"Angela is a wonderful woman for doing this. She's breaking through gay/straight barriers. It's inspiring," a younger woman twittered happily to an older man who didn't look quite as happy.

He huffed into his mustache and crossed his arms over his bulbous chest. "I think this is a joke. She's making a mockery of the institution and of herself. Not to mention her son. I don't know any self-respecting boy who would ever want to do this."

His companion sighed at him and caught Kurt watching out of the corner of her eye. She turned to glance at him with a small wink that obviously meant something but Kurt didn't want to stay and think about it. He hurried away to the other side of the room where there was a silver laden fountain with punch flowing from the top. Kurt didn't know if that was considered cute or tacky.

He grabbed a cup and waited for Rachel, his eyes roving the crowd for the familiar dress. Finally he spotted her on the other side of the room, gesturing to him frantically. Kurt made his way over to her with a long-suffering sigh. Once at her side she snatched his punch from him and downed it. Kurt glared at her fiercely but she didn't notice as she tossed the cup away and tugged on her kid-skin gloves. "Those girls up there are vicious," She hissed before looking up to him. "I'm going to need you to stand in line over there with those men, do you see them?"

She waved off to the side and Kurt followed where she was pointing to. A group of boys, all dressed in black stood waiting near the base of the ornate staircase leading up to the second floor of the ballroom. "Yes, and?" he prompted.

"I'm going to come down those stairs after a snooty girl with red hair and you're going to take my arm and follow that girl and her escort. We're going to be presented and I'm going to curtsey and you're going to bow and then we're going to stand in a line and wait for Blaine to be presented," She explained hurriedly, touching her hair absently.

Kurt batted her hands away and pushed a brown strand back into place. She looked wonderful and Kurt felt incredibly proud about how he'd been able to transform her. "You owe me extra for this because I did not agree to audience interaction."

Rachel whimpered at him but nodded slowly. "Yes, I understand."

A panic rose in his chest as her words actually hit him.

He was going to have to present Rachel to a group of people he didn't know and who would probably know that he had no idea what he was doing and that he was an outsider. His eyes grew wide and he stared at Rachel hard.

"Kurt? What's wrong?" Rachel ventured, touching her hand to Kurt's sleeve.

"I don't know why I'm doing this. I shouldn't be here, pretending to know what I'm doing. You should have gotten Finn, he may have no couth but at least he's trainable, like a Retriever!" Kurt hissed.

Rachel set her mouth in a determined line. "Kurt!" She snapped her fingers in front of his eyes, "Calm down. You are more than amazing and just remember that I am actually in your debt. I appreciate you actually doing this for me. I feel prettier than I have at any other cotillion and if I'd gone with Finn it would have been the same old same old. I actually have girls up there asking me who made my dress; that has never happened before. You are going to be fine; all you have to do is parade me around the floor. I have to make it down those steps and around the floor without tripping."

Kurt stood for a moment, silently going over what Rachel had just said. Finally he sighed. "I should have made your hem shorter."

The tension broke right then and both laughed, trying to keep it quiet so as not to attract too much attention to themselves. That moment right there had a meaning to them, almost like through those few words they'd forged a bond of understanding.

Finally, once they'd calmed down, Kurt smiled at Rachel fleetingly and turned to leave and join the other men but Rachel grabbed his hand to stop him. He glanced at her over his shoulder and was surprised to find an earnest look on her face. "Thank you for this Kurt. I really do appreciate it."

Kurt allowed himself a slightly smile and nodded once. "Yes, I know. Now go join your Debs and make sure to show off your dress."

Rachel gave a small smirk. "I have to admit that my dress is the best one out of the group." She squeezed his hand and disappeared through the curtain that the mystery man had gone through earlier.

Kurt's mind wandered back to the boy. Was he a friend of one of the people here or a beau himself? He slowly slipped in to the group of boys and settled next to a tall boy with large black, curly hair and dark complexion. Kurt's blue-green eyes scanned the hallway for the boy from earlier but didn't see him. At the thought of the boy Kurt's hand tingled as if remembering the touch.

Beside him a few of the boys were gossiping. "So, did you really agree to come with Vette?" one boy asked.

The other sighed and shuffled his fingers through his coiffed hair. "Yea. Our moms are friends and my date stood me up so they hooked me up with her."

"That sucks man. 'Vette is an absolutely bitch."

"You're telling me." The former moaned. "She did nothing but bitch and bitch about her dress-" Kurt tuned them out then. He didn't want to deal with drama. Instead he turned his attention to a group of three boys closer to him.

"-an't believe Blaine's going through with this. It's such a disgrace to the Dalton name," one hissed.

"No, dude, I heard he agreed to appease his parents because they didn't kill him when he came out," the second murmured.

