After talking to his father on the phone, Kurt felt like he had been walking in circles.

Kurt wanted to get back to Blaine. He had made a mistake (not for the first time) about running off again, simply because Blaine had been right. Kurt was never good with conflicts and Kurt hated it when his own self-conscious was wrong. Kurt wanted to make things right with Blaine. The other boy didn't deserve the treatment Kurt dished out at him. He still wanted to go home, but he wanted to apologise to Blaine first. Then he would apologise to his family. He was scared, but the thought entered his mind as he truly analysed his previous behaviours while trying to work out where to go from here… Why had he run away? What was he so afraid of?

What had been the point of it all? It confused Kurt to no end.

He should have confronted his dad…he should have confronted Finn. None of them would be suffering quite as bad as they were. He felt extremely guilty after thinking this. Blaine was right. That boy deserved so much better …so much more than what he had given him.

Kurt observed his surroundings, the roads were topped up with snow, and even the Christmas tree in the middle of Bryant park had snow covering its edges. A handful of home owners were shovelling snow from doorsteps in the freezing wind as snowflakes continued to fall thick and fast.

Hot nuts were being sold still in the corner, but the guy selling it was layered in heaps of clothing and was packing up his station area, handing the hot nuts away for free to anyone who walked by assuming to get rid of the ones he had already made. He was holding a hand held radio close to his ear as he was packing away and handing out the nuts…while he muttered “Merry Christmas”

Christmas was not far away. Kurt realised.

Kurt could make out the words ‘blizzard' and ‘decade' from the man's radio. There was a costumed Elmo walking down the street which made Kurt stop and stare. Was his mind playing tricks? The Elmo figure waved at him happily “Hello!”  and moved along down the footpath even as Kurt tried calling out to the Elmo person “Wait! Please! Hey!!”  He figured with the big Elmo head he probably couldn't hear him anyway.

“Excuse me sir- ”

“Sorry kid, I got to get home to my wife, can't stop to chat, she's pregnant,” The man kept moving past him,

Kurt swore he was dreaming . Why was everyone in a hurry to go somewhere? Why was everyone looking so anxious? There werent many people out. He kept walking hoping to spot familiar buildings, but with this weather it was pretty hard to notice anything at all except the cars and buses that were abandoned in the streets, and the people that were about looking for shelter.

He was feeling freezing all over so he didnt think that was such a bad idea. He had told his dad to meet him back at the hotel, since it was the only place in New York he really knew well other than the park, so he had to find his way back. He welcomed the thought of returning to see Blaine and apologising over and over. Now that his dad was coming, maybe he can ask his father to help pay for his share of the rent of their hotel and then he'd work and repay his father in future. Cars were covered in snow as were the streets.

Why did he feel it necessary not to stick up for himself, or to face challenges? What was the point of living if you didn't let life alter you, or challenge you in any way? He could get a job, he could work with Finn's differences and Burt's past mistakes…things didn't have to seem so bad…

“Excuse me!” He called out to a woman with sunglasses and a heavy white coat, containing a hoodie walking by wearing matching gloves, she ignored Kurt as she moved quickly and towards an obvious route of where she wanted to go. She didnt even cared to ask if he needed help. Kurt had at least seen other people look at him in concern from the clothes he was wearing.

A familiar face came walking by “Kurt! What the hell are you doing out here? Don't you watch the news? Everyone is told to stay home”

“Max?” Kurt felt relieved as he asked shaking from an icy wind that had just blown over as the elder man with the beard and black hair nodded. He was wearing a hood and looked much warmer than he felt. He could only imagine how Kurt was feeling in that thin t-shirt, scarf and tight skinny jeans. At least he had shoes on this time.

“Yeah man, I have to help Lucy get out of her shop, everyone is told to stay indoors, and not to risk working if they can. Her manager called to say she should go home, but apparently she can't get out, come on I'll give you a lift over there and you can tell me what it is that you're doing out here,”

“Would you be able to drop me of at The Milton hotel after?” Kurt asked. He decided he had to at least see Blaine. He had been stupid to abandon the best thing that had ever happened to him. If it weren't for Blaine, he wouldn't have even contacted his dad.

Blaine was right. He was running away because he was scared.But not this time.

“Sure, we have to be quick though, in an hour there's going to be a $300 fine if I get caught driving in this weather, and it's apparently illegal to disobey orders of not risking traffic,”

Kurt said he understood as he got of the footpath and quickly got inside the car moaning at the sudden warmth inside and feeling comfortable with the leather seating.

“Good thing I got air con ha?” Max chuckled as Kurt sighed thankfully.

“Where's Blaine?” Max asked looking out the window to check there wasn't anyone else with Kurt.

“With his friends I think,” Kurt frowned not sure how to answer that.

“You two have a fight?” Max had been looking at him carefully before turning on the car again and moving back on the road.

“Yeah…well, yeah I guess you could say that, it's a long story,”

“We got a bit of a drive, I'm sure I can keep up with it,”

Kurt felt it'd be rude not to tell Max about his situation after being so kind, so hesitantly he told him quickly his story about his past, how he got in the fight with his dad and Finn, how he ended up in New York homeless and how Blaine came across him that day in the park and of course about his former glee club and how they tied with the Warblers and how the New Directions saw his departure and then what Blaine had told him about running away and being scared/

Max was quiet the whole way through.

