"My parents want me to have a…gathering for my birthday this weekend," Blaine told Kurt when they were on their way to school on Wednesday morning.

"…You mean a birthday party?"

"Yeah. That."

Kurt looked over at Blaine from the passenger seat and saw just how thrilled he was NOT. "Why do you make it seem like they had to force you to even say anything about it?"

Blaine sighed, resigned to the fact that he was going to have to tell this story. "I've never liked birthday parties," he began, but at the odd look on Kurt's face he had to back pedal a bit. "Oh, no! Your birthday was amazing, I meant birthday parties for myself. They…before Dalton, I didn't…there weren't exactly many friends to invite over for such a thing. And my parents hated that they'd set up these extravagant…things and then I wouldn't invite anyone to them. So they'd invite children from other well-to-do families that they knew. The parties themselves would end up boring and a farce and I just…I hated them."

Kurt slid his hand over to rest it on Blaine's thigh as he continued speaking.

"Then at Dalton, we just never really celebrated birthdays for anyone. I mean, we always wished them a very happy birthday, and close friends gave them presents, but there were never any parties or anything. So I just learned to forget about my birthday. It was just easier that way, without having to remember the horribly social awkward gatherings my parents forced upon me when I was younger," Blaine finished.

Kurt was silent for a few minutes. He…he sort of knew exactly what Blaine was talking about. There were multiple years, mostly in junior high or just before, when he had no friends to invite over. But his dad never forced a party on him or anything like that. They usually just ended up inviting family over and that was that. But to have all these people over that you didn't care about to celebrate your birthday? It was really sad. And last year for Blaine's birthday, they didn't have any sort of party because Blaine had told his parents he wanted to spend the night with Kurt so that's what he did and this whole party issue was never addressed.

"Well it won't be like that this year," Kurt finally said. "Because you've got me and you've got the whole Glee club and you've got Jared. And everyone had a pretty good time the last time we were over at your house. I think it'll be fun."

"Yeah," Blaine mumbled. "I guess we'll see."

"What day did they want to have the party?" Kurt asked.

"Saturday afternoon sometime."

So at school, Kurt proceeded to tell all of their friends about it, making sure they knew the day and how he'd get back to them about the time but they HAD to come and they HAD to have a good time. In Glee club, everyone bombarded Blaine, asking questions about what kind of presents he wanted and this and that and Blaine shot Kurt a look. Kurt didn't know if he was annoyed or grateful, though. He'd have to figure that out later.

Saturday came and Kurt was up in Blaine's room as they both got ready for the party.

"What if none of them decide to come?" Blaine asked nervously as they both stood in front of the mirror in his bathroom. "What if-"

"Blaine, I've already had texts from four separate people who were wondering if they needed to bring any snacks. They're coming."

Blaine watched Kurt in the mirror as the boy meticulously styled his hair. He seemed so sure about all of this but it was so hard for Blaine to imagine. His best birthday ever had been last year, when it was just he and Kurt alone, eating ice cream and Kurt forcing a cupcake upon him. Every birthday before that had either been unremarkable or purely lame and embarrassing. As he looked at Kurt, all he wanted was to trust him.

"I don't mean to be…I don't know. I'm just…"

Kurt quit fussing with his hair to stare back at Blaine in the mirror, seeing his boyfriend's furrowed brows and the unsure expression gracing his features. Kurt quickly found Blaine's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"It's okay," Kurt said with a small smile. "Today is going to be great."

Blaine bit his lip, still a bit nervous, but Kurt's hand in his and the loving look on his face eased the knots in his stomach just a tiny bit.

"Okay. Yeah," Blaine eventually said.

Kurt turned and pressed a gentle, lingering kiss on Blaine's stubbly cheek. He sort of liked that Blaine decided not to shave today. His lover looked really sexy in a pair of tight grey pants and a long sleeved blue shirt. The look was simple and comfortable and Kurt had a feeling that this is one of the few birthday parties he'd ever had where he was allowed to dress as he liked.

"You look really nice," Kurt decided to say with a genuine smile.

"Thanks," Blaine replied with a slight blush.

Kurt took a step closer so that their bodies were almost touching, but not quite. "Happy Birthday," he whispered before he brought his lips just that much closer so he could kiss Blaine deeply, hoping to instill a bit of courage and that much more love.

"We should go downstairs," Blaine said when they pulled apart, his voice slightly husky.

"Probably," Kurt agreed, though they didn't exactly move to go anywhere at all.

