A/N This chapter is going to be short because I realized that something important is about to happen, but it doesn't fit in with what comes next, so I am going to give it its own chapter. (Did that make any sense?)
I will post the next chapter soon, and it will be a longer one.
Reviews are always welcome, whether you want to tell me how amazingly awesome I am, or if you want to tell me how mean I am to our favorite characters.
10,080
After breakfast, and the talk with Burt, Blaine followed Kurt back up to his room, and they watched a couple more Disney videos, but the curly haired boy was getting fidgety. He needed some fresh air.
"Do you want to go for a walk? Or maybe take a picnic to the park?" He liked spending time with the pale skinned boy, even just sitting side by side on the bed, but he didn't want Kurt hiding out in his room all the time. He knew the other boy needed to get outside just as much as he did.
After a short hesitation, Kurt nodded. "A picnic would be nice, maybe."
Blaine smiled. "Why don't you get ready to go out, and I'll go see what your step mom has in the kitchen."
Downstairs, Carole was watching a gardening show on TV. Burt had gone to the garage a couple hours ago. "Hey, Mrs. Hudson, Kurt and I were thinking of going on a picnic. I was wondering what there is that we might be able to take."
"Oh, Blaine, call me Carole. I can fix something for you boys." She turned the TV off and lead him into the kitchen. Together they put together a nice lunch of fruit salad, chopped extra small to make it easier for Kurt to swallow, some strawberry yogurt, diced chicken breast with a berry balsamic vinaigrette to dip it in, and cucumber slices with a little sprinkle of dill. Blaine added a few bottles of water and a thermos of lemonade to the picnic basket Carole had gotten from the hall closet.
By the time they had everything packed up, Kurt had finished getting changed and was coming down the stairs with a blanket under his arm. They took Blaine's car and drove to a local park that had a small lake and lots of trees. They set their blanket up under a weeping willow, whose flowing leaves skimmed the water near the edge of the lake.
As they ate, they talked about music, musicals, Disney, and movies. When the food was gone, Blaine lay down on the blanket in the shade of the willow, and Kurt rested his head on his shoulder. The tree gave them the illusion of being in their own private world.
"Would you go out with me?"
Kurt looked at the darker boy in surprise. "You mean on a date?"
"Yeah, a real date. Dinner and a movie." Blaine lazily ran his hand up and down Kurt's arm.
"When?"
"Why not tonight?"
"I'd like that."
"Good. And would you do one thing for me?"
"What?"
Blaine rolled a little so he could face him better. "Would you be my boyfriend?"
Kurt's eyes went wide in shock, and all he could do was nod his head yes. The curly haired boy smiled, and leaned in for their first real kiss as a couple.
They lay there on the blanket for a long time, holding each other, occasionally kissing, but mostly just getting lost in each other's eyes. After a while, Kurt dozed off. Blaine continued to hold him and lightly stroke his hair, humming softly.
It was perfect.
…
Blaine dropped Kurt off at his house and said he'd be back in a couple of hours to pick him up for their date. He had some errands to run first. Kurt watched him drive away, and hugged himself, holding in the feelings that were trying to burst out of him.
Boyfriend.
It was scary, and exciting, and Kurt didn't know if he wanted to run and hide or scream in joy. He walked into the house, smiling. His Dad was sitting on the couch watching a baseball game. Burt looked up at him as he walked in. "How are you feeling, kiddo?"
"I have a boyfriend, and he's taking me on a date tonight."
The elder Hummel chuckled softly. "Well, I sure hope you're talking about Blaine. I like that kid."
Kurt rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but smile wider. "Of course I mean Blaine."
And then a thought struck him and his smile faltered. "Oh god, I've got a date tonight! What am I going to wear?"
Burt's laughter followed as he raced upstairs to search for the perfect date outfit.
As he was getting ready, his cell phone chimed. It was a new phone, Burt had gotten it for him the day before he got out of the hospital, as the police still had his old phone in their evidence locker. All of his contacts had already been added, so when Kurt looked at the screen, he saw Mercedes' Divalicious face smile up at him.
