Kurt felt bad that he couldn't take the week off to spend more time with Vin, but he had finals and his last week of work at both of his jobs. Since he was a teacher's assistant and the school year was ending, so was his job. Also, his internship at the counseling hotline center was ending. He needed to find a job to pay his bills fast. He had some interviews lined up, but those were for jobs as a guidance counselor in schools and even if he got hired, he wouldn't start until the fall. He'd need a job until the fall at least.

Vin was supportive and said he was okay with being left to his own devices because it gave him a chance to explore on his own and be able to get to know the city he'd be living in. Kurt really liked that part about Vin. He was always so positive, no matter the situation, but then again, there wasn't much about Vin, if anything, that he didn't like.

By Thursday Kurt felt awful. He hadn't done anything with Vin except for the small outings they had during the weekend when he arrived. Rachel had been bugging him to go to that Cabaret bar and since Friday was his last day and wasn't required to go to his last two classes because it was merely review, he decided to ask Vin if he wanted to go.

"Yeah. I'd love to, but don't expect me to sing. No one wants to hear that atrocity."

Kurt laughed. "You don't have to sing. I might, but I haven't sung in a really long time. Gosh, it's been so long. It used to be my passion." He got a look on his face that read like he didn't know where time went.

"I like your voice. You sing in the shower all the time." Vin smiled and wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist.

"You know Puck sings too."

"He does?"

"Yup. And Rachel and Finn. We were all in Glee Club together in high school. We were national champs our senior year."

"Well what do you know? I learned something new about you."

"There's a lot you still don't know about me. I've a very complicated person."

Vin leaned forward and kissed Kurt's cheek. "And I'm looking forward," kiss, "to learning every," kiss, "last," kiss, "detail."

Kurt returned the kiss and backed away. "I'll call Rachel and let her know we're going. I think some people from the musical1 she's work shopping with are going too."

Blaine

Thursday was just like any other Thursday for Blaine. He slept in, had lunch, worked in the music room until dinner, then got ready for work. It wasn't that he didn't like the Cabaret bar, It was just a little boring. It was, more often than not, people singing the same songs over and over. There was nothing new. He was playing the great songs of the greatest artists to the death. Most people that went on stage also sang as if there was someone important in the audience that was going to discover them as new talent. There never were though. Blaine knew that as a fact. Sometimes the club owner would pay a friend of his to dress up and sit at a table of his own with a pad of paper. Santana was paid extra to just keep bringing the man drinks. The man would look like he was asking for a singer's name or making notes about something. On several occasions Blaine saw that the man wasn't taking notes at all, but doodling pictures of random things: naked women, cats, 3D boxes, eyes, fish; once he wrote the word 'shit' enough times to fill three entire pages from top to bottom.

But nevertheless his job was a foot in the door and technically he was playing piano professionally. It also helped that people tipped him from time to time. It wasn't much, but he'd make enough in tips to cover his metro card every week. He only looked forward to this coming Sunday when he had an audition as a pianist in a pit orchestra for a new musical that was currently in casting.

He found that the more he thought about his jobs, the more he realized it was all carefully plotted out because of money. He made more money working two nights a week at Jericho than he did all week at Cabaret. However, the money he made at Jericho was enough to pay every bill he had and still had enough left over to afford take out food multiple times a week. The money he made at Cabaret went straight into a savings account. He didn't need the job, but he kept it because it kept his father off his back most of the time about not using his degree and it was more or less a resume builder. Also, he stupidly thought, like many of the singers that came in, you never know who's sitting in the audience and might need a pianist. Actually, about half of the auditions he went on were because he heard about them at Cabaret.

He looked down at his watch. It was eight o'clock and his hands were starting to cramp up. The Barbara Streisand girl was up again for the umpteenth time that month and while he now knew her name was Rachel, he referred to her as "the Barbara Streisand girl" because that's how the rest of the crew knew her. His sub showed up and took his place after he finished playing for someone after Rachel and he stood up, heading for the bar. A vodka tonic and a chat with Santana was sure to perk him up.

Kurt

"Okay, so basically you asked me here just to show off that you still got it," Kurt said to Rachel once she sat back down at their table.

"Well, I wouldn't be up there so often if someone would go up and give me a run for my money," Rachel answered, insinuating something.

"How come Finn doesn't go up?"

"I'm rusty. Plus this really isn't my scene," Finn explained. "I'll take a dive bar with karaoke any day."

Kurt and Rachel laughed. "Don't remind me. You're twenty-first birthday was definitely one to remember."

Rachel snorted. "Oh. My. God. I almost forgot. Trying to reclaim our Journey days!"

The rest of the table, which mainly consisted of Rachel's co workers and, of course, Vin, looked at each other confusedly. Kurt saw Vin's expression and he elaborated. "Finn was completely hammered and got up to sing Don't Stop Believing."

