Did anyone else notice the look on Kurt's face when Blaine mentioned how he had changed his life for him? Not to mention how Sam and Mike were throwing looks at the couple during their performances? Here's my little one-shot to add to the bunch of 'Dance with Somebody' fics that have already been added to the site.
I'm part of the fan base that doesn't understand why Blaine was made to be a year behind Kurt, when they seemed to both be juniors in season 2. Now, Kurt and Blaine are my favorite characters, but if you've seen every episode, especially from season 3, you've probably noticed that continuity is something that's forgotten about. In this story, my take is that because Blaine has been in at least three schools in at least three years (original school, Dalton, McKinley) there was bound to be missing courses that would affect his student status, but had he just stayed at Dalton, where everything appears accelerated, he would've been fine.
Also, most people noticed how oblivious Blaine was to Kurt in season 2, so there has to be a point where Kurt gets to be a little dumb too. Chandler comes off, to me, as a little crazy but harmless - did we not notice Kurt's face at being asked for his number? In DWS, Blaine's reaction to Kurt's explanation for the texts makes sense; he's jealous and hurt. But for Kurt to get this kind of attention for once, unlike Blaine who can get it from both boys and girls without trying, it was about time that Kurt got an admirer, even if it's only for an episode.
And to the reviewer who wanted to put words in my mouth: I never said that Blaine transferred for Kurt. In PPP, Kurt asks him flat out why he did it, with Blaine's response being that he "did it for himself because he couldn't stand to be apart from the person he loved". So for him to throw his transfer like that out in the middle of an argument makes it seem as if that one act should define his love for Kurt. And I am aware that the Sebastian fiasco was different than the Chandler one, but again, things that are said in the heat of the moment, are usually said to cause hurt and frustration to the other person.
For me, this one-shot happened because I made a random connection between dialogue and expressions that happened in PPP and DWS. In case you've forgotten this is FANFICTION, which means that anything and everything is possible. You can follow canon to the letter or create an AU. You have a problem with that? Go find a forum somewhere and stop bringing down people for writing STORIES, and I'm speaking on behalf of everyone on this site that has to deal with flamers or that one person that makes writers doubt themselves. If you liked the way a scene or episode was written, you shouldn't read fics that state in the summary that it's an alternate take on a said situation.
::sigh:: I apologize to those of you that just want to read the story, so please excuse my rant. I hope that a couple things have been cleared up or explained. Thank you for the favorites and the reviews that I have already received for this - it's awesome to wake up to an inbox full of alerts.
Disclaimer: Still don't own Glee. Some of the dialogue is taken verbatim from the episodes 'The Purple Piano Project' and 'Dance With Somebody' – I just needed to borrow it for a bit.
**edit: I never thought I'd get one, let alone two, reviews that mentioned my use of the word 'thru' instead of 'through'. I didn't realize that people had a real issue with it. Sometimes when I write, I don't notice that I have slipped into 'text type'. Normally I catch it, but like many of us, if it doesn't automatically get tagged in Word - even after I read it over three times - it will be ignored. So I went ahead and changed each 'thru' to 'through'. Hope that makes some of you happy. If it didn't bother you, or you didn't notice it to begin with, then you can just ignore this.
Summary: "I transferred schools to be with you! I changed my whole life for you!" As soon as Blaine said that, he knew he had made a mistake.
If I'm the cheater, then you're the liar
"This is cheating Kurt."
"This is texting. He's just a guy I met at the music store. Nothing happened. You used to text Sebastian all the time. You would call him even."
"But I didn't like him and all of those texts were family friendly ... You like this guy."
"Blaine, listen to me! You don't know the whole story!"
"What story could I possibly be missing, Kurt? You've been texting him for two days, and if the last three are anything to go by…"
"That's what you're missing Blaine! If you knew why he was texting me that stuff -"
"There is no reason for why he's texting you flirty texts. You and I are supposed to send each other flirty texts -"
"And you haven't been texting me! You've been so distant lately and I don't know why. At least when I hear from Chandler, it makes me feel something. I mean, when was the last time that you complimented me or told me how special I was?"
