March 6, 2013, 10:09 p.m.
Cross Your Mind: Chapter 3
M - Words: 2,829 - Last Updated: Mar 06, 2013 Story: Complete - Chapters: 31/31 - Created: Jul 21, 2012 - Updated: Mar 06, 2013 1,162 0 0 0 0
Blaine had already forgotten how many Mondays have passed since his conversation with Alex and Rachel wherein Kurt was mentioned. Weeks, a month even, has passed since that day where he heard the words "maybe next time I'll bring Kurt along." And now, Blaine was lost in count to how many Mondays had Alex walked in with no Kurt and/or Rachel following behind her.
Of course, she would always be all smiles and recently quite frazzled. Alex still came in to get the coffee but she would always be checking her phone, answering calls and just being all over the place so Blaine didn't think it was best to bother her. But one time, she walked in looking fresh and positively happy so Blaine couldn't help but ask.
"Hey Alex, I've got the usual dark coffee, grande nonfat mocha and your café au lait." Blaine said, handing the paper bag over to Alex who looked at him in a weird way but nevertheless accepted the orders.
"You're unusual. Why are you in a hurry to make me leave?" Alex chuckled, fumbling through her bag looking for her wallet. Blaine frowned in confusion.
"Why are you not in a hurry to leave? That's the unusual one." Blaine asked back. Alex laughed, it was true, she was dillydallying.
After that moment when Blaine paid for Alex and Rachel's coffee, the two actually have gotten closer. That wouldn't be possible if Blaine didn't work on Mondays so he asked for a schedule change; he now had Saturdays as his days off and he works with Sam on Mondays.
"I'm not at all that busy today. I've finished the hell part of this job and it's been weeks since I walked normally. I earned this." Alex said, counting the money on her hands to which Blaine was watching intently. "Did you know that I powerwalk almost every single day for the past couple of weeks? Here." She said, handing her payment to Blaine.
"Don't bothe—" Blaine started but was cut off when Alex literally shoved it towards him. Blaine grunted.
"You told us you'd treat us coffee. That only counts when my people are here." Alex responded upon seeing Blaine's face. Blaine was actually really glad that Alex remembered. At least he knew that she remembered.
"Your people? That's very gangster of you Ms. Alex." Sam walked in from the storage room to help Blaine out.
"Good morning to you too, Sam." Alex rolled her eyes at him. "I thought the staff here had manners." She feigned anger but the two guys just laughed which made her laugh as well.
"So, where are your people anyway?" Blaine couldn't help but ask, though he kept the curious and excited tone at bay.
"They're kind of busy." Alex said while Blaine just nodded because he knew how busy the stars could get. He saw Kurt's recent interviews on TV and it seemed like he's on TV every day what with his new movie and his book. He must be really tired every day.
"Well, tell them all my love is in that coffee." Blaine smiled toothily.
"Will do. Thanks again Blaine. Bye Sam!" Alex said, waving and vanishing as soon as she walked out the door. Blaine rolled his eyes, typical for Alex to powerwalk even if she always complains about it.
Today wasn't any different. It was another Monday so Blaine tried not to keep his hopes up of seeing Alex walk in with Kurt Hummel as much as possible. He looked at the clock, it was almost 10 a.m.; almost time for Alex to walk in and goof around with Blaine and/or flirt with Sam before vanishing for work related reasons.
But today, Alex was running late. Even Sam noticed how late she was. She was usually strict with time because "do you know how important every second is for me?" She always comes at 10 because she knew that it was the time when the shop doesn't have that many customers.
Indeed, there were only a few people, maybe not exceeding ten, in the shop at that moment.
Suddenly, there was a commotion outside the shop. Blaine and Sam and their co-employees tried to see what it was about but all they could see were flashes of light and a tall man walking towards the coffee shop door. They saw the guy wave the people away and enter the coffee shop.
And Blaine almost lost it.
"Hey Sam, can you like punch me hard on my ribcage right now? Make sure the bones get broken so I can feel the pain throughout my whole being." Blaine asked in a low voice as he stared at the marvelous person that was currently looking around the shop, as if trying to find someone. Sam chuckled.
"He's real dude. No worries, you're not seeing things." Sam said, patting Blaine on the back.
Blaine's breath hitched. Kurt Hummel was inside the coffee shop! Kurt Hummel in all his coat, sunglasses, perfect hair and skin-tight jeans was inside the property.
"Holy shit." Blaine muttered.
Kurt went towards the counter and took his sunglasses off as he finished surveying the place. Sam, being the good friend that he was, pushed Blaine towards the counter and let him take over while all of the other employees watched at what will unfold. They all knew that Blaine was waiting for this moment for like forever.
"Good M—" Blaine cleared his throat, he just sounded like a chipmunk. "Good morning. Welcome to The Coffee House, what can I get you?" He asked, trying to be as professional as possible. Kurt smiled at him which almost made him melt on the spot.
