Aloha! I hope everyone is having a good weekend. As always, thank you SO much for the amazing response I had to the last chapter. Really, I loved reading your comments/reviews and they're the best motivator out there.

Here is the next part.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Kurt sits bolt upright, the dream clearing from his mind in an instant, leaving him fuzzy and disorientated and feeling like there's a gaping great hole in his mind where something important should be...not to mention he's sticky, eurgh. Kurt imagines it's akin to how a patient might feel having been told they have amnesia and they can't remember the last day of their life. Of course Kurt knows it's just a dream and not nearly as distressing but still, he feels like it's something he shouldn't be forgetting. He swings his legs over the side of the couch as his dad enters the room and dashes for the bathroom.

"Back in a sec Dad." His heart is beating crazily in his chest and his fingers are trembling as they push through strands of his hair, dishevelling it to the point that it's sticking up in peaks, the way his body is tingling with excitement making him wonder what the hell he's just dreamt about that has him responding this way. He glares at his reflection in the bathroom mirror before turning away, a hint of disgust on his face as he unsnaps and peels his pants off his body, neatly setting them over the bath before tugging his soiled underwear carefully down and off. Jeez, it's been years.

He doesn't think about what he's doing as he does it, he just makes short work of cleaning himself off, then burying the boxer briefs towards the bottom of the linen hamper between one of Finn's football shirts and a pair of his dads oil stained overalls.

"You okay Buddy?" He glances up startled when he hears his dad call out to him from down the hall, realising he'd best get a move on before he's asked what's taking so long. It was never a problem before but it seems his dad's protective instinct has increased ten-fold in the last 24 hours.

"I won't be a minute." He glances around, mentally berating himself for not bringing fresh underwear in with him, grimacing at the thought of going commando when he's in the same room as his dad, not to mention the potential for chafing.

"It's not like you to be napping in the afternoon" Burt says when he sees Kurt re enter the room, his dad finally flopping into his usual seat in the Hudson's old armchair, a frown starting on his face.

"Oh I..." Kurt shakes his head, still a bit pre-occupied...Jeezus, he was having sex dreams now? "I must've fallen asleep, I've not exactly been sleeping great" he says, giving his dad a wry smile. His dad nods, then starts to smile at him.

"Well that shouldn't be a problem any more Kurt, you can rest easy from now on" Burt says, his heart bursting when he sees the look of sheer relief on Kurt's face.

"He's been expelled?" Kurt asks his tone both hopeful and dubious. His dad shakes his head but leans forward smiling regardless, clasping his hands in front of him, his elbows on his knees.

"He's been suspended...wait" Burt cuts in before Kurt can say anything, "as I was saying, he's been suspended for the time being whilst the board look into it but he admitted to picking on you and Coach Sylvester thinks we've got a pretty good shot at getting him kicked out" Burt finishes. Relief courses through Kurt, bringing tears of happiness to his eyes.

"So he's not coming back?"

"He's not coming back kid, that boy, that twisted son of a..." his dad's jaw clenches, though he refrains from cursing, "...he won't hurt you again Kurt, you hear me?" Kurt nods, that last vestige of uncertainty evaporating at the assurance in his dad's tone.

"Yeah." Kurt's smile is watery but relieved as he looks over at his dad, the tears spilling over when his dad gets up from his chair and makes his way over, patting Kurt lightly on the shoulder as he passes him. "Where's Finn?" he asks curiously, remembering his dad was driving him home.

"Finn? Get your butt in here!" his dad calls out. Kurt twists around on the couch to see Finn's elbow appear from where he's hovering near the door, his whole frame filling the doorway when he walks through it seconds later. He looks sheepish, that's Kurt's first thought, and guilty. He can tell Finn is uncomfortable with the situation from the way he's got his head down, his eyes locked on the floor and yeah, maybe if neither of them said anything for a couple of days, things would just naturally go back to normal but Kurt owes him an apology and more importantly, his gratitude. He sniffs and wipes his eyes and cheeks on the cuff of his sleeve.

"I'm gonna see if Carol needs a hand in the kitchen, I'll leave you boys to it" Burt says, reaching up to give Finn a similar pat on the shoulder to the one he gave Kurt, before leaving the room. Finn walks further into the room, looking shifty, his shoulders hunched from his hands being shoved deeply into his pockets. Kurt stares at him as he sits in his dads old chair, giving him a small smile when his gaze eventually drifts up and catches his.

