On shaky legs, Blaine walked down the driveway and to the car; not daring to look back because he knew if he did he wouldn't be able to leave. He opened the car door and slipped inside. He barely had his seatbelt on before Wes went off. "What. The hell. Was that??" He yelled, motioning to the window that had been facing Kurt's house before they pulled off. Blaine kept his mouth shut for the entire ride back to Columbus.  Wes continued to rant, but Blaine was barely listening; all of his thoughts centered instead on Kurt. He caught some random words every now and then.

"Thoughtless!" Kurt. "Irresponsible!" Kurt and his deep and beautiful blue eyes. "Insane!" Kurt and the adorable way his nose scrunches up when he laughs. "Just plain stupid!" Kurt's voice, Kurt's sarcasm, Kurt's fire...Kurt. "What were you thinking?!" Blaine snapped out of his reverie when Wes grew quiet, obviously awaiting an answer. Blaine honestly didn't have one.

He knew Wes was right; this whole thing was crazy; staying out so late, turning off his phone, kissing Kurt... Well, not really kissing Kurt. It was just a peck on his cheek. A peck that left Blaine's lips tingling and blood rushing... "Blaine? Blaine!" Blaine's head snapped up, his eyes focusing on Wes' stoic expression. "What do you have to say for yourself?" Blaine thought for a moment; really thought about everything; and finally came to an answer. "I don't know." Wes just blinked, clearly unimpressed by his response. "Wes, I honestly have no idea."

Well," he began with a sigh. "I guess it doesn't matter now anyway; we're leaving Sunday. I tried to move our seats to a sooner flight," Blaine snapped to attention. "But none were available." He let out a relieved sigh. 

"Wes?"

"Yes, Blaine?" He asked, his voice weary.

"Kurt said ‘hi'."

Wes looked at Blaine curiously, but said nothing. Blaine was grateful. He knew that Wes could tell that something was up, but he didn't push Blaine to know anything. He loved that about Wes. He was his manager, but he was still his best friend.

Which is why he would understand when Blaine didn't tell him about his plans-his date?-with Kurt the next day.

When Blaine woke the next morning, he called down to the front desk and spoke with the hotel concierge about things to do and places to eat in Columbus. When he hung up, he had reservations for two at an intimate Thai restaurant downtown, an activity planned, and a car scheduled to pick him up in an hour. He texted Kurt good morning, and let him know that he would be in Lima in just over an hour to pick him up. When Kurt responded his consent, Blaine headed to the bathroom where he showered, shaved and gelled. He dressed simply to avoid being recognized. When he was ready, he grabbed his wallet and phone and headed out the door. He waited until he was in the car and halfway to Lima before he texted Wes. He told him that he was in his room working on some lyrics for the day. Wes usually didn't bother him when he said he was having an ‘inspired day'. Blaine hoped that would hold true. He would text Wes during the day to avoid him checking on him. Blaine hated lying to Wes, but he knew there was no way he'd be able to see Kurt and take him out if Wes had anything to say about it. He tucked his phone away with a sigh and looked out the window.

The trip went by way too slowly for Blaine's liking, so when they finally pulled up in front of Kurt's house, Blaine practically jumped out of his seat. He bounced up the drive way and to the door, bubbling with excitement as he rang the bell and waited. Kurt pulled open the door, and Blaine's heart did a flip in his chest. "Hi," he breathed, eyes locked on Kurt's. "Hey," Kurt said softly. Their eyes held and both boys were lost. The moment was broken when a throat cleared behind Kurt. Burt appeared next to Kurt in the doorway. "Blaine," he nodded, placing a hand on Kurt's shoulder. "Hello Mr. H-Burt," Blaine nodded back a bit nervously. Burt looked Blaine up and down a couple times, said "have him back by curfew," and with a pat on Kurt's back, was gone. Kurt closed the front door with a sigh, and they walked to the car.

"Curfew?" Blaine asked.

"Midnight," Kurt said, sounding a bit embarrassed.

Blaine simply smiled and paused to open Kurt's door for him. He could've sworn a look of surprise-even shock-crossed Kurt' face before Blaine closed the door and walked to the other side. Had no one ever opened a door for him? Blaine climbed into the car next to Kurt, mumbled "seatbelt," and told the driver to head back to Columbus.

"I hope you don't mind going all the way back to Columbus. I didn't know what there was to di in Lima. We can stay if you're uncomfortable." Kurt replied quickly. "No, it's fine." Blaine smiled, Kurt blushed. "It's just good to get out of Lima some times. This is great. Did you have anything planned?"

