Kurt had assured himself he wouldn't be upset if he didn't get selected for the show, and at the time, he was confident that he could handle it, but now that it had happened, it was a little harder than he had expected. He hadn't been insincere when he congratulated the other designers he had meant every word. He was happy for his friends, and he knew they deserved to be on the show. Now that he was back in Ohio, though, unhappiness had begun to creep in. The tiny taste of life in New York had whetted his appetite for more, and he loved being around people who not only accepted him the way he was, but actually embraced him for it. In fact, compared to some of the people he had met -- Andrew and Jen came immediately to mind -- he was average. Nobody cared that he was gay. It wasn't that they knew it and accepted him anyway; they just didn't care at all. He knew things might change once the competition heated up and people might not be as friendly, but if that did happen, it wouldn't be because of his sexuality.

He had tried throwing himself into his schoolwork, but it was hard to concentrate, and more and more often he found himself drifting away, reliving the interview, playing it over and over in his head, completely oblivious to whatever was going on in class. He thought the interview had gone well, and Blaine seemed to think so, too. He wanted desperately to know what he had done wrong, how he could be better.

He went over the entire weekend again and again, trying unsuccessfully to find his mistake. He would rather think that they didn't want him because of something he had done than because his designs weren't good enough. As hard as he tried, he couldn't find a clue in the words Heidi had said to him. If he went by that, he would have to say that she liked him and thought he was talented.

He thought about phoning Blaine -- after all, Blaine had said to call if he needed anything -- and had even gotten so far as to find his name in the contact list several times, but had never completed the call. He just didn't know what to say. Either Blaine had misleading him all along, probably out of kindness and professionalism, or Blaine didn't know what had happened any more than Kurt did. Besides, Blaine had probably forgotten all about him by now.

Burt was concerned. Kurt wasn't eating, wasn't his usual ebullient self, and worst of all, he had put his sketchbooks away in the closet. He thought about having a talk with his son, but he decided to give it a little time. Kurt was a good kid. He had shown, time and time again, that he was a fighter. He would figure it out.

The contestants had been gone a week now, and the staff was deep into preparations for the actual show. The apartments had been cleaned and restocked, and roommate assignments had been made. The show was ready to air, pending final approval from Jon and Heidi. The model selection process was moving along; they were still looking for the plus-size model one of the designers had requested, but other than that, things were pretty well set. Blaine sat at his desk outside Heidi's office, trying to get some work done, but Kurt's words kept coming back to him. 'You never know if this chance is the only one you're ever going to get.' Have I missed my chance with Kurt? Did we ever really have a chance? He doesn't even know I'm gay. I can see it now. I'll just call him up and say 'Hi Kurt, remember me? Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you I'm gay. And I like you. A lot.' He sighed. Maybe I can keep in touch, see if he comes to New York for school next year. ... I wish he would call. Blaine thought back over his life. His schooling had been unconventional, to say the least. His dad had a great job reorganizing troubled companies, but it required frequent relocation. They would move to a new town, his dad would swoop in, shake things up, save as many jobs as he could while still getting rid of the deadwood, stay just long enough to make sure things were running smoothly, and then they were off to the next place. Eventually, his mother realized that all the moving around was causing him to fall behind in school, so starting in 4th grade, he had been home-schooled.

In many ways, home-schooling suited Blaine. He and his mother were free to explore as the mood suited them, and he became a self-motivated learner very quickly. He learned how to schedule his time, and how to follow through on projects. Since everything moved at his pace, he progressed more rapidly than he would have in a traditional setting. The downside, of course, was the lack of people his age. He went to camp every summer and participated in sports and community theatre whenever possible, but, worried that he wasn't acquiring the socialization skills he needed, his parents decided to send him to a boarding school for his last two years of high school. The Dalton Academy administrators were a little surprised to be getting a fourteen-year-old junior, but they couldn't argue with his credits or his test scores. Blaine was a little shorter than average, but his features and his demeanor were mature beyond his years and the students never realized he was two years younger than his classmates.

Blaine had thrown himself into life at Dalton with his usual determination to succeed, quickly employing his natural leadership abilities and taking advantage of his love of performing. He made friends easily, and was well-liked by the students and the staff. He knew he was gay -- he had known since he was thirteen -- and there were other gay students at Dalton, but he never found anyone with whom he was interested in pursuing a relationship.

