“Blaine? What are you doing on the floor?”

He didn’t even bother looking up to answer. “Trying to travel back in time.”

“To when?”

“When Kurt and I were lying right here kissing about an hour ago.”

After Kurt left, Blaine just threw himself right back onto the ground where they’d been and stayed there. He laid on his stomache and stared at the carpet, trying to figure out what the hell was going on because Kurt was sending more mixed signals than Laurel.

The sound of something dropping to the floor with a thud caused Blaine to throw a quick glance over to the door. Carter’s mouth was hanging open, both grocery bags fallen out of his arms and on the floor. “Whoa. What?”

“Kurt. Me. Making out. Right here. Roughly an hour ago.” Blaine settled his head back down with a sigh.

“Is that really all you’re going to give me, man? I bought you sour cream and onion Pringles. Although I’m seriously debating whether you should be eating those now since apparently you’re going around kissing Kurt again.”

The prospect of sour cream and onion Pringles made Blaine perk up. He hopped up from the floor and picked up the grocery bags, settling them on his desk and looking for the green can. Upon finding them, he smiled at Carter and took them over to the beds, climbing up on his. “Thanks, C. That was so thoughtful of you.”

“I told you I got your back. I just wish you’d have mine and tell me what the hell is going on.”

“Quit being so dramatic. Have a seat and it can be story time.”

Carter quickly shut the door and sat down cross-legged on the carpet right in front of the TV, raising
his eyebrows expectantly.

“Okay,” Blaine began, “I was on my way to the Cancer Center today to see Alex and as I was leaving Kurt called and told me to hurry up and get there.”

“So he was already there?”

“Yes. So I’m freaking out because my brother’s in a freaking cancer treatment center so of course I think the worst. Then I get there and the doctor—who told me he always chooses his words wisely—says to me, ‘I’m so sorry, Blaine. We did everything we could.’”

Carter’s face drops instantly. “Fuck, Blaine, I’m so—“

“No, I’m not finished yet. But my mind went right where yours is. What else am I supposed to think when he says that to me? I started having a panic attack and then Kurt helped snap me out of it as always and it was great and Dr. Pierson had wanted to get me medicine or something and Kurt said that not everything needs to be fixed with medicine and that I have him. So, that’s a good sign, right? He said I have him.”

“That’s definitely a green light.”

“That’s what I thought. Well apparently Alex is fine and what Dr. Pierson meant was that he had to discharge Alex to go home. He was apologizing because he didn’t want to separate me from Alex and he was saying he did everything he could because he actually kept Alex a lot longer than necessary. So that explains that situation. But I’m okay with the fact that my parents took Alex and didn’t tell me, you know? Because at least Alex is healthy; at least he’s in remission and he’ll be able to live life now. I’m just happy that he’s alive.” Blaine paused for a moment to see Carter staring at him like he’d never seen him before. “What? Why are you looking at me like that? Kurt did that too.”

Carter shook his head and smiled. “B, you’ve come so far and you don’t even see it. A couple months ago if that had happened you would have gone out and gotten drunk. Yet you’re smiling and saying you’re happy. That’s a drastic change.”

Blaine shrugged. “This is what I’ve been working towards. This is how normal people handle hard situations. I’m just trying to be better.”

“You’re making mountains of progress in a really short time.”

“Well, thanks.” He shifted on the bed, uncomfortable under the praise. He’d been such a mess for so long it was a nice change to be praised for his actions. “Anyway, so when Kurt and I finally made it back through that crazy snowstorm outside, the second we got back here he kissed me. Literally the second I had the door open and noticed you weren’t here he attacked me. We ended up on the floor and it was getting great and then…then he stopped. And he started freaking out saying he wasn’t ready and it wasn’t supposed to happen like this.”

“What wasn’t supposed to happen like this?”

“My question exactly. Us, apparently. He said he wasn’t ready. What does that even mean?”

“That’s a red light.”

“But he said I have him. That’s a green light. And he kissed me. That’s a green light. Then all of a sudden he’s not ready, and he gives me a red light? What am I supposed to think?”

The silence was answer enough. Carter didn’t know any more than Blaine did. Finally, he said, “Look, B, I don’t understand women; I just don’t. Amanda is pretty easy but sometimes I get in trouble for the most random crap and I have no idea why. That’s why we have Relationship Rules; it keeps me from getting in trouble because I have those to guide me and tell me what’s allowed and what isn’t.”

“How does that have anything to do with Kurt and me? He’s a guy.”

“But right now he’s acting like a girl. Who else in your life has ever sent you mixed messages?”

Oh. “Laurel.”

“Exactly. And I don’t mean he’s acting like a girl in an offensive way; I just mean he doesn’t know what he wants and it’s screwing him up so he’s going back and forth. Girls do that a lot.”

“Yeah, I know. I know you well enough to know that you wouldn’t be intentionally offensive and call Kurt a girl just because he’s gay.”

“Yup. Right you are, Blaine. So what are you going to do?”

