" 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐃𝐈𝐃 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 ?!" Kurt exclaimed in shock, his mouth slightly agape as he tried to take in the news. The two sat on his bed after school, a bowl of chocolate-covered strawberries and different assortments of fabric laid between them. Aerin had promised to help the brunette boy choose different sashes that could go with his outfit for this year's homecoming. So far, they had eliminated every colour of the rainbow except for orange, and had now moved onto cold colours. Her kiss with Santana had been eating at her insides all day, the blonde's notorious guilty conscious was acting up again and the only way she could put it at ease was to finally spill her guts out to the one person who might be able to understand her pain.

" I-I don't know it just felt right. We were both standing there, and she was asking all these questions that I just didn't have the answer to," Aerin fumbled with a mere stutter, pushing her back into one of Kurt's pillow cushions. "So, to shut her up I kissed her...I kissed my ex, and cheated on my girlfriend. How horrible of a person does that make me ?" she queried in a worried tone as she quickly grabbed a strawberry and bit on the end of it to calm her nerves.

Kurt moved closer towards her and heavily sighed as she let him rest her head on his shoulder. "No," the boy responded lightly, "It makes you a normal human being who makes mistakes. I personally have never cheated on anyone, considering that requires you to actually be in a relationship with someone in the first place. But, from my experience with having to, unfortunately, having to constantly hear about Rachel and Finn's complicated love life, I advise you to tell Bianca the truth."

Aerin shook her head, she could live with having to bury her feelings for Santana till the end of time but losing Catalina would be the straw that would finally break her delicate back. She was a crutch for the blonde, a weight that kept her upwards when she felt herself mentally falling. "Telling the truth would mean her leaving me, and it would also mean that I'd probably get a reputation for lady hopping," Aerin replied as she picked up another strawberry and took a hefty bite out of the side of it to let the chocolate seep in with the 'juice'. " And I'm not really in the mood to cry for a month straight again, I'm still cleaning up the tissues and empty fro-yo cups from under my bed from my last break up ."

" I say you go on a dating cleanse. try being single for one month and actually live for yourself, instead of trying to constantly hold onto one relationship that is too platonic and another which isn't going to even last past summer," Kurt suggested. But once he caught a glimpse of Aerin's furrowed brow and slight scowl, the brunette was quick to change his previous statement. " Or, maybe you could just order another bowl of bottomless salad for one at Breadstix's...I hear they're legally not allowed to stop you from getting servings."

Aerin huffed inwardly as she wriggled her head from Kurt's shoulder, " I guess you're right, being single would help me to concentrate on things that actually matter," the blonde replied, moving to Kurt's vanity and sitting down with a harsh thud, " Like Lennon, my school work, practicing for the big homecoming game. But, I also hate being alone."

Kurt sat up slightly, " Why's that ?" he responded.

The Cline girl's chocolatey brown orbs twinkled in the semi-detachable lights which stuck out predominantly from every corner of his vanity mirror. To her, there was no true answer to that question; as it honestly had many remedies and replies that could answer it. Some prefer the serenity of being alone, it's like their break from reality, their own little world which they can escape to without the fear of people protruding and bursting their bubble.

Others didn't mind it, either way quite brings them comfort at the best of times and the bustling symphony of the outside world makes them smile. Aerin however, had no clue where she belonged on the scale of 'Perfer' of 'Sheer Hatred.'

" I despise being alone because it means I'll be trapped with the horrible thoughts that always jumble up in my mind. Am I too fat, Am I trying too hard, Am I...Am I a bad mom to my daughter ?" Aerin sharply swallowed to try and recollect her thoughts. she turned to Kurt, who was looking at her with concern in his eyes, and warmly flashed him a sheepish grin with a soft sniff. " God, I'm so sorry for getting so deep, I totally killed the mood-" she chuckled, wiping an excess tear that had escaped.

" Don't you dare apologize, Aerin Louise, you opened your heart and that's healthy," Kurt replied as he grabbed the strawberry bowl and placed it on his bedside table," I want to be able to do that one day for something special-"

" Or someone special," Aerin smirked with intent.

