As Kurt panics, Blaine stares, standing still and not knowing what to do. All the confidence he gained before fades away softly, as confusion takes over his mind.

"Where you waiting for someone?" he asks, scratching his head before crossing his arms, looking at the other man walking back and forth. Kurt stops suddenly and looks at him in the eyes, anger and anxiety lighting up those pieces of sky.  

"Of course I was!" he snaps, "I was waiting for you- I mean, the Duke! And you're not the Duke and now the Duke is here and what am I going to do-"

"Hey, calm down!" Blaine tries to block him, trying to sound as reassuring as possible, failing miserably.

"How can I calm down? Why are you here anyway?" Kurt shouts, and then pauses for a second. Suddenly, he seems to remember something, "Don't tell me- Rachel", he goes on, "Rachel brought you here, didn't she? God, I'm going to tear in pieces her photo with Barbra in front of her eyes when I get back home-"

A loud gasp stops them both. They gaze at the spot where the sound came from, puzzled and suspicious, and Blaine notices there's a balcony he hadn't seen at first; no one seem to be there, though. They both open their mouths, their eyes asking the same question, when a nasal voice coming from the corridor drags them back to reality.

"Kurt?"

The man's eyes open wide, as he shouts back. "Give me one moment, Sandy!"

Kurt looks feverishly around the room, grabbing a blanket from the bed. "Hide! Quick!" he hisses, pushing Blaine down, behind the table where the champagne and food is; he is about to throw the blanket on top of him, when Sandy walks in, followed by another man.

"Are you ready to welcome the Duke, sweetie?" he asks, giving a suspicious look around the room, "Why did it take you so long?"

Kurt bites his lip, turning to face them quickly. Sandy almost certainly has noticed that the bed and the carpet are in a mess - God, he probably looks a mess, too. "I wanted to be... Well prepared", he says, trying desperately to sound convincing, without knowing what to do with the blanket he is still holding. Not having a better idea, he throws it on his bare shoulders, as if it was a cloak.

He then glances at Blaine, who is hiding behind the table, looking at the scene playing in front of his eyes as if it was some kind o movie. Kurt mouths him to hide better, before turning back to Sandy.

Please don't ask questions, Kurt begs with his eyes, and the other man seems to understand, because even though he looks confused and not fully convinced he turns back to the man standing behind him.

"Dear Duke, I have the pleasure to introduce the sparkling diamond of the Moulin Rose, mister Kurt Hummel", he announces, gesturing at Kurt as if he was some kind of prize. Kurt swallows back the rage and the disdain that stab his chest every time Sandy shows him off this way, and tries to smile, staring at the Duke in the eyes.

So this is the man he has to seduce.

His eyes wander over the flaxen blond, short, slicked back with gel hair, his sharp chin, his piercing gray eyes. The man stares back at him and suddenly Kurt feels violated, as if he could read right into the dark depths of his soul; he suddenly feels the urge to turn his eyes away, look somewhere else, hide himself from him.

But he doesn't. He can't.

"I am so glad you took time to come, sir", he affirms, holding his gaze with a confident smile.

The man's eyes look hungry and dangerous as he answers, getting closer.

"I am afraid I will be the glad one by the end of this night, my dear", he says, his lips curved in a sly smile.

"Why are you wearing that?" he asks, looking with interest at the blanket that Kurt is still holding on his shoulders.

"I was- I-" Kurt bites his lips desperately, without knowing what to say. He has to make up something quickly and sound convincing, too, or the man will ask more questions and get suspicious, and he can't allow that; not when a stranger is hiding in his room. "I was shivering at the thought of meeting you, but now that you're here, the heat in this room is almost unbearable", he says, almost groaning, throwing the blanket behind him, right on top of Blaine's head. Blaine's cough of surprise is luckily covered by a squeak coming from the door, that makes them both turn and realise that Sandy is still there, covering his mouth with his folded hands, trying to suppress his giggles.

The Duke shoots him a dreadful glare. "Mr. Ryerson, you'd better go", he hisses.

Sandy bites his lip, with a big smile. "Of course. I will leave you two squirrels to get better acquainted", he says, before getting out the room with a deep bow and leaving them alone. The Duke turns to face Kurt again and smiles, before leaning towards him to lay a delicate kiss on Kurt's hand.

"A kiss on the hand may be quite continental" Kurt whispers, his eyes fixed on the man's figure.

