No One Else Compares (10/?)
Title: No One Else Compares
Rating: PG-13ish
Pairings: Kurt/Blaine, Blaine/Rachel siblingship
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any recognizable characters.
Summary: Kurt Hummel met Rachel Anderson-Berry his first day of high school. And, if asked, Kurt Hummel would say that no, he never expected her younger brother, Blaine, to ever become his boyfriend
A/N: This is kind of just a filler chapter. It's absolutely vital for what I have planned in future chapters, though :) And I update this fic once a week, usually either Friday or Saturday.
Previous Chapter
The weeks after Blaine was released from the hospital were quite possibly the slowest of Kurt’s life. Blaine was on bed rest for a week, not being allowed to return to Dalton until his health was approved by the doctor. So Kurt would go to school, be completely distracted all day, and then go home with Rachel and whichever one of her dads it was that picked her up. He’d sit with Blaine they’d do their homework in silence.
That was the thing that scared Kurt.
Before, whenever they’d been hanging out together, there was barely ever silence. They were always talking about something.
But ever since Blaine came out of the hospital, they’d barely had a conversation.
Kurt wondered if it was because Blaine could sense that he still felt guilty. Kurt knew that, no matter what Blaine was to say, he would instantly pipe in that he was sorry and that it should have happened to him instead of Blaine and that it just wasn’t fair.
And, now that Kurt actually thought about it, that was most likely the case. Blaine had told him countless times not to feel bad about the whole thing, but Kurt couldn’t help it.
Blaine finally went back to school the first week of May. Kurt was over there the Sunday before, helping Blaine pack his things. But he’d had enough of the silence.
“Why aren’t you talking to me?” Kurt asked as he folded an undershirt of Blaine’s and gently put it into his bag. “Because I know that you still talk to everyone else.”
Blaine glanced up at him and just looked at his face for a moment before sighing. He waved Kurt over to where he was walking towards his bed, sitting down on the end of it and patting the space next to him.
Kurt got up and plopped down next to Blaine, giving him an expectant look.
“It’s not your fault,” he murmured after a moment. “And it really has nothing to do with what happened.”
Kurt’s eyebrows furrowed. If it didn’t have to do with the accident, then what was it about?
“What’s wrong?” Kurt whispered. “Did something else happen?”
Blaine took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment before looking back at Kurt. “When I was still in the hospital,” he started, “My dads were talking about maybe we needed to get away for a while.”
Kurt could feel the panic start to settle in. That could mean so many different things - Blaine could be moving, going to school out of state, out of the country, they could be -
“And before your almost insane mind comes up with ridiculous ideas, no I’m not being sent to a different school or anything,” Blaine interrupted Kurt’s thinking. “But we’re going on vacation.”
Kurt let out a sigh of relief. “Well that’s not a bad thing,” Kurt replied, smiling a little.
“No,” Blaine shook his head. “But we’re going for the whole summer.”
Kurt felt a lump forming in his throat as he absorbed Blaine’s words. “Oh,” he said, because that was really all he could think of at the moment. “Where - Where are you going?”
“Europe,” Blaine whispered.
And then it hit Kurt so much harder. Blaine was going out of the country. For the whole summer.
Kurt was going to be stuck here. In Ohio. Alone.
Rachel and Blaine - with the exception of Quinn and the somewhat friendship he had with the New Directions - were Kurt’s only friends. And since they’d both be gone…
It would basically be like it had been for the rest of Kurt’s life. The past school year had - besides the increase in bullying - been amazing in Kurt’s book. He had friends, he did things that teenagers did, he had sleepovers and went to the mall and just hung out.
But Rachel and Blaine were going miles and miles away from him, a whole ocean separating them. He wouldn’t be able to call Blaine if something went wrong. He wouldn’t be able to run into Rachel’s arms whenever he was upset.
He would really, truly be by himself.
“So I wasn’t really talking to you because I knew that I needed to tell you,” Blaine went on. “I guess you could say I was putting off the inevitable.”
