He sighed for what felt like the one hundreth time that day and one thousandth time that week. In fact, Blaine Anderson had sighed so many times in the past five days that the action was quickly becoming as regular as his general breathing. It wasn't the way he'd particularly like to spend his week however he didn't have much of a choice considering where he attended from Monday to Friday. Blaine had created a living working at his Father's law firm. It wasn't the occupation he'd chosen for himself and it definitely wasn't the one he had dreamt about throughout his younger years, but it was the only one he had unfortunately. So at 25 years of age, Blaine wasn't too happy with where he was at. To say that William Anderson was a tense boss to work for was to under appreciate things considerably. Blaine was constantly kept under his Fathers watchful glare, as if the latter was just waiting for Blaine to slip up, waiting for him to prove exactly why William saw him as such a waste of space.

You see, in William's eyes his son could only be viewed as a disappointment to the Anderson name. The younger male had never shown the same interests as the older, never pursued the same career opportunitys or wanted what was best for the family name, sacrificing everything to accomplish success. No, Blaine's whole being was the complete opposite to his fathers and that was never going to sit well with William, leaving their relationship hanging by the threads. So when a seventeen year old Blaine finally accepted himself and found the courage to step out of the closet he had been hiding in for many years and admitted to his father that he was interested in men, the pretense of their relationship finally stopped. William had no time to keep up appearences and he definitely didn't have room in his life for a queer son. Blaine half expected to be kicked out of their house (he couldn't call it a home when it didn't feel like one), especially when his mother found out. His father would hurl abuse at their son, push him around and call him every name under the son and Blaine could just about handle that. But his mother just pretended that Blaine no longer existed. Her eyes whilst scanning a room would linger momentarily on Blaine's form, not really seeing him, until they finally moved on as if Blaine was merely an illusion, a trick of the eye. The youngest Anderson couldn't cope with that at all. He accepted his fathers unfair anger but he couldn't accept his mothers complete dismissal of a son.

"Can I help you?" A voice asked, interrupting Blaine's train of thought. He shook his head a little to clear it and then focused back to the present moment. He was in a small 50's inspired diner across from his office. It was after work hours and he couldn't face returning to his cold and empty apartment just yet. He looked up from his seat on one of the bar stalls to find a smiling waitress staring at him.

"Uhm, yeah could I just get a tall medium drip to stay in, please" Blaine replied, instantly feeling a little better with the prospect of the diners coffee. It was possibly the best he'd ever tasted and although he shouldn't be drinking coffee at half six in the evening, he couldn't find the energy to give a damn. So what if he would now be up half the night, wallowing in self pity? It wasn't like he had anything better to do.

"Coming right up!" The waitress said cheerfully as she rollar-skated off to prepare his coffee. The diner wasn't the sort of place the present day suit-cladded Blaine would fit in. Maybe back when he was sixteen and in Dalton Academy with his friends Jeff, Nick, David and Wes. His friends had accepted him, loved him for who he was and didn't pass judgement over his sexuality. He was as happy as he could possibly be back then and this diner was exactly the sort of place they would have loved to come to regularly. But now it was just a shadow of his past self and Blaine was clinging onto it like a life line. In fact, he came to the diner so often that it felt like more of a home than his own apartment did. From the shiny black and white checkered floors to the bright neon lights covering the walls, Blaine loved every inch of the place and he didn't care that he looked out of place there.

Blaine shrugged off his blazer, the gentle spring warmth mixing with the heat from the kitchens was a bit too much to be wearing too many layers and Blaine didn't want to melt into his stool. He placed his blazer in front of him on the bar just as his waitress returned with his coffee and an extra big smile. He pulled out his wallet and gave her the correct money, thanking her as she rolled off again. He put his wallet away as he dropped a cube of sugar into his coffee and stirred it. Warmth enveloped his insides as he sipped from his cup and he let his mind wander again.

Yes, he had expected to be kicked out of his house when the truth finally came out, no pun intended. Instead his father had sent him to the best 'Gay-to-Straight' conversion camp money could buy and Blaine was forced into a summer of Bible reading and praying to a God he didn't really believe in. It didn't sound too terrible when said like that, however Blaine could never really find the words to express how worthless the camp made him feel. To be constantly reminded each day that he was a sin, that he went against nature and that when he died there would be no place for him in 'heaven'. He was made to feel dirty and wrong, like he wasn't merely a human being who had no control over his desires.
Once Blaine had reached the end of the summer, he had sworn to the workers that he now only saw females in a sexual way. To prove his point, he teamed up with a lesbian who was put through the same ordeal as him and had not changed either. They created a plan so that a worker would walk in on them kissing each other so as to prove their 'conversion'. Blaine hadn't been too thrilled that his first kiss was always going to be from a girl in which he had absolutely no feelings for, but he was sure the girl was feeling the exact same way and anything was better than being stuck in the camp, even kissing a girl.

