He had made it; he was in New York. New York. Taking a deep breath, he looked around again. There was simply too much to see, too much to hear at once, and he felt like he wouldn't get bored even if he'd remain standing in the exact same spot for the next few hours.

Yes, Kurt Hummel was thrilled to be here. Granted, he wasn't alone and he hadn't made it into one of the prestigious colleges of New York yet, but that didn't really matter. He was in New York and no matter the circumstances, New York was New York and Kurt was so, so excited to be there.

Noticing that the rest of the group was already far ahead, Kurt hastily ploughed through the masses, dragging his suitcase – heavier than that of anyone else in the group – along as he went. That was one – minor – disadvantage of the big city: there were a lot more people here than he'd ever seen in Lima, and that included in the mall on Black Fridays.

Suddenly, he realised that he was merely just walking straight ahead all the time, but when he craned his neck to look for his friends, they were nowhere to be seen. Well. That was just peachy. But there was no need to panic. Kurt had, after all, looked up their intended hotel online and had penned the address down. Leaning against the wall of one of the many skyscrapers in sight, Kurt pulled his suitcase aside as well and started digging through his messenger bag, which he'd brought along for purely practical purposes.

"Are you lost?"

Kurt looked up and found himself face to face with a group of about fifteen boys, who were also carrying luggage around. "I just lost my group," he replied. "I'll find my way back to them, though."

Another boy asked, "Are you here for the show choir competition?"

"How do you know?" Kurt asked, surprised.

"That's what we're here for," yet another boy responded, smiling softly at Kurt. "You've got a suitcase and you're not too far away from our hotel, which, from what we've heard, is where most of the groups partaking in the competition are staying."

"Oh," was all Kurt could say for a moment. The boy smiled at him.

"You can just walk with us, if you want."

Having finally found the note in his bag, Kurt handed it to the other boy. "Is this your hotel too?"

"It is," the boy who'd first spoken said, after casting a look over the shorter boy's shoulder. "Oh, by the way, I'm David. Nodding at the two boys next to him, he added, "That's Wes, and Blaine." Then, he gestured towards the rest of the boys. "We're the Dalton Academy Warblers, from Westerville, Ohio."

"Oh," Kurt said again, not knowing when he'd gotten so eloquent. "I didn't even recognise you. We must've been on the same flight, then. I'm Kurt. I'm in New Directions."

"Right, of course." The boy named Wes gave Kurt a scrutinising look before adding, "Now, if you don't mind, we would like to get to our hotel as well some time soon so… gentlemen, let's walk on!"

Kurt stared for a moment as the rest of the Warblers instantly started walking again, following after the Asian boy like they were either robots or ducklings. Maybe robot ducklings.

"Are you coming too?" Oh. Apparently, not all of them had left yet. Kurt shot the boy he thought was called Blaine an apologetic look.

"Sorry. Of course. It would be awful if I lost two groups in ten minutes, right?"

Blaine chuckled. "I don't think Wes would be amused if they lost me, too."

"Is he the leader of the group, or something?" Kurt questioned Blaine as they reached the other boys again.

"Wes is the head of the Warblers council, yes," Blaine responded. Seeing Kurt's confused look, he explained, "The Warblers don't have a director. We have a council, consisting of three seniors. They make all the big decisions, though the rest of the group gets a say in most matters as well."

Kurt was impressed. "That sounds very… democratic," he mused. "I don't think that'd work for us, though. Rachel would completely take over and everyone would quit."

"Rachel?" Blaine inquired.

"The girl who sang at Regionals," Kurt said. And the girl who'll probably sing everything at Nationals as well, he thought. They didn't have a set list yet – they didn't even have songs or any idea what those should be about. Once again, New Directions was possibly the least prepared Glee club in the competition.

Blaine nodded in recognition. "So, is this your first time in New York?"

"Yeah, it is," Kurt admitted. "I don't plan on this being the last time, either. How about you?"

"It's my first time as well," Blaine replied. "I'd love to go to college here, though. I'm not sure what I want to do, but hey, doesn't the song say that there's nothing you can't do in New York?"

Kurt couldn't help but smile at that. "I've narrowed it down to two options; musical theatre or fashion design."

"So you're…," Blaine prompted, and Kurt shrugged.

"Gay? Yes, I am."

