A/N: Thank you to everyone reading, alerting & reviewing. I'm so glad you're loving this story. I still squeal every time I get a new notification. I'm sorry this update is a few days late. Last week and this week are very busy for me. I wanted to get this chapter to you today, so I apologize if there are lots of mistakes, I didn't edit it as much as I usually do. Enjoy! xoxo
Kurt spent the night and the early hours of the next morning in a haze of dark curls and amber eyes. Now that he knew what Blaine looked like, it seemed his subconscious was determined to torture him. And he was okay with it. He knew everyone has flaws, but right now, he was blissfully unaware of Blaine's. Kurt hoped that one day they would have the type of friendship where they could show those imperfections to each other, even if it was over the internet. But for now, he loved having someone so seemingly perfect rooting for him.
A few hours later, Kurt was, of course, still thinking about Blaine while he walked down a McKinley hallway with Mercedes on the way to their English class.
"Have you done your Hamlet essay yet?" Mercedes inquired.
"Yeah, I finished it two nights ago. Blaine said I was lucky we were doing Hamlet instead of Twelfth Night. Apparently, there was an awkward discussion in his English class about the fact that being gay doesn't mean you're a cross dresser." Kurt continued walking and it took him a moment to realize that Mercedes had stopped mid stride in the middle of the hallway. He glanced nervously around, thinking that Karofsky must be nearby. But then Kurt heard the echo of Blaine's name on his lips. His pale skin became translucent as he slowly turned around to face Mercedes. He felt like he was preparing for the Spanish Inquisition. He wasn't far off.
"Who the hell is Blaine? And if you're having that kind of detailed conversations with him, why haven't I heard his name before?" Mercedes seethed, her voice hostile.
Kurt stepped toward her and tugged on her arm. They needed to keep moving if they wanted to get to class on time.
"Sorry 'Cedes," Kurt replied softly. "I wasn't trying to keep him a secret, honest."
They walked into class and sat down in their seats side-by-side just as the bell rang. Mercedes refused to meet Kurt's gaze, as he leaned in closer to her.
"I'll tell you all about him at lunch," Kurt promised, as the teacher shuffled in and called the class to order. Mercedes gave him a curt nod in acknowledgement.
Kurt debated with himself for the rest of the morning about how much he wanted to tell Mercedes. He couldn't exactly explain how Blaine had first contacted him without revealing more details about Karofsky than Kurt was comfortable with. He knew he probably wouldn't be able to keep the extent of the bullying a secret forever, but he was determined to keep it for now. No one deserved to be outed before they were ready, even Karofsky. So he'd just have to focus on how similar he and Blaine were and hope that was enough to appease Mercedes about how they became friends.
They hadn't even finished getting their food in the cafeteria line before Mercedes was grilling him about Blaine.
"So, how did you meet? When can I meet him? Are you two going out? Because I think you need to come clean." Mercedes demanded.
"What? No," Kurt shook his head.
"We'd be happy for you. I mean we know how lonely you've been," Mercedes replied, her voice softening as she looked at Kurt's panicked expression.
"Its not like that. We just hang out. Its just nice to have someone to talk to." Kurt answered truthfully.
"What is that suppose to mean?" Mercedes inquired, the defensive tone in her voice obvious to both of them.
They made their way through the cafeteria line, putting food on their trays as they went. Kurt walked to the cashier first, with Mercedes following close behind.
"It means, someone like me. Blaine gets me. And besides, he lives in New York City. Its not like dating him is really an option." Kurt rushed through the last two sentences, as he walked briskly to their usual table.
"Wait. What do you mean he lives in New York City?" Mercedes inquired as she caught up to him. She fixed her eyes on Kurt as she placed her tray on the table and sat down opposite him.
Kurt sighed and took a bite of his salad, chewing slowly.
"Oh no," Mercedes glared at him. "You are going to answer my question."
"Fine. We met online. We follow each other's blogs and have a lot in common. So we started talking and slowly we've become," Kurt paused, "friends." That's truly what they were. Despite the distance and the anonymity that being 600 miles apart afforded them, he did believe they were friends.
"Kurt, how do you know he's who he says he is?" Mercedes face softened but her voice was filled with skepticism. She knew Kurt had been pulling away from all of them lately, but she hadn't expected for him to find solace online with a complete stranger.
