“Rachel, I really don’t want them, or you, to try and hook me up with anyone.”

“Kurt, you are as much of a hopeless romantic as I am; sometimes even more so. Why don’t you at least take a chance and get to know him? What could it hurt to make a friend? Life might surprise you.”

“Yea, I guess you’re right. I just don’t want to be hurt again, but there is nothing wrong with more friends.”

“Annnnnd Finn stopped by there this morning and helped him move some furniture around. He said that he thinks you’ll like him.”

“Seriously, Finn too?” Kurt threw his arms up and started prepping for the meal.

“We only want what’s best for you honey!” Rachel yelled into the kitchen before she went to her room.


Kurt was deep in thought as he cuts the vegetables and seasoned the chicken. In some ways he was lying about not wanting to be in a relationship; however, in most of the ways he wasn’t. He liked being able to do as he pleased, not having to worry about anyone else, and mostly he didn’t have that fear of being broken like he was before. He jumped into his last relationship full speed and he ended up crashing and burning. He was not about to let that happen again. What happened to Rachel and his plans about being married by 30? Rachel has been married for three years now and he was single. Oh well, he still has time, he has five years. Just because he doesn’t want it today – doesn’t mean he won’t someday.

As he got dressed that night he couldn’t help get a little bit of butterflies in his stomach. Finn thought he would like him, so that has to say something. Finn hated his ex, always did. Maybe there would be something about this new guy that would intrigue him. Kurt shrugged off the thoughts and he fixed his hair for the night.

“Hey Rach, Finn – I could really use your help bringing over the food so I don’t spill it on my clothes this vest is a one of a kind!” Finn and Rachel come out of their bedroom, Finn fighting his shoes on as he walked out. “Finn, you are going to fall flat on your face, stop walking and put on your shoe. Besides you’re going to ruin them just shoving your gigantic feet in there like that.”

“Oh hush dude, anyway you acting like you can’t get another vest like that. You designed it.”

“Not the point, let’s go and get this over with.”

“I saw him earlier Kurt, he’s hot.”  

 “That’s nice Rachel. Let’s go.”

They all grabbed some platters and went to walk next door.

________________________________________________

“Hey Blaine, I think it’s time I told you that we are having company for dinner. Our neighbors Finn, Rachel, and Kurt are coming. Kurt cooked.”

“I already know Santana. Finn stopped by earlier to help me out with the movers and he told me.”

“I’m going to kill Puffy Pyramid Nipples.”

“Uh, what?” At this point, Blaine was trying not to laugh.

“Oh nothing, just a high school nick name I had for him. But anyway, Kurt is single and gay and you’re single and gay. I think it just may be a match made in history.”

Blaine rolled his eyes. “Okay Santana we will see.”

“Oh and ignore him if he has a little attitude. He can be a diva, especially if he knows I am trying to help him get some.” Blaine blushed harder than he may have ever had in his life. “If you decide to have a little company tonight, make sure to put some music on or something, walls in this building aren’t soundproof.”

“Okay I’m going to go get dressed now. GoodBYE Santana!” Santana was laughing hysterically and Blaine could feel the heat in his face from embarrassment. Santana is really going to take some getting used to.

Twenty minutes later there was a knock on the door. Brittany got up to go answer the door. “HEY GUYS!!” Brittany squealed.

“Hey Britt.” All three friends said in unison at the door.

“Come in, come in. Santana is still getting dressed. She’s trying to figure out which of her new Hummel originals to wear.”

Kurt laughed. “Oh Britt, that could take all day. Her whole closet are originals as is yours.”

Blaine heard the girls' friends arrive. He was uncharacteristically nervous. He tried to erase the doubts as he checked himself out in the mirror. 'Not bad if I do say so myself.' He thought to himself and he turned out the light and went to join everyone in the living room.

