Blaine pulled into the parking lot in a good mood. He'd been singing- practicing harmonies for the Warblers- the whole way there and was feeling pretty satisfied with himself. He was feeling a little pressure these days at the Warblers, because Wes and Thad seemed to be pushing for him to have a lot of opportunities, fairly unusual for a junior member- and he didn't want to let them down. Truth be told, he wasn't necessarily the very best singer in the group, he just was willing to work harder than anyone else. It was flattering the Council had seemed to notice, but he secretly felt like he had to put in a lot of overtime to make sure he lived up to their expectations.
He had a good excuse to see Jeremiah. His band was playing an all-ages set in Westerville next week. He was going to ask about tickets. He was really excited to see him play live. He'd downloaded a couple of their songs off of BandCamp and thought they were great.
Of course, there was no way to know if Jeremiah was working today. But if he is, maybe he'll tell me when he has a break and we can talk over in the alley like last time. Blaine was glad he'd brought his warmer coat, just in case.
The store was a lot less crowded than it had been before Christmas. Jeremiah was nowhere in sight. Oh well. Blaine wandered around the store a bit, looking at the sales. They must have already been gearing up for spring clothes because there were a number of scarves and jackets on sale. Counting his pennies in his head, he thought about his mom's lecture about money earlier. But $10 for a $30 scarf was a good deal right? Even Kurt would like this scarf and he's the most fashion-critical person I know. Blaine wondered if Jeremiah was on commission. Maybe if they asked who helped him he'd say, "Oh this guy Jeremiah showed this to me last week but I didn't have any cash on me."
Blaine walked up to the counter. A guy with a Buckeyes sweatshirt was there ahead of him, talking to the cashier.
"Hey Rhonda, is Jeremiah here?"
"Oh yeah, he said you were trading cars. He's in the back." The cashier picked up the phone. "Hey. J's roommate's here... Okay." She hung up. "He'll be out in a sec, they've been working in the stock room all day."
"Thanks." The guy stepped aside to let Blaine get to the counter.
"Can I help you?" Rhonda asked.
Blaine handed her the scarf and then turned to the other guy. "Hey. Um. I just happened to overhear... are you- are you Max?"
The guy was startled to hear his name. "Uh- yeah."
"I follow your band. On Facebook I mean."
Max grinned. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah, Jeremiah came to my school and he told me about your band."
"$9.99, please." This Rhonda lady seemed to be getting a little annoyed. Blaine handed her a ten dollar bill.
"He talked about the band at your school? I should give him an advance for our next gig."
"No. After, I mean." Blaine laughed. "We got to talking after and he mentioned he was in the band. I got a couple of your songs off Bandcamp and you're a really good drummer. I've shared it on Facebook with a bunch of my friends."
"Have a nice day." Rhonda pointedly handed Blaine a penny and a bag with his scarf, turning her attention to the customer behind him.
"Oh. Yeah, thanks." Blaine shifted over, a little embarrassed to let the next customer in. He turned back to Max. "I'm excited because I think I can come Friday and I've never been able to see you guys live before."
"Hey Max- Blaine, you guys know each other?" Blaine looked to see Jeremiah plowing through the door behind the counter, coat in hand.
"We do now! You didn't tell me you've been recruiting a younger fan base." Blaine grimaced internally at that comment. I don't look that much younger, do I?
"You think everyone who's not six foot four like you is in junior high, Max." Jeremiah defended, winking at Blaine.
Oh. my. God. Did he just wink at me?
Max smirked at Jeremiah. "You better be nice to me or I'll spread all your secrets."
"Nice? I lent you my car while yours was getting fixed today. I think I've been plenty nice."
Max chuckled, reaching into his pocket. "Lent? You mean you want it back?" He pulled out a set of keys.
"Damn right I want it back, jerk." Jeremiah said playfully, taking his keys. "Don't go spreading rumors in front of my friend here that I'm not a nice guy." Jeremiah put a hand on Blaine's shoulder.
"Fair enough. He is our new one-man marketing team after all.."
"Oh really, that so?" Jeremiah looked at Blaine.
"Well I don't know about that. I just shared some of your music with my friends online. Maybe I can a group of them to come out to the show next week."
"We're gonna have to put him on commission." Max laughed. Extending a hand to Blaine. "Thanks for that. Nice meeting you." Blaine shook his hand, but his attention had moved to Jeremiah.
"Nice to meet you too."
"Hope to see you Friday, Blaine." Max waved and Blaine nodded.
"See you at the house-" Jeremiah called as Max headed out.
"See ya." Max replied.
"So, what are you up to here, Blaine?"
"Oh, nothing, just walking around the mall. Bought this." He held up the scarf.
"Hey, I have that one!"
Blaine smiled. "What I can say, we've both got great taste."
Jeremiah put on his coat. "So you're coming to the show Friday, huh? I didn't know that."
"Yeah I'm sorry I haven't gotten to come out sooner..."
"Oh it's fine, I know you're busy with school and your shows and stuff." And trying to get in by curfew when you have all these late night shows presents a minor problem...
"Yeah, but I want to support you. You guys are a great band."
"You definitely made Max's day, trust me..." Jeremiah pulled some gloves out of a pocket and started putting them on.
"So you... taking a break then?"
"Nah, done for the day. Just came in to cover a shift actually. And pick up my paycheck. Hey- I was thinking about going over to Starbucks. You up for a coffee. Pretty sure I still owe you from that time at your school."
Blaine grinned. "Well- sure! That would be great." I may be a little more excited about this than you probably are.
They headed out the door. "My Starbucks habit has gotten a little out of control lately." Jeremiah confessed.
"Believe me I understand. I haven't been to Starbucks for awhile but I'm at the Lima Bean once or twice a day during the week these days. I swear half my money goes to coffee..." Blaine chattered on the whole down the sidewalk to Starbucks. So glad I came out to the mall today.