When dinner ended, I offered to help clean up and, after much persisting, I was allowed to dry while Blaine washed.

As I hung up my towel, Blaine turned to me. “Well, the night is still young. Do you want to watch a movie in my room?”

“Sure, that sounds great.”

“Yeah, let’s go!” Mattie smiled, following us to the bottom of the stairs.

“Matheus, let your brother entertain his guest in peace,” Samuel said, heading outside to the patio.

“Aw, but dad, I wanna watch the movie with Kurt!” Mattie begged.

“Hey, what am I, chopped liver?” Blaine said, pouting.

“You smell like it.” He retorted.

I snorted at the joke, earning a playful glare from Blaine.

“Mattie, dear, why don’t you come with your father and I to the patio?” his mother suggested. “If you’re lucky, there might be some fireflies out tonight.”

“Fireflies?” he repeated, clearly excited at the idea. “If I catch them, can I keep them?”

His mother laughed, leading him outside. “We’ll see.”

Blaine and I turned and took a right at the top of the stairs. He led me to the second door on the left, pushing inside.

“Welcome to my little slice of paradise.”

I followed him inside, taking in the room. He had a queen-sized bed pushed up against the wall, facing a panel television on a dresser. In the far corner was a desk and chair with a lamp still on. Next to it was a huge bookshelf that reached almost to the ceiling and was full of books of all different shapes, sizes, and colors. I was drawn to the shelves, I couldn’t help it. I ran my hand over the spines of the books, reading the various titles. There were so many novels, stories, and tales it was like a dream. My eyes stopped on a picture at about eye level. It was the Anderson family. Mr. Anderson was in full uniform while his wife stood beside him in a lovely red dress and pearls. Mattie stood in the front, being the smallest, in a violet tie and white shirt, a big smile on his face. But my eyes lingered on the final family member in the photo. Blaine stood next to his father in a dark grey tux and a red bowtie. His golden honey eyes were shining with the artificial flash of the camera. He was breathtaking.

“Should I give you and the books some alone time?”

I whirled around to find Blaine watching me from his bed. He had already set up the movie and the title screen was playing on the TV.

“Oh! Geez, I’m sorry. Um, no, I’m fine.”

“Kurt. Relax. Just join me and we’ll call it even,” he smirked.

“Oh, okay.”

His request was easier said than done. It would be one thing if we were in public or in his living room or with his parents, but we weren’t. We were in his room, alone, with a bed, and nothing but the light of the TV lighting the room. Blaine was stretched out on the bed, leaning up against his pillows, one hand patting the spot next to him.

I swallowed loudly, walking across the room to him. I leaned up against his pillows and sat rigidly with my hands in my lap. To put it bluntly, you could have fitted the whole town of Lima between us. Blaine laughed at me, scooching closer almost instantly.

“I hope you don’t mind musicals,” Blaine breathed at my ear, putting a hand on my knee.

I shook my head quickly, knowing all too well that if I had spoken, my voice would have been embarrassingly high.

As the movie progressed, Blaine kept his hand on my leg, sending electric shocks through his touch. It felt like that spot was on fire. After a while, I was able to calm down enough to actually watch the movie, joining Blaine in laughter and in singing along to the songs. By the end of the movie, Blaine’s head was only a few inches from my shoulder. I kept willing him to lean just a little bit more, to rest his head there, where it felt it belonged.

But when the credits started rolling, Blaine stretched his arms above his head with a satisfied yawn.

“I never get tired of that movie,” he said.

“Me neither, I think I’ve seen it about eight times.”

Blaine scoffed playfully. “Just eight? Amateur.”

I shoved at his shoulder.

“Did you have fun tonight, Kurt?”

“Yes, very much.”

“Would you maybe want to do it again sometime? Maybe tomorrow? Or Sunday?” Blaine asked, suddenly seeming bashful.

I felt my face fall, just a bit, “Blaine, I would love to, you know that, but Rachel has claimed me for the rest of the weekend.”

“Claimed you?” Blaine grumbled. “Since when are you something to be claimed?”

“Blaine that not what I-”

“No, you’re right. She treats you like property. I’m sorry, Kurt, I know she’s your best friend,” he said, his fingers making quotations around the phrase ‘best friend’. “But she’s using you. Do you realize that?”

Of course I did, but that was my job as a Wingman.

“And have you noticed how she’s trying to keep us apart?” he continued, turning on the bed to face me with a serious expression.

“What? No she’s not.”

“Oh yes, she is. You haven’t noticed that almost every single one of our plans ends up short because she’s calling on you? You haven’t seen the looks she gives me?”

“It’s just a coincidence, Blaine.”

“I don’t think it is. I think she’s jealous. I think she’s jealous of our relationship and is trying to split us up.”