Their eyes stayed focused on one another and Blaine licked at his lips, still tasting Kurt from when he had kissed him moments ago, and that seemed to be enough for Kurt because he leaned back in and forced their lips together. Blaine moaned, the sound almost caught in his throat and he brought his hands up to slide under Kurt's shirt so that he could feel the smooth skin of his back. Kurt sighed into Blaine's mouth, their tongues beginning to duel for some sort of needless dominance and then Blaine pulled him closer and Kurt could feel just how hard Blaine was for him.

"Let me take care of you," Kurt whispered against Blaine's lips.

Blaine whimpered in response but Kurt knew what he meant so he detached his lips and moved down to lick at Blaine's chin and suck suck at his stubbled jaw. He reached his roaming hands under Blaine's blue shirt and clawed all the way down his stomach, eliciting a sharp gasp from his boyfriend. Kurt licked a wet trail down Blaine's neck while his hands were busy tugging Blaine's pants open and when his tongue reached the collar of Blaine's shirt, Kurt dropped to his knees. Blaine looked down at him with darkened hazel eyes and Kurt smiled, lifting the hem of his lover's shirt and dragging his fingers through the line of hair at his navel and below. Kurt moved his face closer to Blaine's crotch and released a long, hot breath over Blaine's erection through his boxers.

"K-Kurt," Blaine panted, his hand coming up to cup the back of Kurt's head.

"Shh, I've got you," Kurt promised him before he tugged Blaine's pants and boxers down.

Blaine sighed in relief when Kurt finally took him into his warm, wet mouth, nearly swallowing his entire length on the first go.

"Fuck," Blaine hissed, his eyes still on Kurt's face as he sucked him, moving his lips and tongue in a practiced ease. "Yes, ah, god…"

Kurt smiled around Blaine's cock in his mouth and let his tongue press hard on the underside, moving his hands behind Blaine to grip his ass and pull him even farther in. Blaine groaned loudly and seemed to make a decision, placing his hands on Kurt's recently styled hair and Kurt knew he'd have to fix it later but right now it was kind of nice. He let his teeth graze over the head of Blaine's cock, causing Blaine to tighten his hold on Kurt's hair, and give a little thrust into the hot cavern of Kurt's mouth. Kurt relaxed his throat and sucked even harder, Blaine whining above him.

"Kurt, you…Jesus, I'm…nngh," Blaine groaned and then Kurt sucked him as far in as he could and hummed, the action vibrating around Blaine's cock and oh, okay, there was his orgasm, and he was spurting right down Kurt's throat and Kurt was swallowing it eagerly. His hands were still on Blaine's ass, keeping him close and keeping him deep inside until Kurt sucked out every last drop, wringing Blaine dry until he released his hold on Kurt's head and had to lean back against the bathroom counter to keep himself upright.

When he looked down again, Kurt was still on his knees and looking up at him with mischievous blue eyes and a satisfied little smile.

"You're-" Blaine cleared his throat, "that was awesome."

"I'm glad you enjoyed," Kurt returned, standing back up and wiping at the corner of his mouth with his thumb. He leaned against Blaine and pressed a tiny kiss to his lips. "Want a taste?"

"Oh god, yes," Blaine admitted, cupping the back of Kurt's hand with his hand once more and bringing him closer so that he could dart his tongue through those beautifully swollen lips and taste himself on Kurt's tongue. Kurt moaned and then pulled back quickly. "Wha-"

"It's your birthday," Kurt said, reaching between them so he could pull Blaine's boxers and pants back up. "You don't have to do anything for me." He zipped and buttoned them. "Plus, everyone's going to start showing up in a few minutes and I need to fix this," he said, pointing to his messy hair. "So you go downstairs. Because if you don't, I'm going to end up ravishing you and keeping you in bed all day."

Blaine blinked rapidly before finally opening his mouth to speak. "That sounds like a really nice birthday, though."

"Ah," Kurt said, putting his hands on Blaine's shoulders and then pushing him out the bathroom door. "You're not getting out of this party." He led him to his bedroom door. "Trust me, okay? It's going to be fun. It won't be like any of your other birthdays."

Blaine turned around and wrapped Kurt up in his arms, catching him off guard until Kurt returned the hug as well. "Thank you," he whispered.

"You're welcome," Kurt replied softly, pressing one final kiss to Blaine's temple before extricating himself from his boyfriend's arms. "Now go. I need to fix my previously perfected hair, which you managed to destroy in about two seconds."

Blaine relented and left him to it. Just as he reached the bottom of the staircase, the doorbell rang. Before the maid could even think to answer it, Blaine rushed to his front door. When he opened it, Mercedes, Quinn, Rachel, and Finn all stood there with presents in their hands.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" they shouted at him before they let themselves in.

"Wh – thanks!" Blaine said happily, as the maid appeared and took the presents out of their hands to place them on the table downstairs. "Thank you," he told the kind woman. "Thanks for coming, you guys."

