A/N: Chrissy = Christine Teigen. This chapter is pretty much the countdown to Valentine's Day. I'm trying not to drag it out, and also trying not to skip through the rest of the month either (one Glee episode between Christmas and Valentine's Day? Real realistic RIB).
"You do realize that it's absolutely ridiculous that you're primping, right?" Blaine asked as Kurt smoothed down his shirt and glared at his best friend in the mirror. "Unless you're a much better liar than I give you credit for being, you don't even like this guy!"
"Trying to look nice on the days that I'm allowed to be out of uniform is not indicative of my feelings towards Griffin," Kurt said firmly as he fixed his hair a little.
"Have you even thought about giving him a chance?" Blaine asked earnestly. Kurt whipped around the face the tenor, feeling a reflected-glare was not enough for the situation.
"Very funny."
"I'm serious."
"So am I."
"He's not a bad guy."
"I'm not interested."
"Fine."
"Fine."
It wasn't an argument, and it had nothing to do with Valentine's Day, Kurt told himself as he headed for the Empty Room, fully armed with as many layers as he could put on without looking ridiculous. Blaine was just being a nice friend, Kurt tried to convince himself, but there was a sinking feeling in his stomach. Not only was it the first weekend he was spending boarding at Dalton, but the madness of the bonding event yesterday, which he still hadn't fully recovered from, made him realize he had no idea about the deeper dynamics of the club. Plus, what Jeff had said to that waiter about Blaine's 'new beau' made him suspicious. What if it was another one of the Warblers, one whom Kurt had no idea Blaine was friends with? It wasn't entirely implausible.
Kurt shoved his musings aside as he reached the room at Dalton that was a fully functional classroom but had never been used as one. Reminding himself not to act like 'a mouse with a blood-vessel problem', Kurt pushed open the door to Room 142, to find Griffin sitting on the desk intended for a teacher in jeans and a hockey jersey.
"Hey," Griffin said coolly, giving him an approving up-and-down. "I wasn't sure you would come."
"Neither was I," Kurt said before he thought about it, and then he was blushing. "I mean..."
"You're not into me, are you?" Griffin asked, and Kurt's eyebrows almost shot off his forehead. "You like that Anderson guy, the Warbler rock star."
"I, uh..." Kurt said, very articulate in the face of a cute guy as usual. "Yes," he said with a sigh, and Griffin just chuckled. "If you already knew that, why did you ask me to meet you here? And his name is Blaine."
"Figured it would make Blaine pretty jealous," Griffin said with a laugh, "and I'm a nice guy like that."
"And the embarrassing asking a freshman to ask me?" Kurt demanded, and then Griffin was the one who was a little red.
"I... there was always a little chance, you know? But when you walked in here you were thinking about him, and it was written all over your face how much you like him," Griffin said with a shrug. "There are other cute guys. I'll survive."
"I'm sorry," Kurt said reflexively, but Griffin just shrugged again.
"It's all right. I wasn't even planning to ask you out until Blaine called me over. Why did he do that anyway?"
"Because he's an idiot," Kurt said with a laugh, but he knew he was blushing again. "It's kind of a long story," he hedged.
"And clearly one you don't wanna tell me," Griffin said.
"Why can you read me like a book?" Kurt demanded, reddening again.
"Because everything you're thinking shows up in those gorgeous eyes of yours." It was like Griffin was trying to make him blush. "What, you don't hear that all the time?"
"Not as often as you'd think," Kurt said, trying to shrug to be casual.
"Than every guy you've met is a bonehead." Griffin was much better at the casual game. "You wanna stay in here a little longer and walk out a little ruffled, or did you tell Anderson you were planning on rejecting me?"
"The latter," Kurt replied, flushing at the idea of the former.
"All right. Take care, Hummel. And if you ever want free hockey tickets, let me know. We still have a little more to our season." Kurt had ears, so he knew that Dalton was in the playoffs for hockey.
"I might have to pass on that. I'm not much of a sports guy," Kurt admitted.
"I could have guessed that one," Griffin said, grinning at him. "Well then, take care of yourself, Kurt Hummel, and if you ever want to make that lucky idiot Anderson jealous, let me know."
