Your Love Is My Drug

"Again!" Kurt's voice commanded from his bedroom. Finn, who had been walking by his brother's room, raised an eyebrow and stopped. He knew Puck was over and as Kurt giggled and repeated the word again, Finn's mouth fell open, a bit of the apple he was eating falling on his chin. He quickly wiped up the fruit residue and swallowed what was in his mouth as he pressed his ear to the door.

See, Finn wasn't exactly the type of person who wanted to hear his brother doing the nasty or anything like it, but he, as the only other glee club member in the house, had a duty to listen to the sounds behind the door and report to the glee club if anything happened between the two of them. It was like his unofficial but still official spy duty that only he could do. And since Kurt and Blaine had just broken up, despite how unaffected Kurt seemed on the surface, and Puck and Lauren were still dancing the line between official and not official, it could happen at any moment.

In fact, it seemed to be happening, if Finn was hearing accurately. "Come on, Kurt, if we keep focusing on the small stuff at the beginning, I won't have any energy for the end."

"You promised," Kurt said, a slight pout evident in his voice. "This needs to be perfect." Puck sighed and then there was just the sound of some movement, Kurt adding a few noises, squeaks and sounds of confirmation mostly. "Oh my god, you're so good!"

Finn's eyes widened impossibly wide. Holy shit! He leaned in even closer, his weight starting to press on the doorknob.

"Well, what can I say?" Puck said cockily, "I'm pretty talented. And I had a good teacher."

"I can't believe how good this is," Kurt said excitedly, a small noise of pleasure leaving his mouth. "I can't wait for everyone to know just how good we are."

Before Finn knew what was happening, his body weight forced the doorknob to turn and he was falling into Kurt's room. "Finn!" Kurt gasped. "What are you doing? The door was closed for a reason!"

Finn started to stumble back up to his feet, his hand over his eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I just heard—I mean, I promise not to tell—"

"Tell what?" Puck asked. "Dude, why are you covering your eyes?"

Finn paused and slowly lowered his hand and opened his eyes. Kurt and Puck were looking at him with utter confusion on their faces and were, most importantly, fully clothed and nowhere near Kurt's bed. In fact, his bed was pushed off to the side as far as possible, as was the rest of his furniture. Finn turned to look at the TV when he heard a soft noise and saw a group of people dancing in some old movie.

"What were you doing?" Finn asked.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Noah and I are trying to master the dance in Dirty Dancing. We've been working on this number for ages and since Noah can now officially lift me up like in the movie, we thought we'd perfect it and hopefully get the DJ or band or whatever to play it at prom."

Noah nodded. "I always owe Kurt at least one dance. We've had that plan for years. Lauren's my date, but I'm saving at least one number for Kurt."

Kurt smiled. "Yes. And even though I am probably going stag, I'm not letting that ruin the night." He grinned up at Noah and then looked at Finn. "Why? What did you think we were doing?"

"Um…nothing," Finn said, unable to come up with a better answer.

Kurt looked at him suspiciously but eventually said, "So can you leave? Noah and I need to practice."

Finn nodded and closed the door. As he bit into his apple again, he had to admit he was a bit disappointed it wasn't what he thought it was. On the other hand, he was happy to know he also hadn't heard his brother have sex. That was something he really never wanted to hear.

—

When Kurt walked into the choir room for rehearsal, the first thing he saw was Noah frowning in the corner, which would be honestly puzzling for most of the club. He and Lauren were still behind in prom candidacy, yes, but they were still ahead of Santana and Dave and he was sure they would pull ahead. After all, as Noah had pointed out at JBI's interview, he had intimidation and fear on his side.

Of course, Kurt remembered the viewer question JBI had asked—where does Lauren keep your balls? Kurt had winced at that question and, now seeing him for the first time since, Kurt knew Noah was still hurt. Kurt sighed and left the prom dress discussion he really wanted to participate in to sit over next to a hurt looking Noah.

"Honey," Kurt said softly. "It's not true. You are still the manliest guy in this whole school. Being with Lauren doesn't change that." Of course, Kurt secretly agreed with that idea, but he wasn't going to tell Noah that. And, really, just being with a strong woman wasn't emasculating. Hell, Quinn was just as domineering; there was a reason why she was considered Coach Sylvester's mini-me when she was on the Cheerios.

"Really?" Noah asked. "Because I need something to boost my rep if she is." Making sure Lauren hadn't entered yet, he quietly admitted, "You know I'm not really into this prom king thing. I just wanted a way into her pants. But now she's getting way too into it and, yeah, I'm a badass and should win. But if I do…" Noah shook his head, "Once I win, my whole badass reputation is going to disappear."

"Why do you think that?" Kurt asked. "Can't a badass still be royalty? I mean, look at Prince Harry."

"Not when the crown is made out of cheap plastic and the results are announced in the gym."

Kurt was confused. "Okay…do you want me to vote for you then or…?"

"Well, yeah. I want us to win," Noah said. "But I just need something to help raise my badass rep. I can't have people thinking I've gone soft just because I'm courting someone." Kurt couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that choice of word. That honestly sounded like he was spending way too much time with him, which was the first time Kurt ever thought that.

The conversation had to end there, though, as Lauren sat in a nearby seat and was soon followed into the room by Mr. Schue. "I have some exciting news. I know we're only a few weeks away from Nationals, but we have to work on some other things." Everyone seemed a bit confused by that until he finally said, "The band for junior prom had to cancel and, since most of you guys were planning on going anyway, Figgins asked us to sing for it!"

"Let's do 'Run Joey Run'!" Rachel said immediately, even as everyone gave her a look like she was crazy.

"…We'll talk song choices in a second," Schue said. "Look, I know you guys were planning on just having some fun and relaxing at prom. I get it. So we'll do things in shifts and groups. That way everyone has a chance to enjoy their junior prom."

Something about that made Mercedes excuse herself and leave. Kurt immediately stood to go follow her but Rachel insisted, "No, let me." Kurt hesitated but, after a moment, he nodded and sat back down.

"Okay, let's start brainstorming some song ideas," Mr. Schue said as he tried to ignore Mercedes leaving. "We'll need a good mix of slow and fast songs."

"And you need to make sure that I—and the rest of my prom royalty candidates," Quinn said, "are not involved in whatever song you want to have the winners dance to."

Mr. Schue pointed at Quinn, "Good idea, thank you. So that's you, Finn, Santana, Lauren, and Noah—"

"Puck," Noah corrected. He couldn't just have a teacher calling him his real name now, not when everyone already thought he was loosing his edge.

"That still leaves a lot of people. I'll think of something good for that," Mr. Schue said as he wrote the names of those who were royalty nominations on the board. He turned back to them and continued, "Now I was thinking we should probably recycle a few of our other songs from this year. That way we won't have to worry about learning hours of material in one week."

"'My Headband'," Brittany whispered to herself.

Kurt, on the other hand, nearly bounced in his seat. "Mr. Schue, if I may?" he asked, his hand in the air. The teacher called on him and Kurt said, "I think we really need to end with the stellar interpretation you guys did of '(I've Had) The Time of My Life' at Sectionals."

Sam and Quinn awkwardly looked at each other before Quinn voiced. "The last song is normally the King and Queen dancing together. Or at least when the King and Queen take yearbook photos. I'm still a strong candidate and I'll be busy with that. It wouldn't look good for me to sing with someone who isn't my King."

"Well, I think you'll have time to sing. And if it's after your win, it won't matter who you sing with," Kurt said. He stood up and looked at everyone. "Everyone should leave prom thinking they had the time of their life and I think that's a great song to end on. It's just the perfect mix of slow and fast."

Mr. Schue nodded. "I think that's a great idea, Kurt. Thanks for suggesting it."

Kurt beamed and added, "Plus Noah and I have a killer dance routine to it." He sat back down primly as Mr. Schue wrote that song on the board. And once Mercedes and Rachel came back in, the rest of the meeting was devoted to figuring out what songs they could put together quickly for the big event.

—

Kurt was extremely honored that some of the glee girls asked for his help with choosing their outfits. Sometimes he was sure he loved fashion more than even performing and he was pretty sure he was going to pursue Vogue someday. And as he praised Tina and Brittany for their choices and guided Lauren to the slimming color of navy, Kurt's smile grew.

