It was Kurt’s first final in college, and he was stressed. After being rejected from NYADA, Kurt went to the University of Ohio. Even though it sucked to not get in, he was still majoring in musical theatre. But because he went to a regular university, he had to take general education courses, like psych 101. At 8:30 in the morning, who does that? So he got up at six to start studying. He had all his stuff set up in the dorm’s floor lounge when he realized he had grabbed the wrong notebook. He hurried back to his room and quietly swapped the notebooks to not disturb Artie, his roommate.

When he returned from his dorm room with the correct notebook, he stopped dead in his tracks. There was a boy laid out on a couch on the other side of the room. He was curled against the couch. His back rounding toward Kurt, wearing the rattiest pair of black Chuck Taylors Kurt had ever seen, it was a disgrace really. He wore skin-tight, washed out, black jeans and a grey - brown hoodie with the hood pulled up around his head, and clutching a, what probably would have been white when it was first purchased, backpack. Had this kid thought about buying new things?

Kurt caught his breathe and decided to continue to study in the lounge even with this uninvited company. The boy was pretty much quiet, Kurt listened to the steady sound of his breathing with the occasional hitch or hum.

About an hour later, Kurt got up to refill his water bottle. When he return the boy was upright, but just barely. He was rummaging thru his dingy backpack, Kurt watched his back from the doorway. He finally found what he was looking for, an iPod. While, he popped the ear buds in his ears, his hood fell down. Kurt noticed his soft, curly, dark brown hair; he felt an urge to run his fingers through it. He pressed play and tossed the iPod back in the bag, readjusted his hood, and fell back asleep. Kurt was perplexed for a second before returning to his work.

The boy started singing lowly and humming. At first he thought the boy had mumbled ‘cowboy boots.’ He didn’t look like the type to listen to country. At first he checked on the boy every few minutes, but soon he forgot he was there until –

“Hey, buddy!” Kurt’s heart started beating out of his chest, and his head shot up to look at the boy on the couch, who was now sitting up with his back to Kurt. He-he-he’s not talking to me? Is he?

“Your kids were up too fucking early this morning, haha.” He’s on the phone. “I had Coop drop me off at the dorms.” The boy started to return his iPod to his back pack. Kurt recognized this boy now from around their floor. He was older. Kurt had often seen him with a thin black boy and an Asian boy. And sometimes with a loud Hispanic girl. He had heard them in the halls before, sometimes he thought they had been drinking, which is not allowed, they lived on a dry campus. The boy seemed to always have a cigarette in hand when leaving the building. He and the black guy, his roommate, maybe, were always laughing like crazy when they were inside the building, usually at Rachel, the student advisor’s sake.

“I’ve reached a new party girl low.” He laughed. “I slept in the floor’s lounge.” He stood up. “Wes was sleeping in my bed, when I got in.” He got in at 6 in the morning. He settled his backpack on his shoulder. “He must have been studying with David and lost track of time.” He turned back and smiled and threw a wink at Kurt, and left. The word ‘Blaine’ was etched in black sharpie at the top of his bag. Kurt could hear his laughter down the hall.

                “Well, you can come get me in, like, 30 minutes.” Blaine informed Cassie. “I’m just gonna grab something to eat.”

                “Sounds alright to me.” Cassie stated. “Also you’re still a dick for fucking leaving me.”

                “I love you, too, sister.” Blaine retorted. He hung up when he received a text from David.

                Sorry about Wes in your bed. You can take mine.

                He decided not return the text, and he just went to their room. David sitting cross legged on his bed, smiling up at Blaine, and Wes was still dead asleep on his bed.

                “Where’d you sleep?” David whispered.

                “Cassie and Coop’s,” Blaine started, “then the lounge.”

                “Wow.” David got up to get dressed.

                “Yeah, that guy you don’t like was in there. The one you think is gay.”

                David stopped putting on his shirt, “He being gay has nothing to do with me not liking him.”

                “Then you wouldn’t like me.” Blaine laughed. “You wanna go to the dining hall.”

                “Exactly.” David emphasized the t.

                Blaine made sure he had his key and wallet, while David finished getting dressed. “I don’t know. I think he’s kinda cute.”

                David put his keys in his pocket, “Of course, you do. Standards, Blaine, standards.” He looked around their tiny room for his phone. “He always uses our water fountain, when there’s one right outside his room.”

                “You’re really worked up about this.” Blaine joked.

                “The reason you aren’t is because you’re always checking out his ass.”

                “It’s a nice butt.” Blaine reminisced, as he walked out into the hallway.

                “Oh, my god.” David practically yelled. “Can we go eat now, please?” He asked as he shut the door behind him, leaving Wes asleep and in their room.