Jim's was the place where, according to David and Nick, "the best food is served, the coldest drinks are kept and the nicest people are". It was a diner both of them had been going to ever since they set a foot in Lima.

The place was only half full and Timberwolf gray tables were in row, always against the broad, long window that took over the walls. It was pretty large, L-shaped and constituted by pastel colors, nowhere a monotonous spot to the eyes, full of trimmings on the walls, such as shiny vinyl records, pictures of famous artists and, in one place, an acoustic guitar that looked old and worn out, but it was beautiful. Most of the people were sitting at the red and shiny counter that traveled easily a quarter of the place, while Nick and David were in a cornered booth, almost everyone drinking Diet Coke.

"How are you, guys?" he asked as he took seat next to Nick.

"Great."

"Rested," Nick answered, moving his lips to the straw. "Don't you want anything?" he questioned.

"No, thanks, I'm good," Blaine rejected politely.

"Any plans for today?" Nick went on, setting his eyes on his glass again.

"Not yet," he shrugged.

"Wanna go to the dance?" his friend insisted. Both David and Blaine chortled.

"There's another one tonight?" the newbie asked.

"Get used to it, buddy. In this town there's not much to do, so teenagers—"

"Not to say their hormones," Blaine added under his breath, making Nick giggle.

"—tend to organize dances. Really often."

"Yeah, I noticed," he observed, nodding at what David was saying to him across the table. He took a deep breath.

There were many parties back in New York too, but he wasn't used to attending those either; instead he would just hang out with his friends and do other things. But this wasn't New York alright. He loved music. A lot. There was no denying in that or whatsoever, but partying wasn't his favorite activity and he wasn't even sure he was ready for it yet; in a small city where he was new and didn't know anyone. Well, he did know David and Nick but what if they hooked up with some girl and he was left alone. In the worst case scenario, he could leave, but still...

"Hey, guys," Blaine called and both of them looked up at him. "Do you have, like... girlfriends or something?" they instantly chuckled loudly.

"Nick here has been dating a girl for three years. And I've been with Angela for five months now," he explained. Blaine nodded once more, surprised. Nick didn't seem the kind of guy who dated girls for that long time. "Well, you learn something every day," he thought.

"What about you, Blaine? You got a girlfriend?" he carried on.

"Huh... No," he said and the fella next to him stared.

"No?" he pried with astonishment. Blaine narrowed his eyes.

"No," he repeated. Nick raised his eyebrows and David chortled once more. "What? Why?"

"Nothing, you just look like the guy that could get a girl easily," Nick conceded.

"Have you ever had a girlfriend, Blaine?" the other asked, a soft smile playing on his lips. Blaine laughed and simply shrugged, shaking his head. This time even David looked taken aback.

"Okay, what?" Nick started again in disbelief, making Blaine giggle nervously.

"What?"

"You've never had a girlfriend," he quoted. "In like... the seventeen years you've been alive—you're seventeen, right?" he paused and Blaine nodded. "you have never had a girlfriend," still not believing it.

"No, I have not. Why does it shock you so much?"

"Don't you have any hormones, Blaine? Doesn't your body talk to you, man?" he preached, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Yeah, aren't you connected with your soul?" David mocked, following Nick's lead who merely glared at him.

"You, shush," he pointed at him and then turned to Blaine again. "We're going to this party tonight, and you're coming with us," he declared.

"But..." he began. He hadn't even thought of what to say, he just started complaining, waiting for Nick to say something like. "No buts, you're coming" but he was just staring expectantly at him.

"But what?"

"I just don't feel like dating," he said and added "any girls" on the inside. Nick just glanced at him.

"I don't get it, what do you mean you "don't feel like dating"?"

"Nick, just leave the poor kid alone. He looks terrified. If he isn't ready, he isn't ready," David stepped in and Blaine felt a huge relief within his chest and smiled awkwardly.

"I just... can't believe it," Nick surrendered and went back to his Diet Coke.

"You look sad," David pointed out.

"I'm not sad, I'm just... disappointed," he said, and took another sip of his drink. The other two laughed and David winked at Blaine, who swallowed.

"Oh, now that I remember, I do have to go to a supermarket or something; I don't really have any home supplies or food. Which should I go to?" he questioned, the sudden image of the bloody mess his new house was flashing before his eyes. He still had to unpack, since the day before he had practically fainted, until his two friends woke him up.

"What are you talking about? We're going with you."

"Oh, but, that's not necessary-"

"What's not necessary? We're friends, Blaine. Friends never do enough for each other," Nick mocked dramatically while David rolled his eyes. Blaine's face lit up once more. He had definitely been lucky about those two.
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They spent another while at the diner until daybreak arrived and they left the place.

"Your loss," Nick shrugged when Blaine stated he wasn't going to the dance. Some people would've probably gotten angry at a new friend who's constantly joking, but Blaine was way too nice and didn't use to be annoyed because of those kinds of personages. After all, Nick didn't say those things in a hurtful way, he was just kidding around.