Kurt sighed but nodded, biting his bottom lip as he stared at his feet.
“I don’t want to leave you here without anyone,” Blaine whispered after a moment. “But it’s what my dads want.”
“I know,” Kurt replied, his voice cracking a little. “But - I just don’t want you to go. But I don’t want you to not go because of me.”
Blaine looked at Kurt for a moment before scooting over and wrapping his arm around his shoulders. “I’ll be here for the first three weeks of summer,” Blaine whispered in his ear, and no, Kurt, his breath on your ear isn’t making you shiver. “We can hang out constantly then.”
“We better,” Kurt chuckled. “I’m holding you to that promise.”
“And I can give you my address of where we’ll be staying,” Blaine said, smiling as if the idea had just come to him. “And then we can write all the time.”
Kurt laughed and shook his head at how excited Blaine looked. He could still feel the light pressure of Blaine’s arm on his shoulder, the way his fingers were unconsciously playing with the loose fabric on shirt.
“You get excited over the smallest of things,” Kurt chuckled.
“Sometimes the small things in life are better,” Blaine said with a shrug. “It’s just a matter of knowing what they are and when to appreciate them.”
…..
Before Kurt knew what was happening, it was the middle of May. The Glee Club was working on recruiting new members for next year, and - while that had been unsuccessful, Rachel had a very adamant plan that she was sure would work.
“Maybe I could bring some European singers home,” she said at lunch one day. “And then we’d have enough.”
“You can’t just bring people home,” Kurt replied. “They’re not souvenirs.”
“That’s what you think,” Rachel said, pointing her fork at Kurt. “You obviously haven’t truly met me, then.”
Kurt laughed, trying to keep his milk from spewing out of his nose. “I have met you,” he replied. “And that’s even more of a reason why I know for a fact random foreigners won’t come to America to be in our tiny, tiny Glee Club.”
Rachel huffed, Kurt knowing that he’d won that one.
“What are you going to do once we leave?” Rachel asked. “Without me and Blaine.”
Kurt shrugged. He’d been trying not to think about it, really. “I don’t know,” he said. “Quinn said we could go shopping, and Mercedes said we could hang out every now and then.”
Rachel nodded as she took another stab of her salad, forking it into her mouth.
“But…it won’t be the same,” he admitted. “I’m not as close as I am with you and Blaine.”
“You’re not as close with anyone as you are with Blaine,” Rachel added, pausing for a moment before smirking at Kurt. “I mean, I can’t say that you’ve cuddled with many other people while sleeping.”
Kurt felt his cheeks tinting as he ducked his head. “Who told you that?” He muttered.
“My dads,” Rachel smirked. “They thought it was hilarious how red you guys turned whenever they brought it up. Obviously they were right.”
“I hate you guys,” Kurt said, sending her a mock-glare. “All of you.”
“Even Blaine?” Rachel teased, waggling her eyebrows at him.
“Would you stop doing that?” Kurt asked, gesturing at her eyebrows.
“I’m just saying,” Rachel said, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms over her chest. “I think you like him.”
Kurt’s eyes widened at her as he felt his neck starting to heat up. “No,” he said firmly. “We’re just friends.”
“For now,” Rachel replied. “I mean, think about it. You guys are still young and can’t really tell those things yet,” she said. “And you obviously have some kind of connection…”
“What are you even trying to say?” Kurt asked, his forehead scrunching in confusion. “That me and Blaine are eventually going to get together?”
Rachel shrugged, a small smile toying at her lips. “It could happen,” she smirked. “It is a possibility. Never say never.”
Kurt scoffed and rolled his eyes. “You just want me as a brother-in-law,” he said.
Rachel laughed and gave her attention back to her lunch, sending a small smirk his way every now and then.
…..
Ever since the incident at the dance, Karofsky had been harassing Kurt a lot less. He assumed it was because Figgens had gotten on his case about his friends, meaning that a close eye was being kept on him.
He couldn’t have expected that to last long, though.
It was almost the end of May before Kurt had another run in with Karofsky. He thought that maybe, since they only had about two weeks of school left, that he was in the clear for the rest of the year.