Kurt raised a brow and folded his arms, " What do yo-

" Oh come on Kurt, you know it, I definitely know it, half the Glee Club knows it," Aerin tried to further insinuate to try and give the Hummel boy a clear signal, which obviously didn't work. Playfully rolling her eyes once more, the girl rose from her seat and grabbed one of Kurt's deep sapphire coloured sashes. "This one would look perfect on you, it screams mysteriously luscious and indulgent fashaholic," she then moved towards the brunette and wrapped the soft fabric around his shoulders, "I heard that Blaine's wearing a red tux to the homecoming dance, sapphire and red works wonders together."

Kurt placed his right hand on the fabric and gently stroked it, a tiny smile breaking free from the cusp of his lips . "You aren't going to let this go, are you ?" the boy sighed with a chuckle as Aerin shook her head in response. 

" Not until you ask Blaine to be your lawfully wedded homecoming date," Aerin reached from the Hummel boy's phone from the corner of his bed. The blonde then leaned slightly and began to dangle his T-Mobile slide over him in one singular motion. " Tick tock, Tick tock, Tick tock..." she jeered as she moved closer to his ears, and rested her arm around his shoulder, making sure the sound got to Kurt's core.

"𝐎𝐊𝐀𝐘 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐄, 𝐈'𝐋𝐋 𝐃𝐎 𝐈𝐓 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏 𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐈𝐍 𝐌𝐘 𝐄𝐀𝐑. 𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐆𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐌𝐄 𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐁𝐔𝐌𝐏𝐒, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐀 𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐖𝐀𝐘!"Kurt finally caved in frustration, swiping his phone back from the Cline and subsequently nudging her softly. She excitedly shrieked and gave him a surprise hug before she sat next to him. Taking a sharp intake of breath, the boy began to slowly dial Blaine Anderson's number into his cell whilst Aerin watched on with her arm still draped over his shoulders. For each number he pressed, Kurt made sure to subtly say it out loud, sort of as a self count down to himself to mentally prepare. It wasn't like this was the first time they'd gone on a 'date' before. For instants, the pair had gone to the Lima Bean after hours on many occasions when Kurt still attended Dalton Academy. Blaine was apparently close friends with one of the baristas who worked late shifts on a weekday, and as a favour for overpricing the gel-haired boy for a Splenda, he'd given him an extra set of keys which led to the backroom. The sun would always set whenever they arrived, fevered yellow to be exact, and Blaine would always make sure to bring his copy of Moulin Rouge with him.

They'd smile, laugh, and even cry on occasions together. And when the sunset finally disappeared whilst the end credits rolled, Blaine would to the Hummel boy and exclaim that 'moments with him were magical'. After that their after-hours Lima Bean hangouts did slowly dwindle in occurrence, but he was still always by Kurt's side. And when they finally kissed for the first time in the Warbler commons he truly knew that Blaine was the guy who he wanted to be with, who he loved. But something inside of him was still uncertain as to if those feelings would last forever.

" Here goes nothing...." Kurt sighed, as Aerin crossed her fingers for good measure. The phone's blaring squawk began to ring out, each ring representing the current state of Kurt's racing heartbeat. He hadn't even practiced what he was going to say, how he was going to approach the question, what his reaction would be if Blaine said no. "It's still ringing, that's bad Aerin...I think I'm just going to hang up the pho-"

" Hang up and the sash gets it," Aerin threatened with scarily narrowed eyes, holding up the brunette's favourite sash which had a sewn tartan pattern.

" Easy there tiger, I was only kidding," Kurt grimaced as he quickly swiped his sash from Aerin before things could get uglier.

Kurt's hopeful look silently faded once the phone when the call was suddenly cut unexpectedly, and Blaine's chirpy voicemail replaced the obscene ringing. ' Hey, you've reached Blaine Anderson's voice mailbox. I'm not in at the moment, so please leave a message after the tone, but not before because then the message gets cu-'

As expected, his voice was suddenly cut off by a long beep that went on for what seemed like forever until Kurt finally decided to hang up, much to Aerin's appreciation. He glumly rose from the bed and placed his phone on top of his dresser draw. "See, told you it wouldn't work," he heavily sighed as he sat at his vanity mirror. " He never cuts a call, especially not during the afternoon. I bet he's already got a date, and they're probably sat at his house right now picking out matching bow ties and stupid cute corsages." he began, fiddling with the red fabric that was still draped on him.

