Kurt/Blaine: Precipice (4/?)
Title: Precipice (4/?)
Pairings: Kurt/Blaine
Rating: PG-13 overall.
Word Count: ~2500
Spoilers: None.
Warnings: None.
Summary: Blaine is a new student at McKinley. Kurt is the star of the Cheerios. When Kurt is failing AP Chemistry, Coach Sylvester hires Blaine to tutor Kurt in order to ensure that he earns a grade that will allow him to stay on the squad. What will happen when the supposed nerd and the head cheerleader are forced to spend time together?
A/N: I started planning this fic when the very first Nerd!Blaine/Cheerio!Kurt gifset started floating around Tumblr. I've very much put my own spin on this, taking plenty of liberties especially when it comes to the definition of the word nerd. I hope you all enjoy this fic! <3 A million thanks to my wonderful beta gleekto. :D
Blaine spends the entirety of his AP Bio class in a state of befuddlement. He tries to focus on the subject matter at hand, but it’s impossible and he’d done the reading the night before so it isn’t expressly necessary.
Kurt’s lab partner is Finn Hudson. Blaine fights back a scoff. He and Finn hadn’t exactly gotten off to a stellar start. Finn had been rude and jealous despite Blaine’s efforts to just fit in after being the lead singer of the Warblers the year before. Blaine had never expected to be thrust into the limelight at McKinley. Honestly, he’d never expected it at Dalton either, but it had just happened.
Things are better now. Blaine knows he has Rachel to thank for that. But every once and awhile, when Blaine sings a solo or gets an extra dash of praise from Mr. Schuester, Blaine can feel Finn’s judging eyes on him.
When the bell rings, Kurt exits his classroom at the same time Blaine leaves his and Blaine just can’t help himself. He looks at Finn’s back, already halfway down the hallway, and then at Kurt, quirking an eyebrow before heading for his English class. He doesn’t have to be looking to know that Kurt’s glaring at him. The intensity of the look Kurt’s sending his way is burning into his back laser-hot.
That afternoon, Blaine finds himself partnered with Finn, brainstorming ideas for a duet for Glee. Finn’s distracted, eyes fixated across the room as his fingers drum out patterns on the thighs of his jeans. It’s a lost cause, trying to get him to do much of anything at the moment, and Blaine knows it has a lot to do with being shoved together when they’re just getting used to being okay.
“You’re taking AP Chemistry?” Blaine asks, curiosity getting the best of him because that fact is confusing him even more than the fact that Kurt is failing. Finn isn’t as stupid as a lot of people think he is, but he’s definitely not in the top-tier academically at McKinley. AP classes are usually filled with people who want to get ahead and Blaine has a hard time mentally fitting Finn into such a category.
“Yeah,” Finn says with a sheepish smile. “I took Chemistry last year because Quinn was taking it. She was my lab partner and she’s really smart and getting to play with Bunsen burners is pretty awesome, so I thought I’d take it again this year. But she’s taking AP Bio instead and I think Rachel would murder me if I was her lab partner again anyway.” He shrugs and shuffles through some of the sheet music on the piano they’re leaning against.
“Not going so well this year?” Blaine prods innocently. There has to be the answer to Kurt’s failing here. He’s smart, so he would know not to copy off of Finn-even Brittany knows better than to do that-so why?
“No,” Finn says. “I got to class late on the first day and the only seat open was with Kurt Hummel. Do you know him? I mean I know you’re both…”
“I know of him, but no,” Blaine lies, wanting to add that not all gay people know each other and are best friends like so many people seem to think.
“Oh, well, I knew he was pretty smart so I figured it’d be good that we were lab partners, but he’s just as lost as I am. We’ve been getting together almost every day to study. It’s getting a little better, but…”
Finn continues to speak, but the words are lost on Blaine. There it is. The reason why Kurt’s failing. He's actually playing dumb in order to spend time with Finn.
Wow.
