High school had gone by in a blur for Kurt, now that he looked back. He was glad the constant torture of high school and reputations and popularity was over, but in a way, he knew he would miss it. As crazy as it sounded, high school made Kurt feel safe. Safe from whatever lay ahead for his future. He had been dreaming and planning for the moment he escaped Lima and never looked back, but he also knew that the road ahead would be bumpy. And some big bumps were bound to come along.

"Kurt, we're going to be late!" Kurt's father, Burt yelled from downstairs. Kurt could hear the flurry of footsteps and shook himself from his thoughts. He zipped up his suitcases, doing a double check to make sure he didn't forget anything, before pulling the five suitcases down the stairs two at a time. After all of his suitcases were piled on the living room floor, Carole came flying in with a huge grin plastered on her face.

"Are you excited, honey?"

"Of course. I've never been on a cruise before. This is so exciting, but I can't believe that after this cruise, I'll be off to New York. It's really happening, Carole," Kurt's voice became a whisper and tears pooled in his eyes. He would miss his father and Carole.

Kurt pushed away his thoughts once again and focused on the positive. Kurt, Burt, Carole, Finn, and Rachel were all going on a month-long cruise before the three graduates were off to New York to start their lives. He still have a month left with his family. He was going to make the most of it.

Once everything was loaded into the two cars (Burt and Carole riding together while the three teens opted to ride separately so there was enough space) they headed to the airport. The car ride was filled with rambling about the cruise or New York and constant sing-alongs to the radio. When Don't Stop Believin' came on, Kurt and Rachel found themselves in tears while Finn became silent while they listened to the all-too-familiar song. This was really it. High school was over. Their lives as adults were really beginning.

Once the song had ended and conversation began to flow normally again, Kurt couldn't help but take in the sight of Rachel and Finn's intertwined hands lying across the console. He felt an overwhelming sense of loneliness, but it quickly passed when he reassured himself that he was moving to New York and he would find someone for him there, he just knew it.

They pulled into the airport parking lot and parked the lot for long-time parking. As soon as the car was stopped, Kurt hopped out to grab his bags. Finn took two of Kurt's bags seeing as he had only packed one, while Burt took another leaving Kurt with only two bags to carry himself. He walked alongside Rachel up to the entrance and they chatted amicably as they went through security and all the works. Once they were through security, Finn and Burt broke off the find the food court while the girls and Kurt took their seats in the terminal.

It had only been ten minutes when Finn rejoined the three in the terminal, an assortment of food piled high in his arms. Anything from a burger to a Styrofoam container of Chinese food. Kurt scoured the boxes until he found one with a salad. "I knew you'd want something healthy," Finn explained, his nose wrinkling as he said the word 'healthy'. Kurt smiled and thanked his brother before plucking a fork from the pile and nibbling at his salad.

A little less than an hour later, the flight number was called out and they boarded the plane. They boarded and Kurt took his seat all the way in the back corner as to not be bothered. As soon as he was seated and buckled in, he pulled out his iPod and headphones from his carryon and played quiet music until it began to lull him to sleep. He fell asleep before the plane even took off, but caught a quick glimpse of a messy head of dark curls sit beside him then was consumed by the darkness and willed into sleep.

Kurt slept through hour and a half flight and didn't wake until someone was shaking him awake. "Son, were here. Wake up." Kurt immediately perked up and smiled sleepily at his father. He gathered his belongings together, and glanced back at the empty seat next to him. Hadn't there been someone next to him? He distinctly remembered and couldn't soon forget that head of hair. Even in his drowsy state, Kurt knows good hair when he sees it. He shook his head of the thought and stood to walk behind his dad out of the plane and into a new terminal in Boston. From here, they would depart on their cruise.

