A/N: The feedback I've been getting on this story is beyond incredible. When I wake up the morning after posting with several reviews on a chapter, I feel like a three year old on Christmas morning! You're all incredible, and thank you so much for the positive feedback! I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! :)

xxx, Elizabeth

Increasing Temperature

As temperature increases, particles move faster, collisions increase, and the number of activated molecules increase.

"Kurt, I'm so sorry. I was being an idiot."

Kurt frowned as he listened to the blonde apologize yet again. "Sam, I know. It's just hard for me to get to Lima all the time. I try to come as often as I can, but some weekends I have other things to do. I have to keep the Warblers and school as my top priorities. You're right there with them, but I can't just drop the Warblers because I miss you. I'm a co-captain, and they look up to me. I have to be responsible."

"I know. I just miss you. And I know I can come visit you, too. That it's not a one-way street. And as soon as I get a chance, I will come see you. I guess I just wasn't thinking straight last time we called."

Kurt smiled as he heard Sam relax through the phone line. "I guess so. Sam, there's still a lot we need to talk about, though. I've been doing a lot of thinking."

"Kurt, if you're about to break up with me, please don't. I love you too much to lose you over some stupid argument. Just give me another chance?" Sam pleased. Kurt could just picture Sam's eyes growing wider and greener the way they always did when he was sad.

Kurt sighed. "I wasn't about to break up with you, love. I just said we need to talk." The brunette frowned as he remembered back to the previous night.

I just wanted you to know that there are still other options.

The words rang through his mind loud and clear. Was Blaine trying to tell him he was Kurt's other option? And did Kurt even like him in that way? Sure, he had entertained the idea before, but he was never serious about it. He loved Sam. He didn't want to ruin that over some stupid crush. But now this crush was starting to become very real. And it was scary because now he had to choose. It wasn't fair.

Kurt looked up when he heard the door to his room open. Jeff walked in with his headphones on full blast. "Hold on a sec, I need to warn Jeff about hearing loss." Kurt got up from where he was sprawled on his bed and pulled Jeff's headphone's off. "Jeffrey! Beats come with a warning! If you wear them on full blast for more than five minutes you are almost guaranteed permanent hearing loss! Are you that much of an idiot?"

Jeff grinned, "I'm just in a good mood! God. And it was only two minutes. I think I'm safe."

Kurt rolled his eyes and went back to his phone call. "Babe, can I call you back later?"

Sam sighed loudly, "Sure. I should be used to you preferring your Dalton friends over me by now. Nothing new."

Kurt's brow furrowed. "Are we seriously back at that again now?"

"Yeah, I guess we are. You know, I thought I was over it. I thought I would be able to deal with you talking to them so much more than me. I thought I could look past it. But, to be completely honest, it really bothers me. I trust you. I know you'd never cheat because you love me. And I love you, too. But I hate that you talk to them so much more than you talk to me. You see them every day. And you still let them interrupt our phone calls and video chats. And I can't stand it anymore."

Kurt massaged his temples. "Sam, they're my best friends! And we live in the same building! What am I supposed to do? Lock myself in my room and chew them out if they want to talk when we just so happen to be on the phone—usually talking about nothing anyways? If that's what you want, I'm not doing it."

"That's not what I want. I just—I guess I'm jealous of them. I'm your boyfriend. I should come first."

"Yeah, well if you can't get over yourself, then I think we're done here." As soon as the words left Kurt's mouth he gasped and wished he could take them back. But that was that they were out. And then he heard a thud on the other end of the line. He assumed Sam had dropped the phone—or maybe thrown it. Then he heard a muffled sob. And before Kurt could hear Sam's voice again, he pressed the little red button to end the call and turned his phone off.

Jeff had been sitting on the end of Kurt's bed the entire time of the conversation, and he was trying to understand what was happening. Did Kurt and Sam just break up? Kurt and Sam who were always going on and on about how much they love each other? Kurt and Sam who had been dating for the past two years? "Kurt?" Jeff asked hesitantly, fearing the answer. "What just happened?"

"I—I think I just broke up with him." And then Kurt turned to look at Jeff and a single tear rolled down his cheek. "What did I just do? Why did I do that? Jeff, I love him. Why did I do that?"