As Blaine started walking down the short hallway Santana came out of the bedroom in a stunning red satin strapped top that had a plunging neckline and gathered waist. She paired it with skinny jeans and amazing red stilettos. She looked absolutely fierce. "Oh Santana - Devil in a red dress, well, top." He heard Kurt tell her as she spun herself around. He still did not see the face of this man that they were trying to hook him up since they were in the kitchenette, but he knew that voice.  He thought that his heart was about to beat out of his chest as he turned the corner.

"Blaine, glad you could finally join us, I was about to send in a search party. These are our friends. You already know Finn. This is his wife Rachel and his brother Kurt."

"Hi -" Before he could finish the tiny brunette threw her arms around him in a hug.

"Oh Blaine, it's nice to meet you. I'm Rachel, as you know. Just so you know I don't have any problem with gay people - obviously - I have two gay dads. Blaine looks at the four friends standing in the kitchen as they roll their eyes at her.

"Seriously Rachel, you are 25 years old. You live with your gay best friend and are standing in your lesbian friend’s house. Why do you still feel the need to say that EVERY time you meet someone who isn't straight? Ignore her Blaine. You'll get used to her crazy." Santana huffed at her.

"Well anyway, I can't wait to get to know you better; I can see us becoming really good friends."

"Well, I'd like that Rachel," he said then continuing in an almost whisper "and for the record I think it's cool you have two gay dads."

Rachel had completely distracted him from talking a look at the friend. Kurt. When he actually had a second to focus his brain went into overdrive. It was the man with the blue eyes from the lobby. He had to be the most beautiful person he had ever seen in his life. He walked over to him and offered his hand to shake. "Hi, I'm Blaine Anderson."

Kurt shook his hand. "Nice to meet you Blaine Anderson, I'm Kurt Hummel."

'Ohmigosh he is beautiful.' Kurt thought to himself as he introduced himself to his new neighbor. 'Yes. There is nothing wrong with having a friend; a completely beautiful, stunning, friend.'

"Well let's eat." Finn chimed in.

"Seriously Finn, it's a miracle that we ever have food." Kurt joked with Finn.

They all helped set the table and sat down to eat.

"So Blaine, what do you do for a living?" Rachel asked as she picked over her salad.

"I'm a financial consultant at a firm in the city."

"That sounds interesting."

"It's really not Rachel, it's actually quite boring. I just prepare people's retirement portfolios. It’s all numbers. It's quite tedious. What do you do?"

"Currently I'm playing Skylar in Bring It On at the St James Theatre.  It’s not Maria, but that’s my goal."

"Oh wow Rachel, that is amazing! What about you Kurt? What do you do?"

"You're looking at it." He said smiling. Blaine looked at him quizzically.

"Brittany, Santana, Rachel, myself, even Finn is all dressed in my work. I am a designer. I have my own line for Bloomingdale's and do a lot of side jobs for Rachel's shows and them. Especially Rachel, the day we burned her horrid old wardrobe was the highlight of my life."

"Oh Shut up! My clothes were not that bad!"

"Rachel ponies and unicorns do not belong on your sweater after the age of five."

"Whatever."

"Wow! Very impressive. Ever since I moved in I have admired the ladies wardrobes."

"If you're lucky you might get some Kurt Hummel originals." Kurt said playfully.

Blaine could feel his face flush, was Kurt flirting with him?

"Oh!" Santana yelled out breaking Blaine out of his trance. "I can't believe I almost forgot! Quinn called and she wanted to make sure that we were all coming to the show in Connecticut next week. I had her send an extra pass for Blaine."

"Oh yes! I can't wait. I haven't seen her for so long. Last time was when I did the designs for the costumes." Kurt shrieked in joy.

"Absolutely! I already arranged for the understudy to take my place for the long weekend."

"Thanks Santana, what show?"

"Only Mercedes Jones!" Kurt said, still shrieking, he looked like a complete fanboy right now. It was absolutely adorable.