"Will do," Kurt said, deciding not to tell Griffin that he would never, ever make out with a guy to make another jealous. "Take care of yourself, Griffin," he said, turning to walk away and blushing even redder at the wolf-whistle Griffin let out.
If Griffin, who didn't know Kurt at all, could tell that Kurt liked his best friend with one glance, did Blaine know? Did everyone know? It was kind of sad that his thought immediately snapped back to his mini-fight with Blaine as he walked down the hallway, putting any thoughts about Griffin completely out of his head.
"Well, that didn't take long at all," Blaine commented, still in Kurt's dorm room, in the same position he had been when Kurt left, lying on Chris' bed upside down with his feet resting against the wall, which Kurt was pretty sure was against Dalton policy. "You definitely aren't late to rehearsal."
"Ha ha," Kurt said sarcastically, setting down the messenger bag he had brought with him for no other reason than clutching to the strap through what he had assumed was going to be an awkward conversation. "I told you, I only went there to turn him down."
"And I see no ring on your finger, so he obviously didn't cry," Blaine said, looking at Kurt upside down with a teasing grin.
"You are so awful sometimes, you know that," Kurt said, taking off the sweater that was only there as another layer between him and the presumed advances of Griffin. He was sweltering in Dalton, which definitely had the money to be well-heated.
"You don't mean that," Blaine said, waving off Kurt's words. "You love me."
"Sometimes," Kurt replied, ignoring the way the word caught in his throat and taking off another layer.
"Is there a reason you're stripping? 'Cause this is much less interesting upside down," Blaine said, and Kurt firmly reminded himself that he was only teasing.
"Blaine!"
"Did you seriously put on extra layers to go see Griffin?" Blaine asked, sitting up and laughing. "He wasn't going to try to molest you, Kurt." Blaine seemed to realize his faux pas directly after he finished speaking. "Oh God, Kurt, I'm such an idiot, I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I wasn't worried about Griffin molesting me, just about him being handsy," Kurt said with a shrug. "The only similarity between Griffin and Karofsky is their sexuality. And their size, I suppose."
"I'm glad Dalton has made you less jumpy," Blaine said, and when had this conversation gotten so serious?
"Yes, well, this is the longest amount of time I've ever gone without being slammed into a locker, so I guess I'm relaxing a little," Kurt said, debating taking off the tie on his outfit and deciding against it.
"Good," Blaine said with a smile. "We may be crazy, but at least we're not violent," he commented, returning to his upside down position that looked ridiculously comfortable.
"One of the few things in your favor," Kurt teased, but Blaine ignored it.
"Are you looking forward to Warbler's practice tomorrow? We get to start talking about Regionals!" It was kind of ridiculous how excited the Warblers were for Regionals. Everyone except Kurt.
"Yay," he said dryly, sitting on the bed next to Blaine.
"Still awkward competing against your old club?" the mind reading tenor on the other bed asked.
"Of course it is Blaine, they're my friends."
"Homesick?"
"You know me so well."
Despite what he had told Kurt the day before, Blaine was completely fried by the time Warblers practice was over, and Kurt looked depressed, probably still homesick. Once again the entirety of the responsibility was resting on Blaine's shoulders, and for once he felt like he couldn't handle it. He teased Kurt all the time about the New Directions, but the fact was that they're fantastic, and he couldn't beat them alone. Not that he could make Wes see sense. That boy was too wrapped up in his own issues, whatever they were.
By the time they were released, he knew he had to talk to Charlie, but he knew he was going to be on a short temper with the obviously fragile boy. He just couldn't find the energy to care.
"All right, what happened?" Blaine asked, barging into Charlie's room without so much as a knock. The thought that he would walk in on something he didn't really want to see didn't occur to him until after he had, so thank the Lord he hadn't.
"What happened with what?" Charlie asked stubbornly, sitting on his bed, apparently doing nothing.
"Charlie, I've been in a long rehearsal, and Regionals is coming up way too quickly, and I've just been through Wes' own personalized wringer, and I really don't want to have to pull teeth through this conversation, so can we just cut to the chase, please?" Blaine demanded.