"Everyone else should be here soon," Finn said, immediately brushing off Blaine's thanks. Kurt had told him how wary Blaine was about this whole party thing and he definitely wanted to make this a good day for his brother's boyfriend. "Puck forgot how to get here so I had to give him directions."

"Oh, that's okay," Blaine said, not really knowing what else to say. Suddenly his parents appeared behind him on the staircase.

"Are these some of your friends, darling?" Cassandra asked her son. "They're lovely! I'm terribly sorry we haven't had the chance to meet before today, my dears, I'm Cassandra," she greeted them happily. "This is Blaine's father, Harold."

"Quite nice to meet you," Harold said with a smile that looked remarkably similar to Blaine's. "Blaine, son, you never told us how beautiful your young lady friends were," the man said, coming down the stairs and taking each of the girls' hands so he could kiss their knuckles. "Charmed, my dears."

Such an action had the girls swooning and Finn looking really confused.

"Blaine, darling, where's Kurt?" his mother wondered.

"Still getting ready," Blaine said.

"I'm actually astounded that you've found yourself a man who takes longer to put himself together than even you, son," Harold remarked, a glint of humor in his eye.

"I don't take that long to get ready, dad," Blaine said with a roll of his eyes. "And Kurt was ready on time. I just…er…messed up his hair a bit."

"And you'll pay for it later, I assure you," Kurt said from behind his mother.

"He can be quite the scoundrel," Harold commented on his son.

"I'm not a scoundrel," Blaine denied.

"Quite the scoundrel, indeed," Kurt agreed.

"You know, I always thought that my birthday was the one day where my parents and my boyfriend didn't get to tease me," Blaine pointed out.

"One would think," Cassandra said with an elegant smile. "Until one is reminded that one's mother spent hours of agony in labor so that one could still have a birthday."

Blaine blushed to the tips of his tiny ears and grumbled something.

"What was that, Blaine, darling?" his mother asked innocently.

"Nothing at all, mother," Blaine returned. "Nothing at all."

"That's what I thought," his mother smiled.

The door bell rang again and the rest of the Glee club, plus Jared filed into their home and made their way down into the entertainment room. Kurt immediately blushed when he caught sight of the pool table. They had literally tried everything they could think of to clean up the end of the pool table that night but…some things just…stained. Blaine had told his parents that he had spilled ice cream on it. Kurt didn't know how they even bought that, but perhaps they were just willing to gloss over it and not think about their son having sex on the pool table.

All of the presents had been stacked on a table in the corner and Blaine's parents had a massive cake made for the occasion. It was in the shape of an acoustic guitar and had eighteen individual candles lined up right down the middle.

'Holy crap, this is awesome," Jared said, eyeing the cake.

"Mom, we're not feeding a whole country," Blaine protested, "You didn't need to-"

"Hush Blaine, it's your eighteenth birthday. And when the other two boys we've invited arrive, you'll be lucky we bought a cake as large as this," his mother chided.

Blaine's eyes widened in alarm. "Who did you-"

At that point, the doorbell rang once more and his parents had to stop Blaine from running back upstairs.

"Let Lucy get it, dear," Cassandra said. "I think it will be a pleasant surprise."

Blaine peered at the doorway nervously when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs and then his eyes lit up at the sight of Wes and David holding two more gifts.

"You-" his eyes shot back to his parents. "Thank you!" he enveloped them in a quick hug and then ran over to his two old friends. "You guys, I can't believe you're here! I thought you'd be away at school, so I didn't-"

"It's your eighteenth birthday, Blaine," Wes said simply. "Course work does not compare to – OHMYGOD, David, look at that cake!"

"Ah!" Harold said, having to move to stand in front of the two boys who were rushing over, ready to grab a fork. "Cake comes later. You know this."

"But, Mr. A, it's HUGE," David protested. "Can't we just-"

"No cake until we've given Blaine his present," Cassandra said. "Until then, enjoy the lunch that Alan has graciously prepared for the occasion." She motioned to the plethora of food on the bar.

"Who's Alan?" Finn wondered, already moving to pick up a plate.

"He's our cook," Blaine explained. "But not regularly. He really only cooks for special things like this, and sometimes for dinner when we don't have time."

"Kurt, can we have a cook?" Finn begged.

"I'm an excellent cook," Kurt replied.

"Kurt, dear, you simply have to show me how you make that soufflé. I've been speaking with Carole on the phone and she simply raves about it!" Cassandra gushed.