What is it about this guy? He’s dated Rachel and Quinn and Blaine’s pretty sure he heard that Finn lost his virginity to Santana of all people and now this? And why is Kurt failing? Why couldn't he just get a slightly lower grade than usual in order to claim to need the study time? Blaine shakes his head and sighs, grabbing “Bye Bye Love” by the Everly Brothers and holding it up.
“What about this?” he asks.
“Sure,” Finn smiles, taking it from Blaine’s hand and flipping through it. “Which part do you want?”
When Blaine gets in his car that afternoon, he tosses his bag in the passenger’s seat, plugs in his phone and then freezes. It hadn’t occurred to him all day. He had been so preoccupied thinking about Kurt and Finn and trying to find the answer to Kurt’s sudden academic misstep that he hadn’t even noticed.
He hadn’t been slushied.
He laughs and settles back against his seat, grinning and smoothing a hand over his chest, still clad in the same plaid button-up he’d put on that morning.
It had actually been a better day. Warmth spreads out from his heart, curling into his limbs and his stomach. It’s not much, and it might not ever happen again, but it’s one day. One good day without a slushy when he’s used to getting one and he’s going to take it for what it is.
But one good day turns into two, which morphs into three. Before he knows it, it’s the weekend. Saturday passes in a haze of homework and housework. Blaine helps his mom wash the windows and clean out the kitchen cabinets until she has to go in to work and she leaves him alone with money for a pizza and a big empty house all to himself.
Just as he’s sitting down in the living room with three slices of Meat Lovers and a can of Coke Zero, his phone buzzes on the coffee table. Figuring it’s his dad telling him he’s on his way home, Blaine reaches forward but frowns at the unfamiliar number displayed on the screen. He sets down his plate and answers the call, unable to keep the confusion from his voice.
“Hello?”
“It’s Kurt.”
That he hadn’t been expecting.
“Hi Kurt,” Blaine says, leaning back against the cushions.
“I’m on my way to your house.” Blaine blinks.
“Why would you just assume that I’m not busy? It’s a Saturday night.”
“Oh please,” Kurt sighs. “Look, our midterm is on Monday and I want to go over a few things before then.”
“Fine,” Blaine grits through his teeth before hanging up. His breaths are coming shorter. After all this time of Kurt telling him that he doesn’t need him, now he’s coming over without asking and insisting that Blaine help him? He shoves a huge bite into his mouth and scowls at the TV while he waits for the inevitable ringing of the doorbell.
Kurt arrives ten minutes later, dressed in his Cheerios uniform and carrying a stack of notebooks in addition to his messenger bag. He looks around the foyer with an air of ease that is a huge departure from the tension he’d carried like a heavy burden on Tuesday evening.
“I need to go get my things,” Blaine says, not bothering to greet Kurt. Honestly, he’s just too exhausted to force niceness. He’d been in such a great mood and now it’s soured. The slushies had stopped-probably just temporarily, but it was still enough to make him feel better-and now he’s being taken advantage of and insulted all at the same time. What a wonderful way to spend a Saturday evening.
Blaine heads for the stairs, hearing Kurt follow after him. His fingers clench on the railing, knuckles going white as he grips tight on the very end before releasing and crossing the short distance to his bedroom. It’s not as neat as he usually leaves it, his bed unmade, his closet door standing open. Honestly, given the way Kurt had snooped on Tuesday night, it shouldn’t serve as any kind of surprise when Kurt hurries there without asking for permission, but it still makes Blaine clench up with panic and anger. His hamper is in there. There are probably dirty briefs just sitting on the top of the basket and Kurt’s in there turning on the light and looking around.
“What are you doing in my closet?” Blaine asks, quickly grabbing the AP Chem text from his dresser and heading over.
“There’s a really bad joke in there somewhere,” Kurt snorts, leafing through Blaine’s clothes before looking at the neatly organized shelf covered with a rainbow of bowties. “You have got to be kidding me.”