Hmm. That was the question, wasn’t it? What should he do now? Operation: GKB was absolutely still in effect, but just how effective would it be? Was Kurt actually open to the idea of getting back together or not?

The ache in his chest was still gone. It didn’t hurt anymore, regardless of the fact that he and Kurt weren’t back together for real. That, at least, was a sign that he was on the right track. Right?

“Maybe you should call Laurel,” Carter suggested. “As you said, she gives mixed signals. Maybe she can help decipher Kurt’s.”

“That’s a good idea. I need to talk to her about my birthday party anyway.”

Blaine started climbing down off his bed and headed to his laptop, opening up Skype and signing on to see if Laurel was already on.

“Hey, speaking of, I’m sorry I can’t make it to your party, Blaine.”

“I know why you can’t. I’m not going to be upset with you for not flying across the country just to karaoke for a few hours,” Blaine replied with a smile.

He waited a couple minutes before checking the time and realizing that school hadn’t let out for Dalton yet. It was only 3:15 in the afternoon. He’d have to wait until she got off work.

Great. He really didn’t want to wait that long. This was a time sensitive issue; he needed help like now.

He stared at his Skype screen helplessly, trying to figure out why he only had one girl friend and it was his legal guardian. He needed to make more girl friends so they could help with this kind of stuff. Actually, he needed to make more friends in general. He had a few acquaintances from class, but really, the only friends he had in New York were Carter and Kurt—and sometimes Jonathan, though he hadn’t seen much of him lately.

Regardless, Blaine wanted more friends. He wanted people to talk to and hang out with. Kurt had friends; he saw a group of them all going to dinner that first day Blaine decided to get drunk on the street. If Kurt could make friends why couldn’t he?

That’s it. If Blaine wanted to make more friends, he’d have to go out and be proactive about it. With a sense of purpose, he slammed his laptop shut and grabbed his coat.

Carter jumped at the sudden noise and looked up from where he’d been putting groceries away. “Where are you going?”

“To make friends.”

“It’s about time,” Carter snorted.

Blaine rolled his eyes and locked the door behind him.

……

Crap. This was a lot harder than Blaine initially thought.

He’d gone all over campus, braving the snowstorm that was beginning to let up outside—to the library, the study lounges, the clich� hangouts—and walked in circles at each one before deciding that he was just awkward and it would be awkward for him to randomly sit with a group of people and interrupt their discussion and ask to be a part of it. What if they were discussing something private amongst their group? Who was he to intrude?

So Blaine decided to call today a failure and headed to the caf� to drown his sorrows in a nice cup of coffee—warm coffee, since the snow was starting to give him frostbite.

But of course. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy. Of course he’d go to his favourite campus caf� and get in line and look around the shop to see Kurt in a corner, books open and splayed all across the surface.

And of course he’d be so busy staring at Kurt that he wouldn’t notice the line had moved up and it was his turn.

“Um, sir? Would you like to order?” The barista had raised her voice loud enough that it caught Kurt’s attention. He looked up, made eye contact with Blaine, and promptly turned red and began packing up his books.

Blaine shook his head and stepped up to the register, making sure to take note of the name on her nametag. “Yeah, sorry about that, Anne, just a medium drip please.”

As she punched in his order she frowned. “Do I know you?”

“You’re wearing a nametag.”

“Oh.” She looked down as if she’d forgotten she was wearing it. “Right.”

Blaine looked over at Kurt again to see that he was just about ready to leave. Crap. Blaine couldn’t let Kurt leave without catching him first. He threw a $10 on the counter and muttered, “Keep the change,” before running over to Kurt, who was just pushing his chair in and leaving the table. “Kurt, wait.”

Kurt refused to meet his eyes. “I have to go. I just remembered that I have a—uh—study group to go to.”

“Really? You’re lying to me now?”

“I learned from the best,” Kurt bit out. Blaine only had a second to feel the sting of that line before Kurt was sighing, sounding apologetic. “Fine. I don’t. I just…I can’t be around you right now.”

One of the baristas making drinks behind the counter called out, “Medium drip on the bar!” Blaine ignored them and kept trying to talk to Kurt.

“Why not? I don’t understand what’s happening here. You keep letting me in and shutting me out; I’m getting whiplash.”

“I’m sorry,” Kurt sighed, still not making eye contact. “I just have things I need to figure out.”

“Like what? I could help you.”

“Being around you would just make it even harder for me.”

“Make what harder? Kurt, just talk to me, quit giving me these vague answers.”

“They’re all I have left to give.”

Ouch. “Come on, don’t be like that. You kissed me earlier and then left like it was some big mistake, I think you owe me an explanation for that.”

“I don’t owe you anything,” Kurt snapped, loud enough that a few patrons turned their heads. This time he was much more firm and he’d finally lifted his gaze to meet Blaine’s. Kurt stared directly into his eyes and said, “I’m trying to figure out whether I can take this kind of heartbreak again.”

That hurt. Now he’d gone and messed up Kurt and his ability to trust people he cared about. Way to go, Blaine.

