Kurt’s mind was spinning as he set his fuchsia and dark blue Blackberry down.

Rachel’s voice echoed in his head. “Come on! The guy’s desperate! There’s this guy that’s practically stalking him! He just wants to get rid of his stalker, that’s all, I promise! He’s such a good friend... I can’t let him down! It's just one date, not a commitment. Please Kurt? You’re the only one who can help him.”

I’m the only one who can help him, my ass! Kurt thought angrily. Rachel was in musical theatre for God’s sake! There were plenty of gay guys at NYADA. Why couldn’t she ask one of them? And why me after we haven’t event talked for almost a year?

But the more important question was--why didn’t he say no?

Kurt knew the answer to that one--he didn’t want anyone to go through what he did at McKinley. And for that reason, and that reason only, Kurt had agreed.

Kurt’s mind was spinning. He had never been on a fake date before. How did they even work in the first place? What would he have to do? Did he have to kiss a guy he barely knew? That would be beyond awkward. This sucked. He had to figure this out before leaving for the photo shoot.

Just thinking about the photo shoot made Kurt feel like doing the victory dance he made up in kindergarten. Hip, hip, turn and twist, twirl your fists, hip, hip, little wiggle! There was no way that this could be real. He was going to style a music star for Vogue! This only happened in the movies! Kurt felt like the luckiest guy on Earth.

Suddenly, he felt confident about the fake date. It couldn’t be that hard, and if he had to kiss the guy, he’d suck it up and deal. Today was Kurt’s day. Nothing was going to ruin it. Nothing at all.

Kurt glanced at the clock. Twenty minutes until he had to leave. He went through his mental checklist.

Outfit? Check: White suit jacket, dark shirt, designer skinny jeans, his favorite grey plaid pea coat, the thick scarf Rachel bought for him two Christmases ago, and of course, his favorite pair of boots. That outfit only took him a few hours to put together.

Bag? Of course, Louis Vuitton handmade patent leather satchel with specially ordered brass buttons.

Plans? Absolutely. Kurt had spent days coming up with ideas to fit every kind of personality. So be this mysterious singer a punk rock star or a barely-past-puberty teen, he knew what his options were.

Perfect.

