–
Chapter 11
I just wanna be part of your symphony
Will you hold me tight and not let go?
–
Far too soon Nationals were upon them. Knowing that the New Directions were going to probably continue their streak of original songs, the Warblers leaned into what they did best- harmonizing and that meant that every song was a duet with Kurt and Blaine in the forefront. It was partly a compromise since Blaine had promised him that they'd reassess closer to the competition and Kurt was feeling pretty good. He was able to lift his arms above his head and out to his sides and spin around and dance with Blaine. His voice was as strong as ever and after a few breathing technique lessons again just to keep his breath where it was, they were good to go.
The nice thing about both Blaine and Kurt was that they each had considerable range. Blaine could go from almost bass to tenor and Kurt went from High F or even a note higher if only a song had that note to the F below middle C, lower if he really tried, had in the past. Truthfully, they'd recorded him being able to go from Bb5 to A2. Probably even lower and higher than those.
Their voices paired beautifully together, both rich and full and the rest of the boys provided a sounding board for them to fly off of. Kurt danced above the boys and Blaine played in the shallows and deeper, and they mixed it up. Kurt going for the lower notes while Blaine hit some of the higher ones, obviously never as high as Kurt went but Kurt could get pretty low, not deep bass but lower tenor or high baritone. And some notes that skirted and flirted with people's ears, making them think he did. Especially when he went from high F to the F below middle C within a bar and then scaled back up again and down again and then went from lower F to high F without needing to scale or slide up to it.
The applause after they finished their set was overwhelming. They thought they had been a wall of sound but it was nothing compared to the thunderous applause they'd been greeted with then and there. Rachel had sat and stared at them in shock and turned to Finn who looked at her as well, knowing they didn't stand a chance, not when Kurt could hit the same high notes Rachel could with the same clarity of sound and go even lower than her too. Blaine may not be able to go as high as Finn but he was able to go lower and he could dance too, as he and Kurt and the other boys had just proved with their flawlessly instep moves and the harmonization of moves they could do too.
Finn swallowed, wasn't Glee just about having fun? They hadn't won a competition yet, this was as far as they'd ever been. It just seemed like so much more was riding on this. Finn had broken up with Quinn again a month ago, it just wasn't a relationship and Quinn had been upset but had taken it on the chin.
Then Finn and Rachel spoke before heading out to sing their parts of their song. They were repeating the previous year's success by walking through the audience and then joining the rest, but why break what worked? They met up on the stage, staring at each other and the rest of the New Directions were facing away, waiting for their moment. Jesse St. James was in the audience, having forced his involvement more and more since before prom, working on getting Rachel back while teaching the rest of the Glee kids life lessons and ways to improve since he won 4 times in a row. Finn and Rachel sang their bits and just stared at each other. Then Finn was reaching out and pulling Rachel to him and kissing her. She was frozen for a moment before her hands reached up and slid against his cheeks and kissed him back. There was silence in the audience for far too long.
Then Mike looked over at them, wondering what was taking so long to transition into the next song. They'd gone instrument-less for the first two, ramping up to a lot more help with instruments and tracks to surprise the audience with their big finish. He cleared his throat and started in on Finn's part, knowing the words and song after a lot of practice and the rest of the New Directions adjusted accordingly. Rachel and Finn pulled away when they realized they were still kissing during the next song and slid in at the right moments to take over their parts and Mike gave his up thankfully and concentrated more on dancing.
The New Directions put on the best show they could and people clapped and cheered for them. It just didn't feel the same as when the Warblers were up there though. The New Directions still took it well though and accepted whatever applause they got. They had probably botched it a little with the kiss in the beginning but it was something neither Finn nor Rachel would apologize for.
They had recovered fairly well though and had a smooth remaining 2 songs.
The other teams were good and the girl that Rachel had tried to scare off was phenomenal. There was so much power in her tiny little body but her pronunciation was sometimes off, even while singing, which was usually less noticeable since pronunciation was usually intentionally off to make it sound better in the context.
That had hurt Vocal Adrenaline a little actually but it was mostly overlooked because of her sheer talent. They relied too much on a single talent though and a lot of showy dance moves and extras rather than skill and song choices.
In the end, it was the Warblers who won, VA came in second, Soundexplosion was third and Aural Intensity fourth and ND came in 12th. That meant 7 other teams that they hadn't even considered a threat had beaten them. The ND were a little miffed at Finn and Rachel though afterward, which was understandable. Mercedes had waved at Kurt from the stands while they watched the other teams and Kurt had winked back. He'd missed her so much, the times that he got to spend with her were dwarfed by all the other problems their friends were having and so hadn't had as much time with her as he'd have liked. He admitted too that Blaine stole a lot of his time and attention, especially on weekends.
"What, no party this time?" Nick asked cheekily of Rachel who was so besotted and wrapped into Finn's arms that they barely managed to glare at him while Kurt elbowed him in the side – not the right time – and they went back to look at each other with gooey eyes.
"What an eye-fuck-fest." Santana groaned and acted like she wanted to puke. "Hummel, you and I are going out tonight to celebrate your win!"
"Uh-" Kurt liked Santana a lot, he really did, but this was totally unexpected.
Blaine had his arms wrapped around Kurt from behind and his chin was resting on Kurt's shoulder and he looked over at Santana with wounded eyes. "Oh, your boy toy can come too if that's what it takes!"
Kurt glanced back at Blaine who only shrugged in response, it would be Kurt's choice. Kurt kissed the top of Blaine's forehead and turned back to her. "Sure. Who else is coming?"