I was having a hard time focusing on the last part of his sentence because I was still reeling from the fact that he had called it a ‘relationship’, not a friendship.

“Blaine,” I said in a rush, turning to face him fully. “Even if Rachel was trying to do that, and I don’t believe she is, nothing is going to split us up!”

I clapped a hand over my mouth. Shit. That was too much wasn’t it? Shitshitshit. Why did I always say the dumbest things around him? But instead of banishing me from his house and his life, like I was sure he would, Blaine smiled the most beautiful smile I, up until that point, had ever seen, taking my hand. I stiffened, not because it was unwelcomed, but because it was still so foreign to me. He stroked his thumb over the back of my hand and I felt myself relax into the touch.

“You’re right,” he sighed. “You’re right, Kurt. Nothing is going to split us up. Not ever.”

That was, until about two weeks later when Rachel called me for the twentieth time while I was hanging out with Blaine.

Blaine and I had just stepped out of a movie, arm in arm, when it happened.

“Well, I thought it was well put together,” Blaine said.

“Hmm, I don’t know. I feel like the main actress over played her part. I mean, the actress in this version seemed to be in agony. In the original Broadway musical the actress was more, I don’t know-”

“Sorrowful?”

I smiled at him. “Yes, exactly.”

“So do you want to maybe grab some coffee and a good book? Then we could go to the park and read for a while?” Blaine blushed.

“I would love that.” I said, matching his flush. We headed in the direction of the library, the great thing about small towns was that everything was within walking distance, our steps synching up together. The whole feeling was surreal.

“What time is it?” Blaine asked suddenly. “The sky seems lighter than it should be.”

“Well, the closer we get to summer, the longer it stays brighter. Let me check.”

When I looked at my phone, a call from Rachel was already in progress.

“Shit.”

“Who is it? The Queen Bee?” Blaine grumbled.

“Hello?” I said, ignoring him. “Rachel?”

“Kurt? Thank god you picked up, where have you been?” she asked. “I’ve been calling you for the past hour and a half.”

“Sorry, I was at the movies with a friend.”

Blaine’s face seemed to darken at the word.

“It’s not Blaine is it?” she warned.

“Uh, n-no,” I lied.

Blaine frowned. Oh. He could hear what she was saying.

“Good. Well your best friend is in a crisis! I have an interview with a talent scout from NYADA in an hour and I have nothing to wear! Tina has already been here for an hour but she’s no help,” she begged. I could practically hear the tears in her eyes, “I need to you get over here now and help me!”

“Uh, Rachel, I’m kind in the middle of-”

“Kurt, please? You’re my best friend and the only one who can help me right now.”

I sighed into the phone. “Yeah, yeah sure. I’ll be there in ten minutes. Just hang tight.”

“Good,” she said, all tears and desperation gone from her voice. “I’m glad to see you’ve finally come to your senses. I expect to see you in ten.”

She hung up without so much as a thank you or a goodbye.

I turned back to Blaine who was giving me a disapproving look. His expression was like none I had ever seen, the perfect combination of hurt and anger.

“What?”

Blaine glared at me, actually glared. “Why do you let her do that?”

“Do what?” I asked.

“Why do you let her walk all over you like that?”

“She doesn’t-”

“Kurt please,” he scoffed, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes. “I’ve only been here for a few months and even I can see the way she treats you.”

“Yeah, well, you’re the only one!” I snapped back, folding my arms across my stomach defensively. “People don’t notice me, Blaine. That’s just the way it is. The spotlight is made exclusively for the main character to soak up and enjoy, and the sidekicks? People like me? We stand to the side, in the dark and clap as they take their bow.”

Blaine looked at me in silence for a moment, his brow knit.

“What?” I barked. As much as I liked getting attention for a change, I didn’t like getting looked at like a kicked puppy.

“That’s sad.”

His entire attitude changed in an instant. He went from being irritated and angry to almost apologetic. Where had that come from? Why the sudden change?

“Huh?”

“It’s sad that you think like that,” Blaine almost whispered. “You shouldn’t think of yourself as a supporting role in your own story, Kurt. You’re a star, Kurt. And even if you don’t see it, your star shines brighter than any other I have ever seen.”

“And what about you, huh?” I asked, still on defense. I didn’t need this, Rachel needed me. “Why don’t you ever go out for solos or anything?”

“I told you, I’m not in glee for me,” he said matter of factly. “I’m there for you. Sure, I love to sing and yes, it feels good and relaxes me, but I’m not worried about me. It’s you I’m focusing on.”

“Why me?” I mumbled dropping my arms, my eyes to the ground.

Blaine carefully put a hand on my shoulder. I looked into his eyes and I knew, I knew that he meant what he said, “Because you are something worth fighting for.”