He wasn’t.
The locker shoves started up again, the dumpster tosses shortly after. He seemed to have his friends doing the slushy facials - since those were what would get them in trouble of they were caught.
So much for being in the clear.
And this time, it was so much worse. Along with the usual slurs, there were new ones - ones about how he should exist, ones about how Blaine shouldn’t exist. He hated that they knew about Blaine now, that they knew who he was and, because of that, they could make fun of him to Kurt.
Honestly, Kurt couldn’t decide what hurt him more - when they would hiss about Blaine or sneer slurs at him to his face. After what Karofsky’s out of school friends had done to Blaine, Blaine didn’t deserve to be talked about like this, even if it wasn’t directly at him. He knew they were doing it to Kurt to get a rise out of him, but that didn’t make it any better.
He hadn’t told Blaine about it, either. The boy didn’t need any more of that in his life at the moment. He was safe and happy at Dalton, and that’s how it was going to stay. He was just recovering from the attack, and this would only make it worse.
Dalton got out of school for the summer a week before McKinley did. And Kurt just hoped that Blaine wouldn’t come around here during those five days. He wanted Blaine to stay as far away from this school as he could. He just hoped Blaine wouldn’t make any surprise visits.
He told Rachel, too. She agreed with him, but she also knew that it was very likely Blaine would make an appearance to surprise them.
So he took it into his own hands and called Blaine.
“Hello?” Blaine said as he answered the phone. He heard a bunch of boys chattering in the background, laughing and talking loudly.
“Hi,” Kurt replied.
He could hear Blaine telling someone that he had to go, the background noise quieting.
“What’s up?” Blaine asked.
“I need you to do something for me,” Kurt said slowly. “It might sound kind of weird, but…”
“Of course,” Blaine replied instantly. “You don’t need to ask me twice.”
“Okay,” Kurt took a deep breath. “Once you’re out of school for the summer, and McKinley isn’t…” He trailed off for a moment, figuring out exactly how to put this. “I - You shouldn’t come visit me or Rachel here.”
Blaine was silent for a few moments, Kurt practically sensing he didn’t really understand. “Um…Why?” Blaine asked.
“Because I don’t want you getting hurt again,” Kurt whispered, hoping that Blaine could hear him through the receiver. “They - Karofsky and his friends that go to school here - they’re going to remember you. And they’ll mainly remember that you’re an easy target.”
Blaine was silent again. Kurt could hear him thinking, and if he were with him, he would be able to see the gears turning in his head.
“Can I at least come for a Glee rehearsal?” Blaine asked. “That’s just at the end of the day, right?”
Kurt paused, thinking about that. It was safer than any other time of day - most of the jocks had P.E. that hour on the opposite side of the school - and if they were quick enough, they could be out of there before any of them were even out of the locker room.
“Okay,” Kurt finally said. “But we’d have to leave quickly.”
“Of course,” Blaine replied.
They both fell silent for a minute, Kurt just listening to Blaine’s soft breaths coming through his phone.
“Kurt?” Blaine said after a few minutes. His voice was soft and tender, and he just sounded young.
“Mhmm?” Kurt replied.
“Thank you for looking out for me,” Blaine whispered. “It - It really means a lot.”
“I care about you, Blaine,” Kurt replied. “I just don’t want anything else to happen to you.”
He heard Blaine sigh, Kurt imagining him attempting to run his hand through his gellified hair. “I wish I could protect you like that,” he said, his voice strained. “But…”
“No,” Kurt stopped him. “Blaine…you do enough as it is. Without you…I don’t even know where I would be.”
“Just be careful,” Blaine said. “When I’m gone…be careful, okay?”
“I always am,” Kurt replied, laughing a little.
“I’m not joking though, Kurt,” Blaine said. “I’m not going to be there if something happens. Rachel’s not going to be there…”
Kurt knew this already. How could he not know that he was going to be here without anyone?
“We won’t be in school,” Kurt whispered. “I’ll hardly ever see them.”