The third one was the loudest of the group. "I think Blaine's just doing this for himself. You know what an attention whore he is. Look how he is with the Warblers."

The first made a harsh hissing noise. "Dude! Shut up. Wes and David are over there-" Kurt followed their gazes to where two boys stood, watching the group with narrow eyes. The ice in their glares sent a shiver down Kurt's spine and made the other boys look away. "-there will be Hell to pay if it gets back to the Warblers that you said that," he finished in a whisper.

Kurt watched the other boys for a moment, trying to figure out why they were so intimidating. To Kurt they looked like prep school boys in nice suits, but there was something else about them. Something very, well, terrifying. They stood side by side with faces set in stern grimaces and hands folded in their pockets in a businesslike way.

The taller of the two turned his attention to Kurt, but sensing that he obviously wasn't much of a threat looked away with a slight nod. Kurt almost felt like that was a blessing of some sort, almost like the guy meant, 'you're good. You're free to pass unharmed.' If these guys were the friends of this Blaine kid Kurt was almost afraid to find out what he was like.

A moment later a man caught everyone's attention as he took his place at the top of the stairs. He cleared his throat in a businesslike manner and started calling out names. After the man had called a girl's name she descended the stairs in a cloud of taffeta and hairspray. Kurt felt vindicated to actually see that his dress for Rachel was so much better than any of the other girls.

Kurt watched carefully as the girls went down and were met by their beaus. He took careful note of where they walked off to and how they bowed and curtsied so he wouldn't make a fool of himself. The crowd of boys began to thin and soon the boy who had been moaning about his date and how horrible she was, was approaching the stairs to take the hand of a very unpleasant looking girl.

The man cleared his throat for attention and a red haired girl came down the stairs and then Rachel was next. "Presenting Miss Rachel Barbara Berry, who is escorted today by Mister Kurt E. Hummel," Rachel appeared at the top of the stairs and floated down loftily with a practiced ease. At the base of the stairs she curtsied to him and he bowed like the other boys and then took her arm, cradling her hand with his while he practically promenaded her around the ball room before settling in line with all the other Debs and Beaus at the other side of the hall.

Only a few more remained and they moved quickly enough. Finally an excited whisper filled the air as everyone waited for the main event. Eyes turned to the top of the stairs as the man called. "Presenting Mister Blaine Valentine Jameson Anderson."

Kurt felt his jaw fall open when he Blaine appeared at the top of the stairs. He was the kid from the hallway? He was the one having a coming out party? He was actually gay?

Kurt didn't know how he actually felt about this. He watched with apprehension as Blaine made his way down the stairs with his head held high, all dignity and pride. Kurt was sure if he'd been made to do something like this he probably wouldn't have been able to remain so… princely.

Blaine made it down to the base of the stairs where he hooked arms with a man that was probably his father. Their faces looked very much alike and they both had twin smiles on their lips. The man escorted Blaine to where his mother, the organizer of this event, stood and Blaine bowed low and regally. She twittered happily and handed Blaine off to a handsome young man with red hair who looked incredibly uncomfortable.

The man led Blaine out to the dance floor and the 12 string orchestra that had been playing softly in the background up until now, struck up a soft waltz. Blaine and his companion took a few measured steps, not looking at each other. Finally the other Debs and their Beaus took the floor and started to waltz too. Rachel decided that she was apparently ready to dance and dragged Kurt out to the dance floor, waltzing with dainty steps. She kept looking down at the floor as if she were afraid she was going to step on his feet and every so often Kurt could swear she was trying to lead.

The dance went on for an excruciatingly long time and at one point Kurt had caught Blaine's eye. They'd made eye contact of the shoulders of their respective dance partners and for Kurt the music had quieted and everyone seemed to still.

For Blaine the music roared in his ears and the dance sped up, moving so fast that he couldn't keep up. He tried to ignore his dance partner's grumbling tried to spot the chestnut haired boy he'd spoken to but he'd been whisked away by the unforgettable Miss Berry. Blaine really had nothing against her but he knew her personality through reputation and made it his goal not to step in her way.

The dance finally finished and Blaine stepped away from his date, realizing that he didn't even know the guy's name. All he knew was that he'd been picked by his mother out of the massive number of gay men she'd found to invite. It was obvious that the guy had wanted to be anywhere but there with Blaine, dancing in front of a ton of people because the second Blaine let go of his hand he was gone.

Blaine thought about going to find Wes and David but immediately found himself face to face with another young man asking to dance. He agreed with a faked smile and allowed himself to be whisked away. The black haired Deb knew that dancing with these guys would please his mother and continued to move through a line of men all wanting to dance with him. At least these guys seemed even remotely interested in anything Blaine had to say.

They were attentive and kind and carried themselves with dignity. Many of them seemed kind enough but they didn't interest Blaine. Some were almost generic, each face meshing with the next. Finally, an hour later Blaine was able to beg away and went in search of his best friends. He found them standing out on the balcony with punch glasses in their hands.

