Blaine finished writing a line before looking up, "I couldn't just yell at him. I'm not like that."

"You need to be, sometimes," Trent argued, "It sucks to see you get pushed around."

Blaine sighed, "Well, sorry. I don't think it will do me any good if I'm an asshole."

Trent shook his head, "I'm not saying you have to be an asshole. You just need to stand your ground. I mean, when you found out that Shawn had been cheating on his boyfriend with you, you just told him not to talk to you. You didn't even yell it."

Blaine laughed, "I'm sorry if I'm not rude enough for you."

"If it had been me," Trent started and paused to take a drink of his beer, "I would have told him to go fuck himself, and then told his boyfriend that he had been cheating on him."

"It wasn't my place," Blaine mumbled, thinking of another good line and writing it down. "Can we not talk about that?" He asked, turning to Trent as he set down his pen.

"See, this is what I'm talking about," Trent argued playfully, "You didn't have to ask me nicely. You could have said 'hey Trent, stop being such a dick and stop talking about my exes' but instead you were all nice about it."

Blaine shrugged, "I can't help it."

Trent shook his head, knowing it was a losing argument, and changed the subject, "So did he even say if he had any sort of feelings for you?"

Blaine took a drink of his beer and decided to close his notebook, figuring he wasn't going to get any writing done, "He said that he liked me but that he wanted to be friends."

"Ouch," Trent said, looking down, "He better be pretty damn attractive if you're putting up with that shit."

Blaine smiled at his second comment but nodded in agreement, "But then he said something about not wanting to lead me or himself on. Which was weird."

"Why did he feel the need to add the second part?" Trent wondered aloud.

Blaine shrugged, "Beats me. Oh well. I don't care."

"Yes you do," Trent argued, looking up at him.

Blaine held out his beer, "Yeah, but this is helping me not care."

The rest of the week went by somewhat fast. Kurt and Rachel came in on Thursday and Friday morning, but it was back to the simple small talk and jokes when they came in, and Kurt didn't come in for lunch either day, of course. Blaine tried not to think about it too much which was easy because he was too excited for Saturday, not only because he had a show to play, but because it also meant that he was going to get out of the house and do something fun.

Once the two of them were ready on Saturday night, Blaine grabbed his guitar and he and Trent caught a cab and headed to the venue that he was playing the show at. He was the opening act, so they had to be there somewhat early, but Melissa was there to keep them company while they waited for the show to start. The three of them sat at the bar, gossiping about Blaine's "Kurt issue" as they were now calling it, and joking around with eachother until Blaine got sick of talking about himself and made his way backstage to finish getting ready.

Finally, it was seven, and a few people were starting to filter through the door. At about seven-thirty, Blaine was on stage. "Hey, I'm Blaine Anderson," He said into the mic as the room got quiet, "And I'm going to sing and stuff."

He started off his set with an old song he had written a few years back, and when it ended, everyone applauded. He smiled, glad to be back on stage, and just as he was about to start his second song, two people filtering into the back caught his eye. Of course, they were none other than Kurt and Rachel. He cleared his throat nervously before speaking again, "This one's actually a cover." And before he could look to see if Kurt or Rachel recognized him, he began playing his cover of "The Cave" by Mumford and Sons.

Kurt, who was at the back of the venue, by the bar, with Rachel, hadn't been paying attention to who was on stage until he heard them speak. "I know that voice," He mumbled, interrupting Rachel, who had been in the middle of a sentence. When he looked up, his hand flew to his mouth. "Oh my god it's him."

"No way," Rachel whispered back, trying to act surprised. She already knew it was Blaine. She had practically begged Kurt to come to the show when she found out (thanks for a friend) that some cute guy named Blaine Anderson was playing at a local show. She knew it probably wasn't her place, but she really wanted Kurt to get to know Blaine better. Secretly, she wanted them to end up together. It was quiet between the two of them for a moment before Rachel closed her eyes and smiled, "I love this song."

Kurt hummed in agreement, but couldn't take his eyes off of the boy on stage. As if he couldn't find Blaine any more attractive, now he had to add great singing voice onto his list of what made Blaine perfect. Though he was sure he knew that voice from somewhere…

"His voice is really familiar," Rachel mimicked his thoughts out loud, leaning in close so Kurt could hear her. He nodded in response, but he couldn't quite place a finger on it.

The two of them watched and applauded as Blaine played and finished his set. When he was done, he made his way to the other end of the bar where Melissa and Trent were sitting. Rachel nudged Kurt, "Let's go say hi."

"But-" Kurt tried to argue, but Rachel cut him off.

"A friend would go say hi…" She pushed, so the two of them stood and headed over to where Blaine was talking with his friends. "Hey Blaine, great job," Rachel said, smiling, when Kurt refused to speak up.

Blaine stopped mid sentence and looked up at the two of them before smiling fondly, "Thanks. Rachel, Kurt, you know Melissa," He said, gesturing to her, "And this is my roommate, Trent."

Rachel nodded in his direction and Kurt smiled, "Nice to meet you."

"What brings you guys here?" He asked as they sat down next to him.

