A/N: No pitchforks for this, alright? If you kill me, you will never find out what happens after this, so keep that in mind . Thank you all for such great reviews, and for everyone who put this story on alert.

Kurt POV

Let me just say one thing. Party planning ROCKS! I spent all of yesterday surrounded by menu ideas, decorations, and cute little party favors. This morning was filled with Mercedes, Tina and I all baking a couple dozen chocolate cupcakes decorated with powdered sugar musical notes and singing along with the soundtracks of 5 or 6 major musicals. For the main course, we were just going to order pizza. A part of me rebelled at that thought, but even I had to admit that it would probably be a little much to plan a fancy meal in addition to everything else. So, pizza it was.

My father had been surprisingly cool about the whole thing when I gathered up the courage to ask him last night. He had thought about it for a while, asking twice if it was just going to be the Glee kids, then given his agreement. His agreement had come with one caveat, however. He was willing to trust me, but if this party got out of control and anything was damaged, I would be grounded for two months, and it would be the end of my social life, pitiful thing that it was.

Personally, I think that his easy acquiescence had more to do with the fact that he was using tonight to take Finn's mother out, and he didn't want any opposition from either one of us. Still, I thought he was being pretty great about it all.

"So, everyone is coming at two, right?" Tina was distracted as she tried to hang a banner. Just like always, when she was concentrating on something else, her stutter vanished.

"Yes."

"What time is Finn coming?" She finished it with a little giggle. Ever since she found out about my crush on Finn, she had been teasing me mercilessly.

I didn't think there was anything even remotely funny about the situation. This may or may not have been because I suddenly realized that I had neglected to extend an invitation to the guest of honor. Crap!

"Kurt, you did remember to invite him, didn't you?" The look I was getting from Mercedes told me that she knew I hadn't. "Well, this is a hot mess, now isn't it? Get him on the phone, now."

Luckily, I had his number, so it was a quick thing to pick up my cell. It rang a few times, then his voice came on, sounding grumpy and disoriented. "Hello?"

"Hey." Nerves closed my throat for a minute, long enough for him to know who was calling.

"Hey, Kurt, what's up? Are you coming over today?"

It was a fair question. I had come over to see him almost every day so far, helping him with his homework, or working on our ballads, or just generally hanging out and keeping him company. "Not today. I'm having a Glee party today, and I thought you might want to come. You know, actually see someone other than me? The entire club is coming."

Much to my surprise, he kind of hedged about it. "I don't know…"

"Come on, you have to come." He had spent most of yesterday complaining about the patterns on the wallpaper, until I had finally agreed to take him to the diner, just so he would shut up for a while. He had given me that heart stopping grin and paid for my food, which made it almost as good as a date in my book.

He grunted slightly, but didn't say anything. I decided to try a different tactic. "Ok, why do you not want to come?"

Another soft sigh, and I could almost see him squirming. "It's just that my pills are still making me feel really tired and stuff. I'm falling asleep at like 8 o'clock every night, and I can't drive anyway, because my mom's car is a stick shift and I don't have a right hand. So I wouldn't be able to stay very long, but I wouldn't be able to leave either."

Two things about what he had just said struck me at once. First, he really wanted to come, the longing was obvious in his voice. Second, I had just had an unbelievable opportunity laid at my feet. Now I just had to keep my voice from cracking when I made my suggestion. "How about you pack a bag and just spend the night? That way if you get tired, you can just lay down for a while. Our parents are going to be out most of the night on their date anyway."

There was a long silence, and only the soft sound of his breathing told me that I hadn't lost the connection. "That could work, but where would I sleep?"

"I guess I could let you have my bed for the night. It's in the basement, and no one is going to be allowed down there, so you can have a little peace and quiet. I'll just sleep on the couch."

"Dude, that isn't fair. I can't just throw you out of your own bed. How about I sleep on the couch?"