"You want to know what happened with Lucas? Fine." Charlie sighed, and closed his eyes. "I told him I loved him." Blaine intended to say something. He really did. But all that came out was a strangled sound. "I know it sounds crazy."
"Did you mean it?" Blaine blurted out.
"I don't know!" Charlie burst suddenly, jumping up to get in Blaine's face. "How the fuck am I supposed to know? I don't know what love feels like! I've never done this before! The closest I've ever come before was you!"
"What did he say?" Blaine asked, guiding Charlie over to the bed and sitting down, deciding to deal with that last sentence later.
"He tried to distract me by offering to give it up! He didn't say it back... obviously he didn't want to," Charlie said, all the anger suddenly gone as he slumped back against the wall. "And now I've messed everything up."
"Charlie," Blaine began, but Charlie cracked up laughing before he could say anything else. "What?"
"You know, I've been in this situation a hundred times the other way around. Who would have ever imagined I would be the one to say those three fucking stupid little words and my... Lucas would be the one trying to distract me with sex?" Charlie sighed again, and leaned against Blaine. "What do I do?"
"Charlie, you need to know if you meant it," Blaine said soothingly, rubbing the distraught boy's back. "I think Lucas thought you said that to get into his pants, and the fact that he was willing to let you means something."
"Not everyone thinks virginity is a big deal like your precious buttercup, Blaine," Charlie said softly.
"True, but my point is that I don't think Lucas thought that you meant it."
"I don't think I meant it," Charlie said, but Blaine knew denial, and it was written all over Charlie's face.
"I do. I really do. I saw the way you two were at Christmas, and he obviously adores you." One more thought occurred to him. "You didn't actually..." Charlie's guilty expression rendered the rest of Blaine's question unnecessary. "Jesus, Charlie."
"He's hot. I'm weak, and probably a sex addict. What was I supposed to do?"
Blaine sighed. "Fair enough."
"I know it was a bad idea."
"Good. You're learning."
"What do I do, Blaine?" Charlie asked again, sitting up but still leaning on him.
"Tell him, or show him, that you really meant it, that you didn't just say that to get into his pants." Blaine sighed again. "It would be a lot easier to convince him if that ploy hadn't actually worked."
"It wasn't a ploy!"
"You know what I mean, Charls."
"What if he doesn't say it back?" Charlie asked, and he sounded so small and unsure, Blaine just had to hug him.
"Than he's an idiot, because he's ruining something with a really great guy." Charlie hugged him back at that. "Even if you are a moron, and a little bit of a slut."
"And moment over," Charlie announced, pushing him away and grinning like they hadn't just had the deepest heart-to-heart of all time.
"One more question."
"Dear God." Blaine took that as an opportunity to forge ahead.
"What did you mean earlier, when you said the closest you've ever been to love before was me?" Blaine asked, and Charlie sighed.
"Fuck, I was hoping you hadn't caught that." Charlie rubbed a hand over his face. "Can we just forget about this?"
"Nope."
"Fine. You're the first person I ever slept with who I actually gave a damn about. I mean, I'd had a lot of 'boyfriends,'" Charlie, maturely, used air quotes, "but I'd never actually treated them like friends. I kept sex partners and friends completely separate, and treated them completely different. You're the only person, besides Lucas, who I've ever considered both. Count yourself a lucky bastard."
"I do, you ridiculous sap," Blaine teased, knowing Charlie would feel more comfortable that way.
"So how goes things with the guy not comparable to Kurt at all?" Charlie asked, changing the topic bluntly as always.
"Things are okay," Blaine replied, ignoring Charlie's failure at segues. "He's been pretty busy lately, so we haven't been talking a lot, but we're going out for coffee one more time before Valentine's Day."
"Oh yay," Charlie said sarcastically.
"What is your problem with him?" Blaine asked, suddenly fed up. "Besides the fact that Jeremiah's not Kurt?"
"Why can't you see that Kurt's perfect for you?"
"Why can't you see that Kurt's not into me?"
"I'm an impartial observer Blaine, I think my sight is a little more clear than yours."
"You're completely partial."
"Whatever, Blainers. We all know love makes you blind."
"I'm not in love with... You know what? Never mind. I don't care. Make all the jokes you want about Jeremiah and the fact that he's not Kurt, but I will continue to like him and I'm still serenading him on Valentine's Day," Blaine said defiantly.
