Rachel was not fond of blind dates, but Kurt had insisted that he had found someone perfect for her. She was wary, and it wasn't until Kurt said "Listen, if he was gay we would be sitting here arguing over who he loves more, and as it is I'm already thinking about taking a chance and seeing if I can get him to bat for my team," that she was assured Kurt knew what he was talking about. After all, they spent most of their time yearning for the same guys.

All she really knew was that he was their age, had curly dark hair, and that his name was Blaine. Kurt refused to tell her anything else, and for the life of her she couldn't remember Kurt bringing him up before aside from mentioning how he was in the same economics class as Kurt, which didn't help her at all. They didn't even get a chance to talk, Kurt was set on making Rachel have such a surprising (and romantic he assured her) evening that he told her where to meet Blaine that Thursday night, and as Rachel walked up to the small restaurant uptown, she felt nervous. What if he's a serial killer, or a rapist, or untalented?

She walked through the door, biting her bottom lip as she looked around. She had arrived ten minutes earlier than they had planned to meet, hoping to arrive first and calm her nerves before he got there.

"Are you Rachel?" a voice asked from behind her, and she whirled around to find a guy slightly taller than she was in her heels, hair slightly curly and a giant smile on his face. She seemed to relax almost immediately, and she wasn't sure if it was his calm demeanor or the fact that he just seemed wonderful that calmed her down the most, but she smiled in return.

"I'm assuming you're Blaine?" she asked, and he nodded, holding out a hand and she shook it quickly. "It's nice to finally meet you," she told him earnestly.

"Same to you! I was beginning to think Kurt was going to hide you away forever," he grinned, motioning to a table a few feet away from them where two waters were already waiting. She giggled, sliding into the booth and settling in while he slid to the other side, handing her a menu. She was already impressed with how gentleman-ly he was, and his smile was practically infectious-she herself hadn't been able to stop since he found her.

"I asked him why if he had found such a great guy he had hidden you away until now, apparently he was waiting until our lives were less hectic," she told him, peeking at him over the menu and barely even focusing on what it offered.

"Yeah, he was telling me how you landed the lead in a musical downtown-that must have been pretty awesome," he told her, placing his menu on the side of the table to signal the waiter that he was ready. She glanced at it quickly enough to find something she'd reasonably enjoy before placing hers there too, she couldn't seem to keep her eyes off of him. It wasn't even in a sexual way-though he was undoubtedly attractive. But there was almost a magnetism to him that attracted her, unable to look away for longer than a few seconds, and from across the table she could tell he felt the same about her.

"It was, they're just doing a small production of Les Miz, but everyone has to start somewhere," she answered honestly.

"Did it wrap already?' he asked, sipping his water as she nodded. "That's too bad, I bet you were amazing on stage."

She blushed, giggling a little. "Are you into performing or anything?" she questioned, knowing that already at this point it wouldn't have even mattered if he said no, she was already smitten.

"Actually, I was in a glee club in high school," he admitted with an awkward shrug.

"No way! Kurt and I were too!" she cried out, a couple glaring from a neighboring table, but she ignored them. Blaine just chuckled, nodding. "Did you guys win any competitions or anything?" she added, her voice a little quieter.

"Actually, the weird thing is-you guys beat us out. Don't tell Kurt this, but as soon as he told me that you two were in New Directions, I remembered exactly who you were. And you have a phenomenal voice, and I wasn't going to turn down a date with the incredibly talented Rachel Berry," he admitted. Rachel was sure she was blushing a bright red from head to tail, and tried to stutter out a question of how, but he seemed to know what she wanted to know. "I was on the Warblers. I went to an all boy's private school for a few years, and we met up at sectionals and regionals our junior year. Your original songs kicked the shit out of our version of-"

"Raise Your Glass!" she exclaimed, remembering now. "That's right, I almost forgot about that competition."

Blaine laughed loudly, nodding. "I'm not surprised, there was barely even a contest between the groups. I'd have fallen over in shock if anyone but you guys won."

"Well, you guys certainly gave us a run for our money. Your voice, if I recall correctly, was simply gorgeous," she complimented, recalling now how he had intrigued her, though with all the drama she never really dwelled too much on it.

"You guys set to order?" the waiter interrupted, and Blaine nodded, signaling for Rachel to order first.

They spent so long talking at the restaurant that they had barely even noticed how much time had passed, or how annoyed their waiter was that they just weren't leaving. "Shit," Blaine mumbled, glancing at his watch and causing Rachel's heart to plummet quickly. She didn't want this date to end, and when he followed with "I know it's late, but-do you want to go for a walk or something?" she nodded quickly and enthusiastically, grabbing his hand instinctively as they headed out the door.

The June air was warm as they walked around the streets of New York, Blaine resuming their discussion almost immediately. "So, you've always known what you want to do then?"

