Wow, so many people have subscribed to this story. I'm glad you guys like it, because I am definitely enjoying writing it! Thank you for the reviews as well, you don't know how much I appreciate your feedback.
Also, I will be using names of places in this story but will be making up the details, which I'm sure none of you will mind. I just thought I'd let you know beforehand.
It had been just over a week since Blaine had attended dinner with Kurt's family and somehow managed to win Burt over. Kurt was lost for words when his father had offered to let Blaine sleep over, but to Kurt's disappointment he had declined. Which was completely understandable considering he had to meet his parents at their hotel in Columbus before they flew out the following morning.
Now Kurt was scrolling through an essay of an email, wishing he hadn't begged Blaine to tell him every detail of the trip. The photos he'd sent did look beautiful though.
... staying in a resort on the island of Santorini at the moment, I'm not sure how long we'll be here, but that's the best part of holidaying with my family. Mum changes her mind so often that for all I know I could be in Corfu or Athens tomorrow.
I've attached a few pictures to the email, don't expect to see me in any of them though. I made the mistake of taking a book down to the beach and fell asleep in the sun. You know those ridiculous star shaped sunglasses Darien gave me for Christmas? Well, let's just say I look like Ace Frehley, though sadly more lobster red than fabulously silver.
Anyway, I hope you're having a less painful summer than I am. Expect Mercedes to call you up and take you shopping sometime today. Hey, don't look at me like that Kurt, you promised me you wouldn't mope. Now go shop till you drop!
Love, Blaine.
Kurt had to stop himself from rolling his eyes at the computer screen as he exited the email. How did Blaine know him so well? He picked up his wallet and stood beside Mercedes who was studying the photographs hanging on his bedroom walls. She was staring at one in particular, of herself, Kurt and Tina at their first sectionals. He noticed Mercedes' lip quiver a little before she turned to him and grinned,
"I am so ready to dress you up!"
ooo
Mercedes sat on the stairs in Kurt's room as he fussed with the mountain of clothing on his bed. He was separating the items into categories; t-shirts, dress shirts, vests, coats and pants. Kurt lifted up a plain purple t-shirt and a white vest,
"Mercedes, what about these?"
She nodded, "You know you don't need my opinion."
"I do when it comes to Blaine. I get all jittery and nothing makes sense. Like when I was trying to decide what to wear to dinner. I almost wore a red shirt with a green tie!" He noticed Mercedes' blank expression and added, "It's too early in the year to look like one of Santa's little helpers!"
She stood up and shuffled through the pile of pants, choosing a pair of grey jeans that looked a size too small for Kurt, "He's not going to be back for ages, why are you planning outfits now?"
"Everything has to be perfect. You have to help me choose a song too; something that's sweet and says 'I really, really like you'. Nothing overly sexual or romantic, I don't want to seem–"
Mercedes' hands flew to her hips and her lips were pursed before Kurt could finish his sentence. She held up a finger when Kurt tried to speak,
"Sugar, I knew you were head over heels for that boy but you have got to get a grip! I will have none of this crazy planning for months business, and certainly no rehearsing of love songs! You get on with your life and when he comes back you either ask him out or you don't. He is not the only person in your life!"
They stood in silence, Mercedes staring at Kurt expectantly until the realisation dawned on him. He pulled her into a tight hug and apologised profusely until she pulled away,
"Kurt, you know I love you, but you really do need to stop talking about Blaine every opportunity you get. Can we at least have a few Blaine-free hours?"
Kurt bit his lower lip and smirked, "What can I say? I'm in sickly-sweet teenage love." He plucked a CD off his desk and waved it around as they walked up the stairs into the main house, "How about we start my Blaine-free summer with some baking and cheesy nineties pop music? Dad and Carole are at work and Finn's over at Sam's so we can play it obnoxiously loud..."
Mercedes narrowed her eyes and asked, "You got Britney on there?"
"I am offended by the fact that you felt the need to ask. Of course Britney is on here!" Kurt shot over his shoulder as he placed the CD into a portable stereo on the kitchen counter.
ooo
"– and we'll go hiking and watch the sun set–"
Darien let his head fall back against the headrest and groaned, "You do not know how glad I am that I'm not going to be riding with you two."
