"Kurt! What're you doing? Wake up!"

Kurt Hummel whirled around, almost burning his hands on the scalding-hot water cascading from the tap in the Lima Bean kitchen. He mouthed a curse to himself, wincing and blowing on his burnt fingers, and quickly leant forward to turn the tap off, the handle still warm from the practically burning water that he'd managed to splash everywhere. He frowned, dried his hands on the tea towel on the side then tried to remember what he was supposed to be doing.

The small, dark-haired girl beside him nudged him with her elbow. "Want me to take over?"

He shook his head. "I'll be fine, Rachel...just daydreaming."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Well, daydream when you're not around hot liquid, okay? It's dangerous, and what if you splashed me by accident?"

"You'd get burnt too?" Kurt suggested, a smile spreading across his face as he returned his attention to the washing up. He passed the plate he'd been washing to the petit brunette, who took it and scrubbed it dry before stacking it on top of the identical plates on the counter beside her.

She scowled slightly. "That's not funny! Why are you smiling?"

"Because we've only got half an hour left." he said cheerfully.

"It'll all be worth it though, won't it?" Rachel wondered out loud as she carried the plate stack over to one of the cupboards and carefully lowered it in before hurriedly going back to the sink and taking the next plate that Kurt handed her. "I mean, we've got six months left here then we can get out of this town and down to New York."

Kurt hesitated for a moment, then resumed swirling the cloth around in the water and searching for cutlery in the soap-bubble filled water. "So there's nothing left here for you? At all?"

Another eye-roll. "Kurt, this place is dead-end. I mean, I've got my dads and Finn, but I want Finn to come with us. So really it's just my dads, and they want me to acheive whatever dreams I have so they don't mind me leaving. We've had this discussion before..."

"It's an important discussion!" Kurt insisted, and Rachel just laughed. "Anyway, you started it!"

"I'm all for discussing futures, but there's a place for it, right?" she pointed out firmly.

"Correct, Miss Berry." came a voice from behind them. Both teenagers turned on their heels to face the blonde-haired, elderly lady in front of them. "And the Lima Bean isn't that place. Mr Hummel, can you go clear off table eight, please?"

"Of course, Ms Eddles." Kurt replied with a bright smile directed at the old lady. Her grandson, he knew, was in hospital after a car accident and he understood that she was only still coming into the Lima Bean because she was in charge of making sure that Rachel and himself didn't mess up too badly. He mouthed a 'one second' to Rachel, and hurried out of the kitchen, grabbing a tray on his way out.

He smiled to himself as he walked out into the relative quiet of the almost-deserted main part of the shop. His uniform set him apart from the customers, but then again a plain white longsleeved shirt and black work trousers were bound to stand out from the more colourful outfits of the coffee drinkers.. Well, when he said 'work trousers' he really meant plain black skinny jeans - but there had to be someone who would bring a little fashion to the monotone black and white uniforms that those who worked at the Lima Bean had to wear. Besides, the regulations didn't actually specifically say that skinny jeans weren't allowed, and Kurt wasn't against a little sidestepping of the rules if it was for a good cause. That good cause being fashion.

And in his opinion, it was a very good cause indeed.

He counted the tables as he walked - five, six, seven, eight, and set the tray down on table seven, stacking the many empty coffee cups from table eight onto the tray. "How much coffee did these people want?" he murmered to himself, balancing the tray and starting to head back to the kitchen.

"Hey!" called a smug-sounding voice. "Come take ours, will you?"

Kurt gripped the tray carefully and turned around, quickly locating the source of the voice. Two dark-haired boys, sat at the table in the far corner looked back at him. "Sure, just one second!" he called back, concentrating on not tripping. He could see now that he'd stacked the cups wrong, and that if he so much as stumbled the whole shaky-looking arrangement would go crashing to the floor.

"Seb, he's already got a full tray." one of the boys told the other. He had dark, curly hair that was obviously gelled, and was wearing a dark blue blazer with red piping. Kurt felt sure he'd seen the boy, as well as the blazer before, but couldn't quite remember where.

