Chapter Sixteen: Without You I'm Nothing

"Kurt, are you ever gonna put some color up on these white walls?" Mercedes asked, as she perched on the edge of Kurt's couch.

"First, the walls aren't white. They are Dior Grey and secondly, that is a color." Kurt replied from his spot in his hanging chair.

"Uh huh, whatever. These are some white walls, White Boy," Mercedes sniffed.

"We can't all use Technicolor explosion as a color palette," Kurt responded playfully.

Tina and Brittney laughed but quickly quieted when Mercedes glared at them. "My room is fabulous and so is the color palette! I like bright colors and patterns. They give a room personality."

"They certainly do and your room has several," Kurt quipped.

"Shut up," Mercedes grumbled as she threw a pillow at Kurt.

"Ok ladies, what it's on the agenda for this afternoon?" Kurt asked as he dodged the pillow.

"I say we all come up with a plan to kill Rachel and hide the body," Santana announced, as she stomped down the stairs.

"I second that," Quinn griped from behind her.

Kurt was momentarily stunned by the arrival of the two Cheerios. "Uh, hi?"

"Brittney invited us," Santana explained sitting next to the blond.

Quinn sat next to Mercedes and shrugged. "Santana invited me and I needed someplace where Rachel was guaranteed not to be. If she "accidentally" runs into me and happens to mention how we should do our duet together one more time I am not going to be responsible for what I do."

"She asked you?" Tina blurted out, the shock evident in her voice.

"Man Hands has officially hit rock bottom," Santana sneered.

Quinn shot Santana a withering look. "She doesn't want to perform alone, which quite frankly makes no sense because she's always craving the spotlight."

"I feel compelled to point out that if avoiding Rachel was priority one my house probably isn't the safe haven it used to be now that Finn is living here," Kurt lamented.

"There's a chance she may show up here," Quinn acknowledged. "But it's a guarantee she's going to come by my place. She called me this morning to let me know she somehow made one too many batch of 'yummy vegan brownies' and would be bringing me by a few."

"Same here!" Everyone shouted in unison.

"She's bribing us with brownies, vegan brownies at that!" Mercedes groaned.

"They are pretty yummy," Kurt said absently.

"She doesn't even care who performs with her as long as she doesn't perform alone," Tina said. "You'd think she'd relish the chance to have all the attention on her and her alone."

"It's not that she wants to perform with any of us," Kurt explained, "It's just that she doesn't want for us to not want to perform with her. Crazypants as that may sound, I understand. Being unwanted isn't a pleasant feeling."

"Being picked last sucks whether it's Glee or P.E," Mercedes agreed.

"Don't suck and you don't get picked last," Santana shrugged. "I don't care that Berry's in a glass case of emotion. If she tries to steal my partner one more time I'm going to show her how we do it in Lima Heights Adjacent."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Santana, your father is a plastic surgeon. You live two blocks away from Quinn's old house. Stop talking like you live in the projects."

"Hey, those two blocks put me adjacent to the projects."

"Whatever," Kurt laughed. "Rachel will burn herself out," he stopped and thought. "If she doesn't, I have duct tape and shovel."

The group descended into giggles and eventually turned on some music. "Ooh, I love PCD," squealed Mercedes. "Even if Nicole is a total swagger jacker."

"That's not exactly fair," Kurt said. "Nicole's spent her fair share of time in the background when she was in Eden's Crush. She paid her dues and she earned her spotlight."

"Like a certain male diva I know?" Quinn teased.

Kurt nodded. "Goodness knows I've swayed in the background long enough to have taken up permanent residence there."

"Well at least you're in good company. We're all swaying right alongside you," Santana remarked.

"Enough about glee club already. I want you to tell me about Blaine," Tina said.

"Yeah, how's it going with your sugar daddy?" Santana smirked.

"Blaine is not my sugar daddy!" Kurt squeaked.

"He should be. Remember Auntie Snix's dating rule number three Kurt: no romance without finance. And that boy," Santana smirked, "has plenty of finance."

"I'm not a gold digger Santana," Kurt said flatly. "I don't like Blaine because he has money, I like him because he's…Blaine. Even if he didn't come from money I'd still like him. He's smart and he's talented and he-"

"Yeah yeah, he cries and a puppy dies. I get it. Just remember, Prep School doesn't get into those designer jeans until he breaks some major bread," Santana interrupted.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Santana, Blaine's in high school, just like us. He's not rich, his parents are. And whatever money they have has nothing to do with me and Blaine. I like him, not his wallet."

