"Hey Dad."

"Hey, kiddo. How's it going?" Burt asked.

"It's going well. Just a lot happening at once."

Burt laughed. "Kurt, I hate to break this to you, but it's only going to get worse."

"I know," Kurt sighed, "and that's what scares me. If I actually get a role, it's going to just get crazier."

"That's part of life. Getting older means life gets more chaotic. But you're going to handle it just fine," Burt said. "Well, you're going to handle it a lot better than Finn."

Kurt laughed. "Thanks dad. Although that doesn't make life any less hectic."

"I can't do that," Burt said. "So, do you want to tell me what is making things so crazy or am I going to just sit here and worry about my son?"

"I think part of it is still adjusting to being on my own. I realize that I've been here for two weeks, but it's still sinking in. It's just weird living alone. Then there's the auditions starting soon, so I'm freaking out about that," Kurt explained.

"What about a job?" Burt asked. "I realize you're busy with auditions and stuff, but you do need to find some way to support yourself until you actually get a role."

"That will come eventually. I know I should work hard on finding one, but I want to wait until the first audition is over because that is all I can think about right now. And I think that after the first audition, it will get easier to manage things because I'll have some idea of what to expect."

"That makes sense. Just as long as you get a job. I love you to death, Kurt, but I can't pay for everything."

"I know. I'm just grateful for all the clothes I was able to get during high school."

Burt laughed. "Of course. You're thankful for the clothes. But not for food or the roof over your head or the –"

"Dad," Kurt interrupted, "of course I appreciate everything. Clothes was just the first thing to come to mind."

"Well, it's great to see that New York hasn't changed that about you."

"I don't think I could ever part with my clothes," Kurt said seriously.

"Anyone who has ever met you knows that."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say. Not everyone appreciates fashion."

"I don't think the problem is people not appreciating clothes. I think it just has to do with the fact that you take your fashion more serious than most people," Burt said.

"Ok. I have a question. Going back to what you said about me handling things better than Finn, what exactly did you mean?"

"Just that even though Finn is still here, I don't think he's going to be as well off as you are. I know you, Kurt. You are responsible enough to be on your own. I love Finn, but as you know from living with him, he's not the most responsible person," Burt said. Burt loved Finn like a second son, but he couldn't deny that Finn wasn't always responsible.

"I think anyone who lives with Finn can pick up on that. Is he still planning on going into the army?" Kurt asked. Kurt was genuinely curious if Finn was still going to join the army, because it seemed that every couple of weeks throughout his senior year of high school, Finn would change his mind about what he wanted to do after high school.

"That's still the plan, at least as far as I know."

"Ok. And what about him and Rachel? Has he said anything?"

"Not really," Burt responded.

"I only ask because I'm trying to get back to being friends with Rachel, and she's still devastated about what happened. Like, I think it would be easier to accept what happened to me if her boyfriend didn't just break up with her, regardless of his reasons. I mean I think now she's jealous because of what happened with Carmen and she's also jealous because I still have my boyfriend."

"I wish I could tell you more, but Finn hasn't said much about what he did. I talked to him about it. He told me that he didn't want to break up with her, but he saw it as the best option."

"But is he planning on getting back together with her?" Kurt asked. If Finn got back with Rachel, it may be easier for Rachel to accept Kurt's friendship again. If Finn didn't get back with Rachel, Kurt would just have to hope for the best.

"I really don't know. And I can't even make a guess. Nothing has really changed since you left. He stays up in his room and plays video games."

Kurt sighed in frustration. He didn't blame his dad for not having information, but it'd be so much easier to work with Rachel if Kurt knew what was going on between her and Finn. "Ok. I guess we'll just have to wait it out and see what happens."

"That's all you can do. Look, Kurt. I would love to stay and chat, but I really have to go."

"That's fine. I'll talk to you later, dad."

"Goodbye Kurt. I love you. And if I don't get a chance to talk to you again before, good luck with your auditions."

"Thank you. I love you, too. I'll talk to you soon."

"Bye, Kurt."

"Goodbye, dad."

The next day, Kurt was in his apartment working on his audition things. Kurt had been working on the song Blaine suggested. He had really tried, but Kurt was certain that he would not get that song to work well for him. He could sing it, but it just wasn't as powerful as "Not the Boy Next Door".

Sighing to himself, Kurt opened his computer and pulled up Google. Kurt had liked Blaine's idea of taking a risk and doing something new. But Blaine's song choice was not working.

Kurt spent the next few hours looking through song choices. He would always think he would have a song, but then he would try it out and decide that it was not right. And it wasn't as if Kurt wasn't trying. He was sure that he had tried songs from every possible genre. There were some that could have worked, but Kurt was determined to find the perfect audition song.

