“Are you okay, Kurt?” Mercedes asked, a bit concerned.

“Wha – um, yeah. I'm fine. Why?” Kurt answered her with what Mercedes could only describe as a frantic look in his eyes.

“Don't you dare lie to me, Hummel. We've been friends far too long for me to not notice when something's going on in that fabulous mind of yours. So spill,” Mercedes said, hand on her hip and attitude seeping into her every word.

“...I don't wanna,” Kurt mumbled like a small child.

“Fine. Don't tell me. See if I hold your place in line next time we're at the Lima Bean and you need to use the bathroom.”

“Fiiiiiine,” Kurt drawl with a sigh. “I met someone,” was all he said and was apparently all he needed to say, because her face lit up like a damn Christmas tree.

“Oh my GOD, KURT!,” she squealed, grabbing tightly on his arm.

Kyle, the store manager, was looking over at them with a warning look on his face.

“Sorry, Kyle! I just got some fantastic news,” Mercedes shouted across to him. Kyle nodded and turned away but not before sending Kurt a second glance screaming I-fired-Jeremiah-over-something-he-didn't-actually-participate-in-so-I'll-fire-you-in-a-heartbeat.

Kurt waved him off and dragged Mercedes to the back room.

“Seriously? You can't react that way everytime I meet a new person. It just makes me realise how pathetic my love life actually is,” Kurt hissed at her.

“Sorry, sorry, I'm just really excited. And this isn't just a 'new person'. This boy obviously has his hooks in you. And, I have to admit, ever since the whole Alex debaucle, I thought you had lost fate in humanity and love but here you are! Meeting boys and blushing like a schoolgirl!,” Mercedes said dreamily.

“It's not that romantic, Mercedes. We just had coffee and we're going to hang out when I get out of here.” Kurt hoped she wouldn't bring up Alex. Oh well...

“You're going to 'hang out' with him!? Oh my – okay, wait. Back up a second. Who is this guy? Do I know him? Do I want to know him? Where did you meet him? It had to be today because you're only just telling me. Unless you met him yesterday and didn't tell me until right now?” Mercedes concluded a bit angrily.

Kurt couldn't help but laugh (and sigh) at his friend's enthusiasm. “Mercedes! We talked about this. One question at a time, remember? Not everyone can keep up with your superior detail gathering skills. Now, if you are done, I'll tell you everything you want to know and you can advise me on how I can salvage what's left of my dignity.”

“Um, okay Kurt but what could you have possibly done that you need my help with 'salvaging what's left of your dignity'?” Mercedes asked, genuinely bewildered.

“You'll understand in a minute,” Kurt sighed.

He proceded to tell her everything about the boy who he became totally enraptured with while said boy had serenaded another man. This was so messed up. There's no way anything good could come out of this. Maybe they could fool around for a while but Blaine would never want to be in an actual relationship with Kurt. He was damaged goods. And who's to say Blaine would even want to fool around with Kurt? Kurt's inner monologue sighed and he snapped back to the conversation when he heard Merecedes ask if he was going to 'hook up' with Blaine.

“I don't know. I mean, I know but I just...ugh I don't know,” Kurt sighed, exasperated and already tired of Blaine for making him think like this. “With Alex, it was easy. I knew that was all he wanted,” Kurt said of his former flame.

Mercedes gave him a pointed look saying 'are you sureyou knew or did you have to figure it out by him shoving his hands down your pants'. Because that was precisely what happened.

“Okay, so I didn't exactly know that that was all he wanted – not when we started seeing eachother – but I figured it out soon enough and eventually I was using him for the same reason so...” Kurt left the statement to hang in the air between them like a painful reminder of that guy he met a few weeks after he got in that fight with Finn over...lamps. “Whatever! We are absoutely not talking about...that. We're talking about Blaine, okay? He's not at all like Alex,” Kurt told Mercedes with conviction.

“How do you know?” Mercedes asked. It was soft and Kurt almost missed the question but after the last time when Kurt's heart was in pieces and Mercedes did her best friendly duties and picked him back up again, she wasn't going to let him get involved with just anyone. She work way too hard for all of Kurt's progress to by thrown out the window for some prep boy who might do the same thing Alex did to Kurt.

“I...don't,” Kurt said, shrugging his shoulders in defeat. How could he? How could Kurt be sure that Blaine wouldn't be the same? He doesn't. He can't be sure. But he also can't continue to compare every potentional suitor to Alex. He won't. That can't be healthy, he concluded. “I can't lose trust in everyone just because I was fucked over by some asshole who didn't care about how he made me feel. I just can't do that, it's not fair.”