"No one's calling you a gold digger, baby boy. We're just saying he ain't no scrub and that's a good thing," Mercedes soothed.

"Look Kurt," Quinn said, tossing her hair. "You're not dating a Lima Loser. Make Blaine woo you because he can certainly afford to," Quinn shifted and gave a small smile. "You're worth it so make him treat you like you are. That's what I'm doing with Thad. Last night he took me to a lovely restaurant for dinner. We ate on the balcony and had the chef's tasting menu. I've never had such a romantic, elegant, date. That's what you deserve too."

Kurt bit his lip and looked at Quinn. "So you and Thad are getting along ok?"

Quinn nodded. "He's wonderful. He's cultured and sophisticated and so intelligent. After Finn I have to say it's nice to date someone who has more mature tastes."

"He's treating you well?" Kurt asked anxiously. He still didn't trust Thad and didn't want Quinn to end up hurt.

"So far so good," Quinn confirmed. She smoothed down her skirt and sighed. "I know you're worried, Kurt. Thad explained to me about his rivalry with Blaine and that he let his dislike of Blaine influence the way he treated you when you two first me, which he regrets by the way. He's truly sorry you got caught in the crossfire and hopes you give him a chance to make up your own mind about him and not base your opinion of him on Blaine's dislike and a bad first impression."

Kurt wanted to tell Quinn it wasn't Blaine's dislike of Thad but his own that had him worried for her but he could see that she genuinely liked him and as long as Quinn was happy then Kurt was going to try to be happy for her.

Even if that meant letting her be happy with a jackass.

"Just be careful. I admit Thad and Blaine's dislike for each other bothers me but all that matters is he treats you well," Kurt said.

"I feel the same way about you and Blaine," Quinn admitted.

"Why don't you both just agree to keep your eyes open and watch out for each other?" Tina asked.

"Yeah," Mercedes agreed, "Neither of you know either of those boys too well but you know each other. You may not be able to trust Thad and Blaine completely but you can trust each other."

Kurt held a hand to Quinn. "I promise to tell you if I hear about or see Thad doing anything shady," he said solemnly.

Quinn took Kurt's hand in hers. "I promise to do the same when it comes to Blaine."

"This shit right here is too Lifetime Movie of the Week for me," Santana announced. "I'm out. You guys coming?"

Quinn and Britney rose to follow Santana out. The girls said their goodbyes as they made their way up the stairs.

"Well now that the unholy trinity is gone what are we gonna do?" Mercedes asked.

Tina and Kurt exchanged a look. "Man candy marathon!" They both announced at the same time.

"I'm so down with that," Mercedes smirked. "For our first round we have the Battle of the Bloodsuckers. What will it be, True Blood or Vampire Diaries?"

"True Blood!" Tina and Kurt yelled.

"But…Ian Somerhalder," Mercedes whined.

"I see your Ian and raise you an Alexander Skarsgard, one very fine Allan Hyde and one smoking Joe Manganiello," Kurt countered.

"I accept your terms," Mercedes joked.

"I'll go grab some snacks, you ladies feel free to start without me."

Kurt made his way upstairs while Tina and Mercedes wrestled for control of the remote.

"So dude, are you still scared Kurt's gonna sneak into your room and sprinkle you with fairy dust?" Puck asked as he spread out Finn's bed, watching Transformers.

Finn glared at Puck. "S'not funny. And since when do you call him Kurt?"

Puck shrugged. "You spoon a guy and things change."

Finn's eyes bugged out of his head. "You spooned Kurt? When? How? Why would you-"

"Don't stroke out, Finnocence! It was at his sleepover. Sam and Mercedes took one air mattress, Tina and Mike took the other and Britt and Artie claimed the pull out sofa. San, Quinn and I ended up in Kurt's bed and well…what I can say, the Puckasaurus is a cuddler," Puck said nonchalantly.

"Dude! You slept in his bed?" Finn whispered.

"It was either his bed or the floor. And Santana and Quinn were in the bed. Besides, the kids got like, magic sheets and the best mattress ever. I've been in a lot of beds and Kurt's definitely takes the top spot."

