A/N - This is quite a bit late, but I was all the way over in Germany, so I didn't have the time to post anything much. But I did write lots, so here you go. Sorry it's a bit short, but I did warn you about that.

Title: Slight Variations

Chapter: 3/?

Author: Polyjuice Princess

Rating: T (for now)

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor make any profit from these works. All recognisable content belongs to Ryan Murphy and Fox.

Summary: A Summer Internship after graduation will change everything for Kurt. New friends, experiences and circumstances. A Season 4 AU. Rated T.

Chapter 3 - The Return

3. The Return

Kurt wasn't quite sure how to feel about it.

To put the matter shortly, something was happening with Blaine. When he'd visited the Anderson house that afternoon, Blaine's brother Cooper had also been there. Apparently he'd taken a break from his newest infomercial to come and see Blaine once more before school. They'd been excited to see each other all summer, their nights full of emails, calls and Skype dates. But when they finally saw each other, Blaine had seemed high-strung and tetchy. The difference between this Blaine and the one who'd whispered sweet nothings through the phone a week ago was notable. Kurt had known better than to probe.

After that awkward experience, he'd gone over to Mercedes' house to see how her college preparations were going. She'd gotten into UCLA and was close to securing a contract for an indie label. They'd traded stories of the summer and he'd spilled on all the people he'd met (mainly Hunter) and the places he'd been to. When she asked what he was doing next, he'd hesitated. For a few minutes. But then she changed the subject and he was reminded of why they were so close.

Arriving home that night, Kurt hugged his dad, because at least that was the same. And he spent the night watching X-Men with Finn, knowing that they hadn't really seen much of each other in the last few months.

Just as the credits were rolling, he felt his phone begin to vibrate. Glancing beside him, he could see that Finn was asleep, so he walked into the kitchen to take the call.

"Hello?"

There was a lot of background noise, which seemed to be just idle chatter. Some of the voices sounded vaguely familiar in his sleepy brain but he couldn't recognise any singular voice. After a few seconds, the person on the other end finally spoke up.

"Kurt! I was scared I wouldn't be able to get a hold of you at this hour!" It was Isabelle. He jolted in partial surprise. He hadn't been expecting a call from any New Yorkers for at least a couple weeks, and even then, only from Sarah or Jake.

"Isabelle? How are you?"

"Oh, I'm fine." He could almost see her waving his question away. "Anyways, I wanted to ask you something. How would you like to come back to Vogue?"

"Well, I was thinking of coming back to New York and find some work, but yeah, I could come visit."

"Oh, I was actually hoping that you could come and work here…"

"My gosh, Isabelle. I- Do you really think-"

"As in, full-time. And paid."

"Oh, you don't have to sell me on working for Vogue, I'm definitely coming!"

"Really? Thank you so much! We've been trying to find some fresh faces for our design team."

"Rachel, it seems like I'm coming with you to New York!"

A/N - Remember to review!