In other words, Finn was on the hook already. All I had to do was reel him in. Dear God, did I just use a fishing metaphor? Gag, gag, gag. "Finn, the couch is short and you're ridiculously tall. It's easy for me to curl up on it, but you can't. Its fine, I promise."

He grunted again, and I found it a bit disturbing that I could correctly interpret that noise as meaning 'We'll see about that, Kurt'. "I need a ride."

Much as I would have liked to go get him myself, I needed to stay here and finish getting things set up. "I can have Mercedes come get you. She's going to pick Artie up anyway."

"Ok. Are you sure you're cool with me spending the night? I mean, I'm not very much fun these days."

"Of course. Now pack some things, and I'll see you at two." Both Mercedes and Tina had given up any pretense of not listening in at this point. I swear, if it had been possible to pick up an extension, they would have.

"Thanks, Kurt." He hung up before I could say anything else.

I clicked the phone off, triggering both girls to squeal. Mercedes slapped me a high five. "Damn boy, that was smooth! Not only did you get him to come, but you've convinced him to spend the night in your bed. You saucy little minx!"

"T-t-total love whore." Tina couldn't resist adding her piece.

I could feel a blush spreading over my face, which was all too obvious against my pale skin. "Shut up both of you. It was the only way to get him to come, and that's it. Plus, you haven't seen him the past few days. I could all but blast an air raid siren down there and he wouldn't even wake up. Those pills are powerful"

They exchanged looks and both started laughing, though I couldn't see what was so funny. Must be that girl ESP that I desperately wanted but would never have.

Finally, they took pity on me. "Alright, this place is decorated, the food is ready, and if you make me rearrange one more thing, I will run your pasty white ass up a flagpole myself. Kurt, go take a shower and do whatever you need to to make yourself pretty for Finn today. Tina, you stay here and act like a good hostess, I'm going to go get Finn and Artie."

I appreciated the chance to get ready because, let's face it, looking this good takes a lot of effort. There were scrubs and moisturizers and a million other things that caused my father to make a baffled face whenever he was forced to use my bathroom. He was of the opinion that you needed some soap (the kind that came in a bar, not the kind that poured out of a bottle) and a bottle of cheap shampoo and that was it. Conditioner might be alright, but it was still a little suspect in his book.

Lima is a tiny little town, and it wouldn't take long for Mercedes to get Finn and Artie. Usually, I would have sent Tina, but there's something wrong between her and Artie right now and I'm not quite sure what it is. For a while, they were getting really close, but now they won't even look at each other. I puzzled over it the entire time I was in the shower and choosing my clothing. Red, again, because I hadn't quite gotten the chance to dazzle Finn last time like I had wanted to. Tonight was going to be the night, I knew it.

I was putting on my anti wrinkle cream when the doorbell rang for the first time. Voices sounded down the stairs, and I rushed through putting on my clothes. A critical once over determined that I looked pretty darn good, considering the amount of time I had been given to get ready.

The first two to arrive were Mike and Matt, both of whom were trying to conceal bottles of alcohol under their jackets. I rolled my eyes, but even I knew that there was no way to stop them. "Just put in one of the punch bowls, ok? Some of us have to drive home, and Finn can't have any alcohol with the medication he's taking."

I wasn't 100% sure it was true, but it sounded plausible enough that I was convinced that they would obey my wishes. I led them into the living room, smiling a little at their whoops of joy when they saw the chips and cupcakes. Matt thumped my shoulder. "This is awesome, Kurt!"

Usually, I was disdainful of the other guys, but it was nice to feel like part of the team instead of the token little gay boy that they used to score field goals and hazed whenever the mood struck them.

Before I could say anything else, Brittany and Santana arrived. Britt wasn't wearing her unitard, something that left me surprisingly disappointed. Sure, she wasn't the smartest model on the catwalk, but I couldn't help but love her for all that she was. "Hi, you two."

"Where's the music?" Britt cocked her head, looking exactly like one of those adorable little dogs that gets carried around in a purse. You know, the kind with bows in its topknot and nothing in its head.

