“I think I’ve genuinely come to terms with this 2% stuff,” Blaine says as he gazes across the table at Jeremiah. The coffee shop is having a slow afternoon, which makes Blaine happy because it means they can talk awhile and not feel bad about taking up a table.

“Really? That’s great.”

Blaine nods his head and breaks off a piece of biscotti. “Yeah, it’s just, the more I think about it, the better off I think I am,” he pops the food in his mouth and figures out how to say what he’s thinking while he chews. “When you’re interested in someone romantically outside of being soulmates, you know you like them for who they are. Not because some spot in your brain tells you to. And if someone maybe likes you back, you know it’s because of who you are, nothing else.”

“Well, yeah,” Jeremiah says slowly. “I guess that’s one way of looking at it.”

“It’s almost simpler this way,” Blaine says, getting more excited as he goes on. “Let’s say you’re attracted to someone, just, you know, anyone.” He pauses and looks at Jeremiah. “You would like them for their personality and things you have in common and yeah, okay, probably their physical attributes, too. Romantic soulmates don’t do that. It’s like they don’t get a choice, and we do.”

“I don’t know if that’s quite how I’d –“

“So it’s even more important when we’re interested in someone to be open about it, right?” Blaine glances down for a moment then back up at Jeremiah.

“Uh, maybe,” Jeremiah answers. “Or not. Do you want a refill on your coffee before we head out? I think I’m going to get a refill.”

Blaine suppresses a sigh. “No, I’m good.”

Jeremiah stands with his coffee cup and walks over the counter. This is the third time they’ve had coffee, and so far Blaine’s attempts to show Jeremiah that he likes him have fallen flat. Maybe he needs to step it up, be really obvious about it. Go big or go home. And Valentine’s Day is coming up; if ever there was a time to just lay everything on the line this is it, right?

* * * * * * * * *

“No.”

Blaine stares at Wes, perplexed. “No? Why not?”

“I’m the senior member of the council,” Wes answers. He closes his laptop on his desk and gestures to indicate that Blaine should sit on the bed in Wes’ dorm room. “I can’t let you call an emergency meeting without knowing what it’s about.” He tilts his head and gives Blaine a questioning look. “What’s going on?”

Blaine meets Wes’ gaze for a moment before dropping his eyes. “I, uh, I want the Warblers to help me with something.”

“Something like…” Wes trails off.

“A song,” Blaine says as he studies his feet.

Wes shakes his head. “Blaine, you know that the council chooses our songs, even for school appearances.”

“No, I know, but this wouldn’t strictly be a school performance. As such.”

There’s a pause before Wes folds his arms across his chest. “Explain, please.”

Blaine shrugs his shoulders. “I was hoping – am hoping – that the Warblers will help me sing to someone. Someone I like. Or maybe love.”

“A family member?” asks Wes.

“What? No, of course not,” Blaine answers.

Wes gets a skeptical look on his face. “A soulmate?”

“God, no!” Blaine isn’t that stupid.

“The stepbrother of a soulm–“

“No! Wes, no.”

Wes studies Blaine. “You don’t want to sing to me, do you?”

“Come on,” Blaine says, rolling his eyes, “be serious.”

“Well, I honestly don’t know anyone else you might love and would want the Warblers to serenade.” Wes looks at him expectantly.

Blaine takes a deep breath and looks up at the ceiling. “His name is Jeremiah.”

“Okay, and how do you know Jeremiah?” Blaine keeps his eyes on the ceiling and doesn’t say anything. Wes uncrosses his arms and leans forward. “Look, I’m going to get this story one way or another, so you might as well stop being coy and tell me what’s going on.”

Blaine looks back down and closes his eyes. Wes is right; he’ll get the full story one way or another, so Blaine should just get it over with. “Fine,” he says, opening his eyes. “Like I said, his name is Jeremiah. We met about a month ago on one of the 2% websites that Nick told me about.”

“Excuse me, what?”

