“Kurt, you look fine. Get out here; were going to be late!”

Kurt looked himself over in the mirror just one more time before leaving his room. He found Rachel, clearly having lost her patience, rhythmically rapping her nails on the end table. He didnt really know why he was so anxious about what he wore to a dinner with friends.

You never know who might see you.

So, perhaps, if he was being completely honest with himself, Kurt would admit that he cared so much because he was afraid hed bump into that man again. When hed gone to the grocery store after meeting Rachel for coffee, Kurt had just been finishing paying as the other man had gotten into the adjacent line. Their eyes had met and the man had smiled and, for a completely irrational moment, Kurt had considered hanging around so he could talk to him. That didnt make sense, though, and hed been too nervous. Ultimately, hed just left, and it most certainly wasnt regret that settled like a rock in his stomach.

Ever since, Kurt had imagined countless scenarios where they happened to find each other again and each day he left the apartment like one of those scenarios could happen. It was silly, completely ridiculous, and he knew it. It was just that there was still that small voice of what if.

What if they met again?

What if they had time to talk and get to know each other?

What if they were perfect for each other?

Then there was that other what if, still putting a ridiculous amount of meaning into the encounters but with a rather depressing tone.

What if he lost his chance?

What if that man was his happily ever after and now hes gone?

Kurt didnt know what was wrong with him.

“Alright, lets go,” he said, grabbing his wallet and keys off the coffee table.

“I thought girls were supposed to be the ones that took forever,” Rachel commented.

“I look far better than any girl youve seen,” Kurt responded as they made their way to the door. They stepped out into the hallway, locking the door behind them. Neither of them were sure how secure that lock really was, but it made them feel better. A bad lock is better than no lock at all. “Besides, youre just upset that were not going to a club.”

“I am not! Im upset because you took so long to get ready,” Rachel fired back. “...do you think our waiter will be cute?”

“We can only hope.” Kurt grinned.

They continued to chat as they walked. By the time they arrived outside the restaurant, they were getting into a rather animated discussion about which of their past coworkers was the most difficult to work with. Rachel claimed that it was an actor from her last show, because the lighting had to be just so to compliment his features or he threatened to walk off stage during the performance. Kurt insisted that it was a girl from a previous show of his and was just about to imitate her asking for her make up to be done again in a rather nasal-y voice when he bumped into someone. He was just sparing a glance to the person only to find the man had actually stopped to turn and look at him. Kurt wasnt sure how he felt about seeing a familiar face framed by familiar curls.

“Kurt?” Rachel asked, obviously wondering why he had stopped.

“Oh, so its Kurt? Nice to put a name to the face,” the man spoke up, winking at him. “Im Blaine, by the way.” Then he honest to God put out his hand to shake with that smile again and Kurt could only stare with his mouth hanging open.

“Oh, yes. Sorry,” Kurt apologized, blushing as his brain finally caught up to what was going on. He shook Blaines hand and then gestured towards his confused friend. “This is my friend, Rachel. Rachel, this is apparently Blaine, who I ran into the other day.”

Rachel seemed to be trying to figure out how any of this made sense. “You ran into him...?”

“On the way to my audition actually.”

“I hope that I didnt make you too late. Howd that go, by the way?” Blaine asked, seamlessly integrating himself into the conversation as if he had known about the audition all along. Who was this man?

“Uh...” Kurt stumbled, unsure how to proceed. “I actually ended up being early. I think it went well.”

“Listen, Kurt,” Rachel said, “Im going to go in. Why dont you two... catch up?” It sounded weird to hear, since he and Blaine didnt actually have anything to catch up on. Either way, she walked off into the restaurant, giving him a look that clearly said they were going to talk about this later.

“Ah, it looks like Im making you late again. I apparently have a habit of doing that.”

“No, its okay.” Theres something about you that makes me want to be late.

“No, no. I should let you get going. Til we meet again.”

“Until then.” But what if we never do?

Blaine simply smiled, tipped his head, and walked away, leaving Kurt standing alone on the sidewalk. He wondered if he should have given the man his phone number, or asked him out for coffee. It could be an apology for bumping into him. Or a date. Whichever. He shook his head of the thoughts, knowing hed have time to think of them more later, knowing Rachel would insist on analyzing every last detail of their encounters.

…

“...So you really did just run into him?”

“Pretty much.”

“And then you made eye contact at the store.”

“Yes.”

“And then you didnt see him again until tonight?”

“Thats exactly what happened,” Kurt replied. Rachel pondered this for a moment, sipping her tea as they sat on their couch at home. Theyd gotten back late from dinner, but as soon as theyd gotten in shed told him to sit down and wait while she made tea so that they could discuss the matter “like sophisticated adults.” He wasnt sure how sophisticated it actually was to sit around and talk about some minor interactions with a boy as if they were in middle school again.

“Thats it?” Rachel asked again. “He seemed to act really familiar with you. Like youd at least had an actual conversation with him.”

“I know.”

“Weird.” Another sip of tea. “Of course, I dont understand why you seem so infatuated with him either. Hes cute, but you see plenty of cute guys around New York. What makes him so special?”

Hed been hoping she wouldnt ask him that, because he really didnt know why he thought about the other man so much. It wasnt constant, certainly, but there was no reason to think about Blaine at all. Theyd now spoken a total of two times, amounting to maybe a hundred words between them. Their first conversation hadnt been memorable at all, and Kurt hadnt even thought about it until theyd made eye contact at the store.