It wasn't until he approved Santana's dress that he was finally asked about his plans for prom. "Well, obviously I have to go for glee club. So Lauren is so graciously letting me go with her and Noah to Breadstix and then I'll be stag at prom, I guess," Kurt said with a shrug. "Honestly, that's what I get for breaking up with Blaine before prom."

"You're going stag? That's so lame," Santana said. "Even Berry has a date."

"Yeah, but Brittany's going stag, too," Kurt pointed out, gesturing to the girl behind him. Santana's eyes flashed some emotion at that reminder that Kurt didn't quite understand, but he pressed on. "Look, I've thought about asking Blaine to go as friends, but it's much too soon for that. We only just started texting again. I don't want him to think I only did that to ask him for a favor. Besides, if I'm not going for a romantic reason, why bring him at all?" Brittany shot Santana a look that Kurt didn't see. "Sure, I'd love to not be a third wheel, but I'll live."

"I'd offer to help be a buffer," Tina said, "But Mike's parents are insisting we eat with them. I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Tee," Kurt said as Lauren finally came back from changing out of that hideous yellow number. "I just plan on singing what I was assigned and having fun with everyone there. It'll be fine." Even as he put on a smile, Kurt was still bummed out. He couldn't believe he was going to be a third wheel at his first prom.

—

Puck had asked Artie to help him with the beyond brilliant plan to spike the punch at prom, but the guy was so bent out of shape over not having Brittany he refused. Honestly, it was just annoying to Puck. Brittany was a great lay, but was she really worth getting that upset over losing?

But then he tried to think about it from Artie's point of view. Well, Tina was with Mike and had been for months now and all the other girls were paired off. No wonder Artie felt lonely. And it had to be hard for Artie to get a girl who was interested in him because of the whole wheelchair thing, which sucked. Maybe Puck never hung out with him much before he used him as community service, but he was a really cool dude. And he really deserved a good date.

So Noah tapped into his inner Kurt Hummel and told Artie to woo Brittany back. Brittany would probably be moved by a song, right? It worked for every other guy in the club so why not? After some thought, Artie made a song choice and Puck recruited Finn, Mike, and Sam to help with the job.

That was how they ended up crashing the cooking class with a version of "Isn't She Lovely". First Artie sang but slowly the other guys entered as back up, much to the enjoyment of everyone else in the class, including Kurt.

…Weirdly, Brittany did not seem moved. She firmly said they weren't back together and Artie looked more deflated than ever. Kurt looked over at his friend and frowned as he and Puck left together. He really could relate to that. Maybe he was the one who broke up with Blaine, but he still felt pretty miserable about spending the night without a date. Being the third wheel on Noah's date wasn't really appetizing to him, after all, but he had a glee club duty to fulfill and no other options.

As they went on with class, Kurt felt an idea forming in his head. He cocked his head to the side. No, it was crazy. He couldn't do that…right?

—

"Hey, Artie," Kurt said breathlessly as he met him at his locker. "I wanted to tell you that your performance in Home Ec was amazing, as per usual. And I'm really sorry it didn't have the desire effect."

Artie shrugged sadly, "Yeah, well, what are you going to do? I guess I messed up. Maybe another cheerleader will realize all they wanted was a guy without use of his legs."

Kurt shook his head. "Artie, you're going to find someone. I know it. Maybe not by prom, but you will some day. Seriously. You're too nice and talented and funny and smart to be single forever. And someday another girl will see that."

Artie looked up at Kurt with a puzzled expression. After a few moments it slowly morphed into a genuine smile and he adjusted his glasses. "Well, thank you, Kurt." Kurt told him it was no problem and Artie asked, "So do I owe anything else to this visit?"

"Well, yes. I wanted to ask you something," Kurt said. Artie nodded to show he was ready for the question. Kurt took a deep breath and asked, "Would you like to go to prom with me? As friends?"

The shorter man looked up at him. "What?"

"Look, I don't want you to think this is some Finn thing. I'm not trying to chase you and I'm not trying to convert you. I just want someone with me when I go with Lauren and Noah to Breadstix and maybe someone to take some pictures with besides Noah at my place." Kurt sighed and shook his head. "I'm so insane, I'm sorry. It's just, Blaine and I aren't ready to do a friends date and the only people who aren't paired up yet in glee club are you, me, and Brittany and…wow, I'm so sorry I even asked."

Kurt turned around and was about to walk away when he felt a tug on his sleeve. He turned back and Artie smiled up at him. "Kurt, I have to say I'm flattered you'd ask me, even if I was a last resort. And, honestly, I wouldn't want you to have to be a third wheel. Not alone, anyways." Artie shrugged, "So why not? I'm friends with you and Puck and I think it could be fun."

"Really?" Kurt asked. "Because you really don't have to if you don't want to."

"Hey, I have to go to prom anyways," Artie said with a smile. "I might as well go with friends in a group instead of having my dad drive me."

"Perfect!" Kurt said. "We were all going to meet at my place for pictures if your dad or mom or whoever wants to come. Then Puck's taking us to Breadstix and then we'll be at prom in time for the first song."

"Sounds great," Artie said. "I'm guessing I'll be coming over at some point tonight or tomorrow?" At Kurt's puzzled look Artie smiled. "You're Kurt Hummel. I'm sure you have an amazing outfit picked out that I should pretend to coordinate with, right?"

Kurt laughed a bit and nodded. "I do have an outfit planned, yes. I'm putting on a few more touches tonight so I can bring you back home tonight if you want to attempt a last minute alteration. If all else fails, you at least get a preview of what will shock the entire school." After a moment's hesitation, Kurt added, "And don't feel obligated to dance with me or anything. I just need an ally at dinner."

"Of course," Artie said casually, closing his locker. "Besides, as you probably know, Puck's got me on this mission to try to spike the punch."

"He what?!"

When Artie looked back up, Kurt was storming off in the direction of Puck's locker.

"…I guess Puck hadn't told him that…"

—

Noah didn't know why Kurt was pulling him by his ear into a spare classroom, but he wasn't sure he really wanted to know. "What the hell, Kurt? Ow, stop it!" Noah whined until Kurt finally let go. He rubbed the store spot and pouted. "What did I do to deserve that?" Puck asked as Kurt went to close the door.

Kurt turned around, his eyes flashing angrily as he looked at him. "Artie told me you're planning on spiking the punch?"

Noah rolled his eyes. "God, Kurt, of course I am. Why wouldn't I? It's the perfect crime to get my badass rep back no matter how the stupid royalty thing goes and it's gonna be easy. I just need his help pouring it while I distract Coach Sylvester with my sexy dance moves." Noah gave a preview of his supposed sexy dance moves and Kurt looked at him like he was crazy.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Kurt asked. "First of all, Noah, I love you, but your dance skills are not going to captivate her. Second of all, if Artie is caught with alcohol do you realize he'll probably be suspended if not expelled?" Noah looked a bit guilty at that and Kurt added, "And don't think that you can do it, either. You might be done with your community service but you still have a record. If you're caught at school with alcohol, you'll probably get expelled given your record and then more time in Juvie. Do you really want that?"

For a moment it looked like Noah was going to argue. But he finally crossed his arms and looked down at his feet. "No," he mumbled quietly.

"That's what I thought," Kurt said.

"But I gotta do something," Noah whined, looking back up at Kurt. "I have a brilliant fake that I need to use and I can't just let it sit there in my pocket. I need to make my rep go back up."

Kurt sighed and pressed his fingers to his forehead. Kurt knew what it was like. He had his own appearances and reputation he wanted to keep up which was increasingly harder to do with the insistence of the Bully Whips program. He appreciated their efforts but he wanted to just walk to class himself. He didn't want people thinking he needed that protection. But at least it was nice to know that people had stopped caring about his sexuality. He hadn't gotten any hate since his main tormentor had stopped and Kurt really was starting to think that his own status at McKinley was going up.

So he understood that Noah wanted to help his own rep as well. "Fine," Kurt said. "Rachel was talking about throwing a party after prom since they don't have a school sponsored one for junior prom. You can use your fake and load your truck with some booze for the party. Then we'll spread the word around that you have all the alcohol you could want and people will want to buy from you during prom. You can let some people buy from you after prom ends, then we'll go to Rachel's, we'll party, and basically repeat what happened a few months ago."

"But Schue made us sign something promising we wouldn't drink until after Nationals."

