Hello again! I figured we could all use a bit of Klaine during the hiatus, so here we are. This story is AU, though some events remain the same they may not necessarily be in the same sequence as the show. Kurt is only fifteen at the start of the story, and I have no wish to write anything illegal, so with that in mind this story is a slow burner- those wanting full on smut in the first few pages should probably look elsewhere. I really hope you are all having a nice summer- or winter I guess depending on where in the world you are, and I hope you enjoy the story. Becky.

"Guess who got their drivers license!" Rachel shrieks as she flourishes a piece of paper in front of Kurt's face.

"You are so lucky," Kurt sighs wistfully, "If I had mine I think I'd start driving and never look back."

"Only two more months," Rachel says sweetly. "Want to get coffee later? I can drive us."

"I can't, I have homework and my dad wants me home early for dinner. He has another date with Carole tonight." Kurt groans as they take their places in the choir room.

"Do you regret setting that up?"

"Not really, it's good to see dad happy, but he's hardly ever home. I spend my evenings watching re-runs of Don't tell the Bride and perfecting my skin care regime."

"Why don't we go after dinner then? The Lima Bean has an acoustic night."

"Watching mediocre, middle aged guys attempting to strum the guitar and sing a recognisable tune? Thanks, but I'll pass."

"An acoustic night sounds like fun," Mercedes says, sitting down next to him and smiling across to Rachel. "We could get a bunch of us to go."

"Yes, oh, and Noah could bring his guitar and we could do a number!" Rachel says, stamping her feet excitedly.

"Ugh. Okay...I'll go. But we are not, under any circumstances singing."

"I put us down for Something Stupid," Rachel announces as she returns with two mochas.

"You did what? I told you Rachel, I am not singing." Kurt snaps, moving his chair so he looks out to the small stage rather than across at her.

"What is with you lately Kurt? You're so depressed all the time. Are those jerks bothering you again? Because I'm sure Finn would..."

"No," he cuts her off quickly. "It's nothing. I'm fine. And whatever you do, don't mention anything to Finn."

Rachel is prevented from asking anything more by the arrival of Mercedes, Tina, Mike and Sam, with Finn and Puck following shortly after. Once Santana, Brittany and Quinn have joined them the group have taken up a whole bunch of tables right near the stage and prove to be quite an intimidating presence for the first act, a folk duo who play two songs and then quickly disappear.

"Our turn!" Rachel squeals, taking Kurt's hand and dragging him forcibly towards the microphone. His mood now mutinous, Kurt turns on his stool to look towards the door while Rachel looks out at the audience and grins brightly. "Ladies and Gentlemen, my dear friend Kurt and I would like to perform a song for you this evening, accompanied by Noah Puckerman on guitar." Launching into the first bars of the song, Kurt joins in reluctantly, not wanting to lose face in front of the large crowd now crammed into the coffee shop. The numbers have definitely swelled since the evening began, and as ever, performing to a full house soon wins Kurt over. As the song progresses, he finds himself relaxing into it, even having the presence of mind to rise from his stool and twirl Rachel under his arm during the instrumental. They finish to rapturous applause and Kurt bows with a flourish, before returning laughing to his chair.

"Nice work," Quinn comments to the pair as Kurt opens a bottle of water.

"Thank you," Rachel says quickly, not giving Kurt a chance to speak before she launches into a detailed description of duets she might like to try for regionals. Dismayed at the instant return to normalcy- everyone talking at once but none of it directed at him- Kurt takes a large mouthful of the iced water.

"You have a beautiful voice."

Kurt turns, startled and finds the face of a man- the most striking man he's ever encountered- crouching down smiling at him and hovering very close to his right ear. He swallows quickly, coughing hard and blushing a furious red as he tries to gather enough air into his lungs.

"Oh I'm sorry, are you okay? Here." The stranger offers his own bottle to Kurt, but he gesticulates wildly, shaking his head and grabbing his own drink, gulping until he feels he can breathe again without spraying water everywhere.

"You okay?"

"Y-y-yes. Yes. Thank you. Sorry. You just...caught me off guard." He studies him now, and swallows frantically as despite all the water, his mouth becomes suddenly dry. This is no high school student or college kid. This is a man. A man with a rough, calloused hand holding the back of Kurt's chair. A man with jet black hair, slick with gel but curls breaking free at the sides. A man with full, vibrant red lips and perfectly even teeth currently forming a smile directed at Kurt. And his eyes- oh his eyes. The color is not discernable, initially one might simply say brown. But up close, as Kurt is right now- one would be hard pressed to distinguish between gold, amber, caramel and honey as all these colors and more are represented in each beautiful, perfect iris. He seems to be almost enjoying Kurt's awkwardness, and he cringes inwardly as he imagines the stranger describing the scene as awkwardly cute to his friends and then laughing about it. Kurt also realizes that all of his own friends are now staring, watching this sudden, intimate exchange and waiting for this stranger to speak again.

