CHAPTER SIX

FRIDAY NIGHT/EARLY SATURDAY MORNING

KURT

The show went great and watching the flurry of activity as I helped Roselyn dress and redress the cast during their many costume changes was more exhilarating than I would have imagined. Sure, I had done this when I was on tour with the show, but somehow doing this on Broadway felt different. It felt bigger, more monumental, more... like my dreams coming true.

After the show Lauren and I decided to head to Westway Diner, which was around the corner. Westway is pretty popular with the Broadway set since it's so close to Times Square, is open 24 hours, and has a decent health score rating. Plus the wait staff was okay with us singing and laughing for hours on end; I'm sure we were annoying patrons, but they took it in stride and we showed them our thanks with our presence and our generous tips.

Lauren and I found ourselves in a booth near the small bar on the right side of the diner near the register. It was the best place to people watch since you were in prime real estate to see the whole seating area along with the sidewalk outside and the kitchen. The best part about living in New York was definitely the people - mainly because there were so many of them and nearly half of them were certifiable.

We ordered coffee and perused the menu for food options before I heard Lauren yelling out to someone at the checkout counter. "Brittany?" she asked as she pushed her glasses up her face. I looked up to see a blonde girl whipping her ponytail and turning toward Lauren and I.

"Lauren?" the girl asked in return.

"Hey girl! How are you?" Lauren said as she got up from the table to give the girl, apparently named Brittany, a hug.

"I'm great. Things are going well for me - dancing and whatnot. Although I thought it'd be a little more like Center Stage dancing at a ballet company. So far, there's no Jamiroquai music in their collection," she said with a smile. I couldn't help but laugh, but the girl looked completely serious as she turned toward me. "Who's this?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Brittany, this is Kurt. We went to high school together and now he works on Bring It On! helping Roselyn." Brittany stuck out her hand and I shook it firmly. "Kurt, Brittany used to be in the ensemble in Bring It On! and was the dance captain as well. She left the show about a month ago to dance in the ballet." I smiled, impressed with her credentials. The girl clearly had a dancer's build - tall and well-toned, which was obvious even through her long sleeved shirt and fitted jeans. You would think she would look like one of the most elegant people in New York with the way she carried herself if it wasn't for the silly cat-eared skull cap on her head. Yet something about that cap told me that she wasn't exactly what people expected her to be - and I meant that in the best way possible.

"Why don't you join us?" I recommended as Lauren took her seat across for mine. Brittany shrugged and slid in next to Lauren.

"I was planning on getting my food to go, but I'm sure my cat would be jealous if I brought back food for myself and not for him, so this is probably best," she said as she motioned to the waitress to bring her a cup of coffee. I looked at Lauren for a minute, trying to gauge if she was serious or not, and Lauren shook her head with a smile as if to say that this was just how she was.

I liked this Brittany girl already.

"So Kurt," she said as she sipped on the black coffee that was placed in front of her. "Tell me more about you. You went to high school with Lauren. Where?"

"Oh - uh - well, I'm from Ohio and went to high school there. I met Lauren my junior year when I was in a singing group at my school and she joined us for the year before deciding she was too good for us," I said with a chuckle as Lauren kicked me under the table. "Ow! Anyway, so, yeah. I'm from Ohio. Went to college here in New York and did some costuming for touring theaters for a while before coming back to work on Bring It On!"

Brittany smiled. "My girlfriend is from Ohio, too. I hear it's nice there. I'm actually from here - I grew up in Queens but I live in Hell's Kitchen now." She took another sip. "Were you a cheerleader?"

I looked at her, puzzled. As did Lauren. "Uh, yeah. How'd you guess?"

She shrugged. "I was one too. You know how some people have gaydar? Well, I think I have cheerdar. I can tell when people were cheerleaders - or dancers. It's like we're a special club of people and only members can determine who other members are."

I couldn't help but laugh out loud at this girl. She may have seemed like she was a little off her rocker, but she was sweet and just a really inquisitive and observant person. "Well, your cheerdar is correct. I was for one semester. But I like to think that experience helped me with being on this show, you know?"

She nodded. "Oh, totally. I mean, it helped me with my routines knowing that they were based in dance and cheer. The two are pretty similar after all."

I was intrigued by Lauren's friend, who I hoped to add to my fold someday as well. "So Brittany, what's your story?" I asked as I sipped on my coffee.

