Day 12: We Belong Together

If Kurt wanted to forget that it was Valentine's Day (which he usually did), the universe certainly wasn't helping him. All of the radio stations played sappy love song dedications his whole drive to school. The lockers and bulletin boards in the halls of the school were plastered with paper hearts and cupids. As he walked to his locker, he lost count of the number of squealing girls gushing over gifts of flowers and chocolates. The only positive outcome for Kurt was that all of the jocks were too busy trying to impress their girlfriends to bother shoving him into the lockers this morning.

Having safely navigated the halls, he dialed his locker combination and swung open the metal door. He almost missed it, but sitting right on top of his books was a candy conversation heart. Kurt looked around furtively, expecting some Neanderthal to appear and tell him it was all a joke. However, no one seemed to be paying attention, so he turned back to his locker and carefully picked up the small candy. "You're mine" the little heart read.

Kurt didn't know what to think. Was it some kind of game? Who could have gotten into his locker and left it for him? Could it be…could someone actually have a crush on Kurt Hummel?

A tiny smile crept onto his face as he tucked the candy gingerly into a little pocket on the outside of his messenger bag. He clasped the pocket closed, double checking to make sure it was secure. The ringing of the warning bell snapped him back to reality. He hurriedly grabbed his books and closed his locker, rushing to his first class. He didn't notice the boy at the end of the hall, or the way the boy bounced on his toes when he noticed Kurt's hand resting protectively over the outside pocket of his bag as he ran.

By lunchtime, Kurt had convinced himself that the mystery gift had been a mistake. Nothing else had happened, and no one had approached him. It was probably a case of someone choosing the wrong locker. Of course, he didn't know who the actual recipient was supposed to be, so there was no harm in him keeping the treat safe in his bag. He worked his way through the lunch line, taking the least offensive-looking items he could find. As he moved toward the Glee table to join his friends, he felt someone bump into him from the side. "Sorry!" someone apologized, but by the time Kurt steadied himself and was sure he wasn't going to spill his lunch tray, the well-mannered but klutzy owner of the voice was gone. Kurt shrugged it off and resumed walking, glancing down at his tray. He stopped short again, doing a double-take, for there, perched right atop his salad, was another candy heart. "We belong together," it read.

Kurt scanned the room. The only one who could have put the heart there was the person who had bumped into him. He didn't see anyone paying particular attention to him in the busy cafeteria. Stunned, Kurt realized that the first heart had been meant for him. It would appear that he had a bona fide secret admirer!

For reasons he didn't entirely understand himself, Kurt kept the whole thing a secret. Before he reached the lunch table, he slipped the second heart into his bag next to the first. Kurt had never been the object of anyone's affections before, and he wanted to keep it to himself for now – a special, happy secret just for him.

The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur, with Kurt only hearing about half of what his teachers had to say. At the end of the day, he went back to his locker one last time. Barely allowing himself to hope, he opened the door and grinned from ear to ear. An entire bag filled with candy conversation hearts sat atop his books, tied closed with a beautiful red bow.

"I never seem to know what to say to you, so I thought I could use a little help."

The words startled Kurt, causing him to bump into the open locker door. "What…" he exclaimed, turning sharply to his left. "Blaine?" Sure enough, before Kurt stood none other than Blaine Anderson – popular, smart, talented, gorgeous Blaine Anderson. Up until this moment, Kurt hadn't thought Blaine even knew his name, let alone liked him.

"Surprise!" Blaine said timidly, a nervous grin on his face.

"It was you? You did this?" Kurt stammered, gesturing towards the gift in his locker and pulling the two hearts from his bag, holding them in his outstretched palm. Blaine nodded, his smile a little bigger. "But," Kurt faltered. "But, why?"

Blaine's smile softened. He took a half step forward, plucking one of the hearts from Kurt's hand. "Because," he began, holding up the "We belong together" heart for Kurt to read.

Kurt was still confused, desperately hoping this was true and desperately fearing that it wasn't. "You've never even noticed me before," he muttered.

"Of course I noticed you, Kurt," Blaine protested gently. "Believe it or not, you aren't the only one who's shy," he added, his cheeks pinking.

"You? Please," Kurt scoffed, laughing a little.

"Don't let my stage persona fool you. I can talk a good game, and act things out in song, but I'm not very good at romance," Blaine explained, shaking his head.

Emboldened by Blaine's sincerity, Kurt held up the other heart between them. "So, I'm yours, huh?" he teased.

Blaine's eyes twinkled. "I admit it may have been a little early for that one, but I'm an optimist," he volleyed back.

"Optimism is good, but maybe we take it one step at a time?" Kurt offered.

"I like that idea, Kurt," Blaine answered. Kurt loved the way Blaine said his name, and Blaine seemed to like saying it. "How about we start by you letting me take you to the Lima Bean for a coffee so we can talk?"

Kurt jumped up and down internally, nodding enthusiastically in agreement.

Blaine laughed, reaching into the locker for the full bag of candy hearts. "I may need a little more help," he said sheepishly.

Kurt put his hand on Blaine's, stilling his movements. "I don't know. I think you're doing okay on your own."

A short time later, the two boys sat together at the Lima Bean chatting away. Hearts were definitely involved, but not the candy kind this time.

A/N: inspired by the song prompt, "We Belong Together" by Ritchie Valens. I had an unusually difficult time with this one. Only two more to go!