“No, he’s a good guy, I promise,” Blaine continues hurriedly. “He lives in Columbus and works as a junior manager at the Gap. We’ve had coffee a few times.” Wes doesn’t say anything, and Blaine tries to work out what he’s thinking. “Wes?”

“I’m trying to put my thoughts in order so I’ll be a better witness when I have to testify in court.”

“Don’t be overly dramatic.”

Wes stands up and walks over to sit next to Blaine on the bed. “Are you crazy? What in God’s name were you thinking? You talked to this guy on the internet and then met him in person? Did you tell anyone what you were doing or where you going? Did you take someone with you?”

“It was a public place, Wes,” he replies. “It isn’t as if Jeremiah said, ‘meet me in this darkened alley at two in the morning and don’t tell anyone.’ Give me some credit.”

Wes outright glares at Blaine. “Don’t pretend that’s the only way something dangerous could happen.” Blaine opens his mouth to respond but is cut off. “And, okay, you got lucky and nothing did. This time, thank God. Promise me though you won’t do anything like that again.”

Blaine starts to fight him but realizes it’s no use. And, yeah, if Blaine really considers the situation, he probably could’ve been safer. He nods at Wes. “Promise.”

“Thank you,” Wes says, relieved. “So let’s move on to the next part. You’ve had coffee with him a couple of times and now you want to serenade him and – what? Declare your love for him?”

“Not, no, not love exactly. Maybe.”

Wes shakes his head and puts his hand on Blaine’s arm. “You know I only want what’s best for you, right? That I care about you?” Blaine nods. “Good, because what I’m going to say is a little harsh.” Wes leans forward. “You have to stop this. You’re focusing on this guy because you think you can’t have what you really want.”

“No, I’m not; I really like Jeremiah.”

“I don’t think you really do.”

Blaine flops back on the bed. “I, how do you – Wes! I think I know how I feel about him.”

“I know you believe that.”

“I just told you about Jeremiah, how would you –“

“Because I haven’t heard a word about this guy until now! I’m betting no one has!” Wes answers. He waits, but Blaine doesn’t contradict him. “You know, after you met Kurt I couldn’t get you to shut up about him. About what Kurt said, what he thought, how his shirt matched his eyes.”

“Stop.”

Wes pauses before continuing. “Blaine, you’re so scared about your feelings for Kurt, and what that means for you and Finn, and what Finn means for a relationship with Kurt, that you’re distracting yourself with some guy you met who doesn’t have those sorts of complications.”

Blaine sits up and turns to face Wes. “Exactly! He doesn’t come with any complications! Why is that a bad thing?”

“It isn’t a bad thing,” Wes says, “unless it’s the thing you like most about him.”

Blaine visibly jerks back at that, and his jaw drops open. “I, who said, why would you –“

“If this were someone you really loved, really cared about,” Wes replies quietly, “I wouldn’t be hearing about him for the first time a whole month after you’d met. You have a bad poker face, Blaine, and you wear your feelings out where everyone can see them. Be honest with yourself about what this is.”

“I don’t know if –“ Blaine halts and stares down at his hands in his lap. The truth is that this does feel different than when he first met Kurt. Hell, this feels different than the couple of crushes he’s had on other guys. Does feeling differently mean it isn’t real, though? He looks up at Wes, eyes wide.

Wes smiles at him. “And besides, if you did use the Warblers to serenade this Jeremiah guy, then Jeff would kill you and me both.”

What does Jeff have to do with anything? “Why?”

Wes pats Blaine’s arm again and stands up. “I love you like a brother, Blaine, but sometimes you’re way too obtuse.”

* * * * * * * * *

Is Wes right? Yes, okay, at first maybe I just liked the idea of being with someone else in the 2% who could understand what it’s like. But now? Jeremiah is good-looking and sort of funny and he’s … what is he? He’s intelligent. Well, okay, he’s maybe not the sharpest, but he isn’t stupid, certainly. He’s not the most intellectually curious, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t smart. And he’s nice, really nice. Friendly.

