I tried so hard to get this chapter done by today. I hope it makes you guys super happy!

Thanks for all the reviews last chapter. You all seemed sad, so I made sure this chapter would make you happy.

Thanks for reading!

Tumblr: Klaine-engagement . tumblr . com

Chapter 13

Wednesday:

Kurt knew he couldn't avoid Blaine at school. He considered not going at all. But, then he would have to face Blaine the next day. He wanted to get it over with.

To Kurt's surprise, Blaine wasn't at school. Maybe he's avoiding me, Kurt thought. Feelings ruin everything.

"Hey, Kurt! Is everything alright?" Tina asked Kurt in between classes.

"Hi, Tina. Yeah, why?"

"You seem a little lost today," she told him. "Where's Blaine?" she asked.

"Not here today," Kurt informed her.

"Is that why you're upset?"

"I'm not upset."

"OH. Is it because Rachel went out with Blaine last night?" Tina asked.

"Blaine can do what he wants," Kurt replied. "And how do you know about that?"

"Rachel was telling me all about it this morning. It was kind of annoying. But, if that's why you're upset, don't worry about it. From what Rachel said to me, it seemed like a boring date," Tina assured Kurt. He smiled a little, but didn't tell Tina see that that made him happy.

"Well, that's too bad," Kurt said.

"I have to get to class. We'll finish this conversation later. Try to cheer up!" she said as she walked away.

Kurt sat down in Spanish and opened his notebook to a clean page.

"That was a great first rehearsal yesterday, right?" he heard Mr. Schuester ask him. Only a few other students were in class at that point, but talking to teachers in a casual way still made Kurt uncomfortable.

"Uh, yeah. It was great. Can't wait for tomorrow's rehearsal," Kurt said tiredly.

He looked down at his notebook and pretended to write something important to indicate that he no longer wanted to talk to Schuester.

He sat through the rest of his classes doodling in his notebook silently. He debated skipping lunch and going to the library instead. But, Tina found him before lunch period started.

"Hey, Kurt. Wanna sit with us in lunch today, since Blaine isn't here. I don't want you to sit alone," Tina offered.

"Actually, I was planning on going to the library," Kurt said. "But, uh, I can I can sit with you guys today. Thanks."

"Rachel recently started sitting with us daily," Tina explained as they walked toward the cafeteria. "She talks a lot. About herself. So, sorry about that. You can tune her out, it's pretty easy." Kurt chuckled.

"It's no big deal," Kurt said. "As long as she doesn't talk about-" his voice trailed off.

"About her date with Blaine?" Tina asked sympathetically. Kurt's face heated up.

"It's just that...well, I'm sure I'll hear Blaine talk about it later. And I don't want to hear both sides of the date. That'll just be-"

"Kurt," Tina cut him off. "I know you like him. It's okay. I won't tell," she promised.

They approached the table and Kurt sat down next to Tina and across from Mercedes.

"Hey, Kurt!" Mercedes said loudly. Kurt smiled.

"Hey," he answered. Rachel wheeled Artie over and they both greeted Kurt kindly. She sat right next to Mercedes.

"Where's Blaine today?" Rachel asked, looking at Kurt.

"I don't know," Kurt answered.

"I hope he's okay," Rachel said. Kurt rolled his eyes.

"I'm sure he's perfectly fine," he said back.

Kurt wanted to text Blaine and ask if he was alright, but if Blaine had skipped school to avoid Kurt, then texting him would not help.

During their science period, Kurt took notes for himself and for Blaine. He was a fast writer, and he still managed to have perfect handwriting. He felt lonely without Blaine, and he wondered how he managed to live every day alone before Blaine came along. He had only known Blaine for a few weeks, but he was used to seeing him every day. They liked to partner up in history to answer text book questions, and they looked at each other every time someone said something stupid in science. With Blaine being absent, Kurt found himself looking over at an empty stool constantly.

Once school was over, Kurt sat with Mercedes on the bus ride home. They rode in silence, though. Both of them decided to listen to music instead of talk, which was fine by Kurt. The second he got home, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket.

One new message from Blaine Anderson

"I've been waiting to text you all day. I didn't want to bother you at school. Here's the thing: my parents don't know that I didn't go to school (I don't think they'd mind, but still). I stayed home because I was upset. Can I come over?" the text said. Kurt felt nervous.

"Of course you can come over. Is everything okay?" he replied.

"I'll be there in ten," Blaine texted back.