The same voice rang out again, “Medium drip on the bar!”

“You won’t have to,” Blaine replied, ignoring his coffee and trying to make his voice sound soft and reassuring. “I won’t do this to us again.”

“I never thought you’d do it to us the first time, Blaine. Why should I believe it wouldn’t happen again? Look, this is hard for me, okay? I love you so much that it’s hurting me, and I’m trying to figure out whether the love outweighs the hurt.”

While Blaine stood there shocked and speechless, Kurt took that opportunity to slip around him and sneak out the door.

“Medium drip STILL on the bar! Claim it or I’m tossing it!”

He’d been so stupid and careless. He let his own crap get in the way of his relationship and he took care of it by any means necessary, no matter who got hurt in the process. I love you so much that it’s hurting me. If that wasn’t a punch in the gut Blaine didn’t know what was.

“Hey, dude.”

What was wrong with him? He’d gone and destroyed the only thing that mattered. All of those times during the summer where he’d vowed to never hurt Kurt and always protect him and do whatever it took to keep him around and now look. He’d broken every single promise he made to himself. And for what? A couple of hours of escape that weren’t really any kind of escape at all because those hours were awful. There was always fighting and crying. What had been the point of it all?

“Hey. Curly Q. I think that’s your coffee.”

Blaine finally turned to the source of the voice. Four girls sitting in a circle of armchairs right beside Kurt’s table were staring at him. The one who had spoken gestured to the bar where an angry looking barista was reaching for his coffee to throw it away.

“Wait! That’s mine!” He ran over to the bar—shoving people in line in the process—and reached his hand across the counter. “I’m sorry. I was having a fight with my boyfrie—my ex. I’m sorry. Can I have my coffee now?”

She glared at him. “It’s probably freezing now. Take it.” She shoved it across the bar so hard it almost knocked over and spilled; luckily Blaine caught it in time.

Now he was at a loss. He’d just come to get a coffee to console him after his crappy day of making no friends at all; instead he got an angry cup of colder-than-lukewarm coffee and a fight with Kurt. Was he in the mood to sit alone in a coffee shop where half of the students had probably been eavesdropping and were now judging him? He should really just go back to Carter where he could go on and on about his awful day while his roommate half-listened and mainly played video games.

He began heading for the door when a girl called out, “You can sit with us.”

Turning around he saw that it was the same girl in the corner with her friends who told him his coffee was about to be thrown out. One of the girls looked at the one next to her and got up from her chair to go sit in her friend’s lap. The only one who had spoken to him so far pointed to the now empty chair.

Well, he did originally want to make female friends. And if they’d been paying attention to what just happened, maybe they could help him. Why not? Blaine settled down in the offered armchair and offered a small smile.

“My name’s Blaine.”

The same girl who’d been speaking to him said, “We know. We heard you talking to Kurt.”

He studied the girls. The vocal one was blonde, but a dirtier blonde than Laurel. She had on jeans, beige Uggs, and a long-sleeved, blue and white striped shirt with a matching blue scarf around her neck. The girl in the chair next to hers was a brunette about the same shade as Kurt’s, wearing jeans, pink Uggs, and a pink pullover sweater—cashmere if Blaine’s eye was as sharp as Kurt’s—with a matching pink scarf. The two girls in the chair next to him were both a darker brunette with black Uggs, black pants, one of them was wearing a red scarf and a purple shirt and the other girl a purple scarf with a red shirt.

“Do you know Kurt?” Blaine asked once he reminded himself that these girls were being nice and he shouldn’t be judging their fashion decisions—(Even though Uggs were a household shoe and should never be worn in public. Ever.)

Oh, God, when did I turn into Kurt?

“No.” Laurel’s look-a-like smiled sweetly at him.

Pink Power Ranger rolled her eyes and added, “Jane is an auditory learner. If she hears it she knows it. Your conversation was in her hearing range so now she has the whole thing recorded in her memory word for word. Including names.”

Blaine nodded. “And you are…?”

“Lucy. Like I said, she’s Jane. The two cuddling on the chair next to you are Nicole and Amy.” Lucy gestured to each one so Blaine would know who was who even though they were tangled up in each other. “Now that they’re in each other’s laps good luck trying to keep them from kissing every 5 seconds.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Blaine said, laughing when he glanced over at Nicole and Amy and caught them in one of their apparently numerous kisses.

“We heard about your problems with Kurt and we want to help,” Jane said.

“Correction,” Lucy cut in, “Jane eavesdropped on what was obviously a private conversation between you and your ex-but-possibly-soon-to-be-current boyfriend and decided to meddle in your life and relationship.”

“No, that’s fine,” Blaine assured them. “I’m relieved actually. I need some advice and I don’t really have any friends who can help.”

“As in you don’t know any girls,” Lucy translated.

“Yeah.”

“Lucky for you, we’re experts at relationships,” Nicole told him, smiling and kissing Amy’s forehead.

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Clearly.”

Blaine decided he liked Lucy. Her sarcasm and snark reminded him of Kurt.