His father wasn't entirely convinced that Blaine had been 'cured' however he didn't send his son back and that was all Blaine could wish for. Not wanting to cause suspicion, and hoping that it would get his father off his back, Blaine had followed William's wishes and had attended the Columbus School of Law.

And with that, Blaine came full circle with another sigh just for good measure.

He took a generous mouthful of coffee so that the burn on his tongue could distract him from bad thoughts. He shook his head slightly and tore his gaze away from the bar top in favour of people watching instead. He let his eyes roam his surroundings slowly, not lingering on somebody for too long in case they got the impression he was a crazy, or worse, trying to pull. His gaze fell upon a young couple sitting opposite each other at a table situated on the higher platform where the jukebox was. The boy and girl were sharing an ice cream, taking turns at feeding each other. Blaine didn't know whether to think it was cute or sickening, but his inner romantic definitely had to suppress cooing at the sight. It reminded him of the film Grease and he decided that once he returned home he'd have to watch it now. Feeling slightly bemused, he turned his attention to the entrance where the door had just swung open.

A man walked in with what appeared to be a sketchbook under his arm and a pencil tucked behind his ear. He looked around Blaine's age, maybe a little older but only by a year or two. He was slim, accentuated by his skin tight black jeans which disappeared into calf length black biker boots. His white dress shirt was un-tucked yet buttoned straight to the top. It had flecks of different colour on it and if Blaine was to take a guess, he'd think it was maybe paint. A dark grey waistcoat hung losely around him, unbuttoned and completing his impeccable outfit. The mans hair was a chestnut brown and was coiffed to perfection, allowing all of his face to be on show. His skin appeared to be as pale and as smooth as porcelain, without a blemish in sight. His lips were pink and pressed together in concentration, his nose cute and button like, his eyes staring right back at Blaine as if...oh.

Blaine quickly looked away again, embarassed at being caught looking in his direction. He could feel his cheeks flooding with warmth and he felt like he was back in high school, crushing on the boy who worked in GAP. It was no question that the man before Blaine was downright beautiful, infact Blaine was having a pretty hard time resisting the temptation to have another look. But he didn't want to get caught again and he was 25 for gods sake, not 16 anymore. So with that, Blaine quickly drained the rest of his coffee and pulled out a book on Law from his bag and started to make notes for a case he was helping out on. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the beautiful man walk past and Blaine closed his eyes tightly, mentally cursing himself for being so socially awkward. He slammed his head down onto the open Law book and groaned as pain shot through his forehead. He didn't move from the position and wondered only momentarily what the other customers must think of him before realising he really didn't give a damn what they thought. If he wanted to mope in self pity then he had every right to. However, a voice shook his from his sulking.

"Can I get you a refill?"

Blaine lifted his head up found himself, for the second time that evening, looking at the beautiful man. This time however, he could not look away as now the man was close enough for Blaine to see every feature on his face and dear lord he had the most amazing eyes Blaine had ever seen. They were neither blue nor green, or rather they were both colours at the same time, with a hint of grey and even a little yellow near the pupils. They were wide and kind, looking at Blaine softly.

Blaine noticed he was wearing an apron, the same kind that the staff wore at the Diner which made him curious.

"I haven't seen you work here before," He accused, his eyes narrowing slightly at the other man, "And I come here a lot"

The other man laughed, the sound sending shivers down Blaine's spine as he sat up properly on his stool. Blaine wanted to punch himself when he realised how much of an idiot he must have sounded just then.

"I-I mean-"

"It's okay, I'm new here...I started yesterday morning," The man explained before gesturing to Blaine's cup, "So how about that refill?"

Blaine swallowed, finding it difficult to look away from the other man but feeling that it was something he probably should do. He picked up his cup instead and passed it to the other man.

"Medium drip, thank you" He mumbled before looking back to his book and trying to process the words on the page but really all they looked like were black squiggles on a white background and it hurt Blaine's head just looking at them. He glanced back up to see his coffee order being made and Blaine had less than five seconds to once again check out the man before he quickly looked back down to his book. A moment later his coffee was placed in front of him.

