"Are you alright?" Mercedes asked him on Wednesday. "You look down."

"I'm fine." Kurt gave her a fake smile. "At least I will be."

She pet his arm gently. "You can talk to me about things that bother you."

"I know." Kurt nodded. He just wouldn't. He was fine. He'd decided it wasn't worth it to wallow over the Blaine thing anymore, he was just waiting for his feelings to catch up with his brain. Besides, he had a few more pressing things to worry about.

Like Karofsky. Before when he'd catch Karofsky staring at him the beefy boy kind of looked vaguely scared. Now he looked half-terrified, half-menacing. He'd pushed Kurt, HARD, into his locker earlier in the day. Kurt didn't know if the bullying would get worse or not. He really hoped not.

"Okay," Mercedes said.

Then Rachel decided whoever she was talking too was boring and turned to them. The conversation would have been over even if it hadn't already ended.


From Sebastian:
Sunday, 11:00, my place. Come to come.


"I'm looking for a Kurt Hummel."

"This is he," Kurt said into his phone.

"Hi, this is Bill from J.C. Records. The album you ordered came in."

Excitement fluttered through him. "Alright, I'll be there around four thirty."

"Whatever." Then the line went dead.

It was the first thing he'd been excited about since Blaine left almost two weeks prior. Best Thursday Ever.


To Sebastian:
I'll be there. Dress code?


"I think it's so admirable that you're so worried for your step-brother, Finn. It's heart warming. It speaks so much to your compassion. Compassion that we share." Rachel fluttered. She was on the phone with her BOYFRIEND. He COLLEGE boyfriend. And it was FINN. Just SO many good things.

"Yeah, Rach, that's really cool and all. But you didn't answer my question. Is he still acting weird?" Finn was so cute when he cared.

"No," Rachel said definitively. "He was smiling today and everything. I can ask though. It must be hard to be so intimate with someone and have them completely drop you. I'm glad that we never went through such a separation. It wasn't like that for us."

"Wait, what?"

"Our relationship isn't as tragic and doomed, but beautiful and everlasting! We'll have to accept drama as part of our lives of course, no good love is without it. But we will persevere!" Rachel said it all with a flourish. "Oh, my man, the bell rang. I have to go now, sweetie. I'll talk to you later."

"Wait, Rachel!" Unfortunately she never did hear what her love wanted to say.


From Sebastian:
Naked. Strip on entry.


Kurt made it to the record store a little earlier than he'd told them and when he came in the guy behind the counter, Bill?, was busy so he just wandered a little.

If his life was a movie, this would be the part where it turned into a rom com. He wandered the rows a little, checking out the familiar titles and covers and then, right as he reached for one of his favorites, another hand did the same.

Kurt looked up to see a younger, more hipster flamboyant version of himself. Hipster Kurt, who soon introduced himself as Chandler, immediately gushed at him about the brooch he was wearing and the album they'd both reached for.

Chandler had A LOT of energy. A lot of energy he was TOTALLY content pushing on Kurt.

Kurt sort of froze at the initial shock of it, but then, after the willowy boy had expressed his love of Evita, Kurt calmed.

It was twenty minutes of this Chandler-shaped whirlwind before he remembered why he was in the store. By then the guy behind the counter wasn't busy. Kurt still didn't go to him. Chandler was... flirting. Obviously flirting, so clearly, obviously flirting that Kurt couldn't even TRY to say he was making it up in his head, and that felt so NICE.

Before he knew it Chandler was wiping out his phone and begging Kurt for his number so they could talk more. Bewildered and more than a little charmed Kurt gave it.

Chandler smiled brighter than the sun and sent a text so Kurt had his number. It was a cheesy pick up line. Like, REALLY cheesy. Kurt kind of didn't care. He just laughed and blushed and enjoyed it. Chandler wiggled a little and squeaked.

When Kurt finally left the store, the SECOND attempt (he'd forgotten his album on the first try), it was nearly six and his Dad had texted asking where he was. Chandler gave him an over enthusiastic hug before he left. "Wanna hang out this weekend? I have a ton of musicals and stuff we could watch," Chandler asked.

Kurt found himself agreeing.


"Rachel, I need to ask you a question and I need you to be COMPLETELY honest." Finn tried to make his voice sound as serious as possible.

"Okay, Finn," Rachel said, that rare calmness coming into her voice. It happened sometimes, more often now than the year before, her being calm.
"What did you mean earlier that Blaine dropped Kurt?" Something was TOTALLY up, and both Blaine and Kurt were acting SO weird. Like, Blaine hadn't hung out with Finn AT ALL the last two weeks and he stayed holed up in his room with Wes. Usually Blaine came over to hang out with him or David sometimes. And that wasn't even all of it. Blaine had kind of been either mad or mopey since Winter Break. Finn had heard him yelling at Wes the day before, Blaine NEVER yelled at Wes. Wes would, like, kill him with his letter opener.

"I don't think Kurt has heard from Blaine since he went back to college," Rachel said. "But, shh, don't tell him I told you. Strictly speaking I'm not supposed to know. But he let me borrow his phone the other day for the internet and I might have snooped a little. There was only one text and no calls. You keep asking about it so I know you're worried, and he HAS been acting morbid."

Kurt would probably have a fit if he ever found out Rachel snooped like that. "I'm going to kill him."

"Finn, don't do anything until you're sure. OH! We can spy on them!"

"Um, I guess."