"You slept right beside him? Dude-"

"Grow a pair already, Hudson," Puck snapped. "You and I have slept in the same bed. You've crashed in the same bed as Mike before too. You shower and change every day in front of a locker room full of guys."

"None of them are gay. And none of them went all Fatal Attraction on me either," Finn interrupted.

Puck raised an eyebrow. "Come on man, Kurt's crush on you was minor league compared to some of the shit girls have done to get your attention and you know it. Sure it was uncomfortable but dude, by the time you caught on you had sent the kid so many mixed signals even I thought he had a shot. And seriously, let me get this straight," Puck said using airquotes, "You really think Kurt's the only gay guy in the entire school?"

Finn stared at Puck for a beat. "Uh…yeah."

Puck smiled and shook his head. "And this is why we call you Finnocence. Dude, Kurt may be the only gay guy at our school with the balls to actually come out of the closet, but trust me he's not the only there who likes dick."

Finn's mouth opened and closed several times before he was capable of making a sound. "W-who else?"

Puck shook his head. "You know, this time last year I would have gladly rocked your tiny little world but I guess I'm growing as a person or whatever the shit my counselor said cause I'm not gonna out anybody," Puck shook his head at Finn, "Your gaydar is like, nonexistent if you don't even have any suspicions though."

"Who am I supposed to suspect? Kurt's the only guy whose all Project Fashion and Broadway musical and manicures and-"

Puck stared at Finn. "Dude, Zachary Quinto is gay. Neil Patrick Harris is gay and Esera Tuaolo is gay. Are those dudes like, carbon copies of each other?" Finn shook his head and Puck continued, "Gay guys are just like straight guys Finn, no one is all the same. Seriously man, if you're gonna be living here you might want to educate yourself before you say some ignorant or homophobic shit in front of Kurt, Burt, or worse man your mom. Google is your friend, Hudson."

"Why do you know all this stuff?" Finn asked Puck. "Are you…uh…you said there were guys in the closet and-"

"This would be an example of ignorant shit you don't want to say," Puck sighed. "No, Finn I don't like dick. But Kurt's grown on me and…I just didn't get the gay thing," Puck confessed. "I mean tits and ass man…that shit rocks. Cock and balls, not so much. I didn't get why Kurt would pick a dude over a fine ass female but I figured being gay is a pretty big part of who Kurt is and if I wanted to understand him, I needed to understand it so I googled some shit, called some hotline numbers and learned some stuff. It helped, like a lot. Granted some of it went way over my head like being bi-gendered or heteronormativity but I got enough of it to know that Kurt's sexuality isn't like, a choice. Just like I don't think about the fact that I wanna bang Jessica Alba, I just do, he doesn't think about wanting to bang…whatever guy gets his motor running," Puck replied.

At Finn's dubious look Puck sighed and continued. "Dude seriously, he didn't like, decide he was gonna be gay. He just is. And it's not contagious. He's not gonna spread the gay or any of that crap you hear Azimio spouting in the locker room. He can't make us gay anymore than we can make him straight. Being gay is just one part of who Kurt is, just like being Jewish is just one part of who I am. It's an important part, but that's not like, all there is, you know? Kurt's more than the part of him that likes cock, just like Becky's more than just the girl with Down's or Mercedes is more than just the black chick. You wouldn't define Artie by his wheels, don't define Kurt by his sexuality," Puck finished up, turning back to the movie. "Besides man, have you seen the way girls are around Kurt? Chicks love him man. Him being gay is good for us, man, more chicks for the rest of us."

It's so easy for Puck to be all Team Gay, Finn thought bitterly. He didn't have Kurt crushing on him or have Azimio and Karofsky on his back, or the other guys on the team looking up to him. No one's giving him a hard time for living with Kurt or being friends with Kurt, I bet if they were he'd have just as hard a time as I do, Finn thought sourly.

"Wow Noah, I was impressed right up until the end there. That was surprisingly deep," Kurt's voice broke in from his doorway interrupting Finn's thoughts. "I ah, wasn't spying. We needed snacks so I came to get some and heard my name and…I'm just a bit surprised. But pleasantly so."

Both Finn and Puck turned their heads to look at him. "The Puckster has hidden depths," Puck replied with a smirk.

"Evidently so," Kurt agreed softly making his way into the kitchen.

