"This week's challenge is..." Kurt paused dramatically and then looked straight into the camera while saying, "purple! Any and all things purple."

"So what does purple mean to you?" the interviewer asked.

"To me, purple is the color of royalty." Kurt was sure to restate the question in his answer because he'd been told when the clips air the interviewer will be left out completely. He also tried to keep his answers short but memorable because they'll more likely make the cut that way.

After he answered a couple more question he went to join the other designers who were standing in the lobby with Tim. Once they all arrived, Tim led them to Mood.

Kurt had shopped at Mood plenty of times before this of course, but there was something thrilling about seeing the other shoppers stop and stare as they entered, camera crew in tow, and knowing the jealousy he once felt was now directed at him.

&&&&&

Blaine was torn between shoving his hands in his pockets to keep them warm or using them to try and rub some feeling back into his arms. The walk to Mood might be short and it may be June but with the wind whipping through his light t-shirt it was chilly. Unlike most of his fellow designers, Blaine didn't dress the to nines on work days. There was too much running around and the room was too stuffy to be wearing anything more than casual attire.

And, truth be told, Blaine wasn't big into actually wearing fashionable clothes. After three years of the Dalton blazer Blaine found himself in college with far less clothes than he needed and no idea what his style was. Eventually he found it in on the preppier side of things, with cardigans and collared shirts and the occasional bowtie, and while that served him well through college, he was feeling a little out of place here with how generic it seemed.

"... yeah they were really going at apparently. Well, Davis was making noise that Stephan was exaggerating, and I didn't talk to Kurt, but something definitely went down!"

"Wait, what about Kurt?" Blaine asked without thinking. At the strange look Alexander gave him he quickly glanced over his shoulder but Kurt was near the edge of the group walking by himself.

"Rumor is him and Stephan got down and dirty last night since Kurt's bedroom was open with Gary gone," the girl Alexander was talking to piped in.

"Seriously?" Blaine unconsciously looked over his shoulder again at Kurt but turned back just as quickly.

"Mhmm,'' she affirmed with a giggle.
"You okay man? You look like you're going to be sick..."

"Yeah, no, I'm fine," Blaine assured Alexander but he didn't contribute anything else to the conversation.

Obviously it wasn't his business who Kurt hung around with or what they did together but it didn't dull the unpleasant feeling in his chest. Blaine knew he fell fast but this was completely ridiculous; a few short conversations over the course of two days shouldn't be affecting him in this way.

A laugh rang from a few feet away and when Blaine realized it was Stephan's he couldn't help but grind his teeth together in irritation.

&&&&&

Kurt left Mood with a general feeling of satisfaction even if he'd come away with a few bruises. With purple having to be the main color showcased this week, fabric choices were limited and elbows were flying.

The only thing tainting this day was his behavior last night. Kurt had been drunk off his win (and perhaps that celebratory wine too) and did some things he regretted. The regret didn't come from what was actually done because, despite what Stephan was obviously insinuating, he didn't sleep with the guy, but Kurt hated himself for allowing something to distract him from why he's really here. Plus, there was always the possibility this was mentioned when the show aired and he would forever look unprofessional.

Kurt allowed himself to be filled with these thoughts on the way back to Parson's but once he entered that door he shut them all out. With only twenty four hours to make this garment, he needed to stay focused.

And he did a good job of staying focused until sometime in the late afternoon when a strangled cry and a loud bang pulled him from his reverie. Kurt startled, and then became concerned, quickly looking around to see what the cause was. He found it a few seconds later and had to stifle his laughter, something not many other people did.

Blaine was lying in a heap, fabric pooled around his feet, needles everywhere, looking dazed and confused as another designer, Alexander Kurt thought, ran over to help him up. Once Blaine got up, he gave a little wave and bowed a couple times making everyone laugh again. The camera crew was also laughing as Blaine mockingly begged and pleaded for them to delete the footage.

Smiling, Kurt turned back to his work, but his concentration was shot. Suddenly all the things Kurt had been ignoring all day, like the fact that human beings need to eat, came roaring back and refused to go away. So after placing a few more pins in Kurt grabbed a turkey sandwich from the communal fridge and entered the break room.

Sitting by himself at one of the tables was Blaine and Kurt immediately went over to him.

