"Wow. You really did paint it black."

Letting out a startled yelp, BJ jumped in the air before turning to see Neil standing in her doorway, an impressed smile on his face. Taking her noise as an invitation to come in, he made his way further into her room, taking in all the changes since he saw it on the day she moved in. He nodded at some of her furniture, wrinkled his nose at her choice in posters and tilted his head in confusion at her bed. "Ok do you actually have a bed under that mountain of pillows? And how are you the least girlie girl in the entire world but you have more pillows than an opium den?"

"If you know of an opium den that has skull pillows as awesome as these? Then send me the address. And what are you doing here? There's allegedly a very strict no guys on the second floor policy in place."

"Darling we both know I'm going to be the exception to that rule." Neil laughed as he flopped back into her just arranged pile of pillows at the head of her bed. "Ok. I take back anything I said about this being over the top to the point of tacky. This is way too comfortable and I think I'll just move in."

"You never said anything about it being almost tacky."

"Not out loud." Neil shrugged.

Reaching down, she felt a pair of socks that hadn't yet made their way into the appropriate drawer and threw it at Neil. BJ fell into giggles as since Neil had his eyes closed, the socks nailed him right between his eyes. She started to laugh harder when he fumbled around for a pillow to throw back at her and only succeeded in hitting his own feet.

From the very first minute she had met Neil Lei in Papa B's kitchen, she had known they were going to get along. By the time she had gone back to Chicago (land of sanity that one day soon she was so going to get her parents to see reason about and move them back where they belonged), BJ had decided they were going to be best friends. There wasn't any specific action or conversation they had that led her to believe that; just a deep and unshakable sense that Neil Lei just somehow understood her and she understood him. It had been instant and if she believed in the crap those girlie books the other girls in her old school read, she would likely say it was fate. But since that was just a ridiculous thought, all she was going to say was seeing Neil every day was the only good thing about moving to Lima that she could come up with. (Seeing the rest of her family more was on the list until the move happened and she realized she was seeing her family every single day. There was no escape now. So that was off the list entirely.)

"Just keep laughing at me." Neil said as he nodded sagely. "And I will leave and not take you to the most important social occasion of the summer."

"Which would be what, exactly? The Dairy Queen patio opening?"

"Slumber party. My house. Sleep is optional. Music is not since the majority of my social circle is in glee so bring the least depressing death metal or country stuff you have. There will be a dance off."

"You've met my drama queen fathers," she said, shaking her head. "No way will they allow me to go to a co-ed sleepover."

"The only guy who will be there is me. And we've already established that we both know your dads recognize me as the exception to the rule," Neil pointed out.

She had to admit that he had a point there. Given what she knew about how often Auntie M spent at Daddy's house in high school, it was very unlikely either one of them would object to her attending a sleepover where the only guy was her gay best friend. She could completely own them on that point if they even tried it.

"You're the only one in that club I really know. It would be beyond awkward and I don't sing so I won't be joining. So I should just sit this one out."

"You aren't going to get back to Chicago sitting in your room and driving the parentals crazy. I think they're immune to you by now, anyway. And so what if you don't sing? Trust me. Jenna can sing enough for the both of us. And Ms. Lopez told us even some of the original members never actually sang much. But I know you drum. And it just so happens drums are like the one instrument Chase Parker can't play. He'll try but believe me, he can't. We can help you get behind the set, and drive him crazy all year long. You also dance. So you're a shoe-in," Neil smirked before pulling at her streaks. "Plus E? She's almost pro level with doing hair. If you wanted to change your streaks, she'd totally be up for it."

"I have been thinking purple was getting a little old," BJ smiled, nodding her head. "How do you think I would look with green streaks?"

"Like a Christmas present. I was thinking blue."

"Blue. I like it."

"Get your stuff together and ask. We have to hit the beauty supply store before we go to my place."


"Just so I'm clear, is there a particular reason you're pissed at me?" Matt asked carefully, one eye on the folder in his hand and the other on Kurt as he scrolled through some page or another on his laptop.

"I am not mad at you. I'm mad at these idiots who honestly think putting Sandra Bullock in red. RED! A total non-decision with her coloring really, is somehow a bold and daring fashion-forward move. Do these fashion bloggers not pay attention to her looks over the entirety of her career?" Kurt threw up his hands before closing the laptop with a definitive click.

"I don't doubt for a second you're mad at everyone who didn't recognize your genius and know that your clients were best-dressed," Matt tried to keep his voice calm. This had been going on since he picked Kurt up from the airport this morning. Clearly he was mad about something, and now that BJ was out of the house voluntarily for the first time since the move, Matt was going to find out. "But when it's just the press, you still talk to me. You haven't said more than five words to me since we got back from the airport."

"I have not."

"Did you miss that look BJ shot us when she left with Neil? She knew something was up. And considering the funk she's been in since we moved, that's saying something."

