Blaine sat down next to him at the table, "I don't."

Trent grinned, "You're excited, aren't you?"

Blaine couldn't hold back his smile, "I know I shouldn't be this excited about a friendly lunch date, but I can't help it."

"Well, let me know how it goes," Trent said, standing.

"Even if you didn't want to know, I was going to tell you," Blaine joked, grabbing a piece of bacon that he had left on his plate.

Trent shook his head, "I'll see you later. I have class until three."

After Tent left, Blaine tried to keep himself occupied by watching TV, and when that didn't work, he even attempted to start working on a new song. It had been a while since he played his guitar, and since he had a show coming up (thanks to Melissa) he needed to practice. Even that didn't keep him occupied for very long though, and by nine-thirty, Blaine decided he might as well shower and try to get ready, because he figured it was going to take a while to figure out what to wear.

Standing in his bedroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and wet hair, Blaine realized that Kurt had never seen him out of work clothes and was suddenly overcome with an irrational fear that he might not like the way he dressed. Kurt was a fashion design student, after all, and Blaine just wore whatever he thought was cool and didn't really pay attention to trends. He found himself staring into his closet, freaking out, and send a quick text to Melissa. "Bowtie or no bowtie?"

Within thirty seconds, his phone was ringing, "Hello?"

"Hey," Melissa's comforting voice drifted through the phone, "I can't really talk, but just come early, and bring a few different changes of clothes and I'll help you pick something."

Blaine smiled, "Thank you, Melissa. Trent would probably just make fun of me."

She laughed, "I'll see you soon, Blaine."

By eleven-fifteen, Blaine was walking out of his apartment with his messenger bag, which had two shirts, a cardigan, a pair of jeans, and about three different bow ties in it. When he walked in the coffee shop, he was thankful that they weren't busy. Melissa motioned for him to follow her behind the counter and into the backroom. "Alright, so what do you have?" She asked, looking at him expectantly, "And why did you do your hair? I like it when it's curly."

Blaine glanced at his perfectly gelled hair in the mirror and smiled a half smile, "I'm sorry, I was bored and nervous."

She laughed, "It's okay. You look fine."

Blaine breathed out a sigh of relief and set his bag on the table, "Alright, so I have a cardigan, a few different shirts, and a different pair of jeans…"

"And of course, some bow ties," Melissa finished jokingly, pulling them out of the bag.

Blaine grinned, "Of course. So what do you think I should wear?"

"Keep it simple," She said, pulling out a striped long sleeve shirt from the bag, "Wear this, and the gray pants you put in there. You'll look great."

Blaine raised his eyebrows, "That's it?"

"Had you not been so nervous, you probably would have picked the same outfit," She replied, shaking her head, "You change, and I'll go make you a drink."

Blaine laughed, "Thank you. Again." She waved her hand dismissively as she walked back into the store, leaving Blaine to change by himself. Once he was dressed, he checked himself over in the mirror, then made his way out of the back room, "Can I leave my stuff there until later?"

She nodded and handed him his drink, "Yup. Now, you need to relax. We don't want you all nervous when he shows up, okay?"

Blaine let out a deep breath, "Right. Relax." He glanced up at the clock and sighed. He still had fifteen minutes to wait for Kurt. While anyone else might have thought that it was good that he had time to relax, it only made him more nervous. What if Kurt saw that he had finished his coffee by the time he got there and knew that Blaine had been waiting? He didn't want to seem desperate. Or what if Kurt was late and Blaine had to wait even longer while he freaked out?

"Relax," Melissa called from behind the counter, which made Blaine realize that he was gripping his cup too tight. He let out another big sigh and set his cup down, trying to do as she said.

When the clock hit noon, Blaine and Melissa shared a glance then looked toward the door. When Kurt didn't walk through it after a few moments, Melissa walked over to Blaine's table and sat down across from him. "Don't freak out," She said reassuringly and grabbed his hands, "It's just now noon."

Blaine nodded, "I know."

The two of them sat together for another fifteen minutes, and when he still wasn't there, Blaine started to get worried and Melissa couldn't blame him. "Do you have his number?" She asked, glancing toward the door again, "Maybe you should call him and see where he is."

Blaine's head fell to his hands, "No, I don't have his number. God, I'm so stupid. I didn't even ask for his number." Blaine was kicking himself for being so inexperienced at dating. Sure, he had been in a handful of relationships, but they all just kind of happened. He didn't have to work hard or worry if the other person liked him.

"Well don't freak out just yet. Give it another fifteen minutes," She said, lifting his head up.

