Chapter 2:

It was the summer of 1941. The rest of the world had been at war for 3 years, but in central Ohio, very little disturbed the day-to-day calm. Factories simply continued churning out refrigerators and radio’s and almost anything else one would need, as the warm sun beat down on a golden time in American history.

It was no different in a little town called Lima.

It wasn’t a particularly impressive town; there was nothing there that set it apart from the hundreds of other towns dotted across the great mid-west. It was mid-sized, and the capitol of the county. They had been lucky enough that, at some point in decades past, a train station was constructed. This precious advantage had led to the steady growth of the town until it was the prosperous place it had come to be.

It was in this town, on the night of the town fair that Kurt and Blaine met for the first time.

“Kurt and Blaine? Two boys?” Mr Anderson interrupts Kurt’s reading, but honestly, Kurt had been expecting it and had slowed down specifically in anticipation.

“Yes, this story is about two boys. Two stupid, crazy boys who fell in love.”

“Oh... I think I’m going to like this story.”

“I hope so.”

July 16th 1941

“Kurt! Come on!” Rachel laughed as she ran ahead, her brown curls bouncing and threatening to fall out of the carefully styled arrangement that she no doubt spent hours on.

“Yes, Rach,” Kurt smiled as he followed after her at a much more dignified pace.

“Finn is probably already here, and he said he was bringing someone else along,” Rachel said.

“Are you two together again, or what? You haven’t told me what happened since the two of you broke up a couple months ago when you kissed Puck---“

“Ugh, Puckerman. Don’t even mention his name around me,” Rachel’s face was dark for a moment, but then she smiled again. “Finn and I are meant to be and he knows it too. We’ve decided to try again.”

“But he’s bringing someone else to the fair? How does that work?” Kurt was completely confused.

“Friends. He going to be here with some friends. We’re meeting up with him and whoever his friends turn out to be.”

Kurt rolled his eyes good-naturedly. He’d never understood those two.

The night air was warm. Lima’s end-of-summer fair wasn’t glamorous by any standards, but everybody in town showed up anyway. Hundreds of people flocked to the fairgrounds which were just outside of town, in an old field surrounded by oak trees. Lights were strung between the trees and stalls sat nestled close together. Laughter filled the air as people strolled around, enjoying the summer night.

When she grabbed his arm, Kurt let Rachel drag him to the cotton candy stand where she bought a large cloud of spun, pink sugar.

“You’re not going to make me waste money on a fake fortune teller again, are you?” Kurt asked, stealing a chunk of cotton candy and popping it into his mouth.

“Definitely not. That old hack last year didn’t tell me anything useful. She could at least have made up a few details. Anything would have been better than ‘Don’t be blinded by the obvious.’ Honestly.”

Kurt smiled at the irritation in her tone and helped himself to some more cotton candy. Rachel made to bat his hand away, but her hand froze mid-air as something behind Kurt caught her attention.

“Oh, look! There he is!” Rachel cried. She was pointing over at the bumper cars.

“This whole mess with you and Finn gives me a headache just thinking about it,” Kurt muttered as they neared the bumper car ring. He spotted Finn immediately. His stepbrother’s freakishly tall frame was folded into a bumper car and he was so hunched over that Kurt thought it looked comical, but Finn was laughing with such joy, that it didn’t matter that his knees stuck out awkwardly to the sides. His car rammed into another person’s and Kurt recognised Quinn Fabray shouting and smiling as she took her revenge. Suddenly, a third car joined their mess and inside sat the most beautiful boy Kurt had ever seen. His jaw dropped.

The boy was laughing, his head thrown back as his bumper car got stuck in the middle of a giant pile up. His dark hair was neatly parted at the side and carefully gelled down. Kurt knew he was staring, but he couldn’t stop. The boy wore a white shirt and a grey bowtie that matched his jacket and vest. And, to top it all off, his olive skin was enhanced to a golden glow from the hundreds of little lights strung up around the fair.

“Come on, Finn!” Rachel leaned over the railing to cheer Finn on. “Take them down!”

“Rachel, who’s that?”

