Author's notes: Sorry for the delay. I injured my hands recently, and it's severely hindered my ability to comfortably write/type/do much of anything. It's incredibly frustrating. Unfortunately, this also means that updates will probably be a bit on the slow side for a while. Sorry about that, guys.

He scanned the crowd, spotting the tall guy talking animatedly to a rather short brunette, and suddenly everything slicked into place. Finn was Kurt's brother. He was the guy they'd seen moving things up to Kurt's dorm when he'd transferred. It all made sense now. He increased his pace a little, now very certain of one thing: Finn Hudson was going to help him get closer to Kurt. He just needed to talk to the guy first.

He ducked and darted past people milling about the hallway, his attention completely fixated on the couple near the doors. They looked upset. Not a good sign. Blaine strained his ears to see if he could catch any of what they were saying.

"I just don't understand what you want from me."

"I want this to work between us, Finn."

"Then why do you care so much? It didn't mean anything."

"Didn't mean anything? Finn, you slept with her. And then lied about it to my face."

"You were going to sleep with Jesse!"

"But I didn't."

"How was I supposed to know you weren't gonna go through with it?"

Blaine grimaced as he headed closer toward the pair and the topic of their conversation and the reason they looked so upset finally became clear. This wasn't some sort of pep talk or consolation over missed solo opportunities in the wake of their recent win. No, from what little he'd gathered thus far, this sounded very much like a lover's spat. His heart sank and his steps slowed. The tall guy, Finn, was backing away toward the wall, looking more and more defeated as his conversation with his co-captain (Rachel, if he remembered correctly) dragged on. The tiny girl before him had her arms crossed defensively in front of her chest, and Blaine could swear that she was seconds away from bursting into tears or going on a murderous rampage. Or both.

This was going to suck.

He swallowed, his steps growing smaller and smaller until he wasn't moving anymore. The two were still arguing, and he wasn't sure when to jump into the conversation. Impatience might make a bad impression, so it was probably best to wait, no matter how awkward this was for him.

"You never answered my question."

"Which question?"

"Why her? Why did you choose her?"

Finn fumbled with his words, his arms flailing in exasperation. "I don't even know, okay? She offered, and I—"

"You think she's prettier than me, don't you?"

And that did it. This had gone on long enough, and Blaine couldn't take it anymore. He loudly cleared his throat, hoping the noise would draw Finn and Rachel's attention.

Thankfully, it did. The two quieted instantaneously, turning to look at him with wide, staring eyes. He felt his nerve leaving him under their combined gaze. "Um, hi. Sorry to interrupt. You guys are with New Directions, right?"

There was a beat of silence before either of them moved, Rachel drawing forward to grasp his hand. "Yes. I'm Rachel Berry and this is Finn Hudson."

"You're from Dalton, aren't you?" Finn had pushed away from the wall, and Blaine could see the boy's eyes fixed on the black and red crest on his blazer.

"Yes. I'm Blaine. Blaine Anderson. I, um, someone told me that you were Kurt's brother."

The grip on his hand suddenly became tighter, and the almost friendly expressions on the faces before him darkened with suspicion. His eyes darted back and forth between the two, and he prayed that neither of them noticed what was sure to be sweat gathering at his brow.

"Kurt?' he tried again with a shaky smile. "You know, Kurt Hummel?"

Finn stepped forward and leaned down just a bit, his gaze hard and steady on Blaine's face. "You said your name was Blaine, right?"

"Uh, well…yes?" What the hell did they want him to say? Had Kurt told Finn—heck, maybe all of New Directions based on Rachel's reaction—that he'd essentially been creeping on the guy since his transfer. All because of some supposed crush? The tension on his hand was suddenly gone, and he instinctively reached up to rub the aching appendage, more than a bit relieved that the painful handshake had ended.

"He's never talked about any of the guys from school. Not to me, at least." Finn looked down at Rachel, who simply shook her head, before turning back to Blaine with a somewhat puzzled expression. "I didn't think he'd actually made any friends up there."

Blaine continued rubbing his hand, eying Rachel warily in case she decided to lash out and deck him. "We're not really close or anything. He doesn't really talk much to people." He fell silent for a moment, not quite sure where he should take this. "Does Kurt talk much to you?"