“What?” Blaine asks, widening his stance and clutching the book to his chest. He feels naked, exposed, standing there while Kurt, the guy he’s never seen in anything other than a polyester uniform (that Blaine has to admit does rather amazing things for Kurt’s body), rifles judgmentally through his clothes piece by piece.
“Have enough bowties? It looks like Mr. Rodger’s Neighborhood threw up in here.”
“Mr. Rogers didn’t wear bowties,” Blaine corrects, shutting off the light and leaving the small space, forcing Kurt to follow after him.
“I just don’t understand why you insist on dressing like that,” Kurt says breezily.
“Excuse me?” Blaine’s so offended that he literally can’t move forward any longer. He stops in the hallway and spins to glare at Kurt. “What in the hell is wrong with the way I dress?”
“You look like you stepped out of an episode of Leave It To Beaver,” Kurt tells him, reaching out to tug on the corner of Blaine’s bowtie. Blaine flinches and takes a step back, adjusting his tie and looking warily at Kurt. Something flashes across Kurt’s face so quickly Blaine almost misses it, but his face softens afterward and he steps back as well. “I’m just saying… you’re not helping your cause by dressing the way you do.”
“Oh, so I’m asking for it?” Blaine snaps. “I should dress a certain way just so I don’t get the crap kicked out of me? I used to dress the way everyone else dressed and it didn’t help one bit, so why should I waste a single second of my life pretending to be something I’m not?” The stairs echo and boom as he rushes down them, his shoes colliding noisily with each wooden step and he can hear Kurt rushing after him.
“Blaine,” Kurt says. “Blaine.”
“I think you should go,” Blaine says once they reach the living room. He drops his text onto the couch and turns to face Kurt. It’s too much, having him there, insulting him and telling him to be something he isn’t. Kurt has no right.
Honestly, Blaine realizes then, he likes Kurt a lot better when Kurt’s just ignoring him. How they shifted from that to Kurt acting like this is beyond him and he hates it.
“I really do need your help tonight,” Kurt says, keeping his distance and lingering in the doorway. He’s clinging to the stack in his arms and looking pitiful. Blaine laughs bitterly and puts his hands on his hips, looking off to the side and trying to figure out what to say.
“I’m not helping you until you tell me why you’re failing. I’ve been wasting a lot of my time helping you when you don’t really need it and I think you owe me that much,” Blaine says, crossing his arms across his chest and looking defiantly at Kurt. Kurt stares at the floor. “It has to do with Finn, doesn’t it?”
Kurt says nothing.
“He’s straight, Kurt.”
“He thinks he’s straight.”
“Just like you think you’re gay?” Blaine counters. Kurt continues to memorize the grain in the wood beneath his feet. “Are you seriously failing AP Chemistry just so you can have an excuse to spend time alone with him?”
Kurt stays silent.
"Why wouldn't you just get a C or something? You're failing, Kurt. That's a big deal!" Blaine says.
"I got an A on the first lab report we turned in and when Finn and I got together to study that first time, it was... it wasn't what I wanted it to be. I didn't want to help him. I wanted us to be equals."
“Wow, okay. That’s just…”
“Don’t you dare judge me,” Kurt bites back, finally raising his gaze and giving Blaine a look so icy it chills him to the marrow of his bones.
“No one is worth that. This class is important. You can get college credit for it.”
“I know that. I’m going to ace this midterm and bring my grade back up. We haven't had an exam yet, so our grade is only based on labwork and homework. I've gotten As on all of my homework, it's just the lab exercise grades that are low,” Kurt explains. “I just… I don’t need you to tutor me, but I know you know the material and I want someone to go through the study guide with me just to make sure that I have it all down.” Blaine wants to say no with everything in him, but he’s being paid to tutor Kurt, so it really isn’t his right to turn him down.
“Fine,” Blaine says, sitting down and leaving enough room for Kurt to join him on the sofa. He does, perching himself right on the edge of the cushion and organizing his things next to the open pizza box.
