Finn who he luckily didn't share a room with anymore was still in bed by the time Kurt was headed out of his room towards the kitchen, so as was customary, he threw Finn's door open and let the light from the hallway just filter in. Finn groaned.

"Better get up soon unless you're planning on walking," Kurt called.

Finn usually drove himself to school, but he'd done something to his car earlier in the week that Kurt's dad still hadn't gotten around to fix at the shop because he had actual paying customers to worry about, and so Kurt had been giving him rides to school ever since. It sucked having to wait for Finn to either finish saying goodbye to Rachel after school if Finn didn't have some sort of practice. Kurt couldn't understand why Rachel couldn't pick him up in her brand new car.

His step brother grumbled something and Kurt walked down the stairs cheerily. He was looking forward to seeing the Warblers. The Hipsters had declined on account of half the members no being able to drive on their own and the lack of organized transportation. But Kurt wasn't worried about them. The Warblers though were their real competition. But more than just seeing their competition, Kurt was excited because he'd been given a solo.

He peeled an apple and cut it into slices as he put the coffee machine on with enough coffee for he and his dad – the one cup that his dad was allowed – and then cut a plain bagel and it into the toaster. He ate his apple while he waited for the bagel to be ready.

Finn and his dad didn't appear downstairs until Kurt was halfway through his bagel.

"Ten minutes, Finn Hudson," Kurt threw out when he was done.

Kurt liked arriving at school early enough to bypass all the jocks that might still want to throw him in the dumpster and really there were only a few at this point, or get there late enough that they were already in class. Finn grunted.

"We'll work on your car this weekend, kid," Burt said.

Kurt grabbed his things exactly ten minutes later and walked out to his car. He gave Finn an additional two minutes to get out to the car and picked a song on his ipod for the drive over.

Finn was quiet on their way there, but then that was the usual for the morning when Finn was still half asleep.

The day went on as usual and Kurt spent most of his classes bored out of his mind and trying not to look at the lovey dovey couples that sat together and held hands or made eyes at eat other when the teacher wasn't looking. By the time the day came to an end, Kurt was more tired than usual at all the displays of affection around him. It had turned out that the boy Mercedes met at the mall actually went to McKinley and Mercedes had done what she had always said she never would do and started spending all her time with him.

Kurt didn't blame her. He was her soul mate and everything. But Kurt was her friend and he hadn't even met him yet. He also couldn't help but feel a little down at not having her to talk to anymore.

When he got to the choir room, Rachel was already in the front ranting about something and he sighed, rolling his eyes. No one as usual was paying her any attention. Mr. Shuester wasn't even in the room yet.

He sat down between Mercedes and Puck. Mercedes was busy texting and barely lifted her head to say hello to him. Puck leaned towards him.

"An all boy's choir, Hummel, you excited. Bound to be a gay one there for you."

Kurt blanched. He should have been used to Puck by now, especially since when Rachel wasn't around at home it was probable that Puck would be.

"Come on, you don't believe in all that soul mate stuff, I know you don't. I certainly don't."

"I'm aware," Kurt said.

Puck owned his own pool cleaning business and after an encounter with a bored older woman, his business had become more than just about cleaning pools and Kurt knew that some of the girls in their school had slept with him too, Santana and Brittany included. Kurt didn't know how he did it because sex was supposed to be the ultimate thing to give to the person whose name you wore. Still, more and more people strayed away from that and just did it with the currently available person.

"Stop being such a prude," Puck said and nudged him. Kurt regretted sitting next to him.

Mr. Shue explained that the Warblers would arrive within half an hour as their school was two hours away, and Rachel immediately broke in to tell them they should practice.

Kurt reluctantly let her pull him towards the front.

- - -

Blaine sat with Thad whose nose was buried in a book in the backseat of Wes' car. David rode shotgun and Blaine couldn't help but notice that Wes and David were holding hands. They'd been closer lately if that was possible.

Thad was the only person that Thad had ever met that didn't care about their soul mate, though he did have one. He was just unbothered by it. He didn't seem to care if he'd met the person or not – though he'd meet them some time, there was no way of getting out of that – more worried about his books than anything else.

"I'm not asexual," he'd told Blaine once, "I just don't think all my hopes and dreams have to be placed on one person. They won't be perfect. I'm not perfect. I'm obsessed with books. And whoever it'll be, they'll have to deal with that – it's who I am."

Blaine liked to think that the person you were meant for was supposed to love all your flaws, or most of them. They were supposed to think they were adorable and cute. They weren't supposed to annoy them, not really. He hadn't told Thad as much. And really, Thad could make up his own mind about the whole thing.

