A/N: Hey, guys! IDEK about the length of this chapter. The fact that it doesn't have a song in it may be a contributing factor. But the next chapter should be rather long & pick up exactly where this one left off. Love you all!

xxx, Elizabeth

Adding A Catalyst

Adding a catalyst causes activation energy to lower, the number of molecules to increase, and speeds up the reaction between substances.

Kurt was looking down at his chemistry notes, thinking about cramming for the quiz that should be coming any day now, but he couldn't seem to focus. Every time he rested—even for a moment—his mind drifted to Blaine and how confusing his feelings were becoming. Each day, he missed Sam a little bit more, but he also noticed his feelings toward Blaine were growing stronger.

There was the ever-present conflict of the empty feeling he experienced every time the tall blonde popped into his head versus the giddy warmth that would cover him whenever the small brunette came to mind. This conflict, as of yet, has reached no conclusion.

Kurt groaned in anger and threw his notebook at the door, aiming to hit the picture of him and Sam that he hadn't taken down yet, but the door opened before any contact was made, and the book hit Jeff instead.

Luckily, this particular action had already occurred multiple times over the course of the week, and the blonde was prepared this time. Jeff caught the notebook in his hand without flinching and set it down on Kurt's desk before sitting next to him on the bed. "Well, hello to you, too."

"Hi," Kurt grumped as he looked at the picture still hanging on his door as if it were mocking him.

"Why aren't you getting ready? You're announcing the new Warblers today in like five minutes."

Kurt blanched and turned to look at his clock. Of course, Jeff was right. The small brunette was emotionally exhausted, though, and he honestly didn't feel like primping. Instead, he ran a comb quickly through his hair and through his blazer on over the crumpled up shirt he had been wearing all day.

Jeff was shocked by the appearance of his friend that more often than not looked like perfection in human form. To see him so thrown together and rumpled, he couldn't help but compare the sight in front of him to a young bird with its feathers ruffled. The blonde boy shrugged. "That should do, I guess. Shall we go?" He offered his arm out to Kurt, but the smaller boy ignored it and walked straight past Jeff and out the door.

"Sure, Jeff. I'd love to go announce the new Warblers. Sounds like fun!" Jeff mumbled under his breath as he followed behind Kurt. "Alright, Kurt. Let's go then."

Kurt snapped back to look at Jeff with a menacing glare. "You know I can hear you, right?"

"No, but that just makes it funnier, I suppose."

"I really hate you sometimes."

Jeff grinned, "Yes, but you love me most times."

"Whatever," Kurt grumbled as he walked ahead and picking up pace the whole time.

The walk to the choir room was a short one, and the boys were approaching it only minutes later. All the Warblers—including all of those newly inducted—were present, sitting on chairs to one side of the room when Kurt and Jeff entered.

Blaine jumped to his feet at the sight of Kurt, and suddenly everything felt right again. It was weird how whenever Kurt wasn't around the boy for a long time he would start to question things, but as soon as he saw that adorable head of loose curls—too often slicked back by hideous amounts of gel—he would melt again and any previous worries would fade.

He had spoken to Sam again a few days ago, and they agreed that distance wasn't the best thing for them as a couple. The summers were always amazing, but they always led to massive amounts of withdrawal every time September rolled back around.

They solemnly had agreed to break up. It was, in the end, what was best for the pair. Of course, they still loved each other and would continue to hold a spot in each other's hearts as very close friends, but they would not associate romantically anymore. The distance, as it turns out, wasn't very healthy for their sanity either.

After a few days of milling through his thoughts, Kurt still wasn't sure if he was ready for a new relationship so soon. But there Blaine stood—handsome as ever, with that warm and loving look in his eyes that made the taller brunette want to melt.

Those thoughts only intensified when Blaine stepped forward and grasped Kurt's hand in his own, but they were forced to the back of his mind when the smaller boy began to speak. "Hello, Warblers! First I would like to congratulate you all on making it through these last few weeks. I know it's been rough, but things are only going to get better from here on out."

Kurt smiled, pulling out of Blaine's grasp when he realized all the odd looks they were getting. "Yes, and we would like to start this year off with a bang, so I think a party is in order!"

This statement was met by a loud round of cheers from the group. Blaine cut it off quickly, "Alright guys, so tonight there will be a little soiree of sorts in the senior commons. We already got the okay from the staff. And there are only a few rules."

Kurt winked over at one of the more excited Warblers. "Wes? Would you like to explain the rules?"

"One: Only Warblers are allowed. All others will be turned away at the door. Two: No talking about the party with people not associated with the Warblers—including staff and best friends that didn't make it in. These parties are Warbler-exclusive. Three: Truth or Dare is always going to happen. Four: Liquor must be provided, or we all have an excuse to leave," he thumbed off each rule casually, but his smile was devious by the time he got to the final rule.

"And," Wes added, "if you have a hangover in the morning, do not go outside of your dorm until you've recovered. We don't want anyone to find out about—or take away—our supply."