Blaine sighed again. “I just worry,” he said. “I worry about you over there so much that sometimes I wonder if it’s borderline insane.”
Kurt laughed then. “Well I don’t think it’s insane,” Kurt replied. “When you were in the hospital, I thought I was going to die from anxiety practically every day.”
Their conversation slowly trickled away after that, Blaine telling Kurt that he was coming home that weekend so he could grab some suitcases for his things.
“I wish I could help you pack,” Kurt said with a laugh. “Your packing skills are limited.”
Blaine laughed loudly. “Hey!” He protested.
“Just being truthful,” Kurt replied.
Blaine sighed, Kurt picturing him shaking his head. “God,” he breathed. “That what I love about you.”
Kurt froze at Blaine’s words, his eyes widening. What had Blaine just said?
“Umm,” Blaine stuttered. “That came out wrong.”
Oh.
“Well, I mean I do love you,” Blaine stammered. “Like a friend. Like, friendly love. You know what I mean?”
Kurt nodded, even though Blaine couldn’t see him. “Yeah,” he replied softly. He wasn’t sure if he should say something else, or what he should say or how he should respond.
But then he thought about how Blaine had helped him, how Blaine had freaking been beaten up for him.
“I love you, too,” he said, and no, Kurt, why did you say it like that? “Not in that way. Well, maybe in that way, depending on what way you’re looking at it. Like the friendly way. Friend love. Like Philos. Love between two friends and all that.”
“Kurt, I got it,” Blaine laughed. “Thanks for that vocabulary lesson, though.”
They chatted for a few minutes after that, Kurt hanging up his phone and holding it to his chest.
Why did he feel…giddy? All he’d done was say that he loved Blaine as a friend. It was no big deal, right?
But why did it feel like so, so much more?
Maybe it had to do with the fact that Blaine was leaving in about a month’s time for the whole summer, and that he wouldn’t get to see him for weeks upon weeks.
He wasn’t going to think about that now, though. They still had three weeks in the summer to spend together, and that’s what Kurt was going to look forward to.
Rating: PG-13ish
Pairings: Kurt/Blaine, Blaine/Rachel siblingship
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any recognizable characters.
Summary: Kurt Hummel met Rachel Anderson-Berry his first day of high school. And, if asked, Kurt Hummel would say that no, he never expected her younger brother, Blaine, to ever become his boyfriend
A/N: This is kind of just a filler chapter. It's absolutely vital for what I have planned in future chapters, though :) And I update this fic once a week, usually either Friday or Saturday.
Previous Chapter
The weeks after Blaine was released from the hospital were quite possibly the slowest of Kurt’s life. Blaine was on bed rest for a week, not being allowed to return to Dalton until his health was approved by the doctor. So Kurt would go to school, be completely distracted all day, and then go home with Rachel and whichever one of her dads it was that picked her up. He’d sit with Blaine they’d do their homework in silence.
That was the thing that scared Kurt.
Before, whenever they’d been hanging out together, there was barely ever silence. They were always talking about something.
But ever since Blaine came out of the hospital, they’d barely had a conversation.
Kurt wondered if it was because Blaine could sense that he still felt guilty. Kurt knew that, no matter what Blaine was to say, he would instantly pipe in that he was sorry and that it should have happened to him instead of Blaine and that it just wasn’t fair.
And, now that Kurt actually thought about it, that was most likely the case. Blaine had told him countless times not to feel bad about the whole thing, but Kurt couldn’t help it.
Blaine finally went back to school the first week of May. Kurt was over there the Sunday before, helping Blaine pack his things. But he’d had enough of the silence.
“Why aren’t you talking to me?” Kurt asked as he folded an undershirt of Blaine’s and gently put it into his bag. “Because I know that you still talk to everyone else.”
Blaine glanced up at him and just looked at his face for a moment before sighing. He waved Kurt over to where he was walking towards his bed, sitting down on the end of it and patting the space next to him.
Kurt got up and plopped down next to Blaine, giving him an expectant look.
