Baby, It's Cold Outside...

There was something about that song. Blaine didn't really know why he loved it so much, but he was starting to when he looked at the boy sitting, well more like leaning, next to him. There was a glint in Kurt's blue eyes that Blaine had never really seen before. Sure, he only originally asked Kurt to help him rehearse for the piece because he knew the young man was more than capable at hitting the high notes built in to the traditionally female half of the duet, but after actually performing the song with him, there was something there, a feeling much stronger than he thought one little song was going to garner.

He looked away quickly and let out a short laugh, vaguely disguising it as a cough, trying to divert his attention away from his friend's glances. Time and time again Blaine had told himself that he would not let the better half of his heart interfere with the friendship he'd been building with Kurt. He knew Kurt needed a confidant more than anything right now, and as much as he wanted to admit he liked the boy, he wanted Kurt to do things on his own time.

"I think you're ready," Kurt said knowingly, a grin on his face.

Blaine smiled and nodded his head a bit. "Well, for the record," he said as he stood, mulling the words over in his brain. "You are much better than that girl's gonna be." He looked over at Kurt who had a sheepish grin on his face. He was going to say more, but he knew that if he didn't leave within the next few minutes he was going to be late for the event that sparked the impromptu rehearsal in the first place.

Plus, looming in the doorway of the heavily wood-paneled study was Mr. Schuester, Kurt's former Glee club instructor, and what Blaine could tell, a mentor to Kurt in his own way. He gave the man a quick smile and a nod hello before exiting the room. He turned to head down one of the long corridors of Dalton's maze-like infrastructure but held back when he heard the laughter of the two men.

"Mr. Schuester," he could hear Kurt say, joy ringing from his voice— a tone that Blaine wasn't that used to hearing, actually. He knew that Kurt wanted to be at Dalton, but he also knew that the transition between schools was hard. He had been in Kurt's shoes not too long ago, and he knew that shifting to an almost utopian place like Dalton would take a lot of time getting used to.

As Blaine quietly tip-toed back closer to the room he could hear the young teacher catching up with his former student. "Good to see you, Kurt." There was a pause. Blaine wished he could be a fly on the wall watching the way the two were conducting themselves instead of just hearing the conversation. He knew Kurt was one of those people that tended to let his mannerisms do the talking from time to time, so he could only imagine the unsaid conversations that were being had. He also knew that what he was doing was wrong, but he was curious. Especially if Mr. Schuester had come to tell Kurt how much the group missed him and wanted him back.

However, what he heard next was not expected at all. He caught the sound of Mr. Schuester letting out a long sigh. "Someone special?" Blaine blinked, becoming all too aware that the conversation was turning to the subject of himself.

Blaine didn't know whether he should stay and listen to Kurt's response or run away as fast as he could without making any noise. On one hand, things could become very awesome for the two boys, but on the other, things could become extremely awkward. And quite frankly, Blaine wasn't sure he was ready for either side of the situation to unfold. He prepared himself to run when Kurt's words cut off his ability to do so.

"No, just a friend," he said quickly with a sigh, causing the dark-haired boy in the hallway to frown. He didn't think those words would hit him so hard, but when Kurt actually said them, he could feel his heart sinking in his chest. He didn't even want to hear whatever else Kurt had to say, so he swiftly made his way out of earshot of the study.

Besides, he was going to be late for his performance anyway.

The next day, Blaine found it very hard to focus on anything happening around him. He was too trapped in his thoughts; Kurt's voice chiming, "No, just a friend." was on constant repeat. He couldn't even laugh at Wes and David's normal banter.

"Okay, something is seriously wrong," David finally commented when Blaine paid no attention to his story about how he fell down the stairs on the way to lunch. Blaine always laughed at David's clumsy tendencies.

"I'd have to agree," Wes noted, looking over at his dear friend who was staring blankly into space. They were already a good ten minutes into lunch and Blaine hadn't even touched his food, though there really wasn't much on his plate. Just an apple actually. "What is going on, bro?"

No response. "Yo, Blaine. We're trying to talk to you," David said, raising his voice a bit before turning to Wes. "It's useless. He has officially left the planet."

"Hey guys." The familiar chime of Kurt's voice called from across the room and soon he found himself sitting across from Mister Oblivious. "Blaine, are you okay?" he asked, noticing his friend's odd state immediately.

The sound of Kurt's voice brought the boy back to reality and he looked at him, melancholy in his eyes at first, but he quickly masked his disappointment with a half grin and a nod. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just tired. The Christmas Spectacular went longer than I was expecting it to," he lied. "So I was up later than I thought doing homework."

"Sure," Wes and David said in unison before punching each other. "You keep telling yourself that," Wes continued.

"No really," the dark-haired boy defended. "It was a long night."

Kurt seemed to believe him, and was satisfied with his answer. He knew that Blaine had been working hard on this performance, and he also knew that he probably did an excellent job. "How was it? Your performance, I mean."

