could eat (and his family contains Finn) and he showed no sign of stopping.
"I'm sorry," I said again, staring at the plates of cupcakes on his kitchen table.
"I know," he said, mixing more muffin mix. Rent was playing on a little radio in the kitchen. "It's just, I want you to understand something. I don't believe in God because I think he doesn't exist. If he does, than he's a real ass." I cringed, walking over to him.
"And I don't get how you can believe in him, since his followers usually hate us because he said we're wrong and it's just stupid," he said, mixing harder and harder.
"I kinda disregard most of the Old Testament and people like that," I said with a shrug. "But, you know how you say it's hard for you to understand why I believe what I do? It kinda goes both ways. You understand I was just looking out for you though, right?" I asked as he handed me vanilla frosting and a knife.
"I guess so," he said, going back to mixing after he showed me which cupcakes to frost. "Just don't do it again ok? It's a touchy subject."
"Tell me about it. You almost killed me with my shoes," I said, chuckling. "I forget sometimes how strong you actually are." Kurt just smiled and rolled his eyes.
"So, my dad did say yes to this weekend," Kurt said, grinning. "He just gave me the 'be responsible' speech."
"Is that why you're baking?" I asked. "Because, truthfully, I was terrified when I saw all of these cupcakes." Kurt laughed again.
"No, I'm baking because the glee club is having another bake sale," Kurt said. "I swear, you show up to school, but you miss half of everything that goes on there."
"Probably. My attention span isn't that great," I confessed, still frosting cupcakes. "I should probably text my parents and tell them I'm here." Which I did. Just a quick little text so they wouldn't think I was in an accident or something.
"FINN!" Kurt yelled, making me throw my phone because I jumped. Finn ran off to his room, cradling 4 cupcakes in his arms. "I'm going to beat that boy in his sleep, I swear. No social skills."
"It happens. You know, my youth group has a lot of bake sales. Maybe next time we have one, we could recruit your help," I said offhandedly. "Last time I tried to bring something for it, it ended up giving people food poisoning."
"That sounds like your baking," Kurt said with an eye roll. "Maybe, it just depends on how busy I am."
I felt my heart skip. He didn't say no and throw things at me! This could be how I get him to come with me to youth group! This is perfect!
"I don't want to sound stupid, but, what's youth group?" Kurt asked. I felt my stomach fall. That's what I get for getting excited.
"It's a group of teenagers in my church who do community service projects and mission projects together," I said, which made Kurt give me that look again. "I wasn't saying you had to come. Just that it'd be nice to have some of your nice cupcakes to sell."
"I'll think about it. Just please Blaine, give it a rest though. If you keep it up, I'm going to start doing the exact same thing to you," Kurt said, holding up his mixer at me. I nodded, licking the frosting off of my fingers. I guess Quinn was right. This would take a lot longer than I thought.