Blaine just couldn’t get a date.

He didn’t understand it; when he had moved from small town Lima, Ohio to New York City with his two best friends, Kurt and Rachel, Blaine had thought he would finally have his chance. His chance to do all the things that had been denied to him when he was in high school, but that he wanted incontrovertibly. Now that he was finally out of the pool of ever growing homophobia, Blaine was looking forward to the awkward first dates, the nervous but flirty looks, being kissed goodbye outside his new apartment… But it just wasn’t happening, and Blaine was getting despondent. He might as well be back in Ohio; gay population: Blaine and Kurt. 

 At least he had Kurt; having another openly gay teen as a best friend was heartening for Blaine. They had spent many a weekend back home lamenting the lack of dating options for them, neither of them having known another out of the closet teen until they had met when Blaine transferred to McKinley High at the start of their junior year. A combination of this, as well as their shared love of musicals, bow ties, and all things LuPone had created instant best friends forever. It was easier when you had someone to complain with, and Kurt understood all of the things that Blaine craved, and wanted them for himself just as badly.

“Just wait, Blaine,” Kurt had said on many occasions, “When we get to New York we’ll be fighting off dates.”

He was wrong.

When Kurt had introduced Blaine to Rachel a week into his transfer, the three of them became inseparable, their dreams of reaching New York bringing them closer together, inspiring each other when all hope seemed lost. Rachel had informed the boys that she could completely feel their anguish; you see, she had two gay dads, and their struggles with living as gay men in rural Ohio had given her great insight into the trials of finding love and acceptance in a difficult situation. The boys just smiled at her.

But they had done it; university applications, apartment hunting, and job searches seemed to be determined to break their spirit, but here they were: living in New York with their best friends, headed on their path to fame and fortune. Everything was going according to plan… except the whole dating thing.

“I just don’t get it!” Blaine complained to Kurt and Rachel one night when they were hanging out in their apartment. “Am I just completely undateable? We’ve been here four months already, and no one has asked me out, or given any indication that they want to date me at all.” Blaine looked expectantly at Rachel who was sitting on the floor working on a paper on her laptop, and then at Kurt who was draped over the other end of the couch.

“Blaine, honey, have you ever thought about maybe asking someone out yourself? Why just sit around complaining about not being asked out?” Rachel asked, not looking up from her laptop screen.

“Rach, I’ve never asked someone out before, I wouldn’t even know what to say. And I’m shy.” At Rachel’s raised eyebrow Blaine corrected, “Around guys! I’m shy around guys. It’s not like singing on stage. If they say no, it’s not the music or my voice they don’t like, it’s me.”

“Plus, his gaydar is broken,” Kurt added. “It’s tragic really, something went horribly wrong somewhere along the line, and it never fully developed. With his luck, he’d end up asking out all the straight guys in New York.”

“Hey!” Blaine defended, “It’s not broken!”

“Blaine, you were convinced for like a year that Mike Chang was gay,” Rachel said, giggling.

Kurt laughed along, “Oh my God, yes, and remember Rach, he kept giving him little pep talks in the middle of random conversations to reassure him that ‘being gay is okay’?” Kurt said, joining in on Rachel’s laughing now, before putting on an imitation of Blaine’s voice. “‘You know, Mike, being comfortable with yourself is all that matters, just know that there are people that care about you no matter what.’ Mike just thought you were being really nice!”

“I don’t know, Kurt, I’m almost positive that Blaine’s little speeches were what made Mike decide to ignore his dad and do dance professionally. So it all worked out in the end,” Rachel said, snickering.

“Ha ha, you guys,” Blaine said, “Hilarious.”

“It was pretty funny,” Kurt added, patting Blaine’s knee reassuringly.

“So, what am I meant to do?” Blaine asked, trying to turn the conversation away from incredibly embarrassing stories from the past.

“I’ve got an idea, Blaine, it’s novel,” Rachel said, rolling her eyes, “Try going to a bar.”

“But I’m underage and-” Blaine began, but Rachel cut him off with a wave of her hand.

“Go to the gay bar we walked past the other night, they’ll let you in, no problem.”

Blaine seemed to think about it for only a second, before smiling. “Okay!” Blaine said, immediately getting up from the couch, “Let’s go!”

“Now?” Kurt said from the couch.

“No time like the present,” Blaine sing-songed on his way to him room.