"So am I," Blaine told him. "But actually, I meant to ask if you're a… junior, then?"

"Oh, right." Well, it seemed like Kurt's temporary lacking in eloquence was back. "Yes, that too. I'm a junior. I'll probably end up spending quite some time looking into colleges this summer."

"I think I'd better do that as well," Blaine replied. "If I don't, my parents will never stop bothering me about it." For a moment, it was as if Blaine was going to say more, but in the end, he didn't.

"Are you looking forward to the competition, though?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah, definitely," Blaine replied, looking a lot better at ease now. "I suppose now we'll finally find out which group is better, after they had us tie at Regionals."

Kurt chuckled. "I think I know the answer to that already."

One of the boys walking in front of them looked at them over his shoulder. "You realise that you're outnumbered sixteen to one, right? I think you're better off not finishing that thought."

Kurt stared at the boy's back for a moment. "I thought there was a zero-violence anti-bullying policy enforced at Dalton," he mused, and Blaine nudged his shoulder.

"There is," he said. "Jeff's just kidding. Still… we're not at school now."

"It wouldn't do the Warblers' reputation at Dalton, or Dalton's own reputation, for that matter, a lot of good if we decided to roughen up the competition," the boy talking to Jeff pointed out.

"It would kind of destroy our guise as polite, dapper gentlemen," Jeff agreed, and Blaine nodded solemnly.

By now, the group had stopped, and the boys were all waiting for Wes to address the group. Once again, Kurt was struck by the differences between this group and New Directions.

"As you can see, we've reached our hotel," Wes started, indicating the building behind him. "David, Thad and I will check us in, using the roommates sign up sheets we put up last week. You can wait in the lobby, and we'll come get you as soon as we can."

Roommates sign up sheets? These boys were much better organised than the McKinley group. Kurt suspected that they didn't even have the money to pay for a lot of rooms and Mr Schuester hadn't thought about who to put where before trying to check in.

"And to Kurt here," Wes was now saying, causing Kurt to look up sharply only to be met by sixteen stares, "we'd like to say good luck. May the best choir win."

Even though he did feel slightly uncomfortable, Kurt smiled back. "Good luck to you too," he replied.

"I'll see you around, I suppose," Blaine said as they followed the rest of the Warblers inside. "It was nice meeting you."

"It was nice meeting you too." Kurt was about to say more when he was attacked from behind.

"Kurt! Where were you? We've been looking all over for you. What happened? We got here and you were gone. Did – " Rachel stopped talking when she saw Blaine gaping at her. Her eyes narrowed. "I was going to ask if something had happened to you, but obviously, the Warblers have been holding you hostage. I'll have to go see the show choir board about this. I knew something was up with them, but – "

"Rachel!" Kurt said loudly, feeling exasperated. Shooting Blaine an apologetic look, he said, "They haven't been 'holding me hostage', Rachel. I couldn't find you guys, so I stopped walking for a moment to see where I was supposed to go. They were nice enough to let me tag along." He sighed. "Besides, you only noticed that I wasn't with you when you got here?"

Rachel pursed her lips. "It doesn't matter. You're here now. Come on, let's go put our luggage away."

Without giving Blaine another glance, she marched off, fully expecting Kurt to follow her. Which, he supposed, he should, if he didn't want to get lost a second time.

"I'll see you around," he told Blaine, who was still looking slightly shell-shocked from only meeting Rachel for half a minute.

o-o-o-o-o

Apparently, Mr Schuester had some Nationals business to take care of (though only half the group seemed to actually buy that excuse). In the meantime, the group was told to stay at the hotel and write two songs to perform at Nationals.

That only led to disasters such as My cup, and Kurt wondered out loud why they couldn't just pick two already existing songs and just perform those. After all, they didn't just need to write songs – they also needed to write the music for it, and come up with choreography. At least if they took songs that had already been written by others, they could tell the band members (where were they, by the way?) so they could all start rehearsing.

"At least we'll have some songs," Mercedes conceded. "Now we've got nothing."

"I don't think any of the other groups are figuring out their performances only now," Tina agreed.

"No, come on," Finn said. "We're never really prepared very well, and it always works out, right?"

"Let's vote on it," Mercedes suggested. "Who wants to use original songs?"

