A/N: I'm so excited by all of the Views I have :) I hope everyone's enjoying the story I have been working on. Please, please send feedback. There are so many ways this story could go and I'm really unsure of the turns of the path this story will have. Anyways, read on and enjoy!


Elizabeth was concerned. Her son had closed himself off from her and she didn't know how to reach out to him anymore. He had reluctantly refused retail therapy, it had seemed like he wanted to go but couldn't let himself for some reason. And then he didn't want to join in on her Chinese food-fest shortly after. She was at her wits' end. Every tactic she knew to comfort him and take care of him was being shrugged off in favor of spending time in his basement level bedroom. Most of all, though, she was worried by his eating habits. She knew that Kurt liked to eat healthily and enjoyed the benefits of eating nutritiously, but he had drastically cut down on every type of food. Instead of eating healthy, he just seemed to eat less.

Elizabeth could tell that her husband suspected something was slightly off, but Burt didn't know Kurt well enough to even try to pinpoint what was wrong. He had a vague notion of who he thought his child was, Star Kicker for the high school football team, healthy, and very kept to himself. She knew that Burt's very idea of his son was absolutely false, planted by Kurt to make him be the child his dad wanted. He would do most anything to receive actual approval from his father, even if he didn't realize it himself. Kurt was like an isolated star in the night-sky, seen through so many filters and layers that no one could tell much about it, just that it was amazing. But Kurt shined less and less as the Earth revolved around the sun, this year. The constellations changing as the seasons do. Elizabeth didn't understand why Kurt was waning, but she was determined to do everything in her power to take care of her baby boy.


"Hey, dad," Kurt said quietly as he walked into the garage that morning. Kurt always worked with his dad in the Auto Shop on Saturdays. Today he would be covering the cars while his dad caught up on the extensive paperwork that came with being your own boss.

"Hey, bud, could you grab me a wrench from over there?" Burt replied absentmindedly, motioning towards the tool cart. Kurt grabbed the tool and sedately walked back to his dad. Burt looked up from the car engine he was fiddling with to see Kurt wearing a pair of overalls and boots, not unusual for the garage, but different from usual nonetheless. It was typical for Kurt to wear overalls, but he had a pair that was a little more well-fitted than everyone else's that he usually wore. Burt raised an eyebrow, not that he wasn't absolutely thrilled by his son's more reasonable clothing choices of late, he just wasn't sure what to make of the changes. Ignoring his son's new look, Burt took the wrench off of Kurt and made one final repair before closing the car hood. Burt wrote down a few comments on his notepad and then retreated to his office without another word to Kurt.

Kurt let out a little sigh of relief when his dad walked to the back, allowing his shoulders sag a little. He then picked the wrench up from where his dad had set it down and carried it over to the next car in line. The owner was supposed to be in today to pick it up and he wanted to go over all of the minute details for the customer. It was and expensive car and the client was not messing around with its maintenance. Kurt was not going to jeopardize a wealthy customer becoming a regular in any way, shape, or form. He found a few things that could be done better from his fine-toothed comb over the car and set straight to work. It was a little over half an hour later when he finished the little pieces of work he had found under the pristine car's hood. When he finally looked away from the car for more than a minute, he saw a short teenager over by the counter looking a little lost. Kurt quickly moved that way before his dad saw his absence of mind.

"Hello, welcome to Hummel Auto, what can I do for you?" Kurt managed to sound both polite and as if he had some sort of positive emotion in his body as he looked through the charts at the counter. He wasn't sure how he did it, but he seemed proud of himself. Kurt looked back up to the teenager on the other side of the desk and felt his heart stop. It was the colorful boy he had seen at the mall when he had last gone with his mother, which felt as though it had been so very long ago. He was dressed in a dapper outfit of dark slacks, a white shirt, a suit jacket, and a red bowtie, somehow still managing to not look too fancy. Kurt masked his surprise and slight, even if he was more than a little ashamed of it, attraction. For the first time in a long time, Kurt felt his body flood with emotion: want and then disparity. Kurt was so ashamed of the fact that he had the nerve to want someone within one hundred yards of his father. The boy was just so bright, so nice-looking, so everything Kurt wanted to be and wanted to have in someone else. And it hurt Kurt so badly, he knew nothing would ever occur even if the other boy was his sexual orientation. Kurt knew he wasn't pretty or handsome or whatever. He knew he wasn't bright the way the other boy was. He knew no one would want him. Kurt wouldn't even let himself fantasize, because he would end up with his heart broken for absolutely no reason.

All of this flashed through Kurt's head in milliseconds before he slapped a smile on his face and waited for the colorful, carefully groomed boy in front of him to ask him what he needed. "Hello, -um... My father sent me to pick up his car?" His voice was quiet and gentle as he phrased his statement as a question in response to his confusion at what he was supposed to do.

"Okay, what name would the car be under?" Kurt tried to reply back in a friendly manner. He was afraid that he would scare the boy off with his, at least to him, obvious interest.

"Anderson," the other boy responded. Kurt looked through the charts he held in front of him and realized it was the car he had just been working on. Kurt gave the boy a little nod and a 'follow me' motion as he walked back to where the car was parked.

"Is Anderson a first or last name?" Kurt asked and then instantly felt stupid. No one would name their child Anderson as a first name.