Blaine watched happily as all of his friends lined up to fill their plates with food, their chatter loud and fun. He watched Wes and David attempt to sneak around his father to taste a bit of icing from the cake and he watched Kurt keep up a conversation with his mother. Already, this birthday party was proving to be the best he ever had. Everyone was picking spots to sit down and eat and Blaine sat over in a corner next to one of the arcade games, enjoying the view. It was so nice to see everyone getting along and it was so nice to see his parents so proud of him and he was just bubbling with happiness, so much so that he thought he might burst into tears.

"Hey," Kurt said quietly, seating himself next go Blaine. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Blaine replied with a smile. "I just…it's really nice. I've never…I'm…"

"I know," Kurt said, placing the hand that wasn't holding his plate of food onto Blaine's knee. "It was nice of your parents to invite Wes and David."

"It was," Blaine agreed. "Though the cake might disappear if we wait any longer."

"I wonder what your parents got you for your birthday," Brittany said, wandering over to them. "I hope it's a puppy. You can name the puppy too."

Kurt snorted and Blaine looked quite alarmed. "I forgot Herman!"

"What?" Kurt asked.

"I was going to bring Herman down to the party but I forgot!"

"Blaine, I'm sure it – Herman is fine."

Blaine looked really upset. "But I wanted to show Jared how well he was doing."

Kurt tried to bite back a smile. "You go get some food and I'll go get Herman."

"You're the best!" Blaine said, planting a kiss on Kurt's cheek before hopping up to move over to the bar.

"Herman has the best parents," Brittany decided. "You guys won't ever let your love die."

"We do our best," Kurt told the girl. "I'll be right back."

He ran out and up to Blaine's room, finding the fern in question on Blaine's nightstand. When he got closer to the thing, he noticed something was a little different about – oh holy hell.

Blaine had decorated the pot, covering the surface in stickers. On one side, a set of letters spelled out the plant's name and on the other was Kurt's name. Beneath his name was a red heart drawn on with permanent marker and then beneath that was Blaine's own name. Other little red hearts were drawn all over it as well and…what was…

His boyfriend, the little scamp, had apparently stolen one of Kurt's broaches off his dresser and it was now sitting, slightly hidden by the leaves, on top of the soil and leaning against the plant itself.

Okay, Kurt had to admit, the sheer amount of love Blaine had for things living (and non-living he thought, as he glanced at Kurt CoBlaine sitting on his lover's bed) was kind of endearing. And while it looked like a five year old had decorated Herman's pot, Kurt couldn't help but smile at how dedicated Blaine seemed to the thing, and how dedicated it meant that Blaine was to Kurt himself.

"Looks like we'll be keeping your around for a while, Herman," Kurt said as he picked up the pot before leaving Blaine's room.

When he returned, everyone seemed to be crowded around Blaine, chatting amiably and laughing at something Wes had said. When Blaine caught his eyes he smiled. Kurt sat the plant on one of the decorative ledges on the wall and returned to his boyfriend's side.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Blaine wondered at the stupid, dreamy expression on Kurt's face.

"Herman's doing very well," Kurt ended up saying.

"I'm a good caregiver," Blaine told him.

Kurt nodded and kissed his cheek. "Yes you are."

And then Kurt imagined just how good a caregiver Blaine might be, or rather how good a father he might be to a little boy or little girl they decided to care for when they were older. For some reason he saw a little girl with his eyes and Blaine's hair and – wow, that was a really vivid image. Why was that so vivid?

"I suppose we should give you your present now," Cassandra said, giving a faux, irritated sigh. "Otherwise David and Wesley might simply dig into the cake face first behind our backs."

Wes and David gave a mock gasp. "Mrs. A, we would never do such a thing."

"I'm so sure," Harold commented. "But perhaps you're correct, Cassie."

Cassandra Anderson turned to face her son with a loving smile. "Blaine. My darling, you're the best son either of us could have ever hoped for. You're such a kind, generous person and you have so much love to give." She looked to Kurt and sent him a quick wink. "We know you've seen less of us in the past year and your father and I want you to know how sorry we are. But we're also very grateful for how mature you've been and how you've handled the situation."

"Mom, it's okay," Blaine said, standing and walking over to her. "I understand."

"I know you do, dear. Which shows just how humble and understanding you really are," she said, one of her delicate hands cupping her son's cheek. "In return, we'd like to give you something, something that expresses just how appreciative we are of your maturity. Harold?"

She turned to her husband and from one of the pockets inside his suit jacket, he produced a small brown envelope, no bigger than the size of Cassandra's hand. He handed the item to Blaine.

"Happy Birthday, Blaine," his father said, his voice deep with emotion.

Blaine took the envelope and opened the tiny flap. He tipped it over and then in his palm…he held two silver keys.

