Kurt's bursting with excitement. He's spent the entire evening getting ready for Blaine to come over and he's due any minute.

He changed his outfit six times, has fixed his hair in the mirror more times than he can count, cleaned his entire apartment, put some music on, and had to stop three times to lint-roll Toby's fur off of his obscenely tight black pants (worth it, though, Kurt thinks, to see how Blaine reacts to how great his ass looks in them).

His breath smells fresh, he's got dinner made for the two of them, and he may or may not have a new box of condoms in his bedside drawer. Just in case.

His heart beats like a drum as he settles into the couch to wait for Blaine's arrival.

Blaine rushes home from work to get changed and ready to go to Kurt's.

He sticks his key in the door only to find that it isn't locked. Panicking, he carefully pushes the door open, expecting the worst—upturned couch cushions, belongings ransacked.

Instead, he finds Cooper.

“Coop?”

“Hey, little brother!” Blaine stares blankly at him.

“What are you doing here?” he asks. “I'm busy, okay? I've got a life and things going on and I don't have the time to entertain you.”

“I have a surprise for you,” Cooper says quickly.

“Oh, great, a Cooper Anderson surprise, because those always end well,” Blaine mutters, dropping his keys onto an end table and toeing off his shoes.

Cooper shoves a check in Blaine's face. Blaine blinks.

“Cooper, I don't want your money,” he says.

“It's not for you, Squirt,” Coop replies. “Just read it.”

The number on the check has a daunting number of zeroes. It's a lot of money. Too much, really, for anything Blaine would ever need. But Cooper wasn't lying. The money isn't for him. The check is made out to--

“Wait, you're donating all of this to the shelter?” Blaine gasps.

“It means a lot to you, bro. I wasn't going to let them shut the place down.” Blaine stares at the check, counting the zeroes again and again before looking up at his older brother.

“Thank you,” he breathes, falling into Cooper's arms and hugging him tight.

“Anytime, Blainey. You know I just want to see you happy,” Cooper tells him. “So what do you say you call the owner up and tell her the good news?” Cooper tosses Blaine the house phone and Blaine smiles so wide it hurts. He hurries into the next room to call Sharon.

Things in Blaine's life could not be more perfect.

It's been an hour.

Kurt doesn't consider himself impatient, but Blaine was supposed to be at his house an hour ago and he still hasn't heard anything. He's talked himself down from texting Blaine more than a dozen times. He doesn't want to seem annoying if Blaine's just stuck in traffic or got stuck at work a little longer.

But it's been an hour. He decides that's a safe amount of time to waits before calling to check if Blaine's alright. What if he was mugged on his way home? What if he was hit by a cab? It's only right that Kurt makes sure he's okay.

He dials Blaine's cell number, which he knows by heart. It rings three times and he's about to hang up when someone answers. “Yo!” Kurt pauses.

“I... I think I have the wrong number, I'm looking for-”

“Blaine Anderson?” the unfamiliar voice guesses. “You've got the right number, but Blaine's busy right now.” Kurt doesn't know what to say.

“Oh. Um, alright, we just-”

“Blainey, I know I'm the greatest person in the world and you love me with all your heart and you need to tell the world of my amazingness, but hurry up!” the voice calls in a playfully teasing voice, not even listening to a word Kurt says. He seems to remember he's on Blaine's phone, though. “Yeah, sorry, I'll get him to call you later, he's gonna be busy bending over and being my bitch for the rest of the night.” The guy laughs and hangs up, and Kurt stares at his phone.

Blaine ditched him, didn't call, and is now spending the night with some guy. He replays their conversation in his mind and it makes him feel sick.

The stranger can keep Blainey. It's Kurt's own fault, really, for believing they actually had something. He feels stupid. He feels absolutely destroyed. And he feels worse when he lets himself start to cry over it.

Toby meows, rubbing against Kurt's legs, and he kicks the cat away from him. The last thing he needs is to spend time with an animal that does nothing but remind him of Blaine. He needs to get out, to get away from all of this. He doesn't need a cat. He needs his best friend.

Kurt hasn't calmed down in the time it took him to get to Rachel's. He hasn't been to their new place yet. He sort of refused to go there on principle, after being abandoned, but right now, he doesn't care. If anything, the time he had between his phone call with the stranger and reaching Rachel's apartment has only caused him to get more upset over the whole ordeal. He knocks on the door, sniffling and hastily wiping his eyes.

Jesse answers the door. His face falls when he sees Kurt.

“Kurt, I'm so sorry, but Rachel isn't here,” he says, sounding genuinely apologetic. Kurt grips his hair from the roots and pulls, feeling frustrated and alone and overwhelmed.

“Great, just great,” he grits out, wanting to smash his head into a wall. Jesse's eyes widen as Kurt takes a few steps back.

“Hey, no, Kurt, don't leave. Come in, Rachel will be home soon, and you shouldn't be alone like this.” Kurt doesn't move towards him, but doesn't resist when Jesse walks outside, putting an arm around Kurt and leading him inside.

He sits Kurt on the couch and asks if he wants or needs anything. “I can make you some tea or get you some ice cream,” he offers. Kurt just shakes his head. Jesse sighs and sits next to him. “What's wrong?”

“We aren't friends, Jesse,” Kurt reminds him.

“You're Rachel's best friend, Kurt, and that means I care about you, too. You're a mess. Please talk to me.” Kurt glances at him and the sincerity in his eyes surprises him. He covers his eyes and takes a shaky breath to calm himself.

He recounts the story of his almost-relationship with Blaine to Jesse, and halfway through, Jesse pulls Kurt into his arms and lets him cry on his shoulder. He rubs Kurt's arm as he listens and hushes him when he's finished talking.

“Maybe it's all a big misunderstanding,” Jesse suggests. “Maybe the guy is just s friend and-”

“Blaine didn't tell me he had plans with any friend, and he didn't call me. He should've called,” Kurt argues, sounding absolutely miserable about the whole thing.

“He should've,” Jesse agrees. “I'm so sorry, Kurt,” he says for the millionth time that evening.

“Thank you,” Kurt says quietly, exhausted from crying. “You're a good friend.”

“Any time,” Jesse replies. “Now let's put on a movie or something, huh? Salvage some of your night.”

When Rachel gets home, the coffee table is littered in dirty spoons and empty cartons of ice cream. Jesse is watching the credits of Funny Girl with a red-nosed, puffy-faced Kurt asleep on his shoulder.