"Blaine, why don't you come in?" Mr. Anderson said, standing up and gesturing for his son to move from his hiding spot behind the door. "Come in and meet Kurt, the photographer you'll be working with during your time here. Close the door behind you."
"Um, yeah. Sure." Blaine stepped around the door, entering the room, and shutting it softly behind him, his gaze never leaving Kurt's. What is it about him? Is he familiar? Why does he look like someone I know? The thoughts swirled in his head, creating a haze he couldn't push through until his father snapped at him, shocking him out of his tornado of wonder and emotion.
"You alright?" Joel asked him.
"Huh? Oh. Um, yeah. Fine."
"Good. Good," his father said, giving him a funny look. "Anyway, Kurt, this is my s—"
It was right then that the connection and familiarity donned on Blaine, and he jumped in quickly, cutting his dad off. "I'm Blaine," he said, extending a hand. "Blaine Anderson. And you're Kurt. Kurt Hummel."
"Yeah…" Kurt answered, narrowing his eyes. "I'm Kurt Hummel. How did you know my name?"
"You grew up here, right?" Blaine asked. "Your dad… He still lives around here. Burt Hummel? Of Burt Hummel Tires and Lube?"
"Yes. That's my dad. But how did you…?"
"You were ahead of me in high school. Five years," Blaine said, deciding to give him a partial truth. He didn't want him to think he was some crazy stalker. "You were in those school productions, the play and stuff, and I went to your senior show during eighth grade. You were phenomenal."
Even then, nearly a dozen years later, Kurt blushed. "Well, thank you. I was just Teen Angel. It was nothing that special."
Blaine had to bite his tongue from saying something as embarrassing as, "You definitely looked like an angel to me." Instead, he went with, "Well, we still talked about it in drama when I was a senior. So, it left a bit of an impact."
Joel Anderson stood by, watching his son interact with the new photographer, with Kurt. There was something instantly different about his son, something different about the way he stood in the room now compared to the way he'd stood there just an hour before, asking him to give him a job. Joel couldn't put a finger on what it was, however. Just something different. He let their idle chatter go on for another minute before he spoke up. "Well, the two of you should be off to the fairgrounds. The construction crew is only there until 4:30, and we need to get a few statements from the foreman."
"Oh, right. The horse barn," Blaine said, barely able to contain the disinterest in his voice. He watched his father round his desk, reaching into a folder for a piece of paper that he handed to Blaine.
"Until you've got a few articles under your belt, all your questions will be curated for you by Tina. This is protocol for all new reporters," Joel explained as he handed Blaine the paper with the questions on it. "Now, if the foreman—his name is on there. Elliot, isn't it?—if he offers you some information that doesn't fit one of the questions on the paper and you think it could be important, don't be afraid to ask follow-up questions. Those on the page are the most important ones to ask, though. So, make sure you cover all of those before you leave. Sound doable?"
"Sure," Blaine replied, glancing over the paper. There were several normal questions like, "How long have you been with the company? Tell us about why you took on this job pro-bono. Is this building larger than most that you build?" Honestly, Blaine found them all to be quite boring. Yawn.
"Kurt, we just need some pictures of the site. Get one of the foreman for sure. Blaine, will you read me his name from that sheet? I want to make sure I get it right."
"Um, it says 'Elliot Gilbert' at the top. That his name?"
Joel nodded. "Yeah. That's him. So, be sure you get a picture of him, Kurt, a few of the site, and there should be a sign down there with a mock-up of what the barn will look like when they get done. Maybe get one of that, too."
"Sure. Sounds simple enough."
"Great. That's all the debriefing I think you need, so I'll let the two of you head off. This is the only assignment you've got for today, so I'll see the two of you again tomorrow. Good luck!" He gave them a big, reassuring smile before sitting down behind his desk once again and looking at his computer, giving the two of them space to leave his office.
"Shall we?" Blaine asked, grabbing the door handle and throwing the door open, gesturing for Kurt to go out in front of him.
"Thanks," Kurt mumbled, walking out and making a beeline for the door. He nodded at Tina with a half-hearted smile as he went past her desk.
Blaine caught up with him on the sidewalk. "Should we carpool?" he asked. "There's not really any reason for us to both have a car at the fairgrounds when we're only about five minutes away."
"Um, I guess that's fine," Kurt answered. "Yours or mine?"
"Mine's clean if you want me to drive."
"Okay. Let me get my equipment. Is that you?" He pointed to the little black Kia sitting a few feet away along the curb.
"Yep. I'll be waiting." Blaine gave him his best smile before walking away, clicking the button for his car. As he slid into the driver's seat and shut the door, he couldn't help but let out a little squeal of delight. Oh, my gosh! What have I gotten myself into? I can't believe my luck!
As Kurt opened the back door of his Navigator, he couldn't stop the little groan that left his lips. Oh, my gosh. What have I gotten myself into? I can't believe my luck…