Author's Note: Enjoying spring? I am. Favorite season. :) Thanks to Orange-Coyote, anon (Guest), and Guest (Guest...obviously) for their lovely reviews. You guys made my week. :D Hope you like the chapter!
This story is AU, but canon up until Original Song save one little detail: Blaine and Kurt are in the same grade. Please note that it is rated M, so there will be some more mature material, but nothing too graphic. If same-sex relationships bother you for any reason, you will not enjoy this. If you are not comfortable reading about topics such as past bullying/violence, past child neglect, or situations of a sexual nature, all dealt with as tastefully as possible and in a non-graphic manner, please do not continue reading.
If I haven't scared you off yet, I hope you enjoy my little project here! ;)
Disclaimer: I do not own 'Glee'. It and any songs/lyrics mentioned belong to their rightful owners, and no copyright infringement is intended.
- Av
Post-It Promises
Chapter Nine
The CD was clearly worn down, scratches crisscrossing it as if they were tallying the years. It was well-kept, though, clean and still labeled in the scrawl of Blaine Anderson's fourteen-year-old self.
"I can't believe you still have this," Blaine breathed, turning it over in his hands as if to make sure it was real.
Jess gave him that same Well, duh! look she had perfected years ago and reached over his shoulder to pluck it from his fingers.
"Of course I do, silly. When someone writes a song for you it tends to be a favorite of yours."
Blaine gave a loud, surprised laugh.
"Someone else said something similar to me a long time ago," he said.
"Writing songs for other girls?" Jess pouted with wide, fake-hurt eyes.
"Boys, actually," he blurted. Jess was immediately at attention.
"Oh? Someone special I should know about?" she asked shrewdly.
"No," Blaine sighed. "He's my best friend. He has a boyfriend!" he said quickly when he saw the look on Jess' face.
"Okay," she shrugged, but the matter clearly wasn't closed.
"Already meddling in my love life?"
"Do you have a love life?" Jess challenged.
"...It's complicated," Blaine said after a pause.
Jess nodded decisively. "Then yes. I want to hear the whole story. Actually, I want to hear a lot of things. Like, the past eight or so years of your life, hmm?"
Blaine chuckled. The two were seated on Jess' couch the day following their unintentional reunion at Cool Beans. Alyssa had been torn between happy surprise and jealousy that the two had known each other previously. The exchange of numbers and addresses had been hasty once the shock wore off somewhat, and Jess had left with Alyssa, looking a bit as though she'd been hit over the head with something large and heavy.
Blaine had wandered back to his apartment in a daze and discovered it empty save a note from Kurt informing Blaine that he (Kurt) was attending a mandatory lecture and would be back later. Blaine had gone to bed early without eating anything, and had lain awake, staring at the ceiling with a sense of numb awe at the turn his day had taken.
He was, however, aware enough to hear Kurt hesitate outside his door before hurrying past. The two hadn't spoken properly since the evening of Blaine's performance at Hole in the Wall. Only a few days had passed, but it was longer than they had ever gone with such emotional distance between them; it left Blaine feeling empty and weak.
Jess had popped the disk in her CD player, and after a choppy start from a scratch, a younger, less trained version of Blaine's voice filled the room.
"Oh, God, I was awful," he laughed.
"Shut up, you were amazing," Jess smiled, sitting next to him and squeezing his wrist.
Blaine sobered a bit. "I'm sorry for...you know, just leaving it..."
Jess' grin turned melancholy. "I don't regret hitting your dad, but I'm sorry it caused us to lose touch."
"I looked for you...after we moved from that house...my parents' business trips got more and more frequent, so I used the time they were away to try to find you."
Blaine searched Jess' face questioningly.
"We moved too," Jess explained. "Dad got this great offer and we ended up in Hawaii of all places...I'm so sorry I disappeared on you."
Blaine laughed. "It's neither of our faults. I'm just glad I got paired with Alyssa on this project!" he said.
"Speaking of which, she seemed to have a bit of a thing for you," Jess said with a smirk.
Blaine grimaced. With Jess' prompting and Blaine's willing participation, the afternoon turned into telling stories and catching up on eight years' worth of memories.
You could say that Kurt was frustrated, but it would probably be more accurate to simply call his state pissed the fuck off.
It had been nearly four days, and Blaine seemed to be successfully arranging his time at home to avoid Kurt at all costs. The most they had interacted was to exchange quick, strained pleasantries.
It hurt, actually.
Kurt knew that in Blaine's mind, bringing Adam to Hole in the Wall was the most finite form of rejection, but he couldn't help but be a little angry that Blaine hadn't even spoken to him afterward. He supposed Blaine was gathering his courage, or licking his wounds, or whatever, but even so...
Blaine had been gone all day, and Kurt knew for a fact that his morning classes had ended hours ago.
Kurt was stomping around the apartment in aggravation, attempting to find some way to use his time. Picking things up and placing them back down a few inches away from where they had been could only occupy him for so long before he went insane. Kurt sat himself down heavily at the little cluttered desk, closing his eyes and resting his arms on the cluttered surface, burying his face in his hands and letting out a little noise of pained disquiet. Shifting slightly in discomfort, he pushed something from underneath his elbow. His fingers closed around a familiar square of paper, now thinning considerably.
