"I am pulling the best friend card." Kurt announced as he sat down across from Mercedes during their shared second period study hall. "I don't care what plans you have after school. They are now broken because I need you more."

Mercedes barely lifted her eyebrows in response to his pronouncement. "Big sale at the outlet mall today?" She asked idly as she continued to work on math homework from last night she hadn't exactly found time to finish.

"I'm serious Cedes. "

"Boy, you play the best friend card at least twice a week." Mercedes protested. "I love you but honey not everything is a defcon level five emergency."

"Matt asked me out for Friday and I need you help to get ready." Kurt said in a rush as he pushed his books to the side. He tried to keep back the triumphant smile as she finally looked up and paused her pencil over the paper. There was his girl. He should have lead with that fact and just avoided the stalling altogether.

"Matt asked you out for Friday?" Mercedes smiled. "On a date right?"

"No. He's decided to join the Cheerios and wants me to help him learn a routine to impress Coach Sylvester." Kurt rolled his eyes. Of course now that he mentioned it, that idea did have some merit. Calm down boy, he lectured himself. You haven't even gone out on a date with Matt yet! "Yes on a date."

"With the two of you, I'm always going to check." Mercedes held up her hands in surrender. "You'll forgive me for not seeing the difference between this and what you guys already did together."

Well when she had a point, she had a point. "That was before." Kurt shook his head dismissively. "Things like what we're doing and what the appropriate wardrobe selection were not serious considerations. Now they are vital."

"You know I'm always down for some retail therapy, but if Matt's never cared what you look like before, why would it suddenly become so important now? He already likes you. I think it's safe to say you passed the whole first impression portion of the relationship."

In the strictest sense, Kurt knew Mercedes was telling the truth. Matt had seen him at his most casual and hadn't even seemed to notice. And outside of his strong desire to burn Matt's seemingly unending supply of plaid shirts, he honestly didn't react in horror to Matt's determination to remain firmly in the unfashionable masses. If that wasn't a sign of how far he had fallen for Matt, Kurt wasn't exactly sure what was. But this was important. Everything had to be perfect for Friday.

Not only was it their first date, it was also the first time Matt was willing to be seen in public with him. As part of a couple. Or at least a potential couple, Kurt amended. He was not going to jump the gun over anything right now. This was a big deal. It was one thing to see each other in school when some quirk combination of requirements and class space dictated they share a classroom three times a day. And it wasn't glee where everyone (outside of Mr. Schue's constant sympathetic looks) treated them as they normally would. This was a huge step for Matt. And if for no other reason, Kurt wanted it to go perfectly for Matt's sake.

Truth be told, he felt more than a little guilty about how everything had happened. After all, he could remember Matt saying he had only told his sister about his being gay. And what had he done? Gone ahead and kissed Matt anyway because he was apparently weak and couldn't resist temptation. If he had just stopped himself, at least for a minute, then his brothers wouldn't have found them out and this whole mess would have been avoided. After all, to hear Puck tell it, sneaking around was hot right?

Maybe it wasn't entirely his fault Matt was now living with Mike, but it sure felt like it. He had initiated that second kiss. Him. He knew what it was like to be scared to death of how people were going to accept who you really were. Alright, now he could acknowledge it was fairly difficult for him to hide his true self totally, but still, he knew that fear. And even though his dad had said he had known ever since that long forgotten third birthday, he had waited for Kurt to feel comfortable and ready to tell him. Matt didn't get that. Thanks to that second kiss, his brothers had run their mouths right into Jacob's ever listening ear. Matt hadn't come out of the closet as much as he was shoved.

The fact Matt was functioning well enough to make into the building was impressive as hell. Sure, Kurt was positive Matt wasn't actually talking about this with anyone. After all, his every attempt at asking what exactly had happened between Matt and his parents had been avoided with a quick "I don't want to talk about it". That would probably come with a little more time. But Kurt wasn't sure if the situations were reversed if he could make it out of bed in the morning, much less show up at school.

