They'd both got the part – meaning that Kurt would, most likely, be kissing Rachel sooner or later. For now, though, Blaine tried not to think about that, but rather how nice it was to hug Kurt.

"Congrats," he muttered, his voice muffled. Before he knew it, Kurt was pulling away, looking suitably flustered. Blaine had to hold back a sigh of disappointment.

"You too," Kurt replied quietly, smiling. "So what do you say? Should we stop by Ms Pillsbury's office to see if they've already figured out a rehearsal schedule?"

o-o-o-o-o

Rachel couldn't help but feel relieved when she saw the cast list. She'd made it – she finally had the lead in a musical. Yes, she had to share it, but she'd already come to realise that she didn't even have to mention that in her applications. They might do some research and find out that way, but Rachel didn't see any reason as to why she should mention it herself. No one was asking for it, right? It was simply about whether or not she'd snagged a lead.

"This doesn't change anything, you realise that, right?" Rachel looked up; Mercedes was next to her, scanning the list.

"What are you talking about?" Rachel asked, as nonchalantly as possible.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Mercedes shoot her an annoyed glance. "I was still better than you at the auditions, and I'm going to be a better Maria than you will ever be."

As Mercedes walked away, Rachel stood stock still. She wanted to make this a competition? Fine. Rachel was ready for it.

But first, she had to do something else, namely spy on her brother and her best friend on yet another one of their infamous coffee dates, which actually weren't dates at all, according to the boys themselves (even though Rachel, and most of their other friends, she was certain, begged to differ). Therefore, she drove towards the Lima Bean, a place she'd already been often enough to know where Kurt and Blaine's regular table was, where their alternative tables were, and what the best spot to spy on them was.

After sitting down, Rachel took a random book from her bag and opened it. The boys hadn't arrived yet, which was odd, as she'd seen them walking away from the notice board when she approached. She wondered if maybe, they'd decided to go to the mall instead, or maybe to one of their houses. Perhaps she should call Finn and ask, but then she remembered that Finn had football practice, so he wouldn't know.

While she debated what she should do, she suddenly saw something familiar – the Dalton uniform. But it wasn't one of Kurt and Blaine's Warbler friends. Standing in line for coffee was a tall boy with a smirk on his face that could not mean anything good. Rachel looked away before he could notice her staring, but she couldn't really focus on her book either.

A couple of minutes later, Rachel was about to give up her mission, but then, miraculously, Kurt and Blaine walked in, looking chummier than ever. There was a piece of paper in Kurt's hand, and as they waited in line, Blaine was leaning almost dangerously close to read it. Rachel shook her head. Subtlety was clearly not a trait that ran in their family.

The boys sat down and talked for a while. Rachel just observed them. By now, she knew Blaine's expressions by heart, and yes, he was definitely shooting Kurt heart eyes, as Mercedes had called it. Rachel wasn't so sure about Kurt, though. Yes, he was always smiling at Blaine and never taking his eyes off him, but did that automatically mean that he liked Blaine like that?

Before Rachel could reach a decision for the day, the Dalton student she didn't know approached Kurt and Blaine, although it looked like he was mostly interested in Blaine. Intrigued, Rachel sat back in her seat. This could be interesting to watch.

And it was, especially because Kurt instantly became defensive and annoyed, while Blaine just seemed uncomfortable. With the way Kurt's eyes kept flashing between Blaine and the unnamed Dalton student, Rachel had to conclude that he was probably quite jealous, which was good.

Very good.

Some minutes later, the unknown boy left again, and Blaine appeared to be trying to calm Kurt down again, which he only succeeded in partly. In the end, Rachel managed to sneak past them without being noticed. She needed to work on her lines, after all, and on her campaign.

o-o-o-o-o

During dinner that night, their fathers were very happy to hear that everything had turned out alright and both Rachel and Blaine had been cast as leads in the musical without having to romantically interact with one another. They promised to be present for the show as often as they could. Rachel didn't mention Mercedes' words when they'd looked at the cast list, and when dinner was over, she fully intended to spend another few hours rehearsing various things.

Blaine, however, had other plans. Instead of ignoring her like the day before, he barged into her room tonight. He glanced around, taking in the campaign posters among her homework, and said, in a rather flat tone that wasn't like him at all, "So I take it you're not pulling out of the election?"

"No, of course not," Rachel replied, looking at him as if he'd gone crazy. "Why should I?"

"Because you already have about a hundred things to put on your resume?" Blaine suggested. "I know you haven't been particularly active in most of those clubs this year, but you've been a part of them at some point, so they still count."

