There was a knock at the door of Kurt's apartment. Leah bounced over to answer it, to find it was Charlotte. "Is Kurt in?" she asked.

"Hi Charlotte, nice to see you too." Leah said with a forced smile, stepping to the side to let her in. She came in and made herself at home. Leah walked up to Kurt's room and knocked on the door. He answered it and quickly made his way to the living room to find Charlotte. He greeted her with a hug and sat down on the sofa too.

"I've found you a charity!" She said brightly, even gesturing with a wild thumbs up.

"Oh! That's great! Which one exactly?" Kurt asked.

"It's called 'The Wish Factory'- you may have heard of it. They work with sick kids." Charlotte said.

"And they're happy just to make me a spokesperson, like that?" Kurt asked.

"Well, not exactly. Before they can use you for any kind of publicity, you need to be registered with them for several months. You aren't the first of the celebrities to sign up."

"And what would I have to do as a registered celebrity or whatever?" Kurt asked. He had a lot of questions.

"They'll put you in contact with the kids. Heaps of them want to meet you, but they can't do that without your permission- so basically you give them permission to arrange for kids to meet you every so often. Maybe have the odd Skype meet up for kids who can't make it to wherever you're filming. But that's all, really. Not every kid will want to meet you though- so the months will fly by and you'll get your publicity." Charlotte explained, having memorized the logistics of the campaign with the celebrities.

"Fabulous." Kurt said. He was happy with that. Besides, as far as he was aware his main attention was coming from the older viewers of Highlands, and from weirdo artsy types who appreciated his French short film he had made years ago. There wouldn't be anyone who would qualify to for a wish that would want to meet him.

"Okay. So you're signed back on as Elliot then? I trust your meeting went well."

"Brilliantly. Because they wrote Elliot out so dramatically, what with the fatal illness and travelling and all, they're willing to pay me a lot more to come back- they're upset they ever decided that that would be his drama of the season." Kurt said.

Elliot was a strong character, who when faced with his fictional illness decided to travel the world and make the most of the time he had left- but now it would turn out that the fictionally experimental drugs that he had been on were kicking in just the right way and resulting in him being well enough to start attending high school again- even if he was being put back a year, thanks to the season he missed.

"Right. Well, I'd best be off, I have other clients with business to attend to." Charlotte said, standing up and rushing to the door.

"Okay, well, I'll see you later then." Kurt said.

"Of course. Call me to organise coffee sometime next week, yeah?" and with that, Charlotte was gone.

Wes ran up to Blaine in the hallway at school. "I got a reply to my email!" he said, letting his excitement overflow.

Blaine wasn't so excited. "What email?"

"The Wish email! I have an itinerary for your trip and everything!" Wes pulled his bag off his back and started leafing through everything in it to try and find the plan.

"My trip?" Blaine didn't know he was going anywhere.

"Yeah! You're going to New York!" Wes handed Blaine a few text books, which he took and held while Wes kept searching through his bag.

"I am?!"

"Yes, because I am the most wonderful best friend in the world, Blainers!" Wes found the print outs and began putting his stuff back in his bag.

"Do you have it on you?"

"Nah, I left in my locker... of course I have it! Here!" Wes thrust a few papers into Blaine's hands. He scanned them- the trip looked amazing.

"This... it's great. Thanks, Wes." Blaine hugged him. He had figured it all out- he was flying to New York with his mom and they were staying in a hotel overlooking Central Park that must be costing a fortune for the charity. They had the first day to go sightseeing and shopping, if that's what they wanted. The second day they had a daytrip to Niagara Falls. The third- it was marked by two words- Kurt Hummel. To top the whole trip off, on that evening he was going to see a Broadway show. Which one wasn't disclosed, but he was going. The last day they were free to spend however they felt. Wes had done something amazing for him.

The words hung in Blaine's mind all day- he was meeting Kurt Hummel. The Kurt Hummel. Highlands Kurt Hummel. Kurt Hummel who everyone thought was so delicate and then voiced a kickass prince on Born Rivals. Even though he wouldn't admit it to anyone, he was more than just inspired by Kurt. Blaine even went as far as run a Kurt Hummel dedicated blog- the ultimate mark of someone who could be called obsessed.

