Blaine was at a crossroads in life and he had to figure out in which direction he wanted to go. He had gone to his cousin’s birthday party and had a good time. It wasn’t the type of party where one could get stupid drunk and go all out crazy especially with all the relatives in attendance but he did enjoy himself. He drank enough to get a slight buzz and danced until the wee hours of the night.

He noticed his parents at the party and had decided to ignore them pretty much all night. He had managed to have a few words with the Queen when he went over to say hello. She had always had a soft spot for Blaine and seemed interested in his life. “What are you planning on doing after Eton?”

“I am scheduled to start law at Cambridge in the fall.” Blaine wasn’t fooled for a minute. He knew that being 20th in line to the throne meant the Queen knew everything about his life.

“I always pictured you studying music in the colonies or something as equally amazing.” He looked at her startled. How had she known about his dreams when he had never mentioned them to anyone? He had secretly applied to the music program offered at New York University and had been accepted but had yet to respond. His parents expected him to go to Cambridge and that was that. He had set aside his dreams and had never spoken to anyone about them which was why he was startled when confronted by them. “Really?” he asked.

“Some of us are born with our lives mapped out. Charles and William know exactly what is in store for them just like I did when I was growing up. You however, have a choice to be whatever you want to be. Listen to your heart Blaine but choose wisely. Duties and responsibilities are a heavy burden that can kill our spirits if we are not careful. Choose something that will make you happy and don’t be afraid to love just because others don’t approve of your choices. Think about it before you decide what to do with your life. Just remember that you have my unwavering support,” she squeezed his hand lightly before moving on to greet her grandchildren.

He was stunned. Here was the Queen telling him to make his choices in life count. He knew his mind was having trouble processing all that she had said so he decided to go home and think about his life in the morning.

He got up early and decided to be play tourist for the day. He decided to go to the Tower of London. He was fascinated with the history surrounding the place and some of his ancestors had spent part of their lives imprisoned in the tower. He felt it was an apropos outing for the day since he felt like he was living in a self-imposed prison and he needed to figure out how to break free of the restraints.

He was standing in line waiting to enter the Tower when he noticed someone staring at him. He turned to get a better look at the person and he was pleasantly surprised to see a young man about his age dressed in the tightest pair of jeans Blaine had ever seen. Not that he was complaining because – DAMN – the boy did wonders for the pants!

He watched him proceed to the area where people waited for the Yeoman’s tours and decided to follow him. Blaine had been there so many times that he could probably conduct a tour himself but he was fascinated with the cute guy so he decided to take the tour and wormed his way around the crowd to make sure he was in the same group.

************************************

Kurt noticed that he was in the same group as the gorgeous guy but his attention was quickly snapped back to the Yeoman once the tour began. At the end of the tour he decided to get in line to see the Crown Jewels and headed towards the building that housed the display. He had looked around but hadn’t noticed where the other guy had wandered off to so he decided to forget about him and concentrate on getting to see every display he had highlighted before the Tower closed for the day.

The line was long but it seemed to be moving fairly quickly. The June day was warm but not unpleasant. He scanned his guidebook and re-read the pages dedicated to the Crown Jewel display.

“You know you do seem rather interested in the Crown Jewels. Are you sure you aren’t trying to steal them?” Kurt looked up to see the young man standing in front of him holding two ice cream cones in his hand. He handed one over to Kurt and introduced himself, “My name is Blaine. I figured you might want a cool treat on such a warm day.”

“Thank you.” Taking the cone he said, “I’m Kurt – nice to meet you Blaine and no I’m not trying to steal the Crown Jewels. From the looks of the security around here I don’t think that is even a possibility.”

“Oh, but they have been stolen before. Colonel Blood stole them in 1671, but he didn’t get too far before he was captured.”

Kurt, fascinated with his British accent laughed, “Well then I guess that certainly settles any thoughts of pilfering them. Are you a local?”

