I-You-I mean, you-I'm-You're-It's-Sentence-Kurt-Hi? What the hell was that, Hummel? Kurt asked himself, shaking his head a bit. He was successful in clearing out a few of the cobwebs that had formed while he stared at Blaine, and he was just about to correct himself when Blaine opened that beautiful mouth of his and said something. Kurt promptly lost his train of thought again.

Blaine grinned at what Kurt was sure was a very embarrassing expression he was making and asked, "A little bit starstruck, are we?"

All Kurt could do was nod.

"Well, let me see if I can help with that," Blaine offered, handing Kurt some paper towels for his sopping wet hands. He reached over to turn off the still running faucet, brushing Kurt's skin lightly on the way by. He paused for only a moment, and Kurt wondered if he could feel the same sparks shooting up his arm that Kurt did, but a moment later he was moving again, standing up straight and giving Kurt that signature smile the other man recognized from so many interviews.

Damn. He is as charismatic as he seems. And, so much hotter in person…

"Hi," Blaine said, sticking out a hand. "My name's Blaine. I'm just a guy from the middle of Ohio, visiting Marie's after this awesome concert I attended. Who are you?"

"I'm, uh…" Oh, God! What's my name? "Um, I'm Kurt."

"Kurt..." Blaine said, the name rolling off his tongue in that same, smooth caramel tone he used when he was singing. "Is that a name you just got, or have you had it forever?"

"What?"

"Sorry. Just a little humor since you were having so much trouble remembering your name. Seriously, you have nothing to fear. I'm just a normal person, just like any other guy."

"But-but-but you're not!" Kurt sputtered, tossing his barely used paper towels in the trash can before realizing that his hands were still dripping. "You-You're Blaine Anderson."

"Yep," Blaine agreed. "But I prefer to just go by Blaine."

"Right. Right. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I get it all the time."

"I'm sure you do," Kurt said quietly, reaching for a few more towels and actually drying his hands this time. Now that Blaine was speaking to him, he was feeling a little more confident, didn't feel like he had to be tripping all over himself to say the right thing.

"So, Kurt," Blaine went on, not making a move to leave the bathroom yet, "what are you doing in the bathroom at Marie's Crisis?" He stretched out an arm, pressing it against the wall as he cocked his head in Kurt's direction just a bit.

"Well, I was-"

"Don't actually tell me why you're in the bathroom." Blaine chuckled. "That's a bit too intimate for a first meeting, don't you think? Just, um, why are you at Marie's tonight?"

Kurt thought he could detect a gentle blush on Blaine's cheeks, and he smiled. "I was at your festival earlier tonight, and when you announced that some of you were coming to Marie's afterward, I thought it might be fun to try it, too, since it's my first and possibly my only time in New York."

Blaine's eyes grew wide at that. "First and only? You don't like it here?"

"No. It's not that. It's just… Well, there's other stuff. It's, uh, it's a long story."

"Well, can I buy you a drink? I could go for a long story about now."

Kurt's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "Blaine Anderson wants to buy me a drink?"

"Well, it's just Blaine, but yeah."

With a smirk, Kurt asked, "Just Blaine wants to buy me a drink?"

"Smooth."

"Thanks," Kurt chuckled. "But for real. You want to get me a drink? Why?"

"You're interesting," Blaine answered, their eyes meeting, truly meeting, for the first time in their encounter. His gaze betrayed that he might be thinking something else, but he didn't add anything to it besides, "I'd like to get to know you more. If you want to."

Kurt nodded, not sure whether he should squeal with excitement or run to the stall and barf from anxiety. "I'd love to…"

"Great! I just need to pop out back and let the guys know I'm gonna be in here having a few drinks. If you want to tag along, I'll introduce you."

"O-okay," Kurt stuttered, following him out of the bathroom and out the back door he'd come in a few minutes before. Blaine led him straight over to the group of guys he'd seen singing and laughing together on his way inside, tapping Elliot on the shoulder.

"Hey hey, man," Blaine greeted, fist-bumping Elliot almost as if he hadn't seen him in days instead of minutes. "I wanted to let you know I'm gonna be having drinks inside for a bit. And, I wanted to introduce you to someone." He turned to look behind him, beckoning Kurt-who was standing a few feet back, chewing on his nails and watching them with large eyes-forward. "This is Kurt. We met in the bathroom."

Elliott looked at his friend skeptically before giving Kurt a warm smile. "Hi. I'm Elliot."

"Hi," Kurt said softly. "I-I kinda know who all of you are." He felt himself flush as he looked around the small group. "I'm a fan," he admitted sheepishly.

