September "The best things happen when you least expect it, always."

-Anon

Some people say that living on a strict schedule is a good thing. That the repetitiveness was a gift, it was something one could get used to easily, that it made life just that much easier, because you could just fall into a pattern and start to do some things semi-mechanically, and not care quite as much as if unexpected things happened everyday.

Honestly, Kurt Hummel hated it. He despised the repetitiveness of his life and, if it were a real human being, he would stab it. Sure, he was pretty okay with his life, but he wished that it just wasn't so damn predictable!

Every single day it was the same thing, over and over: wake up, get ready, go to school, go to Glee practice, come home from school with his stepbrother, do homework, maybe bake if he was stressed, get ready for bed, go to bed. He had hoped in vain that the additions to his family (previously just his father and himself) would make his life a little more exciting.

It really didn't.

Finn Hudson, his stepbrother, did some things as if he were on autopilot. Whenever he came home after Glee practice, he'd go upstairs and play videogames. Or look at… questionable things on the Internet. Maybe go out with Noah Puckerman and Sam Evans, or with his girlfriend Rachel Berry. His father, Burt Hummel, just went to work at the garage, maybe out with his new wife Carole Hudson every so often.

Not even the drama of the New Directions, his glee club at McKinley High School, amused him much anymore. It was always the same things again and again, and now it had actually toned down compared to the previous years.

If it weren't Kurt's senior year in high school, he'd probably kill himself (not really, but whatever), just to get away from the monotonic, automatic days that he went through. However, he wanted to make it through his last year of high school proudly, and then, if things went as planned, he'd go to New York City, attend college, and probably get on Broadway. Or, alternatively, he could go to LA, go to college, maybe get a roll in a movie or something.

That was the plan. His plan.

He wonders if that was really a good idea a few months later.

One day in the middle of September, randomly and out of the blue, driving home from school alone since Finn was home sick, Kurt decides to pull into the parking lot of a coffee shop, one that had been there for nearly as long as Kurt could will himself to remember. It was Lima, Ohio, after all. Things don't necessarily change very often. Or, ever at all it seems to some people, namely Kurt, since he blatantly looked for something different going on every so often.

There was never anything.

However, this day, unlike most other days in his life, Kurt would never forget, because something amazing did happen. That bright, sunny, fall afternoon on September 21st, on Monday, around 5 p.m., something amazing happened. Or, well, maybe not amazing, but pretty life changing for Kurt.

He left his bag in the car, though he did grab some money blindly from a pocket of said bag, and when he walked into Lima Bean, he noticed that they had redecorated from the last time he had been there, which was…

He's not entirely sure, but his mind settles on "not for a while".

The inside was cleaner, more put together and modern, yet… there was no one else in the coffee shop, not at that moment, but that was okay. Kurt made his way over to the counter and let his eyes skim the menu, not really noticing the cashier/barista slide in front of him, until a rather cheery voice said, "Welcome to Lima Bean! What could I get you?" Kurt had to try not to roll his eyes. Fake happiness, probably. Who the hell would actually be happy working in a coffee shop in the middle of such a boring town, anyways?

Absent mindedly humming along to the song quietly playing over the radio, one that he couldn't quite put his finger on, he nodded, saying that, yes, he did hear what the guy said and was listening, before he finally nods to himself before letting his eyes fall on the cashier, "I'd like a grande nonfat—" he stops speaking when he actually looks at the guy who was oh so patiently waiting for him to finish saying his order.

The guy really couldn't be too much older than Kurt himself with his dark, curly hair, hazel eyes framed by almost impossibly long lashes (that Kurt, admittedly, would die for), a strong jaw, and… just wow. He was… attractive, to put it lightly. And that easy, real-looking smile? Wow. Kurt swears that his IQ must have dropped a few points if that's the only word he could come up to describe the stranger.

After a few moments, Kurt really couldn't form a coherent thought other than 'What's his name?'. His eyes fell to the nametag that was impeccably pinned onto the guy's shirt, reading the name quickly and committing it to memory.

Blaine.

"Grande nonfat…?" Blaine tilted his head and Kurt, and Kurt kind of really wanted to hit himself for trailing off so randomly like that, but the dark-haired guy just didn't seem… annoyed by his slowness, or his sudden, pretty random pause. That easy smile was still on his face and his eyes were just as bright as before.