"Probably in the living room. Why don't you go set something up?" Santana's voice was hard, but held something that even I could understand. She loved Britt, whether she realized it or not.

"Ok. Oh, Puck's not coming. I told him that he wasn't allowed to, because Finn is, and he made Finn cry." Brittany had paused in the doorway.

"You just came right out and told him that?" I was shocked at her audacity, though I supposed I probably shouldn't have been. After all, this was a girl who had survived two years of Sue Sylvester and not had every bit of goodness shamed out of her.

"Of course. Finn's mom is my mom's friend, so we kind of grew up together. Then I stopped growing, but he didn't, which is kind of strange." She stopped there, apparently having confused herself. "Anyway, I told him that if he came, I would tell everyone he was bad in bed."

She gave us all a lazy grin. "He's not. Actually, he's really, really good in bed, but I lied."

I needed to get her alone, so I could find out exactly what she knew. "Come on, I'll show you where the music is."

As soon as we were out of earshot, I turned to her. "Why would you think Puck made Finn cry?"

"Oh, I heard my mom talking on the phone with his mom, and Carol told Mom that Finn told her he was crying about Puck, but not why. She was really sad."

So there was no chance that she would blurt out the truth in front of everyone. Hopefully we could still get out of this evening intact. "Wait, how did you know what Carol was saying?"

"Oh, I was listening in on the extension."

"Why?" I didn't mean to sound accusatory, I was just genuinely curious.

She shrugged. "I thought she might be talking to Santa and telling him what I wanted for Christmas. Then I could know what I was getting early."

That begged more questions, but talking to Britt was a lot like being Alice and getting tossed into Wonderland. Nothing ever made sense, and it was stupid to even try and figure it out. I decided to just cut my losses and show her the music. "Just pick whatever you want."

By the time I made it back to the kitchen, Madonna was blasting out of the speakers, and Britt had drug both Matt and Mike into dancing with her. Santana chuckled and joined them, focusing more on a sensual dance with Britt then having anything to do with the boys. Not that they seemed to mind. Actually, they were both staring with open mouths and glazed eyes, cupcakes forgotten.

My phone beeped, telling me that I had a text and distracting me from the primitive orgy happening in my living room. Here with Finn and Artie, need help ASAP

With his injured arm, Finn wasn't going to be able to help Artie out of the car like he usually would. I called Matt and Mike out of the living room to help, noticing how reluctantly they both came. They liked Artie, though, and were good sports about it.

I peeked out the window as everyone came back inside. Finn was ambling along, gesturing with his good hand as he tried to explain something to Mercedes. He was wearing that long sleeved shirt that I really liked, the one that was grey with the thin green stripes. It worked really well with his skin tone.

"Kurt, d-down boy." Tina gave me a quick poke before I embarrassed myself.

Even now, Finn looked tired. He had special pills that were supposed to help him sleep at night, but I knew the pain was keeping him up. He wouldn't tell Carol, though, because he didn't want her to worry about him. It was sweet. Stupid and self destructive, but sweet none the less.

As soon as he saw me, he smiled. And not just a little smile either. It was the sort of full on grin that he usually reserved for busty cheerleaders and all you can eat buffets. Tina snorted. "He's got it bad."

I loved both Tina and Mercedes with all my heart, but they were about as inexperienced as I was in the romance department. They might want Finn to want me, because it would be so romantic if he did, but that didn't mean that he actually did want me.

It didn't help her case when Finn bounded in the door and gave me an enthusiastic one armed hug. "Hi, Kurt! No way, did you make cupcakes? Can I have one? Where should I put my stuff?"

He was so high on his pain pills that he was all but hitting his head on the ceiling. It was an eerie reminder of when Mr. Shuester's wife had given us that vitamin D, only this time it was actually alright for him to take them. The only problem was, I had become very closely in tune with Finn and his pills over the past few days. When he got all lively like this, he was taking the maximum dose, which meant he was having a hard day as far as pain went. Normally, it wouldn't be a big deal, but he tended to crash hard when he took that dose. Good thing I had already asked him to spend the night.