"Are you serious? At Mohegan Sun? I tried getting tickets but they were all sold out!" Blaine thought he was going to fanboy with Kurt.

"Oh Eyebrows, we are going to do better than tickets, we have All Access passes and have a few rooms in the hotel booked for the weekend. We leave Friday after work and we get back on Monday."

"I'll have to let work know later. But how? How did you get All Access passes?"

"She's only my best friend! Next to Rachel of course. She was in our glee club in high school. She is my oldest friend."

"That's amazing. I completely idolize her."

"Oh she's amazing. You will love her, just wait until you meet her."

"Wait, I get to meet her?"

"Uh duh. That's why we have all access passes. We are spending the weekend with her. We are going to hang out gamble, gets our free drink on until about 6, and then go see the concert and meet her backstage. Then we are going to spend all Sunday with her, because she doesn't have to leave for the next city until Monday morning. We do this every time she comes local."

"Amazing." Blaine whispered to himself. The four friends talked amongst themselves as Blaine was lost in his fanboy thoughts.

"Hey Blaine, do you want to hear the original version of 'Hell To The No'?" Kurted smiled as he stood up and ran to his apartment.

"Oh no. He's getting the CD." Rachel laughed.

"What CD?"

"The summer after we graduated we went to a studio and recorded all of our original songs we wrote in school as sort of a going our own way and remember us kind of thing."

"My favorite is still 'My Headband'." Brittany stated so matter-of-factly.

"Should I be scared?"

"Absolutely." Finn replied as the remaining three friends in the apartment burst into laughter.

Kurt came running back into the apartment CD in hand. "First up, "Hell To The No" by one Mercedes Jones.


“Mama said get your ass out of bed
I said hell to the no
Said wash your grandma's nasty head
I said hell to the no

They tried to take away my tots
I said hell to the no
Yeah, 'cause I'm the one that calls the shots
And I say hell to the no

Try to make me change my weave
Well I got something up my sleeve
It's a whole lot of

Woah, oh, oh, oh, oh
Hell to the no-no, no-no, no-no, no-no
I said
Woah, oh, oh, oh, oh
Hell to the no-no, no-no, no-no, no-no

I'm not trying to diva out
But this shows gotta stop so shout

Woah, oh, oh, oh, oh
Hell to the no-no, no-no, no-no, no-no

Tell me I should eat my wheaties, you know what
Hell to the no (Hell to the no)
Tell me I'll come down with diabetes
Hell to the no (Hell to the no)

Try to make me change my eats
But baby that just isn't me
I'm a whole lot of

Woah, oh, oh, oh, oh
Hell to the no-no, no-no, no-no, no-no
I said
Woah, oh, oh, oh, oh
Hell to the no-no, no-no, no-no, no-no

I'm not trying to diva out
But this shows gotta stop so shout

Woah, oh, oh, oh, oh
Hell to the no-no, no-no, no-no, no-no

Take me you can leave me but I won't ever change
If you don't like the rules don't play my game
Talk to me to get R-E-S-P-E-C-T, but if I don't, it's all in me

Woah, oh, oh, oh, oh
Hell to the no-no, no-no, no-no, no-no
I said
Woah, oh, oh, oh, oh
Hell to the no-no, no-no, no-no, no-no

I'm not trying to diva out
But this shows gotta stop so shout

Woah, oh, oh, oh, oh
Hell to the no-no, no-no, no-no, no-no

I'm not trying to diva out
But this shows gotta stop so shout

Woah, oh, oh, oh, oh
Hell to the no-no, no-no, no-no, no-no

Awe, hell to the no... “

The girls sang the background for the chorus as Finn and Kurt just laughed hysterically clutching their sides as they rolled around on the couch. Trips down memory lane were always hilarious. Blaine couldn't help but laugh too. "This is a far cry from the anti-cheating anthem version!  And what’s with the tots?"

"Yea, the record company didn't see the humor in the original version." Kurt choked out with tears in his eyes.  “And the tots is a story for another day and another bottle of wine.”

