Lots of the Warblers congregated in the memorial garden, but that day it was empty.
"Whose memory is the garden for?" asked Kurt, looking at Blaine.
Blaine shrugged. "I heard that it was a student who died in an accident."
"Oh my god!" Trent cried. "That's so sad!"
"...But I also heard it was for a teacher's wife, and that it was a statement about the fragility of society, or something," Blaine continued.
"Is there a plaque or anything?" Kurt asked.
"Not one that we've found."
They heard footsteps behind them and turned to see David and Wes, both looking like they were trying (and failing) to be as quiet as possible.
"Damn it, were gonna sneak up on you," David moaned.
Blaine laughed, making a beeline for a nearby bench and motioning for Kurt to sit next to him. Wes and David had started bickering between them and Trent was making a brave stab at keeping some kind of peace.
"So, how was Spanish?" Blaine asked Kurt, resting his elbow on the back of the bench between them.
There was a pause as Kurt decided how best to answer the question. "Well," he began, "my teacher seems pretty nice –"
"You weren't listening, were you?"
Kurt laughed guiltily, and Blaine couldn't help smiling. "I was the same when I first transferred," he explained. "Couldn't help thinking about my old school, my old friends, how different it is here at Dalton..." When Kurt went suddenly quiet at this, Blaine looked at him. "Are you okay?" he asked.
Kurt flashed him the same smile he gave his Spanish teacher, but Blaine didn't buy it. "What's up?"
Another pause. "I don't know..." came Kurt's eventual reply.
Blaine put his arms round Kurt's shoulders in a sideways hug, resting his temple against Kurt's. "Give it some time," he advised. "That tends to help."
Both boys jumped when they heard a loud laugh from behind them. They turned to see Wes, with David next to him in near hysterics. Kurt only noticed that Blaine had taken his arms off him after they were gone.
"Guys!" Blaine yelled, looking indignantly round to Trent, who was hiding a smile.
"Sorry, Blaine." David was acting like a petulant child and he stuck out his bottom lip before collapsing into laughter again.
"Sorry," Wes said, more seriously, looking to Kurt. He motioned at Blaine. "We just think that he needs to get a boyfriend so he'll stop being such a martyr about being single."
Kurt looked at Blaine, whose face had reddened and who was staring awkwardly at his feet.
"You're single?" Kurt clarified, wondering if Blaine could hear the extent that his heart had sped up.
Blaine shrugged noncommittally. "Well... yeah."
Kurt swallowed back his smile, managing to just nod and say, "okay." The other Warblers looked at each other with raised eyebrows, before jumping onto the bench with them.
"So, Kurt," Trent said as he squeezed himself in between Blaine and David, "are you thinking of joining the Warblers?"
Kurt beamed so brightly that Blaine's heart fluttered for a moment. "Definitely!" he responded quickly. "I was in the glee club at my last school – we were called the New Directions – it was so much fun! And you guys are a cappella? That's so cool! And there's no Rachel Berry here either, and no Mr Schue – I mean, he's great, but a little biased when it comes to solos..."
Blaine watched as Kurt continued to talk, thinking. Did he have a thing for Kurt Hummel? He could believe it, he supposed – but he did have a bad track record of crushes and he didn't want to spoil their already blooming friendship. Give it time, he thought, deciding to take his own advice.