“You are going to rot your teeth, I hope you realise,” Kurt admonished, watching Jeff suck the lollipop into his mouth again.

“I have perfect teeth, Kurt,” Jeff said, flashing him a smile from around the piece of candy. “Besides, I can always get falsies.”

“You’re insufferable,” Kurt mumbled, nudging Jeff with his shoulder. “Have you finished the assignment from Mr Anderson?”

“Of course not,” Jeff replied with a snort. “Have you?”

“Of course I have,” Kurt said automatically. “Some of us actually have to work at our grades, Jeff.”

“Kurt, don’t be like that, you’re smart, you know you are,” Jeff said, wrapping his arm around Kurt’s shoulders and pulling him close. “You just need to relax a little.”

Kurt sighed. Perhaps Jeff was right, he thought. He could definitely use a nice relaxing cup of coffee. “Let’s take a break.”

Jeff grinned and stood. “I thought you’d never ask.”

Kurt smiled at his friend and held out his hand, letting Jeff help him up off the couch they had been sitting on. Sunday afternoons were always the worst for Kurt to try and study. He liked to keep a schedule of what assignments to complete before a specific time but since the course load was so heavy, it was a little difficult getting everything perfect.

Kurt slipped his books back into his bag and slipped it over his shoulder, following Jeff from the senior commons out to the car park so Jeff could take them to get coffee. While he liked the coffee the school provided, nothing was nicer than leaving to get coffee. Especially when Kurt couldn’t concentrate.

They arrived at Starbucks a short while later and were sitting across from each other with coffees and a muffin each.

“So, what are you struggling on?” Jeff asked as he broke apart his muffin to eat.

“Chem,” Kurt replied. “For some reason, it’s just harder this year.”

“Give me a look at your notes,” Jeff said.

Kurt reached into his bag and pulled out his notes and a pen. Jeff took the pen and started making changes in random spots that Kurt couldn’t decipher until Jeff turned the page around and pushed it back in his direction.

Kurt’s gaze quickly roamed over the changes and he broke out into a grin. “How did you do that?”

Jeff shrugged. “It’s simple when you have the right formulas,” he replied.

“I love you,” Kurt said with a sigh. “I seriously love you.”

Jeff grinned. “Of course you do,” he teased. “But I’m happily taken.”

Kurt smiled back and slipped the notes back into his backpack. “Well, if you ever get bored of Nick, I’m just in the next bed over.”

Jeff laughed and they finished their coffees gossiping about the new students they had met so far and the Physics teacher that hated Nick. By the time they got back to the school, the only teacher they hadn’t talked about was their AP English teacher, Mr Anderson.

Kurt was quite thankful for it because he was sure he would blush more than was considered normal. Since the first second Kurt had seen their teacher, he had developed an instant crush.

It was a scary and stupid thing, he knew, but he couldn’t help it. Mr Anderson was… amazing. He spoke so perfectly and he was so intelligent, things that Kurt didn’t even know attracted him to someone. Mr Anderson seemed to meet every single one of Kurt’s ideals for a boyfriend, despite the fact that he was much, much older.

He had yet to find out exactly how much older he was but it had to be at least five years, Kurt thought.

He wasn’t sure what it was that attracted him to Mr Anderson but he was positively gorgeous and Kurt loved seeing him smile. He felt all warm and fuzzy inside when Mr Anderson smiled and he knew that if he told Jeff how he felt, he would never live it down, so he was more than thankful that he hadn’t been brought up in conversation yet.

Kurt did look forward to every single English lesson though, even though it was at the end of every day, it was exciting to finish school day off happy like he had been.

To anyone on the outside, it would just look like Kurt was being an attentive student, eager to please and eager to get a good grade but Kurt knew different. While those points were true, he mostly wanted to see Mr Anderson smile again because that felt better than getting one hundred straight A’s.

Kurt didn’t see a problem in having a crush on his teacher, he knew he wasn’t the only one that it had ever happened to before and he knew that he wouldn’t be the last one either. There was just something about Mr Anderson that made Kurt want to work harder to please him.

Kurt needed another reason to talk to Mr Anderson though. He had already read the assigned book and had completed all of his assignments on the night they were given and he wondered if Mr Anderson would let him do some extra credit work. Not that he needed it but it was always nice to boost his grade a little more.