Still, his enthusiasm was catching, and I found myself laughing along with him. "Yes, I made cupcakes, yes you can have one, and you can take your stuff down to the basement, it's the first door on the right."

"Cool, cool, cool." He grabbed a cupcake on the way, somehow managing to cram the entire thing in his mouth. Note the lack of a gag reflex, Kurt. This one's a keeper!

My face burned for the second time today. Galinda was a sex crazed manic, and her observations were embarrassing, not to mention more then a little arousing. Luckily, Finn was already gone, his footsteps echoing down the stairs. I forced myself to calm down, running some cold water over my wrists.

Oh, please, I'm a sex crazed manic? Face it, Sweetheart, I'm you. Not that I blame you at all, Finn is hot. But don't blame me for your own reaction.

A pair of hands seized my shoulders. I jumped and turned to the side, coming face to face with Brit, who was grinning at me. "Come on and dance with us Kurt, we need another guy."

She and Santana certainly hadn't needed a guy a few minutes ago, but it was hard to say no to her. Even though she was taller then I was, she let me twirl her and even do a few fancy dips. Finn reappeared and danced with Santana. He was more content to let her lead, which probably had as much to do with Finn's lack of dancing skills as it did with his current lack of a right hand.

We kept our partners for two songs, before Britt and Santana decided that they would rather dance with each other again. The logical thing would have been for me to ask Finn to dance with me, but I was on my way to rapidly wussing out.

Man up, Kurt. He's so stoned he would probably dance with Puck if he were here. Look how cute he is, with that dopey smile and big brown eyes. Just ask the boy, he's not going to offer.

"Come on, Kurt Hummel." Finn was holding out a hand to me, a playful look in his eyes.

Or maybe he will. Still think the boy's 100% straight?

I told Galinda to go fuck herself and gratefully took Finn's hand. Much to my disappointment, it wasn't a slow song, though he probably wouldn't have asked if it had been. Still, beggars can't be choosers, now can they?

There were a few minutes of awkwardness, as we both tried to figure out where to put our hands (all three of them) and feet, but we got it in the end. Finn was fine with letting me lead, which surprised me a little. I would have thought he would slam me into the female role, just to assert how absolutely not gay this was. But then, a lot of things about Finn Hudson were starting to surprise me.

We danced through three songs, both of us loosing up as time passed. I started letting him spin me, which was a lot more fun when you were the one spinning then it was when you were the spinner. Every turn brought me up against his chest, then back out to arms length. There was the perfect size difference between us, making me feel safe, but not like an Oompa-Loompa standing next to him. Not to mention that orange skin tone would do nothing but clash with my hair.

The music abruptly slowed, and I drew back, not sure of what Finn would think. He had already gone further then I would have thought possible, and if things stopped here, I would still have a great memory of us dancing together.

Finn, too, seemed confused, that little forehead wrinkle appearing like magic. His mental gears tended to turn slowly, and the song could be over before he came to any sort of conclusion.

"Mind if I cut in?" The voice was all too familiar. Damn Rachael Berry and her impeccable sense of timing! With any other person, in any other situation, I might have admired her ability to smoothly work her way in, but she was screwing up my chance to slow dance with Finn. I glared evilly at her, which made her smirk in response.

"Sure." He gave me an over exaggerated bow. "Until next time, good sir."

Ok, stoned Finn was officially the cutest thing ever. Once he got like this, he was totally himself, free of any expectations that everyone else seemed to heap on him. The worries about grades, and Glee, and Drizzle just melted away, and he was totally Finn, not to mention oh so sexy.

I laughed a little and bowed back. "I'm so glad you made it Rachael." Hands off my man, bitch.

She adjusted herself, draping her body all over Finn's. "I wouldn't miss it for the world." Watch this, girly boy.

