Hello! I'm sorry this update took longer than most. I've been having my traditional 'after the fourth chapter oh crap what do I do next' writer's block. It's a sad, sad curse. Plus, there's finals next week because my school likes to mess with my head. But you don't care about that! I managed to write most of this in class today, so it's not much, but whatever!

Unfortunately, I cannot buy Glee at the moment to obtain the Michael Jackson episode. Shucks.

Kurt clicked his pen nervously in his hand.

"So… You set the exponents equal to each other." he said slowly, more of a question than a statement. Blaine chuckled a little before taking the pen from Kurt and writing the steps of the problem out.

"No," he said as he wrote. "You have to reduce the base first so they're equal." Kurt nodded, his eyes trained on the answer Blaine had just summoned. "You have no idea what I just did, do you?"

"Not one clue," Kurt sighed. Blaine studied him for a moment before dropping the pen and leaning back in his chair.

"What's your deal?" he said, not in a harsh way, but more confused. "From what I gather, you used to be a fantastic student. This shouldn't be that hard."

"It isn't by itself. What makes it hard are the dance routines and songs and backflips being repeatedly crammed in my head along with it. It's a lot to take in."

"Then why are you in Cheerios? It doesn't seem like it'd be that fun with Miss Sylvester constantly screaming at you," Blaine said. "And if it's affecting your grades, it doesn't seem like it'd be worth it."

"That's just it, though. It is worth it. The ability to walk down the hallway with everyone at your feet. That's what it's all for," Kurt murmured.

"You're lying," Blaine stated.

"What?" Kurt asked, surprised with the bluntness of the words.

"There's no way this is about being at the top of the school," Blaine continued. "I can see Santana, Brittany, Puck, even Rachel doing something like that. Not you, though."

"And what gives you the right to assume you know me?"

"Because I was you once." Kurt felt his jaw slacken when those words left Blaine's mouth.

"Explain," he demanded.

"In middle school, Blaine Berry was synonymous with cool," Blaine said. "Captain of the football team, likable guy, ladies' man."

"But you're-"

"They didn't know that," Blaine explained, reading Kurt's thoughts. "As far as they knew, I was straight as an arrow." He hesitated before continuing. "I was just trying to survive. It wasn't exactly fun to be slammed around on a football field by guys twice my size due to my long-awaited - but disappointing - growth spurt." This earned a chuckle. "I didn't like going out with girls, kissing them… And I didn't enjoy putting others through what I was trying to avoid. I know that you probably feel the same way," Blaine finished before standing up, his bag slung over his shoulder. "See you after school."

Kurt remained stunned as he watched the exit Blaine had just used, wondering how the geek never failed to leave him breathless.

"Exactly how true is the anecdote your brother has just given me?" Kurt asked Rachel before their last class.

"May I ask what this story was about?"

"Middle school. Blaine. Popular. Straight."

"Yes, yes, yes, and as straight as a gay man with a love of fashion can pretend to be," Rachel answered simply.

"And how did that morph into what we have now?"

"One, I'm liking the 'we'. Two, I can't exactly tell you. It's not my information to give," she stated, staring down the hallway. Kurt followed her gaze and was met with a goofy smile framed by glasses and a bowtie.

Yay! So because I know there are a lot of typical ways this prompt can go, I'm trying to spin it around. Interesting yet? Aw dang, no Santana this chapter. Boo. Wait, I wrote it. Whoops. For some reason, Blaine won't be as nerdy as I want him to be. Dang him and his boyish charm.