The way Kurt sees it, it isn't spying if it's happening in his front yard. Besides, it's not like he can actually hear the conversation. All he wants to know is the identity of that woman. Lima is a small town and Kurt knows practically everyone in it but he's certain he's never seen her before. Kurt shakes his head as the woman laughs again at something his father said. Kurt may not have any romantic experience of his own, but he's seen enough romantic comedies to know what flirting looks like. As Burt starts walking towards the house Kurt quickly moves away from the window and heads to the door.

"So who was that?" Kurt asks the second Burt steps inside.

Burt looks up, startled by Kurt's question. "Huh?"

"That woman you were just talking to. Who is she?"

"Oh that's um Sally Anderson. She just moved in down the street," Burt responds.

"Well she's very pretty," Kurt says and quirks an eyebrow.

Burt simply grunts noncommittally and begins sorting the mail in his hands. Kurt shakes his head. His father can be so oblivious sometimes. Lucky for him, Kurt has always wanted to play cupid.

&&&&&&

A few days later Kurt is going outside get the mail when he sees the chance to put his plan into motion. Sally is walking past the Hummel house and Kurt is about to go talk to her when he sees something that makes him stop in his tracks. Strolling hand in hand with Sally is a little girl who looks about eight. Kurt sighs.

After his dad's heart attack last year, he got it in his head that Burt needs someone else in his life. Someone who will take care of him because after this year, Kurt will be gone. Plus, even though Burt would never admit it, Kurt knows he is lonely. The similarities between Sally and the little girl are far too great for them to be anything but mother and daughter so it doesn't seem Sally is single after all. He wants to turn and go back inside but Sally is already smiling and waving at him.

"Hi Mrs. Anderson," Kurt says putting on his most charming smile. "I'm Kurt Hummel, Burt's son. You two talked the other day right?"

Up close, Kurt realizes just how stunning she is with her slender figure, wavy black hair, and striking green eyes.

"Oh hi! Yes I remember Burt, he's very kind," she says with a smile.

Kurt frowns slightly, she didn't correct him when he called her "Mrs.". This is definitely looking like a lost cause.

"This is my daughter, Maria."

Maria flashes Kurt a bright smile and shakes his hand.

"It's very nice to meet you Maria. Well I just wanted to say hello and welcome you to the neighborhood." Kurt hesitates but decides he might as well go on with his plan. She did say Burt was nice after all. "Also, I was wondering if you wanted to come over for dinner tomorrow night."

Sally seems taken aback but pleased. "That would be lovely, thank you. I haven't been able to get to the grocery store yet and I think the kids are tired of carry-out," she says with a laugh.

Kurt forces and smile tries not to shudder at the thought of fast food multiple nights in row.

"Great. Will your husband be joining us?" he asks with bated breath.

"Uh no. My husband… we're divorced."

Kurt can't believe it. She's gorgeous, kind, single… the perfect match for his dad! He only just manages to keep the smile off his face as he says, "Oh, sorry I brought it up. Well I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Around seven?"

"Sounds great. See you then," she says with a wave and continues on.

It's only then that Kurt realizes she has said kids as in more than one. His curiosity about the mystery child soon fades, though, as he practically skips into the house to tell Burt of tomorrow's dinner plans.

"Kurt! Are you even listening to me?" Rachel squawks.

"Yeah, of course," Kurt lies as he picks back up the phone. Rachel had been going on about the possible newcomers in the Glee club this year and Kurt wasn't in the mood to listen.

"Mhmm," Rachel hums in disbelief.

Kurt sighs. "Sorry. I've just been distracted about tonight, everything needs to be perfect."

Rachel hesitates, "Kurt, are you sure your sudden and intense interest in your father's love life has nothing to do with the umm… lack of your own?"

"No!" Kurt snaps.

Truthfully, Rachel's question hits a little too close to home. He will, fingers crossed, be going to New York in a year and he's never even kissed a boy. Granted, he only knows two gay guys, one being a closeted neanderthal who threatened his life and the other being a definition douche bag.