"But diamonds are a girl's best friend. ‘Gentlemen prefer blondes', 1953. I'm glad we have the same taste in music and theatre", the Duke says back.

Kurt forces his lips to smile, as he takes the man's jacket and hangs it on the wall, before sitting on the bed.

"After that breath taking performance of tonight you must be in need of refreshment", the Duke assumes, getting closer to the table.

Right where Blaine is hiding.

"No!" Kurt shouts suddenly, getting up almost instinctively, "I mean, I don't - You will probably like some champagne; why don't you enjoy the view, as I take care of you?" he babbles, trying to catch the other man's attention and move him away from Blaine's hiding place. He hopes his smile looks convincing, because from where he's standing he can see Blaine's head popping out from the table, and if he turns the Duke will see it, too.

"Erm... Charming. But you don't have to bother, I can do it by myself."

He is about to turn, when Kurt stops him again. "Don't!" he screams. He tries to smile, but the angry look in the Duke's eyes is enough to tell him that he's annoying him now. Kurt's mind starts to race to find out something to do to distract him, to calm him down, to keep him away from Blaine-

"It's- It's a little bit... funny...." he whispers, trying to sound as needing and loving and sincere as possible.

Thank God, Kurt thinks, as he sees the look in the man's eyes soften. "What is it?"

"This... feeling... inside", he goes on, glaring at Blaine, who is trying to peep from the table. God, is he stupid or something? He will get caught if he doesn't pay attention to what he does, and then both of them will be screwed, can't he get something as simple as that? "I'm not one of those who can easily... Hide!" he shouts, noticing that the other man is about to stand.

Blaine is caught off guard by the sudden change in Kurt's voice and lowers down all of a sudden, hitting his head against the table by mistake. The Duke is about to turn and Kurt knows he has to do something to stop him-

He gets closer quickly and puts his hands on the man's chest.
"I don't have much money, but if I did, I'd buy a house where we both could live", he says, casting him an intense glance. The Duke looks still puzzled by the things he is saying, and Kurt knows he has to do something more, something greater, something that will leave him breathless. He leans his head on the side as to offer his neck to the Duke's lips, but he glares at Blaine instead, telling him to go away with a meaningful look. Blaine probably figures out that Kurt is doing this just to give him he opportunity to leave, and stands up, reaching slowly and silently the door.

"I hope you don't mind", Kurt starts singing, his voice soft and mellow and soaked in every ounce of sweetness he can give, "I hope you don't mind, that I put down in words", he glimpses at Blaine, who is about to get out, "how wonderful life is now you're in the world", he ends, staring at the other man.

To his own surprise, the Duke's icy eyes seem to be wrapped in a warm light, as they sparkle in fascination.

"That's... beautiful", he whispers, touching Kurt's cheek softly.

"Your Song, by Elton John", Kurt explains, "We will be singing it in Spectacular, Spectacular. I thought I understood the words but now, with you here, I can really feel the meaning of them piercing my soul."

He wraps his arms around the Duke's neck, gesturing to Blaine to go. Why does that idiot stay still? Why doesn't he just leave?! "How wonderful life is now you're in the world", Kurt repeats.

"And what is that meaning, my dear?" the Duke asks, utterly stunned, with his eyes still glimmering in wonder.

In that moment, Blaine opens the door to walk out, giving a last glimpse at Kurt.

He didn't understand a thing of what has just happened, and doesn't like it. Kurt is clearly pretending that he's in love with this man, and is trying to seduce him, but why the hell should he? He called him ‘Duke'. Does that mean that he's noble or something? The questions spinning inside his mind are so many that make him feel dizzy, and annoyed, too, because he knows he won't get an answer - at least, not until he meets Rachel.

He turns again and almost has a heart attack as he sees that there's a man standing in front of the door. The gun tied against his leg is enough to terrify him, and Blaine rushes back in, slamming the door almost instinctively. 

Luckily Kurt reflexes are quick, and before the Duke can turn around he throws himself on the bed, whining almost hysterically.

"Don't you toy with my emotions, sir!" he cries out, pointing at him, sitting up again under the Duke's confused stare, "Obviously you know the effect your charms have on harmless men, and you keep me hanging on!" he shouts. Behind the man, Blaine is standing still, without knowing what to do or where to hide. I have to do something, or that idiot won't move from where he's standing, Kurt thinks, when suddenly an idea flashes through his mind. He grabs the man by his wrists, catching him off balance, and pulls him on top of his body. "Let's make love", he gasps, throwing back his head and wrapping his legs around the man's waist.

