Two days after Grant's date, Steve called and they arranged a date. Kurt was picked up from his home and driven to the local theatre, where to Kurt's delight; they were able to see a production of Fiddler on the Roof. Steve was a fellow thespian like him, with a specific love of musical theatre in particular. Most of their conversation revolved around different musicals, and their opinions of this person being cast to play that character, and wasn't the movie version so much worse than the original? Kurt noted how much more confident the other boy was when it was just the two of them, but didn't really feel anything beyond friendly feelings for the other boy. Steve was almost like a male version of Rachel and Mercedes combined, though without Rachel's bossiness or Mercedes' diva.
The day after that was Jake's turn to impress. He and Kurt met up at the mall and spent at least five hours of non-stop shopping, getting lunch in the form of sushi, and talking about the latest Marc Jacobs line. Jake was constantly asking Kurt random little questions, some to do with himself and his opinions, and others about general matters like religion and the world. They managed to cover both a broad range of topics and shops during their time together, before Kurt was dropped off back home. Jake had flirted a few times that day, but he didn't go farther, as if sensing Kurt's apprehension to first kisses.
During the last few days Kurt had texted Blaine a couple of times to clarify as to where they would meet. By this point Kurt wasn't sure what there was left for them to do, as the other boys seemed to have covered most of the normal date options. He hoped they weren't going to end up ice skating or something that involved sport. Despite being quite toned, he didn't like sport in general. Gyms and dancing were more than enough for him on the activity front. Being on the Cheerios was more than a sport though, it was a lifestyle.
Kurt found himself on the appointed day waiting outside the Lima Bean, a coffee shop that he'd never visited as it was further than he was used to going for coffee. He reasoned that Blaine, going to school in Westerville, had picked the place because it was between the two cities. After being there for a couple of minutes, a familiar car drove up and three blazer-clad boys emerged from it. Kurt recognised Wes and Blaine, but the third was taller and unfamiliar. Perhaps this was the boy who had stayed inside the car during their first meeting.
"Hey Kurt!" Blaine greeted, walking quickly up to meet him. This enthusiasm was surprising, but Kurt welcomed the change and smiled back, before turning his attention to the extras.
"I don't mean to be rude but why have you brought an entourage?" He asked, not sure how to phrase his question without sounding rude. The other two boys just smiled at him, and Blaine looked back at them and rolled his eyes.
"Well, since we go to the same school, Wes thought it would be much easier to come along, and you could have two dates in one, even though he isn't actually gay." Kurt could understand that. Sue had her ways and it didn't matter if Wes was serious about the competition or not, he would still have to abide by the rules. You didn't cross Sue.
Kurt then looked at the other boy. "And what is he doing here then?"
The boy blinked. "Wes is here. I'm David by the way, thanks for asking." He grabbed Kurt's hand and nearly tore it from the socket shaking it. Kurt was still baffled.
"Sorry about that. Kurt. But..um...this is a date, isn't it?" David didn't look as if he fully understood either.
"Yes it is. And Wes is here, therefore, so am I."
Kurt was surprised. He thought Wes was straight. "Oh, so are you two...?" He trailed off, and the two boys shook their heads.
"No, why do you ask?" Wes answered looking as if he seriously didn't understand the question, and Kurt was about to explain but Blaine rolled his eyes at them again.
"Ignore them. The two are inseparable. I wouldn't be surprised if they went to the bathroom together. I think their preferred term is 'heteroflexible'." Blaine explained, and the two did a complicated handshake with practised ease. "Let's go in."
He opened the door for Kurt, and was about to follow when Wes and David quickly stepped in front of him, winking and mouthing 'Get some!' as they passed. Blaine frowned at them and stepped inside. He'd decided to try and wipe the slate clean. He doubted he'd be surviving the first round anyway, but why lose his dapper reputation? Honestly, once he'd first been called that by Wes and David on his first day, the name had stuck since then. He'd looked at some of those videos Wes had been talking about, and had been pleasantly surprised by the boy's talents in both singing, dancing and cheerleading. No, he had not stalked the boy, as David put it. He'd just, viewed several videos to gain an impression of his hobbies. Yes, that was it.
They quickly got their coffees and sat down at a table, Wes and David sitting far closer than Kurt would consider normal for two friends, but from the impression he'd got of the so far, this didn't surprise him.