They took three different cabs to the boarding dock and once they were on the docks, the five of them stood in shock at the giant cruise ship. Sure they knew it was a big ship, but they hadn't quite expected it to be this big. Kurt clutch his hands tighter around the handles on his suitcases in anticipation. He was the first to walk forward and when they boarded they were greeted by more than one ship employee telling them to enjoy their trip and giving directions to their rooms. Their rooms were on the Navigation Deck. They had booked two Verandah Staterooms. Burt and Carole were already spending so much money for the three of them that they had all agreed to share a room to save money. So when Kurt slid the key card into the door marked A057 and it clicked open, he had expected a room that was an average sized room. There were two small twin beds (They could be converted into a queen if desired) and a couch that pulled out into a bed. Kurt placed his suitcases on the bed closest to the door while Rachel claimed the other bed. Finn came in seconds later, pouting. "Where am I supposed to sleep?" Kurt and Rachel simultaneously pointed to the couch and he jutted his lower lip out. "Pull out beds are never comfortable," he grumbled while pulling his suitcases across the plush gold-brown carpet to the burgundy-colored couch. The walls were the shade of beige with a darker trim with few pictures of different locations hanging on the wall. There was a small coffee table pushed up against the wall with a beige chair in the corner. Kurt peeked into the bathroom and saw all the essentials. Bathtub/shower, toilet, sink. The beds were a blinding white with blankets the same color of the couch draped across the foot. The blankets had a delicate gold pattern strewn across them and Kurt approved of the decor and the room except for the size of the closet. It may have been an ideal size for Rachel and Finn, but for Kurt the size of this closet was nowhere near what he needed to store all his clothes.

At the far end of the room was a sliding glass door leading out onto a small balcony. The balcony contained long reclining chair that Rachel would probably be occupying every other day, and a small table and chair.

Kurt hurriedly unpacked his things, barely fitting one suitcase of clothing into one side of the closet. He unpacked another suitcase and decided to keep one suitcase of clothes packed until he could make room somewhere. He placed all of his shoes (which took up a whole suitcase) along the back wall of the closet, and then unpacked his moisturizers, creams, etc.

Once Kurt was finished unpacking, he practically skipped down the hallway to room A051 where Burt and Carole were staying. They had the same room as Kurt, Rachel, and Finn but the only difference was that theirs didn't have a pull out couch.

Carole opened the door after a couple seconds and beamed at Kurt. "Isn't the view amazing? This is going to be so much fun." She ushered Kurt into the room and shoved a pamphlet in his face. "They have an extraordinary spa here, Kurt. I scheduled a spa day for us. They day after tomorrow. We'll be on the water for three days so I figured it was the perfect thing to keep us occupied."

Kurt was chuckling through her whole speech. "This is a cruise ship, Carole. They have pools and restaurants and a casino and a gym. They even have shows and game tournaments and cooking classes. I don't think it'll be very hard to keep us occupied," Kurt smiled even bigger at Carole when he smile fell just the slightest and added in, "Though, I haven't been to the spa in way too long. I think it would be wonderful bonding time."

Carole's full smile was back and she pulled Kurt into a tight hug, kissing his forehead. She was like an excited puppy. Kurt hoped she wouldn't accidentally pee on the floor in her excitement. "Okay, honey. You go have fun and enjoy this as much as you can." Kurt nodded at her and smiled at his father who was unpacking behind Carole.

"I'm going to go hang around the Sky deck. I have my phone. Call if you need me." Kurt glanced out the glass door to see that the sun was getting lower on the horizon. The ship would set sail soon. He gave one last hug to Carole and his dad before exiting their room and wandering the halls and finally finding his way to the Sky deck.

Kurt spotted a small bar for refreshments and noticed they served coffee. He had been craving a grande non-fat mocha all day. He went up to the bar and ordered. He swiped his credit card (which his dad had given him for the cruise, set with a couple hundred dollars) and thanked the woman behind the counter before finding a vacant place to sit and enjoy the sunset. The deck was surprisingly vacant except for a few patrons who had had the same idea as him. A little old couple sat across the deck, arms around each other enjoying the view. Kurt smiled at them and the woman waved to him with a smile in response. Kurt spotted a few other people who were there just to soak up the last bit of sunshine before the day ended and it felt completely peaceful and serene to be in that setting.

