It was a breezy, unusually sunny day for December, the kind of day that comes along once or twice in the dead of winter and makes the whole world want to let their heaviest sweaters and warmest mittens slip out with the bath water. There were impromptu baseball games and jump rope marathons going on in every other driveway down in the suburbs of Ohio. Kurt Hummel hadn't intended on spending the entire glorious day inside. It was just that, well... it was the weekend, and the mall was calling his name. If there were some type of thing that was exactly like a mall only outside, then he would totally be first in line for that. But, alas, there was no such thing, and besides, Kurt had promised to take Mercedes shopping ages and ages ago, and he wasn't one to back out of already-made plans. It didn't help that he had been having a particularly hard week at school- he'd gotten slushied a record seven times in the five-day school week. It was utterly preposterous, and he only had one spare change of clothes kept at school, so naturally, he'd had to leave school right before lunch two times that week. His father hadn't been a happy camper when he found out about the classes he had cut, but who could possibly expect him to walk around sticky and wet and gross and disgusting all day long? So, a trip to the mall with his best friend was exactly what he needed to brighten his downtrodden mood. He sat down on a bench in front of a fountain in the middle of the first floor of the mall, crossing his legs and drumming his fingers against his knee impatiently. He checked his phone once, twice, three times, but there was no text from his best friend. He speed-dialed her number, only to hear it ring and ring and ring and ring. He sighed, exasperated, and waited it out, but after an hour had passed with no sign of the girl, he threw his phone back in his messenger bag in defeat.

It wasn't like her to just blow him off like this, but even so, you couldn't blame him for being just a little ticked off. This was the only thing that had been getting him through this hellish week, and he would be damned if he was going to head home and wallow in his own misery or feel sorry for himself. No, he would go shopping, alone and with nobody to bother him. It would be nice, and nobody would rush him. Nice and... lonely, but nice all the same. He stood up and headed into the first store that looked reasonably acceptable.

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*~*~*~*~*~*

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Four hours later, Kurt strode through the mall, his arms weighed down with bags from a million different stores. But the shopping had done next to nothing to heal his somber mood. In fact, if anything, he felt worse; every time a busy shopper speed-walked past him and brushed against his shoulder, he flinched, and every time he caught sight of two people- usually girls- laughing at some unknown thing he would be reminded that even his best friend didn't want to spend time with him. So he drowned his sorrows in patterns and layers and fabric, and more patterns, and more layers, and more fabric, trying to forget, trying to think of anything else, but it wasn't easy, it had never been.

When he found himself standing in front of the same bench by the same fountain that he had been sitting on four hours earlier, he collapsed onto it, sliding the bags off of his arms and letting them rest on the ground. He had to have hit every store in the place (well, all of the ones he wouldn't be ashamed to be seen inside of) because he had obviously walked in a full circle. He rested his head in his hands and warily and began to people-watch, something he tended to do quite often without realization. There were two little kids, obviously twins, dressed in matching polka-dot dresses with pink bows. An old man wandering around, obviously lost. A sickeningly cute couple, swinging their hands and laughing about nothing, a dad-type wearing a denim jacket with jeans (the horror!) and... what was that?

A guy, a guy that couldn't have been much older than he was. He was holding up some kind of sign and walking in his general direction. Kurt was too far away to read what the sign said, and he squinted in confusion, until he was finally close enough to read it- free hugs.

How ridiculous. He shook his head, watching as, like clockwork, as girl who looked to be around 9 or 10 came shyly up to the guy. He said something to her excitedly with a big, stupid smile on his face that made Kurt's stomach feel funny for some reason. He held out his arms, and the young girl hugged him slightly and timidly. He smiled at her as she pulled away and hugged the girl's mother as well. He waved at them as they passed, coming closer and closer to the fountain.

Kurt hadn't realized that he was staring, he really hadn't, but this was just so... weird. He'd never seen anything like it before. He watched as the guy hugged an elderly lady and a girl around their own age before he walked right in front of Kurt, turned to look at him, then backtracked.

He was standing right in front of Kurt, and his heart was beating like a jackhammer in his chest.

“You look like you could use a hug,” he said happily, a smile playing at his lips.