"But…I don't understand," Blaine said in confusion, turning his eyes back to his parents. "Keys to what?"

"Our condo," Harold said simply, "in New York."

Blaine's jaw dropped in shock. Actually, so did everyone's.

"You're – you're giving me the condo? Are you…are you freaking serious?"

"We had the second key made, if you're so inclined, for you to give to Kurt," his father explained.

Kurt's eyes went wide and he would have fainted had the look on Blaine's father's face not been so kind. "I – wha-"

Blaine ripped one of the keys off the key ring and stood in front of Kurt. "I wasn't lying," Blaine said, in reference to their conversation the night they told each other about their college choices. "I meant every word." He held the key out, his mind screaming at his lover: please take it, please, don't deny me in front of all these people, don't break my heart, don't change your mind, please take it, please.

Kurt lifted a shaking hand and plucked the key from Blaine's palm. "I meant it too," he said simply.

Everyone broke out into applause, as though one of them had just proposed marriage or something, and Blaine swept Kurt up in a fierce hug, doing his very best to keep the tears at bay.

"I love you," Blaine whispered into his ear. "I love you so fucking much, I can barely stand it."

"Me too," Kurt replied, his voice on the verge of breaking. "I love you too."

Cassandra's voice broke through their moment. "We hope you two will be very happy," she said. "And Kurt, I expect you to be part of this family one day. If anything, to stop my son from talking about you constantly."

"It could make it worse," Harold commented.

"I do not – I don't talk about him constantly!" Blaine denied, pulling away from Kurt, but making sure to keep their hands locked.

"That's okay," Finn spoke. "Kurt won't shut up about you either."

"Finn!" Kurt squeaked.

"Dude, it's true."

"If he's half as obnoxious about it as Blaine is, you have my sympathy," Cassandra told Kurt's brother.

Kurt and Blaine shared an annoying look. But the keys were warm in their hands, representing a life together and so many possibilities that really, it was hard to stay mad at their family members for too long.

"So they get the condo," Wes said. "Can we have cake now?"

"Jared? Jared, what's wrong?"

Kurt ran up to his friend as soon as he and Blaine pulled into the school parking lot on Monday morning. Jared was standing by his car, arms wrapped around his middle, tears streaming down his face. He was crying so hard that he was having trouble breathing.

"Jared, talk to us," Blaine said gently, putting a comforting hand on Jared's shoulder.

Jared was shaking, attempting to take in deep breaths, but they turned into shudders that wracked his entire body.

"I – I don't…I can't…"

"It's okay," Kurt tried to calm the boy. "Just breathe. It's going to be okay, whatever it is."

The older boy shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut tight. "N-no…they…they won't…"

"Did somebody hurt you?" Blaine asked seriously. "What happened?"

"N-no, they…I…"

"Come with us," Kurt said, putting an around his friend's back and leading him towards his car. "Here, get in." He urged Jared into the back seat of his SUV, Blaine rushing around to the other side to sit next to him in the car. Kurt slid into the back seat as well, slamming the door shut. Jared's stuttering breaths filled the air and the only thing Kurt could do was keep his arm around the boy's shoulders until he calmed down enough to speak. "Can you tell us what's wrong?"

Jared wiped at his eyes hastily. "I – I'm gay," he admitted to them.

"Okay," Kurt accepted the words as they came. "You're okay." He kept rubbing at Jared's shoulders. "Did you…did you tell someone?"

Jared nodded shakily. "I t-told my parents."

Blaine shot a look at Kurt but Kurt ignored him. "Okay and what did they say?"

"They were – they were okay with it. They said that th-they still loved me and it was okay," Jared said.

"That's good," Blaine told him. "That's really good."

"Yeah. Yeah, but…but…"

"But what?" Kurt prompted as mildly as he could.

"M-my friends," Jared whispered, voice thick with something Kurt couldn't identify. "I had friends from K-Kansas in town. They were visiting for the week." Jared finally turned his eyes toward Kurt. Pain was evident on his face and his expression crumbled into something even worse than that when he spoke his next words. "I thought they were my best friends," he whimpered brokenly. "I thought they'd – that they'd understand."

"So you told them," Kurt attempted to understand, "and they didn't take it very well."

Jared shook his head, tears renewing in the corners of his eyes. "They…the things they said…it was awful."

"Oh god," Kurt said, wrapping his arms around his older friend and pulling him into a fierce hug. Blaine grabbed hold of Jared's hand, holding it tightly and offering as much comfort as he could. "I'm so sorry," Kurt said quietly. "I'm so sorry."