"But don't go spreading it around or I'll throw your ass back in the dumpster with the quickness. I gotta protect what's left of my rep you know," Puck yelled after him.

"And there's the brute I know and loathe," Kurt hollered back as he grabbed chips and soda from the kitchen.

"C'mon Little Spoon you know you love me."

"We agreed that never happened," Kurt said stalking back to across the room with his snacks in hand.

Puck laughed. "We did no such thing. You woke up, freaked out about my morning wood, pushed Quinn out of bed and ran into the bathroom while we all laughed our asses off."

"I do not recall such an incident and even if I did it would be very poor manners to bring it up, Noah."

"Damn Kurt, if you ever want to take the stick out of your ass I know what could replace it," Puck leered.

Kurt turned scarlet and fled down into the basement.

Puck laughed and then turned to face Finn. "Relax, dude. I get that you and Kurt have like, complicated history or whatever but the kid isn't half bad once you give him a chance." Puck raised an eyebrow at Finn then continued, "I seem to recall you telling me the same thing awhile back."

Finn just nodded and turned the movie up. He knew that Kurt was, under all that drama and ice, a really good guy. The problem was Karofsky, Azimio, the rest of the guys on the team and most of the guys in the school didn't know it and weren't willing to find out.

Finn figured that Puck didn't quite understand and Finn couldn't really blame him. Even though joining Glee and being sort of friends with the gleeks damaged Puck's reputation, he was still Puck. He had still slept with every hot Cheerio (and even the not so hot ones) and every lonely (and not so lonely) housewife in Lima. He was still in his super bad fight club and he was still the guy who went to juvie and lived to tell about it. Karofsky and Azimio couldn't touch Puck's rep and they knew it.

Finn was a different story. Finn was the guy who got cheated on by Quinn Fabray and thought a hot tub got her pregnant. He was the guy who got replaced as QB and only got his spot back because Sam's grades slipped. Finn was the loser who joined "homo explosion" and then went from MVP to bench warmer when Jesse St. James showed up.

Finn had no clue who or what he'd be if he wasn't Finn Hudson, popular jock. Finn saw the way Kurt tensed, just for a second, when anyone brushed too closely to him in the hallway. He'd seen the way Rachel froze, for just an instant, whenever she caught sight of someone in the hall with a slushie. He'd watched Artie wheel himself into the first available classroom with a teacher in it at the sight of the hockey team. He'd seen Mercedes rip "loser" signs off her locker, pretending that her feelings didn't hurt.

Finn, as far as he'd fallen, was still popular. He still got to sit at the jock table. He was still coveted by Cheerios and respected by his teammates. Sure, he'd gotten a few jeers and jabs but he was still Finn Hudson and he'd do whatever he needed to protect that even if it meant keeping his distance, at least in public, from Kurt. Finn's reputation was all he had and he'd spent his entire life building it up. He didn't know who he'd be without his status and his popularity and as ashamed as he was to admit it, the fact was he was too afraid to find out.

Kurt was watching Godric and Eric say their goodbye's, discreetly trying to wipe away his tears when Teenage Dream began blaring from his cell phone.

Tina and Mercedes broke into twin grins but before either girl could grab his phone Kurt snatched it from the bedside dresser. "If you two say one word I will cut out your tongues," Kurt hissed before pressing the button to say hello.

"Hi Blaine," Tina and Mercedes yelled out in unison before collapsing into giggles.

You are dead, Kurt mouthed before taking a deep breath and saying hello himself.

"Hey," Kurt said softly.

"Hey babe," Blaine returned easily. "How's your weekend been so far?"

Kurt hummed, a happy warmth spreading through him at Blaine's term of endearment. "Mostly quiet. Tina, Mercedes and I are hanging out. I'm pretty sure though I'm going to be plotting their murders by the end of this phone call," Kurt said scowling at his two friends who were making kissy faces at him.

Blaine laughed and the rich sound sent a tingle down Kurt's spine. "Ah, there's my little Borgia. The idea of you plotting and scheming warms my heart."

Kurt snorted. "It's your Machiavellian influences," Kurt sniffed. "I'm a normally a pacifist."

"Good to know," Blaine responded saucily. "I like the idea of having the ability to influence you. I plan to use my evil influence to lead you into all kinds of temptation," he said lowering the pitch of his voice just a bit.