Plus love, or like, or attraction, doesn’t have to be this all-encompassing, overpowering thing. It can be gradual and… And they say the best relationships are based on friendship, and Jeremiah is definitely my friend. Love can grow from friendship. Love is…

… not something you should have to talk yourself into.

Shit. Is Wes right?

* * * * * * * * *

Two days later, after Blaine has thought about his feelings for Jeremiah so much that he now has a headache, Blaine decides just to call him.

When Jeremiah answers he’s speaking sort of softly. “Hey, Blaine. Everything okay?”

“Yeah, sure, why wouldn’t it be?”

“Well,” he says, “you don’t usually call me in the middle of the day. You’re lucky I’m on my lunch break.”

“Oh, am I bothering you?” Blaine asks. He wants to kick himself. Jeremiah has a job, and it’s the middle of the day. Of course he’s busy.

Or maybe not. “No, of course not. Just, uh, hang on, okay?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Blaine hears shuffling and the murmur of people talking before the sound of a door opening and closing. Another brief pause and then, “Okay, I’m back.”

“Seriously, if this was a bad time, I can call later.” He doesn’t want to get Jeremiah in trouble.

“No, not at all,” Jeremiah reassures him, “I was just in the break room, and, well, I’m not sure what you want to talk about. I thought that if you wanted to talk about Finn or if something happened with him that it might be nice to have some more privacy. So I don’t have to censor myself.”

Censor himself? What does that mean? “Is it like a 2% thing? I’m sure your co-workers wouldn’t mind.”

“No Blaine, not, um, no,” Jeremiah stammers. “It’s just that, well, no one here at work knows I’m gay.”

Blaine doesn’t say anything for a few moments, not knowing exactly how to respond. He’s been out since he was in middle school, and it never occurred to him that Jeremiah might not be. “They don’t –“

“And in case you wanted to talk about something to do with that,” Jeremiah blurts out, cutting Blaine off, “I thought I should probably go somewhere else.”

“You’re not out?”

Jeremiah sighs through the phone. “Not here. My brother and a couple of my friends know, but that’s, um, that’s it.”

This makes no sense to Blaine. They’d gotten coffee together, two gay guys, and Jeremiah never brought it up. “But whenever we met up, you didn’t seem to have a problem with it. Being in public with me, I mean.”

“Well, sure, but that’s different,” Jeremiah says. “You’re a kid in high school. If anyone saw us together they wouldn’t think we’re dating. I just figured that if anyone did see us, I’d tell them I’m doing like a mentor thing, which is sort of true, if you think about it.”

Oh. Wow, okay. That hurts a little. What’s wrong with him, and why wouldn’t people think they were together? Blaine can’t ask those questions, though, not without sounding like a kid, so he goes along with it. “Right. True. My gay 2% mentor.”

“Exactly!” Jeremiah says emphatically.

Blaine can’t match his enthusiasm. “Yes. Exactly.” He doesn’t say anything after that, still reeling from the fact that Jeremiah called him a kid. Someone no one would think he could be dating. Blaine is silent, caught up in his own thoughts, until he hears Jeremiah call his name.

“What?” he asks, before realizing he’s still on the phone. “Oh, right, I called you. Uh, I just wanted to say that, um, since Valentine’s Day is in a couple of days I might not be able to meet this week for coffee. Got some, you know, stuff going on.” Total lie, but whatever.

Jeremiah doesn’t seem to pick up on it. “Good for you, Blaine! I totally understand about the coffee, okay? We’ll meet up next week.”

“Sure. Yes. Good. Well, I should get going. The lunch period is almost over here at school, so…”

Jeremiah hums and says, “Absolutely. Talk to you later.”

“Yep. Later,” Blaine answers before ending the call.

Idiot. Such a stupid idiot.

* * * * * * * * *

By the afternoon Blaine isn’t feeling much better, and he’s at the Westerville branch of the Lima Bean trying to drown his sorrows with coffee and cookies. A cupid cookie to be precise, because he happened to pick the most overly decorated, nauseatingly red-and-pink locale in a 100-mile radius.

