Blaine Anderson was not a morning person. It was as simple as that. It didn't help that many of his nights ended in the wee hours of the morning, but he was not convinced that was part of the issue. His meetings were just scheduled too early for his liking.
His phone rang shrilly, waking him out of a peaceful slumber. As he reached blindly, unwilling to open his eyes yet, to turn off his alarm ap, his arm ended up slapping flesh rather than the wood of his nightstand. Blaine groaned and shook his head.
"Turn that fucking noise off." The man in his bed snapped.
Blaine opened his eyes and grabbed his phone from the man's other side, hitting the proper buttons to silence the device.
"If you're pissed about my alarm maybe you shouldn't have stayed the night. I tried to offer you a cab last night." Blaine snapped back as he slipped out of bed, "I'll call you one now; it'll be here in fifteen minutes. I need to shower; you can show yourself out when the cab is here."
The man, 'Shit. What's his name?', sat up, quirking an eyebrow at Blaine, "Aren't you just a charmer?" The sarcasm was not lost on Blaine, "Don't bother with the cab. I'll take the subway. Thanks for letting me crash." Blaine nodded as he turned to study his wardrobe options for the day as the man got out of his bed to gather his clothing from the night before, "You're a good fuck, we should hook up again sometime."
Blaine snorted; he rarely hooked up with the same guy twice. He didn't do relationships. 'Not since Andrew, anyway. I learned my lesson on relationships. Never again.'
Just as he was about to immediately turn the guy down, his inner need to make everyone happy pulled at him. He knew he was a shallow ass when it came to personal relationships, but he still couldn't bring himself to straight out turn the guy down.
"I'm sure I'll see you around sometime." Blaine said, finally grabbing a decent looking outfit.
He turned to see the man smirk and walk out of the room, fully dressed. The sound of the front door opening and shutting allowed Blaine to take a second and compile his thoughts without feeling guarded.
'Today's the day Blaine. Stand up for yourself. Tell them you're done doing for others what you should be doing for yourself. It's time to shine.'
Blaine nodded to himself, a new spring in his step as he made his way to the bathroom to get ready for his day.
Kurt Hummel was not a people's person. If he could go without being around people for the rest of his life, he'd be a happy camper. Unfortunately, the world didn't work that way. Kurt walked briskly with his eyes trained on the ground directly in front of his feet, hoping that no one would cut him off.
He turned the corner and looked up briefly and sighed as he saw the crowd ahead of him. 'Why can't everyone just stay the hell away from here? It's not even the business part of town, nor is it the tourist part. STOP!'
He moved to the building side of the sidewalk and kept with his pace; ignoring the griping people he swept past. He was not in the mood. He just needed to get to work. He would not let these people bother him. Nope. He would keep walking and avoid eye contact and the inevitable conversations that came with eye contact. 'Just keep moving Kurt. You can do it. Breathe. They won't hurt you if you just keep moving and don't talk to them.'
He finally reached his destination and opened the glass door. He breathed a sigh of relief at the familiarity of the grocery store that he had been working at for the previous seven years. He nodded to the coworkers that greeted him as he passed them, keeping his eyes trained on the ground as he went.
As soon as he reached the employee room, he shut the door and walked to his locker. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, silently praising himself for making it through the throngs of people outside without fully panicking. He opened his locker and put his messenger bag inside and grabbed his apron, placing it neatly over his outfit, he headed out to the floor for what was sure to be another painfully long day of trying to stay invisible as he lined the shelves with everyone's favorite goods.
"Frankly, Blaine; I don't give a shit. You have been highly recommended by many people for accounts like these. These are accounts you don't turn down! You will not fuck this up for us! We've worked too hard to get you to this point for you to throw it all away because you think you've got the goods to make it for yourself." Jared Strong, Blaine's agent, sneered at him from across the desk.
Blaine frowned, trying to push his guilt aside, "I know you've worked your ass off for me, but people wouldn't be requesting me if they thought I didn't have talent. I think-"
"Oh you've got talent alright. I wouldn't represent you if that weren't the case. You're talent helps people become big bright stars! You've even written a fucking Broadway musical that will open in the coming months. You make stars. You're paid big sums of cash to keep your mouth shut and write the music that everyone knows and loves. No one gives a fuck that you're the 'ghost' in their lives; they need you and your songs."