Blaine focused his attention on the boy sitting across from him. He wanted to tell him what he had overheard him say last night, but he knew that would only cause more problems. In due time, he would get over it and everything would be back to normal (at least as normal as it could be), and until then he was sure he could get away with the little white lie he was telling to cover up his true feelings. "It went well," he answered. "The crowd loved us, but you really were better than the girl I sang with. A bit too pitchy for my liking."

"More like having one too many X chromosomes for your liking," David joked, causing Blaine to shoot daggers at him with his eyes.

"Oh come on man, you totally set yourself up for that one," Wes defended.

"I'm sorry." Blaine sighed. "I'm just not in the mood for this right now. I think I'm just going to go back to my room and catch up on some sleep during my free period." With that he stood up, and headed out of the lunch room, leaving his apple and his Physics book it was resting on.

Kurt quickly grabbed the book and followed after his friend. "Blaine, wait up," he called down the hall, running to catch up. "You forgot your book."

Blaine couldn't help but smile when he took the book from the young man standing across from him. He knew Kurt cared for him, just not in the way he wanted. "Thanks Kurt," he said weakly. Just being in the same room as him was being to become too emotionally draining. "No, just a friend." becoming louder and louder in his head by the minute.

"Are you sure everything is okay?" Kurt asked, looking down ever so slightly at the boy that he could swear only viewed him as a friend. Though Kurt had only known him for a short time, he was developing feelings for Blaine that he couldn't explain. Feelings that he was wary to feel so quickly, especially considering his track record. "You seem more out of it than normal. I've seen you tired, Blaine. That was basically the week prior to sectionals. This is more than that."

"I just have a lot on my mind." He wasn't lying when he said that, he just wasn't being as specific as he knew Kurt was hoping. "I just need to go rest," he repeated as he began to ascend the stairs to the living quarters.

Kurt reached his hand out and grabbed Blaine's wrist to stop him. A surge of electricity ran up Blaine's spine as he turned to face the boy. "Blaine, tell me what's going on, you know you can tell me anything."

Blaine let out a deep sigh. He knew he had to tell Kurt what he'd overheard last night. Their friendship wouldn't be the same if they weren't honest with each other. Blaine also knew that their friendship wasn't going to be the same after telling him, but it was a risk he knew he had to take. "Fine, you really want me to tell you?" he questioned, knowing the answer. Kurt nodded. "I kind of overheard you talking last night... to Mr. Schuester."

The color quickly drained from Kurt's face as his eyes became the size of small planets. "Oh," he gaped.

"I... I didn't mean to," the dark-haired boy confessed. "You just sounded so happy when he came to see you. I just wanted to know what was making you that happy so I could maybe help you later. I know you don't really fit in here yet. I was hoping to get a clue as to what will make you fit in better."

Kurt narrowed his eyes. "So you were eavesdropping in hopes to make me happier later?" he inquired, not sure if he should be flattered or offended.

"I know it's lame, and I shouldn't have done it. I was just curious."

"I understand, but this really doesn't explain why you've been on a completely different planet, Blaine." The light-haired boy made a very valid point and Blaine was all too aware of it.

"That's not what did it. It's when you told him that we were just friends," Blaine admitted slowly. "I just, I couldn't handle that. I thought we were getting to a point where it was obviously more than that. I sang that song with you. And you were so into it. I felt like it was real. I've been trying so hard to be a friend to you, but it hasn't been easy when I want more than that. Plus, Wes and David have been saying that you were interested, and I was dumb enough to believe them. I knew I shouldn't have believed them."

Kurt's eyes grew again, along with a subtle smirk, "Really?" he practically whispered, taking a step back before looking Blaine square in the eyes. "Is that all you heard?"

Blaine nodded, his eyes focused on the floor. "I couldn't handle listening to anything else you said after that."

Kurt took a step forward, filling in the gap he had just created between the two. "Then you didn't hear me tell Mr. Schu that I was practically in love with you," Kurt announced, his cheeks getting warm because he couldn't believe that he was actually telling Blaine this.

"You what?" It was now Blaine whose eyes were getting bigger by the second as he looked up at Kurt, whose smirk was now undeniable. "You do?"

"I do."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Blaine questioned, stepping to make the gap between them even smaller.

"I was afraid you didn't feel the same way back. I don't really have the best luck in this department." Kurt laughed anxiously as Blaine rested his forehead on his own. Without another word, Blaine pulled back slowly before ducking in to press his lips lightly against Kurt's. He wanted Kurt to make the first move, but as the two stood there, lips connected, he knew that he had made the right decision. Besides, Kurt's lips were so soft and sweet, just as Blaine imagined they would be. As they pulled apart, Kurt grinned. "But I guess I was wrong about that," he admitted.

Blaine beamed and let out a little chuckle. "Oh, believe me Kurt. You were very wrong about that."