Author's Note: Hello everyone! I am so excited to continue with this story… I certainly hope it's being enjoyed. Thank you again to those who have read and left reviews! Also, just to clear up any confusion- Karofsky is a Dalton Reform student in this fic. Azimio is a student at McKinley on the football team, and is considered the school's "lead bully" of sorts. This will be addressed more fully later on. Hope everyone likes this next chapter!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own the show Glee.

~Chapter 4: Expectations~

As Kurt began his trek back from the music room to the library, his mind raced with thoughts of Blaine. Singing with him had felt oddly surreal, and Kurt didn't quite know where their relationship was leading at this point. Were they… friends? And if friendship wasn't what they had, then what was it that kept drawing them closer?

Abruptly, Kurt's daydreaming was broken by the rough grasp of a large hand against his shoulder. Before he knew what was happening, the air whizzed by him and he felt his body crumple against the wall to his left. "Watch where you're walking, lady-boy."

Kurt sighed exasperatedly. Karofsky. Why was this loser so intent on picking on him? It was as if he had singled Kurt out, although the reason was very much unclear. "Only when you get a life," he retorted under his breath, picking himself up and glaring at the back of Karofsky's head in disgust.

With fire in his eyes, Karofsky turned and stared Kurt down. "I'm not kidding," he stated solemnly. "Watch. Out."

Kurt tried to maintain his indifference; it was the best defense he could come up with under the circumstances. He rolled his eyes. "I'll stay out of your way if you stay out of mine, alright?"

Turning away again, Karofsky continued his journey down the hall. "We'll see about that," he answered ominously.

Frozen in place, Kurt watched until Karofsky had disappeared around the corner. He couldn't let himself be afraid… bullies could practically smell weakness. This would have to be a matter of keeping his unconcerned façade in play at all times. But then, Kurt had never had much trouble putting up walls to keep himself guarded.

"Neanderthal," Kurt grumbled quietly into the silence, and turned on his heel to head back to the library.

x.x.x

Kurt found Lacey just outside the library, taping a surprisingly colorful poster to the wall. "Oh! There you are! I was wondering if you'd gotten lost," she said. "Jeez… can you believe they have dances here? I wonder what that's like."

Kurt's gaze trailed over the poster, an ad for Dalton Reform's annual school dance. He smiled a little at the irony. "I can't imagine…"

Lacey grinned back, and then looked to Kurt, her eyes searching. "Anyway, are you okay? You look like you've just had a big adventure of some sort."

"Oh, do I?" Kurt blushed faintly, his thoughts reverting to Blaine and those moments they had just shared in the music room.

"A bit."

Kurt chewed his lip. It was one thing to let his experiences with Blaine weave fantasies in his head, but to share them out loud was a different story. For now, at least, Kurt was content to keep those thoughts to himself. "So, a dance, huh?" he asked in an attempt to change the subject.

With a nod, Lacey turned her gaze back to the poster. "Yeah," she said. "I might volunteer to help out. Apparently, most of the guys invite dates from other schools, so it's a pretty big event."

"I bet it gets kind of crazy," Kurt mused with a smile. If normal high school dances had a tendency to get out of control, he could only imagine what happened at places like Dalton Reform.

"A bunch of juvenile delinquents gathered in a dark room with blaring music? Ooh yes, I would think so."

Kurt chuckled softly. He wondered if Lacey had ever actually been to a school dance before. As a homeschooled student, maybe she had just gotten these ideas from movies. "Want to volunteer with me?" she asked suddenly, turning to Kurt with hopeful eyes. "It would be fun."

Truthfully, Kurt was a little afraid to say yes. He didn't want to throw himself into an intense situation with the wrong crowd, but then, Lacey looked so excited. Maybe this was the closest experience she would ever have to attending a real school event. He couldn't let her go friendless. "Alright," Kurt answered finally with a nod. "It sounds like it could be… entertaining."

Lacey's face brightened instantly. "Great!" she exclaimed. "It's Thursday night at eight, in the gym… I'll let the volunteer director know that you're interested."

Kurt nodded again. He hadn't planned on coming back to Dalton until Friday morning; McKinley had the day off, and he was supposed to spend the extra free time tutoring. Volunteering at the dance would mean another long drive after school, another night of neglecting his home life and having to deal with people like Karofsky. Oddly enough, though, the thought that consumed him the most wasn't really a negative, and that fact alone was enough to worry him a little.

I'll get to see Blaine again, he realized, and gulped.

x.x.x

Thursday night, Kurt arrived at the dance shortly after its opening. He had spent a long time beforehand selecting an outfit, despite the fact that he didn't have a date and wasn't really coming to show off. Still, he felt satisfied with the final result- black skinny jeans, a fitted maroon shirt, and the suspenders that he had been dying to wear for weeks- and found himself walking confidently through the lobby and straight into the gym.

Instantly, he was bombarded with the sound of a thudding bass, with the flashes of strobe lights and the sight of huge groups of people dancing in clusters. His breath caught in his throat; he was quite the outsider here, after all. Maybe coming tonight had not been the best decision.