"Just the 3 of us." Santana hesitated and then looked over at Brittany. "Maybe 4."
Blaine nuzzled into Kurt's shoulder and was whispering to him while the world around them erupted into either applause, cheers or annoyed chatter. He and Kurt were privately celebrating on their own. "We're coming too." Nick and Jeff were standing nearby and of course it was Nick that spoke. "We're not going to let Kurt have all the fun!"
Kurt rolled his eyes. "If the two of you are going, maybe I'm going to change my mind."
"Hey!" Nick protested and Jeff looked a little hurt too and Kurt gave in.
"I said maybe. I'll still go and you can both come too." Kurt glanced over at his brother. "That was a really good song you wrote Finn."
"Thanks." Finn was a little embarrassed. "I didn't know everyone would like it so much. I'm glad I wrote it now and shared it."
"It would have been better if the kiss at the end didn't totally change the message!" Santana snarled and Finn and Rachel were too happy to give her much notice. "They haven't even talked about what happened!" She complained to whoever would listen, but there weren't many ears willing to hear it.
–
Four of the six at the table were winners and the other two liked winning but they were able to put aside that desire to support and cheer on their friend and fellow Cheerio. "Now that Nationals are over, are you coming back to school?" Brittany asked and Santana winced, she hadn't wanted to have that conversation so soon, but Brittany didn't adhere to social norms.
"Uh-" Kurt felt like he had only one word in his vocabulary. "I haven't thought about it. Not before this year is over at least. It's only about another month." They had their finale at school too.
"Kurt's going to stay and help us win a second championship." Nick said with a bit of bite in his usually playful attitude.
"There's no point to stay anymore." Santana argued. "We're his friends and we want him back. Lightning doesn't strike twice. You won't be able to win a second time by doing the same thing you just did."
"Why not? Vocal Adrenaline has done the same thing for years and won almost every time with the same type of style and tricks. They're mint in what they do, why break up the dream team when we got a streak started before we have to let him go?" Jeff asked this time, having Nick's back.
"He's not a Dalton Prep Boy. He doesn't belong there full time, look how it's suffocating him!" Santana argued waving at Kurt's conformity and Kurt opened his mouth and uttered a sound of protest, that wasn't true!
"He's like a canary in a mine." Brittany added. "Beautiful but once hidden in the dark, will die because he can't breath or shine. He likes the sun."
"Uh-" It was Blaine's turn to be speechless, had they not known that their very own canary had died in Kurt's presence? At his house, in his bedroom, no less? They had to check to make sure there wasn't any type of gas leak in the house after that and they were still all a little paranoid that there was still something missing.
"Brittany!" Santana hissed. "Think before speaking about death."
Brittany blushed a little and sat back into her seat, quieter now.
"Sorry." Santana rubbed her temples. "We're here to celebrate, not to argue about the future."
"Here's to 3 amazing couples and their amazing singing and future careers in show business!" Nick raised his glass and no one else rose their glasses to meet him there. "Nobody wants to be successful?" He asked, not understanding.
Blaine shook his head. "You really are oblivious sometimes."
"We're not a couple." Santana started slowly, her eyes darting around to see who else might have heard him.
"We're a couple of girls." Brittany offered and Santana shushed her. "Well we are." She pouted.
"Sorry, I just assumed." Nick rubbed the back of his neck, feeling bad about saying anything. "I saw the two of you making out earlier."
"Ah, we do that sometimes." Santana agreed. "But we're not a couple, we're just friends."
Kurt nodded, covering for his friends. "Yeah, Santana and Brittany are both in relationships with guys... who are they this time?"
"I'm with Puck." Santana said slowly. "And Brittany is with Artie."
"Still? Wow... that's been going on for awhile." Kurt meant both 'relationships' and Santana shrugged. "I thought Puck was back with Quinn though?"
"Can't he be with both of us?"
"Does she know that?" She didn't answer his question.
"Why not just be fully together or make it a group thing?" Nick asked.
"This works for us." Santana didn't say anything more on the subject and the others dropped it too but she was looking questioningly at Kurt and he nodded, he had known but he shook his head at her next question, he hadn't told anyone else, except Blaine about his suspicions.
Kurt sent her his own question with a lifted eyebrow and she held his gaze steady before breaking it to look at Brittany who's head was now resting on her shoulder and then back at Kurt she gave one short nod and he nodded back, a smile on his lips, obviously pleased by her answer. She wasn't, she tried to convey that but Kurt shook his head, she'd get there.
Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine who sagged against his chest and laid his head on Kurt's shoulder, surprised but very pleased by the external display in public. He wouldn't shun it or let Kurt regret for a moment that he made the initiative this time. Blaine just wanted to soak it up. He loved being in Kurt's arms and it had been too long since the injuries had limited him.
Maybe they should start a PFLAG at McKinley? He wasn't sure who would all go but he'd be there every week for anyone even questioning their sexuality or knew someone who was or just wanted to help someone out or were just curious to learn something.
Then the reminder that he didn't attend McKinley sunk back in and he wondered if he could still chair that club? He'd have to look into it and if he could, he wondered if Blaine could go with him? Maybe, maybe Santana would join too as one of the 'friends' in that acronym or at least pretend she was. The students at McKinley needed to learn that not all gays were the same and that it was ok to be that way because they weren't hurting anyone and weren't a threat to those that attended who weren't. Although, to be honest, it would probably be like most clubs there, just the ND supporting each other, like the Abstinence Club or that thing Mike and Artie did on the days they weren't in attendance... not football but that too, as all of ND was the team for a minute now. Was it Brainiacs? Or Mathleagues? It was something along that path.
