A/N: Of course, Blaine couldn't stay away for too long. We'll be seeing more of him shortly.
For this chapter, if you so choose, you might like to youtube "Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker Suite- Dance of the Reed Flutes".
Chapter Two: Settling In (and a Meeting)
Even I had to admit that setting everything up for my new life was pretty exciting.
I blew through quite a bit of my savings account during my first three days in Los Angeles. It turns out furnishing an apartment, even a tiny one, is fairly pricey.
My missions for my first day were the essentials – bed, couch, fridge, and oven.
I also made a trip to the supermarket on that first day to stock up with necessities like fresh vegetables, soap and healthy snacks. While I'd brought my expensive skin care products and my favourite shampoo with me, I had left pretty much everything else either in Lima or with my father in D.C. I literally felt like I was remaking my existence.
I'm sure you'll think I'm crazy, but for some reason I absolutely love going to supermarkets in new cities. There's just something about walking down the aisles and looking at everything that is so different to you, and yet so normal to everyone that shops at that store every week. It's amazing to consider the slight variations to things you might normally purchase – such as different flavours of juice and things like that.
I can't wait to one day go overseas and get to wander around a supermarket – there will be so many new and exciting things to see!
Alright, you can judge me.
Anyway, on the second day I shopped for a few more essential items – a table, some side tables, and a lamp. I even brought a nice new TV. After all, I would need something to watch Project Runway and America's Next Top Model on.
By the third day, I was on to decorating – which was easier said than done. It may seem like I was saving myself some hassle by deciding that I would get most of the bigger pieces required for decorating once I had settled in the apartment and become used to my new job. But I really wasn't. Do you know how hard it is to choose a colour scheme when you are only ready to create part of the finished look? Well, I do. And, as you should know, I take my designs very seriously.
On the fourth day, I decided to explore my new city a little. In hindsight, that was where this whole story really began.
/\*/\*/\
"Come on, Kurt. Off we go, out to explore LA!" I said to myself.
I had long been of the opinion that talking to oneself is not crazy, so long as one is aware one is doing it, and so long as one is trying to either a) mull over something; or b) convince one that what one is doing is a valid idea.
In that instance, I think I was trying to persuade myself that it was a good idea to go out and explore LA. I was probably trying to convince myself that it was alright to take yet another step towards solidifying my new life as an entity separate to that which I had already experienced.
With that, I headed off on my walking tour of downtown LA.
Only two blocks down the road, I came across a small, cosy-looking café. Of course, I would need to try out a few more local café's before I decided for certain where I would be purchasing my coffee, but simply looking through the window made me feel like I would be welcome in this establishment.
I must admit that I felt a certain level of excitement coursing through my veins as a pushed the door open.
The first good sign was the tinkling of the little bell behind the door as I pushed it open. I'm not talking electronic bell, or – worse – electronic buzzer. I'm talking a real life little silver bell, about an inch in size, which let out an absolutely charming little tinkle as I made my way through the door.
I'm absolutely positive, to this day, that I didn't manage to keep the smile of absolute delight off of my face as I glanced up at that bell.
The young girl behind the counter looked up at the sound of the bell. When she spotted me she smiled.
"Hi," I said, as I walked over to her.
"Hi there," she replied, "I haven't seen you around before – are you new to this part of the city?"
"Oh, I'm actually new to the city itself. I've just moved here from D.C."
"Well that's lovely. It's nice to meet you…"
"Oh. I'm Kurt."
"It's nice to meet you, Kurt."
"You too… Angela?" I questioned, reading off her name tag, and hoping desperately that she wasn't one of those employees that chose not to put their name on their badge.
"Thanks!" she replied.
I found myself smiling again. I didn't want to jinx it, but I was already fairly certain this might become one of my regular LA haunts.
"So, Kurt, what can I get for you today?" asked Angela.
"May I please have one grande non-fat mocha?"
"Sure thing. Was that have here or to go? And is there anything else I can get for you today?"
