4. Kurt's POV

From Unknown Number @ (9:48PM)
Hey, It's Blaine!

To Blaine @ (9:49PM)
Oh hey! How are you?

From Blaine @ (2:51PM)
Good! I'm just thinking about our date. Is next Sunday at 3:00 okay for you?

To Blaine @ (9:59PM)
Yeah, I'm open. See you then!

*

A lot can happen in a week.

Usually, nothing does. Usually, people go throughout their days without the slightest hint of anything interesting happening, and they just accept that life is going to be boring and uninteresting and they fall into patterns. I am a victim of this crime. I wake up every morning, I have the same coffee, go through the same shower, face, and hair routines, and check my same email account for my same emails that always tell me when and where my next meal reservation is. And then I sit down at my same computer and write in the same font on my same word processor about my past meals. For something so easy, it sure gets tiring.

It's when your routine starts to change in small tiny ways that you should expect a full, jam-packed week.

For example, I woke up on Monday morning to several texts from Blaine in which he told me he thought I was cute and that he couldn't wait for Sunday. Reading these texts and being happy that I was right on the brink of my first relationship since college wasted time, and I was unable to complete my facial cleansing routine, for fear of getting behind schedule.

Then, I sat down at my computer. The newest email in my inbox was one from Sue, which outlined all the restaurants she'd made plans for me to go to. I read over them carefully, my eyes widening when I saw what my Wednesday review was.

Right on my screen, in glaring bold, it read: Wednesday: Bella Vita Italian Bistro. Dinner @ 5:00 - Reservation under Sylvester.

Normally, this wouldn't have been a problem. But with the new rules Sue had set in place...

No. I wasn't going to do that to Blaine. I'd find a way to write him a fantastic review, just like he deserved.

I put the thought to the back of my mind and set to work, researching the restaurant I was expected to eat lunch at. I tended to start at websites like Yelp and branch out from there, following links back to small little food blogs and credible websites that were known for having fantastic judgment. All in all, I got the impression that it would be a fairly easy review.

I tried to think of a plan.

*

Blaine had some free time later that night, another thing that interrupted my schedule and added to my list of things that were happening that week, and I invited him over to watch bad reality TV. We ended up cuddling, an activity, it turns out, that he is an expert in. And while we were sitting there on the couch, I started to think about Wednesday and how I should tell him. I should just get it off my chest and tell him about Sue's stupid rule.

Surprisingly, I didn't have to bring it up at all, because Blaine did. "I was thinking. Did you write a review after you came to the restaurant?"

I blanched for just a minute before speaking, the look on my face probably akin to that of a drowned cat. "No, I didn't. I just needed somewhere to eat lunch, is all."

Blaine smiled. "Okay, it's just...I had to ask, because I've experienced bad reviews before, and they've really decreased business."

At the mention of bad reviews, my stomach twisted, but I tried not to let it show. "Really? Blaine, Bella Vita is amazing. And now that I'm thinking about it, I got assigned to eat dinner there on Wednesday. And I'm going to give you a wonderful rating, make no mistake!"

Blaine beamed, and my chest tightened. "You know, I could just kiss you right now."

I suppressed the feeling and smiled. "You know, I wouldn't stop you if you tried."

He tried.

I didn't stop him.

I forgot for a while that I had just essentially lied to him.

*

Wednesday creeped up on me, and I woke up that morning feeling badly rested and anxious to figure out what I was going to do to convince Sue to publish a good rating of Bella Vita. I figured I'd just write what I wanted and go from there. Sue needed content, and if I refused to post anything but what I believed to be true, she'd either cave or fire me. And at the moment, I didn't think I'd mind too much if I had to find another job. If worse came to worst, I could commute to Lima and work in the tire shop for a while, but I sure as hell wasn't going to go to ridiculous lengths to keep my job on the webzine.

I called Rachel to explain what was going on.

"Hey Kurt, how are you?" she said when she answered the phone.

"Not good," I admitted. "So, I met this guy..."

"Who? Oh my God, is he cute? Wait, you said not good. Did you have a one night stand? Is this like NYU junior year? Do I need to bring you black coffee and a bucket of something terrible and greasy?" Rachel cut me off and had spiraled down a completely inaccurate path before I had the chance to stop her.

"No, Rach, just...no. Okay, so I met this guy. He runs a restaurant, and Sue wants me to review said restaurant but I don't want to mess up whatever it is that we have by giving him a bad rating. And I don't know what to do!" I plopped down on the couch and drug a hand through my hair. "God, I'm just going to fuck it up, aren't I?"

I could hear Rachel sigh on the other end. "I think you're just going to have to hope that he trusts you when all is said and done. That way you can explain yourself."

"I hope you're right, Rachel. I hope you're right."

*

Blaine was waiting by the front door of the building when I showed up for my reservation, a grin the size of Texas spread across his face. I smiled in return, leaning in to kiss his cheek before I went inside. "Hey," I said.

"Um, because you told me you were coming I kind of told Sugar, Tina, and Puck that I'd serve you tonight? And if one of them comes over while I'm in the kitchen and starts talking to you, it's because they pry far too much and have worked out every waking detail of my social life and for that I am truly sorry," Blaine placed his hand on my shoulder and led me to a table, different from the one I'd sat in last. I was amused at the way that he was warning me of his staff, like I was about to meet his family, or something.

But I supposed that, what with him being a small business owner, that's exactly what was happening.

Blaine took my order and disappeared into the kitchen, and sure enough, not five seconds later, a girl with long dark hair and an expression that screamed invasive asshole slid into the chair across from me. "So, Anderson's kind of your bitch now, huh?"