"Thank you Finn" Kurt says, feeling no need to elaborate further when his step-brother glances up, a surprised, lopsided smile lighting up his face.

"That's okay Dude, 'm sorry for reading your text" Finn replies, the smile vanishing as he nervously rubs the back of his neck.

"I'm glad you did...this time." Finn nods, he gets it. Seeing the text this time might've helped Kurt but if he does it again, there'll be hell to pay.

"Hey listen, I know it's not usually your thing but...you wanna play Halo?" Finn asks, his eyes pleading.

"Sure" Kurt replies, shoving the cushion he has clasped in his lap to one side and sweeping his feet beneath him.

"Cool" Finn returns excitedly, his face lit up like a kid at Christmas as he turns the console on, passing one of the controls to Kurt. They play in silence for a while, save for the sounds coming from the video game, though Kurt can feel Finn glancing at him. Eventually, he snaps.

"What?"

"Huh?"

"You're staring Finn, what is it?"

"Nothing" Kurt nods, raises his eyebrows at Finn giving him his best glower and counts to three beneath his breath, one...two...thr... "Kurt?"

"Yes Finn?" Kurt glances over briefly before flicking his thumb, destroying more men with another blast.

"Who's Blaine?...shit Dude!" Finn frowns, just about avoiding another of Kurt's attacks, despite Kurt's attention suddenly focusing elsewhere.

"What? I mean...how do you know about Blaine?" he asks because he's made damn sure he hasn't mentioned his new friend to anyone else, including Finn. His gaze flicks back to the screen, a smile flitting across his features when he sees Finn struggling against him.

"You called his name when we walked in so I thought you must've been expecting him" Finn explains shrugging. "I just never heard of anyone called that before."

"Oh, he's a frien..." ...ohh! Kurt turns away, cheeks flaming, his blood beginning to pound through his veins so loudly it almost drowns out Finn's triumphant shout.

"Suck it Dude! Ungh, Game Over!" Finn shouts, tossing his controller onto the seat beside him, "I need chips...you want any Kurt?" Kurt shakes his head and watches as Finn leaves the room, his step brother thankfully oblivious of the thoughts suddenly whirling in Kurt's head, the Blaine topic he brought up already gone from his mind as he heads off in search of food.

He'd had a sex dream, Kurt acknowledges to himself, or at least a sexy dream when he fell asleep earlier, that much was obvious, even if he doesn't know the details. Now here was Finn saying he'd heard Kurt call out Blaine's name when he walked in so, putting two and two together, something he's been able to do since he was two years old, he comes to a shocking but not altogether unpleasant conclusion...he just had his first real sex dream, about Blaine.

Granted, he's woken up many times in the past sporting an erection, even, on the odd occasion, waking up with sticky pyjama bottoms or boxer briefs but never, as far as he can remember, has it ever been the product of an erotic dream, just, the regular joys of early puberty.

The more he thinks about it, the more logical it seems. Yes he likes Blaine, he can admit to himself that he has a crush and thinks about what it would be like to date him...chatting over coffee, shopping trips to the mall and dinner at Breadsticks followed by a cosy drive with them singing songs together, ending in a chaste good night kiss. But never, he admits to himself, when he's had these thoughts of Blaine as his beau, has he ever thought beyond that kiss. He just hasn't actually looked at Blaine in a sexual way, hasn't even thought in any kind of detail, about them kissing.

In fact, and he's loathe to admit this to himself, even now, when he can clearly picture Blaine's bright, cheerful face smiling at him, he can't imagine watching those lovely hazel eyes close and his nice pink lips pucker, ready to meet his in a kiss...

...And that's really kind of frustrating because he knows, from his body's reaction on coming out of that dream, that it was hot.

"You ready for round two?" Finn mumbles around the bright orange Cheetos he's stuffed in his mouth.

"Sure Finn"...'anything to keep my mind of the coffee date I have with Blaine tomorrow' he adds silently to himself.

Walking into Glee club the next day is amazing. Not because of the songs they're working on...ballads...again but because he's had a stress free day and he knows there's only an hour left before he heads on over to the Lima Bean to meet Blaine. He's excited because things are different now, he had a dream about the guy, that has to mean something right? And for once, they'll be able to talk about other things.