But nothing else mattered anymore to Blaine- he was meeting Kurt Hummel.

Kurt and Leah lazed around on the couch, waiting those crucial last ten minutes before American Idol would come on. Along with every other reality show they watched, they disagreed as to which person they backed- it wasn't until the week before when Leah's favourite had been kicked off that she had decided to default her support to her second favourite- and Kurt's first. They didn't say much, but it was nice to be in each other's company. It wasn't often they just sat down and didn't have business to attend to. Kurt sat with his laptop, scanning through his emails. He had two email accounts- his official one, from which everything was checked first by Charlotte- and his junky account which filled up with subscriptions from various fashion blogs on a regular basis.

There was one particular email sitting in his official inbox that caught his eye- the subject line read Wish Granting- BA. He acknowledged it as being from Kathryn Woodrow. He thought her name was oddly fitting- something about her name screamed out to him as being official. He hesitantly clicked on the link and let the email load. It began with an attached note from Charlotte, before she had forwarded it.

Kurt,

I went ahead and offered them the current dates that you aren't working so you could get registered ASAP. Seems like your registration process is completed, because they set up your first meeting! Try and feign some enthusiasm for the kids' sake, okay?

Charlotte

He continued reading.

Dear Mr Hummel and colleagues,

We are currently arranging for a meeting between you and one of the many eligible children.

Blaine Anderson will be travelling to New York in about a month. He will be in the city for four days, and the morning of the fifth before flying out again. We have arranged for your meeting to be on the fourth. It is up to you as to where you would like to meet.

Blaine is a seventeen year old high school student who has had pancreatic cancer but is currently in remission. He will be visiting with his mother. He was nominated for his wish by his best friend, Wes. Wes explained that Blaine is a long time fan of both "Highlands" and the "Born Rivals" video game saga.

Sincerely, Kathryn Woodrow

It was the only email of its kind in his inbox, making Blaine the first of a possible many sick kids Kurt would be meeting in his time as a registered famous person for the charity. It would be a long few months until he got his publicity- so he may as well make the most of it.

Blaine lay on his bed later that evening, listening to whatever came onto his iPod and contemplating his visit to New York. It was only a few weeks away, and he knew nothing else would compare in importance to the trip. That was why he had half a discarded essay open on his laptop- it just didn't feel important to him. His mom knocked on the door. Blaine pulled his earphones out and sat up.

"You okay, honey?" She asked.

"Perfectly fine," He replied, "just a little preoccupied."

"The trip... it looks amazing. I'm really looking forward to it." She said, walking over to perch on the end of his bed.

"Likewise."

"Blaine... what if Kurt doesn't turn out like you imagine him to be? What will you do?" The one thing that Marie worried about most was that Blaine's dreams might be crushed. He had elevated Kurt in his head, and she worried that his pedestal would come crashing down after they had met.

"I'll have to deal with it, I guess. Nothing I can do about it." He said.

"Sounds like you have it all figured out." She said, rolling her eyes a little. Blaine always had all the answers.

"I just want to thank him. For Elliot, mostly... I get that they aren't the same person, but Elliot was a strong character that I could relate to at just the right time. You know that better than anyone, mom." She nodded. Elliot had been just the push that Blaine had needed. Aside from the addictive quality that teenage dramas possessed, there had been a strong character with a fatal illness. Maybe not pancreatic cancer like Blaine had, but it was close enough to be relatable.

"All Highlands has been good for, the whole time you've watched it. That they manage to have a broad range of characters, so everyone can relate to someone or another. More drama than I'd hope for my kids to get into, but it isn't so bad." She said.

"My point precisely... Elliot was my relatable character. I want to thank Kurt for portraying a character so well. Even if it's just acting, he does it well and Elliot was all that pulled me through some of those drug trials. If I hadn't a character going through the same thing, I wouldn't have had anywhere to turn. He was one tiny step ahead. I had nothing to worry about as long as Elliot had made it through it first."

"Well he did, and so did you." Marie smiled fondly at Blaine. He wasn't going to sway from his opinions any time soon.

"Shame they wrote him out." Blaine said with a shrug.

"Hey, didn't you get a new game out of it though?"

