AN! Hello readers that survived the HP ending. I know I sobbed the ENTIRE TIME. For those of you who asked, I didn't dress up, but I did wear my "Keep Calm and It's Gonna Be Totally Awesome" shirt, and I painted my nails green and silver. Slytherin Pride. :) Anyway, this chapter is short, but we need to see the fallout of Bryce being an ass and Blaine falling apart. Reminder that if you have questions, my tumblr is always available (crissmedarren) and if you guys also want to follow another Klainer, my cousin Amy, who gave me the AMAZING idea to bring Santana into the story, also is on tumblr (ameskayy). I love reading your reviews, guys, they seriously make my life. I love you all! 3

Chapter 11

Kurt opened his eye and looked around, not remembering that he slept at Bryce's apartment the night before. He groaned before checking his phone for the time. 6:57, they still had another two hours before they had to be at rehearsal, so Kurt figured he'd be the only one awake.

Sitting up, he looked around the apartment. It was nicer than his, but not any bigger.

The couch he slept on was tan and simple, but not really comfortable he realized as he tried to stretch out his limbs. The walls were painted a burnt orange color that wouldn't have been his first choice, but were better than the white he was stuck with.

Everything was neatly arranged, from the glass coffee table to the Persian style rug, from the bamboo growing in the corner, to the gears hung on the wall. This was a grown up apartment.

Bryce definitely had a good sense of style.

Kurt didn't really know what to do with himself. He was actually afraid to get up, because everything side the apartment was meticulous. It was so different from Kurt and Blaine's apartment.

Their apartment always had music blasting from their Ipods, Abu was always trailing something behind him – a pillow, a toy, or a pair of Kurt's favorite shoes, Blaine always left napkins with lyrics written all over them scattered all over the living room, and Kurt always had a copy (or seven) of Vogue laying open on a table.

The slightly disheveled look of their apartment always annoyed Kurt, and he wondered what it would be like to live in a place like this. He hoped he'd find out sooner rather than later.

Kurt felt like he was sitting in a display at Pier 1.

Kurt heard Bryce's bedroom door open and close, and tried to act as if he was checking his email on his phone.

"Good morning, Kurt!" Bryce stretched in the doorway, and Kurt couldn't help but see the skin rippling over his abs. "You can look," Bryce commented, flexing his arms, "That's why I work out so much."

"Hmmm." Kurt turned his head, but still saw Bryce out of his peripheral vision.

Bryce put his arms down and sat next to Kurt, "It's not a sin to be attracted to me, you know."

Kurt turned, "See, you would be attractive, if you weren't so cocky."

"Hit a nerve, I see." Bryce leaned back into the sofa, "It's normal to find more than one person attractive. I mean, Blaine is good looking, but he's so classically good looking. He wouldn't be upset if you found other men appealing."

Kurt felt the anxiety boil in his stomach. Bryce found Blaine good looking? Great, now Kurt had to worry about that. Maybe that's why Bryce kept commenting about Kurt needing to leave Blaine, he wanted him for himself. But he wouldn't get him, because Kurt knew how to play this game.

Keep your enemies closer.

"Kurt? You okay? You look like you want to murder me." Bryce raised an eyebrow.

Kurt shook his head, "What? Sorry, I'm just…uh, hungry I guess."

Bryce leapt of the sofa, "I can make us breakfast. I make really great eggs. Why don't you take a shower, and I'll throw these clothes into the washing machine since I have laundry to do, and then when we're done eating, you'll have fresh clothes?"

"But what am I going to wear in the meantime? I don't dine in the nude." Except for that one time, Kurt remembers, smiling. That one perfect day with Blaine. God, he missed those. Kurt thought about emailing him, but realized that he would be off to work soon too, and probably wouldn't even get the message.

"I have a guest robe set you can wear," Bryce walked to the hallway linen closet and grabbed a fluffy white robe and some towels. "You'll have to use my stuff, but I think it smells pretty good!"

Kurt hated showering in someone else's apartment. But Bryce's shower was spacious and the water kneaded out the knots in his back. Kurt looked around, and was impressed. Bryce may have more things for skincare than Kurt does.