"Oh! I love that song."

"Yeah, please don't ever sing it. The three of us have heard it enough times in our lives." They chuckled a bit more. "Oh my god!" Kurt's eyes squinted as he looked half way across the room as saw a familiar face walking towards the bar.

"What?" Finn asked.

"That guy. The one walking to the bar. I know him."

"Oh he's the piano player," Rachel explained as she craned her neck a long with everyone else to see who Kurt was looking at.

"I didn't know Blaine worked here."

"Blaine?" Vin asked. "The bartender with the eyes?"

Kurt chortled. "Yeah."

"I thought you two were friends?"

"We are. Well, sort of." Blaine disappeared into the bar and Kurt looked back at Vin. His face contorted and looked confused. "Actually, it's kind of funny. We barely know each other at all."

"You seemed to know each other last weekend when you introduced me to him."

"It's weird. We kind of bump into each other from time to time and we chat for a few minutes, but that's all the interaction we've had. We always act like we're long lost friends or something. It's kind of a knee jerk reaction, but in all actuality, neither one of us really knows anything about each other. Weird, huh?"

"Maybe you knew each other in a past life," Vin offered.

"Maybe. It really is weird, like scary weird, because it seems like I know him a lot more than I do."

"Didn't you have coffee with him once?" Rachel asked, taking a sip of her wine.

"Sort of. For like five minutes, but that was months ago."

That was the end of the conversation. Whitney, one of Rachel's coworkers, started talking about past lives and how she went to a psychic once.

Rachel finished her glass of wine five mines later and informed Kurt that it was his turn to buy the next round. Both she and Finn bought the first and second. "I'll get it," Vin offered.

"You sure?" Kurt asked. "You don't have to buy drinks for my family."

Vin smiled. "I want to. Besides, you the one who's graduating. We need to celebrate." He kissed Kurt on the cheek and headed for the bar.

Kurt followed Vin with his eyes and smiled. He looked back when Vin was out of site and saw Rachel and Finn smiling back at him.

"We like him," Rachel said. "He's nice."

"He is, isn't he?" Kurt beamed.

"He's a whole lot better than the last guy and he's more stable too," Finn added.

"He is something of a keeper. I'll say that much. Puck doesn't think so, though."

"Why not?"

"He thinks we're moving too fast."

"I'm sure he's just concerned," Rachel soothed. "It's hard not to like him."

Blaine

Blaine was sipping on his Vodka Tonic, picking at a cup of bar mix that Santana had given him and laughing away as Santana went on and on about some douche bag she told off at the grocery store who hit on her. She paused when someone approached the bar.

"Uh, four red whines, please." The man smiled at her politely.

"Do you care which brand?"

"No. Whatever you got is fine."

He turned his head. "Hey! Blaine, right?"

Blaine looked to his right at the person who knew his name. "Oh hey!" He recognized him instantly. There was no way he could forget the Ken Doll face of the person he wanted to replace.

"We met last weekend. I'm-"

"Vin. Kurt's boyfriend. Yeah. I remember." Blaine smiled and stuck his hand out to shake Vin's. "Midori Sour and," he scrunched his eyes trying to remember, "a Black and Tan."

Vin took Blaine's hand and shook it, smiling in surprise. "Wow! Good memory."

"Twenty bucks," Santana interrupted.

"Oh yeah." Vin reached into his back pocket and took out his wallet. He pulled thirty dollars out and handed them to her. "Keep the change."

"Thanks. Do you need help bringing those over to your table?" A fifty percent tip always brought the darling out in Santana.

"Nope. I got it."

"You here with Kurt?" Blaine asked.

"Yeah and his brother and sister in law and her coworkers."

"I'm sorry," Santana interrupted again. "You said your boyfriend was Kurt?" She picked up on the part about the brother and sister in law. How many Kurt's could be in this building with a brother and sister in law? "As in Kurt Hummel?"

"That's the one. You know him?"

Santana smiled wide and glance quickly at Blaine. "Holy shit! You need to send him back here. I haven't seen that guy in years."

"How do you know him?" Vin asked.

"I've known him since preschool."

"Wow. Is everyone from Lima?"

"Pretty much everyone from our Glee Club ended up here at some point. Me and my girlfriend Brittney moved here shortly after Kurt, Finn, and Rachel did.

"So you know Puck then?"

"Puck moved here too?"

"Yeah he's Kurt's room mate."

Santana laughed to herself. "Well, shit. You know what?" Santana grabbed a tray and put the whine glasses on it along with a fresh new bottle of red whine. "The bottle's on the house. Tell Kurt it's from an old friend."

"Will do. Thanks so much." Vin smiled and took the tray. "It was good to see you, Blaine. I should get back to my table."

"Have fun." Vin left and Blaine eyed Santana suspiciously. "You know Kurt? The one I've been talking about for months?"

