the First Week (3/8)
( Chapter 2)
*
Chapter 3: Friday
Blaine had interacted with McKinley's glee club before. He met them formally during the show choir competitions. He met them informally when he was in the most disastrous state he'd ever been in thanks to Rachel Berry's "Trainwreck Extravaganza" (as he'd taken to calling it, thanks to his boyfriend). He met them occasionally whenever some of the members were hanging out in the Hummel-Hudson residence and he had to stop by at Kurt's house, or whenever Kurt invited them over during their previous coffee dates.
But Blaine had never really met New Directions as Kurt's Boyfriend.
And - as much as he'd really hate to admit it - it scared a whole hell out of Blaine to think about the assumptions the glee club has thought about him. He liked to think that being with Kurt might have changed things, but… the nagging thought of Kurt's friends - the people Blaine knew meant a very great deal to his boyfriend - looking down on him even more, despite the fact, didn't really help the unsettling feeling in his stomach.
The curly head knew that the club members were very protective of his boyfriend - the way Kurt praised them about sticking together even though they were the most unlikely of comrades was near impossible to escape. Still, that just meant things would be harder for Blaine. And he had the very irrational fear that they would be analyzing his every move if he was ever in a situation where he had to meet them now.
Blaine just wanted to make a good impression, was all. If these people meant a lot to his boyfriend, that meant that they meant a lot to him too.
It was just… William McKinley's glee club was, simply put, scary. Kurt never failed to mention - what Blaine now liked to call - his "epic tales" of what he used to do with the club, and the assortment of mess and drama they lived and breathed. And the soloist just liked to hope that the 5 guys (who were football players) and the 7 girls (who, in Kurt's words, "were able to pull every sort of trouble") wouldn't hurt him if they ever got the notion he was doing wrong to Kurt.
- x 0 x -
Blaine really should have been more prepared when Kurt sprung the question, "Would you like to meet my friends from McKinley today?" It was lunch time and Kurt just sort of looked at him strangely before he blurted the invitation. The shorter of the two shouldn't have been flustered, surprised, or completely caught off guard. He'd thought about meeting Kurt's friends before anyway, so he must have had at least some decent, composed response lined up, right?
That was completely not the case.
Instead of answering calm and collected, he deflected and replied, "That's a little spontaneous, isn't it?" He had no idea why he said it; it wasn't like he had anything better to do later today anyway.
For a moment, the chestnut haired countertenor looked taken aback by the response, clearly not the answer he was expecting. "Oh," he said softly, looking away. "Well - I guess I should have… Finn just asked if you wanted to come, but if you…" he sputtered, looking deflated. And Blaine really did not like it when Kurt looked like that; he never did - especially when he was the one causing it.
So, he tried to save himself from any more embarrassment, and save Kurt from any more disappointment, by reaching over and taking one of Kurt's hands in his. Then, he said, "It'd be my pleasure to meet them though."
And Blaine knew it was the right thing to say because the smile that graced Kurt's face then was completely worth it. He liked being the one that caused that smile.
"Okay," the pale boy said then. "Well, Finn said he invited the glee club over to celebrate about Regionals at our place, and I'm going home this afternoon for the weekend so… I'm really glad you can come. My friends have been begging me to have them meet you anyway."
The tanner boy scoffed and an incredulous smirk grew on his face. "I have met them Kurt. And I was horribly drunk at the time." Blaine hoped that the shudder that just passed through his body wasn't obvious.
Kurt rolled his eyes. "I thought we weren't going to bring that up again," he muttered, but Blaine felt Kurt squeezing his hand where they were still joined. The countertenor took a breath. "Besides, they haven't met you as my boyfriend yet, and I promise I won't let them maul you or anything, so…" he trailed off, looking at Blaine with an expectant expression.
"I already told you I'd love to meet them," Blaine reminded him, and he was pretty sure he heard Kurt murmur a quiet, "Right," as he nodded.
They simply stared at each other for a while. Blaine knew that Kurt was also ignoring the exaggerated but playful gags from their friends around them as they grinned at each other.
After another moment of silence, Kurt whispered, "Thank you."
The curly head blinked. "What for?"
"Meeting my friends," he explained. "They're crazy, and that's putting it very lightly. So, I'm just glad that you're willing to put up with them with me."