Jared cried against Kurt's shoulders, squeezing Blaine's hand as hard as he could. "It wasn't…it isn't your fault. I just…I never…I'm just figuring myself out and they – I thought they really cared about me. I thought…I don't even…"

"I know," Kurt attempted say with as much reassurance in his voice as possible. With Jared's hand tucked under his chin, Kurt settled his eyes on Blaine's face. His boyfriend looked…he looked so pained and heartbroken. Jared began clawing at Kurt's shirt, gripping the fabric with unsure fingers. "I'm right here, we're right here," Kurt said. "We're not going anywhere."

"They were all I had," Jared breathed against his neck. "I don't…what am I supposed to do?"

"You don't just have them, you have us," Blaine told Jared, scooting closer and laying his head on the boy's back. "You have the whole Glee club. They're you're friends too. They are."

"They're not…they're not like my other friends. My – I've been friends with them since pre-school. We've – we've been through everything together. They were there for my first…my first everything. I – you guys are…you're so…but-"

"But we're not them," Blaine finished. "Of course we're not. We haven't been by your side since we were little. We haven't shared the same things. But we're still here. And we'll always be here."

"They – they said I was…I was evil. That I was disgusting. That I – I deserved to die and that I was sick and-"

"Stop." Kurt forced Jared to look at him. "You're not any of those things. You hear me? You're not. You're a wonderful person. You're funny and you're nice and you're kind. You aren't evil or disgusting or anything else they told you. You're lovely."

Jared's face crumpled and he began crying loudly.

"Shh," Kurt whispered, pulling him to his chest again while Blaine rubbed at his back. "It's okay. It's going to be okay."

"No it's not," Jared moaned through his tears. "They're my best friends. I can't-"

"You still have your mom and dad," Blaine reminded the sobbing boy. "You don't need a bunch of ignorant, bigoted teenagers in your life. You don't. You don't deserve that kind of toxic hate and you don't deserve their harsh words and you don't deserve anything less than friendship and love."

After that, they were all silent for a while, except for Jared's cries which were slowly coming to and end. Kurt realized that he and Blaine were both very fortunate to have lived through this, to live through the hatred and the spiteful words and the name calling. They were lucky to have good parents and good people surrounding them.

Jared pulled away from them both, wiping at his reddened eyes, and said that he was just going to go home because he didn't think he could handle school today. Kurt nodded and they climbed out of his SUV, walking Jared back to his car.

"It's going to be okay," Kurt assured him one last time. "It gets better. I promise. I swear it."

Jared gave a dull nod and stuck his keys in the ignition.

"Drive safe," Blaine told Jared. "We'll see you soon. Call us, call either of us whenever you need to."

They watched Jared pull out of the school parking long and then they shared a long worried look.

"He's not like us," Kurt said into the misty air. "He's…he's not-"

"Hush," Blaine stopped him, wrapping Kurt up in his arms. "He'll be okay. He's got his parents. And you know that he has us."

"What if…Blaine, what if it's not enough?"

"He'll pull through," Blaine attempted to comfort the boy he loved with soft words. "It'll be okay."

But even as Blaine uttered those words, he wasn't nearly as sure of them as he sounded.

"Where's Jared?" Mercedes asked at lunch that day. "Boy never misses a day of school."

"He's dealing with some personal issues," Blaine told the group in a diplomatic manner. "It isn't our story to tell."

"Is he okay?" Santana questioned.

"No," Kurt said bluntly. "But hopefully he will be soon."

Kurt shot Blaine a worried look as they stood at their lockers the next morning. Jared always came by to say hello.

"Did you call him or text him last night?" Blaine asked.

"I texted him," Kurt said. "I asked if he was doing alright. He texted back saying that he was just tired and that he was going to bed early."

"Well, at least he texted you back."

"Yeah," Kurt said softly. "There is that."

"Maybe he's just running late."

"Or maybe his parents kept him at home," Kurt offered. "He told them. He's pretty close to his mom, she would know if something was wrong."

"This is true," Blaine agreed. "He's okay."

Kurt nodded with a bit of finality. "He's okay," he echoed.

The bell rang.

They locked eyes and grabbed each other's hands.

Later that night, Blaine and Kurt were seated on Kurt's bed.

"I should call him," Kurt said.

"You should call him."

"I will," Kurt said, fishing his phone out of his pocket. He scrolled through the numbers and found Jared's, not hesitating one bit as he dialed the number.

The phone rang.

And rang.

And rang.

And rang.

And went to voicemail.

"Hi Jared, it's Kurt," he said into the receiver. "You weren't at school today and a bunch of us are worried about you. Just…give me a call or text me when you get this. Blaine and I hope you're doing better. We…we miss you. We'll talk to you soon."

He ended the call and looked over to Blaine.