"That makes you even more of a badass if you break the rules," Kurt said with a shrug. "And I doubt Santana or Brittany or Finn has kept that promise or will keep it. And even if everyone does decide to keep that promise, you still get to have the badass rep as being the guy who bought alcohol without bringing it into prom. And they're so concerned on making sure no one brings alcohol into school, they won't even notice you have some out in the parking lot."

Noah thought it over. It wasn't the best plan, no, but McKinley's staff was pretty lax on checking the parking lot after dances and games so he'd probably get away with it. And if he was selling booze to students after prom for celebration and rumor got out before and during prom, he'd be a legend. "Alright," Noah finally agreed. "I'll do that." He smiled at Kurt then raised an eyebrow, "So did Artie rat me out randomly or were you two talking about me or something?"

Kurt blushed a bit and shook his head. "No, he didn't come up to me to tattle on you. I asked him to be the fourth wheel with me for prom."

"Really?" Noah asked with a teasing grin. "I should've known you'd be interested in taking him for a ride."

Kurt rolled his eyes, "Please stop talking."

—

Kurt proudly looked at his handiwork in the mirror. He had spent lots of time since he transferred back to McKinley on perfecting this outfit and getting it right to his liking. It was all a big secret but he already had gotten several questions on the subject: just what was Kurt going to wear for his junior prom? Maybe Kurt was overestimating his status at McKinley, but he felt a bit like a style icon. And he wanted to amaze them. But any standard tux wasn't going to impress them and leave a lasting mark of what Kurt Hummel was and is.

Artie was right. Kurt had a statement outfit and it was probably good that he was getting a sneak peek. He didn't want his friend to be shocked when Saturday finally came.

So Kurt proudly came out of his room and headed downstairs to the living room where Finn, Noah, Artie, and his dad all sat. Honestly, it was the oddest assortment of people he could imagine, especially with Finn having a glass of warm milk while Noah and Artie had tea, but whatever. His dad said something about how he had gotten a half priced tux at his own prom and Kurt had the perfect cue to slide in.

"No need for half price off my outfit," he said proudly as he slid into the room, his kilt billowing around him.

"Because it's already half off?" Burt fired back.

"Yo, Kurt, that is dope," Artie said. Kurt smiled; it was a fact that his friend slipped into his slang when he was only really excited. "Did you make that?"

"My ensemble is an homage to the recent royal wedding and the late Alexander McQueen," Kurt said. "And yes, I had to make it myself. There is simply nothing fresh off the rack for the young, fashionable man in Ohio."

Finn was the next one to speak out of his peers. Being the surprisingly supportive big brother he was, Finn said, "Dude, that rocks. It's like gay Braveheart." Kurt smiled in thanks as he twirled around, letting the kilt circle around him.

"I don't like it," Burt said simply.

"Well of course you don't like it! It isn't finished yet!" Kurt chirped back. "I think it still needs a sash or maybe some beads."

"I'm not going to stop you from wearing it. But I got to be honest. I think you're just trying to stir the pot a little bit. I think you're trying to get some attention."

"Exactly," Kurt said, not sure what his dad was getting at. "What's the point of dressing up? That's why some guys wear the tails and the top hat and the girls wear the hoop skirts." Kurt looked over for some more support as he felt that his dad wasn't done yet, his eyes immediately finding Noah's. "Noah, back me up here."

Noah had been silent as he stared at the movements of Kurt's kilt. Of course Kurt had worn them before, but something about how proudly Kurt had been twirling made it so…different. It was like he was in a Cheerios skirt and Noah did not need those images in his head again. He struggled with a proper answer before finally saying, "I get his point? I mean I think it's awesome, but I get what he's saying. He just wants you to be safe."

"Exactly," Burt said. "Look, there are a lot of bad guys out there, Kurt, a lot worse than Karofsky. And all they're looking for is a match to light a fire for their hate. Of course I want you to be yourself. But I also want you to be practicable."

There was a few seconds of silence as Kurt looked around at his friends for support. Finn was clearly thinking over what his stepdad said while Noah looked down at his lap and Artie looked a bit uncomfortable to be a part of this situation.

"I have done everything right," Kurt finally said quietly. "I can understand your concern, but I worked hard on this and I'm wearing it." With that, he turned sharply, the kilt swishing with him and went back to the stairs.

Burt sighed and looked over at Noah. Finn did the same and Artie followed suit. Noah looked up from his lap and at all of them and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah," Noah sighed. He got off the couch and quickly jogged up to Kurt's room.

He knocked on the door and was told to come in, finding Kurt in just an undershirt and tights as he put his outfit away. He looked at the door and rolled his eyes before getting back to changing. "Why didn't you defend me?" Kurt asked. "Don't you know how hard I've worked on this?"

"Of course I know you've worked hard, Kurt. And it's awesome," Noah said. "But I just get your dad's point of view. I'm not sure it's the best thing to wear at a school like ours."

"But everyone's been so great since I've been back," Kurt protested as he started to shimmy into the tight pants he was wearing earlier. "Look, I get what he was saying, I do, but no one cares anymore. They're not going to do anything because of what I wear to prom. It's fine."

Kurt sat down on his bed and looked at his reflection in his vanity's mirror. "I'm tired of being looked after, Noah," he said softly. "I don't want to have to watch what I do because of who I am. I'm proud of that outfit and so many men wear kilts without a problem. I don't want to spend my prom in an outfit I don't like because of a few narrow-minded people." He looked up at Noah's eyes in the mirror. "Don't you understand? You don't want them to think you're anything less than a badass. I don't want them to think I'm hiding myself."

Noah looked into Kurt's eyes for a moment longer before nodding. "Okay, I get it," Noah said. "And I support you wearing your outfit. We all do. And if anyone so much as looks twice, I'll punch them in the face." Kurt rolled his eyes but laughed. "Now come on, I know you have more work to do so you should drop of me and Artie now."

After a few more minutes, Kurt was dressed in his outfit from school and Noah got Artie in the back of Kurt's car. As they started on the way to Artie's house, Kurt put on some Ke$ha on shuffle. Noah groaned at first but he didn't need any goading from Kurt to start singing.

"I never thought that you would be the ooooone acting like a slut when I was gone. Maybe you shouldn't—oh oh oh—kiss and tell," Kurt sang with his best friend. Then Noah kept the melody as Kurt sang a higher melody they had worked out over months of singing the song in the car, "You really should've kept it in your pants, I'm hearing dirty stories from your friends. Maybe you shouldn't—oh oh oh—kiss and tell!"

"That one went really well," Kurt said, turning down the music as he laughed. "Sorry, Artie, we have a lot of car harmonies and duets planned out. Feel free to jump in on what you can, though!"

"I'm cool," Artie said as Kurt turned the music back up for another song. He just watched with a smile until they finally got to his place. As annoying as it could be to be around them when they were obviously so in love yet not together, at least he could appreciate that they were cute. Even in his dumped state he could recognize that.

—

A few days later, Artie's mom brought him over to the Hummel-Hudson's as Lauren and Puck parked out on the driveway. "You're going to get a ton of pictures at Quinn's place, right?" Carole asked Finn for the thousandth time that night.

"Yes, mom," Finn exasperatedly confirmed.

"Okay, okay, just let me get a few pictures of you in your tux." Finn grumbled but smiled for her camera. And when Kurt came down a few moments later, she forced them together for brother pictures. Kurt had a lot of fun posing but Finn just wanted to leave. Finally Puck's mom arrived and that gave Finn an excuse to head out so his mom could take over photographing the four other teens.

They started with group shots, Artie's mom eagerly joining in the process with Carole and Mae. First Kurt started out standing, then, with Artie's permission, he balanced himself on Artie's lap and took some silly pictures with just him. Then Lauren and Noah stood together in various poses. Finally Mae declared, "Noah, Kurt, we need shots of you two."

"Yeah, you've been waiting for your first prom since you were four, Kurt," Burt said from where he was watching the mayhem. "We need at least some pictures."

"Of course," Kurt agreed. Noah nodded and Lauren got out of shot to watch with an amused look on her face.

The two started out simply enough with just Noah's arm around Kurt's shoulder. Then Kurt suggested a back-to-back arms crossed look that turned into a Charlie's Angels pose which then turned into a fake prom photo, Noah's hands on Kurt's waist as Kurt looked into the distance. The last shot was the two of them posed under a photo on the wall of the two of them on their first play date.

"Awww," Carole cooed. Even Artie's mom commented on how cute it was.