"I transferred schools to be with you! I changed my whole life! That doesn't make you feel loved?" As soon as Blaine said that, he knew he had made a mistake. Kurt had a look of absolute shock on his face. "Kurt -"
"You lied to me."
"Kurt, no, wait -"
Kurt got off of the bed and just stared at Blaine. "That day at my locker, when you first transferred...do you remember what I asked you?" Kurt didn't give Blaine a moment to respond. "I asked if you did it for me because if you did, though I said it was very romantic, I was worried it would lead to resentment, anger, and a horrible, horrible, nasty breakup."
"Kurt -"
"And you said that you 'came here for yourself, that you couldn't stand to be apart from the person you love.' You even mentioned that it was time for you to get out of your safe haven of Dalton, and return to public school. So was all that a lie?"
Blaine didn't know what to say, so Kurt went on. "How dare you stand there and call me a cheater, when you are a liar? I never expected you to actually leave the Warblers - they were your friends and you were their star! You left an awesome school to come to McKinley, where you knew it would suck! Did the idea of being stuck here ever go through your head? If you had stayed, we'd at least be seniors together, even though at different schools."
Blaine started to get angry again, "So now you're upset that I came here? You practically begged me to transfer. What, was I supposed to just not bother? You were the one that always had to accommodate me. You drove to Dalton more than I came to McKinley. When I happened to get unexpected free time, you'd break your plans with Finn or the girls and come over. You did that for months -"
"Because I love you! You make it sound like it was a hardship rather than a relationship! I never minded doing any of that. And in case you forgot, you were the one that did that when we first met, before we were boyfriends, before I went to Dalton. Did you think I did it as repayment or something? You transferring, while awesome, put you back a whole year! And no matter how you look at it, New Directions are not the Warblers, not by a long shot."
"The only things that made up for losing my senior status was one, being with you, and two, still being able to perform. Even though we had a rocky start, I eventually became part of the group. I thought you were okay with that."
"You don't know what it's like being your boyfriend, okay? You are the alpha gay! Even Rachel wanted to make out with you. I used to get solos. And do you know how many times I've had to sit on a stool and watch you perform?"
"Then talk to me. Tell me that you're unhappy, but don't cheat on me with some guy."
"I feel like I have taken crazy pills! I didn't cheat on you! You don't know the whole story! I'm really sorry if this made you upset, but it's okay. Just let me explain."
Blaine was teary eyed and his voice was breaking. "It's not right but it's okay." Kurt didn't know what to say as Blaine left the house. Kurt's phone buzzed again with another text from Chandler. Kurt was crying by the time he finished reading it. Blaine didn't let him explain.
Hey Kurt! Justin proposed and I said yes! Thanks for the advice and for reading all of my corny texts. How's your surprise for Blaine going? You haven't told him what Whitney song you're doing yet have you? I know he'll love it. Let me know how it goes. I'll send you a pic later of the ring I got!
The following day was one of the worst days of Kurt's life. Blaine wouldn't talk to him, and after his song choice in glee club, nobody else would talk to him either. Kurt didn't know how to deal with the cold shoulder he was getting from the group. Rachel had that 'I told you so' look; Mercedes and Tina didn't have anything to say to him; Finn and Mike looked confused. The only one who knew about Chandler and why he'd been texting in the first place was Sam, so it was no surprise when the blonde found him in the auditorium.
Kurt had shown Sam some of the text messages from Chandler. He thought they were ridiculous but after hearing the story behind them, had no problem with it. After hearing Blaine accuse Kurt of cheating in front of the group, Sam knew that Blaine must have found out, and judging by the song, wasn't happy to say the least. For Blaine to call Kurt a cheater that way brought him back to last year when everyone assumed that Kurt was cheating on Blaine with him. Kurt was one of the most loyal people Sam knew, and for everyone to just avoid asking for his side of the situation, in his opinion, sucked.