The other warblers were carpooling in two other cars and everyone had fit comfortably. Because Dalton was a private school and their clubs were student run with the occasional visit from a teacher to make sure they weren't doing something like dealing drugs – as had happened a few years back, or so Blaine had heard, with the chess club – they were also responsible for their own transportation. It was lucky that so many of them were upper classmen and had their licenses. For competitions and such the school paid for a bus, but for something unofficial like this they drove on their own.

Lima was two hours away, but the New Directions had insisted that they use McKinley and Wes had relented because being a private school and a boarding school, they didn't want to disrupt the other students with the kids from the other school.

They arrived some ten or fifteen minutes late because of traffic and Wes' need to follow the speed limit exactly. McKinley was a big school, and it was just like any other public high school. Blaine didn't like thinking about the last time he'd gone to a public high school.

They got out of the car and once everyone was there – Wes actually counted – they headed inside.

The school was like any public school. Lockers lined the walls and when there weren't lockers, instead there were flyers.

"We're supposed to find the auditorium," David said.

"Why aren't there any signs?"

They had been walking down the same hall for a while before a rather short girl appeared, her hand attached to a boy that towered over her. Each of their extre of height were accentuated by the other.

"Warblers!" the girl cried.

Blaine recognized her, then, as Rachel Berry.

"Welcome," she continued, "the auditorium is right this way. Finn and I will show you. We are the captains of New Directions and it's lovely to meet you."

Without any more preamble she walked with Finn who remained silent and they followed.

They were bonded, Blaine realized, watching them walk with their hands together, and they had probably been together for a long time. They felt like Wes and David. Most kids their age when they were just mated were more touchy feely, they couldn't fit anyone else in their bubble. Blaine still saw it sometimes when he looked at Nick and Jeff.

The rest of New Directions were already in the auditorium but not on stage when they entered. They all looked a little strange, like kids that shouldn't stick together. Three cheerleaders sat together with a blond boy in the nearest row and in a row lower were two Asian kids talking to a boy in a wheelchair who was in the aisle. A pale boy who looked back at them in interest sat by himself after the mohawked boy who'd sat next to him had gotten up to stand by Finn.

A teacher appeared then. Their director, no doubt. He introduced himself and Wes shook his hand.

"Would you like to go first?" He asked.

Wes shrugged. "We don't mind either way."

They ended up going first, doing only Teenage Dream although they'd prepared three songs.

New Directions sat up front, taking up the first two rows and once Blaine saw him up close, he couldn't keep his eyes off of the boy he'd seen sitting on his own. He was beautiful. If Blaine had been able to choose who his soul mate would be, he would have chosen that boy. And once he was up on the stage and he took the first few lines of their song before Rachel began to sing, Blaine began to wonder if he wasn't his soul mate.

No one had ever told him what meeting their soul mate was like. Wes and David had met at the age of five in preschool. And Nick and Jeff had been best friends for a long time too and decided to wait before taken the step into a romantic relationship so they didn't count. Blaine's parents never spoke of their meeting. At least they hadn't with him. His brother still hadn't gotten back to him about Emma yet so he wasn't a source, but was it supposed to be like love at first sight?

Blaine didn't know how he got through the song or how he had gotten down to take a seat, or how he didn't just jump onto the stage to demand that the boy show him his hand.

He clapped when the song was over and when Rachel was talking again about something he tuned out, he tried to catch the other boy's eye.

"What's wrong with you?" Wes hissed.

"The boy, the one that sang first…I need to know his name."

The New Directions got off the stage and their director who had sat with them was speaking. Blaine followed the boy with his eyes. He had to at least say something to him even if he never found out his name.

David leaned towards them. "What's going on?"

"I think Blaine's seen something he likes," Wes said and grinned.

- - -

"You were really good," Rachel said, "I've never tried a cappella quite like that myself, but I'm more of a Broadway girl. You really are our only real competition."

The soloist of the Warblers stared at her. "Um," he said and then looked towards his friend for help.

Kurt tried to nudge Finn in Rachel's direction, but he shook his head. Kurt honestly didn't understand how Finn and Rachel's relationship worked when Finn was still so scared of Rachel. He headed over there himself.

"Rachel, come on, don't scare the other team." He grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Oh," she said.

The other boy stared at him. "Hi," he said, "you…you were amazing up there. Your voice is – it blew me away.

Kurt for a moment didn't know how to respond.

"He's a countertenor," Rachel said brightly, "which is something your group is lacking, I see. If you had one, I'd be a little more worried. As it is though, you're some right good competition. Much better than last year."

Kurt shrugged at the other boy. There really was no way of stopping Rachel from talking. He rolled his eyes at Kurt and he couldn't help but smile a little. Part of him was glad for Rachel being there because he didn't know what he could have said to him otherwise. Instead he got a chance to really look at him.