Relief flooded through Kurt as he at last caught sight of Lacey. She smiled and waved to him from across the room, her white dress illuminated under the rainbow of colored lights. After a little display of skillful pushing and weaving, she managed to make her way through the dancing students to stand before Kurt. "Hey!" she shouted over the blaring music. "So, we're just supposed to keep an eye out for trouble, and let the teachers know if we see anything suspicious. They said that we can dance and stuff, since we're technically undercover. Also, we've got to keep watch on the food and drinks in case they run out… That's about it. Easy enough, right?"

Kurt nodded, and smiled, because Lacey's good mood was simply too infectious not to catch. "Well, let's dance, then!" he replied, and took her hand, leading her onto the dance floor.

Lacey laughed as they jumped around, dancing to some cheesy Top 40 hit that had been playing on the radio for weeks. Kurt was glad to see her so happy; she was clearly making the best of the whole volunteering situation, despite the fact that it wasn't really supposed to be fun. He admired her for that.

After a moment, though, Lacey's grin faded, and her eyes locked on something across the room. "Hey, do you know that guy…?" she asked, and nodded in the direction that she had been staring.

Kurt turned, and his heart skipped a beat as he caught sight of Karofsky, glaring from across the room. Oh, no. "No… yes… sort of," Kurt stammered. He sighed nervously and started for the exit.

"What's wrong?" Lacey asked, following uncertainly.

"Nothing." Kurt shook his head firmly. He was not going to ruin Lacey's good time by panicking her. "He's just bad news."

"Oh… okay." She frowned, stopping as they neared the doors. "Well, let me know if you have any trouble, okay? I'm going to go check on the food table."

Kurt nodded, and then stopped in his tracks and watched her disappear behind a crowd of dancing students. Feeling quite alone now that she had left, he was too afraid to go back onto the dance floor and too stubborn to go outside. He hesitated in a darkened corner, watching a group of boys and girls mingling and laughing.

Suddenly, Kurt felt something land on his shoulder. "Having fun?"

He jumped in surprise before he could come to terms with the fact that it was only Blaine, standing close behind him and all-too-casually resting his chin atop Kurt's shoulder. "Blaine!" he cried out exasperatedly. "What…? I guess? Hi?"

"Want some punch? I'm about ninety-nine percent sure that there's good stuff in it."

Kurt rolled his eyes. Of course someone would have spiked the punch already. "No, thanks," he answered, cringing internally at the memory of a very shocked Miss Pillsbury and a certain unlucky pair of shoes. "It's never good when I drink." Hoping to drop the conversation at that, Kurt turned and adjusted one of the tacky decorations that had been hung up nearby.

Blaine, however, was apparently not giving in that easily, and was also quite intent on staying close-by. He stuck his head over Kurt's shoulder again and watched him fiddle with the red and blue streamers. "I beg to differ," Blaine protested. "I happen to believe that you would make a very fun drunk."

In spite of himself, Kurt chuckled. "It's really not pretty," he answered, and then frowned as the uncomfortable sensation that someone was watching them arose out of nowhere. He glanced around nervously.

Blaine, seemingly unaware of Kurt's restlessness, dropped his chin back onto the other boy's shoulder and put on an exaggerated pout. "Aw, okay," he sighed. "No punch, then. How about a dance?"

Kurt turned his head, a little taken aback. Had a guy really just asked him to dance? Suddenly, Kurt was very much aware of how close they were, their faces just inches apart. Blaine's eyes caught the light, sparkling like stars. "Really?" Kurt asked, voice softening.

Blaine smiled and took a step back towards the dance floor, his expression alive with mischief. "If you can keep up, Pretty Boy."

Rolling his eyes, Kurt followed Blaine into the midst of the crowd and tapped into his inner confident ferocity. The fast beat was pulsing through him, and he knew better than to ignore it. Kurt was a natural dancer, all sass and hips and legs… it was mostly just a matter of not losing his nerve in front of people. "Do I give you the impression that I can't dance?" Kurt asked boldly, pressing himself closer to Blaine.

Blaine smiled a bit as they moved together. "Not quite… but most guys don't really live up to my expectations, if you know what I mean."

"Expectations?"

Nodding, Blaine looked around thoughtfully and then back to Kurt. "Yeah. In the case of someone like you, for instance, I would expect a reality of innocence posing as something incredibly sexy." He paused, smirking a little. "Which, in dancing, is usually sexy in itself."

Kurt was pretty sure that Blaine had either just insulted him or called him hot. Or both. Whatever. Two could play at that game. Kurt wrapped an arm around Blaine's neck, pulling him even closer. It was scary, in a way… and yet, Kurt was sort of enjoying stepping out of his comfort zone. After all, it was just an act, right? "Does this live up to your expectations?" he answered.

In response, Blaine smiled, looking very much amused and impressed at the same time. "You're not like anyone else I've met before," he said. "It's kind of a turn-on. Plus, you know, those pants." Blaine winked playfully, a smirk tugging at his lips.

Kurt rolled his eyes. Blaine was kind of a loser. But a cute loser, at least, with a lot of mystery about him. And, if Kurt's instincts were correct, Blaine wasn't really the person that he had made himself up to be. Underneath it all, maybe he was just putting on a big show, for whatever reason. Kurt opened his mouth to reply.

It was then, however, that he once again caught a glimpse of Karofsky.

And, this time, he looked truly furious.