It’s on a day in November, no different than any other day, that Blaine pauses at the bottom of the Dalton stairs. He’s on his way to a Warbler performance in the senior common; he’d been looking forward to it all day, the chance to let loose a bit and get lost in a song. Sectionals are coming up and it’s nice to get the chance to do something not involving the music in their set list for once. Warbler performances, both impromptu and planned, also tend to shut the school down, and Blaine kind of loves it.

He’s not sure why he stops, other than the phantom feeling of a brush against his arm. He turns to look up the stairs, not sure what he’s expecting to see. But there’s nothing out of place; boys stream down the stairs behind him, and a few grumble as they’re forced to walk around him, but he barely notices them.

“Blaine?”

Blaine blinks, pulled from the strange reverie, and sees David coming down the hall. “Hey.”

“You ready?” he asks with a grin.

Blaine quickly shakes off the phantom pull to the stairs and grins back. “Absolutely.” He falls in step with his friend as they head toward the common.

He glances back at the empty staircase before they round the corner, feeling an unexpected pang of absence.

-----

Blaine doesn’t think about that strange moment on the stairs again until a few days before Christmas break. He’s sitting in the library, a history text open in front of him, but the sheet music for “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” is scattered around the table. He’s got a gig this weekend and though he could sing the song in his sleep, his perfectionist tendencies are pushing him to rehearse just one more time.

He gathers up the sheet music—he should really be studying for his final tomorrow but he’s distracted—and hums the melody under his breath before he’s struck by the sudden need to move. He walks the perimeter of the room, feeling like there’s an itch under his skin that he can’t scratch. He ends up sitting at the piano, restlessly plucking at a few keys.

When Wes sticks his head in the door and asks if he’s coming to dinner, Blaine nods absently. He gathers his book and sheet music, stuffing them into his bag. He follows Wes into the hall, but as he moves to shut the lights off, a familiar wave of absence washes over him and he pauses.

“Blaine?”

Blaine shakes his head, the moment gone, and glances back at Wes, who is looking at him in concern. “Sorry. I’m fine.”

He flips the lights off and shuts the door, ignoring the way his heart is beating a bit harder in his chest, and trails after Wes to the dining hall.

-----

The Warblers perform a love song medley at a Valentine’s Day charity benefit. After the concert, Blaine heads back to his room and watches When Harry Met Sally, feeling a strange connection with Billy Crystal’s character.

-----

Pavarotti dies a couple of weeks before Regionals. It’s hardly the first canary to die and the Council plans to replace their mascot after the competition, but Blaine still finds himself humming “Blackbird” under his breath for the next week.

-----

The Warblers win Regionals and are New York-bound a few weeks before the end of the school year. Blaine’s been to New York a few times with his parents; seeing Phantom on Broadway when he was ten convinced him to pursue performing, and he’s planning to apply to a few New York schools for college—NYADA and Tisch being his top choices.

They end up with an extra day for sight-seeing before the competition, though Wes makes them all swear to be back at the hotel early enough that they can rehearse that night, as though they hadn’t been drilling their numbers for months. They’d been laid back with Sectionals and Regionals, but the Council was determined to step it up for the national stage. Warbler practice was exhausting leading up to the trip, but the good kind of exhausting, like spending quality time with the punching bag.

Blaine ends up wandering the streets with Wes and David. They catch a few touristy attractions, take a bunch of pictures, and wander through stores on Fifth Avenue. Blaine is having a blast when Wes suggests they grab a coffee before heading to Central Park. They wander into a hole-in-the-wall coffee place, order their drinks, and grab a table.

Wes and David are teasing Blaine about salivating over some designer collection in a store window and Blaine’s rolling his eyes when the bell above the door jingles. The coffee shop is pretty busy, so door has been opening and closing frequently since they arrived, but Blaine feels a sudden need to look behind him. He glances in the direction of the person who walked in, and he’s pretty sure he’s stopped breathing.

The boy is about his age, though taller, with pale skin, chestnut hair, and clothes that make him look as though he’s stepped out of one of those windows on Fifth Avenue that Wes and David are teasing him about ogling.  

Blaine is out of his chair before he’s realized he’s moved.

“Blaine?”

“Hey, earth to Blaine!”

“Grande non-fat mocha,” the boy is saying as Blaine walks up to the counter. His voice is higher than Blaine expected, but it’s crystal clear and fits him perfectly, Blaine thinks. Blaine pulls out his wallet and throws down a few bills before the boy can.

“It’s on me,” he says. Blaine thinks he might be having an out of body experience as the boy turns to look at him in surprise. He can’t believe what he’s doing; he doesn’t do things like this, especially not since the spectacular failure at the Gap.

But as the boy’s blue eyes meet his, Blaine feels his heart hammering in his chest.

“Name?” the barista asks in a bored voice.

“Kurt,” the boy says slightly breathlessly, eyes still locked on Blaine’s. There’s a strange mix of emotions crossing his face, but Blaine thinks he sees some sort of understanding there—that somehow he’s feeling what Blaine is, something he can’t explain but feels so right.

“Blaine,” Blaine introduces, sticking his hand out. The boy—no, Kurt—takes it hesitantly and a current runs through Blaine’s arm down to his toes.

Something warm settles over Blaine in that moment, clicking with absolute certainty. He’s standing at the bottom of the stairs at Dalton and Kurt’s is the hand in his that brushed along his arm, making him pause. He’s in the library, plucking away at the piano as Kurt’s voice sings a Christmas song with him.

Later, Wes and David will abandon him as Blaine and Kurt get a table together. Blaine will learn that Kurt is in the city visiting colleges with his father. Unbelievably, Kurt is also from Ohio—Lima is only a couple of hours away from Westerville; what are the odds? Kurt also loves to sing, but his high school’s glee club didn’t have enough members for competitions, so it folded. He’s also been bullied for being gay and is planning to graduate high school early and get to New York as soon as possible.

The next day, Kurt will surprise Blaine at Nationals, finding him in the lobby after the Warblers come in sixth, telling him that he was amazing. Blaine will meet Kurt’s father and, knowing the man for all of thirty seconds, already feel more welcome in the man’s family than his own. Kurt and Blaine will exchange numbers and text constantly, but not have a chance to meet back in Ohio until school is out for both of them. Blaine will get a performing job at Six Flags for the summer and Kurt will meet him after every show.

Kurt will end up transferring to Dalton for his senior year and won’t graduate early. He’ll join the Warblers and when the Warblers reach Nationals the next year, he and Blaine will sing a romantic duet that has the audience on its feet and propels the Warblers to a third place finish.

But at that moment, as they stare at each other next to the counter while Kurt’s coffee order is fixed, Blaine’s never been so certain of anything in his life. Oh, there you are, he thinks. I’ve been looking for you forever.

fin