"To go, please. And not this time, thanks." I replied. For some reason, I found myself smiling yet again.
"Great. That comes to $3.80, please."
I dug into my pocket for my wallet, and quickly extracted a $5 note.
"You can keep the change." I noted as I handed it over.
"Thanks. Your coffee will be ready in just a moment," she said, quickly grabbing a marker and scribbling 'Kurt' on the side of the cup.
"Thanks, Angela."
With that, she moved along to the coffee machine and started to make my coffee with well-practised movements and a look of concentration on her face.
So far, so good.
Barely a minute later I had a nice warm cup of coffee in my hand.
"Thank you!" I repeated on my way out the door.
"You're most welcome. I hope to see you again soon," replied Angela, smiling pleasantly. For some reason, I genuinely believed that she would enjoy seeing me, and yet did not feel like I would be pressured into returning simply because the business wanted more of my money.
I took my first sip of the coffee as I stepped outside, and it was absolutely wonderful. It was definitely one of the best mochachinos I have ever tasted, to this day.
I very nearly turned around and went right back in to ask Angela to map out exactly what times she worked, so that I could start planning out my coffee purchasing schedule around her shifts. Of course, I didn't. That would have been insanely creepy of me, even if I didn't mean the thought in a creepy way at all. That coffee shop might have seemed like something out of a lovely day dream, but it was still a real shop and part of polite society. I would just do what everyone else does – try out the shop, see which barista I preferred, and then maybe plan my coffee schedule around the times that I manage to discern as good for getting the best coffee.
/\*/\*/\
I was strolling along the street and had just about finished that amazing cup of coffee when real life decided to come back and slap me in the face, just to remind me that Los Angeles was far from being an amazing and friendly city.
It turned out I had definitely left my pleasant little bubble. It really was to be expected – in a large city surely not everyone could be polite and accommodating.
However, it still came as a bit of a shock when a large gentleman in a very ill-fitting trench coat elbowed me roughly out of the way as he blitzed his way down the sidewalk while carrying on a very loud conversation on his equally unstylish phone.
I let out a gasp as I felt myself collide with a store-front. The (thankfully nearly empty) coffee-cup cup fell from my hand on impact with the ground, and the remnants of that amazing cup of coffee splattered over the bottom of my trouser leg.
"Out of my way, Daisy," I heard him mumble under his breath before he ran off into the sunset.
I opened my mouth to let out a disgruntled 'I beg your pardon'.
Then I closed it.
I thought through what I really wanted to say. I thought through what my father would say. I thought through what had happened the one time I had rashly stood up to a bully. That had been brave, if a little foolish. I was smarter now, and more inclined to take something of a moral high ground.
"Watch where you're going, please," I called quite loudly, attracting the attention of several passers-by who had simply tried to ignore the blatant physical assault they had just witnessed, "it would be terrible if, in your haste, you hurt anyone."
I didn't wait around to see his reaction. I wasn't interested. He certainly wasn't going to confront me, or worse, in broad daylight in downtown LA. I'd discovered since leaving Lima and living in D.C. that overt homophobia, especially of the physical kind, had mostly fallen out of use in America. At least, during daylight hours in heavily populated areas.
And so, I scooped up my coffee cup, placed it in the nearest trash can, and continued on my merry way. I could just imaging that man seething with frustration having been bested by a fairly slight young man who responded fairly politely to his blatant lack of manners or public courtesy.
I think that experience reminded me that I 'wasn't in Kanzas', so to speak. It certainly reminded me of the darker side of humanity.
What was probably most important, however, was that I overcame it alone. I didn't seek comfort in another person. I didn't immediately whip out my phone and text someone exclaiming about the great injustice that had been done to me. I simply dealt with the situation and moved on. I was, quite literally, just Kurt, and I was moving through my life, in my own way.
