So I love you all...I do...and yes I also love being evil. I just want to let you all know before you raise up pitchforks and sing "The Mob Song" from Beauty and the Beast before storming the castle (ha..like I live in a castle!) to kill me...I do have this story planned out through senior year and college graduation. So if you kill me, it won't happen. Just keep that in mind. =)

At some point in his life, Matt really needed to remember that being spontaneous never worked out for him. He was a planner by nature; an obsessive planner if Leah was to be believed. He liked to know where he was going, what he was going to do and what he would be doing next week at the same time. It was a necessity and a comfort. Being a planner was pretty much essential to him surviving putting himself through college. Planning meant he knew what to expect. Planning meant he could largely avoid completely awkward moments.

Moments like he was having right now as he struggled to answer Kurt's deceptively simple question of what he was doing, standing in the middle of his living room. Because, as he was rapidly discovering, there really wasn't a good explanation that didn't make him sound completely deranged or risk Kurt going into even further denial. Why didn't he listen to that voice in his head that said he should call Mercedes and Finn and arrange for all three of them to come up? That would have made sense. Then he could have come up with a perfectly rational explanation of why he was standing in Bowling Green instead of his own apartment in Columbus.

Somehow Matt figured saying something along the lines of "I think everyone is right and you have an eating disorder so I came up here to convince you of that fact" probably would not go over well at all. So instead he opted for the lame and not at all convincing sounding, tried and true excuse of "I was just in the neighborhood."

"Just in the neighborhood?" Kurt repeated skeptically. "I know we haven't seen each other in a while but I can still tell when you're lying. "

"Should never go to Vegas huh?"

"I wouldn't say that. Just don't go with people who know you. We can tell. Strangers probably have a fifty-fifty chance."

"Well as long as it's fifty-fifty." Matt shrugged his shoulders with a smile. He could do this. He could totally do this.

"Matt, it's great if a bit surprising to see you but it's not like you to just show up. Everything is ok with Leah right?"

Ok he lied. He really couldn't do this. Not with Kurt looking at him so concerned that something might be wrong with Leah. And Kurt didn't look any skinnier did he? He hadn't lost anymore weight. Had he? "Leah's fine. Everyone's fine. "Matt sighed helplessly. "As for why I'm here, it's kind of a long story and I'm pretty positive you're going to hate it."

"I told you." A barely concealed whisper sounded from the other side of the wall. "He's marrying that boyfriend and he came to tell Kurt in person."

"Stephen, your lack of a love life has caused you to kill off brain cells. Tell me you don't sound this stupid when I take you to the bars. I have a reputation to maintain."

"Oh dear Gaga." Kurt growled, his hand held to his forehead. "Would you two leave?"

"Oh come on!" The one Matt recognized as Stephen came towards the entrance way. "This is the best thing to happen since Zach came back from the dead to stop Kendall's wedding on All My Children."

"Please." Kurt protested as he rolled his eyes in exasperation. "He's not getting married." He paused for a second as if seriously considering the idea for the first time. Tilting his head to the left, he looked at Matt with serious intent. "You aren't right?"

"Uh yeah, no marriage in the immediate plans." Especially he was just dumped a few hours ago but it didn't seem just the right time to bring that particular new item up. "Didn't come here to talk about that."

"Good. See?" Kurt turned back to his roommates. "Get your soap fix somewhere else."

"Fine. We can take a hint." Rafe threw up his hands.

"Since when can you take a hint?" Stephen questioned.

"We're going." Raph pulled a still protesting Stephen towards the door. "However we will work on those excuses for you if you decide you just happen to miss the party tonight."

"I'm sorry for them." Kurt sighed as they heard the door click behind Stephen and Raph, still arguing as they made their way down the porch steps. "It's been a long time since either one of them has been out with someone and they are trying to pretend they aren't into each other. I'm just going to lock them in a room at some point."

"Yeah I hear that's a good solution to that problem." Matt looked at his feet, but not before he caught Kurt's violent blush as they both remembered exactly how they got over that particular hurdle.

"So why did you come here Matt?" Kurt took a cautious step towards the middle of the room where he currently stood rooted in place. "It's not like you to just take off and not go to work."

"I know but this is important." Matt admitted softly.

"It's important and I'm not going to like it." Kurt mused. "You know the last time you said those phrases, we ended up breaking up."

"And that discussion was both important and you didn't like it." Matt pointed out. "I didn't lie."

"No but you are increasing my curiosity tenfold at the moment. You're not getting married, thank Gaga. Nothing against Geoffrey." Kurt hastened to add. "Just you are way too young for that step. And we broke up so it's not that conversation again."

"No but it does involve you."

"You never could resist being a man of mystery could you Matt?" Kurt smiled. "Are you going to make me continue to play twenty questions or are you ever going to tell me what exactly compelled you to come all this way for something that involves me?"

Well never let it be said the universe didn't hand him golden opportunities on a platter, Matt mused silently. Roughly half of his drive up here had been spent trying to come up with the perfect opportunity to bring up what he thought was going on, and rejecting most of them as they seemed way too much like a date. And here Kurt went and gave him the perfect opportunity, and with no one nearby to interrupt him. Taking a deep breath, Matt steeled himself. He could do this. He had to do this. Kurt needed him to do this.

"See the thing is Kurt, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately and I've noticed some things."

"You always notice things." Kurt pointed out. "It's why you'll make an excellent psychologist one of these days."

"Yeah. That's actually kind of related to why I'm here in fact. It's really kind of weird that you mention that. See…."

"Kurt? You here?" An unfamiliar voice carried into the house, followed by a form Matt recognized immediately from pictures. Austin Brooks strode inside with the confidence that only came when a person was perfectly confident of their welcome. Matt tried to be objective about the other man, taking in the pressing pink button up shirt and well tailored black pants. He certainly fit the look of someone Matt could see Kurt with; in fact maybe Austin fit it a little too perfectly. Austin stopped as he came into the living room, an expression on his face that clearly indicated he was trying to figure out where he had seen Matt before. "Oh I didn't realize you had company."

"It was a surprise." Kurt offered with a laugh that Matt was certain everyone in the room recognized as an indication of nerves. "Austin, this is Matt Rutherford. He just showed up a little while ago. Matt, this is Austin. You've heard me mention him before."

"Yeah I sure have." Matt nodded, trying to keep a smile in firmly in place as he offered out his hand for Austin to shake. "Nice to meet you finally."

"Same here." Austin answered; a smile similar to the one Matt was sure was plastered on his own gracing the other man's face. "You just decided to surprise Kurt?"

"Something like that." Matt hedged. Ok now was totally not the time to bring up the whole eating disorder thing. "But it looks like you two have plans and I clearly interrupted that. I should just go and find a place to crash for the night. "He caught Kurt's eyes. "We can talk later."

"Austin's throwing a small party. We can talk there if you want." Kurt offered. "You don't need to leave. Or find a place to crash. You can stay here. Stephen and Raph won't mind."

"I don't want to be any trouble." Or start the same fight Geoffrey and I would have all the time between you and Austin, Matt added silently.

"It's no trouble."

"Yeah dude." Raph's voice carried over from the hallway. How long had he and Stephen been standing there Matt wondered. Clearly they hadn't left as Kurt had demanded. "Stay here. Come party with us. It will be fun."

Somehow Matt was relatively certain it would be way more fun for Raph and Stephen than it would for him. Still he kind of didn't have a choice. Once again being spontaneous had bitten him in the ass. "Sure. I'll stay."