The day after his date with Blaine, Kurt was scheduled off from work and he decided the first thing he was going to do was sort through what he had. If he was going to finally take New York by storm, he had to look the part. He pulled open his closet and smiled as he pushed the boring polo shirts out of the way and finally let himself remember what it had felt like to wear his old garments. It was time to remember the boy he used to be if he wanted to figure out what kind of man he wanted to become.

He started pulling out his favorite items and arranging them on the bed in outfits. This shirt with those pants and that sweater with these jeans. Boots and scarves and ties were strewn everywhere as the old Kurt Hummel returned in force.

He started trying things on, glad to see that everything still fit. Mostly. Some of his short-sleeved shirts had become a little tight around his biceps, he was pleased to note. He may have become something of a recluse, but that didn't mean he had forgone his yoga and eating habits.

Once he had an outfit selected, he showered and took great care in styling his hair the way he used to. It was swept back off his forehead, lifted high and held in place with enough hairspray to start his own hole in the ozone layer. He dressed quickly, but carefully, in a pair of skinny, dark blue jeans, a white short-sleeved button down shirt, slim black tie, and a gray tweed vest. He completed his outfit with his favorite black Doc Marten boots, grabbed his satchel, and was out the door before he could change his mind. He had no real destination in mind, but figured the four or five blocks around his apartment were safe enough.

He paused when he reached the sidewalk. Waiting for what, he wasn't sure. But the ground didn't open up to swallow him whole, so he figured everything was fine. The coffee shop was to his right, so he turned left and started walking.

The first couple blocks were all apartment buildings with the odd convenience store on a corner. He picked a block at random and turned down it, curious as to what he would find. Luck must have been on his side because the street seemed to be filled with small shops and eateries. There was a deli across the street and a bakery a few doors down from that. He paused in front of one window display for a resale shop and admired the quality of garments on display. They weren't just old, used clothes. These were true vintage treasures; one shirt even looked like it might be an old Chanel. Curiosity finally got the better of him and he decided to take a look inside.

A bell over the door dinged lightly to announce his arrival and a voice called out: "Be right with you!" from somewhere near the back.

Kurt wandered over to the men's section and started idly flipping through the racks. There were some decent pieces and good labels, but nothing that really jumped out at him.

"Are you looking for anything in particular?"

Kurt looked up at the sound of the voice and froze when he saw who it was.

"Kurt?" she said.

"Tina?" he replied.

"Oh my God. Kurt!" she exclaimed before throwing herself at him. He had to react quickly and soon had an armful of his old friend. "What are you doing here?" she asked as she finally pulled away.

"I, um, I live just a couple blocks away," he said.

"Are you… are you going to school here or…? I just… I can't believe it's really you. You just disappeared on us and no one knew what happened. But, you're here, huh?"

Kurt just shook his head and looked away. He knew what he had done to his friends wasn't right, but somehow Tina didn't seem mad. How was he supposed to respond to that?

"So, what happened?" she asked. "Is… is your dad okay?"

"No," Kurt said, shaking his head again. "No, he, uh, he passed away last year."

"Oh, Kurt," she said. "I'm so sorry."

"So, what about you?" he asked, quickly changing the subject. "Are you going to school?"

"I got in to Tisch," she said.

"Wow! That's great," he said.

"Thanks. It's a lot of hard work, but I'm enjoying it, learning a lot."

"That's fantastic. I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks." Tina paused, like she wanted to say something before just smiling and continuing. "So, um, were you looking for anything or just browsing?"

"Just browsing, really," Kurt said. "I was out for a walk and the window display grabbed my attention."

"Okay," she said. "Well, let me know if there's anything I can help you with."

Kurt smiled and nodded as she walked away, sighing gratefully at the bell that signaled another customer. He browsed for a few more minutes to be polite, but made a beeline for the door as soon as he could. He caught Tina's eye on the way out and offered a small smile. Tina smiled back and Kurt felt his chest unclench a bit.

He paused on the sidewalk and took a deep breath. He hated to admit it, but that brief encounter had left him quite shaken. He really shouldn't have been surprised, he supposed. If he thought about it, Rachel was probably wandering the city somewhere, dreaming of her name in lights. Had Finn followed her? He was pretty sure they were still together by the time graduation had rolled around. Were Mercedes or Santana here? Kurt doubted it; they had always struck him as more the L.A type. He wondered if he would run into anyone else now that was starting to venture out into the city.