Wes and David both laughed as Blaine staggered towards them, sinking against David's shoulder. "Having fun?" Wes teased.

"I didn't think there were this many gays in the area," Blaine moaned softly, scratching his nose against David's shoulder.

"Well, there are and I think you just danced with half of them," David commented lightly. "Having fun?"

Blaine sighed dramatically. "Would it be rude if I hopped the fence and ran away?" He asked.

"I think your mother might disapprove. Just buck up, it'll be over sooner or later," Wes replied lightly, handing Blaine his punch cup. "You'll need the strength for when some yahoo comes out of nowhere and drags you off to dance again," Blaine took the cup and drained it.

David laughed lightly, "Have you danced with anyone interesting?"

Blaine shrugged, noncommittally, "Not really. There is one guy that I met in the hall before the ceremony and I wanted to possibly dance with him, or at least speak to him again. He was adorable. Pale skin, green-blue eyes, and chestnut hair-" Blaine was about to go on but a sharp voice spoke up behind him, startling him.

"Hello Blaine. I'm sure you remember me. I'm Rachel Berry, we met at your cousin's last cotillion." Blaine gave a long suffering look to his friends before turning around to face Miss Berry. He had a forced smile on his face but that fell away a moment later when Blaine saw who stood at her side.

The boy from the hallway, with the perfect hair and gorgeous eyes, was watching him with intense interest and Blaine found himself wondering if it would be out of line for him to ask the boy to dance. He also wondered if this boy was Rachel's date… but he could have sworn this guy did not match the description that he'd overheard at 'Vette's cotillion two months ago. The guy's name had been something like Frank or Finn or something along those lines. The boy in front of his did not look like any of those names.

"Yes, Rachel. It's good to see you again. How are your fathers?" Blaine asked cordially, tearing his eyes from her companion.

"Very well, thank you. I wanted to come and commend you for doing something like this. Breaking socially established barriers is what young future leaders need to be able to do," Rachel went on, but Blaine was ignoring her. His attention kept sliding to the boy from the hallway, who was looking at Blaine in almost the same manner. Blaine hoped to take that as a good sign that the other boy was mildly interested in- Rachel's next few words cut off his thoughts. "I am sorry so say that we need to go. We have a lot of practice for Glee club and shouldn't be out too late. It was a wonderful ball and I hope to attend your next one."

Blaine sent a floundering glance to his friends and thankfully Wes got the message. He stepped forward, practically oozing charm and offered his arm. "Surely you could spare one more dance for me?" Rachel twittered happily and took his arm and only just remembered at the last second to look to her date and ask, "Is this fine?"

Those blue eyes shot to Blaine for only a moment before he let a small smile tilt his lips up. "Yes, that's just fine."

David seemed to perk up a moment later. "Well, that's just not fair. I want to dance with her too," he followed Rachel and Wes into the dance hall, leaving Blaine alone with the brown haired boy. They stood in silence for a moment before attempting to speak at the same time. Both chuckled awkwardly before the boy offered for Blaine to go first.

"I don't mean to sound presumptuous but are you Miss Berry's, um,-"

Coffee colored eyebrows rose. "Boyfriend?" the boy asked, sounding exasperated. "God no. She's dating my step-brother but he has no social graces or sense of style so she asked me to accompany her."

Blaine made a soft noise, "And I'm guessing you had something to do with Miss Berry's new dress?"

The boy almost beamed at Blaine. "Yes, I did. I refused to escort her if she didn't look up to par," Blaine laughed softly, watching the boy intently as he seemed to flounder for something to say. Finally, Blaine decided to bite the bullet and turned to him, taking a deep, steadying breath.

"I will not be upset if you say no, but it seems that you're free for at least one more dance… would you join me-?"

"Yes," he answered without a moment's pause. Blaine blinked slowly,

"Really?" With a small grin the boy nodded once more and held out his arm to Blaine, which he willingly took. Blaine led his partner back into the ball where couples were still dancing. As they found a good spot the second song, a slow waltz, started.

There wasn't much hassling for hand placement. Because Blaine was shorter it was less awkward for the boy to place his hand on Blaine's hip while Blaine's hand went to rest on the boy's shoulder. Their other fingers laced together almost intimately and slowly they began to move.

Their steps were simple and measured, purely an act of concentrating on not stepping on one another's toes. Their glances met on occasion but would slip away with an embarrassed cough or sigh, but there wasn't any tension. Blaine felt more at ease dancing with this boy than he had with anyone else. He let his body draw closer, keeping up the tempo. His partner was actually very good, very light on his feet and rather coordinated. He moved to the beat of the song without much effort and Blaine didn't even see his lips counting out the beat of the music like some of the guys did.