I really didn't want to watch her all but dry hump him in my living room, so I gave a lazy shrug and went back into the kitchen to get myself a drink. Mike had left the empty vodka bottle next to the bowl he had spiked, which put me in a rather interesting position. On the one hand, I had a very clear memory of the infamous April Rhodes incident, where I got drunk and puked all over Ms. Pillsbury's shoes. Well, they were ugly anyway. Actually, her entire outfit had screamed 'old cat lady', which hadn't helped my nausea at all. The last thing I wanted to do was repeat that experience.

On the other hand, Rachael Berry might end up in a shallow grave behind my house if I didn't get something to take the edge off. I was pretty sure that vodka was the stuff that you couldn't really taste, so I needed to very carefully monitor not only my own drinking, but everybody else's. My father had been quite clear that if anyone got drunk, they needed to stay at the house, and I wanted it to be just Finn and I, preferably naked.

I grabbed a drink and headed back in to the living room. It was way too quiet in there, and I was a little bit afraid of what might be going on. The Glee kids were a generally good bunch, but silence almost always meant something was up.

As it turned out, everyone was gathered around Finn, admiring the surgical incision on his arm. I had yet to actually see it, so I took a peek as well, finding it just as disgusting as I had thought it would be. The incision itself was much longer then I thought it would be, nearly six inches, and a row of shiny staples held it closed. "Pretty gnarly, dude." Matt sounded totally impressed.

"Yeah, I think it's going to leave a pretty cool scar."

Ug, what was it with men and the desire to disfigure themselves? I would have already had a plastic surgeon on call, and been back under the knife as soon as I got the medical ok.

Finn poked lightly at the staples. "One of them fell out last night, and my mother about threw up. It was great."

Artie gave a low whistle and ran his finger across the line of metal. "When do you get them removed?"

"Monday." Finn leaned back, reveling in being the center of attention. "I wonder if they'll let me keep them?"

"Finn that is positively repulsive. Do you have any idea how many millions of germs are on those things per square centimeter?" Rachael's voice was indulgent, but incredibly patronizing. It was the way she usually talked to him.

He gave a disinterested shrug. "So what? I'll dip them in alcohol. Speaking of alcohol, do we have any?"

Mike gave him a high five. "Vodka in the punch, dude!"

"Awesome!"

Rachael's face contorted in an attempt to choke back another lecture. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… "How many times have I told you that alcohol abuse by minors is one of the leading causes of death in young adults? You could be in a car wreck, have some other sort of accident, corrode your liver, or just plain lead to a lifetime of alcohol abuse and despair. Why don't I make you a virgin drink?"

Why doesn't she serve it to him in a baby bottle also? Good God, she's all but cut his balls off already. Run, Finn, run! Kurt has plans for those balls later.

I sniggered to myself at Galinda's comments. This might well be what Rachael had been referring to yesterday when she said I was nasty and bitchy.

Finn narrowed his eyes. "I don't want a virgin drink. I want the punch with vodka in it." He wasn't whining at all, his tone suddenly adult and not allowing for any argument.

Damn he looks good when he takes control.

For once, the pair of us were in total agreement. "I'll get one for you. Everyone decide what they want on the pizza, and I'll order it in a few minutes."

He cocked his head at her. "See, Kurt loves me and wants me to be happy."

"I'm sure he does." Her tone was dry, but true to her word, she didn't say any of the scathing and catty remarks that were undoubtedly floating around in her head.

I left the room, listening to the suddenly spirited argument about toppings with only half an ear. Finn and Mike both wanted pepperoni and extra cheese, and were going by the toddler theory that the person yelling the loudest would get their way.

There must have been something to the theory after all, though, because in the time it took me to pour Finn a drink and bring it back, they had settled on two pepperoni with extra cheese, two plain cheese, one vegetarian, and one with everything. There didn't seem to be any hurt feelings, and everyone had moved on to discussing Sectionals and which numbers would sound the best. I gave Finn the glass, which made him chuckle for some reason. "How come everyone has airplane cups but me?"