"Of course. Anything," Blaine simply breathed. And that was all he said because it was clear that his boyfriend got the message - the message of "anything for you" - if the way Kurt's eyes lit up were any indication. Perhaps it was a little far fetched to really promise that he'd do anything for Kurt, especially at this extremely early stage of their relationship. But it wasn't like he didn't want to try.
Blaine just kept in mind that testing this promise could end up worse if he thought about it. Really. All he had to do was introduce himself as Kurt's boyfriend to Kurt's friends, even if he had to do so when said friends were celebrating their victory over his own glee club. Things could be worse.
- x 0 x -
They had their usual coffee date at the Lima Bean. Unfortunately, Kurt was distracted for the most part, sending off flurry of texts towards - to Blaine's knowledge - various New Direction members. Blaine sometimes caught his boyfriend murmuring little things that seemed to have a lot of significance, but made no sense, like, "If Santana thinks for a second that she can get away with hooking up," or "Oh jeez, Rachel!" or "Puckerman better not bring any booze…" and, oh. Okay, perhaps that last one made some sense, considering the curly head's last encounter with alcohol. He shook away the memory.
At one point, Kurt peered up from his phone and smiled apologetically. "Sorry. I'm just warning them to tone down the crazy since you're coming over."
Blaine shook his head and grinned back. "It's okay."
He propped an arm up on the table and let his head rest against his hand. Huh, it was amusing to watch his boyfriend seem so… protective, Blaine guessed… over him, since he was going through the trouble to warn his friends to "tone down the crazy". The tanner boyfriend watched in pure adoration. He noticed how Kurt's delicate brows furrowed, and how gorgeous his blue eyes were when he read a response, and how his lips pursed when they considered something in one of the texts. Sometimes Kurt glanced up and blushed when their gazes met, an expression Blaine had yet to decipher gracing his boyfriend's face.
And since the two were too busy with their own distractions (Kurt's being his texts and Blaine's being Kurt), their coffee date ended up going on a little longer than usual. Blaine was fine with it.
- x 0 x -
The drive over to Kurt's house was much too short for Blaine's liking. Blaine ended up having to follow Kurt's Navigator in his own car (by himself) because Kurt obviously couldn't just leave his car at the school and Blaine had to get home somehow by the end of gathering. He still wished that he and Kurt had carpooled though, because he was starting to get anxious. What if his friends didn't think he was good enough for Kurt? What if Kurt's giant of a step-brother pounded him? What if what if what if?
The thoughts had yet to leave his sprinting mind as he parked his car outside of the Hummel-Hudson residence. Immediately stepping out, the soloist walked up to his boyfriend and reached over for Kurt's hand, which he took with an encouraging smile.
"Kurt," Blaine said suddenly, just as they reached the door.
"Yes?"
"They-they mean a lot to you, right?" Kurt nodded slowly, his expression clearly showing he had no idea where this was going. "Wh-what if they don't like me?" He was tempted to slip out, "Will you not like me either?" but held it back because it sounded completely stupid and highly unlikely.
Kurt simply blinked at him before laughing. Well, that wasn't really reassuring.
"Oh Blaine," Kurt said then, "They're not going to not like you, if that makes any sense. And besides, even if they don't like you - which, some of them already do - they'll know what kind of fury I will unleash if they even think about trying to do anything to you."
Blaine breathed a heavy sigh of relief and, before he knew it, Kurt was kissing him reassuringly. "You'll be fine," the taller boy declared, and Blaine nodded in response as his boyfriend opened the door to the house.
They were greeted with several welcomes and one blonde girl asking, "Kurt, is he your dolphin?" Everyone else giggled as Kurt simply replied, "Sure, Brittany." Blaine made a mental note to ask Kurt whatever that meant later.
Soon, Blaine was being introduced to everyone, and he briefly remembered it being like introducing himself to numerous girls his father had tried setting him up with. Of course, this situation was completely different in the sense that he was relaxed and was actually enjoying himself, happy to notice that no one had yet to hate him or anything. For the most part, the curly head remembered the entire glee club, matching faces with names that had jumbled up in the back of his mind since he last saw them.
It wasn't long until things settled down a bit, and everyone was chatting amongst themselves. Kurt had taken to sitting on the couches with the girls, and Blaine was sure that his boyfriend was gossiping about everything. He, on the other hand, was watching Finn and Puck in a heated game of Black Ops, patiently waiting his turn as he struck up a conversation with Sam and Mike.