/\*/\*/\
The desire to avoid a permanent stain in my fairly new designer trousers caused me to decide to cut my wander short and return to my apartment. I'm fairly certain that, at that time, I had not yet come to think of it as a true 'home' in every sense of the word.
On the other side of the road, I noticed a nice open park that led back in the direction of my building.
There was nothing particularly unique or amazing about that park, but if fulfilled the basic function of a park very well. Somehow, in the middle of a bustling city, it provided a brief respite from reality. You could smell the amazing scent of fresh grass, and you could close your eyes and imagine that you were no longer in the middle of a fairly densely populated city.
That may not sound like much, but I can assure you, to anyone that has grown up outside of a large metropolis, even someone as seemingly city-oriented as me, a small opportunity to remove yourself from the hustle and bustle of everyday life can mean an awful lot.
The park wasn't large, and I was soon out the other side and back to having to navigate my way along the sidewalk.
I was, however, certain that I would be returning to that new-found little oasis. I don't think I knew at that time how important it would become to me.
The park's exit turned out to be less than a block away from the front door of my apartment building, but in the opposite direction of the coffee shop. I made a mental note of the location of each – part of my slowly developing mental map of my surroundings.
I was glancing around the street, still trying to familiarise myself with my new surroundings, as I approached the front door.
Clearly, I wasn't paying enough attention.
I felt myself collide with a firm, warm, human body. 'Not again!' was my immediate thought.
Then a hand reached out and steadied me before I collided with any solid objects.
I quickly looked up and blurted, "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry," at a much higher pitch than I would care to admit.
The man (no, correction – very attractive man) I had walked into gave a deep chuckle.
"That's alright, I'm sorry too," he replied.
"Really, I'm sorry, I should pay more attention to where I'm walking…" I continued to ramble.
He suddenly reached out and put a steadying hand on my elbow.
"Really," he emphasised, "no harm done. We probably both need to pay a little more attention."
"Sorry," I breathed again, petering off as I looked at him.
"So, I haven't run into you around here before," he started. Then he paused, his mind clearly catching up with his last sentence. "Urgh, I'm sorry, please excuse the pun. I'm Blaine, by the way."
It was at that moment I felt myself start to relax, I even let out a little smile, although I think it may have faded as I felt his gaze shift momentarily to my coffee-stained trouser leg. At least he was polite enough not to say anything about it.
"Anyway, may I ask if you're here for a visit?"
"Oh, no, I'm actually a tenant. I just moved in a few days ago," I responded, still at a slightly higher pitch than I would have liked.
Just as he opened his mouth to respond, the universe decided that I had had enough good fortune for one day.
"Kurt Hummel?" called a gruff voice from beside a truck parked at the curb. At least he knew my name now, too.
I turned around quickly. "Yes?" I questioned.
"Just got some furniture to deliver for you this afternoon, sir. Could you show us up to the apartment, please?"
"Oh, um, sure."
I turned to my new acquaintance, Blaine, unsure of how one might politely phrase the sentiment 'it was nice to meet you, but now I've got to go and sort out my furniture, because I'm kind of tired of sleeping on the floor'.
I decided to go for, "Umm… I've got a bed and stuff to set up, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut this short, it was nice to meet you!"
Even as I said it, I was beginning to mentally face-palm. Honestly, Kurt, you have a degree in creative writing, and the best you can come up with is 'and stuff'. He probably isn't even gay. Why on earth are you losing all your faculties?
My slightly self-deprecating line of thought was interrupted by none other than the man in question.
"No problem. I'm sure I'll see you around, Kurt Hummel," he replied before making his way into the building. To this day I swear he winked at me as he went - but I've never been able to confirm it.
/\*/\*/\
A/N: I should note now that I'm not turning Angela into a major OC or any sort of central character. I just needed a girl to sell coffee, and I didn't want to use any of the Glee girls, as I have a couple of other ideas for them floating around. You'll probably see her around selling coffee, but that's about it. I think this coffee shop needs a name, though. Any ideas?