Kurt jumped, startled. He hadn't expected this mysterious, ridiculous guy to actually talk to him. He also hadn't realized how sad and pathetic he probably looked, sitting there with his head in his hands like that. He straightened up, looking up at the guy slowly. Their eyes locked, and Kurt's breath caught in his throat for a split second. Golden like the light at the end of the tunnel.

The guy was still looking down at him with that sad, understanding sort of smile that he had. Kurt was about to make some kind of comment about how insane it was, to go around hugging strangers that might be serial killers or pedophiles or god-knows-what, but instead of talking, he stood up, abandoned his bags on the floor, and fell into this stranger's embrace. His strong arms wrapped around Kurt, pulling him close, and Kurt buried his face in his neck, hugging him back just as fervently. This guy smelled really, wow, good, and he was pretty sure that this was the best hug he'd ever gotten in his entire seventeen years of life. They stayed like that for too long for Kurt to count, and when they finally pulled away, the guy smiled, running a hand through his hair.

“You're crazy,” Kurt remarked, a blush tinging his cheeks light pink.

The guy raised an eyebrow. “And you're sad.”

Kurt bit his lip, taken aback. He had no idea who this guy was, and who exactly did he think he was, intruding into Kurt's business like this? For all he knew, he was some kind of perverted creep. Kurt took a step back.

“I'm not,” he breathed. “I'm just having a bad day. And I would really appreciate it if you would stay out of my business.”

The other boy raised his hands in surrender, taking a few steps back himself.

“You just looked so sad. I thought you might need a hug.”

Kurt rolled his eyes, staring at the floor as the blush on his cheeks flared up. He had needed a hug more than he had realized, but he wasn't about to admit that.

“And I'm not crazy, either. I just go around with this sign on my break. I work at the coffee shop near the food court,” he explained.

“You're crazy,” Kurt repeated.

“I'm not.”

And he smiled again, that stupid sort of smile that made Kurt's heart do flip-flops in his chest.

“Whatever you say,” Kurt replied in a sing-song tone.

“Mhmm.” The guy picked up his sign again, sensing that his presence wasn't exactly welcome at the moment. He would have turned and left right away, if not for three things: one; he had felt the way this boy had collapsed into him; he knew that there had to be something wrong, something very wrong and something very big. Two; he had the most stunning eyes had had ever seen on a person, the purest shade of blue with bits of yellow and grey strewn in here and there, and three; there was such sadness behind those gorgeous eyes. So he would have turned and walked away, and he should have turned and walked away, but something, he didn't know what, kept him from leaving.

“I'm not,” he repeated lowly.

There was a silence between the boys.

Blaine broke it.

“My name's Blaine.”

Kurt looked up at him again, meeting his eyes. He knew that this was totally crazy. He had no idea who this guy was. Who cared if he had the most gorgeous smile he had ever seen? He was still a stranger.

He extended his hand, and Blaine took it, shaking with a firm handshake.

“Kurt.”

Blaine nodded, happy that Kurt hadn't ran away with fright. He was, after all, a stranger.

“So, Kurt,” He went on slowly, unsure of his next words.

“My break's over in about...” he glanced at his watch, then back at the taller boy. “Two minutes. But I have the same break every day. If one day... I mean, if you ever have another bad day and want to talk to someone about it... I'm here four days a week. In the coffee shop. By the food court. And I would be glad to listen.”

Kurt nodded. “I'll... I'll keep that in mind.”

“Awesome. Well, I've gotta go.” Kurt hoped he wasn't imagining the wistfulness in Blaine's tone. “I'll see you around?” He smiled at Kurt, Kurt smiled back, and he turned and disappeared around the corner.

Kurt watched him go, a million things running through his mind at once. First, that he had to be crazy. He had to be, because who just walked up to people like that? It was... rude. Rude and... intriguing, but mostly rude. Second, that he gave better hugs than anyone Kurt had ever known. Third, that he actually seemed to, well... care. Four, that he actually sounded like he wanted to see more of Kurt in the future. Five, that he was... gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous, with his golden eyes and breathtaking smile and strong arms.

Kurt shook his head, ducked to grab his bags, and left the mall with a smile on his face. He was tempted to take out his phone and call Mercedes, but she probably wouldn't pick up, and besides, he was probably over-reacting. The guy walked around with a free hugs sign, for god's sake. He was probably just one of those overly-nice people. Kurt was probably throwing this way out of proportion.

His name is Blaine.