"Excuse me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Um, hello? Every fucking time you passed by outside the window, Mr. Bowtie-Happy in there got a disgustingly sappy look slapped across his face, like you 'hung the moon' or something equally as stupid." She shrugged, the look on her face fading to something extremely neutral.

The ends of my lips turned up. "Really?"

"Ugh, see? You're doing it too. Oh god, I was just in this because I wanted the dirty details about my boss's sex life, but this?" she waved over her head towards the kitchen, probably meaning Blaine, and then at me, "This is so cotton candy sweet, there is no way any kind of sexual things are going on up in here. No way. I'm done." She stood up and walked over to the bar and swung herself over. I just kind of sat there, letting the shock of what just happened sink in. I don't think I moved until Blaine returned with my food, balancing plates on his good arm.

"Who is that?" I whispered, pointing at the girl behind the bar.

"Just Santana. She's an ass, don't mind her," Blaine said offhandedly, and set my food in front of me. "Enjoy!"

I smiled, picked up my fork, and brought the first bite of food to my mouth.

*

"Porcelain. Great, you picked up."

"Yes Ms. Sylvester?" I droned, balancing the phone in between my ear and my shoulder as I typed out my Thursday review.

"I can't publish your Wednesday piece, and you know it."

"Why not?" I asked, pretending not to know why.

"Because of the rules I set in place," even over the phone, I could tell she sounded very frustrated.

"Well I'm not going to change anything other than typos," I said as I typed, trying to focus on the words more than anything.

"You know what? Fine. Keep your damn review. I have more important shit to deal with than this." Sue hung up on me, and I have to admit.

It felt too easy.

*

I went to pick Blaine up on Sunday like we'd planned, and knocked on his door. My hands were visibly shaking, and I laughed. I couldn't remember the last time I'd been this nervous, the good kind of nervous that was more anticipation than anything. I'm pretty sure my heart stopped when Blaine opened the door, but then I took in the sight.

Blaine wasn't dressed for a movie. In fact, he wasn't dressed at all - he was wearing baggy sweatpants and a tank top, and he looked pissed.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"If you think I'm still going to go out with you after what you said about the restaurant, you're delusional," he sneered. And then he slammed the door in my face.

*

I don't think I'd ever felt the need to get to a computer faster than I had in that moment, but I bolted to my car and drove home as quickly as possible. I'd left my computer on and plugged in, so it didn't take me long to open up the website's home page and scan for my review.

Except, it wasn't my review. It had my name on it, but it was a completely different article than the one I'd written up the day before. My jaw dropped further with each word I read, scanning through each paragraph, looking for a scrap of something I wrote. Nothing. Sue had played me.

I pulled out my phone and attached Blaine's contact info to a text and sent it to Rachel.

To Rachel @ (3:36PM)
Please text him and try to explain what's going on. I'm going to the office. Check in SOON.

I drove to work even though it was extremely close, as I didn't want to waste any time. I flashed my card at the security officer and stormed into the elevator, my head pounding. Sue had just ruined something that could have been fantastic. Sue just tore apart my relationship with Blaine like it was nothing, like it was just a piece of trash. The same phrases played over and over in my head, fueling my fire.

I completely ignored Heather when she said hello to me from her place behind our floor's front desk, and made a beeline for the back of the office space, where Sue's office was. And then I was there, practically nose to nose with a nameplate that made me want to throw up.

I knocked on the door, softer at first, and then louder when I wasn't getting any responses. Sue finally opened the door. "What do you want, Porcelain?"

"You can't just do stuff like this, Sue!" I shoved my way past her into her office and turned in a few circles. "I took my time with that review, and you just shredded it! People are going to think that Bella Vita is just a piece of shit, low-quality restaurant, when it's probably one of the best in the area. That's not fair!"

"Well, sorry to be the one to break it to you, kid, but life just isn't fair. We do what we need to do to get by, and then we die. Deal with it." Sue said.

"I just don't believe that," I said, pursing my lips. "So you know what? I quit."

I left then, pulling my phone out to view a text from Rachel.

From Rachel @ (4:15PM)
I explained it to him and he feels really bad. You're probably going to get a load of texts from him really soon.

To Rachel @ (4:27PM)
Great. And Rachel? Remember when you said we need to do something big to get Sue's attention? Well, I think I've got just the idea...

*

Foodie Frauds: Why You May Need to Reconsider Trusting Reviews
Posted by Admin @ 2:15PM EST

Two years ago today, food enthusiast Kurt Hummel, along with his boyfriend-turned-fiance Blaine Anderson and his best friend Rachel Berry, launched a website named "Debunked Ratings" after an honesty issue with Hummel's former employer, Sue Sylvester.

"She was way out of line," says Hummel. "I had written a review of Blaine's restaurant and given him four and a half stars, and at the time she was convinced we'd get more hits if we posted negative content. She completely reworked my review, and I'd had enough."

Hummel goes on to explain that he and Berry set up the site to put reviewers to the ultimate test of credibility. They planned to re-review any and all restaurants in their area and see if their findings were in any way similar to what critics had claimed before.

The results were quite shocking. It turns out that the majority of the places they visited were not nearly as bad or good as it was said, and that was the start of the project. Anderson says, "I know what it's like to be given a faulty review. You spend all your time wondering what you did wrong when really, there's nothing to fix. I really admire what Kurt and Rachel are doing, which is why I'm helping as much as I can. We're doing this unique thing where when we find a restaurant in need of improvement, we go in, and instead of openly criticizing, we tell them exactly what it is that needs fixing, like 'This dish needs more butter, this one, more flavor', etcetera. I'm having a lot of fun with it."

The "Debunked Ratings" website is growing in size every day, and branching out all over the country, and their motto is one to remember:

Just because it's on the internet, doesn't mean it's true. Unless you come to us, of course!