"He'll be fine, Blaine." his friend - Seb...Seb-astian? - assured him, taking the curly-haired boy's hand across the table. Oh. Kurt thought, resting his tray on empty table beside the one occupied by the boys. So, not just friends then. "It's his job. You done?" he asked, flicking imaginary lint off his own blazer. The way he held the other boy's hand was almost possessive - as if to tell the world that the gorgeous-looking boy - Blaine - was his, and Blaine's face practically lit up at the contact.

Gorgeous? Head out of the clouds, Hummel.

"I'm just checking, Sebastian." Blaine turned his hazel-eyed gaze on Kurt, a worried expression on his face. "Can you fit them on?" he asked, referring to the empty coffee cups on the table in front of them. Just two, thankfully, and Kurt hoped that they were empty because if the stack of cups on his tray collapsed he didn't want to be the one having to clear up coffee from the Lima Bean floor. Especially not in front of this guy.

"S-sure." Kurt heard himself stutter, taking the cups and resting them on top of the others on his already-full tray.

"Thanks...." Blaine focused on Kurt's nametag, then smiled. "...Kurt."

"That's my name....and you're welcome." he said cheerfully, finding Blaine's smile infectious. There was a cough from Sebastian, and Kurt looked over only to be fixed with a sharp blue-eyed glare. "I'll just be..um...taking this now. Bye!" he added a little breathlessly as the awkwardness of the moment washed over him. He'd almost entirely forgotten Sebastian was even there.

He's taken he's taken he's already got a boyfriend from the looks of things he's taken....

He repeated the same phrases over and over in his mind, spinning around and walking briskly back toward the kitchen, his cheeks burning. He hadn't got more than three or four steps forward when Sebastian's voice rang out aroung the shop again, a tone of wicked glee in his voice.

"Hey, Kurt, is it? You forgot one!"

Kurt's remaining good mood faded away to nothing as he turned around again, heading back. At the last second, just when he was about to put the tray down, something tripped him - a chair being pulled back, a foot, or just an uncharacteristic moment of klutziness; he didn't know - and sent him sprawling. The tray clattered from his hands to the floor, coffee cups cascading downwards. He managed to catch hold of the end of the table to stop him faceplanting the floor, but not quickly enough to stop his fall altogether or stop himself and Blaine from getting splashed with liquid ranging from cold to lukewarm. He landed in an awkward heap on the floor, blushing fiercely and eternally grateful that there was barely any customers to see the mess he was in.

He quickly rearranged himself into a sitting position, and looked up. Sebastian, his blazer completely coffee-free, gazed down at him, eyes innocently wide. "Sorry...I was just standing up to hand you the cup and I guess I knocked the other chair accidentally..."

There was something about his almost sarcastic tone that made Kurt seriously doubt the other boy's statement, especially the last word, but he couldn't argue. 'No irritating customers.' he distinctly remembered being told by Ms Eddles on more than a few occasions. "Don't worry about it, I'll clear it up..."

Sebastian pulled back his blazer sleeve a little and checked the expensive-looking watch around his wrist. "Looks like we've stayed too long, Blaine!" he exclaimed in what Kurt was sure was mock horor. "I'll see you in the car, okay?"he told the curly-haired boy, releasing his hand and practically bouncing to his feet. He sent Kurt a sickly sweet smile that was verging on a badly-disguised smirk, and swept out of the shop. The bell above the door jingled as he left, and a rush of cold December air slipped in around him as the door closed.

Kurt didn't look up, collecting the coffee cups from the floor around him and methodically rearranging them on the tray, much more carefully this time and screaming mental curses at Sebastian as he did so. He'd only said, what, less than twenty words to Blaine and already his from-the-looks-of-it boyfriend had successfully made an idiot out of him.

"Here, you missed one."

