Song used in this chapter: Mando Diao – Dance with Somebody. Another one of those songs you need to hear LIVE. I recommend going on YouTube and looking up the HD video of their performance at Rock Am Ring in 2011, even though it's about 8 min. Also, this marks the last of the re-uploaded and beta-ed chapters. Chapter 11 forward will finally be all new material (but unbeta-ed).

Blaine let out a ragged sigh as he stepped out of the shower. Long hot showers usually helped him destress, but it wasn't quite cutting it tonight. It takes a lot more than just a shower to forget the sting of having to go to a date dance…dateless. Why he was still going in the first place, he wasn't quite sure. Going stag to a date dance, especially as a gay boy in a predominantly homophobic school, surely could not end well. Perhaps it was the appeal of going to his first major dance at his new school (going to prom the previous year didn't count since he wasn't a student at McKinley back then). And it wasn't like he was going alone per se. Though he may be dateless, a few of his fellow glee clubbers promised that they were going to be there too, and had even gotten together to practice one or two songs to perform that night. So yes being dateless would suck, but performing in front of a crowd would more than make up for it…or so he hoped.
"Blaaaine, can you come down here honeyyy?" his mother called him from downstairs.
"Just a meee-nuttt," Blaine said in his best Filipino accent. His mother's accent wasn't terribly noticeable, but she did have this tendency to drag out a lot of her words. It was a quirk that Blaine enjoyed poking fun at and exaggerating every now and then, much to his mother's displeasure.
"Ey boy," she said in a more serious tone. "You better not be mawww-king me."
"Wouldn't dreeeam of it," said Blaine as he tried to stifle a snigger. "But seriously, I'll be down once I finish getting ready."
"Alriiight, but I think you bedda hurry up…" Nonetheless, Blaine decided to take his time. You couldn't (and shouldn't!) rush when gelling your hair, or you'd risk a complete disaster. Besides, the tedium of doing his hair would give him yet another chance to try and figure out just where he went wrong with Mike.

Blaine could recall the legitimate confusion in Mike's voice as he cocked his head to look back at Blaine.
"…Go where? With who?"
"W–winter Ball. With me. If you don't mind, that is." Blaine was suddenly aware of how pathetic he looked clinging on to the corner of Mike's t-shirt. He wanted to let go, but was afraid that Mike might speed off the minute he released his fingers. Judging by how uncomfortable Mike looked at that moment, he was almost certain of it.
"You don't mean…going as in…just the two of us?" Blaine wasn't sure what Mike was trying to ask, since it sounded like a jumble of incoherent phrases and clauses. But he knew better than to expect a yes anymore. All he was hoping for now was a gentle no.
"I–I understand Mike, you don't have to explain," he said dejectedly. Without looking up, Blaine let the hand clutching Mike's shirt fall to his side. "I keep forgetting that we're just friends, I don't know why keep pushing you this way." Blaine was talking rapidly, as he was so prone to do when he was embarrassed beyond belief. Embarrassed…and completely disheartened. If anything, now would be a good time for Mike to run away.

But Mike didn't. "Well, it's flattering to say the least," he said indifferently, as if he wasn't actually at all flattered.
"It's ok Mike, you really don't have to explain. Let me just…bang my head against a locker for a few minutes. Tends to help me forget my stupid impulses, and everything in general."
He heard Mike chuckle quietly before placing both his hands firmly on Blaine's shoulders. "At least let me say that it'd be kind of…awkward, you know? If I went to Winter Ball 'with you' with you, given my circumstances and all…" Despite Mike's strong hands giving him physical support, Mike's words had emotionally crushed him. Blaine supposed that that was going to be as gentle a letdown as he could've possibly gotten for asking a straight boy out to a public event, but it didn't make it any less bitter.
"Yeah I know," said Blaine as he squirmed uneasily under Mike's grip. "So could you–could you not tell anyone about this? About me asking you? Kind of embarrassed enough already."
"Sure Blaine."

