So this was originally going to be a one-shot but I kind of got carried away with the plot and it's already 10,000 words and 4 chapters long. I'm going to try to update once a week but I can't promise anything since I have so many other WIPs (I know, I should stop) but here's chapter one! Enjoy!

Blaine Anderson was twelve years old when his family had uprooted from Westerville and moved to Lima. His first day a Lima Middle had gone, well, less than perfect. He'd tripped on his way down the hall and had to suffer through the snorts and jeers from his new classmates as he struggled to his feet, blushing furiously and scurrying away to his next class, which he ended up being late for because he'd gotten lost.

It wasn't until lunch that his day finally turned around. He'd been sitting alone, picking at his packed lunch, head hung and shoulders slumped and resigning to the fact that he'd be just as alone here as he at been at his old school, when it had happened.

"What are you eating?"

Blaine looked up from his sandwich at the boy standing next to him, clutching his tray of food and smiling kindly. He had wide blue eyes, neatly combed-back brown hair, and was dressed smartly in a crisp blue shirt and pale gold bow tie.

"Oh, um...t-turkey," Blaine said, looking back at his food again.

"Can I sit with you?"

Blaine blinked in surprise and lifted his eyes to the boy again.

"O-oh...sure," Blaine said, moving his drink to the side to make room for the boy's tray.

"Thanks," he said, smiling brightly as he sat, laying his napkin across his lap and scooting his chair closer to the table. They ate in silence for a moment before the boy cleared his throat softly and Blaine looked up at him again.

"So, you just moved here, right?" he said as he cut his green beans into small bites.

"Yeah," Blaine mumbled, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Um...from Westerville."

"I'm Kurt," the boy said, holding his hand out to him. "Hummel."

Blaine looked down at his hand for a moment before taking it in his own and shaking it with a small smile.

"Blaine," he said, brightening a little. "Anderson."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Blaine Anderson," Kurt said happily.

Blaine grinned, feeing lighter than he had all day, and turned back to his lunch.

"Welcome to Lima, new kid!"

Blaine looked up at the shout, gasping as he was doused in cold milk by two burly eighth graders passing the table. They roared with laughter and walked off, high-fiving and leaving Blaine dripping and blinking milk out of his eyes, his glasses smeared over with the stuff.

"Sorry about that," Kurt sighed, pushing his own sopping food away and pulling out the kerchief in his pocket. "They do that to all the new people. They still do it to me, actually." He smiled sympathetically. "Here, let me help."

He pulled Blaine's glasses off and wiped them dry, lips pursed as Blaine shook milk out of his eyes, shivering as liquid tricked down the back of his neck and spine. Kurt set Blaine's glasses down on the table and scooted closer to him, lifting his kerchief with a questioning look.

Blaine nodded slightly and allowed Kurt to pat his face dry, though his shirt was still soaking wet and he could feel that it had gotten in his hair as well.

"Thanks," he said, ducking his head and smiling when Kurt had finished.

"No problem," Kurt said, setting his kerchief down and holding up Blaine's glasses. He paused before putting them on, cocking his head to the side. "You have nice eyes."

Blaine blushed and accepted his glasses back. "Thanks," he mumbled, placing them back on his face.

"Come on," Kurt said, pushing his chair back and standing up. "The second floor bathroom is the best place to clear up. I've got an extra shirt in my locker for emergencies like this that you can borrow, too.

"Really?" Blaine said in disbelief. "I mean...you're not worried that people will make fun of you for helping me? No one likes the new kid."

"Oh who cares what they think anyway?" Kurt said, glaring at the boys who'd thrown the milk at Blaine. "They're idiots. And I like the new kid so there." He nodded with an air of finality.

Blaine grinned and stood, abandoning his soggy food and following Kurt out of the cafeteria. They'd been best friends ever since.

They'd changed over the years, of course, but they'd grown even closer in spite of it. They stuck with one another through everything. Halfway through eighth grade, Kurt had come out and for a long time, Blaine was one of the only friends he had left. He'd stood up to countless bullies, taunts and jeers that had left him trying to comfort a puffy-eyed, red-nosed Kurt in the second floor bathroom.

Then they'd started high school and Blaine had come to an awful realisation. He was gay. Well, that wasn't the bad part. The bad part was that he was in love with Kurt.

It was in freshman year that he realised it, back when he and Kurt were still both outcasts, and at first he thought he might have a shot if he ever worked up the courage to tell Kurt how he'd felt.

But then Sophomore year had begun and Kurt had joined the Cheerios, the McKinley cheer team, and everything changed. He grew taller, leaner, started hanging out with the rest of the Cheerios and the football team and quickly risen up the social ladder.

Blaine had watched him turn from relatively shy and reserved, talking openly only with his closest friends since he'd come out, to a loud extrovert, always at the center of a crowd of chattering Cheerios or laughing students in his group.

One thing did stay the same over the years though, their friendship. Even when Kurt started dating in junior year and Blaine joined Glee Club, they still spent as much time together as possible. They still walked to class together, when Kurt's current boyfriend wasn't insisting on jamming himself between them, still studied after school together, still spent every Friday night watching movies in Kurt's basement, though Kurt's new step-brother, Finn, had become an institution in the ritual.