Blaine knew that she was just trying to make him feel better, but he humored her. The next fifteen minutes went by painfully slow, and the entire time Blaine was beating himself up over it. He had really thought that Kurt liked him back, but now he wasn't so sure and he couldn't figure out what he had done wrong. They sat together until twelve-thirty, when Melissa turned to Blaine, "I'm so sorry, hun."

"He bailed," Blaine said numbly, "Why would he bail?"

"Maybe something happened," Melissa offered but she knew it probably wouldn't matter.

Blaine looked down, "I just don't get it. I didn't do anything wrong, did I?"

"Not at all."

"Then I don't get why he didn't show…" He sighed and stood, "I should probably go home. I don't wanna bother you with this."

"Blaine it's fine, you can stay," She insisted, but Blaine was already standing up and heading to the back room to get his things.

When he emerged, he waved in her direction, "I'll see you later, Melissa. I just probably shouldn't be here right now." She sighed in defeat, but waved him on his way.

Though he knew he should be out doing things to get his mind off of it, Blaine sat at home the rest of the afternoon, feeling sorry for himself. He tried telling himself multiple times that it wasn't that big of a deal – that it wasn't even a real date – or that maybe an emergency came up and Kurt had a good excuse as to why he couldn't make it, but no matter what he tried, he still couldn't help but feel that Kurt had bailed on purpose.

At about three-thirty, Trent walked in the door, his cheerful normal self. When he saw Blaine sitting in the living room watching a movie, he threw his coat and bag on the kitchen table and started to walk over, "How was lunch?"

Blaine was silent for a moment before answering, "It didn't happen."

"What?" Trent asked, sitting down on the other couch so he could look at Blaine, "Why not?"

He shrugged, "Dunno. He never showed."

"Are you kidding me?" He couldn't help but be a bit angry at this Kurt guy. Blaine had been so excited when he woke up. Not to mention, Blaine needed a good guy after his last relationship. Not some dick who was going to bail on him all the time.

Blaine turned to Trent, "Man, I just thought that finally I had found someone cool that I could get along with and maybe date, but I guess I was wrong."

Trent shook his head, "Well, fuck that guy. He just gave up something awesome."

Blaine sighed, "Yeah, I guess…"

"Please don't beat yourself up over it," Trent said, "I know what you're doing. You always blame yourself, and it's not your fault. He's the asshole that bailed on you. Don't take the blame like you always do."

Blaine knew he was probably right, but he just sighed again, "Yeah…"

"You need a beer," Trent declared, standing. He crossed the room in a few steps and grabbed two beers out of the fridge and opened them both before returning to the living room and handing one to Blaine, "Get your mind off of it. I hate seeing you bummed."

Blaine smiled a half smile, "Thanks, Trent."

It was about twelve-fifteen that afternoon, and Kurt still hadn't left his apartment. He was completely dressed and ready to out, but was pacing back and forth in his kitchen instead. He knew that Mercedes would tell him that he did the right thing, but he wasn't so sure. Blaine was a really nice guy, and he was sure that he was probably sitting at the coffee shop by himself, feeling pretty shitty. Kurt hated to do that to him, but once again, it was probably the right thing.

As he paced, he felt more and more guilty about not showing up, though. Lunch could have been his chance to tell Blaine about Hayden, and to establish that they could only be friends. He turned on his heel again, wondering if he should go. If he ran, he could be there by twelve-thirty. But Blaine would probably be gone by then. There was no way that he would stick around for that long.

Kurt felt like an asshole. He knew what it felt like to get let down, and it didn't feel good. He knew he was doing exactly that to Blaine. He wanted to call Mercedes and talk to her about it, but he knew that she would just say the same thing. Kurt sighed, picked up his phone, and dialed Rachel's number. She answered after a couple of rings, "Kurt, you're lucky I just got out of class, what's up?"

"When is your next class?" He asked, trying not to sound upset but knew there was no fooling Rachel.

"In fifteen minutes, but it's just English. I can ditch it if you need me. What's wrong?"

Kurt smiled, glad that he had such a good friend in Rachel, and glad that she had finally decided that ditching class every once in a while was okay. "If you could, that would be great."

"What's going on?" She asked, concerned.

"It's nothing too big," Kurt assured, "I just need someone to talk to."

"I'll be there in fifteen," She said quickly before hanging up.

Kurt tried to relax while he waited, but knew it was useless. He was just going to get worked up and upset as soon as he had to explain everything to Rachel. She was there in only five minutes, too, smiling when Kurt gave her a weird look as she walked in the door, "I got a ride." She sat down on the couch next to Kurt and turned to him, "Alright, what's going on?"

