The mall of Lima wasn't what you would expect from your average sized town.

It had some pretty nice stores, was clean and surprisingly not too busy.

However it still was populated by what seemed the total teenage population and the food court was a chaotic mess.

Kurt had dragged Blain through numerous shops and they still weren't even half way through. When Kurt told him, that he was just gathering information and was totally planning on making another round after they would be done with the first, he had to excuse himself and down some more pills in the men's bathroom.

So far he had been able to hold himself up. Kurt's energy had quickly transferred onto him and watching the other boy being so incredible cheerful was reason enough to pull himself together for the remainder of the day.

Apparently Kurt had enough from costume shopping for now and convinced Blaine to go one of those fancy designer stores. He tried to hang back to give Kurt time to find some of those astonishing sales he was always able to come up with, but Kurt had other plans. He quickly took his hand and led him to a stack of very soft looking woolen sweaters in various colors.

"I have walked by these for quite a while now. And…. I… well I always thought this would look magnificent on you."

He pointed to a dark purpled one, that really did look nice; probably way too expensive, but really nice.

"I've been checking online to see when the prices would go down, and apparently they went on sale just this week. Could you… I mean, would you mind trying it on?"

Kurt being shy and nervous was about the cutest thing Blaine had ever seen and of course he couldn't say no to him.

"Sure Kurt. You know I can't resist your perfect fashion sense. I don't know how you do it. Somehow you always know what looks good on everyone."

"Don't praise me yet, you haven't tried it on."

"Oh I'm sure I won't change my mind."

Blaine disappeared behind the curtain and Kurt slumped against the nearest wall.

Blaine was just too damn dreamy and was putting up with a whole day of shopping with him without even complaining just a little bit.

When Blaine stepped out of the changing area, Kurt's breath caught.

He was perfect.

The sweater hugged his body at all the right spots and showed off his lean, but muscular body. The color complimented his skin and hair color and…. He just looked perfect.

"So? What do you think?" Blaine asked while looking down at himself, letting his hand slide over his chest, enjoying the soft fabric.

"I… uh…" when the usually so articulate Kurt seemed like he couldn't find the right words, Blaine looked up through his lashes with a smirk.

"That good, huh?"

This brought him out of his trance and he just replied:
"Get it. You should get it. You …I mean it looks awesome."

"Alright then."

Blaine decided on sparing him more embarrassment and left to change again.
They made their way to the register, where Blaine paid for his new favorite sweater and both boys thought about the next time when Blaine would wear purple again. They left the store smiling and went on to look for more costume ideas.

When time went on Blaine felt the exhaustion creeping up again.

He kept having to wipe away sweat, but was feeling cold and even his jacket that he had taken off earlier didn't seem to help. Kurt didn't notice his distress.

He was just too engaged in whatever he was telling Blaine about his play. He was looking at displays and people and his mind was in overdrive with all of the different ideas floating around. This day had just been plain perfect.

Nobody had given them any trouble, even when he had been brave enough to grasp Blaine's hand in his a dew times. They had had fun and some great conversations. Blaine was a truly great listener and he was able to talk about his fears of fitting in (that had decreased quite a bit throughout the weeks) or his worries about finals (that Blaine was sure Kurt would ace).

Next to him Blaine was trying to just keep it together. Breathing was starting to become a real task again and he just wanted to lay down for an hour or two.

Fortunately the boys were on the last meters of their second round and they already carried a bunch of bags that held some clothes and accessories.

When Kurt decided to stop somewhere for dinner, Blaine could only nod in relief and they soon found a spot in a fairly secluded spot in the food court.

He volunteered to watch the bags, while Kurt got them sandwiches and salad.

There was really nothing he could really do. He had taken lots of medication already and there was no way he could take even more. He had always been way too frightened of the numerous side effects that were printed in tiny print, cause there were just too many.

Even too much Advil could be dangerous and he didn't want to risk feeling even crappier. Maybe getting some food in his system would help, although he wasn't sure he could even get anything down. He felt dizzy and nauseous and his headache was back in full force. But apparently he had been a pretty good actor.

Kurt didn't seem to notice his charade and seemed to enjoy their day together. He felt somewhat honored that he had been asked to spend the day with the other boy. Usually he would have thought that Kurt would have taken Mercedes or some of his other McKinley friends. But he hadn't – he had asked him. So he swore to himself he would keep up his little performance for another hour before he could excuse himself with wanting to make it back to Dalton in a decent time.

Kurt returned with their food and they continued chatting about everything and nothing. As predicted, Blaine had a hard time with his food and continuously sipping on his drink to make it easier to swallow. He made it through half of his sub, before giving up.

Blaine hoped Kurt would be fed up with the mall by now and it seemed he was in luck when Kurt pushed away his tray with a sigh and said:

"Ok – I'm done. Done with dinner and done with shopping. We had a successful day, I would say. Thanks for all your help."

"Sure Kurt, I had fun, too. And you know… it did get a new sweater."

"Ha, ha... yeah I guess you're right. Um Blaine… would you like to come over to my place? Maybe watch a movie?"

Blaine was excited to hear the invitation.

It wasn't like they never had movie nights before, but those usually happened in the commons with a bunch of other students with them and not just the two of them. Sitting on a couch, eating popcorn wouldn't be too hard on his body – nothing he wouldn't do at Dalton too, if he'd go home now. Plus – it was Kurt.