"Well, sounds like it's test time then," Sebastian said, smirking. "We'll believe you if you can tell us who we are and what we play."

"Oh, that's easy," Kurt replied. "You're Sebastian, the keyboard guy." He pointed at each person as he spoke about them. "You're Nick. You do back-up vocals and guitar. That's Jeff who does guitar. Elliot is the drummer, and Blaine is, well, everyone knows Blaine's the lead singer." He smiled at the lead singer who beamed back.

"You forgot one," came a slimy voice from behind them.

When Kurt turned to look in the direction of the voice, he saw Eli leaning over Blaine's shoulder. "You're Eli, the bassist," Kurt said dryly.

"That's right!" the other man sang. "Hi, Blainey Bear." He pressed a kiss to his cheek before glancing back at Kurt, looking him up and down for a moment before asking, "And, you are?"

Kurt's heart dropped to his feet as he watched the interaction. I guess they really are together, he thought sadly.

"This," Blaine replied, wriggling out from beneath Eli's arms to stand a bit closer to Kurt, "is Kurt. I met him in the bathroom, and we hit it off. So, I invited him to have drinks; I was just coming out to let the rest of you know what I was going to be up to."

There was a mumble of "Okay," and "Have fun," from the group, but Eli instantly began to pout.

"I thought we were gonna go back to our hotel early tonight, Blaine," he whined. "You promised."

"I did not," Blaine disagreed. "I said we could go if I were bored, and now that I've got Kurt to talk to, I'm not bored at all." He beamed in Kurt's direction. "Shall we go in and let them know what we want?"

"If you need to go, I understand," Kurt replied.

"I don't." Glaring in Eli's direction, Blaine wrapped his arm around Kurt's and started to walk back into the bar. "Anyone else coming?" he called back over his shoulder, pausing just before they went in.

"Elliot's tired, so we're going back to our room," Seb replied. "Probably leaving in a few."

"Us, too," Jeff supplied. "We'll see you tomorrow, Blaine."

"Night, guys," Blaine replied, not waiting for Eli to say anything else. Then, he guided Kurt inside and over to the stage where there was one small table tucked into a corner with a handwritten "Reserved" sign on it. Blaine plopped down in a chair, gesturing for Kurt to take the one next to him. Then, he picked up his phone and typed out a quick message. When he was done, he looked at Kurt with a wide smile.

"Do you normally text while you're chatting with your bathroom acquaintances?" Kurt joked.

"No. I have one of the bartender's numbers, and I text him when I get in here. It's always so packed that they can't see me when I sit down. But I usually think texting when you're supposed to be getting to know someone is rude."

"I agree," Kurt said. When he suddenly felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, however, his eyes grew wide again. "Crap!"

"What?" Blaine asked, concerned.

"Oh, I came here with my friend and her soulmate-they met at your festival, by the way. So cute-and I told them I was going to the bathroom and left them at the bar! I'm sure they're worried that I'm not back yet."

"Well, text them!" Blaine urged. "In this case, it would be rude not to."

Kurt grinned. "Thanks." He pulled out his phone and tapped out a message to Britt.

To Britt, 11:03 pm: I met Blaine Anderson in the bathroom, and now, I'm getting drinks with him. I'm okay, but don't wait for me.

He only had to wait a moment for her reply.

From Britt, 11:04 pm: K. Going to hotel for sweet lady lovin'.

Kurt grinned to himself, stuffing his phone back into his pocket. He found Blaine staring at him dreamily, his cheek propped up on his hand.

"Everything good?" he asked with a smile.

"Yep. I let them know they could leave whenever. I'll get an Uber back to our hotel later."

"Good. Now, I get you all night," Blaine commented.

Kurt was going to ask if that was a good or a bad thing, but just then, their waiter showed up. He grinned when he recognized the man as Puck. "Hey," he said softly.

"You two know each other?" Blaine asked, confused.

"Not really. Puck just told me how to get to the bathroom."

"Ohhhhh," Blaine replied. "Thanks, man," he said, grinning at Puck.

"My pleasure," Puck returned. "What can I do for you tonight, Blaine?"

"I'll take a beer, and whatever this guy gets is going on my tab, too," Blaine answered him, gesturing to his guest with his thumb.

"Just a Diet Coke for me."

"You can get alcohol, you know," Blaine told him.

"I'm not really a drinker unless I'm safely at home with someone I trust. Even then, it's just one drink. Sometimes, not even that. Soda's fine."

"I'll be right back with those," Puck told them and disappeared into the sea of bodies again.

"So…" Blaine said after a few beats of silence. "Tell me about yourself."