"Besides, it's not like you're the queen of successful romances Ms. Sunny-Side-Up." Kurt knows his reference to the egging by Jesse St. James is a low blow but he's too annoyed to care.

Rachel huffs in annoyance. "While I'll admit my relationship with Jesse did not end well, you seem to be neglecting the fact that I have now been in a very loving relationship with Finn for almost four months now!"

Kurt rolls his eyes. He supposes he should be thankful that Finn's name hadn't come up sooner than now considering its Rachel's most frequently talked about topic besides her "lack" of solos. His long ago crush on Finn has faded completely and he's glad that he makes Rachel happy. However, that doesn't mean he wants to hear about it all the time, and as he has often told Rachel, it's not because he's jealous.

When Kurt doesn't answer, Rachel changes her approach. "Look, I know you said Sebastian is unbearable but do you think you may be a bit hars-"

Kurt cuts her off before she can finish her sentence, "No. How many times have a told you, Sebastian is crude and just plain annoying. Just because gay guys are limited here in Ohio doesn't mean I'm going to go throwing myself all over the first one I see."

"I know, I know. Sorry," Rachel apologizes. "It's just… I worry about you Kurt. When we get to New York there will be plenty of gay guys and I just don't want to see you taken advantage of. Remember Kurt, you matter." Rachel, try as she might, can't help but giggle as she says the last part.

Kurt groans. What in God's name had possessed him to tell Rachel about that conversation with his dad is something he will never know.

"As much as I would love to stay here and have you express more of your motherly concerns towards me, I really need to go get started on dinner."

"Alright, hope all goes well!"

Kurt hangs up the phone and begins to rub his temples absentmindedly. Why is it that all of his talks with Rachel leave him feeling like he needs two Advils and a nap? With a sigh he pushes himself off his bed and makes his way downstairs to the kitchen.

As he starts to make dinner Kurt's thoughts drift back to his conversation with Rachel. When he thinks about it, he realizes the only thing worse than going to New York inexperienced would be giving away his first experiences to some random stranger. He wants those things to be special; to be with someone special. And Kurt knows how unlikely finding his prince charming anytime soon is. Fairy tale relationships don't happen in real life, especially to gay boys in Ohio. He begrudgingly adds getting a boyfriend to his ever-growing list of dreams for New York and refocuses his attention on cooking.

When seven o'clock rolls Kurt takes the chicken and broccoli casserole out of the oven and calls to Burt.

"Dad, come downstairs, they're going to be here any minute!"

"Calm down I'm right here kiddo." Burt eyes his son suspiciously for a moment. "What are you up to?"

"Oh nothing," Kurt says quickly busying himself with the fruit salad.

Burt simply crosses his arms and stares at him. "Come on, I've known you your whole life Kurt and I know when you're up to something."

Kurt sighs. "She's single you know."

Burt opens his mouth to respond but the doorbell rings before he can and Kurt goes dashing past him to answer it.

"Hello Ms. Ander-" he starts but his breath hitches as a pair of golden eyes meet his. There is a very cute boy standing slightly behind Sally and he's looking right at Kurt. Under normal circumstances, he would be aghast by the dullness of his outfit: a plain white t-shirt and jeans, but Kurt's fairly certain this boy could wear a potato sack and still look gorgeous. And those curls, holy shit those curls. Kurt just wants to reach out and touch them. Suddenly he realizes he cut off in the middle of a sentence and hastily coughs to cover up his pause.

"-son" he finishes with a blush and moves to let the family inside.

If Sally notices anything she doesn't comment and instead nods her head to the left and says "This is my son Blaine. And remember, call me Sally. Ms. Anderson sounds like an old ladies name doesn't it?"

Kurt can only grace her question with a slight nod because Blaine is looking at him again and extending his hand.

"Hi I'm Blaine. You're Kurt right?"