"Thank you guys. It just feels like you're being way too nice to me," Blaine thanked them again. He feared, though, that he was coming off as a lame nuisance for thanking and apologizing all the time, but he still thought it was necessary.

"Don't even mention it, man," David patted his back.

"Yeah, we're glad to," Nick beamed.

They went to a small supermarket on McKibben Street and started walking around the place, looking for the things Blaine had to buy.

"Do you want or need something in particular?" David cared, looking over his shoulder.

"I did make a list yesterday, but my parents are coming in like... three days, so they'll take care of it then," he whispered distractedly, scanning the products. David sighed.

"Where in God's name is Nick?" he finally sighed exasperated, looking around. Blaine chuckled while grabbing a milk carton and checking the scrap of paper.

"I need butter," he said to himself and David pointed towards a shelf to his right.

"There. Wait for me here, I'll be right back," he told him and left muttering under his breath.

Blaine was eyeing the place searching for the butter, when he heard giggles behind him. When he turned around all he could see was a guy slightly taller than him, light brown hair being chased and fooling around with a girl, until they just disappeared a moment later. Blaine just frowned; "What the hell was that?" he thought but decided to ignore it and keep on looking for the things he had yet to find.

"—I'm telling ya', that McHover girl shouldn't be fooling around with Hummel," Nick and David came back whispering and faintly laughing.

"Did you find the butter?"
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It was only one thirty when David and Nick walked Blaine to his house to help him with the groceries' bags just to leave again afterwards. This time they grabbed some bicycles Nick and David owned and went on for hours under the clear and happy sky, laughing and chatting till they reached a quiet lake. The place was surrounded by small, bright trees and it was so peaceful Blaine almost fell asleep under the shade of a pine; he would have if David hadn't splashed him whole with water.

"Oh my..." he started screaming, suddenly coming out of that cloud of drowsiness that was in fact pulling him down. Gaping, he looked down to his now wet, freezing clothes. After a moment, he lifted his gaze, finding David's guilty eyes. With a smirk, he got up and dangerously whispered "You are a dead man," his friend looked confused before reacting as fast as possible. Blaine started chasing him all around the lake, running in circles, while Nick laughed with tears in his eyes. After a while he damned the other boy, it wasn't fair; his legs were far shorter than David's.

"Seriously man, you're freakishly tall," he cursed, the other two still laughing.

The clouds started to take over the entire sky and a soft breeze was blowing too, so they decided to sit on the grass, still warm for another while. After a couple of minutes –faster than they would've liked- the summer weather turned into a cold, windy one and they grabbed the bikes to get back to town. This time they went slower, pedaling at their own speed. When they finally reached Lima, they hang out another while, walking down the streets. Blaine was starting to grow fond of this place; it was so calm, so different from New York. He still had to get adapted to the small population, to the fact that there was no Park Avenue with classy, elegant people walking around. No skyscrapers, no big stores, no streets full of fancy cars; Lima seemed like a lovely place, people were nice, he had made awesome friends without even trying and the new house was also comfortable and pleasant. Jackpot.

At five o'clock sharp, Nick left for a date with his girlfriend, Holly "She doesn't like it when I'm late," he explained with a smirk.

"We always sit here, this is kind of our booth, so get used to it," David said when they sat down in their usual place at Jim's, after ordering a Coke and a strawberry milkshake.

"I'm exhausted," was all that came out of his dry mouth. He stretched against the seat dreaming already of his precious bed.

"Yeah, long day alright," the young man agreed.

"You're lucky I'm too tired to accidentallyspill your soda all over you," he moaned with a tiny grin, as the waiter placed the cold, wet bottle and Blaine's beverage on the white table.

"Why don't you like dancing, anyway?" he asked out of thin air. Blaine hesitated for a minute or so before answering, eyes casually on the table and scratching his cheek "I mean... I'm not trying to push you or anything. At all, it just came to my mind."

"It's not that I don't like dancing," he began, not sure of what to say "I love music, I know how to play guitar and piano. I also sing, so it's not that I don't like dancing, is just that... I don't feel comfortable. It's just the environment, you know?" he fidgeted, touching his straw and straightening his shirt "People grope each other and I'm not too fond of that," he tittered. David just looked at him for a moment before replying.

"You know I can tell you're not being completely honest with me, don't you?" he confessed with a small grin on his face. Blaine frowned, not entirely sure how to react "It's fine, don't worry. You'll tell us when you're ready or whatever."

"Sure," he sighed "Thanks, David," he murmured, stating that he indeed had a tiny secret. Nick wasn't there, but he knew he would've said something similar. He was too grateful for their sudden friendship; they weren't only hilarious, they also were some of the kindest people Blaine had ever met. He in fact feared he would get too affective of them too soon "A lot," he added nonetheless and he could see in David's face that he meant everything he said.