Kurt awoke the next morning still in his clothes from the day before. He had never had a hangover, but he assumed that what he was feeling was on par with that. He would be early for work, but decided that he needed to get out of the house. He was supposed to be starting his new life – how would hiding away help his cause?

Before dressing, he checked the widow's walk to make sure there were no surprises, men, or pee balloons waiting for him. To his relief, the widow's walk was clear of anything except a seagull, which flew away as soon as he opened the door. Kurt glanced at the beach; his father would surely think him strange if he knew that he had not been to the beach yet. It just didn't look like something he wanted to do. There was shopping down by the promenade though, and that looked more than appealing to him.

However, he needed money first, and that would require him to get to work and keep his job.

He dressed quickly in what he assumed would be an appropriate outfit for his first day at the shop: black jeans that weren't obscenely tight but still fashionable, a light blue shirt, and a black vest. He was not completely happy with the outfit, but he didn't want to come on too strong for his first day.

Before he had left Ohio, he had gone on a mini-shopping spree with the money he received from his family for graduation. In high school, he had originally dressed in a way more suited to his personality, but he soon realized that the clothes brought more attention to him and he quickly went back to baggy jeans and hoodies. Now he was back in the clothes he wanted to wear, but he had to slowly work his way toward the more ostentatious clothing.

Kurt grabbed his sewing kit and workbag before descending the stairs and looking around for his Aunt.

"Someone left his cave," she murmured through a piece of duct tape she was using on the frame of the door.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly before clearing his throat, "I guess I was more tired from the trip than I originally thought."

She nodded, "Well you aren't due at Emma's until twelve. Things are quieter around here than at home. The tourists won't start pouring in until then so you can go out to the beach of something. I have to run around and collect rent from those hooligans."

"The boys from yesterday?" Kurt asked, trying to sound disinterested.

"Yeah, they all live in the same house – the one you were supposed to live in…"

Kurt thanked something for life's little miracles.

"But I want to get the rent out of them before they come and start working again this afternoon. I gave that curly haired one a talking to about waking you up yesterday when I gave him some sun block. Honestly, you would think that kid didn't have any manners."

Kurt groaned, the boys would really hate him now – his life was about to become hell again, "I told you that you didn't have to do that," he muttered, "I shouldn't have slept that late."

She shrugged, "It happened, and he knows better now." She moved out of the way, "but go out and get some sunshine please, you're starting to glow."

"I am not!" It burst through his lips before he even knew what he was saying.

"Kurt, you're a new shade of white," she joked with her arm swooping him out of the house, "Go! I'm sure if you walk around on the beach or something, you could meet some really nice people. Or there is a coffee place down on Ocean Avenue, right across from the information center."

Kurt was never one to turn down coffee, so he decided he could at least get closer to the beach without actually going on it.

The walk took longer than he thought it would, and the morning sun was already warm enough to make him sweat a bit. The streets were easy enough for him to navigate because they were simply numbered and then named after flowers. He knew that if he just walked in the direction of the ocean, he would eventually end up on Ocean Avenue.

He arrived on Ocean Avenue and stepped up on the small cement platform that overlooked the beach. He realized that the sparkling was not bits of glass like what he had anticipated, but rather tiny stones that pebbled the otherwise soft sand. It surprised him because he never knew of sand to have stone in it: shells, yes, but never stones. He cradled the sand in his palm before dropping it back down and glanced toward the water. It too was sparkling, and he thought he could make out the sharp points of dolphin fins breaking the water in the distance. The beach itself was alive with people. There were a few families there already with bright umbrellas and radios. More people were running by the water's edge including a group of lifeguards that would occasionally lose a member due to their station. The volleyball courts were empty, but Kurt could see they were well loved and it would not take much time for them to be filled with players.

