AN: blah:P This one took a while...
BUT, on the plus side, I let myself sit down and work up an outline, so the chapters should come out a little faster!
Ohohohohoh! And just so you know, this story is AU. In the sense that, along with Kurt and Blaine meeting under entirely different circumstances, Mercedes and Sam never broke up, Rachel and Finn never fought/broke up, and certain characters will come across as OOC (although, as far as I have planned, none of the main ones that we all already know and love:P)
Disclaimer: Still don't own Glee, I'm afraid.
Pizza Party
I really like the color blue. It's actually a very pretty color. How come I never liked it before?
Blaine turns over tiredly, snuggling against his pillow with a slight smile on his face. His eyes are closed, but he's not foolish enough to believe that he'll be falling asleep anytime soon. This is how it works, the whole insomnia thing. He'll be lucky if he gets an hour of sleep tonight.
But that's okay.
Because he likes to think. About the world, about school, about Sebastian, about Warbler's practice, about new songs he wants to learn, about blue eyes and voice that obviously came from an angel.
It's funny – how often he thinks of Kurt. There's not much between them, just a late Friday night and some smiley faces, but those things comfort him.
It's similar to how he felt after he first started talking to Sebastian. Whole. Only, this time, there are warm fuzzies and butterflies and it's really not funny how much he depends on a text from a near-stranger living two and a half hours away.
They haven't talked on the phone yet, and Blaine was a little disappointed when he realized that they probably wouldn't reach that stage of the friendship for a while. Their discussions through text were still a little shaky, like they were testing the water rather than diving right in. And he kind of likes that, but he can't help wishing for more.
He turns so that he's facing Sebastian, and remembers how close they were when they were growing up as awkward pre-teens. As he often does, he wonders what a world without his best friend would be like, and he doesn't like it.
As cocky and arrogant and obnoxious as the boy can be, he was still the one who fought for Blaine when they were growing up. The one who knocked down all the bullies and scared away all the haters. Of course, he couldn't shield Blaine from everything, but he had done what he could and that was all Blaine had ever wanted.
Soon enough, they were sharing secrets and having sleep-overs, and maybe they were a little old, but that didn't matter as long as they were together. They lived close enough and their parents were friends, and it was a joke between the families that they'd grow up and get married, and how coincidental was it that they were actually gay?
And their families still joked about it (accept for Blaine's father, but Sebastian had never really liked him, anyway), and, sometimes, Blaine dreamt of them growing up and getting married and living together for as long as the world allowed them to.
Until the day Sebastian got his first boyfriend and Blaine realized how little it hurt when he saw them hug or kiss or hold hands down the street.
That's when he realized that he wasn't in love with Sebastian and went on to keep looking for 'the one'.
He hasn't found him. Not yet.
But Sebastian is still his best friend, and he doesn't know what he'd do without him. They rely on each other, and it's hard to think about what will happen when they're done with high school and off to peruse different dreams. They've talked about it briefly, but the conversation always ends because they don't much like thinking about their futures.
Deep down, he knows that, somehow, they'll never really lose each other.
And, don't get him wrong, he knows how Sebastian can be.
He's been there to comfort the exes and let down the ones lead on. He's seen the pain and wiped some of the tears because he's a good person and maybe, in the end, Sebastian's just a little lost. He doesn't know what he wants, and Blaine gets that, but it's a lot harder for everyone else to see it the same.
Sure, Sebastian has a lot of people trailing beside him and drooling over his face and body and…well, Blaine won't lie, he's hot, but there isn't much besides dark stares and sex. He doesn't have many friends, although it's not like he really wants any. He's close to Blaine and the Warblers and that's all he needs.
And Blaine's happy for him.
But he can't be the same.
He knows what lies beyond Dalton, and he often finds himself dreaming of the perfect man and falling in love and living in the same house and adopting at least four kids and just living life.
Which is why the idea of Kurt excites him. He's finally branching away from all that he's known, and it's a little scary and a little exhilarating because finally.
Still, he's getting ahead of himself.
There's a while to go before he can really depend so heavily on Kurt, before they can be friends and talk on the phone and visit each other's houses and schools and he really should stop thinking and try to get some sleep because getting his hopes so high won't do him any good.
He still smiles into his pillow before closing his eyes.
Sebastian's worried. Like, over-the-top-this-can't-be-happening-times-a-thousand worried.
While Blaine's in the bathroom, humming something of his own creation, Sebastian stares at his friend's phone with a look of disgust so intense that he's surprised when it doesn't spontaneously combust.
Stupid, stupid kid named Kurt with his stupid blue eyes and his stupid soft skin. Blaine doesn't even know what he's getting himself into, here. He wants me. Not Kurt.
People call him selfish, but he's waited for Blaine for far too long.