“First of all, I'm sorry if you felt I pressured you to tell me all that, I was not expecting it to be honest. Secondly, that explains why you had no shoes on at the venue and looked like you were about to collapse at any given moment, I hadn't wanted to let you in because I knew sometimes the crowd could get loud and over bearing, it wasn't because I was judging you by your looks…and thirdly, Blaine is right,”

Kurt nodded staring out the window and not at Max in fear that his face would show his disappointment in himself.

“But Kurt…how old are you?”

“16,” Kurt answered not sure where Max was going with this.

“Right, you're 16, you're still young, you make mistakes. That's fine, even when we're as ancient as I am we make mistakes Kurt. We're only human. Have you ever listened to Billy Joel's ‘you're only human' song?”

Kurt shook his head.  Max laughed and said “And that my friend, is where you've made the biggest mistake,”

 Kurt was peering at the window when someone familiar walked by.

Kurt got inside gratefully as Max opened the passenger door for him.

Max drove his massive snow covered car through the icy weather. Snow kept falling and didn't look like it was going to stop.

“You know that guy don't you?” Max asked as recognition hit his face.

Kurt noticed watching the person struggling against the strong wind and snow fall “Can you stop for a moment?” Kurt asked Max. They were almost at the shop so Max didn't see why not. It'd give him time to call Lucy and check up on her.

“James!” Kurt called out recognised who the familiar man was as soon as he opened the door to have a better look. James looked up and saw Kurt, he smiled “Hey! I wondered if I'd ever see you again,”

“Man do you need a lift?” Max called from the driver's seat he gestured to the weather “It's going to be the worse blizzard in decades apparently, and they've shut of the subway,”

“You don't mind?” James hesitated as Max shook his head “Nah man I think I'd be grateful too if someone did the same for me, pop on in and if Kurt knows ya than I don't see why not,”

“Well it is rather cold out…” James was still stalling and being forever polite as Kurt rolled his eyes “Oh for heaven's sake GET IN, we'll never get anywhere at this rate,” Kurt demanded.

Surprised by Kurt's firm voice, James did as he was told “Thanks,” He muttered as he got in the back. “I owe you one,”

“Consider this a thank you for helping me at your restaurant,” Kurt replied as James nodded “It's good to see you again, I wondered about you, glad you're okay,”

“Honestly though thank you for what you did for me,” Kurt said more calmly smiling at James as he shrugged smiling also “Just admit it, my cheesecake is the best in New York city,”

“It's the best in New York City,” Kurt said sincerely and James laughed as Max moved on with the driving. “That's my boy,” James replied patting Kurt's shoulder affectionately from the back.

“I'm pretty sure he's Blaine's boy,” Max commented as Kurt gave him slight shove to his right as James sat in the back watching with interest and asked “Who's Blaine?”

“His lover boy- OW! KURT bloody hell that hurt,”

“I doubt I'm his ‘anything' after my behaviour,” Kurt said simply as Max sighed. “Kurt, you're in crazy town if you think that boy doesn't still give a damn,”

It was about a 10 minute drive to where The Lima Bean was but with the weather it turned into a half an hour drive. “I've never seen anything like this, and I've lived in New York for 40 years,” Max commented as Kurt nodded. He kept an eye on the news at home all the time, he hadn't seen anything like this either. “Ah The Lima Bean! I deliver my cheesecake here!”

Kurt looked at James incredibly “I knew it tasted familiar…”

“You mean you cheated on my cheesecake? Kurt how could you…”

Lucy was barricaded by at the door, there was literally no way else out in the Lima Bean, except the back door which the manager had the key in and he wasn't working that day when the government declared that all shops be closed.

Lucy didn't answer when they called out her name to the shop's window.

“Shit, and I don't have my phone,” Max groaned as Kurt looked through the windows to see if he could see her, but it was all fogged up and pretty much hopeless, but then James got out his phone and held it out to Max “Here, it's the least I can do,”

“Thanks man,” Max fist pumped James as Kurt tried to find something to get the snow of the front door. A neighbour agreed to let them use a shovel and Max and James immediately took over from Kurt declaring they'd work at it.

Max and James worked together to shovel out the snow quickly.

He rang her mobile phone and she picked up “H-hello?”

“Hey- guess whose back in town,”

“Max! I told you not to worry about me, you stupid man, Wes called to ask if I was okay anyway, I'm going to sleep in the shop tonight,”

“I had help, calm down woman, Wes hey- are you telling me you finally got a boyfriend?”

“Maaaax, you're worse than my father,” Lucy groaned. Max chuckled.

“Also don't get too comfortable dear, we just got rid of the snow of your door, so if you want to go home before it's too late to do so, you better come now,”

“We?”

“Remember I said I had help?”

“I should stay Max- Kurt is out there on his own, and he'll be worse of then I am, Wes sounded real worried…he's one of the Warblers, for your information. I'm hoping he turns up at the shop so I can at least tell Blaine he's okay…”

 “Lucy…just open the door,” Max said.

“Max!” She squealed hugging the taller man who held her delicately. Then as she let go she noticed the familiar face in the background “Kurt! You're okay!” She threw her arms around him as well “Oh thank god,” She took a good look at him before hugging him again “Wes warned me to say you wondered of,”

Then she went on hitting him on the shoulder, and Kurt flinched. Kurt stared wide eyed at her violent reaction as she said “He said if you did show up, that's for giving them a heart attack,”

 James looked at his watch and swore "Guys we need to go, like right NOW, theyre going to close the roads in 30 minues,"