"Oh great. That'll go over swell," Charlie said, not elaborating. "When should I talk to Lucas?"
"Sooner rather than later, but make sure it's face-to-face," Blaine advised, knowing how things could be misinterpreted over the phone.
"Okay." Charlie took a deep breath. "Get out of here, I'm gonna call him."
"Good luck," Blaine said as he left Charlie alone, really hoping those two would make it. Lucas made Charlie so happy, and as far as Blaine knew, he was the only long-term partner Charlie had ever been faithful to.
"Would you stop teasing please?" Wes demanded, far down the hall, and walking with David, who was grinning wildly.
"I'm sorry, am I bothering you?" David asked, and Blaine didn't even want to know where his hand went following that sentence.
"Holy shit," Blaine breathed out, and, though he would never admit it later, he ducked as far into Charlie's doorway as possible to see what would happen.
"More like driving me crazy," Wes muttered, and Blaine tried to suppress a gasp as he pinned David to the door of their dorm and kissed the crap out of him. "Bed, now," Wes murmured into their kiss as David fumbled with the key.
"It'd be a lot easier to do this if you weren't doing that." Blaine didn't investigate further. He didn't want to know.
"Holy shit," he repeated as he walked in the opposite direction from his dorm, just to avoid the two horny guys going at it in the hallway who had presumed themselves unobserved, "I can't believe Charlie was actually right."
"Happy first of the month!" Chris said cheerfully when Kurt woke up on February 1st.
"Great, only two weeks until the worst holiday in the world," Kurt said, making a face at his unusually peppy roommate.
"Oh come on. Valentine's Day isn't that bad!" Chris was doing his hair, Kurt realized, and he was up early, even for a Tuesday. Didn't he have study hall first period today?
"Do you have a girlfriend?" Kurt asked suddenly, knowing that was the mots likely explanation for the sudden flip-flop of personality.
"I... don't know what you're talking about," Chris said, but he was blushing a little and he couldn't stop smiling.
"You do!" Kurt immediately pounced on the news, and subsequently Chris' bed. "You met someone at Crawford Country Day!"
"You're too good at this game," Chris said, "and I would be pouting if I wasn't so happy."
"Well, I'm happy for you and mystery girl at least," Kurt said, giving his roommate a hug around the shoulders before he realized that was probably a little over their boundaries. "Uh, sor-"
"Thanks, Kurt," Chris said before Kurt could get his apology out. "What's up with you and Blaine?"
"Same old, same old," Kurt said, but then the thought occurred to him. Chris was the one person at Dalton Academy who was more loyal to Kurt than to Blaine. He could tell Chris anything. "Well, kind of."
"If you tell me what you're talking about and stop dancing around it, I'll tell you all about my girlfriend, but you first."
"Deal," Kurt said, happy to be able to talk to a guy who was actually comfortable talking about boys with him. "He may have made some hints that he might be serenading me on Valentine's Day."
"But?" Chris asked, hearing the word coming before Kurt said it.
"I also have this sinking feeling that there's someone else. Jeff said he saw something, but he picks on us all the time. I'm not sure it's me." Chris turned to face him.
"I don't know all that much about guys, especially gay ones, but I know a little something about what a guy looks like when he's head-over-heels, and I see that in both of you every time you and Blaine look at each other. If it's not you, he's the stupidest idiot in the world, because not only are you a complete gay catch, but that would mean he's too oblivious to see his own feelings, and anyone that moronic isn't worth your time," Chris asserted, and Kurt couldn't help but hug him again.
"Thanks, Chris. So, tell me all about the lucky girl."
"Her name is Chrissy, and she's absolutely gorgeous. She has medium brown eyes, brown wavy hair, and a great smile. She's one of the Songbirds, but she kind of does what most of the Warblers do."
"Sing in the background?"
"Sing in the background," Chris confirmed, "but when we went out on Saturday I got her to sing for me and she's really talented. Like Jenna Leigh Green talented."
"I'm so proud you know that Jenna Leigh Green can sing!" Kurt said, but Chris ignored him.