Kurt sighed in a long suffering way, rolling his eyes at Rachel, before getting up and making his way to his own room. When Kurt and Blaine were done and ready to go, they entered the living room again to find Rachel still in the spot where they left her.

“Aren’t you coming, Rach?” Blaine asked her, already starting to pout.

“Sorry, sweetie, I’ve got this paper to finish. You and Kurt go have fun,” Rachel said.

“No problem,” Kurt said confidently, “I’m an amazing wingman. I was the one who set up my dad and Carole, you know.” With that he turned and headed to the door.

“And why was that again, Kurt? Talk about broken gaydars!” He called after him, leaving Rachel laughing as their now continued debate echoed down the hall, and then was abruptly muffled as the door closed behind them.

“Oh, he’s cute,” Kurt said, tilting his head in the direction of a dark man leaning forward over the bar enough to give Kurt and Blaine a perfect view. “If you don’t go for that, I will.”

“Oh yes, bringing you was a great idea,” Blaine teased, but really he was getting antsy. The optimism that had flooded him at Rachel’s suggestion was waning as the night progressed and no one approached them. And Blaine couldn’t understand why.

Kurt and Blaine were sitting close together at one of the tables in what Kurt had called the Perfect Viewpoint.

“I’m sorry, sweetie,” Kurt said.

 And then a blond man who had been sauntering over to Blaine walked up behind him, heard Kurt’s words and promptly turned around and walked back to the bar without being noticed.

Kurt continued, “You’ll meet someone. I know we talked about this a lot in high school, and we kind of made it seem like it would happen right away, but give it time.”

Blaine smiled and gave Kurt an awkward one armed hug from where they sat.

And a man in a red shirt who had been eyeing Blaine from the dance floor quickly looked away. Damn. Taken.

“I know!” Kurt said suddenly, "This spot is perfect for seeing something you like, but we want to be seen.”

Blaine nodded emphatically at Kurt’s epiphany, “We need to get to the bar.” Blaine immediately stood, grabbing Kurt’s hand in his so that they wouldn’t get separated in the milling crowd.

And while they crossed the room, a girl nudged her best friend and pointed at them. Weren’t they a cute couple?

When Kurt and Blaine found a spot at the bar, Kurt leaned forward to order them their drinks, and Blaine quickly scanned the area from this angle. It was definitely full tonight, and so his chances should be good, right?

“You know,” Kurt said conversationally, “If there was any time to be doing a sexy face, now would be it.”

Blaine looked at him, trying to suppress a laugh before throwing out ‘sultry’.

As the boys laughed together, the man on the seat next to Blaine got up and moved on. Dead end this side.

 “You know, Kurt, maybe that’s the problem,” Blaine said, quieting down considerably. “Am I not good looking enough to get one date?”

Kurt looked astounded, “Blaine, where is your confidence tonight? You never doubt yourself, and now you’re getting all worked up over this.”

“You’re avoiding the question!” Blaine accused, and Kurt just shook his head.

“Blaine Anderson, you are hot as hell.”

Blaine smiled and returned, “As are you, Kurt Hummel.”

And the man who had settled in the empty seat next to Blaine retracted his hand from where he was about to tap Blaine on the shoulder. And he’d had such a good pick up line, too.

Once the boys had finished their drinks, Blaine gave Kurt a look of resolve.

“You know what, screw it. I’m not going to let tonight go to waste. We’re here; we might as well enjoy it. Dance with me!”

The boys made their way to the dance floor and got lost in the beat, just enjoying the silly dance moves that had each other bursting into fits of laughter while they moved.

And a man leaned over to his friend. What about that guy? No, he’s been dancing with that guy the whole night. They’re totally going home together.

The next day, Kurt, Blaine, and Rachel met for lunch on campus, it being one of the rare days when they all had the same hour free. Once they grabbed a seat, Rachel turned her attention to the boys opposite her.

“So… how was last night?” she prompted.

“Bust on the dating front,” Kurt answered, “But it was still really fun. I tried to teach Blaine the shoulder shimmy, but alas, he didn’t really get it.”

Blaine rolled his eyes, and then leaned toward Rachel, “I was informed that I shouldn’t worry; it is an advanced move after all.” Rachel and Blaine laughed, Kurt throwing them an indignant look before giving in to the laughter.

The conversation then turned to how their classes were going, and too soon Rachel had to return to the apartment to get ready for work, and Blaine and Kurt headed back towards their next classes.