Kurt blushed at the implication in Blaine's tone. He felt his face heating up saw Tina and Mercedes casting amused glances his way and decided to change the subject before he embarrassed himself.

"So how was your lunch with your godfather," he asked, hoping Blaine wouldn't question the abrupt change in the direction of the conversation.

There was enough of a pause that Kurt worried he had made a misstep before Blaine answered. "It was good," he said slowly.

Kurt could feel Blaine's hesitancy and panicked. Things were decidedly awkward and things between he and Blaine had never been awkward. Kurt was at a loss as to how to fix it because he was at a loss as to what was causing the conversation between them to be stilted and uncomfortable. "That's-that's nice," Kurt said but his uncertainty made the end of the statement rise up, turning it into a bit of a question.

"Kurt," Blaine sighed heavily. "I'm sorry. I know this feels weird and it's my fault. I-I had a good time with Jasper but something came up and um, shit." Blaine suddenly cursed.

Kurt's eyebrows rose. In all their interactions Blaine had never been anything but charming and in complete control. For him to be floundering, nervous even, was new.

"Blaine," Kurt broke in gently. "You know you can tell me anything. Or not tell me. Just...relax. I can feel how tense you are through the phone."

Kurt heard Blaine exhale slowly a few times as if he were gearing himself up to say something important. Kurt immediately flashed to the worst case scenario and braced himself for Blaine telling him that he didn't want to see him anymore.

He's going to break up with me before we were ever even officially together, Kurt thought bitterly.

"I honestly don't have any idea how to do this," Blaine said softly. "I've never done this before and-"

"Just say what you need to say," Kurt whispered, struggling to keep his voice even so that Tina and Mercedes didn't pick up on his distress.

"I ah…my uh...," Kurt heard Blaine take a deep, shuddering breath and prepared for his heart to be broken into tiny little pieces. "I told my godfather about you," Blaine said softly. "He's…he's important to me Kurt. I know we haven't talked much about my family but um, Jasper is pretty much the most important person in my life and he…he'd like to meet you."

Kurt felt as if his world had slid off of its axis. He had been preparing himself for Blaine's goodbye, steeling himself for yet another rejection so it took a moment for Blaine's words to fully sink in.

"Oh my God, Blaine!" Kurt exclaimed, causing Tina and Mercedes to look over at him curiously. He waved his hands and directed their attention back to the TV before lowering his voice and whispering into his phone, "I thought you were about to tell me you didn't want to see me anymore."

"Why the hell did you think that?" Blaine said his voice tinged with shock and a little hint of exasperation.

"Because you were being all quiet and weird," Kurt said, mentally rolling his eyes. "Honestly, Blaine you were acting like you were about to tell me seriously bad news."

"So you're okay with this?" Blaine asked. "Meeting Jasper, I mean."

Kurt felt his nerves jolt at the thought of what it might mean that Blaine's godfather wanted to meet him but didn't want to repeat his earlier mistake of jumping to conclusions. "I…are you okay with this?" He asked anxiously, suddenly realizing that Blaine had said his godfather wanted to meet Kurt, but not that he wanted Kurt to meet his godfather.

Blaine laughed a bit unsteadily. "I wasn't at first," he said quietly.

Kurt bit his lip and sucked in a shaky breath. "Oh," he said quietly. "That's…that's ok. I ah, I don't have to-"

"No Kurt, babe that's not what I meant," Blaine burst in quickly. "I am totally fucking this up, aren't I? I'm sorry babe. I want you meet Jasper, if I didn't I would have never brought it up."

Kurt furrowed his brows. "Then why are you being so spastic?"

"Because I've never done this kind of thing before Kurt," Blaine answered his voice a bit harsh. "My family life is complicated and I've never actually brought anyone home before. And before I do there are things you need to know, things I was hoping I'd have a little more time before you found out about them, about my family and about me."

Kurt pulled his knees up under his chin. "Bad things?"

"Some are and the rest depend entirely on how you take them," Blaine responded quietly.

"Oh," Kurt said, confused and intrigued. "Unless you're going to tell me you're in the witness protection program or something, I doubt there's anything you could tell me that would change how I feel about you," he said honestly.

"Oh yeah," Blaine asked, his voice taking on his usual cocky and confident tone. "How do you feel about me, babe?"