Kurt can only nod his mutely and it occurs to him that this kind of behavior is probably one reason he's never had a boyfriend. It's only Burt's voice that reminds Kurt that, oh yeah, there are other people around. He hastily drops Blaine's hand and is greeted with a slight eyebrow quirk from the boy which only makes his face flame up again.

"It's great to see you again, Sally."

"You too, Burt. This is my daughter Maria and son Blaine." she says pointing to each kid in turn. "Thanks for the invitation."

"Oh no problem. Although it was really Kurt who set this whole thing up," he says with a chuckle.

Kurt finally finds his voice again and squeaks out, "I'm just going to go into the kitchen and finishing setting the table. It will just take a minute." He needs a moment alone to collect himself because he doesn't like surprises and Blaine is one big surprise.

"Hey, wait up, I can help," Blaine chimes out and moves to follow Kurt.

Shit. So much for collecting himself. Still, Kurt can't help but smile at Blaine as he accompanies him to the kitchen.

"Well uh here. You can set these plates out on the table."

Kurt tries not to stare at Blaine's ass as he leaves the room but he fails miserably. Kurt needs to careful, if his plan works then Blaine will be around a lot more often and he doesn't want a repeat of either Finn or Sam. His gaydar admittedly needs work so unless Blaine says he's gay, Kurt must assume he's not.

"So what's McKinley like?" says a voice very close to Kurt's ear.

Kurt jumps in surprise and drops a couple of the forks he was holding. Blushing, he quickly bends down to pick them up.

"Whoa! Sorry I didn't mean to startle you." Blaine says and begins to help Kurt.

"It-It's fine. What did you ask again?"

"I asked what McKinley is like?"

"Why?" Kurt blurts out and then has to fight the urge to slap himself. Of course he will be going to McKinley now that he lives here. "I mean um it's…"I get bullied by jocks twice my size every day, slushie facials once a week, and last year my biggest tormentor took my first kiss. "fine." He tries for a smile but it comes out more as a grimace.

Blaine's brows furrow but doesn't question him.

"Well we better go eat before the casserole gets cold." Kurt says and all but runs out of the kitchen.

After the obligatory compliments about the food, the dinner table conversations lulls and Kurt begins racking his mind for a way to jump-start the conversation. But before he can think of anything, Sally surprises him by saying, "So Kurt, your dad tells me you're in McKinley's glee club."

"Mhmm." Kurt nods. "I love it, singing is my passion."

"Well you know, Blaine was actually in the glee club at his old school. He was the front man," she says unable to keep the pride out of her voice.

Kurt's head snaps to his left to look at Blaine.

Blaine blushes slightly and mumbles something about it not being a big deal.

"Where did you go before?" Kurt asks him.

"Dalton Academy."

Kurt looks at him for a moment before gasping slightly. He was the Warblers front man! Kurt remembers him now, one doesn't easily forget the very cute and very talented leader of the group that almost beat them last year at regionals.

"We competed against you at regionals last year," Kurt began slowly, "I didn't- without your uniform and um your hair- you just look kind of… different." he finishes lamely. By different he meant older, tanner, and if possible, even more attractive.

Blaine chuckles. "Well not all of us can always look perfectly put together."

Kurt's heart skips a beat. Was he flirting? Is this what flirting is like?

"Can I use the bathroom?" The voice jolts Kurt from his thoughts and he realizes that once again he fell into the world where only he and Blaine existed. Luckily, when he looks across the table it seems that until the interruption Sally and Burt had their own conversation going on. He needs to be more careful and not just talk to Blaine because after all, this whole dinner was a setup for his dad.

"Are you sure you can't wait until after dinner honey?" Sally asks Maria. Maria shakes her head causing Sally to shootBurt an apologetic look.

"It's no problem. The bathroom is the first door on the left." Burt responds.

The rest of dinner finishes without a hitch, and to Kurt's delight, Burt and Sally seem to get along well. Now Kurt needs to move into phase two of his plan: Get his dad and Sally alone.