Kurt ran upstairs to check himself in the mirror. He fixed his hair up and went back downstairs. He then got a bowl of popcorn and set it on the coffee table in the living room before settling down on the couch.

The doorbell rang, and Kurt was sitting five feet from the door. But, he took a long time to get up and walked in slow-motion to get to the door so that it didn't seem like he was eagerly waiting for Blaine's arrival.

Kurt opened the door, and Blaine fell onto him. His face was wet.

"Blaine, what happened?"

"I've been crying all day. I punched the wall in my room and now my hand hurts. I threw my phone like ten times and it's cracked."

"Hey, calm down. Everything's okay. Sit down and tell me what's wrong," Kurt said.

Blaine breathed in and out slowly, then wiped his face. "Sorry, I'm a wreck," he said.

"Don't worry about it at all, Blaine. I'm allowed to see you at your worst. Besides, you're one of those people that look beautiful when they cry," Kurt said, immediately knowing that he went too far. His face turned bright red.

"Thanks, Kurt," Blaine said. He didn't seem to think Kurt was crossing any sort of line with that statement. He took it as a compliment, which made Kurt feel relieved.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" Kurt asked quietly.

"I think my parents are going to get divorced," Blaine said. He didn't wait for Kurt to respond, he just went right into an explanation. "I mean, I don't like my parents. But, I love them, you know? That's stupid. But, they're my parents. And, I know they've always loved each other. But, they've been fighting over the stupidest things recently. Like, badly fighting. I saw my mom slap him across the face last night," Blaine stated.

"I'm really sorry. I honestly don't know what it's like to watch a marriage go downhill, so I can't give you advice. But, I'll let you talk your feelings out," Kurt said.

"I don't think I want to talk about it any further. I want to pretend it's not happening. I want to pretend nothing's happening. I want to lie down and breathe fresh air and be comfortable and relaxed and happy," Blaine said. Kurt thought for a second. I have about five seconds to decide if I want to do this, he said to himself. Of course I want to do this. I'd do anything for Blaine.

"Come with me, Blaine," Kurt said, standing up off the couch. He put his shoes on and looked at Blaine, who never took his own shoes off.

"Where?" Blaine asked.

"Somewhere that'll make you feel better," Kurt promised.

Blaine followed Kurt out of the house without a word of protest. They trudged through the woods for a few minutes. There was a point where they had to step across a very small, weak bridge that led them across a small stream. It was more of a piece of wood than a bridge. Kurt was so used to it that he skipped right over it. Then, he immediately turned around to see how willing Blaine would be to step over it.

"Kurt, that's not steady," Blaine said nervously. Kurt smiled. He thought it was cute when Blaine was nervous.

"You just saw me go over it," Kurt pointed out.

"You're much much lighter than I am," Blaine mentioned.

"Actually, I'm quite a bit taller than you. So, technically, I'm probably not too much lighter than you," Kurt said. He didn't believe it, but he wanted Blaine to feel better. He stepped back onto the board.

"Take my hand and I'll help you across," Kurt offered, extending his hand toward Blaine.

Blaine grabbed Kurt's hand and held on tight. He balanced on the board and slowly made his way over. Kurt backed up until he was off the board. Then, when he was close enough, Blaine dove into Kurt's arms.

"I knew you could do it," Kurt said.

"Don't ever tell anyone how scared I was," Blaine joked. Kurt laughed at him.

"Who would I even tell? Besides my dad."

"Hey. Don't you dare tell Burt. I need to keep my tough guy reputation, even with him," Blaine admitted. Kurt looked at Blaine. He looked from head to toe. His hair was gelled down and he wore his varsity jacket everywhere, with a plain t-shirt underneath. The only time he wasn't wearing his varsity jacket, Kurt saw him wearing a leather jacket. This made Kurt realize that Blaine put on an act. He thought that he had to act tough to be considered cool. Kurt's smile grew as he realized this.

"Why are you smiling? I'm being serious," Blaine said, but he wore a smile as well.

"It's just pretty neat that you have to put on this whole cool kid act with everyone but me. You let me see your true colors. You let everyone else see Mr. Big-Scary-Man. Everyone is under the impression that you'll beat the shit out of them for looking at you wrong, when I know that you wouldn't hurt a fly. It's like our little secret," Kurt admitted to Blaine.

"Are people really scared of me?" Blaine asked, looking proud of himself.

"Once Tina asked me if you were ever arrested. It wasn't until glee club that she knew you were a sweetheart. And I know the whole football team is afraid of you. Not just because they need you on the team. But because they think you'll kill them. That's why they've stopped torturing me so much ever since you moved here," Kurt explained. Blaine was beaming with joy.

