When he woke up Monday morning, there were two things on Kurt's mind: Rachel and, most importantly, Blaine. He'd seen neither of them since their return from the disastrous visit to Blaine's parents and Kurt was getting worried. He was so used to Rachel being around him constantly that it felt strange to be alone in his room and he didn't peg Blaine for the type to go through something like this together and then just ignore Kurt.

His foul mood showed at breakfast but Burt refrained from saying anything. Now that he knew what was up with his son he didn't really feel much more useful than before. The best he could do, he figured, was leaving Kurt to himself unless the boy came to him first. Otherwise he'd just become unnerved and shut Burt out even more.

At school, things didn't really look up for Kurt. He was able to cross two thirds of the parking lot before the jocks got a hold of him and threw him into the closest dumpster. Cursing at his ruined Alexander McQueen jacket - another one, his Dad would kill him if he knew - he crawled out of it and made his way into McKinley, late as always.

To his utter surprise, someone was waiting for him at his locker. His heart started to race when he saw the slightly see-through figure, only to plummet again when he realized that it wasn't Blaine - it was Rachel. Not that he wasn't happy to see her, she just wasn't who he so desperately needed to see right now.

"Hi Rachel," he muttered under his breath so no one else would hear him.

"Hey Kurt!" was her overly cheery response. Kurt could tell just by the tone of her voice that she was up to something. "How are you today?"

"Well enough. Just spit it out already, Rachel. What are you planning?" he asked, shoving his books into his locker together with his ruined jacket, quickly getting out his spare one - a week at McKinley was enough to learn to always keep spares in his locker.

"Why do you think I'm planning something? And what happened to your jacket?" she asked, obviously more set on changing the subject than actually worried about his clothes.

"Rachel, please. I know you enough to be able to tell when you're trying to hide something from me by now. And nothing extraordinary. Just a dumpster toss," he shrugged, used to it by now. He knew he probably shouldn't be but what else could he do? It wasn't like anyone cared.

"Kurt, that's horrible! Don't you think you should tell someone?" She looked so genuinely shocked that he just wanted to hug her.

"It's okay, Rachel. I'm used to it. It's not like I didn't try to complain to the faculty. It's just that nobody cares enough to do anything. Apparently, the staff develops a case of obsessive eye-shifting whenever they're close to witnessing a case of bullying," he hissed, acutely aware of the venom practically dripping from his voice. He had every right to be angry and frustrated and bitter.

"Kurt-"

"I said it's okay Rachel. Could we please change the topic? How is Blaine?" Kurt was anything but sure if he just made this conversation easier for himself or potentially worse but as long as the pity in Rachel's eye would finally disappear - or at least be directed at someone else - he was fine with almost anything.

Rachel just sighed at him, slightly rolling her eyes but accepting his unwillingness to talk about it for now. "Blaine is fine. A bit agitated but that's just natural after not seeing his family for so long. I really think visiting them more often and regaining his family bond with them is going to help him move on, though," she chirped, once more back to her enthusiastic, overeager self.

"So you think I did the right thing by convincing him to take that step?" Kurt asked, hating how insecure he sounded. He was the medium, he was the one supposed to know what he was doing. But he didn't and there was little that irked Kurt Hummel more than a lack of knowledge.

"Oh yes, definitely. I'm sure if you visit them together more often there should be positive results soon enough." Rachel seemed to gladly ignore Kurt's discomfort with the subject of Blaine moving on (and consequently leaving him behind for good) and just went on about how finally seeing his parents again surely would help Blaine to escape the mortal world in no time. Kurt didn't know why he'd expected a bit more empathy - he was talking to Rachel, after all, and moreover she'd known Blaine so much longer than him, it was only natural that she'd worry more about him than about Kurt.

She wouldn't shut up for the whole of History and Kurt was contemplating ways of murdering a ghost a second time when she abruptly stood up and excused herself, murmuring something about an emergency. Shrugging his shoulders, Kurt didn't spend a second thought on what emergencies there could possibly be for a ghost at McKinley, instead concentrating on his lesson. He couldn't afford bad marks, he was already late every single morning thanks to a certain bunch of brainless jocks.