“So, let’s see if I caught everything,” Jane started. “You and Kurt were together; it was serious, enough that the big L word was exchanged. You broke his heart in a messy, messy break-up. You’ve been trying to fix it because you want him back, which is obvious, but he hasn’t been sure. You two kissed today but then he freaked because he has things he needs to figure out—like whether he can move on from the hurt you’ve caused him—and you’re confused because he kissed you so you don’t know where you stand now. Am I right?”

Blaine blinked. “Exactly.” How was this girl that good? She’d only overheard a vague conversation between him and Kurt, yet somehow she managed to get all of that. Maybe it was just a girl thing.

“What caused the messy, messy break-up that broke Kurt’s heart?” Amy asked.

He debated not telling them. He really did. But then he looked at Amy, who was so innocent and looked so earnest and kind; he looked at all of the girls who looked like they genuinely just wanted to help him. And if he was going to get better for Kurt, he needed to get used to admitting his issues to people and working through them with others. Knowing Kurt, if they ever got back together, he’d want Blaine to go to Alcoholics Anonymous. Although that’s the last thing on the planet that Blaine ever wants to do, for Kurt, he’d do anything.

Might as well start here.

“I, uh…I had some problems with alcohol. And I’m not a nice person when I’m drunk.”

Nicole nodded. “How bad was it?”

“Really bad. Towards the end, I was getting trashed every night, and Kurt would come take care of me but I was always so mean to him…Then I’d start crying and he’d hold me until I passed out.”

“So you had an abusive relationship,” Lucy said bluntly.

Blaine immediately reacted to the term he was all too familiar with. “What? No. God, no. I never…I never hit him.” But I could have.

“An abusive relationship isn’t always physical,” Jane said. “Sometimes it’s verbal abuse; if you were really that mean to Kurt all the time, it was a verbally abusive relationship. And judging by what Kurt was saying, it was probably emotionally abusive, too.”

“It wasn’t all the time, though,” Blaine tried. He couldn’t be hearing this; it couldn’t be true. He’d worked so hard on never hitting Kurt, because that had always been his greatest fear. His whole goal had been to never abuse Kurt; it turns out that he’d been so focused on one facet of abuse that he didn’t even see he was doing others. God, poor Kurt. “It was only when I was drunk.”

“So alcohol is the catalyst. Take it out of the equation,” Nicole suggested.

“I have. I haven’t had a drop to drink since Halloween, the night we broke up. I’ve been working on myself and making myself a better person, for him and for myself.”

“Then if he knows that—and I assume he does—the ball is in his court.” Lucy shook her head and took a sip of her coffee before continuing. “Look, Kurt obviously still loves you. Otherwise, why would he have kissed you? He wants to be with you, but he’s scared. He’s scared of getting hurt again; scared of watching you fall apart again. When you were having issues, you turned to a bottle instead of turning to him like you should have. Now he feels like he’s not the most important thing in your life. What’s to say that you won’t find something else you love more than him a second time? You could do drugs or find another man, because to Kurt, if he’s not good enough to keep you from alcohol, he’s not good enough to keep you from anything else.

“This isn’t just about you being mean or hurtful or an alcoholic. This is about Kurt’s self-esteem and Kurt’s willingness to put his heart in your hands again even though he knows that you’ve broken it before and you could very well break it again if you wanted to. The ball is in his court, but you have all of the power.”

Jane folded her legs underneath her on the chair and added her opinion. “You put Kurt through hell. He said himself that he has nothing left to give, which means he gave you everything. And if he’s saying he has nothing left to give, that means you still have it. It’s up to you to decide what to do with it. You have his broken heart, you need to fix it.”

“How do I do that?” Blaine asked.

This was a lot to take in, and Blaine just wanted to know how to repair the damage he’d done.

“Show him that he’s the one you love,” Nicole suggested, stroking Amy’s hair fondly and kissing the top of her head every now and then. “You have to show to him that you love him more than anything this world could ever offer you. You left him for alcohol; it doesn’t matter if you didn’t physically leave him, that’s what you did. That kind of abandonment leaves a wound that doesn’t heal overnight. Just like you’re working on yourself, he’s working on himself too. He’s trying to forgive you and give you a second chance, but you have to show him that you’re good for it. You have to show him that you won’t throw this chance away too. At the end of the day, you can tell a person you love them all the time, but after a while it loses its meaning if you don’t have actions that show it.”

He just had to show Kurt that he loved him; that Kurt was his everything. That seemed simple enough. That was, after all, the central idea to Operation: GKB.

“I think I know what to do,” Blaine said. “But let me run it by you first. It’s called Operation: GKB.”

……

December 17, 2012

The morning of his birthday, Blaine awoke to the beautiful vision of sunlight streaming through the windows and Laurel’s face about an inch from his, her eyes staring into his.

“Good morning?” he groaned, making it a question, though he was more asking why she was in his personal space so early in the morning.

She just smiled. “Good morning, birthday boy. Happy birthday.”

“Thanks.”