“It’s not your fault,” he murmured after a moment. “And it really has nothing to do with what happened.”
Kurt’s eyebrows furrowed. If it didn’t have to do with the accident, then what was it about?
“What’s wrong?” Kurt whispered. “Did something else happen?”
Blaine took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment before looking back at Kurt. “When I was still in the hospital,” he started, “My dads were talking about maybe we needed to get away for a while.”
Kurt could feel the panic start to settle in. That could mean so many different things - Blaine could be moving, going to school out of state, out of the country, they could be -
“And before your almost insane mind comes up with ridiculous ideas, no I’m not being sent to a different school or anything,” Blaine interrupted Kurt’s thinking. “But we’re going on vacation.”
Kurt let out a sigh of relief. “Well that’s not a bad thing,” Kurt replied, smiling a little.
“No,” Blaine shook his head. “But we’re going for the whole summer.”
Kurt felt a lump forming in his throat as he absorbed Blaine’s words. “Oh,” he said, because that was really all he could think of at the moment. “Where - Where are you going?”
“Europe,” Blaine whispered.
And then it hit Kurt so much harder. Blaine was going out of the country. For the whole summer.
Kurt was going to be stuck here. In Ohio. Alone.
Rachel and Blaine - with the exception of Quinn and the somewhat friendship he had with the New Directions - were Kurt’s only friends. And since they’d both be gone…
It would basically be like it had been for the rest of Kurt’s life. The past school year had - besides the increase in bullying - been amazing in Kurt’s book. He had friends, he did things that teenagers did, he had sleepovers and went to the mall and just hung out.
But Rachel and Blaine were going miles and miles away from him, a whole ocean separating them. He wouldn’t be able to call Blaine if something went wrong. He wouldn’t be able to run into Rachel’s arms whenever he was upset.
He would really, truly be by himself.
“So I wasn’t really talking to you because I knew that I needed to tell you,” Blaine went on. “I guess you could say I was putting off the inevitable.”
Kurt sighed but nodded, biting his bottom lip as he stared at his feet.
“I don’t want to leave you here without anyone,” Blaine whispered after a moment. “But it’s what my dads want.”
“I know,” Kurt replied, his voice cracking a little. “But - I just don’t want you to go. But I don’t want you to not go because of me.”
Blaine looked at Kurt for a moment before scooting over and wrapping his arm around his shoulders. “I’ll be here for the first three weeks of summer,” Blaine whispered in his ear, and no, Kurt, his breath on your ear isn’t making you shiver. “We can hang out constantly then.”
“We better,” Kurt chuckled. “I’m holding you to that promise.”
“And I can give you my address of where we’ll be staying,” Blaine said, smiling as if the idea had just come to him. “And then we can write all the time.”
Kurt laughed and shook his head at how excited Blaine looked. He could still feel the light pressure of Blaine’s arm on his shoulder, the way his fingers were unconsciously playing with the loose fabric on shirt.
“You get excited over the smallest of things,” Kurt chuckled.
“Sometimes the small things in life are better,” Blaine said with a shrug. “It’s just a matter of knowing what they are and when to appreciate them.”
…..
Before Kurt knew what was happening, it was the middle of May. The Glee Club was working on recruiting new members for next year, and - while that had been unsuccessful, Rachel had a very adamant plan that she was sure would work.
“Maybe I could bring some European singers home,” she said at lunch one day. “And then we’d have enough.”
“You can’t just bring people home,” Kurt replied. “They’re not souvenirs.”
“That’s what you think,” Rachel said, pointing her fork at Kurt. “You obviously haven’t truly met me, then.”
Kurt laughed, trying to keep his milk from spewing out of his nose. “I have met you,” he replied. “And that’s even more of a reason why I know for a fact random foreigners won’t come to America to be in our tiny, tiny Glee Club.”
Rachel huffed, Kurt knowing that he’d won that one.
“What are you going to do once we leave?” Rachel asked. “Without me and Blaine.”