"It's kind of late," Blaine tried to reason.

"It's not even nine yet," Kurt countered.

"He's okay," Blaine attempted to assure his boyfriend. "He's probably just…he's probably depressed. I know that sounds rough but he probably feels like shit and doesn't want to get out of bed or deal with anyone."

Kurt gave a short nod. Blaine placed a hand on Kurt's knee. They didn't say anything for a long while and Kurt's eyes glanced over at Klaine the fish, who was swimming around happily in his vase.

"What if this is my fault?" Kurt asked softly.

"What?" Blaine asked in shock. "Kurt, no. Don't even think that for one second. His asshole friends are the ones to blame. None of this is your fault."

"But…what if we…if we hadn't cornered him the way we did…if we hadn't…made him come out-"

"Baby," Blaine said in a hard tone, "we didn't make him come out. He was questioning himself before any of that happened."

"Yeah, but he was questioning himself because of me."

"He was questioning himself because he envied you. He liked how brave you were, how strong and happy a person you were. He wasn't questioning himself because you forced him into being gay, Kurt. You can't honestly believe that, can you?"

Kurt shrugged and crawled over to Blaine, situating himself in Blaine's lap and tucking his head under his lover's chin. Blaine eagerly wrapped him up in a hug.

"I just…I want him to be okay. He's a good person and he doesn't…he didn't deserve all those things his, ugh, his friends said."

"No, he didn't," Blaine agreed, kissing the top of Kurt's head and smoothing his hair down. "What horrible people."

"We're really lucky," Kurt whispered. "I mean, I know your grandparents aren't exactly on track with it all, but everyone else in our lives…and I know we both had our own set of troubles before we met each other. I'm just…I'm so thankful that I have my dad and Glee and…"

"Me too," Blaine said just as quietly.

They stopped speaking and simply listened to the music on Kurt's ipod, safe in an embrace and stuck in their own thoughts.

Jared didn't show up to school the next day either and now both Kurt and Blaine were getting worried.

"We should visit him," Kurt decided. "We really should."

"…I have no idea where he lives," Blaine said. "Do you?"

"I went over to his place to watch a movie once. I…should probably still remember how to get there."

"We'll go right after rehearsal," Blaine promised as they walked into the choir room.

"Fuck, rehearsal's going to last forever," Kurt grumbled.

"Regionals are in two days," Rachel reminded him sharply. "We need all the rehearsal we can get if we want to beat Vocal Adrenaline and get to Nationals."

"I know all of this, Rachel," Kurt snapped at her.

"Well, stop complaining then!"

"Do NOT even get me started right now," Kurt said harshly, whipping around to face the girl after he dropped his bag next to his chair. "You have no fucking idea what-"

"Kurt, calm down," Blaine insisted. "She doesn't know what's going on. You don't need to bite her head off."

Kurt heaved a deep, agitated sigh, but relented and sat down, keeping his mouth closed so that he wouldn't spew anymore rude words.

"What's going on?" Rachel asked, still slightly angry but now more concerned than anything. "Is something wrong?"

"It's none of your business," Kurt said promptly.

"Kurt. Stop it."

Kurt scowled at his boyfriend's order but snapped his jaw shut, refusing to say anything else on the matter.

"We're going to check on him as soon as rehearsal is over," Blaine promised. "It's going to be fine."

If it wasn't, Kurt was of the firm belief that he had the right to slap someone. He didn't even care who it was at this point. He just wanted to know if Jared was okay.

"This is his place?" Blaine asked as Kurt pulled into an empty driveway but seeing Jared's car parked on the curb.

"Pretty sure that's his car," Kurt replied, turning the car off and pulling the keys out of the ignition. They climbed out of the car. "Yeah, this is it. I remember the flowers," he said, pointing to a flowerbed that sat beneath one of the front windows. He knocked on the door and they waited.

And they waited a few seconds more.

"Maybe they're not home," Blaine pointed out. "His parents obviously aren't here. Maybe they went somewhere and he went with."

"…Something feels wrong to me, Blaine," Kurt told him nervously. "I…I don't know why, but it does."

Kurt reached down and tried the doorknob, not knowing whether to feel relieved or concerned that it was unlocked.

"If they were gone, they would've locked the door…right?"

Blaine paled instantly at the implications. "…Oh god."

Kurt pushed the door open, peering inside. The house was darkened and there seemed to be no sound emanating from anywhere, from any of the rooms.

"Jared?" Kurt called out experimentally. "Jared, it's me, Kurt. Blaine's with me too. Are you home?"

There was some type of rustling, the sound of movement coming from down the hallway. They moved further into the house.

"Jared?" Kurt tried again, a bit more loudly this time. "Are you here?"