"We needed something different to go do," Rachel said, looking at Kurt who still wasn't speaking, "And we heard about this show and we were close by so we figure why not." She couldn't help but be a little proud of herself because her plan was working.

Blaine smiled at them both, "Well, I'm glad you came."

It was silent for a moment and Rachel nudged Kurt, urging him to say something. "How long have you been singing?" He asked, trying his hardest not to be awkward.

Blaine and Trent smiled at eachother before he answered, "Quite a while. But I really got into it in high school."

Kurt's eyes widened in recognition, "Wait were you in-"

"The Warblers!" Rachel exclaimed, "Oh my god, we knew that voice from somewhere. You went to Dalton, right? That's what Kurt said."

Blaine and Kurt shared a glance before he answered, "Yeah, Trent and I were. How did you know?"

"Rachel and I were in glee club at McKinley," Kurt supplied, smiling.

"That's where I knew you from," Trent joined the conversation, looking at Rachel.

She smiled, "Small world, I guess."

The second band filed onto the stage, and Rachel looked at Kurt, "I'm going to go stand up there for them, do you want to come?"

He shook his head, "No, I'm fine here. I'm going to get a drink."

She shrugged and got up and so did Melissa, who decided to join her. Trent watched the girls walk away then looked back at Blaine and Kurt and patted Blaine's shoulder, "I think I'm going to go up there, too." And at that, the two of them were left sitting at the bar alone together.

"I think that might have been a plot to get us alone…" Kurt mumbled, watching Rachel who was looking at him and grinning wildly. Blaine pretended not to hear him because he wasn't sure how to respond to it, and instead ordered two drinks.

"You really did sound great up there," Kurt said, trying to start another conversation. Or at least trying not to be awkward. Rachel had been giving him a hard time the past couple of days about not talking to Blaine much or making an effort to be his friend, so he was trying.

Blaine smiled back at him, "Thanks."

It was quiet between the two of them again as the band started, and they watched in silence for two songs. After the second, Kurt leaned in and spoke up again, "You know, I meant what I said, about wanting to be friends…" When Blaine just raised his eyebrows, Kurt smiled, "I mean, we should hang out. I miss our lunches." He wasn't exactly sure why he had decided to tell him that, but there really wasn't any taking it back.

Blaine knew that he should probably just pretend that he hadn't heard Kurt over the loud music, but he couldn't deny the fact that he did miss spending time with him. "You sure you won't bail?" He teased.

"Ouch," Kurt joked, "I'm sure. Give me your phone." Blaine raised an eyebrow, but pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Kurt, who quickly typed something into it. "There," he said, handing it back, "Now you have my number. So if I try to bail on you again, you can call."

Blaine laughed, "Thanks."

"What are you doing tomorrow afternoon?" Kurt continued. Blaine shrugged in response, and Kurt smiled, "Want to do lunch?"

Blaine couldn't help but smile back, "Sure."

So of course, late the next morning, Blaine was up and getting ready to go to lunch with Kurt when Trent stopped him. He hadn't really planned on telling Trent, because he knew that he would tell him not to, so he had been trying to sneak around as he was getting ready. Trent must have noticed, though, because when Blaine was standing in his room, trying to figure out what to wear, he appeared in the doorway, "Going somewhere?"

Blaine jumped at his voice, then turned and smiled slightly at him, "Maybe."

Trent pretended to gasp, "You're totally going to hang out with Kurt, aren't you?"

Blaine decided on a navy sweater to wear with his gray pants and threw the other shirt options back on his dresser before mumbling, "Maybe."

Trent entered the room and sat on Blaine's bed, shaking his head, "You better be careful. I don't want you getting hurt. Again."

"I know," Blaine reassured, "Don't worry, he made it very clear that we were going to hang out just as friends."

Trent raised his eyebrows, "Alright. Well let me know how it goes."

Blaine and Kurt had agreed to meet at the coffee shop at noon (again) and Blaine refused to come off as needy, so he left the apartment fifteen minutes before noon so he wouldn't have to wait. As he walked down the busy sidewalk, he reminded himself that it wasn't a date and not to get his hopes up for anything special. To his surprise when he walked in the door, Kurt was already sitting at his usual table, waiting. He stood and grabbed a messenger bag that was at his side when he saw Blaine and smiled, "Hey."

"You're actually here," Blaine joked, to which Kurt shook his head.

"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"

"Nope," Blaine replied playfully, "So where do you want to go?"

Kurt shrugged, "There's a cool pizza place down the street, if you wanna do that."

Blaine agreed, and the two of them headed out the door and down the sidewalk together. As they walked, Blaine couldn't help but notice the outfit Kurt was wearing – skin tight black jeans, a tight fitting light gray sweater, and tall combat boots. The outfit was similar to the one he had been wearing the night before, and Blaine couldn't deny that he looked really good in it.

Kurt must have noticed Blaine staring, and he looked up and smiled nervously at him before grabbing his hand and turning a corner, "This way." He kept the grip on Blaine's hand as he pulled him playfully down the street to their destination, which Blaine definitely didn't mind. He realized that he had never actually touched Kurt before, and his heart thrilled at the idea.