He'd bring it up with Santana and maybe if he couldn't, maybe she could chair it but have him, Blaine, Nick and Jeff come as guests to share their experiences, explain their thoughts and desires to the group. He dropped a kiss onto the top of Blaine's head, he didn't want to drag Blaine into another tense situation if he didn't have to, he'd have to feel it out. He hadn't really been back to McKinley since they were all arrested, there hadn't been anything to go and cheer on with the family or another event that he could join. He made a casual remark about that to Santana, wanting to honor his promise to her.
"We're having an end of year Rally." Santana brought up. "It'd be nice if all of you could join and be in the audience."
"When is it?" Jeff asked instantly, not having to even think about it. Santana gave the date and they all nodded.
"We'd love to come." Nick agreed. "Ok if we invite the other guys?"
"Any of the Dalton boys that would like to come, will be welcomed." Santana's eyes lingered on Kurt. "Mind singing with us?"
Kurt grinned. "I would love to." Santana nodded pleased and the rest of the evening went smoothly and they were all laughing and having fun and were in such good spirits as they left.
–
Kurt groaned as he collapsed onto Blaine's bed. "What's wrong?" Blaine asked, sitting at the desk and doing some studying for a change while Kurt was on campus. It was Tuesday morning and Kurt surprised Blaine by coming directly to his dorm room rather than meet him at the front door like normal, which meant Kurt was there extra early because Blaine wouldn't have missed the opportunity to greet him. Blaine didn't lock his door, hadn't felt like it when Kurt wasn't present (and needing to lock it only to ensure their privacy) and Kurt came waltzing in just like any of the other Dalton boys he was friends with and he hadn't looked up or over at who came in until he heard his love's voice, even as a moan.
Now Blaine had spun toward him with a huge grin, excited by the surprise but also trying to school his features into the 'caring boyfriend' look since Kurt was obviously upset about something.
He just flopped back onto the bed and put an arm over his eyes. "Rachel is over all the time now, it's nauseating. I'm not sure which is worse, dopey Finn or mopey Finn."
Blaine chuckled and crawled into bed with Kurt, leaning on his side so he could look down at his grumpy boyfriend. He would have tried to tickle him or kissed him happy, but he held back for a moment. "Well... we could always try to outmatch them for sappiness. It would at least be fun to try and if not, at least it will fully distract you from them because you'll only be paying attention to me."
Kurt laughed, Blaine had gotten what he wanted from that comment. He peaked out from beneath his arm. "Want to start practicing now? We'll need as much practice as we can to win, and you know that I always win." Or at least he did when he didn't throw the competition on purpose.
"I am well aware of that and the trophy in the Senior Commons is proof of that."
"That was a team effort." Kurt protested but he was still pleased by the compliment.
"We're good but we haven't won since the last time we had a counter-tenor/boy soprano or any of those other terms that I'm not a hundred percent sure about where the difference begins and ends. Do you know how long ago that was?" Blaine asked, sliding his arm under Kurt, careful not to wrinkle the uniform, Kurt would have something to say about that and he didn't want to ruin the image Kurt cultivated very carefully, he liked looking at pristine Kurt almost as much as he liked rumpled and ruffled Kurt but one couldn't exist without the other.
"No." Kurt breathed, not oblivious to the new, closer position they were in and his blue eyes were even bluer just then. Sometimes people could be forgiven for thinking his eyes had gray shades or green hints or even a little bit of gold but today they were pure blue. They were such gorgeous eyes and Blaine got lost in them easily. His own were molten green and just oozing his desires so it was very clear to Kurt what he was thinking and feeling and the blue flames in his own reflected it back just as strongly.
"Probably 50 years. We've always reached somewhere in the top 5 at Nationals but this is the first time we've won in 50 years. We had nearly the same group last year and we sounded just as good as we did this year, but you made the difference, not just with your voice but your ideas on song choices and choreography and more."
"Still if you weren't so good, if the group wasn't so solid, nothing I did would have made a difference. You were all already there."
"You added another layer which pushed us to the top." Blaine's lips were brushing Kurt's as they spoke but they weren't kissing yet.
"You flatter me too much." Kurt shook his head, not buying that he was the reason they'd won, he'd been part of the group, that was all, Blaine was just putting him on and complimenting him like that because they were dating.
"I'm trying to convince you to stay. We won't be the same without you. I won't be the same without you." Blaine was adamant on this point.
Kurt sighed and rolled out of Blaine's arms and stood up. "We'd talked about this Blaine. It doesn't make sense for my dad to spend so much money on private school when there's no need and I'd rather use that money toward college."
"Do you even know where you're going yet?" Blaine was missing Kurt's warmth and he collapsed back onto his bed this time. They had talked about this, many times and Blaine kept trying to change Kurt's mind.
"I've put out feelers to Julliard and NYC and NYADA." He hesitated. "All New York based and if I don't get in, maybe I'll just move to New York anyway, work and go to a community college there while auditioning and … I don't know." It was a year away and he didn't want to talk about going even further away than what they were planning for next year. That hour and a half every day was already going to be hell for them. Then an idea popped into Kurt's head that he hadn't thought about. The logistics of it were problematic but they could figure something out. "What about you transferring to McKinley?" It had flickered through his brain once upon a time but he'd quickly squashed it at the time, but it was back again.