"Hi. I just want to ask, did an Alex Simmons walk in yet? She's a regular customer here, has she arrived yet?" Kurt asked ever so politely. His voice was just like as Blaine remembered it from two months ago.
"Yes. Alex. No." Blaine responded monosyllabically. Sam tried his best to contain his laughter as he caught the attention of Kurt who was trying to understand what Blaine had said.
"Ms. Alex hasn't walked in yet. We were waiting for her too because she usually comes at this hour." Sam smiled at Kurt. The movie star eyed Sam for a bit before raising an eyebrow.
"Sam." Kurt started, noticing the name tag on his uniform. "Samuel Smith? I've heard of you. She won't shut up about you." Kurt chuckled while Sam blushes as he went to tend to another customer. Kurt smiled at Blaine again. "I'll have a grande nonfat mocha please." He said.
Blaine nodded and immediately worked on the coffee. He couldn't help but notice that the few people inside the café recognized Kurt and were asking to take photos with him and asking for his autograph which he nicely accepted. Once Blaine was finished with the coffee, he handed it to Kurt.
"Thank you. Here." Kurt tried to hand his money in but Blaine refused to receive it.
"No, no. It's on me." He smiled shyly. Well, he did promise Alex that he'll treat them coffee when they're around.
"What? No. Please let me pay." Kurt said, confused at all this. Blaine shook his head in reply.
"No. It's okay. I told Alex that if you or Ms. Rachel Berry drops by, coffee is my treat." Blaine told Kurt honestly.
Suddenly, Kurt's face lit up in recognition upon hearing the story.
"Oh! You're Blaine? Alex did tell me about you." Kurt nodded his head as he remembered what Alex and Rachel told him. "Thank you for your generosity Blaine but really, NO." Kurt stated firmly. Blaine was going to argue back when Alex walked in the shop.
"You're not going to win. Just take it. He's as stubborn as hell." Alex told Blaine. "Blaine." Alex greeted him and turned to Sam. "Hey Sam." She said in a completely different voice while Kurt rolled his eyes.
"I'll go ahead and find us some seat." Kurt excused himself while Alex ordered coffee.
"Why—uh, is he not busy?" Blaine couldn't help but ask as he stared at Kurt's back. Alex sighed and rolled her eyes in reply.
"He is but he was itching to get out of the studio for weeks now. He's just like that sometimes." Alex replied, waiting for Sam to finish her coffee order.
Once she got her order, she immediately went to Kurt's table. Blaine stared at them for a while, thinking of how he would make an impression on Kurt without looking like a total idiot. Maybe with something great, he could erase Kurt's first impression of him which was a 'monosyllabic dumb idiot working at a coffee shop'.
Then an idea hit him.
He went to make coffee, specifically a café latte. He's been practicing latte art for months now and he's getting pretty good at it based on others' opinion. He started making the latte and put all his best efforts in making it. When he was done, he scribbled something on a sticky paper and placed it on side of the cup.
"Hey Sam, can you give this to Kurt? And if Alex asks why she didn't receive something like this, just distract her." Blaine chuckled a little bit. Sam nodded and immediately went to the table before the latte gets cold.
Blaine watched as Sam walked towards Kurt and Alex's table, carefully getting his way without damaging the latte. The two of them looked up as Sam arrived by the table.
"Here's a café latte for Mr. Kurt Hummel."
"But I didn't—"
"Consider it a welcome treat." Sam smiled as he placed the coffee on the table. He noticed Alex was about to say something so he winked at her and placed a finger on his lips. Alex nodded.
As Kurt saw the latte, he immediately smiled and said "aww". Sam excused himself and walked back to Blaine, giving his friend a thumbs-up.
Kurt, on the other hand, was admiring the latte art and immediately took a photo of it and posted it on Twitter. It was a face of a cute cat and he's never seen an amazing latte art before because he really doesn't usually order lattes.
"Isn't this adorable?" Kurt smiled as he continued to stare at the art.
"Yes it is. It's kind of hard to drink something like that. It'll ruin the art." Alex pointed out with a sigh, also admiring the coffee but Kurt wasn't paying her any attention.
He noticed the sticky note that was on the coffee cup and it read:
I know it's not your coffee order but I hope it makes you smile. – Blaine
Kurt looked at Blaine who was now working and smiling at every customer that comes and goes. Kurt frowned a bit and tried to think of where he saw this guy. He meets a lot of people every day and it's sometimes very difficult to remember every single one of them.
"Hey Alex, who did you say Blaine was again?" Kurt asked, taking a sip of his coffee. Alex took a sip of her coffee before answering.
"He played at the fund-raising event two months ago, remember?"
And he did. Kurt did remember Blaine Anderson, he just needed that push to actually remember him. Blaine Anderson, musical extraordinaire that he talked to at the bar, drinking white wine and having the same complaints about the stiff suit that they were wearing.
"Yeah. I remember." Kurt responded, now staring at the latte art as he drank his coffee.
