Secretly Admired

Chapter 7

Blaine arrived to the auditorium after school. It was his time to audition. In the audience, the glee club was gathering, all sticking to their friend groups and social latters.

Kurt was sitting in the front row beside the girl he had been talking to in the hall earlier in the day. Blaine couldn't remember her name at the moment due to his nerves, but she seemed kind enough.

Finally, Mr. Schue entered the auditorium, and took his seat at the table in the middle of the rows. Once he was seated, he looked up and smiled at Blaine. "You ready Blaine?"

Blaine nodded, and walked towards the center of the stage. In front of him, Kurt gave a big thumbs up, wishing him luck.

Blaine took a moment to relax, and then he nodded towards the kid that was in charge of starting the music.

He took another deep breath as the music began.

He then opened his mouth to sing.

***

"Oh my god Blaine, you were amazing!" Kurt exclaimed once the boy stepped down from the stage after his performance. Everyone around them was packing up and leaving, all shouting congrats to Blaine as they passed. 

Blaine began to blush slightly. "Thanks. I was unsure about the song choice at first, but a friend of mine persuaded me to do it."

Kurt grinned back, not so secretly loving his version of "Not Unusual". "We need to go out and celebrate!" He exclaimed excitedly. He thought that he had done fantastic, his voice beautifully deep and just... Blaine.

Blaine grinned in return. "Ok. Where do you want to go?"

Kurt took a second to ponder his choices. When he finally reached a decision, his smile grew even wider. "Want to go get some coffee? I know a cute little coffee shop we could hang out at. It's not necessarily a place to celebrate, but who doesn't love coffee?"

"Sounds perfect to me." Blaine said as he grabbed his bag, and together the two began to walk out of the auditorium.

As they walked down the halls Kurt noticed that the boy wasn't smiling as big as he should have been. "Is something wrong?"

Surprised, Blaine glanced up from where he had been looking at his shoes. "Nothing really. I'm just nervous. Do you think I made it into the New Directions?"

Kurt returned with a reassuring smile. "Of course you did. You were amazing! Besides, everyone that auditions makes it into the club. The audition is just a formality. You know, to make sure that the person can at least some-what sing."

Blaine nodded in understanding, relaxing exponentially.

The two finally reached the parking lot, and upon leaving the school, Kurt felt it again. That chill that ran down his back telling him that someone was watching. He began to look around frantically, just trying to catch someone's eye.

Beside him, blaine cast Kurt a rather odd look. He too began to look around the parking lot. When he didn't see anyone, he returned his eyes to Kurt. "Are you ok?"

Kurt didn't answer at first sines he was still worriedly looking around. He knew he want paranoid. He couldn't shake the unwanted hateful feeling away.

Giving up his search, he turned back to Blaine who was still expecting an answer. Kurt felt bad, but he was no longer in the mood to celebrate.

He cleared his throat before speaking. "I'm sorry Blaine, but do you mind if we hang out tomorrow instead?" Kurt could see the confusion begin to appear in the other boy's eyes, making him feel rather sad. "It's just that I remembered I have to look after my step-brother tonight since my parents are out."

If it were even possible, blaine began to be even more confused. "Isn't your brother the same age as you?"

Kurt smiled to himself. "Yeah, but you'll see when you get to know him during Glee that he needs to be helped a lot."

Blaine didn't know what that meant, but he figured he'd see for himself at some point. "Ok, no problem. I'll see you tomorrow?"

Kurt smiled widely again. "Of course. Bye Blaine!"

***

Blaine waved goodbye as Kurt headed towards his Navigator. He was super confused. On one hand, he kind of like the mystery, but on the other, he just wanted him to be honest. Who knew, maybe Finn needing help was the truth.

The only other thing he didn't get was when Kurt was searching the parking lot like his life depended on it.

Shrugging to himself, Blaine began to walk towards his own car. When he got there, and was searching his pockets for his keys, a shadow fell over him.

Guessing who it was, he turned around to see the giant in the varsity jacket again. At least he was able to put a name to the face now. Karoffsky.

"What do you want now?" Blaine asked annoyed. He didn't understand why he was receiving so much attention from someone who hadn't even given him the time of day since he had started at the school.

Obviously, he had asked the wrong question, because Karoffsky took another step towards him. "I want the same thing I wanted earlier. Stay away from Kurt. But unlike last time, you won't be getting another chance." With that, the bully turned and walked away.

Blaine was confused, scared, and pissed off beyond belief. So much for fitting in.