He had taken advantage of every dual-credit course Dalton offered; consequently, at age sixteen, he found himself entering NYU as a sophomore. His strong work ethic and proclivity for pushing himself resulted in graduation at eighteen, at which point his student internship with Project Runway had turned into a full-time job. Now, at twenty, he had earned the trust of the producers and had worked his way up to being Heidi's second assistant. Very few people knew his age; nearly everyone just assumed he was older, and he didn't disabuse them. He loved his job and had a wide circle of friends, but still had never found that one special person, never felt that spark. Until now. Could Kurt be the one the person I've been waiting for?

"Hey, Blaine!" Sandy called, interrupting his reverie.

"Yes?"

"Look at this. Look at April's Facebook status." Blaine crossed to her desk and peered at her computer screen.

I've got Designs on New York, a Project in mind, and I'm headed down the Runway in just a few short weeks. I'm really in the Mood to read an Atlas.

"What do you think, Blaine? Is that a violation? Should I run it by Heidi?"

"Yeah, I think you'd better. That's awfully close to the line, and I'm pretty sure Heidi will say it's unacceptable."

Blaine could hear the voices floating out of Heidi's office. "Get Legal up here, preferably Sarah or Paul."

"Hi, this is Sandy in Heidi's office. Is Paul available? ... How about Sarah, then? … Hi, Sarah. This is Sandy in Heidi's office. … Would you be able to drop by sometime this morning? We may have a little problem. … Great, thanks."

Sarah arrived quickly and was ushered into the inner sanctum. Sandy closed the door and returned to her desk. It wasn't long before her phone buzzed. Sandy pushed the button to activate the speaker."Yes, Heidi."

"I need you to make a phone call."

"To April?" Sandy said with some trepidation. That would be a difficult call, and carried quite a bit of responsibility. If it was handled improperly, they could be stuck with a lawsuit, regardless of the contract April had signed.

"No, Sarah is going to call April. She's the most intimidating person I know."

Except for you. Blaine couldn't stop the thought running through his head. He jumped, realizing Heidi was pronouncing his name. Did I say that out loud? Surely not.

"I want you to call Kurt Hummel. He's in. No, wait. Sandy, I want you to call production and explain the situation. They need to replace April's footage with Kurt's, and they've already used part of his interview, so they'll have to go through the sightseeing tapes. Blaine, I want you to call Kurt. Just tell him that he's in because one of the others had to drop out. He doesn't need any details and don't mention her name. We're acting like she never auditioned at all. Remind him about the confidentiality agreement. Oh, and Blaine ..."

Kurt's on the show! He'll get his chance! "Yes, Heidi?" he replied, projecting so she could hear him clearly through Sandy's phone, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice.

"Go down to the sound studio. I want the call recorded. The viewers will eat this up!"

I'll get to see him again! "Do you want video of my end?"

"No, just the audio. I don't want the public recognizing you. It would interfere with your job."

This is the best call I'm ever going to have the pleasure of making. Blaine sat in the booth and reviewed the time he spent with Kurt, trying to decide how to handle it to get the best recording. He wanted the viewers to take an instant liking to Kurt. He knew the producers considered the opinion polls when deciding which designer would be out, and the better he was liked, the longer he would be on the show. He's excitable and vocal. I've got to figure out how to warn him. … Got it! He signaled Chuck that he was ready, waited for the light to come on, placed the call and waited impatiently for Kurt to pick up.

Kurt glanced at his phone. He didn't recognize the number on the display, but decided to answer it anyway.

"Hi, this is Blaine Anderson. I don't know if you remember me, but ..."

"Blaine! How could I forget? That was the best weekend of my life, even if I didn't get on the show!" interrupted Kurt. Why was Blaine using a different phone? Was this a personal call?

Blaine waited before speaking to make sure their voices wouldn't overlap, trying to give Chuck an easy edit. "I should have expected that. You have a wonderful memory. I'll bet you remember every line of that ridiculously long contract we had you sign, don't you?"

"Yes, I do, actually." He did remember. 'From the date of the contestant's arrival in New York until the final episode has aired on the west coast of the United States, any and all interactions with Project Runway staff may be recorded and used on the show.' He's trying to tell me he's taping the call. They're probably doing some kind of follow up with the designers who got cut to use in the episode. Maybe the footage ran short or something.

"Where are you right now, Kurt?

"What? I'm in my bedroom."

"Are you alone? Can anyone hear you?"

"Yes, I'm alone and, no, no one can hear me," he said somewhat impatiently. "Blaine, I like you and everything, but you're starting to creep me out. If you ask me what I'm wearing, I'm hanging up on you."

Oooh, sass! Heidi was going to love that. "I've got some news for you, Kurt."