"She's really awesome. She's funny and smart, and she's a little bit sassy, but she's not mean, and I just really like her."
"You're gushing," Kurt said with a smile. "I'm so happy for you."
"Thanks, Kurt. And I'm happy for you in advance," Chris grinned, "now get ready for school."
"Yes, dad," Kurt said sarcastically, but he did as Chris said. If he hadn't, he would have been late for school.
"You sound exactly like Chrissy!"
"Well that's creepy!"
"Can we talk after school?" Blaine asked him during lunch in a low, surprisingly guilty tone. "I may have discovered something that explains a lot."
"I need to talk to Charlie first," Kurt said as he picked at his salad. "I think something's up with him."
"Yeah, I already talked to him about Lucas. You will never believe what happened."
"Something besides that, I mean. I think he's avoiding me." Now Blaine looked guilty. What was going on here?
"What do you mean?"
"He hasn't talked to me unless we were surrounded by people, or he had to. Have you noticed that? Every time I approach the two of you, he runs off to try and fix things with Lucas. It can't be a coincidence." Blaine shrugged.
"He's weird sometimes. Talk to him about it."
"I will, and I'll come by your dorm after, okay?"
"Sure," Blaine agreed. "I'll have coffee ready."
"And that's why you're the best friend ever."
"What don't I know?" Kurt demanded as he strode into Charlie's room.
"Kurt!" Charlie practically jumped out of his skin. "What are you doing here?"
"Trying to figure out why you've been avoiding me," Kurt said, shutting the door behind him and leaning on it.
"Yeah, that's likely," Charlie said, leering at him. "Flimsy excuse, even for you, Hummel."
"Flimsy diversion, even for you, Shields," he retorted. "I know exactly what you're trying to do, but I'm not blind, and I know you've been avoiding me. Every time I'm near you, you run off call Lucas or talk to someone else, even people you don't know! Just tell me what's going on."
Charlie shifted uncomfortably, but at least he had given up the fake seduction thing. "I can't tell you," he said finally. "It's not my place."
"So it has to do with Blaine then?" Kurt asked, and he was getting that sinking feeling in his stomach that had happened after his little fight with Blaine. Charlie knew everything about Blaine, surely he knew more about Valentine's Day than Kurt did. "And probably about Valentine's Day too."
"I can't tell you!" Charlie said, obviously frustrated. "Trust me, I'd love to tell you, but it wouldn't be fair to Blaine, or to you."
"I can't even tell if you want to tell me what I want you to tell me or something totally different," Kurt said, thoroughly confused by his own sentence.
"I can't even tell you that!" Charlie said, groaning. "All I know is that you'll know soon enough."
"Like two weeks, soon enough?" Kurt asked, and Charlie only shrugged, looking uncomfortable and guilty. "Fine! Will you at least stop avoiding me then? Whatever's going to happen, I know it's not your fault, okay?" Kurt was so surprised he stumbled when Charlie threw himself at Kurt and hugged him.
"Okay," was all he said, squeezing Kurt tight before letting him go.
"Gaga, you're weird," Kurt muttered to himself, not really caring if Charlie heard him, turning around to go.
"And if you ever do wanna come back for a little," Charlie imitated the squeaking of bed springs, "let me know."
"Pervert!" Kurt called out as he left, hating the fact that he was blushing. Charlie was so vulgar.
'Fergalicious definition: make them boys go loco. They want my treasure, so they get their pleasures from my photo' Kurt's phone rang out, a familiar ring tone that Kurt remember for the life of him who he had assigned it too. "Hello?" he asked, not bothering to look at the caller ID. If someone had a personalized ring tone, he wanted to talk to them.
"Hi, Kurt."
"Lucas!" Kurt said, surprised. "I'm glad you called, we haven't talked in forever."
"Can I ask you for advice about Charlie? I mean, I know you live with him, so if it's too weird..."
"No, of course you can," Kurt said, headed for his dorm room, probably ahead of Blaine, who had to drive to the Lima Bean and back. Unless he got coffee from that cafeteria where he had first met Wes and David. That coffee was pretty good. "I was just talking to him." Dead silence. "Not about you, but I think he's pretty... emotional."
