The windows were completely fogged up. Blaine looked at the clock. Ten seventeen. He had been there for exactly an hour and ten minutes. The thought only made him sob harder.

The parking lot was empty now. Everyone else from the dance class was long gone. They had all left laughing and smiling, joking around with each other. It wasn't fair.

He continued to cry.

Five minutes later his phone started buzzing. God, he did not need to talk to anyone right now. He checked the caller ID and almost choked. He answered without even thinking about it.

"K-Kurt?

"Hey Brent I-wait, Blaine?"

He sniffled. "Yes?"

"Oh shit. Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to call you—"

"Oh, um, th-that's okay, I can go—"

"Wait, are you crying?"

Well, there was really no point in lying. Blaine hadn't stopped gasping since he picked up the phone. "I uh, yeah, I guess."

"...Why?"

"It's nothing." He took a shaky breath.

"No. You're lying. That is not a 'nothing' cry. That is a 'the world is crashing down and nothing will ever be okay again' cry. Am I right?"

A few more gasps. "Yeah," gasp, "kind of."

"What's wrong?" Kurt's tone softened. Blaine's mind flooded with all the different times he had used that tone and how comforting it had always been. He almost smiled.

But things were different now.

"You don't need to hear about my—"

"Of course I do. You're upset and I'm fairly certain you need to talk to someone about this. So talk. I'll listen."

There was no point in arguing this. He knew Kurt too well for that. Blaine did his best to steady his breath, to no avail. "Well, I, uh, I was at this dance class tonight."

Kurt waited on the other line. ".....okay?"

Blaine let his head drop back onto the seat as he shook his head. "I- I don't know. They were just so talented."

"Ah."

"They were so talented, and they all picked up the choreography like it was nothing, and I just- well the class kicked my ass."

"Mhmm."

"And they were all so happy and talented and, and just pretty and I don't know, I just felt really out of place."

"And why is that?" Kurt sounded genuinely confused.

"I'm not even on the same level as them. I mean, they were so good. I've always thought I was good, but this was so hard for me. And it made me think, y'know? In Ohio, everyone thinks I'm so great. But the rest of the world, are you kidding me? I'll be nothing. I'll be absolutely average, if that. I- I- I don't have crazy good looks, I'm not exceedingly talented, I'm not... special." He broke off to let a sob escape. "All I've ever wanted was to be successful. I-I just want to perform. I want it like I want to breathe. But so do all these other people. There are so many people all over the world who want the same thing as I do, and they are so much better than me. I'm not- I'm not Rachel. The world doesn't stop when I sing. The world doesn't stop when I do anything. It just keeps on turning and some people may be a little mildly impressed along the way, but that's it."

"Blaine-"

"You know, I had this audition last week. I auditioned for Godspell. I was good. I mean, I was really good. I sang my song well, the directors liked me, but... nothing. I mean, not even ensemble. There were probably ten other guys there who were just like me but better. And I mean, they were hot. They were so attractive. And I heard them sing. Some of them were so good you could have just cried. I hated them all." Blaine broke off to laugh through his tears. The gasping had stopped, thankfully. "I always thought I was good. Ever since I was little, people would tell me how great I was. I believed them. And I'm not saying I'm not talented, because I know I am. I'm just... not talented enough."

There was a long pause. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have just vented all that to you, I should have-"

"I'm insulted."

"I- wait, what?"

"I'm absolutely insulted. What do you think of me?" Kurt sounded utterly incredulous.

"I don't know what you're-"

"The guy you just described is pathetic. He is bland and boring and not at all.... He sucks."

Blaine waited for him to continue, but got no further explanation. "Kurt, I'm sorry. I still have no idea what you're talking about."

"What must you think of me to think I would have ever dated someone like that? I'll have you know, my standards are unreasonably high."

"Kurt I-"

"No, listen. Do you think I would have dated you if you weren't the hottest shit around? Because I wouldn't have. The second I met you, you were the definition of a dreamboat. You had the whole package. You were cute. You sang. You seemed sweet and intelligent. And my god, could you step touch." Blaine let out a chuckle and Kurt smiled. "Blaine, you are so beyond exceptional that it is almost unfair to the rest of us. Do you remember last year during West Side Story auditions? I was so jealous that you were so...just... perfect. You were literally born to be a leading man. Package deal. It really wasn't fair to the rest of us."

Blaine shook his head before he realized that Kurt couldn't see that. "But Kurt, you're so... God, I don't know. You're unique, you know? Your voice is so different that anything people have heard. It leaves people breathless."

"So does yours. You don't even have to do anything and you have people swooning all over you."

"But this is Ohio. In New York, how many guys out there look and sound and act just like me? Most of them are probably better, too."

"That's a risk you're just going to have to take." They went silent. "This business sucks. A lot of absolutely stunning people go home with absolutely nothing to show for it, and all these terrible actors are making millions of dollars. It isn't fair. But Blaine, you have to try. I think you owe it to the world to let them see just how charming of a guy they are missing out on."

"Kurt-"

"Listen, Blaine. I, um, I know we're not dating anymore. Obviously. But I still... I still care about you a lot. So much. And I think the world of you. No matter what happened between us.... You're still one of the best people on the planet, I promise. So don't ever put yourself down like that again, okay? You're wonderful. And whether or not you make it big... Well, your worth isn't defined by a job, right? And how could it be? You're so much more than any job could ever capture."

Blaine didn't know when he had stopped crying, but his eyes were threatening to spill over again.

"Thank you, Kurt. For... For everything."

Kurt smiled over the other line. "No problem. I... I meant it all, okay?"

Blaine wiped away a stray tear as he let out a laugh. "Okay."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

"If you ever need to talk, just let me know. I'm always here for you."

"Thank you, Kurt. So much."

As they hung up, Blaine sat back in his seat and let out a huge breath he hadn't known he'd been holding.

"Yeah," he whispered, "NYADA here I come."