If Nick or Jeff even noticed his efforts, they didn’t comment on it. As the month went on, Kurt found himself looking for excuses to stay behind after class and talk to Mr Anderson. The first few times, Kurt let his nerves get the better of him and he just lingered for a few moments to stare at his teacher’s back before quickly leaving the room.

On Thursday, six weeks into the school term, Kurt took a deep breath and purposefully stayed behind.

“Mr Anderson?”

“Kurt?” Mr Anderson asked. “Is there something wrong?”

“Uh, no,” Kurt replied, his heart beating a little faster in his chest. “I was just wondering if I could talk to you about the assignment you set at the start of the week.”

“Of course,” Mr Anderson said with a smile. “What would you like to know?”

“Oh, I’ve done the assignment already,” Kurt replied, cheeks heating up. “I just wanted to talk to you about the book. In general.”

Kurt licked his lips, gaze settling on Mr Anderson’s face, and he couldn’t help but think about just how handsome he really was.

“You’ve done the assignment, that’s great,” Mr Anderson said. “Well, I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.”

“Why The Great Gatsby?” Kurt started. “I thought that was a junior book, not a senior one?”

Mr Anderson smiled briefly. “That’s true,” he nodded. “A lot of schools usually do it in their junior year but I thought there were some themes in the book that we could discuss as a more mature audience. It’s nice getting an older perspective on things because most sixteen and seventeen year old boys only have one thing on their mind during their junior year and it isn’t homework.”

Kurt laughed, nodding in understanding. “So, we’re not just reading the book to see just how much Nick is in love with Gatsby, even though it’s never really stated?”

Kurt knew it was a bold move, saying what he had said to Mr Anderson but his mouth had run away with him.

Mr Anderson pushed his thin glasses up his nose a little more. “Well, there is that,” he started, a small smile playing on his lips. “But no, that isn’t the main reason.”

“I didn’t think it was,” Kurt replied. “Mr Anderson?”

“Yes, Kurt?”

“I…” Kurt swallowed. “I thought, maybe, since I’ve done the assignment already that you could give me something for extra credit?”

Mr Anderson frowned for a moment. “Kurt, from what I’ve heard in the teacher’s lounge, you don’t need it… But who am I to turn a student down who’s willing to do more work?”

Kurt grinned broadly. He knew his cheeks were probably flushed from all of the attention but he didn’t care. “It’s for purely selfish reasons.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah,” Kurt nodded. “I, uh, I want to be a writer. When I leave school. Either a playwright or a journalist in a fashion magazine… It’s been a passion of mine since I knew what men’s fashion was.”

“I bet you hate the uniforms then,” Mr Anderson replied with a smile.

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” Kurt agreed.

Mr Anderson explained what Kurt could do for extra credit and Kurt thanked him. He gave Mr Anderson a smile and left the room, feeling more than a little flushed.

Kurt barely made it to their Warbler rehearsal that afternoon and he slipped into the practice room, mind still stuck on the conversation with his English teacher.

Jeff shot him a concerned look but Kurt just pulled his sheet music out of his bag so they could start rehearsing.

“Spill it,” Jeff said once they were alone in their room.

“Spill what?” Kurt asked.

“That look, you’re hiding something,” Jeff said, picking up some of his text books to move them aside so he could sit on his desk.

“I’m not hiding anything,” Kurt replied, flushing a little.

Jeff smirked. “Sure you’re not,” he teased.

“I…” Kurt shook his head. “I just wanted to see if I could do some extra credit work for English. That’s all I’m hiding, I promise.”

Jeff looked dubious but shrugged. “Nick and I are going horse riding this weekend, want to come?”

Kurt shook his head. “I can’t,” he started. “I have some things to do here before I go home for the weekend.”

“Okay,” Jeff said. “Tell either of us if you change your mind.”

“Will do,” Kurt replied, pulling out his notes and switching on his laptop to get started on his homework for the evening.

Jeff took the hint and left Kurt alone, and Kurt started on the extra credit assignment Mr Anderson gave him.