"How could I even do that? I don't live in the district." Then his parents would never let him go there either, once they got him into a private school, they wouldn't let him back out again, the prestige of it mattered more to them than his happiness, and it would be his last two years of school that he'd be in a public school in middle of nowhere, Ohio.
"You could use my address." Kurt shrugged. He'd still have to drive back and forth to his house though, which was problematic too, as his parents lived 2 hours away from McKinley and those nights where the weather was bad, Kurt would insist that Blaine stayed with them. Burt, Finn and Carole all would too.
"I- I'll look into it." Blaine promised, not wanting to be away from Kurt, especially after this year with their relative freedom of being able to act like grownups and spend the night with each other practically whenever they felt like it. They were basically living with each other some weeks, all on their own (with Finn and Carole making rare appearances while Burt was away or the Dalton boys down the hall). Ok, so maybe not alone quite yet.
They've lived in a little bubble of protection and even that had been threatened at times but overall they'd been safe and not living in the real world, not really. Blaine wondered what both of them living in the real world would mean for their relationship. This summer would be good practice for them as they'd both be living at their parents' houses again and they wouldn't have Dalton to fall back on or be forced to see each other at school after getting into an argument. They didn't even live in the same city and so wouldn't be able to just come over and force the other to talk to them in person, or run into each other by accident.
Blaine's eyes were not brown or green today but an amber/red/honey color and while that would usually be something warm or sweet, with Blaine's eyes going from sexy green to deepest brown based on his mood, amber was a new color for Kurt, he'd seen hints of it before, he recalled it with he'd woken up the hospital with Blaine hovering over him, now, before the brown quickly took over to show Kurt just how much he loved him and cared about him and the brown was there to support Kurt, now the amber/red/honey color was Blaine feeling his true feelings of concern once more and Kurt jumped onto the bed and wrapped his arms around him, the eyes slowly starting turning brown once more.
Kurt kissed all over Blaine's face in reassurance. "We'll be strong and good and survive the separation of the summer. We'll still see each other all the time." Kurt vowed and Blaine sunk onto Kurt's chest, letting Kurt be the protector and supporter right now.
Blaine was worried about the future but while Kurt was wrapped around him like this, he could slowly begin to relax again. They had to take things one step at a time.
"Come on, we still have classes." Kurt cajoled Blaine who reluctantly got out of bed. "We'll be able to spend the rest of the afternoon in here if you'd like."
"I'd rather be outside." Blaine admitted sheepishly, it was really nice out and when Kurt hesitated, he turned to him. "What?"
"I didn't bring any sunscreen." Kurt admitted. He didn't mind the sun on his face once in awhile, it was needed far too often, and Brittany was right, he'd prefer to be in the sun than in the dark without a chance to see it all but not the direct sun.
"Why would you need it? The sun isn't that strong yet." Although Blaine was already slightly darker than he was in the middle of the winter, just didn't realize it himself but Kurt had seen the difference between where his collar started on his uniform and where it ended. Blaine just didn't get it, he was a different skin type than Kurt.
"I just need it, ok?" Kurt didn't want to show Blaine what happened if he didn't, and he definitely didn't want to tell him because then Blaine would insist upon it. Blaine had told him how sexy he thought freckles were in the past and he didn't want to be convinced to let his own out of their hiding spot underneath his security of paleness and the tiniest bit of makeup when ever one tried to peak out. Kurt hated his freckles. They never came out as a light dusting across the bridge of his nose and cheeks, they instead covered his entire face. The former would have been tolerable and maybe sought after, the latter was cringe-worthy. He didn't want Blaine to see them, didn't want to disappoint him that his freckles weren't sexy.
That or he burned horribly; also not how he wanted to spend the last two weeks here at Dalton.
They had a really nice day and after class, they did spend some time outside but Kurt kept to the shadows, hoping it would help. He still got fairly pink and then got teased by Nick and Jeff that he would forever be in perpetual blush and he rolled his eyes at them and ignored their comments. Blaine looked at him a bit guiltily, he hadn't wanted Kurt to get hurt or burnt. Kurt waved it off and said he could have gone back inside once he felt himself getting too warm skinned, but hadn't and would take care of it tonight with some of his lotions. He wouldn't burn, burn from this, he was fairly sure.
Blaine went with him that night back to Lima and kissed his pink skin lightly but pressed firmer against the white areas that were exposed to his mouth. They were in the basement with the door open and so couldn't go too much further than some kissing and light petting above the waistline.
In the morning before Kurt even got up, Blaine nodded toward Burt who raised his cup of coffee toward him without even looking up from his paper. This had become too routine and he and Burt often sat in silence, both reading and drinking coffee in the morning prior to the rest of the house waking up. Once in awhile they'd chat a little but often they sat in companionable silence, enjoying the other's company and yet not disturbing the peace of the quiet that these early hours afforded. Today he only snagged his coffee in a to-go cup and headed out, saying he'd be back before Kurt even woke up.
He headed to McKinley, they started earlier than Dalton did and he wanted to talk to the administration board in person. He had contacted them yesterday and he was shown in to see Mr. Figgins without much wait.
Blaine sat across the desk from the other man who was looking at Blaine pensively, his fingers tented in front of his mouth as he stared and thought about what he wanted to say. "This is a fairly conservative school with very conservative donors."