He was about to walk down the other side of the street that was filled with shops and carried the smell of fudge, coffee, and donuts until he heard a bunch of laughter. He turned instinctively to see a group of about ten children walking down the promenade with two adults. Kurt squinted against the sun to try to see the people that had that many children, and he jumped slightly when he realized he recognized them.

The woman in the hot pink shorts and white t-shirt was Quinn, who was leading a little boy by the hand down the cement structure. The man was Blaine. Kurt couldn't help but appraise his outfit (red shorts and a navy V-neck) and let his mind cloud for a few seconds before jumping off the promenade and crossing the street quickly, if not illegally, to avoid being seen.

He crossed and immediately walked quickly to the coffee shop that he had spotted called "Coffee Tyme." The bells sounded as he walked into the tiny, warm shop. There were a few customers but not many. Most of these people looked to be town regulars and glanced at Kurt for a few seconds before returning to their own coffees and conversation. He walked forward tentatively, not quite sure what he wanted to order. The menu had every type of flavor and concoction that Kurt had ever heard of.

"Hi!" the tiny girl behind the counter enthused, "What can I get you?"

Kurt bit his lip, "What do you suggest?"

The girl's brown eyes widened, "Oh! I don't…I don't really know. I'm sorry, I'm new here! I'm only here to make money for my freshman year at the Tisch School at NYU." She motioned to the jar bedazzled with tiny gold stars and fake pink rhinestones. "I don't even really know how to make half of this stuff," she said in a tiny voice.

Kurt couldn't help but give her a genuine smile, "How about I just get ice coffee with vanilla?" He wondered how she got a job if she couldn't make the coffee, but he didn't have the guts to ask.

"That's perfect," she hit a few buttons on the register before collecting his money. "Can I have your name?"

"Kurt."

She smiled and wrote it on his cup and started working on the drink, "I'm Rachel," she offered, "Where are you travelling from?"

Kurt felt his skin grow red at the thought of being caught as an "out of towner" as Meg called them, "I'm originally from Lima, Ohio but I just moved here." He didn't like small talk usually, but this girl seemed to be genuinely interested in others.

She slid his cup across the small table, "Ohio? What made you move out?"

Kurt shrugged, "Life."

She seemed to understand that he didn't really want to discuss his personal life with her. "Well, I'll see you around Kurt. If you ever need anything I always work mornings."

Kurt nodded and was about to leave when he caught sight of the herd of children directly across the street. He couldn't see the curly haired boy or Quinn, but he knew they were around. Kurt quickly sat on one of the stools by the window and watched the group.

The kids were all putting brightly colored helmets on; some of the old kids were helping the younger kids.

Blaine walked toward the group carrying two bikes and handing them off to what appeared to be the oldest children in the group. Quinn had bikes for the other bigger kids. Kurt wondered what the younger children would do.

Blaine walked up next pushing a bike that adult sized. He picked up the smallest boy and strapped him into the seat on the back. Quinn was arranging three of the girls on the surrey that she eventually sat in.

The group started moving slowly, some of the kids were a bit wobbly on the bikes. Kurt wondered what exactly the group was. Did Blaine and Quinn moonlight as camp counselors? Foster parents? Soccer coaches?

He didn't realize he wasn't alone until a voice spoke at his side, "You staring at Quinn? She's very pretty." Rachel said matter-of-factly as she wiped up a spill on the counter. "Her boyfriend is a complete jerk though."

Kurt tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his chest when he realized that Rachel was talking about Blaine, "Really? Why?"

Rachel leaned against the counter and gazed at the pair, "He just thinks he's better than everyone else. He's good looking, so he thinks he can get away with everything. We went to high school together," she explained, "Cape May High School was terrorized by him on a daily basis. He used to throw spit balls in my salads."

Kurt sympathized, "At least your school didn't have slushies, I have so many stained pairs of jeans that it's ridiculous."

"Slushies ? Like the iced drink?" Rachel's eyes were comically large in disbelief when Kurt nodded in affirmation, "I thought Michelle Obama got rid of those in high schools?"