In the end, there were seven people who wanted to still write originals. Kurt and Mercedes exchanged looks, silently deciding that those people could be the ones to write them, then. When Quinn suggested that they find their inspiration in New York itself, the group hastily got out of the room.

"Hey, at least we'll get to see New York now," Mercedes told Kurt as they made their way downstairs. "Where were you before, by the way? Rachel muttered something about… you getting kidnapped?"

"Yeah, that seemed to be the conclusion she immediately jumped to," Kurt replied. "I'd lost you guys, and then I ran into the Warblers. They let me follow them here. They didn't do anything, except wishing us good luck for the competition."

Once outside, Kurt was dragged along in what seemed like an attempt to visit New York's highlights in less than an hour. It was a good thing he'd brought a camera; at least he could see what he'd visited when he got home, because he didn't think anyone had really realised what everything was, which was quite a pity. How his teammates wanted to get inspired by this, he didn't know.

They ended with an improvised mash-up of two songs about New York, which, admittedly, was quite fun. When Kurt enquired why they couldn't just sing that song at Nationals, Rachel just heaved a sigh and told him he wasn't being helpful in any way and that inspiration would definitely come to her later. Kurt just hoped it wouldn't be too late.

When everyone ran off again – some back to the hotel to give the song writing another shot, others to see some other landmarks – Kurt found himself alone again. He pursed his lips; no one had even asked him if he wanted to come along to whatever they were going to do.

While he tried to figure out what would be the best route to take to see a few things himself – and maybe hit some stores as well – he suddenly heard his name being called. As he turned around, he squinted, trying to see who it was.

As they came closer, he realised with a start that it was a couple of Warblers. How they'd recognised him from such a distance was a mystery to him.

"So, you're trying out your Nationals material on New York's general public?" the boy he remembered was called Jeff asked, slinging a playful arm around his shoulder.

Shocked by this action, Kurt could only stare at him for the next few seconds. "No," he replied in the end. "That wasn't Nationals material. They just… decided to sing."

"Well, you sounded amazing," Blaine assured him. "I mean – the group did. Why didn't you have a solo?"

"Asks the guy who's gotten each and every solo this year," the last boy, whose name Kurt didn't know, said, rolling his eyes.

Blaine scratched his neck. "Yes, well… You know the council decides who gets the solos, Nick. This was an impromptu performance."

Kurt looked on, amused. "You don't even know if I'm any good."

"You're in a Glee club," Blaine reasoned. "You're probably able to sing, aren't you?"

"I am," Kurt admitted. "But between me not having a typical male singing voice and New Directions having enough girls, most solos generally go to other people."

"You should come to Dalton next year," Nick told him. "We don't have girls, and most of our voices are pretty low, so having you would be awesome. Besides, it looks wonderful on your college applications."

"You have to at least think about it!" Blaine added.

"You don't even know me," Kurt pointed out. "For all you know, I'm a serial killer. Maybe my entire club consists of serial killers and the show choir's just a cover."

"For a group only pretending to be a show choir, you would've gotten awfully far," Nick pointed out.

"True," Kurt conceded. "But still, I'm not sure if I could leave my friends behind just like that. Plus… never mind."

Blaine nodded understandingly anyway as he patted Kurt's back. "Where did all your teammates go so quickly, though?"

Kurt shrugged, unable to keep the slightly bitter tone out of his voice. "No idea."

"We're going to visit the Empire State Building," Jeff said. "Want to come along?"

Kurt smiled uncomfortably. "Are you sure? I – "

"Very sure," Nick interrupted him. "Come on, let's go!"

o-o-o-o-o

After visiting the Empire State Building, the group started looking for a restaurant. All the while, Kurt found that he was having a pretty good time – better, at least, than he'd thought he'd have after his friends had all ditched him. Maybe transferring to Dalton wouldn't be such a bad idea; these boys were perfectly nice, and from what they told him, the same went for most of the other students. He hadn't really expected that, what with Dalton being a private school and all. He'd expected there to be a lot of stuck up rich kids. Then again, seeing as these boys were probably also fairly rich, they might not recognise such behaviour in others.

Kurt was willing to give them the benefit of doubt, however. They hadn't given him any indication that they were snobs at all, and neither had any of the other Warblers. After returning to Times Square and hanging around there for a while, the boys went back to their hotel a while later. Both New Directions and the Warblers would have to spend the next day preparing for the competition, after all.