"I apologize. But I just wanted to let you know I really enjoyed your performance," he continues, as if nothing were amiss, as if Kurt wasn't really staring intently into his eyes with his mouth slightly ajar, and as if ten other teenagers weren't straining their ears to listen to the low, gravelly tones of Blaine's voice speaking to Kurt in an almost whisper. "I mean your friend can sing well, but your voice is just...exceptional in its purity- would be the best way I can describe it. I'd really like to hear you do a solo sometime."

"I uh...I...you see...Rachel does the solos," Kurt says, embarrassed by his voice which sounds even higher than normal.

"Well maybe it's time for Rachel to give others a chance," the man says in a conspiratorial whisper, clapping Kurt on the shoulder and standing. "See you around."

"What was that?" Mercedes hisses as soon as the stranger retreats, but Kurt does not answer. Instead he stares as the man makes his way to the stage, picks up a guitar from a nearby table and taps at the microphone.

"Hi everyone," he starts, giving a half wave. "Some of you might already know me, but for those that don't I'm Blaine Anderson, and I'll be performing a short set for you tonight. Hope you enjoy it," he says, with an unmistakable wink in Kurt's direction.

"Seriously, the guy is hitting on you!" Mercedes exclaims.

"Gross, he's gotta be at least thirty," Quinn remarks.

"Perfect guy to take Lady Hummel's V card, I'd say," Santana drawls, and it's this that makes Kurt snap his head around from where he had been watching Blaine tune his guitar.

"What the hell Santana? I'm fifteen years old."

"So?"

"So...I'm not even thinking about that...sort of thing. And even if I was, it wouldn't be with a guy like that," Kurt settles back in his chair, clearly flustered and Rachel lays a reassuring hand on Kurt's arm.

"Leave him alone Santana. None of us are ready for that sort of thing yet, and Kurt's right. We should be looking for guys our own age, not guys who are old enough to be married with kids."

"Yeah...and he probably is married anyway," Kurt adds, and it's this that has Santana narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

"You've got a crush already haven't you?"

"No."

"Yes you have. Aw...cute. Oh, and FYI, if he's straight then I'm Santa Claus."

Kurt opens his mouth for a sassy comeback, but all words fail him as the stranger- Blaine...Blaine- starts to sing. His voice is raw, scratchy in parts and not always note perfect, but the passion, the emotion behind his singing draws people in and the room falls completely silent as everyone turns to listen. He keeps his eyes closed a lot of the time, and the rest of his face paints the effort he puts into conveying the meaning of his words. The music is hauntingly beautiful, his talented fingers work the guitar strings with practised ease as his vocals wash over Kurt like the warmest of oceans. He allows himself to bathe in it, to become lost in the moment until all around him blurs and he is only focused on the solitary figure on the stage.

The first two songs, Kurt doesn't know. But that doesn't stop him enjoying them, or rather, enjoying watching Blaine perform them. But then he switches to the piano, the audience laughing as he starts to sing the well known song, but in a much slower, more effective way and then Kurt's whole stomach drops and his heartbeat quickens as he feels Blaine's eyes on him when he reaches the chorus.

"Lets go all the way tonight,

No regrets, just love.

We can dance until we die,

You and I we'll be young forever.

You make me feel like I'm living a

Teenage Dream, the way you turn me on,

I can't sleep let's runaway and don't ever look back,

Don't ever look back."

"Holy shit! Is this dude for real?" Puck cries loudly. "He's singing a girls song!"

"And he sounds amazing," Sam interrupts, looking pointedly at Puck and then Kurt, emphasizing silently that Puck needs to drop it. Two pink spots have appeared high on Kurt's cheeks and he feels his palms become sweaty. Is it really possible that Blaine is singing to him? Really? A guy this good looking, who could have his pick of girls or boys, has chosen to emphasize the sexuality of this song to him, one fifteen year old Kurt Hummel? When Blaine reaches the part about skin tight jeans, hearts racing and hands being put upon people, Kurt reaches his limit and rushes to the bathroom. Splashing cold water on his face, he wills his overly enthusiastic teenaged hormones to behave as he stares at himself in the mirror.