“Am I the first one to tell you?”

“I just woke up. So that’s a yes.”

“Good.”

He rolled his eyes. Laurel simply pulled her head back and laid down next to him on his bed, giving him his personal space back.

Kurt had been ignoring him ever since their run-in at the coffee shop, so he had no way of knowing whether Soulmate would be coming to his birthday party tonight, but he did know that all of Kurt’s friends would be there. After he invited Finn, he realized he had no one else’s contact information, so Finn volunteered to spread the word. Surely, Rachel or Finn could convince Kurt to come. Maybe even Wes or David, who apparently spent a lot of time talking to Kurt, would talk him into attending the party tonight.

“You have now officially been on the planet for 19 years, Blainers. How does that make you feel?”

“The same as I felt yesterday when I was officially on the planet for 18 years and 355 days.”

Laurel reached a hand across to shove his shoulder but ended up attacking his face. “Shut up.”

With her palm and fingers pressed against his nose and mouth, he said, “It’s my birthday I can do what I want.”

“Don’t make me ground you and cancel your party.”

“You wouldn’t do that; you’ve already spent a lot of money on my party.”

“Touch�.”

When it was just going to be Blaine and a handful of his closer friends at Dalton, it wasn’t going to be a problem to have the party at their house. But then he invited all of Kurt’s glee friends and added a few more of his own friends to the list, and now there was no way everyone would fit in his and Laurel’s small house. So, Laurel suggested they move the party to a local pizza place that had karaoke nights every Wednesday. With a little extra cash incentive, they agreed to host the party and hook up the karaoke equipment that night.

Once again, Laurel was doing everything in her power to make Blaine happy.

“Blaine?”

“Mmm?”

“What would you say to adding one more person to that guest list?”

“Who?”

“Bryan.”

Blaine cocked an eyebrow in confusion. “Who’s Bryan?”

“He’s just this guy…I’ve been on a few dates with him and I thought I’d bring him to your birthday party, introduce you two, see how you guys got along…”

“Oh, my God.” Blaine shot up and stared down at his cousin. “You’re seeing someone? And you didn’t tell me?”

“I didn’t want to tell you until it looked to be more than just a couple dates, you know? I wanted to make sure it was actually going somewhere before I dragged you into it.”

“So if you’re wanting us to meet, that means it’s getting serious, right?”

Laurel smiled shyly. “Yes.”

Wow. Blaine had hardly ever seen Laurel like this. She was so shy and giddy, like a school girl with a crush. It was nice seeing her this happy because of the prospect of a new relationship. Blaine hadn’t really seen her date much when he was growing up with her.

“Well, tell me everything. What’s he look like? What does he do for a living? What dates have you guys been on? What does he like to do? I want to know absolutely everything.”

Laurel giggled and sat up, taking Blaine’s hands in hers. “Okay. He’s around your height; he has black hair and green eyes—which you know is my dream combination. He works at the bank as one of the guys that handles loans and stuff. So far, we’ve done the classic dinner-and-a-movie, he took me to the aquarium, I took him to the batting cages. We’ve just hung out a lot having simple, casual dates, like having a movie night here at the house or going for some frozen yogurt and chilling out at the park.

“I like him, Blaine. We have fun together. He makes me laugh and smile and keeps me living in the moment. He’s showed me how to appreciate the little things in life, you know? We have a lot in common, like sci-fi movies and learning anything and everything about World War II. He was surprised when I took him to the batting cages when it was Ladies’ Choice Date Night; I guess he thought I was going to do something dumb and clich� like drag him to a chick flick. He likes that I’m constantly doing things that surprise him.”

“You certainly are unpredictable,” Blaine laughed. He was happy to see Laurel so happy, but he had one more thing he had to ask. “Does he know that I’m gay?”

“Duh,” Laurel scoffed, rolling her eyes. “You really think I would date someone who wasn’t okay with you being gay, Blaine? I told him that on the first date. I said, ‘Look, I have a younger cousin who is a freshman in college. He’s my whole world and he’s gay and if you have a problem with it we can get the check right now.’”

“What did he say?”

“He told me that he has no problem with gay people and that he didn’t understand why some people do. I don’t think any of his family members are gay, but he has quite a few gay friends, or so he told me. He’s really looking forward to meeting you tonight, but I told him I had to check with you beforehand. So he can come to your party tonight?”

Blaine engulfed his cousin in a hug. “Of course he can. I can’t wait to meet him, Laur. He sounds great.”

And Blaine truly meant it.

Tonight was going to be great. He’d get to meet Bryan and have fun with friends he didn’t get to see often and whether Kurt showed up or not, it promised to be a good night of silly karaoke with good people.

After his conversation with Lucy, Jane, Nicole, and Amy at the coffee shop, he told them all about his party but knew they’d all decline; they were native New Yorkers who all lived in an apartment together and were seniors at NYU. They wouldn’t fly out to Ohio for a random kid’s birthday. They did, however, give him their address and phone numbers so that he could stay in contact with him. Once they knew he didn’t have any girl friends, they were determined to be his go-to group of girls. Even if two of those girls were dating each other.