“You know, if you’re still looking for a date, maybe I can ask around my class and see if anyone is interested,” Kurt offered as they walked.

“Yeah, maybe,” Blaine conceded. “I don’t want to come off seeming desperate or anything, I just want to get out there, you know? I mean, I’m an adult living in the city, and I’ve never had a date.”

Kurt just nodded sympathetically. “Well, I’ve only ever been on one date before, and it was nothing spectacular. In fact, it was just awkward. I’m in no hurry to do that again.”

Blaine just looked at Kurt before saying, “I know I’m a big romantic, but I just want to meet someone. Now if I could just figure out where-,” but Blaine was cut off by a voice calling his name. He turned around to see a classmate of his walking towards him.

“Hey, Charlie, what’s going on?” Blaine greeted him with a smile.

“I just thought I’d give you a heads up, next class was moved to B103,” he said.

“Oh, well thanks man. I was heading in the total wrong direction,” Blaine laughed.

“No, problem,” Charlie waved him off, before walking back to his friend.

“Who was that?” James asked, watching Blaine and Kurt walk away.

“Blaine Anderson, or Anderberg, or something. We have some classes together. But don’t even try, James. That guy, the one with him? I think that’s his boyfriend, Kurt. Yeah, someone said they’ve been together since high school, and they live together and everything,” Charlie said knowingly.

“Too bad,” James said, turning away.

“Oh my God, Blaine!” Kurt yelled, running into the apartment.

“What? What’s wrong?” Blaine said, sitting up from where he had been lying across the couch, reading the same line of his textbook over and over.

“The new Robert Downey Jr. movie came out, and I really want to see it! Let’s go now?” Kurt said excitedly, calling from his bedroom. He came back out with a different pair of boots in his hand, and sat down in Blaine’s recently vacated part of the couch to put them on.

“Ugh! I thought there was an emergency or something,” Blaine said, falling back across the couch into his previous position. Unfortunately it now meant that he was lying across Kurt’s lap.

“Get off,” Kurt said, playfully poking Blaine in the side. “It is an emergency. I have to see it right now, and you have to come with me purely because we share a great passion for all things Robert Downey Jr.”

Blaine pretended to think about it. “Okay, you’ve got me convinced.”

“Good,” Kurt said, “now get ready!”

When Kurt and Blaine reached the theater, they were almost late.

“We have to hurry, it’s going to start soon,” Kurt said, pulling Blaine through the doors. “You know, if you didn’t have to stick your head into a bucket of gel we might have gotten here early,” he added, raising an eyebrow at Blaine.

“You’re just gloating because for once it’s not you that we’re nagging on to get ready faster!” Blaine refuted. “Plus, wasn’t it worth it?” Blaine said, striking a ridiculous runway pose.

Kurt laughed, saying, “Of course, who will be looking at the screen when you’re there?” Suddenly he looked serious, “Okay, this is the plan: you go get the tickets, and I’ll get the popcorn, and we’ll meet at the doors.”

Blaine saluted him, before moving over to the ticket counter. Once he had the tickets, he walked to the doors to wait for Kurt, and looked up at the poster for the movie they were about to see. Suddenly he felt a presence behind him, and a voice said, “I’ve been waiting to see this movie for ages.”

Blaine turned around to see a dark haired man looking at the poster in front of him.

“Oh, me, too,” Blaine said, giving the man a small smile. He was very cute, and obviously had good style based on the outfit he was wearing. In fact, Blaine was almost positive that Kurt had the same shirt.

“But really, I think I’d see anything with Robert Downey Jr. in it,” the man continued.

“Same here, that’s the only reason I’m here right now,” Blaine said, and the man smiled even bigger at his statement.

“Well, maybe I can give you another reason. We should-,” the man was cut off by Kurt who walked up to Blaine saying, “Okay, so I know you always get a small drink, but then complain that you need to go get another one, so I just got you a large. Honestly, sweetie, you’d think you would learn…” Kurt trailed off as he saw the man that Blaine was talking to.

“Oh, never mind,” the man said, “enjoy the movie.” With that he slipped through the door, letting it close slowly behind him.

“Who was that?” Kurt asked, turning to Blaine again.

“No idea, just making small talk, I guess,” Blaine said, shrugging. He couldn’t help but be disappointed. It seems like he didn’t like him, after all.  

“Oh,” Kurt said. “I really liked his pants.”

Blaine smiled and immediately agreed, holding the door open for Kurt to walk through first.