Chapter One: Memory Lane
"Kurt I'm home" Rachel announces, walking through her apartment, flicking lights on as she goes. She ends up in the kitchen plopping her rehearsal bag down on he floor. She sighed at the bottle of wine out on the counter. Before even reading the note attached, she knew it was Kurt bailing on their plans to go out tonight. He always bought her wine when he felt guilty. She rips the note off the bottle wondering what his excuse was this time.
"Hey hope rehearsal went well. Mark wants me to go to this poetry reading for some kid he wants to sign, so I won't be able to go out with the gang tonight. I'll just crash with him in Brooklyn, see you tomorrow, and have fun. Kurt"
Rachel throws the note in the trash moving to the cabinet to a get a glass and a corkscrew. Mark, just reading his name made her eyes roll. It wasn't because she was jealous Kurt was in a relationship, it truly was because Mark gave her the creeps. Mark, Kurt's 30 year old on and off boyfriend for the past three years. He had been Kurt's professor senior year for a poetry class Kurt took in order to graduate. Rachel remembered how much Kurt used to complain about him in the beginning, and how much he hated poetry, but when Mark started paying attention to Kurt (in what Rachel thought was a creepy way, but Kurt found sweet) he changed his tune. They started dating officially Kurt and Rachel's last semester of college, and have broken up since then too many times to count. Mark treats Kurt like a child, buying him things he feels Kurt can't live without, and always speaking to him in a condescending tone. Rachel knew they were 23, and fully capable of making their own decisions, but she just didn't understand what Kurt had seen in him. It made sense in the beginning, he was lonely ever since Blaine left, but now, what still drew Kurt to Mark she would never understand.
Blaine, Rachel sighed as his puppy dog face came in her mind. She missed him so much sometimes, and now was one of those times. Blaine and Kurt had beaten all odds and dated for their first two years of college. Blaine and Rachel had attended NYU together, while Kurt attended FIT. Rachel and Blaine had gotten so close in those two years, always spending time together, with and without Kurt. Blaine made Kurt the happiest she had ever seen him. All three of them were supposed to move in together their Junior year, until Kurt and Blaine had a pretty dramatic break-up the weekend before finals Sophomore year.
It had slightly been Rachel's fault they broke up. No matter how many times Kurt told her otherwise, deep down she knew it was true. It was the last day of classes, Rachel was going to a NYU party with her theatre friends, she had invited Kurt and Blaine, but Kurt had said he was going out to celebrate a friend's birthday, so Blaine and him were doing their own thing. Rachel had been having a great night out, celebrating with her friends she wouldn't see for the whole summer. Half way through the party (and 7 shots later) Rachel was stumbling around the party when she spotted a short- curly haired boy giggling into the neck of whom she assumed to be Kurt's.
"Blaine and Kurt Warbler" she had screamed drunkenly making her way towards her two best friends. But the boys didn't hear her, and continued to whisper into each other ears. Rachel rolled her eyes grasping her hands on Blaine's shoulders pulling him away from Kurt.
"Kurt lied and said you boys were doing you own thing, I can't believe I" but Rachel stopped herself when she made eye contact with the other boy, who had chocolate brown eyes, and blonde hair. He was cute, but no Kurt.
"Your not Kurt" she accused jabbing a finger in the boys chest. He raised his eyebrows at Blaine, but offered out his hand to Rachel.
"No, I'm Jeremy" He smiled politely at her. Rachel smacked his hand away from her, and turned her attention to Blaine, who looked horror struck. He quickly grabbed Rachel's arm and dragged her out of the party till they were on the front stoop of the building. He dramatically threw himself on the stairs throwing his head in his hands.
"Blaine what are you doing" Rachel had screamed. Blaine didn't look up at her.
"He's in one of my music theory classes, and he always flirts with me. He invited me here tonight and I was just, I don't know I was curious" Blaine sighed. Rachel smiled sympathetically at Blaine. Kurt and him were together for almost four years she understood his confusion. She knew he didn't do anything with this boy there was nothing wrong with just hanging out.
"Well you didn't do anything so I guess that's ok" Rachel smiled placing her hand on Blaine's shoulder. Blaine looked up at Rachel for the first time, and she took him in. His eyes were watery and red, his hair slightly disheveled, but not uncommon for a drunken Blaine, she noticed his flannel shirt was only half buttoned, and then she laid her eyes on the large red mark on Blaine's collarbone. It was fresh. Rachel gasped, and Blaine started to cry. Rachel didn't know what to do, but she knew she didn't want to be around Blaine. She turned away from and started to run, more like stumble away.
"Rachel" Blaine yelled running to catch up with her. He grabbed her by her wait and spun her around.
"Your drunk, you don't want to say anything to upset anyone" he looked at her desperately. She pushed him off of her and ran.
"If you're my best friend, you'll wait to tell him until your sober, until we can talk about it sober" she had heard him yell but she didn't stop and turn around. She ran until she was back at her dorm and safe in her room. She fell into her bed. Her mind had been racing she didn't know what to do, they were both her best friend's. In the end, she decided to call Kurt. The rest of night was a blur, not from the alcohol, but because she wanted to forget. Kurt had cried on the phone to her all night, he then called Blaine and screamed at him. Blaine showed up to his dorm and 5 am to apologize, but all he got from Kurt was a smack in the face and all his clothes back. And that was the last time Kurt saw Blaine. The last Rachel had heard from him was a text the next morning saying, "I'm not mad at you, but we shouldn't speak anymore". Rachel, as much as it hurt, agreed. Rachel and Kurt went home for the summer, and Blaine had stayed in the city to work. They came back in the fall and found out from mutual friends that Blaine had transferred to a music school in London, and as far as she was concerned he was probably still there now.
Rachel snapped out of her trip down memory lane when her phone vibrated loudly on the counter. She looked at the text to see the address of the bar her friends were going out to for the night. She sipped her wine, making her way to her closet to pick out an outfit, another reason why she wished Kurt was there.