"I made us dinner reservations, and I have something planned, but it's a surprise." Kurt looked curious. "I don't really like surprises." Kurt warned, a smile on his lips. "Well, you'll learn to like them if you stick around me long enough." Blaine countered.

"Tell me?"

"Not a chance."

Kurt stuck his bottom lip out and widened his eyes. "Please?" he begged pitifully.

Blaine resisted the urge to give in, and tore his eyes away from Kurt's cute, pouty mouth. "No way; nice try though." Kurt continued to pout. "Seriously, valiant effort; but I'm a rock, and can't be broken." To prove his point, Blaine flexed his arm with a grunt. Kurt's laughter filled the backseat and warmed Blaine down to his toes.

They continued their banter and light joked for a while, but when they neared Columbus, Blaine realized he hadn't planned anything to do until 6:00.

"Kurt?"

"Hmm?"

"We have some time to kill before we have to be ready for what I have planned. Is there anything you want to do in Columbus? I know there's a zoo and an aquarium, but I also know that you don't like the way zoo's smell, so that leaves the aquarium. Is that something you'd be interested in? We could always just walk around downtown until we find something fun to do? Gosh, I'm sorry. I should've planned something to do..."

"Blaine, calm down. I know exactly what we can do. It's the perfect way to kill time."

About 30 minutes later, the car pulled up in front of the Easton Town Centre Mall.

It turns out, Kurt was right. Going to the biggest mall in Ohio was definitely a good way to kill time. They had been shopping for about three hours, weaving in and out of stores, trying on expensive clothes and laughing at some of the more... eccentric pieces. Blaine was carrying a few bags for himself, and Kurt had a few as well. Kurt couldn't afford everything that he wanted, and he refused to let Blaine pay for anything, so whenever they entered a store and Kurt found something he liked and really wanted, Blaine whispered to a salesman to ring it up. All of it would be sent to Blaine's hotel room and he would have it delivered to Kurt later. He smiled to himself every time Kurt sighed when he looked at a price tag. Hopefully, Kurt would start to like surprises, or at least like Blaine's surprises.

When their feet started to ache from all of the walking, and Kurt claimed his hair was starting to fall because of all the changing, they decided to grab lunch at the mall's food court. There were many options from sushi to fast food, but they finally decided on a little café with outdoor seating. They sat in a secluded corner on the porch of Café Bistro, and ordered salads and sandwiches on fancy bread with names Blaine couldn't pronounce but Kurt could. They laughed and smiled and shared brief touches and looks. Their lunch was leisurely and intimate and Blaine felt the pull and draw to Kurt growing with every passing moment. When they were both finished, Blaine took care of the check, much to Kurt's chagrin. "I asked you out, Kurt. So I'm paying. It's the gentlemanly thing to do." Blaine laughed at Kurt's rant about breaking the old fashion role of the gentleman and entering the new age where people split the check. "I like to take care of people. Let me take care of you." Blaine said. Both boys blushed, but Kurt didn't argue.

By the time the boys made it back to the car it was already almost 5:15. They had made it through the entire shopping trip completely unnoticed. Blaine thanked the fedora and sunglasses he had worn. He gave the driver the address to their next destination, and then settled in next to Kurt in the backseat.
"Blaine," Kurt said, his tone warning. Blaine looked up, batting his eyes innocently. "Yes, Kurt?"

"Where are we going?"

"I can't tell you."

"Please?"

"It's a surprise."

"I told you, hate surprises."

"Not mine." Blaine teased. "Besides, we're almost there."

"If we're almost there, then just tell me!"

"Nope."

Kurt sighed. "Well, in that case, I guess I'm going to have to call the police."

Blaine sputtered. "What?"

"I'm in a strange car, with a strange man, on my way to God knows where. I feel like the victim of a poorly written lifetime movie."

Blaine couldn't hold back his laugh. "Kurt, just look out the window."

Kurt turned to look out the window and emitted a gasp as the Columbus Theater came into view.

"Blaine..."

"You never did tell me your favorite musical, but I hope Wicked is okay?" Blaine asked with a grin, knowing good and well that Kurt loved the musical and dedicated a week of his life to learning how to hit the high F in ‘Defying Gravity'.

"Blaine! This is amazing!" Kurt said loudly, scooting closer to Blaine and twisting to wrap his arms around him. Blaine hugged back, pulling Kurt as close as he dared, and taking in his warmth and smell and the tickle of his chestnut hair on his cheek. They pulled away slowly after a moment, their hands lingering a bit longer than necessary. And they were still so close. All Blaine had to do was lean in and... The car came to an abrupt halt, the motion causing Kurt to clumsily bump into Blaine's side. Blushing, they resituated themselves and the driver turned around to face them through the window in the partition. "Sorry about that, some guy cut me off for a parking spot."