Walking through the corridors of the school, knowing Karofsky wasn't going to be there is just...he can't describe it but it's like he's been hauling bricks around on his shoulders for months and now someone built this little building with them and stuck Karofsky in it so, not only is the bully not around any more but the weight is gone too. He doesn't feel like he's being watched anymore...hunted is maybe a better description to what Karofsky had been doing and even though he's had a few names called out to him by Azimio and co, they've pretty much left him alone.

"Kurt, have you got a ballad for us?" Mr Schue asks as he steps into the choir room. Now usually Kurt would jump at the chance to sing in front of the rest of the group but today he's happy to just sit idly by and listen to the rest of his friends...and Santana.

"No, I haven't had chance to prepare anyth..."

"Rachel, are you ready?" Kurt rolls his eyes as Mr Schue cuts him off, settling back in his seat, his phone in hand, already tapping out a text to Blaine.

Are you still on for coffee?

Kurt watches Rachel as she sings at Finn, some angst number or other that she's singing in that weird sickly sweet way of hers that makes her give off bunny boiler vibes a-la Glenn Close - Fatal Attraction. He lets her get on with it, glancing back down at his phone and smiling when he feels it vibrate in his hand.

Yes definitely! I already told Wes I can't stay for extra practice today.

How was it BTW? I bet you feel like U R floating :P

Kurt chuckles as a second text comes through in rapid succession. He'd called Blaine last night after dinner, explaining why he'd been so distant that week, his excited chatter alerting Blaine that something had changed and prompting him to ask Kurt what.

"Karofsky, he's suspended and my dad thinks it's just a matter of time before he's expelled completely" Kurt had gushed, unable to keep his relief from showing.

"That's great news Kurt, my shout for coffee then" Blaine had replied happily, "though it would've been lovely having you here at Dalton" he added, genuinely sounding saddened by the news. Kurt had huffed and chuckled.

"It was only really a pipe dream anyway, there's no way we could've covered tuition for that place, not after splashing out on my dads wedding" Kurt had reminded him.

After that, they'd talked a little while longer, Kurt telling him everything else that'd happened that week and then they'd said goodnight. Now he's glad all the Karofsky stuff is behind him because it means they can talk about other things, though Kurt hasn't figured out what yet, seeing as he and Blaine really haven't found a great deal in common besides glee club and coffee.

Kurt is brought out of his reverie when Rachel finishes off her song, earning her polite applause from everyone, despite it being flawless and deserving more. When Ms Pilsbury walks into the room a moment later, distracting Mr Schue, Kurt fires off a quick reply.

It feels wonderful, see u soon

"Kurt? Put your phone away" and now Mr Schue decides to take notice. Kurt pockets his phone, turning to Tina and arching an eyebrow when he feels her tap him on his shoulder.

"Who's texting?" she whispers, attracting the attention of some of their other friends sitting close by.

"Just Blaine, we're meeting up for coffee later" he tells her, unable to keep himself from smiling a little at the thought. Tina and Mercedes are the only friends he's told about Blaine. He had no choice really, they held his McQueen scarf to ransom when they saw that familiar, smitten look on his face, the same look he had when he first saw Sam and used to stare at Finn, refusing to give it back until he'd spilled the details.

"Is he your boyfriend now?, 'cos if he is, we wanna meet him" Mercede's tells him succinctly, leaning over the back of Kurt's seat.

"Are you talking about this Blaine guy?" Finn asks, scooching over a seat to sit in the vacant chair beside Artie. "'Cos you still haven't told us anything about him and you know Burt's gonna ask right? So you may as well tell us, so I can tell your dad he has nothing to worry about" Finn says, like Kurt is really that stupid.

"Preach." Kurt turns to his right, arching an eyebrow before leaning across the wheelchair bound boy to glare at Finn.

"Oh my God Finn, I am not your little sister" Kurt huffs in frustration, throwing him a glare.

"No that's right, you're my little brother" Finn replies, like it's obvious Kurt isn't a girl. He rolls his eyes at the other boy and folds his arms.

"I'm older than you Finn."

"So? Little is like, a size thing, it doesn't equator to age" Finn points out, exchanging incredulous looks with Puck over Kurt's stupidity and shaking his head. Kurt's just about to correct him when the two girls in their Cheerio's uniforms move forward.

"Wait, when you say coffee, that's a euphemism for sex right?" Santana asks, smirking and arching an eyebrow, "because if it's not, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Ooh, get some Hummel" Puck shouts out, holding his fist aloft...waiting. Kurt's jaw locks and he turns slowly, first glaring at Puck and ignoring the fist, then smiling sweetly at Santana.