Kurt grabbed one of the small squares of soap and started washing, it smelled of basil and lime.

"Hey Kurt!" Bryce said from right outside the shower.

Kurt jumped three feet into the air, "Uhm. Yes?"

Bryce stood outside the frosted glass and looked at Kurt's silhouette. Yes, he definitely needed to make that his. "I just wanted to let you know I'm in here doing laundry." Bryce picked up Kurt's clothes. It was good know he wore Calvin Klein boxer briefs. "I'm leaving! If you need anything, just yell. I put an extra toothbrush out."

Kurt finished showering and wrapped himself firmly in the robe. This was going to be awkward. He walked into the kitchen and saw Bryce standing there, dressed in jeans and a tight Henley, serving breakfast. "Feel better?" he asked, pouring a mimosa for Kurt.

"A lot, actually. Do you need help with anything?"

"No, no. Sit. I'll have the eggs out in a second." Bryce strode back into the kitchen, and Kurt heard the clanging of pans. Not even five minutes later Bryce emerged with eggs Benedict, fingerling potatoes, and more mimosas.

"You cook," Kurt observed, a bemused smile playing on his lips.

"I cook."

Kurt took a bite immediately, savoring the food. It had been so long since he'd eaten eggs that weren't scrambled. "This is divine." He sipped his mimosa again, "It's been a really long time since I had food this good."

"Well, for rehearsals I'll cook dinner beforehand. You won't have to go all the way back to your apartment, you won't have to ride the subway, and you'll get to eat good food." Bryce smiled, "Perfection."

"I have to go home at some point, Bryce. I have a boyfriend. And a puppy." Kurt grinned thinking of his boys. He couldn't wait to go home to them tonight.

Bryce's face looked pained, "You have a puppy? A puppy! How quaint."

Kurt felt his face get red, "We do. Abu."

"What breed?" Bryce grabbed more potatoes.

"A mutt," Kurt admitted, "but he's the cutest thing."

"You like mutts, don't you?" Bryce laughed as he carried some plates to the kitchen.

"Excuse me?"

Bryce turned, "I meant you are the type of person that loves everyone, no matter what they come from."

Kurt felt better, "Oh!" Kurt stood to help Bryce carry the plates, "I don't think you had enough orange juice with your champagne this morning." He felt warm all over and wobbled slightly. Perhaps he shouldn't have had so many. He did have rehearsal.

"It was the pineapple vodka I added. I figured we'd need a pick me up for today's rehearsal. It's going to be terrible." Bryce laughed, pulling Kurt into the kitchen, "You really are a lightweight though."

"We don't really drink much, considering we're both 19." Kurt scraped some food into the trash.

"I was talking about you, not Blaine. Can't you think without pairing yourself with him?" Bryce sounded angry. "God, Kurt. You're an amazing person with unlimited potential, and you're settling for someone that would prefer to sit at home and watch cartoons instead of make his own dreams come true."

Kurt leaned against the doorway, "How long have you been holding that in?"

Bryce leaned into Kurt, "Since the moment I met you. Since the moment I realized that Blaine would never be good enough for someone like you. Kurt, he can't be for you what I can be for you."

Kurt wanted to laugh right in Bryce's face. He wanted to tell him that he'd never know what Blaine was for him, how Blaine was his strength and his courage when he didn't have any. How Blaine was his inspiration for every scene he acted in, from the happy to the sad. He wanted to scream and Bryce and tell him he was wrong.

But Bryce's eyes were shining blue, staring intently down at Kurt. Kurt didn't know what it felt like to stand up on tip toes and kiss someone. And Bryce was attractive. Really attractive, Kurt couldn't deny that.

Bryce's eyes flickered to Kurt's lips, and he wet his instinctively. "Kurt, let me be the one for you. You're the person I've been looking for."

Kurt snapped from the spell Bryce put him under, "I-I should get dressed. And then we should go to rehearsal. This is inappropriate." Kurt didn't wait for his answer and stalked towards the bathroom, locking it behind him. "Shit shit shit." He whispered, staring at his flushed face in the mirror.