“Okay, sure. This boy could quite possibly be a sweetheart and maybe you'll fall in love with each other, move to New York, get married and adopt a Pomeranian, but what if it doesn't happen this way? What if he breaks your heart or you break his?”

“First of all, I would never get a Pomeranian. It's a Shiz Tzu or nothing. Secondly, isn't that what dating is suppose to be like? Finding out if he's the one for you or if you need to move on? And getting hurt is all a part of this. It's to early to be thinking about that, anyway. I don't plan on proposing anytime soon,” Kurt said.

“Well, forgive me but the last time your heart got broken, you were a mess. This concern is coming from a place of love, so just know that this isn't because I don't want you to be happy. I do, Kurt. All I ever want for the people I love is for them to be happy. So just...be happy,” Mercedes said with a genuine, loving smile.

“I know, Mercedes, I love you, too. Thank you, but I'll be fine. Who knows if he'll even show up today,” Kurt said, pulling Mercedes in a tight hug.

“You should probably go, now. It's already 2:15. If he did come, you're late,” Mercedes said pushing his satchel and coat into his arms.

“Thanks, Mercedes,” Kurt said, hugging her again. He rushed out of the store and looked around. He didn't see Blaine. He felt his heart drop into his stomach and a million scenarios rushed through his mind. What if Blaine thought Kurt stood him up? What if he thought Kurt left early to avoid him? What if Blaine didn't come at all? The last thought hurt Kurt's feelings, even though he knew there was high possibility that it wasn't true. Kurt felt ridiculous for feeling so offended. He kept on searching the crowd of shoppers until his eyes fell on his boy with shiny slicked back hair and a black coat. Wait, did he just call Blaine his boy. Holy crap, this needs to stop.

Kurt pushed his way through the crowd and yelled Blaine's name when he thought he was close enough for Blaine to hear. “Blaine! Blaine, wait!” Kurt called after him in hopes that the boy would hear him before he lost him in the mess of people. Kurt saw Blaine stop walking and his head perk up like a puppy's ears.

Blaine turned around and saw Kurt running after him. He couldn't help the huge grin that practically split his face in half or the relieved sigh that escaped his throat. Kurt didn't stand him up. Blaine thought Kurt had left early or something to avoid Blaine after leading him on. It had really stung when he waited 10 minutes for Kurt to get out of work and no one came. He sat on the same bench he met Kurt on earlier that same day and it was literally directly infront of the store. There was no way Blaine would miss him and it wasn't like Kurt had to go anywhere before he could meet Blaine.

He made his way toward Kurt and was suddenly standing right in front of him. Blaine found himself staring at nothing but Kurt's eyes. Anyone else would have just described them as blue, but they weren't just blue. They were also gray with specks of green, like seaglass, and now they were staring at Blaine with an emotion Blaine couldn't recognize. Oh wait, confusion.

“Um, Blaine?” Kurt asked, snapping Blaine out of what seemed to be deep thought. Blaine took a step back and looked at the rest of Kurt's face. Kurt could help but feel a bit uncomfortable at the attention his face was getting. Sure, you look at a person's face when you're talking to them but you don't look at them as if you want to devour them on the spot. “Are you – are you okay?”

“Yeah, sorry. I was just...nevermind. Hi,” Blaine said, blushing.

“Hi. I'm really sorry I'm late. I hope you didn't think I was ranking out on you. I just had to finish a few things before I could actually leave and it took longer than I expected.”

“No, that's fine. I mean, I kind of thought you did stand me up – that's why I was leaving. But it's okay,” Blaine said.

“Sorry about that. You ready to go? I thought we could grab something to eat before we went to...um, anywhere,” Kurt said, kicking himself in the ass for sounding so unsure of himself. He really should have thought this whole thing through.

“Yeah, sure,” Blaine agreed. “Do you live near here? Maybe we can hang out at your place? I told my parents I wouldn't be home until around 6 or 7 and they're home right now and we wouldn't really have any privacy. Not that we would need it. I mean, unless – but we can still go to my house, if you want,” Blaine suggest, stumbling over his word and not saying anything right.

“Relax Blaine. We can go to my place, ” Kurt laughed. Except there was nothing about the situation that could possibly make Kurt want to laugh. The only problem with this is that he lives in the dorms at OSU. In a single room. Without a roommate. How was he supposed to control himself if they're alone in a tiny room for hours? Someone's going to get fucked, whether that's literal or figurative, Kurt has no control over that.