"Hey, mind if I sit?" Kurt asked, setting his stuff down without waiting for a response.

"Uh," Blaine stuttered, "I actually just finished so I was going to leave."

Kurt surveyed the table, taking in the unopened water bottle and the barely eaten sandwich before forcing a smile and nodding. "Sure, of course, no problem." He then busied himself with fixing his sandwich and pretended not to be watching Blaine out of the corner of his eye.

Blaine hesitated for a good thirty seconds until Kurt coughed slightly and that seemed to spur him into action. "Yeah, sorry bye."

&&&&&

Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid! Blaine mentally berated himself all the way back to his station and then for some time after that. He couldn't believe he had just blown Kurt off in that way, especially since there was no way Kurt hadn't seen through his excuse.

It was just... he had panicked! When he saw Kurt all he could think about was that he had been with Stephan and how much that hurt and how it didn't make any sense that it hurt and then there was also that fact that he had just feel flat on his ass in front of everyone and Kurt probably thought he was a huge klutz and Stephan was so smooth and suave it was no wonder Kurt had gone for him.

But that was no excuse for how rude he had been. Blaine thought back to all the years at Dalton and all the etiquette lessons and it made him feel even worse about his behavior. If there was one thing he always prided himself on it was his politeness and now he didn't even have that.

He should apologize, of course he should, but he just couldn't force himself to. First off, there was a small chance Kurt didn't notice anything and his apology would just bring to light his rudeness. And beyond that, it seemed like such a small, trivial thing to be getting worked up about. Even if Kurt had noticed, he probably brushed it off with a second thought, which is exactly what Blaine should be doing.

Blaine wasn't a stranger to feeling this overwhelmed but he couldn't just cool off with the punching bag for a few hours like he usually did. So instead he propped his elbows on the table, put his head in his hands, and did a few deep breathing exercises.

When he resurfaced fifteen minutes later he was thankfully feeling refreshed, focused, and ready to work.

&&&&&

Kurt was in a sour mood for the rest of the day but it wasn't, he insisted, because Blaine had ditched him earlier. In fact, he refused to even think about the man for the rest of the competition.

Then, when Tim started making his rounds, Kurt perked up, looking forward to their chat and figuring it would be as positive as last time, but he was severely disappointed.

"I don't know... it just seems a bit prom dress to me," Tim mused.

Kurt could hear Harry from two tables away laughing loudly but he refused to give him the satisfaction of acknowledging him.

"Is it the waistband?" Kurt wondered aloud, trying to see what Tim saw.

"Yes," Tim said with a nod, "I would do something different with that. The color is lovely by the way."

"Thanks," Kurt said, relieved that Tim liked something at least.

"Well, make it work!" Tim uttered with a clap of his hands and then he was gone.

Kurt pulled his sketchbook back out and got to work on how he could fix the waist area. Now that he was looking at it objectively, the straight across band did leave a little to be wanted. He couldn't get rid of it all together though because then it would just be a plain, long, plum dress. An impeccably made plain, long, plum dress, but still just that.

He was messing with the fabric, pulling it and pinching it, when he stumbled across the idea. He'd keep the whole band, because it'd be hard to separate it from the dress at this point anyway, but he'd drape a piece of fabric over part of it so it would have some variety.

It was a risk, barely changing it the dress after Tim's less than praising review, but if there was one thing Kurt had learned over the years was not to doubt himself; enough other people did that for him.

&&&&&

On the rare occasion that Blaine had watched Project Runway as a kid, the runway was always his favorite part. The other hour of the show seemed to be mostly drama between the designers, and while he wasn't opposed to that, he had other tv shows for it. When he watched the show he did it only for the clothes, which seemed to be the focus in only the last twenty minutes or so.

True to his previous preferences, the runway was also his favorite part of being on the show. Seeing all the breathtaking (and, admittedly, not so breathtaking) pieces reminded Blaine of why he liked designing so much in the first place: it was art. People could argue against it all they wanted, but nothing they said could ever change that in Blaine's mind.

This time, Blaine's dress was one of the first garments to come down the runway, and Blaine could see it shocked some of the other designers. He thought they would have all seen it in the workroom but perhaps some others, like himself, held off from looking around too much so the runway would be even more fun to watch.