"I'm not mad at you." Kurt repeated, rubbing the spot above his eyebrow that suddenly began to twitch. And honestly, he wasn't mad at Matt. In fact, feeling annoyed at him seemed even more ridiculous now than it did last night. If Matt had actually been jealous and petty, he would have been angry about not being trusted. Maybe he really was a diva who could never be satisfied. If he was mad at anyone, it was himself. But hell if he was going to admit that.

"You're certainly giving a convincing performance that you are."

"It was just a long night last night."

Matt looked up from his case notes at that point, his eyebrows raised. "I thought you were at the hotel when we talked?"

And apparently there was the jealousy he had been looking for last night. "I was. But someone's sister decided to drunk-dial me after we talked. I hope she has the mother of all hangovers and no cures in the house."

"I should have warned you about her." Matt groaned. "She was drunk when she called me during the pre-show thing. She probably doesn't even realize she called you last night."

"I doubt she does. But hopefully she threw up on those ugly loafers she insists on wearing. You know I think she's the one who introduced BJ to those Croc…things."

"I'm sure if it wasn't the shoes it was something at Tina and Artie's place you hate. Did she call for a particular reason or was it an accident? Cause Leah's good for both."

"Considering she wanted to talk about how you were the least fun person ever for not having a jealous fit over me running into Austin, I'll go with she meant to call me."

"I'm so glad my apparent purpose in life is to amuse her." Matt shook his head as he grabbed for his cell phone on the end table next to him. "Normally I'd be nice to her considering she's probably still hung over but I don't really feel like it today."

"Matt? What are you….Matt don't call her." Kurt protested as he saw Matt start to dial the familiar number. Great, now he was dragging Leah into his ridiculous issue. He knew so many other people in the industry whose relationships were destroyed over petty jealousies over things that were so tiny and insignificant in retrospect. He knew Matt trusted him. Ok it was a little strange he had no reaction to Austin last night, but Kurt hadn't seen him since the day they ended things outside of Austin's apartment. And it wasn't like he saw Austin constantly when he was out in LA for work. It was a onetime thing. Why was he so hung up on the non-reaction he would have wanted if Matt had blown up about it?

"Leah." Matt said rather loudly, a self-satisfied smile on his face. He loved his sister. He did. But if she got to call him drunk, he got to call her while she was hung over. Fair was fair after all. "You. You are in trouble missy. Drunk dialing at your age. What would your students say?"

"Tell me I didn't call you." Leah groaned.

"Not just me. You apparently called Kurt too and said something about Austin because he's been in a mood since he got home."

"How do you know this is about Austin?" Kurt asked as Leah groaned again.

"She said I was the least fun person ever? That's what she told me when I refused to freak out because she called me when the two of you were on the red carpet."

So that was how Matt had even decided to watch the awards last night, Kurt mused as he raised an eyebrow. He had assumed as much but it was nice to have confirmation. Matt handed over the phone with a grin.

"You hate me don't you Superstar?"

"I wouldn't say hate."

"I am so sorry. I don't even know what I said last night. Clearly I was out of my mind and not thinking. I'm blaming too many years spent with my husband. If I tried to say that Matt was a jealous idiot, well he's an idiot but he's not jealous anymore. He befriended Austin and I called him a moron for it years ago. I'm so so sorry if I started a fight because I hate it when you two fight."

"We're not fighting. And I'm always agreeable to any plan that involves blaming Puck." Kurt sighed. And now he felt like an even bigger idiot than he did before. It was just too much time spent in LA, especially so soon after the move. They had barely spent more than ten minutes alone together and here their daughter actually decided to give them an entire night to themselves and he was talking to Leah on the phone. His idiocy was truly astounding.

"Good. I'll tell him when he gets back with dinner. I'll see you guys tomorrow?"

"Highly likely. Goodnight Leah."

"Night Kurt."

Matt looked over with a wary look on his face as Kurt ended the call. "So we aren't fighting? You're not mad and it was all because of Leah's drunk dialing?"

"We're not fighting. I'm not mad at you. And it's not all Leah's drunk dialing but add that to the move, looking for my new office, my admittedly high level of irritability during awards season and BJ being BJ…." Kurt shrugged his shoulders. "I was being a bitch and taking it out on you. I'm sorry."

"I'm sure I haven't been a picnic lately either." Matt admitted softly. "Seems like we keep missing each other during the day. This may be the longest stretch of time we've spent together since Chicago."

"I think you're right. We're going to have to work on that."

"That we are" Matt tilted his head to the side, his eyes sparking the way they did when certain facts made themselves plain to him. "You know most of our friends and family were at that party Leah got so wasted at. And she's generally the last person to get really wasted."

"So they are probably all laying low tonight." Kurt said slowly. "And BJ just left for the entire night."

"That she did."

"An entire night with this huge house all to ourselves." Kurt shook his head. "How are we going to spend the time?"

"I have a couple of suggestions."

"I'm all ears."