And that was the first and last time they ever talked about it. Two whole weeks had passed and not one single awkward mention of that event, much to Blaine's relief. To his even greater relief, Mike hadn't gone all 'withdrawal mode' on him like he had done previously. If anything, things had gotten slightly better between them since then. It was as if Mike was taking extra measures and precautions to make it up to Blaine for having rejected him. Not that any of it was necessary though. Blaine was just content with their having their friendship intact…their friendship that would never amount to anything more than just a bromance. Other than that though, everything was just…peachy.
"Blaaaine, hurry up and come down here puh-leeez."
"Almost done!" said Blaine as he nodded approvingly at his hairdo. Normally, his mother's voice would've acquired a rather shrill tone by now if she was truly impatient. The fact that she lacked it at the moment either meant that she didn't really need him to come down that soon or his father was taking a nap and she didn't want to wake him up. Didn't really matter though, since Blaine still needed to put on his outfit: a plain white dress shirt, skinny black dress slacks, a fitted dark green blazer, and finally a red bowtie. Granted, this wasn't as creative or spiffy as he normally dressed, but there wasn't really anyone for whom he needed to 'dress to impress.' But he also wasn't feeling all that creative in the first place, and he figured that he'd get by with downgrading his dapperness this one time.

He had just finished putting on all his clothes and was putting the finishing touches on his bowtie when his mom barged into his room.
"Blaaaine, why you taking so long?" she asked crossly. The shrill tone was present now.
"Sorry mom, just about finished." Blaine tugged on both ends of his bowtie and turned to smile at his mother. He could see the irritation fading from her face before he could even ask her how he looked.
"Ohhh Blaine, when did-joo get so handsome huh?" She walked up to him and straightened out his collar.
"Thanks mom. By the way, are you in some kind of rush? I was planning to drive myself, so you can go do whatever it is you need to do."
"Oh it's not that," she said with a slight perk in her voice and a sly smile. "But you really should hurry downstairs already."

Blaine was a bit curious as to what his mother could have been referring to, so made his way downstairs promptly. He assumed that it must've been some kind of culinary surprise, based on the smell of butter wafting through the air. As he made his way to the kitchen, he passed by the living room where his father was standing behind their massive leather couch to watch something on TV. He had a bowl tucked under his arm, which Blaine assumed to be the origin of the rich aroma.
"What'd mom make?" Blaine asked as he approached his father from behind. His father turned slightly to peer back at him over his shoulder.
"Nothing. I just popped some popcorn for the movie your mom and I were about to watch, but…" His father paused to take a big step to the side. "Seems someone got to the TV before we did." Blaine hadn't seen it a few seconds ago due to his father's large body obstructing his view, but he now saw a tuft of black hair resting along the back of the sofa. He scrunched his eyes to better examine the familiar looking hair and quickly realized who it was.

It was Mike. An asleep Mike for that matter, with his head thrown back and his mouth wide open…and full of popcorn.
"Dad!" Blaine whispered angrily at his father. "Popcorn? Seriously?"
His father shrugged in indifference. "You kept him waiting so long he fell asleep. And then I got bored waiting for you to come wake him up."
"So you thought it'd be fun to stuff popcorn in his mouth?"
"Actually, I was dropping them in. From eye level though. It's surprisingly difficult, though I guess it'd be easier for someone short like you." His father stopped to stuff a few kernels in his mouth and chew smugly.
Blaine furrowed his eyebrows and did his best to look disapprovingly at his father. "You could've just woken him up yourself."
"Oh come on Blaine, you know I don't do well with you and your…friends." His father hesitated with the last word. He always did when it came to that topic.
"He's not that kind of friend, thank you very much." Blaine stepped behind him and started to push his father out of the living room.
"Now hold on a minute…" His father planted both his feet firmly into the floor, making it impossible for Blaine to budge his sturdy frame.
"What now dad?" he asked tiredly. His father sure wasn't giving up easy tonight.
"I just wanted to say…that though we may be pretty different as fathers and sons go–"
"Pretty sure the only thing we truly have in common is our genes."
"…We both like gelato don't we?"
Blaine opened his mouth to disagree, but instead found himself nodding in agreement. "Anyways, as you were saying?"
"Right. So though we may be pretty different as fathers and sons go, I am proud that we have at least one key similarity."
"Which is…?" Blaine looked at his father expectantly. He certainly hadn't planned on having an emotional father-son moment tonight, but he definitely wouldn't mind one if it came to it. It'd be another pleasant surprise to add onto the unexpected arrival of Mike.
"…Our Asian fetish," his father said rather anticlimactically as he gestured over to the sleeping Asian boy.
"What you say?" shouted Blaine's mother from the other room, as her slipper whizzed through the air and hit the side of his father's head with deadly precision.