He'd thought it would be difficult, hiding the fact that he was in love with Kurt when he'd first realised it, but three years had given him plenty of time to learn how to act indifferent whenever Kurt talked about other boys, and lately, chattered on and on about his current boyfriend, Jason, who was, of course, center forward for the Titans' soccer team and one of the most popular students at McKinley. It was natural that Kurt, as co-Captain of the Cheerios, should date someone like him. Tall, muscled, wavy blonde hair and dark blue eyes that had half the girls in the school swooning over him.

And then there was Blaine, quiet and reserved, sticking to his books and Glee Club. In fact, if not for Kurt, he probably wouldn't have any semblance of a life outside of school. Though, lately, their evenings together watching movies and simply talking for hours on the phone were marred by Jason, who either ended up joining them, in which case Blaine was forced to sit silently through a movie while the two of them made-out on the couch next to him—listening to Kurt make the most wonderful noises, tiny whimpers and breathy sighs—or he'd interrupt like he had tonight and pull Kurt away from Blaine.

And now it was senior year and Blaine had all but lost any chance of ever telling Kurt how he felt about him. He'd made himself a promise though when the year had started. Even if it took him until graduation to do it, he was going to tell Kurt that he was in love with him. Worse case scenario, of course, would be that Kurt wouldn't feel the same way, but at least then Blaine could go away to college and live in peace and, hopefully, forget about his feelings for him.

At least then he wouldn't have to spend hours listening to Kurt talk in depth about every experience he had with his various boyfriends, from his first kiss to the first time he had sex and everything in between, leaving Blaine with unbelievably vivid images of Kurt, sweaty and panting and whimpering desperately, something he knew he'd never be able to get out of his mind or, even worse, experience for himself.

But for now, he was content with what they were now, simply best friends despite how different their cliques at school were. It was good enough for Blaine just spending time with Kurt, sharing their evenings, like this one, plopped on Blaine's bed and studying.

Well, Blaine was attempting to tutor Kurt while Kurt tapped out texts to Jason on his cell phone, giggling every few minutes and sighing happily.

Blaine cleared his throat softly to try and get Kurt's attention, drumming his fingers on the page of his Calculus textbook.

"Kurt."

Kurt grinned at his phone, thumbs racing over the screen and eyes darting back and forth.

"Kurt."

Kurt laughed softly, brushing his hair back off his face.

"KURT!"

"Huh?" Kurt looked up from his cell phone with a mildly surprised look.

Blaine sighed and fixed his glasses, pursing his lips as Kurt slipped his phone into his pocket with a guilty look.

"Sorry," he mumbled with a small shrug.

"What did we agree on?" Blaine said.

"No cell phones when we're working," Kurt droned, rolling his eyes. "Sorry. Jason was texting me."

"Of course he was," Blaine grumbled under his breath. He cleared his throat. "Just…can you put it away? We need you to pass this test or you won't be able to stay on the Cheerios."

Kurt sighed heavily and flopped back on Blaine's bed. "Fine," he groaned, pouting. "I hate Calculus."

"I've heard," Blaine said, smiling faintly. "But you need to get a 'B' so let's just get back to studying, okay?"

"How can you even concentrate on this stuff?" Kurt said, rolling onto his stomach and kicking his legs. "It's so boring."

"I like it," Blaine said, shrugging.

"Well, I guess I'm lucky you're my best friend then, huh?" Kurt said, nudging his arm lightly with his toe and smiling.

"Yeah," Blaine said with a nod.

Kurt snorted and flipped back onto his back again, stretching out on the bed. He groaned quietly and closed his eyes as he reached his arms over his head and arched his back slightly, his red and white uniform top riding up his torso and revealing his jutting hipbones and a wide strip of his stomach.

Blaine swallowed dryly as his eyes found the pale skin. God, he was beautiful. He shifted nervously and rubbed his suddenly sweaty palms on his slacks, pushing his glasses up his nose and trying to return his focus to his book.

"R-right so…um, we really need to get through chapter four."

Kurt groaned. "Fine," he grumbled. "Give me a problem."

"Alright," Blaine said, flicking through the pages, "so, five over x to the one-half plus x to the one-third—"

"What are you doing for Homecoming?" Kurt said loudly.

"What?" Blaine said, looking up from his book and cocking his head to the side.

"Homecoming," Kurt said eagerly. "It's two weeks away. Any plans? Ooo, any dates?"

Blaine snorted, blushing faintly and pushing his glasses up his nose as he cleared his throat. "Er, no," he mumbled. "No…no dates."

"Hmm," Kurt said, pursing his lips. "We really need to find one for you."

"I really don't care," Blaine said with a small shrug. "I was just going to hang out at the house or something."

"No!" Kurt said, looking appalled at the very thought. "You can't skip our last Homecoming!"

"Why not?" Blaine said, cocking an eyebrow.

