Chapter 2

Three hours. Three hours that just seemed to fly by, Blaine thought as he clicked the end call icon. He wasn't ready for it to be over. He could've talked with Kurt for hours, with his soft voice, witty banter, and passion for art. Plus, he really was easy on the eyes.

Actually, that was the understatement of the century. He was the most beautiful man Blaine had ever seen, with his flawless, porcelain skin, his piercing , his perfectly styled, chestnut-colored hair, and his lithe but masculine form, at least from what Blaine could see on his laptop screen. Blaine had seen Kurt stretch and move several times in their conversation, but he only got up from his chair once to fetch a sketch pad, and Blaine hated that fact because he was even more gorgeous when someone could view the whole package. It was as if he had walked out of a Marc Jacob's photoshoot. He'd have to put a little more effort into his own wardrobe before they conferenced again, which fortunately was tomorrow.

After he had read Kurt the rough draft of his manuscript and explained his ideas for the illustrations, they decided that Kurt should draw a few versions of the signature character to make sure that they were on the same page. He immediately typed Kurt's email address into the share window and sent him a copy of his rough draft so that Kurt could reread it and imagine the alligator as he had described him in the pages.

He had felt nervous and silly at first, explaining the concept of a hungry, grumpy alligator that ate numbers instead of animals, but Kurt seemed to love it. He even said that he would've liked math much better as a child if a teacher had taken the time to create such a fun character as Prater the Gator when he was learning to compare numbers. Blaine smiled and felt his cheeks grow red as he remembered how enthusiastic Kurt had been about the idea, even though he said he hadn't had a lot of experience drawing reptiles.

Blaine pulled his chair in and told Alexa to start playing classical music as his eyes read over the cover page.

Prater the Gator

By Blaine Anderson

He quickly added illustrated by Kurt Hummel at the bottom of the page. He couldn't believe that he was fortunate enough to get to work with Kurt. Blaine had discovered the book, Unicorn Poop after he received it by mistake from an order he made on Amazon, and he instantly fell in love with it. The story was cute, but the artwork was breathtaking. He didn't know why, but he kept studying each page, taking in the details, the color combinations, the unique perspective on the mythological creature, which was delicate yet strong, adorable yet fierce when he needed to be, much like he envisioned the illustrator himself to be.

In reality, Blaine now understood why he was so drawn to Kurt's artwork. It was because the unicorn was oddly a metaphor for the artist who drew him: unique, mystical, and beautiful. He shook his head a little to clear his mind of the image of the gorgeous man who had taken his thoughts captive and distracted him from the task at hand. After sharing his rough draft with Kurt, he realized how rough his draft actually was. It wasn't bad. It just wasn't good. Not yet. It could be. It just was just missing something, although Blaine wasn't sure what that something was. It would come to him. He had to stay focused.

He scrolled past the dedication page, which was nearly empty at this point, and skipped to the first page with actual writing on it.

There once was an alligator

Whose name happened to be Prater

His skin was quite bumpy

And his demeanor quite grumpy

'Cause his tummy was empty as a crater

Blaine smiled. Yeah, it had a Dr. Seuss vibe, but that was ok. He knew from experience that children loved silly rhymes and whimsy plots. In fact, his students loved it when they would all gather around on the carpet and he would introduce the lesson with a story. They loved it almost as much as when he brought out his guitar and sang them a lesson. Blaine frowned. He missed his students.

Teaching wasn't his original plan. He had been a music major with the dream of becoming a songwriter, but his dad told him that he refused to pay for a degree that wasn't very practical. He added a few education courses to make his dad happy. After only one semester, he knew that teaching was what he was called to do. He changed his major to elementary education and minored in music as well. After he graduated, he was immediately hired, and he had been teaching first grade ever since, except now he was taking a sabbatical so that he could publish this book. It'd be so simple because he already had the story practically written.

Except having an idea in your head and actually having it down on paper were two different things. He found that making a writing schedule was quite pointless. Writing wasn't like turning on a switch. Sometimes, he'd sit down and be able to write pages and pages, and other times he sat there for hours staring at a blinking cursor. Like now.

He sighed and looked over the next stanza when he got a notification on his laptop.

Email from Khummel

Subject: Zoom Meeting

Dear Blaine,

Thank you for sending your rough draft to me. It's really been helpful as I tried to decide the artistic direction I wanted to take for your character. I know that we agreed to meet tomorrow, but I've been working on some sketches, and I think I was able to create three different versions of Prater, and I'd like to get your feedback as to which one you like best. If you can't do it right now, that's fine. I'm sorry. I just got inspired, and I wanted to get started on the cover. I didn't want to pick the wrong Prater. Let me know if you can't meet as soon as possible and I'll set up the meeting for tomorrow. Either one is fine.