It wasn't until they were standing outside of a small restaurant that Kurt realized he was still holding Blaine's hand, and he dropped it as if it were on fire, mentally kicking himself for it. "We're here," he managed to choke out.

They ate together, mostly quiet except for some small talk about Blaine's music and Kurt's school, and just as they were finishing, Kurt's phone buzzed on the table. He glanced at it and cursed under his breath before picking it up and typing out a text.

"Everything okay?" Blaine asked, watching at Kurt typed quickly on his phone.

Kurt sighed, "Yeah, I just forgot that I had one of Hayden's books in my bag and he needs it for his homework." Blaine raised his eyebrow at the new name. "My boyfriend," Kurt informed him, still texting.

The word was like a slap in the face to Blaine, but he figured he might as well get used to it if he was going to be friends with Kurt, "Do you need to go drop it off?"

Kurt looked up from his phone, studying Blaine for a second, "Well, I mean… I can do it later. I don't want to make it, you know, awkward or anything…" He trailed off, hoping that he hadn't said too much.

Blaine smiled, even though he really didn't want to, "No, it's totally fine."

"Are you sure?" Kurt asked, eyeing him warily and when Blaine nodded, he finished typing out his text. There it was again – Blaine should have gotten mad at him, or at least seemed upset, but instead he was insisting that everything was fine. It broke Kurt's heart to see him do that, and he couldn't help but wonder what had made him that way.

The two of them stood and headed out the door together a few minutes later and Kurt led the way to Hayden's apartment, which thankfully, was just down the street. Blaine followed him into the apartment building and up a few flights of stairs before they reached the door that Kurt was looking for. He glanced back at Blaine, as if he was asking if it was okay, and when Blaine just smiled, Kurt knocked.

The door opened after a few seconds, revealing a tall, slender boy with short dark hair and brown eyes. He was wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt, and looked like he was probably studying. He was definitely attractive, and Blaine could tell why Kurt was dating at him. Kurt leaned in and kissed him quickly before turning to Blaine, "Hayden, this is Blaine. Blaine, this is my boyfriend, Hayden."

They shook hands, and Blaine managed to choke out a polite, "It's nice to meet you."

Hayden smiled warmly at him, which told Blaine that Kurt probably hadn't mentioned that Blaine had feelings for him. "You're Kurt's friend who works at the coffee shop right?"

Blaine nodded, "Yup, that would be me."

Hayden glanced at Kurt, who was internally freaking out because his boyfriend and the boy that he had a (sort of) crush on were talking, and that probably wasn't good. Thankfully, Hayden didn't see the worry in Kurt's eyes and turned back to Blaine, "Well it's about damn time he hangs out with someone besides Rachel. They see eachother enough as it is."

Blaine smiled in return, "Well, I'm glad I could help."

It was quiet for a second before Hayden sighed, "Well, I'd love to chat or go hang out with you guys, but I have a ton of homework." He then looked at Kurt and smiled, "Are you coming over later?"

Kurt really didn't want to discuss his plans with his boyfriend in front of Blaine, but he figured he might as well get used to the fact that he and Blaine were just friends. He nodded, "Yeah, around dinner time?"

"Sounds good," Hayden replied before kissing Kurt again quickly, "I'll see you later, babe. Nice to meet you, Blaine."

Blaine nodded in his direction, "You too."

As they walked back down the stairs, Kurt glanced at Blaine, "That wasn't awkward or anything, was it?"

"No, not at all," Blaine lied, but Kurt seemed to buy it, thankfully. As the two of them made their way back down the stairs and out onto the sidewalk again, Blaine couldn't help but wonder if maybe it had been a bad idea to hang out with Kurt afterall. As much as he wanted to keep him as a friend, he wondered if it was worth torturing himself when he saw Kurt's attractive boyfriend. Instead of voicing his concern, though, he just continued to follow a cheerful looking Kurt down the sidewalk to their next destination.

The two of them ended up sitting on a bench together in Central Park late that afternoon when they couldn't think of anywhere else to go. Finally, after a few hours, the conversation wasn't as awkward and forced as it had been earlier. "So what made you want to move to New York?" Kurt asked, kicking his feet awkwardly as they sat.

Blaine shrugged, "I guess I just needed to get the hell out of Ohio…" He thought for a second before continuing, "I knew if I wanted to pursue my dreams, I was going to have to get out and go somewhere else, so I set my sights on New York."

Kurt nodded, understanding, "I felt the same way. Rachel and I came here for nationals our junior year, and we knew that we had to move out here."

"I don't blame you," Blaine said, smiling, "I guess the only thing I have to thank Ohio for is making me stronger."

Kurt thought back to his sophomore and junior years in high school, and understood where he was coming from. Though it was awful, had it not been for people constantly picking on him and telling him that he couldn't succeed, he wouldn't have wanted to prove them wrong and do something with his life. "I know exactly what you mean. You can't be the victim."

Blaine nodded in agreement, "Exactly." It was either the way he said it, or the look on his face afterward, but Kurt knew that whatever he was talking about back in Ohio had a lot to do with the way he was. For some reason, the mystery of Blaine's past made him all the more interesting, and Kurt needed to know more.