(Disclaimer: Not owning anything or associated with or write for anything mentioned here, especially Glee.)

Chapter 6: The Science of Attraction

"You two hold the table. Kurt and I will go get the food; that way I can get my discount for all of it, and you can all pay me back." Mercedes pulled Kurt off with her, and Blaine and Finn launched right back into the debate they were in the middle of over who the Buckeyes recruited this season or who-knows-whatever-else that was way above Mercedes and Kurt's heads, or as they liked to put it, "way below" their heads. Kurt had played some football, of course, and quite enjoyed it, but he most certainly didn't follow teams and stats and trades and... all that drama.

The view from the science museum café was in fact spectacular through all those picture windows lining the back wall, and Mercedes paused to ask a question before they got in line.

"Kurt, are you sure he wants to stay just friends? Because it never looks that way when he's around you. It's like he lights up whenever he sees you. And boy, the way he looks at you, it's not like he's trying to be just friends, it's like he wishes he didn't have to act like just friends!"

Kurt watched the river out the windows, tossing this around his head, and then said, "Well, maybe that's just the way he always looks. He's always so kind and outgoing with everyone, and then he has a closer friendship with me, so it could just look that way to you."

"No, Kurt. That boy is smitten. It is so obvious. You need to open your eyes. How was it that you left that infamous pouring-rain conversation again?"

Kurt took a deep breath and let it out in an exasperated sigh. "He said he didn't want to risk losing what we have, and I said I'll always be here for him no matter what."

"Kurt, you left a door wide open there! You said 'no matter what' to him!"

"So?"

"So, no matter what happens! Even if you and he happen! You'll still be there for him no matter what!"

"Oh. Yeah."

"Exactly."

"Well... Go, me."

"Yeah, 'go you,' Kurt! Now go and tell him that in more clear terms and see what he says to that!"

"Mercedes, I'm pretty sure he was telling me he didn't want to change things. And he gave me a totally friendly hug. I mean, it was pretty obvious."

"Well… I think you need to talk about it a bit more on-the-nose, so you don't both end up thinking incorrect things about each other, you know what I mean?"

"You can't be much clearer than saying how much the friendship means to you and then just hugging."

"I think you have to consider the fact that you are both high school boys after all, and the things high school boys say never make any sense to me. I'm not sure if you have any advantage at all just because you're both boys and should understand each other's brains better than the brains of the opposite sex."

Kurt looked at her like she was crazy. "Mercedes, is all this science getting to you here at the museum?"

She punched his arm and headed for the line to get some dinner for everyone. "All I know Kurt, is that what boys do tends to be more accurate than what they say."

Finn was just as surprised as Blaine was to see Dave Karofsky approaching their table.

"Hey." Dave nodded at Finn and gave Blaine a look that was kind of like asking a question. He looked so harmless and almost vulnerable right then, Blaine figured it was time to offer him a peace treaty again.

"Karofsky…" Finn started, in a tone that was not really peaceful. Blaine cut in, "Dave, would you like a seat?"

"Yeah, I'm uh… I came to maybe see if you and Kurt would be OK with… talking to me for a minute."

"Kurt's getting our food right now, I think they'll be a while, it was a pretty long line."

"That's OK, it's kind of easier to talk to you first, I guess. Do you mind Finn? Do you want us to go somewhere so you can stay here?"

"Why can't you talk with me here Karofsky?"

"It's OK, Finn." Blaine said, ameliorating Finn's hostile look. "We're fine chatting. If Dave wants a little privacy, I'm totally OK with it."

"You sure?" Finn asked, before getting up. At the sincere nod and assuring look from Blaine, he headed toward the café saying he'd go help the others carry the food.

"What's up, Dave?" Blaine didn't know how to help the guy, but he figured he'd give him a chance to reach out to someone he might think could at least give him some kind of support or at least point him in the right direction.

"I… uh…" Karofsky faltered and seemed like he might even give up and walk away with some kind of forget it or excuse or something.

"Hey, Dave," Blaine tried to help, "that was solid what you did today with Tony. Thanks for that."

"Man, I am so sorry. For… Everything. I want to tell Kurt too, but I'm glad it's just you right now. I never really… did anything to you. But I guess I insulted you and stuff."

Blaine only looked around the café. Karofsky wasn't making eye contact as he stumbled through what he was trying to say anyway, so there really wasn't anything Blaine felt he was required to do or say at this point.

"I've uh… Been going to counseling. Not that it does anything but verify that I have a total sh#* dad. I don't know. It doesn't really do anything."

More silence.

"You know what does, though?"

Now Blaine looked up at him.

"OK, don't tell ANYONE this. But I kind of… liked practicing with Mr. Schuster and everyone for that Thriller thing we did at half time when our Cheerios bailed."

Blaine smiled, and Karofsky could tell it wasn't in judgment or laughing at him or anything.

"Well, so I… seriously, don't tell anyone, not even Kurt about this…"

"That's definitely something I can't promise, Dave. I probably will tell Kurt."

Karofsky deliberated in his mind for a moment and then shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, alright. So the thing is, I… kind of… joined a community theatre group in West Monroe"

"Oh my gosh, that's great."

"No, I know it's lame. But… I kind of felt more like myself when I was practicing all that stuff, and it's like, I don't know, I like it. And there's no way I can do anything like that at all at McKinley. There's no way."