Jeff motioned for Kurt to move closer to him, so the small brunette crawled across the bed and fell into Jeff's waiting arms. "It's okay, Kurtsie. You'll be okay." The blonde gingerly wrapped his arms around Kurt and rubbed circles on the boy's arms. "It was probably your subconscious. Were you having any doubts about your relationship with him?"

Kurt nodded sadly, "Y-yeah. I was. But I didn't even consider breaking up with him. I just thought that it was a stupid crush, and I'd get over it."

Jeff froze, "Crush? On who?"

Several tears fell from Kurt's eyes as he cuddled into Jeff's embrace. "You were sort of right about Blaine. He's my best friend, but there's something more there. At least I thought there was for a while. Then yesterday he told me that I have options. What the hell does that mean? Options? And I haven't been able to stop thinking about how cuddly he was being yesterday. It was nice. And I shouldn't have let him be so close. I'm supposed to be the one that has their head on straight at this school."

Jeff smiled, "Kurtsie, Blainers has been in love with you since Teenage Dream when you were freshmen. I know that, and I didn't even see it happen. I remember him hiding up in his room for a week when you and Sam started going out. And then he just seemed to accept that you two would be best friends. Maybe he heard us talking yesterday and thought it was his chance to change your mind."

Kurt listened to Jeff with interest even through his sobs. "H-he's liked me that long? W-why didn't he ever say something?"

"He didn't want to mess up your relationship with Sam?"

Kurt sighed, "I'm an idiot. Aren't I?"

Jeff smiled, "No, just a little blind to the obvious."

There was a knock on the door, and Kurt attempted to dry his eyes before calling out, "Wh-who is it?"

"It's me!" Blaine called back. "Is Jeff in there?"

"Yeah, c-come in B-Blaine."

Blaine opened the door slowly, concerned with the way Kurt stuttered as he spoke. When he took in the sight of Kurt curled up in Jeff's arms, sobbing with tear stains running down his face, his heart broke. "Kurt? What's wrong? What happened? Do I need to kill someone?" Blaine ran to Kurt's side, concern written across his entire face.

"He broke up with Sam kind of accidentally," Jeff said as he squeezed Kurt tight against him reassuringly. The brunette was sitting in his lap with his arms wrapped around him—clinging to him for some type of support.

Blaine suddenly couldn't see straight. Kurt and Sam were over. Just like that. "R-really? Wait, what to you mean accidentally?"

Kurt sighed and slightly peeled himself away from Jeff, attempting to calm the sobs that shook his entire body. "H-he was trying to make me choose between you guys and him. I told him that wasn't fair, and he got mad. I guess I was frustrated and tired of fighting. So I sort of told him that I was done."

Blaine could feel his heart splitting in two for the boy in front of him. "S-so you guys are done? Are you gonna try and get him back?"

Kurt shook his head. "I'm a strong believer in the fact that all things happen for a reason. I-I just wish I didn't hurt so much. He was my everything for two years. I don't know what to do now."

Jeff looked at Blaine and suddenly was confused. "Why were you looking for me?"

Blaine looked confused for a second, then he remembered the real reason he was here. "It's Nick. He has a bit of a fever. He's such a baby when he's sick, and I was getting tired of playing nurse. I'm his roommate, not his mother or boyfriend or anything like that. I thought maybe you would—" before he could finish the sentence, Jeff was setting Kurt back down on the bed gently and grabbing his headphones which he had discarded when he came in.

"Take care of Kurt for me and I'll watch Nick," Jeff called over his shoulder as he walked out of the room.

Blaine laughed at the blonde's hasty exit. "I guess we don't have to worry about the Increasing Temperature plan anymore. You seemed stumped on that one anyways."

Kurt smiled softly, still overcome with sadness. "Yeah, I guess Nick's fever is enough symbolism. As his temperature increases, particles move faster—that would be Jeff running around like crazy trying to help him feel better and get him everything he needs. Collisions increase—that would be Jeff and Nick. Obviously they'll see each other a lot today since they'll probably be in the same dorm room the whole time. And the number of activated molecules will increase. Basically, sparks will fly." Kurt grinned at the end of his explanation, quite proud of it.