Still, he knew that all of New Directions was coming, along with Wes, David, Nick, Jeff, Thad, Trent, and a few other guys from Dalton that weren’t Warblers but were still good friends of his. The location for the party, Pizza Palace, would be packed tonight with about 30 people, give or take. It was definitely going to be a great party.

Blaine spent his day before the party just being lazy around the house and waiting. Eventually, he took a shower, styled his hair, put on the outfit he spent a good half-hour picking out the night before, and sat on the couch to wait some more. The party started at 7pm, and it was only 6 o’clock. But he should get there early, right? He should get there early to maybe set up and make sure that anyone else who maybe showed up early wasn’t there before the guy hosting it all. Plus, Bryan was meeting them there, and if he wanted to make a good impression on Bryan he couldn’t be late to his own party—(and Bryan would probably be early to try and make a good impression on Blaine).

Regardless of the fact that Blaine was ready early, Laurel took her time getting ready. Blaine smirked because he knew she was only trying this hard because Bryan would be there and she wanted to look her best for him. He let her do her hair and make-up, though, and helped her find a dress that was just right. At 6:45, they finally grabbed their coats and headed out.

They arrived just before the party was set to start. A couple cars were already parked outside, but their occupants waited until Blaine and Laurel were inside before they headed in as well.

Slowly but surely, people from Dalton and McKinley started showing up. By 7:45, everyone had arrived, minus Kurt. Rachel was quick to assure him that Kurt was coming, but Blaine would only believe that when he saw it, and so far Kurt was nowhere to be found.

When Laurel came up to him as he was talking to Nick and Jeff with a black-haired guy on her arm, he quickly told them he’d catch up with them later and shook Bryan’s hand, looking the man up and down to make sure he was good enough for Laurel.

“Do I pass inspection?” Bryan joked. He was nervous, though; Blaine could tell.

“To be determined,” Blaine replied.

Then they both burst into laughter and everything was easy.

After talking with Bryan for about 10 minutes, Blaine decided that he liked the guy and that he was perfect for Laurel. So, Blaine winked at Laurel, his stamp of approval. When she started jumping up and down and clapping and squealing, Bryan asked what she was so happy about, so to cover she said that she had gotten the best idea and that Bryan and Blaine should do a duet on the karaoke machine.

It was a feat to get Rachel to hand over the microphone, but after a reminder of, This is my birthday party, Rachel, they were able to get up on stage and do a duet of “Livin’ On A Prayer.” They did a great job and their performance was well-received and earned a hearty round of applause at the end. When Blaine hopped off the stage he was feeling great, overwhelmed with the rush of the performance and the pure joy he got from singing his heart out.

The feel of a hand clapping Blaine on the shoulder had him twirling around, a huge grin still plastered on his face. It faltered a little at the sight of the person who’d touched him, but remained in place as he threw his arms around the figure.

“Burt! I didn’t know you were coming!”

“Maybe that’s because you didn’t invite me, kid. That’s okay, I invited myself.”

Blaine laughed and squeezed Burt Hummel once more before letting go and taking a step back. “It’s good to see you. I’m glad you came, even if I was a total idiot and forgot to invite you.”

“Eh. You’ve done worse. Carole’s around here somewhere, probably at the salad bar since Kurt won’t let her touch anything else ever since she started that stupid diet.”

“Kurt’s here?”

It occurred to Blaine that if Burt, Carole, and Finn were all here, Kurt had to be, but he didn’t want to get his hopes up. Finn had arrived thirty minutes ago, without Kurt, so he’d accepted the fact that Kurt wasn’t coming then. Just because Burt and Carole were here didn’t mean Blaine was going to fool himself only to be brought down again. He was just happy to have his pseudo parents here.

Burt nodded. “He didn’t want to draw your attention. He’s still…well, you know.”

“He told you what happened?”

“Sorta.” Burt eyed him suspiciously. “You got a plan?”

Blaine smiled. “You know it. Now that I know Kurt’s here I can move onto the next phase.”

“It better be good, kid.”

It certainly would be. Kurt coming to his party was the last thing he had expected but the first thing he had hoped for. It was exactly what he needed to really kick Operation: GKB up a notch. It would be the thing that could make or break him in this.

So, with that in mind, he took a deep breath and waited until Rachel was done with her solo—her fifth one of the night so far—and jumped onto the stage, taking the microphone. He scanned the crowd of friends for Kurt but didn’t find him; that didn’t deter him, though. Kurt was there somewhere.

“Uh, hi, everyone!” he said into the microphone with a nervous smile and laugh. “I hope everyone is having fun.” Everyone cheered and raised their slice of pizza or cup of soda. “Awesome. So, I have a song that I want to sing to someone tonight. If you’re in this room, that probably means you’re a close enough friend to me that you know who it is.” He took a second to chuckle and glance around the room, and it was in that moment that he took to sweep the room with his eyes that he found Kurt, standing against the wall in the corner, eyes on Blaine on the stage. Blaine stared back and continued, “And the guy I’m singing this to…he knows who he is.”