Kurt shrugged. He’d been trying not to think about it, really. “I don’t know,” he said. “Quinn said we could go shopping, and Mercedes said we could hang out every now and then.”
Rachel nodded as she took another stab of her salad, forking it into her mouth.
“But…it won’t be the same,” he admitted. “I’m not as close as I am with you and Blaine.”
“You’re not as close with anyone as you are with Blaine,” Rachel added, pausing for a moment before smirking at Kurt. “I mean, I can’t say that you’ve cuddled with many other people while sleeping.”
Kurt felt his cheeks tinting as he ducked his head. “Who told you that?” He muttered.
“My dads,” Rachel smirked. “They thought it was hilarious how red you guys turned whenever they brought it up. Obviously they were right.”
“I hate you guys,” Kurt said, sending her a mock-glare. “All of you.”
“Even Blaine?” Rachel teased, waggling her eyebrows at him.
“Would you stop doing that?” Kurt asked, gesturing at her eyebrows.
“I’m just saying,” Rachel said, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms over her chest. “I think you like him.”
Kurt’s eyes widened at her as he felt his neck starting to heat up. “No,” he said firmly. “We’re just friends.”
“For now,” Rachel replied. “I mean, think about it. You guys are still young and can’t really tell those things yet,” she said. “And you obviously have some kind of connection…”
“What are you even trying to say?” Kurt asked, his forehead scrunching in confusion. “That me and Blaine are eventually going to get together?”
Rachel shrugged, a small smile toying at her lips. “It could happen,” she smirked. “It is a possibility. Never say never.”
Kurt scoffed and rolled his eyes. “You just want me as a brother-in-law,” he said.
Rachel laughed and gave her attention back to her lunch, sending a small smirk his way every now and then.
…..
Ever since the incident at the dance, Karofsky had been harassing Kurt a lot less. He assumed it was because Figgens had gotten on his case about his friends, meaning that a close eye was being kept on him.
He couldn’t have expected that to last long, though.
It was almost the end of May before Kurt had another run in with Karofsky. He thought that maybe, since they only had about two weeks of school left, that he was in the clear for the rest of the year.
He wasn’t.
The locker shoves started up again, the dumpster tosses shortly after. He seemed to have his friends doing the slushy facials - since those were what would get them in trouble of they were caught.
So much for being in the clear.
And this time, it was so much worse. Along with the usual slurs, there were new ones - ones about how he should exist, ones about how Blaine shouldn’t exist. He hated that they knew about Blaine now, that they knew who he was and, because of that, they could make fun of him to Kurt.
Honestly, Kurt couldn’t decide what hurt him more - when they would hiss about Blaine or sneer slurs at him to his face. After what Karofsky’s out of school friends had done to Blaine, Blaine didn’t deserve to be talked about like this, even if it wasn’t directly at him. He knew they were doing it to Kurt to get a rise out of him, but that didn’t make it any better.
He hadn’t told Blaine about it, either. The boy didn’t need any more of that in his life at the moment. He was safe and happy at Dalton, and that’s how it was going to stay. He was just recovering from the attack, and this would only make it worse.
Dalton got out of school for the summer a week before McKinley did. And Kurt just hoped that Blaine wouldn’t come around here during those five days. He wanted Blaine to stay as far away from this school as he could. He just hoped Blaine wouldn’t make any surprise visits.
He told Rachel, too. She agreed with him, but she also knew that it was very likely Blaine would make an appearance to surprise them.
So he took it into his own hands and called Blaine.
“Hello?” Blaine said as he answered the phone. He heard a bunch of boys chattering in the background, laughing and talking loudly.
“Hi,” Kurt replied.
He could hear Blaine telling someone that he had to go, the background noise quieting.
“What’s up?” Blaine asked.
“I need you to do something for me,” Kurt said slowly. “It might sound kind of weird, but…”
“Of course,” Blaine replied instantly. “You don’t need to ask me twice.”
“Okay,” Kurt took a deep breath. “Once you’re out of school for the summer, and McKinley isn’t…” He trailed off for a moment, figuring out exactly how to put this. “I - You shouldn’t come visit me or Rachel here.”