" I don't think it's a good idea for me to go to the homecoming dance this year, or your game either. I'm tired of being people's pity plus one's and ultimate third wheels, I want to take someone as my plus one date," Aerin got up from Kurt's bed and moved to pull a chair next to the brunette. "It seems selfish, rude even, but seeing people get their storybooks romances all the time makes me feel so crappy. Sam and Quinn, Rachel and Finn...you and Santana."

Aerin's eyes suddenly widened as she quickly shook her head, "I and Santana are far from a storybook romance. We barely-"

" Know each other ?" Kurt said under his breath as he craned his neck in Aerin's direction, "How many times are going to use that excuse until it becomes your new catchphrase ?"

The blonde stirred in her chair, "It..It's not an excuse," she responded in a mumbled tone, which made Kurt raise an eyebrow. "Okay maybe it's an excuse, but I still don't see us that way. I'm with Catalina, I'm in love with Catalina...we're meant to be together and I will never understand why people can't see that.  Santana and I happened, and I'll personally be forever grateful for that. Sure, she was a major bitch to me at first, but then I slowly grew to tolerate her..full on personality. And her sweet, kind, precious soul that was buried underneath that wall that she always likes to put up as well."

Kurt's gaze softened on the girl's lingering baby brown orbs, "I thought you said you barely knew her ?" he reminded, a smile slowly forming once more.

Some of Aerin's hair flopped over her eyes as she sharply fixed her attention to Kurt again, "I know what you're trying to do, Hummel and it's not going to work," she said in sheer confidence, tucking a lock of her over-the shoulder-length hair behind her ear, only for it to flop once more.

" Okay, then I'll dare you," Kurt challenged.

Aerin scoffed inwardly, "Dare me, what? Are we in Elementary Scho-"

" If you ask Santana to the dance, then I'll ask Blaine too," Kurt smirked, folding his arms. Aerin stared at the brunette with shock.

" You can't do that !"

" Well, I just did !"

Just before Aerin could respond a loud knock suddenly came from Kurt's door. Both teens looked up to see Burt Hummel with a wad of tissues in one hand and Lennon in his other. By the tiny patten of breaths that were escaping from his lips, it was obvious that the two-year-old had obviously been a hassle, especially since he had made one of his old dish rags into a make-shift diaper. "Hey, I gotta say...looking after toddlers is a lot harder than it seems. you'd think these things would come with a manual at least," he huffed as Lennon tried to grab at his cap.

Aerin bit down on her lip to try and restrain the laughter that was slowly trying to crawl its way out of her, mostly out of respect for Kurt's dad's generosity for babysitting. But when she noticed her little girl finally manage to swipe his hat right off slyly and place it over her head, a peel of laughter managed to finally come out.

" Yep, sure is." 

◜ -ˋˏ 𝙍𝙊𝙉𝙉𝙄𝙀'𝙎 𝙉𝙊𝙏𝙀𝙎 ! ˎˊ- ◝

new day, new chapter! how did you guys like this short ? this is supposed to be a continuation of the same day but i just felt like stretching it into two chapters lmao. 

plz aerin is the biggest klaine shipper, and she's highkey a reflection on how i was back in like early 2015 and late 2016. 

20/06/21 - hi, future me from like 3 days after this chapter came out ! i just wanted to let you guys know that bianca's name was actually accidentally switched (because i'm a literal dumbass lmao) and it's actually catalina guzman. so, if you see any accidental 'bianca's' left in or wonder why I've suddenly changed it, then that's why. plz don't hesitate to point them out to me...i'd honestly appreciate it <3

the next chapter will actually be more about atticus than aerin. i personally feel like u guys haven't gotten know him that well as a character, and i'm almost at the end of the book so it only feels appropriate. it'll be juicy so stay tuned ;) 

 i'm so obsessed with superstore rn, it's not even funny. jonah and amy are now probably up there with my top 20 favourite ships. and it's also my comfort show along with modern family, new girl, schitt's creek, that 70's show (my sister luckily bought the boxset back in like 2008, so i can still watch the full episodes. but i'm still salty at Netflix for removing it) and ackley bridge.

ANYWAYS...I hope you guys have a good afternoon/evening or morning. stay safe, and know that RONNIE LOVES YOU!