With that, Blaine nodded to the guy operating the karaoke machine and gripped the microphone, then began to sing.

A drop in the ocean
A change in the weather
I was praying that you and me might end up together
It's like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert
But I'm holding you closer than most 'cause you are my heaven

As the piano of the song really started to play, Blaine saw Kurt’s eyes flash with something, but they were too far away for him to really figure out what it was, so he kept on singing.

I don't wanna waste the weekend
If you don't love me pretend
A few more hours then it's time to go

As my train rolls down the east coast
I wonder how you keep warm
It's too late to cry
Too broken to move on

And still I can't let you be
Most nights I hardly sleep
Don't take what you don't need from me

The song continued and Blaine maintained eye contact with Kurt the entire time. He wished he could understand the expression on Kurt’s face. Was this making things worse? Was this the one grand romantic gesture that would be enough to get Kurt back? It was too early to tell, so he just proceeded to pour his heart out through the song.

Heaven doesn't seem far away anymore
No
No
Heaven doesn't seem far away

Heaven doesn't seem far away anymore
No
No
Heaven doesn't seem far away
Oh
Oh

A drop in the ocean
A change in the weather
I was praying that you and me might end up together
It's like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert
But I'm holding you closer than most 'cause you are my heaven
You are my heaven

When the song ended, there was silence, and then people started hesitantly clapping. It was quiet applause, but Blaine wasn’t looking for their approval, he was looking for Kurt’s. He smiled graciously at his friends and family before stepping down off the stage and heading straight for Kurt.

To his surprise, Kurt didn’t walk away as he approached.

“Hi,” Blaine said.

“Hi,” Kurt said.

“It’s good to see you. I’m glad you decided to come.”

“Well, it is your birthday. So happy birthday.”

Blaine chanced a small smile. “So my birthday present is you coming to my party?”

Kurt didn’t answer and looked down at the ground, but Blaine could swear that was the ghost of a smile on his lips. When he looked back up at him, he said, “That was beautiful,” pointing to the stage.

“Oh,” Blaine turned around as if he’d see himself singing the song. “Thank you. I was hoping you’d like it.”

“I did. Very much.”

It was only then, when Blaine was able to relax and felt like just maybe things might be okay, that he noticed what Kurt was wearing. “Is that my Dalton hoodie?”

“Yes,” Kurt sighed, almost sheepishly. “You did give it to me. And I thought it was only fitting I wear it to your birthday party. I can give it back if you’d like.”

“No, you keep it. I like it better on you.”

Kurt stuck his hands in the front pocket and shrugged his shoulders. “Thanks.”

They stood there in silence for a moment, the only sounds being people eating and talking and Finn and Rachel doing a duet to some love song.

“Well, I should go find my dad,” Kurt finally said.

No. Stay with me. Please. Please just tell me this was enough. Tell me you understand now. Tell me we can be together again. Tell me you love me and it’s worth any pain we could ever go through.

“Okay.”

Kurt stepped forward and placed a gentle kiss to Blaine’s cheek that lingered before heading off.

Well, it was better than Blaine expected. Kurt could have reacted in any number of ways. He could have stormed off. He could have cried. He could have been angry, and yelled at Blaine in front of all his friends, saying that he was crazy if he thought a song could fix everything that happened.

But that was the great thing about him and Kurt. Music was their shared language. All of the things they’d never be able to say to each other, they could sing to each other and it would be understood so much better than anything they could say. That’s why the integral part of Operation: GKB was finding the perfect song to sing to Kurt; because it would say all of the things that Blaine wanted to say but didn’t know how. That song was his last hope of getting his point across.

The rest of the party went by fast. He mingled and had fun with his friends and Kurt’s friends—who repeatedly reminded him that they were his friends too now. Wes and David only reprimanded him twice for losing touch with them while things got crazy, but overall they were just glad to see him doing so well.

Eventually, the night started to wind down. People started to leave, slowly funneling out. Blaine hadn’t seen Kurt at all since their short conversation, and when Burt came up to Blaine to tell him goodbye, Blaine asked him if he’d seen Kurt. The man just smiled and said, “Happy birthday, Blaine,” then left. Which told him nothing at all. He figured Kurt probably snuck out and went home so as to not distract Blaine from his other party guests.

By around midnight, it was just him, Laurel, and Bryan. Bryan offered to drive Laurel home, which didn’t make sense to Blaine because Laurel had been the one to drive Blaine there so why was he being left behind? Laurel just placed the keys in his hand, kissed his forehead, and left with Bryan.

So Blaine just sat at one of the tables, twirling the keys around on the table, when he heard the sound of someone tapping the microphone. It was midnight and everyone was gone. Why hadn’t they taken down the karaoke equipment yet?

But then Blaine looked up to see Kurt standing on the stage.

Kurt didn’t say anything. He simply nodded at the karaoke man who started the music.