After carefully picking the popcorn out of Mike's mouth, waking him up gently, and saying bye to his parents, the two boys finally settled into the front seats of Mike's Corolla. It was only then that Blaine asked the question that he had wanted to ask right from the very beginning, but was too embarrassed to ask in front of his parents.
"Why are you here Mike? I thought you said you didn't want to go Winter Ball with me."
"Well yeah, I don't want to go to Winter Ball 'with you' with you…like dates or anything. It'd be too soon after my break up with Tina and all…"
"Wait, that's why?" Blaine asked with a sudden surge of relief and hope. "It's not because–not because I'm a guy?" Mike paused to ponder the notion.
"Now that you mention it, I never really thought about it like that…"
"So wait, does that mean you're bi–" But before Blaine could finish his question, Mike cut him off by imitating the sound of tires screeching to a halt.
"Remember how you promised me that we weren't going to go there yet? Hm?"
"Oh. Right…" Blaine said sheepishly. "But that doesn't explain why you're here. We could've just met up at the dance."
Mike started up the car and backed out of Blaine's driveway. "I don't know actually. I guess I kind of acted on an impulse? I'm sure you understand," he said wryly, a clear jab at Blaine's brash nature.
Blaine let his mouth drop open in feigned offense. "You mock me! I'll have you know that I don't always act that way, it's just around certain–"
"Hey Blaine?"
Blaine rolled his eyes as he paused his playful rant. "Yes Mike? Going to make fun of me again?"
Mike shook his head. "You look handsome tonight." He winked coyly at the now furiously blushing Blaine, who suddenly couldn't find the words to return the compliment.

They arrived at the dance a little after it began, but thankfully before it got too crowded. Surprisingly, they didn't get any of the hostile and homophobic stares that Blaine was expecting to get when they first entered the gym. He was sure someone was going to assume that the two of them were each other's dates (or he might've just been hoping that they looked that way), but not a single person batted an eye at the sight of them entering the venue together. That's when Blaine realized that the two of them weren't wearing matching outfits, which probably explained why no one bothered to take a second look at them. Nevertheless, Blaine took a moment to admire Mike's attire for the occasion: a white dress shirt that had shortened sleeves such that the cuffs reached only slightly past his elbows, slim black slacks that were neatly pressed, and a red/green plaid vest that was perfect for this time of year. No tie or bowtie this time, he just left the top few buttons undone to reveal a bit of his bare chest (much to Blaine's guilty pleasure).
"You know who's going to be here tonight?" Mike's question came abruptly, pulling Blaine's attention away from the exposed skin.
"Well, there's Finn and Rachel." Blaine pointed to the dance floor where the couple was dancing, albeit awkwardly due to the tremendous height difference.
"I'm pretty sure Puck is here somewhere…" Mike mused aloud. Puck had no shame in going dateless to a date dance. He'd just take someone else's date.
"And is that…Sam and Mercedes?" Blaine asked in genuine surprise, but Mike nodded as if it were nothing new. He was just about to ask Mike about this new (and kind of random) couple, when a sudden voice grabbed their attention.
"Well if it isn't twinkle toes and hobbit." Mike and Blaine flinched reflexively as they turned to face the patronizing voice. It was none other than Santana, accompanied by Brittany as always.
"Always a pleasure." Mike glared angrily at the Latina, before finally breaking into a genuine smile as he leaned in for a hug from the two giggling girls.
"Of course Chang," said Santana as she broke from the hug. "Hey Britt, I think Mike wants to dance!" Brittany squealed in delight as she literally pounced on Mike before he could object. His eyes bulged open as Brittany began riding him hard, her pelvic thrusts guiding him towards the center of the dance floor. It wasn't long before the momentum from Brittany's gyrating hips caused him to give in and just dance.