"Well I think it's great. I bet you meet some pretty cool people there, who accept you however you are, right?"

"Yeah. Kind of. How'd you know that?"

"I practically grew up doing community theatre."

"Well, I just wanted to…" Karofsky took a breath and looked at the table. "I wanted to say that I'm glad you and Kurt are doing OK."

Blaine stared at the table just like Karofsky for a little while. He knew that he should allow the guy to grow and figure himself out, but he started to feel like it shouldn't be his job to help this particular guy or even let him off the hook so easy. He felt like this guy was asking for forgiveness for a whole lot of stuff that just can't be let go.

"Listen, Karofsky. I want you to know something." He narrowed his eyes making sure he was listening to him. "And really internalize this when I tell it to you. OK?"

Getting the acquiescent reaction he was looking for, Blaine went on. "After you kissed Kurt when he wasn't expecting it, he was really upset. As confusing as that may have been for you, it was more than a thousand times worse for Kurt. I really hope you get that." Dave's head was already bowed down but he managed a bit of a nod at the table.

"Think about it, Karofsky. If you had hauled out and kissed a girl like that when she was yelling at you for threatening her in the halls all the time, she would sue you for harassment. In fact, Kurt could. But you know what bothers me the most? He actually said to me that that was his first kiss. 'One that counted' is how he put it. That's the one thing that really pisses me off. He should not feel that way. He actually made out with that Brittany once. That was totally consensual and planned making out, actually, with her. Yet he called that… kiss (he spit the word out in a way that made it into a swear word) from you the first one that 'counted.' Now I am going to do everything in my power to get him to stop thinking of it that way, because as far as I am concerned, there is no way that kind of kiss counts for anything. It is merely something that should never have happened. Am I making myself clear? I don't want you going to him and asking him for easy forgiveness like you did with me today. It's not gonna happen that way. It's going to take a whole lot more than that. And it's gonna take a lot more time for him to be ready to forgive you. So I'd recommend being as nice to him as you want, but do not ask him to forgive you until you've proved that you've changed 100%. That's my advice to you. And know that I will protect him from being hurt or even just annoyed again."

"Alright. I got you."

"OK."

"Wow, you guys are really tight, aren't you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Hey, I just meant you're close now. As a couple. That's fine. I'm cool."

"We're not a couple."

"Oh. I thought… Really?"

Blaine considered Karofsky's face for a minute, and decided the guy really was being sincere now. And he'd just taken that whole talking-to in far more of a relaxed manner than he ever would have imagined. The guy must really be trying. Or really changing.

"Sadly, no. He wants to stay friends."

"Wait. Kurt does?"

"Yeah."

Karofsky looked a little uncomfortable, but like he was sort of trying to push through it, almost forcing himself to ask, "Explain that to me. I thought he was totally... um... into you." Now he really looked uncomfortable. It almost made Blaine laugh.

"Well... I kissed him. And... he didn't want to kiss me again. Basically."

Looking at the far wall and fidgeting a lot, Karofsky managed, "How does that work? Didn't you like, talk about it or anything?"

"Yeah, sort of. I mean mostly it was just obvious. I had just kissed him, and he wouldn't look at me. He was like, avoiding my eyes and stuff, and kind of looked like he regretted it. So, I felt bad about kissing him so suddenly like that, if he really didn't want to. I don't know. But you don't want to hear this."

"Actually… I really do. I uh…" Karofsky shook his head raising his eyes toward the ceiling. "I should… find out how this… stuff… works."

Blaine laughed and then regretted it. He looked at Karofsky in apology and said, "Dave, it's OK. That's fine. It's really no different than anything else. It's all just people… figuring things out. That's all. It's all pretty much the same across the board I guess."

"So I know I insulted you guys and all, but… I really did think Kurt was into you. Are you sure he didn't want to kiss you?" Saying the word kiss seemed to be extremely difficult for him, and Blaine's heart finally went out to him a little.

"OK, I mean, I kissed him just all of a sudden and it was in the pouring rain so we had to get in the car, and then I was looking at him wanting to kiss him again so bad. But he sat there staring at the dashboard all nervous, looking like he was trying to find a way to let me down easy."

"That sucks."

"Tell me about it. So I spilled my guts out to him, telling him how much he means to me, and how much our friendship means, and I even told him I can't imagine my world without him now. And then he just told me he'll always be here for me and gave me this totally friendly hug. I mean it's pretty obvious what he was really saying there."

"Man, I really thought he was totally into you. Seriously. This is so weird. I feel like I'm missing something."

"No, this is the truth. Even that hug… it was stiff and just friendly at first, but then it got kind of like, softer, or whatever, so I almost tried saying something else, just to...check, I don't know. Good thing I didn't though, because he just started the car saying everyone was waiting for us."

"Bummer. I… don't really know what I should say… I mean…"

"Dave. I'm just talking. You are not someone I would ever go to for advice."

"Yeah."

A/N – This chapter was dedicated to everyone who got yearbook signatures along the lines of "I had a huge crush on you all sophomore year!" which made you think "WHAT? I had a crush on HIM all sophomore year! What the heck? Stupid dumb high school boys."

Next chapter: Someone gets kissed, and there is no alcohol or karaoke involved.