He had honey colored eyes. They were warm and bright. His smile was infectious. His hair, upon looking at it closer, had more gel than Kurt had first assumed was on it.

"Countertenor, wow," the boy said when Rachel finally let him get a word in. He was looking at Kurt though, "that's impressive."

"It is, isn't it?" Rachel asked, "so who did you go against last year?"

The boy took a moment to respond, "oh, um…I wasn't at Dalton last year. I didn't transfer until halfway through the year, so it was after Sectionals. But, um, you can ask Wes all about it. They despise the team they lost to."

"Oh," Rachel said, but she didn't go and talk to Wes and David who had started a conversation up with Artie and Sam. "But that's really impressive of you then, that you're their soloist. Coming in just last year after all."

He shrugged.

At that point another Warbler appeared. He grinned at them and threw an arm around the soloist's shoulders.

"Hey, Nick and I are gonna head out. We're taking Trent and Thad with us so everyone should be matched up."

"Oh," he said and then turned to hug his friend, "have fun tonight."

The other boy turned back to the three other boys that were leaving and he said goodbye to a few others and then they were gone. Other boys, seeing the option of leaving started to get up as well until only the two boys that were now talking to Mr. Shuester and the soloist remained and Kurt had to wonder why he hadn't gone in an attempt to escape Rachel.

"Oh, your friends are leaving," Rachel said suddenly, "do you…"

"No," he said at once.

Kurt almost jumped in surprise and Rachel looked taken aback too. The two other remaining boys in the Dalton uniform laughed. One nudged the other and they both stood up.

"Right," Wes said, "it might be best if we left as well, then?"

He shook his head.

"Ask him," David instructed.

Kurt watched them. He didn't understand. But someone Rachel got it and she gasped. Then she was apologizing. "I'm sorry," she said, "so sorry."

"What?"

The hazel eyed boy took a deep breath and then he asked the one question Kurt hadn't expected.

"Is your name Kurt Hummel?"

Rachel was nodding. She was jumping up and down and nodding.

"Yes," he said and after he said it, he didn't know how he'd even managed to speak because this boy in front of him couldn't be Blaine Anderson. He just couldn't be.

There was absolutely no way that he was meant to be Kurt's. It had to be a joke or some misunderstanding. He was meant for another Kurt Hummel. Some boy without his high voice and with nicer hair or something else that made him just perfect for someone like the boy standing in front of him.

"Oh, god, I – wow," Blaine said.

Kurt stared at him and then, because it was customary and he had to ask, "Blaine Anderson?"

Rachel didn't let them say anything else after Blaine nodded with a giant smile. Instead she grabbed their hands and pulled them out of the auditorium and then she took them into an empty classroom.

"Talk," she said addressing them both and then to Kurt, "ignore what I told you last week, Kurt, this is a good thing."

Then she turned on her heel and closed the door behind her. Kurt stared at the door for a moment and then he looked at Blaine and then he looked down at the floor.

"So, I guess I should show you my hand," Kurt said.

"How it usually works, isn't it?" Blaine asked and he walked closer. "Can I?"

Blaine's hand hovered over Kurt's until Kurt nodded. When their skin made contact, Kurt felt something like a tingle go over him. Blaine's fingers gently touched the script of his own name.

Kurt gasped.

"It's there," Blaine said in awe, "it's crazy, isn't it? One day you just go along not expecting anything and then, there you were."

Kurt turned his hand. Blaine had beautiful hands. They looked strong. His fingers had calluses, but they weren't too prominent. His nails were, cut and symmetrical. The only thing that marred this perfect hand was Kurt's name. But it was definitely his and that was definitely his handwriting.

"I've always liked your handwriting," Blaine admitted, "I thought someone with handwriting like yours had to be beautiful and here you are."

It was hard for Kurt to wrap his mind around what had just happened. There had always been the expectation that someday it would happen, but that someday was not supposed to be this day. Maybe it was just that Kurt wasn't a fan of surprises, or that a part of him had always just expected that it wouldn't happen until he got to New York. Or maybe, it was that Blaine seemed to be much too good to be true.

"You don't know me," he said.

Blaine's brows furrowed. "What?" he asked.

"Oh, god," Kurt said, "no…I just…Blaine, you seem like a lovely person and there's obviously something between us."

"But," Blaine interjected. He cocked his head to the side but instead of looking annoyed or unhappy he looked curious. Amused.

"But we're complete strangers. And I know the whole soul mate thing pretty much dictates that I – I don't know – bare my neck to you seductively on the nearest surface or whatever and that we then go on with our lives completely changed towards a happily ever after where knowing that we're soul mates is enough to keep us together, but shouldn't I know the person that at the age of seventeen I'm supposed to just accept as the person that I'll be with for the rest of my life if fate allows?"