At first, Blaine was understandably bewildered when he entered the empty apartment and saw a green sticky note on the wall next to the hooks his and Kurt's respective sets of keys went on. Eyebrows drawn together, Blaine kicked off his shoes and grabbed the note, heading further into the room where he collected notes from the coffee table, the kitchen counter, and the door frame of his room.
Heading into his bedroom and closing his door, clutching the notes filled with Kurt's graceful handwriting and trying to ignore the odd feeling in his stomach - something between being sick with anxiety and full of anticipation - Blaine sank onto his bed and crossed his legs, spreading the green squares out in front of him.
BLAINE
I know I screwed up, but the least you can let a man do is explain himself. Just give me a chance to tell you a few things. I want to work this out, Bee, but I can't if you're avoiding me.
In other words, two can play at this game.
Left considerably confused and no less concerned by the first note, Blaine set it aside and reached for the second.
Bringing Adam to your performance was a stupid mistake on my part. I should have known what it would make you think. But I was scared. Okay? I was scared of what your notes were telling me and I was scared of what I needed to do.
That one only increased Blaine's confusion. He had never meant to make Kurt uncomfortable...but then why hadn't he asked for the notes to stop? Shaking his head, Blaine picked up the third note.
Blaine. I broke up with Adam two days after your performance. Yes, because of you. No, that's not a bad thing. I'm not going to settle anymore. I owe that to myself and to Adam and to you.
And the last note.
Reason #1 That I Am In Love With Blaine Anderson:
The safest I've ever felt is in your arms.
You've been my best friend for over three years and you know me better than anyone else. I love you and I trust you.
Bee, I'll be home at five and you'd better be there then. We need to talk.
Quite honestly, all Blaine had felt for the past few hours was numb disbelief. Now that his brain was catching up to everything and the sense of non-feeling was fading away, waiting for Kurt was torture. Blaine was anxiously wandering from room to room, unable to sit still, itching with the desire to see Kurt, to know for sure that it was real; that he wasn't making it all up in his head.
If he hadn't already known it before, he could sure as hell confirm it now - being in love was nerve-wracking.
Checking his watch every few minutes only seemed to make time go slower, so he went into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, closed it without looking inside, and went back into the living room. He sat down at the desk fidgeted with a stray paperclip for a few moments before jumping up again, wringing his hands and flopping down on the couch.
Four forty-five. Four fifty-three. Four fifty-nine. Five oh-one. Five oh-three -
A familiar set of keys jangled outside the door, the lock clicked, and someone hesitated outside. Blaine was half-standing, almost ready to jump up and yank the door open himself, but forced himself to give Kurt a moment.
Kurt paused outside the door, keys still dangling from his fingers, finding himself not at all reluctant to open it. Something odd - he was no longer second-guessing. Things like this shouldn't seem so simple. The right thing had always been the most difficult thing for him, and this ease, the lack of anxiety lingering in his limbs replaced with a pleasant buzz of anticipation at his fingertips was more frightening than the prospect of the change that would take place in the most stable relationship he had ever had with anybody the moment he walked through that door.
...The one he was still standing in front of, gaping at dumbly.
Shaking himself out of his daze, Kurt opened the door and shoved his keys in his pocket, looking up to find Blaine hovering in front of the couch, golden eyes wide and molten with something like terror glowing behind them.
Kurt forced a laugh back down this throat at the expression on Blaine's face and instead offered a small, sweet smile.
Blaine stepped forward, looking a little unsteady on his feet, but Kurt was there to catch him and wrap him up in his arms, holding him tight until he could hold himself together.
"Kurt -"
Blaine pulled back, cutting himself off with a shake of his head. Kurt gripped his arms and blinked down at him, waiting. Blaine's turn to make a move.
Kurt could read Blaine like an open book. Blaine had started this, and he wanted to finish it. Far be it from Kurt to take that from him.
Then Kurt's face was cupped in rough, guitarist's palms and hot, dry lips were sliding over his own, moistened from constantly chewing on them. One of Blaine's arms curved over his shoulders, the other gripped his shirt, and Kurt fitted himself to the curve of Blaine's body, feeling a shiver of relief travel down Blaine's spine.
Author's Note: YOU GUYS WERE SO PATIENT THANK YOU SO MUCH I LOVE YOU ALL MUAH! And now you have a kiss. Fi-na-lly! I've still got one or two more chapters up my sleeve, so look forward to those, but I've also got finals looming like a...well...something decidedly ugly and frightening. It might take a little while, but school's out on the 19th for me, so you shouldn't have to wait too long. :) In my author's note for the final chapter of Post-It Promises, I'll tell you a bit about the next story I have planned, so keep an eye out for that, kay?
Also, if you're going to/have been to the Listen Up tour, I'd love to hear about your experiences! I was this close to tickets, but unfortunately I was ultimately unable to get any. So PM me so I can live vicariously through you! :D
- Av