"Yes but I want to take credit for my work now. I get that I can't take credit for anything in the past, but I want to make a name for myself. I want to own the work I do. I want to sing the songs I write. I want the congratulations that I deserve. I want people to know that the songs they connect to come from my head, my soul! Not from some dickhead of an eighteen year old who thinks his shit doesn't stink." Blaine snapped back at Jared, annoyed that the man didn't seem to care that he cared about his work and wanted to feel heard for once.
Jared sat back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest, "You know, Blaine, I'm just disappointed; and I know all three of these accounts would be too." Blaine tried to stomp down the nagging in his stomach trying to tell him not to let them down, "Everyone speaks so highly of you, they expect nothing but cooperation and the best songs that their money could buy. But," Jared let out a heavy sigh, "I guess I can try and let them down easily. Tell them that you are terribly sorry for causing them trouble, but you're doing you own thing now." Blaine's heart began to race and his stomach turned as the guilt began to build even more, "And I suppose I'll work even harder to try and make you mainstream. Get you some gigs, some studio time and a record deal. It'll be a ton of extra work, all to turn down these jobs." Jared shook his head slowly, and shuffled the papers around, "But if that's what you really want, Blaine, I won't stop you. I'll just call and let these people down now."
Blaine watched as Jared picked up his phone. His body was physically beginning to shake. "Stop."
Jared looked over in surprise, "I'm sorry?"
Blaine sighed resignedly, "Stop, Jared. I'll do it. I'll write for them. No one else though. After this I'm done."
Jared smiled brightly and hung up the phone, "Oh, Blaine! I knew you wouldn't let us down! Now, how about some lunch?"
Kurt jumped when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned slowly and looked up to the man behind him.
"Yes sir? How may I help you?" Kurt asked, trying to keep his voice in control.
"What aisle is the baby shit?" The man asked around his chewing gum.
Kurt swallowed at the man's bulging muscles under his thin t-shirt, knowing the man could snap him in an instant. "U-um, on four sir."
"Thanks." The man nodded and headed off.
Kurt sighed in relief once the man turned into the aisle and turned to look at the clock over the store entrance. He smiled and mentally patted himself on the back for making it through his shift as he stood and made his way to the employee room to gather his bag once again.
As Kurt made his way out of the store and down the street, his gaze on his feet once again, he felt his anxiety kicking in. He had promised himself that morning he'd stop for takeout on his way home. It was not only extra time around others, it was an extra conversation he'd have to have with someone. He quickly made his way to the subway station and hopped in the car just in time for the doors to close.
Throughout the ride, Kurt kept his eyes on the ground and made a mental list of all of the takeout places on his way home from the subway station. His tiny New York apartment was in a nice neighborhood with every kind of food he could ever possibly want within blocks of his home. Not that he ate at those places often; he usually just got groceries from work and cooked from home. He chose to go with Mr. Chao's Chinese Palace because it was the most direct place between the subway station and his home.
As soon as he reached his station, he ran up the stairs and directly into Mr. Chao's. He hastily ordered his food and sat on the bench with his leg bouncing in anxiety as he waited for the food to finish cooking. Many people entered and exited the establishment and Kurt avoided looking at any one of them. He tensed when he felt someone sit next to him on the bench to wait for their food. He curled in on himself and leaned away from the person.
"Do you eat here often?" The woman, as the voice identified her, asked from her seat next to Kurt.
Kurt shook his head and turned away, not really caring that it would be considered rude of him to do so.
Fifteen minutes later the woman that had taken his order brought the bag of his steaming food to Kurt's perch.
"Here you go, sir. Is there anything else I can get you?" She said, holding out the bag for him to take.
Kurt swallowed thickly, "D-does it have chopsticks in the bag?"
"Of course, sir. There's only one way to eat our food; that's with chopsticks." The woman giggled at her own joke.