He was soon back at his apartment and his thoughts turned to Blaine. Tina talking about Tisch had made him start thinking about college again. Blaine had mentioned Kurt possibly visiting him at NYU and seeing the campus. Kurt had to admit, the prospect had him intrigued.

He made a quick sandwich before returning to his room and starting up his laptop. He searched for NYU and started perusing their website. The area on Student Life looked promising, lots of clubs and programs with support for new students. He clicked over to the listing of available majors and his mood fell a bit. There was nothing there that really grabbed his interest. There was a music major, but it seemed geared toward people that wanted to be professional concert musicians, and not really anything to do with musical theater. In fact, NYU didn't seem to have any sort of performing arts majors. But, Tisch was actually part of NYU, wasn't it? Kurt quickly pulled up the site for Tisch and it all made sense. Tisch was indeed part of the NYU system. He closed the tab for NYU and looked more closely at what Tisch had to offer.

What he found there definitely piqued his interest much more than what NYU had to offer. There was a wide variety of concentrations available – acting, dance, design, even concentrations specifically geared towards film and television. Kurt knew he had told Blaine that he wanted to perform, but that had always been his knee-jerk, go-to answer whenever anyone asked him that question. Yes, he loved performing, but he had started thinking that maybe his true passion was behind the scenes.

When he was still in Ohio and taking classes at the community college, he had become involved in their theater department helping design costumes and even sets for one production. He loved the stage, but his heart just hadn't been in performing. But even being involved in that small capacity had been a welcome distraction from the hardship at home and he had been surprised to find how much he had loved helping out behind the scenes to make everything come together. Maybe he could continue pursuing that? He requested an information packet before he could talk himself out of it and then did some more searching.

Parsons he knew well from his years of Project Runway obsession. To be admitted into such a prestigious school would certainly be impressive. However, after poking around their website for a bit, it seemed their programs were much more geared toward traditional fashion design. Which, while something that could be useful, would he get a wide enough education to be able to work on any genre of theater? He really wasn't sure. But, it couldn't hurt to have all the information he could, so he once more requested a new student packet.

He had just hit send on his final request when his phone buzzed with a new text message.

Hey. :-), it said.

Blaine. Kurt smiled to himself, glad Blaine was still keeping up contact.

Hey., Kurt sent back.

Whatcha doin'?

Looking at colleges

Kurt laughed as his phone rang two seconds later with an in-coming call.

"Hi, Blaine," Kurt answered.

"You're looking at colleges?" Blaine replied, the smile evident in his voice.

"Why, I'm doing well, Blaine. Thanks for asking. How are you today?" Kurt teased.

"Sorry," Blaine said. "Yes, hello, Kurt. It's lovely to hear your voice. Glad to hear you're doing well. I'm doing fine, too. Now, what's this I hear about you looking at schools?"

"I'm thinking about it," Kurt said. "What you said the other night about getting me unstuck really got me thinking. And, um, today, I decided to take a walk around the neighborhood and I ended up running into an old high school friend and it just got me thinking about all of them and what they might be up to. So, here we are."

"That's fantastic, Kurt, really," Blaine said. "Are there any in particular you're looking at?"

"Um, Tisch and Parsons for right now."

"Parsons? Really? They don't have anything to do with performing, do they?" Blaine asked sounding confused.

"No, I just… I don't think I want to study performing arts, like I told you. At least, not anything that would have me on stage. It's a long story, but, I actually think I might like to get into costume or set design."

He told Blaine a bit about his time back in Ohio and how the theater had still been his means of escape, even if he wasn't the one out in the spotlight.

"I think that sounds great," Blaine said. "Did you want to maybe come visit me at NYU? I know we don't really have anything like what you're interested in studying, but it could maybe help you get a feel for life in college."

"I, yeah, I think I would. Maybe next week?"

"Sure! What day would work best for you?"

"Well, I work in the morning on Tuesday, so I could be there just after lunch. Or I'm off all day Wednesday."

"Why don't we do Wednesday? My first class is at 10:30, if you think you can be here for that. Then you can spend the day hanging out and I can introduce you to some of my friends."

"That sounds great," Kurt agreed.

"Great," Blaine said. "I'll send you an email with details about where and when we can meet."

"Okay," Kurt agreed. He would have to take the subway by himself, but he could totally do that.

"Great. So, I'll see you next week?" Blaine asked, hesitantly.

"Not until next week?" Kurt asked. "What about that second date we were going to have?"

"Well, um, did you have something in mind?"