“I could make a comment about the amount of sausage on this thing, but I’ll spare you,” Kurt says, flipping open his messenger bag and digging around inside until he produces a pen. Blaine blushes and looks over at Kurt only to feel his eyes widen.
Sitting inside of his bag, tucked neatly beside his textbook is a bottle of gel identical to the one that had been left in his locker on Tuesday. His heart thumps erratically and he has to force himself to swallow, debating whether or not to say anything, but then Kurt flips the cover shut and sets it on the floor.
They work for a bit, Kurt knowing every answer, just needing Blaine’s validation. Kurt helps himself to a slice of pizza, picking off the pepperoni and relaxing back into the sofa in a comfortable, unguarded demeanor he’s never before seen Kurt display.
“You’re different tonight,” Blaine blurts when they’re halfway through Chapter Three. Kurt nods and wipes his fingers on a napkin.
“Tuesday after school, Finn and I were studying in the library and you came up," Kurt says. Blaine frowns and sits up straighter.
"I came up?" he asks. "How did I-" Kurt ignores him and continues.
"He told me that you’d asked him about AP Chemistry. He told me you said you didn’t know me,” Kurt says with a shrug. “You kept my secret when you didn’t have to, when you could’ve embarrassed the hell out of me and told him that I was being forced into tutoring because I was failing on purpose.”
“I wouldn’t do that, Kurt. It’s not my place to tell anyone about this.” Kurt looks at him out of the corner of his eye.
“Thanks.”
Blaine eats his pizza and watches Kurt work his way through the study guide, strange, unfamiliar feelings prickling at his insides. He has answers, but new questions have replaced the old. Kurt Hummel is the strangest person he’s ever met, though. Of that much he’s certain. As he polishes off the last bite of crust of his third slice, Kurt’s finishing the last page.
“I think you’re ready,” Blaine says.
“No thanks to you,” Kurt responds. Blaine feels his body tense up, anger preparing to surge through him, but then he catches it-the very hint of a smile tugging at the corners of Kurt’s mouth. It’s the first time Kurt has ever smiled in his presence.
It’s the most beautiful thing Blaine has ever seen.
Pairings: Kurt/Blaine
Rating: PG-13 overall.
Word Count: ~2500
Spoilers: None.
Warnings: None.
Summary: Blaine is a new student at McKinley. Kurt is the star of the Cheerios. When Kurt is failing AP Chemistry, Coach Sylvester hires Blaine to tutor Kurt in order to ensure that he earns a grade that will allow him to stay on the squad. What will happen when the supposed nerd and the head cheerleader are forced to spend time together?
A/N: I started planning this fic when the very first Nerd!Blaine/Cheerio!Kurt gifset started floating around Tumblr. I've very much put my own spin on this, taking plenty of liberties especially when it comes to the definition of the word nerd. I hope you all enjoy this fic! <3 A million thanks to my wonderful beta gleekto. :D
Blaine spends the entirety of his AP Bio class in a state of befuddlement. He tries to focus on the subject matter at hand, but it’s impossible and he’d done the reading the night before so it isn’t expressly necessary.
Kurt’s lab partner is Finn Hudson. Blaine fights back a scoff. He and Finn hadn’t exactly gotten off to a stellar start. Finn had been rude and jealous despite Blaine’s efforts to just fit in after being the lead singer of the Warblers the year before. Blaine had never expected to be thrust into the limelight at McKinley. Honestly, he’d never expected it at Dalton either, but it had just happened.
Things are better now. Blaine knows he has Rachel to thank for that. But every once and awhile, when Blaine sings a solo or gets an extra dash of praise from Mr. Schuester, Blaine can feel Finn’s judging eyes on him.
When the bell rings, Kurt exits his classroom at the same time Blaine leaves his and Blaine just can’t help himself. He looks at Finn’s back, already halfway down the hallway, and then at Kurt, quirking an eyebrow before heading for his English class. He doesn’t have to be looking to know that Kurt’s glaring at him. The intensity of the look Kurt’s sending his way is burning into his back laser-hot.