She looked over at Lauren, almost asking for her approval before she spoke, before speaking. "Well, as I said, I'm from Queens and my parents and two little brothers still live there. I'm a dancer and I started out by taking dance classes when I was a kid and ended up loving it almost as much as I loved my Hello Kitty collection. So, as I got older, I kept taking classes and I went to LaGuardia School and focused in dance. But I also did cheerleading with a local team in Queens at the community center because I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to end up all Upper East Side." I laughed at that comment, I'd never imagine a girl like Brittany living in the Upper East Side so I couldn't imagine why that would be a concern of hers.

"And after graduating I ended up getting picked up for a national tour with the Rockettes since, you know, I'm tall and stuff. And that led to working with other shows once the Christmas season was over. I came back and auditioned for a few shows in New York when my mom got sick a few years ago..." She paused and stared at her coffee cup - willing herself to continue. Lauren protectively reached around her back for support and Brittany gave a bleak smile before continuing. I certainly knew how she felt with the story of my mom and all.

"But she's fine now. But, it was hard back then seeing her like that. Anyway," she said with a much lighter tone. "I ended up staying in New York because I loved it and when I was added to Bring It On! a friend from high school said that they were holding auditions for the ballet so I tried out and got the gig. It's kind of a Cinderella story, but no glass slippers. Those hurt. I should know."

I grinned. "Wow, Brittany. That's incredible. I'm so glad to have met you. And if you're friends with Lauren, you must be a pretty good person since she is rather picky about who she spends her time with."

Brittany smiled and nudged Lauren's arm. "Yeah, well, same can be said about you. She must like you too. I'm glad we're friends now, Kurt."

I nodded and looked at Lauren who seemed amused at our conversation. "So, Brittany, tell me how things are with you in the romance-" Lauren started before she heard a phone ringing. Brittany maneuvered to grab the phone out of her pocket. "Sorry guys," she said to us as she walked toward the exit to take her call outside. "I'll be back in a minute."

As she walked away, Lauren started laughing before peering at me through her glasses. "So, yeah. That's Brittany."

I laughed. "She's really fun. Seems like a nice girl. I bet she was fun when she was in the show."

"She was one of the best," Lauren said with a sigh. "I was bummed when I heard she was leaving, but dancing with the New York City Ballet is a once in a lifetime opportunity - especially since dancers have such short careers."

"I can only imagine," I said as Brittany came back to our table.

"Alright guys, I think I'm going to head out," Brittany said as she placed a few bucks on the table to cover the cost of her coffee.

"But we didn't even order yet!" Lauren exclaimed.

"I know, but my girlfriend invited me to go with her to a party with some people from her work, so I said I'd join her. But let's meet up again soon - and this time on purpose," Brittany said with a wink. I laughed and she turned her attention to me. "It was great to meet you Kurt. Get my number from Lauren; I have a feeling we're going to be best friends," she said before leaving the restaurant.

"Me too," I said in her general direction as she walked away.

BLAINE

They were at the bar for maybe ten minutes before Blaine saw Santana walk through the door and inching her coat off to expose a tight purple dress under her cream colored coat. She looked around and I motioned for her to join us when she met my gaze. She gave a small wave and headed over.

"No need to dress like that on my account," I said as she approached the table. She immediately punched me in the arm as she dropped her coat on the seat next to me.

"Whatever. You're just jealous your legs don't look this good in a dress," she said with a grin. "So, what are we doing here?"

I laughed. "Remember that band that we're going to start working with?" She nodded. "Well, it turns out that their band manager is a guy that I was pretty good friends with in high school. He and I lost touch once he graduated - he was a few years older than me - but he lives here and is apparently the manager of Atticus Finch."

"And what's better is that he brought an even better person back into the picture," Wes added as he sat down in the seat across from Santana. I rolled my eyes as Santana looked on, confused.

"San, this is Wes. Wes also went to school with me. He's an attorney now and lives here in New York as well."

"Just around the corner, actually," Wes added as he eyed Santana up and down, clearly checking her out.

"It's nice to meet you, Wes. Though I don't think you can use that pick up line on me. My girlfriend will be here soon," she said with a smirk as she hung her coat on the back of her chair and sat down. Wes looked dumbfounded.

I laughed at his inability to speak. "Don't be a tool and imagine her with her girlfriend, Wes. Please try to be a gentleman in front of a lady," I said with a wink. Wes growled at me and crossed his arms.

"Alright, I have two rum and cokes and a - whoa, who is this?" David asked as he approached the table with our drinks. He set them down on the table before extending his hand to Santana. "Hi, I'm David."

"Santana," she replied as she shook his hand. "To avoid the same embarrassment that Wes just experienced, I don't play for your team."

