“Oh, Kurt, you’re awake.” Tia said as she walked in from the kitchen, two coffee mugs in hand. She held one out to him, but Kurt groaned and pushed it away. He wanted to crawl back into a ball and go to sleep. “Kurt, you’re going to want to drink it. I… I have some bad news.”

Kurt reluctantly took the mug from Tia. He knew that she wouldn’t tell him until he till a sip, so he brought the cup to his lips. Kurt had to admit that the warm liquid did make him feel a bit better… a bit.

“Kurt…” Tia’s voice broke, and when he looked up at her Kurt saw tears in her eyes.

“What? What happened? What’s wrong, Tia, did something happen? Are you okay?”

“Oh, Kurt…” She said sadly, touching his cheek. “I’m fine. It’s… Kurt, Blaine’s gone.”
Kurt felt his whole body go numb and he lost his grip on the mug as it fell to the floor with a clatter, coffee spilling everywhere. Neither person took notice.

“…What?” Kurt could barely manage as his heart pounded against his chest violently. Blaine couldn’t have left; he wouldn’t do that to Kurt… would he?

“He… he left this morning Kurt. He saw you were asleep and he… he went back to Seattle. He told me to tell you it was… better for you both.”

Kurt was blindly aware of her hand stroking comforting circles on his back, but he couldn’t think of anything but Blaine right now. Kurt pulled his knees to his chest and lay back down on the couch. His hands were shaking and his heart was pounding as he let the tears fall freely down his face.

*~*~*~*~*~*

“Hey, there.” Kurt looked up at the familiar voice.

“Uh… who’re you?” Tia asked. Kurt popped his head over the couch, squinting at the two as they talked in the doorway of Kurt’s flat.

“…Ellington?” Kurt was ashamed at how raspy his voice sounded, and it made him painfully aware of how red and puffy his eyes must be.

“Kurt? Jesus, you look like crap. What happened?”

Blaine would never have put it that bluntly, Kurt thought bitterly. His heart panged again as he thought of Blaine. Kurt tried to push back the tears that were threatening to fall once again.

“Kurt, babe. What happened?” Ellington had moved over to the couch and attempted to put his arm around his shoulders, but Kurt flinched away.

“Blaine… Blaine’s gone…” His voice cracked badly on the last word and he saw Tia flinch from the corner of his eye.

“Awesome! I was wondering when that idiot would leave. You’re not really you when he’s here. Now you can move on,” Kurt would’ve thought he was joking was it not for the large, genuine smile he had on his face.

“It’s not awesome,” Kurt scowled at him, “It’s horrible. This is the second time I’ve lost Blaine and I don’t like it. I don’t care if it’s selfish, I don’t care if it’s immature, I want Blaine, and I want him to myself.”

“So… keep in touch? Jesus, babe. Why don’t we just fix your broken heart with a night out? Maybe a couple drinks? We could go back to my place and then I can make you forget all about that guy.”

“You…” Kurt stood up and glared down at Ellington. How was he ever attracted to this in the slightest? He didn’t even look like Blaine. His eyes weren’t even close to Blaine’s glorious brown, his hair was too messy and his eyebrows too… normal. Not to mention that he was a complete and total idiot. “You are the most insensitive, rude and foul man I have ever met. I don’t know how I ever saw Blaine in you and I never want to see your face again.”

“What?

“Get. Out. Of. My. House.” Kurt said firmly.

“What the hell, Kurt! I was just trying to make you feel better.” Ellington replied as he stood up, now towering over Kurt. “It’s about time you got over your fucking high school romance. I’m tired of being his replacement, Kurt.”

Kurt’s eyes went wide as he stared Ellington square in the eye. He didn’t know about that. He couldn’t… could he? “…Pardon?” Kurt said finally.

“You don’t think I’ve known this whole time, Kurt? You seriously didn’t think I’d go looking after the second or third time you moaned his name instead of mine? Turns out we look awfully similar, don’t we? But you know what? I didn’t care. I dealt with it because I love you, Kurt, and there isn’t a single thing that would stop me from loving you.” Kurt heard himself gasp loudly as Ellington brushed a thumb over his cheek. “I want to be with you, Kurt. I want to forget all about this, all about him.”

“I…” Kurt’s voice faltered and he felt sick to his stomach. Ellington loved him? “Ellington I can’t. I’ve been leading you on this whole time; using you as a replacement for Blaine. I… I can’t continue to lie to you… to myself. I’ve finally let myself admit to the fact that yes, I am still horribly in love with Blaine. It’s about time that I stop trying to run away from the fact because I know it’s not going to go away any time soon. I’m sorry Ellington, I really am, I ju—”

“No,” Ellington was shaking his head vigorously, and he grabbed Kurt’s face tightly between his hands, “No Kurt. We can work this out… I can make you forget him!”

Kurt opened his mouth to protest, but Ellington took advantage of it and forced his lips onto the smaller boy’s. Kurt tried with all his strength to move his head, to get out of Ellington’s grasp, but he was pushed forcefully onto the couch. Ellington pressed his thigh between Kurt’s legs, and Kurt began to cry.

Get off, get off, get off! Kurt thought desperately, Blaine, help me!