While Nick and Jeff ran through the lounge in an attempt to catch an elevator, Blaine turned to Kurt. "They can be a little immature sometimes," he said apologetically.

"I'd noticed," Kurt replied. "That's nothing to be sorry about." They stood in silence for a moment before Kurt laughed softly. "I'm almost glad I lost my friends this morning."

Blaine looked almost relieved. "I thought I was the only one."

Kurt shook his head. "I had a great time today – I mean, if it hadn't been for you and your friends, I would've had to walk around New York on my own."

Blaine pulled a face at that. "Maybe we could exchange phone numbers? Just in case we have some free time tomorrow."

Kurt thought for a few seconds. "That'd be nice."

o-o-o-o-o

Everyone was still out when Kurt arrived in his hotel room. He felt slightly left out, but figured that he might as well get ready for bed now. He normally wouldn't go to bed this early, but there was nobody around to distract him or to tell him to hurry up. Even when he was done and collapsed on one of the beds – how an entire show choir was supposed to share a grand total of four beds and get rested for the competition was beyond Kurt – there was no sign of his roommates, nor of the others.

As he settled back against one of the pillows, Kurt realised that he had a text message now. Wondering who had realised that they'd lost him hours ago, he unlocked his phone and sighed. It was from Blaine. Not that he didn't want the other boy to text him, but because it almost seemed like Blaine was the only one who cared to text Kurt in the first place.

We should've let Nick and Jeff run around a little more. They're bouncing off the walls right now. – B

Not bothering to hide his smile – who should he hide it from anyway? – Kurt opened a new message.

Are they really that bad? Nobody here is back yet, I feel like I'm missing something. – K

They texted back and forth for another ten minutes or so before there was, apparently, an emergency Warblers meeting and Blaine had to go. Somehow, Kurt managed to fall asleep soon after and only woke up for long enough to register the girls coming in, bickering over who got to sleep where, and to clutch his pillow a little bit closer.

o-o-o-o-o

After getting up early the next day and hearing the news about Mr Schuester's upcoming summer job on Broadway, Kurt was subjugated to another afternoon of trying to write songs. Surprisingly, Finn had, with the help of some others here and there, written a song that could serve as their ballad. Rachel had started writing another song that, with the help of the entire group, was soon transformed into a group number.

The band dutifully came in to discuss the music, after which they started practising the songs. While Finn and Rachel (naturally) started rehearsing their ballad, the rest of the group tried to figure out who should sing what parts of their other song. As expected, everyone except Mike was not too opposed to singing part of the song – and that was putting it lightly. Kurt supposed it was a good thing Rachel wasn't in the room, or else she and Santana would be clawing each other's eyes out by now. In the end, Mr Schuester came back from checking in on Finn and Rachel and attempted to settle the arguments by dividing the song up in parts and making everyone who wanted a certain part sing it.

Naturally, Finn and Rachel were also present for this and, although, in the end, a lot of people got a part, that didn't happen without heaps of shouting and accusations. They were then quickly ushered towards a closed-off lounge of sorts to rehearse the choreography they hadn't come up with yet either.

Before leaving, Kurt grabbed his phone from where he'd put it earlier, and he was somewhat surprised to see that Blaine had texted him again. Kurt had expected the Warblers to be put through even more time rehearsing than New Directions. If Blaine had time to text him, maybe they weren't.

After quickly texting Blaine, who'd asked if Kurt would be having any free time today, back to say he didn't know yet, Kurt shoved his phone in his pocket and jogged after the rest of the group. When he reached them, Santana and Mercedes were still bickering over one of the parts. Kurt was actually surprised that Puck and Sam hadn't put up more of a fight against Rachel, who'd insisted that Finn and Artie take all the male vocals. Even now, the two boys didn't appear to be very sad about this. Rachel, though, hung back especially to tell Kurt that she didn't know why he'd gotten the lines he'd gotten, since she was the much more obvious choice. Kurt decided not to tell her that it was exactly this attitude that had probably caused a lot of their teammates to vote against her at this point.

Seeing as they were rather late to the party, it was decided that they wouldn't use a very complicated choreography – for the second song, that was, seeing as everyone except Rachel and Finn only had to get on stage and face away from the audience during the first one. Apparently, Mr Schuester thought that the original songs would be enough to sway the judges, even though New Directions had already performed original songs at Regionals so it was nothing, well, original, and other groups might do those as well this time around. Choosing not to say anything about it, Kurt dutifully learnt his steps and his lyrics.

