Day 15 – Overwhelm/Party

A/N: Here is the background/companion story to yesterday's prompt (Nest/Ornament) that no one asked for. This is shorter than I'd like, but I am feeling pretty overwhelmed myself at the moment. I hope you enjoy it.

Three sharp knocks at the door startled Kurt. With one last check of his hair in the mirror and a quick brush of his hands down his shirt to smooth out any wrinkles, he took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Hi!" he greeted, wishing his voice hadn't gone quite that high.

"Kurt, you look amazing," Blaine gushed, giving Kurt an appreciative but still respectful onceover. Kurt blushed and returned the compliment. He'd chosen his outfit carefully, thrilled to be out of his Dalton uniform for a change.

"So, where are we off to?" Kurt asked, grabbing his room key from the dresser near the door and stepping out into the hallway, closing and locking the door behind him.

"Do you trust me?" Blaine countered.

Kurt glanced up and down the hallway. "You have a magic carpet out here somewhere, Aladdin?"

Blaine huffed out a laugh at the Disney reference. "No, nothing like that." He reached into his jacket pocket and drew out a Dalton tie, fumbling it nervously. "You know how I told you we were going to a Warbler party?" At Kurt's nod, he continued. "Well, it's actually a secret Warbler party. It's being held in a covert location known only to a select few, elite Warbler members. We call it 'The Nest,' and it's kind of like our own private club."

Kurt smirked, arching an eyebrow. "How intriguing, Mr. Anderson. So, where is this exclusive hideaway?"

"Well, as you're still relatively new, I'm not exactly allowed to tell you. Hence, this," he added, holding up the tie.

"You're going to tell me and then strangle me with the tie?" Kurt deadpanned.

Blaine laughed again. "No, of course not. This is to blindfold you."

Kurt blanched and stepped back instinctively. Though he trusted Blaine implicitly, years of bullying had left him naturally wary.

"No, no, Kurt," Blaine rushed forward, shoving the tie back in his pocket and placing a hesitant hand on Kurt's arm. "Please, it's nothing bad." Blaine sighed, dropping his chin to his chest momentarily. He looked back up and directly into Kurt's eyes. "It's just a silly little ruse to make our date a bit more…exciting. I can't exactly take you out to a club or dancing – not here in Ohio, anyway. I just thought it would be fun to pretend like I was taking you to some wild, underground club instead of where we're really going."

Kurt eyed him carefully. "And that would be…" he prompted cautiously.

This time it was Blaine's turn to blush. "Nick and Jeff's room," he admitted sheepishly. "A small group of the guys are will be there. Nick and Jeff, obviously, Wes, David, Trent and us. There will be music, and games, and dancing. Of course, there will be the obligatory karaoke competition, too. It's nothing special, really."

At Blaine's admission, Kurt's anxiety vanished. It was quickly replaced by sympathy for Blaine, who now couldn't look him in the eye. The sweet, wonderful, overexuberant boy before him was something else. Kurt knew their dating options were limited, and Blaine was doing his best to be creative. He reached out a hand and plucked the tie out of Blaine's jacket pocket.

"Kurt?" Blaine questioned when Kurt held the tie out to him.

"Well, if you are leading me to a mystery location, do it properly," Kurt instructed, stifling a giggle when Blaine's face lit up with happiness.

Thankfully, Nick and Jeff's room was just at the other end of the floor, though Kurt still managed to bump into the wall once or twice at turns in the hallway. Blaine apologized, but Kurt's giddy laughter let him know all was well. Kurt had to admit he was impressed when the blindfold was removed once they reached their destination. The standard Dalton dorm room had been "transformed" into a version of a club, complete with colored lights, a mini bar (serving the finest soft drinks and snacks stolen from the school kitchen), and a disco ball hung precariously from the ceiling tiles.

If you'd asked Kurt Hummel a few months earlier how he envisioned his first slow dance with a boy, he would have described it in great detail, none of which would involve a boys' dorm room, a disco ball, or the voices of Wes and David arguing over which one was Hall and which one was Oates. But in that moment, as he swayed gently in Blaine's arms and closed his eyes to the sound of Blaine singing softly in his ear, he would tell you it was everything he'd dreamed of – and more.