That afternoon, Blaine finds himself partnered with Finn, brainstorming ideas for a duet for Glee. Finn’s distracted, eyes fixated across the room as his fingers drum out patterns on the thighs of his jeans. It’s a lost cause, trying to get him to do much of anything at the moment, and Blaine knows it has a lot to do with being shoved together when they’re just getting used to being okay.
“You’re taking AP Chemistry?” Blaine asks, curiosity getting the best of him because that fact is confusing him even more than the fact that Kurt is failing. Finn isn’t as stupid as a lot of people think he is, but he’s definitely not in the top-tier academically at McKinley. AP classes are usually filled with people who want to get ahead and Blaine has a hard time mentally fitting Finn into such a category.
“Yeah,” Finn says with a sheepish smile. “I took Chemistry last year because Quinn was taking it. She was my lab partner and she’s really smart and getting to play with Bunsen burners is pretty awesome, so I thought I’d take it again this year. But she’s taking AP Bio instead and I think Rachel would murder me if I was her lab partner again anyway.” He shrugs and shuffles through some of the sheet music on the piano they’re leaning against.
“Not going so well this year?” Blaine prods innocently. There has to be the answer to Kurt’s failing here. He’s smart, so he would know not to copy off of Finn-even Brittany knows better than to do that-so why?
“No,” Finn says. “I got to class late on the first day and the only seat open was with Kurt Hummel. Do you know him? I mean I know you’re both…”
“I know of him, but no,” Blaine lies, wanting to add that not all gay people know each other and are best friends like so many people seem to think.
“Oh, well, I knew he was pretty smart so I figured it’d be good that we were lab partners, but he’s just as lost as I am. We’ve been getting together almost every day to study. It’s getting a little better, but…”
Finn continues to speak, but the words are lost on Blaine. There it is. The reason why Kurt’s failing. He's actually playing dumb in order to spend time with Finn.
Wow.
What is it about this guy? He’s dated Rachel and Quinn and Blaine’s pretty sure he heard that Finn lost his virginity to Santana of all people and now this? And why is Kurt failing? Why couldn't he just get a slightly lower grade than usual in order to claim to need the study time? Blaine shakes his head and sighs, grabbing “Bye Bye Love” by the Everly Brothers and holding it up.
“What about this?” he asks.
“Sure,” Finn smiles, taking it from Blaine’s hand and flipping through it. “Which part do you want?”
When Blaine gets in his car that afternoon, he tosses his bag in the passenger’s seat, plugs in his phone and then freezes. It hadn’t occurred to him all day. He had been so preoccupied thinking about Kurt and Finn and trying to find the answer to Kurt’s sudden academic misstep that he hadn’t even noticed.
He hadn’t been slushied.
He laughs and settles back against his seat, grinning and smoothing a hand over his chest, still clad in the same plaid button-up he’d put on that morning.
It had actually been a better day. Warmth spreads out from his heart, curling into his limbs and his stomach. It’s not much, and it might not ever happen again, but it’s one day. One good day without a slushy when he’s used to getting one and he’s going to take it for what it is.
But one good day turns into two, which morphs into three. Before he knows it, it’s the weekend. Saturday passes in a haze of homework and housework. Blaine helps his mom wash the windows and clean out the kitchen cabinets until she has to go in to work and she leaves him alone with money for a pizza and a big empty house all to himself.
Just as he’s sitting down in the living room with three slices of Meat Lovers and a can of Coke Zero, his phone buzzes on the coffee table. Figuring it’s his dad telling him he’s on his way home, Blaine reaches forward but frowns at the unfamiliar number displayed on the screen. He sets down his plate and answers the call, unable to keep the confusion from his voice.
“Hello?”
“It’s Kurt.”
That he hadn’t been expecting.
“Hi Kurt,” Blaine says, leaning back against the cushions.
“I’m on my way to your house.” Blaine blinks.
“Why would you just assume that I’m not busy? It’s a Saturday night.”