"Here you are"

"Thank you," Blaine said, reaching over to grab it, "And I'm sorry for being so blunt just now...I guess it took me by surprise"

"I'll forgive you...you really must come in a lot if you can tell instantly if someone didn't work here before" The man laughed, crossing his elbows on the bar and leaning forward to talk to Blaine who took a sip of his scorching coffee to calm his nerves. All it really succeeded in doing was burn his tongue however.

"Pretty much every day after work, I guess it just helps take the stress off...some people go to bars and drink away their problems, I go to this Diner and I drink coffee, it helps-"

Blaine stopped talking and felt his cheeks warm up as he blushed. There he was, sitting opposite the hottest guy on the planet and he was about to spill his whole life story to him as if he actually gave a damn.

"Sorry...I don't usually ramble on like that, you don't have to listen to me complaining" He mumbled, looking back down to his book once more and expecting the other man to walk away, thankful that Blaine had finally stopped annoying him.

"Nonsense, I want to listen...maybe I can help in some way," The other man smiled warmly when Blaine looked up, "Hold that thought...let me serve this woman and then I will be right back with you"

"O-okay" Blaine breathed out shakily, watching the beautiful man walk toward a young woman waiting patiently at the bar. He turned to look at Blaine over his shoulder.

"I'm Kurt, by the way"

"B-Blaine"

"Nice to meet you B-Blaine" Kurt winked before giving the woman his full attention, smiling widely at her. She ordered a vodka and coke and Blaine watched as Kurt prepared the drink for her. He watched the muscles in his arms working underneath the crisp white shirt he was wearing and his mouth practically drooled at the sight. He couldn't believe that somebody like Kurt actually wanted to listen to Blaine talking when Blaine hardly wanted to listen to himself talk most of the time. He felt positively giddy with happiness.

A little over a minute later, Blaine found himself opposite Kurt again, who was smiling softly at him. He wiped his hands on his apron before once again leaning on the bar.

"Now where were we?" He asked, looking so intently into Blaine's eyes that he couldn't help but think he was being scrutinised, "Oh yes...you were about to tell me why you are so dreadfully unhappy"

Blaine was taken aback by Kurt's words and he raised his eyebrows slightly, his previous happiness ebbing away as he remembered exactly why he spent his evenings in the Diner.

"Who says I'm dreadfully unhappy?" Blaine asks playfully, swallowing the lump in his throat and hoping to distract Kurt by being friendly with him. Kurt arched one perfectly shaped eyebrow at him and raised an arm so he could prop his chin in his hand, still staring at Blaine.

"Nobody needs to say it I'm afraid, it's perfectly clear in your eyes" He explained and Blaine instantly broke the eye contact between the two. He began to think that this was a bad day...he wanted to complain a little to somebody who bothered enough to listen, he didn't want to go to a freakin' therapist.

"I should probably go..." Blaine mumbled, still not meeting Kurt's eyes. He made to stand but a hand fell on top of his which was still pressed on top of the Law book.

"Wait, I'm sorry...you apologised for rambling earlier...I guess I need to apologise for being able to read people fairly well," Kurt sighed and squeezed Blaine's hand nonchalantly, as if it didn't cause a hurricane of butterflies to errupt in Blaine's stomach.

"It wasn't my place to say anything...I said I'd listen to whatever you'd like to say and I still would like to" Kurt said softly. Blaine eventually looked back up to see the look of regret in Kurt's eyes, as if he was really sorry that Blaine was planning to go. The look made Blaine sit back down, swallowing his nerves.

"Well...if you're good as good at reading people as you say, perhaps you should try and work out my story yourself" Blaine tested, a small smile sliding across his mouth. Kurt grinned and stepped back away from the bar, his eyes flitting across Blaine from his hair to his suit, his bag to his book and everywhere inbetween. His gaze eventually fell back upon Blaine's face, paying special attention to his eyes. Blaine laughed nervously as Kurt nodded and leant back on the bar.

"This may be way off, but this is a first impression okay?" Kurt said, smirking slightly.

Blaine had to wait ten minutes before he could find out what Kurt had managed to scoop out about him as a couple of customers needed attention. Blaine was buzzing slightly, due to nerves or excitement he couldn't tell. He watched Kurt work, calling orders out to the kitchen and fixing drinks for his customers and was suprised at how well he fitted into the Diner straight away. He chatted happily across the bar with different people which made Blaine feel slightly envious that he wasn't getting special treatment from Kurt, that he wasn't the only people Kurt talked especially to, but mostly he felt warmth spread throughout him at how open and friendly Kurt was to everybody. His smile never faltered and he looked genuinely interested when somebody was talking to him, nodding his head and paying close attention to every word even as he worked. He was completely and utterly mesmerizing.