This is nice, Blaine thought as he talked to the boys, continuing even once he got his turn at the X-Box. The conversation he had with Mike and Sam drifted into a discussion that included all the boys. They talked about Regionals which, to Blaine's surprise, they apologized about even if they admitted they didn't regret winning. ("Sorry about your glee club at Regionals, man. Not that we're saying we don't deserve winning, because we totally do. No hard feelings?" they said, and he replied, "Of course not.") They talked about sports, and then Dalton, which eventually led to them asking how Kurt was doing at Dalton.
And that led to Blaine's current relationship with Kurt.
"So, are you guys, like, dating?" Artie asked, his gaze intent on the game in front of him.
Blaine glanced at Kurt, who was currently throwing his head back as he laughed at something one of the girls said. "Uh, yeah," he replied, hoping that his answer wasn't going to start anything awkward.
For a complete second, there was absolute silence between the boys.
Then, Sam shrugged and said, "That's cool." The other guys hummed in agreement and Blaine silently let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding. He was especially glad that the guys sounded pretty genuine with their responses too, like they were honestly okay with Blaine dating Kurt. It made him smile.
The smile disappeared once Finn began staring at him though.
"You're not, like, gonna do anything stupid with Kurt, right?" the quarterback asked just before Blaine started to get really uncomfortable from the intense stare. "Like, you're not gonna suddenly say you're straight again and then start making out with Rachel? Because I'm, like, his brother, and it's not cool with me if you just -"
"Finn, I can assure that you that: 1) I am 100% gay and 2) No, I am not going to do anything stupid with Kurt," the Warbler interjected. "I really care about him, and I'm not gonna do anything that ends up hurting him."
Blaine wasn't expecting the collection of "Aww"s that came from the girls, and he immediately flushed at the sound. He pointedly ignored them as he looked at Kurt, who was beaming at him in a completely dazzling matter; he gave a sheepish smile back.
"Boy, you're lucky," he heard Mercedes say then, and Kurt was still looking at him when he said, "I know."
It was unbelievable, but Blaine actually ended up blushing harder at the comment. Once he regained some composure, he turned to Finn, who seemed to approve of him now.
"I'm just saying," Finn finally announced, "if you do anything to hurt Kurt -"
"- we're coming after your ass, Anderson," Puck finished as he let out a loud whoop as he successfully knifed someone. "Don't think I won't toss your short ass in a dumpster at Dalton if you think about hurting Kurt. 'Cause I totally will." The other guys hummed once again in agreement, chiming in with their own personal threats.
The curly haired Warbler blinked. "I would never -"
"Yeah, well, you shouldn't," was all Puck said before he shouted, "AW, COME ON! FUCKING CAMPERS!"
As Blaine gulped, he thought of 3 things: 1) If he was gonna listen to anyone's threats, it'd be Puck's, because Blaine knew that the mohawked boy definitely wasn't lying about the dumpster thing; 2) He should still listen to the other threats anyway, because the other guys seemed just as serious; and 3) He was so glad to find out that Kurt had such good friends who looked out after him.
- x 0 x -
The afternoon passed by and Finn's mom/Kurt's step-mom, Carole, entered the house early into the evening.
"Hello everyone!" she greeted as she stepped through the door.
Variations of "Hey, Mrs. Hummel!" and "Sup, Mrs. H?" were said.
Blaine watched as the woman's eyes swept over everyone until they met his. He got up and began to walk over to her, getting ready to introduce himself.
"Oh, hello," she greeted Blaine once he was in front of her, a surprised but warm smile on her face.
"Carole!" Kurt called then, walking over until he hugged his step-mom.
"Oh, Kurt! I'm glad your home for the weekend," Carole responded, hugging her step-son. When she pulled away, she held Kurt gently by the shoulders. "Your father called me to say that he's taking a late shift tonight."
Kurt nodded, slipping out of Carole's grip before he said, "Uh, Carole, this is Blaine."
Carole turned to Blaine now, and the curly head offered his hand as he smiled. "Hello, Mrs. Hummel. We've met once before, briefly…?"
"Ah, yes!" she remembered, taking his hand and shaking it. They simultaneously dropped them as she asked, "You picked up Kurt for coffee once, right?" Blaine nodded. "You're also his friend from Dalton, I believe?" He nodded once more. "Oh, Kurt's told us so much about you!"