"Why do you ask?" Alex asked. Though she did not find it unusual for Kurt to forget people at all and she was used to this.
"No reason." Kurt smiled.
Once they were finished with their coffee, they said their goodbyes and left the coffee shop. As soon as they walked out, flashes of light went off in an instant while Kurt just smiled at everybody, putting on his sunglasses again to avoid the camera flashes. The two of them walked down the block to where Kurt's car was parked.
Inside, Blaine was the one who offered to clean up Kurt and Alex's table and no one argued. He saw his stick note of the cup and sighed; he was hoping that Kurt would keep it as something to probably remember him by.
He picked it up and noticed that another note was written at the back of the little paper, avoiding the sticky part of it. He smiled as he read it:
That was a lovely art. Thank you. You're making me want to change my coffee order. – Kurt
That ended quite well in Blaine's opinion. Even Sam clapped him on the back. All the waiting actually paid off, even just for a little bit.
You make me smile like the sun
Fall outta bed
Sing like a bird
Dizzy in my head
Spin like a record
Crazy on a Sunday night
You make me dance like a fool
Forget how to breathe
Shine like gold
Buzz like a bee
Just the thought of you can drive me wild
Oh, you make me smile
Blaine played his scheduled set on Music Sheets & Lyrics that night after trying (and failing) to calm himself down about what happened that morning. He was acting like a total teenager about all of this. Apparently, the happiness that he was currently feeling was channeled through his songs.
As he walked down the stage and waved to a few of the people he knew, he saw Wes already at the bar and observing the surroundings. The man always does that; he looked like a regular customer to others but he's an undercover boss. It was ridiculous.
"I take it something good happened this morning?" Wes asked even before Blaine could sit next to him. Blaine looked at him questioningly.
"Why would you even think that?" Blaine asked, signaling Paul the bartender to get him his usual drink. Wes shook his head.
"Did you hear your set list tonight? Everything's all about smiles and happiness and rainbows and flying unicorns. Seriously, what's up?" Wes laughed turning his seat to face Blaine.
"Oh nothing. Just you know, this." Blaine's face lit up as he showed Wes the sticky note from Kurt that morning.
Wes looked from Blaine's wide smile that he's sure was going to break Blaine's face in half to the little sticky pad that the man was waving in front of him. He rolled his eyes and got the paper.
"What's even so special abou—?" Wes stopped as he read the note. Upon realizing what it was, he looked up at Blaine who was positively glowing and nodding his head like a teenager who just saw his all-time crush.
"He wrote that Wes. He walked in and ordered coffee and wrote that Wes. DO YOU REALIZE WHAT THIS IS." Blaine basically bounced on his seat as he remembered the short moment he had with Kurt that morning. Wes tried not to laugh at how Blaine was acting.
"Blaine. Blaine, how high are you right now?" Wes asked, a monstrous laughing fit threatening to escape his lips. Blaine whimpered a bit and 'meep'-ed. Wes heard that little 'meep' of his that he does when he's controlling his happiness.
"High. Hummel high." Blaine laughed as he snatched the note away from Wes and put it safely back inside his wallet. Wes shook his head in reply.
"Okay. You did not just say that." Wes raised his eyebrow at Blaine. That was kind of lame.
"I don't even know what's wrong with me." Blaine chuckled as he took a swig of his beer.
"Tell me about it. What the hell happened to 'I don't want to associate myself to the entertainment industry as much as possible'?" Wes asked. "which is basically not possible because you were born a musician and as much as you want to avoid it, you're stil—."
"I know that, okay?" Blaine cut Wes off. "I just thought that maybe I could avoid it, you know?" He said but then again, he can never avoid fate. "Actually, you know what? This is entirely your fault." Blaine said, pointing an accusing finger at Wes.
"How dare you blame this on me sir?" Wes feigned hurt. They both laughed it off but Wes kind of knew that it was bothering Blaine. "But all joking aside—"
"Who said I was joking?"
"All joking aside," Wes rolled his eyes at Blaine. "Are you going to push through with this?" He asked seriously. Blaine shrugged his shoulders.
"That depends, if he shows up again at the shop then maybe I will. If not, then I'll just forget it ever happened." Blaine smiled. "Anyway, I gotta go. Thanks for the drink, as always." He said, putting down his bottle and patted Wes on the shoulder.
As Blaine walked out of the bar, Wes sighed. He knew that even if Kurt didn't show up at the coffee shop anytime soon, Blaine would still secretly pine for him. And Wes knew that, he just wished that Blaine would be okay along the way.
It's not easy to fall in love with a star.
Upon arriving home, Blaine immediately got on his computer. He went straight to Music Sheets & Lyrics that day after work so he didn't really get the chance to open his mail.
Still nothing important.
All the other websites are nothing important except for Twitter. There he saw Kurt's tweet:
Kurt Hummel @KurtHummel
Got a free coffee today! Isn't it adorable? Thank you person with a ridiculous amount of hair gel.;)
At that moment, Blaine knew that he made a good first impression.