"We did, and it's a pretty awesome game. I might go over to Wes's tomorrow, so we can keep playing."

"Want me to invite Sky again?" Marie half teased.

"Nah, I owe it to Wes."

"I know she might be a pain, but she really cares about you, Blaine." She put her serious voice back on again, making sure that he realized the weight of Sky's intentions.

"I'd never have guessed. She's a bit helpless without someone to follow around."

"Be nice. She isn't that terrible, is she?"

"Not really. Wes reckons she bet me at Born Rivals."

"That's certainly quite interesting. Perhaps she isn't turning out to be as bad as you might have thought?"

"She's a bit annoying still, but it's a bearable kind of annoying now, not just annoying-annoying."

"Right then. So two and a half weeks then."

"Two and a half weeks."

"We should get our own sitcom. Blaine and Marie take Manhattan."

"Only you would suggest that, mom."

"But you must say you do love me for it."

"I do." She ruffled his hair in a way that any teenager wouldn't quite expect, kissed him on the forehead and headed towards the door. She hovered in the doorway for a bit, turning back in to face him. "I'll let you get back to your essay."

"Yeah... two and half."

"Two and a half." She grinned and closed the door, leaving Blaine to swim in his thoughts again.

Kurt was surprisingly excited by his visit from a sick teenager. Even if all the charity was for the outcome of publicity in the end, there was a long way until that would be happening and it felt nice to be making a difference in someone's life.

He had decided where he wanted his meeting with Blaine to be. It was somewhere private enough that they could talk properly but public enough that if the kid pulled a knife on him there would be enough people around to prevent any serious damage. He wanted it to become his regular meeting spot- a cute little coffee shop by his apartment where he went for breakfast not infrequently. It was never busy and he was rarely asked for photos or autographs, which meant that he shouldn't be bothered by anyone. And the coffee was good, which was always an added bonus.

He realised that it wouldn't be a totally private one on one, that Blaine's mom would be there, alongside Kathryn Woodrow, Leah, and potentially several security staff. He didn't know what kind of record Blaine had.

A kid who had cancer couldn't be a dangerous criminal, could they?

After two very long weeks, Blaine couldn't put off packing any further. He was in his bedroom, all his draws open, Wes sitting unhelpfully on his bed. He had a suitcase open on the part of his bed that wasn't occupied by teenage boy. He wasn't so fussy with what he packed; he just wanted to be making some progress to leaving. Wes sighed. "Are we ever going to get a chance to game?" he said, and Blaine nodded.

"Of course, Wesley. That's what you're here for. Can you blame me for being excited?" Blaine said, stopping his packing to turn and face Wes, trying to let him have a proper conversation. It didn't last long.

"I guess not- Kurt is everything to you, and thanks to a certain best friend you'll finally be meeting him. I get that this is a big deal." Wes said, as Blaine chucked a pair of sunglasses into his suitcase.

"So, Born Rivals it is?" Blaine confirmed, stashing the suitcase under the bed.

"Duh. We need to finish story mode to unlock all the weapons in free play. If you aren't into it, I can always ask Sky..." Blaine rolled his eyes.

"What is it with you and Sky? You seem a little obsessed with her gaming skills."

"Her gaming skills, yes. Her, not so much. There are only so many seventeen year olds willing to go with- how old is she? Thirteen or fourteen year olds?"

"As in not you?"

"Precisely. Besides, things are going really well with someone else."

"That girl you went out with the other week?"

"I've been out with her since, Blainers."

"Yeah? First I've heard about that." Blaine said. Wes couldn't tell whether he was genuinely upset he hadn't been told anything about it or whether he was just joking.

"Is that so? Well, I think Sky's into you, my friend. Not The Wes."

"The Wes? Is that your thing now?" Blaine laughed, and Wes followed shortly after.

"Sure it is, Blaine. But really, things with her are going really well. Like, she could be my girlfriend soon, if we make it exclusive or something."

"How do you know this chick, exactly?"

"You know those kids I babysit sometimes?"

"Uh, yeah..." Wes had mentioned them before, but they were never really relevant details in his life story.