Blaine looked taken aback and Kurt wanted to pat himself in the back, because this was who he was. He questioned things, he tried not to just follow the flock and Blaine needed to be someone that accepted that and even went as far as to like that about him.

He was surprised, then, when Blaine just grinned and took both of his hands. Kurt wasn't ashamed of admitting that it made his skin tingle and that he never wanted to let go.

"I like you," Blaine said, "the you that I see in front of me, the you that I can see so far and we have years to get to know each other to the very last detail and I want to know everything. Everything, Kurt."

Kurt began to smile. "Okay."

- - -

He was fiery. He had passion. He was stubborn.

Blaine couldn't take his eyes off his mate, off Kurt. Their hands were still twined together and their knees brushed against each other. Lack of contact wasn't an option. He wouldn't be able to stand it if he wasn't touching Kurt.

"So, can I take you out on a date?"

Kurt nodded and smiled, he averted his eyes looking at the floor again. He was adorable, too.

"Oh, come here," Blaine said and without much else as warning had pulled Kurt against him.

Kurt was tense for a moment and then he relaxed. Kurt was taller than Blaine by a few inches and although Blaine had always said he wanted to be the taller one, somehow it didn't bother him with Kurt. He even liked it. Already he was imagining how cuddling with Kurt would be. He could be the little spoon, or he could lay his head on Kurt's shoulder, hide in the crook of his neck. Blaine even thought that the possibility of having to crane his neck upwards to kiss him was something to look forward to. And was he looking forward to kissing!

He smelled good too and his arms were strong and muscular around him. These were the arms that would hold him for the rest of their lives. He wanted to stay in them forever.

Kurt pulled away first, but he grabbed Blaine's hands of his own accord.

"Do you…do you want to go somewhere?" He asked and he looked cautious as if he were waiting for Blaine to say no.

Blaine nodded at once. "Yes. Anywhere. With you, anywhere."

Kurt shook his head, but he was smiling. "You're going to be cheesy about everything, aren't you?"

"Maybe?"

Kurt nodded to himself. "Okay, I should call my dad to let him know I'm going out and that I, well, that I met you. Do you need to tell anyone?"

"The wonder of boarding school is my parents don't even know where I am right now," Blaine said.

"Oh. Well, um, just give me a few minutes?"

Blaine nodded and reluctantly let go of Kurt's hands. They felt empty almost at once. He couldn't believe how quickly he was getting attached. No one had told him it was like this. Suddenly he regretted every teasing joke he'd made about Wes and David.

Kurt had walked to the other side of the room and his phone was already at his ear. Blaine pulled out his own. He knew the only person that might care about it all would be Cooper, but he didn't call his brother. It was funny, though, that they would find their soul mates the same week.

Blaine sent a quick text and put his phone away. Instead he watched Kurt. He tried not to listen in on his conversation, but he caught a few words. The phone call was quick and then Kurt was walking back to him.

"Do you like coffee?" He asked.

"Good. I can't live without my daily dose. I know the perfect place. They have the best atmosphere for us to talk. Come on."

Kurt extended his arm towards him and Blaine grabbed his hand at once, glad to know that he wasn't the only one that seemed to need to be in contact with him all the time.

Most of New Directions and Wes and David were out in the hallway. They stood a little ways away so Blaine was sure that they probably hadn't been listening in, but he still couldn't help but feel his face get warmer. He didn't need to glance at Kurt to know that he was in the same state.

"Oh, they're holding hands! Look, Finn!"

There were other comments, but Blaine only heard Rachel.

Kurt muttered, "sorry, they're a little crazy." To Finn he said louder, "can you catch a ride with Rachel?"

Rachel nodded an affirmative for Finn. "Just go on," she said, "and have fun."

Wes and David smirked at him and wiggled their eyebrows at him. "Do you want us to stick around Blaine?" Wes asked.

"No, go ahead. I know it's your cuddle night."

David shot him a glare.

Wes shook his head.

"We don't talk about cuddle nights in public. Especially not in front of other glee clubs."

Blaine rolled his eyes but didn't comment. Instead he let Kurt pull him past his friends without another word down the hall and out onto the parking lot.

It wasn't until they were on the road on the way to their date, hands still connected that Blaine realized that Wes and David had been his ride there. But nothing matter when he had Kurt next to him. Getting back to Dalton would be a worry for later. For now all he needed was to focus on Kurt and Kurt alone.

He'd found his mate. He's actually found Kurt Hummel and he was perfect for him. And they were going on a date, too. In a few hours he would know more than he had that morning about his soul mate, and now he had a face to place to the name too. Blaine didn't know if he could be happier than he was then.