Of course, there was the fact that Blaine was incredibly attractive. His curls seemed to have been fixed to lay perfectly around his head as if by magic. His eyes were soft and his lips were full and his cupids bow seemed to be at just the right angle. Broad shoulders led to thin waist and he was at just the right height for embracing each other. That being said, hed met other guys that were even better looking. Guys whose jaw lines seemed to be chiseled by the gods and whose height was perfect for holding Kurt. There were men who had bright blue eyes and broader shoulders and more defined muscles. Blaine was good looking, but attractive guys werent new to Kurt.

So what did make Blaine so special?

“I dont know...” Kurt said, still thinking. “Theres just something about him.”

“He seems a bit off, if you ask me.”

“Off?”

“Well, yeah.” She resettled herself on the couch, crossing her legs and getting more comfortable. “Im not really sure what, but I guess just the way he acts. His mannerisms. Its not really blatant. He just sort of throws me off.”

Kurt could understand that. Blaine threw him off, too. Even when hed first bumped into him, hed thought there was something different. It just so happened that Kurt liked it, and Rachel apparently didnt.

…

Blaine was still getting settled into his life. Hed officially obtained his position at E. Montgomery High and gotten his schedule for the school day. Hed be teaching a music theory class with about fifteen students and five general chorus classes with fifty kids each. Currently, he wasnt allowed to change too much how either class was run, because making the chorus class into a legitimate class would cause mass failure of students looking for an easy A.

So hed moved onto the finer details of his personal life. Hed already set himself up in a nice apartment building, bought the furniture he thought his character would like, and stocked the kitchen with food, silverware, dishes, and appliances. It still felt empty, without personality. He was thinking of changing the colors of the walls and adding some family photographs. Knick knacks still needed to be bought, a new wardrobe, an alarm clock.

Now he was in a bookstore, because he had decided that his mortal alter ego would probably own a lot of books. With a click of his tongue he could poof them into his apartment, but he wanted to act as normal as he could. After all, if he did successfully manage to settle down for a while pretending to be mortal, hed have to get used to not using magic at every turn. Itd get too complicated while he was around people.

So what books would Blaine Anderson, music teacher, buy?

As he was browsing the shop, he turned a corner and ran right into Kurt again. Well, Blaine thought with a smile, must be my lucky day.

It had been just the day before that hed run into Kurt and his friend outside a restaurant. Blaine hadnt wanted to make Kurt late to dinner with his friends, and it wouldnt do to give everyone an extra several minutes just so that he could talk to the other man a little longer. However, Blaine had faith that they would meet again. Multiple accidental meetings was a sign of a magic more powerful than he was capable of. It was sign of fate.

So here he stood with one Kurt in front of him, ready for whatever fate had in store for them.

“We have got to stop meeting like this.”

“I am so sorry,” Kurt said, flustered as he took a step back so that there was a respectable amount of space between them. “I didnt even see you.”

“No harm done. Find any good books? I just started looking.” Maybe they could have an actual conversation this time. There was a nice coffeehouse a few blocks down. They could go as soon as they finished getting their books.

“Oh, uh, a few. I dont really have the money right now to buy any, though. I just like to look.”

“Thats right,” Blaine commented. “You said you had an audition. Did you hear back about that yet?”

Kurt seemed to deflate in front of him. “No. I guess I didnt do as well as I thought.”

“Its only been a few days. They could still be deciding.”

“I guess.” Kurt nodded, but it didnt look like he believed it. “I dont even know if the show will do well. Its new, so it could just flop during production for all I know.”

Blaine wished he knew how to take the conversation back to lighter tones. Kurts eyes were haunting when he was sad, and he just wanted them to shine like they had before. Unfortunately, he saw trouble marching towards him with a determined look on her face. Why had he told his mother he was in New York again?

“Listen, Kurt, I would sincerely love to stay and chat, but I actually have to get going,” Blaine said, trying to end the conversation quickly while showing his regret over needing to leave. “Good luck. Im sure youll get a phone call about that audition soon.”

“Bye?” Kurt seemed to ask as Blaine brushed past him, grabbing his mother as he went.

When they were safely outside, Blaine turned on his mother with a frustrated sigh. “You couldnt just call?”

“Who was that boy?” she asked instead.

“His name is Kurt, and I bumped into him a few days ago.”

“You went to buy books with a boy you bumped into a few days ago? Why are you even buying books anyway?”

“Because Im trying to act normal and buying books is something normal people do!” Frustrated, Blaine began walking towards his apartment.

“Its something mortals do,” his mother corrected, following after him. “Why would you ever want to act like one of them?”

“I thought you wanted me to settle down. Thats what Im doing!” Blaine hissed.

“I meant that you should settle in a nice witch community, not a gritty and grimy place like this,” she responded, looking around. “Youll never be happy here. Mortals cant get anything done in a timely manner.”

“Maybe I want to take a few years to slow down.”

“Slow down with a mortal?”

Blaine shrugged. “Why not?”

It was her turn to sigh now. “I just dont understand you sometimes, Blaine.”

“I know.”

“Dont think that Im not going to drop in every now and then to check on you,” she reminded. “I worry.”

“I know.”

As they turned the corner, Blaine kept walking while his mother disappeared from the sidewalk. So much for my lucky day.