Kurt grinned as he watched Wes and David answer any and all questions related to the party, leaning over to whisper to Blaine, "Honestly, I'm still not sure what the catalyst tonight is."

Blaine laughed, "True. Truth or Dare or alcohol?"

"I'd really hate if it was the latter. Let's hope they don't get roped into one of Wes and David's drinking games. Those can always be scary."

"So are you excited?" Nick asked as he elbowed Jeff in the arm.

The blonde shrugged. "I guess. I don't know about the idea of being surrounded by a bunch of drunk guys all night, though."

"I heard there's good karaoke, though! And if you don't wanna drink, I'll stay sober with you."

"Yeah?" the blonde asked with hope written across his features.

"Sure," Nick said as if it wasn't that big of a deal at all. "I get all weird when I drink anyways. I'd like to save myself from the embarrassment if I can help it. And," Nick grinned and tugged Jeff's hand into his, "that way we can hang out more tonight."

Jeff blushed as he thought about the conversation he had with Nick earlier on in the day. He had no idea what to expect to come from tonight, and he was nervous and excited and confused. But he didn't mind feeling all those things really—not really. He didn't mind because he knew Nick was probably thinking the same things. They were in this together, and Jeff was just starting to figure that out.

He tugged on his hair one final time, but when the annoying parts continued to stick up, he gave up. Trent was already waiting for him, and Nick would probably already be downstairs.

Trent giggled as he watched Jeff wrestle with his hair. It was quite endearing, but Thad was waiting for him. "Yes, yes. You look gorgeous, Jeffrey. Nick's just gonna eat you up. Can we go now?"

Jeff flushed bright red, but couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. "Can you not?"

"Not wait for you? Gladly." Trent walked out of the room and stood by the door in the hall waiting for Jeff to follow.

As predicted, the tall blonde followed seconds later. "What happened to not waiting for me?"

Trent shrugged and hooked arms with his best friend as the fell in step together. "I figured an extra couple seconds wouldn't hurt. But if you had spent any longer on that ridiculous hair of yours, I would've left your ass behind."

"Oh, whateve—" Jeff's thought was cut off midsentence when he rounded the corner to the senior commons and collided with another body.

The boy he walked into turned sharply, "Hey, watch where you're—oh, hey, Six."

Jeff grinned and unhooked his arm from Trent's, nodding to the boy next to him to go ahead to the others. "Hi, Three!" he wrapped his arms around Nick in a tight embrace, but pulled away suddenly when he realized what he was doing.

The shorter boy looked at him quizzically, "Something wrong?"

Jeff blushed and shook his head. "Nope. Everything's great."

"Good, let's go join the party then."

The volume increased greatly once the boys were out of the hallway and into the room. Alcohol was already flowing, and the party seemed to be in full swing. Kurt rushed over to them both and grinned. "Finally, our little prodigies have arrived! Let's get you guys a drink."

Jeff quickly shook his head. He knew it had been two weeks. That whatever plan Kurt and Blaine had put into action would be boiling over tonight. He wanted to be sober when it did. "N-no thanks, Kurtsie. I'm good."

Kurt flushed at the nickname, but he was tipsy, so he didn't chastise Jeff for it. Instead, he stuck out his bottom lip and widened his eyes in a pout. "Fineeee. But will you at least do karaoke?"

Jeff looked at Nick, who nodded. "I think we can do a few songs."

Kurt clapped and giggled, "Perfect!" Rolling his eyes, he added, "As much as I love Miss Katy Perry, I was hoping I could spend some time with Blaine today. Not just listening to him sing."

Jeff laughed at Kurt's feigned annoyance, but was already mentally running through songs in his head. His thoughts were interrupted by someone further into the room yelling "Everyone, get over here! We're playing Truth or Dare!"

Kurt squealed in delight and took Jeff and Nick both by the hand, leading them to the circle that was already forming in the center of the room. Once they were situated, Kurt left to find his own spot next to Blaine.

"Alright, who's going first?" David called as he clapped for everyone to calm down.

Thad smirked, "I think you should go first, David." When David motioned as if to say bring it, Thad just laughed deviously. "I feel like there's no point to this question, but truth or dare?"

"Dare," David said without batting an eye.

"I dare you to kiss Wes."

David just laughed. "You guys are ridiculous. I have to do this almost every game."

"And you will continue to do it until you guys give up the straight charade and admit that you're madly in love," Blaine cooed as he cuddled into Kurt.

David just rolled his eyes end leaned over to Wes who was waiting for him. The pair leaned in towards each other, and when their lips met, catcalls came from all directions. And then something happened that no one was expecting. The pair didn't pull away from each other. Instead, Wes wrapped his arms tightly around David and deepened the kiss until they were clearly making out. David smiled into the kiss, and simply pulled out his middle finger when Cliff called out "Get it in!"

The pair pulled apart moments later and Wes winked at David before wiping his face. "Are you guys satisfied? We made out, and I still feel straight as ever."

David laughed. "Seriously, guys. That was a little weird. Wes is like my brother."

Wes grinned, "Yes, Dalton is not a gay school. Remember, Kurt?"