Ever since they were small, still growing into their bodies and blushing at the mention of sex or love, he's wanted Blaine. He's known since the moment he first saw Blaine that he's wanted him. In every way imaginable, for as long as physically possible.
And he won't let some pathetic little scrap of glitter take his place.
Nope.
Just not happening.
He's sure that Kurt's a good guy, and he really does feel bad for him after everything he's probably been through, but this is Blaine and Blaine comes first. He can feel bad for stealing the kid's only friend later on.
Right now, it's just him and Blaine.
That's it.
Kurt's sitting on his bed with Mercedes and Rachel, scrunching his nose a little at the way Rachel actually blushes when Mercedes asks how things are going with Finn. Never in a million years did Kurt dare to think that Rachel Berry even had the ability to blush.
It's cute, though, even if the reason is because of his step-brother, and that's a little weird to think about no matter how you look at it.
"What about Sam?" Rachel asks, and Kurt smiles because he's really happy for Mercedes.
"Aw, you know, still as cute as ever. Last date we went on, he actually kissed me on the doorstep. So old school but totally perfect." Her smile is bright as she picks almost nervously at the edge of Kurt's blanket. "What about you, Kurt? You hardly ever talk about boys anymore."
He shrugs and looks away – at anything but the two girls before him. If he makes eye contact, he might spill something about Blaine, but there's nothing there, so why should he?
"Spill," Rachel nearly hisses, and it's a little scary how intimidating she can be sometimes, but Kurt's used to it.
"There's nothing to spill," he mumbles.
"Yah, right," Mercedes says. "I know that look, Kurt. You're hiding something."
"What time is it? Shouldn't you guys be home by now? Doing homework or something?"
"Come on, Hummel!" Rachel throws a pillow at him. "Tell us."
"Seriously, guys," he mumbles. "There's nothing – no one."
They exchange a glance, and Kurt gets the chills. "Guys…"
"What's his name?"
"Where does he live?"
"What color hair does he have?"
"What about his eyes? Do you get lost in them?"
"Yah, I get lost in Finn's all of the time."
"Seriously though, Kurt. Is he delicious?"
He stands up and brushes the creases from his pants, and maybe his cheeks are little rosy and maybe his thoughts are straying, but at least he's strong enough not to look at the phone sitting on his desk. "I'll walk you out!"
Kurt crawls beneath the covers with a heavy sigh, glad to finally relax in bed and get some sleep. His friends are ridiculous, after all. Even on the way out, they were pestering him with simple questions that wouldn't have given anything away but still.
He likes the thought of keeping Blaine a secret.
And it's not like they'll understand. Already, he can imagine the look of shock and concern, and he can see his phone being ripped from his possession and thrown out the nearest window.
That's dangerous, Kurt, Rachel will say.
You don't know what he wants with you, Mercedes will say.
He knows that, though. He knows. He knows that it's stupid and maybe a little dangerous, but he can't let go of how nice it feels to have someone away from Glee club. Maybe Blaine isn't as nice as he seems, but Kurt can't let himself believe that and he won't.
Besides, Blaine saved him. He didn't put him in that alley with those cuts and those bruises. No, he saved him.
Maybe Kurt puts him on a pedestal for that reason, but he challenges the world to prove that Blaine is anything but honest and kind.
It's a little crazy how he thinks so highly of someone he barely knows.
Still, Kurt's eyes flick towards his phone, and he's smiling as he falls asleep.
It's at the end of the week when Kurt tries to leave and Burt won't let him.
"Dad, I'll be fine," Kurt huffs, rolling his eyes as his father blocks the door.
"At least take Finn with you," Burt pleads, and his eyes are wide as he nods towards the taller boy standing behind the shorter. "I just need to know that you're safe, that's all."
Looking back at Finn, Kurt sighs and shakes his head. "Fine. Whatever. But we're not bringing Rachel along. This was supposed to be a relaxing night out."
Finn pouts, but grabs his coat without a huff. "Can we stop for pizza first, though? Not that shopping isn't fun and all…"
"Let's go get some pizza," Sebastian says as soon as he walks into the room, throwing his bag on his bed and grabbing his jacket. "I'm absolutely craving it."
"Seb, I'm in my pajamas," Blaine whines, motioning to his ensemble as he closes his book.
"So what? It's just a local pizza place, babe. Seriously. Besides, you always look absolutely delectable."
When Blaine blushes, Sebastian's smile turns absolutely predatory.
"Fine, fine. Pizza sounds fun."
"Why are we driving so far?" Finn complains. They're sitting in Kurt's car, blasting Adele because that's what Kurt likes and this is Kurt's car so…
"Because every place that sells pizza around us is just downright disgusting."
"I wouldn't go that far. I mean, one time I found a hair on my breadsticks at that one place around the corner, ya know? But it wasn't, like, a weird color or anything."
Kurt rolls his eyes good-naturedly. "Point is: I like this place better. Trust me; you'll love it, too."
