"Rachel, we don't have to do this," said Kurt exasperated, "We can find a way to make it work."

"Kurt, we need the money," Rachel said, shaking her head. She smoothed her skirt down before taking a seat on the wooden chair on the right side of the table. "Besides," she said, "Maybe a new roommate could be kind of fun."

Kurt rolled his eyes before pulling out his chair and sitting down. The thought of living with a complete stranger in New York City scared him more than the thought of missing out on tickets to the Marc Jacobs show during Fashion Week. Rachel thinking the idea of a new roommate was fun was sheer craziness to him. Having a new roommate wasn't going to be fun, it was strictly business.

They both heard a knock on the door and looked at each other. Rachel nodded her head towards the door and Kurt got up from his seat to greet whoever was behind it. "For the record," Kurt said, head turned towards Rachel, "I still think the whole audition table set up is ridiculous." Rachel smiled and Kurt unbolted the door, the pit of his stomach stung as he swung it open.

"Everyone sucks," Kurt said, exhausted. He let his head swing down and smack against the white plastic of the table that sat in front of him.

"Come on," said Rachel as she moved from her chair to the kitchen, "You're telling me you didn't like the guy with the fro who is studying Mixology?" She smiled as she turned the kettle on.

"Right," said Kurt, lifting his head, "The guy who is not a bartender, but is." He rubbed his eyes for a second before joining Rachel in the kitchen. He grabbed two mugs off of the shelf and dropped a teabag into each one; peppermint for Rachel, and green for himself. "Do we have to get a roommate?" He asked as he turned to Rachel with puppy dog eyes, "I mean what exactly are the perks again?"

"Kurt, let's get serious," said Rachel as she poured the hot water into each of their mugs, "I am a NYADA student, barely hanging on with my Ohio State Student Loans. You are a Vogue intern who, yes, is climbing up the ladder a bit, but is still making minimum wage. We have all of this space, way too much for a little Jewish girl and her fabulous gay." Rachel smiled and brought her mug to her lips. "Besides," she smiled, "Wouldn't a little extra money in your pocket every month be nice?"

Kurt sighed loudly and grabbed his mug. "I suppose," he half-smiled back, "The new Pucci collection is coming out soon and I must own something from it. Even if it's just some cufflinks." He took his fist and playfully punched Rachel on the shoulder. "If I can survive New York with you, I think I can survive it with anybody," He joked.

"You're so funny," said Rachel sarcastically , "Come on , there is just one more person on our list." She motioned towards the chair. "You gonna make it?" she asked jokingly.

"I'll try my best," Kurt said as he headed back to his seat, "What is the name of our last victim?"

Rachel moved her finger down the page in her notebook. "Umm," she mumbled, "Blaine".

Kurt froze in his seat. "Last name," he said sharply as he blankly looked forward.

"Anderson," said Rachel, still looking down at her notebook.

Kurt coughed loudly. His mind was suddenly going ten thousand miles an hour. "Blaine Anderson, that's a common name," he thought to himself, "It could be anyone, it won't be him." Kurt absent-mindedly started biting his nails.

"Are you okay?" Rachel asked, placing a hand on Kurt's back, "You look weird".

"Yeah," said Kurt using his lying voice. He winced when he said that. Rachel was his friend long enough to recognize his lying voice, which was about a half-octave higher than his already high-pitched, yet soft voice.

Rachel raised any eyebrow, but decided not to question it. Instead she pursed her lips and just said, "Okay." The pair sat in silence for only a moment, when there came a knock on the door. Rachel looked at Kurt for a second before standing from her seat. "I guess I'll get it," said Rachel, noticing that Kurt was still in some trance-like state.

"Yeah," said Kurt monotone. His mind was still racing. The name Blaine Anderson was a foggy memory in is brain. One that though he'd like to forget, never could. He was trying so hard not to let just the name of the person that was about to walk into his apartment bother him, though it was evident that it already was. The sound of Rachel's heels against the hardwood floor seemed to pulsate in his brain. He heard the door crack open and closed his eyes firmly. "It's not him," he said to himself quietly before opening his eyes. He heard Rachel say, "Come on in," to the mystery person behind the door. He grabbed the table's ledge and slowly inched his neck towards the front of the apartment. After a minute of stunned silence, an all too familiar voice spoke to him.