It’s the day before Valentine’s Day, and could there be any worse time to realize that the guy you’ve sort of been crushing on never even considered you an option? And yes, okay, maybe it wasn’t love. Or even strong like. Maybe Wes was right when he said that Blaine was trying to force an attraction. Still doesn’t change the fact that Jeremiah was never even interested.

Oh God, what if Wes hadn’t stopped him? What if he’d shown up at Jeremiah’s workplace and sung to him? Especially knowing now that Jeremiah isn’t out at work? Blaine could kick himself. Nick was right all those weeks ago; Blaine does make assumptions, and apparently dumb ones at that. Why is he so bad at this?

“You look deep in thought.”

“Oh!” Blaine startles and looks up to find Kurt standing over him with a soft smile on his face. “Yeah, no.” At Kurt’s raised eyebrow, Blaine shakes his head. “Okay, yes. Just thinking about what a complete and total idiot I am.”

“What? No you’re not,” Kurt says as he sits down at the table.

Blaine shakes his head, disgusted with himself. “No, I really, really am.”

Kurt looks over at him and props his chin on his hand. “Wanna talk about it?” he asks.

“I, it’s just,” Blaine takes a deep breath. “I never expected to be perfect at all the romance stuff, you know?” Kurt’s eyes get bigger. “I didn’t think I’d be some great romantic hero or anything, but I also didn’t think I’d be this clueless about all of it either.”

There’s a brief period of silence before Kurt says, “I think I may need more information in order to understand.”

Blaine huffs. “It isn’t a big deal, really, just this guy I thought I liked who, as it turns out, never even imagined thinking about me that way. He never even considered it a possibility, and now I feel like an absolute fool.”

“Oh,” Kurt answers quietly, looking down at the table. “I, yeah, I know how that feels.” He taps his fingers against his coffee cup. “Was this your soulmate?”

Blaine sits up quickly. “What? No! No way. Definitely platonic there.” Kurt doesn’t say anything, and Blaine sighs. “It was just this guy that I met and grabbed coffee with a couple of times. No big deal, apparently. I just don’t understand how things got messed up, you know?” Which is untrue, because Blaine knows exactly how it happened: Jeremiah said they were just friends, but Blaine wanted to force it into more. He’s not going to admit that out loud, though.

“No, I get it. I mean, really.” Kurt pauses, and his tapping stops. “Have you ever wondered or considered maybe, um, if you and…” He looks up at Blaine and freezes. “Nevermind.”

“Kurt? What is it?”

He shakes his head rapidly. “Nothing, I mean, you just said you were interested in this other guy, and so there’s no reason why, I just thought that you might…” He doesn’t finish his sentence.

Blaine waits, but when he still doesn’t say anything, he asks, “Kurt?”

“I’m thinking about going through a soulmate procedure,” Kurt blurts. “You know, going to a Finder.”

That’s a surprise. “Really? I thought you were a Romantic.”

“I am. I think. It’s just that it’s difficult, watching other people find each other and be happy. Like Mike and Tina, you know, from New Directions, or did you hear that Brendan’s soulmate found him?”

Blaine hasn’t heard, but there are two guys named Brendan at Dalton. “Soccer Brendan or Creepy Brendan?”

Kurt chuckles. “Soccer Brendan. He was at practice, and this girl from Wisconsin or Michigan or somewhere came up and kissed him. Just like that. And I want that too. I mean, not the random person kissing me in front of everyone,” he says, turning slightly red. “But the part where someone finds me. Or I find him.”

Blaine feels a niggling sort of anxiety, but he thinks it’s probably just because this is so different from what Kurt said a couple of months ago. “What happened to just knowing he’s out there –“

“Well, what good does that do me,” Kurt snaps then freezes. He shakes his head. “I’m sorry. Only it’s so frustrating, wishing for things that’ll never happen and getting my hopes up, and I’m – I’m beyond tired of it. I was talking with Rachel and Mercedes, and they both made a good point. If I could be happier now, regardless of how it comes about, why wouldn’t I do that for myself?”