"So are you telling Kurt to pull out as well?" she countered. "He also got a lead in the play."

"He doesn't have much else going for him for NYADA," Blaine reminded her. "Besides – I know that you'll see this musical as some sort of competition, be it with me or with Mercedes or both, and trust me when I say that your Tony is not very fond of you right now. As good as you both are, it's hard to fake chemistry when he can't even stand being in the same room as you."

"I'm not giving this up, Blaine," Rachel said through gritted teeth. "I want to get into NYADA, and I'm going to get in, no matter what it takes."

Blaine's gaze was almost pitying now. "If that's how you feel, I'd better go," he said, looking around once more. "Wouldn't want to stand in between you and your dream, after all."

o-o-o-o-o

The next few days were fairly hectic. The final important roles were filled (Puck figured he'd make a pretty kick-ass Bernardo and auditioned after all, and, in an attempt to stop Rachel from bothering him about it, Finn begrudgingly agreed to play Officer Krupke), a rehearsal schedule was worked out, and everybody got their text. Blaine and Kurt agreed to rehearse their lines together, much to Rachel's displeasure. Kurt didn't appear to have any problems with it, though, and Blaine still enjoyed their time together as well, as always.

A little over a week later, Kurt was talking to Mercedes at his locker when Blaine approached. "Oh, Blaine," Mercedes said when she noticed him. "I was just looking for you. Would you mind running some lines with me after school? We've got another rehearsal tomorrow, and it'd probably be good to run through some scenes together beforehand."

Blaine frowned slightly before turning to Kurt. "Are you meeting up with Rachel?"

Kurt glanced past him, no doubt scanning the corridor for Rachel. "Not as far as I'm aware."

"But yes, of course that's okay," Blaine told Mercedes, smiling. "Do you want to stay here for that?"

"Shane has football practice after school, so I figured we could work on this while waiting for him to finish?" Mercedes suggested, and Blaine nodded.

"Sure, that's fine." When Mercedes told them she'd see them later and walked off, Blaine smiled apologetically at Kurt. "So, no Lima Bean later, it seems."

"Not for you, no," Kurt corrected him. "I need my coffee to live."

Blaine whined. "That's not fair. Can't you bring me my coffee? I might actually die without it."

Kurt eyed him sceptically. "That's a little overdramatic, Blaine. And I'll consider it."

"Maybe you could come back and give Finn a ride home while you're at it," Blaine improvised, intent on getting his coffee later no matter what. "He usually catches a ride with Puck when they're practising, right?"

"Fine," Kurt sighed. "I'll ask Finn if he needs a ride. If he does, I might bring you some coffee."

Blaine grinned widely. "You're the best. Seriously." He decided not to think too much of the satisfied blush on Kurt's face when he said that.

o-o-o-o-o

When Rachel arrived at the Lima Bean that afternoon, she fully intended to spy on the two boys once again. However, when she entered, she found that Blaine wasn't there; it was just Kurt. Rachel started feeling a bit nervous; no matter how much her brother tended to annoy her and no matter how much Kurt was putting both her and his own future in jeopardy over a petty jealousy issue, she didn't want them to fight; quite the opposite, actually.

She got in line to order some coffee and tried to think of a plan. If she didn't have one before she sat down, Kurt would probably turn the tables and accuse her of spying without giving her the chance to interrogate him. As she did so, she noticed the same Dalton student who'd been there the week before approach Kurt and say something to him. Instantly, Kurt seemed to stiffen, and his jaw clenched. Rachel watched, intrigued, until it was her turn to order. By the time she was done, the Dalton boy was walking off again, a cocky smirk on his face once more.

"Who was that?" Rachel blurted out as she sat down opposite Kurt, whose guarded expression didn't falter when he noticed her.

"What do you want, Rachel?" Kurt asked cautiously, and she attempted to smile.

"Just talking to my best friend," she said. "Plus, I couldn't help but notice that my brother's not here with you – you're not fighting, are you? And I thought you got along with most Dalton students, so what's up with that guy?"

"I highly doubt you still qualify for that," Kurt muttered, but Rachel figured it was best to pretend that she hadn't heard him, as he did go on. "Blaine's practising some scenes with Mercedes for tomorrow's rehearsal, and Sebastian is… no one. Not really any of your business."

"Blaine and Mercedes are practising together for tomorrow's rehearsal?" Rachel asked, alarmed, completely forgetting about Sebastian or whatever that guy's name was for the moment. "Kurt! We need to do that too, or they'll completely upstage us and we can't have that! What if the directors decide that they're so much better than us that they'll cut us from the play anyway?"