"Hello Kurt," spoke the voice that belonged to Blaine Anderson. He extended his hand to shake Kurt's. "It's been a while," he said with a toothy, yet smug smile.

Kurt looked at Blaine's hand a moment before he shook it. "Yeah," said Kurt, voice shaken. Kurt didn't stand to greet him; instead he stayed glued to his seat. He was still in shock. Was this some sick joke? How could it be, nobody knew about Blaine Anderson except for Kurt himself. He was sure of it.

"You two know each other?" asked a confused Rachel. She shut the door and headed back to the table in the main room.

"A little bit," said Blaine, his eyes still fixed on Kurt's. He let go of Kurt's hand and put both of his own back in his suit pockets. He shrugged and smiled down at Kurt. "But it's been a while," he said with a loud breath, " It. Has. Been. A. While."

Kurt smiled half-heartedly. "Yeah," said Kurt, "It has". He studied Blaine for a quick moment. He hadn't changed a bit since he last saw him. He still had a beard, that wasn't too scruffy, but still rough looking. He wore what looked like a custom-tailored gray suit, with faint white pinstripes running vertically along it. His hair was still dark brown and curly. He wore glasses with thick black rims, and shoes that were shiner than an Academy Award on Oscar night. Kurt still wasn't grasping what was going on, but there was one thing that he knew for certain; Blaine Anderson hadn't changed one bit since the night that they first met.

"Oh," said Rachel, looking down towards Kurt, "Funny, I've never heard of you." She sat down and clasped her hands together.

Kurt snapped his head around to face Rachel. He grinded his teeth together and stared at her for a moment. "Maybe I just don't share everything with you Rachel," he said, obviously annoyed. He turned his head back to face Blaine. "Or maybe I just figured that wasn't a story worth telling," he said, lips pursed.

Blaine laughed as he took a seat on the chair across the table. "I don't think that could possibly be the reason," he said smugly.

Kurt coughed loudly as Rachel swung her neck around to stare at him. "I'd like to hear it," she said with a vicious smile.

"No," said Kurt quickly. He shook his head and patted Rachel on the shoulder. "Trust me," he said, still trying to calm himself down, "It's nothing. Besides, that's not why we're here."

Rachel rolled her eyes and readjusted herself in her seat. "Okay," she said, smoothing out her hair, "If this is how it's going to be, then this is how it's going to be. Blaine, you wanna tell us a little bit about yourself?"

Blaine let his hands run down his thighs for a moment before answering. "Well Kurt already knows a little about me," he said, his eyes on Kurt's, "But I guess I'll give it a shot." He leaned back in his seat and crossed his right leg over his left. "Name's Blaine Anderson, obviously. I work in the entertainment business. Well, sort of. I'm a club promoter. I was born and raised in Manhattan, I had big shot parents so I got that lavish, snobby upbringing that you'd expect." He stopped speaking for a moment and looked towards the window on the back wall. "I don't really know what you're expecting me to say," he said with his head leaning back, "Am I doing good so far?"

Rachel smiled as she looked up from the notebook she had been scribbling in and said "Well considering that our only requirements were to have enough money to pay rent and not too smell awful, you're doing just fine."

Blaine smiled and got up off of his seat. He clasped his hands behind his back and walked around the room for a second. "Okay," he breathed out, " I'm not currently romantically involved with anyone right now, so there's that."

"I don't think that was a necessary addition " said Kurt, quickly cutting Blaine off.

"I know," said Blaine coyly, "But I thought I'd throw it in anyway." He winked as Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Let's get back to business," said Rachel with a clap of her hands, "Blaine, do you have any hobbies?"

"Okay seriously," said Kurt smacking his hand against the table, "Seriously Rachel, you're considering him to be our roommate? You're crazy!"

"Woah, woah woah," said Blaine putting his hands into the air defensively.

