Chp 1: Caught in the Act

Kurt wakes with a start. At first, he's not sure why he's awake – his room is pitch black – but then he hears a soft thump down the hall. Kurt freezes as his heart begins to race in his chest. Someone's in his apartment.

A thousand cliché movie moments and warnings from his Dad about living in the city flash across his mind. Of course, he latches onto the worst case scenarios – someone wanting to kill him. But he reasons that he hasn't even met enough people here for him to be a target yet.

Regardless, Kurt attempts to control his breathing enough so that he can slide off his bed and grab the tennis racket his Dad gave him at some point when he showed interest in the sport, but he was only really in it to meet hot guys.

Kurt shakes the memory from his head as he carefully creeps over to his door and eases it open. The hallway is a little lighter because of the moonlight that seeps through the blinds of the windows.

He stands still and holds his breath as he listens for any other noises as to where the thump came from. After what seems like an eternity, Kurt begins to feel foolish. He lowers the racket, "You're losing it, Kurt."

He shuffles to the kitchen and sets the racket on the kitchen table before pouring himself a glass of water. He can't believe he jumped to conclusions over a small noise. He shakes his head and finishes the glass before turning around and seeing a curly-haired silhouette of a person in the doorway to the kitchen.

Kurt freezes only for a second while the other figure lets out a resigned, "Shit," before lunging forward and grabbing the racket, pointing at the man across the room.

"Who are you? What are you doing in my apartment?" Kurt is proud that his voice doesn't show the fear that is coursing through his veins.

The man holds his hands up and Kurt sees a folder in his left hand but he is, in fact, weaponless. "Well, I'm not here to fix your cable…" he lets out a chuckle. If Kurt wasn't horribly terrified, he might have actually found the sound adorable. Instead, he flips a switch and bathes them in fluorescent lighting. Both men flinch at the action but are now finally able to see each other fully.

Kurt's first thought is damn. The man – boy, actually, he can't be more than sixteen – wears a heavy black coat over tight dark jeans and black boots. And if he were about to be killed by this man, he might feel regret over these thoughts, but since he's in no mortal peril – he keeps them to himself.

"Oh well, let me just pull up a chair for you then and we can swap stories!" his voice drips with sarcasm as he tries to point the racket menacingly. The folder in the boy's hand looks familiar, but he can't focus.

Kurt thinks he sees the ghost of smile on the man's face, but then the man sighs and the hand without the folder is dragged through his unruly curls as he says, "I, uh, wow this is embarrassing… I was attempting to steal from you." He lifts the folder in Kurt's direction who stares on in disbelief. The magazines fashion designs. He's to guard them with his life. His Dad told him people get things stolen from them all the time in the city, but he wasn't expecting it to happen so soon or on such a grand scale.

"I'm sorry. Look, I'll give you it back," he tosses the folder onto the kitchen table and raises his hands, "I won't bother you ever again, just please – please – don't call the police," his hands are clasped together in front of him now and his shoulders are slouched in defeat. But Kurt is angry. He can lose his job over this man's stupidity. And he's asking for mercy?

"No, you're only sorry you got caught. Let me remind you that breaking and entering is against the law so… you…" Kurt's words taper off with his anger as he watches the man slide down the kitchen wall he is leaning up against and dropping down to the floor. He steps around the table to see the man leaning his elbows against his cross-legged knees with his head in his hands. "Um…"

"It's Blaine," the man says from the ground. "My name's Blaine."