Kurt knows it's Blaine. He knows it. He'd never forget those eyes and that smile. Never, not once, nope, not at all. His hair's all gelled down though, which is very odd, but it simply makes him look a little more refined, a little more classy.

If Kurt thought younger Blaine was cute and hot and all those other adjectives his junior high mind could conjure up…

Older Blaine was fine as hell.

He was absolutely, positively, stunningly gorgeous.

He's still short though, which makes Kurt giggle internally.

He doesn't know if Blaine has recognized him or not because the performance of 'Teenage Dream' is flawless and he's all smiles and twirls and side steps, but there are multiple moments where their eyes lock and Kurt thinks that he sees some kind of something there.

The song ends and Kurt's clapping with everyone else, albeit a little more shocked and a little slower. Everyone crowds around the group of Warblers, giving them pats on the back and handshakes and whoa, the Glee club here actually seems kind of popular which is very bizarre to him. But when people start filing out, Kurt panics because this is Blaine; this is the same Blaine he grew up with and the same Blaine who he stopped talking to on purpose. The room is almost empty except for a few of the stragglers and most of the Warblers and Kurt turns around, about to walk out of the room when –

"Leaving so soon?"

He pauses, hand on the strap of his bag.

"You seemed to enjoy the performance, the least you can do is give me a little feedback."

Kurt turns around, slowly, cautiously. Blaine's standing there, hands in the pockets of his uniform trousers, with a single raised eyebrow.

"H-hi," Kurt stutters.

"Hello."

Blaine's obviously expecting Kurt to tell him what the hell he's doing here, but Kurt can't seem to get his vocal chords to do anything useful at the moment.

"I didn't think you'd turn partially mute in the span of a few years," Blaine notes.

Quite suddenly, just seeing him, just being a few feet away from Blaine, the boy he'd loved and purposefully forgotten was causing some serious short circuiting in his brain. Blaine's voice is deeper, his jaw line is so defined, his eyes have laugh crinkles in the corners and Kurt realizes he's jealous of whoever put them there because he knows it wasn't him. And he's right there, Blaine's right there and Kurt has missed him so terribly much and now he's remembering everything he tried to forget, every happy moment, every sleepover, every phone call, every email, every Eskimo kiss, and both of the real kisses they had shared. At this point, tears are welling in his eyes and his feet move on their own, he drops his bag, and he closes the space between them and throws his arms around Blaine's neck.

He smells so familiar. So familiar.

The hug to Kurt is like air to a drowning man.

"Kurt, what-"

Oh god, and hearing his name on those lips he got to kiss once before causes him to crumble. He's crying openly now. Blaine's hands come up to rest gently on Kurt's shoulder blades, the ones so often bruised.

"Hey – calm down, it's okay, calm down," Blaine says softly into his ear.

The other boys seem to have left the room and Kurt squeezes his eyes shut tight, holding onto Blaine as though he were some life raft and Kurt was adrift in the middle of the ocean. Blaine rubs his back soothingly and Kurt doesn't know if he's ever been so grateful for Blaine's presence since the death of his mother.

"You're okay," Blaine says, taking hold of Kurt's arms and prying them from his neck when his cries have died down.

"I'm sorry," Kurt says, his voice almost a whimper.

But Blaine doesn't say 'it's okay that we haven't seen each other in years and the first thing you do is cry in my arms'. He doesn't say 'don't worry about it'. He simply tilts his head in curiosity and lets his gaze roam over Kurt's face.

"Here," Blaine finally says, gesturing to the nearest leather sofa. "Sit down."

Kurt does so, thankful to not just be thrown out the front door and told to be on his merry way. Blaine sets Kurt's bag next to him on the sofa and sits as well.

"What're you doing here, Kurt?"

"I think I could ask you the same thing," Kurt replies, a tiny laugh escaping him as he wipes at his eyes.

But Blaine doesn't laugh in return. "You'd know why I was here had you not cut me out of your life," he says. "I'm not sure I owe you the first explanation."

Kurt gives a small nod and lets his head drop. "I…was sent to spy," he admits with a tight smile that Blaine can't really see. "Turns out your glee club is our competition."

"Probably should have checked the dress code," Blaine comments. "Why were you chosen to be the spy?"

Kurt sighs heavily "Most likely because I was useless in every other aspect."

"I doubt that's the case."

"If you only knew."

Blaine sits quietly, peering at him through speculative eyes and Kurt doesn't really know what to do or what to say next. He'd really rather just be hugging Blaine right now. Or kissing him maybe. The sad thing is, Kurt doesn't know if Blaine still likes kissing boys; he doesn't know if he still thinks he's gay.

"Why are you here?" he ends up asking instead. "In Ohio?"

"I board here," Blaine informs him.

"So…your family's still in Maryland?"

Blaine nods. "My dad went here when he was in high school. He offered to pay my tuition if I decided to attend. I accepted."

"But you could have gone to a school in Maryland. Why a private school? Why a private school here?"

Kurt notices that Blaine averts his eyes and begins staring at his hands which are clasped in his lap.

"I went to school in Maryland. Things didn't work out," Blaine says shortly. But then he lowers his voice to speak again. "You'd know that story if you'd kept me in your life."

"I'm sorry," Kurt whispers.

"Are you? Because…it's funny. You were always so scared that I'd forget you when I moved and made new friends. Turns out that should have been my fear, not yours."