The next day after class, Kurt stayed behind again, telling Jeff and Nick that he would meet them in the senior commons a little later. He swallowed thickly and slung his bag over his shoulder, heading to the front of the classroom where Mr Anderson was cleaning off the whiteboard.

“Mr Anderson?”

Mr Anderson turned around, giving Kurt a smile. “Kurt. What can I do for you?”

“I, uh, I have that extra credit assignment for you,” he said and he pulled the assignment out of his bag and handed it over.

“Already?” Mr Anderson asked as he took the papers.

“Yeah,” Kurt replied with a nod. “I… I had a bit of spare time last night and I was bored, so I got it done. What do you think?”

Mr Anderson leaned against his desk and started to read Kurt’s paper.

Kurt watched him carefully, taking in the expressions on his face as he read. He tried not to let his gaze stray too high to Mr Anderson’s hair, lest he lose control of himself and run his hands through the gorgeous, messy curls.

Mr Anderson was by far the sexiest teacher Dalton had ever had and Kurt would know – he had been through old yearbooks to compare.

“This is brilliant,” Mr Anderson said after a few moments.

Kurt beamed. “Really?”

“Yeah. I mean, yeah,” Mr Anderson nodded, smiling. “You have a real knack for writing, Kurt.”

“What can I say? I was inspired.” It was almost borderline flirting but Kurt didn’t care.

“I can see why you’re one of the favoured students around here,” Mr Anderson said. “If you put even half of the effort into your other classes like I’ve seen here, then it’s no wonder all of your teachers love you.”

Kurt flushed at the praise. “I… Thank you.”

“I’d like your opinion on something, if you wouldn’t mind?” Mr Anderson asked.

“Me? Sure,” Kurt replied with a nod.

Mr Anderson fussed around in his briefcase for a moment before producing a book. “There’s some poetry in here that I really think you’ll like. I know we’re not due to cover poetry until after the winter holidays but I think that you’ll like this.”

Kurt took the book and smoothed a hand over the cover. “Thank you,” he said. “I’ll read this tonight and give it back to you tomorrow.”

“Monday will do fine, Kurt,” Mr Anderson said. “Do you have a favourite poet?”

Kurt nodded and launched into a tale of his favourite authors and poets and how he had begun to love literature at a young age.

“My mother used to read to me from when I was in her womb,” Kurt said. “She was a writer too. I guess it makes me feel connected to her still, if that makes sense?”

“It makes perfect sense,” Mr Anderson said.

Kurt smiled softly. “I have some of her stuff still. She was in the middle of writing a series of children’s books when she died. I think that I’d like to complete them one day.”

“I think that would be very lovely. An excellent tribute to your mom, too,” Mr Anderson replied. “I’d love to read them, if you wanted me to?”

“I’d like that,” Kurt nodded, feeling his heart swell in his chest a little.

Mr Anderson smiled at Kurt and they kept talking about books they had read, things they had loved over the years and the differences in prose when writing. Kurt slowly forgot about everything else, time, that they were in Mr Anderson’s classroom and that Mr Anderson was actually his teacher as they talked. The world seemed to have melted away for him as he listened to Mr Anderson’s passion filled voice.

“Oh, crap, look at the time,” Mr Anderson said, looking at his pocket watch. “It’s almost six. I’ve kept you way too long.”

“It’s okay,” Kurt said. “I don’t mind.”

“Still, I shouldn’t have kept you through dinner, Kurt,” Mr Anderson said.

Kurt shrugged. “It’s Friday, I’ll pick something up later with Jeff and Nick, probably.”

Mr Anderson smiled and stood, slipping his papers back into his briefcase. “If you get bored over the weekend, be sure to read that book I gave you.”

“I will,” Kurt replied. “Oh, Mr Anderson?”

“Yes?”

“What would you say is your ultimate favourite book?”

“Apart from the Harry Potter series?” Mr Anderson said with a grin. “Call me strange but I love Little Women.”

Kurt grinned. “Strange,” he teased lightly. “I’ll see you Monday.”

“Good night, Kurt.”

“Good night, Mr Anderson.”

The back of Mr Anderson’s hand brushed Kurt’s as they left the classroom and Kurt bit his lip, sighing softly before heading to his dorm room.