"Are you sure? If it's fancy like that place you took our parents for mom's birthday, then I really don't think…"
"Oh, hush, Finn! You'll like it, okay? And then we can go shopping and buy you some new shirts."
The taller boy looks down at his t-shirt, curious. "Dude, what's wrong with my shirts?"
"Hah! Good one, Finn!"
"I…wasn't really joking…"
Even though it's cold, Blaine has the car windows rolled down. He and Sebastian are singing along to Teenage Dream, and it's looking to be a pretty nice Friday night out.
"We can get ice cream, too, right?" Sebastian asks, leaning over to smooth over a curl on his friend's head. "I mean, now I'm kind of craving that, too." His smile would make an angel swoon.
"God yes. I've been dying for that pumpkin cheesecake ice cream. It's like heaven!"
"Better than heaven, actually."
And the whole while, Sebastian's eyes are on Blaine, and he thinks that maybe tonight's the night he's gonna make his move.
Kurt doesn't put much faith in fate or destiny or what-have-you. He likes to think that it's all in his control; that he's the one making the decisions and not because every action is burned deep somewhere inside of him. But when it happens, when that moment comes and the breath rushes from his lungs, he just can't call it coincidence.
They're standing at the entrance to the pizza place when he stops walking and Finn slams into him. "Dude, what's wrong? Why are you staring? Who's that? Kurt? Kurt?"
"It's him, Finn," he whispers. "The boy who saved me."
"What? The one with the curly hair? That's the Anderson kid?"
"Yah, Finn. That's him."
And then their eyes meet, and Kurt swears that his cheeks aren't heating, but he ignores it either way and waves.
"That's Blaine."
Blaine sees Kurt and his heart stops because wow. Someone has to be pulling strings up there.
"Oh, no, you're going over there?" Sebastian complains, throwing his hands up in the air and mumbling something into his scarf.
"He's my friend, Seb! I'm just being polite."
More mumbling.
When Blaine finally reaches him, his smile is obnoxious and he doesn't really know what to say. As it turns out, texting is way easier than face-to-face communication.
"Blaine," Kurt nods, looking at the floor and biting his lip nervously. "This is my step-brother, Finn. Finn, meet Blaine."
Rather than the handshakes Blaine's used to, Finn pulls the smaller boy into a tight, bone-crushing hug. He finds himself laughing, though, when he pulls away and claps him on the shoulder. "You saved my brother, Blaine. That makes you an alright guy in my book."
He swears that Kurt's blushing.
"Well, since we're all here, do you want to eat with us? I'm sure Sebastian won't mind the company. He loves making new friends." It's not really a lie.
Finn seems a bit weary, like he didn't want to be here in the first place and this is just making things worse. He bounces on his toes and flinches when a waitress brushes past. "Uh…sure, I guess. I like making new friends, too."
Kurt rolls his eyes when Finn isn't looking, silently hoping that his mess of a step-brother won't screw this up for him. Whatever this is.
Sebastian turns to smile at the approaching boys, and maybe his smile turns a bit venomous when he sees Kurt, but, hey, it's not his fault the kid pisses him off. "Kurt," he nods. "And friend." He stands up and holds out his hand towards the taller, slightly more awkward teenager practically hugging Kurt's side. "The name's Sebastian. And you are…?"
Already, Sebastian can tell that the taller boy doesn't like him – that he's uncomfortable already but even more so around him. He wonders if he can use this to his advantage. "Finn," the boy says shortly. His handshake is firm but shaky, like he's figured out all of Sebastian's dirty little secrets and has to act like they don't scare him.
He smiles at Kurt. "Nice to see you're still alive, Kurt. You gave us quite a scare."
Blaine inhales sharply before smiling and motioning for Finn and Kurt to sit. "We just ordered, so the pizza should be here any second." He slides in alongside Sebastian, suddenly self-conscious about the fact that he's in checkered pajama pants and an old Dalton hoodie while Kurt absolutely breathes flawless in whatever designer jacket he's wearing.
Needless to say, the dinner is awkward. Finn can't stop glaring at Sebastian, and whenever Kurt tries to tell him to knock it off, he just shrugs his shoulders and accuses Kurt of not knowing what he's talking about. Kurt doesn't much fancy pointless small talk, but it doesn't seem like he and Blaine can get into any sort of actual conversation when Finn and Sebastian are challenging one another across the table.
They share sympathetic smiles, though. Kurt's saying, Sorry about him. He's a strange one, sometimes. And Blaine's saying, No, no, don't worry about it. It's Sebastian's fault for being cocky all the time, anyway.
Still, the pizza is pleasant, and Finn promises Kurt to come here more often. Blaine is pretty good at paving over the more awkward moments, spinning random tales about everything and nothing at all, and Kurt can get used to this. He even finds Blaine's jokes to be funny, which surprises Finn more than it does him since Kurt never laughs at any of his jokes.