Kurt sighed, "Do you promise not to give me too much shit about it?"

She nodded, serious, "Of course."

He nodded back, "Okay. Well, I haven't been telling you this, because I didn't want you to give me a hard time about it, but I've been hanging out with Blaine while he works whenever I'm free."

Rachel raised her eyebrows, "Oh really?"

Kurt smiled at her reaction, but continued, "And well, I've been getting to know him pretty well, and he's really cool. And the other day, he asked me to go to lunch with him and I said yes." Her eyes widened, but she let him continue, "I was supposed to meet him at noon today, but obviously I didn't show up."

"Okay…" Rachel said, not quite getting it, "What are you trying to tell me?"

Kurt sighed, "I don't know. I guess you were right when you said that I had a crush on him. He's really cute and he's a total sweetheart. If I was single, I'd definitely want to date him."

"But you're not," Rachel finished, and Kurt nodded. Rachel was sort of bummed out by that. She really liked Blaine, and knew he would probably be perfect for Kurt, if only he was single.

"Exactly. But I'm not," He looked down, "And Blaine doesn't really know that."

Her eyes widened, "You mean you didn't tell him?"

Kurt shook his head no, "I talked to Mercedes about it yesterday because I was feeling torn, and she told me that I shouldn't go to lunch with him because she could tell that I had feelings for him."

"You told Mercedes and not me?" Rachel asked, half offended, but it disappeared when she saw the look on Kurt's face, "Well if you thought you were doing the right thing by not going, why do you feel so bad?"

Kurt sighed, "I don't know, I'm trying to figure that out… I guess because I'm sure he feels like shit right now, and I definitely didn't want to do that to him," He paused, "But at the same time, I didn't want to go out to lunch with him and do something stupid and hurt Hayden."

Rachel hummed in agreement and was quiet for a second before speaking again, "Well, would you still want to be friends with him? Do you think you could be friends with him without wanting more?"

"I would like to think I can," Kurt replied, looking down, "But he probably thinks I'm a total asshole right now."

Rachel put her hand on his shoulder, "Well give it a few days, and then go apologize to him. And tell him the truth."

Kurt nodded, "Alright."

"But Kurt," Rachel added, "If you don't feel like you can be friends with him without wanting something more, then don't. I don't want you to do something you'll regret. And I don't want to see you get hurt."

Kurt nodded again, "Thanks, Rahcel."

She smiled, "Anytime. But next time you're having some moral dilemma and you call Mercedes first, don't be surprised if I'm offended."

Kurt laughed, "Right."

Rachel knew it would take Kurt a couple of days to get the courage to talk to Blaine anyway, so in the mean time, she decided to take matters into her own hands. As much as she liked Hayden and thought that he and Kurt were good together, there was just something off about him that she just couldn't place a finger on, but she didn't like it. And then there was something about Blaine that she really liked. She almost wished Kurt had met him sooner, because they would have been perfect for eachother.

Tuesday afternoon, Rachel made up some excuse as to why she wouldn't be home, and made her way to their coffee shop. Thankfully, when she walked inside Blaine was working. He smiled when she walked in, but she could tell it was somewhat forced, like he had been expecting Kurt to be with her. She smiled sweetly back when she reached the counter, "Hey Blaine."

"What can I get you, Rachel?" Blaine asked nicely, ready to type it into the computer.

"Actually," Rachel said slowly, glancing around the store, "I came in to talk to you."

He raised an eyebrow in response, "About what?"

"Could you take a break really fast?"

Blaine glanced toward the back room where Melissa was sitting. She must have overheard the conversation, because she waved him on his way and stood up to take over his spot. The two of them headed outside and sat down at a little table in front of the store. "So," Rachel started, "I heard you were supposed to go to lunch with Kurt yesterday."

Blaine had really been trying not to think about it. "Yeah… That didn't really happen."

"I know," Rachel said, "And I'm sorry Kurt was an idiot about bailing. I'm sure he'll come around."

"Why are you telling me this?" Blaine asked, confused as to why Rachel was there apologizing for him.

"Because I think he's just kind of confused about what he wants right now…" She sighed, "I actually probably shouldn't be here doing this, and I feel guilty, but I sort of want you two to end up together." When Blaine's eyebrows just raised, she continued, "I feel like you're the kind of guy that Kurt should end up with. I know I don't know you all that well, Blaine, but it's just this gut feeling. And I want him to be happy."

"Once again, why are you telling me this?" He asked, still not sure what she was getting at, but a little happy that she was rooting for them.

