In fact, he could do much worse than he was doing now, Kurt Hummel tried to assure himself. At least he was pretending to listen to what Manuel (Manolo? Emmanuel? Whatever.) was explaining and he was nodding from time to time and smiling and patting his arm. It wasn�t his fault that everything that was coming out of the other man�s mouth seemed to flow away immediately. He forced himself to keep his eyes from wandering, but it was hard.

Those blind dates never were successful and Kurt didn�t know why he�d even agreed to do it again. He looked over Manuel shortly and sighed inaudibly. He wasn�t ugly or anything, he wore one of those early McQueen cardigans and was quite handsome, but he was far too... blonde for his liking. And too tall. And his eyes were too blue and his smile too weak and his hands not strong enough.

Kurt chocked a heavy sigh when he discovered where his thoughts were going. No, the man in front of him was NOT Blaine. And that was the GOOD thing about him. That was the reason he was dating him. After the last guy, whose hair had at least been curly, and the guy before him, who had had those hazel eyes, he only chose guys with a lot of differences. He didn�t need to be reminded, thank you. It was better to choose another kind of type, because Kurt totally knew that Blaine would always be the one he compared others with. And the more they had in common, the less he would stay with them.

But you can�t have Blaine, it was your choice!, the annoying voice inside his head whispered. You said you didn�t want him anymore. You told him to leave,because he was DISGUSTING.

And if THIS wasn�t the moment he regretted most. But... a part of him was still thinking this way. A huge part. A part, that probably was very right.

�...and then he was saying: No way! He is insane, isn�t he? What do you think? Kurt? Kurt!"

Kurt turned on his smile and nodded quickly. �Yeah, sure, right!"
Manuel�s bewildered glance told Kurt that this had maybe been the wrong answer, so he hurried to catch the menu and pointed at the cocktail�s list. �We�ll get one more, alright?"

While they waited for the cocktails to be brought, Manuel excused himself and Kurt began to observe the other people at the bar, most of them male and in suits, relaxing and talking.
Then his gaze stopped. This back seemed familiar, also the head – or the part of the head he could see. Dark curls.

As the man suddenly turned around, Kurt flinched and hid his face behind the menu. Fuck. Fucking fuck. Why on earth did Blaine Anderson have to be in the same bar? Why? How was he supposed to be flirty with another man, when Blaine was in the same room? And... there was the reason he had told him to leave. This very important reason, that almost made him run away this very second. But Kurt had never been a coward and they were in a public place, for God�s sake. Blaine wouldn�t do anything here, right? He could stay. He should stay and ignore him.

Idiot, his inner voice snarled, be honest! You want him to be jealous, you want to show him what he�s missing, even though you have been the one to end your relationship. So straighten, smile and flirt the fuck out of this Manuel-guy.

Kurt thanked the not-existing Gods for his countless rehearsals and turned into the Kurt everybody liked. He smiled hugely at Manuel and thanked the waiter far too enthusiastically for their cocktails, laughed too loudly and sparkled during the next – seemingly endless – hour of small talk. But even then he always listened to the other voices and tried to figure out where Blaine was standing. Once or twice he recognized his still too familiar laughter and therefore flashed another too huge smile towards Manuel. But after another hour he waved a relieved good-bye and relaxed onto his chair, facing bottles of alluring amounts of alcohol.

He couldn�t quite explain why he hadn�t left together with Manuel, but somehow he ended up sitting at the bar alone, starring into another colourful cocktail and feeling depressed.

Liar, his inner voice smirked, you�ve been many things, but never a liar. Just confess you�re here to have a chance to see him, talk to him, touch him. You�re here because you�re so desperate that you�re willing to make a mistake. Again.

Kurt mugged into his drink, as his body recognized the approaching steps before he even heard them.

�Hello stranger!" Kurt didn�t even make the effort to look at the person standing next to him, twirling his glass.
�Blaine", he greeted through gritted teeth, �What are you doing here?"

Blaine grinned at Kurt amusedly and ignored his question. �Wasn�t your type, huh? Not even for a night?" Kurt felt the anger building up and shot Blaine a warning glance.
�Don�t you dare."

Blaine smirked sardonically. �You haven�t changed at all, have you? All grown-up and flirty on the outside, always the great actor with his bright smile on stage, but still the baby-penguin on the inside, aren�t you?"
Kurt�s face turned pink and he couldn�t tell if it was because of embarrassment or anger. �You didn�t complain about it then", he hissed.

�No, I didn�t – because I loved you and you loved me. That was all I needed. But then you told me to leave – that changed everything." Kurt stared at him and narrowed his eyes.

�You know exactly why I had to. Don�t even start to blame me!" Blaine just stood there and looked at him and maybe it was his stare or maybe he had just had one cocktail too much, but Kurt couldn�t stop himself from continuing.

�It wasn�t my fault you chose to do it, you know? We would have managed it, we would have found ways. Better ways, because honestly, there were no worse ways. It was your fucking idea to do it, remember? You didn�t even ask me, not once. So would you please, please just leave? Go! You did it then, do it again. There�s nothing left to say and I have a date with this fine looking Tequile there."

Blaine silently watched Kurt finishing his cocktail. �You know, maybe you�ve changed though. But I�m sorry, there�s no chance that I�ll leave. I�m here to finish a job." Kurt choked on the cherry and looked at Blaine unbelievingly.

�Are you serious? You still are in this... business?" Blaine just nodded. �You... who is your next victim, then? Is it here?" Blaine moved closer until Kurt could feel his breath.

�Yes, it is. In fact, he�s sitting in front of me and looking at me with his still breathtaking blue-green eyes." Just moments later Kurt�s eyes widened as he flinched in horror.

Blaine nodded, smirking. �You�re right, Kurt, you should run and hide. Someone really hates you and wants to see you dead. And I�m the one who�s supposed to take care of it."