Kurt willed himself to not be distracted anymore, "Grande nonfat mocha," he finished easily, giving the most charming smile he could possibly muster… it probably didn't really look all that great.

Blaine nodded, "That'll be $2.99" and Kurt handed him three dollars from the five that he had grabbed from his backpack (hey, Kurt didn't really like carrying around ones. May as well use them for something). Blaine grabbed the proper size cup and scribbling on it, looking concentrated for a moment, "Name?" his eyes looked back at Kurt and a grin reappeared on his face and—

Wait, whoa, was this (extremely cute, hot, gorgeous, total 'O.M.G.' worthy—Kurt wanted to slap himself again) guy flirting with him? With Kurt? Insanity.

"K-Kurt," oh, wow, Kurt could only hope that his stutter wasn't quite as noticeable as it was in his head. This was getting increasingly more embarrassing for him…

His server nodded, scribbling the simple, four-lettered name into the cup, the smile not leaving his face this time, "Kurt, huh?" Kurt decided that he really liked the way Blaine said his name, "Like Kurt from the "Sound of Music"?"

Kurt couldn't really help it; his eyes widened. Most people never made that connection, so hearing it from this guy…

Oh, he hoped that he was gay. Or maybe bi at least. Or, maybe, the kind of guy who just didn't care about the gender of whoever the hell he went out with.

Kurt honestly had to remind himself that this was kind of (really) homophobic Lima, Ohio. Like any of those were possibilities, especially since Blaine was so damn good-looking… he probably had a girlfriend or something.

Still, Kurt slid along the counter as Blaine moved to start making his drink, and kept smiling, like it was impossible to not smile around this guy, "Yeah, actually. That's who my mom named me after," he replied easily.

Hazel eyes glanced up at him curiously, "Really?" a light laugh, "That's pretty cool, actually. I'm Blaine, though you probably figured that out from my nametag," another, more faint, laugh.

The probably younger teen walked to the end of the counter where people picked their drinks up, and watched Blaine work from there, "Yeah, nametags are kind of helpful," Kurt wasn't really sure what he was saying anymore, but going over what he just said in his head he figured that it sounded extremely stupid. Great.

There was another, more audible, laugh, and Kurt let his eyes skim Blaine's body (what he could see of it, anyways), and couldn't really come to many conclusions about his body-type. Blaine was slightly shorter than him by maybe two or three inches, with broader shoulders and… well, since he was wearing a button-up long sleeved shirt, jeans, and regulation apron that all workers had to wear, Kurt couldn't really tell anyone anything else.

His train of thought was interrupted by a paper cup being slid in front of him by a rather strong-looking hand, "One grande nonfat mocha for Kurt," Blaine said, his eyes shinning and he—

Oh, Gaga, did he just wink?

Kurt could not stop himself from smiling, and he took the cup and nodded stiffly, "Thanks, Blaine," saying his name aloud was kind of… nice.

Before he could say something completely and utterly stupid, he turned and walked towards the door and reached for the handle.

His hand was there, about to push open the door until he heard shuffling and a gentle voice singing, "Let you put your hands on me in my skin tight jeans—"

Kurt rushed his ass out of there, because, Gaga, that voice made his stomach to flips and his heart race and his head feel light.

"Love at first sight doesn't exist, Hummel," he muttered to himself as he slipped into his car and sipped his drink. It was… delicious, perfect, warm, and just… wow. Wow wasn't even an adjective, was it? Kurt was sure that his brain was short circuiting at this point, "Home… right, home," he shook his head and set the cup in the cup holder, before turning the car on and pulling out. He definitely wasn't going to come back the next day to see if Blaine was working again.

Okay, so he did. And maybe, just maybe, he went back every day after glee practice, just to see Blaine. Maybe after Wednesday, he had even been looking forward to seeing the guy. Because Blaine was his friend.

Yes.

They became fast friends. They had plenty in common, plenty to talk about…

Maybe on Friday, despite it being a little busier, Kurt sat in the coffee shop, and maybe Blaine took his break randomly just to sit and talk with him.

However, Kurt definitely didn't memorize his work schedule, because that was just… creepy. Crazy. Insane.

There was no 'maybe' about the fact that going to the Lima Bean all the time periodically had become part of his daily schedule, though.

Maybe Kurt was okay with that.