"What is happening here?" He murmurs to himself. "What...is...happening?" It's like the world is spinning too fast and he wants to get off. He's gay. He knows that about himself, his dad knows, his friends know. He looks at guys in magazines and feels...stirrings. Stirrings of emotion, physical and mental, that he tries his best to ignore. Urges that are sometimes compulsive and have him whimpering in shame as he changes his sheets in the middle of the night. But never, in all his fifteen years has he met another gay person- unless you count Rachel's dads and Kurt most certainly doesn't. And he's certainly never been flirted with. And that's if Blaine is indeed gay. He could have had a beer or two, Kurt reasons. He might just be one of those guys who becomes overly flirty with just about anyone when he consumes alcohol. Yes. That's it. He's a drunk flirt, Kurt forces himself to think. A drunken flirt and the joke's on him, because Kurt isn't interested at all.

Returning from the bathroom, he quickly averts his gaze as Blaine swigs from a bottle of water, but he still subconsciously licks his lips at the sight of his Adam's apple moving in his throat. Blaine moves back to his guitar now, perching on the stool and speaking into the microphone.

"So uh...one more from me tonight. I know, I know," he laughs as a small chorus of "ah's" rise up. "But I'll be back next week." With that he starts to play, Kurt is unfamiliar with the tune but every one of those damn lyrics hits home and for the umpteenth time that evening, Kurt finds himself struggling to breathe.

"My life is brilliant,

My love is pure.

I saw an angel, of that I'm sure.

He smiled at me on the subway, he was with another man

But I won't lose no sleep on that

Cause I've got a plan.

You're beautiful,

You're beautiful,

You're beautiful it's true.

I saw your face in a crowded place

And I don't know what to do,

Cause I'll never be with you.

Yeah he caught my eye

As I walked on by

He could see from my face that I was

Flying high

And I don't think that I'll see him again but

We shared a moment that will last til the end.

You're beautiful

You're beautiful

You're beautiful

It's true

There must be an angel with a smile on her face

When she thought up that I should be with you

But it's time to face the truth

I will never be with you."

"Told you," Santana whispers in his ear as the applause dies down. "Gayer than a Liza Minelli convention."

Kurt makes a decision. It shocks him, but it comes suddenly into his head and before he can dwell on it too much his chair is scraping on the wooden floor and his trembling legs are carrying him towards Blaine, who has his back turned packing his guitar into its case.

"You have a beautiful voice," he says softly. He thinks maybe he imagines the way in which Blaine jolts slightly, but there's definitely no imagining the blazing smile he offers Kurt when he turns around.

"Thank you. I'm glad you liked it."

"That song...the last one...did you write that?"

"No," Blaine chuckles softly, "I wish. It's by James Blunt, a British guy. I just changed the she's to he's and the her's to him's. You should check out some of his stuff. He's good."

"So you are gay then?" he blurts, coloring red as he immediately regrets his words.

"Yes," comes Blaine's simple reply, and he doesn't look offended in the slightest, which spurs Kurt on.

"That's good then. I am too... Gay I mean...I'm gay."

"Right." Blaine smiles awkwardly, unsure of what he's supposed to say or do with that information and eventually settles on squeezing the boy's forearm gently before hoisting his guitar onto his back. "I'd better be going. See you around sometime."

"Do you know any gay people?" The words tumble quickly from Kurt's mouth, and though he immediately wishes he could retract them, or pretend like he said something else, it's clear Blaine has heard.

"Yes," he says, laughing softly, sliding his guitar from his shoulder and setting it by his feet. "But I'm guessing you don't? You don't find many in Lima, Ohio."

"No," Kurt says blushing furiously. "I'm the only one in my school."

"That must be tough," Blaine says kindly. Looking up, Kurt sees pity. He doesn't want pity from this man though, he wants admiration, respect, wanting. That's what he wants most of all.

He wants to be wanted.

"I manage okay," he says cockily, though both see through the pretense.

"I'm sure you do. Well I really better go. See you next week?" Blaine asks out of politeness, but immediately regrets it when the young boys face lights up like a Christmas tree.

"I'd love to," he replies breathlessly.

Blaine could stop and explain... Crush him now by saying he only asked from politeness and not because he had an overwhelming need to see him again, but he can't do that, the kid looks fragile enough. Plus there's this nagging feeling which won't go away, that is telling him that would be a lie. So instead, he offers a small nod and a smile, before walking away.