“Hmm?” Rachel sounded distracted as she watched Finn’s aggressive onslaught on the rest of the bumper car patrons.

“That boy, in the grey? Who is he? I don’t recognise him from around here.”

“Oh, Finn mentioned something about him… Blaine, maybe? Yeah, I think that’s right. Anyway, he’s here with Quinn.”

“He’s here with Quinn Fabray? Wow, her father finally found someone suitable to date his precious baby girl?”

“Apparently so. According to Finn, this guy’s father is someone important.”

“Jeez,” Kurt let out a long breath. He wondered who his father might be, that would make him suitable for Quinn. The Fabray’s were one of the wealthiest families in Lima, after all.

 “Did you see me, Rach? I definitely beat these two wimps!” Suddenly Finn’s voice was much closer than it should have been. It drew Kurt from his speculation, realising that Finn, Quinn and the new boy, who had Quinn’s hand tucked safely in the crook of his elbow, were all walking towards himself and Rachel.

Rachel ran forward, squealing, and jumped into Finn’s arms.

“You were fantastic,” she bubbled, between planting kisses on Finn’s face. Finn grinned goofily as she slid back onto the ground, and wrapped his arm possessively around her shoulders.

“Rachel, you remember Quinn from high school, right?” Finn gestured to the pretty blond.

“Of course,” Rachel smiled at Quinn.

“This is Blaine Anderson,” Quinn said nodding at the boy on her arm. “Blaine, this is Rachel Berry, and that’s Finn’s stepbrother, Kurt Hummel.”

“Hi,” Blaine’s smile was easy.

“Blaine’s family are in Lima for the summer, while his father does business. Blaine’s going to Harvard in the fall,” Quinn preened.

“It’s nice to meet you, Blaine,” Rachel said, offering her hand to Blaine.

“And you. Although, I have yet to be accepted into Harvard,” he smiled, kissing her hand quickly, making Rachel giggle. “It’s nice to meet you, too,” Blaine said, looking at Kurt.

“Likewise,” Kurt said softly. He reached out to shake Blaine’s hand, but Quinn was already talking, drawing Blaine’s attention away.

“Can we go on the Ferris wheel? It’s always my favourite,” she said, blinking at Blaine from under her long lashes.

“That’s a great idea!” Rachel squealed. “Come on, Finn,” she said pulling Finn along in her wake.

Kurt walked along, next to Quinn and Blaine, glaring at Rachel’s back as she sped off without them. He continued to glare at her as she abruptly abandoned him to ride the Ferris wheel with Finn instead. Deciding it would be beneath his dignity to ride the attraction alone, he opted to wait until the two couples were finished.

As the Ferris wheel started its second loop, a tall figure in a leather coat suddenly ran past the waiting queue and flung himself onto the moving attraction.

“What the hell, Puckerman?” Tommy, the ride operator called out.

“I’ll pay you when I get down, Tommy!” Puck yelled back. He had leapt onto Quinn and Blaine’s seat and sandwiched himself between the couple.

“Um, what’s going on?” Blaine asked looking really confused.

 “What the hell, Noah?” Quinn demanded, ignoring him. “Can’t you see I already have a date tonight?”

“What, with Fuzzy-Eyebrows over here?” Puck stuck his hand out towards Blaine. “Hi, how ya doing? I’m Noah Puckerman.”

 “You can’t sit more than two people in a chair, Puckerman!” Tommy shouted angrily. He had brought the wheel to a stop.

“Okay, Tommy, alright!” Puck yelled back. He stood up on his seat and grabbed onto one of the bars, flinging himself out into mid-air. People on the ground screamed. He simply hung there, however, slowly turning around to face Quinn.

“Get down, Noah, you’re gonna kill yourself!” Rachel screamed from below.

“So, will you go out with me?” he asked calmly, ignoring everyone around him and focusing on Quinn.

“Excuse me?” Quinn demanded.

“Will you, or will you not, go out with me?”

“No,” she said.

“No?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know… Because I don’t want to?”

“You don’t want to go out with me?”