Kurt tried to smile gratefully, making eye contact with the woman for barely a moment before exiting the shop as fast as possible. He walked the block and a half to his building, his breathing coming quickly, not from exertion but anxiety, and his heart pounding.
As he ran up the stairs to his front door, he ignored the girl who rented the apartment next to his who greeted him as they passed on the stairwell. He dug his keys from the side pocket of his messenger bag and fumbled with the lock with his shaky hands. He had a hard time seeing through the tears that welled in his eyes.
He made it inside, rushed to put his food on the counter before sinking to the ground. He curled up in a ball and tried to focus on calming his breathing.
'One too many things today. Shouldn't have stopped for food. Should have known better.'
Blaine blinked heavily as he took another gulp of his drink, the alcohol stinging as it made its way down. He looked around with a contented smile on his face. The lights flashed brightly and the music played loud, letting him get lost in it. The beat pounded through his body, his hips swaying in time with it.
'You fuck up. Couldn't even stand up for yourself properly. At least you can do this.' He spied an attractive guy making eyes at him and he gulped the rest of his drink in one swallow, 'At least no one can take this away from you. You'll own this talent. You won't even let your emotions win at something like this. Just do what you know how to own.' He ignored that his alcohol fuzzed brain didn't even make sense at that point in the evening. It was three a.m. and nothing really mattered anymore.
Blaine walked forward to the guy and went in for the kill, shoving his tongue immediately in the other man's mouth, no shame nor misleading conversation about his actions.
XXXX
Blaine woke the next morning with a headache in a strange apartment, in bed with a man he didn't know. He sighed and got up, not even bothering to wake the man. He slipped on his clothes and made sure he had his keys, phone and wallet and made his way outside. He stepped onto the sidewalk and looked around, trying to figure out where he was.
He tried to ignore the chalky taste in his mouth as his stomach growled and lurched all at once, causing Blaine to almost regret the last drink he'd had the night before. He spied a grocery store down the block a ways and decided to stop in there and grab something to snack on and ask where he could find a subway station.
He made his way into the store, immediately spotting the ready-to-go sandwiches advertised in the back corner by the refrigerated section and meandered towards the sign. He smiled at the guy who was stocking the milk, but the man kept his eyes on his task at hand.
Blaine kept his smile on as he spoke, "Excuse me?"
The man jumped and looked up at Blaine. Blaine felt his heart stop as the man's gorgeous blue-green eyes met his gaze. Blaine took a second to really study the man; he was gorgeous. Blaine's heart began thudding in his chest. 'What the fuck? You haven't had a reaction like this in years. You know better than this. You just got laid too, so it's not like your horny. Just ask your fucking question and be on your way.'
"Y-yes sir?" The soft voice of an angel-'Seriously? Stop. FUCK!'-spoke to Blaine.
"Yeah, do you know where I can find the subway station? I'm sort of lost."
The man swallowed, "U-um, yes sir. When you exit take a left and walk t-two blocks then take a right and walk a block then take a left and you'll s-see it about halfway down the street on the left."
"Excellent, thank you," Blaine looked to the man's chest to see his nametag pinned to his apron, "Kurt."
The man-Kurt- nodded and turned back to his work, visibly shaking. Blaine wondered if he should ask if he was alright, but decided against it. He headed over to the sandwiches he had had his eye on upon entering the store.
Just as he was about to grab the turkey and swiss cheese sandwich all hell broke loose.
A/N: I don't own Glee nor its characters. Okay, so if you follow me on Tumblr, you've seen me giggling to myself about my new WIP that I've been working on alongside IMU. Well, I have decided to begin posting it, also against my better judgment. ;) This story popped into my head and I've been constantly thinking about it since so I'm hoping to get a ton of work on it done so I can try and keep up with the updating schedule of IMU and FOL (though FOL is almost finished being posted). I'm hoping to go for updates every other week, maybe every third depending on how far ahead I stay. Here's hoping! :) Let me know what you think of this one, yeah? All my usual formatting applies, for those who are new it's all pretty straight forward but if you have any questions at all please feel free to ask! The only formatting I will make sure to mention is that the 'grey line' is a perspective change between Kurt and Blaine. I look forward to hearing y'all's feedback. :)