Kurt looked at his watch. "Okay, we need to leave now so we can make that reservation. You know everyone in town is going to be eating there tonight." He gave Carole a kiss on the cheek and his dad a hug as everyone said goodbye. After a reminder that they were having a party at Rachel's after, they went off to dinner at Breadstix.

"Do you think they'll be taking real prom photos next year?" Carole asked Burt and Mae when everyone else had left.

"I have a feeling they won't need much longer," Burt said with a smile. "Prom does crazy things for teenagers in love."

—

While everyone had access to the list of full songs being performed at prom, most of them only looked at who was singing before them so they knew when to head to the stage so there were still a lot of surprises along the way. The biggest surprise of the night for Kurt was when Artie, Sam, and Noah got on stage and started singing, of all things, Rebecca Black's "Friday".

First of all, it was a Saturday, which made the song pretty pointless to sing. Second of all, it was Rebecca Black's "Friday". After all the big fuss Noah made over his reputation he was singing Rebecca Black. Kurt rolled his eyes at that fact but still danced along.

However, his plan for Noah's reputation did seem to be working. He was getting some punch after it ended and heard two boys whisper about how they were going to buy some beer from him after prom. Kurt smiled brightly and grabbed his drink. His own duet with Tina was coming up soon enough, he had a delightful dinner with three friends, and he had gotten several compliments on his daring fashion statement. All in all, this was a prom to remember.

—

Tina and Kurt made their way on stage and each grabbed a microphone. With a cue to the band, a guitar riff started and Kurt swore he heard Noah whoop all the way from the back of the auditorium. The two soloists grinned at each other before Tina took a step forward. "He was a boy and she was a girl. Can I make it anymore obvious?"

Kurt took a step forward and sang, "He was a punk, she did ballet. What more can I say?"

"He wanted her, she'd never tell. Secretly she wanted him as well."

"But all of her friends stuck up their nose," Kurt sang, sticking up his own nose. "They had a problem with his baggy clothes."

Together the two sang and jumped on stage, the audience surprisingly very into the blast from the past. "He was a skater boy she said see ya later boy. He wasn't good enough for her. She had a pretty face but her head was up in space. She needed to come back down to earth…"

The two of them kept up their duet with great energy, throwing in some harmonies and some synchronized dance moves along the way, both of their outfits billowing around them. When they finally finished, Rachel traded places with them for a solo number and Noah soon wrapped up Kurt in a hug. He laughed and told him to save it for later, unaware of a few whispers that surrounded him.

—

Finally, the moment of truth came. The candidates for Prom King and Queen were called up to the stage and Kurt watched with anticipation, his fingers crossed. Most everyone he talked to in glee had voted for Noah, but that was only a small part of the population. So many people had been talking about his stunt so Kurt could only hope that helped. He really wanted Noah to have this.

"This year's Junior Prom King is…" Figgins opened the envelope and read, "Noah Puckerman."

There was applause all over the gymnasium, but none louder that Kurt as he jumped up and down for his best friend. Noah looked absolutely stunned for a few moments before brushing it off and smirking as he accepted the crown. Lauren stood very smugly as Quinn and Santana both seethed next to her. Kurt thought it was rather dumb; yes, they may have promoted in pairs, but the voting was done separately and it was very likely one of them would win. But, honestly, Kurt didn't care who was Queen; it only mattered that Noah was King.

"And this year's Junior Prom Queen is, by a number of write in votes…" Kurt frowned. Write in votes? Who the heck did they vote for?

Figgins froze as if he didn't want to read the name. He stared at the piece of paper for a few moments before reading out the winner.

"Kurt Hummel."

Kurt felt his chest tighten as his eyes widened. Prom Queen? Him? It had to be a mistake, right? But people turned his way and started to whisper and then there were a few laughs and even claps. People wanted this. It wasn't a mistake. People had decided he was a girl and had chosen to humiliate him. His dad was right; there were just a whole bunch of cruel people in the world and he was just a match for their flame of hate.

He felt his eyes start to sting and his lips tremble. Oh no, he couldn't cry. Not here, not now. Kurt started to run, needing to get out of the way, out of everyone's eyesight, out of everyone's laughter. Even as he ran some sobs became audible, but he didn't even notice Noah running after him, tossing his crown on the stage floor.

Noah called after him a few times before Kurt finally stopped running, his face bunched up as he cried in the empty hallway. "I thought things were different. I thought things were finally right. I thought if no one was quiet that I was okay," Kurt ranted. "I actually thought I was a part of this school, not just its biggest joke."

"Kurt…" Noah said softly. "Kurt, you aren't a joke. And this isn't your fault. It's some sick joke probably cooked up by Azimio or something."

"It doesn't matter who did it. What matters is that they did it to humiliate me right as I led my guard down," Kurt said, sniffing a little. He looked at Noah. "And you. They wanted to humiliate you." Kurt shook his head and gestured at Noah. "Look at all of this. You've gotten so much crap for being my friend and now they're accusing you of being my-my boyfriend or something! They're trying to humiliate you, too."

"I'll be fine, Kurt. Even if this was aimed at me, my rep is through the roof right now. I have so many kids asking me about my trunk situation." Noah sounded proud for a moment but he continued to give Kurt a sympathetic look. He pulled Kurt in for a hug and lightly pressed Kurt's head into his shoulder. "We can go if you want to, Kurt. We don't have to stay. Whatever you want to do, name it."

"We can't just go," Kurt mumbled against Noah's shoulder. "Lauren and Artie are here and they rode with us. Besides, Lauren's your date."

Noah hesitated before saying, "Kurt, I don't think she's going to be my date any longer. She wanted me to win Prom Queen. And, well…" Kurt let out a small sob and Noah ran his hand over Kurt's back.

"I'm so sorry."

"Kurt, it's not your fault. Don't apologize."

Kurt nodded and, after a few more moments, he finally pulled away, his face determined. "I'm going back out there," he said quietly. "I'm not letting them think they can embarrass me. I'm going to own this moment."

Noah smiled, "There's the Kurt we all love."

Kurt smiled a bit, a touch of a smirk in there. "Then we're going to go to make sure they know they're buying anything they want from you at double the price you bought it and I'm drinking the rest." Noah's mouth opened to say something but Kurt pressed on. "You know what? I wanted a traditional prom night. I have the dumb pictures, the awkward date, and the embarrassment. Now I just need to get drunk. And that's what they get for messing with me, double the price of the alcohol they wanted."

The two were silent for a while. When Noah spoke up, he said, "Okay. I think that's fair." Noah pulled him back in for another hug before taking Kurt's hand and leading him back inside the gymnasium.

—

Tina, Mercedes, Mike, Artie, and Sam all gathered on stage, as the room was full of whispers. "That was…unexpected," Artie said.

"No kidding," Mercedes said. "God, poor Kurt.

"I'm sure they meant to be jerks," Tina added, "but part of me is wondering if some people wrote Kurt in as a misguided attempt to be nice or maybe they thought they were a couple."

"I guess it's possible," Mike said. "I don't know, though."

"I doubt it. But the least we can do is make their dance memorable." Everyone looked over at Sam with that. He raised his hands in surrender. "I'm just saying. We all know Kurt will most likely come back in here. I think they deserve a special song."

They all looked at each other and nodded. Before they could think of anything else, Rachel and Quinn came back, soon followed by Santana and Brittany and a rather angry looking Lauren. "What were you guys thinking?" Quinn asked.

Tina, Mercedes, Mike, and Sam all looked at each other awkwardly, not sure how to broach the subject with Lauren there. Tina quietly offered, "Well, Sam was thinking that Kurt would come back and then we could, um, do a nice, romantic song. Just because Kurt deserves something—"

"And then maybe they can at least be couple-y for a moment that makes sense?" Lauren offered. She rolled her eyes. "I'm not an idiot, you know. Well, maybe I am for thinking I could be Prom Queen to his King with how much Noah wants to tap Kurt. You don't have to censor yourselves on this."

Mercedes nodded. "Okay. Well, we obviously can't use anything with Finn or Jesse." Rachel and Quinn made awkward eye contact and Mercedes continued, "Any ideas?"

Artie snapped his fingers. "The song Kurt requested as the finale, the one from Dirty Dancing. We'll just shift 'Dancing Queen' to the last song and then use the other prom queen song as a filler in between those two."