"Looks like the plan executed itself," Blaine said with a laugh.

Kurt sighed, "Great, I was hoping that would provide a distraction—at least for a little while."

Blaine frowned and opened his arms. "Come here, K. You shouldn't have to deal with this alone."

Kurt hesitated as he thought about what he and Jeff had been talking about mere minutes earlier, but resigned to curling up in Blaine's arms as they rested together on the bed. "Thanks for staying here, B. I'm just confused. Sam's been my everything for the past two years. What do I do now?"

The smaller boy tightened his arms around Kurt and stroked his hair gently. "I know it'll be hard, but you'll get past this. Kurt, you're one of the strongest people I know. And you still have options, you know."

Kurt looked up with confused eyes. "You keep saying that. I don't understand."

Blaine sighed, "Just forget I said anything. We'll talk about it later. Now, you need to rest. How about we watch one of your musicals?"

Kurt smiled, "Funny Girl? Can you put it in?"

Blaine laughed, "Sure, K. I'll put it in." The smaller boy got up to retrieve the DVD and place it inside of the player, grabbing the remote before coming back to the bed.

Kurt automatically curled back up against Blaine's side, resting his head on the boy's chest. "Hey, B?"

"Yeah, K?"

"I really hope our plan works out for Jeffy. He deserves to be happy."

Blaine smiled and pulled Kurt closer to him. "So do I. We deserve to be happy, too, though. Don't forget that."

Jeff was about to knock on the door to Nick's room when he heard a retching cough echo out of the room and into the hallway. "Nick?" the blonde asked as he slowly opened the door.

Nick was sat on his bed, covered by a mound of blankets. He sat up when he heard the voice of the blonde, attempting to fix his hair. The only result was a piercing headache from the sudden movement. "Jeffy? Where's Blaine?"

Jeff rolled his eyes. "Went to find me. Told me you have a fever. I guess you're trying to sweat it out?"

Nick nodded as he lay back down on his bed. Sitting up hurt too much. "Please don't tell me I should see the nurse. I hate going there. It always smells weird and she asks a lot of questions and never helps anyways."

The blonde reached over and placed his hand on Nick's forehead, yelping and pulling back when he felt the scorching fever resonating from the boy. "No, not the nurse. But I'll go get you some Ibuprofen to reduce the fever. And what's your favorite movie?"

Nick nodded slightly, "That'd be nice. And I don't really know."

"I'll just go grab some from my collection. Do you like tea? And what about soup?"

Nick smiled. It was nice to know that the blonde was so concerned with him. "Okay, you really don't have to, though. I'm a big boy. I can handle it."

The blonde shook his head. "No, no. I insist. I'll be right back. Is raspberry tea okay? Trent drank the last of the herbal one and I think Thad stole my stash of green tea."

"Yeah, it sounds great."

Jeff nodded, "Do you like superhero movies?"

Nick nodded quickly, "Yes! Anything Marvel. I don't like DC unless it's Batman."

Jeff smiled, "Marvel's the best. I'll bring some of the X-Men movies. I'll be right back, okay?"

Nick smiled and watched as the door closed. He really didn't want the boy to leave, but he knew Jeff would have insisted on it. He waited a few minutes, attempting to smooth down the blankets as he watched the door, listening for Jeff's return.

The blonde returned in a huff a few minutes later carrying a bag. He emptied the contents of it out onto Blaine's bed when he re-entered the room. A bottle of ibuprofen, several DVDs, a few packets containing tea bags, and a package of Ramen noodles poured out of the bag, and Jeff smiled. "I think this should do. I was gonna grab an ice pack for your head, but Blaine told me there's one in here somewhere."

Nick nodded, "It should be in our little fridge." He pointed to the corner of the room where a mini fridge was situated next to a small table. A microwave sat atop the table, along with a stack of bowls and miscellaneous cups and mugs.