He wasn't sure why he was so upset - because he almost let someone who wasn't Blaine kiss him, or because he stopped it.

Blaine groaned and rolled over, "Fuck. I don't want to get up." But, his clock read 6:30, and he had to be ready for work at nine. His eyes felt like sandpaper was wedged into his eyelids, and he tried to ignore the emptiness in his stomach.

It matched the emptiness in the bed next to him.

He rolled out of bed and listened to all of his bones pop. He threw on his black pants and polo, he really didn't care what he looked like today. He decided against wearing contacts too.

He walked out of his bedroom to find Abu curled on the floor right outside of the door. The puppy barked up at him, trying to jump into his arms. "Good morning Abu! Daddy's sorry he was mean last night." Blaine let the dog lick him a few times before putting him down, "Are you hungry? Good. Well, I'm going to have to feed you a lot because I work for a longtime today. We have to make money so Daddy Kurt can stay in his play. And maybe then he can come home and love us again. That'd be nice, wouldn't it?" The dog yipped at his feet.

Blaine carried Abu to the living room, but he found out they weren't alone in the apartment, "Hayden! Good morning! What are you doing here?"

Hayden crossed her legs and looked through a back issue of Vogue, "Babysitting."

Blaine put Abu down, "Babysitting…whom exactly?"

"You."

"I don't need babysitting," Blaine backed towards the kitchen, "I need coffee. And then I need to get to work."

"You aren't going to work."

"Oh yes I am," Blaine leaned against the doorframe, "I need money."

Hayden stood up stalked closer to Blaine, "You need to get better. You need to rest. You are working too hard. I called the diner and told them what happened. You won't work until Monday. When I called the bar last night they said you could have the weekend off, but if anything like this happens again you'll lose your job."

Blaine groaned, "Hayden, I need this job! Kurt…"

Hayden screamed in frustration, rolled up her magazine, and started hitting Blaine of the head, "You need to start thinking of yourself. You need to get better. Stop acting like a lovesick puppy all of the time. Because your boyfriend is currently shacked up with Bryce, who, if you didn't notice, is positively dreamy and has a crush on Kurt, and you are still acting like a schoolboy with a crush." She punctuated every other word with a hit from the magazine, "You love him, I get it. But don't fuck your life up for a boy who wouldn't even come see you in the hospital because his rehearsals were more important."

"Santana said that he knew you guys could take care of it…" Blaine looked around, trying to find Santana for confirmation, "Where is she?"

"No. He really just sounded like he didn't give a flying fuck about what was going on. And she is going to get him." Hayden looked venomous, the magazine still in her hand.

"Why are you trying to start a fight?" Blaine looked tired again, "We aren't fighting. We're being adults. Adults with responsibilities."

Hayden smacked him again, "You are being an adult about half the time. You aren't taking care of yourself, but you are working. Kurt is acting selfish. Here I am, my store closed again, because I need to deal with his shit. Blaine, I love you and I care about you more than I care about him. I know that sounds terrible, but it's the truth. I can't see someone drag you through the dirt. I knew he was excited so I wrote everything off as him being so. But when he didn't show up yesterday, he dropped so many points. Then he didn't come home last night. Kurt is doing something fishy, Blaine."

"Stop it! I trust him!" Blaine was hysterical at this point, tears flowed down his face. "Stop it!" He wasn't sure why this should come as a surprise. The nagging thought of him cheating with Bryce had constantly been in the back of his mind. "I trust him," he whispered weakly, clutching Hayden, "I do."

Hayden soothed Blaine, "Baby, I know. Maybe this is some big misunderstanding….but know I'm here for you if this all goes badly."

Blaine sniffed, "Hey Hayden?"

"Yes?"

"How'd you get in my apartment?"

Kurt stood outside of the theater, waiting for Santana. He got a text message approximately fifteen minutes ago, and it was terrifying.