Sincerely,

Kurt Hummel

Kurt Hummel is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom Meeting

Topic: Prater the Gator

Time: 2:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Meeting ID: 16465580216

Join Zoom Meeting

.us/j/ 16465580216

Blaine scratched his forehead in disbelief. Kurt already had sketches? All he had done since they had chatted was added Kurt's name to the cover page and read over a few stanzas. If Kurt was going to be this eager, he was going to have to step up his game.

He hit the reply button and began composing a response.

Dear Kurt,

I didn't expect to hear from you so soon, but I have to say that I'm impressed that you already have three sketches to show me. Of course, we can meet today. I'm excited to see what you've come up with. I'm sure that they are amazing. And don't ever apologize for being eager to complete something. That kind of attitude inspires me to want to do the same. I'll see you in a few minutes.

Sincerely,

Blaine Anderson

Blaine hit send and opened up Zoom to wait for Kurt to start the meeting. He was a little early so he rose from his seat and walked to his Keurig to brew a cup of coffee before they got started. He grabbed a cronut from the box on the table and took a bite as he heard the coffee drip into his mug. He started humming along to the beat of the coffee splashing against the porcelain cup as he paced over to the table and grabbed the box of cronuts from the table and carried it to his computer desk, still humming along to the beat of the dripping liquid.

"There once was an Alligator, whose name happened to be Prater," he sang as the coffee continued to splash in a steady rhythm. He sat the box on his desk and wiped the cronut crumbs on his pants, still humming along to the melody the Kuerig created. "His skin was quite bumpy, and his demeanor quite grumpy, 'cause his tummy was empty as a crater.

Just as he finished the stanza, the dripping stopped, indicating his coffee was finished. "I'm going to have to write that down, he said to himself as he turned toward his kitchen and took another bite of his cronut.

"Write what down?" a voice asked.

Blaine almost dropped his cronut as he spun around to see Kurt staring back at him on his monitor. "How long have you been there?" Blaine's cheeks flamed red.

"I just logged in. I'm sorry. I thought you were talking to me. Did you think of a line for your story? You can go ahead and write it down. I'll wait. I'm a few minutes early," Kurt smiled.

"You're a whole day early," Blaine chuckled. "And thank you. I do think I'll write the chord progression down really fast if you don't mind," Blaine said, grabbing a pen and a note pad from the holder. He sat down promptly and began scribbling furiously on the paper.

"Chord progression? Do you write songs too?" Kurt asked, cocking his head curiously.

"Uh, yeah. I minored in music, just in case I wanted to teach music or give lessons or something. It comes in handy. My students used to love it."

Kurt grinned. "Wow! That's amazing, Blaine. Music is a wonderful learning device. Have you ever given thought about turning Prater the Gator into a song?"

"Actually, yes I have, but I wanted to get all of the words written perfectly first. My little firsties used to love when we did sing-a-longs. Actually I used to take rhyming books and play music as I sang them to my students. Unicorn poop was one of the books I used to use, even though that one didn't rhyme. I kinda rewrote the words a little so they did,"

A massive grin erupted across Kurt's face. "Wait! Really? You have got to share it with me. Please. Just a little bit," Kurt begged,

Blaine chuckled. "Tell you what. Show me the Prater designs first, and then I'll share the song."

"You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Anderson, but fine. I'll show you mine first," Kurt blurted then dropped his face in his hands as Blaine chuckled. "You know what I mean."

Blaine dropped his head a little, hoping that Kurt couldn't see the tinge of red in his cheeks. "Let me see what you've got- done," he chuckled.

Kurt grabbed his sketch pad and showed the first sketch. "What do you think? Be honest because I don't want you to settle with something that doesn't match your vision.

Blaine dropped his head and shifted his eyes so he wasn't looking directly in Kurt's eyes. "It's cute. Maybe a little too cute and docile to be Prater. Our guy's supposed to be grumpy, and maybe even a little scary, although not too much. I like the details though with his scales and his face is adorable."

Kurt nodded and turned the page in his sketchbook to the next picture. "And this one?"

"That's much closer to my vision. I like the details. I like that you gave him the big claws and sharp teeth but he doesn't look sinister. We could work with this one, but I'd actually like him to be a little smaller," Blaine commented as he examined the drawing.

"You mean, like this," Kurt asked, turning the page and holding up the last drawing.

Oh my gosh, yes!" Blaine exclaimed, clasping his hands in excitement. "That's it. That's Prater!"

Kurt grinned. "I was hoping you'd say that. That's actually my favorite too. Are there any details that you'd like me to change, like making him shorter or thinner or giving him more scales?"

Blaine shook his head. "Nope. I think he's absolutely perfect. I want you to draw him just like that," he said with a warm, reassuring smile.

