"Puck, this is so stupid. I dont want to shoot people in the dark with lasers!"

"Come on, Hummel, you cant hang out with me if you dont play laser tag," Puck explained patiently. He straightened Kurts pink coif and then his own Mohawk in the rearview mirror before they all climbed out of his truck. "We play laser tag. Even Quinn does. Dont you?"

Quinn smacked her bubblegum and picked at Kurts newest ear piercing. "Should have placed that a little higher," she said. "Would you let me pierce your tongue?"

Kurt gave her a dirty look. "Not until you have a license." He jerked his ear out of her reach and rubbed the new piercing. It was his third overall, but the first not in the lobe. "Did you do your own eyebrow?"

They reached the counter and Puck slapped their complied money down for the cashier. "Two games for three. She pierced both my nipples," he added to Kurt. "You might try one of those."

Kurt grimaced and looked away. "I think Ill do another set of lobes first. Then eyebrow. What if I changed my coif to teal?"

Quinn tilted her head and straightened a few of his hairs. "I think the pink is better. Maybe a bright purple."

The cashier handed them their tickets for both games and they registered with their names. Puck took Puckzilla, Quinn chose IceQueen, and Kurt, after a lot of marking out, picked BroadwayStar. Puck snorted when he saw it, but Quinn kissed his cheek and laughed.

"Better you than me," she said, her voice thick and raspy. She always sounded like that when she spent all of seventh period under the bleachers with the Skanks. Kurt tried to stick to his classes, mostly for his dads health, but hed let her drag him outside a few times. The Skanks didnt like him, but even they went to class a few times a week.

"Come on," Puck called, "weve gotta get our guns before the good ones are gone."

"Im going to hate this," Kurt mumbled as Quinn pulled him along behind Puck.

"Dont knock it til youve tried it," she said.

"I havent tried sex with a woman, but I know I wont like that. How is this any different?" Kurt argued.

"Just come on."

Kurt reluctantly followed her inside, picked a harness and let her help him fasten it. Puck was already hopping around and aiming his gun at everyone in their group. Kurt watched the rest file in. Most of them were teenagers, too. A few went to McKinley, but the majority, a large grouping of rowdy boys, werent familiar to him.

As everyone suited up, the employees talked them through how to exit at the end, the rules, and how to find one of them if they needed to.

"All right," Puck muttered in his ear. "You take my left flank and watch for the birds–"

"Theres birds in the room?"

"The birds nest shooters," Puck snapped. "God, you dont even know–Quinn, cover me!"

And he dived through the door and out of sight. Quinn laughed and tugged Kurt along after him. It was dim as they followed Puck up a ramp and then another, through a set of tight turns, and then the lights dropped and their harnesses started glowing.

Kurt couldnt follow it. He was lousy and he didnt need Pucks shouts and snarls of outrage to tell him that. He tumbled and stumbled along after Quinn, finally losing sight of her pink locks through a maze under a large net.

"Ugh, this game is stupid."

A trio of young kids darted past as he tried to untangle his hand from his guns rope.

"Got you! Got you again!"

Kurt glared after their glowing vests and stamped his foot. This was the worst game ever invented. Worst than getting thrown into lockers by the jocks all of last year or watching Mercedes bust the window on his baby. His dad still hadnt entirely let him off for that one. He turned in a circle and tried to spot Quinn or Puck, but they were gone.

His vest lit up as someone shot him again.

"Youre going to get shot all game if you just stand here," a voice said from his shoulder.

Kurt turned around, gun raised. A boy from the rowdy group was standing beside him. He was slightly shorter with wild dark hair, an eyebrow ring, and a beautiful smirk. He winked at Kurt and shot him when his vest reactivated.

"You– ugh, I hate this game."

"Come on, I know a short cut," the boy said and he took Kurt by the hand and pushed through what had looked like a solid wall.

"Wait, who the hell are you?" They went up a steep ramp and suddenly Kurt found himself in a tiny little tower with an almost perfect view of the entire room. "How did you even know this was here?"

The boy grinned at him and took aim over the half-wall surrounding their little hide out. It was a cocky look, almost like the smile Kurt had been perfecting with Puck and Quinns help all summer, but different. There was a brightness in that smile that caught inside Kurt and made something glow that hadnt existed before.

"Here," the boy guided Kurts gun onto the railing beside his and helped him take aim. "Point and shoot."

There was a flash of a Mohawk several walls over and Kurt smiled as he lined up his shot.

"You beat me?" Puck roared as their groups score card started strolling on the televisions around the little waiting room and arcade. "But you couldnt even keep your feet under your ass."

Kurt twirled his straw through his drink and watched the group sitting in the largest booth by the little smoothie stall. The boy from inside was over there, sitting on the right end while his friends reenacted their greatest laser tag moments.

"Who the hell is DapperDick? That fucker always wins! What the hell kind of name is that, anyway?"

The name flashed on the screen once more with the high score, beating all of them by almost ten thousand points. Quinn rolled her eyes as Puck stomped outside. Kurt continued to stare at the boy. He had no doubt that the boy was DapperDick with the way hed shot up on the balcony. Nobody else had even come close to how many shots hed landed. The boy suddenly looked up from his basket of fries, caught Kurts eyes and gave him that smile again.

"You should ask him out," Quinn said.

Kurt jumped, knocked his drink over, and cursed. "I dont know what youre talking about."

"Hottie over there," Quinn said, nodding her head towards the table of boys. "Hes totally eye fucking you. Whats his name?"

"DapperDick," Kurt replied with a mocking grin. "How should I know?"

"Well, you came out of there with him. Go talk to him, get his number at least," Quinn insisted. "I wont have you graduating next year without going on one date. Getting you laid might be asking for too much in this dead end town, but a date. Its right over there."

"I– this is ridiculous," Kurt said. He cleaned up his smoothie and set his cup right. "I dont even know him."

"Thats why you go talk to him. God, do I have to explain everything to you?"

Someone cleared their throat beside Kurt and a basket of fries was set on the table.

"This seat looks like it could use an occupant." The boy from inside sat down beside him and Quinn had suddenly disappeared. "Im Blaine, by the way. And you?"

"Kurt. My names Kurt."

Blaine smiled once more and pushed the basket of fries towards him. "You guys staying for another round or am I going to have to make another night our first date?"

"I– you–"

Blaine only smiled at him as Kurt finally set his hands on the table and grabbed a fry. He chewed it slowly as Blaine laughed and tentatively took his other hand. His grip was stronger than during the game.

"Your hairs beautiful. Ive been thinking about purple highlights."

Kurt looked at him, from his springy curls to his bright eyes and hopeful smile. "Maybe we could dye your hair for our second date. Ive got an entire collection of colors at home."

"Really?" Blaines voice squeaked and he ducked his head as his face flushed. "I mean, okay. Sure, thats cool."

"Yeah, cool." Kurt grabbed a napkin as the employees called for their second game. He scribbled his number down before he could second guess himself and passed it to Blaine. "Call me, cutie."

Kurt stood up and tried not to run as he hurried towards Quinn and Puck by the door to the launch room.

"Well?"

"Go away," Kurt snapped. "Im on my first date."

Blaine met him at the door and clasped his hand again. "Ready to piss Mohawk off again?"

Kurt laughed and followed him inside.