Guys, I am so sorry that this is late. And also pathetically short. But I have been seriously stressed out today and so this chapter just wouldn't write. It's all Kurt - well, Kurt, Rachel and Finn - but there's no Blaine in it. I am seriously sorry that this chapter is much shorter than the others, and I am actually disappointed in myself. I hope you guys will forgive me and I'll try and make it up to you with the next chapter on Thursday. I'll explain at the bottom why I was so stressed today.
Kurt felt his stomach drop with nerves, his whole body going numb as he glanced from Finn to Rachel and back again, trying to get his mouth to work. But his throat was dry and his tongue felt too big for his mouth, leaving him only able to stutter.
"Oh," He finally managed. "That."
"Yes, that." Rachel glared at him, frozen in her seat for a few seconds before she began to gesture wildly with her arms. "What the hell, Kurt?" She near-screamed, making both Kurt and Finn flinch away from her. "You told me nothing was going on between you and Blaine because you were sorting out the whole Thad thing!"
"I already told you earlier that I ended things with Thad!" Kurt snapped back, recalling how he and Rachel had spoken in the kitchen whilst Finn and Blaine had watched football.
"But you didn't tell me you were with Blaine now!" She gestured towards the door as if Blaine was stood there. Kurt stood up from the sofa so that he was taller than her, but closer to being eye-to-eye with her than when he had been sitting down.
"That's because I'm not with him!" He retorted, folding his arms across his chest and scowling at her to hide the disappointment he truly felt. Blaine was caring enough to allow Kurt the time and space he needed to get over the Thad situation, but now that they had spent a completely innocent night together Kurt knew that he didn't need any more time or space; he needed Blaine.
"What do you mean?" She blinked at him dumbfounded.
"Yeah, dude, we both saw that kiss," Finn was standing now, moving next to his fiancé. "How can you not be together? Is Blaine just like, super affectionate or something?" Kurt chuckled despite himself, whilst Rachel just looked annoyed that her fiancé was getting involved; she loved him, but sometimes he asked really stupid questions.
"Don't be silly, Finn! Of course they're together," She turned on Kurt. "They're just lying about it!"
"No, Rachel, we're not," Kurt had calmed himself down considerably, but it was still an effort to keep his voice down when Rachel was making such silly accusations. "And Finn is kind of right." Rachel looked between her best friend and her fiancé too shocked to say anything, and Finn looked just as surprised. "Blaine is actually very considerate and caring and that's why we're not together… yet."
"I- I don't understand," Rachel frowned at him. "What's going on?"
"Look, after I ended things with Thad, Blaine came home and we… we talked. Turns out that since we met each other again we've both been having these… feelings for each other," Kurt sank down into the sofa, caught up in the memory of the previous afternoon as Rachel and Finn watched him with soft expressions.
"We know," Finn mumbled before Rachel could nudge him to be quiet. Kurt looked up at him confused.
"What do you mean, you know?"
Finn looked at Rachel, unsure of whether he was allowed to continue or not, but she just sighed and let herself fall back onto the sofa. "Well," Finn started, nervously glancing between Kurt and Rachel. "When you guys moved in, I spoke to Blaine about it, and he said that he liked you too but didn't want to cross a line." Finn looked to the floor, rubbing the back of his neck.
"So, you knew this… And you didn't tell me?" Finn wasn't sure what was worse; that Kurt spoke quietly or that he sounded upset rather than angry.
"It wasn't my place to tell." Kurt nodded weakly but didn't look up at Finn. Instead, he looked to Rachel.
"Did you know?" Rachel stared back at him, opening her mouth several times to say something but no words actually left her mouth. The blush that spread across her face, however, was enough to tell Kurt that yes, she had known. Finn cautiously sat down, watching Kurt's indifferent expression and waiting for him to boil over. "Well, I guess there's no point getting worked up over that now," He sighed softly, staring at the floor before shaking himself out of an apparent daydream. Finn and Rachel shared a shocked glance at each other before turning back to Kurt as he continued to speak. "We've already confessed to each other anyway." He shrugged nonchalantly and smiled; it was weak, yet still slightly dreamy as he processed that his two best friends from high school had known about him and Blaine before the two men even did themselves.
"W-when?" Rachel asked hesitantly, curious to hear the answer yet relieved that Kurt hadn't unleashed his infamous diva temper on her and her fiancé.
"Last night," Kurt suddenly smiled, the memories of it flooding back to him once more. "After he came home from work," Rachel inwardly squealed in delight when Kurt said 'came home' – he was already acting like one half of a couple. "We talked about what happened with Thad and it just… happened. I told him I was in love with him and he said it right back."
"Well then why aren't you two together?" Finn sat with his elbows rested on his knees, leaning forward to listen to Kurt. Kurt looked up at him, a little dazed, but smiled softly.
"Because Blaine cares too much," Kurt chuckled slightly to himself. "I told him I might need some time to get over what happened with Thad so that I could focus on us," An explosion of butterflies burst in his stomach. "And he just… accepted that." Kurt seemed thoughtful for a second, before looking up and grinning. "If anything I think it made me love him even more."
"Aww, my little Kurtsy is in love!" Rachel cooed as she leant forward and pulled Kurt close to her, hugging him tightly against her chest.
"I'm pretty sure you already knew that, Rach!" He laughed into her shoulder, hugging her back as he beamed brightly over her shoulder.
"I know," She grinned, not letting go. "But it's just you've been pining over Blaine for weeks now-"
"I was not pining after him." Kurt interjected with a slight annoyance to his voice, but Rachel continued anyway.
"And now you two are basically together!" She held him at arm's length, suddenly frowning. "So, how long is it going to take you to get over what happened with Thad?" Kurt laughed.
"That's the thing," He bit his lip as he allowed a deep blush to creep across his face, smiling shyly as he looked between his friends. He had realised when he had woken up to an empty bed that morning, dismayed that Blaine hadn't still been lying next to him – awake or still asleep he wouldn't have cared – that he couldn't hold back his feelings any longer; he'd been doing it for weeks now, and he had even tried to focus on another man to distract himself, but it to no avail. Kurt knew that he had only been holding back because he deemed it appropriate to do so considering how strongly Thad had obviously felt for him, but Kurt also knew that sometimes doing what was best for one person wasn't always best for everyone else.
"I already am."
Again, I'm sorry for this dreadful excuse of a chapter! But I had a job interview on Friday, and they promised me that I would hear back from them either Friday night or today, and it ended up being today. I did get the job, but they made me wait until five o'clock this evening until they called me. So, I was absolutely stressed all day, I barely ate anything I was so nervous! I also couldn't write, and I was shocked to discover that even after I already knew I had the job my writer's block didn't clear, which explains the horrible mess you all just read.
Forgive me? :)
C xx
P.s - Any ideas for a chapter title for chapter 23? Xx