Jeff grinned. "Good. I hope you like Ramen. Turns out Thad and Trent ate the rest of my soup as well. I'll have to call my parents about finding me a lock to put on everything I own, so they can't steal it," he said with a laugh. He went into the bathroom and came back with a cup of water, bringing it to Nick along with two of the bright orange pills. "Here, take this. It will help a lot with the fever. And you need to take another one every four to six hours to keep your temperature down."

Nick nodded and swallowed the pills. "Thanks, Jeff. I don't know what I'd do without you. Blaine's absolutely no help. He gets freaked out because of all the germs."

The blonde just teased Nick's hair. "I had nothing better to do. And apparently I'm good at taking care of people. Whenever Trent gets sick, I'm like his mother."

Nick laughed hoarsely and coughed because his throat was so dry. Jeff frowned. "Drink the rest of the water. I'll make you some tea. Are you hungry?"

The brunette curled up in his bed, relaxing as he watched Jeff walk quickly around the room, picking things up and asking him a flurry of questions. "Yeah. Ramen, please? You're lucky I love that stuff. I could never figure out how to make it in a microwave, though. I always made it in a pot over a stove."

Jeff rolled his eyes. "It's only the easiest thing ever! But for now, I'll get you the ice pack for your head. I'm also going to have to strip the sheets."

Nick's eyes widened, "Strip what?"

The blonde giggled. "Strip the sheets on the bed. And the comforter, actually. I'm guessing you and Blaine each have a replacement set?"

Nick relaxed again, a blush creeping onto his cheeks. "Oh, right. Yeah. We each have extras in the linen closet in the bathroom."

Jeff nodded. He began to make the tea, and as the water heated up in the microwave, he made Nick move onto Blaine's bed. He didn't want the germs traveling. He quickly stripped the sheets and pillows from the bed and stuffed them into a bag to be sent down to the cleaners. The sheets were all replaced with clean ones in record time and the blonde smiled motioning that Nick should go back to his own bed.

The cold, clean sheets were an instant relief against Nick's skin. He instinctively curled up in them with a content smile.

Jeff smiled at the brunette endearingly as he took the water out of the microwave and poured some of it into a mug that already had a tea bag sitting inside of it. He poured the rest into a smaller bowl and mixed it with the noodles before putting it back into the microwave to heat further. As the tea cooled, Jeff continued to switch the sheets on Blaine's bed. "I'll have Trent bring the blankets and sheets to the cleaners when he goes later. He'll bring 'em back for you, too. He owes me since he and his boyfriend ate all my soup."

Nick smiled as Jeff handed him his tea, sipping it and surprised to find that it wasn't bitter even though there was no sugar in it. "Thanks, Jeff. You're kind of amazing."

Jeff blushed and turned away. "Oh, it's nothing. I just know that when I'm sick I hate sitting in my 'sick sheets'. The clean linen always makes me feel better. If only just a little bit." The blonde bit his lip when Nick said nothing in response. "How about I put in a movie while our noodles cool off?"

Nick nodded and watched as Jeff swiftly popped in his favorite of the movies. He then picked up the bowls of noodles that had been cooling on the small table and brought them back Nick's bed. Nick set his tea down and grabbed for the noodles, just now realizing how hungry he was. He hadn't eaten all day long. And the heat would probably feel heavenly as it slid down his throat.

The brunette laughed as he looked up to see Jeff standing awkwardly beside his bed. "Did you want to sit down?"

Jeff bit his lip and smiled. "Yeah, would that be okay?"

Nick rolled his eyes. "No. You came to my room with medicine, soup, tea, and movies, you remade my bed for me, made me lunch, and brought me an ice pack. You are definitely not allowed to sit down," he said with a laugh. Jeff just laughed along with the brunette and climbed into the bed beside him, careful to stay just far enough away that he wasn't imposing.

By the time the movie was half over, the boys had discarded of their bowls and Nick had taken the ice pack of as it had begun to sweat too much. Jeff smiled as he watched the brunette's eyes light up as he watched Wolverine on the screen. It was one of those moments that Jeff wished would last forever. He slowly moved closer to Nick until he was leaning up against the headboard beside him with his head resting carefully on the brunette's shoulder.

Nick smiled as he noticed Jeff's closeness. "Hi," he said, and his voice came out a lot higher than he had hoped.