*~*~*~*~*

“Flight 204 to Seattle is now boarding.” Blaine looked at the terminal entrance warily. He was about to leave New York. He was about to leave Kurt, and he promised himself that as soon as he stepped foot in Seattle he’d never turn back. Blaine didn’t even know what was going through his mind when he thought of coming here in the first place. They’d grown, changed; why did he think it would be like it was back at Dalton? Why was he so vain as to believe that maybe Kurt was still as in love with Blaine as he was with Kurt?

Blaine sighed sadly before walking to the counter in front of the terminal. He handed a young lady his ticket and she smiled brightly at him, asking if he enjoyed his say in the Big Apple. Blaine could only manage a small smile before boarding. As he took his seat at the back of the plane, Blaine took out his old, run-down iPod and his headphones. He plugged in and turned up the volume as loud as he could without disturbing the other passengers. The lovely sounds of the Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand” began to play, and Blaine let out a groan before changing the song. Irony at it’s best. He closed his eyes hoping to fall asleep, and was out cold before the plane even left the airport.

In his dreams, Blaine was brought back to Dalton, back to his Kurt. Back to the boy who couldn’t fake “sexy” for the life of him, because he was already there without trying; the boy who had walked hand in hand with Blaine down the halls of Dalton, sharing kisses between classes and passing notes when the teachers weren’t looking. Blaine dreamt about the times where it was okay for him to love Kurt and the times where Kurt loved him too.

He relived all his favorite memories from the time he’d known Kurt. From the simplicity of just cuddling to the romantic dates he had tried so hard to plan out. He remembered all the time they spent at the Lima Bean, either by themselves or among their friends.
Blaine had somehow managed to sleep for his entire flight, not waking until he felt the bump of the plane hitting the runway. When he clued into his surroundings, the first thing he noticed was the sound of I Want To Hold Your Hand playing in his ears.

Oh, c’mon! Blaine thought bitterly. Blaine looked to his right to see a woman staring at him in a sort of… pleasant confusion.

“I’m sorry, can I, er… help you?” Blaine asked, trying not to sound too rude or defensive.

“I don’t mean to sound strange, or anything, but you’ve been moaning ‘Kurt’ since we left New York.”

“W-what?”

“In your sleep. You were moaning his name. Not loud enough for everyone to hear or anything, don’t worry, but… you sounded concerned. And a bit hurt.”

“Oh… uh…”

“Well,” she said as she cleared her throat, “sorry about that. That was weird of me, wasn’t it?”

“No… it’s just… I didn’t say anything else, did I?”

“You, ah… You said you loved him,” she replied quietly, “that’s why I brought it up.”

“Oh.” Blaine was pretty sure he was as red as a tomato. Great, Blaine, he thought to himself, now you’re moaning his name in your sleep?

“I, uh… I hope it works out between you two.” The lady stood up now that most of the plane had cleared out. She flashed him a smile before walking away.

*~*~*~*~*

“Get off him you douche bag!” Ellington was pulled of Kurt brutally by Tia, who had tackled him to the floor and sat herself on his back. One of his arms was bent at an awkward angle and Kurt was pretty sure it wouldn’t take much more to break it.
“Now, listen to me. You’re got to get the hell out of this house and you are never going to come back. You’re not going to try and approach Kurt, and you’re not going to see or talk to him anymore. If I ever hear of you even trying to, so help me god I will brake your arm. Got it?”

Ellington nodded quickly. Kurt smiled in relief when Tia got off and Ellington practically sprinted from the apartment. Tia immediately made her way to the couch, wrapping an arm protectively around Kurt.

“Oh, baby, are you okay?” She cooed. Kurt threw his arms around her and pulled her close. He had never been so happy to see her in his life. Actually, now that he thought about it, Kurt realized that she had been there every time he needed her.

“Thank you, Tia,” he whispered into her hair.
“Don’t mention it Kurt. You didn’t seriously expect me to just let him rape you, did you?”

“No… for everything. I broke down completely and you were just… just there for me. You didn’t ask me questions, didn’t force me to talk to you about it. You were just there.”

“What can I say, Kurt? You’ve become a great friend. I don’t want to see you hurt. I want to see you happy.”

“I don’t know what to do anymore, Tia,” Kurt admitted with a sigh, “And now I’ve pushed Blaine away, too.”

“Oh, honey. I’m sure you’ll figure out a way. But right now? Right now you need to sleep. You look horrible, Kurt, and I mean that in the best way possible. Did you forget you have to go on stage again tonight?”

“Oh, right. Great.” Kurt groaned.

“Go to sleep, okay? I’ve got to go run some errands. I’ll pick up some coffee for us before the show tonight and we can go together.”

“Okay.” Tia stood up, taking Kurt with her. Once she was out the door Kurt locked it. He wasn’t taking any chances with Ellington.

Kurt shuffled his way down the hall, which seemed to be twice as long as the last time he walked down it, and walked into his room. His bed had never looked so inviting. Kurt walked forward and was about to throw himself on top of it when he noticed a single piece of paper lying on the pillows. Kurt swallowed the lump in his throat and approached the bed. He reached out with shaking hands to pick up the piece of paper. There was a note scrawled onto the back and as Kurt read his eyes began to water.