"That would have been the intelligent thing for our school to do," Kurt said easily. He was surprised how easy it was to talk to the tiny girl. She had everything Kurt wanted so he should hate her, but he felt an immediate kinship with her. "But since when were schools smart? I'm glad to be out," he laughed a little, "sorry…didn't mean to vent."

She put an affectionate hand on her shoulder, not noticing when he jumped at the contact, "So you graduated? Where are you going in the fall?"

Kurt felt his mood fall again, "I'm not. I decided to take a year off before college," the lie slipped easily from his lips, "I wanted to find myself first."

She nodded, "Absolutely. I know who I am and what I want, but if I didn't I know I would take the year off."

Kurt nodded but remained silent, his eyes trained to Blaine who was now further away and helping a little boy stay up on his bike.

"Where are you working this summer?" Rachel asked, not getting Kurt's desire to be left alone with his thoughts.

"The Victorian Dress Shop. It's a huge pink building."

"Oh! That's Emma Pillsbury's shop! She is the guidance counselor at my school during the school year. Well, was," Rachel's eyes lit up at the thought, "she's really nice. Her husband made my high school years tolerable with glee club."

Kurt smiled and shook his empty cup, "That's great Rachel. I'll see you around?" he really hoped he would. He didn't want his negative attitude to ruin a potential friendship.

"Of course! Like I said, I'm here every morning."

Kurt waved and walked out of the coffee shop. He still had some time to kill so he walked through the promenade shopping center. Many of the stores were simply gimmicky stores to attract tourists, but there was an art gallery that he wanted to visit and a few bookstores that boasted great sales and plentiful selection. Of course there were the typical t-shirt shops and souvenir things that he needed to send his father, but that would be for a later date. The promenade itself was beautiful with cobblestones, fountains, and flowers everywhere.

Eventually, he made his way through the streets of Victorian houses that were mostly converted into bed and breakfasts toward the store. Some of the homes were now galleries and boutiques, and Kurt mentally planned his summer mornings as he walked.

He picked up the pace when he saw the gorgeous pink and white house in the distance. It was immaculately painted and landscaped. The sign in the front wasn't missing any pain, and Kurt couldn't help but wonder if Noah and some of his friends had worked on this house as well.

He walked up the slightly steep front steps and into the converted house.

"Coming," a high voice yelled before walking into the hallway. She was a pretty woman with wide eyes and a very matchy-matchy fashion sense.

Kurt held out his hand, "Nice to meet you Ms. Pillsbury, I'm Kur…"

"Oh! You must be Kurt!" she leaned in and hugged him.

Kurt tried not to tense but couldn't help his automatic reactions. If the woman noticed, she said nothing as we chattered away about the house.

"My husband and I live upstairs of course. But the majority of the work you'll be doing will be in this side room. You said in your application that you specialize in detailing? Well, later in the early evening I have a dress being delivered from New Orleans that needs a lot of beading help. I've ordered the beads, but I don't think my fingers can handle it."

Kurt nodded, "I love beading," he offered.

She nodded, "Good! You'll get your own little area so you can pretty much do what you want as long as you keep it clean. I run the store on the right side of the house so people will come and go throughout the day but you'll only have to interact with them when we have nothing to fix. I have everything organized in the room and it's all pretty simple. Right now I can show you how to work the store part because the delivery won't be here until later. Any questions?"

Kurt shook his head. He hoped the dress would arrive today because he had no idea what he would do until eight if it didn't.

"Oh, and the air conditioning in broke right now so you might want to dress a little cooler from now on."

The day passed quickly but hotly. Emma told him it would be warm, but she didn't tell him that he would literally be sweating off all of his skin creams in the first few hours of work. When it was time for him to go to lunch, he was thrilled to go walk around and look for a place outside to eat. Even sitting in the direct sunlight was a relief.

