Over the next few days Blaine couldn't help but notice that his Kurt's behaviour was getting weirder and weirder. Everytime he mentioned the other Kurt he would change subject, sometimes not even so subtly, and whenever Blaine happened to get an email from him he would just disappear without so much as a goodbye. As strange as it sounded, Blaine was beginning to think he was jealous, but he had no way to find out if he was right, so he kept trying to push the thought aside.

He focused on his everyday life. Kitty was about to leave Ohio and go back home, so he spent as much time as possible with her, going out for coffee, at the mall, or just watching movies in his room with her, which was still their favourite activity. He was sad as usual to see her leave on Wednesday, but she promised she was already organizing a special trip for Christmas, and she wanted both Blaine and Cooper to come along with her. That was gonna help make the time they'd be apart more tolerable.

Friday morning, after his Spanish lesson, Rachel stopped him in the hallways.

"Blaine! Hi! I've been meant to ask you for advice on which song I should perform in Glee next week..."

That's how he knew she wanted to talk about something else entirely. Rachel never needed help choosing songs. He gave her a look that said he couldn't be fooled so easily, and she instantly changed her attitude.

"I'm sorry" she murmured. "I should have just asked you what I wanted to ask you."

"Go ahead then." Blaine said.

"I was just wondering, uhmm.. How are things going between you and Kurt? He told me you've been writing each other for a while now." Blaine could tell she was afraid she was overstepping, but couldn't hold back her curiosity.

"I'd say everything's going well." He answered honestly. "Kurt's a great guy, and I think it's safe to say we're friends now. Good friends."

"Oh. That's great then!" Rachel smiled, but Blaine caught a glimpse of something else in her eyes. She looked almost... disappointed? But her expression changed so quickly he wasn't sure he hadn't just imagined it.

There was silence for a few moments.

"Is there anything else you wanted to know?" Blaine asked in the end.

"Uh? Oh, no. Nothing else. See you later." And with that, she turned around and almost ran off to her next class.

Blaine stood where he was for a moment, feeling quite confused. He had never seen Rachel behave like that: she surely wasn't a girl afraid of confrontation. On the contrary, her talkativeness had often bailed her out of trouble.

The ring of the bell was the only thing able to divert his attention from his deep thoughts.

That Friday afternoon was turning out to be longer than usual for Kurt. He loved his job at Vogue, but since one of the editors had gotten engaged earlier that week, the whole office wouldn't shut up about it, and every employee was currently busy organizing a party to celebrate it. Kurt loved organizing these kind of things, but all the talk about love and soulmates and whatnot was starting to wear him off. He didn't believe in any of it. There had been a time when he had been a hopeless romantic, but that was back in high school, where the only thing he thought could change his life for the better was a boyfriend, someone who would have made all his struggles more bearable. But that someone had never come, and then he had moved to New York, where he didn't need to be in a relationship to be happy. Everything was great now, why would he need something who could only bring more complications in his life, which was already pretty chaotic?

He knew he sounded bitter to most people when he talked about his opinion on the matter, but he didn't think he was. He was just an indipendent young man and he didn't need anyone else to rely on. He felt sorry for people who were constantly looking for a partner, believing it was the only important thing in life.

He and Elliott had actually almost started dating, back when they had just met, but they had soon realized they worked better as friends. They had had the occasional hook up after a couple of parties they both attended, but that stopped too when they became so close they were afraid sex would only end up ruining their friendship.

"Kurt! There you are!" Isabelle popped up on the door of the conference room, where he had been making coffee for himself and a couple of other members of the staff. He turned around, balancing the tray with the cups on one hand.

"Did you need me for something?" he asked her.

She nodded. "When you're done with those coffees, would you mind joining me in my office? I need some help choosing the right flowers for the centerpieces."

Now that was something Kurt actually liked doing. "Of course not, I'll be there in less than five minutes." He answered.

She smiled and left the room.

Kurt quickly delivered the cups of coffee, then knocked on her door.

"Come in!" she chirped. There was something in her voice he didn't quite like.

"Please, sit down!" she exclaimed as soon as he entered the room, her tone overly cheerful. Kurt started becoming suspicious, but he did as she told him.

"So, about those floral decorations..." he started, but she interrupted him.

"Oh, right, those. I think they can wait for a moment. I actually wanted to talk to you." There it was.

"Kurt, I'm sorry if you think I'm being nosy, or crossing the line here, and you're free not to answer me, but..." he was starting to like the whole situation even less.

"During these last few days, I couldn't help but notice you've been kind of in a bad mood. You're usually such a pleasant person to be around, but since this whole engagement party thing started, I think your attitude towards the preparations has been... uninterested. Am I wrong?"

Kurt suddenly felt guilty. He shook his head. "No, you're not."

"Please keep in mind this is not a reprimand, because you did your work impeccably as usual, but... Do you think you can tell me why is that? This lack of enthusiasm is so weird of you. "

Kurt sighed. This wasn't going to be easy.

"It's nothing, really. I guess I'm just not interested in love, and everything concerning it."

Isabelle's eyebrows shot up.

"Are you serious?"

Kurt nodded.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" she asked.

Kurt shook his head again. "Not really. There's not much to say: I'm not a romantic person, and I find it hard being involved when people talk about eternal love and soulmates and so on. I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for, Kurt. It's just that you're so young, and I was surprised to hear you feel this way. I just hope someday you'll find a person who will make you change your mind."

Kurt strongly doubted that, but didn't say anything.

"Okay!" Isabelle's tone went back to cheerful. "What do you say we focus on these flowers now? I wasn't lying when I say I needed help. There are more than one hundred varieties of roses, and I think I like them all."

Kurt smiled at that. She was his boss, and she tended to worry too much about him, almost like his stepmother did, but he liked her a lot nevertheless.

Author's notes: I love Isabelle and Elliott, in case you couldn't tell. And I really like how this story is turning out, but I would like to know if you like it too. So, how about some nice reviews to let me know what you think about it?

Thank you so much again for reading this fic. You have no idea how happy you make me.