Blaine made a move to follow after them but Santana pulled him back by the neck of his collar.
"Uhm…can I help you with something?" Blaine asked worriedly. Mike may have been at risk for snapping his back in half from Brittany's extreme dancing, but Blaine knew that being alone with Santana was the scarier of the two situations.
"Yeah you can," Santana said brusquely. "Mind telling me what's up between you two?" She crossed her arms and gave Blaine the most piercing stare he'd ever felt.
"Between who, me and Mike?" Blaine asked dumbfounded. "N–nothing! Why would you even think that?" Blaine started to back away as Santana began advancing towards him.
"Because of Britt. She knows about these kinds of things." In a sudden moment of lucidity, Blaine recalled how Brittany had once overheard one of his and Mike's more…intimate conversations (the one about body hair). Blaine wasn't sure if Brittany had ever told Santana, and he definitely didn't know what the brunette was up to calling him out like this, but he knew no good could come of whatever it was. He had to do everything in his power to keep her from getting any more suspicious.
So, he tried to distract her with a tangent. "Wait, Brittany couldn't even tell the different between Kurt and me for the first month of school."
"Yeah well, Kurt's gay and you're other gay so you're both essentially the same."
"T–that's offensive…" Blaine tried to say indignantly. It sounded more like a weak whimper.
"That's the truth," Santana said decisively as she finally cornered Blaine against the gym wall. "And what I want from you now is the whole truth."

Blaine gulped audibly. So much for distracting her. Now he had to play dumb.
"I–I don't know what you're talking about." Blaine looked away defiantly, as if it would slow down Santana's interrogation.
She smirked as she firmly placed both her hands against the wall, one on each side of Blaine's head, as if to pin him to one spot. "Well then, I hate to break it to you but hitting on a straight boy like Mike is a lost cause." Blaine nodded slowly in response and let out a sigh of relief, thinking that that had marked the end of their excruciating chat.
Instead, Santana leaned in precariously close to his ear and whispered, "…But if it so happened that he wasn't straight, he'd be quite the catch huh?"
Blaine gulped nervously as he fiddled his fingers. "I–I try not to think of stuff like that. No point in getting my hopes up r–right?" He knew she was onto something. What made it worse was that she knew that he knew she was onto something, and she was savoring her chance to toy with him.
"Uh huh, you just keep telling yourself that duende," Santana said as she finally backed away. There was something sinister about the way she was smiling that left Blaine shaken up even as he tried to protest.
"I–I'm really not hitting on him though…" She looked back at him with an arched eyebrow, as if challenging him to continue speaking.
When she saw that he couldn't (or wouldn't?), she chuckled dismissively. "You know, it'd be nice if the spotlight was on some other same-sex couple besides Brittany and myself…"
Blaine had long lost his bold façade from earlier and was clearly panicking at this point. "Wait Santana! Whatever it is you think that's going on, I assure you it's–" Halfway through his sentence, the Latina pressed a lone finger to his lips, effectively silencing him.
"Shut up Blaine," she commanded with a sneer. Santana turned away sharply, letting her dress flutter along noiselessly. "And by the way, don't forget to warm up for your performance tonight." Judging by the knot in his throat, Blaine wasn't sure if he could even perform anymore.