"Yes, but you can't deny a student access based on sexual preference. What would be next? Acceptance based on religion, color?" Blaine held his gaze back.
The principal kept talking as if Blaine hadn't said anything at all. "Then there's the fact that you're one part of the duo who won Nationals last year and to have you at this school would be a steal." He nodded to himself, pleased with the idea. "You'd bring in a lot of donor money, especially with your diverse background."
"Excuse me?" Blaine asked tightly, he wasn't pleased to hear that.
Principal Figgins still didn't acknowledge what he'd said. "You'd still be a junior though next year, I can't change the cut off dates. Besides, it would only benefit us if we kept you around for an extra year."
This hadn't offended Blaine personally, he'd known it was a possibility. "But at my old school – Carver – I would have been a Senior there."
"Then go back to that school if you want to graduate earlier." Mr. Figgins waved it off. "Different schools in this state have different dates for starting school. The fact of the matter is, Mr. Anderson you are currently a Sophomore and would be going into your Junior Year at Dalton and the same would be here."
"My education at Dalton is so much more advanced than the education here, I could probably have graduated this year if I attended with that history."
"You were held back for a reason after you left Carver, were you not?"
"I lost a good portion of my education that year, yes, but I've worked hard and more than made up for it. I would have been able to skip grades there."
"The other fact is that we just can't change the rules for you. Had you been coming as a Junior we wouldn't have been able to hold you back a year, but between repeating a year and your birthdate, you just wouldn't be able to move up a grade, no matter what your school grades are, which slipped this year, I don't think you're ready to be a senior and you were just born too late in the year." Mr. Figgins held his gaze.
"But my birthday is August 1st!" Blaine tried to argue.
"The cut off date states that to start attending school, the child must be born before August 1st, meaning you were born anywhere from a few seconds to several hours too late, Mr. Anderson. I cannot change the rules. You needed to be born at the very latest in July."
"You change the rules all the time!" Blaine snapped, getting to his feet. "I will never attend school here. I will make it so hard for your school's Glee Club to win any competition in the future and we'll win and you'll regret not letting me come here as a Senior because I'll ruin your chances for the next two years."
"That's your choice Mr. Anderson, I would have liked to add you to our school's winner board but I respect your decision. You do know the only people you're actually hurting though are the people you love and yourself, correct?"
Blaine sneered at him before leaving but once the door was shut behind him, he realized it was true, to make it impossible for McKinley to even place at regionals, he'd have to sabotage Kurt's team. He regretted threatening that the second he realized it. Even if Kurt hadn't been on that team, he was friendly and liked a lot of them members who were good friends with Kurt, and wouldn't have wanted to hurt them either. He called himself all kinds of idiot for not thinking that through.
He had just been pissed off at the insensitivity that man had spewed, he was worse than most people because he was not only in a position of power, cared only about money but had likely gone through his own tormenting, maybe still did at times. Maybe that's what made him the way he was though, deciding that anything that made him look weak would be an opening for others to slide in and attack him more, try to get him to bend even more, or come around to their side.
Blaine was furious and he drove back to the Hummel-Hudson abode not any happier and not sure of his next game plan. Kurt had seen it on his face instantly even though he tried to school his emotions and appear unaffected. Nobody else noticed how upset he was but Kurt held his hand under the table and squeezed it periodically. Blaine would explain on the drive back, he promised with a small look in Kurt's direction who nodded and didn't push for more just then.
Kurt drove them back even though it was Blaine's car and he was less of a morning person and Blaine didn't say anything at first, going through his phone, trying to find a school who's cut off was later, like Carver's, September 30 was the date there. All the schools he could find were no less than 2 hours away, and he wouldn't be going back to Carver, couldn't and Kurt would never, ever ask it of him. He had only wanted Blaine closer, he hadn't even asked for Blaine to graduate the same year, just wanted to spend as much time as they could together, Blaine wanted that too, which is why he was looking for a school that would let him graduate sooner so he could be with Kurt in New York sooner and not have nearly as much distance between them while they did have to be separate. It would have made more sense to spend 1 year in the same state but a few hours apart rather than a year apart in separate states.
The closest school other than Carver which offered the later end date to enroll was 4 hours away and while he and Kurt would still be able to see each other on weekends, it was too far to drive on a daily basis and even the weekends would start to get tedious after awhile, especially as the weather changed and Blaine would be the one doing all the driving because it was over 2 hours from his parents' house too and there was no way to apply and even if he could, there was no guarantee that he'd be able to move into Senior status there either. He wondered if he could go through Junior year at Dalton and then ask Carver to let him graduate from there a year early? He shook his head, this was all unrealistic fantasy. They wouldn't, especially if he wasn't currently a student there and nobody would accept him as a Freshman in college without having actually gone through a true senior year, even if what he'd said was true, that his classes already qualified him for that status before the other would-be seniors; except maybe Kurt and a few others who studied hard and were naturally really smart.
He explained his dilemma to Kurt who's answer was too simple. "Then stay, Blaine." He was tired and didn't mean that and Blaine argued that back. "What do you want me to say? Your mind is already made up and you've told Mr. Figgins what you think about his solution and him personally." He hadn't told Kurt about his blow up about making sure the ND never won nationals or even sectionals or regionals if he could make it happen, he regretted those words and took them back instantly, at least while Kurt was there.
"It's not totally made up." Blaine tried to argue but in truth, it just made the most sense to stay at Dalton.
"I worry about you though, I think you'd be happier at McKinley in the end, you'd have more friends there."
