Only when Blaine was on his way to the Lima Bean for his early morning coffee the next day, he remembered what he'd told Rachel the day before, and her promise to try to get some information out of Kurt today. It was a good thing he realised this as he was waiting for the traffic light to turn green, because he was certain he would've caused some sort of accident if he'd been driving.

He knew that Rachel meant well and, okay, maybe he was tired of only being friends with Kurt by now. That didn't mean he wasn't afraid of what Rachel would do. She'd promised to try to keep it vague, but Blaine wasn't sure if she could do that. He'd better enjoy this coffee meeting, because chances were there wouldn't be another one.

When he arrived at the Lima Bean parking lot, he instantly recognised Kurt's Navigator. Swallowing thickly as he got out of his car, Blaine walked into the shop. It didn't take him long to find Kurt; after all, they practically had their own table. Even if they wouldn't have one, though, Kurt stood out enough to be recognised anywhere.

"Hey," Blaine greeted his best friend happily as he sat down. He eagerly took a sip from the Medium Drip Kurt had already got him – the first one to arrive bought them both coffee, and the latter one would buy their afternoon coffees. Blaine had practically demanded that after Kurt had shown up early every day one week, and Blaine couldn't stand having his crush buy all his coffee.

Kurt smiled back at him. "Good morning, Blaine."

Blaine took another sip from his coffee before glancing up again, only to realise that Kurt was already scrutinising him closely. "What's wrong?" he asked worriedly. "Do I have something on my face?" That would be horrifying. It didn't matter that they'd already seen each other in all kinds of embarrassing situations.

Kurt shook his head. He bit his lip briefly – a movement that definitely caught Blaine's attention – before speaking up. "I heard about your audition."

Blaine cocked his head to the side, not understanding. "Well, yes. You asked me about that yesterday, didn't you?"

"Finn told me some stuff you didn't tell me, though," Kurt replied. "He heard certain… things from Rachel."

Blaine paled, and he was sure he went rigid in his seat. Oh, he was going to kill Rachel the next time he saw her. He didn't care that that would probably be at school and there'd be hundreds of witnesses around. She had promised him she wouldn't tell Finn about Blaine's feelings – well, of course she could promise him that when she'd already talked to her boyfriend beforehand! "Kurt – ," he started pleadingly. "I can explain."

Then again, maybe he couldn't, if Kurt kept looking at him with those beautiful eyes of his. "Well, according to Finn, Rachel blamed your obliviousness to the fact that Tony and Maria were lovers to the fact that you were so passionate about finding and rehearsing your audition piece," Kurt said. "Or was it something else?"

Blaine was certain that he still had that deer caught in headlights look on his face, but he couldn't help but feel relieved. Kurt hadn't found out about Blaine being in love with him after all. "No," he said once he'd regained the ability to speak. "That's exactly the reason."

Kurt nodded. "Finn also told me that Rachel practically told you to withdraw because neither of you, understandably, wants to kiss the other and she thinks that she has more of a right to be one of the leads in the play than you have."

"Because I'm only a junior and can be the lead next year, and she needs the role to have a better shot at getting into NYADA." Blaine paused for a moment. "As do you."

Kurt sighed. "That's entirely true. However, if you deserve that role, as I'm sure you do, Rachel shouldn't try to take it away from you. We've been stupid, and na�ve, Blaine, to think that we were unique and that we would get into any prestigious performing arts school just like that. So yes, this may be one of our last chances at getting some kind of credits. I know that you don't know exactly where you want to go after you graduate, but with your family, it'll probably have to do with performing arts as well, and who are we to tell you that you can't start building up a resume already, just because we didn't?"

Once again, Blaine was reminded of why he loved this boy opposite him so much, even if said boy had no clue. "I just don't want to have to kiss Rachel," he muttered, and Kurt chuckled.

"Well, she's not on my list of people I want to make out with either," he replied. "I've kissed a girl before, and that wasn't the most pleasant experience." Blaine could understand that. The week Kurt had pretended to be straight and dated Brittany was one of the darkest of his life. "However, I'm willing to put that… aversion of kissing girls aside for this play. It's… part of the deal, I suppose. I get that, since she's your sister, that's out of question, though."

"So do you think I would make a better Riff or Bernardo?" Blaine asked.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Don't forget that Rachel's not the only one trying out for Maria, Blaine," he reminded him. "While Rachel may think she's nowhere as good as herself, I definitely think Mercedes stands a chance at being cast as Maria. You've heard her sing countless times, haven't you? She's an amazing performer."

Blaine nodded thoughtfully. "I know. But Rachel is just… Rachel. But you're right, aversion of kissing girls aside, I'd much rather kiss Mercedes for a play than my own sister."

o-o-o-o-o

After her first period, Rachel marched down the halls with a purpose. She had to find Kurt and talk to him about Blaine. The more she thought about it, the more perfect she realised the two boys were for one another. Sure, if they ever were to break up, things might get awkward, but she trusted them to handle everything maturely. She would've tried to talk to him before first period, but Kurt and Blaine, after staying at the Lima Bean for as long as possible, always walked into class moments before the bell went.

"Kurt!" she called out to her best friend after she'd spotted him at his locker. "Hi!"

He just raised an eyebrow at her. "Hey, Rachel," he greeted her.

As he turned his attention back to his locker right after that, Rachel asked, "Have I told you about my audition yet?"

"We haven't talked since before your audition, so no, you haven't." Of course, Rachel already knew this, but she hadn't been able to come up with a better opening. Kurt, however, wasn't done speaking yet. "Finn has, though, and Blaine has as well." Rachel scrutinised him, looking for any indication that could point towards Kurt liking Blaine as more than a friend – such as him flushing or stuttering when saying her brother's name. None of those things happened, though. "Rachel, what you're doing is pretty selfish, you know that, right? You can't just expect other people to give up the role of their dreams just so you can get whatever role you want. I doubt that's how it works on Broadway."