Kurt smiled despite the questions swirling around in his brain. "Wouldn't you like to know," he teased.

"I would actually," Blaine replied. "But not now. I know you're hanging out with your girls but can you ditch them and let me take you out? I really need to explain some things to you and its best done in person."

Kurt didn't even hesitate. Blaine was obviously having a hard time getting into things over the phone and he was hoping being able to see one another would calm both of them down. His eyes slid to Tina and Mercedes and he felt a small pang of guilt.

Kurt never thought he'd be the type to ditch his friends for a boy but…it wasn't just any boy. It was Blaine. Plus he knew Tina and Mercedes were genuinely happy for him. He was pretty sure they wouldn't be upset.

And if they were…well, he'd cross that bridge when he got to it.

"Of course," he agreed. "Just let me tell Tina and 'Cedes. Then I need to get dressed. Thank goodness you're so far away."

Blaine chuckled. "I'm actually about forty-five minutes away. I've been on my way to yours since you picked up."

Kurt sprang up in the bed and nearly fell over the edge, causing Mercedes to jump up quickly and reach out to steady him. "Thanks 'Cedes," Kurt said absently before glaring at his cell phone. "You're on your way? Blaine, you can't just show up unannounced! I'm not even dressed!"

"I just announced it and you have forty-three minutes and counting," Blaine interrupted.

"You are in so much trouble when you get here," Kurt grumbled as he stalked over to his closet.

"Gonna spank me?" Blaine asked suggestively.

"Maybe," Kurt purred back. "Goodness knows you deserve it."

"Kinky. I like it."

Kurt pulled down a pair of black and grey plaid skinny jeans, his black rag and bone kobra sweater, a white button up and his red tie before exiting the closet. "You would," he teased. "Now I need to get ready. And you better prepare yourself to take me someplace nice because you sir, are in the doghouse."

"Woof," Blaine mock barked. "See you soon babe."

"Bye Blaine," Kurt said softly before hanging up.

When he exited the closet he was surprised to see Tina and Mercedes had turned off the television and were gathering up their bags and purses.

"Guys, I'm so sorry-"

"Kurt, it's fine," Tina cut him off interrupting his apology. "I've cut out on you guys plenty to hang out with Mike. I understand."

"Yeah," Mercedes chimed in. "I know since Sam and I got together I haven't exactly been around like I used to be. We're happy for you, Kurt. We're not gonna give you a hard time for wanting to spend time with your boy."

Kurt smiled at his friends and dropped his clothing on his bed before he walked them up the stairs. "Thanks guys. I promise I'll make it up to you."

"No need," Tina said as she kissed his cheek. "I'll see you Monday."

"I'll talk you tonight and get all the dirty details," Mercedes said playfully, hugging Kurt tightly.

"Bye Tina. Bye Topanga," Kurt said sweetly.

"You and Sam have lost ya'lls minds. You know that, right." Mercedes snarked, rolling her eyes as she and Tina made her way to her car.

"Wandering down this road that we call life, Is what we're doin'! It's good to know I have friends that will always, stand by me! When this by meets world-" Kurt began singing loudly causing Mercedes to shake with laughter and Tina to give him a puzzled look they climbed into her car. "Lost. Yo. Damn. Mind!" Mercedes yelled back through her window before driving off.

Kurt giggled to himself before turning to go back into the house. He squared his shoulders and made his way to Finn's room and knocking on the door frame.

"I'm sorry to disturb you," Kurt began carefully, "but Blaine's coming to pick me up and I just wanted to ask if you could keep an ear out for the doorbell since I have to go get ready."

"Aww look Finn, our baby boy is all grown up and going to have a nooner," Puck teased, barely taking his eyes off the screen where Megan Fox was.

"Noah, must you be so crass? Never mind, I've known you since we were in second grade and the poem you recited to class was a literary masterpiece that went I'm so cool, when I sleep I don't drool and I'm so smart, I know beans make you fart," Kurt remembered, grimacing while Finn and Puck chuckled and exchanged hi fives. "You two are cavemen and I give up any and all attempts at trying to teach you to be civilized. I am going to spend some time with my…um, Blaine. Just let him in, let me know when he gets here and please don't embarrass me okay?"

Finn grunted his assent and Kurt gave the boys a quick thank you before rushing downstairs to get ready. He only had thirty-eight minutes to make himself presentable.