I still remember the look on your face
Lit through the darkness at 1:58
The words that you whispered
For just us to know
You told me you loved me
So why did you go away?
Away

Kurt was singing to him. Soulmate was up there on that stage singing to him. Blaine made sure to pay attention to every single word.

But now I'll go sit on the floor
Wearing your clothes
All that I know is
I don't know how to be something you miss
I never thought we'd have a last kiss
Never imagined we'd end like this
Your name, forever the name on my lips

No. No, this was all wrong. They weren’t over, there was no ending. They’ll never have a last kiss. Why was Kurt singing this song to him? It was so wrong.

Because I love your handshake, meeting my father
I love how you walk with your hands in your pockets
How you kissed me when I was in the middle of saying something
There's not a day I don't miss those rude interruptions

And I'll go sit on the floor
Wearing your clothes
All that I know is
I don't know how to be something you miss
Never thought we'd have a last kiss
Never imagined we'd end like this
Your name, forever the name on my lips

So I'll watch your life in pictures like I used to watch you sleep
And I feel you forget me like I used to feel you breathe
And I keep up with our old friends just to ask them how you are
Hope it's nice where you are

Blaine wasn’t forgetting him. What was this? No. Blaine could never forget him. Was this why Kurt kept in touch with his friends and Laurel and still visited Alex? Was this why Kurt kept his old sweatshirt? Was Kurt just trying to hold onto what they had? Because they could have it back. All Kurt had to do was say yes and they could have it all back. It didn’t have to be the end.

And I hope the sun shines
And it's a beautiful day
And something reminds you
You wish you had stayed
You can plan for a change in weather and time
But I never planned on you changing your mind

So I'll go sit on the floor
Wearing your clothes
All that I know is
I don't know how to be something you miss
Never thought we'd have a last kiss
Never imagined we'd end like this
Your name, forever the name on my lips

Without even knowing what he was doing, Blaine maintained eye contact with Kurt, but stood up and started walking towards the stage. Kurt continued singing, but Blaine was heading towards him.

Just like our last kiss
Forever the name on my lips
Forever the name on my lips

He’d reached the stage now; he climbed the few steps one at a time and approached Kurt, standing directly in front of him.

Just like our last…

Blaine kissed him. Without the slightest hesitation, he lifted his hands and grasped Kurt’s face and kissed him. He felt Kurt reluctant against him for a second before he finally gave in and threw his arms around Blaine’s neck, sighing against Blaine’s lips.

“It doesn’t have to be the last kiss,” Blaine whispered, pulling away. “I never want us to have a last kiss.”

“Blaine—“

“You are something I miss. You’re the only thing I miss. It doesn’t have to end like this, Kurt—we don’t have to end like this. I still want you; I still love you. All I’ve wanted ever since That Day was to have you back. I never wanted to lose you.”

They were so close their noses were touching, their breath was mingling, and they were looking into each other’s eyes as if that was the only thing they had left in the world to do. After a few minutes, Kurt closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against Blaine’s.

“You never lost me,” Kurt murmured.

Blaine’s heart did a little flip inside his chest at Kurt’s words. He sent up a silent prayer that this wasn’t just a dream; that this was actually happening; that Kurt might be forgiving him.

He wanted to pinch himself, but he didn’t want to lost contact with Kurt, so instead he leaned forward and kissed him again. It started out soft but turned much more urgent, both boys needing to know that this moment wasn’t going to slip away from them; that this was really happening and they could hold onto each other for as long as they wanted.

Kurt broke the kiss and said, “I love you.”

“What about the hurt?” Blaine asked, gazing into Kurt’s eyes.

“The only thing that hurt was not being with you. Right now, in your arms, I don’t feel anything but happy.”

Blaine kissed Kurt again, because he could do that. A minute later he pulled away and said, “This is the best birthday present you could have possibly given me.”

“I’m glad, because it was a huge sacrifice to wear a hoodie in public.”

“I appreciate that,” Blaine laughed. He ran a hand down Kurt’s face, caressing it, and brought his other hand to Kurt’s chest, feeling his heartbeat strong and sure against his palm. “You know, I had a deal with your dad that I’d be good enough for you, to win you back, by New Year’s.”

“I know. But you’re not really known for your outstanding patience—that was one of the first things you told me about yourself—and watching how you handled Alex and just how much you’ve grown and changed already…Blaine, you have a lot of issues, you know that, and you still have a long way to go, but you’ve already accomplished so much. You make me proud to be with you now.”

Blaine’s heart soared. “You’re with me now?”

Kurt smiled and pressed a gentle kiss to Blaine’s nose. “I’m with you. Forever and always.”

……

Operation: GKB

1) Throw a karaoke party
2) Invite Kurt
3) Serenade Kurt with heartfelt song expressing every emotion about your situation
4) Approach Kurt after song to gauge reaction
5) Kiss and make up

NOTE: If unsuccessful by Step 4, begin again at Step 1 with different song until you finally find one that works and win that boy back you shithead because he’s the best you’re ever gonna get.

Dumbass.