"Oh-oh mine next." Santana jumped up, wine in hand, and changed the track. She stood looking at her friends and started singing using her glass as a microphone. "Ready?" She winked and began to sing. "Trouty mooooouth." She couldn’t even get through the first two lines without everyone, especially Blaine, laughing uncontrollably.

"San-Santana you have an amazing voice, but what's with the song?" He sobbed.

"I wrote it for my boyfriend at the time, Guppy Lips. He's actually Mercedes' husband now."

"Oh wow, you dated Sam Evans?"

"Blaine, honey, the better question is who didn't she 'date'" Kurt said with air quotes "in high school.  Just ask Finn.”

“Oooooh.” Blaine looked awkwardly at Finn.  Finn tried his best not to make eye contact with anyone in the room, especially Rachel.

"Oh sssh you."

"I want to hear my favorite song. 'My Headband' Brittany spoke up over the laughter.

"Oh God no." Rachel begged.

"Please, it’s still my favorite song.  It’s on my Lord Tubington playlist.”  Blaine looked over at Kurt with huge, somewhat nervous, puppy-dog eyes.  He really had no idea what the next 45 seconds would subject him too.  Kurt, Finn, Santana were all still laughing and Rachel had her arms crossed and nose in the air.  He looked at Rachel pouting as the piano began to play.

“There you rest,

With all the rest,

Of my accessories on my night stand.

You're red or yellow,

And like a good fellow,

Sometimes you get lost in my mess.

But when schoolgirl pigtails won't do,

And I need to control my 'do,

You're the only one I can count on.

My headband,

You're my headband,

Wrapped right around my melon,

You're a product like Magellan....”

Oh. My. God.  Did that just happen?  Santana jumps up and runs out of the room. “I’m sorry I’m gonna pee my pants, I just can’t.”  Blaine couldn’t help but to just look at Rachel and start laughing hysterically.

“Well fine, Blaine, you have been introduced to my first attempt at writing music.  How about we let him to the song that won us Regionals that year?”  Rachel took the remote to the entertainment system and changed the song.  Within seconds ‘Loser Like Me’ starts playing.

“Yeah you may think that I'm a zero
But hey, everyone you wanna be
Probably started off like me
You may say that I'm a freak show (I don't care)
But hey, give it just a little time
I bet you're gonna change your mind

All of the dirt you've been throwing my way
It ain't so hard to take
That's right (that's right)
'Cos I know one day you'll be screaming my name
And I'll just look away
That's right (that's right)

Just go ahead and hate on me and run your mouth
So everyone can hear
Hit me with the worst you got and knock me down
Baby I don't care…”

“Oh my God.”  Blaine stated with a dumbfounded look on his face.

“What?”  Kurt asked between sips of wine. 

“Now I know why your voices all seemed so familiar, sort of like déjà vu.  I competed against you that year.”

“No way!”  Rachel almost shouted.  After thinking for a few seconds it came back to her.  “Oh my goodness.  You did.” 

“I don’t remember that.”  Kurt exclaimed desperately trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

“Sing it Blaine.  They will all remember.”

Blaine closed his eyes and began to sing a song he hasn’t sung in about eight years.

“The power lines went out

And I am all alone

But I don't really care at all

not answering my phone

all the games you played , the promises you made

couldn't finish what you started only darkness still remains

lost sight, couldn't see

When it was you and me

blow the candles out , looks like a solo tonight

I beginning to see the light

blow the candles out ,looks like a solo tonight

but I think I'll be alright”

“Oh my God.”  Three of the four friends all proclaimed at once, hands over their mouths from shock.

“Well it’s a pleasure to finally meet you Blaine Warbler.” Kurt giggled.

“Blaine your voice is amazing.”

“Yea, you’re alright Triangles.”

“This world is way too small.”  Blaine finally said with a smile.

“Absolutely.”  Kurt replied.