Blaine knows he should hide, go away, do something, but he can't move. He looks at Kurt under the Duke's body, and can't help feeling almost betrayed, as reproach starts to fill his eyes. He doesn't even know Kurt, after all, and what or who he does is none of his business; why does the thought of him being with someone else hurt so much, then?

Kurt's voice drags him back to reality, and he blinks a few times, still petrified.

"You want to make love, don't you?" Kurt moans desperately, starting to rock his hips against the Duke's.

"Make love?"

"I knew you felt the same way!" Kurt cries out, licking his ear quickly, crashing the man's lips against his neck, still moving. He turns to Blaine, mouthing him to go away, but Blaine can't turn his eyes away. Kurt can see that there's something in them - something like reproach or betrayal. Pain stabs his chest like a cold knife, as he feels judged by this guy who doesn't ever know him, and feels he can't hold his gaze anymore. He turns his eyes away, starting to bite the man's ear and lick his neck, palming at his cock through the fabric of his trousers and resting the other on his chest, feeling his feverish heartbeat with relief more than satisfaction. Perfect, he thinks. The fact that the other man is still there doesn't even bother him anymore, because anyway the drug will work and the Duke won't be a problem for him anymo-

Suddenly, Kurt remembers that the man hasn't drunk the champagne.

Fuck.

His mind starts to work faster than it ever did. He can almost feel the electricity darting through his brain, as he tries desperately to find a solution. The Duke's hands burn like hot iron on his skin, and icy fear fills his wide eyes.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

He turns to look at Blaine as a mute request of help, and he sees it.

Suddenly, he sees it.

The solution.

"You're right, we should wait until the opening night!" he cries out, suddenly pushing the Duke away and sitting up, trying to calm down. There's nothing to fear now. He knows what to do.

Blaine hides again. He doesn't know why Kurt has suddenly pushed that man away, but he can't help feeling satisfied about it, and he can't understand the reason that stands behind what he feels. He watches the scene taking place in front of his eyes, and sees that the Duke looks even more confused than he is right now.

"There's a power in you that scares me. I can't handle it", Kurt explains, laying a hand on his chest. The Duke seems to believe him, and is about to reach him on the bed again, but Kurt stops him and stands up.

"You should go".

He turns the Duke so that he faces the door, and starts to push him towards it.

"But I just got here!" the other man protests, indignant.
"We must wait", Kurt says again, opening the door, looking at him as if he was explaining something simple and obvious, "We must wait until the opening night, or I won't be able to stop thinking about you and my acting will suffer from it."

The Duke tries to say something else, but Kurt doesn't give him the opportunity to do so. "Get out", he snaps, pushing him out with no delicacy at all.

As soon as the door is closed behind his back, he sighs with relief.

He is safe, now.

No one will hurt him.

He closes his eyes, breathing heavily, before pulling himself up again to face the other man, who has just come out from his hideout.

"Do you have any idea, any idea of what would have happened if he found you here?!" he almost squeaks, the pitch of his voice getting higher and higher as he speaks. He stares at the other man, flying into a rage as he sees his calm smile. How the hell can he be so composed? 

Adrenaline and anger make his heart beat faster, and air suddenly doesn't seem to fill his lungs anymore.

It's not long before his mind goes blank.

He gasps, and his eyes close before he can possibly hear the other man shouting "Oh, not again!"

Blaine's eyes open wide in panic, seeing Kurt faint for the second time tonight, but luckily he is able to grab him before he falls.

God, what should I do now? he groans to himself, trying to shake Kurt slightly.

"Kurt... Wake up, Kurt! God, you looked lighter than what you actually are", he complains, as he tries to move his hand from Kurt's waist to his face, to pat him on the cheek. Kurt is too tall for him to support with just one arm, though, and they both fall heavily on the bed.

"Kurt, come on, for Christ's sake!" he begs, moving on top of him and taking his face between his hands, in a desperate and useless attempt to wake him up.

He doesn't notice that the door flings open, as the Duke appears in the room. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I left my ja-

Time seems to freeze, as the Duke stares at both, blinking blankly, and Blaine turns to look at him, eyes wide in fear.

It doesn't take long for the man to give himself his own explanation of the scene that is taking place in front of his eyes.

"What the hell is going on here?" he hisses, his icy eyes bursting in cold flames of rage.