As they went over everything a few more times, Kurt figured they would need a miracle to make it to the final ten or even win this. Yes, they were good, and the songs weren't all that bad, but he feared that it would be all too easy to see that they'd only been rehearsing this stuff for less than a day.

Oh well. If they lost, perhaps that'd be a lesson for their group and maybe they'd start working on competition set lists earlier next year.

Okay, who was he kidding?

In the end, they were kept busy all throughout the afternoon and once they were done – they'd have to go through everything again tomorrow, though – they decided to just get room service and go to bed early.

Kurt, who'd kept up a steady stream of texts to and from Blaine in between all the different kinds of rehearsals, figured that it had been a good idea not to mention the fact that they had basically only put together their set list today. The Warblers, from what he understood, had started selecting songs very soon after Regionals, and had started rehearsing not too long after. Apart from the upcoming competition, though, the boys had talked about everything that came up, from favourite movies and musicals to Blaine's almost obsessive use of hair gel and Kurt's emergency can of hairspray in his bag.

Luckily, Kurt had also managed to talk to his friends a little, so at least they didn't think he was selling all their secrets to the Warblers or something (he suspected that Rachel might just think that). While Rachel went on and on about Finn, Kurt got ready for another night's sleep, hoping that everything would be alright and they wouldn't be booed off the stage the next day.

o-o-o-o-o

They were the fortieth group to perform, and after seeing the first ten, Kurt was starting to get more and more nervous every minute. The choirs were all different, but also very put together; it was obvious that they'd put a lot of time and effort into their performances.

Plus, he had a solo. Only a small one of a line or two, but it was a solo nonetheless. His would be the only voice on the competition stage for a few seconds and it was nerve-wracking. Show choirs and other people from all over the country were present; this wasn't small-town Ohio.

Suddenly, Kurt understood why Puck and Sam hadn't been more adamant that they get a solo.

After the 38th performance, there was another break, and the group had been told to be backstage by the end of it. After walking around for a bit, trying (in vain) to calm his nerves, Kurt found a mostly abandoned restroom. Pressing his palms against the cool sink, he stared at his reflection for a moment. He would splash some cold water in his face, but that would completely ruin the careful moisturising he'd done that morning. Perhaps drinking some water would be a good idea. Kurt looked down at his hands. They'd have to stop shaking before he could even think about filling the cup he'd drunk coffee out of earlier that day with water. It would probably taste rather disgusting, but it was the only option he had.

Taking a few deep breaths, Kurt tried to calm himself, but he failed miserably. Of course, that was the moment when the bathroom door opened.

"Oh, Kurt. Hey." Blaine seemed surprised to see him there, for some reason. "Are you alright?" When Kurt didn't answer, Blaine moved to stand next to him. "What's wrong?"

"It's my first competition solo," Kurt managed to say after a few seconds. "I guess it's safe to say I'm a bit nervous now."

Blaine grinned at him encouragingly. "That's great, Kurt! Congratulations!"

Kurt shrugged. "It's not such a big deal, I think. Just a few lines. But… for some reason I can't help but think I'll mess it up somehow."

"You'll do great, Kurt," Blaine ensured him. "I know you will."

"Aren't you nervous?" Kurt asked, finding comfort in the fact that his voice, at least, was steady.

"A little, yeah," Blaine admitted. "It's not my first competition solo, though. And I've always got some pre-performance jitters, but once I'm on that stage… it's an amazing feeling. I'm sure you'll kill whatever lines they've given you."

"Thanks," Kurt muttered. "I hope so." They stood in silence for a few seconds, just staring ahead, at their reflections. "When are you up?" Kurt then asked.

"We're the 43rd group," Blaine responded. "That should give you enough time to find your seats again and watch, right?"

Despite his (still present) nerves, Kurt smiled. "Definitely."

"Now, come on," Blaine said. "I believe that the break's almost over. I know I've never heard you sing, but you'll do a fantastic job up there, Kurt. You'll blow everyone away." He seemed to think for a moment before adding, "I mean, obviously, the Warblers will win this, but you can have the second place."

Kurt chuckled dryly. "I don't think Rachel will be happy with that. Thanks, though. I'm sure you'll be amazing as well."