Jeff smiled at him, "Hey." The big green eyes and the mussed up hair were enough to make Nick melt. He wrapped an arm around the blonde, sliding into a more comfortable position with the boy.

The movie progressed to its end, and neither of the boys moved the entire time—content to just be close to each other. Jeff usually would be paranoid about getting sick, but at this time he really didn't care. He figured his immune system was superhumanly strong anyways, so no harm done.

When the credits ended, Jeff looked up at the screen and groaned. "I really don't feel like moving to put in a new one."

Nick laughed and slid down so he was laying properly on his bed, facing Jeff. The blonde did the same, making sure that his eyes were level with Nick's as he got comfortable in the new position. Nick's hand found his under the blankets, and the warmth was enough the make Jeff blush. "We could just talk or something," Nick suggested.

Jeff smiled, "Yeah, that sounds great."

"So," Nick looked at Jeff and smiled, "what's your favorite color?"

"Yellow. Yours?"

"Blue. I know that's kinda stereotypical, but it reminds me of the sky. What's your favorite number?"

Jeff blushed a little, "Six."

Nick smiled, thinking he had an idea why that was, but wanting to make sure. "Why six?"

Jeff's blush just grew brighter. "My favorite class is sixth period."

"English? We have that together," Nick said with a grin.

The blonde nodded and averted his eyes. "I know. That's one of the reasons why it's my favorite. It's the first class we have together during the day."

Nick blushed as Jeff confirmed his theory. "It's a good number. My favorite's three."

"Oh? And why's that?"

Nick smirked. "I was born on March third, so 3-3. I guess it's just meant to be."

Jeff's face fell. He had been looking for something a little more along the lines of what he had just admitted. "Oh."

Nick chuckled. "You know, all of your emotions are shown in your eyes. I can tell that you're a bit disappointed. Maybe it'll help if I told you I'm not done explaining yet. It's also the number of classes we have together."

Jeff felt his entire body flush as the words left Nick's lips. "Y-yeah. Three's a good number, too."

Nick smiled. "Would you be mad if I fell asleep? I'm sorta worn out."

"No. You're sick. You need to rest," Jeff reassured. He began to pull his hand away, but Nick only tightened his grip.

"No. Stay. I mean, if you want. Maybe when I wake up I'll feel better. There's a song that I was thinking we could do for our duet."

Jeff smiled at the brunette and squeezed his hand. "Sounds good. Now go to sleep. I'll still be here when you wake up." Before the words had even left Jeff's mouth, Nick was turning his back to Jeff and resituating their hands, so Jeff had his arm wrapped protectively around the smaller boy. "Hey, Nick?"

"Hmm?" Nick hummed as he slowly lost consciousness.

"Are we—spooning?"

Nick giggled slightly but fell asleep before he could respond. Jeff marveled at how quickly the brunette could knock out when he was tired. He sighed and cuddled closer to Nick, slowly falling asleep as well.

Hours later, Nick woke up feeling about a million times better. He wasn't sure if it was because of the medicine and tea or the fact that he was waking up with Jeff's arms wrapped around him. He slowly turned in the blonde's arms and found him already awake. "Good afternoon, Three. Have a good nap?"

"Three?" Nick asked groggily.

Jeff grinned. "I've decided I'm going to call you Three from now on. Nicky was too universal."

The brunette smiled at Jeff and nodded. "Whatever you say, Six."

The taller of the two laughed as he slowly pulled away and sat up. "So, you were talking about a duet before you fell asleep. You feel up to rehearsing?"

Nick nodded. "I think your tea has magic powers. I don't feel sick at all anymore."

"Oh, it better. I got it shipped here from Hogsmeade," Jeff said with a laugh. "Really, though. What song were you thinking of?"

Nick grinned. "It's called All About Us. The first line is about the main singer teaching someone how to dance. I thought that when we perform it I could be pretending to teach you how to waltz."

"You can waltz?"

The brunette blush wildly. "I—yes. I had to take ballroom dance classes in middle school. It was horrible, but I picked up quite a few things."