Normally, I would have asked what he meant, but this time I was sure that by 'everybody', he actually meant 'Rachael', and I refused to think about her serving him anything, whether it was in an airplane cup or not.

Our debate over the music lasted until the food arrived, at which point we had decided to go with Proud Mary and Don't Stop Believing. The ballad was still up for debate, with Rachael arguing for something in her range, and Mercedes insisting she had the perfect song. I decided to throw my hat in the ring. "Well, I want to do Defying Gravity."

Rachael rolled her eyes. "Kurt, there's no way you could possibly be ready in time. Training to hit a high F requires weeks, if not months, and even if you can do it in practice, you'll probably choke in competition. You just haven't had my level of experience."

No she didn't! Get her, Kurt, get her! I gave her a sickly sweet smile. "Oh, I don't know about that. I think I'm pretty damn good in a competition."

"I'll bet Kurt can do it." Luckily, Finn stopped there, not letting everyone else know that I could already hit the note. "He doesn't strike me as the type to choke."

Damn my pale skin, because I could feel myself turning red. Finn hadn't meant it sexually, but it was putting all sorts of images in my head, images that had no business being there.

Rachael glared at both of us, making me smirk and Finn shrug. I noticed that he had only eaten two slices of pizza, which was unusual. Between him and Puck, I had seen them eat an entire large pizza, then an order of hot wings, followed by two slices of pie. I caught his eye. "You tired?" I tried not to sound like I was babying him. That was Rachael's fatal mistake, and I wasn't going to repeat it.

Really, there was no need to ask. I knew Finn by now, and I could read the answer in his shadowy eyes and strangely slow movements. "I guess. Can I go downstairs?"

"Yeah, come on." I glanced around, but no one seemed to be paying us much attention. They were back to arguing choreography and song arrangement.

"Finn, do you need a ride home? I have to get going anyway. Those myspace videos aren't going to post themselves, and I need at least 9 hours of sleep per night to maintain my complexion."

My breath caught. Finn probably would prefer to go home with her, which would ruin my plans for the evening. Rachael Berry was managing to ruin my night, without even knowing she was doing it.

"Nah, I'm spending the night here. Thanks for the offer, though." Finn yawned heavily. "I'll see you Monday."

Mercedes stood to see Rachael out, and I led Finn down to the basement. "I'll turn on the heater for you, but it takes a while to warm up down here. There's an extra blanket on the bed if you get cold."

His brow wrinkled, and I knew he was getting ready to pick a fight over his occupying the bed again, so I cut him off. "You can sleep there for now. I'll take it back tonight if it's that big of a deal to you, but there's no reason for you to be uncomfortable right now."

He didn't have a comeback for that, so he nodded instead. "Alright, I guess. Can you wake me up at 10, so I can take my antibiotic? It would suck if my arm got infected and rotted off"

"Sure." I turned my back while he slipped into an old T-shirt and pair of pajama pants. "Do you need anything else?"

"Nah, I'm good." He climbed under the covers and closed his eyes. I turned out the light, and was almost to the stairs before he spoke again. "Hey, Kurt?"

"Yeah?" Hopefully he would want a kiss goodnight.

"No one can come down here, right? You aren't going to let anyone draw on me or shave my eyebrows off?" There was genuine worry in his voice.

He needed some more mature friends. "I won't let anyone do that."

"Great." He snuggled down under the blanket, his breathing growing slow almost instantly.

There was nothing left for me to do here, and even I had to admit that it would be creepy if I stood there and stared at him while he was trying to sleep, so I made my way back to the party. Mike was trying to teach Matt and Britt how to pop and lock, something that wasn't going over very well. Britt was actually doing pretty well, probably as a result of all that training that the Cheerio's had to endure, but Matt was laughing too hard to get it, and that made everyone else laugh, too.