"They did say they had a dance to it," Mike reasoned.

Tina agreed. "Yeah. And maybe having all of us up here singing and supporting them would help."

Mercedes looked at Quinn, knowing her history with Noah was a tangled one, not to mention the whole Prom Queen thing seemed to make her a bit crazy. "Are you comfortable with this?"

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Please, I've been waiting for some opportunity to make something happen for over a year now. I would've preferred if it was not this situation, but I guess it works." Santana nodded as well, knowing her and Mercedes would add the riffs like they did at Sectionals.

"And I'm cool, too. I owe them both one anyways," Sam said.

The rest of the gleeks nodded. They couldn't do much else as the chattering then stopped completely. Kurt and Noah came back from the hallway, Kurt definitely looking cried out but determined. The choir kids backed up to give them room as they got back on the stage.

Kurt slowly looked over the crowd as everyone stared at him, waiting for him to yell at them or lecture them or cuss them out. In a way it was almost nice to have so much rapt attention on himself, the whole of McKinley eating out of the palm of his hand. His face remained neutral as he picked up the crown and placed it on his head. He looked over the crowd one last time before smiling and saying, "Eat your heart out Kate Middleton."

There was a small pause before people started clapping. Noah patted Kurt on the back and picked up his crown, easily putting it back on his Mohawked head.

"…Well, now the King and Queen will have a dance," Figgins said, obviously not sure if that was really going to happen. But Noah offered Kurt his arm as the glee kids got in position. Kurt smiled and took it, walking down the stairs onto the gym floor. JBI got his camera out, ready to film whatever those two love birds ended up doing.

There was a long chord before Sam sang, "Now I've had the time of my life. No I've never felt like this before…" Kurt and Noah smiled at each other, Kurt laughing a little bit, even with the tears still left in his eyes. Noah raised an eyebrow as if to ask if they were doing their choreography. Kurt nodded back.

Without missing a beat, they got into dancing position and Kurt was dipped, just like in the movie. As Quinn took over singing the introduction, Kurt got in front of Noah and let his hand drape over him, trying his best to imitate Jennifer Grey as Noah did his best Patrick Swayze, their faces not even an inch apart.

The beat started and right on cue Noah spun Kurt out, his kilt twirling almost as dramatically as Baby's dress. He twirled back in and they started the simple step that the couple worked on for so much of the movie. They spun and did their best to move like the dancers in the movie they had practiced with for years. Maybe Noah wasn't quite up to Patrick Swayze's level and maybe Kurt wasn't really the perfect Jennifer Grey pre-nose job, but it was clear they had a lot of chemistry and that was the most important part of the dance. The chemistry was very clear when they locked eyes as Sam and Quinn sang, "Now with passion in our eyes, there's no way we could disguise it secretly. So we take each other's hand 'cause we seem to understand the urgency."

Kurt mouthed a few of the words like he did when they had practiced, his eyes staying locked with Noah's like they always did when they danced. Noah pulled him back in and they stayed there a few moments, just intimately close, and Kurt's lips mouthed out "This could be love." Noah's heart raced, a puzzling sensation for the moment, and he did his best to throw himself into the dance, the dance everyone around them seemed to enjoy. Noah picked Kurt up for a spin at the end of the first chorus just like the movie and there was actual applause in the audience. Both of them smiled at that and then they stepped back into formation. Kurt was twirled back away and Noah gave his hand a kiss.

People were getting into their dance as the second verse started. In fact, they all seemed enamored with how the two of them were pulling it off. While they danced around them, they kept a large space for the two of them. In a way, it was just what Kurt wanted from his dance; it was his chance to be in the spotlight and dance with a guy he truly loved.

Noah ripped off his white tux coat and threw it on the stage, really getting into it, which just made Kurt laugh as Noah pretended like he was leading a crowd like Swayze did. While Baby just watched at that point in the movie, Kurt did the same steps as Noah, circling around him as he lip-synced the words Quinn and Sam sang. "With my body and soul I want you more than you'll ever know," Kurt mouthed.

"So we'll just let it go, don't be afraid to lose control," Noah mouthed back, adding way more pelvic thrusts than need be as they continued to circle each other.

Kurt went back to mouth Quinn's words. "Yes I know what's on your mind when you say, 'Stay with me tonight.'" He winked and Noah laughed before mouthing, "Just remember...you're the one thing..."

"I can't get enough of," Kurt mouthed back. With that he went back to the steps to the stage and Noah got to the far end of the space left for their dance.

They were focused on the next part too much to mouth the rest of the chorus. With a simple nod, Kurt took off running, right as Quinn and Sam sang This could be love. And, just like they had practiced over and over again, Noah caught him on his jump and lifted him up, right as the chorus started up again. The crowd, and even some of New Directions, cheered loudly for them and clapped, amazed at the move. Kurt did his best to hold himself like Baby, and Noah did his best to be as steady as Johnny, but he had to lower Kurt down earlier in the song than the couple in the movie did. But as they held onto each other, it didn't really matter to either of them.

In fact, they didn't care that much about anything else anymore. It was like they were alone on the floor, just the two of them, as they just smiled and did the same dance steps from earlier for a bit longer. As the choir hit the final iteration of the chorus, they pulled each other in close and didn't worry about any other choreographed moves.

"That was amazing," Kurt whispered. Their faces moved in closer, their noses rubbed against each other, their foreheads touched. Their hands clasped each other's and Noah…Noah wasn't sure anything had felt more right. He just continued to move in closer, loving the warmth Kurt exuded and wanting to take it all in. Kurt didn't even seem too opposed to it.

"You're amazing," Noah corrected softly, one of his arms wrapping Kurt in as close as possible. He didn't even seem aware of the song coming to a close or the applause from the audience for the performance. All he could do was stare into Kurt's eyes, completely hypnotized.

But then Figgins tapped on Kurt's shoulder and the two jerked apart. He gave Kurt his scepter and they were taken to the photo booth for yearbook pictures. Kurt also took some extra fun, personal ones with Noah, including one with Kurt on Noah's back and one kissing his cheek. As he laughed, the final song of the night playing through the air, he thought that maybe being Prom Queen wasn't the worst thing that could've happened, not when Noah was his King.

"And you said my dance moves weren't captivating," Noah said with a scoff. Kurt just rolled his eyes and took his King back onto the dance floor.

—

The assembling of New Directions at Rachel's place had a bit of a different tone than her last party, to say the least. For one, even though everyone changed into more comfortable clothing, the girls were still decked to the nines and in terms of make up, hair, and jewelry, which added a level of sophistication that wasn't there before. Second, both Finn and Jesse ended up coming, and the tension between those two—not to mention the tension between Quinn and Finn as well as Quinn and Rachel—was palpable.

Though everyone had ended up enjoying themselves at prom (and Puck made back all the money he had spent on drinks and then some with Kurt's plan to jack up prices), they were still tense as Kurt kept his crown on. He insisted he was fine, but as he eyed the alcohol warily, Noah wasn't sure. "You don't have to drink, you know," Noah said quietly.

"You shouldn't drink, actually," Rachel said. "Do I need to remind you that Mr. Schue had us sign an agreement not to drink until after Nationals?"

"Do I have to remind you that I wasn't at McKinley when those contracts were made so I signed no such thing?" Kurt snapped back. "And I wasn't there because I was bullied out of there and now that I'm back and they bullied me again, I think I can lay back and have a drink." Kurt looked over the bottles again and said, "Besides, we all know I'm not getting a solo at Nationals so it's not like I'm hurting anyone."

Rachel's mouth fell open in shock, completely stunned silent. Before Jesse or Finn could say anything, Quinn added. "You know…he's right," she stood up and went to the table to look over the selections. "I probably won't have another solo until maybe next year. And it's not like we have practice tomorrow or anything. And after tonight, I'd like to do something fun."

"And now we know our limits now, so we won't get as wasted," Tina added. Mike glanced at Rachel then followed his girlfriend to the table. Mercedes went up, as did Brittany and Santana, Artie still following. Jesse rolled his eyes and Rachel staid firm, which just pushed Finn over to the table. Lauren and Sam shrugged and went over as well.

"Okay, okay," Kurt said. "I'm glad to have the support, but as Queen, I'm declaring it law that I have to have the first shot," Kurt teased. Tina and Mercedes cheered for a moment and then Kurt turned to Noah, a very innocent look on his face. "…What do you do shots of?"