Everyone had gone their separate ways after glee, so Sam took it upon himself to look for Kurt. When he got to the auditorium, Sam thought his heart was going to break. Kurt was sitting on the stage, knees bent, arms wrapped around him, and staring into space. Sam sat next to him and waited.
It was just the two of them there, but it still took several minutes before Kurt spoke. "He never gave me a chance to explain, and now everyone thinks I'm a cheater...again. And I wasn't cheating either time I was accused of it. With all of the couples we've gone through as a group, I've never voiced my opinion about them in front of everyone, unless I had a good argument - case in point, Rachel and Finn."
"What exactly happened, Kurt? You said yesterday that you were going to talk to Blaine about Chandler."
"I left my phone in my room when I went to get some snacks for our movie night. Blaine was reading the last couple texts on my phone and just starting accusing me of cheating on him. Then I find out that he'd been lying to me." Kurt went through the whole conversation from the previous day. Sam sat and listened to everything Kurt said, feeling worse for him the more he spoke.
"After he left, Chandler texted me his good news and asked how my surprise was going for Blaine, and I just lost it. I almost called you up, but I knew you were babysitting and I didn't want to bother you."
"Kurt, no matter what I'm doing, call me. I don't like seeing you like this. You don't deserve to feel like this. Sure, Blaine didn't need to find out that way, but this isn't entirely your fault. He hasn't been hanging with you like usual, and trust me, we've noticed. Does any of this have to do with NYADA?"
Kurt sighed, "Probably. A lot of conversations have ended up talking about New York, or NYADA, or leaving...I've tried to avoid them, but he's brought them up more often than me. It's almost like he can't wait for me to leave, not the other way around. I think he's forgotten that it's his fault in the first place. If it wasn't for him pushing me into sending that application, I would've never gotten a finalist letter, or a callback, or face the fact that in a few months, I might not be here anymore. If it wasn't for him that day I went to spy on the Warblers, I probably wouldn't be here at all."
"Wait...might not be here anymore? At all?"
Kurt sighed, "I got acceptance letters to other schools besides NYADA, two of which are in-state. As much as I talk about getting the hell out of here, moving away from home to a completely different state is a little foreboding, even if Rachel and Finn both go too. It wouldn't bother me if I stayed close and waited for Blaine and then transferred somewhere else." Kurt paused, biting his lip. "None of you know how close I was to ending everything last year. I was so tired of it all. Blaine was the one who helped me deal with what was going on, even before I transferred to Dalton. And with everything that's happened just in the last few months - the play, the school election, Dad living in DC most of the week, taking care of the shop, Dave's suicide attempt - it's been too much in too little time. And if a misunderstanding is all it takes to lose him, I don't know what I'll do."
"Does Blaine know about all of that?" Kurt shook his head, "I didn't know how to bring it up the stuff about school. Blaine knows how I feel about pretty much everything else, although maybe not every feeling of everything I mentioned."
"Wow...so what are you gonna do?"
"I have no idea."
Mike found Blaine in front of the punching bag. While Blaine had been performing, Mike had noticed not only the looks the others were giving Kurt, but the look of shock and despair on Kurt's face. Mike wasn't sure what was going on, but from his perspective, this was more than a simple lover's spat. Nobody believed Kurt when he said that he hadn't cheated on Blaine. All Mike could think about was what had happened last year when they had accused him of the same thing, except it was with Sam. Besides himself and Tina, Kurt and Blaine had been the only real stable couple within their group, and to think Kurt of all people was a cheater was ridiculous.
"You know, if you keep that up, you'll break your hand." Blaine was so focused on the bag that he spun around and almost nailed Mike in the face. "Whoa, dude, chill."
"Dammit Mike - I've told you guys before about sneaking up on me when I'm like this. What do you want?"
"What the hell was that about in the choir room? Kurt is not the kind of guy to cheat on anyone, let alone you. That guy is head over heels in love with you! And if you're trying to destroy that thing, then by all means, keep going. I think you're close."
"That was me pissed off, and I think that song was pretty self-explanatory. I sang a song about cheaters to a cheater. So what?"
