Kurt woke up early the next morning, took a quick shower, and put on his uniform, which he despised. He would be out of it soon enough, he told himself, if he could, of course, actually finish something.

He dropped down onto his bed all at once and pulled a pillow over his face to muffle a groan. Why does becoming successful take so much work? Why couldn't he bring himself to finish a design? He'd created plenty in college. He was even voted most likely to succeed by his peers before graduation. Maybe loneliness was the problem. He had barely seen any of his friends since he graduated, and he'd barely seen Rachel or Santana since they parted ways the year before. Rachel and Santana were both big on broadway, why couldn't Kurt be successful too?

What pulled Kurt out of his personal pity party was the faint sound of...music? Kurt tried to figure out where it was coming from, and concluded that it was coming from next apartments were opposites of each other, so his bedroom wall was against Blaine's bedroom. Feeling curious, Kurt crawled to the head of bed and pressed his ear up against the wall in the hopes he would be able to hear better.

He knew he'd heard the song before, but didn't totally recognize it until the chorus, when the volume rose unexpectedly. "Wake up call, caught you in the morning with another one in my bed…" Kurt smiled, it was Blaine singing.

For some reason Kurt couldn't allow himself to pull away, so he rested on his knees with his head against the wall, listening to Blaine sing, and from what Kurt could hear, he was pretty good.

Kurt looked down at the clock; it was almost time to get going. As he continued to get ready he noticed the sugar and plate of cookies he had made and wrapped up the night before on his kitchen table. Since Blaine was already up it probably wasn't such a bad idea to return the sugar before Kurt forgot.

A few minutes later Kurt found himself in front of Blaine's apartment with the sugar and a plate of cookies. He thought it would only be polite to offer him some, both as a thank you and as a welcome gift. He took a long breath and knocked, softly at first and then more firmly after a few seconds of waiting.

"Okay, I'm coming," his neighbor said as he opened the door. Blaine's attire was much different than what Kurt had seen him in the night before. This morning Blaine was wearing a dress shirt with black slacks, and Kurt had to admit he looked very handsome.

"I'm sorry for bothering you this early," Kurt began, suddenly feeling nervous.

Blaine's face lit up. "Kurt."

"Wow. You are really good with voices."

"Yours isn't one that's easy to forget." Kurt looked down, trying not to read too much into his comment. "In the best way," Blaine continued, trying to reassure him.

Kurt smiled weakly. "Thanks."

"I hope you aren't here for milk because that is something I happen to be out of this morning."

"Oh, I'm just here to return the sugar," he said, holding it out for a few seconds and then retracting when Blaine didn't take it. "I also brought over cookies, if you want some…"

"Is that what I'm smelling?" Blaine smiled. "I'm sorry I've been so rude. Please, come in," he said, opening the door wider for Kurt.

"It's fine I-" Kurt stopped himself. He had a few minutes before he had to leave and Blaine's sincerity was too hard to turn down. "Thank you."

Blaine led him in and shut the door. "Just put the sugar on the table. I'll be right out, I just have to finish getting ready." Before Kurt could say something Blaine had disappeared into the bedroom.

Blaine's apartment was incredibly decorated for having just moved in. Kurt curiously looked around the kitchen, noticing that all the appliances were labeled with Braille. He wondered if this was the first time Blaine had ever lived on his own, judging by how young he looked and having mentioned that he used to have a roommate.

"If you don't mind me asking," Blaine called from the bedroom. "How did you know I was awake this early?"

"Oh, well I could hear you…"

"Singing?"

"A little bit," he said as he took a bite of one of the sugar cookies he had made.

"I'm so sorry, Kurt. I didn't wake you, did I?"

"Don't apologize, I was already up. I actually have to leave for work in a few minutes."

"Where do you work?"

"I'm a barista at the coffee shop a few blocks down. But this is just my side-job until things start picking up with my designs. I went to college for fashion design."

"Well I'm glad you're here then because I just don't know which bowtie to wear today," Blaine said as he walked out of his room, a bowtie in each hand.

Kurt didn't even have to think about it. "The one on the left, well, the one in your right hand. It brings out your eyes." Kurt bit his tongue. Did he just say that?

Blaine's face turned red as did Kurt's, and the fact Blaine couldn't actually see Kurt's blush didn't make Kurt feel any less embarrassed.

"So what exactly is the occasion?" Kurt asked once Blaine had gone back into his room.

"It's my first day of school. I'm going to be teaching music at Jefferson High School."