After a few minutes, Kurt finished his coffee and two men arrived on the deck. One of them was a good six inches taller than the other. Kurt could tell that the shorter of the two had a head of slightly familiar dark curls and was dressed in tight red skinny jeans with nice but simple black shoes. He wore a black collared shirt with a striped red and black bow tie. Kurt thought he was gorgeous, though he couldn't see his eyes as they were covered by a pair of bright pink sunglasses. The taller man had slightly lighter hair and his eyes were bright blue. He was wearing a simple gray t-shirt and blue jeans. Kurt rolled his eyes at the man's fashion sense, compared to the shorter, curly-haired boy's. He watched them as they walked closer and took two chairs not fifteen feet away from him.

Over the next twenty minutes, Kurt caught himself glancing back and forth from the view in front of him, to the curly-haired boy sitting so close.

As the sun set, the lights on the deck flashed on, and an announcement on the speakers told everyone that the boat would be leaving the port in ten minutes. Kurt once again glanced over at the boys, who were now playing a game of cards. One time Kurt had glanced over, the boy had noticed and smiled at him. Kurt blushed a deep red at being caught and pulled a book from his bag to keep him busy. He tried and tried, but it was no use. He couldn't concentrate on the book. His gaze kept making it's way over to the curly hair and honey-hazel eyes. Kurt quietly gasped at the color of his eyes. He had removed his sunglasses while Kurt had been trying to concentrate on his book and now they shone a bright honey color. After catching a glimpse of his eyes, Kurt stopped trying to fight watching the boy and just let his eyes wander wherever they wanted.

After what seemed like hours, but was only a few minutes, Kurt mentally slapped himself. He didn't want to go there again. He didn't want to be attracted to a straight boy. Someone he couldn't have. One half of his mind was telling him to get up and walk away because this would only lead to heartbreak, but the other half is arguing, and arguing hard. Maybe he is gay. I mean, look at how he dresses; he obviously knows fashion. Kurt shook his head of the thought just as noticed the curly-headed boy say something to the taller man and stand to his feet, walking toward Kurt.

Kurt's eyes went wide when he pulled up a chair in front of Kurt and smiled. "Hi."

Kurt's mind was racing. He had been caught staring. What if this boy wasn't gay, and he was disgusted at Kurt. Maybe he was going to beat Kurt up. That had been the very thing he had been trying to get away from. Kurt flinched as the boy held out his hand, expecting something completely different from what he got. "I'm Blaine Anderson." Kurt blinked incredulously at him before shaking the boy's-Blaine's-hand.

"Kurt Hummel."

"It's nice to meet you, Kurt," he smiled. His smiled was perfect. Kurt mentally scolded himself for the thought before Blaine continued. "I couldn't help but notice you staring," Blaine's smile grew wider. Kurt's eyes were glued to his hands.

"S-Sorry. I-I just..."

"I'm flattered, really. I mean, I would totally stare at myself if I could," he joked.

Kurt chuckled lightly, letting his eyes meet Blaine's. "Sorry. Was I that obvious?"

"Yes. Well, not to me. My brother mentioned a blue-eyed porcelain doll making goo-goo eyes at me, and I had to check myself to believe it."

"Is your brother..." Kurt trailed off, not wanting to get too personal with someone he just met.

"Uh... no. I'm the gay in the family, but sometimes I wonder about him," Blaine supplied, his smile growing if that were possible.

"Oh." He's gay. He's gay. He's gay! Kurt wanted to jump up and down.

Blaine glanced back at his brother, who was trying to make a house of cards. "Well, I better get going. It was great meeting you Kurt. I'll see you around?" Kurt nodded.

