And here is tonight's chapter! I've already gotten some reviews saying some of you were worried when you didn't get last night's chapter - sorry about that! If I'm ever not posting, check my Twitter because I can usually get on using my iPod and I'll let you know if I can't post that night. If there's nothing on my Twitter, hunt down Angela and ask her if she knows where I am ;)

From a very gleeky witch: Blaine is about to surprise Kurt by picking him up at school so they can hang out, but he's pretty sure he can hear Kurt shouting from the locker room, and it sounds like he's with a certain Neanderthal. Blaine stops Karofsky from stealing Kurt's first kiss.

That episode showed last week here and it's heartbreaking. And I was watching parts of Furt today and that scene where Karofsky just walks up and gets in Kurt's face and he's terrified... I can't handle that.

Rescued

Breathe, Blaine. It's alright.

Hesitantly, Blaine stepped through the front doors of McKinley. The hallways were almost deserted, most of the students having headed out for the afternoon or gone to extra-curricular activities. Still, Blaine felt his heart pounding as he passed through the halls, avoiding eye contact with anybody. He knew Kurt got a lot of crap in these halls, and while Blaine didn't think he looked particularly gay today, the fact that he was an unknown might mean that he could get targeted anyway. But nobody wearing a letter jacket was nearby and Blaine breathed a sigh of relief.

Now to find Kurt.

Blaine had no idea where Kurt would be. He had planned to surprise his friend so they could go out for coffee, but of course Blaine didn't really know the school as well as he had thought. Which now led to his current predicament of wandering the halls, hoping to run into Kurt before somebody else ran into him.

A voice came floating across the corridor, faintly. Blaine focused on it and vaguely made out Kurt's voice, sounding shrill and frustrated. "... not my type!"

Blaine frowned. I thought Kurt was the only one out?

Then he realized that someone was replying in a low, tough sounding voice and Blaine suddenly knew that whatever was going on, it wasn't good. Forgetting all of his fear and self-preservation - because seriously, this was Kurt - Blaine headed towards the door and pushed it open. And there was Kurt, face-to-face with a beefy jock with a red face. Kurt's fists were balled and Blaine could tell he was furious. But what really concerned Blaine was the look on this jock's face, like he was about to snap...

"You are nothing but a scared little boy who can't handle how extraordinarily ordinary you are!"

Blaine watched, almost in slow motion as the jock reached his hands out for Kurt's face and all he could think was my god, he's going to strangle him, he's going to hit him, he...

"Hey! Don't touch him!" The words burst out of his mouth before Blaine realized he had spoken. The jock's hands dropped instantly, panicked eyes rising to meet Blaine's. His mouth opened, but no words came out. With a strangled noise, he strode straight towards Blaine. Kurt yelled out something, and Blaine flinched, but the boy kept walking, elbowing Blaine out of the way harshly as he broke into a run out of the locker room.

Blaine turned to look after him, focusing on calming his breathing. The shove had hurt, yes, but Kurt was his priority. And when he turned back, Kurt had sunk onto one of the benches, a hand over his mouth.

"Kurt?" Blaine stepped towards him cautiously, kneeling in front of him. "Did he hurt you?"

Kurt shook his head, his eyes hazy. Blaine reached out, taking his hand and squeezing it. He wasn't sure what was going on in Kurt's mind, but his friend looked like he was going into shock and Blaine frantically thought back to his meagre first aid training, trying to work out what to do. Luckily, Kurt snapped out of it a moment later, his eyes meeting Blaine's. "Blaine," he murmured. "What are you doing here?"

"I came by to see how you were doing, and I'm glad I did. How did you manage to get in here alone with him, Kurt?"

Kurt ducked his head. "I followed him in," he admitted quietly. "He was saying things.. and I just snapped. Just - just like he was about to."

Blaine's heart was in his throat, knowing just how close Kurt had gotten to having the crap beaten out of him. "But he didn't hurt you? He looked like he was going to ... to hit you."

Kurt stared at him for a moment before barking out a laugh, surprising Blaine. "Hit me? Blaine, he tried to kiss me."

There were no words. Blaine dropped back onto his heels, staring into Kurt's face. "Kurt," he whispered, shaking his head and simply staring into the other boys face.

"I know." Kurt shrugged, attempting to brush it off, but his hands were still shaking in Blaine's. "I guess there was a reason behind all of the bullying after all."

"So do you think he's actually gay?" Blaine released Kurt's hands, moving on to the bench next to him.

Kurt dragged a hand through his hair, looking worn out. "I think so. I think he's realized and doesn't know what to do with it. And because I'm here and everybody knows..." Kurt trailed off, staring at the floor. Blaine saw him blink rapidly and realized he was holding back tears.

"Hey, it's alright," Blaine murmured. All he wanted to do was hug Kurt, but he knew how the other boy reacted to being 'comforted' and trusted if Kurt wanted any physical comfort, he would initiate it. "It sucks, yes, but you're okay. That's what's important right now."