"So what? Is that all you can say? Kurt left the room in tears, and that was after hearing crap from just about everyone. Don't you care?"
Blaine threw his gloves across the room. "Why should I care? He's cheating on me with some guy he met the other day at the music store. He's been texting him for the last three days like it was no big deal."
Mike just stared in response. "You're pissed because he's been texting some guy? Oh gee, that sounds familiar."
Blaine glared, "Don't you start. I wasn't trying to get with Sebastian - he was trying to get with me."
"And you're trying to tell me that's not the same thing? You still spoke with the guy who did his damnedest to break you two up for months! It wasn't until he tried to seriously injure someone with a slushie that you finally stopped. You don't think that bothered Kurt at all? You didn't see him the day after when he told us how you were doing. We were ready to kick his ass because he hurt you."
"Probably because I was Kurt's boyfriend," Blaine muttered.
Mike heard him, though, "As a matter of fact, it wasn't. You're one of us now, idiot. Last I checked we were all friends at this point. Yeah, I'll admit at first we only liked you because you were with Kurt, but you've made quite the impression on the rest of us since you came here. Apparently, you don't realize how much we appreciate the fact that Kurt found you."
Now Blaine just looked puzzled, "What are you talking about?"
"Kurt loves you - you'd have to be blind not to see it. Kurt talks to the girls, but he does talk to me and Sam sometimes, too. Right before we lost him to Dalton, you were all he talked about some days. The bullies had escalated to new heights, and it wasn't until gym class one day before we realized how bad it was. Sure, the dumpster tosses had more or less ended, but at least garbage protected him. Lockers aren't so forgiving. A hard shove into metal leaves bruises like I've never seen playing football. And he never said anything."
Blaine stayed silent, listening to Mike go on.
"His last day here was an eye-opener, as if that wasn't enough. Karofsky was still an asshole then. Me and Sam had been turning the corner and saw him approach Kurt at his locker. We didn't know what he said at the time, but the look of fear on his face is something I'll never forget. By the time we got to him, he was on the floor hugging his knees and trying not to cry. He was shaking so hard I thought he was going to start hyperventilating. We got him up and took him to the choir room. He wouldn't talk to us, just asked for one of us to find his phone and dial your number. He barely spoke to us, but as soon as you showed up, it was as if Kurt got a sign that said everything would be okay.
"After he transferred, it was hard to hear about him without hearing about you. Finn mentioned that Kurt seemed happier as long as you were around; Mercedes and Rachel said that the sparkle in his eyes was back; even Puck and Santana noticed that 'the hobbit from Hogwarts must be doing something right'. Even when he came back, you were all he talked about."
Blaine sighed in defeat, "Are you going somewhere with this, Mike?"
"For someone who is apparently a cheater, he sure doesn't act like it. Even someone who tries their best at cheating gets caught eventually. Did you give him a chance to explain himself, or did you just walk out and wait to accuse him in public?"
"...I left his house last night and didn't speak to him at all today. He's been looking at his phone all day - figured he was still texting with Chandler."
Mike shook his head, "According to Sam, Kurt's been checking his phone all day for you, hoping for just one message from you. He hasn't received any texts from Chandler at all. I hope you're proud of yourself - you more than likely broke Kurt, and over something stupid."
Blaine's head shot up, "Wait, you know something else? Tell me."
Mike scoffed, "Why should I? You wouldn't hear it from the source, but you'll listen to a hand-me-down version? Nope, not happening. You wanna know the whole story? Talk to Kurt. At least he can give you some answers. Good luck getting any from the punching bag." With all that said, Mike left Blaine to his thoughts, too angry to stick around. He heard his phone beep and looked at it, seeing a text from Sam.
In the auditorium with Kurt - got a sec?
It took some convincing, but eventually Mike and Sam were able to convince Kurt to go home. Finn was the one to come up with the suggestion of going through his stuff and figuring out what would be going and staying in case he did go to New York. Finn knew about the other schools because Kurt had helped him apply to a few himself, since Rachel was too concerned with NYADA to be much help. Sam and Mike told Finn how their respective one-on-ones went, and with what Finn knew, they were able to get the whole picture.