“Oh please,” Kurt sighs. “Look, our midterm is on Monday and I want to go over a few things before then.”
“Fine,” Blaine grits through his teeth before hanging up. His breaths are coming shorter. After all this time of Kurt telling him that he doesn’t need him, now he’s coming over without asking and insisting that Blaine help him? He shoves a huge bite into his mouth and scowls at the TV while he waits for the inevitable ringing of the doorbell.
Kurt arrives ten minutes later, dressed in his Cheerios uniform and carrying a stack of notebooks in addition to his messenger bag. He looks around the foyer with an air of ease that is a huge departure from the tension he’d carried like a heavy burden on Tuesday evening.
“I need to go get my things,” Blaine says, not bothering to greet Kurt. Honestly, he’s just too exhausted to force niceness. He’d been in such a great mood and now it’s soured. The slushies had stopped-probably just temporarily, but it was still enough to make him feel better-and now he’s being taken advantage of and insulted all at the same time. What a wonderful way to spend a Saturday evening.
Blaine heads for the stairs, hearing Kurt follow after him. His fingers clench on the railing, knuckles going white as he grips tight on the very end before releasing and crossing the short distance to his bedroom. It’s not as neat as he usually leaves it, his bed unmade, his closet door standing open. Honestly, given the way Kurt had snooped on Tuesday night, it shouldn’t serve as any kind of surprise when Kurt hurries there without asking for permission, but it still makes Blaine clench up with panic and anger. His hamper is in there. There are probably dirty briefs just sitting on the top of the basket and Kurt’s in there turning on the light and looking around.
“What are you doing in my closet?” Blaine asks, quickly grabbing the AP Chem text from his dresser and heading over.
“There’s a really bad joke in there somewhere,” Kurt snorts, leafing through Blaine’s clothes before looking at the neatly organized shelf covered with a rainbow of bowties. “You have got to be kidding me.”
“What?” Blaine asks, widening his stance and clutching the book to his chest. He feels naked, exposed, standing there while Kurt, the guy he’s never seen in anything other than a polyester uniform (that Blaine has to admit does rather amazing things for Kurt’s body), rifles judgmentally through his clothes piece by piece.
“Have enough bowties? It looks like Mr. Rodger’s Neighborhood threw up in here.”
“Mr. Rogers didn’t wear bowties,” Blaine corrects, shutting off the light and leaving the small space, forcing Kurt to follow after him.
“I just don’t understand why you insist on dressing like that,” Kurt says breezily.
“Excuse me?” Blaine’s so offended that he literally can’t move forward any longer. He stops in the hallway and spins to glare at Kurt. “What in the hell is wrong with the way I dress?”
“You look like you stepped out of an episode of Leave It To Beaver,” Kurt tells him, reaching out to tug on the corner of Blaine’s bowtie. Blaine flinches and takes a step back, adjusting his tie and looking warily at Kurt. Something flashes across Kurt’s face so quickly Blaine almost misses it, but his face softens afterward and he steps back as well. “I’m just saying… you’re not helping your cause by dressing the way you do.”
“Oh, so I’m asking for it?” Blaine snaps. “I should dress a certain way just so I don’t get the crap kicked out of me? I used to dress the way everyone else dressed and it didn’t help one bit, so why should I waste a single second of my life pretending to be something I’m not?” The stairs echo and boom as he rushes down them, his shoes colliding noisily with each wooden step and he can hear Kurt rushing after him.
“Blaine,” Kurt says. “Blaine.”
“I think you should go,” Blaine says once they reach the living room. He drops his text onto the couch and turns to face Kurt. It’s too much, having him there, insulting him and telling him to be something he isn’t. Kurt has no right.
Honestly, Blaine realizes then, he likes Kurt a lot better when Kurt’s just ignoring him. How they shifted from that to Kurt acting like this is beyond him and he hates it.
“I really do need your help tonight,” Kurt says, keeping his distance and lingering in the doorway. He’s clinging to the stack in his arms and looking pitiful. Blaine laughs bitterly and puts his hands on his hips, looking off to the side and trying to figure out what to say.
