Kurt's mind was practically buzzing as Blaine got away from him in a hurry, nearly making him fall over as he rushed into the next room right toward the shoot. Kurt himself spent the next few moments staring at the yellow walls, stupefied, till a voice cut through his reverie. "Kurt? Shit, your shirt… let me get you a spare!" It was Malik, the props guy, and Kurt impatiently brushed the offer aside.

"I'm fine, Malik. Just… why is Blaine here?" He asked the question more to himself, a hundred myriad feelings flowing through him that he pushed away. He had plenty of time to poke at them later.

"Blaine Anderson?" Malik's brow furrowed. "Blaine's here because he's Miss. Mackers' assistant. He helps her draw up contracts and fetches her drinks and stuff – less 'assisting' and more of a 'go for' boy. Why, you need him for anything?"

Kurt didn't respond, just walking away toward the photo shoot only to stop abruptly again when he caught sight of Blaine talking to Miss. Mackers. He stared fixedly at the only boy who'd ever held his heart, taking a moment to just drink in his appearance before talking to him, before attempting to even approach Blaine. Hell, Kurt didn't even know if the words would make it through his throat and form coherent words anymore.

Blaine… Blaine looked the same and yet not quite the same. He was still small and compact, strong to look at, his biceps were a bit more… muscled, his hair still imprisoned in gel. He still wore pants that were rolled up at the bottom to expose his ankles and hadn't abandoned his idiosyncratic habit of wearing his watch on the right wrist.

But Kurt could pick out the subtle differences – he had known Blaine better than anybody else and he could make out the tensing of the shoulders that was a sure sign that Blaine was highly agitated. His skin was a little paler than before, not quite the bronze sheen, which made Kurt think that Blaine spent a lot of his time indoors. His lips were set in a tight line though he was trying to smile at his client at the moment, and Kurt wondered if his presence had actually tilted Blaine's axis a little. He felt a short jolt of pleasure at the thought that Blaine could be affected by his proximity.

When the shoot resumed again with a flurry of activity, Kurt gathered up the courage to walk toward Blaine without falling down to his knees and never getting up ever again. He leaned on the wall next to Blaine, nodding his head slightly. "Hey," he said softly, not looking up at Blaine's face. He thought that the sound of his thudding heart would surely be echoing around the room. "Blaine… it's good to see you. Here, in New York, I mean. The last time we spoke, you… you were going to California?"

Blaine's face gave nothing away as he turned to Kurt. "Yeah, it's been two years, Kurt. I'm working part time to help out with college tuition. Just a little job on the side." His breathing sped up a little, belying his calm exterior. "How are you doing? I see you're still at Vogue – I mean… that's a good thing."

Kurt nodded jerkily. "Yeah. I figured that I'd leave the Broadway stage and its dramatics to Rachel and just do what I do best. I'm at Parson's now, halfway through my second year."

Blaine smiled wanly, his eyes fixed on Melissa as he fidgeted with his hands, twisting his fingers a little. "Yeah, you've always loved Fashion so much. It suits you."

Kurt smiled a little, acknowledging the compliment. Before he could filter it out, he blurted, "Wouldn't have pegged you down for the model's assistant types – whatever works for you, though."

Blaine clenched his fists tight and Kurt couldn't help but wince as he thought about the hard nails digging into his soft palms. "Yeah, it pays well. Besides, we're dating."

Throwing his head back, Kurt's first reaction was to let out a short bark of laughter, sure that he had heard wrong. He was thrown off for a second, trying to fit that sentence in his head. Blaine definitely hadn't meant that he was dating Kurt, though that carelessly worded sentence left him yearning for something he couldn't really visualize. "Wait… must have missed something. You're dating who?" He looked around for the guy who could be Blaine's potential boyfriend.

"Melissa," Blaine said, voice flowing controlled and cool. "I'm dating Melissa."

"Excuse me?" Kurt croaked, but Blaine was off before he could say anything, heading to Melissa and pulling her into his arms, pressing a light kiss on her lips. Kurt stared, shocked, an empty feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. He wanted to talk to Blaine, wanted to shake him, ask him what was happening, but he couldn't, not if he didn't want to create a scene at the shoot. He turned away, trying to keep his raging emotions under control and get some semblance of civility. When he turned around five minutes later, the couple was gone.

Blaine sat quietly in the slightly warm car, waiting for the air conditioning to take effect and staring out of the window as Melissa touched up her makeup and combed out her hair again. "Blaine," she sing-songed, her voice grating at his nerves. "Blaine, Blaine, Blainey! I saw you eying that little Producer boy in there – any intentions?"

Blaine shivered a little, trying desperately not to curl in on himself as he kept his voice from shaking. "He… Kurt is just someone I went to high school with, Mels. I… I have nothing to do with him. We were just… talking."

Melissa huffed a little, turning around and grasping Blaine's chin in her hand and squeezing a little, smiling slyly. "Oh, Blainey. Kurt Hummel – the love of little orphan Blaine's life. I know all about him. I found your stupid little shrine to him, pictures and letters and a ring."

Blaine closed his eyes tight, pushing down his panic so that it wouldn't overtake his ability to stay level-headed just when he needed to. "It was in the past, Mels," he croaked softly. "It's over now. I swear."

Melissa studied his features, then let go of his face abruptly, straightening up and scrabbling in her purse. "It had better be, Blaine," she kept talking as she searched for something. "Poor little faggy Blaine, missed sucking his lover's cock. You're disgusting, you know. And more useless than anybody else I've seen in my life." She pulled out a small pill bottle and handed it to Blaine.

Blaine tried not to let his horror show as he took the pill bottle from her, pushing away the tears pricking his eyes as he shook one into his palm. Melissa's mocking voice pushed through his haze. "Take the pill, Blaine. Faggy Blainers has to take pills just to satisfy a woman in bed." She turned her back to him, looking outside the window. "You better be ready for me when we get home, love. Can't wait to have you in my arms again."