Nick and Jeff were there when Kurt got back and he was met with twin looks of worry.

“Where were you?” Jeff asked, concern clear in his voice.

“Sorry,” Kurt apologised. “I was talking with Mr Anderson.”

“This whole time?”

Kurt nodded. “Yeah, we were talking.”

Nick grinned. “Kurt… Do you have a crush on our English teacher?”

“What? No!” Kurt exclaimed quickly. “I… no…”

Jeff chuckled. “You do, you totally do!”

Kurt flushed heavily. “You guys suck.”

“That we do,” Jeff replied with a wink.

Kurt crinkled his nose. “I know,” he said. “I’ve walked in on it. I don’t need a reminder.”

Both Nick and Jeff just laughed.

“Come on, let’s go get Chinese for dinner, I’m starving,” Jeff said, standing.

“Chinese sounds good,” Kurt agreed, picking up his wallet so they could leave and get dinner.

A short while later, the three friends were sitting in a booth at a Chinese restaurant they all liked. Jeff and Nick picked out the pieces the other liked and shared them, making Kurt smile at the action.

“What?” Jeff asked, his mouth full of pork dumplings.

“Nothing,” Kurt replied with a smile. “You two are just… adorable.”

Nick smiled and shook his head, eating his noodles still. “What makes you say that?”

Kurt shrugged. “Just the way you both act around each other. It’s nice… I look forward to having that one day with someone.”

“You will soon, Kurt,” Nick said. “Your Mr Right is probably right around the corner.”

Kurt gave them a small smile and turned back to his dinner.

“What’s all this about anyway?” Jeff asked, picking up his drink. “You know we were just teasing you about liking Mr Anderson, right?”

“I know,” Kurt said with a nod. “It’s just… how desperate am I if I can only find my teachers attractive?”

“Kurt,” both Jeff and Nick started at the same time.

“Don’t say that,” Jeff said. “Mr Anderson is very attractive and you’re very particular about who you date.”

“Jeff’s right,” Nick said with a nod. “I remember that one time Tim, from your AP Chem class, asked if you wanted to go out and you didn’t have the heart to tell him you weren’t interested so you went on that date and it was awful.”

Kurt crinkled his nose at the memory. “Fine, I’m picky,” he said. “Still, it’d be nice to have what you two have.”

Nick smiled and reached across, taking Kurt’s hand in his own. “Kurt…”

“You’ll never have this because Nicky and I are two in a bazillion,” Jeff teased. “I came out of my mom asking where Nick was. True story, ask her yourself.”

Kurt snorted with laughter, shaking his head. “You certainly are… special Jeff.”

“And don’t you forget it,” Jeff replied with a wink. “C’mon, hurry up and finish, I want ice cream for dessert.”

Kurt smiled at his best friends and thought if he ended up with someone who loved him half as much as Nick and Jeff loved each other, then he would be alright.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come horse riding with us?” Jeff asked as he sat down next to Kurt on his bed. “I’m sure that Nicky will let you ride Taffy too. She’s the horse I learnt to ride on.”

“I’m sure,” Kurt replied as he laced his boots up. “I’m just getting some books from the bookstore and then I’m going home. I miss my dad.”

“Alright,” Jeff said, patting his shoulder.

“Ready?” Nick asked as he came into the room.

“I’m all yours,” Jeff nodded, standing.

“Weren’t you always?” Nick replied.

“Touch�,” Jeff said with a grin and a kiss to Nick’s lips.

“Have fun today,” Kurt said with a fond smile.

“We will,” Jeff said. “Priscilla and I are going to have loads of fun while Nick is stuck with his demon horse.”

“Rocket is not a demon horse, he’s a stallion,” Nick said. “You’re just scared of him.”

“Kurt, this creature is massive,” Jeff insisted, looking at Kurt with wide, animated eyes. “He tried to eat me when I first saw him. He was giving me the evil eye and he knew that I wanted into Nick’s pants.”

“Jeff, you met him when we were eleven,” Nick said. “Oh.”

Jeff grinned widely. “C’mon, stud, let’s go.”

“Oh, ew, don’t call me ‘stud’ when I’m about to go riding on my stallion and you’re going to be on my mare.”