They were a few minutes from the Hummel residence and Blaine was becoming more and more unsettled. He grinned to himself,
"And you do not know how thankful I am that your Dad planted this idea in my head. Kurt is going to go nuts."
Blaine pulled up outside Kurt's house, noticing that there was familiar music wafting through the open front door, along with the scent of carrot cake. He turned back to Darien, who nodded his head towards the door,
"If he's playing his cheesy nineties mix the only thing he wants is to see you."
"Wait, what? I thought he listened to it when he was in a terribly good mood?" Blaine said as he stepped out of the car and walked around to the passenger side window.
Darien rolled his eyes, "You're the only one too dense to realise that he listens to it when he wants you to sing with him. You probably don't realise, but as soon as you hear the intro to "Bye, Bye, Bye", you're in his room or wherever the hell he decides to perform, and the whole dormitory can hear your vocal intercourse. I wish he'd change the playlist around sometime, as much as I love your rendition of "I Just Can't Wait to be King", I don't appreciate that I'm starting to sing along with you."
Amused, Blaine walked across the grass to Kurt's front door. What Darien had pointed out had never really been obvious to him. In his mind he had decided that it was their cheesy nineties playlist, but he didn't know that Kurt playing it was basically his way of ringing a bell for Blaine's attention. He felt that he should have been annoyed at Kurt for manipulating him like that instead of just talking to him, until he heard the voices singing along with the track thumping through the house.
Well I woke up this morning, and the night had been so long.
It seems that I had had my mind on you.
Well the day, it has begun,
And I can't get a minute, can't get a minute without you.
Blaine followed the voices into the kitchen where Kurt and Mercedes were in the process of icing a fresh cake and dancing around whilst cleaning up. He leaned against the doorway and began to sing,
You're always on my mind,
You're always in my head.
And I can't live, I can't live another day without you.
It took a moment but when Kurt registered that he and Mercedes were no longer alone he spun around, his expression reminiscent of a startled deer. Both he and Mercedes smiled when they saw Blaine, though Kurt was the one that skipped over and pulled Blaine into a bear hug. They danced around the kitchen, dorky as ever, while Mercedes shook her head and returned to the dishes.
Cause when the minutes seem like hours and the hours seem like days,
Then a week goes by, you know it takes my breath away.
All the minutes in the world could never take your place.
There's one-thousand-four-hundred-forty hours in my day.
ooo
Kurt stood at his front door and laughed, glancing around suspiciously, "Blaine, why are there Kombi vans on my lawn? More importantly, why is one pink?" He squinted and noticed three faces peering back at him through the tinted windows, "And why are Wes, David and Darien here? You're all supposed to be on vacation..."
Blaine stood behind Kurt with his arms crossed, "I prefer the term watermelon." He rolled his eyes when Kurt glared at him, "Okay, fine, you've been Punk'd. There was no Greece or Vanuatu or whatever. Darien's dad had the vans fixed up and pretty much brought the road trip idea to life. We're in the watermelon van and Darien, Wes and David are in the green one."
"I prefer the term mint." Kurt said, crossing his arms to imitate Blaine.
They turned as Mercedes snorted, "You two are so nauseating when you're together." She held up a thin rainbow-striped sweater, "You want this in your suitcase?"
"Of course! Wait, suitcase? As in a singular suitcase? I'll never fit everything I need in–"
"Okay, you can have two, but that's it. We already have a lot of supplies in our van since we only have one bed and the other has three." Blaine stated, completely straight faced, while Kurt himself could feel his cheeks beginning to burn.
"Like I said, totally nauseating."
Kurt swore he caught Mercedes winking at him, but she had just as quickly disappeared back towards his bedroom. He bit his lip and stared after her, worried that she was going to pack a mountain of mismatched outfits, when Blaine shooed him back into the house,
"Go! I know you're itching to make sure she's not packing anything inappropriate. I'm going to get the guys to help me make some room for your extra luggage. I don't want to leave until your parents are home, so take your time."