Kurt looked so lost with all that options that Noah's heart clenched a bit. "Here, buddy. We'll start you off with teaching you how to do tequila." Finn and Mike winced at that and Noah said, "Hey, once you do a shot of this stuff, everything else will be a piece of cake." Kurt nodded.

Surprisingly, Rachel offered, "My dads have limes over at the bar. And salt."

"Can you get me some?" Noah asked, pouring a shot for Kurt and one he was going to give himself. Kurt watched the gold liquid curiously; it didn't look that bad. What was all the fuss about?

Rachel came over with the saltshaker and a container of lime slices. Noah shoved a slice into Kurt's hand. "Lick your hand."

Kurt raised his eyebrows. "Like…over the lime?" Noah shook his head and licked a stripe on his own hand near his thumb. Kurt followed suit on his hand and Noah sprinkled some salt to his skin.

"Okay, so it's the three S's with this, okay?" Kurt nodded as Noah explained. "Salt, shot, suck. So you're going to lick up the salt, then take the shot, then suck the lime to help with the after burn. Got it?"

"Salt, shot, suck. Got it." Kurt nodded.

"Okay, let's see it." Kurt looked over at him then down at his drink. Noah started to quietly chant shot, shot, shot only for the rest of the glee kids to join in. Kurt licked up the salt, took the shot glass into his hand, and downed it as they erupted into cheers around him.

Kurt's eyes widened as the taste of the tequila burned into his mouth and down his throat. He desperately brought the lime to his mouth and sucked, hoping to a god he didn't believe in that it would help the taste at all. When he pulled away from the lime, Kurt asked, his hands flailing, "What the hell was that?"

Everyone laughed and Noah lightly patted him on the back. "That, my friend, was the start of a great night."

—

Noah wasn't having as much fun as Rachel's last party. For one, he wasn't drinking so that made it a lot less fun. Kurt said he wanted to get drunk and Noah was going to make sure he was perfectly safe throughout and got all the water he needed before he went to bed. Noah owed him that much; after all, he had done the same thing for him multiple times. And while Noah didn't need to drink to have fun, it wasn't fun watching most of his friends drink while he stuck to Coke and water.

That part wasn't as bad, though, as Lauren pulling him away with a declaration of we need to talk. Much like Puck had predicted, Lauren said she wasn't interested in him as anything past friends. "Look, I'm sorry, Lauren. But I can't help it that they decided to play some sick prank on us—"

"Go talk about it with your boyfriend, okay?" Lauren said, the angry drunk in her starting to emerge. "I'm not interested in you, plain and simple. Got it?" Noah raised his hands in surrender and she went back to where Quinn was sitting, soon falling into what looked like a very involved conversation.

Noah sighed and shook his head. He knew that this was coming. In fact, he felt this coming for weeks now. They never really connected like he wanted. But that didn't make it feel any better.

What did help was seeing just how happy Kurt was.

While most everyone drinking had stuck to lightly mixed beverages and beers, Kurt had Noah make him, essentially, a Long Island Iced Tea. Kurt had already made his way through that and was giggling as Noah came back into the room.

"No-No," Kurt slurred, grabbing onto his best friend's arm. "Rachel said she's gonna set up her karaoke again, like last time. Can we do something after her? Please?"

Noah smiled and pat Kurt on the head. Kurt beamed up at him and Noah said, "Sure, babe. Whatever you want."

Kurt wrapped his arms around Noah and smiled. "You're the best, No-No," Kurt said. Noah just laughed and told him thanks before Kurt went on his way back to the couch Mercedes and Tina were laughing on.

"Having fun?" Puck turned around to find Artie looking at him.

"It's alright," Puck said with a shrug. "Kurt's at least having a fun time. It's not as much of a blast as the last party, but I think he's enjoying himself much more."

"Yeah, I think so, too," Artie said, looking over at Kurt who was now laughing with Tina and Mercedes. He was definitely already drunker than those two if the pink in his cheeks was any indication.

There was a small click when the karaoke system was set up and Rachel cheered before starting a duet with Jesse. Artie rolled his eyes and looked back at Puck. "So, I overheard Lauren talking with Quinn," Artie explained, "I just wanted to say sorry."

Noah looked over at Lauren and sighed before looking back at Artie. "It's okay, dude. Not your fault. Besides, I knew it wasn't really going to last long, even if she did win." Puck took a long sip from his can, really wishing he could have the beer Artie was drinking instead of his Coke. Everyone started to pay attention to the singing, Kurt especially, and Artie turned his chair towards the stage as Puck turned to look at it as well. "I saw you and Brittany taking a picture together. Do you think she's coming around?" Puck asked as he sat down next to Artie.

Artie shook his head. "Oh, definitely not. It was just a friends type thing…I really care about her, but I think we're better as friends." He looked over his shoulders before confiding in Puck. "She cheated on me, you know. With Santana."

"Oh," Puck said. "I guess I can't be that surprised. I mean, Santana always invited me to watch the two of them."

"Yeah," Artie said, majorly bummed. "Santana told her that it wasn't cheating because 'the plumbing's different.'" Artie's fingers formed quotation marks in the air around the quote and he snorted. "So I called her stupid and, well, that was that. I wonder if they're still doing that with Karofsky as well. I mean, she did it with Sam so I wouldn't be surprised."

Puck nodded and made a sound to show he heard, but he was too focused on Santana to respond. He watched how she interacted with Brittany and the wheels in his mind started turning. Santana always had more fun with Brittany than with him or any of the other guys she tried to date. And Santana was dating Karofsky now who was totally gay. Santana had to know that by now, right? There was no way he was putting out. But Santana liked sex, so why was she in a relationship without it?

Puck's eyes widened. Holy shit, Santana was totally in love with Brittany. Like, lesbian in love. "Holy shit," Puck whispered to himself.

"Hmm?" Artie hummed.

Before Puck could come up with an excuse, Kurt got up on stage and said, "Noah! It's our turrrrn!"

"Gotta go," Puck said, getting up and heading up to the stage. "So, what are we doing?" Noah asked but it was too late to give his input, it seemed. Kurt pressed a button and a synthetic beat started to play.

"…Oh god, no," Puck whispered as Kurt started moving his hips to the beat.

"5, 6, 7, 8," Kurt counted off. "Maybe I need some rehab—"

"Kurt—" Puck whispered.

"Or maybe just need some sleep—"

"Why Ke$ha?" Puck asked.

"I got a sick obsession—"

"Kurt!"

"I'm seeing it in my dreams."

Puck rolled his eyes.

"I'm looking down every alley."

He wasn't getting out of this. His part was fast approaching.

"I'm making some desperate calls."

Puck turned around to face away from the crowd.

"I'm staying up all night hoping, hitting my head against the walls," Kurt sang with a flourish, whipping his head to the side.

With that, Noah turned around quickly and started his part of the song as per his car duets with Kurt. "What you got boy is hard to find. I think about it all the time," he sang. The glee clubbers started to throw in some cheers as they watched Puck sing and Kurt dance next to him. "I'm all strung out my heart is fried," Noah sang, putting his hand to his chest. Then he turned to Kurt and pointed at him as he sang, "I just can't get you off my mind."

Together they sang the chorus, facing each other. "Because your love, your love, your love is my drug. Your love, your love, your love. I said your love, your love, your love is my drug. Your love, your love your love."

Noah took over the rap part of the second verse. "Won't listen to any advice, momma's telling me I should think twice, but left to my own devices I'm addicted—" Kurt provided back up when Noah sang, "It's a crisis! My friends think I've gone crazy. My judgment's gettin' kinda hazy. My sleaze is gonna be affected if I keep it up like a lovesick crackhead."

Kurt took over for the second pre-chorus, letting Noah back him up on harmonies as he sang to the crowd. "What you got boy is hard to find. I think about it all the time. I'm all strung out," Kurt started to pop his chest inwards as he sang, "My heart is fried." Turning back to Noah, he pointed at him as he sang, "I just can't get you off my mind."

The two of them sang through the second chorus, Kurt providing some upper harmony to the repetitions of the word love. Then it moved on and Kurt sang out, "I don't care what people say the rush is worth the price I pay."

Noah pulled Kurt in towards him as he took over, "I get so high when you're with me." Kurt backed away with a smile and Noah sang, "But crash and crave you when you leave."