Blaine was downing the rest of his luke warm coffee, forgotten in place of Kurt's attention when said man returned. He didn't lean across the bar this time but he flung his table cloth over his shoulder and crossed his arms over his chest, a smile still full on his lips.

"You're between 21 and 25...the book you have indicates that you work in Law however the look in your eyes and the hint of dark circles under your eyes tells me that you don't enjoy it and it tires you out not to mention that the book looks pretty untouched which leads me to believe that you haven't looked at it much because it either bores you or just makes you God damn miserable.

"The expensive suit and bag show that it's a well paying job so I automatically assume Lawyer. The hickey that is so far down on your neck that it's hardly noticeable should tell me you're in a loving relationship but in all honesty, the fact it is so low down actually makes me think you just had a one night stand and you made sure they didn't sink their teeth into somewhere visable," Kurt smile turned quickly into a smirk as he finally leant forward on the bar again.

"The fact that the hickey is thankfully just below the collar of your shirt, which when buttoned right to the top would completely hide it, leads me to believe that you actually want to hide it, especially at work. Now I'm not familiar with men in offices but I gather that if someone were to walk in with a mark on their neck then they would punch you on the shoulder and congratulate you for getting lucky and if that is the case then you would have no reason to hide it. So, and excuse me if I'm wrong, I can't help but get the impression it isn't women you're interested in, and your place of work know this so if they were to see a mark on your neck then you wouldn't be getting punches of the playful kind.

"Lastly, the fact that you spend your evenings in a Diner which presumably you come straight from work to, seeing as you're still in a suit, you live alone and it's so dreadfully lonely that you would happily spend as much time in an overly populated Diner which screams happiness as possible because for once in your life you don't feel so alone when you're here"

Kurt finished and smiled at Blaine whose mouth was hanging open in an unattractive manor. He quickly snapped it shut and just stared at the man in front of him. The man who had pretty much summed up Blaine's life in a little over a minute. Sure he had missed out a few things such as it being his Father that didn't want to see the marks of his 'sin', not the guys he worked with who were all actually completely fine with him except Wood and Smith. They hated him mostly on principle as they were his Father's right hand men.

Blaine let out a small laugh and rubbed a hand down his face, hardly believing what had just happened and how it actually felt like a small amount of weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"What's my favourite colour?" He asked, grinning at Kurt who returned the expression.

"Purple" He answered straight away.

"Lucky guess" Blaine said, making Kurt smile wider at him. He smiled back and shook his head, still bemused.

"So did I get it right?" Kurt asked, leaning back again and grabbing Blaine's empty coffee cup.

"Yeah, purple has always-"

"I meant everything else" Kurt cut across, looking at Blaine in a slightly more serious manor. Blaine swallowed somewhat nervously.

"Uh, yeah I guess, pretty much spot on except the guys at work aren't that bothered about who I'm attracted to" Blaine mumbled, a blush staining his cheeks as he tried to not look directly at Kurt when he said that.

"But someone at work doesn't like you flaunting it?"

"You could say that" Blaine scoffed, closing the book in front of him and sliding it into his bag. Kurt moved away from him when somebody needed serving and Blaine couldn't help but feel like he had put a complete downer on Kurt's previously cheerful mood. With the thought that everything good in his life would always get ruined, Blaine stood up and grabbed his jacket, hanging his bag over his shoulder. He put some money down on the bar for the coffee Kurt had served him and started to walk toward the door.

"Hey!" Kurt called over to Blaine, making him turn around again, "Blaine...where are you going?"

"Home" Blaine answered, shrugging slightly. Kurt smiled weakly at him and crooked his finger in front of him, indicating for Blaine to come back to the bar. Blaine raised an eyebrow but did as Kurt wished.

"Hold out your arm" Kurt instructed, pulling a pen out from his apron pocket. Blaine, who was completely confused, held out his arm dumbly to Kurt who pushed back the sleeve. Blaine felt goosebumps prickle slightly as Kurt's soft hands gently touched his skin, one of them holding Blaine's hand out and the other resting against his arm as he started to write on Blaine's arm.

