“KURT ELIZABETH HUMMEL, WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME YOU WERE BACK?!” a shrill voice interrupted Kurt’s nap, accompanied by a small girl with pin-straight platinum blonde hair, who bounded into the room and promptly jumped onto Kurt’s bed.

Kurt grinned as Candi Hartford gave him a huge hug before launching into a rapid-fire account of everything that had happened in his absence.

Candi was a petite, shockingly loud film studies major from Santa Barbara, California. She had introduced herself to Kurt with her real name, Hannah, before informing him that if he ever tried to use that name she would personally see to it that, “that gorgeous Burberry peacoat meets with an unfortunate fate involving a bottle of bleach and my razor.” Kurt wasn’t really sure why a girl with a perfectly good name would want to nickname herself after cheap Valentine’s Day food, but he loved his Burberry and therefore was left with no choice but to call her Candi. Besides, Candi was nice, despite how strongly she came on.

“So, how was Ohio?” Candi asked, arranging herself cross-legged on Kurt’s bed.

“Boring,” Kurt replied, sitting up and examining his outfit for wrinkles. He must have been exhausted, because he never fell asleep in his clothes like this. “I mean, it was nice to see my family,” he added, not wanting to sound ungrateful. “It’s just not the same. New York City is home, now.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Candi agreed cheerfully. “Santa Barbara was nice. But too hot!”

“Candi?” Olivia Michaelson poked her strawberry blonde head into the room. “I thought I heard you. MAX, SHE’S IN KURT’S ROOM!”

Max Nichols, Candi’s boyfriend, strode into the room. Kurt automatically sat up slightly. He knew Max was as straight as any theatre kid could be, but he was still undeniably gorgeous, with his soft blonde waves and peanut butter tan.

Candi hopped off Kurt’s bed and ran at Max, jumping into his arms and proceeding to very loudly attach her face to his so vigorously that he stumbled backwards a few steps, almost knocking into Olivia. Kurt shifted awkwardly, not wanting to be rude and interrupt. Luckily, Olivia saved him the trouble by clearing her throat pointedly until Candi detached her face with a smacking sound.

“Did you ask Kurt yet?” Olivia said to Candi.                  

“About wha—oh! Yeah, Kurt, there’s gonna be a welcome-back party in Isobel’s room tonight. She just got back today, too. Anyways, her boyfriend brought back a ton of beer and she’s inviting everyone on the floor! You in?”

Kurt hesitated, uncertain. He wasn’t much of a party kid, and he rarely drank. But then the image of Blaine’s face plastered across the train station wall flashed across his mind once more, and Kurt knew he couldn’t be alone with those memories tonight.

“Sure,” he shrugged. “Why not?”

Candi squealed.

***

Kurt leaned over and planted his lips firmly against the stage.

“Did you just kiss it? Kurt, that’s disgusting!” Blaine cried in disbelief.

“I just kissed the ground Shakespeare once stood on.”

“You just kissed the ground a thousand tourists stood on in the past week.”

Kurt shrugged, beaming at the sight of the Globe Theatre, and at the sight of Blaine in front of its famous stage.

“Kurt? Kurt?! Are you even listening?????” Blaine’s nervous voice cut through Kurt’s fantasy.

“No, I- wait. Sorry. What were you saying?”

“I did some thinking in England, and I’ve decided-” Blaine hesitated, then took a deep breath and, “Well, I’m going to be a lawyer, Kurt.”

Kurt stopped fiddling with the button on Blaine’s sweater and stared at him, before bursting out laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Blaine sounded annoyed.

“A… lawyer…?” Kurt asked between gasps. “Funny, Blaine. What were you going to tell me, seriously?”

“That’s it,” Blaine answered flatly.

Kurt stopped laughing and gazed into his boyfriend’s eyes. He looked more sincere than Kurt had ever seen him.

“A lawyer?” Kurt asked again. The word felt funny on his tongue. Wrong.

“My dad pulled some strings and got me excepted early-decision into Columbia.”

“But, what about NYADA? Our plan? Rooming together next year?”

“Columbia isn’t too far away from NYADA. We can still meet up at least once a week, maybe more. It’ll be great, trust me!”

Kurt’s head was spinning. “I thought- I thought you wanted to be with me. I thought you wanted to act with me, and room with me,” he whispered.

“Kurt, let’s be realistic. We’re not both going to support ourselves by waiting tables. It’s not possible. And the chances of me becoming an actor are next-to-nothing, and-”

“That’s not true.”

“It’s true. And this is what I want, Kurt.”

“You want to leave me?” Kurt didn’t dare raise his voice above a whisper, for fear that he would burst into tears.

“I’m not leaving you! We’ll both be in New York, and we can visit whenever we want!”

“We’ll be farther apart than we are now.”

“There was no guarantee I’d even get into NYADA.”

“You would have gotten in.”

“You don’t know that. I’m not nearly as good as you, and I’m not nearly as good as most of the people there.”

“You’re better. You would have gotten in. You’re letting your fear of the unknown stop you from being great, Blaine.”

“So what if I am?!” now Blaine sounded… angry. “Acting isn’t a realistic career goal for me, but being a lawyer is. I’m good at it. I can work with my dad when I get out of college. I have a guaranteed job, a real career, and a source of income. I can support you. This is a good thing, Kurt!”

“WHEN IS GIVING UP ON YOUR DREAMS EVER A GOOD THING?” Kurt didn’t know when he had started shouting, but now he couldn’t seem to stop. Tears welled up in his eyes and began to pour down his face as he fought to keep his tone steady. “I BELIEVE IN YOU, BLAINE. YOU CAN’T SEE IT, BUT YOU’RE THROWING AWAY YOUR POTENTIAL BY DOING THIS. PLEASE, DON’T. FOR ME, BLAINE. YOU HAVE TO GO TO NYADA. YOU HAVE TO BE AN ACTOR.”

Blaine jumped off the bed, looking more furious than Kurt had ever seen him. “I DON’T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING! MY WHOLE LIFE, PEOPLE HAVE TOLD ME WHAT I HAVE TO DO! I HAVE TO BE STRAIGHT, I HAVE TO GET PERFECT GRADES, TO BE THE BEST AT EVERYTHING, TO LIVE UP TO MY BROTHER’S AND MY DAD’S STANDARDS. THIS IS THE FIRST. FUCKING. TIME I’VE DONE WHAT I WANTED TO DO, AND I THOUGHT YOU WOULD BE THE ONLY PERSON WHO SUPPORTED ME IN ANY CHOICE I MADE!"

Kurt stared at Blaine, not knowing what to say, not knowing when things had gone so terribly wrong. “I’m sorry. I can’t support this. You’re making a mistake, and you and I both know it. I can’t support you giving up on your dreams.”

Blaine took a deep, shaky breath. “Then I guess there’s nothing more to say. I have to go.” He turned for the door.

“Blaine.”

Blaine turned around, and Kurt saw that his face was streaked with tears, too. “What?”

“Is this- are we... breaking up?”

Blaine’s voice got quieter. “I don’t know,” he almost whispered, his voice cracking. “I think so.”

***