He glanced upwards, just for a second, and saw Blaine knelt next to him on the Lima Bean floor, a coffee cup held out in one hand. Kurt took it graciously, trying to maintain some sort of composure. "Thanks. Sorry about this..." he apologized in a small voice, not understanding why the other boy didn't just follow his boyfriend and leave Kurt to clear up his own mess.

Blaine laughed quietly, and Kurt decided it was the best sound he'd heard all day. "Nothing to worry about. It's only cold coffee, right? If it had been a fresh cup, now that would have been bad news."

The coffee-splattered boy felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth. "Ah. Not a coffee waster?"

"No, I was more thinking that if it was hot coffee you'd have got burnt and then where would you be?" Blaine pointed out, reaching out a hand and getting a napkin from one of the surrounding tables then starting to clear off the floor.

Kurt shrugged, secretly thrilled that this strange boy had decided to take pity on him. "Well, I know I'd be in the kitchen running my hands under the cold tap, and you'd probably be with that boyfriend of yours. I don't think you'd have coffee all over your shoes or be on the floor helping me soak up said coffee...."

The curly-haired boy suddenly looked embarrassed. "No, no, he's not my boyfriend! Oh and..um...my shoes'll be fine..."

Kurt's eyes widened in horror. "So you're not - ohmygosh, that's embarrassing! Sorry, you were holding hands so I just assumed that-"

"-I mean, he's not my boyfriend yet." Blaine corrected, colour coming into his cheeks. "I mean, um, I'd like him to be, because he likes me and I like him but it's not official yet because I'm not sure if he's looking for a serious relationship or anything and although this is sort of a date it's not sort of a date at the same time, if you get my meaning...." he trailed off, bright red now after blurting out his little speech. "And now I'm telling you my love life story so I'm really sorry about that." he said emphatically, and Kurt could practically see the words 'help me' written in those panicked-looking hazel eyes.

Now it was Kurt's turn to laugh, taking the coffee-soaked napkins and putting them on the tray before standing up, gripping the tray extra tightly this time. "Well, you didn't freak out about the coffee so I guess I can't mind about you explaining your situation to me. And, if you want my advice..."

"Even if I don't, I'm going to hear it, aren't I?" Blaine guessed, the blush fading from his cheeks as he scrambled to his feet. He was shorter than Kurt by a few inches, standing at around 5"8. "I'm Blaine, by the way, Blaine Anderson."

Blaine Anderson. The name sounded wonderful in Kurt's head.

"Glad to see that you understand me so well after such a short conversation." Kurt smiled as Blaine placed a last cup on the tray. "My advice is this: go for it. You two are sweet together, and I'm sure he'll be thrilled. And I'm Kurt. Nice meeting you, Blaine...Now, go. You don't want to give him the impression that you're hitting on some random coffee shop guy, do you?"

Blaine smiled, a genuinely honest smile that seemed to brighten up the coffee shop. "Thanks, Kurt. I think a pep talk from some random stranger is something I needed...not that it's something I do every day. Make strangers take pity on me and boost my ego, I mean."

"Go!" Kurt laughed, wondering why he felt so comfortable around this boy that he'd only just met.

"I'm going, I'm going." Blaine grumbled, looking as if he was trying to wipe the smile off his face as he walked determinedly toward the door. He stopped at the last moment, and turned.

"Oh, and Kurt?"

"Yes, Blaine?"

"...Be careful with that tray, will you? Next time you might be unlucky enough to walk into someone important while carrying hot coffee. And that would be awkward."

The bell chimed again as Blaine opened the door, and the sound died away as he headed outside and into the car park where an impatient-looking Sebastian was perched on the bonnet of an expensive-looking car. Probably the same sort of high quality that his watch was.

So, maybe not taken. But madly in love, or at least with a major crush.

Kurt lingered for a moment or so longer than neccessary, watching long enough for a nervous-looking Blaine to ask Sebastian something. A satisfied smile spread across Sebastian's face and he replied briefly before leaning down and kissing the shorter boy on the mouth for a long moment before he pulled away and got into the car. Blaine, looking dazed, turned back to face the coffee shop and sent Kurt a thumbs-up and a dopey-looking grin, then scrambled around the side of the car and into the passenger seat.