Finn opened his mouth to speak, but Rachel beat him to it. "Why do you want to know? Are you worried that Kurt is some sort of spy? That he was giving away all of your glee club secrets? That we couldn't win a competition like this without cheating?" She drew closer and closer to him with every question, and Blaine shrunk back. He'd never felt so small next to someone so much shorter than he. He held up his hands in defense.

"No! No, I didn't even know Kurt had connections to New Directions before tonight."

"He didn't tell you?"

"He doesn't really tell me much of anything, hence why I'm talking to you. You guys really did sound great tonight, by the way. You've got some incredible dancing and vocal talent." Rachel frowned a little, and Blaine fought back a wince. Great. He didn't need to go around complimenting people who had probably stolen the leads from these two. Captains in groups like this tended to get all the solos and things. Stupid.

He was a little relieved when Rachel sent a look Finn's way, drawing her attention away from Blaine and any perceived slight he might have dealt her by not thinking before opening his mouth. The worried look on her face didn't really help put him at ease. The animosity between the pair in front of him seemed to have mostly disappeared, and they shared a silent conversation that went completely over his head.

He shuffled back and forth on his feet, the awkward silence that had settled over them eating at him like an itch he couldn't quite reach. He coughed a little to regain Rachel and Finn's attention. "So, um, does Kurt really talk to you guys at all?"

Rachel hesitated, but Finn simply huffed out an amused breath. "Of course. Well, kinda. He's sort of like my brother, so we have to talk sometimes."

"Sort of?"

"My mom is married to his dad."

"Oh." Stepbrothers. Hence the different last names and physical traits. Blaine wondered why he hadn't picked up on this sooner. "But, um, does he really tell you anything? Like if something's going on?"

Finn grew very quiet, and Blaine could see Rachel swelling with rage just out of the corner of his eye. Crap.

"Why? Is there something going on that we should know about?"

Once again, Blaine found himself backing down. He shook his head as Rachel approached, but Finn held her back with a hand on her shoulder. "No," he replied calmly, his voice tinged with irritation and a tiny hint of what sounded oddly like sadness. "Kurt's pretty good at keeping things to himself. And it's not like I ask him, you know? You don't just walk up to a guy and ask to talk about stuff like that. Kurt wouldn't tell me if I did that anyway, so why not just save ourselves the embarrassment?" He eyed Blaine a bit more carefully now. "Why do you want to know?"

Blaine faltered, searching for the right words. "I, um, I think we'd all agree that Kurt's pretty secretive." The others nodded in agreement. "Well, I'm pretty sure that I'm one of the few people he's said more than a few words to at school since he transferred to Dalton. Do you think, um, do you think I could maybe get your phone numbers? Or maybe an email address or something?"

Finn jumped back. "Wait, dude, Blaine, you're not hitting on me or anything, are you?" Rachel shot him a glare and he quickly recovered. "'Cause I'm cool with gays and all, but—"

Blaine's face lit up in a deep blush, and he threw his hands up in embarrassment. "No! No, I'm just—wow, sorry, I really didn't mean for that to come off that way." He calmed himself, straightening the striped tie at his throat. "No. I just wanted to see if I could get some contact info for you—for both of you—so that, in the unlikely case something does happen, I can get a hold of you guys. Before the school does, if need be. I mean, since he keeps so much to himself, and I kind of live with him now. I figured having someone on the inside at Dalton might help." It was a weak excuse, and he knew it, but Kurt had seemed so familiar with these kids that it really seemed like his best shot. At this point, Blaine knew next to nothing about the other boy—tonight had only served to drive that point home—and he needed information that he wasn't going to get simply by asking Kurt.

"Do you think something's wrong?" All of the anger in Rachel's voice seemed to have disappeared to be replaced by something like concern.

Blaine shook his head. "No, but it couldn't hurt, right? And I'd like to get to know Kurt better, but he won't really open up to me. I thought that maybe you guys could help me with that in exchange for the extra security?"

Finn seemed to think about it for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, I think I could do that. His dad's been kind of worried about him not making friends and stuff. Just so long as you give me your number and stuff too. I don't want this to be a joke or something."

"Trust me. It's not."

Finn patted at the sides of his slacks, shifting the black fabric around in his fingers briefly before giving up, his hands falling back at his sides. "Um, you don't have a pen or anything on you, do you?"