Blaine gave a small laugh, and out of the corner of his eye he could see his boyfriend blushing and wincing.
"Really?" he questioned, because he couldn't help it.
"Oh, yes!" Carole beamed widely at him for a moment, before her expression turned serious. Glancing back and forth between him and Kurt, she inquired, "Are you two…?"
"Yes," Blaine confirmed with a nod of his head. "Kurt and I are boyfriends," he said proudly, letting his hand reach out for Kurt's. His boyfriend obliged and took it happily.
"Oh, that's wonderful!" She smiled at them both warmly. Looking over their shoulders to the glee club behind them, she called out, "Pizza anyone?" Everyone yelled out a general "yes" in agreement. Blaine was sure he heard his boyfriend mutter the word "calories" under his breath when he thought no one was listening. "Would you like to stay for pizza, Blaine?" Carole invited, turning her attention back to him.
"I'd love to."
Carole gave the two boys one more warm smile before dismissing them with a nod.
- x 0 x -
After pizza, Blaine had taken to hanging out with the New Direction girls along with Kurt.
Blaine felt a mixture of amusement and fright as he watched Rachel and Quinn barking at each other - over what, he still didn't know. But it was heated and somehow Quinn got shut down, and eventually Santana was the one Rachel ended up arguing with.
The curly haired Warbler was still trying to process all that was happening as his boyfriend whispered, "I swear, it's like this all the time."
Blaine turned to his boyfriend. "Really?"
Kurt nodded. "I don't understand how they manage to stay completely non-violent in a room sometimes."
The soloist was still trying to process this as Rachel stormed out of the room, leaving one Santana muttering something in rapid Spanish as Brittany consoled her.
Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Mercedes and Tina witnessed this as well before walking over to sit in front of him and Kurt.
"Hi Blaine," Tina greeted and Mercedes said, "Hey Blaine!"
"Hello Mercedes, Tina," he replied, nodding to both the girls.
"So, you dating my boy?" Mercedes questioned.
Blaine blinked; he was kind of stunned that she asked him straight up, no hesitation. Then again, during the previous times they met over coffee, Mercedes seemed to do that anyway.
"'Cedes -" Kurt started.
Mercedes shook her head. "Uh-uh, boo. Let your boy answer for himself." She turned her attention back to Blaine as Tina prompted, "Well?"
Blaine nodded. "Yeah, I'm dating Kurt," he finally replied, unconsciously letting his fingers drift over to where Kurt's were, and tangled them together.
"Well, we know we heard you earlier," Tina began, "we just wanna make sure that Kurt's in good hands. Right, Mercedes?"
The black girl nodded. "Damn straight. You better treat my boy right, Blaine, or I'm coming after you."
"We're coming after you," the Asian girl corrected. "I've threatened our principal before, and he listened."
And at that, Blaine just raised a brow and gulped carefully. Excellent, he thought bitterly, More threats.
"Guys, stop freaking him out," Kurt pleaded.
The curly head shook his head and turned his boyfriend. "No, it's okay, Kurt. They're just looking after you," he said, trying to hide that he was getting scared from the girls' intense stares. He faced the girls with all the charm he could muster. "I already said I won't hurt Kurt, and I mean it." He looked back to Kurt with a smile, hoping that Kurt got the message too.
"He seems genuine about it," he heard Tina whisper to Mercedes then, and the two nodded their approval.
Suddenly, Blaine had a lap full of Santana, who wrapped her arms around him and smiled at him in a matter he guessed was seductive. Well, for straight guys at least.
"Now, I know you're dating Hummel, but -" she began.
But Kurt interjected, "Santana!"
"Shut it, Hummel!" she spat before turning her attention back to Blaine. "Anyway, I was saying -"
"Yes," Blaine interrupted this time. "I am dating Kurt. And I'd like to stay exclusive to him, if you don't mind," he said as gently as he could.
Santana slipped off his lap will a roll of her eyes then. She sarcastically declared, "Oh how precious," before leaving the room.
Blaine was about to ask what that was all about when Brittany trotted over and plopped in the seat next to him. She was looking down at his uniform, which he didn't change out of yet, as she said, "Is that, like, your boy cheerleader clothes? Because you wear it all the time. Like how I used to wear my Cheerio uniform until Coach Sue took it from me. My cat guessed she gave it to the baby cannons. He said it was the least I could do since I didn't get shot out of the Mama Cannon."