As Noah took over the riffs, Kurt spoke the next part, his usual crisp diction now slurred enough to match Ke$ha's speech pattern. "So I've got a question—do you wanna have a slumber party in my basement? Do I make your heart beat like an 808 drum?" Kurt put a hand over his and popped and locked it a few times. "Is my love your drug?" Kurt said all of that to Noah, walking back over to him as he continued the bridge. "Your drug? Huh, your drug…huh, your drug?" Kurt poked right on Noah's chest as he asked, "Is my love your drug?"

The music paused for a brief moment, just like it always did on the track, and Noah felt his heart flutter as Kurt looked at him with a smirk. But as quick as the moment was, it went away just as fast as the chorus started up again. Kurt started to dance and pull away and Noah just shook himself out of his head and sang through the rest of the song with Kurt.

"I like your beard," Kurt said to Noah once the singing portion of the song ended, not when Ke$ha said it on the track. Noah laughed and the audience clapped like they were supposed to before Mercedes got up to start her own karaoke number.

Kurt wrapped his arms around Noah and Noah in turn helped him down from the steps and found him a chair to sit on. "I'm going to get you some water, okay?" Noah told him quietly as he stroked his hair.

Mercedes started to sing and Kurt shook his head. "Nooooo, I want more to drink. I'm not drunk yet," Kurt said, his lips forming a delicate pout. Noah sighed; Kurt's speech was a little slurred, but he wasn't completely wasted, Noah could tell that much. He hesitated and Kurt asked, "Just one more? Please?"

"…Alright," Noah finally conceded. Kurt smiled brightly and sat up straight. "Something with just one shot and that's it, okay?" Kurt nodded obediently and when Noah walked over to the table, Kurt eagerly followed to watch what he was doing.

"Can I try that tequila stuff again?" Kurt asked.

Noah laughed. "Hey, if you actually like it, more power to ya. Most people can't handle it."

"I'm strong and tough," Kurt said with a sniff before nuzzling his head against Noah's shoulder. The action made the taller man smile as he looked over what he could mix the tequila in. He finally noticed a small can of Sprite and mixed it with a shot of tequila in a red solo cup.

"Okay, baby, let's get you back sitting before you hold onto this again, okay? Spilling is a major party foul," Noah explained. Kurt pulled away from Noah, but Noah put his hand on Kurt's shoulder to guide him, just in case. Kurt allowed it and they soon found a spot on the ground for Kurt to sit. Noah grabbed a large pillow once Kurt had sat down and carefully lowered himself to the ground as well. Kurt immediately leaned into him and Noah opened his arms, wrapping his closest arm around him. Kurt's head rested on his shoulder as he took the cup from Noah, slowly drinking it.

When Mercedes finished her song, Noah barely even noticed; he was just enjoying petting Kurt's hair as the other boy leaned on him. Just like that, the party started to look up.

After several more songs, Kurt finally finished his drink and Noah got up to get him a glass of water. When he came back, Kurt was closer to the center of the room, playing with a bottle he found on the ground.

Noah looked questioningly at Mike, whom the bottle seemed to belong to. Mike shrugged and looked back at Kurt, who seemed to be enjoying spinning it around and around. Noah shook his head and sat back down next to Kurt, forcing the water bottle into his eye line.

"Time to drink up. You don't want a hangover tomorrow…well, later today," Noah said. Kurt stared at it for a moment before finally taking it from Noah's hands and taking a big gulp. Noah ran a hand down Kurt's back and Kurt put the cup down to go back to spinning the bottle.

"Are you trying to hint that you want spin the bottle?" Puck asked.

Since there was a lull between karaoke singers, everyone heard that. Quinn announced, "I'm down with that." Everyone looked at her at her slurred words and she shrugged. "Why not? It could be fun."

Lauren nodded next to her. "Definitely. Count me in."

"Are we really just repeating the events of my last party?" Rachel asked with a huff.

"Seriously, this stuff is really…juvenile," Jesse added.

"That's what you get for trying to date a high schooler," Finn said through a tight jaw. The two looked at each other intensely, getting ready for another fight, when Kurt opened his mouth.

"Let's do it!" Kurt announced. Everyone looked at him and he sighed. "Come on! I am 17 and I've only kissed two people in my life. That's lame." Even in his drunken state, he knew not to out Karofsky, Noah thought. Either that or he wasn't counting Brittany, either way, Noah was pretty impressed. "And I jus' think it'd be fun to play a bit. And I'm Queen c'mon I have royal decree powers and…stuff." He looked over at where he last had the crown and spotted Artie wearing it. "Artie! Bring that over here!"

Artie wheeled over, though not in a straight line, and Kurt snatched his crown. "So circle up or just watch, I don't care. Let's go." He put the crown on his head with such determination that everyone shrugged and joined in. After all, it was fun last time and what else would they do? Rachel was sure to get noise complaints if they kept on singing.

Puck made Kurt finish his water before they started, than got up to refill the glass as Kurt spun. He got back in time to see him giving Tina a kiss. It was definitely more than a peck, but not a full-blown make out, and they both pulled away with laughter once it was done. Noah smirked and sat down next to Artie's chair, since he was now sitting next to Kurt and Mercedes was on Kurt's other side. Noah handed Kurt the water and Kurt thanked him, drinking it up as Tina took the bottle.

Tina spun and it landed on Puck. With a grin, Puck teased, "Watch out before I steal your girlfriend, Chang." Mike rolled his eyes but laughed at him and Puck leaned into the circle to quickly connect their lips. They went a little longer than Tina did with Kurt, but not by that much.

Then Puck spun and landed on Brittany. With his earlier realization about Santana fresh in his mind, he looked over at Santana for a brief moment. She did not look happy. And not that he was scared or anything, but he ended up kissing Brittany rather quickly.

They went on like that for a while. Brittany kissed Mike, Mike briefly kissed Sam (which Tina seemed to enjoy), Sam kissed Mercedes, Mercedes kissed Santana, and Santana kissed Rachel. There were a few more rounds, including a surprisingly steamy kiss between Jesse and Quinn (that Rachel and Finn were both not too happy about) and a pretty funny one between Artie and Lauren that Artie really seemed to enjoy.

Finally, Quinn (after a brief kiss from Mike), landed on Kurt. Noah definitely watched intensely as the two crawled closer in the circle. Quinn was fairly tipsy and Kurt was definitely drunk, but when their lips came together, there was still quite a lot of finesse and it lasted much longer and had more passion than Kurt's previous kiss. Kurt felt like all the frustration he had with Quinn came out in that kiss and when he pulled away, it was like he was finally at peace with everything that happened with her and his best friend.

But he was also really drunk.

"Okay, I want a guy this time," Kurt said, his voice still the tiniest bit slurred. Grabbing the bottle, he took a deep breath like an archer about to shoot his arrow. He spun it fast, the bottle moving a bit from its previous spot, and Kurt's eyes remained glued to it as it spun around and around…

And then it landed on Finn.

Kurt and Finn both immediately wrinkled their noses. "I can't kiss Finnnnn! He's my brother," Kurt said with a pout.

"You can spin again," Noah offered.

"Or you can kiss Puck."

Everyone looked at Quinn after she said that and she shrugged. "I'm just saying. Who do you trust more here? If you want to kiss another guy, he's probably the best bet." After a moment she muttered, "He stares at your ass enough, anyways." Mercedes hushed her immediately.

Thankfully, neither Noah or Kurt heard that as they looked at each other. Kurt laughed and Noah smiled. "I mean, we should," Kurt pointed out. "We are prom royalty. The King and Queen should kiss."

"Is that a royal decree?" Noah asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

"…Yeah. Yeah, it is," Kurt said with a virtuous head nod.

The basement was quiet enough they could hear a pin drop. Noah watched Kurt's face seriously, waiting for him to laugh or take back what he said. When it was clear that wasn't happening, Noah said, "Kurt…"

"No, come on, let's do it. You're holding up the game," Kurt said as he crawled a bit forward in the circle. "Jus' kiss me and we can move on."

Noah let out a snort and shook his head. "Fine. Let's do it."

Everyone, even Jesse, seemed to lean forward in their seats and Noah and Kurt got on their knees facing each other, right in front of Artie's chair. Tina even whipped out her cell phone just in case. Kurt smiled at Noah and Noah smiled back as they leaned in, closer and closer. Their lips were about to touch…

Then Kurt started to laugh and put his head on Noah's shoulder. Noah rolled his eyes. "Babe, you're holding up the game," he teased. Kurt nodded and pulled his head back up, leaning up to press his lips against Noah's, only for both of them to start giggling.