"Yeah. Definitely. We're on this ship for the next month so I'd sure hope so." Blaine laughed at that and smiled at Kurt before walking back to his brother and gathering up his things. Kurt watched as they left, noticing when Blaine turned to glance once more at Kurt before they disappeared.

Kurt's phone beeped then, signaling a text from Finn.

Where r u? We are all going 2 dinner the Lido Restaurant. -F

Kurt typed a quick response saying he'd be there in a few minutes and left the Sky deck, which was now deserted except for him and one other girl. He stopped by his room, changing into something more dinner appropriate. He tugged on his dark gray skinny jeans, having to do hop around to get them all the way up to his waist. He then pulled on a long-sleeved white shirt and a vest to match the pants. He fixed his hair in the mirror and headed out toward the Lido deck.

Kurt got to the restaurant and immediately spotted his group. He made his way over to them and took the only open spot in between Rachel and Burt. Throughout dinner, conversations were thrown around and when the conversation was directed toward him, he didn't hesitate to tell about his afternoon.

"So Kurt, how was the Sky deck? I haven't been up there yet but it must have an amazing view," Rachel chimed in.

"It does. I watched the sunset; had coffee," Kurt shrugged and waited a moment before continuing. "I met someone."

All other conversation stopped at the table and all eyes were on Kurt. He blushed slightly, a smile growing on his face. Rachel and Carole were smiling brightly also, but Burt and Finn looked defensive.

"Really? What's his name? What does he look like?" Rachel challenged. Kurt rolled his eyes.

"His name is Blaine-" Rachel squealed, attracting attention from close tables.

"That's an adorable name! Continue."

"He's barely shorter than me. He has dark curly hair and the most beautiful honey-hazel eyes I have ever seen." Kurt went into full detail of his and Blaine's conversation and time spent together and by the end, both girls were bouncing in their seats.

"He sounds like a lovely young boy." Burt scoffed from beside her, stuffing a huge bite of potato in his mouth. Carole smacked his arm. "You be nice! Be happy for him. Can't you see his smile, Burt? He's happy!" she was whispering just loud enough for Kurt to hear and Kurt blushed a deep red, looking down at his plate. Finn sat silently, glaring at his plate.

"Finn? What's wrong?" Kurt asked.

"I don't like this guy. He seems... sketchy."

"You haven't even met him!" Kurt said in disbelief.

When neither his father nor brother offered an apology, Kurt stood and stalked out of the restaurant, back to his room. Once Kurt was standing outside the room, he pulled out his key card and hastily swiped it through the lock. When it didn't blink green and click open, he tried again. And again. And again. And finally he gave up and leaned against the door, closing his eyes.


Blaine walked back to his room in a haze. He couldn't believe that he had just done that. He never had the courage to just walk up to a cute boy and talk to him. Never. He wasn't sure what it was about Kurt that was different, but he felt the instant connection. It didn't hurt that Kurt was beautiful. His eyes were the color of the ocean, his chestnut hair was in a perfect coif, and his outfit was extremely tight and very sexy. Blaine couldn't help but daydream the rest of the way back and didn't even notice when he was lying across his bed in their room.

"You look like a lovesick puppy, Blainers." Blaine sat up, glaring daggers at his brother.

"Fuck you, Cooper."

Cooper rolled his eyes and grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator. "Want one?"

"I'm only eighteen, Coop."

"So...?"

"Sure," Blaine sighed, catching the bottle mid-air.

After a while, Blaine felt trapped in the room, and decided to go out and get some air. maybe he'd go back up to the Sky deck in hopes of Kurt still being there. He checked the clock on the wall and it read 8:14, so he doubted Kurt would be out that late on the deck. Instead he sufficed with going to the Rembrandt Lounge. They were doing karaoke and Blaine felt singing could be good for him right now.