Kurt Elizabeth Hummel. I'm fucking coming to get you and take you back to your apartment to your BOYFRIEND. I don't care if your phone is dead, which it isn't because you emailed Blaine last night. BE OUTSIDE OF THAT FUCKING THEATER.

Kurt never thought of Santana as being telepathic or a fortuneteller, but now he did. Because somehow Santana knew that he was attracted to Bryce.

He couldn't mistake the sounds of her heels clicking and before he saw her, he felt her.

She smacked him right in the head, hard. "You fucking idiot."

"I can explain, Santana, I swear. I'm attracted to him. I am. But he repulses me. He has a stick up his ass and he never knows how to have any fun."

Santana smacks his head again, "You are treating that boy like shit, Kurt. He works so hard for you so you can have the things you want, so hard that he doesn't have time to eat and he falls over in the middle of a store." She smacks him again, "and you don't even care. He's in the hospital and you don't even come see him. You let me take care of it. He woke up looking for you, Kurt."

Kurt holds up a hand, "What the fuck are you talking about?"

Santana stopped for a moment, "Seriously? Is this Bryce kid that good in bed that you forgot that the boy you used to love was in the hospital?"

Kurt was pissed. "First of all, stop it. I'm not screwing Bryce, and I love Blaine. Don't assume things. Just because I'm friends with another gay man doesn't mean I'm fucking him. And no one told me Blaine was in the hospital. Is he okay?" Kurt panicked, "Why didn't anyone tell me? I would have been there so quickly. I would have dropped everything. Santana, is he okay?"

Santana whipped out her phone, "Kurt, look." She handed him the phone, and he saw a text message exchange between his phone and Santana's. He ignored that he was in her phone as Snow White and the Dwarf.

"This…this wasn't me, Santana," he pulled out his phone and realized that all text messages with her had been deleted, "Santana, I didn't know. Is he okay?"

Her eyes softened somewhat, "He's fine. He's tired, and he's currently attempting to go to work, but Hayden tied him to a chair. Kurt. Who answered your phone? Because they are no friend of yours."

Just then Bryce walked out, "Hey Kurt! We need you in here."

"Hey Bryce! Did you read my text messages yesterday?" Kurt put his hand on his hip, "And not tell me that my boyfriend was in the hospital?"

Bryce stopped, "Kurt….I….yes. But Kurt, it was only to distance you from him…to show you that you would get so much more without him. We wouldn't have had that amazing rehearsal yesterday because you would have been holding his hand in the hospital for hours because he can't open a water bottle."

Kurt felt rage in the pit of his stomach, "That's where I should have been! I love him, Bryce, and he needed me to be there. You may have just broken something that can't really be fixed!"

Bryce surged forward, grabbing Kurt, "Good. Take this as your chance to run away. Run as fast as you can. Leave him. It won't hurt him as much this way, because he sees it coming now. You can't deny that attraction you have for me, Kurt. We can act on that. We can be together."

"So you want me to break up with my boyfriend so I'm free, but then date you? That makes sense. And oh yeah…I LOVE BLAINE. I DON'T LOVE YOU, I NEVER WILL." Kurt wanted to punch him.

"You're attracted to me, that's the first step, Kurt." Bryce grinned, "Soon enough you'll wonder what it could be like with me."

Kurt turned away from him, "This conversation is done. I'm going to make sure the love of my life is okay."

Bryce turned, "Well, I'll just have to tell him how you almost kissed me this morning."

"You wouldn't," Kurt felt his hands clutch and he turned again, but Bryce was gone.

Kurt crumbled to the floor, "Shit, Santana. What am I gong to do? I am attracted to Bryce. I do think he's gorgeous. I mean I think Blaine is gorgeous too. But Santana, what if I've broken something that can't be fixed?"

Santana pulled Kurt up, "A very intelligent woman once told me that it doesn't really matter who you're attracted to, it matters who you fall in love with. And you, Kurt Hummel, fell in love with Blaine. You are in love with Blaine. Unless one good looking man is going to change that."

I love Hayden/Santana. Reviews, please! I'll update this weekend.