Kurt was ready to go.

~~~

"Blaine, this is Kurt, your new stylist."

Kurt automatically froze as he lifted my eyes to meet Blaine’s hazel ones. Memories rushed at him from every direction, clamouring for attention. Blaine at McKinley, Blaine at Nationals, Blaine at college. It was him. It really was. Standing in front of Kurt, looking like he had stepped straight out of the pages of Entertainment Weekly was Blaine Anderson.

Time seemed to stand still as they gazed into each others eyes like they had done so many months ago. Kurt didn’t know what to do. When Professor Winston had referred him to Chrystie, he had been told that he would be the stylist for a rising young singer. Never had he ever imagined that it would be Blaine.

“Well, Blaine? You shouldn’t stare. That’s bad manners, you know that.” Chrystie admonished Blaine, breaking the spell that had come over Kurt.

“Hi, Kurt,” Blaine said smoothly. “Long time no see.”

Kurt winced as he saw the hurt in Blaine’s eyes. The hurt that was undoubtedly his fault. He knew that Blaine still hadn’t gotten over the breakup. He had gathered that much from Blaine’s concert. Guilt washed over Kurt as he realised just how horrible he had been. Blaine had been the most perfect boyfriend he could ever have asked for. And yet all he had done in return was ruin the dream that they had been living.

“So you two know each other?” Chrystie asked as she beckoned them to walk with her. “That’s nice. See, Blaine, we’re going to hire Kurt full time. We’ve looked through his portfolio and he just has so much talent. I don’t know why we waited so long to hire a stylist. He is just so perfect.”

Kurt shivered as Blaine’s hazel eyes met his own blue eyes.

“Of course, Chrystie. Kurt has been nothing but dedicated ever since high school.”

“Since high school... oh!” Kurt watched as Chrystie suddenly comprehended Blaine’s words. “So you’re the infamous Kurt. Interesting.”

Chrystie’s eyes suddenly seemed more judgemental as she assessed Kurt’s profile. “Well Kurt, I gave you the job, and I’m sure you know that we’re strictly professional here, but let me tell you one thing. You break Blaine’s heart again, and you’re done for.”

With those final words, she stalked off, leaving behind an awkward atmosphere between Kurt and Blaine. They looked at each other again, and then looked away, unable to meet the other’s eyes. Time stretched on as they each tried to find words to get them over their impasse.

Finally, Blaine’s voice broke the silence. “Sorry about that. She’s kind of like the overprotective sister, I suppose.”

Kurt nodded, understanding who ‘she’ was. “It’s fine. Um... So, how have you been?”

“Well, alright. Life’s gotten better. I have my music. I have my friends. Life’s pretty much perfect.”

Kurt couldn’t help but notice the longing in Blaine’s eyes. The longing for something more than ‘pretty much perfect’--the longing for love.

He nodded. “That’s nice. So... what’s it like being an international super star?”

Blaine stiffened and looked away. “Listen, Kurt, we better get working. The photo shoot needs to be finished quickly. I have a date afterwards.”

With that, Blaine started walking, leaving Kurt no choice but to follow him, confusion whirling though his mind. What had he said to make Blaine turn away? Why did he look so angry? And who was this date that he had?

A stab of jealousy pierced Kurt and he pushed it away, wearily. He couldn’t have anything to do with Blaine. Heck, he shouldn’t even want Blaine. Blaine hadn’t broken things off, he had. And even if they could get together, as he said before, Blaine was an international superstar. They would never be able to settle down and live a quiet life.

No, Kurt. Stop. Blaine is your boss. There are no feelings between you. You wouldn’t be able to have a relationship.

With those words pulsing through Kurt’s mind, Kurt opened the door to the studio and immediately was bombarded by makeup artists and photographers. He sighed and started to address the questions that needed answering.

A few minutes later, he realised that it wasn’t working. So finally, he asked Chrystie for a microphone and stood up on a table.

“Alright, people. I’m going to explain as much as possible now and then if there are any other questions, you can ask me after. Okay?”

They nodded hesitantly, surprised at the bravado he had displayed.

“Awesome. So I’m just going to introduce myself: I’m Kurt Hummel. I’m from Lima, Ohio--” Kurt broke off as someone snorted derisively.

“Like anyone from Ohio could be good in Hollywood,” a young man with dark hair and piercing green eyes shouted out. “No one but losers live there.”

Kurt started trembling as numerous memories of being called a Lima Loser came tumbling out of the dark box in his mind that he usually managed to keep locked away. He thought he had left all of this behind when he had left Lima, but it seemed that even in the adult world, Kurt would be ridiculed for his hometown. He was just about to snap when suddenly a voice cut through the temporary silence.

“Well, Aaron, is that really your opinion on Lima?” Kurt watched as Blaine strode through the crowd and faced the green eyed man.

“Of course, Blay-blay. I mean, Ohio is just such a lame place! Do you really think that this idiot could put together something fashionable?” Kurt almost gagged as he watched Aaron flutter his eyelashes in a manner that he clearly thought was attractive.

Blaine’s eyes flashed and his voice cut like steel. “Considering I’m an internationally known artist with 3 platinum records, and I went to school in Lima, Ohio for a year and a half, I’d have to say yes. You seem to stalk me enough, Aaron. I would have guessed that you already knew that. So to answer your question, yes. Kurt has an incredible chance of making it in the fashion industry. So unless you want to deal with my anger, I suggest you leave Kurt alone.”

Blaine walked away, leaving the crowd speechless. Kurt was in shock. Blaine had never lost his temper like that before, and hearing that deep voice laced with threat, scared him a little, but really, his only thought was: Holy shit, that was sexy.

As soon as Blaine stepped out the door, the crowd turned back to Kurt.

“Um, anyway, I know we have to do five different looks, so I was thinking outfit one would be casual city wear, lots of emphasis on Blaine’s eyes. He has wonderful shades of green and brown that would suit the entourage of darker clothes that I have picked out. For look two, I would like...” Kurt kept talking, explaining in detail every style that he had assembled.

Finished at last, Kurt turned to see Blaine leaning against the doorway. They locked eyes for a moment until Blaine brushed past him.

“You’ve gotten more confident, I see.”

Kurt shuddered at the temporary close proximity. He turned around to see Blaine taking a seat in the make up chair, dozens of girls rushing over to fuss with his hair and make up.

For the first time in his life, Kurt was jealous of a comb.

He quickly walked out of the studio before he could do anything stupid, muttering a half-hearted excuse that he needed to go to the restroom. Once there, he stared at himself in the mirror, breathing more rapidly than usual. Again, the only thought running through his head was: Sexy, sexy, sexy.

He didn’t know what he had gotten into, but he did know that he was too far deep to ever come out of this unscathed.