At lunch, there was still no sign of Blaine and Rachel was still gone and busy with her 'emergency'. Mentally preparing to have another lunch all by himself - it wasn't like he wasn't used to that, either - Kurt picked what looked the least life-threatening and made his way over to the corner farthest from everyone else. It wasn't long before he was joined by another see-through figure - once again not the people he'd been hoping for.

"Enjoying the company of your friends, Hummel?" Sebastian drawled, sneering at the empty places in Kurt's vicinity.

"What eloquent and thoughtful insult, Sebastian. I'm sure it's going to win you some kind of award. Too bad that you're dead and ghosts don't really bother with competition and prices, as far as I'm aware," Kurt snarked back, too riled up to deal with the guy in a calmer manner.

"Someone's being even bitchier than usual. Now, retract your claws and listen to me, Hello Kitty" - Kurt actually snorted at that - "I'm sure you are aware that I'm not a big fan of yours and your little stunt this weekend didn't really do anything to make me change my mind about you and your complete and utter lack of competence as a medium."

Kurt just tilted his head to the side, not letting his confusion show in his expression. "First of all, trying to change your opinion of me is at the very bottom of my to-do list. I couldn't care less what you're thinking of me. But even if I did give a damn I'd still have no clue what you're referring to."

"Obviously, I have to spell it out for you, airhead. Taking Blaine to see his parents was the dumbest idea I've ever heard of. Especially on the anniversary of his death."

Rolling his eyes, Kurt focused his attention back on his salad. "Just for your information, it was Blaine who asked me if I'd accompany him. And Rachel said he was dealing just fine and that it seemed to really help him, so how about you just keep your big mouth shut and leave me alone, Meerkat face?"

That seemed to stop Sebastian in his tracks for a while. "Rachel said he was all right?"

"Yes. God, do I need to repeat myself already? I know you're not the brightest bulb but that's been less than thirty seconds..."

Sebastian simply cursed under his breath before he stormed off, obviously in search of Rachel. Usually, Kurt would have considered warning her but since he had no idea where she was, he'd just have to cross his fingers that Rachel knew the game she was playing and how to handle a raging Sebastian.

The rest of the school day was a blur. Kurt's mind was way too busy trying to figure out what was going on with McKinley's three resident ghosts to concentrate on stupid equations or the capital of some European country. When the last bell finally rang, Kurt was just as quick to be at his locker as the rest of his fellow students. He took his time storing away his books, not wanting to spend more time than strictly necessary in his empty house, alone with his thoughts.

This time, he noticed the warm presence in his back before he turned around.

"Blaine," he said, enjoying the way the name rolled off his tongue, closing his eyes for a second before moving to face him.

"Kurt," Blaine replied, drawing the word out as if he was as reluctant to let it go as Kurt was with his name.

"I haven't heard anything from you since Saturday. I've been worried about you. How are you?"

Blaine shrugged, shuffling a bit on his feet. "I'm fine. It's been a bit rough, seeing them for the first time after so long, but I'm fine now. It will take some time getting used to seeing them on a regular basis again, though."

"So you're going to see them again?" Kurt inquired, not sure what to think of that. Sebastian and Rachel had left him with a rather confusing picture of Blaine's current mental state.

"Yes. Trust me, I'm going to be fine. I'm not entirely sure that this is what I have to do to move on, but I think trying won't hurt. It has been good to see them again and I don't want to miss so much of their lives again." Blaine seemed determined and that was enough to put Kurt at ease for now. It was his decision, after all, and even if seeing his parents more often wouldn't help him move on it was surely something Blaine felt he should be doing.

"Of course, I understand. If you want me to accompany you or if you just need someone to talk to after seeing them... well, you know where I live. Feel free to drop in at any time, Blaine. You're always welcome at my house."

Kurt was sure there were tears in both of their eyes even before the end of his last sentence.

"Thanks, Kurt. That means a lot to me. You don't even know how much. Would you- Is it okay if I hug you now?"

"Of course, silly," Kurt chuckled wetly before he was pulled into a warm hug that felt like sunshine and home and safe. He could stay like that forever but he knew it wasn't an option. Still, he would enjoy it as long as he could and it seemed that Blaine wanted to do the same, so they just stayed in each other's arms until the sound of the cleaning staff coming towards them forced them to jump apart and finally separate.