"THAT'S who you've been talking about? Kurt Hummel? Kurt Hummel from Lima, Ohio?"

"I didn't know that's the Kurt you were talking about. What's the chances of us both be talking about the same person?"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know his last name."

"He's with THAT guy? Man, you've got some competition. He's hot."

"There is no competition. He's with Vin and I don't even have his number." He took a large sip of his drink. "You remember when I suggested to set you up with him? That could have been you if you only let me talk to Rachel."

Blaine made a face, downed the rest of his drink, and hopped off the bar stool. "Gotta get back to work." Blaine was mentally kicking himself that all this time he had a connection to Kurt that he never knew. He tried to be positive about it. At least now he knows his last name: Hummel. Kurt Hummel. It had a bit of flare to it. He liked it.

He got back to the piano and traded off with his sub. About a half hour went by. He tried to find Kurt at a table, but he wasn't in his eye line and couldn't be found. It was almost ten o'clock. Closing time. He heard the MC call that the performances would be over and the hall would be closing, but the bar would remain open. Blaine closed the cover to the piano keys and situated the sheet music that the last singer handed him. He put it on top of the piano for the singer to take and looked down at his phone.

"Know any Madonna?" came a sweet voice.

Blaine looked up and smiled. "Kurt!"

"I didn't know you worked here."

"Yeah. Monday through Thursdays."

"Wow. Rachel, she's my sister in law, has been trying to get me to come here for forever. I should have listened to her."

Blaine was just unbelievably happy to be seeing Kurt that he realized he was probably smiling like an idiot. "Did Vin tell you that Santana Lopez works here?"

"Yeah he did. Well, he didn't know her name. He said a Latin beauty worked at the bar and said she knew me. Rachel filled in the rest. I just got back from talking with her. She seems happy. A lot happier than the last time I saw her. She was still in Lima and hating everything. She's still with her girlfriend from high school too."

"Yeah Brittney. She's a trip." Blaine chuckled.

"This is so weird that we know the same people. Talk about six degrees of separation."

"I know, I've been watching Rachel sing for months. She's your sister in law?"

"Yeah. Her and Fin, my stepbrother, have been dating since high school and they got hitched not too long ago. And you know my old friends."

"It's like we should have met a long time ago. Weird, huh?"

"Weird."

"So how come you weren't up there singing?"

"I didn't bring sheet music."

There was a pause, neither one knowing what to say. Blaine took a deep breath and decided to just go for it. "Hey, do you want to-"

"Kurt!" Kurt turned around to look at, who Blaine guessed to be, Finn. "Come on. Vin brought the car around."

Blaine sighed. He was really getting anxious about the fact that every time he tried to ask Kurt to hang out or wanted to ask for his number, there was always someone interrupting.

"I'll be right there!" Kurt called back. He looked back at Blaine. "I gotta go. I'll have to start coming around more often now that I know you work here." Kurt started to turn.

"Wait!" Blaine leaned forward and covered Kurt's hand that was on the piano. He was finished with watching opportunities passing him by. A jolt seemed to go through him almost instantly and Kurt's eye found his. "Do you want to get coffee sometime?"

Kurt

Kurt gulped and he felt his chest get heavy. Blaine was touching him. This was a strange feeling. He couldn't explain it. He felt warm and his heart thumped hard. What was this? He turned and caught Blaine's eyes with his own. For a second he got lost in Blaine's honey eyes.

"Do you want to get coffee sometime?" Blaine asked.

Kurt gulped. Blaine hadn't removed his hand and Kurt hadn't taken his back. "I'm free Sunday." He surprised himself with that answer. That was the day Vin left to go back to Vermont. His mouth had extricated those words before his brain had a chance to process them.

Blaine's face seemed to light up. "Great. I am too. What time is good for you?"

"Um. I have to drop Vin off at the bus station and then I have an interview, so three o'clock?"

"I'll be there."

"Great." Kurt had this kind of dazed look on his face. Like he was on autopilot. There was silence between them again and they just stared.

"Kurt!" Kurt almost jumped and just like that, his hand became his own again by slipping it out from under Blaine's. He turned toward his brother.

"Coming!" He called out. "See you Sunday, Blaine."

"Sunday. Three o'clock. See you then." They took one last glance at each other and Kurt was gone.

Blaine

Blaine watched Kurt walk away, this time smiling. His heart was beating hard against his chest. It was an intense feeling that he'd never felt. It was like he was excited, nervous, anxious, and elated all at the same time. Sunday. Three o'clock. Sunday. Three o'clock. Sunday. Three o'clock. He kept thinking it. I'm having coffee with Kurt Hummel on Sunday at three o'clock. Finally.

It was then that he also realized he had an audition on Sunday. What time was it? Shit… Audition, four o'clock.