"Hope for everything, but expect nothing."
Blaine lived by those words.
And that was why he was now sitting in a small coffee shop in New York, hoping that Kurt had got his text and would soon be meeting him here, but expecting him to never walk through that door.

Blaine scanned the room again, taking in every last detail. It was a quaint café, with flashes of gold in a mostly black colour scheme. The place was practically empty, apart from some teenagers who sat in the corner. They were a few years younger than him, no more than gossiping schoolgirls; one of them was even checking him out. Blaine held back a smile as he shifted his gaze back to the coffee in his hands - black, no sugar - and a chuckle raced through his mind. 'I guess I don't look like the gay type,' he thought, as he struggled to keep his face free of emotion. After all, what kind of person sits alone and laughs to themselves in a café?

Just then, there was a chime as the door opened and a new customer entered the café. Blaine's head snapped up, and he could no longer keep the expression off his face. His smile was wasted though, as a total stranger sauntered through the door and joined the group of giggling girls.

"You expecting someone?" The cashier smiled at him. Blaine couldn't help but think of Rachel, this girl looked so much like her. Well, maybe her nose was a bit smaller, her eyes were a different shape and her smile wasn't as perfectly straight as Rachel's, but it was pretty damn close. The thing that triggered the memories most of all, was her flowing chocolate hair.

"Yeah, um, just my...ex..." Blaine almost let the B-word slip, this wasn't the first time he had almost called Kurt his boyfriend.
"What's she like?"
"He is the most amazing person I've ever met..." Blaine said, wanting to correct her but feeling guilty about the sharp tone of his voice. I mean, it's not like he's walking around with the word 'gay' tattooed in bright red, capital letters on his forehead.
"Well, I hope everything works out, sweetie," she said, before leaving the cash register to disappear into a back room.

Outside, the summer heat lingered; the sun highlighted everything in its path. But the café was cool and shaded, a shelter from the harsh nature of summer. Blaine was beginning to wish that he had ordered a frappuccino, a hot coffee was too much to bear this season. He set the coffee in his hands aside, it was still untouched. He couldn't bear to take a sip, his stomach was in knots.

Just then, he appeared. The bell above the door chimed, a beautiful melody now that Blaine's world was complete. Before him stood the most handsome man he had ever seen. His hair was perfectly parted - as it always was - and it shone amazingly, in the flash of sunlight hat crept through the open door. His blue eyes seemed to sparkle, reminding Blaine of the mysterious beauty of the ocean. He had lost count of the times he had looked into those very same eyes and known he was in love, that he was going to marry this man. He had expected it. That was where he went wrong.

Blaine had learnt that he couldn't be trusted in his loneliness, a lesson that Kurt learnt too. Everything about the break up still stung Blaine's shattered heart, and he found himself wondering if Kurt felt the same way.
Before Blaine knew it, the cashier was back and was smiling at him, the girls who were checking him out sat in shock, and his perfect man was sitting opposite him.
"Hey...can I get you anything?" It was all Blaine could think to say, he was still getting over the joy of Kurt actually turning up. A huge smile spread across his face, but he was past caring now that Kurt was here.
"No, thanks. What did you need to speak to me about?" Kurt's curiosity was winning against his thirst.
"Oh, that. I was wondering, um...what you would think about me...um..." Blaine stuttered.
"Spit it out, the suspense is killing me," Kurt said, with an audible smile in his voice and a matching one on his lips.
Those lips...
"What would you think about me applying to NYADA?"
The words fell out in a rush, but judging by the look on Kurt's face, he had heard exactly what Blaine had said.