“Not really,” Quinn supplied.

“Alright, you leave me no choice,” Puck sighed and let go of one hand, so that he was dangling precariously from one arm. Quinn screamed this time too.

“I really wish you hadn’t said that,” Puck lamented.

“Grab onto the bar, Puck!” Finn shouted.

“Not until she agrees to go out with me! … Goddamn, my hand’s slippin’,” Puck groaned.

“Oh, come on, Quinn, go out with him!” Finn pleaded.

“Okay, okay, fine!” she caved. “I’ll go out with you!”

“Well, don’t do me any favours,” Puck said.

“No, I want to go out with you!” Quinn yelled.

“You do?” Blaine asked. Quinn threw him an aggravated glance.

“What was that?” Puck asked.

“I want to go out with you!” Quinn repeated.

“Alright, alright, we’ll go out,” Puck smiled and grabbed onto the bar with both hands again.

“Oh, you think you’re so smart,” Quinn said.

“Jesus, Puckerman, that was not funny!” Finn yelled.

“No, I can handle this, Finn,” Quinn called back. An evil little smirk came across her face, and she leaned forward in the seat. Grabbing onto Puck’s belt, she made quick work of unfastening it, and his pants, pulling them down for everyone to see his tighty-whiteys.

“No---! Oh, crap. Why… Ugh, I really wish you hadn’t done that,” Puck groaned.

Quinn smiled and waved at him as he climbed down the ride.

“Smooth,” Kurt commented, grinning as he walked over to Puck, who was redoing his belt. Everywhere around them people were laughing at Puck. Kurt really liked Puck, but even he found it hilarious. The older boy worked on the railway and had a hard way about him, but he had proven himself to be very loyal.

“Yeah, well. That girl needs someone to tell her what she wants,” Puck said.

“Don’t you think Quinn should decide for herself?” Kurt asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I wish she would, but she can’t see spit,” Puck replied.

“What do you mean?”

“Just look at her,” Puck pointed to her. “She’s just sitting there on the arm of some slimeball who’s gonna inherit all of Daddy’s millions.”

“Jealousy is not attractive,” Kurt smiled.

“I’m not jealous of his money. Do you think she’d be here with him if his daddy wasn’t the richest man in all of Ohio?” Puck spat. “All she sees is a good match for her, someone her parents would approve of. She hasn’t even thought about what would actually make her happy.”

“His father is the richest man in all of Ohio?” Kurt repeated weakly.

“Yeah, he owns the railway or trains or something,” Puck frowned. “At least I got the promise of a date from her.” With that, he stalked away, disappearing into the crowd.

                “The richest man in all of Ohio?” Mr Anderson slowly repeats Kurt’s words.

                “Unfortunately,” Kurt nods.

                “This is getting even more complicated,” Mr Anderson says quietly, frowning.

                “I’m afraid so.”

                “So, what happened next?”

Well, it would be nice to report that after the couples got off the Ferris wheel, Kurt managed to make a decent impression on Blaine. It would be nice to say that they became friends that night and started enjoying what precious little time they had together immediately. It would be nice, but that’s rarely how these things happen, isn’t it?

Blaine remained a perfect gentleman that night. He took Quinn on all the rides she wanted to go on and won her a small stuffed dog playing one of the fair games. He didn’t talk very much that first night, especially not after Quinn and Rachel exploded about Puck and his crazy antics. The two girls ranted about how he was the town clown, always pushing the girls’ buttons, but could never trusted with their hearts.

And of course, the entire night, Kurt couldn’t stop watching him. He tried very hard to be subtle about it, but he’s pretty sure if anyone was paying even the slightest bit of attention, they would have noticed how Kurt’s eyes lingered on the soft hair at the base of Blaine’s neck, where a few curls broke free from his hair gel. They would have noticed how he blushed every time Blaine laughed at something Kurt said, or how he focused on the crinkles that appeared around Blaine’s eyes. Luckily, in this small town, nobody was watching Kurt watch Blaine.

Yes, it’s definitely fair to say, that Kurt liked Blaine a little too much, from the very first time he met him.