“The accent gave me away didn’t it? Yes, I was born and raised in London. Where are you from Kurt?”

“I’m from the Lima, Ohio.”

“Oh, a colonist how quaint – are you here on vacation?” Before Kurt could answer the question they had both entered the display area. Kurt was surprised to find himself standing on a sort of conveyor belt which efficiently and quickly moved him through the display. He watched in awe as video of the Queen’s coronation was showed in the entry. He listened as Blaine added interesting tidbits to the recording and in essence he acted as Kurt’s personal tour guide.

“You seem very well versed in the history of the Crown Jewels,” he commented.

“I actually love coming here. I remember we used to take field trips while I was in school every year so I can show you around if you’d like.”

The boys spent the rest of the afternoon going through every display with Kurt marking items off the list he had highlighted in his travel guide. Kurt was amazed at how much Blaine actually did know about the history of the royal family.

“Can I tell you a secret?” he asked Blaine. Seeing him nod he continued, “I’ve always dreamed that I was 7th in line to the British throne.”

Blaine looked at Kurt and started laughing out loud. He couldn’t seem to stop. He was laughing so hard tears were rolling down his face. “7th in line huh?” he finally managed to say amidst a full on laugh attack.

Kurt was laughing as well. “What is wrong with being 7th in line? That is my lucky number. I could have picked 20th but who wants to be 20th in line to the throne. That poor bastard would never see a crown put on his/her head.” Blaine’s eyes widened comically and he totally lost it. He actually had to sit down on the grass because his laughter had totally knocked him for a loop.

“What is wrong with you? It wasn’t that funny!” exclaimed Kurt. He tried to get Blaine to stand up and ended up sitting on the grass next to him while the idiot practically rolled around the ground laughing.

“Oh My GOD! I really needed that – thanks Kurt. You can’t imagine how much I’ve needed to laugh like that. How about I take you to dinner tonight?”

“Ummm”

“Oh wait. You’re probably travelling with your folks. Where are you guys staying? I can stop by and talk to your parents so they don’t think I’m some kind of serial killer that lures beautiful, young men to their death with promises of dinner.”

Beautiful? Thought Kurt. No one had ever called him beautiful before. “I’m staying at the Holiday Inn in Colliers Wood.”

“All the way out there? Let’s see it’s 5:00pm now how about I stop by around 8:00pm to pick you up?”

Kurt couldn’t believe it. This incredibly, hot guy was asking him out to dinner. “Ok,” he squeaked.

“Great – how about I walk you to the nearest Underground Station so that you can get home and have time to get ready?”

“How should I dress?”

“Casual’s fine – nothing fancy. See you at 8:00.” He watched Kurt scan his Oyster card and then waving goodbye walked back out into the London streets.

Kurt hurried into his hotel room as soon as he got off the Tube and started flinging clothes around trying to find the perfect outfit. He jumped in the shower and was dressed and ready in record time. He quickly tidied up his room and at 7:45 decided to go down to the lobby and wait for Blaine. He had not given Blaine his last name or room number so he figured he would make it easier on him and wait in the lobby.

He had just found a seat with a view of the front door when in walked Blaine. Kurt had a moment to admire his skinny jeans and purple button down shirt. He stood up as Blaine approached the reception desk. “Hi.”

“Wow! You look nice.” Kurt preened a bit under Blaine’s appreciative eye.

“I remembered I hadn’t given you my last name or room number so I decided to wait for you here in the lobby.”

“Do we need to go check in with your parents?”

“I’m actually travelling alone and am really hoping you aren't a serial killer,” he said smiling at Blaine but secretly hoping he wasn’t a serial killer. His dad would never recover if Kurt died. Oh shit! He thought – he forgot to call his father and check in but it was still early in the states so he figured he would call him as soon as he got back from dinner.

Blaine raised his eyebrows and said, “I can assure you I am not a serial killer so you are safe with me. Ready.”