"Well, I was at the park with them, and she was there with her sister, and we got to talking. She's super cute, Blaine, and she's smart, and I really like her." Wes said. There was no doubting that he was genuine in his analysis of her- the way he spoke, you might have thought that they had been dating for more than a few weeks.

"I didn't need the whole romance novel." Blaine teased.

"Right... well, we have a game to play." Wes said, trying to focus the conversation away from him again.

"That we do." Blaine said as he handed Wes a controller and rolled the opening credits.

"You aren't fishing for more details?"

"I know you won't give them."

"Her name's Kaitlynn."

"Is it now?"

"It is, and I think it will be for a lot longer." Wes said, pleased with finding a loophole in Blaine's statement. It was usually the other way around.

"Wes, you never fail to annoy me."

"What can I say? I take pride in my Blaine annoying skills."

All Kurt wanted to do was flop down on the couch and sleep- he had been on his feet all day, save the flights to Los Angeles and back. He had to plough through his scripts, see what drama Elliot was getting into for the next episode. Ideally he would be off book by the time they started filming- they generally didn't even have time for read throughs, so he had to maximise his learning time while he was at home. Thankfully there were so many cast members and characters with storylines to be told that Elliot had only a few appearances in the first couple of episodes of the season, enough to reacquaint the audience with him and get everyone up to speed with how amazing Europe and Africa were, along with anywhere else the writers decided he had travelled to- but not enough filming for each character that they needed to be constantly on set.

In the first episode Elliot arrived back after his trip, ready for the new school year, although he was now a year behind all his friends. He discovers what had been going on with his best friends while he was away- Meaghan had dated Jake, tried drugs and hooked up with a girl, all in the space of a few months. Elliot was incredibly upset that no one had thought to tell him his two best friends had ever even talked to each other.

He preached about how amazing his experiences with his travelling were, and how everything was a real eye opener about what was happening in the third world countries, meaning he was going to start a fundraising campaign at the school.

On top of all of that, he had to make some new friends from his classmates, and he had read something about a potential love interest rumour, although that had been all there was.

As much as Kurt loved Elliot as a character, he thought he was a bit of work- not to mention that he was stubborn and overreacted to absolutely everything that ever happened.

Leah read Meaghan's lines and Kurt tried his hardest to say his lines from memory- but he gave in to his exhaustion and headed for bed not too long after they had started.

Blaine took Wes along to support group the Wednesday following their last gaming session. Jess called on Blaine to introduce himself and share what had been going on with him that week. For once, he managed to scrape together some enthusiasm and discuss his week. "My name's Blaine, I'm seventeen, I had pancreatic cancer but I'm remission. This is Wes," He gestured to him, "My best friend. He's the one who arranged for my wish." Jess grinned at them.

"Hi Wes, it's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you all, too." Wes said, although he shifted around nervously. He didn't have a story to tell as the others did.

Jess prompted Blaine to continue by asking about his wish. He smiled and started from the beginning. "I'll be leaving in a few days. My mom and I are flying to New York. I'll be back next week and can tell you all about it then."

Jess asked him to promise to take a lot of photos- he agreed, and the conversation was passed to the next in the circle.

Following the standard let's-talk-about-our-feelings, Wes dragged Blaine over to Sky and greeted her warmly. She smiled at him and accepted his hug, although somewhat awkwardly. The two laughed at Blaine's expense, considering how much better Sky had been at the video game a few weeks earlier.

The meeting drew to a close and Blaine and Wes headed off. Sky waved flirtatiously at them from across the room, and even Blaine couldn't stop a smile from escaping as he waved back, although a lot less flirtatiously and a lot more enthusiastically.

Jess, Sky and a few more of the support group kids went to the airport to see Blaine off a few days later. As his flight to New York was called for boarding he got up to hug his dad goodbye, and Marie followed suit and did the same. After Blaine had broken his hug, he turned to leave before being whistled at by Jess. "Don't I get a hug, hun?" he shrugged and hugged her, before being glared at by Sky, who was standing with open arms. He hugged her too, and she kissed his cheek. Knowing how they were bound to react, he then went along the line of supporters to hug all of them, ending with Wes. The group stayed as Blaine headed for the gate, ready to board the plane with his mom. Marie whispered in his ear, "Blaine and Marie take Manhattan."