"This is my number, I want you to call me whenever you want to talk to somebody" Kurt explained as he wrote out the digits of his phone number. Blaine's stomach swooped nervously as he looked at Kurt's concentrating face. He really was just so incredibly beautiful. He shook himself out of his gaze of adoration when Kurt pulled away, a smile on his face.

"Why?" Blaine asked curiously. He had really thought that Kurt wouldn't want to talk to Blaine after figuring out his boring life so quickly. Not to mention the fact he also knew Blaine had been having one night stands to try and cure his lonliness which even Blaine didn't like admitting to himself.
"Because I had a friend once in highschool who couldn't handle the way his life had turned out, it's a completely different situation but he tried to end his life-"

"I'm not going to kill myself" Blaine said quickly although he wasn't certain if he was reassuring Kurt or himself. Kurt smiled warmly and blew across Blaine's arm to dry the ink before rolling his shirt sleeve back down, his hands lingering on Blaine's arm a little longer than necessary.
"Either way, I don't want to chance it...I'd like to get to know you better Blaine and that isn't possible if you're underground"

---

When Blaine returned to his apartment that night he took a long shower to relax his shoulders which were permanently hunched during the work day. When he stepped out of the shower, he quickly dried himself off before pulling on some sweatpants and walking into the kitchen bare footed and without a shirt. The only reminder of the fact he hadn't eaten was the soft rumble coming from his stomach. He felt too fluttery to eat but knew he probably should. He put a bagel into the toaster and put some water on the stove to boil, preparing a mug of tea. As Blaine waited for his food to be cooked, he busied himself by opening the fridge and getting the butter out. As he closed the door, he looked at the tall black fridge with distaste. It wasn't like he had an undying hate for the applience, it was just that his parents had bought it for him. In fact, his parents had bought the entire apartment for him so it wasn't a wonder that he didn't feel at home there. The kitchen had way too many shiny, high-tech machines such as the fancy coffee machine Blaine was given the previous Christmas. It wasn't that Blaine didn't appreciate everything he was given, of course he was happy that he didn't live on the streets, it was just that he knew the apartment wasn't given to him out of love. He had received it out of necessity, William and Nicola Anderson would rather die than have the news spread that their son was homeless. Blaine just really wished he could have an honest job in which he paid for his own first apartment and could appreciate the hours of work he had put into it. But he guessed that he would never have that style of life and the mere thought of it really upset him.

The only saving grace of the fridge was the photograph of Blaine and his four best friends who had stuck with him through thick and thin, offering him places to stay other than the empty apartment he lived in. Blaine however didn't want to impose so he simply shrugged it off numerous times and told them that he was absolutely fine. Since high school, the four had gone seperate ways due to different colleges and different aspirations yet they continued to stay in touch. The photo in question was actually taken on the last New Years Eve, welcoming in 2020. It was one of the best new years Blaine had ever had, even if 2020 promised him another year of hating his life and being a constantly misery. His friends had made his night perfect in every way, flying into New York to be with Blaine for when the ball dropped. They drank champagne and reminisced until the early hours of the morning when they finally stumbled back to Blaine's apartment and fell asleep. Wes and David both had to return to their respective homes on the first day of the new year but Nick and Jeff both stayed with Blaine throughout the next week. Blaine had never felt so much love and appreciation towards his friends then that week. Blaine had to continue going to the office each day but the ex-Warblers were always there when Blaine came back to the apartment each evening, opening their arms for the hugs Blaine very much needed.

The bagel popping out of the toaster distracted Blaine from his thoughts. He grabbed it and sliced it in half before spreading the butter on each side. He put the food onto a plate before putting a tea bag into a mug and pouring the boiled water into it. He took his plate and mug into the living room and placed them onto top of the range coffee table. He padded over to the wide-screen TV that was hung up on his wall. He rolled his eyes at it slightly, another 'gift' from his parents. Blaine reached into his DVD drawer and pulled out his copy of Grease, sliding it into the DVD player and grabbing the correct remotes. Once he sat down and started playing the movie, he finally let his thoughts drift towards Kurt and their encounter in the 50's style diner. Blaine grinned and chewed on a peice of bagel before grabbing his phone from the coffee table. He had installed Kurt's number into the phone before he had washed away the ink from his arm in the shower. He could still feel the ghost of Kurt's touch on his skin and he shivered involuntarily at it. Kurt had made him feel something other than anger and sadness for the first time in weeks and so Blaine didn't stop himself from texting a simple smiley face to Kurt before he settled in to watch the movie.