After the other two left, Finn called the one person that would be able to help Kurt out the best. As luck would have it, Burt was already on the way back. By the time he walked in the door, he knew everything that had happened in the last few days, courtesy of Finn. When Finn saw Kurt come out of his room several hours later, he was rewarded with a thank you hug from his 'little' brother, hoping that come tomorrow, the couple known as Klaine would be back to normal.
During Kurt's rendition of I Have Nothing, Mike kept an eye on Blaine's face, noticing that as the song went on, the anger began to melt, leaving confusion and a small flicker of hope in its place. He made eye contact with Sam, who was paying attention to Kurt's expression throughout the song. Once Kurt had finished, there were several teary eyes in the room, the worst of them coming from the distressed couple. It wasn't long before they were released for the day, and just when both boys thought they could get away, each of them was grabbed and dragged from the room - Sam on Kurt, Mike on Blaine, with Finn walking behind them. They found themselves locked in an empty classroom, looking at the offending football players in disbelief.
"What the hell is going on here?" asked Blaine, angrily.
"This is a small intervention, one that neither of you can escape from. Finn is here to guard the door, while Mike and I are here to make sure you stay quiet."
"This is a waste of time - you can't just make me stay here."
Mike took his chance and pushed Blaine into a seat, "If you give a damn about your relationship at all, you're gonna sit there and listen to what Kurt has to say. But by all means, if you don't, there's the door. Go through it and you'll be by yourself."
Kurt was still teary-eyed from singing, but hearing Mike say that, and waiting for Blaine's reaction, caused several tears to fall. He watched and waited, hoping that Blaine would listen to him. He could leave afterwards, but not before.
Blaine huffed and crossed his arms, glaring at Mike, Sam and Finn, before turning his attention on Kurt. "Fine, I'll stay." Kurt let out the breath he was holding and leaned on the teacher's desk facing Blaine, but looking at the wall next to him. He took another deep breath, then focused his attention at his -hopefully still-boyfriend.
"Blaine - I don't know how this got out of hand so quickly, but just let me explain. When I'm done, you're free to leave me if that's what you want. If you do, just remember that I love you, always and forever.
"I met Chandler at the music store. He knows I have you for a boyfriend - I even showed him a picture of you. Ironically, he's in a similar situation as us, difference being he is the one in your place. He has a boyfriend, Blaine. His name is Justin, and from what I know is a bit of a dork. He's two years older than him, and has been attending one of the community colleges nearby. He mentioned having an audition for NYU, and I mentioned mine for NYADA.
"We got to talking and he got a text while we were there from Justin, one similar to the ones you saw on my phone. I said that they were adorable and showed him some of the one-liners you've sent me over the last few months. Chandler asked for some to borrow, and I said sure. We were forwarding the more suggestive ones back and forth to each other. We were curious to see who had the more adorkable boyfriend."
Slowly but surely, Blaine's arms started to fall into his lap, the anger on his face fading as Kurt kept talking.
"Chandler noticed a certain piece of jewelry I was wearing and asked about it." Kurt pulled the necklace he was wearing around his neck from underneath his shirt. It was the gum wrapper ring that Blaine had given Kurt for Christmas. "He thought it was cute, so I told him how you made me a promise ring, and how I coated it to make sure it'd last until we got something a little more solid. He thought that was amazing and wished he thought of something sentimental like that. Apparently, Justin kept hinting at giving him a ring, but didn't know when he would. In the meantime, they'd been promised to each other for almost three years.
"Justin surprised him last night with an engagement ring, hoping it would bring him luck for his audition. They aren't getting married anytime soon, but just knowing that they are officially off the market is enough for now. If you had started reading the texts on my phone from the start, you would've known that, and this whole situation could've been avoided. Instead you assumed the worst possible outcome...and the worst of me."