“I don’t want to talk you out of anything, but,” Blaine rubs the back of his neck, trying to figure out how to say this. “Look, I’m living proof that finding your soulmate doesn’t necessarily make things easier, okay? I’m still trying to navigate the whole thing with my soulmate, and it’s not the easy, magical, happy ending I was hoping for.”

Kurt’s eyes are kind of red now, and Blaine really hopes he hasn’t upset him. “But at least you know, right?” Kurt questions.

“True, but –“

“And you have a platonic soulmate, so you were always going to have to deal with figuring things out with him regardless of when it happened. At least this way you’re getting it over with.” Kurt sniffs and glances up, but at least he doesn’t look like he’s going to cry anymore.

“Yeah.” And what can Blaine say to that? It’s true. “You’re sure this is what you want to do?”

He nods. “Pretty sure, yes. The problem, of course, is finding a place with an opening. Some places are booked almost a year in advance. The shortest wait I’ve found so far is three months.”

“I know what you mean. I was going to go to the Wexler Medical Center, you know at OSU in Columbus, but it was forever before they could see me, so I found another place…” he trails off and stops speaking, staring at Kurt.

“Are you okay?”

Blaine nods and grins, realizing he can do something to help his friend. And maybe even help himself. “Take my appointment.”

“Your appointment? Your Finder appointment?” Kurt scrunches his face in confusion. “I thought you already had a procedure, several months ago. You said you found your soulmate.”

“I did!” Blaine exclaims, maybe a bit too loudly. He looks around and sees no one’s paying much attention to them. “But okay, listen: last summer when I called OSU Wexler, they couldn’t fit me in for several months. I took the first available appointment but didn’t want to wait that long. I called around and found another place with a shorter wait time and made an appointment there, too. I figured I could keep my time at Wexler if I wasn’t able to see anything in my first procedure.

“But Kurt! I never cancelled my appointment with OSU after I found my soulmate. I’m still signed up, and it’s still there, in like a month. I could just call and move the appointment over into your name!”

Kurt looks at Blaine with wide eyes. “ Really? Are you sure?”

“Absolutely!” Blaine says. He watches Kurt, who doesn’t seem as excited as Blaine thought he would be. “Unless you don’t want it,” he says slowly.

“Um.” He can see Kurt thinking quickly. “Yes, okay. Why not? If you’re sure.”

Blaine’s happy to help Kurt, even if he does feel uneasy about it. “Of course; I mean, I’m not going to use it. I’ll call the clinic this afternoon. I think the appointment was mid-March, which means the prep stuff will probably be in a couple of weeks. Let me look.” Blaine pulls out his phone and checks his calendar. “Yep, March 3rd for the tests and consultation. You might have to miss your last class that day; will your dad mind?”

Kurt shakes his head. “No, that should be fine. When is the procedure appointment?”

“Uh, hang on.” Blaine scrolls through his calendar again. “Looks like March 18th, and again, you might have to miss a class. At least it’s a Friday, though.”

Kurt’s breathing has noticeably sped up, and he sits back in his chair. “Great. Wow. Okay, that’s quick. I’ll talk to my dad, but I don’t think he’ll have a problem.”

“Yeah, great.” So why is Blaine somewhat anxious about this?

The boys are silent for several moments, each wrapped up in his own thoughts. Finally Kurt shakes himself and says, “Now that’s settled, I wanted to talk with you about an idea I have for something the Warblers can do on Valentine’s Day. I may need your help.”

* * * * * * * * *

The Warblers aren’t sure about Kurt’s idea of performing at Breadstix, but Kurt and Blaine talk them into it. Once it’s decided, though, every single member jumps in wholeheartedly. They decide to take separate cars over to the restaurant in Lima rather than a Dalton bus; some of the guys have Valentine’s Day plans after they’re done and want to go straight from the performance to pick up their dates.