They walked out of the hotel and across the street to the Underground Station. Kurt forgot to look both ways and if Blaine hadn’t grabbed his arm he would have walked right into a double decker bus.

“I keep forgetting you guys drive on the wrong side of the street.” He was embarrassed to say the least.

“You colonists are an amusing lot,” chuckled Blaine as they continued across the street.

“Why do you refer to us as colonists? It’s been at least 200 years since we kicked some British ass and we’re no longer a colony.”

Blaine laughed, “Not sure why we call you that but my family still likes to think the United States is a colony. What would you guys prefer to be called?”

“How about Americans?”

“Very well – American it is.” Argument settled they caught the Tube to Kings Crossing and proceeded to The Big Chill House. They grabbed a table by the DJ’s table and ordered hamburgers and chips as they listened to the music playing in the background. They talked about some of the places Kurt wanted to see in London and Blaine offered to be his tour guide as long as Kurt was willing to put up with him.

“I hope you liked the food and the ambiance,” Blaine said as they were headed back to the hotel.

“I had a wonderful time. I just realized that I don’t even know your name or anything about you. All I know it that you have gorgeous eyes, your name is Blaine and you are well versed in the Royals.”

“What do you want to know?”

“For starters what is your last name?”

Blaine hesitated for a minute. He wanted to be himself with Kurt and he knew that once Kurt found out who he was related to things would change. People reacted differently once they knew he was part of the royal family. “Williams,” he blurted out before he could stop and think about it. “My name is Blaine Williams.” He knew that if Kurt Googled Blaine Anderson, his whole history would pop up so he went with the first name that popped into his head which happened to be his cousin’s name.

“Well Blaine Williams, nice to meet you. My name is Kurt Allen.” Kurt felt bad lying to Blaine but he didn’t want anyone to know his father was Congressman Burt Hummel, Presidential nominee. He was trying to stay on the down low and he knew from experience that people always treated him differently once they knew who his father was which is why he was using his mother’s maiden name.

“Where do you live?”

“I live in the city.”

“I feel bad that you are going with me all the way to my hotel when you have to go right back to downtown London all by yourself.”

“I’ll be fine. I’m used to riding the tube.” Blaine actually had a driver waiting for him around the corner of the hotel. He wasn’t about to take the tube this late at night but he didn’t want Kurt to know he had a chauffeured car. He was really trying to act like a commoner around Kurt. Blaine walked Kurt to his hotel room and without even thinking about it he leaned in and chastely kissed Kurt on his cheek. “Thank you for having dinner with me. I really enjoyed myself. Where do you want to meet tomorrow morning?”

“I have to stop by the American Embassy first thing tomorrow morning but I can meet you right outside the gates at around 10:00am.”

“I’ll see you there.” Blaine waited until Kurt had opened his door and he made sure he heard the locks being engaged before he hurried out of the hotel and walked around the corner to find his driver. Blaine smiled all the way home. He really liked Kurt and hoped to spend most of his summer playing tour guide. His good mood lasted until he walked into his house and saw that his parents were waiting for him.

“Finally – where have you been all day?” asked his father.

“I spent the afternoon at the Tower of London and then had dinner with a friend.”

“Does this friend have a name?”

“Did you need something Dad? I’m tired and want to head up to my room.”

“The Queen called and wants to meet with me tomorrow for tea. It seems she wants to discuss your future.” Blaine didn’t reply. He didn’t know what to say.

“I saw you talking to her at William’s party last night. Did she mention anything to you?”

“She asked me what I was planning on doing in the fall and I told her about Cambridge.”

“I called your uncles and the Queen is meeting with him to discuss your cousins as well so maybe she just wants to be kept updated on everyone. Make sure you don’t do anything rash while you are out and about with your friends. Always remember you are an Anderson and part of the Royal family.”

Blaine nodded and went to his room. He was so tired of being constantly reminded of who he was and It seemed that the only time he could ever truly remember he wasn’t an Anderson was when he was with Kurt and he meant to keep it that way.