Kurt shot her an exasperated look. "Fine. Take out your script then, we can do some quick dialogue for now. I have to be back at school later to pick up Finn."

o-o-o-o-o

Their rehearsal-of-sorts went pretty swimmingly. They caught up a bit at first, something they hadn't really had time for lately, seeing as Mercedes had joined the Troubletones now. She and Blaine had only really become friends because of Kurt, but they didn't always need him around to chat nowadays. When they were done, Blaine felt like he was somehow a little better prepared for the next day's rehearsal.

He waved goodbye to Mercedes and headed towards the parking lot. It wasn't difficult to see where Kurt was; Finn was already at the car and, well, it was hard to overlook Finn. Blaine quickly made his way over, and Kurt rolled his eyes when he saw him coming, though Blaine couldn't help but notice a smile tugging at his lips as well. It was a truly beautiful sight.

"You're in luck," Kurt told him when he reached them. He held out a cup of coffee for Blaine, who eagerly took it.

"Thanks, Kurt, I owe you," he said, right before taking a large sip. "Did anything interesting happen?"

Kurt shrugged. "Not really. Rachel was at the Bean, for some reason. I didn't think to ask. We ran through some scenes as well – which doesn't mean I've forgiven her, or anything."

Blaine nodded in understanding. "I get it. I'll try to talk to her later, or something."

"I doubt she'll listen," Finn commented. "She really wants this, you know?"

Kurt eyed his stepbrother for a second before responding, "Well, good thing then that I really want this as well."

o-o-o-o-o

"Hey, Blaine?" Blaine glanced up from his homework to see Rachel hovering in his doorway. "Can I ask you something?"

Sitting back in his chair, Blaine shrugged. "What is it?" he asked, wondering if she was going to ask him to run lines with him or what he and Mercedes had covered, or maybe if he could talk to Kurt for her.

Rachel walked into the room and sat down on the bed, looking almost nervous. "There was this… boy," she started, "at the Lima Bean. Last week and today. Tall, sort of cocky, in a Dalton uniform?"

"Sebastian?" Blaine frowned. Sebastian had been in the Lima Bean again today? Blaine had thought Sebastian would've backed off by now.

"So you know him?" Rachel asked. "I didn't recognise him as one of your friends."

"He's not a friend," Blaine answered, not sure how much of this story he wanted to tell Rachel.

Rachel nodded. "Okay. I figured he wasn't, seeing as Kurt doesn't seem to like him at all."

"He doesn't like Sebastian," Blaine agreed. "What did he say?"

"I don't know," Rachel replied. "I only saw it happen, and Kurt didn't want to tell me anything."

For a moment, Blaine contemplated asking Rachel to leave and calling Kurt to ask what Sebastian had said, but in the end, he decided to finish this conversation first. "Why were at the Lima Bean, Rachel? You don't ever go there, except when you're with Kurt or me."

Rachel's eyes widened just slightly. "I was looking for Kurt," she replied. "To… run some lines as well."

Blaine raised an eyebrow at her. "According to Kurt, you only wanted to do that when you realised Mercedes and I were doing the same."

"Okay, fine." Rachel crossed her arms. "I was there to spy on you. See how you interacted."

"On… me and Kurt?" Blaine frowned. "So that's why you were there last week, too? But why?"

"According to Mercedes, Kurt likes you as well," Rachel replied. "And before you tell me I misunderstood, she said that you were always making heart eyes at each other when the other wasn't looking."

Blaine sighed, running a hand across his face. "What – okay. And you wanted to see that for yourself."

Rachel nodded, smiling widely. "I couldn't see it very well from afar, though."

"Sebastian is… a plan Jeff and Nick cooked up," Blaine said slowly and quietly. "An attempt to make Kurt jealous, if you will."

"He didn't look happy this afternoon," Rachel supplied helpfully. "I think Sebastian's really getting to him."

"Maybe he just feels protective of me," Blaine mumbled. "You know, as a friend."

Rachel pursed her lips. "Maybe, but at this point I highly doubt it. He wouldn't get so worked up if he was merely trying to protect you, especially when you're not there." She was silent for a moment. "I'll just… go now. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Blaine nodded absent-mindedly. He still had to do his homework, and he needed to figure out how to get Sebastian to leave him and Kurt alone. To add to that – according to the people around him, the chances of Kurt liking him back were growing bigger and bigger.