Kurt laughed as he remembered the time that seemed like forever ago when he had come in for freshman orientation and had met Wes, David, and Blaine for the first time. He was surprised by the number of gay guys that attended, but Wes and David had cleared it up that there were still straight guys that attended.

"Right, anyways. My turn!" David grinned. "Blaine, truth or dare?"

"Truth" Blaine said lazily from where he sat with Kurt's arm around him.

"How long have you been in love with Kurt?"

Blaine blushed madly and bit his lip. "Freshman year," he mumbled and his gaze dropped to the floor.

Kurt felt his heart flutter and any remaining doubts he had about Sam had vanished. "R-really?"

Blaine nodded as he looked up to see Kurt's eyes. "Pretty much since we met."

"Blaine!" Kurt giggled as he hugged Blaine closer to him and kissed his cheek softly. "That's so cute!"

"Right. This is actually really awkward." Blaine looked around the room slowly before his eyes landed on one of the newest additions. "Sebastian, truth or dare?"

"I usually pick dare, but maybe truth will be interesting," Sebastian said with a smirk from where he sat, relaxing on his elbows.

"How many guys have you kissed in the last week?"

Sebastian laughed deviously. "Kissed? Maybe two. Blown? Closer to five."

Kurt groaned from where he sat and hid his face in Blaine's chest. "Remind me again why we let him join," he murmured quietly to the smaller boy.

"He's an amazing dancer. You're the one that pointed that out."

"Yes, but he's so… Sebastian-y," Kurt complained, but let the conversation drop as he was called on next.

"Kurt," Sebastian said with a smirk, "truth or dare?"

"Dare," Kurt said, eyes narrowing at the challenge.

"Probably not the smartest choice when I'm the one giving it to you." And seriously, Kurt just wanted to smack that annoying meerkat look off of the boy's face. "Fine, I dare you to perform a strip tease to the next song that comes on. You have to get all the way down to your Care Bear boxers."

"Fine," Kurt said, annoyance lacing his tone. "But, just so you know, I don't own Care Bear boxers. Though, a little birdy told me you do in fact have a pair. And you've worn them before."

That wiped the smirk straight off of Sebastian's face. And the strip tease that followed—to the song Out Tonight from Rent, and was remarkably similar to the one Mimi performed in the musical—made the tall boy's face cloud with appreciation and maybe a small amount of desire.

When the song ended, Kurt cleared his throat and hastily pulled all of his clothing back on. "Right, next." He grinned as his eyes landed on Jeff. "Jeff, my dear, truth or dare?"

Jeff blushed. He knew what he was supposed to say, but he was scared that it would lead to something that he wanted to happen on its own accord. Normally, he would cop out and choose truth, but he was feeling a little bold, so he decided to go with dare, no matter how much he knew he would probably regret it later. "Dare."

Kurt just turned to Blaine with a surprised look on his face. He had been expecting the blonde to go for truth. "Umm, okay. I dare you to go streak down the hallway while screaming."

Jeff blushed. He knew he should've picked truth. Plus, this had nothing to do with the plan, he was sure. "Can I at least keep my boxers on?"

Kurt thought for a moment, but shook his head. "Nope. Everything off. You can keep your socks on if you'd like," he said with a smirk.

Jeff stood and began to pull off his shirt. "Fine, but I'll kill you if anyone gets a picture of this on their phones."

And so Jeff completed his dare. The game continued on for nearly an hour as each boy in the circle was given at least one chance to embarrass themselves. One of the funniest ones was when Thad was dared to call his sister and attempt to seduce her. The entire time she was calling from the other line "Thad, I think you called the wrong number again. Did you mean to dial Trent? Hello? Thad?"

Then it was Blaine's turn to ask someone, but this time he turned to Nick. "Okay, guys. I think this is the last one. Then we can go back to dancing and everything. What do you say?" He was met with cheers of approval, and nodded before turning back to Nick. "Nick, truth or dare? And you kinda have to say dare now since you've been choosing truth all night."

Nick rolled his eyes, "Fine, but if it's something as horrible as streaking down the hallway, I'm calling chicken."

Blaine smirked, "Oh, don't worry. I'm sure it won't be horrible." He stood and walked to the side of the room. "Warblers, it has come to my attention that Jeffrey Sterling has never kissed a boy. I think we should change that, don't you all?"

Jeff was turning beet red, and he felt like sinking into the floor was a good option at the moment. Instead he just looked at Nick and with wide eyes. "You don't have to if you don't want to," the blonde whispered.

"Nick, I dare you to kiss Jeff," Blaine finished before sitting back down with a devious grin on his face.

Nick turned to Jeff, squeezing his hand and moving to whisper in his ear. "I—I want to. But only if you want me to."

Jeff nodded, his eyes growing even wider at the words that came from Nick's mouth. "I—I—okay." As soon as the words left Jeff's mouth, he could feel Nick moving closer. Could feel warm breath on his face and an arm slowly wrapping around him. Then all he could feel were Nick's lips on his. And all he could think was: This is finally actually happening.

Next Chapter: Stirring