"What?" Blaine asked, not expecting that.
"Well when I leave, you'll have the regular crew, true, except David but after next year it will be just you and Trent." Kurt had realized the reason he didn't know anyone from Blaine's year was because Blaine himself hadn't really made friends with his 'peers' but had made friends with one of the under-underclassmen, Trent who was a Freshman and gay and shy and Kurt had barely gotten to know him but he was sweet and giant and had reminded Kurt of Karofsky at first until he'd known the person beneath the initial appearance – which was easy to find out quickly – and they got along now too.
It could also explain part of Blaine's maturity, he only hung out with 'upper' classmen, even though he too should have been a Junior, but not everywhere in this state agreed with that either, as they both found out, he'd just gotten lucky by being put in with the class ahead of his regular one because of the school's decision to push back the cut off date. Maybe had Blaine been with the year under, it wouldn't have happened, maybe it would have been worse. Hell, Blaine could have been a Freshman this year and would have been very much out of place, but no, had he been a year prior all along then he wouldn't have been there just then and things would have all been different. Kurt didn't want to think about it and it made no difference in the long run anyway to even start thinking down that path.
"You'd have Sam, Artie and Tina and some of the ones that joined this year in my absence. Maybe some of the ones from my year if they don't shape up by the end of next year and have to repeat their senior year with you."
"Those are your friends, Kurt." Blaine kicked himself mentally, he hadn't meant to say that.
"Just like those at Dalton are your friends and I'm just borrowing them?" Kurt asked back a shade darker and deeper voiced than normal, his eyes stayed firmly on the road and so missed Blaine's grimace after saying what they both had.
"No, it's different." Blaine tried to start but Kurt shook his head swiftly.
"Because I went to Dalton this year? That doesn't make a difference. If you came to McKinley, they'd be your friends too."
"No. Because you met David and Wes prior to coming to Dalton, prior to dating me, they were your friends first, not just because of me."
"We weren't dating when you met the ND." Kurt argued back.
"But I only met them because of you."
"And I only me David and Wes because of you."
"It's not true, you came to Dalton on your own accord they are the ones who suggested we go to meet you in your setting and chat with you. They started to like you and become friends with you because you came to Dalton you met them before we were even an idea, before we even really spoke. You were friends with them first. The ND would only ever be my friends because I'm dating you."
"Nick and Jeff wouldn't have been my friends." Kurt pointed out.
"With the way things were escalating with Karofsky, you would have been at Dalton or somewhere like it before Christmas no matter what. You're in their grade, common room and majority of classes. You would have been friends." Blaine predicted and it was probably true. Kurt sighed, Blaine would never view his friends as his, which was a shame, there was already too much of separation between friend groups though they did all try, this next year or two would just drive the divide deeper with him as pretty much the only bridge between the two worlds; even Blaine wouldn't be able to touch it because he was never part of the McKinley student body and the way it sounded, nor would he be.
Kurt parked the Prius in the underground spot and they headed towards their first classes, Kurt wasn't in the mood to talk anymore right then. Blaine kept looking at his face, hoping that Kurt wasn't angry with him, he didn't want him to be and he worried that this was going to cause a rift between them. Blaine was about to reach for Kurt's hand, a simple move that would give him a good indicator about how Kurt was currently feeling, before he could tuck it away and pretend to be fine with happy smiles and sass.
"Blaine, there you are-" A voice called out and they both turned their heads to look at the school administrator who smiled kindly at Kurt too. "I wanted to introduce you to the boy you'll be sharing a dorm with next year. He's in your year and he's filling in one of the 3 open spots for next year." Junior year had only 1 open spot and Kurt had taken it and now with his absence, there'd be one open again but he wouldn't have shared a room with Blaine anyway, he'd have shared it with one of the Juniors who had the open bed. Sophomores had 3 open spots and Blaine had been one of the 3 to have a room to themselves. Kurt wished that this boy had been put in one of the other half filled rooms but he had no ability to share that wish, especially as he wasn't going to be a student here next year.
The administrator was just being nice to him, having no ill feelings toward Kurt though he had expressed that he'd have preferred Kurt to stay, not only to fill that empty spot but keep the Warblers on top and that they had liked having him there as an individual, all the teachers had liked him and had only said pleasant things, he had fit in well over all.
Brittany and Santana had been right about that too though, he'd felt stifled, forced to conform to the uniformity of this school for far too many hours of the day, even the change of clothes toward the end had no longer satisfied him and had slowly started pushing back against the dress code, especially as the danger was over. Nobody had said anything. He didn't know how he would have reacted if they had. Now it didn't matter.
Kurt stepped away from Blaine with a smile and a wave toward the administrator and tried to encompass the new boy and his family in that look too but he barely registered any of them. His thoughts were already down a rabbit hole thinking about next year and how he was losing what he had with these boys but regaining what he had missed so desperately – his friends and family in Lima and his individuality. He had retained his personality, that couldn't be striped of him, no matter what clothing he wore.
Blaine reached out for Kurt but he was already out of reach. "Kurt-" He started but Kurt shook his head.
"I'll see you after class." Kurt promised, he was already walking away when he heard the administrator introduce the two future roommates.
"Blaine Anderson, I'd like to introduce you to Sebastian Smythe."
"Hi, how are you?" Sebastian asked, his eyes following the retreating form and didn't hear Blaine's answer. "Who's that?"