"So, Kurt, Blaine was watching you the other day and we saw that you happen to be a particularly good countertenor." Blaine coughed at this statement and fought to swallow his mouthful of coffee before glaring at his friend.
"For a start, it was him watching the videos. He was the one watching the whole playlist of performances." Kurt blanched, wondering which particular videos they had seen, and was about to ask when David interrupted, his mouth full of cake as he spoke.
"So, what are your thoughts so far on the bachelors?" This was probably the most normal statement Kurt, and Blaine judging by his reaction, had heard coming from David. Kurt gave them a brief description of his last few dates and his reactions to each one. Throughout his speech Kurt noticed Blaine watching him, his countenance changing as he spoke. He also noticed that every so often either Wes or David would notice this and grin knowingly at eachother.
"We're glad to hear it," David finally said when Kurt finished recounting the last date. "Now, we'd like to take the opportunity to warn you now about what you would be getting into if you pick Blaine overall. Number one, touch his hair gel, and you will die. You will be admired by the rest of the world for your audacity, but you would not be alive to enjoy it. Two, he is strangely attached to his school uniform. You could probably wean him off this by making him wear navy blazers and plain shirts for a while, but to lose the tie will take you about three years at the least. There are other things to warn you about, but we'll give you the manual later on."
"But on the bright side he is the Warbler's lead singer, with a (I've been told) 'dreamy' tenor voice. He enjoys music, theatre, fashion, and candy. Excessive amounts of sugar and caffeine keep him docile. I can always give you a spare Gavel to keep him in line if you would like one." Wes continued, ignoring Blaine who had buried his head in his hands, muttering something as to where Wes could stick his Gavel. Kurt smirked at this, for the first time really taking in the boy's appearance while ignoring Wes and David's chattering. His hands itched to feel that hair, only without the gel. He wondered how Blaine would look without his whole polished persona. Blaine finally looked up and their eyes met.
Kurt wished he could see what Blaine was thinking right now. He should have looked away the second they made eye contact, but those hazel eyes seemed to hold him in place. Only upon hearing Wes calling out to them did Kurt manage to tear his eyes away.
"Oh look David. It's starting! You go rent the tuxes, and I'll pick out those flower button things."
"You mean boutonnieres?" Kurt supplied, wincing at the boy's lack of wedding apparel vocabulary.
"So, Kurt," Blaine hurriedly steered the conversation away from potentially embarrassing waters. "What made you want to hold those auditions?" Kurt blushed and took a deep breath.
"Well, I didn't exactly. Just a few days ago, Coach Sylvester decided that every Cheerio should now have a boyfriend. When I pointed out the obvious to her, she told me about this whole thing, and I couldn't really refuse her. 'No' along with 'give up' does not exist in her vocabulary." He finished, and took in his companions' shocked expressions. David suddenly turned to Blaine, exclaiming triumphantly.
"I told you the auditions weren't him being vain and desperate! God, Blaine, stop jumping to conclusions. It never works for you." At this, Kurt directed his iciest glare at the boy sitting next to him.
"Excuse me?"
Blaine flushed, and hurriedly tried to explain. "That's not exactly what I said. Before I went, I thought the idea of holding auditions to be a boyfriend was a tad...pathetic." Upon seeing Kurt's expression he backpedalled swiftly. "I was feeling bitter because I didn't particularly want to go. They forced me to enter." He definitely wasn't doing himself any favours right now.
Comprehension dawned on Kurt. "So that's why you were so miserable that day. It all makes sense now." He didn't know if Blaine's opinion had changed since then, but he was hoping that it had, judging by his embarrassment and hurry to explain when David had brought it up.
Wes quickly interrupted their conversation by accidentally spilling his cappuccino over the table, and made Blaine run up to get napkins, whilst Kurt moved away from the table as far as possible, terrified of getting the smallest drop on his cashmere sweater.
The people have spoken! Here is your chapter, and I hope you aren't angry with me for inserting Wevid. It was a combination of ideas from a lot of friends and a couple of reviewers. I know this is a few hours later than normal, but it's the longest chapter so far, and it involves Klaine development so I hope you'll forgive me.
I apologies for any random Harry Potter lines that may have sprung up in here, as I've been tying whilst Lily M Richards and I have a HP marathon. We're on the fifth movie by now. I sometimes accidentally write down quotes without realising.
Thank you once again for voting/reviewing etc. Welcome to any new readers and I hope you're enjoying it so far. More Sue wonderfulness to come in the next chapter!