Rachel crossed her arms in protest. "I doubt I'll have to play opposite my brother romantically on Broadway."

"That's true," Kurt admitted. "I just think it would've been slightly more acceptable if you'd just asked him not to audition for Tony when you first heard about West Side Story being this year's school musical. Now you've both been preparing for weeks and Blaine's looking forward to being in the musical as well. You can't just deny him that because it doesn't fit your plans."

"So you'd rather Blaine was cast as Tony and you and I have no chance whatsoever at getting into NYADA than both of us having some sort of chance at it?" Rachel asked. "Besides, I never said he shouldn't be in the musical at all. As my brother, I'm sure he'll kill the role of Bernardo. I mean, it sucks that you'd have to fake-kill him, but…" She shrugged.

Kurt finally finished organising his books and looked back at her. "I suppose we'll just have to wait for everyone to audition and for the cast list to go up," he said with finality. "Come on, let's just go to class."

He walked away and Rachel followed suit. "So," she started once she'd caught up with him. "You think Blaine could handle being the male lead in a school play?"

Kurt stared at her as if she'd gone crazy. "Of course," he replied. "Besides, it's not like any of us has more experience than he does in that department."

Rachel smiled brightly. "Well, he is a pretty decent singer, don't you think? He has this amazing stage presence that just makes everyone want to look at him. Have you ever noticed that, Kurt? Hey, you know what? If Mr Schue decides to have another duets competition, you should sing together! I'm sure it would sound amazing!"

"In case you'd already forgotten, Rachel," Kurt replied, sounding a little annoyed, "we sang together for last year's duets competition. We sing together in the car all the time, and of course it sounds amazing."

Rachel was surprised – in a good way, though. She'd always thought they only sang in the car when she was present, and only because she practically forced them to do so. "Good," she commented. "You probably have amazing chemistry, don't you?" Was that too much? Did that imply that both boys had a romantic interest in one another? How would Kurt interpret it?

As she glanced up at him, though, she saw that he was just rolling his eyes at her statement. By now, they'd arrived at their classroom, and Kurt instantly went to sit with Mercedes. That could've gone better, Rachel figured. Still, she hadn't asked Kurt if he would be interested in dating Blaine or something along those lines. Hastily sitting down at Kurt's other side, Rachel caught Mercedes' eye. The other girl narrowed her eyes slightly, and Rachel shifted in her seat before looking at the front of the classroom. She was still the most obvious candidate for the role of Maria, she kept repeating to herself. Mercedes, most likely, was well aware of that herself, and may be just a little hostile because of it.

o-o-o-o-o

Although Blaine was anxious to find out what exactly Rachel had asked Kurt, he wasn't about to miss a coffee meeting for it. He'd texted Kurt to ask if his father needed his help again, but that didn't appear to be the case. Blaine was relieved that Kurt was still willing to walk to him.

"They're still very much in doubt," Kurt told him as they were waiting in line at the Lima Bean.

"What?" Blaine shook himself out of his thoughts. Had he missed Kurt saying something again?

"The directors." Kurt glanced around quickly. "My… sources tell me that you are most definitely their favourite for the role of Tony, but since they loved Rachel's and Mercedes' auditions equally, they're not sure how to go about choosing one."

"I'm sorry, Kurt," Blaine said. "I know how much you wanted – well, still want – that role."

Kurt shrugged, though Blaine could see it bothered him. "I should've seen it coming. I'm not exactly… masculine." Blaine shot him a look; he certainly begged to differ, although he wasn't going to say that out loud. "Well, society in general doesn't think I'm masculine enough for a role like Tony. At least you could pass for straight if you wanted to."

After ordering and paying for their coffees, the two of them sat down at their regular table once again. "So I take it Mercedes' audition went well?" Blaine asked.

Kurt nodded. "From what I heard, it was mind-blowing. Oh, by the way – Rachel was quite partial to you being Bernardo instead of Riff. I think you should still go for Tony, though."

"So she wants her brother to play her intended character's brother?" Blaine shook his head, smiling slightly. "We wouldn't really be acting anymore. But I'm sure our dads would love it."

"I think you should not go for Bernardo, though," Kurt said after a few seconds. "Simply because it might get all weird again if you do that and Mercedes beats Rachel and they offer Rachel the role of Anita instead."

Blaine groaned. "Yes, okay. But Mike's auditioning for Riff tomorrow, isn't he? He's been practising his singing the entire summer for something like this, I couldn't just take that away from him…"

Especially since Mike was the only guy in Glee club who'd never given him or Kurt any trouble about being gay, and also Blaine's only male friend at McKinley, apart from Kurt.

"I'm sure they'll figure something out," Kurt said with a smile.

"Speaking of figuring things out," Blaine said, "what are you going to do now that Brittany's running for class president as well? I think her flash mob or whatever you'd like to call it was pretty effective in order to win the votes of… well, a lot of people who sorely lack in intelligence or who just want a girl to win."

Kurt sighed. "I know. And unfortunately, there are a lot of those people at McKinley. What Brittany did was cheap, but, yes, also very effective. It's what society wants from us, after all."

Before either of them could say anything else, a tall boy with an arrogant smirk stopped next to their table. Blaine glanced confusedly from the boy to Kurt, who had his eyes narrowed at the stranger.

"Well, hello," the stranger said. "You must be Blaine… and Kurt."

"Yes," Kurt snapped, "that's us. And who are you?" Only now did Blaine realise that the boy was, in fact, wearing a Dalton uniform.

The boy smirked again. "Sebastian," he introduced himself, taking a seat at their table. "Sebastian Smythe."