They spoke for hours, Puck popping by every now and then to replace drinks and take away empty glasses.

Kurt felt as though he was getting lost in Blaine's eyes the longer they talked. He was so captivating, the way he laughed the way he spoke. It was like he was Kurt's perfect match, and each move he made, each thing he said amazed Kurt more than the last. In fact, as he listened to Blaine, the world seemed to fade away around him until there was no one else in the room but the two of them, and nothing mattered but their conversation.

As he listened, Kurt was vaguely reminded of some song lyrics he'd heard in a song on the radio a few days before the festival:

"I get so lost inside your eyes
Would you believe it?

You don't have to say you love me
You don't have to say nothing
You don't have to say you're mine

Honey

I'd walk through fire for you
Just let me adore you"

Some part of him thought that those words might be true, that he might actually be falling for Blaine. That wasn't wise; it certainly wasn't rational, and it would most definitely end in heartbreak. He couldn't exactly help himself, though. He'd already adored Blaine before he'd ever even met the man. He'd adored him for years, feeling this connection to someone he thought he'd never speak to. Still, here he was in a crowded bar, talking to him as if the two of them were the only thing that mattered. It was surreal, and Kurt wouldn't change it or what he was feeling for the world.

By around 2 a.m., Blaine had had six beers and was definitely feeling it. He was still fun to talk to, though, and his drunken antics were making Kurt laugh.

"Wait, so you're, like, actually enrolled at Dalton? Like, right now? That's so cool! Wow."

"Yeah. I am. I'm in my last year," Kurt told him, smiling.

"Do you know my big brother, Cooper? He's like-He's taller than me, but, like, not nearly as handsome."

"I've had him once or twice," Kurt confessed, feeling like he'd been smiling for too long. His jaw was beginning to ache, but he didn't really mind. "He introduced me to your band during my very first semester there, actually."

"Yeah. He's cool like that," Blaine said, taking another slurp of his beer. "Always lookin' out for me. He coulda been a star, too, ya know. But he told me he jus' wanted to stay in Ohio."

"That's the last place I'd want to be forever," Kurt confessed. "Kinda wish I could stay in New York forever. I like it here. The atmosphere, the people. I finally feel like I belong, ya know. Kinda wish I never had to leave."

Blaine nodded. "Well, I can't help you stay, but you don't gotta go back. You could, I dunno, man… You could come with me an' make art. Jus' be happy."

"What do you mean I could go with you?"

"On tour," Blaine replied, waving a hand in the air. "Me 'n' the guys leave soon on tour… You could come with..."

"Really?" Kurt's eyes lit up, an idea taking hold in his mind.

"Abs'lutely," Blaine replied. "Now, what's your fav'rite song of mine?"

It was not long after that that Puck came over to tell the two of them that the bar was shutting down and they needed to go home. Apparently, Eli had sent their personal driver to the bar, and he'd been waiting there for nearly two hours to pick Blaine up. Kurt called himself an Uber then went to stand outside in the cold night to wait for his ride.

"Wan' me wait with you?" Blaine asked him, leaning heavily on Kurt's shoulder when his driver tried to pull him past.

"No. You go. I'm okay," Kurt replied. "The app says he should be here in four minutes."

"'Kay. If you 'cide you wanna go on tour, lemme know. Lemme see your phone." He made grabby hands for the device until Kurt handed it over, pretty sure he knew what Blaine wanted. "There," Blaine said after a few moments, handing the phone back. "I sent me a text so you c'n have my number. It says your name an' the hotel I'm stayin' in."

"Thanks," Kurt replied, smiling at the other man.

"Are you coming, Blaine?" the driver asked, tapping his foot impatiently. "Eli will not quit texting me."

"Yeah. 'm comin'," Blaine replied, leaning over a bit further and giving Kurt a sloppy kiss on his cheek. "Bye," he mumbled, stumbling toward the car.

Kurt longed to grab him and guide him there, but he was still rooted to his spot, struck dumb by the fact that Blaine had just kissed his cheek. "Bye," he whispered back, watching as the driver got Blaine loaded into the back of the car and pulled out into NYC traffic.

A moment later, his Uber arrived, and Kurt climbed into the back, greeting the driver without really knowing what he was doing. His mind was on the last few things Blaine had told him. I have his phone number, Kurt thought. His hotel. He invited me on tour. Should I go? Should I stay? What do I do? The questions kept tumbling round and round in his brain, and he couldn't stop thinking about them. Should I go on an adventure with the Blaine Anderson, or should I go back to Dalton and my boring, Blaine-free life?