He loved the job though. Since it was still the off season technically, Emma had him organizing fabric bundles in the back room and sorting the new beads by size and color. It was painstaking and Kurt was sure he'd need glasses one day, but it was worth it.

Kurt eventually found a small park right behind the promenade to eat his lunch (which was actually more of a dinner, it being nearly 5). There was a huge gazebo in the back and because there was no one there, he ate happily using the bench to sit and to eat. He watched the early vacationers unpack their cars, the squirrels running around in the small section of grass, and the delivery trucks to the stores. Kurt was amazed at how slow the town moved though so much was going on.

He walked back to the shop quickly, wanting to get back to work setting up for the dress. When he walked into the store, he immediately saw the back of a curly haired boy in red shorts and a navy shirt. He was holding a clipboard and motioning toward a huge box beside him.

"Kurt! This is the dress, Blaine just dropped it off. I asked him if he could gently," Emma looked at Blaine intently on that word, "help you put it on the dress mannequin. He said it was rather heavy."

Blaine turned and smiled widely at Kurt, "Hey Kurt! You're looking…dressed today."

Kurt blushed furiously but bit at the side of his cheek so he wouldn't say anything back. From what Rachel told him, Kurt just figured that Blaine liked to get a rise out of anyone he could in order to start some trouble – why else would he be acting nice to Kurt?

Kurt may have been shy, but he could see right through people.

"That would be great," he said lamely, not quite meeting Emma's eye.

Blaine just stared at him oddly. Kurt supposed her should have said hello back, but that would only be playing into Blaine's tricks.

Kurt would win this one.

Emma motioned toward the box, "I have to go make sure Will's eating, but I'll be back down in a few. Please do be careful with it," Kurt could tell she wanted to stay but also that she wanted to give Kurt some independence to see what he could really do.

"We'll be fine, go!"

She smiled and quickly ran up the steps, but not before throwing a few looks over her shoulder at the pair of boys and the dress box.

"Okay, so how do you want to do this? This thing is really freaking heavy," Blaine looked at the box and sighed, "I nearly broke my back getting it in this place."

Kurt stared at the boy and questions swirled in his head, but once again he bit his cheek. Now was not the time to make enemies. "Let's just lift it into the next room over."

Blaine crouched down and lifted the box up, using the middle as leverage.

"I thought you needed my help?" Kurt asked, an annoyed tinge to his voice.

Blaine ignored the tone, "Which room?"

Kurt sighed and walked toward the room he would be working in, "Over here. I could have done this."

Blaine set the box on the floor and started reaching into his pocket; when he pulled his hand out, a large pocketknife rested in his palm.

Kurt jumped back almost immediately, "W-what are you doing with that?"

Blaine glanced at Kurt and his gaze changed, "I'm sorry. I didn't...I didn't want to scare you. I'm just opening the box."

"You didn't scare me," Kurt snapped as he took a few steps backwards, "I just…wanted you to be careful. That dress is worth a lot of money."

"So I've been told," Blaine muttered loud enough under his breath so that Kurt could hear. He swiftly opened the box and motioned for Kurt to come closer, "this is the part I don't know about."

Kurt looked down at the faded crushed velvet and nearly squealed. It was beautiful and though he knew it would be killer to bead the bodice, it would be worth it. The dress itself was on a dress form, but the transfer would take some work.

Kurt looked at Blaine who was studying the dress, running a finger softly over the velvet. "We need to be as gentle as possible," Kurt said in a hushed voice, his eyes trailing over Blaine's hand and arm.

Blaine nodded, "I can be gentle."

Kurt cleared his throat and stood, "Okay, just secure the left shoulder and I'll grab the right. You'll have to use the waist as leverage. Please don't rip it," the last part came out as a whine, but he needed Blaine to know how important it was.

Blaine nodded and together they lifted the dress off the form and moved away from the box.

"Can't you lift it any higher?" Kurt looked at the train of the dress trailing on the floor on Blaine's side.