"That's an Ohioan driver for you," Kurt said sarcastically.

They heard the driver chuckle as the car came to a halt. Blaine climbed out of the car and offered Kurt his hand. Kurt took it, his cheeks flushing pink. They walked towards the theater and Kurt paused. Blaine looked back at him quizzically. "Kurt?"

"I can't go in there looking like this!" He said, motioning down to his tight black jeans and red collared shirt. Blaine rolled his eyes fondly. "You look fine, Kurt." He said, hoping to calm him. However, his words seemed to have the opposite effect. "Fine? I can't go see my first off-Broadway show looking fine Blaine." Kurt scoffed. "Kurt, you look gorgeous; stunning, really." Blaine admitted, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth at the way Kurt's cheeks flushed. "I-I do?" Blaine decided to just be honest. "You do. You look very handsome, Kurt. I can't believe you haven't noticed me glancing at you all day. You're beautiful." Kurt flushed an even darker shade of red, and Blaine's cheeks were now tinged pink as well. "Fine. I'll go in. But next time, warn a guy!" He said before continuing to walk towards the theater, mumbling about travel induced wrinkles and 12 hour instead of 8 hour hold hairspray. Blaine followed behind him slowly, Kurt's words echoing in his head. Next time?

The show passed by quickly. Kurt fidgeted excitedly in his seat almost the entire time, only sitting still through ‘Defying Gravity', and ‘For Good'. Blaine would glance over every now and then and catch him mouthing along to the words of a song. The performance was excellent, and after some prodding on Blaine's part and embarrassed grumbling on Kurt's, the pair made their way backstage to take pictures with the cast. Kurt complained about the way his hair looked, but they came out nicely. Blaine's favorite was of Kurt blushing with Elphaba's green arm around his shoulders, and Kurt's favorite was of him and Blaine on either side of Elphaba, Glinda, and Fiyero.

They decided to walk to the restaurant where Blaine had reservations, since it was only a few blocks away from the theater. Blaine held the door open for Kurt, and they entered the dimly lit restaurant.  Blaine gave the maître d his name and they were showed to their table near the back of the relatively empty restaurant. The table was small and round, draped with a white table cloth; two place settings decorated the top, along with a single burning candle in the center. When they were seated with their orders in, Blaine looked across the table at Kurt and smiled. "Did you enjoy the show?" he asked, already knowing the answer. "Are you kidding? It was amazing!"

Kurt continued to gush and Blaine just stared at him, watching the way the flickering candle cast light shadows across his pale face. He watched the way Kurt's lips moved when he spoke and his eyes sparkled when he got particularly excited about something. It wasn't until the waitress came with their food that Kurt stopped talking and Blaine realized he was staring. "Is there something on my face?" Kurt asked nervously, a faint blush rising to his cheeks. "No, no. You look perfect." Blaine said, eyes lingering on Kurt's face a bit longer than necessary. Kurt cleared his throat. "I'm glad you decided to order Thai food. Do you like it?" Blaine took another bite of his noodles and nodded. "See? It's always good to try new things." Kurt said, taking another bite of his own food. "Oh yeah?" Blaine asked. "What are some new things that you've tried recently?" he asked, half-jokingly, and half out of genuine curiosity. Kurt paused. "Well, I haven't done anything interesting as of late, aside from tonight," he smiled up at Blaine, "but I do have a bucket list."

"A bucket list?"

"Yeah. I know it's silly, but-"

"It's not silly," Blaine interrupted. "What are some things on your bucket list?"

Kurt sighed.

"It's okay if it's personal, and you don't want to share it with me."

"It's not that, it's just..."

"Just, what?"

"Well, a lot of them are farfetched, and I doubt I'll actually be able to check any of them off."

Blaine wasn't sure how to respond. He didn't know if Kurt was exaggerating how crazy the things he wanted to do were, or if he meant that his illness wouldn't allow him the time to do it. Kurt startled Blaine when he spoke again. "Go to a fashion show."

"Pardon?"

"A fashion show. It's on my bucket list to attend a real, designer fashion show; preferably in New York. Hell, it's on my bucket list to visit New York, period. I've always wanted to travel to New York and have the whole New York experience."

"New York experience?"

"You know, breakfast at Tiffany's, dinner at Sardis, carriage ride through Central park, the whole shebang."

"That doesn't seem too implausible; I actually think it sounds like a lot of fun."

"Yeah, well I don't really have the means to take a trip like that," Kurt admitted.

Blaine didn't respond, instead, he reached over and took Kurt's hand.

"Read me some more?"

The rest of the dinner was spent with Kurt telling Blaine his dream plans and Blaine listening intently and coming up with a plan of his own.