"My boyfriend, Kurt." Blaine answered, also watching him, but trying very hard to be the charming boy the school probably labeled him as when talking up the rooming situation and he tore his eyes back to Sebastian who looked at him too in curiosity.
"Lovers' spat?"
"Just a hard conversation." Blaine didn't realize it made it sound like he and Kurt were on the rocks and possibly breaking up, that was definitely not what he'd meant. Nor where they were, he hoped.
"Hmm." Sebastian looked at Blaine and then at Kurt's retreating back and Blaine had a hard time interpreting what he was thinking. Then Sebastian grinned. "We'll be upperclassmen next year." Already it appeared as if Sebastian was planning on taking over the school even though he didn't attend it yet. "I heard you're in the Glee Club."
"I am. Do you sing?" Blaine wanted to chase after Kurt but this was going to set the tone for the next year. Maybe his senior year he could ask for a mix up in room assignments if things didn't work out, but it would be harder to do so during the year if they didn't get on.
"Oh yes, I do. I'm going to try out for the solo spot."
"You have stiff competition." Blaine joked and Sebastian's eyes flashed at Blaine's word choice.
"I heard there was going to be an opening to slid into soon enough." Sebastian hadn't known it at that time but the spot he would be competing for would be the one vacated by Kurt. Had Kurt stayed, perhaps Sebastian would have had a third solo spot, or he would have taken Blaine's but it was doubtful he'd have ever been able to knock Kurt out of that spot, Kurt's voice was just too unique, especially in an all male school who desperately needed to hit some of those higher notes to be able to compete as well as they could. The all girls' school had a counteralto and had hit some of the lower notes typically only for men but couldn't reach quite the same lows as the boys, no matter how deep their voice went without welcoming a male who identified as female into the fold and they hadn't done that or vice versa, they had just a male who could hit those higher notes.
Blaine totally missed the innuendo, growing depressed at the thought that Kurt would be gone and he wouldn't be able to sing those duets anymore with him on a competition stage. He kept things light and somehow managed to hold a conversation that neither boy had felt burdened with. Then Blaine apologized, he had to get to class and left his future roommate with his family and the administrator.
He totally forgot about Sebastian Smythe and wouldn't remember him again until the day he walked into his Junior Year dorm room to find the boy setting up camp on his typical side of the room. He wouldn't say anything then or hold it against him, he was the new kid and Blaine was good at giving in and up what he wanted, just to keep the peace.
Or he usually was, but he didn't with Kurt or when it came to Kurt because with Kurt, he wanted more than just to settle down and roll over and play dead, he wanted the best for both of them. Sometimes that meant fighting Kurt about what he wanted because Blaine knew what would be the best for Kurt, and only if it was a one or the other situation, then he'd give up what he wanted because it was something Kurt needed. He would always fight for Kurt or to be with him.
He could have fought harder to keep Kurt at Dalton. He had it in his power of persuasion to get Kurt to stay but he wouldn't use it on him for this. It would have been too selfish and he'd seen how much Kurt was dying to go back to his old school, his old friends, his old life, his own clothes. Blaine couldn't understand it, he himself never desired to go back and had liked having Kurt there with him. Yet, he knew it was a bit too much to be paying for Dalton, especially full price next year and driving both directions with all the risks involved with being on the road so much, Burt wouldn't have allowed him to stay next year either, not even during the school week and home on the weekends.
That was his biggest fear though, that Kurt would fall back into his old life and not think a moment about the life he'd shared with Blaine over the last year. No, not year, it was only 8 months, if that. That he would find someone else who was in closer proximity to him.
It would be harder on Blaine than Kurt, it was harder to be left behind with every move or location or action with the ghosts of the past showing him what he'd done with Kurt in that spot. Except it was going to be different this year than when he'd go to New York because there would be memories of Blaine all around him in Lima too. When he'd go to New York, everything would be fresh and new and not tainted with memories reminding him to contact Blaine, he'd forget all about him for sure then. This was just the first step down that path.
Blaine left his classroom and headed towards the next and felt arms wrap around him from behind and a face was pressed against his back. "I love you." Kurt said warmly.
Blaine crossed his arms too so he could hold as much of his arms against Kurt's and his hands found Kurt's elbows and held on tight. "I love you too. I love you so much." He whispered back and felt a bit exposed with all his emotions on his face with everyone else being able to see them and not even looking up into Kurt's expression-filled blue eyes as a small barrier to the rest of the world, because when he looked into Kurt's face, he forgot the rest of the world existed. Kurt's face was hidden against his back, it wasn't quite fair but Blaine didn't turn yet, he just enjoyed the feel of Kurt wrapped around him.
Eventually he did turn and stayed within the embrace as he did so and then looped his arms around Kurt too and Kurt just pressed his face into Blaine's chest this time. Blaine closed his eyes and just stayed in that cocoon of warmth and love. They could do this, he had to keep reminding himself and they weren't at that point yet. They still had another 2 weeks of school and then they could spend even more time together.
–
The final week was hard for everyone involved. Nick kept crying and attacking Kurt and David in hugs. David was graduating and he was buzzing with excitement but was also nervous and was feeling the loss of his friends already. He hugged Kurt too on their last day at Dalton, he held on for a long time and then he released him to go do the same with the others. Jeff had been quieter than normal and came over to hug Kurt then. "You and I are going to be friends for life, if you need anything, you call me, ok?"