It took Kurt a moment to turn away from Blaine's comforting presence. As cliché as it was, he was afraid he'd blink and realise he'd been hallucinating. Again, Blaine flicked his hands in a shooing motion towards Kurt before smiling and closing the front door behind himself. Kurt shook his head and tried to keep his composure as he all but skipped into his bedroom. Mercedes was busy neatly folding items of clothing and humming to herself. She looked up and Kurt couldn't help but notice the tiny speck of sadness in her smile.
He sat at his dresser and packed his essentials; moisturiser, cleanser, toner, and sunscreen, "You don't really want me to go do you?" Mercedes sighed, but Kurt kept talking, "Of course you were in on it, hence Blaine getting you to take me shopping. I can't believe I didn't pick up on anything; especially after you kept trying to make me buy a swimming costume."
"Kurt I–"
He held up a hand, "No, Mercedes I know you don't like that Blaine and I share a connection but you really have to live your own life. I can't give up this opportunity to spend some quality time with Blaine, away from Dalton, when it might bring me the perfect opportunity to tell him how I feel."
By now, Mercedes was standing next to Kurt as he packed all of his underwear and socks into one of the already brimming suitcases,
"Kurt Hummel, will you sit down and shut your yappy little mouth for one moment?" He obeyed, staring wide-eyed as Mercedes' voice became a fraction louder, "I am not jealous of you or Blaine, in fact I was ecstatic when he told me his plan to whisk you away in his pink van. You know why? Because I knew it would make you happier than anything in the entire world. Ever since you went to Dalton you've become a new person Kurt; and you owe a lot of that to Blaine, whether he knows it or not."
Kurt lifted a finger, ready to speak, but Mercedes swatted it down, "And you know what? I am really offended that you think I don't have anyone other than you in my life. I will have you know that Artie, Brittany and I have made plans; as well my cousins." She fanned herself with her hand dramatically, "We Jones women know how to party mmm-hmm. So don't think that I don't want you to go because I am jealous of your little thing with Mr. Dapper. Honestly, I cannot wait for you two to sort yourselves out and become a certified item."
Unable to respond with anything more than a simple, oh, Kurt pulled Mercedes into a hug. He felt like such an idiot for assuming she was trying to stop him from seeing Blaine when all she wanted was to set them up.
They were abruptly interrupted by Carole calling down the stairs, "Kurt, your father and I are home... You better hurry up; I think your friends are getting impatient."
ooo
Blaine stood in front of Burt and Carole, his hands clasped behind his back like a soldier and his tone serious,
"Darien is going to ride with Kurt and I, while Wes and David are in the other van. We're planning on stopping in Toledo for dinner, then heading up to Woodland Beach for the night. I have written you a list of contact numbers for all of us and our parents. The registration details of the vehicles are there as well, along with places we are planning to visit. I apologise for not being able to give you an exact route for our trip, but we decided it would be more enjoyable if most of the trip was improvised."
Kurt frowned to himself; it was uncomfortable watching how incredibly still Blaine was standing. He wished his friend would loosen up around his father, but if this was what it took to have Burt let him go on a summer-long road trip, he was all for it.
Burt turned to Kurt and rested a hand on his shoulder, "Son, if you get into any trouble, even if it's just a flat, call me okay? I'll help you over the phone as much as I can. We've loaded everything into the vans and it looks like the other fellas are rearing to go." He pulled his son into a hug, "Send a few postcards okay? And call at least once a week or Carole will have a fit."
"Burt, let go of Kurt and stop fussing. They'll be fine." Carole grinned and kissed Kurt's cheek, whispering, "Don't be surprised if he calls you a few times over the next day or two to check in. He's worried about you, that's all."
Having switched to autopilot during Burt's speech, Kurt nodded and smiled politely, hugging his father one more time before turning to Mercedes. She didn't say anything, only hugging him fiercely before giving him a thumbs up and a wink in Blaine's direction. Kurt smiled coyly as he climbed into the passenger seat of the watermelon Kombi and blew one last kiss towards his family.
"Tell Finn our room better be just as spotless when I get back!" He called as Blaine started the van with a rumble.
Once they were a few minutes away from his house, Kurt looked over his shoulder at Darien, who had his nose buried in a comic, and exhaled a quiet laugh; this was going to be the most memorable summer of his life whether any of them liked it or not.
Songs featured: A Minute Without You - Hanson