"Kurt," said Rachel sharply as she stood up, "Kitchen, now!"

Kurt arose from his seat and looked toward Blaine who was back in his seat with his arms crossed. "Stop smiling Anderson," Kurt almost hissed as he walked towards the kitchen.

Rachel had her hip popped and her arms crossed as she stood in the corner of their kitchen. "What the hell is going on Kurt?" demanded Rachel, "Who is this guy?"

Kurt whipped his head back. "Rachel," He whined, "I don't want to talk about it. I can't stand him."

"Well you're going to have to talk about it sometime," Rachel snapped back. She pointed her finger at Kurt. "Spill," she said sternly.

Kurt sighed. "Fine," he started, "Remember how last year Nationals were held here, in New York City?" Rachel nodded her head. "Well," Kurt hesitated, "Remember how I kind of went missing during rehearsals?" Rachel nodded again, this time furiously. "Well I kind of had my own little adventure," said Kurt biting his lip.

Rachel's mouth dropped open. "Get out!" she said with a giant smile on her face.

"Yeah," said Kurt, "Anyway, long story short. We um,"

"Yeah," Rachel said, moving her hands encouraging Kurt to keep going.

"We um," Kurt stumbled "We fucked."

Kurt thought Rachel was going to fall over from the news. Instead, he felt her hands grab his shoulders and she shook him. "No! Fucking! Way!" she squealed, "Kurt he is so hot, and wow. Like, wow. What a maniac you were who knew?"

Kurt couldn't help but smile at Rachel's excitement, but quickly contained himself. "Rachel," he said sternly, "It's not funny. Besides it was a one-time thing, I guess." He grabbed his own shoulder and rubbed it.

"What do you mean you guess?" asked Rachel attentively, "What happened?"

"I don't know," said Kurt, kind of admittedly, "I gave him my info, but he never called, never e-mailed, never texted me. I haven't seen or heard from him up until five minutes ago."

"This is crazy," said Rachel, throwing her hands in the air, "Just crazy."

"I know," answered Kurt, "That's why I don't want him here."

"Did you ever wonder?" asked Rachel, ignoring what Kurt had just said, "Did you ever wonder about him, or what could have been?"

Kurt sat down on the barstool beside the counter. "Nothing would have ever been Rachel," he said, "He was this big-time club promoter in New York and I was a soon to be senior singing in a show choir competition from Lima. It was clearly a one night stand. It didn't mean anything"

"Then how come he hasn't forgotten about you?" asked Rachel.

Kurt bit his lip. "I can't answer that," he said, breathing out. He got up off of the barstool. "This is crazy Rachel," he said, "This entire ordeal is nuts. Let's kick him out."

"Wait," said Rachel, grabbing Kurt's arm, "Call me crazy, but I think we should give him a chance."

"You are crazy," said Kurt blankly, "That's not gonna happen". He took a step forward.

Rachel walked in front of him and cut him off. "Kurt, hear me out," she said, "Listen. He has the money to pay rent, he has a stable job. He doesn't seem like a lot of trouble."

"Clearly you didn't hear a word of what I just told you," said Kurt crossing his arms.

"No no I did," said Rachel, "Kurt listen. This could be your story. Your story of redemption, your story of love, your story of happiness." She grabbed both of his arms and smiled into his eyes.

"You," said Kurt as he took a deep breath, " Are a crazypants." Kurt shifted to the left and started to walk towards the main room.

Rachel sighed and turned to follow Kurt out of the room. When they arrived in the room Rachel opened her mouth to say something, but was quickly cut off by her roommate.

"Come on then," Kurt said to Blaine, motioning with his hands across the room, "Let's give you a tour."

Rachel clenched her fists with excitement as she followed both boys across the room.

Kurt looked back towards Rachel and gave her a look that only Rachel would understand. He wasn't exactly sure what he was doing, or where he was going, but something that Rachel said to him seemed to make sense. He was always yearning for a sense of adventure in his life, and maybe this wasn't the path he was supposed to take, but could it hurt to walk it for a little while?