Chapter 1
He picked up his speed, wanting to hurry inside to escape January's cold winter chill. It hadn't begun to snow yet, but the dark, gray clouds were threatening to unleash the frozen flakes at any given moment. Finally reaching the door, he swung it open and dashed inside, exhaling as the heat from the vent above him warmed his freezing body. Taking a minute to catch his breath, he adjusted the strap of his messenger bag and looked around for the coffee bar. They had remodeled the bookstore just before Christmas, and had done a lot of intense advertising for their newly installed café, and he was eager to try it out.
His eyes finally landed on a large area in the back. There was a long counter with what he assumed to be all different types of coffees and creamers. Then, there was a huge counter with three eager-looking employees behind it, serving the many customers that had taken advantage of the new coffee bar. The coffee's aroma filled the air, and it added a brand new vibe to the bookstore's atmosphere. Kurt looked to his left and saw the extension the bookstore had built in order to house even more books, and smiled to himself. He had a feeling that he would be spending a lot of time here.
And the free Wi-Fi gave the bookstore a few more brownie points.
Strolling over the café, he set his bag down on the counter and fished around for a five=-dollar bill. He found it in his wallet, wedged between his friend Rachel's senior picture and his driver's license. He pulled it out and smiled sweetly at the barista, ordering a medium cup of peppermint mocha, hoping it would help him warm up a little bit.
Kurt sat down and set his messenger bag on the floor next to him, breathing in the sweet scent of peppermint and espresso. He took a small sip, testing the temperature, and was pleased to know that it tasted very good. He pulled his laptop out of his bag and opened it up, wanting to get started on a report for his English class. Crossing his legs, he took another sip of his drink as he waited for his computer to power on. Nothing was more relaxing than working on homework in a bookstore or library. His house was too distracting. His step-brother, Finn, was dating his best friend, Rachel, so she was constantly over at their house. Rachel and Finn, combined with his brand new flat screen TV and the Wii that he and Finn had received for Christmas, didn't allow for much studying to be done. He had gone to library the other day to work on his report, hoping the quiet and lack of distractions would motivate him to do his work. When it was a success, Kurt decided to get into the habit of stopping by there for an hour every few days on his way home from school to work on his homework. He had heard a commercial on TV this morning, though, advertising the renovations that had been made to the bookstore, so he decided to check it out. And it definitely beat the library.
Kurt logged onto his account and pulled up the essay that he had started a few days. He had types only a few sentences, when someone caught his eye. He hunched down in his seat, so that only his eyes were visible over the screen on his laptop. His eyes widened as he watched the boy hold open the door for an older lady, who was struggling with her bags and her walker. She thanked the boy as she left the store, who in return smiled and said "You're welcome!" He a deep, dreamy voice, and Kurt was immediately drawn in.
He hadn't had a boyfriend before. Most of the time, the boys he liked weren't interested in being with another man. And on the off chance that they were gay, they were already taken. And Kurt wasn't the kind to get in the middle of a preexisting relationship like that. Kurt's heart fluttered, and he felt a warm, fuzzy feeling permeate throughout his stomach. Who was this boy? And why had Kurt never seen him before? His eyes were finally drawn to the navy blue suit. Kurt would have recognized it anywhere. It was the signature uniform of Dalton Academy, an all-boys private school about twenty minutes away from his public high school, William McKinley High. He had recognized the name "Dalton" from show choir competitions. Their glee club was called "The Warblers", and they were very good. Kurt had only seen them perform one time, the first year he had ever been in show choir, and he was sure that this boy hadn't been in the club back then. Kurt would have remembered him.
Now, the boy was talking to one of the bookstore employees. She was a very pretty girl, probably not much older than the boy. She tossed her long, blonde hair over her shoulder and leaned in toward the boy, pointing a long, manicured finger towards an aisle in the newly added section of the store. Kurt was not immune to this obvious flirting on her part, and his heart instantly sank. Why had he gotten his hopes up like this? He swallowed and looked back at his computer screen, desperate to get the boy's face out of his head. But he couldn't help but watch the boy as he kindly thanked the girl and walked toward the section she had just directed him to. Kurt looked back at the girl, who seemed a bit disappointed. Maybe the boy wasn't interested. Kurt took a long gulp of his peppermint mocha, ignoring the burning it left on the back of his throat. He tried to focus. But the attractive boy- in uniform- at a bookstore, who had ignored the flirting of an extremely beautiful teenage girl made it impossible to. Finally, when he could take it no longer, Kurt downed the final swig of his drink and tossed it in the trash can, slamming his computer shut and shoving it back into his bag. He slipped the strap over his shoulder and adjusted the bag, before he set off to the same part of the store he had seen the boy walk over to.
Kurt wiped his sweaty palms on the side of his skinny jeans, nervously scanning each and every aisle, looking for that blue uniform.
"Do you have any others?"
"We do, but this section is still new, so we don't have all of the shipments in yet."
Kurt sidled up against one of the bookshelves and poked his head around the corner. Sure enough, the boy was holding a book and talking to another store employee.
"Do you know when the next shipment will be in?" God, his voice was so hot.
"Probably sometime early next week. Maybe Monday or Tuesday?"
"Okay. This will do for now." The boy held up the book and pointed to it. "Thank you so much for your help." The store employee smiled and nodded, before going back to arranging books on the shelves. Kurt kept his eyes trained on the boy, who was intently studying the contents of the small, think book he had found. Kurt caught a glimpse of the title. He couldn't read the entire thing, but he definitely saw the words "come out". His jaw dropped and he inhaled sharply, his heart threatening to beat out of his chest. His eyes blinked rapidly, and instantaneously, the boy was gone. Kurt's eyes widened and he darted into the aisle the boy had been in moments ago. A rush of fear swept through his brain, and he silently mumbled a prayer. The boy couldn't have just disappeared…where did he go?
And there he was. Sitting a table, in the corner, by himself. His head rested on one hand and the other held the book. Unfortunately, Kurt couldn't see the cover page, but he had been sure that the words "come out" had been on it.
Kurt rolled his shoulders back, knowing what he had to do. If he didn't say something to this boy now, he could be gone forever. And he went to another school. If he rejected Kurt or clearly wasn't interested, Kurt would be spared the embarrassment of having to walk past him in the hall tomorrow, or him telling all of his friends that Kurt had tried to hit on him. Courage, Kurt thought to himself, as he stepped out of the aisle. He walked as if he were in a dream. His head was spinning. It was like an out-of-body experience. He casually walked around the boy's table, pretending to look at a book on the other side of the table. Nonchalantly looking over his shoulder, he saw the whole title of the book, which was plain and simply, How to Come Out. Kurt's heart sank. A sad smile worked its way onto his face. He knew what this meant. Fortunately, the boy was gay. But, unfortunately, he still hadn't come out. And that meant he was probably scared, confused, and alone. Before Kurt could think otherwise, he spun around and looked the boy straight in the eyes, before murmuring, "I think I can help you more than that book can."
