New York, London or Paris

2/4/2023

Summary: Kurt's choice involves more than just a location.

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Part 1

The Choices

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New York was a safe choice. It might not be the safest choice but it was still the safe option. It was still within the United States, was capable of a day's drive or bus ride. His dad could come visit easily without having to obtain a passport. He knew the language for the most part. He had been there before. He would have friends there, people he'd known his whole life. There were a hundred schools within the boundaries of the city and several more within a stone's throw to it. He could still live there and go to school elsewhere. There were always online options too. Finding a job would be incredibly easy without having to go through the visa hassle. School would be easy without having to worry about a visa. So yes, New York City was the obvious and easy choice.

It would be nice to take the easy way for a change. He could already see his life unfolding, it was all written out for him, everything he'd always dreamed of. It was all he had allowed himself to dream of. A safe, possible dream to get out of Ohio. He didn't even think he could make it to LA, also in the US but seemingly so much further away. New York was a story he'd written for himself long ago with very little surprises in store. There might have to be a few adjustments to the story, but he knew the plot, knew most of the details. That was a life already written, a story already told a hundred times. It was a nice story with a few twists and turns and it was a very comfortable life with a happy enough of an ending.

If he chose New York, life would continue and be good and he'd be happy.

He'd never dared to think about anything else, never dared to dream. Hadn't even crossed his mind that he could live anywhere else after high school.

Of course in reality there were a million options and one that really wasn't an option – he was not staying in Ohio nor would he return to it more than to visit, that was a guarantee. He may still end up in Indiana or Michigan or Pennsylvania. He was pretty sure he wouldn't end up in Kentucky or West Virginia. So he might end up right next door but he would never again live within the borders of the state he came from, no matter how different other cities in the state might be to where he grew up. They would just be tainted with the stain of his past.

For so long all he had thought about was the bright lights of New York. Had dreamed of nothing else, found others who had the singular dream and bonded with them.

He always thought about visiting other places, maybe, one day. He knew there was a very romantic imagine in his head of his other options. Options that came out of nowhere. He hadn't even applied or searched their schools or even knew about them except in a very basic concept. He'd heard of them in passing and knew they were good schools. How had they heard about him, a small town Ohio boy in the USA? It seemed very farfetched and at first he thought they were fake invites, some kind of joke being played on him or worse.

They were very real offers.

Now he was going to go visit and see how he felt about them in person.

One option was similar but different to New York. It was still an English speaking country with a strong theater scene and he could follow his dream of acting. He didn't speak with their accent but didn't think that would totally make things impossible. It also had fashion, their own unique style and it did fit Kurt's tastes in a lot of ways. It was a very attractive choice. It was a little daunting choice too, he'd heard a lot of different stories about London, about the British. Some good, some not so good but it wasn't any different than the way people spoke about NYC.

It wasn't any different than how they spoke about Paris. Paris... he would have to follow fashion there, it was the mecca for it, it was the draw for him. The food, the language, the possibility of love and acceptance as well as fleeting romances were all beckoning him. It was so different than what he had originally thought of for his future, it was the most risky of choices, a different language, across the ocean, a different country requiring a passport and visa, it had everything stacked against it and for it too. Everything about Paris spoke of beauty. It wasn't totally welcoming, nowhere that Kurt had in front of him as viable options were. They all had their unique challenges. Paris was the one with the most hurdles to get over.

Kurt never took the easy way in his life, unless it was the only path he had available to him. Even then, the 'safe path' wasn't exactly easy.

He had options now and he didn't know what he was going to choose.

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EAN: So... strangely, very strangely, this idea came from me thinking about what Sebastian would do if Kurt went to London after they'd been friends for a spell in NYC. Would Sebastian choose to stay in NYC or move to Paris to be closer to Kurt? Which would really be closer to London? Of course Sebastian couldn't actually move to London, that would be too obvious, lol.