"Because I know you like him, Blaine. I see you light up when we walk in that door in the morning. And I know he likes you a little bit too. So… just don't give up on him."

Despite the fact that it was sort of weird that Rachel felt the need to tell him everything having only talked a couple of times, Blaine was sort of relieved. Maybe there was more of a chance of something happening with Kurt than he had thought. And now, he knew for sure that Kurt liked him back, even if it was just a little. He smiled, "Thank you, Rachel."

She smiled back, "I know, you must think I'm insane, but you're welcome." She then handed him a little piece of paper, "This is my number. Call me if you need anything." Blaine quickly saved the number in his phone and called it so she had his as well, and then they parted ways.

Kurt did as Rachel had instructed and waited a few days to go back into the coffee shop. They avoided it on both Tuesday and Wednesday morning and made their coffee at home, even though it definitely didn't compare. After school on Wednesday, Kurt and Hayden went out to lunch together, but Hayden went home early to do homework, leaving Kurt alone in his apartment to think about things. He knew he loved Hayden, and would never want to do anything to hurt him, but he also liked Blaine. He just hoped that he could keep Blaine as a friend without anything backfiring. That evening, Kurt finally decided that he should go talk to Blaine and headed out the door and towards the coffee shop, hoping he was working.

As Kurt rounded the corner to his favorite coffee shop, he noticed someone walking out the door and immediately recognized him as Blaine. He quickened his pace when Blaine turned to walk the other way, "Blaine!"

He turned to see who had called his name, and when he saw Kurt, Blaine's eyes flashed with both hurt and excitement. He swallowed, "Hey Kurt."

Kurt closed the big gap in between them in a few strides so they were only standing a few feet away. He took a second to catch his breath, and looked up at Blaine, who he couldn't deny was looking cute. Kurt had never seen him out of his work uniform, and he liked what he saw. Blaine was wearing a light gray cardigan, a black shirt and a red bow tie. He hadn't realized he had been staring, and spoke when he realized that Blaine was looking at him expectantly, "Hey."

"Hey," Blaine repeated, waiting for Kurt to be the first one to say something. His entire life, he was the type of person to see the best in people. He always gave them a chance to prove themselves before he got angry in any way. A lot of the time it was his downfall, but he knew that Kurt deserved a chance to explain himself, especially after what Rachel had told him.

"I owe you an apology," Kurt finally got out, hoping that Blaine wasn't too angry. When he didn't say anything in return, he continued, "I bailed on you on Monday, and I'm really sorry. It was a dick move."

Blaine raised his eyebrows in response. He didn't want to seem rude, but he had to know what the excuse was, since Rachel hadn't told him, "Can I ask why?"

"That's kinda what I came here to explain," Kurt said, looking down and shuffling his feet, "Do you want to go in and sit?"

"I actually just got off," Blaine said, looking inside where Melissa was standing behind the counter, watching the show, of course, "I'd rather just stay out here."

Kurt nodded, "Alright. Well, it's kind of complicated. And stupid, on my part." Blaine waited for him to go on, so he took a deep breath and continued, "I really did want to show up, but I didn't know if it was the best idea." He sighed, "I haven't been completely honest with you, Blaine. I really do like you, and I would love to still hang out or be friends, but I have a boyfriend. I bailed because I didn't want to lead you, or myself on."

Blaine sighed. Of course he had a boyfriend. And he still wanted to be friends. As much as Blaine wanted to tell him to fuck off, he couldn't. And as much as he wanted to yell at Rachel for getting his hopes up, he couldn't. He couldn't do that to anyone. Some people, mostly Trent, would call him a pushover for things like that, but he didn't think it was a bad quality. Besides, he really liked Kurt, and he didn't have a whole ton of friends in New York. He figured if he couldn't have a boyfriend, at least he could have another friend to hang out with. "It's fine," He said quietly.

Kurt waited to see if Blaine would get angry or yell at him, but instead he just stood there and seemed to accept it. And for some reason, that made things so much harder. "Are you sure?" Kurt asked, still watching him.

Blaine nodded, "Yeah. I completely understand. Thanks for being honest with me, Kurt."

And there it was again. Instead of getting mad like any other sane person would, Blaine just took it. He was really such a good person, and Kurt could tell that he had probably heard something along the lines of what he had just said to him before. It was as if he was so used to getting hurt, that he just accepted it, and for some reason, Kurt just wanted to grab him and kiss him and tell him that it was going to be okay. But he couldn't, because that's not what friends do.

Instead, Kurt smiled at him, "See you tomorrow morning?"

Blaine managed to smile back, "Sounds good."