New York is bitterly cold in the winter. The wind whips around the buildings and even in the crowds there's no escaping the chill that reaches down to the bone. Kurt wasn't sure why he was out on such a cold January night -- how his friend convinced him to come out to some bar in Brooklyn of all places. He pulled his scarf tightly around his neck as a puff of breath rolled out of his mouth and hung in the air round him – "where is this place?" he huffed. This is exactly why he hated leaving Manhattan. Kurt sees a sign for the bar and quickly enters, relishing in the warmth of the small room.

Inside there is a bar to the left and a stage with a single microphone and light illuminating the empty stool at the back of the room. No one's playing right now and Kurt looks around the growing crowd for familiar faces. Kurt met Samantha and Trice at the coffee shop he works at on W 44th Street his junior year at NYADA. Samantha was studying Psychology at NYU and had a way of making Kurt immediately feel as if he had known her for years. She had an innate talent for getting him to open up and, despite his protests, Kurt liked that he had someone in his life he could trust. Trice was the exact opposite. She grew up in New York and had a blunt, aggressive quality about her that only a true New Yorker could posses. She wasn't one for education and made her living working mornings at the coffee shop and nights as a bartender. Kurt often tried to recall if he'd ever seen her sleep. Ultimately, she aspired to be a writer and even though her spoken words sounded harsh with her New York accent, her written words were elegant and poetic in a way that still surprised Kurt. Samantha and Trice are his people here in New York and he loved them dearly – even if they did drag him across town to go to a bar they could have found near his apartment.

"Hey Kurt – KURT! Over here!" Trice yells over the crowd and waves from a spot at the bar. Reluctantly pushing through the people he makes his way over to the bar and stands to face his friends, his back to the stage.

"Where have you brought me? This place was impossible to find!" Kurt complained.

"Fuck Kurt – Hi to you to!" Trice retorted back

"Sorry" he exhaled. "You know I hate the cold, and it's been a long week at work"

Samantha gently squeezed his hand and smiled, "We know. How about you get a drink and relax?" Kurt broke into a smile and nodded his head. Trice was friends with bartender – which is also why they came to this particular bar. He brought a round of drinks over to group, winking at Kurt as handed him his gin and tonic.

"Oh! I think Victor like you Kurt!" Trice teased. Kurt looked him over once before turning back to the girls and shaking his head, "Not interested" he stated confidently, wrinkling his nose.

"What! Why not, he's hot and giving us free drinks"

Kurt only hummed and shrugged his should nonchalantly.

"You know in the three year we've known each other, I've never once see you bring a guy around Kurt. Are you secretly straight and afraid to tell us?" Trice jested

Kurt looked at her in shock- a sparkle in his eye, "How dare you question my sexuality!"

"I'm just saying, a hot bartender is flirting with you and you don't even bat an eye? I'm beginning to think this whole thing is a ruse to make Sam and I fall in love with you". Samantha laughs brightly, she loves the way the two of them banter. A guitar begins to play in the background as they raise their voices.

"He's just not my type".

Trice raises her eyebrows at him questioningly. "What? He's hot!"

"Sure he's 'hot' but that fake tan and overly whitened teeth just aren't my thing. His whole aspiring actor trying to make it in the big city vibe just isn't working for me."

"But just for the night..." Trice wags her eyebrows suggestively

"Oh stop Trice, Kurt clearly isn't into him" Samantha chimes in and she and Trice now carry on bickering.

Kurt tunes them out as the guitar begins to play behind him. As the singer begins the first verse of the song Kurt freezes – he knows that voice. He feels the blood in his body heat up, surging in his ears and his vision becomes a little blurry as he stares blankly out the front window in the bar. He hasn't hear the voice in.... 3? No...more? Yes. 5 years. Has it really been then long, Kurt wonders? Each verse of the song cuts into him, long repressed memories flashing by. Somehow the wounds still feel so fresh. But Kurt was being silly. There was no way it could be him. In all the bars, in all of New York, there was no way he came to the same bar he was playing at tonight. Did he even live in New York? Kurt knew he did, but tried to keep the thought out of his head. But no – why was he even thinking about him? There was absolutely no way that if Kurt turned his head to look at the musician he would know the man sitting on that small stage, at this random bar in Brooklyn.

"Kurt? Kurt – are you okay Kurt?" Samantha reaches out to grab is free hand and Kurt jumps – shook out of the mental conversation he was having with himself.

"What? Um, yes, ya I'm fine. I think I need to leave ... sorry I forgot...." He trailed off, trying to look for the nearest exit.

"Stop the bullshit Kurt, what just happened" Trice demanded grabbing his arms so he couldn't leave.

"BEATRICE—you leave me alone!" He yelled looking her in the eyes.

In a calm voice Trice responds, "Never call me that name again. But you're not getting out of here that easily. Talk to us"

Kurt exhaled, releasing the breath he didn't realize he was holding. Trice released her hold and Kurt turned to face the stage, knowing what he would see, but needed to acknowledge this was really happening. There, sitting on the tall bar stool was his first love, the man who broke his heart, the man he pretended didn't exist – blocked from his memory-- the only man he had ever loved. The last verse fell from Blaine's lips as he strummed his guitar.

Oh, Where are you now?
Where are you now?
Do you ever think of me
In the quiet, in the crowd?