Chapter 3

Blaine did not expect Kurt to ask him out.

Okay, Kurt didn't really ask him out. He just invited him to go get coffee together. As friends, of course.

After Blaine had texted Kurt that he was gay, Kurt never responded and Blaine had been up half the night terrified, thinking that he had scared Kurt off or something. He didn't want his first friend at his new school to already leave him. He knew it seemed clingy, especially since they had only met yesterday, but Blaine really didn't need anybody else to leave him. Maybe Blaine was overly clingy, but he was working on it. He really was.

He kind of had already figured that Kurt was gay, and that theory was confirmed by everybody in glee club during lunch yesterday.

After thinking about it for way too long, Blaine came to the conclusion that Kurt got freaked out by Blaine saying he was gay. Maybe Kurt thought that Blaine would try to make a move on him or something, and Kurt didn't want that. Maybe Kurt didn't want to be friends with Blaine anymore because he was too socially awkward. Blaine honestly didn't know why he thought half of the things that he thought. It's not like he can really control his brain and idiotic thoughts.

And apparently his theories about Kurt weren't even true.

"Hey Anderson, ready to get to Lit today? I'm excited to start reading The Great Gatsby" Kurt said, approaching Blaine at his locked his eyes on Kurt's, still in awe about how absolutely gorgeous they were. He'd already made a fool out of himself the first time that they had met, but it wasn't his fault. It was Kurt's fault for having the most breathtaking eyes Blaine had ever seen.

"You're still walking with me to class?"

"Anderson, I made a promise, and I take my promises very seriously" Kurt smirked while he was speaking.

"Oh cool. I thought you hated me or something" Blaine said, looking Kurt up and down. Yesterday, the boy had been wearing really, really, tight gray slacks with an extravagant maple leaf print shirt tucked into his pants. Now today, he was wearing jeans just as tight as yesterday, except now they were white with a yellow shirt tucked in and a blue scarf wrapped around his neck.

His hair was perfectly coiffed, as it was yesterday, and Blaine just really admired this beautiful boy for his bold fashion choices.

"What? Why would I have any reason to hate you?"

"You didn't text me back"

"Wait I didn't- Oh shit"

"Yeah"

"Blaine I-"

"No it's okay. You were probably busy or something or-"

"No, I wasn't"

"Oh?"

"Wait no that came out wrong-"

"It's fine if you don't want to be my friend anymore or something…"

"Anderson! Babe! Don't be ridiculous. Of course I want to be your friend, I'm sorry. I literally just forgot to respond, that's all. I got caught up in other shit. I like being your friend, I promise, and like I said, I take my promises seriously"

Blaine blushed at the pet name. That was the second time that Kurt had called him that and he really didn't know what to make of it, "Me too Hummel. And it's really fine. I just thought I'd scared you off or something"

"No no you didn't at all. Actually, I don't have any other gay friends here. So it'll be nice to have someone to talk, somebody who will understand what it's like"

"Yeah, same here. Alright, let's go to class before we're late again" Blaine laughed, thinking about how overdramatic he had been the day before. He just really didn't like being called out in front of the class like that, especially since he was new to the school. It wasn't Kurt's fault though. He knew that.

"Alright," Kurt and Blaine started walking, side by side. "But hey, we should totally like… hang out tomorrow" Kurt said, his voice wavering at the end.

"Oh? What do you mean?"

"I mean… we should go get coffee together after school and just… hang out. We haven't really talked outside of school and I want to get to know you better. So be prepared to tell me your deepest darkest secrets," Kurt teased, "Plus, we can discuss your glee club audition for Friday. I'm sure that you'll nail your performance, but I'd be happy to help. No big deal if you don't want to go though…"

His deepest darkest secrets. No. No, no, no. No way.

He knew that Kurt was just messing with him. But still. Blaine didn't even want to start thinking about those and he hated the way that his mind wandered into the darkest places sometimes.

"Yeah that'd be really cool Hummel"

Kurt and Blaine stepped into English class as Kurt said, "Alright, it's a date"

A date?

He just means it in a friendly way, nothing more.

It's a common expression! People say stuff like that all the time.

Blaine Anderson doesn't do dates.

Or relationships.

Yes, he would absolutely love a relationship.

Especially with Kurt.

But the thing is, Blaine is the biggest hopeless romantic of all time.

Hopeless being the key word there.

Blaine couldn't date anybody because nothing ever worked out in the end. He would always end up heartbroken, no matter what. He didn't want to go through that. He wouldn't go through that, so he would never be in a relationship. He would always end up getting left behind and forgotten. He knew that he could never deal with somebody leaving him. Again.

Kurt didn't even say that it was a real date, they both knew that. I mean, they barely knew each other. They were just hanging out as friends. Plus, Kurt said that it was mostly to help Blaine with his glee audition.

Just Blaine hanging out with his friend.

His friend that he just so happened to be very attracted to.

It was just an attraction. Not a crush. Blaine didn't allow himself to have crushes.