"Well, I can't be one hundred percent sure," Kurt held his hand up to stop Mercedes from interrupting him. "But I do know that he's going through an awful lot of effort to be my friend, if he is lying. Besides, he even sent me a video of him & his Glee club singing. He's the lead singer for The Warblers from Dalton Academy. Surely one day, our paths will cross in real life." He tried to keep just how desperately he hoped that last statement was true out of his voice, he didn't need Mercedes to judge him any more than she already was.
Mercedes didn't respond, instead she reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone.
"What are you doing?" Kurt asked.
"If what you say is true, then it should be easy to find out if he's telling the truth. Most private schools have student directories. Plus, there's probably youtube videos of them performing." Mercedes replied coolly as she typed furiously on her phone.
When Mercedes let out a loud gasp, Kurt scrambled out of his seat and around the table to sit beside her, as he tried desperately to see the small screen on her phone.
"Kurt...he's so...hot." Mercedes choked out as she waved the phone in front of Kurt's face.
Kurt caught a glimpse of Blaine looking dapper in his uniform, posing for what must be his school portrait. "I know," he couldn't help the blush he felt rising on his cheeks.
"Oh boo, I'm happy for you. I just, I don't want you to be fantasizing about someone who is so far away." Mercedes placed her hand on Kurt's knee and squeezed.
"Thanks," he squeezed her hand back. "And I won't. We're just friends. But it doesn't hurt that he's gorgeous and gay."
"All the good ones are," Mercedes joked as she playfully shoulder bumped him. And just like that, all the tension between them dissolved.
The afternoon was spent gushing with Mercedes about Blaine every opportunity he had. Kurt was smiling to himself and humming softly, as he stood at his locker deciding which books to take home for the evening. It had been so nice to have his best friend back. He knew he was to blame for the distance that had existed between them. He'd been foolish to pull away from Mercedes, it wasn't her fault he was being bullied. If the teachers weren't going to step in and assist him, then he was probably expecting too much from his friends when he got angry that they hadn't said anything. Instead, he could have been using them for moral support. Today had reminded him how Mercedes always made him feel better when they talked. He'd needed that.
Kurt was so wrapped up in his jubilant thoughts of Blaine and Mercedes, that he didn't notice Karofsky advancing on him until the bully was grabbing his shoulder roughly and turning him, so they stood face-to-face.
"Question for ya. You tell anyone else what happened?" Karofsky snarled at Kurt. "How ya...kissed me?"
"You kissed me, Karofsky." Kurt replied, his head held high and his voice a lot steadier than he was feeling on the inside.
"Shhhhh," Karofsky panicked as he looked around the hallway like a rat caught in a cage.
"And I understand how hard this is for you to deal with, so no, I haven't told anyone." Kurt stated, keeping his voice level.
"Good. You keep it that way. Cause if you do, I'm gonna kill you." Karofsky threatened, as he leaned into Kurt's personal space to intimidate him. Karofsky held his stance for a moment longer than necessary before he stalked off.
Kurt stood rooted to the floor. His breath came out in short puffs, as he tried to process what had just happened. Everyone moved around him in a blur. No one had noticed his exchanged with Karofsky. When he realized that no one was coming to his rescue, he knew he'd have to reach out for assistance. His hands shook as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Without giving it a second thought, he dialed the first number that came to mind.
It was answered on the second ring.
"Kurt?" Blaine's soothing voice filled his head.
"Yeah Blaine, it's me," Kurt couldn't keep the tremor out of his voice. "I'm sorry Blaine, I shouldn't have called you, I just, I didn't know who else to call." Kurt felt foolish now. This wasn't exactly how he wanted them to have their first phone conversation.
"Its okay Kurt. I was just leaving school. Did something happen?" Blaine was going to say that Kurt sounded panicked, but then he realized he had never heard the other boy's voice before. Maybe he always sounded that way, although Blaine doubted it. Kurt had come across as witty and confident in all their written exchanges. Blaine was certain the scared boy he heard on the other end of the line was his friend hurting from another interaction with his bully.
"Blaine, he threatened to kill me." Kurt couldn't stop himself from telling Blaine. There was a reason Blaine was the first person he thought of to contact. Whether it was a wise idea or not, Blaine made him feel safe.