No other sound came, but Kurt seemed to think he had enough evidence so they closed the door behind them and slowly made their way down the hall to where Kurt knew Jared's room was located. The door was cracked open and a dim light shone through.

"Jared?" Kurt knocked softly and then pushed the door open slowly.

There sat Jared, on the edge of his bed, looking completely lost. Even more worried, Kurt moved swiftly over to the other boy and kneeled in front of him. He put his hand under Jared's head so that he could see his eyes in the light emanating from the lamp in the corner.

"Oh god, his pupils," Kurt breathed, partially to Blaine and partially to himself. "Jared, look at me. LOOK AT ME." He shook Jared's chin sharply. Jared's eyes were unfocused, almost unseeing and he looked dizzy and disoriented and not really there at all. "What did you take?"

"Kurt…"

Kurt turned his attention to Blaine, who stood behind him holding an empty pill bottle. "What are they?"

Blaine swallowed audibly, raising his eyes from the bottle to look at his lover. "Prescription sleeping pills. I…we don't know how many were in there before. We can't know how many he took."

"Jared," Kurt said forcefully, still trying to get him to focus. "How many did you take?" Jared's head began to loll to the side but Kurt framed his face with both hands and made him look at him. "How many?"

A spark of recognition finally lit up Jared's face and he moaned softly. "Sorry. 'M sorry," he murmured, his eyes rolling about. His skin was disturbingly cool to the touch and Kurt pressed to fingers to Jared's pulse point on his neck.

"His pulse is low and he's in a cold sweat," Kurt explained to Blaine. "No," he had to say when Jared tried halfheartedly to pull away, "stop it. We need to know how many you took."

"He took enough, Kurt," Blaine said, slightly panicked. "We need to call 911 and we need to do it now."

"So do it!" Kurt snapped, still trying to keep Jared conscious and focused on him.

Blaine whipped out his phone and moved to the hallway, dialing 911 so they could get an ambulance there as soon as possible.

" 'M not like you," Jared mumbled with a sad, eerie smile. "You're so good…"

"You're good too," Kurt tried to reason with the obviously overdosed boy in front of him. "You're a good person, you didn't have to do this. I told you to call me, I told you."

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say because fat, heavy tears began rolling down Jared's face. But Kurt didn't have time to deal with hysterics.

"When did you take them? How long ago?"

Jared shrugged. "Not long."

"Where are your – hey! No! Focus on me, focus! Jared, where are your parents."

"They left."

What? They left him like this? They left him alone in a house when he's been showing signs of depression or wanting to commit suicide?

"How long ago did they leave?"

"Few hours," Jared murmured, his eyes falling shut as he leaned his head on Kurt's shoulder. "Anniversary."

Oh just great. Kurt pieced the puzzle together in his head and the most likely premise he could think of was that it was his parents' anniversary and they had probably wanted to go out but were reluctant to do so, but Jared might have said something along the lines of 'no, no, I'll be okay for a little while, you go have a good time' and then when they came back, they'd find their gay son dead on his bed.

"Stay with me," Kurt said loudly, trying to push Jared into sitting again, but the boy was giving him nothing to work with and he was dead weight. He'd fall right over if Kurt moved.

"They're on their way," Blaine informed him. "I don't – I don't know how long it will take, but they're on their way."

"Ipecac," Kurt said suddenly. "Can we give it to him?"

Blaine's eyes widened and he was shaking his head in uncertainty. "I – I don't know, I'm not sure. I think it – it depends on the medicine he took and it'll depend on what they plan on treating him with. It could react badly."

"Shit," Kurt swore. "No!" Jared was beginning to fall fully on him. Blaine rushed over to help sit him up. His eyes were starting to droop. "NO. Jared, stay awake. STAY AWAKE."

"What happens if he falls asleep?" Blaine asked softly.

"I don't know and I don't want to find out," Kurt replied. "Jared, stop it, stay with me."

"Talk to him," Blaine suggested. "To try and keep him awake, I mean."

Kurt nodded in agreement. "Jared. Jared? Where've you been the past couple of days? We haven't seen you at school."

"Asleep," Jared replied drowsily. "Couldn't go…too hard."

"Nothing's too hard," Kurt told him. "You're okay at school, no one's mean to you, no one hates you there. W-we love you. We're not like your old friends; we're not going to push you away, okay?"

Jared shook his head slowly, his eyes squeezing shut at the words. "They're all I've got," he protested, slurring his words.

"No," Blaine said gently. "You have us."

"No," Jared responded sadly. "You've got each other. Don't need me."

Kurt and Blaine shared a guilty, despondent look.

And then they heard sirens.