Wes had echoed the same sentiments and Kurt told them the same thing. He was only a call away and they should come to Lima often. He wasn't sure how he was going to be spending the night at Dalton anymore now that Blaine had a roommate and he wasn't a student, he wouldn't be let into the dormitory area without supervision, when even their parents weren't allowed. They promised they'd take him up on the offer and he'd gotten invited to their homes and summer places and he already marked them into his calender and he'd be going. They made plans to come and see him Lima too for a weekend or so over the summer.
The Dalton boys had made a plan to go camping for a week that summer too somewhere that all of them could get to and a time they all agreed upon.
They would call and text each other all the time too, which they did. They all followed through with all of their plans. But it was still hard leaving them all but Kurt knew it wouldn't be the end. They had cemented friendships that wouldn't ever break. They may crack in the future but it could be filled in again and they'd be strong again, maybe stronger for the scar tissue was usually stronger than normal flesh.
–
Blaine had gotten a job at Burt's shop, knowing his way around autoparts and Burt had been impressed enough to let him join. He knew more than Finn had and he'd thought that Blaine would have known less than Kurt. Or at least less than what Kurt feigned he knew about cars and car parts. He was actually quite up on the lingo and knew which part was which after having spent so much time in the garage. Kurt had to help out there this summer too and Blaine was excited to see him in his jumpsuit or overalls.
Burt had given up a long time ago trying to get Kurt to conform to the shop code, as long as he wore clothes that properly protected him and didn't have a bunch of layers or long things dangingling off of him that could get caught – including long sweaters – then Burt didn't argue any more. As his son, he could get away with it but Finn abided by the code, he didn't do one thing that was out of line. Blaine would obey also.
His parents were less than pleased that Blaine was going to go get dirty and work at an automotive shop but his dad had tried to make him straight by fixing a car, so he couldn't say anything, not really. He was at least making money through honest hard work. It was something they should be proud of him for and they didn't commented on it again the entire summer, when they were around.
This way Blaine could be around Lima for an entirely different reason than just Kurt. Kurt himself helped out at shop most days during the week but he wasn't required to be there all the time. He would go off with the girls from ND on shopping trips, girl outings like facials, nails, hair appointments. Went and slept over at their houses. He went and hung out with the guys too, he spent time with Puck and Artie individually. Sam was off for the summer in another state, staying with an aunt or something. Blaine spent actually more time with Finn and Burt than he did his own boyfriend that summer while he was in Lima. Blaine of course was invited to some of the events, but not all. Anything that was with Santana and Brittany or the entire ND crew or Finn and Rachel, and sometimes when Kurt had plans with Mercedes, Mercedes would extend an invite to Blaine.
Meanwhile Kurt went with Blaine everywhere that had to do with the Warblers, sometimes he got invited to go on his own though and Blaine was either at home with his parents or at the shop. Kurt was only interested in the shop as far as Blaine was concerned but he only spent time there because Burt made him or he came to drop off lunch. Kurt would always make sure to steal a kiss from Blaine though when no one else was looking any time he was there, even if it was just to drop something off. Burt probably left his lunch at home just so Kurt would come or Kurt came just to see Blaine with the pretense of the lunch, Blaine wasn't sure.
Kurt had an active social life and now that he didn't have a threat hanging over his head, he definitely leaned into it. He was making up for a lot of loss time with everyone and often had at least one fashion change a day when he wasn't working at the shop. He'd also gotten a job online for a fashion magazine, right now he was just being paid to make sure the spelling or names were correct, he'd impressed them with his knowledge without even a hesitation on how to spell even the most complicated names or their fashion lines for the season, even in the native language.
Because Kurt was making his own money, and pretty decent money at that, Burt relented and gave him more free time rather than requiring his son to be at the shop with him. He did attend all the family Friday dinners at home though and so did Blaine.
Both families did have dinner together. They actually had quite a few together. All involved thought there would be one meal to meet the other family, get an assessment on them and then never have anything to do with the other. Yet instead, they had monthly dinners together that would continue even when the school year started up.
Blaine saw more of his family that summer than he ever had because of the Hummel-Hudsons.
Now, to be fair to Kurt, he spent an awful amount of time with Blaine, far more than Blaine was giving him credit for. They spent most days together, especially on the weekends and evenings and nights together. They went to movies, coffee shops, live music events, dinner, shopping, walks in the park, etc together, alone and with others, they went to outdoor backyard barbeques together, Blaine dutifully didn't drink much or at all and Kurt never touched it. They went to go see the Warblers at each other houses together. The Warblers all came to visit Kurt in Lima, sometimes when Blaine was there, sometimes alone, sometimes together or random groups.
Kurt often had an umbrella with him on the times they spent time outside and one day Blaine found out exactly why.
"You're so freaking adorable!" Blaine tackled Kurt when the freckles came out in full force and started kissing every single one of them. Kurt laughed and tried to bat Blaine away playfully.
"What, not freaking hot? Sexy? You used those terms before when it came to other people and their freckles."
"You are those things, of course." There were at least a hundred freckles and he would give Kurt a kiss for each of them, at least. "I just never realized how adorable you'd be too." His eyes were the deepest chocolate and Kurt let him attack his face with his mouth, soaking up the cuteness of the scene and enjoying his boyfriend's mouth on him.
Then he realized that Blaine was still in his work overalls. "Ew, Blaine, you're greasy and you're going to transfer that onto me!"
"You don't really care."
"Maybe not right now." Kurt gave in with a soft sound as he became putty in Blaine's hands again. Later he might have a few choice words about the grease that was so hard to get out of his precious clothing items and the delicate fabrics.