After rejoining Mike, the two boys spent most of their time on the side of the gym people-watching, munching on goodies, and busting out little dance moves every now and then when it fit the song. It was a tepid way to 'enjoy' the dance and it certainly wasn't what Blaine had in mind for the night, but the unease that Santana had cast on him was preventing him from actually having a good time. Mike was quick pick to pick up on the unspoken tension, but try as he might to alleviate the awkward air with his slick dancing, nothing seemed to put Blaine's mind at ease. If anything, it just made him feel that much guiltier for holding Mike back from letting loose and going all out as he most likely would have in ordinary circumstances.
"I'm sorry Mike, you can go out there and dance. You don't have to stick with me the whole time," said Blaine as he tried to push Mike towards the dance floor.
Mike easily side-stepped Blaine with a playful dance maneuver. "Nah I'm good!"
"You sure? I kind of feel bad dragging you down like this…" Blaine looked gingerly at his own feet as he made a pathetic attempt at stepping to the beat of the music.
Mike chuckled as he placed both his hands firmly on the slighter boy's shoulders. "Ok, if you're going to dance like you did with the Warblers, then that might be a drag." The taller boy smiled cheekily as he used his hands to help the other boy sway his upper body to the rhythm.
"I thought our routines were cute!" Blaine said with actual surprise in his voice. He genuinely thought everyone had enjoyed their dancing. Mike mentally agreed to a certain extent, but wasn't about to voice that right now. Instead, he observed with delight how the boy in front of him was now moving more fluidly than before.
"Just…try to let your instincts take over, ok? I mean, don't gay guys have a penchant for going crazy at dances?"
Blaine pretended to look offended at the stereotype before looking down at his feet bashfully. "I can dance to a routine and all that but, I guess I just don't know how to…dance with somebody else."
"How ironic that it's your song choice then."

Blaine jolted upright when he realized that it wasn't Mike's voice speaking to him. Brittany and Santana were standing in front of him where Mike had been seconds earlier, poised like perfect escorts.
"…What's happening?" Mike asked with a worried chuckle, but the two girls made no effort to answer him. With lightning speed, the two of them linked one of their arms around each of Blaine's own and began dragging him towards the front of the gym. Blaine had been caught so off-guard, that he didn't even put up a fight the whole time. Instead, he stood lamely in the exact spot the girls had dumped him off. It wasn't until he saw Puck, Finn, and Sam waiting with their respective instruments that he realized he had been brought up on stage.
"Took you long enough," said Puck gruffly. "Hurry, we're up right after this song ends." All Blaine could manage was a simple nod as he took his place at the piano. He watched as Brittany and Santana walked to the other side of the piano where their microphones awaited them. With a quick peek over his shoulder, he confirmed that the boys were in their places and ready to go. Finally, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rachel and Mercedes' faces at the edge of the stage, winking and shouting encouraging praise…but no Mike. Blaine quickly scanned the periphery for said boy, but to no avail. He was nowhere to be seen, or at least not up close. The dancer's absence vexed him, but he had little time to do anything about it. The current song had already faded out and the spotlight had focused in on Blaine, essentially trapping him where he was sitting. Begrudgingly, the singer gave up his search and inhaled deeply to calm his nerves.
"Goooood evening ladies and gents, how we all doing tonight?" Blaine asked in his most suave voice possible, perfectly hiding his disappointment from seconds ago. The crowd cheered loudly, whistling and hooting to show their excitement for a live performance.
"We're New Directions, and we're here to get you to DANCE. WITH. SOMEBODY!" The entire gym broke out into wild screams of ecstasy, signaling to Blaine that they had already been worked up sufficiently throughout the night, and he was just adding even more fuel to the fire. Without wasting a moment, Blaine started into his piano intro with the subtle background accompaniment of guitars and violins.

Break your happy home
Learn to sing along
To the music, to the music
Clap your hands and shake
On a winter's night
To the music, to the music

Blaine sang and played the entire first verse without opening his eyes, partly lost in the melody of lyrics and partly because he hoped to see Mike when he did open his eyes. Except that when he did, he found no trace of the lean teen. Half of him felt a bit miffed, frustrated that his favorite dancer wouldn't grace him with his presence (or even a sighting!), but the other half was relieved that said boy was nowhere in sight. Blaine knew he wouldn't have been able to sing if he had his eyes on Mike, he'd be too enamored by his dancing! Hell, he might've even jumped off the stage to join Mike, despite knowing he would've never been able to keep up with the Asian.

I'm falling in love with your favorite song
I'm gonna sing it all night long
I'm gonna dance with somebody
Dance with somebody
Dance, dance, dance

Brittany and Santana had joined in on harmony by this point, and all the other instruments were quickening their tempo and increasing in volume. In response, Blaine could feel himself sit up straighter and play faster in order to keep up with all of the music around him. Just when he thought the symphony of sounds couldn't get any more glorious, the crowd began to clap in a rapid rhythm, adding to the growing frenzy of the song. Blaine couldn't help but smile as he leaned in close to his microphone and sang with even more bravado than before.