The reason for the surprise was because Blaine's dress wasn't purely purple. Actually, it arguably wasn't even half purple. Yes, purple was definitely showcased in the dress, but there was also white and blue and pink. Blaine was one of only a couple that didn't use a solid color, and the only one to use a floral print.

Tim had echoed Blaine's concerns that it wasn't purple enough, but in the end they both decided he should stick with it (not that he had much choice, it was the only fabric he had). Now it was all up to the judges and their interpretation.

As the show continued, Blaine was struck again, as he had been last week, by just how talented all these people were. It amazed and also scared him that up until now none of these people had any luck breaking into the business. He couldn't just casually decide to become a designer, he knew it would it take an absorbent amount of dedication and luck, and he still wasn't sure if that's what he even wanted to do.

But that's why he was here, he kept reminding himself; to figure if this was the thing for him.

&&&&&

Blaine chewed his lip as he stood on the runway, wishing the camera crew would get set up so the judges could get on with it. Finally they gave the okay and Heidi began to speak.

"Harry, Sadie, Mary Jane, Alexander, Lana, and Stephan, please step forward. If I haven't called your name, congratulations, your scores have qualified you to move onto the next round. You may leave the runway."

Blaine smiled brightly, nodding his thanks at the judges, and followed the rest of the people not called off the stage. Being in the middle was something Blaine was comfortable with as it's where he fit all his life. He was never the worst at things, but he was never the best either. Being average was safe, it was comfortable, and it was where he belonged.

&&&&&

Kurt silently fumed as he entered the waiting room with the rest of the safe people. This may be his first time being safe but he already knew he hated it. When you're not the top or bottom three, the judges don't comment individually on your piece, so how are you supposed to improve? It was just like tieing in a game; and to Kurt it was worse than losing. Well, in actuality Kurt would much rather be safe then go home, but it still irked him greatly to be in this position.

"They liked mine," Alexander whispered excitedly to Blaine as he sat down next to him.

"That's awesome!" Blaine responded with all sincerity.

Alexander chattered on, filling in Blaine about what all the judges comments were, but Blaine found his thoughts, and eventually his eyes, drifting.

"You've got it bad, don't you?" Alexander said with a giant smirk.

"I- what?" Blaine asked, doing his best to sound completely confused.

"I can see the appeal," he said seriously, ignoring Blaine's response. "But don't worry about competition from me, I've got a man waiting for me at home. Stephan however... well he seems to be getting pretty cozy over there and after the rumors going around from the other night it may be a lost cause."

"I'm not- I mean I don't- he's just-"

"Blaine," Alexander cut him off sternly, "I may have only known you for a few days, but anyone could see the interest you've taken in Kurt. Now while I for one think you should be focusing on the competition, if you are going to go for it, you better make a move soon. That's one hot piece of ass and even if Stephan doesn't get on it, I'm sure someone else will."

Blaine had no response to that so he opted for subtly watching Kurt and Stephan out of the corner of his eye. Stephan was sitting close, extremely close, to Kurt and he kept whispering things in his ear. To Blaine's secret pleasure, Kurt seemed annoyed by the attention, so maybe the rumor weren't true after all.

&&&&&

Kurt was seriously getting sick of tired of Stephan's behavior right now. He had some nerve being all over Kurt in public like this when he'd spent the last two days spreading lies about the two of them. The extent of how far they went that night was a sloppy, fifteen minute make out, that ended with an angry Stephan after Kurt refused to go any farther.

It wasn't that Kurt hadn't had one night stands, but this wasn't the time or place for one. And if Stephan's reaction was anything to go by, he wasn't the type of guy Kurt wanted to sleep with even if it was only for one night.

Kurt was suddenly shaken out of his thoughts but Stephan leaning in to whisper something into his ear again and that was the last straw.

"I'm going to the bathroom," he told him and left without another word.

By the time he got back the top and bottom three, which included Stephan, had left the room again. His seat had been taken, however, and the only one left was a spot near Blaine. Kurt decided it would be more awkward not to sit down so he took a deep breath and gingerly sat on the edge of the couch, facing away from Blaine. Then, in an uncharacteristic display of outgoingness, Kurt started up a conversation with the women on his other side, Emmy.

Kurt was able to keep occupied until all the judges made their decisions (Harry won and Sadie was sent home) and he was even able to ignore the soft call of his name as they left the building to go to their apartments.