Mike rolled his eyes at both of them. "Kurt, why don't you try?"

Not in a million years. I chuckled at him and shook my head. "No way."

"Come on, K-Kurt, the rest of us already tried." Tina looked a little flushed and giggly, and I made a mental note to make sure Mercedes took her home tonight.

"I want to see you do it first." She had to be lying, right?

As it turned out Tina was not lying about having already attempted to pop and lock. As it also turned out, she wasn't half bad at it. Sure, she stumbled a bit, and Mike had to call out instructions, but with a little practice, she could be really good.

Now that she had demonstrated, however, I had no choice but to try myself. I watched Mike give a slow motion demonstration, which was more than enough to let me know that there was no way I could do this. I tried, though, my awkward movements making everyone laugh. Sorry, girls, but this outfit is designer and I'm not going to risks stretching or tearing it just for my pride.

We hung out for a while longer, before everyone started saying goodnight. Mercedes and Tina were going to help me clean up the mess, even though I insisted that they didn't have to. We chatted about light stuff, too tired to delve much deeper. Party planning might rock, but it wore you out.

Tina was right in the middle of a discourse about how strict her mother was, when Mercedes looked past me and smiled. "Hey, White Boy."

I jumped, and turned around. Finn was leaning against the doorframe, looking sleepy and adorably rumpled. He gave us all a wide eyed look. "Did I miss the rest of the party?"

"It broke up about an hour ago." Tina made it through the entire sentence without stuttering, which was a rarity for her. "How are you feeling?"

"Ok." He rubbed at his eyes, trying to focus better.

God he's cute. I can definitely see the appeal.

Finn stretched absently, causing his T-shirt to pull up over his stomach and all three of us to gasp. Damn, he looked good. "How about I help you clean up then? I mean, I'm totally took over your bed and everything, it's the least I can do."

"Works for us. Come on Tina." The smaller girl looked like she might try to protest, but Mercedes pulled her along. "We have girl things to discuss."

By 'girl things', she meant that she and Tina were planning on leaving so they could give Finn and I some privacy. What had sounded wonderful two hours ago suddenly seemed daunting in reality. I shot her a pleading look that she understood instantly, and ignored completely. "Bye Kurt, don't forget to call me tomorrow."

She'd be lucky if I ever talked to her again. Luckily, Finn was as oblivious as always. He was scouting around the kitchen for abandoned cupcakes, not paying the rest of us the slightest bit of attention. I took advantage of his distraction to mouth 'please' at them. Tina seemed swayed, but Mercedes gave her her patented diva look, and she backed down.

Finn had found the last two cupcakes and a cold soda, which he started in on happily. "You want a bite?" He held out a half-eaten cupcake.

"Please, do you know how many calories are in one of those?"

"Nope, and I don't want to." He popped the rest of the cupcake in his mouth. "'Kay, where are your trash bags? It's actually not as filthy in here as the parties I usually go to."

Wow, he actually did plan on helping clean, instead of just watching me do it. "Under the sink."

Since I had two working hands, I held the trash bag open while Finn picked up the empty soda cans and paper plates that littered every surface in the kitchen and living room. With both of us working, it didn't take long before the place was decently clean. It still needed to be swept and vacuumed, but that could wait until tomorrow. I tossed the last Coke can in the bag and let Finn tie it closed. When he leaned down, he was close to my level, and I felt the electricity crackle between us again. He straightened up, then paused, not moving away.

Screw waiting and luring him in. You missed your last chance, Kurt, and if you miss this one too, you might as well give up totally.

I really liked it when Galinda and I agreed on stuff. Ever so softly, I stretched up on my tiptoes and wrapped my arms around Finn's neck. He shuffled a little, drawing even closer. My eyes met his for the briefest of seconds and he nodded minutely. It seemed that our every motion had shrunk to the smallest possible twitch. Finn didn't struggle at all when I finally pulled him down to we were face to face. A sudden surge of bravery overtook me, and I pressed my lips to his.