And Blaine realized just how important it really was to him that Kurt was alright. When he had seen that jock going towards his friend, Blaine's mind had immediately jumped to the worst case scenarios, and he realized just how much he didn't want to see anything like that happen to Kurt. He cared way too much about the boy - possibly a bit too much for someone he barely knew, he realized.

"He must be so confused right now."

Blaine turned back to see Kurt had dropped his head into his hands. Reaching out, Blaine took them again, forcing Kurt to lift his head and look at him. "And that's not your issue. This is the boy who's been assaulting and harassing you, Kurt. After that display, and especially because someone else saw it, he's just going to close off again. If you could help him, that would be another story. But you need to look out for you."

Kurt's eyes met his fully and Blaine ignored the fluttering feeling he felt. "I - yeah. I know."

"How are you feeling?"

Kurt sighed, appearing to think about something for a second before whispering, "That would have been my first kiss."

Oh, Kurt.

Blaine found himself lost for words again. "I know you don't do hugs well, but I don't know how else to make you feel better," he admitted, unable to remember the last time he had felt this helpless.

"I actually - yeah, I think I could go for a hug." Inexplicably, Kurt was blushing, but Blaine didn't allow himself to think into it too much. He simply held out his arms and Kurt moved in, wrapping his own arms around Blaine's back hesitantly. Blaine pulled him in tight, and after a few seconds Kurt relaxed fully, leaning his head on Blaine's shoulder.

Blaine idly traced small circles on Kurt's back before gathering up his courage and leaning in to whisper in Kurt's ear. "When you do get that first kiss, you're going to get it with someone that counts, someone who cares about you and who you care about."

"I hope so," Kurt replied, his voice also hushed even though they were the only two there. And there was something about the whole scene that was just so intimate that had Blaine suddenly realizing that he wanted to share that moment with Kurt. He wanted to be Kurt's first kiss. But it wasn't up to him. Right now, he and Kurt were just friends, and Kurt had just been saved from a potential first kiss gone horridly wrong. Blaine wasn't going to force anything on the other boy.

Kurt pulled away slightly, turning his head so he was looking into Blaine's eyes. And now they were closer than they had ever been, and all the previous thoughts about kissing Kurt were magnified as the other boys lips were so close to his...

"Hey?" Kurt murmured quietly.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you." Kurt was giving him such a beautifully sweet smile, that Blaine couldn't stop himself from smiling back. "For saving me."

Blaine was all too aware that Kurt was still wrapped in his arms and unconsciously tightened his grip, not wanting to let the other boy go any time soon. "You're welcome." And then, simply because he couldn't help himself, Blaine continued. "You're worth it, Kurt. Heck, you'd've been worth it if he'd decided to beat the crap out of me."

"Really?" Kurt looked stunned - clearly nobody had ever told him anything like that before. Well, Blaine was about to fix that.

"Absolutely. You're amazing, Kurt, and nobody has the right to tell you otherwise. What he tried to steal from you today - that's a gift for you to give to someone when you think it's right. And that's for someone who deserves you, okay?"

Kurt's eyes were suddenly shining with an emotion Blaine had never seen directed at him. "I think I know who deserves it."

Before Blaine could comment, Kurt was closing the distance between them and kissing him. And this was nothing like the attempt that had been made only five minutes prior. This was soft, sweet and slightly hesitant, but growing in confidence as Blaine kissed him back.

Kurt broke away a moment later, and Blaine could see the confidence leaving him straight away. Shaking his head, Blaine pressed their foreheads together and stared him right in the eye. "I know how much that meant to you, and the fact that you chose to share it with me is ... I don't have the words, Kurt, and that doesn't happen to me often."

Kurt chuckled lightly, and Blaine could see the tinges of fear disappearing. "I know it's too early, we haven't known each other long enough and all that, but I'm falling for you, Blaine."

"Same," he murmured back, because what else could he say? "How about we just take it slow and see where things end up?"

"I'd like that." Their foreheads were still pressed together with their arms around each other, and Blaine wondered just what he'd done to deserve a moment as beautiful as this, and someone as beautiful as Kurt. "That was - well, I'd say better than I imagined, but I hadn't ever really imagined my first kiss. But I can't imagine it being any more perfect."

Blaine swallowed the lump in his throat. "Neither."

Surprise registered in Kurt's eyes. "Wait, that was yours too?"

"Yeah." Kurt looked shocked, and began to pull away. Blaine shook his head, tightening his grip. "Hey, I just told you it was perfect. Don't run away on me."

"I - I should have asked. I just assumed, because you're ... you -"

Blaine laughed. "I've never had a boyfriend, Kurt. You'd be the first - assuming that's what you want of course." And now it was his turn to be hesitant, because they hadn't discussed it and Blaine shouldn't just assume -

"Of course I do." Kurt shook his head, smiling again. "Isn't there usually only meant to be one hesitant person in any relationship?"

Blaine was grinning as well. "We're not exactly conventional. Besides, I like it this way. We'll learn together."

"I can handle that." And Kurt leant in to kiss him again, lightly less hesitant this time.

Blaine smiled as their lips met and he began to kiss Kurt back. I love learning new things.

While I'm not a fan of them getting together this early, I actually quite like this.