“I’m not helping you until you tell me why you’re failing. I’ve been wasting a lot of my time helping you when you don’t really need it and I think you owe me that much,” Blaine says, crossing his arms across his chest and looking defiantly at Kurt. Kurt stares at the floor. “It has to do with Finn, doesn’t it?”
Kurt says nothing.
“He’s straight, Kurt.”
“He thinks he’s straight.”
“Just like you think you’re gay?” Blaine counters. Kurt continues to memorize the grain in the wood beneath his feet. “Are you seriously failing AP Chemistry just so you can have an excuse to spend time alone with him?”
Kurt stays silent.
"Why wouldn't you just get a C or something? You're failing, Kurt. That's a big deal!" Blaine says.
"I got an A on the first lab report we turned in and when Finn and I got together to study that first time, it was... it wasn't what I wanted it to be. I didn't want to help him. I wanted us to be equals."
“Wow, okay. That’s just…”
“Don’t you dare judge me,” Kurt bites back, finally raising his gaze and giving Blaine a look so icy it chills him to the marrow of his bones.
“No one is worth that. This class is important. You can get college credit for it.”
“I know that. I’m going to ace this midterm and bring my grade back up. We haven't had an exam yet, so our grade is only based on labwork and homework. I've gotten As on all of my homework, it's just the lab exercise grades that are low,” Kurt explains. “I just… I don’t need you to tutor me, but I know you know the material and I want someone to go through the study guide with me just to make sure that I have it all down.” Blaine wants to say no with everything in him, but he’s being paid to tutor Kurt, so it really isn’t his right to turn him down.
“Fine,” Blaine says, sitting down and leaving enough room for Kurt to join him on the sofa. He does, perching himself right on the edge of the cushion and organizing his things next to the open pizza box.
“I could make a comment about the amount of sausage on this thing, but I’ll spare you,” Kurt says, flipping open his messenger bag and digging around inside until he produces a pen. Blaine blushes and looks over at Kurt only to feel his eyes widen.
Sitting inside of his bag, tucked neatly beside his textbook is a bottle of gel identical to the one that had been left in his locker on Tuesday. His heart thumps erratically and he has to force himself to swallow, debating whether or not to say anything, but then Kurt flips the cover shut and sets it on the floor.
They work for a bit, Kurt knowing every answer, just needing Blaine’s validation. Kurt helps himself to a slice of pizza, picking off the pepperoni and relaxing back into the sofa in a comfortable, unguarded demeanor he’s never before seen Kurt display.
“You’re different tonight,” Blaine blurts when they’re halfway through Chapter Three. Kurt nods and wipes his fingers on a napkin.
“Tuesday after school, Finn and I were studying in the library and you came up," Kurt says. Blaine frowns and sits up straighter.
"I came up?" he asks. "How did I-" Kurt ignores him and continues.
"He told me that you’d asked him about AP Chemistry. He told me you said you didn’t know me,” Kurt says with a shrug. “You kept my secret when you didn’t have to, when you could’ve embarrassed the hell out of me and told him that I was being forced into tutoring because I was failing on purpose.”
“I wouldn’t do that, Kurt. It’s not my place to tell anyone about this.” Kurt looks at him out of the corner of his eye.
“Thanks.”
Blaine eats his pizza and watches Kurt work his way through the study guide, strange, unfamiliar feelings prickling at his insides. He has answers, but new questions have replaced the old. Kurt Hummel is the strangest person he’s ever met, though. Of that much he’s certain. As he polishes off the last bite of crust of his third slice, Kurt’s finishing the last page.
“I think you’re ready,” Blaine says.
“No thanks to you,” Kurt responds. Blaine feels his body tense up, anger preparing to surge through him, but then he catches it-the very hint of a smile tugging at the corners of Kurt’s mouth. It’s the first time Kurt has ever smiled in his presence.
It’s the most beautiful thing Blaine has ever seen.