Kurt feels like crying again.

"…Don't you think I deserve an explanation?" Blaine prompts.

"It's…complicated."

"Well I'm a pretty smart guy, I'm sure I can keep up."

"I couldn't do it, Blaine. I couldn't – couldn't handle it anymore."

"Couldn't what?" Blaine asks. "Couldn't talk to me? Couldn't call me? Couldn't be my friend? Couldn't-"

"Stop!" Kurt interrupts him swiftly as he stands and turns to face away from him. "Please just…stop."

He hears Blaine sigh behind him. He wraps his arms around his midsection.

"I don't mean to be…cruel. I just feel like I have the right to know why you stopped calling, why you stopped answering my emails, why you stopped – stopped everything," Blaine says to him.

"You were my other half. And you left. I couldn't handle not seeing you every day. Is that what you want to hear?"

The silence seems infinite and there's an unsettling tension in the air. Kurt can feel it all around him. He turns around to face Blaine and sees him sitting there, tight lipped with furrowed brows. He doesn't know what the expression means and he's not too sure he wants to know.

"I had to force myself to forget you, Blaine. I had so many things, so many problems, especially now and mooning over you made me miserable and made me feel even more lonely."

"What problems?"

"…What?"

"What problems are you having?" Blaine asks him. "What's wrong?"

"I – they're – it's not-"

"Kurt," Blaine says gently. "We used to be able to tell each other everything."

Kurt worries his bottom lip between his teeth.

Who is Blaine? Who is he to Kurt now? Is he someone he can still talk to? Is he someone he can confide in? Would he even care, after all Kurt's done?

He looks at Blaine and he just keeps seeing those eyes, the ones he always found so pretty and the same ones he eventually fell in love with. He sees…he sees honey and hazel, he sees long, dark lashes, he sees concern, and he sees something – something else that he can't quite pinpoint and for some reason it's the last detail that causes him to speak the truth.

"Do you remember when we were in fifth grade?" he wonders. "When someone pushed us down and called us fags?"

Blaine nods slowly.

"It's like that but…it's every single day. And it's worse."

Blaine opens his mouth. He shuts it again. He rests his head against his palms.

"God," Blaine breathes. "I'm so sorry."

"And I have to deal with it alone. I have to do it all alone," Kurt continues. "I have – I have friends but…they don't understand. And they don't know the full extent of everything."

"…What's the full extent?" Blaine asks, lifting his head from his hands.

And because he's Blaine, because he's his childhood friend and his very first love, Kurt tells him.

"I'm terrified. And I'm scared it'll get worse. I don't even know how it could be worse, but – but I am."

"Why are you still there?" Blaine asks with a pained expression. "How – I couldn't do it. I left."

Kurt stops himself. "What?"

"The same things happened to me. Though it sounds way worse for you. But I…I left. After my freshman year. My dad offered to pay for me to come here so I did. I couldn't handle it all, it was horrible."

"You – you were? I mean, you…but why here? Why Dalton?"

"My dad told me about the zero tolerance harassment policy. People don't get bullied here. I can…just be me."

Kurt sinks back down onto the sofa, eyes wet with unshed tears and he thinks his world was just turned upside down. Places like that exist? He looks around the senior commons, taking in the fine furniture and the elaborate paintings on the walls. This place…it's been here all along, so very, very close and he never knew about it. He never even thought about going anywhere else besides McKinley because, well…he just hadn't. But now his eyes were open and he was seeing so many possibilities. He was seeing dumpster-free days, he was seeing himself happy, he was seeing himself turning a corner and not being afraid of getting shoved or sneered at.

Sadly, he knows the real world isn't like this.

But after everything, after years of being looked down upon, after years of being thought of as nothing more, nothing less than dirt…Kurt thinks a little respite from it all would be a really wonderful thing. Even if it was just for – for a little while.

Whoa, wait.

"So…you're still…gay…then?" Kurt feels the need to ask.

A small smile graces Blaine's perfect lips. "Still gay."

Kurt shouldn't be as excited to hear those words as he is, he knows this. Kurt knows he doesn't deserve a second of Blaine's time but he can't help it when a small tinge of hope warms his heart.

"And you board here? In a dorm?" Kurt asks.

"Yeah. Not too many people board, most students actually live nearby. But there are a few of us."

"Is…everybody gay here?"

"No," Blaine laughs lightly. "It's not some gay haven. It's just a private school with good policies."

Kurt nods his understanding. So much seems to have happened in the last half hour. He needs to…absorb it all. He needs to stop and think and consider his options.

He has options.

The idea is truly baffling to him.

Not to mention, seeing Blaine again has completely thrown him off and the fact that they're still able to sit down and have an actual conversation kind of blows his mind. But…Blaine's here now. He's just a drive away and if Kurt…if he…

He needs to not get too hopeful.

"I should go," Kurt says, standing and pulling his bag on his shoulder. "I…need to go."

"Wait," Blaine says quickly, standing as well. "Can I…would it be okay if I got your number?"

Kurt was never so happy to give someone his phone number in his seventeen years of living.

"Will you – can I text you? Or – or call?" Blaine asks and Kurt thinks he hears a little hope in Blaine's voice too.

"I'd love it if you did either," he says honestly.

Kurt goes home that day with a little bit more happiness inside him than he had yesterday.

Maybe it wasn't too late.

Not yet.