"Yeah, some emotional stuff happened." Lucas cleared his throat. "First and foremost, I lied to you."
"About what?" Kurt said, knowing that Lucas could be as dramatic as he was when it came to conversation starters.
"The fact that I wouldn't give Charlie my virginity." Kurt almost dropped his phone.
"I... wow."
"Don't judge okay. Things got... complicated." Lucas sounded stressed and nervous.
"I'm not judging. I'm just surprised, I guess."
"I'm hoping you're not the kind of guy to ask all about it, because that's really not what I wanted to talk about," Lucas said, but he sounded like he was teasing.
"Never," Kurt vowed, because he really didn't want to know. "What made it so complicated?"
"Charlie... Charlie told me that he loved me." That time Kurt actually did drop his phone, but Lucas could obviously tell because Kurt hadn't missed anything by the time he picked it back up. "I know, it sounds weird and uncharacteristic and made up, but it really did happen."
"I believe you, I just... Wait a minute," Kurt said, remembering something. "If you just gave it up to Charlie when this... issue started, that means he was lying about you two... going at it repeatedly during Christmas break."
"We... we fooled around a lot, but we never actually had sex, no," Lucas said, and Kurt could almost hear the 'are we seriously talking about this instead of my problem?' in his voice.
"Sorry, I just had to know. And he phrased it to make it completely nebulous. That bastard."
"Kurt, some focus would be nice." Lucas was always so patient.
"Sorry. So, Charlie told you he loved you, and you slept with him to avoid saying anything back. I think that's one of the fifty reasons to have sex they listed on How I Met Your Mother."
"Number forty three and where I got the idea. God we think alike sometimes."
"Except I don't think about God."
"Do you think he meant it? Do you think Charlie really loves me, or do you think he just said that to get... exactly what he got?" Kurt really thought about it for a moment, and he couldn't decide. He had no idea how Charlie felt.
"I don't know him well enough to tell you, but I think you should give him the benefit of the doubt. I know about his... reputation, but all people are capable of change, and I know you really like him, despite what you said at Christmas. I saw it in your eyes when we were at that restaurant. So just give him a chance."
"I am. We're meeting up on Monday at Dalton, and we're going to talk about things, see where this is going." Lucas cleared his throat. "I'm nervous, Kurt."
"Do you love him?" Kurt surprised himself by asking Lucas the one question he promised he wouldn't.
"I don't know. I think I could, but I'm not sure I do right now," Lucas said, and when had they become close enough to have this kind of conversation.
"Than that's what you need to tell him." Blaine rapped on the door with a coffee in each hand, mouthing 'who'.
"I will. Thanks, Kurt. I owe you one."
"No problem," Kurt said, and he waited until he was sure Lucas had hung up to put the phone down.
"Who was that?" Blaine asked, handing Kurt one of the coffees.
"Lucas. He wanted to talk about Charlie."
"So you know what happened?" Blaine asked, taking a sip of his coffee and prompting Kurt to do the same. Definitely coffee from downstairs. Fine, but why had it taken Blaine so long?
"Yeah. Wow," he said when Blaine raised an eyebrow.
"I know."
"Poor Lucas," Kurt said.
"Poor Charlie," Blaine said at the same time, and then they both questioned one another.
"Charlie's dealing with feelings he's never felt before and a whole different kind of relationship than he's used to. He's an emotional wreck," Blaine defended his statement.
"And Lucas is getting the backlash of all those emotions at a time when he has a right to be the emotional one," Kurt pointed out, not necessarily arguing.
"This just sucks all around, doesn't it?"
"Yep, and we get to be the ones in the middle." They both sipped their coffees before Kurt remembered why they were holding this little meeting. "So, what's your discovery?"
"Wes and David are together." Blaine stared at Kurt, who stared back at him blankly. "Like, together together."
"How did you find out?" Kurt asked casually, taking another sip of his coffee.
"You knew?" Blaine asked, his eyes bulging out of his head.
"Yes, I found out about two weeks ago," Kurt said, still acting as casual as possible to drive Blaine crazy. "And they know I know. Well, at least Wes does."
"How is it that you found out my two best friends were... romantic, before I did?" Blaine asked, and he sounded almost hurt.