"You know, I like the soft side of you better. I like the Blaine Anderson that wear's Kermit pajamas and watches Star Wars every weekend," Kurt informed him.

"Well, good. That side's just for you," Blaine said. This time, it was him who blushed instead of Kurt.

"Let's keep moving," Kurt suggested.

Blaine's hand was still latched with Kurt's. Kurt pretended not to notice, as did Blaine. They walked together hand in hand, Kurt walking slightly ahead of Blaine.

"How much farther? I'm excited," Blaine said.

"We're very close," Kurt assured him.

Their hands were slipping, so Blaine re-grasped Kurt's hand. Kurt blushed, and he felt butterflies. Blaine wanted to hold his hand. Suddenly Kurt remembered that Blaine knew about his crush, and he wondered if Blaine remembered, or if his parent's potential divorce was distracting him too much.

"And, here we are. Blaine, welcome to my secret lake. No one else knows about it," Kurt said. He dropped Blaine's hand to climb into his favorite rock, and Blaine followed. "I come here when I'm upset. It helps me relax. Like I said, no one else knows about it. But, I'm sharing it with you," Kurt explained. Blaine smiled widely.

"Thanks Kurt. It's peaceful here. I love it," Blaine said. They sat next to each other on the large rock. Blaine's arm was up against Kurt's arm. Kurt twisted slightly to face Blaine more. They sat in silence for a few minutes. Kurt listened to Blaine breathe.

"I want to stay like this forever," Blaine admitted.

"Me, too," Kurt replied quietly.

They were leaning on each other, and their breaths were in synch.

"Hey, Kurt?"

"Yeah?"

Blaine turned to look at Kurt. "I wanted to tell you something," Blaine said nervously.

"And what would that be?" Kurt asked.

"About my, um, my thing with Rachel…"

"You mean your date?"

"Well, I wouldn't call it that. But, yeah. I don't want to date her. I mean, she's pretty and lovely. But, she's just not…she's not…"

"She's not what, Blaine?" Kurt asked.

"She's not you," Blaine said. He leaned in a felt his lips connect with Kurt's. It felt warm and safe and loving. Blaine lifted his hand to Kurt's face, and felt the warmth of his blushing cheeks.

Blaine felt Kurt smile during the kiss, and it made him feel like he was floating.

Kurt stopped the kiss, only out of confusion. His head was spinning, in a good way. All of this was too much to process.

He looked at Blaine, waiting for an explanation. Blaine slipped his hand into Kurt's.

"Things weren't going to work out with Rachel," Blaine explained quietly, "because I only wanted to be with you. I thought about you throughout the whole date. And, I thought about you when I wasn't at school today. I thought about you while I was with you," Blaine revealed.

"So, anyway. I'm on the date with Rachel. And she kissed me. It felt like the way it did when I was kissing Quinn. They're fine kissers. But, they don't make me smile the way I smiled when I thought about kissing you," Blaine stated.

"You thought about kissing me?" Kurt questioned.

"All the time," Blaine laughed. "I was scared, though. I was terrified. These feelings are all so new to me. Not just for a boy, but for anyone. I've literally never felt this way for anyone else but you. It's scary," Blaine said.

"You're telling me," Kurt commented. Blaine smiled.

"So, after I got home from the date, I took your notebook out of my backpack, because I was already thinking about you, anyway. So, I opened it to find my name…well, you know. You did write it. And, it made me feel a weird mixture of happy and terrified, which caused me to feel mad. I don't know why. But, I shouldn't have handled it the way that I did, and I'm sorry about that. I'm also sorry I didn't go to school today. But, I woke up crying and I can't break my reputation as a tough guy, you know? But I felt bad because you probably thought I was mad at you or something. But, it was good because then I had a chance to think about my feelings for you all day," Blaine said.

"I'm glad you took that time to figure yourself out, Blaine," Kurt said back.

"It's just hard to admit to myself that I'm…I don't want to say it out loud."

"What? Gay?"

"Sh! Don't say it. I don't want to admit it right now. Whether it's true or not, I don't want to say it," Blaine said.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of Blaine. It's who you are," Kurt mentioned.

"Oh, I know. I don't like labels, anyway. It's not who I am. Blaine is who I am. And you're who I like. That's all that matters," Blaine declared. He made Kurt smile.

"That's perfectly fine with me," Kurt answered.

They sat hand-in-hand for a while without saying anything. They felt comfortable. Everything felt good.