Blaine and Jeff get a ride with Kurt, though because Kurt plans to stay in Lima, they make arrangements to ride back to Dalton with David. They haven’t even made it out of the parking lot when Jeff, who called shotgun two seconds after Blaine said he would ride with them, holds up his iPod. “I made a playlist!”

“We’re already doing love songs at Breadstix,” Blaine says. “I don’t know if I can handle almost two hours worth before that.”

Jeff turns around to face Blaine. “A little too obvious, don’t you think?” He glares at Blaine before facing the front again and saying to Kurt, “I put together a playlist of first act finales from all the great Broadway shows – And I’m Telling You from Dreamgirls, and A Little Priest from Sweeney Todd, and Defying Gravity from Wicked, and A New Argentina from Evita, and I Am What I Am from La Cage –“

Kurt starts bouncing in his seat before Jeff finishes and cuts him off, “Oh my God!” he squeals. “That’s amazing! Play it, play it!” Jeff connects the iPod as Kurt says, “Seriously, thank you. This is just what I needed. You’re the best!”

Jeff spins around to look Blaine in the eye. “I know,” he replies with a smirk, before just as quickly turning back toward the front.

What was that? It’s almost as if Jeff thinks there’s a competition to be Kurt’s friend. Which is ridiculous because Blaine is Kurt’s best friend. Well, after Mercedes maybe. He watches Kurt and Jeff sing Climb Ev’ry Mountain together and feels something like nervousness. Blaine is Kurt’s best friend, right?

* * * * * * * * *

The Lonely Hearts Club dinner at Breadstix is a huge hit and gives the Warblers and New Directions another reason to spend time getting to know each other. Nick spends half the time trying to keep Jeff away from Santana until Kurt gets wind of what’s going on. He makes Jeff follow him to the bathroom, and two minutes later Jeff comes back and won’t even look at Santana anymore.

After it’s over, Nick, Jeff, Blaine, Wes, and Thad pile into David’s Lexus LX and set off for Dalton. Everyone listens to the council members discussing whether any of the numbers they performed at the restaurant might be Regionals-worthy, until Jeff interrupts. “So are we not going to talk about the way they were looking at each other the entire night?”

“Jeff!” Thad shouts.

“What? Like we didn’t all see it? Come on.” He rolls his eyes and turns to Wes. “It’s time to have the talk.” Blaine glances around the vehicle to see if anyone else looks confused, but no one else does.

Wes turns around from the front passenger seat. “Jeff, I don’t think this is the time.”

“Sure it is,” Jeff replies. “It’s the perfect time.” He looks around at everyone. “All in favor of doing it now?”

There’s a split-second of silence, and Blaine’s about to ask what’s going on when Nick says, “Aye.” Jeff beams and high-fives him.

“Aye.” Thad chimes in.

Blaine can’t stand it anymore. “What? What are we doing?”

“Aw man, why today? I’m driving,” David groans, ignoring Blaine.

“Right now?” Wes asks.

Thad responds. “Well, he is a captive audience. It’s more than an hour back to Dalton.”

Wes considers them all for a second then says, “Right, okay, but like we discussed.”

“Seriously, I wanted to see his reaction, and now I have to keep my eyes on the road! How is this fair? Can I pull over?”

“No, David!” Jeff yells.

Nick nods. “Keep driving.”

“Seriously unfair,” David whines.

“Will someone tell me what the hell is going on?”

Nick clears his throat. “Blaine, this might be difficult, but we think –“

“It’s a possibility –“ David interrupts.

“Yes, we think it’s a possibility –“

“Even though we have no real proof –“ Wes interjects.

“Come on, just let me get through it,” Nick says.

Blaine slumps in his seat. “Did I fall into an Aaron Sorkin tv show?”

“Studio 60 should’ve been on the air longer. Matthew Perry was awesome in that,” Jeff replies.

“Jeff!” David admonishes.

“I speak truth to power.”

“What power?” David asks. “There’s no power in this car!”

“For the love of –” Nick shouts over David and Jeff. “Blaine, we think it’s possible that Kurt, not Finn, is your soulmate.”

The whole car goes silent.

“Wait, what?”