David laughed. "Well, I wasn't even going to go there considering how I'm engaged. But I was more surprised that you are the person Blaine wanted us to meet. I had hoped that Blaine would bring a guy, even if he doesn't have a boyfriend at the moment."

I looked at Santana who had a devilish grin on her face. "Oh, Blaine, I am going to like this guy," she said giddily. "I hope you guys gave him a hard time about his lack of a man like I did. The guy needs to get some."

"We couldn't agree more," David said, chuckling. "Well, we never imagined Blaine as a guy to 'hit it and quit it' but he definitely should have a guy in his life."

I rolled my eyes. "I can't believe I'm hearing this from all three of you right now," I said incredulously. "I would excuse myself to the bathroom to avoid all of you guys, but I'm afraid as to where the conversation would go in my absence."

Santana rolled her eyes. "Oh please, B. I'm not afraid to have this conversation with you present. As they say, real friends will say what they have to say in front of your face rather than behind your back."

Wes and David nodded in agreement as I sat back in my chair and huffed before gesturing for them to continue. It was true - I'd rather know what they were saying than have me be oblivious to whatever they were trying to concoct.

David looked at me, trying to bring peace with his glance. "Blaine, look. We're all happy. Well, Wes is, well, Wes. But I have Paula and Santana has a girlfriend too. We just want you to be happy." I started to retort that I didn't need some guy to be happy before Santana cut me off.

"Blaine, I know you don't need a guy to be happy. But I know that you really want to have a guy in your life and possibly a family some day. Don't you think your parents want to have grandkids that aren't from Cooper's loins?" I laughed. Santana had met Cooper's kids twice and they were just like their father both times, charming and annoying as hell. That's what happens when you have twin boys that are the spitting image of their father I suppose.

She continued. "Blaine, you know I'm normally all tough shit, but I am a softie when it comes to the love department. And you, apparently," she winked. "And now that I have co-conspirators, we're only going to try harder to get you what you want - whether that's a guy or something else. We just want you to be the best B you can be."

Wes shook my shoulder as if he was intentionally trying to shake me out of my comfort zone. "Yeah, Blaine. As I said before, my roommate is putting himself out there, it's time that you do too. If he could do it, I know you can. And he's about a billion times more reserved than you are."

I looked at him puzzled. What actor would be reserved? "I thought your roommate was an actor?"

He shook his head. "Nope, he just works in a theater. Backstage. Costumes. I should know more specifically what he does, but he kind of loses me when he goes on a tirade about his work. Besides, he spent the last few months on tour with a show so he wasn't home for a while but now he's back in Manhattan and I no longer can bring home the ladies to my apartment."

David rolled his eyes. "Puh-lease, Wes. How often do you actually have women back at your apartment? You're a lawyer - and a new one at that. I'm sure you spend most of your time in the office anyway."

Wes feigned disgust and looked like he was going to say something in return before shaking his head and taking a rather large gulp of his drink. We all couldn't help but laugh - Wes' act was up.

"Speaking of your roommate," I said. "You should invite him to hang out with us. I'm sure Santana invited her girlfriend Brittany," Santana shrugged guiltily before I dismissed her, acknowledging that it was okay that she had invited her girlfriend. "Besides, the more the merrier."

"I would, but he already texted me and said that he was at dinner with an old friend and needed to be home by midnight. Knowing us, we're going to be up until the sun comes out," Wes said as he drank the last of his rum and coke.

I shrugged. "His loss, I guess. But I kind of want to meet this roommate of yours. I never imagined you having a roommate and since it's not David it must be someone awesome since I was convinced that the two of you would live together even after you married different people." Wes rolled his eyes and David laughed as he faked making lovey dovey eyes at Wes. "What's your roommate's name, anyway?" I asked.

"Kurt," he said simply.

I took a last sip of my beer and put the empty bottle back down on the table. I looked over at Santana who looked like she was lost in a different place. Her perfectly manicured finger was dangling into the bourbon she was nursing and a slight smile crept onto her face.

"Santana?" I asked, trying to get her attention. At the mention of her name, she snapped up. "Is everything okay?"

She looked at me with the same smile on her lips. "Yeah, just - just having a flashback I guess. A friend of mine was named Kurt and I haven't talked to him in almost ten years. I was just thinking about him, I guess. I wonder what he's up to," she said, not really needing me to respond.

Santana came back out of La-La Land and eyed the empty glasses and started rounding them up. "Alright boys, next round is on me. What are ya having?"