“Can’t read my, can’t read my, no you can’t read my poker face…”

Kurt smiled as he drove through the dark towards Lima. As he headed home for a school break, he’d felt like reminiscing on his high school days, so he’d found some old Lady Gaga music on his iPhone. He almost felt seventeen again, driving in his old Navigator, which his dad had dropped off at the Columbus airport earlier that day(Kurt had insisted on driving himself home, not wanting either his dad or Carole up so late to pick him up).

The car didn’t run as well as it used to(it had actually taken Kurt multiple tries to start it), but it brought back a plethora of memories. He hadn’t been back to his hometown in a long time, opting to mostly stay in New York over the previous summer, looking out for auditions and helping usher Rachel’s visiting dads around the city.

Kurt was still at least an hour away from Lima when the car started making funny noises. Clunking, sort of. He turned down his music, trying to convince himself that he was just paranoid. Alas, he heard it again. Ka-thump! Coming from the left side of his car. Biting his lip, he muttered a small prayer and continued on.

Ten minutes later, Kurt was pulled over on the side of the highway. The car had begun stalling and slowing, regardless of his constant pressure on the accelerator. Finally, he had to stop the car, and now it wouldn’t start up again. He sat in the driver’s seat and leaned over to grab his suitcase, which his phone was tucked into. He pulled it out and pressed the lock button. No reaction. He pressed it again, and then realized that it must be dead.

“Dammit,” he said. No way to contact Triple A or his family. He was in the middle of nowhere at nearly eleven o’clock at night.

Frustrated, Kurt got out of the car and walked around it. Despite having a mechanic for a dad, he still didn’t actually know much about fixing cars. He could change oil and even handle a flat tire, but he was at a loss for what to do now. He didn’t even know what was broken, let alone how to fix it. Dejected, he leaned against the side of the car and put his head in his hands, wondering what to do.

After a moment, though, he heard a sound in the distance, and then noticed a brightness beyond his hands. Removing them from his eyes, he looked up to see a car heading towards him. Yes, he thought. Thank God.

He stepped out slightly, unsure of what to do. He’d hailed cabs before, but he hadn’t ever flagged down a car. Is it the same general thing?

Fortunately, the car was already slowing down. It stopped right in front of him. He took a step forward and tapped on the window.

It rolled down, revealing a lone person in the car. It was too dark to make much out, but Kurt could tell that the driver was male, and rather young. “Yes?” They said.

“Hi!” Kurt replied. “Sorry, um…my car’s not starting, and my phone is dead. Would it be possible to borrow your cell phone so I can call a tow truck?”

The man inside smiled. “Sure, just-“ he paused. “Oh, shit. I’m sorry, I forgot-I left my phone in my dorm, I don’t have it with me.”

Of course, Kurt flags down the single car in all of America that doesn’t have a cell phone in it. He stepped back slightly, sighing. “Well, thanks anyway.” He said, trying to figure out what he was going to do.

The man in the car-more of a boy, really, he had a younger-sounding voice-spoke again. “Where are you headed?”

Kurt raised his eyebrow. “Lima.”

The boy smiled. “Hey, me too. I could, um, give you a ride, if you wanted. I don’t want to leave you out here.”

Kurt pursed his lips, skeptical. “I’ve never hitchhiked before,” he said.

“Good,” the boy said. “Because I’ve never picked up a hitchhiker. In this situation, I’m just being a good Samaritan.”

Kurt sighed, debating internally. He could get into a car with a stranger-admittedly, a young and so far not freakish stranger-or he could spend the night on the side of the road.

“I’m not a serial killer, I promise,” the boy added.

Kurt smiled. “That’s what all serial killers say.”

The boy shrugged. “I guess that’s a risk you’ll have to take.”

Kurt thought for a moment more. “Okay, fine. Let me get my bag.”

Kurt actually had multiple bags, but he decided he should probably just grab his carry-on, which had his bare essentials in it. He could sleep in his dad’s sweats and squeeze into some of his high school jeans for the drive back to the car the next day. He locked up the car, pocketed his keys, and then opened the passenger-side door of the stranger’s car.

“My name’s Blaine,” the boy said once Kurt was buckled.

“Kurt.”

Blaine put his foot on the accelerator, and they were off. Kurt sneaked a glance at his driver, and was able to observe much more from inside the car. He was young-probably right around Kurt’s age. His skin was smooth. He had dark, wavy hair, gelled down impeccably to his head. He was wearing a collared shirt and a cardigan. Kurt smiled. As far as random drivers, he could have done much worse. Blaine was rather attractive.

“So, you live in Lima?” Kurt asked, curious. McKinley was really the only big high school in the area, and certainly Blaine was in high school at the same time as Kurt. But he’d never seen Blaine before, he was sure of it.