"It has been awhile since I've been to the movies. Do you have any plans for Saturday night?"

"I do now," Blaine answered.

"Good," Kurt said, glad that Blaine couldn't see him with how hard he had to be blushing. "I, uh, I work until 6:00, but we could do dinner and a movie after that?"

He kind of couldn't believe how quickly things were changing for him. Just last week he was still a quiet nobody working at a coffee shop. Now, he was thinking of going back to school and he maybe had a boyfriend. Life was certainly looking up for Kurt Hummel.

Kurt and Blaine's date Saturday night was a complete success. They saw the new Ewan McGregor movie and then sat in a nearby diner talking for hours about anything and everything.

"So, what classes do you have on Wednesday?" Kurt asked, dipping a French fry in his chocolate shake.

"My first class is creative writing," Blaine said. "I like it a lot more than I thought I would. The teacher is pretty awesome and he sometimes lets me turn in song lyrics for an assignment. Then after lunch is music theory, which has an equal chance of being really awesome or really boring, depending on what mood the teacher is in. Then we'll finish the day with a class on gender and media."

"That sounds interesting," Kurt said.

"It is," Blaine agreed. "I picked it up for a gen ed requirement, but I'm really learning a lot more than I thought I would. After that, we can do dinner and I have a Song Writer's Club meeting in the evening, if you want to come along to that.

Kurt hummed in response as he took a sip of his shake. College was definitely going to be an entirely new experience in every way.

The next few days passed quickly for Kurt. He went to work, tried to be friendlier with Anne and Jeff, and talked to Blaine every night. It was really nice. It was so much closer to what he imagined life in New York would be, but he knew there was still something missing.

Wednesday morning, Kurt woke early so he would have plenty of time to get ready. Blaine had only seen him in his work uniform, even on the couple of dates they had been on, and, for some reason, Kurt wanted him to be impressed with how he looked. Blaine always seemed to take such care in his own wardrobe and he wanted to Blaine to see the new and improved Kurt Hummel.

After styling his hair carefully, Kurt closely perused the contents of his closet. He was going to be spending most of the day walking around or sitting in classrooms, so he wanted to be comfortable, yet stylish. He settled on a favorite pair of jeans that were artfully distressed and not too tight, but still showed off his best assets, a white henley and gray vest topped with a red pocket square and his scissors brooch. He slipped his feet into his favorite white Doc Marten's and then there was nothing left to do. He grabbed his bag with everything he would need for the day before triple checking the subway map he had picked up a few days ago and the directions Blaine had sent him for once he reached the campus. He didn't want to get lost, but more importantly, he didn't want to look like a tourist. He had been here long enough that it was time he started acting like he actually lived here.

Once he was sure he had it down, he made his way to the station a few blocks away. He bought his ticket like last time, making sure there was enough money for the return trip, before casually making his way to the platform, double checking that the train was headed in the right direction. He didn't have long to wait as a train soon roared into the station. He pushed his way through the sea of bodies, wincing slightly as he was jostled about. He clung tightly to the strap of his messenger bag and made it on board just as the doors closed. He grabbed one of the metal polls, desperately not thinking of how many other people had touched it before him and held on as the train made its way toward NYU.

He checked his watch as the train moved on and was pleased to see he should be right on time to meet Blaine. The closer the train got to his destination, the more nervous he became. This was a huge step he was taking and part of him felt like it was too much, too soon. He'd isolated himself for so long, would the rush of a college campus be overwhelming? He swallowed against the lump that was forming in his throat and willed himself to relax. He could do this. Blaine would be with him and that always made everything better.

The train finally arrived at the station and Kurt pushed his way up to the street. He rounded a corner, heading toward the coffee shop where he was supposed to meet Blaine, and a smile broke out on his face when he saw Blaine already waiting for him. Blaine returned the smile as soon as his gazed landed on Kurt, his eyes slowly moving up and down to take in Kurt's outfit. Kurt internally preened a little at the positive reaction. He pushed off from the wall he was leaning against and met Kurt half-way. He leaned in and greeted Kurt with a kiss on the cheek. Kurt blushed and looked around, but no one seemed to notice or care.

"Hi," Kurt said in return.

"Hi," Blaine replied. "You look great. Um, do you want some coffee? We have a few minutes before we should be going."

"Coffee sounds great."