"Coffee is coffee" Kurt tells them succinctly, "not everyone feels the need to fornicate on first contact" he adds haughtily. Santana shrugs and settles back in her seat.

"Whatever, that's the kind of line frigid people use when they won't put out" she counters dismissively waving her hand before shoving them deep into the pockets of her Cheerio's jacket. Kurt doesn't deign to reply to her insult but turns back to Mercede's when she nudges him.

"So is he then?" she whispers, keeping her eye on Mr Schue when she sees the school counsellor leaving.

"Is he what?"

"Is he your boyfriend? It's okay if he is Boo, you deserve to be happy" she says, exchanging a smile with Kurt.

"Thanks but no, he's not" Kurt says quietly.

"Is there a yet on the end of that?" she asks teasingly. Kurt glances over at her, chuckling beneath his breath. She's his best friend and she knows him well.

"Maybe" he whispers conspiratorially back, turning his gaze forward when Mr Schue clears his throat to get their attention.

"Okay guys, anyone else for ballads...no?" he turns away from the teens and starts scribbling on the flip chart, oblivious to Tina's hand waving in the air. "Right then, Christmas songs!" he says enthusiastically, grinning at the group when he twirls back to face them, frowning at Tina until she lowers her arm. Kurt tuts, Mercede's rolls her eyes and Mike smiles sympathetically at his girlfriend, patting her knee.

Kurt listens as Mr Schue starts droning on, outlining the kind of songs he wants them to choose for next weeks Christmas assembly but his attention starts wavering and soon he's stifling a yawn behind his hand and letting his eyelids drift closed, just for a moment.

He stops walking and looks around at the place he's ended up. He's satisfied. He places his phone down and folds his hands in front of himself, composed, then takes a deep breath and starts to sing.

"Where is the moment we needed the most?
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost.
You tell me your blue skies fade to grey,
You tell me your passion's gone away and I don't need no carryin' on"

His voice is soft and melodic but even he can hear the melancholy in his tone as he sings the lyrics to the song. The words are familiar to him. He's listened to the track and sung along to it on more occasions recently than he'd deign to admit to himself because if anyone knows what a bad day feels like, it's him and today...today comes pretty near the top of the list of really shitty days. He closes his eyes and really lets the imaginary music flow through him as he starts to sing again.

"You stand in the line just to hit a new low,
You're faking a smile with the coffee to go.
You tell me your life's been way off line,
You're falling to pieces everytime and I don't need no carryin' on."

Kurt smiles, tugging his scarf tighter and wrapping his arms around himself as he starts to sing the chorus, this time closing his eyes, really belting out the lyrics to the song he knows so well.

"Because you had a bad day, you're taking one down,
You sing a sad song just to turn it around.
You say you don't know, you tell me don't lie,
You work at a smile and you go for a ride.
You had a bad day, the camera don't lie,
You're coming back down and you really don't mind.
You had a bad day, you had a bad day."

Kurt finishes and stands there silently for a moment or two, a huge smile speeding across his face when he goes to pick up his phone. Then he's grinning and twirling around in the field, his arms outstretched, feeling – free, just like Maria must have in The Sound of Music. A few more moments and he's laughing and spinning until he's falling on his ass and even then it takes him a second or two to check the ground beneath him, making sure he hasn't landed in anything unsavoury.

"Do you feel like sharing what's so funny Kurt?" Kurt looks up, still watching himself spinning in his minds eye, as he meets his teachers disapproving glare.

"Sorry Mr Schue, funny youtube, it was a panda sneezing one."

"Well if you'd kindly keep it out of glee club I'd be grateful...so, who's going to join Rachel in her rendition of Jingle Bells?" Kurt keeps his arms firmly crossed, smiling to himself as he remembers the daydream.

"What's got you so perky all of a sudden, you imagining Prep school boy giving you private lessons?" Santana asks, smiling lewdly at Kurt. He shoots her a withering look, sighs, then turns back to Mr Schue.

"Ignore her...you looked really happy though" Tina tells him, resting her chin on her hand on his shoulder. Kurt laughs to himself, remembering the carefree twirling.

"I was" Kurt says thoughtfully.

If you hadn't already guessed, the song is Bad by Day-Daniel Powter

Thank you for reading, more soon.

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