“Uh, yeah,” Blaine said. “I go to college there. OSU.”

That explained it. He was a college boy. Which meant he was certainly within Kurt’s age-range. “Where are you from, then?”

“Westerville,” Blaine said, not taking his eyes off the road. “I’m just coming from there now, actually. I was visiting my parents.”

Kurt raised his eyebrow. He knew where Westerville was, and it was only a stone’s throw from Columbus, where the other OSU campus was located. Why would a Westerville boy choose to go to a campus further from his hometown, especially if he visited his parents?

“Do you like Lima?” Kurt asked.

“Oh, yeah, sure. I mean, it’s all right. A nice town.”

He didn’t seem exactly overjoyed about it, which made the puzzle of why he was attending college there that much stranger.

Blaine spoke again, instigating conversation for the first time. “Do you live there?”

“Well, I used to. My parents still do. I’m in college in New York now, though.”

“Oh,” Blaine said, sounding interested. “New York, as in the city?”

“Yeah. I go to NYADA.”

“Never heard of it.”

“New York Academy of Dramatic Arts.”

For this, Blaine afforded Kurt a glance, momentarily looking away from the road. “You look like you could be an actor.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“Just a fact.”

Kurt was a little put off. He’d thought they’d get to flirting by now. Looking at the clock, he could see that they’d been driving for a good five minutes. He took a breath.

“Well, I am. An actor. And a singer.”

This piqued Blaine’s interest. “A singer? Are you any good?”

Kurt smiled. “I’m all right. I’ve been known to get solos.”

“Hmm,” Blaine said, now interested in the road again. Kurt looked out the window for a moment. Then he spoke again.

“What about you? What’s your major?”

“Oh,” Blaine said, as though he was entirely surprised that the conversation had turned to him. “I’m, uh, still undecided. I don’t have to declare until next semester.”

“Well what are you going to declare?” Kurt had never been the kind to be unsure about his future. He’d known what he wanted since he was in middle school.

Blaine shrugged. “I dunno. Probably business or something. I might-I might have to transfer to the Columbus campus. They’ve got more majors available.”

“Then you’ll be closer to your family, too.” Kurt pointed out.

“Yeah,” Blaine said softly after a moment.

Over the next forty-five minutes, Kurt found out many things about Blaine. He was a big fan of football, and had played it in high school. He was an only child. He’d attended a public high school in Westerville. He was a sophomore at OSU and lived on campus.

Kurt explained how he’d lived in Lima his whole life, before moving to New York. How he had one stepbrother. That he’d been a cheerleader for a short time in high school. That one surprised Blaine, although he seemed to appreciate it.

They were in Lima, driving towards Kurt’s house, when Blaine revealed the thing that most shocked Kurt about him.

“Thanks for driving me,” Kurt said. “Turn left, here.”

“No problem,” Blaine replied jovially as he put on his blinker. “It’s totally on the way.” Then he looked at the clock. “Shit, it’s late.”

Kurt saw that it was almost midnight. While it was a Sunday, it still didn’t strike him as very late for a college student. “Have a class in the morning?” Kurt inquired.

Blaine shook his head. “Nope. It’s just that I told my girlfriend that I’d go over to her place tonight, but I think it’s a bit too late now.”

Kurt stared at Blaine and gulped. “Oh. Uh, that’s too bad.”

Blaine shrugged. “Oh well. I’ll see her tomorrow, anyway. Uh, which way?”

They were sitting at a stop sign.

“Left,” Kurt said dejectedly. “Second driveway on the right.”

They pulled up in front of Kurt’s house. Kurt picked up his bag and opened the door. He looked back at Blaine, momentarily. “Well, thanks again.”

Blaine smiled. “Of course. Hey, maybe I’ll see you around town.”

Kurt nodded. “Yeah, maybe. Well, bye.”

“Bye.”

Kurt got out and shut the door behind him. As he headed for the front door he heard the car drive off.

He let himself into the house quietly, aware that everyone was asleep. He tiptoed up the stairs and went into his old room, shutting the door and putting his bag down before sitting on the bed.

Girlfriend? Blaine had a girlfriend? Kurt couldn’t believe it. I mean, sure, it was Ohio, and the boy had played football. But Kurt had been on the football team for a short time, too! Kurt put his head in his hands. Living in New York must have majorly messed with his gaydar, because he could have sworn that he was picking up vibes from Blaine…

Sighing, he got up and headed to the bathroom to wash his face. As he exfoliated he stared in the mirror, comforting himself. He’d spent his whole life trying to get out of Lima, anyway-why bother getting attached to a boy here?

Much more placated, he found some sweats to wear and took off his shirt, then slipped into bed.