"Ok, great. Now, for the cover, what do you envision? And tell me a little more about how you envision Numberland."

"It guess, just as it sounds. I want numbers subtly spread throughout the background, like hidden in the grass and leaves and the clouds. I noticed that the scales kinda look like threes and Prater's eyes are like a sideways eight. I love that."

"You noticed that?" Kurt smiled widely. I thought I was being sneaky."

"That's what makes the drawing. I noticed that before in Unicorn Poop. Fluff had all these intricate details. It was one of the main reasons that I asked to work with you."

Kurt's cheeks tinged pink. "Why, Mr. Anderson, is that flattery?"

Blaine shook his head. "No. That's honesty. I love your style," he said with a smile. He cleared his throat. "I'd like for numbers to be integrated into the background where possible but I don't want them to be overwhelming."

Kurt nodded in understanding. "Ok. So for the cover, do you want him on land or in the water? I can do an example of both if you'd like."

"I want him to start in the water, but I want him to be near land if that makes sense."

"It does. I think I know what you are asking. Oh, by the way, I appreciate you sending the rough draft. I like your drawings," Kurt added with a smile.

"You mean my stick gator," Blaine laughed. "Yeah, rub it in that I can't draw like you."

"No, they were helpful so that I can visualize the placement of Prater and the background. You don't know how many authors I worked with that just gave me a blank page and no direction on how they wanted things formatted. I ended up having to start over or redo large parts of my work and it became frustrating. I really appreciate the visual, although I wondered if you meant for each of his legs to vary in length," Kurt teased. "Does Prater move with a limp?"

"Hey, I'm not a trained professional as you are. Besides, how am I supposed to know how long a gator's legs are. I'm certainly not going to walk up to one and check," Blaine laughed.

"Google is your friend, Blaine. I don't happen to have a pet alligator in my bathtub. I was just teasing, but you did say he was a young gator that eventually grows into a bigger gator. Would you like me to draw him a little heavier and longer each time he eats a number?"

"I think that'd be perfect," Blaine agreed, taking a bite of a cronut.

"What in the world is that?" Kurt asked, cocking his head sideways.

"It's a cross between a croissant and a doughnut," Blaine replied. "Don't tell me you never had a cronut," Blaine said, shaking his head in disbelief. He took another big bite of the rich dessert.

"I can't say that I have," Kurt replied. "I don't eat a lot of sweets. My dad had a heart attack when I was a junior in high school, so I tried really hard to cook healthier for us. Besides, my roommate in college was a vegan, and so we avoided foods with egg and dairy products. It limited what we could eat, although I do love a good, rich, New York cheesecake from time to time. That does look delicious though."

Blaine swallowed and nodded. "They're exquisite. I kinda have an obsession with them. And the place I order from, Brooklyn Whiskers Bakery, is completely vegan."

"Wait, you're a vegan?" Kurt asked.

"No, but one of my exes was. He was a total health nut. He introduced me to the place, and I got hooked on these things," Blaine explained, grabbing another pastry.

"You're gay?" Kurt blurted.

"Is that a problem? Blaine questioned, putting his cronut back into the box.

Kurt immediately shook his head and waved his hand to signal no. "No, no. Of course not. I am too. I just didn't realize it."

"Oh, I just figured it was a given. You know, a male elementary teacher. It's not that common for straight males. Most people just assume I'm gay, although I did get hit on A LOT my first few years by teachers and divorced mothers, and sometimes married mothers. It was awkward," Blaine explained, and then stuck the last piece of that cronut in his mouth.

"I bet. I haven't had that issue in a long time. Once in high school, a friend of mine thought we were dating. She was actually the only person in my high school that believed I was straight," Kurt laughed fondly at the memory of Mercedes. "Actually, she busted the window of my Navigator when I told her that we weren't. She was actually the first person I came out to. We became besties after that though. I'm sorry. We're supposed to be having a business meeting here, and I'm veering off-topic."

"It's fine. It's actually my fault. I was the one who started eating while we were working. That was unprofessional of me. I would've never done that in an official meeting. I'm sorry."

"Nonsense," Kurt smiled. "I want us to be comfortable working together, and that means if we're hungry or thirsty, or whatever, have a snack. I'm fine with it, as long as you don't rat me out to my boss if you see me scarf down a piece of cheesecake."

"You're secret's safe with me." Blaine smiled. "So, what were we talking about before I distracted us."

"I do believe that you have a song to sing for me, Mr. Anderson."

"I forgot about that," Blaine blushed. "Can I have a raincheck. I promise to sing it to you another day, but I'd have to find the book and tune my guitar and all of that. I'm a little rusty on that one."

"Oh, alright, but don't think I'll drop it," Kurt replied. "So, what are your ideas for page one?"