Another one! I should really wait until I have all thirty of them written! Well I hope you like this one.

Just to say thank you so much to those who reviewed! Seriously I love you all for taking your time to do so :D

Disclaimer: Glee is not mine.

(Note this is set before Kurt went to Dalton.)

3. A single red rose.

The locker opened and Kurt saw a single red rose, perfect and untouched, lying on top of his books. To say he was perplexed was an understatement.

"What's that?" Kurt jumped, startled, before turning to Mercedes who had sneaked up on him from behind. Kurt's brain momentarily processed that her boots couldn't possibly allow her to be so quiet. Meanwhile Mercedes had spotted the red flower.

"Is that a rose?" She exclaimed, pushing the taller boy aside to gaze with glee. "Who's it for?"

"No one." Kurt told her truthfully, brain still trying to come back from la-la-land. "It was there when I opened my locker."

"You've a secret admirer!" Mercedes squealed, hopping from one foot to another.

"How do you know that?" The question was asked but really Kurt didn't care as sparks of excitement were making his stomach leap and his throat tense. All of a sudden he couldn't breath and he wanted to scream like a crazy fan-girl who's been told their OTP couple kissed or said I love you. This calls for shopping on the internet for Gucci shirts and Prada shoes!

"There's no card, no name! It has to be someone who likes you!" Mercedes giggled. "Is there any boy in school that you may have dazzled?" She nudged his arm playfully but Kurt euphoria felt as if a bucket of water had been poured over him, washing away any and all happiness and instead leaving freezing cold fear. Suddenly Kurt couldn't breath for a different reason.

"M-maybe" he swallowed, quickly closing the locker door and cutting off the sight of the lovely red rose turned bitter, feeling as if he was in a horror movie.

"Hey are you ok?" Mercedes asked worriedly, picking up on Kurt's change of mood.

"Fine, just fine" They were interrupted by Sam and together they went to Glee. But while Mercedes and Sam chatted and teased as if they'd know each other for years rather than months, Kurt's mind had drifted back to the haunting red rose in his locker.

Later

"Anything wrong Kurt? You seem kind of tense." Blaine and he were at their coffee shop and Blaine had just now dared to ask the question that had been on the tip of his tongue since he met up with the counter tenor.

"Nothing's wrong, why would anything be wrong?" Kurt said, far too quickly to convince anyone let along Blaine.

"Kurt. It's me." Kurt sighed, relenting to those persistent and warm brown eyes.

"I found a red rose in my locker. At first I thought it was a secret admirer but then I realised that the only one who has actually been paying attention to me in that way was Karofsky. So…"

"You think it was from him." Blaine finished.

"Just when I thought everything was getting better." Kurt sighed and dropped his head into his hands.

"Kurt I don't think you have to be worried about the rose coming from Karofsky."

The comment came so suddenly that Kurt's head snapped up until something cracked in his neck.

"What?" He said, eyebrows raised and jaw hanging loose, emerald eyes wide and staring at Blaine's nonchalant posture.

"The way I see it, Karofsky is a football player. I hardly see him trying to woo a person with flowers. Especially if he hasn't accepted he's gay." He leaned forward and locked eyes with Kurt, who's heart was suddenly doing odd flips in his stomach. "Plus giving a rose to someone has many meanings."

"Like white is purity and pink is appreciation." Kurt said, wondering how on earth his throat could make a sound through the desert that had seized his tongue. Blaine smiled, one that reached those deep dark brown orbs of his.

"Exactly. In this case a red rose means respect or…" He paused to take a breath. "Courage."

"Oh." Kurt said.

To be fair many would be left speechless if they found out their crushes had left them a rose in their locker.

"At least that's what I think. This person must know their roses." Blaine said before raising his coffee cup to his lips, effectively hiding his blush from Kurt.

"Well, message understood." Kurt smiled happily. Blaine grinned again and together they sat in silence. More than happy to be in each others company.

"So how's Sectional preparations coming along?"