"Because it's Homecoming," Kurt said, rolling his eyes and propping his chin up on his fist. "You know you don't have to go with a date, even. You can come with me and Jace."

Blaine forced a small smile.

"I don't want to get in the way," he said. Honestly, he really just didn't want to spend the night having to watch Jason being all over Kurt in a dark corner of the gymnasium while he sat at a table by himself and sipped punch for two hours.

"Oh, you won't get in the way, stupid," Kurt said, smacking him lightly on the arm. "I want to hang out with you. It's our last Homecoming together."

He smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling up, something that always made Blaine melt a little inside, one corner of his mouth turning up in a dreamy smile.

"Well…alright," he said reluctantly. "If you want me to."

Kurt beamed and Blaine's stomach squirmed happily. Who was he kidding? He'd do anything to make Kurt smile like that.

Kurt's phone buzzed loudly in his pocket and Blaine stiffened. It buzzed again after a few seconds and he could almost hear Kurt squirming.

"Just answer it," Blaine mumbled.

"Sorry," Kurt said apologetically, sliding off the bed as he pulled out his phone. "Hey, babe," he said happily into the mouthpiece. "Huh?...No, I'm studying with Blaine."

Blaine snapped the book shut moodily, watching Kurt out of the corner of his eye.

"Breadstix?" Kurt said. Blaine looked away quickly as Kurt glanced at him. "Well...I've really got to finish my history paper and study for the test on Friday...yeah...Jason." Kurt giggled and Blaine scowled. "Jason I can't I have to study...unless I can bring Blaine and his amazing Calculus abilities along." He grinned and winked at Blaine from across the room. Blaine smiled tightly back. "Yeah?...Jason!" Kurt's eyes widened and Blaine saw a faint blush darken his cheeks as he lowered his voice. "Jason, Blaine's right here... Yeah? Well, maybe if you're good I'll think about it." He smirked, biting his lower lip and Blaine couldn't stop himself from sighing at the sight of him.

"I can't, Jason," Kurt said with a small sigh. "I promised Blaine I'd study tonight...well, you know I want to, babe, but I told Blaine I'd hang out with him."

Blaine lowered his head, picking at the corner of his book. He'd been feeling more and more like a burden to Kurt ever since he and Jason had started dating that summer. He hated watching Kurt falling in love with someone else, but he hated the thought that he might be bothering him even more.

"Just go," he said, standing up and tossing his book onto his bed.

Kurt blinked and looked up at him.

"Jason?" he said, "Babe, hold on for a second, okay?" he covered the mouthpiece and lowered the phone from his ear. "What's wrong, Blaine?"

"Just go," Blaine repeated, straightening a few things on his desk, though he wasn't really paying attention to what he was doing. "I know you want to."

"Blaine," Kurt said gently, taking a few steps towards him.

"Don't worry about it," Blaine said in a falsely cheery voice. "It's fine. We'll...we'll study tomorrow."

"Are you sure?" Kurt said anxiously.

"I'm sure," Blaine said, smiling.

Kurt beamed and held the phone to his ear again. "Jason?...Yeah...yeah, I'm coming over... Mhmm. We'll study tomorrow, Blaine says... Alright... See you in a few." He blushed at something Jason said, ducking his head and touching his arm absently. "I love you too." Blaine bit his tongue hard and swallowed back the lump growing in his throat. "Ok...bye."

Kurt flipped off his phone, sighing dreamily as he tucked it into his pocket. He tugged on his coat and turned back to Blaine.

"You're sure you don't mind postponing?" he said guiltily.

"I'm sure," Blaine said, nodding.

"You really are the best," Kurt said fondly, kissing him on the cheek. He paused, face falling slightly. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean?" Blaine mumbled.

"Well, you've just been acting...off," Kurt said, chewing his lower lip, "ever since Jace and I started dating."

"That's not true," Blaine said, scuffing his toe against the ground.

"Yes it is," Kurt said, laying a hand on Blaine's shoulder. "Blaine—"

"I'm fine," Blaine said. "Really."

"Are you sure?" Kurt said, biting his lip and tilting his head to the side.

"Fine," Blaine said, nodding. "Go on. I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Okay," Kurt said, giving him a quick hug. Blaine closed his eyes and breathed in slowly, shivering at the sweet smell of him. And then he was pulling away and grabbing his books from the bed. "Bye!"

"B-bye," Blaine said, gripping the edge of the desk. He heard Kurt's footsteps on the stairs and closed his bedroom door before flopping face-down onto his bed, groaning at the scent of Kurt still lingering there.

He fisted his hands in the blankets and scowled against the pillow. Who was he kidding, thinking he had any sort of a chance with Kurt? Kurt was a cheerleader and he was in the Glee Club. There was no way Kurt would ever consider dating him when he had someone like Jason.

It took a moment for him to realise that the pillowcase was wet with tears and he rolled over and glared at the ceiling. He hated feeling like this about Kurt. He shouldn't be having these feelings about his best friend. Kurt was wonderful and gorgeous and sweet and so much more than Blaine deserved.