Blaine took Kurt's hand and led them into the coffee shop. Kurt took a moment to admire Blaine's outfit and was pleased to note that he still took the same care with his appearance even with a day full of classrooms ahead of them as he did on their dates. From his slicked back hair to the trendy boat shoes on his feet, Blaine looked like he'd just stepped off the silver screen in the 1950s. He was wearing a pair of blue brushed twill pants, rolled up to show his ankles; a madras plaid shirt in tones of red and blue, topped with a white and light gray striped sweater vest trimmed with red. A stylish leather messenger bag was slung over his shoulder. On anyone else, Kurt included, the outfit would look ridiculous, but it was so very Blaine that it was just perfect.

Kurt finally zoned back in and realized Blaine had actually been speaking the whole time they had been standing in line.

"So, yeah," Blaine said. "There should be lots of good discussions today, but don't feel pressured to participate at all, since you're not actually a student."

"Right, thanks," Kurt replied. Okay, so nothing too important had been said.

They were next in line and Blaine ordered a medium drip before turning to Kurt and prompting him to give his own order. Blaine had taken out his wallet and paid before Kurt even had his bag open.

"Thank you," Kurt said.

"One of the best perks of having a boyfriend," Blaine said with a shrug.

Boyfriends?

"Boyfriends?" Kurt asked.

"Oh," Blaine said, blushing and scratching at the back of his neck. "I mean, I know we just started dating… But it doesn't have to be official or anything –"

"Blaine," Kurt interrupted, laying a hand on his forearm. "I would love to be your boyfriend."

"Oh. Okay. Great," Blaine said. "Saves me a bit of a headache later with trying to figure out how to introduce you."

Kurt smiled shyly. He had a boyfriend. A boyfriend! This was great.

After they got their coffee, the walk to Blaine's first class was quick. The weather was finally warming up and a gentle breeze was blowing through the campus. They reached the class with five minutes to spare and took seats near the front, Blaine's usual spot. They finished their coffee as Blaine pulled his things from his bag – a well used notebook, a text book, and a sheaf of papers that was no doubt his assignment.

"Good morning, class."

Kurt turned toward the door as the professor walked in and the students greeted him in return. He looked to be in his forties, a full head of light brown hair that was graying at the temples, tan corduroy pants, and a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He was every inch the college professor stereotype and Kurt couldn't help smiling at the picture he made.

"So, today, your free writing assignments are due. Which means your writing should be done, Mr. Parker."

The whole class turned as one to the back of the room where a boy Kurt assumed was Mr. Parker was scribbling furiously. He looked up sheepishly before dramatically clicking his pen closed and smiling.

"Done, Mr. B," he said. "I promise."

"Good," Mr. B said as the class laughed. "Would anyone like to share what they've written?"

The first half hour of the class was spent listening to the other students' writings and critiquing it. There were a few poems, some short stories, and a couple essays. The criticisms given were always helpful and constructive not just mean judgments.

"Are you going to share?" Kurt asked Blaine.

"No, not today," he said with a small smile.

That immediately had Kurt curious as to what he had written. He hoped that if it was important enough that Blaine might share it with him one day.

Once the sharing was done, the professor started going over the next chapter they were to read and the homework that would be due next week. He appeared to be a good teacher. The whole class was engaged, even if everyone didn't participate. And he didn't just recite information from the book; he expanded on it, gave examples and asked interesting questions to help nurture a true discussion. Kurt was so caught up in it, he almost raised his hand once to contribute something before remembering he wasn't actually a student and no one would care what he had to say. Blaine looked over and quirked an eyebrow as Kurt slumped back in his seat. He just shook his head and turned back to the front.

Class ended not long after that. Blaine handed in his assignment and led Kurt to the cafeteria for lunch.

"The food is usually pretty good," Blaine said. "Except the tacos. Stay away from the tacos."

Kurt laughed. "No tacos. Got it."

"My roommates and some of my other friends should be here. They're all very excited to meet you."

"You told your friends about me?"

"Of course," Blaine said, shrugging like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Kurt didn't really know what to say, so he just followed Blaine through the cafeteria, checking out the available options. The pasta looked pretty decent with some garlic bread and a small salad. They paid for their meals and Kurt followed Blaine to a table by a set of large windows overlooking the campus where they were welcomed by what seemed to be all of Blaine's friends and half the student body. There were at least fifteen people there and Kurt had no idea how he was going to try and remember them all. Jeff was easy; he was one of Blaine's roommates, the art major one, and had a shock of floppy, white blond hair that Kurt knew could not be natural. Kurt watched as Blaine frowned, looking around the table.

"What's wrong?" Kurt asked.