After the first hour, Kurt was still hopeful. There were still lots of songs out there. He just hadn't found the right one yet. After the second hour, Kurt was getting frustrated. By the end of the third, Kurt was ready to throw things across the room. Finally, twenty minutes into the fourth hour, Kurt was sure he had a song.

Kurt pulled out his phone and called Blaine.

"Hey Kurt," Blaine answered on the third ring. "What's up?"

"Hey Blaine and nothing much. I'm working on my audition stuff and decided to change the song."

"Why?"

"It just wasn't working. I tried. I really did, but it just didn't work right."

"That's fine. I'm not upset or anything. I kind of expected you to make changes. It's not like you, or me for that matter, have ever done this before," Blaine said.

Kurt thought about what Blaine just said and decided he was right. Neither of them had done this before. Mistakes were bound to happen and not everything would be right the first time around. Things would never work out perfectly all of the time, something that Kurt could definitely attest to. Mistakes would happen because they are just a part of life.

Kurt eventually pulled himself from his thoughts when he heard Blaine asking if he was still there. "Yeah, I'm still here. And you are right. It's all a learning process and I really don't have a clue what I'm doing.

"So," Blaine asked, "have you picked a song yet?"

"I have one in mind that I think could work. But I want to think about it some more before I actually commit to a song."

"Well, good luck with the song choice. When will I find out?"

"When I am absolutely, one hundred percent positive that I'm going to do that song."

Blaine laughed. "Fine. Go practice and let me know when you know. I can't wait to hear it."

"I will let you know. I love you."

"I love you, too. Bye, Kurt."

"Bye." Kurt hung up his phone and started to practice the song. After only a few minutes, Kurt knew he had made the right choice with his song selection.

Now there were only two things left to do. First, he had to completely perfect the song. Second, he had to choose a monologue and memorize it. There was information about the monologue in Catherine's information, but with the issues of picking out a song, Kurt had completely forgotten all about it.

Kurt figured the monologue couldn't pose as big of a challenge as the song did, although he knew it would still be a challenge. Kurt knew he should work on the song, but he knew that he would feel better once he actually had a monologue chosen. Kurt opened his computer and went back to Google and to begin his search.

It took a while, although definitely not as long as the song selection, but Kurt could say that he had a monologue.

Kurt was feeling exhausted, but he knew he needed to keep working on his audition things. After another hour, Kurt called it a night and went to bed.

Over the next few days, Kurt put all of his heart and soul into preparing for the audition. He worked on his monologue, as well as his two songs, to make everything perfect. Kurt was thrilled just to be having this opportunity, but now he really wanted something to come of it. Although, Kurt, like everyone auditioning, would prefer that something happened sooner rather than later.

The time spent preparing for auditions flew by quickly and before he knew it, Kurt was sitting in Catherine's office again as the discussed the final details before Kurt's auditions.

The meeting started out as the previous meetings did. Kurt and Catherine exchanged greetings and had some casual conversation, before Catherine started discussing the important issues.

"Now I trust you have a second song prepared, correct?" Catherine asked.

"Yes, "The Music of the Night" from "Phantom of the Opera"," Kurt responded. As Kurt had been rehearsing, he couldn't believe that he hadn't thought of using this earlier. It was practically prepared already and was definitely contrasting to "Not the Boy Next Door". He also believed that because he was just singing, he could do it better seeing he didn't have to focus on everything going on onstage as well.

"Oh," Catherine said. "A song that's done often, but knowing you, I have no doubts that you can preform it well."

"Thank you. It took a few tries, but I finally got a good song."

"That is fine. Almost everyone I have worked with has changed their songs or monologues multiple times. It's part of the process," Catherine assured him.

The meeting went on in a similar fashion. Catherine had Kurt sing and do his monologue and made sure that Kurt felt comfortable with all the information before his auditions.

"Now, before we leave, do you have any final questions?" Catherine asked.

"Um, not right now," Kurt said. After the couple of meetings they had had, Kurt couldn't believe how well Catherine had explained things. Kurt almost felt like he was missing something because he never had any questions for Catherine, but he figured it was just a testament to how long Catherine had been doing this.

"Ok, then I think we are done. Feel free to contact me if you do come up with any questions. Good luck, Kurt. You'll be great. Just try not to let the nerves freak you out or mess you up."

Kurt smiled. "I'll try. Thank you for everything."

"It's not a problem, Kurt. Good luck."

The meeting ended and Kurt was on his way. On the way back to his apartment, Kurt stopped to ask about jobs and pick up some applications. Seeing as his things were prepared for the auditions, he would need something to occupy his mind busy for the next few days.