They laughed for a few more moments. But Artie just rolled his eyes. God, he had been watching them for over a year dance around this subject. Now they were both prom royalty, they had performed a version of the climactic dance in Dirty Dancing, and they still weren't kissing?

He had enough. He was done with not interfering and he was done with those two not seeing what was right in front of them. So, maybe it helped that he was drunk, maybe it was dumb, but he did it.

As their laughter started to die down, Artie pushed Puck and Kurt's heads together until their lips pressed together.

Their lips were frozen for a moment, their eyes wide. But slowly both sets of eyes closed and their lips moved slowly together. Noah never experienced anything like it and was so entranced he didn't hear the whispers or the cheers or the snapping of Tina's phone camera. He finally understood the expression about fireworks, because that's all he could see. Their lips moved naturally together, their bodies coming closer together, enough so that Kurt could wrap his arms around Noah's neck and Noah could get his arms around his waist.

Noah deepened the kiss by pressing his tongue against Kurt's lips. Kurt's lips open in a gasp and Noah pressed inside. There was an overwhelming taste of alcohol, but also a sweet taste he couldn't describe. As he breathed through his nose as much as possible, he smelled Kurt's shampoo. His hand reacted to that smell by moving from his waist to his head, tangling his hand in his tresses while pressing him in even closer.

Kurt moaned into his mouth. If he thought Blaine's kisses were great, they were nothing compared to what Noah could do. His lips felt electric, the hair on the back of his neck stood up, his whole body was lit up with passion that he had never felt before, passion that only existed in those books Noah bought him.

They finally pulled apart for air after what felt like hours but what was really only a minute or two. Noah looked at his best friend with wide eyes and Kurt looked back, his crown askew, with dark, lustful eyes. Everything was still and silent, the glee clubbers watching intensely at what would happen next.

Without warning, Kurt leapt for Noah and kissed him again, directing him towards the ground with fierce kisses. Finally the rest of New Directions moved, Finn managing to pull Kurt away because really he was not going to watch his brother dry hump anyone ever. Mercedes and Tina then took Kurt to the restroom, saying it was time to wash his face and head to bed.

As Kurt was maneuvered away, Noah finally noticed people watching him. He wanted to make some joke about how he was just a good kisser, but his throat felt dry. When he finally found the ability to speak, he asked Rachel, "Is it okay if we stay here tonight? I don't think Kurt should meet his dad right now in his state."

Rachel nodded, her eyes wide as she looked at him. "Yeah, I think you're right," she said.

When Kurt came back, Rachel was there with some pillows and blankets. Kurt situated himself with his head and pillow on Noah's lap and Noah shrugged as everyone started to either head out or find a corner to sleep in.

"I'll move him when he's asleep. He's a deep sleeper," Puck said at Rachel's questioning look. She nodded and Puck let his hand pet Kurt's soft hair as the room slowly made its way to bed.

Noah fell asleep right as he was, with his hand still in Kurt's hair.

—

When Noah woke up the next day, it was to a pain in his neck and the light from the stairwell shining in his eyes. He winced, rubbing the back of his neck as he straightened his back. Apparently the position he slept in really didn't help him sleep for long, because his phone said it was 6:41 AM.

Noah groaned softly and then looked down at Kurt in his lap. The boy was still passed out. Noah contemplated letting him sleep, but the idea of having to talk to anyone else about last night (and Kurt would most definitely want to talk about it) sounded about as painful as his neck felt right then.

Using the hand that was in Kurt's hair earlier, Noah lightly shook Kurt's shoulders. "Hey, sleepy head," Noah said softly. Kurt groaned and snuggled his head further into the pillow on Noah's lap. "Kurt, come on, wake up." Noah shook him a few more times before Kurt's eyes finally opened, sleepy and confused.

"What time is it?"

"6:45."

Kurt groaned and moved his head back on the pillow. Puck rolled his eyes. "Come on, babe. I need to get you fed and back home so you can sleep on your comfy bed, okay?"

Well, Kurt did like the sound of his own bed. He laid there for a few more moments before finally lifting his head and slowly rising to his feet, his blanket still around his frame. "Bathroom," he muttered as an explanation, making his way around the people who stayed the night over to the bathroom in the hallway.

Once Noah heard the door close, he stood up as best as he could, a few joints cracking on the way. He yawned and stretched his arms out then grabbed his phone, wallet, and keys. He was collecting the rest of the vodka when Kurt finally came out of the restroom, his hair looking like he had attempted a style and his face looking washed. Puck then went into the restroom, also splashing some cold water onto his face as his mind raced.

Once Kurt grabbed his scepter and crown and Puck had all the alcohol in a bag, the two snuck upstairs and out the door. Noah stored the alcohol back in his truck and Kurt, once he was sure his prom outfit was still in the car, curled up on the seat and rest his head on the window.

"How're you feeling?" Puck asked as he pulled out of Rachel's driveway.

"Mmm," Kurt said in a noncommittal tone. "My head doesn't hurt, not like last time with April and everything. But I don't necessarily feel my greatest."

"We'll get some food in you and then you can shower and sleep some more. That'll help," Noah said. "Cheap, greasy food always helps me. How does IHOP sound?" Kurt sat up a little straighter at that and Puck laughed.

Breakfast was a rather quiet affair. There weren't too many people there, just a few loners, so they got to order quickly and their food came out extremely quickly later. Kurt indulged himself with biscuits and gravy with hash browns, coffee, and, at Noah's insisting, plenty of water. Noah stuck to some waffles and eggs. Both boys ate quickly and the check was paid for soon after.

Kurt managed to convince the waitress to give him some coffee to go, which seemed to really be helping him feel better, and the two rode in relative silence to Kurt's house. The only sounds were the slight hum of the wind outside the car and Kurt's occasional sips.

They finally parked in front of Kurt's house and sat there for several moments. Kurt was the first to speak, offering, "Are you going to go back and pick up Artie?"

"I texted him that I can get him if he needs it. So we'll see when he gets up," Noah responded. Kurt nodded in response and looked back at his lap. Noah looked at him and then back out his window, not sure what to say. Did Kurt even remember? If he didn't, why was he acting so awkward? He had to remember that they kissed. Did he remember it as well as Noah did? Did he see the fireworks, too?

"Look, Noah," Kurt finally said, turning towards him. "I'm so sorry about last night. I was drunk and you're such a good kisser and—"

"Kurt," Noah said calmly, looking back at him. "Why are you apologizing? It's fine."

"Noah, we just spent the last twenty minutes barely even talking. This is what happens when you kiss friends; it gets awkward and weird and—"

"We're fine, Kurt." Noah sighed. "I promise."

Kurt looked up at him, his eyes large and desperate. Finally, he nodded and smiled slowly. "Okay. We're fine."

Noah smiled and repeated back, "We're fine." He let a hand fall on Kurt's shoulder and crawl up his neck. His hand cupped his cheek and he smiled at him, his heart thumping at Kurt's smile back. His thumb stroked Kurt's cheek, everything feeling so calm and right.

"And, I mean, we both drank, so it's not like it meant anything." Kurt said.

Noah's smile faltered a bit. But he picked it back up and he nodded. "Right. It was just a stupid kiss." Kurt beamed and Noah lightly patted his cheek. "Now go in there and shower and sleep. Let me know how you feel later, okay?"

With a nod, Kurt grabbed his prom outfit and got his keys out. "I will." He got out of the car and gave Noah a goodbye and love you! Then he headed into his house and, with one last parting wave, closed the door behind him.

Noah drove away from Kurt's house and stopped a few houses down, out of sight from the Hummel-Hudson residence. He parked and hit his head on the steering wheel, lightly knocking it over and over. How could he be so dumb?

He, Noah Puckerman, was completely in love with his best friend.

...Shit.

A/N: Hey! Well I finally got this massive thing done! More than 14k, wow! I really hope you liked it; I've had the plan for the kiss and the duet in my head for literal years so it was so exciting to finally write this, but all so scary. I still don't quite think it's quite how I imagined in my head, but I still like it. Some of the other stuff only came to my head this week, so a lot of it was completely new. Let me know what you think, please! I appreciate every review, I truly do.

Love,
xLessxThanx3x