"I walked in on them kissing after practice one day," Kurt replied.
"What, does rehearsal make them horny or something? I saw them getting busy against the door to their dorm after rehearsal on Sunday! Of course, the difference is, I told you almost immediately!"
"It's been two days, Blaine, and besides, I respect their privacy. They've been together for years-"
"Years?" Blaine practically squeaked.
"So whatever reason they have for being in the closet must be a good one," Kurt said, trying to calm Blaine down. "And the fact that they didn't tell you, and that I didn't tell you, isn't personal."
"Have they really been together for years?" Blaine asked, all hurt gone from his voice.
"Five years, according to Wes," Kurt replied, "but I only found that out on Friday, at the park."
"Wow. How did Charlie notice that when I didn't?" Blaine asked, and Kurt couldn't help but reply to the rhetorical question.
"Well, you can be a little oblivious sometimes." He regretted saying it immediately when Blaine's brow creased in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing. Just that sometimes you miss things. Like Jeff and Nick, Wes and David..." Kurt wanted to say 'me and you' so badly it was ridiculous, and he didn't only because it was still possible Blaine hadn't been entirely oblivious in their case.
"Fair enough," Blaine said with a sigh, leaning back on his bed. "Just... wow. So much crazy, so different than normal."
"Oh, so you're saying Dalton isn't always an entirely gay soap opera?"
"Shut up."
"Please tell me you're not going out for coffee with Jeremiah again," Charlie said as soon as he saw Blaine re-gelling his hair.
"I told you I was going to," Blaine replied, smoothing out the last curl with satisfaction.
"Yes, but I thought that was only because you were mad at me!" Charlie whined. "Why must you do this?"
"Charlie, we've talked about this," Blaine said firmly, grabbing his coat. "I like Jeremiah. I like talking to him. I like the fact that he has such a different perspective on the world. I like going out to coffee with him. I'm going to serenade him on Valentine's Day. So could you just be happy for me? Please?"
"No," Charlie said stubbornly, flouncing away in the dramatically angry way he did when he was having one of his diva fits. Blaine smiled to himself. Let someone else take care of it, he was going on a date! Well, sort of.
"Hey, Blaine... you look spiffy," Kurt said, raising an eyebrow.
"Thanks. Just thought I'd clean up a little after the weird day I've had today. Charlie seems to be in a state again."
"Isn't Charlie always in a state?" Kurt asked, and Blaine laughed.
"True," he said, slipping on his coat.
"Where are you headed?" Kurt asked, and he sounded oddly suspicious.
"I'm going to meet some of the CCD girls at the Lima Bean. I would invite you along, but you're unprepared, and they would tear you apart like a pride of lions going after a handicapped gazelle," Blaine lied smoothly. He felt bad about lying to Kurt, but he didn't want rumors about him and Jeremiah spreading before Valentine's Day, and he certainly didn't want to tell his best friend (whom he may or may not still have a little bit of a crush on) about something that probably wasn't even real.
"Yikes," Kurt said, looking at Blaine's freshly gelled hair one more time. "You really do need to cut back on the gel. I think it's getting worse."
"Shut up," Blaine said fondly, giving his friend a hug before heading for the Lima Bean. A cute boy was waiting for him. He could feel Kurt staring after him, and he knew Kurt was probably suspicious, but he would know soon enough about the amazing man Blaine was starting to... maybe even love.
A/N: Merry Christmas! A short chapter very shortly after a gigantic chapter. Sounds fair, right? And it's actually very early on Christmas as I type this, which is the only reason I wrote a religion-specific exclamation. So, this is mostly filler, with some expansion and the final, dramatic reveal of what has been happening with Charlie and Lucas. Also, I really wish RM would release Kurt and Mercedes doing Fergalicious with the Cheerios. That's the reason behind the ringtone. My story board is helping my writing tremendously, so hopefully you guys will get the next chapter soon, which will include some canon, but probably not Valentine's Day. Also: the two things I couldn't spell this chapter were Charlie's name and the word Valentine, so I'm sorry if you see them misspelled anywhere that my bizarre spell check did not pick up.
Songs used/mentioned:
'Fergalicious' by Fergie
Review are Love. And awesome Christmas presents.