Crushes lead to relationships which lead to heartbreak, and Blaine had always been very diligent in controlling his feelings and forcing himself not to fall for anybody too hard.

But Kurt was different.

Kurt scared him, because he could easily see himself falling for Kurt.

No. Blaine wouldn't allow that to happen. He would just be friends with Kurt, nothing more.

Blaine slowly walked to his white chevy cruze in the school parking lot after school.

Today had been extremely boring, he'd only talked to Kurt once all day.

To be fair, Kurt had invited him to hangout the only time they had talked. But still, Blaine found himself disappointed that he didn't get to see Kurt more.

Just as a friend, Blaine had to remind himself.

He would've sat with glee at lunch again, but he was called up to the front office and had to spend a significant amount of time up there. Apparently, there was a problem transferring some class credits from his old school over to Mckinley, but luckily, they had managed to get everything figured out.

"Blaine!" A familiar voice yelled across the parking lot.

Blaine turned and saw Mike and Tina walking towards him, hands clasped.

"Hey," Blaine said, voice probably too quiet for them to even hear.

Blaine actually really liked Tina and Mike, and honestly? He wanted to be friends with them, but for some reason, he always made everything awkward. He hated himself for that.

"Do you have dinner plans for tonight?" Tina asked, giving a genuine smile.

"No… why?" Blaine questioned.

"You should come to Breadstix with Mike and I! It's this really popular restaurant here in Lima. It's not the best, but they have unlimited breadsticks. It'd be fun!"

"Oh? Um, yeah. Yeah! That sounds fun" Blaine felt himself getting a little too excited.

He had reason to be excited. Since sixth grade, he had always had the same dinner routine. Coming home to an empty house, attempting to make himself something, and eating alone in his room. I mean, sometimes he ate with his mom, when she was home. This was a rare occurrence though, as Blaine's mother was a flight attendant, meaning she was rarely home. And his father? Well... that doesn't matter now.

"Cool man! Meet there at 6? Oh, and just in case, give me your number" Mike said to Blaine.

"Cool, six, yeah." Blaine said.

The three of them exchanged phone numbers and Blaine got into his car. Driving home, Blaine smiled to himself. A real smile too, he hadn't smiled to himself in a long time. Blaine Anderson, the awkwardest man on the planet, was finally making friends.

Blaine arrived at Breadstix at 5:55 exactly. Blaine was never late, ever. Except for that one time that Kurt had made him late to English. But he didn't really want to think about that.

Blaine walked in and was surprised to see that Tina and Mike were already there, cuddling together in a booth.

"My man!" Mike shouted as Blaine made his way over.

Blaine felt his face heat up, not wanting to be the center of attention of the entire restaurant, and he slipped into the booth, sitting across from the couple.

Blaine looked at the pile of breadsticks stacked on a plate in the middle of the table.

"They're just free?' Blaine questioned.

Tina smiled and responded, "Yeah, try one! Watch out though: they're quite addictive"

Blaine reached out and tried one, feeling extremely awkward because both Tina and Mike were staring at him, waiting for his reaction.

"Oh my god!" Blaine exclaimed.

"Amazing, right?" Mike smiled.

The waitress came over and took their orders, Blaine stuttering about a million times until he finally spit out that he just wanted chicken fettuccine alfredo.

As soon as the waitress walked away, Tina smiled at Blaine across the table with a look in her eyes that made Blaine feel nervous and as if he was under observation.

"So… Blaine" Tina said, "What's up with you and Kurt?"

"Tina! You said you wouldn't ask him that!" Mike whisper-yelled to Tina.

"I know, I know! I'm sorry though, I had to! I just really wanted to know…"

"Tina, we don't even know if he's gay"

"Okay but if he is, wouldn't he and Kurt be so cute together?"

"Tina... you said you wouldn't do this!"

"I know, I know, but it was worth a try!"

The couple kept bickering back and forth, seemingly oblivious to Blaine sitting there, not knowing what to do or say. Finally, he'd had enough.

"Please! Stop!" Blaine said, voice a little too loud.

Tina and Mike just looked at him expectantly.

"Yeah, I'm gay. I'm out and proud or whatever so it's no big deal. I mean I don't really say anything unless people ask, but anyways Kurt and I are just friends, really. I barely even know him"

But he really really wanted to get to know Kurt better. Tina and Mike didn't need to know that though.

Tina and Mike looked at each other, then looked back to Blaine.

"Cool. Sorry that we kinda forced you to tell us that, though" Mike apologized.

"It's okay, really. I have no problem telling people. I just get kinda awkward about it because I never know how people are gonna react to it, y'know?"

"I'm assuming Kurt already knows?" Tina tried to hold back a smile.

"Yeah I told him"

"And you guys are dating now?!" Tina exclaimed.

Mike glared at Tina but Blaine just started laughing, "No we're not dating"

"But you want to date him?"

Blaine stayed silent.

"Oh my god! Blaine, you have a crush on Kurt!" Tina practically bounced out of her seat.