When he finally got Cooper to tag along, they marched down the long hallway. As soon as they made it almost all the way down the hallway, they spotted a figure slumped against a door. Blaine quickly recognized the person as Kurt and smiled to himself before hurrying forward. "Kurt? What's wrong?" Kurt peeked one eye open and half-smiled. He pointed at his door.

"I can't get in my room. My key card hates me." Blaine chuckled at this.

"Here, let me see it," he said, holding out his hand. Kurt handed over the card and Blaine swiped it once and the door clicked open. Kurt's mouth dropped open and he playfully glared at Blaine.

"I bet you think you're the big hero now, right?"

"No, but you're welcome. Oh! Cooper, this is Kurt. Kurt, this is my brother Cooper." Cooper held out his hand and Kurt took it with a smile.

"Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Kurt said. "Well, uh...thanks," Kurt smiled, before turning to disappear into his room.

Before Kurt could, though, Blaine was stopping him. "Wait, Kurt."

Kurt turned and smiled at Blaine, "Yes, Blaine?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to come down to the Rembrandt Lounge with us? They have karaoke," he wagged his eyebrows and grinned.

"I don't know..."

"Come on, Kurt," Blaine whined, and Kurt giggled at him and rolled his eyes.

"Fine! But let me just leave a note for Rachel." Kurt disappeared into his room.

"Who's Rachel?" Cooper asked quietly.

"No idea."

Blaine's mind was racing. Maybe he wasn't gay. He never did get actual confirmation. He just kind of assumed because Kurt was, well... Kurt. He was so stupid! How could he be so stupid? Oh God, he hit on Kurt. What must Kurt think?

When the boy himself stepped out of the room, Blaine went white, but kept his composure as they walked to the Promenade deck. The trip was in silence until Blaine blurted out the question burning his tongue. "Who's Rachel?" Blaine mentally slapped himself and started to backtrack. "I mean... It's none of my business, but I was just curious because I kind of thought you were..." Blaine trailed off and could feel the heat creeping up his neck. Kurt's laugh broke through the silence. And this was no chuckle or giggle, this was a full fledged laugh. Blaine's eyebrows pulled together and he saw Cooper trying to contain a smile. "What?"

"Oh my God, Blaine," Kurt gasped. "Rachel is my best friend. She's also my brother's girlfriend!"

"Oh..." Kurt continued laughing for a good minute or two, and when he composed himself, he wiped his eyes and smiled grandly at Blaine. By this time, Blaine was red as a tomato and staring down at his feet. Cooper patted his shoulder and chuckled. Once they all recovered, Kurt looked intently into Blaine's eyes. "I'm gay. Does that clarify everything?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"Good. Let's go. I want to sing," Kurt smiled.

"Ah, so the infamous Kurt Hummel can sing?"

"Oh, I can sing. I sing the pants right off of you. Just wait and see," he winked at Blaine and swayed his hips suggestively as he walked in front of them into the Lounge and placing writing his name on the list for karaoke. Blaine was drooling. This gorgeous boy, whom he had met only a few hours ago, was flirting with him. And it was far from subtle. This was new territory with Blaine. Sure, he had crushes in high school, but he was always to afraid to act on anything. He was afraid of being hurt. But with Kurt, he felt like he could be himself and not worry about the world.

Kurt sauntered back and raised an eyebrow at Blaine's blank expression. "I put your name on the list. I go fifth and you're sixth. Let's go get seats." When Blaine didn't move, Kurt took his hand and dragged him forward.

The sudden contact snapped Blaine back to reality and he gasped. He caught up with Kurt's pace and walked beside him, though neither made a move to release their hands.

Behind the two, Cooper couldn't keep the smile off his face. He had waited so long to see his little brother happy. And even though it had only been a few hours since they met, Cooper didn't doubt that their relationship could really be going somewhere.


I write original stories, but this is my first fanfic so please tell me what you think! It depends how well this story goes over if I'll be posting anymore. But if you all like it, I can't promise updates all the time. I'm super busy, but I'll try my best!

-Kimberly xoxo