The other boy took it with good grace, maybe he didn't notice the faux pas? Either way, Kurt was supplied with an answer. "Last name, my name is Blaine." He gave Kurt a little grin and Kurt's stomach flipped back and forth.

"Kurt Hummel," he said as he stuck out his hand to shake with Blaine. Blaine, what a perfect name. Blaine shook his hand and then looked over towards the car he was meant to pick up.

"I hope everything looked okay with my father's car, he likes to keep them well maintained and wanted to have it gone over when he heard positive reviews of your garage," Blaine said conversationally. Kurt was taken aback by the fact that the boy was even bothering to exchange a word or two; normally customer's accomplished their business with him as quickly as possible, preferring to not spare any words for him. Maybe it was because he was dressed more civilized today? It was seldom that anyone liked his well-fitted overalls excepting himself.

"My dad went over her and did a few perfunctory maintenance jobs and I just finished the fine-tuning a few minutes ago. She should be clear for a few months without any maintenance at all," Kurt responded after a second's hesitation.

"Great! Is there anything I need to do before I take it off your hands?" Blaine seemed a little more comfortable in his skin with the conversation going back and forth, giving Kurt a charming smile.

Kurt half-smiled back and gestured to the chart he was holding. "I'll just need a signature on this paperwork and you should be ready to go. Your dad covered everything fairly well when he was here last, the rest of the paperwork is in order." Blaine stepped closer to take the paperwork from Kurt's outstretched hand and Kurt's heart started to beat rapidly. He admonished himself, but he truly could not help it. Blaine's eyes were a shining hazel and his smile was bright and happy. What Kurt wouldn't give to have someone like him. To be someone like him.

"I actually drove the car here last time, my father was busy and had filled out the paperwork beforehand. I guess that's why it was so uncomplicated the first time around, too." Blaine's little grin was starting to become too much for Kurt.

Blaine signed his name on the line and handed Kurt the chart back. In return, Kurt handed him the keys. Blaine ducked into the driver's seat and turned on the car. Neither of them was ready for the blasting music that turned on immediately. Blaine looked dumbstruck for several seconds and then turned off the speaker system of the car. Kurt's jaw dropped a little bit, and Blaine blushed to the roots of his immaculately styled hair.

"Was that-?"

"Um- no. No it wasn't. Um. That was definitely not."

"Are you sure-?"

"Certain."

"Because it sounded like Katy Perry's Teenage Dream to me."

Blaine blushed even deeper, casting his eyes downwards and his shoulders slumping.

"You drove the car here, you said?" Kurt grinned.

"I- um. Maybe?" There was a defeated look in his demeanor and he was resolutely not looking at Kurt. Kurt could tell that Blaine was just waiting for the backlash from a stranger.

"I think I have that in my car, too."

Blaine's head shot up in disbelief. "Really?"

"Yeah, really," Kurt said softly.

The office door opened and Burt walked out, already ranting before he even saw Kurt. "How many times have I told you, boy? You can't play that girly shit in the shop! We have customers that come in that don't want to be bothered by your fucking gay music!" Burt raved before he set his eyes on Kurt and Blaine.

Kurt's shoulders were hunched and his face was blank. His eyes were desolate and Blaine was struck silent. "Yes, sir," Kurt whispered.

Burt saw the well-dressed young man next to his son and was quick to respond. "I am so sorry for him. He never just listens to what I tell him. He's been doing so much better these past few days, but here he goes bothering a well-meaning client."

Blaine spluttered in disbelief. "No, he wasn't- it wasn't his-"

"Don't you worry, no need to make excuses for him; he should know better by now. It's been a rule for years." Burt didn't notice Kurt shrink in on himself or Blaine look back and forth between the two. "Is there anything else we can do for you?"

Blaine tried to regain his composure, "No, everything is fine. Your son has been great at assisting me." Blaine had reverted to the rich-man's son persona that he had shown for a few seconds to Kurt before he had become comfortable. "Do you have the full report so that I may bring it to my father?"

Burt mentioned that he had it and retreated back to his office. Blaine looked to Kurt who was inspecting the paperwork and refusing eye-contact.

"I apologize for his comments upon your music. He's right, I know better than to play music loudly."

"But that wasn't your fault, that was my music," Blaine was looking at Kurt's downturned head earnestly.

"No matter. You're all finished up here, I will go fetch your report."

Kurt silently turned away and kept his eyes from Blaine's view. It wouldn't do to let him see the tears shining in them. The report was in the file holder next to his father's office door and Kurt recomposed himself as he went. His shields were back up and he would be nothing but professional. It didn't matter that the boy was gorgeous. It didn't matter that he listened to Katy Perry. It didn't matter that he was compassionate. He was a boy and boys were completely off-limits. No matter what. Kurt dug his thumb into his palm and sighed. He turned around and went back to Blaine, handing him the report and walking back to the reception area of the shop. He fully expected Blaine to drive away and never look back, not grasp his arm.

"I know I have no place to ask, but are- Are you gay?" Kurt stayed silent, jerked his arm away from Blaine and continued walking to the reception area. He just needed the beautiful boy to go away. He needed him to go away and let this day to end. Kurt needed to go home and go into his bathroom and grab his blade and just let everything leak out through the blood that would slide along his hip. He needed it to stop. He just wanted it to stop. Why wouldn't it just stop?


A/N: That's all for now. I think I might work some more on the next chapter, but I have no promises. Everything is really busy right now and life is very heavy. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please review, any input is taken into consideration!