"My other roommate," Blaine said. "He's not here yet and I really wanted you guys to meet. He's really my best friend and I just want you two to get along. I mean, he's almost always late for everything, so I don't know why I'm worrying so much."

Kurt laughed at Blaine's rambling. Whoever this guy was must be pretty important if Blaine was getting this worked up about it.

"Oh, there he is," Blaine said, standing and waving to someone.

Kurt turned to see who was coming over and he just about dropped his fork when he saw who it was. The Mohawk may have been gone, but there was no mistaking that swagger.

"There you are," Blaine said, greeting him with a hug. "This is Kurt. Kurt this is—"

"Noah?" Kurt said, cutting off Blaine.

"Hey, Hummel," Noah said. "Long time no see."

"Yeah," Kurt agreed, his head spinning.

"Wait. You two know each other?" Blaine said.

"Yeah," Noah replied. "We went to McKinley together. Were in glee club and everything until, well, whatever."

"What a small world," Blaine said. "Well, this is great! Now I don't have to worry about whether you two will get along or not.

"Yeah," Kurt said, forcing out a laugh to try and keep the mood light.

The three sat down and Kurt kind of just stared at Noah for awhile. Of all the people to run into here, he was honestly the last person Kurt would have expected. And for him to be Blaine's best friend? He said as much to Noah.

"Yeah," he agreed. "It's kind of a long story, but after graduation I just kind of drifted for awhile and found myself in the city. Eventually, I decided to get myself together, took some classes at a junior college out in Brooklyn and transferred here last year. Blaine and I met the first day of one of the introductory music classes and the rest, as they say, is history."

"That's really great," Kurt said. "I'm happy for you."

"Thanks. So, you're, uh, knocking boots with Anderson, here?"

"Puck!" Blaine exclaimed as Kurt choked on a piece of lettuce.

"What? I'm just curious as to what his intentions are. You're my boy, Blaine, and I gotta make sure he ain't gonna break your heart or some shit like that."

Kurt kind of stared at Noah for a minute, trying to figure out how exactly to respond to that. Blaine just shrugged as if to apologize. They'd been on, what? Two dates? Only known each other for a couple weeks, really. What do you say to that?

"Well," Kurt said, eventually. "We're dating and I like him a lot and that's pretty much where we are."

"Cool," Noah said. "You know I like you, Hummel, but you break his heart and I might just have to break your knees. Same goes for you, Anderson. Kurt here was my boy in Ohio and no one hurts my boy, you got it?"

"Got it," Blaine said, holding up his hands in mock surrender.

Kurt just smiled at Noah who smiled and winked in return. It was kind of nice to know that there was someone else around who had his back if he needed it.

Lunch went smoothly from there with everyone regaling Kurt with embarrassing stories about Blaine's freshman year. Kurt spent most of lunch with his shoulders shaking in laughter.

"Now, come on," Blaine said, after a story Jeff finished telling about Blaine's first college party. "That's not fair. Alcohol makes everyone do crazy things."

"I just think Kurt needs to know what he's getting himself into," Jeff explained.

"Fine," Blaine said. "Kurt, don't listen to a work they say. They're all filthy liars."

"Hey!" everyone yelled in protest.

"And that's our cue," Blaine said. "Sorry, guys. Gotta get to class."

Kurt took one last bite of his pasta and packed up his things to follow Blaine.

"It was nice to meet you all," Kurt said as he waved goodbye.

"Hold up," Noah called. "I'm heading the same way. I'll walk with you guys."

The three guys dropped their trays off and made their way back out onto campus.

"Puck," Blaine said. "Your class is on the other side of campus."

"I know," he said. "I just wanted a minute with Kurt."

Kurt quirked his head in interest.

"Listen, Tina emailed everyone after you ran into her the other day. I don't think she intended to break your trust or anything, but she mentioned what happened to your dad and I just wanted to say… Shit, I don't know. Sorry seems inadequate. I guess I just wish we could do all that differently, you know. We were all so worried about you, but we didn't really know what to do, so we did nothing. For that, I'm sorry.

Damn it. Noah Puckerman was not going to make him cry. "Thank you, Noah," he said, quietly.

"Do you think we could trade numbers? Maybe get together for coffee and really catch up?"

"Yeah," Kurt said. "I think I'd like that."

The two traded numbers before Puck headed off in one direction and Kurt and Blaine went the other.

"So, looks like you might have more friends in New York than you thought," Blaine said.

"Looks like it."

TBC