Let me correct that previous statement. Taken and happily taken.

"Kurt!" Rachel called enthusiastically. "Come help me put these plates in the top cupboard then Ms E says we can go home!"

There was a clear message behind her words: 'Hurry up and get back here so I can quiz you on what just happened.' Almost reluctantly, Kurt turned away from the window and carried the tray back into the kitchen. Rachel snatched it out of his hands almost immediately, took the crockery and dumped the rest of the tray into the bin, wiping it over quickly and stacking it back on top of the others.

"Details, Hummel." she drawled in a perfect imitation of Mercedes, and Kurt laughed.

"Cedes would be proud, Rachel, but I have no idea what you're talking about." he said innocently, knowing full well what she was talking about.

Ms Eddles, stood behind them at the sink, waved a hand suddenly. "You know what? You two go on ahead and go home. You've done enough for a Monday and I know you have school tomorrow. Joey can wait another ten minutes for me, he's got most of his class crammed into that hospital anyway." she decided, smiling warmly at the two teenagers. "Go get your $20 and go have fun."

Rachel beamed, "Thanks, Ms E...." she smiled, taking off her apron and hooking it on one of the pegs on the back of the door. Kurt did the same, and then got pulled along as the brunette girl caught his arm, her hand on the crook of his elbow, and the two of them left the kitchen.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about!" Rachel reprimanded him as he took two $20 dollar bills - no more, no less - and handed one to her, putting the other safely in his top pocket.

"Night, Ms Eddles!" Kurt called back into the shop, hearing a reply of 'Good night, Mr Hummel!' drift out of the kitchen as the bell above the door chimed. He shut the door behind Rachel and himself, and started toward his Navigator. "And what if I do know what you're talking about? I might as well wait until tomorrow when we get coffee with 'Cedes after school. She'll kill me if you know first."

"But Kurt!" Rachel practically wheedled, a spark of curiosity in her eyes now. "That's like...that's like only getting halfway through a movie and not being told the ending!"

Kurt just smiled in a way he hoped was mysterious, and tapped one side of his nose.

"Oh, come on! That's unfair, I always tell you straight away if I'm crushing on someone!"

He stopped abruptly, and fixed her with a trademark bitch look as he unlocked the Navigator. "And who says I'm crushing on anyone, Rachel?"

She rolled her eyes. "Please. You're my best gay and I've seen that lovestruck expression before. The first time, it was directed at my boyfriend and so I've learnt to recognise it." she commented, climbing into the passenger seat and immediately switching on the CD player.

"Rachel!" Kurt squeaked, his voice rising an octave in pitch. "I'm over Finn, you know that!"

There was a smug expression on the Streisand worshipper's face as she answered him. "See? You didn't deny that I'm right, did you?"

He sighed as he got behind the wheel, shutting the door and swatting Rachel's hands away from the CD player. "Keep going like that and you'll bust the speakers. Look, the sounds turned up to max and the poor thing has a little trouble handling anything too loud after you blew the fuses by playing Defying Gravity at top volume." he instructed her, switching the volume down then pressing play. "Now you can change the CD's."

"You heard my question, Hummel. Don't try and distract me with general CD player knowledge...Just give me this one answer, okay? Do you or do you not like curly-haired Warbler boy?"

"Fine. I may have a tiny, tiny crush on - wait. What did you say? After curly-haired?" Kurt demanded as two thoughts which had previously steered clear of each other slowly connected.

"Warbler boy?" Rachel asked, confused. "What's so bad about that? I know he's competition, but...Oh my Barbara, you didn't start babbling about our set list, did you?" she asked in a panicked tone, her face going pale.

"Worse than that!" Kurt all but wailed, resting his head against the lower part of the steering wheel, avoiding the horn.

"What could be worse than that?!"

"I just spilt coffee on the lead singer of the Warblers!"