It was 5 a.m. on a Thursday. Most people in Lima, Ohio were probably still asleep, preferring to wake up at 6 or half 6. But then again, Kurt Hummel wasn't most people.

On this particular Thursday, he happened to be very slightly panicking. Because it was Mercedes' birthday.

It wasn't that he hadn't done anything. Everything was ready… sort of. It was just his luck that his best girlfriend was one of the most observant people he knew, so he had to keep everything he was planning for this evening under wraps.

The phone was perched precariously between his shoulder and ear, and he was rushing around his room frantically, not really going anywhere or doing anything slightly productive.

"Blaine! I am freaking out here!" he was hissing.

Blaine, still half asleep, mumbled a reply.

"No, I cannot calm down! You don't understand how much I'm stressing here!"

Kurt flicked frantically through the notebooks on his desk, but they didn't offer any help whatsoever, so he returned to frantically pacing around his room.

XxXxX

Blaine Anderson was quite a patient person. He didn't mind early phone calls, really, and he didn't mind any phone calls from Kurt.

But this was getting slightly ridiculous.

It was five a.m., and he'd already been on the phone to Kurt for an hour, listening to him work himself slowly into a frenzy.

It really wasn't that big of a deal. Just a huge surprise party, the largest either of them had ever hosted. Nothing to worry about.

Apart from the fact that talking to Kurt was starting to get Blaine worried about the whole thing.

No. He shook his head, trying to pay attention to Kurt but clear the thoughts from his head. He wasn't going to let it take over. Today, everything was going to go smoothly. Nothing needed to go wrong, nothing at all. Mercedes wouldn't even care. She'd love the fact that Kurt went to so much effort for her. There was no need to be stressed out about this. None at all.

Half an hour later, Blaine finally managed to persuade Kurt to hang up. But there was still that nagging doubt in the back of his mind about it all.

XxXxX

Kurt had spent the school day in a frenzy, but now, at 5 p.m., him and Blaine were sitting in a dark room, waiting for everyone to turn up – and hopefully before Mercedes.

"Kurt?" Blaine finally said after half an hour. "What day was the party meant to be?"

"Today!"

"Date."

"The 25th… Why?"

Blaine groaned, putting one hand over his face. "It's the 24th."

"Ah."