"Sounds like fun," Kurt muttered, trying to hide the sarcasm in his voice. There was no way he could ever teach high school students, he couldn't put himself through that again. Kurt took a bite of another one of the cookies and looked around for a clock. Would Blaine have a clock? Kurt mentally scolded himself as he walked toward the front door. "I think I should get going, but thanks again for the sugar," he said as Blaine walked out of his room. The bowtie really did bring out his eyes.

"Leaving so soon?" Blaine seemed disappointed. "Well, it was great talking to you again. And thank you so much for the cookies."

"Sorry I kind of...ate some of them while you were getting ready."

"Well I'm sorry these walls are so thin. If I'm ever bugging you don't hesitate to bang on the wall or something."

Kurt stifled a laugh. "Well it's better than my last neighbors. They had a baby and had a crazy amount of sex which in all honestly I could have heard a lot less of."

Blaine let out a small laugh and smiled. "I hope you have a great day."

"You too, and good luck," Kurt said as he left, although he really wished he didn't have to.

Kurt's shift at the coffee shop ended at two, which he was thankful for because he wouldn't have to deal with the high school students just being let out. On the way to work that morning he passed by Jefferson High School, but he had never really noticed it was there before because it was deserted during the summer.

To Kurt's dismay the school bell had already rang and teenagers were beginning to run through the quad with their assorted cliques and significant others. Kurt pressed himself not to start thinking of McKinley-looking to the future is more important than dwelling on the past, he told himself.

As he passed the front of the school, he couldn't help but wonder how his new neighbor was doing. Teaching, especially music, was no easy task, he thought as he remembered how difficult the Glee Club made things for Mr. Schue sometimes. As his thoughts and eyes wandered across the grassy field, he was surprised to find Blaine sitting on a bench near the entrance of the school. He didn't look incredibly happy, and nowhere near as enthusiastic as Kurt had previously seen him. Yes, Kurt had only seen him twice in his whole existence, and yes, Blaine was sitting alone on a bench as teenagers screamed bloody murder for no apparent reason. But Kurt needed an excuse to go over and talk to him without seeming like a stalker, so this would have to be it.

"Blaine?" Kurt said as he tried to get Blaine's attention without startling him.

Blaine held tight to his bag and didn't really respond until Kurt began to turn around. "Sorry I'll-"

"Huh," Blaine said as the corners of his mouth began to turn up. "If I didn't know any better I'd say that was Kurt. Just couldn't stay away from me, could you?"

Kurt's cheeks turned beet red. "That's not- I was just-"

"I'm joking," Blaine laughed as his dark sunglasses reflected the sunlight. "Come. Sit." Blaine moved his bag so there would be more room on the bench and patted the seat.

Blaine waited as Kurt moved to the seat and sat down gently, holding his bag closely to his chest. Then there was a silence. It wasn't a bad silence, and it wasn't awkward either. It was just a silence.

Kurt finally broke the empty air when he glanced down at their bags. "Hey! We have the same bags," he said, a little too overenthusiastically.

Blaine brushed his hand across Kurt's bag and smiled. "I think it's a sign."

Kurt lifted his eyebrow. "What kind of sign?"

"Out of all the bags in the whole entire world, we have the same exact one. Our bags are probably soulmates, made from the same stardust and all."

Kurt tried to stop himself from giggling, but honestly couldn't find the power to. "Probably."

"So if it's not me that brings you here, which I'm a little offended that it's not, what exactly brought you to the land of teenage turmoil?" Blaine asked.

Kurt shrugged. "I was walking home from work and realized that I've literally been passing by this place every day. Then I saw you and noticed that you were just sitting over here alone, so I decided to come over."

"Well the fact our bags are soulmates made my day exponentially better. And it's nice not to have to wait alone for my cab to arrive, seeing that it's already ten minutes late." Blaine sighed. "The first day is always rough, you know? And it's not like I've never heard any of the jokes they threw at me before."

"I'm sorry," is all Kurt could manage to say.

"Sorry for what? Sorry for me?"

Kurt bit his tongue. "No, not like that."

Blaine nodded and Kurt hoped that meant he understood. "Just...don't be sorry. I spent too long feeling sorry for myself and I will not let one ounce of energy be spent feeling sorry for something I can't change. I don't let it define me, and really I hope you won't either."

After Blaine's cab arrived they had to part ways, and Kurt spent the whole night thinking about Blaine's words. He was serious, but not intimidating or angry. It made Kurt want to know more about Blaine. There were obviously so many more great things Blaine kept locked away underneath the smiles and joyous exterior, and Kurt wanted to be allowed in.

Thank you so much for reading! Reviews are always awesome :)