"No," Blaine stood on tiptoes and lifted it a fraction higher before allowing Kurt to lead him toward the form.

Kurt was amazed at how heavy the dress actually was, it probably weighed more than any he'd ever felt. But what amazed him more was how gentle Blaine was in moving the dress. His hands smoothed down over the sides when it was finally situated.

Blaine moved away, "That's an awfully heavy dress to wear."

"Fashion is pain," Kurt was already sticking pins into the dress where he would have to make changes to the fabric.

Blaine shook his head, "Well have a good night," he said somewhat tightly.

"Bye," Kurt echoed, wanting the boy to leave before he could make fun of him again.

Blaine grabbed a bag on the floor that Kurt hadn't noticed him carrying on the way in, "Hey…I know you really don't want me here, but do you have a bathroom I can change in? I really need to be at work in like...five minutes."

Kurt wanted to question Blaine, but nodded his head toward a short door in the corner, "Over there."

"Thank you," Blaine moved toward the corner room and Kurt heard rustling but tried not to think about what was going on in the room. He needed to focus on the task at hand.

Blaine emerged not even three minutes later dressed in a pair of khakis and a light green shirt with a bowtie.

Again, Kurt asked no questions.

"Well…bye," Blaine said awkwardly.

"Bye," Kurt mumbled around a mouthful of pins.

O0o0o0o

Kurt didn't leave until nearly ten that night. Emma had told him that he could, but he wanted to at least get the mock up of the dress done so he could start beading. He hadn't thought about the walk home, however.

Kurt knew realistically that he would be fine. Still, he hated walking alone at night because that screamed the making of a Lifetime movie about his life. He could see it now: Kurt Hummel finally broke away from home only to be killed walking home from making a dress.

He made sure to steer clear of everyone who walked by, even people with little children – one could never be too cautious.

He was nearing the end of the first block and he had already talked himself into being freaked out. That was when he saw the silhouette of a man walking toward him. The man was short, but Kurt could tell he had muscles and could probably do serious harm.

Kurt's heartbeat kept up, but he kept his head down as he walked quickly toward the man.

"Kurt?" a soft voice asked.

Kurt's head snapped up, "Blaine?" The boy looked different – he had his hair greased down and the curls where nowhere to be found. "You look different…"

"I have to do this for work," Blaine pointed to his head.

"Exactly how many jobs do you have?" Kurt blurted out.

Blaine bit his lip and shrugged, "About 5. I'm hoping to get more but the job market is tough."

The story immediately flooded Kurt's brain: Blaine was mad at the world and beat up unsuspecting gay kids and slushied glee club members because his family was poor and he needed to work to afford to live.

"Oh," Kurt shook his head, "That's a lot."

Blaine shrugged, "I do what I have to. Do you – do you want me to walk you back to Meg's? This is a safe town but I know how freaked out I get when I walk alone…"

"No," Kurt said a little more loudly than he intended to, "I can take care of myself, thanks."

Blaine looked down at his shoes and then nodded, "Okay. I just thought I'd offer."

Kurt nodded and started walking away quickly.

"Kurt?" Blaine's voice sounded timid.

"Yes?" He turned to look at the boy who was quickly working the gel out of his hair with his hand.

"I'm sorry about that day on the widow's walk. I didn't mean to wake you or anything, I promise. Your Aunt already told me about it, but I figured I'd offer you my apologies. I know you weren't comfortable with it." Blaine scratched at the back of his neck.

Kurt felt like something hit him in the stomach, "I forgive you," he said with a little more sincerity in his voice, "It wasn't a big deal to me anyway."

Blaine nodded, "Have a good night."

Kurt watched as the boy walked away. He didn't trust Blaine as far as he could throw him but something in his apology rang true. Kurt shook the thoughts from his head; he knew Blaine's type, and there was definitely an ulterior motive to what he was doing.