The Warbler was torn between asking what in the world she meant and what she was on. He opened his mouth to say something, but Mercedes was already saying, "Brit, we already told you, cannons don't have babies."
"But my Cheerio uniform would look so cute on one. I told Lord Tubbington all about it," she said, looking disappointed and confused. Tina, Mercedes and Kurt groaned, at a loss over what to say to comfort their blonde friend.
Blaine spoke up then. "No, Brittany, this isn't my 'boy cheerleader clothes'. Dalton doesn't have a cheerleading team," he explained lightly.
Brittany nodded then, seeming to understand was he was saying. "Oh, okay," she said, and a look of disappointment came on her face again. "That's sad though - I thought Kurt was on another cheerleading team because he wears that outfit all the time too."
This caught Blaine off guard. "On another cheerleading…?" He turned to his boyfriend. "You were on the Cheerio squad?"
He could barely hear his boyfriend muttering, "It's just a stint I pulled," as Brittany excitedly nodded her head. "Totally," she continued with a bright smile, "He, like, totally helped the Cheerios win last year."
Blaine was looking back and forth between the blonde and his boyfriend. Kurt seemed completely opposed to talking about the entire thing as Brittany continued to beam at him. He looked to Tina and Mercedes, who just raised their hands in defeat as if to say, "Our lips are sealed."
The soloist turned to the blonde ex-Cheerio again. He hoped that he was on Brittany's good side, because he really wanted to coax that story out of her if Kurt didn't want to tell it to him.
- x 0 x -
It was about an hour before curfew when everyone began to leave. Blaine was the last to go, standing with Kurt in front of the driver's door of Blaine's car.
"So," he began, reaching to grab his boyfriend's hands. "I'll see you?"
The countertenor smiled. "Yeah, I'd like that."
"Will you go out on a date with me?" he suddenly blurted. Kurt looked taken aback, and, honestly, Blaine was too. He hadn't really expected to just say it, because he had hoped he'd be smoother about the proposition. He had it all planned out too, because he'd been thinking about asking Kurt out on a proper date even before they started dating. But, now it was too late for suave and charming, so he shrugged. "I mean, I did this a little backwards, and I really want to take you out on a date, and -" he cut himself off, looking away. Terrific. Completely smooth, Blaine, he scolded himself internally.
"Okay," Kurt breathed.
Blaine's heart started to pound.
He turned back to Kurt. "Okay?" Blaine repeated, not bothering to hide the goofy grin he had to be wearing now. His boyfriend had one too though, so that was reassuring.
"Yeah, I'll go out on a date with you," he clarified, and even in the dark the shorter boy could see the slight blush high in Kurt's cheeks.
His heart started to beat faster.
"Cool," was all he replied for a while. Eloquent, Blaine, truly verbose. He refused to roll his eyes at the thought. "Um, I'll call you tonight, so we can talk about it," he continued.
Kurt nodded, looking honestly enthusiastic about everything. "Sure," he smiled.
Blaine licked his lips. "So, uh, good night, I guess."
"Good night…" the pale boy whispered.
And, underneath the moonlight, Kurt looked even paler than normal, his white skin a complete contrast to the dark of the outdoors. He looked absolutely breathtaking, and Blaine was sure that his pounding heart just stopped beating. He just began to lean forward. Blaine let go of Kurt's hands, moving his own to cup his boyfriend's face gently. He felt the countertenor's arms snake around his waist. And then finally, finally, he pressed his lips gently against Kurt's. They didn't even move their lips with each other's, just simply touching in the sweetest way possible. The kiss was as refreshing as a breath - the most innocent and purest of kisses.
When he pulled away, he dropped one hand from Kurt's face to Kurt's shoulder so he could kiss the unbelievably soft cheek. Blaine heard him sigh at the touch.
He stepped back and beamed. "Good night," he said one more time, and carefully slipped out of Kurt's reach, stepping into his car.
There was an awful drop in his chest as he watched Kurt wave goodbye when he began to drive away.
- x 0 x -
True to his word, Blaine called Kurt later that night once he entered his room. He was undeniably happier by the end of the call. And, as he went to bed that night, he couldn't help but fall asleep to the excited flutters he had in his stomach as he thought about his date with Kurt the next day.
( Chapter 4)