"Yeah, I'd love too. Any particular movie in mind?"

"I do, but I'll let you choose. Come on, I'll show you my collection."

Blaine got up to follow Kurt, when he was overwhelmed by dizzy spell. He frantically grabbed the table to keep him self upright and squeezed his eyes shut, so to not see the constantly moving floor.

Kurt turned around when he heard a strangled sound moan and was shocked to see Blaine swaying on his feet. He rushed back to hold the other boy up by his arm and carefully helped him sit back down.

"Hey… hey…Blaine. Are you ok? What's going on?"

"Uh... nothing…I'm good. Just a little dizzy for a moment."

"Yeah, you could say that. It looked like you would fall over any minute. Wait here, I'll get you some juice or something. Maybe you just need some sugar."

Blaine used his time by himself for some deep breaths and trying to get his pulse back to normal. He flashed Kurt a bright smile, when he returned and handed him some fresh juice.

"Thank you."

"No problem. How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright. I guess I haven't really had anything to drink today. Maybe I'm dehydrated or something."

"Are you sure? I can bring you to a hospital if you want. You still look a bit pale."

"Kurt I really am fine. I'm not even dizzy anymore. I just got up too fast. I've had a tough few weeks but nothing that all of you guys didn't have too. David and Wes have been on my case lately - I'm sure you noticed. So there really is no need for you to get worried too. I actually enjoyed that you haven't been on my case all day. I can just hang out with you, you know, have fun and stuff. I like that."

Kurt's face lit up at that and he answered:
"I enjoy spending time with you too, Blaine. I had a great time. So… what now? Do you still want to come over? You could just crash at my place and rest if you'd like."

"I would love to hang out Kurt…but …maybe I should head back and get an early night."

"Oh sure…. are you ok to drive though?"

"Well how about this - We'll just stay here for a little while longer, go through your treasures again and I'll finish my drink."

Kurt was a little sad that Blaine wouldn't be staying in Lima, but he thought Blaine sounded convincing and he could assess him for a bit longer.

If he would still be dizzy then, he would drag him home – even against his will.

"Sounds reasonable, I guess."

"Ok… well what have you got there now?" Blaine pointed to the bags that lay abandoned where Kurt had dropped them a few minutes ago.

Kurt went through the bargains he had scored, while also watching for any distress Blaine might have shown. The other boy seemed better though. Color returned to his face and he wasn't as sweaty.

He looked relaxed almost. And so, half an hour later, they said their goodbyes in front of Kurt's house.

"I had a great time Kurt. I think we should do that again. But not before we give the movie another try."

Blaine smiled up at him. Kurt was sure he could lose himself in that smile or in his eyes …or his hair. He was overjoyed to hear maybe Blaine liked being around him as much as he did.

Who knows…maybe one day they will make it beyond the friendship stage.

But he reminded himself, that Blaine once said he wants to take things slowly, because he had had some bad luck with relationships before. He had wondered what exactly he had meant and if he was talking about them or about relationships in general. but it didn't really matter. He would do this right and if it wouldn't work out for them, it would be sad, sure, but he cherished their friendship enough for wanting to work on at least keeping that.

So yes… he would take things slowly, very slowly and enjoy their time together. He would make sure that Blaine felt comfortable and that their timing was right. But still – hearing how Blaine was almost asking him out on some sort of date or at least vocalizing his want to hang out, was … well it was really nice!

"Yeah. I'd like that. You should let me know, when you'll be in Lima again."

"I was more thinking about in my dorm sometime next week" Blaine replied with a smirk.

"Oh.. uh… ok. We can do that. I'll…. I'll bring some of my DVDs then." Kurt mentally slapped himself. Losing his ability to talk was not a good idea right now.

"Great. I'll see you tomorrow then and we can find a time then. I know you have rehearsals and stuff. Have fun with your family tonight."

"Yeah I'm sure I will. Take care, ok? And let me know when you made it to Dalton. Are you really sure you want to make the drive tonight?"

"Yeah Kurt, stop worrying. I'm fine. I'll go straight to bed when I'm there but I'll text you before. So don't worry."

Blaine used his last bit of courage, stepped forward and gave Kurt a tight hug.

He waved goodbye and got into his car to begin the long drive back to school.

Kurt could not stop smiling. Today had been fantastic.

Not only did Blaine agree to come to Lima on a whim, he had spent the whole day at the mall and even seemed to enjoy it.

Thinking back on the last couple of months he couldn't believe his luck. He had lost hope that he would find someone that would understand him before he would leave for college, and now there he was – having an amazing best friend, who happened to be gay and actually knew what he was talking about.

The last horrifying weeks at McKinley had of course left an imprint, but it didn't seem as important anymore; it had faded into the background. He walked back to his house (you might also call it skipping) and went to greet his dad and Carole, who had gotten back from shopping themselves.

Over all the excitement over his day and Blaine's movie invitation, Kurt almost forgot about the dizzy spell he had witnessed.

He knew that Blaine had been feeling a bit under the weather lately and he had looked a bit tired and worn out, but he surely would know how to take care of himself. Wes and David might have a different opinion, but Blaine seemed convinced he was alright.

And he said he liked how he didn't fuss about it him – so he wouldn't start now. He would just wait for a text and until then he could replay the day in his head over and over again.