"No! No. I mean, yeah he's attractive and all, but we're just friends. Like I said, I barely know him"

"Oh my god Blaine you're blushing, you so have a crush on Kurt! It's okay, I'm sure he has a crush on you back! Awe, you guys are too cute"

"Tina, it's barely his third day of school. I love you, but calm down" Mike teased his girlfriend.

Blaine's face was still red as he said, "Can we please change the subject?"

Mike and Tina laughed, and happily obliged to Blaine's request.

The trio enjoyed their food together and talked a lot about calculus and glee club. Blaine learned that their teacher was super creepy and addicted to vests, so he knew to stay away from him. What was his name? Mr. Shoe or something? Whatever, it didn't really matter. All that mattered was that Blaine had a wonderful time with Tina and Mike, and he looked forward to continuing their friendship. Blaine never used to allow himself to get close with people. But Mckinley was proving to be different.

After Blaine had showered and finished up his homework, he settled into bed around 11:45. He was about to go to sleep, but his phone lit up with a text message, and he suddenly didn't feel tired after seeing who the message was from.

Kurt: hey, meet at the lima bean tomorrow at 3:30?

Blaine: sounds good!

Blaine texted back almost instantly. Oops.

Kurt: okay, cool

Kurt: also, tina told me about breadstix

No. No. No. No. No.

She wouldn't, would she?

Blaine didn't know why, but he found himself dialing Kurt's number almost instantly.

"Blaine?"

"What did she tell you?"

"What do you think she told me?"

"I don't know! That's why I'm asking!" Blaine practically shrieked into his phone.

"Woah woah, chill. She just told me that you, her, and Mike went out to breadsticks. I was just gonna say that I was happy you were getting close with them and making more friends"

"Oh"

"Yeah, Oh. Why did you get all freaked out?"

"No reason" Blaine lied. He really thought that Tina had told Kurt that Blaine had a crush on Kurt.

Which he didn't.

Right?

"Sure Anderson... " Kurt teased.

"Sorry"

"No need to apologize"

The two went silent for about 30 seconds. Blaine listened to Kurt's breathing through the phone and smiled. Why did he smile at that? Blaine was just confused by his feelings. And then Blaine felt the need to carry on the conversation, but he really hated small talk.

"So… what are you up to?" Blaine asked, trying his best.

"Laying in bed…and you?" Kurt purred.

Oh no. Oh no no no. Why did he say it like that?

"Oh- uh same" Blaine stuttered.

Kurt giggled and Blaine instantly smiled from the sound.

"No but seriously, how was Breadsticks with Tina and Mike?"

"It was actually really fun. I'm actually excited for glee club. Because now I'll have you, Tina, and Mike to talk to. That is, if I make it into the club…"

"You will Anderson. Basically everybody makes it in, and I'll put in a good word for you of course. I'm excited too! Glee is gonna be so much fun, I promise you"

"Thanks… and um… what did you do today?" Blaine asked, not wanting the conversation to end for some reason.

"Not much. Came home, ate dinner. Tried to watch football with my dad and Finn but I ended up getting bored so I just went up to my room and started on some college applications"

"Oh that's c-"

Wait. Finn? Why was Finn at Kurt's house?

"Anderson?"

"Why was Finn at your house?" Blaine said, feeling himself get a little bit jealous.

Why was he getting jealous?

He knew that Finn was dating Rachel, first of all. They were practically all over each other at lunch. He also knew that Finn was in glee club with Kurt, so they were probably just working on some assignment together. But Kurt had said that Finn was watching football with his dad. Were him and Finn really that close?

"Um… because he's my stepbrother?"

Oh.

"Oh, I had no idea. I thought maybe it was for a glee thing or something" Blaine suddenly felt ridiculous and very, very guilty about his jealous thoughts.

There was no reason to get jealous. Kurt was just his friend. His friend that Blaine absolutely had no romantic feelings for.

"Nope, just my stupid step-brother" Kurt yawned at the end of his sentence.

"You're tired"

"Very astute, Anderson"

"Go to sleep"

"Very demanding, Anderson!"

"Sorry I just- you need to get your beauty sleep"

"Oh because I'm so beautiful?" Kurt chuckled.

"Yeah"

Oh no.

Oh no no no.

Blaine didn't mean to say that out loud.

What if he already ruined their friendship?

"Oh…" Kurt said, sounding amused.

"Um okay well, goodnight Kurt. Sleep well" Blaine shot out, wanting to hang up and die of embarrassment.

"Goodnight, Blaine"

"Goodnight"

"By the way, you are too" Kurt said, abruptly ending the call.

Blaine stared at his cell phone, the screen now black.

Blaine knew what the butterflies in his stomach and the goofy grin plastered on his face meant, but he wasn't ready to admit that to himself yet.

He didn't want to think about the consequences of it all yet, so he didn't.

For once, Blaine fell asleep with a smile on his face and his heart very, very full.

ik it's kinda all fluff right now hehe oops i apologize for that but yeah anyways... thank you so much for reading! ily all