"Alright, alright, boys," Sebastian says, smiling as Blaine smacks his palms against the table in laughter over something Finn said. "I think it's time for us to head back…"
"Actually," Blaine says. "Why don't we all go shopping?"
Kurt's smile is absolutely radiant. Finn just pouts. "Kurt and I were gonna go by ourselves…"
"Don't be silly, Finn!" Kurt interjects. "We could use the company." Almost on accident, his eyes land on Blaine. Besides, if Blaine and I are going to be friends, we need all the time in the world.
Again, Finn seems uncomfortable – like he wants to keep Kurt happy and likes Blaine, but he doesn't know these people and it's weird. But one glance at the look on his step-brother's face and the word yes pops out before he can even think about it.
Sebastian's just upset because he never got his ice cream and he's the one paying the bill.
They end up stopping by some shop in the middle of town not too far from the pizza place. "I love this store!" Kurt squeals excitedly. "I can't believe you've never been!" Blaine just shrugs his shoulders with a smooth smile and watches Kurt run in, reminded vaguely of a kid in a candy store while the taller boy eyes the racks with a wide-eyed wonder. It's adorable.
But he didn't just think that.
He'll admit that the night's been a bit strange, but he likes spending time with Kurt. He likes the awkward energy and the way they try to even things out before Finn or Sebastian interrupt and bring them right back to slightly uncomfortable.
It's nice to have someone other than Sebastian and the Warblers.
It's nice.
Which is why, when Sebastian and Finn start arguing over what color looks best on Finn – and, really, it's kind of ridiculous – he follows Kurt to a display decorated heavily with scarves made of yarn and silk and everything in between.
Kurt smiles, if not a bit nervously. "You'd look good in…this one!" He pulls a red, knitted scarf from the pile and holds it against Blaine's hoodie, and the way it makes his heart jump is strange and comfortable and out-of-this-world.
Blaine looks down and smiles, more at the contrast of porcelain skin against red than at the scarf itself. "It would look rather nice, I think. Now, for you…" He searches through the piles of scarves until he comes across a deep blue one – hand-knitted, according to the tag – with white stripes looping around the ends. "Because your eyes are blue and all…"
He's got the prettiest smile, Blaine thinks.
Kurt giggles and rolls his eyes before taking the scarf in his hands, loving how soft it is against his skin and wow. "I'll have to come back and get it some time."
Blaine watches the wonder in Kurt's eyes and realizes that he's watching everything about Kurt, but he doesn't really care quite as much as he should.
When their eyes meet, Kurt clears his throat, places the scarf back where they found it, and nods towards Sebastian and Finn. "Funny how quickly they go to being the worst of enemies, huh?"
The curly-haired boy shrugs. "I think it's kind of cute, actually. Like those two kids that want to be friends but don't know how since they're both so different. Maybe one day they'll get along."
They watch as Finn grabs the shirt Sebastian's shoving in his face and carelessly tosses it towards the floor, hissing something about only girls wearing that color.
Kurt thinks it's a little more than that, but he doesn't say anything. He's used to Finn being weird around people he doesn't know, but this is more than just a little weird. Sure, Sebastian didn't give off the best of vibes, but if Kurt, of all people, was willing to give the kid a chance, than who was Finn to be a diva?
Still, maybe Blaine's right and they just don't know how to get along.
"So, you never called me."
Kurt swears he isn't blushing. He rolls his shoulders and picks nervously at the scarves in an attempt to at least look nonchalant. "I've been busy, I guess. Besides, texting is a lot easier."
"I don't know," Blaine says with a shrug. "I've always preferred talking over the phone."
"Well, maybe I'll call you tomorrow, then." He almost regrets saying it. Almost.
Because he wants this friendship to work more than he should.
He wants to memorize the way Blaine looks when he's excited. "Seriously? I mean, you don't have to…"
"Believe it or not, I want this friendship to work out just as bad as you seem to. I need something away from what's normal. I need change."
"It's like you're reading my mind or something."
And then they just let the silence bleed through, because what else can they talk about? They can ask questions and get to know each other better, but Kurt thinks that should wait and Blaine's not about to spill his guts in the middle of some shop he can never even remember the name of because it's something French and expensive-sounding.
Besides, it's nice the way things are.
With Finn and Sebastian arguing and Finn glaring and trying not to curse and their hands buried in scarves and their hearts beating just a tad faster for reasons they can't wrap their heads around just yet.
They'll have to leave soon.
But that's okay.
Because Kurt promised to call some time tomorrow.
AN: DID YOU GUYS SEE THAT CHRISMAS EPISODE? ALKJD:LFKJALK:SDFLKJ It was so epically perfect that I just can't even (although a Klaine kiss would have made it ten zillion times better)