This date had to be perfect, because right now Matt deserved perfect for everything he had been through.

"Please Cedes?" Kurt wasn't above begging her. He even threw in the puppy dog eyes for good measure. She never could resist those. "This is really important to me. I promise on the soul of Madonna I will personally escort you to every prom shop in the state of Ohio and then make Mike get the perfect complimentary tuxedo."

"Stop looking at me like a kicked puppy." Mercedes rolled her eyes. "I was going to help you. But I'll hold you to that promise though."

Smiling Kurt stood up to kiss her cheek but a familiar shout stopped him cold. "Ladyface!" Sue Sylvester snapped from her spot at the librarian's desk. "Mandatory practice during lunch. Be there or you won't only sing like a girl."

"We'll plan this during English." Mercedes smiled. "Coach Sylvester killing you will totally destroy this perfect evening you clearly want."

"Quinn where are you taking me?" Matt questioned as he allowed Quinn to drag him by the arm down the hallway and away from the cafeteria. He hadn't exactly wanted to go in there, but he didn't have a whole lot of other options at this point. Kurt had slipped him a text about the surprise Cheerios practice, so hiding in the auditorium wasn't an option. Sitting with Mike, Finn and Puck wouldn't be terribly awkward, if he could somehow block out the constant staring of his fellow students.

"Hush. Just trust me." Quinn admonished him as she weaved them through the usual chaos in the halls. "You'll love this."

"I really don't like surprises this week Quinn." Matt protested but still allowed her to guide him. At least Quinn as a friendly face and unlikely to lead him into a slushie attack.

"Don't think of this as a surprise. Think of it as a secret." Quinn offered as she finally pulled him inside a classroom. Blinking as she flipped on the lights, Matt started to recognize the home ec room. Following her lead as Quinn waved for him to sit down; he smirked as she moved towards refrigerator to pull a bag out of it.

"Hang out here a lot Quinn?"

"I did." Quinn admitted as she started to divide up the contents of her bag in an efficient manner. "When I was pregnant, I ate here a lot."

"I wondered where you would disappear to."

"Some days I could handle the stares. " She said quietly as she pushed the lunch towards him. "And I told myself I hadn't changed; everything was going to be fine. And then everyone found out I lied about Finn being the father. And I couldn't walk more than five steps without someone saying whore or slut to my face. On those days it was just easier to hide."

"I'm sorry." Matt said softly, squeezing her hand in his. "I should done more to help…."

"No. I didn't tell you that to make you feel bad. You were a hell of nicer to me than I deserved. "

"No one deserved that Quinn."

"You don't either." Quinn smiled softly at him. "Which is why I brought you here. I would have done it yesterday but I guess Kurt beat me to that."

"You didn't have to do this."

"Yes I did. I know what it's like. The constant stares. The whispers. The not so veiled comments. They used different words for me but I'm willing to be the feelings are pretty similar. It's pretty damn lonely." Quinn got up and walked to sit down next to him. "You aren't alone. And while I know I can't match Kurt's fabulousness or Mike's dancing skills, I'd like to think I'm pretty decent substitute when you might need one."

Matt hugged her to his side. "You, Quinn Fabray are no one's substitute. You're pretty awesome in your own right."

Quinn tucked her chin down and hugged him back before smiling up at him. "Well in a quest to prove my awesomeness, I hear you have a date on Friday."

Matt groaned as Quinn laughed. "The speed of gossip at this school is amazing. Scientists need to study it."

"Well it's fast when Kurt tells Mercedes and I have third period with her." Quinn shoved his shoulder. "So with that in mind, today we're going shopping." She waved her hand up and down at his outfit. "The whole I've been kicked out of my home so pity me thing might work at school but it will not work for this date. No. It just won't happen."

"You spend way too much time with Kurt. I swear to God I think I've heard him say that."

"We'll know we're on the right track then won't we?"