Once everyone appears to have finished Kurt stands and says "If everyone just brings their plates into the kitchen, I'll wash them real quick."

"Oh no Kurt let me do them, you've cooked this wonderful meal and it's the least I can do," Sally says right away.

Before Kurt can protest Burt says, "I'll help her. Why don't you take Blaine and Maria downstairs and watch a movie or something."

Kurt's jaw drops in surprise. Burt never offers to do the dishes. Never.

"Well um okay. The basement's right over here," he says as he leads the two of them down the stairs.

Turning to Maria, Kurt asks, "So, what movie do you want to watch?"

"The Little Mermaid!" Maria exclaims.

"Surprise, surprise," Blaine mutters under his breath. "Come on Maria, you watch that every day," he says in exasperation.

"I do not," she pouts. "My disk got scratched I haven't seen it in weeks! Besides, Kurt asked me what I wanted to watch, not you."

Kurt shrugs. "I did say she could choose…" he trails off looking at Blaine.

Blaine rolls his eyes but the corner of his mouth turns up into a smile. "Well, whatever Kurt says goes so I guess we're watching The Little Mermaid."

After Kurt sets up the movie he's faced with the dilemma of where to sit. Maria is sprawled out on the floor while Blaine is sitting comfortably on the couch. His eyes move between the empty space next to Blaine and the arm chair next to it. Blaine lets out a small laugh and pats the seat next to him saying, "You can sit here, I don't bite."

Kurt's face colors as he sits down, leaving plenty of space between the two of them.

"So," Blaine says after a moment, "Are you going to tell me what McKinley is really like?"

"I'm sure someone like you will have no trouble there," he says before he can stop himself. He cringes at how bitter it sounded.

Seeing Blaine's confused and slightly hurt look makes Kurt feel even worse. He just needs to tell him, he'll find out sooner or later.

"I just mean… I-I'm the only out kid at the school and well, a couple of jocks have made it their mission to make my life a living hell."

Kurt doesn't meet Blaine's gaze. He doesn't want to see the look of disgust, or worse, pity.

After a beat Blaine says quietly, "Look at me."

As he raises his head Kurt sees that Blaine's eyes are filled with understanding. But how could he possible understand unless… Kurt can't think about that. Expectations only lead to disappointments.

"You shouldn't let the bullies get you down. Prejudice is only ignorance, Kurt."

Kurt turns his head away to hide his unshed tears. He doesn't even know why he's crying, he's heard this a million times before from his dad. It's different though, coming from someone who isn't required to say this, someone who seems to actually get what he's going through.

"Besides," Blaine continues, "You won't be the only openly gay kid this year."

It takes him a moment to comprehend but when he does his head shoots up. "Wait, you-you're…"

"Gay?" Blaine finishes with a smile. "Yup."

Before Kurt can respond a very annoyed ten year old turns around and tell them both to be quiet because she can't hear the movie.

Blaine sighs but turns back towards the movie. Kurt feels as if a huge weight was just lifted off his chest. He's not alone anymore.

After a little while Sally comes down and says it's time for them to be heading home.

"But Mom," Maria complains, "It's not over yet!"

"If you want you can borrow it."

"Oh are you sure?" Sally asks Kurt.

Kurt nods and then startles when Maria jumps up to hug him before going to grab the movie.

"You're welcome," he says with a chuckle. As he starts to follow Sally and Maria upstairs he feels a hand on his elbow.

"Remember what I said, don't let them bother you," Blaine says with such sincerity that Kurt feels tears threatening to flow again. This boy who he just met already seems to care more than any of friends do.

Kurt manages a grateful smile and Blaine gives his arm a little squeeze before letting go and following the others.

"Bye, thanks again for having us. We had a great time," Sally says, her eyes never leaving Burt's.

"Bye Kurt, see you in school," Blaine says with a grin.

"Yeah, see you then." Kurt closes the front door behind them and lets out a content sigh. For once, Kurt was actually excited for the first day of school.