Kurt shook with silent laughter. “Go, just go,” he said, waving them off.

Nick and Jeff left the room bickering like the old married couple they were and Kurt picked up the keys to his car and his overnight bag. He made his way to the school parking lot and climbed into his Navigator to drive to Columbus so he could visit the best bookstore he had ever been in. He found it last year when he Google searched good bookstores in Columbus and he came across one called “Village Book Shop” which was located in an old church. He had been dubious at first but after visiting and seeing the amount of books there had been lining the walls, he fell in love.

A short while later, Kurt parked his car and picked up his book bag, heading into store. He smiled at Kelly, the cashier, and made his way through to the poetry section. He browsed the books lining the shelves, searching for a copy of the book Mr Anderson had loaned him the night before.

He had read through almost the entire thing in one sitting and found that he didn’t really want to give it back to his teacher. He settled on buying his own copy because he didn’t want Mr Anderson to think that he was a thief.

Kurt located the book on one of the top shelves and slid the small steps over to reach up and get it.

“Kurt?”

Kurt looked around, the book slipping from his fingers and it landed on the floor with a thud. “Shoot,” he said automatically.

He quickly stepped down off the steps and registered that it was Mr Anderson who had startled him. Kurt’s cheeks flushed and he straightened himself.

“Hi,” Kurt greeted a little breathily and he mentally kicked himself for sounding like a teenage girl with a crush.

“Hi, Kurt,” Mr Anderson said. “Getting a copy for yourself?” he asked and he handed Kurt the book back.

Kurt nodded. “I had to,” he started. “I read most of your copy last night and it’s amazing. You didn’t tell me you were in there though.”

Mr Anderson smiled. “That would have ruined the surprise.”

“You’re a great writer,” Kurt said quickly, inwardly cringing as soon as he had said it.

“Thank you,” Mr Anderson replied, adjusting his glasses on his face. “I wrote most of those in college for an assignment. My professor submitted them for me to one of her friends doing a book and… well, you have the hard copy in your hands.”

“Have you written anything else?” Kurt asked, immediately curious. He would love to read anything else Mr Anderson had written, especially if it was as good as his poetry.

“I have,” Mr Anderson nodded. “Mostly a few short stories for college assignments but I’m trying to work on something a bit bigger. Teaching class all day long has kind of put a halt to that at the moment though.”

“I’d love to read whatever you have,” Kurt said, automatically following Mr Anderson off the second floor of the shop and down the staircase.

“Maybe soon,” Mr Anderson said. “I think you should focus on your school work first.”

Kurt flushed a little. “I’ve actually completed my homework already.”

“Really?” Mr Anderson asked, both eyebrows raised.

Kurt nodded. “It’s the only way I can go home every weekend. As the semester goes on, I’ll probably get a little more work but I try to get it out of the way as soon as possible. It leaves me more time for other stuff.”

“Sounds like you’re a very organised guy,” Mr Anderson said.

“I’d like to think so,” Kurt replied. “It helps – being organised, I mean. This way I get best of both worlds. I get the safety of Dalton and I get to go home to my dad and step-family on weekends.”

Kurt barely realised that they had reached the checkout and he handed the book to Kelly, the sales assistant, along with the money to pay for it. He flashed her a smile and followed Mr Anderson from the store.

Kurt and Mr Anderson kept talking as they walked down the street and they eventually stopped in front of a little caf�. Before Kurt registered what was going on, they had entered and were standing at the counter. Mr Anderson was ordering himself a coffee and turned to Kurt.

“Oh,” Kurt said, blinking. “Um. I’ll just grab a grande non-fat mocha, thank you.”

“Order something to eat,” Mr Anderson said. “You’ll need something before you travel for almost two hours and besides, I owe you for making you miss dinner last night.”

Kurt flushed. “It’s fine,” he said.

“Kurt, please,” Mr Anderson said.

Kurt flushed even more and ordered a sandwich, feeling awkward when Mr Anderson paid. He wasn’t used to this kind of attention and he wasn’t particularly sure what exactly this kind of attention meant.

As Mr Anderson led them to a table towards the back of the store, Kurt couldn’t help but notice his feelings grew that much deeper.