When you're all alone
We become your home
We're the music, we're the music
When your love's away
And you feel betrayed
We're the music, sweet music

There's always a point in a performance when the whole band on stage is singing and playing and thoroughly enjoying the intensity of the moment, and Blaine could tell that this was that exact moment. He belted out the chorus again and watched as the crowd ate up his words and lived them out. Everyone, everyone, was dancing with somebody at this point. It didn't matter if it was the date they came with or if they even knew each other; they were all on their feet and dancing. It was simply inspiring to see that his music could have such a…orgy-inducing effect. But alas, as much as he wanted this moment to continue on forever, the band slowed down to a leisurely rhythm to give the frenzied crowd the release they so needed. The music finally diminished completely, letting Blaine croon the next few lines acapella.

I'm falling in looove
With your faaavorite songgg
And I'm gooonna sing ittt
All night longgg
And I'm gonna daaance
With somebody!

"Whasssgood McKinley!" Puck shouted at the top of his lungs as soon as Blaine finished his vocal interlude, causing the gym to roar back in response. It was as if everyone there had taken some kind of drug (he didn't put it past Puck to spike the punch bowl) and was going absolutely crazy. As Blaine stood up in preparation to bow and receive his well-deserved applause, Santana rushed over to Blaine's side.
"One more time through Blaine, the crowd is loving it," she whispered frantically into his ear. He smiled. How could he not oblige? He turned to check on the other boys and motioned for them to get ready to play through the chorus one more time. As for himself, he stayed standing as he played an improvised piano rift, starting from the lowest octaves and making his way up to the highest ones. This gave the rest of the band the time they needed to catch up and before he knew it, the music was blaring once again. Feeling a little spontaneous, and partly because he wanted to finally watch Mike dance while he sang, Blaine grabbed his microphone from its stand and gestured for Brittany and Santana to follow him to the edge of the stage where he once more resumed his search. The three of them launched back into the chorus with full force, though Blaine was clearly distracted by his efforts to find the still missing Mike. So distracted in fact, that he didn't notice the two girls sneak up behind him…and literally kick him off the stage with the point of their heels, sending him flying through the air and ultimately falling to the ground.

He never made it to the floor. Strong, sturdy arms embraced him mid-flight and a warm, broad chest cushioned his impact. Like a scene from some ballet, he continued to stay airborne as he felt himself being swung around in a full circle before his feet finally touched down. And though he had already landed safely, he continued to bury his face into the welcoming chest, taking in a full breath of the intoxicating scent that drove him mad with giddiness and desire. A natural scent, devoid of the sickeningly sweet smells associated with fruits and flowers and more akin to fresh linen and warm cotton. On one hand, the almost neutral aroma comforted him and served to soothe his still shaking nerves. Yet at the same time, the fragrance incited him with excitement, for it reminded him that this was the first time he had ever been close enough to even enjoy such a sensation.

And then it occurred to him all too suddenly that the exaggerated sniffing he was doing might have been considered…well, weird. His panic was brief though, for he then promptly remembered that the person he had been assaulting with his nose would not mind; he knew who it was after all.
"You alright Blaine?" the taller boy asked incredulously, his voice hinting at some amusement on his part.
"Never better," said Blaine as he finally looked up. Mike was grinning from ear to ear.
"I thought you said you didn't know how to dance with somebody? Because that flying leap was–" Mike let out a long whistle to emphasize his amazement at the airborne spectacle.
"I wouldn't necessarily call being swung around like a hammer-throw, dancing." The two of them shared a chuckle before being rudely interrupted.
"You should be thanking us!" shouted Santana from onstage.
"For what?" Blaine asked huffily.
The slender Latina smirked devilishly as she looked down on him from her perch. "You know what. Besides, you like pointy things up your ass. Be glad we gave you double!" Brittany and Santana both pointed at their heels before laughing. Blaine normally would've found something like that inappropriate, but the way Mike was cracking up made him let this slide. He'd get back at those two some other time; for now, he'd get his way with Mike.
"I think the girls want us to dance…if you don't mind that is," said Blaine as he finally stepped back and out of Mike's very personal space. To his surprise, the other boy stepped right back in to close the gap as he gave his trademark wink.
"Let's dance then!"