"You're a wonderful dancer," Blaine murmured softly, lifting his eyes a few inches up to reach those hypnotizing blue eyes.

The boy in question smiled softly, a slight pink dusting his cheeks. "Thank you. Years of practice."

"Well, they paid off," Blaine said with a reassuring smile.

There was silence for a moment before his partner sighed. "This is my first time ever dancing with a boy."

Blaine's eyebrows rose carefully, trying to gauge how his dance partner felt about this. "Is that a good thing?" He ventured carefully.

Hurriedly the boy replied, "Yes! I've just never had a guy willingly want to dance with me. All the ones I've ever been interested in… don't exactly feel the same way."

Blaine felt a weight lift off of his chest. Well, this answered so many questions. "Then they're idiots and don't know what they're missing. I can tell just from how you're dancing that you're a wonderful person."

He didn't mean to. He realized why that was now - because when he actually flirted he made a fool of himself.

The boy didn't seem upset by Blaine's words. Instead he actually beamed at Blaine (which led him to wonder how he was usually treated if Blaine's horrible attempt at flirting actually made him smile like that).

They didn't say much after that. Instead they focused on dancing and enjoying being able to do this without having people openly judge them. There were other boys dancing together along with older couples.

Blaine glanced back to his partner and found those eyes watching him intently. This time he didn't look away; he kept contact. It wasn't strange or uncomfortable, but his heart rate sped up and he flushed a little. Suddenly the music disappeared and they were alone on the dance floor, holding hands and swaying gently. Blaine wanted to speak but he didn't want to ruin this moment.

They stopped dancing at the same time and suddenly Blaine felt like a scene from a movie. Their eyes were locked and they were leaning closer and closer until-

"Okay. Two dances were all I promised to do. As much as I understand your undying wish to be near me I should tell you that I do have a boyfriend." Rachel's voice broke the silence and they stepped away from one another quickly, almost like they'd been shocked. Rachel was forging towards them looking annoyed. Wes and David followed behind with even more annoyed expressions on their faces. Blaine knew then that he owed them so much.

Rachel grabbed her escort's hand and turned to Blaine. "Thank you for the invite and I look forward to seeing you next month for the DDAR ball."

Blaine bowed to her. "And you too. Thank you for coming. Let me see you to the door."

Rachel waved him off. "No, that's fine. You go and attend to your other guests."

Before Blaine could get another word out Rachel was tugging her dance partner away. Blaine watched them for a moment before realizing something and sprinted off after them.

Rachel was already out the door by the time Blaine caught up but he was able to catch the boy's wrist to stop him. Surprised eyes turned on Blaine and perfectly plucked eyebrow rose up. "I-I didn't quite get your name," Blaine stuttered.

"Kurt. Kurt Hummel," The boy replied breathily.

Blaine nodded, smiling broadly. "I hope to see you again. Really."

Kurt nodded brightly. "Definitely. I, um-" He was cut off by the shrill call of Rachel telling him to get a move on. Kurt sighed and Blaine slid his hand down Kurt's and squeezed once. Kurt pulled away quickly and hurried down the stairs and was gone a moment later.

Wes and David came up behind Blaine and watched the Black Navigator drive away. "He didn't even leave a glass slipper behind," David commented. "Did you get a name at least?"

"Kurt Hummel," Blaine murmured, almost in a daze. With a sigh Wes took him by the shoulders and led Blaine back into the ball room for the rest of the evening.

That night Blaine sat on his bed, incredibly tired and disheveled. His mother was over the moon about how the evening went and thankfully Wes and David had stayed the entire time. He'd even danced with David once to save him from that one guy who tried to feel him up.

'Vette for the most part had stayed out of the way. Blaine was sure that she did all her own schmoozing, trying to make new contacts and get herself noticed. She only said maybe three or four words to him and did her best to avoid his mother.

He sat for a while with his eyes closed, remembering how amazing that dance had been. Blaine really wanted to see him again. Talk to him. Blaine knew he was obsessing over a guy he knew nothing about but he was sure that he'd felt something there. Almost like a spark. He'd never felt that before.

A sudden burst of inspiration hit him and he flipped over, sprinting out of his room to find his mother. She was down in the ballroom, supervising the cleaning when he found her. She beamed at him as he appeared. "How can I help you darling?"

"I was wondering if you had Rachel Berry's number. I needed to speak to her for a moment."

"Of course darling. Check the Deb box in my office."

Blaine sprinted away down the hall to his mother's office. He knew exactly what box she was talking about and grabbed it off the shelf, flipping through the little cards until he found Rachel's number and dialed it immediately.

Rachel answered with a crisp. "Rachel Barbara Berry, rising star."

"Hello Rachel. This is Blaine Anderson. I was hoping I could request your help."