“He just asked you to leave?” Mercedes asked Kurt, surprised to hear about his encounter with the mystery boy the day before.

“Pretty much,” huffed Kurt. They were sitting on Kurt’s bed reading Vogue and talking about what had happened. In all honesty, Kurt wasn’t exactly sure. The boy looked like a rebellious guy who could have just been trying to make a scene for the fun of it. But if he wanted to, he could have chosen any other person sitting in the store. Then there was the fact that he was seemingly flirting with Kurt. The grin on the boy’s perfect lips was almost playful, and he did call Kurt “Hot stuff”.  Could he be interested in Kurt? Was he gay?

He hoped so. The boy, although incredibly blunt and slightly annoying, was just as attractive as he was rude. Probably even more.

“Did you give him your bitch glare?” Mercedes interrupted Kurt’s train of thought.

He chuckled. “You bet I did, Mercedes! That, and my witty sarcasm.”

“So did he leave?”

“Actually, no he didn’t.” 

Mercedes gave him a quizzical glance. “He just sat down beside me,” Kurt continued, “and asked me what my name was. After I told him, he didn’t let me know his. He just walked away.”

Even though he tried to leave out basically the most important part in his mind, he couldn’t help telling her about the flirting. “He called me hot stuff…”

“No way!” Mercedes sat up from the back of Kurt’s headboard. 

Kurt blushed slightly, feeling happy that a boy that good looking would say that to him.

“Yeah,” Kurt replied, staring at the wall in front of him. Since, like his new wardrobe, his room was newly painted for the school year, he now looked at light maroon walls accented with a beige trim, and his beige desk on the left side. He couldn’t have distractions while doing homework, and he would usually fall asleep if he sat on his bed. He needed to give work his full attention; he needs the good marks to get into Julliard. Thinking that this is pretty boring, he also decided to put a big “Wicked” poster up on the right side, evening out the desk. Of course, for Kurt, this is pretty tame.

In grade nine, Kurt practically screamed gay. He wanted to make a statement in high school, and also show everyone how confident of a person he was, so he always wore the best clothes – expensive but fashionable – and had a daily skin care regimen that left his face flawless. His hair was always perfectly coiffed, and he walked down the hallways with swift movements and his chin held high. Unfortunately, the jocks and popular kids didn’t seem to appreciate his style, and would always push him around, throwing him into lockers and tossing slushies at his face. Now, he hasn’t let them affect him, but has also adapted a bit more to his situation, wearing less flashy clothes and trying not to stand out as much. Of course, if you looked at him for a few minutes, or heard his voice, you could probably still tell. 

Kurt was, once again, stressing himself out. Should he have taken that as a compliment? Was that boy just trying to embarrass him?

“Kurt –“ Mercedes began.

“What if he was just joking?” Kurt asked, interrupting Mercedes and ending his train of thought. She gave him a surprised look and he continued, “I mean, what if he was just messing with me and trying to make me seem like an idiot?” 

“Kurt,” Mercedes repeated his name, gave him a pitying look, “I’m sure that’s not what happened. He wouldn’t have called you hot stuff if he was making fun of you.”

“I guess you’re right.” He sighed, “It’s just… he was SO hot!”

“Dang boy,” Mercedes grinned, “I really need to see this guy.”

“Well, I’m going to the Lima bean tomorrow with Rachel; we’re looking at Julliard applications.”

Mercedes raised an eyebrow at him.

“And I want to see if he shows up,” Kurt muttered, a blush and a smile showing on his face.

“Of course,” Mercedes says quickly, making Kurt blush even more. “I can’t, though. I’m sorry. Sam and I are going to the beach tomorrow; we want to catch as much sunlight as possible before it’s gone.”

Her and Sam are apparently “not dating”, but Kurt can tell that they have a thing. He sees how her eyes light up whenever she says his name, or how she gets a big grin on her face whenever she talks about him. Kurt wishes he had someone that he can feel that way for.

Stopping his one man pity party, he looks back at Mercedes. “Have fun,” he says, trying to sound happy.

“I will!” she says with a smile up to her ears. “You too,” she adds, “I hope you see Mr. Bad Boy there.”

Kurt looks at her with a repulsed look on his face, but secretly he hopes he does too.

“Unfortunately he won’t have anywhere to sit,” Mercedes continues, “There are only two seats at your table.”

Kurt looks over at her. “He could, however, sit on your lap,” she states non-chalantly as Kurt gapes at her, his eyes wide.

“Just try not to get a hard on if he does that,” she barely finished before Kurt slaps her playfully on the arm, and she falls back on the bed, trying unsuccessfully to control her giggling.

“Mercedes!” He says, his voice more high pitched than ever.