"Hey, White Boy! I just wanted to see how you were feeling?"
"Mercy! I have a date tonight!"
"What? With who? That Dalton cutie?"
"Yes, Blaine."
"Kurt! I'm so happy for you! I've been worried for you for so long, and then when..." She stopped, didn't want to ruin the moment. "You deserve so much happiness, Kurt. We all saw how he looked at you, and how you looked at him. I'm glad you two found each other."
"Thank you, Mercy. I love you. All of you, even Santana and Puck, helped me when I really needed. I don't think I would have survived as long as I did without all of you."
"Awe, babe, you know I love you too. I miss you." She hesitated a moment before asking, "are you coming back to school?"
Kurt sat down on his bed, taking a deep breath. "Yeah. Dad and I talked about it this morning. He's worried about me going back there, and I have to admit the thought scares the crap out of me. But I have to do it. I need to be in control of my life. Blaine agrees with me. I'll be back on Monday. I just don't know if I'll still be able to be in Glee. I'm not allowed to sing until I see the specialist."
"When do you go see them?"
"Friday. Dad is going to drive me to Cleveland to see them."
"Well, you can still come to Glee. Everyone is dying to see you. And maybe I can go with you when you see the specialist?"
"I'd like that, Mercedes. Thank you."
"Good. Now I'll let you go finish getting ready for your date. And Hummel, you better text me with the deets the minute you get home!"
…
Blaine picked him up at five forty five. He'd changed his clothes, gotten his hair trimmed and styled, and had brought flowers, a bouquet of Sunflowers and bachelor buttons.
Kurt smiled as he took them. "Thank you! Sunflowers are my favorites."
"I know, I got a mysterious text from Mercedes earlier that just said Sunflowers, Godiva Chocolate covered strawberries, and Gucci."
Both boys laughed. Carole took the Bouquet and said she'd put them in water for him, and hugged him before heading to the kitchen. Burt came out of the living room and shook his hand. "Blaine, take care of my boy tonight, okay?"
"I promise. We won't be out too long. I'm taking him to that new Asian fusion place, and then a movie."
Burt smiled, and slipped Blaine a $20. "Popcorn and sodas are on me."
As they slid into Blaine's car, Kurt studied the other boy. "Where did you get the clothes? You didn't have time to drive all the way to Dalton and back, and I know you live further out than that."
"Nick's Aunt lives nearby. He stays with her sometimes during the summer, so he has some clothes there. She let me borrow some, since he and I are about the same size."
"Which one was Nick? He seems to have good taste in clothes."
Blaine laughed. "He was the dark haired boy who teasingly called you the Ninja Coffee Boy. But Jeff actually bought these clothes for him. Jeff was the blond blabber mouth who told the Warblers about you. The two of you would probably get along great, you both love to shop."
"That could be fun. So are he and Nick dating?"
"They're practically married. They've been together since sixth grade."
"Tell me more about the other Warblers. I really didn't get to talk to them much at the competition."
Blaine talked about his friends as they drove to the restaurant. When they arrived and had been seated, they continued to talk more about the people in their lives. Dinner was excellent, although Kurt felt kind of awkward having to cut everything up into small manageable bites. Towards the end of the meal, he noticed Blaine kept glancing surreptitiously at his watch.
As the waiter brought their dessert, Blaine fiddled with something under the table briefly. Suddenly Kurt's phone chimed with an incoming text. Glancing at it, he looked up at Blaine in confusion. The Curly haired boy just smiled and indicated for him to read it.
10,080. One Minute at a time. Blaine.
It took a moment for the pale boy to decipher the meaning. Only when he saw the time stamp on the message did it fully register. It had been exactly a week. 10,080 minutes since his life had taken a detour in a direction he had never expected or wanted to go. But he was still alive. Still Kurt. And he knew, no matter what he would face in the next few days, next few weeks, or even the next year, he would make it through.
One minute at a time.