Kurt stepped away from the desk and placed his phone in front of Blaine, already scrolled to the first couple of messages, dated four days ago. Blaine was afraid to look, but when he did, was blown away.
The first two messages were pictures of each couple. Chandler had written 'me and my handsome beau', but it was what Kurt had written that took Blaine's breath away.
'Me and my soul mate'
Blaine read all of the text messages, recognizing some as his own messages, and noticed that there were several texts of various bits of advice. All of the supposed flirting was all old messages that they forwarded back and forth. The last picture message was of Chandler's ring, but it was the previous text to it that finally broke his resolve:
Hey Kurt! Justin proposed and I said yes! Thanks for the advice and for reading all of my corny texts. How's your surprise for Blaine going? You haven't told him what Whitney song you're doing yet have you? I know he'll love it. Let me know how it goes. I'll send you a pic later of the ring I got!
Blaine lifted his head up to meet Kurt's eyes. He couldn't stand the broken look in his eyes...and he'd been the one to put it there.
"Kurt -"
"I've been accused of cheating twice, Blaine, and neither time was it true. I don't know what I can do to prove to you that I'd never do that to you. I don't understand how something that would've taken a few minutes to explain, ended up with us avoiding each other for days. I'm sorry for calling you a liar - you coming here was a dream come true, and honestly, I never expected you to actually do it. But you did and I'm grateful for it; it shows how much you love us."
Kurt reached for Blaine's hands, softly touching them at first. "I'll do whatever it takes for you to forgive me, whether it's giving you space, or couples counseling, or even breaking up. As long as I can still hold your hand once in a while, that'd be enough for me. I meant it when I said 'I have nothing if I don't have you'. Even if we just stayed friends, it's still better than losing you entirely."
Blaine looked at their hands, and knew what he needed to do. He tightened his grip and stood up from his seat, moving to stand right in front of Kurt. Mike and Sam were waiting in the wings, just in case, but held their ground.
"You have nothing to apologize for. I'm sorry for getting mad and not taking the time to listen to you. I didn't mean to say what I did about switching schools. Dalton wasn't even where I was supposed to be originally. I was supposed to transfer to a different public school after what happened, but it was at a counselor's insistence that I attend Dalton for a while - I was never meant to stay there. Being with you means the world to me and I'll do whatever it takes to make up for what I've done. I wasn't lying - I meant what i said at the beginning of the year: You are the love of my life and I don't wanna lose you."
Both of them grabbed for the other, pulling each other into a tight hug. They separated enough to share a kiss, which ended with Finn calling for their attention.
"If you two are good now, we'll be on our way. You need some alone time. The house is free if you need it - we're going to shoot some hoops with Puck. Call if you need anything." With a nod of thanks, the trio left the room, giving each other looks of relief, before taking out the phones and mass texting the rest of New Directions.
Crisis averted. Klaine is back on. Details later.
Back in the classroom, Blaine finally pulled away to stare at Kurt. "So your house is empty...how about we head over there and talk some more and cuddle?"
"Sounds amazing. I hope you drove today - Finn has my car."
Blaine laughed as he pulled Kurt close to him again, "I did. Oh by the way, what did that text mean...about a surprise?"
Kurt smirked, "That is something you'll have to wait for. I'm not telling."
Blaine groaned, "Oh come on, Kurt. Can I have a hint?"
"Nope, it's a surprise for a reason. And yes, you can guess, but I will neither confirm, nor deny."
"That doesn't help me at all."
"Consider it punishment then, cause I'm not telling."
Blaine thought for a moment as they walked down the hallway. "Hey does Chandler know? Maybe I'll just text him and ask."
That earned him a smack on the arm. "On second thought, you don't deserve a surprise."
"Kurt I was just kidding." Kurt just kept walking away from Blaine. "Honey, I didn't mean it." Kurt just raised an eyebrow. "Okay, maybe I kinda meant it, but come on! How about one teeny, little hint."
He's so cute when he pouts...no, he's not getting a hint from me. Just wait til I tell him about the acceptance letters he doesn't know about yet. Life is gonna be interesting to say the least.