She nodded, a quick "Yes," falling from her lips as she glanced up at the towering buildings around them. "I mean, I was pretty much prepared for this since I was even a concept-they used to play Vivaldi into my mother's stomach, it looks like I was in fifth position for one of my ultrasounds," she smiled.

"I'm not even surprised," Blaine grinned at her, squeezing her hand as he chortled.

"Well, while I love ballet and it has prepared me for the dancing required of most musicals, I really just want to be an actress. Being on a stage and singing and acting-that's the real dream," she told him. He nodded, lost in his own thoughts. "What about you, what's your dream?"

"I'm not sure yet," he shrugged. "I mean, I love music and performing, but I'm nowhere near talented enough to make a profession out of it. I've been going to school for business, figuring I'll just end up in some building putting numbers into a computer somewhere."

She frowned, looking up at him. "That doesn't exactly sound like a good life," she told him.

"No, not really when you say it aloud. I mean, I'll be happy-as long as I have people around me that I care about, I'm set. And maybe some impromptu guitar and singing jam sessions," he joked, his eyes twinkling even now in the dark. "I mean, a job can only do so much for most people. Unless you're insanely dedicated and motivated to do something extreme, I think the most you can hope for is a happy family and great friends." She smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder without thinking about it, completely at ease with him.

"That makes sense," she said a moment later, their hands kind of swaying as they walked.

"I-uh, I don't want to seem forward or anything, but if you wanted to have coffee and sit and talk some more, my apartment is only a couple blocks away," he offered a few minutes later after they lapsed into a comfortable silence. She debated it, but ultimately smiled and said 'yes', early morning be damned.

"No way!" Blaine scoffed, incredulous as Rachel told him about the Jesse St. James debacle of her sophomore year. "No guys would date you just to bring you to your mom and then ditch you. That's like-no. I refuse to believe you."

"Believe me. Even Kurt was ready to defend me, and Kurt was kind of scrawny back in the day," she told him, fighting back a yawn. The clock on the stove behind him read 4:23, and she knew that she should go home and try and get a couple hours of sleep, but she didn't want to leave, didn't want to do anything but sit at his table with him and continue talking.

"That's fucking ridiculous," he swore, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Tell me about it," she agreed, her fingers running around the edge of her coffee mug which had long since been emptied. "It was probably the most humiliating break up I've ever had to go through," she admitted.

"Well, I have to say I've never had anything quite that bad," he told her, "though one time one of my best friends threw himself at me and that was an awkward period of time."

"He?" she asked, her eyebrows raised as Blaine nodded solemnly.

"We were only like, 14, and I knew he was gay-he just kind of assumed I was too."

"You're not, right?" she asked, suddenly worried-it wouldn't be the first time she was falling for a gay man, but it would certainly be the worst.

"No, I promise you I am not. That was the first and last time I kissed a guy. Ah-second to last time I made out with a guy," he corrected, and she grinned.

"Well, Blaine Anderson, do share." He sighed, rubbing his gorgeous hazel eyes with his hand and took a deep breath.

"I mean, it was just a stupid dare-our freshman year of college, they dared me to kiss this kid that was new to the group. So I did, because it doesn't really matter to me anyways, kisses are just kisses, and we were all really drunk, and," he stopped talking, shrugging as if that finished the story. She laughed quietly, resting her head on her hands. Her eyes really were starting to droop, and she was sure the sun was going to start coming up soon, and she had to work in four hours.

"Well aren't you just full of surprises," she joked, trying to hide her yawn.

"It's getting really late," he said softly, and she nodded, closing her eyes for a second before she realized she would quickly fall asleep like that.

"Maybe I should-I should probably get home and try and sleep before work," she resigned herself, sighing as she stood up.

"But, I mean, do you have to?" he asked, his eyes wide and she was reminded of a puppy, a sad puppy who didn't want their owner to leave them behind. The sight made her smile even wider, her sleepiness now turning her giddy as it got even later.

"I don't want to, but I really should," she told him, and he stood up and grabbed her hands.

"Well, I mean, can we do this again? Soon?" he asked, and she nodded earnestly.

"You have my number now, just call me soon, okay?" she asked, her voice suddenly quiet and shy as she realized she was leaving the ball in his court.

"I will, don't worry," he promised, his voice sounding so sincere she couldn't help but feel butterflies of nerves all over again. He walked down the stairs with her, his hand on her lower back as they climbed down in silence, too tired to even talk anymore. "Are you sure you're going to get home safely?' he asked once they hit the street outside, completely deserted now.

"I'll be fine," she smiled, leaning up and kissing his cheek. "Thank you for the perfect first date," she whispered, and he blushed slightly and nodded, squeezing her hand before letting her go. She walked to the end of the street where the subway was, glancing back every few feet to see him still standing there, hands in his pockets and watching her go.

She had a feeling that the smile wouldn't leave her face for days.