"Show me." Jeff was disbelieving, but as he watched Nick jump off the bed and stride toward him with his hand out, he laughed and took it. True to his word, Nick knew exactly how to waltz. Jeff was confused a bit at first, but the dance was easy enough to pick up within a few minutes. The blonde giggled as Nick began twirling him around the room while slowly singing the song to him.

"Alright, everyone. This is our final duet, then we will be making cuts. Whoever is left at the end of this meeting will be given the choice to stay in the Warblers or back out. You will have until the end of the week to think through this decision," Blaine stated clearly as he smiled at the remaining inductees. A few had been cut earlier on in the week, but everyone he thought had true potential was still sitting in front of him.

Kurt grinned, "Now, for the final pair, Nick Duval and Jeff Sterling."

Jeff bit his lip as he stood and walked with Nick to the middle of the room. They had practiced the routine multiple times, but it was still very new to him. He really liked the idea, though, and he was glad to be given the chance to perform with Nick.

Nick leant up and whispered quietly into Jeff's ear in reassurance, "We've got this, Six."

Jeff smiled, "Yeah, we do." And then the music began and the rest was a blur as Nick began to sing.

Take my hand, I'll teach you to dance

I'll spin you around, won't let you fall down

Would you let me lead? You can step on my feet

Give it a try, it'll be alright

Nick walked slowly over to Jeff as he sang, giving out his hand for the blonde to take. Jeff smiled as he was pulled in close and Nick began to sway. After a moment, the blonde was picked up so he was standing on Nick's feet as the brunette guided them around the room. The pair kept their eyes locked on each other the whole time.

The room's hush hush, and now's our moment

Take it in, feel it all, and hold it

Eyes on you, eyes on me

We're doing this right

The way the song described the room was exactly how it was in that moment. As Jeff and Nick danced around the room—Jeff dancing on his own now because he didn't want to hurt Nick's feet—the entire room was silent, all eyes on them.

'Cause lovers dance when they're feeling in love

Spotlight's shining, it's all about us

It's all about us

And every heart in the room will melt

This is a feeling I've never felt

But it's all about us

Blaine was caught up in the sweetness of the moment. He cuddled close to Kurt and whispered to him, "I think our plan is working."

Kurt just grinned, and, on a whim, he took Blaine's hand in his own, lacing their fingers together. Blaine had been there for him all week, and the taller boy had been doing some thinking. Maybe Sam wasn't the right one for him. Maybe the boy for him had been standing in front of him all this time trying to catch his attention with the latest in Katy Perry's repertoire. "Yeah, I think it is."

Blaine looked up in shock when he felt Kurt's hand in his own, but softened when he saw the smile on the boy's face. He cuddled closer to Kurt and resigned to enjoying the rest of the performance in silence.

Suddenly, I'm feeling brave

Don't know what's gotten into me

Why I feel this way

Can we dance real slow?

Can I hold you real close?

Nick smiled as Jeff sang to him, the entire time maintaining the eye contact they had created at the beginning of the song. As the blonde sang, a melody began to develop amongst the Warblers watching. It was like magic, and the humming just amplified the sounds and feelings swirling inside of the brunette as he waltzed around the room.

Do you hear that, love? They're playing our song

Do you think we're ready? Oh, I'm really feeling it

Do you hear that, love? Do you hear that, love?

Trent grinned as he watched his best friend dance around the room. He figured the pair would be official by the end of the week—at least that was what he had bet on against Thad. He tried to focus on the pair as they sang, and he quickly joined in on the escalating melody. The whole scene was very Beauty And The Beast-esque.

Do you hear that, love? They're playing our song

Do you think we're ready yet? Oh, I'm really feeling it

Do you hear that, love? Do you hear that, love?

As the pair came toward the end of their song, they slowed down their dance just a bit, so it was back to a basic square waltz. Jeff leaned down and rested his forehead against Nick's as they quietly sang the last line in perfect harmony.

It's all about us

The song ended and applause rang out through the room. Nick just pulled Jeff close to him in a hug and whispered in his ear. "You did great, Six."

Jeff smiled and ruffled Nick's hair as they embraced. "Likewise, Three. Likewise."

All About Us-He Is We [Jeff Nick Both]

Next Chapter: Adding A Catalyst