When they were finished their meals they split a slice of cheesecake and Blaine paid the check and left a tip on the table. As they left the restaurant, he boldly slipped his hand around Kurt's elbow, and they walked back to the car arm in arm. He helped Kurt into the car, and they sat next to each other, neither one able to say much as they knew that their time together was coming to an end. About halfway through the trip, Kurt leaned his head on Blaine's shoulder and Blaine silently prayed to whoever was listening that Kurt wouldn't be able to hear his heart pounding.

The trip went by much too quickly in both boys' opinions, and before they knew it, they were walking towards Kurt's front door, shoulders bumping. Blaine checked the time on his phone when they came to a stop on the porch; it was 11:59. "You have impeccable timing, Mr. Anderson." Kurt said after glancing down at the bright screen. "Oh yeah?" Blaine lifted his eyes to Kurt's.

 "I also have impeccable taste."

 "In what?"

"Company."

 Kurt hoped that the dimness of the night would hide his burning cheeks; Blaine hoped that Kurt wouldn't notice him staring at him pale skin in the moonlight. He was luminescent, and Blaine had to resist the urge to reach out and touch him. "I had an amazing day. Thank you so much, for everything." Kurt said, gazing into Blaine eyes. "The pleasure was mine entirely." Blaine replied, leaning forward ever so slightly. Kurt moved in to meet him, and their lips were inches apart, they could feel the other's breath on their lips. Blaine tilted his head and leaned in closer just as Kurt's phone blared out the first few notes of "Single Ladies". Blaine jumped back and Kurt let out a small squeak before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. He groaned when he answered it. "I'm on the porch dad." Blaine couldn't help the small laugh that escaped his lips. He checked his phone again; it was 12 o'clock on the dot.  "I'll be up in a minute! Bye dad." Kurt said, sounding exasperated. He pocketed his phone and shot Blaine an apologetic look. "He can be a bit... overprotective, at times."

"I completely understand," Blaine said sincerely. "But I better go before he starts flickering the porch light" Kurt let out another groan and Blaine just chuckled. A moment passed and both boys grew quiet again. "So, I guess this is it?" Kurt said, his tone almost questioning. Blaine quirked an eyebrow. "Yeah, I guess it is." he said sadly. "Well," Kurt began, "it was great meeting you. I'll never forget this weekend."

"Me neither," Blaine said. "I haven't had such a good time in I don't know how long."

"Blaine?"

"Yes?"

"What're we doing?"

"I have no idea."

Kurt let out a soft chuckle. "So it's not just me?"

"God, no." Blaine let out in a breath before reaching up to run a hand through his hair.

"This...this" Kurt motioned between the two of them.

"Yes, I definitely feel it too."

"So... what do we do?"

"I have no idea."

"But-"

"All I know is that this isn't goodbye. This... whatever "this" is... it isn't over yet."

"Blaine, what are you talking about?"

"You have my number and I have yours. I have to go back to California to wrap up my EP, but there's time. I'll make it. I'm going to see you again."

Kurt blanched. "Blaine..."

"Don't. Don't question it or call me crazy, or second guess this whole thing. Don't even think about it. Just remember this weekend, and keep your schedule open."

"I hope you realize that you sound like a crazy person."

"If only I cared," Blaine said with a wicked grin on his face and a plan in his head and a beautiful boy in his heart.

Kurt rolled his eyes playfully. "Blaine Anderson you are a complete mystery to me."

"Good. Let's keep it that way. Mystery yields great surprises."

"I hate surprises."

"Not mine."

They smiled at each other, and Blaine looked back at the car. "I should go, I have to leave in the morning." Kurt's face fell. "Hey, don't be sad," Blaine said, lifting Kurt's chin. "I told you, this isn't goodbye. I promise you, we will see each other again, and Blaine Anderson always keeps his word." Kurt smiled slightly. "Alright then, I'll believe you. I'll see you later, Blaine."

Blaine's smile stretched from ear to ear. "I'll see you soon, Kurt."

Kurt turned to walk inside, but Blaine caught him by the wrist and spun him around and into his arms. It was only a hug, but it felt like so much more. It was a promise. A promise to return and a hint at what was to come. With a soft kiss to Kurt's cheek, Blaine turned and walked down the driveway and ducked into the car. His blood was still rushing in his ears as the car pulled off and down the street.

He would see Kurt again. He would show up on his porch as soon as he was finished recording the EP, and surprise Kurt with flowers. He was going to give Kurt everything on his bucket list, and in turn finish his own as well; because after meeting him, the only thing Blaine wanted to do in his life was make Kurt Hummel happy.