Blaine slowly made his way to the porch of his house with Mike trailing a few feet behind him. They both groaned with each step they took, their bodies sore from dancing and jumping and moshing all throughout the long night.
"Thank God tomorrow's Sunday," said Blaine as he rested his back against the front door.
Mike stopped at the bottom step of the porch and looked up pitifully at the slighter boy. "I have a bunch of homework to do tomorrow though."
Blaine grimaced at the thought. "Damn it, same here." They both loudly moaned in misery before snickering at how ridiculous they sounded. Any passerby would've mistaken their noises for groaning of a more sensual nature, which seemed to delight their inner immaturity to no end. Once their laughing subsided, Blaine moved to search through his pockets for his keys while Mike walked up the last few steps, closing the distance between them to less than a few inches. By the time Blaine looked back up, Mike's face was within centimeters of his own.
"Good night Blaine," he whispered so quietly that Blaine almost didn't hear him over the blood pulsing to his blushing ears.
"G–good night…" Blaine said just as silently before instinctively closing his eyes. He wasn't sure what made him think that this was the right to do. He wasn't even sure if he was reading the mood right. Blaine just knew that he wanted a sweet, goodnight kiss and this was the moment for it. Ever hopeful, the slender boy gently puckered up his lips and waited in anticipation.

A few seconds passed before Blaine realized that nothing had happened, and that nothing was probably going to happen. He could feel another blush coming on as he slowly opened his eyes to see Mike's reaction. Though it was dark, and though his face was no longer within kissing distance, he could see that Mike was blushing just as furiously. The other boy had one hand scratching the back of his neck as he fidgeted in place awkwardly. It didn't take long for Blaine to conclude that he had yet again, managed to ruin everything.
"I'm sorry Mike, I don't know what came over me." For having come out of such an embarrassing predicament, Blaine sounded surprisingly calm voice in his apology. He certainly felt like crying from pure humiliation, but his tone showed no signs of it much to his relief.
"It–it's me who should be sorry." Mike paused to inhale deeply before leaning his head back to look up at the night sky.
"For leading me on? Because that's actually my fault for misunderstanding again."
"For not knowing how to kiss you, I guess. I–I've never kissed a guy before."
"It's ok Mike, I just need to stop treating you like you actually swing my way."
"But that's not it Blaine."
"I just misread all of tonight. I know you didn't mean to lead–"
"Blaine."
"And I really hope this doesn't set our friendship back–"
"Blaine."
"I don't know why I keep messing things up. If you could just forgive–"
"Blaine!" It wasn't a loud enough shout to be heard by others, but it was definitely stern enough to shut Blaine up.
"…Sorry." Blaine put his hands behind his back as he hung his head in shame. Mike couldn't help but smirk as he looked upon the boy standing before him, acting as if he was about to receive some kind of scolding.
"What I've been trying to say is: you can show me how to, if you want."

There was a long pause before Blaine spoke up.
"…How to what?" Mike practically fell over from the anticlimactic-ness of the question. He let out a deep breath as he mustered up the courage to explain himself.
"How to…kiss another guy."
Blaine kept his head bowed down as he spoke. "Do you really mean that? Or are you just saying that to humor me?"
"What if I said that I'd like for you to show me?" Mike tried to sound earnest, but in his nervousness had ended up sounding more like a plea. Just as well too, since it had convinced Blaine to look up from his withdrawn stance. Mike wasn't smiling, his usual tell-tale sign of honesty, but there was a certain hint of sincerity to his expression that convinced Blaine he wasn't lying.
"Is that what you're saying?" Blaine asked steadily as he finally dared to show a faint grin.
"It is. But just…not on the lips yet, I'm not really ready–" Blaine cut him off by cupping his hands around Mike's face and pulling it down to meet his own. Without hesitating, he placed a tender, chaste kiss on his friend's forehead.

Although Blaine couldn't see it from his angle, he was certain that his hands could feel Mike's face break into a smile.