Blaine held out a hand and Kurt shook it, inwardly shaking his head. "Good luck, Kurt."

"Good luck to you, too."

o-o-o-o-o

The performance went by in a blur, but Kurt knew that he'd at least sung his lines the way they should've been sung, and he didn't mess up the choreography, as far as he knew. He should really remember to thank Blaine for his words of encouragement.

The Warblers, once more, looked like a tight-knit group, and none of the boys set so much one step out of line. Kurt found himself smiling throughout the performance, even though Top 40 wasn't generally his cup of tea. Blaine was a great performer, and the rest of the Warblers back him up quite nicely.

Before he knew it, Kurt was looking at the top ten list and honestly not very surprised that they weren't on it. There had been so many talented show choirs here that it would almost be a personal offense to most of them if New Directions, who'd only started rehearsing the day before, had gotten a spot in the top ten. However, some people didn't agree with this stance – scratch that, most of his teammates didn't understand why they hadn't made it to the final round.

They went back to the hotel after that, where Santana went crazy. Kurt was definitely not looking forward to the flight back the next morning.

The entire group went different ways after that, choosing to avoid one another for the next few hours. As Kurt followed Tina, Mike and Mercedes outside, he heard his name being called again. The other three looked on curiously as Blaine approached them. Kurt took a few steps towards him in order to get some privacy, and Blaine grabbed his arm.

"You were amazing!" he gushed, and Kurt smiled modestly.

"So were you," he said. "Your performance was wonderful. And thanks again for the encouraging words. They really helped."

Blaine smiled widely. "I'm sure you would've done equally well without them, but you're welcome. And thank you, too. It's too bad we didn't make it to the top ten." He frowned slightly. "You didn't either, right?"

"Apparently, we came in twelfth." Kurt was quite surprised by those results. At the same time, this meant that the top ten had still been within their reach. Who knew what would've happened if Rachel and Finn hadn't chosen to make out.

"Fourteenth," Blaine responded. "I'm not sure if I should tell Wes you beat us after all. He was shocked when your lead singers kissed at the end of the first song. Most of the guys were."

"So were we when we heard about that afterwards," Kurt muttered. "Just yesterday, Rachel was telling us how she wanted to focus on her future career instead of Finn, and there they went." He shrugged. "We've still got next year."

"That we do," Blaine agreed, smiling softly. "Anyway, what I wanted to ask, since I don't know if I'll see you tomorrow… when we're back in Ohio, would you like to meet up for coffee some time?"

"Coffee sounds good," Kurt replied. "What did you have in mind? I happen to know that the Lima Bean has great coffee, but – "

"Lima Bean it is, then," Blaine said. "None of the coffee shops near Dalton has extraordinary coffee, so I'm willing to give it a try. Say, next weekend? We can text about the details."

"Great," Kurt said. "It's a date." Realising what he'd just said, he quickly continued, "I mean – not a date date, but – "

"I honestly wouldn't mind it being a date date," Blaine interrupted him, flushing slightly. Glancing over Kurt's shoulder, he added, "I think your friends are getting impatient, though."

"Right, of course." Kurt nodded. "So, Blaine, I'll see you later, then?"

Blaine nodded. "Have a good flight home, Kurt. I'll see you back in Ohio."

Kurt would rather stay in New York for a little longer, but, he figured, having a coffee date with Blaine at the Lima Bean would be a good thing to look forward to. As he turned back to his friends, Mercedes was smiling knowingly. Tina, on the other hand, was shooting him curious glances, even though Mike obviously tried to distract her.

"I didn't know you knew the Warblers' lead singer," she said, when Kurt reached them again. Her tone wasn't accusatory, merely curious, and Kurt shrugged.

"I didn't," he replied, "until a couple of days ago."

"You have to tell us everything over dinner," Tina instructed him, leading both Kurt and Mike outside, Mercedes quickly grabbing Kurt's other arm.

Kurt knew that, whatever he told them, the rest of the team would know before they even left for the airport. Funnily enough, he didn't even really mind. If the coffee date was a success, who knew what would happen, and eventually, the group would find out anyway. Feeling giddy all over again at the prospect of, maybe, yet another date, Kurt promised to tell them everything. This trip to New York had turned out to be even better than he thought it would be.