Blaine was silent for a few moments, Kurt practically sensing he didn’t really understand. “Um…Why?” Blaine asked.
“Because I don’t want you getting hurt again,” Kurt whispered, hoping that Blaine could hear him through the receiver. “They - Karofsky and his friends that go to school here - they’re going to remember you. And they’ll mainly remember that you’re an easy target.”
Blaine was silent again. Kurt could hear him thinking, and if he were with him, he would be able to see the gears turning in his head.
“Can I at least come for a Glee rehearsal?” Blaine asked. “That’s just at the end of the day, right?”
Kurt paused, thinking about that. It was safer than any other time of day - most of the jocks had P.E. that hour on the opposite side of the school - and if they were quick enough, they could be out of there before any of them were even out of the locker room.
“Okay,” Kurt finally said. “But we’d have to leave quickly.”
“Of course,” Blaine replied.
They both fell silent for a minute, Kurt just listening to Blaine’s soft breaths coming through his phone.
“Kurt?” Blaine said after a few minutes. His voice was soft and tender, and he just sounded young.
“Mhmm?” Kurt replied.
“Thank you for looking out for me,” Blaine whispered. “It - It really means a lot.”
“I care about you, Blaine,” Kurt replied. “I just don’t want anything else to happen to you.”
He heard Blaine sigh, Kurt imagining him attempting to run his hand through his gellified hair. “I wish I could protect you like that,” he said, his voice strained. “But…”
“No,” Kurt stopped him. “Blaine…you do enough as it is. Without you…I don’t even know where I would be.”
“Just be careful,” Blaine said. “When I’m gone…be careful, okay?”
“I always am,” Kurt replied, laughing a little.
“I’m not joking though, Kurt,” Blaine said. “I’m not going to be there if something happens. Rachel’s not going to be there…”
Kurt knew this already. How could he not know that he was going to be here without anyone?
“We won’t be in school,” Kurt whispered. “I’ll hardly ever see them.”
Blaine sighed again. “I just worry,” he said. “I worry about you over there so much that sometimes I wonder if it’s borderline insane.”
Kurt laughed then. “Well I don’t think it’s insane,” Kurt replied. “When you were in the hospital, I thought I was going to die from anxiety practically every day.”
Their conversation slowly trickled away after that, Blaine telling Kurt that he was coming home that weekend so he could grab some suitcases for his things.
“I wish I could help you pack,” Kurt said with a laugh. “Your packing skills are limited.”
Blaine laughed loudly. “Hey!” He protested.
“Just being truthful,” Kurt replied.
Blaine sighed, Kurt picturing him shaking his head. “God,” he breathed. “That what I love about you.”
Kurt froze at Blaine’s words, his eyes widening. What had Blaine just said?
“Umm,” Blaine stuttered. “That came out wrong.”
Oh.
“Well, I mean I do love you,” Blaine stammered. “Like a friend. Like, friendly love. You know what I mean?”
Kurt nodded, even though Blaine couldn’t see him. “Yeah,” he replied softly. He wasn’t sure if he should say something else, or what he should say or how he should respond.
But then he thought about how Blaine had helped him, how Blaine had freaking been beaten up for him.
“I love you, too,” he said, and no, Kurt, why did you say it like that? “Not in that way. Well, maybe in that way, depending on what way you’re looking at it. Like the friendly way. Friend love. Like Philos. Love between two friends and all that.”
“Kurt, I got it,” Blaine laughed. “Thanks for that vocabulary lesson, though.”
They chatted for a few minutes after that, Kurt hanging up his phone and holding it to his chest.
Why did he feel…giddy? All he’d done was say that he loved Blaine as a friend. It was no big deal, right?
But why did it feel like so, so much more?
Maybe it had to do with the fact that Blaine was leaving in about a month’s time for the whole summer, and that he wouldn’t get to see him for weeks upon weeks.
He wasn’t going to think about that now, though. They still had three weeks in the summer to spend together, and that’s what Kurt was going to look forward to.