Blaine peeked through his fingers and stopped walking. He could feel eyes on him, hear whispers with his names. They drifted to silence as he lowered his hands to see the casket before him.

He had been twelve years old. His mother had been dead two months and six days, his brother, five days. His father refused to show at the funeral. Blaine ran the thirteen miles just to make it in time.

Before he even did it, Blaine knew that he would open the casket. He could remember doing it, though he didn't know how. His fingers pulled numbly at the heavy wooden cover. He always wondered why no one had stopped him.�

He remembered his brother's cold, lifeless face. His eyes closed as if he were sleeping, his hair a mess like the day he had died. But this wasn't the image Blaine saw when he finally had pushed the lid open.

Blue eyes. Blaine stared at the body in horror. Kurt Hummel's pale skin was almost translucent. He wore a white suit, stained with blood on the collar and jacket. His perfect face was littered with bruises.

Blaine's twelve year old body nearly gave out. He choked on the air in his lungs, fought to swallow the vomit in his throat. He fell forward and into the grave, falling into nothingness.

Then he was walking. The sky was a dull grey with not a cloud in sight. He walked through a field of knee high dead grass. The field seemed to go on forever. Nothing more than grass and sky.

Blaine reached out a hand and felt the tops of the brown grass brush across his palm. He didn't know where he was going, but he continued walking.

"Blaine."

He would know that voice anywhere. He felt the smile already forming on his face as he turned.

"Kurt," he rushed forward and enveloped the other boy in a tight hug. "Oh, god. I thought you were dead."

Kurt stopped hugging him back and gently pushed away.

"Blaine, I want you to be happy," he spoke, smiling sadly.

Blaine stared at him in confusion, "What?"

Kurt sighed and brushed a hand across his cheek, "I need you to find someone else. I need you to forget about me and be happy, okay? Blaine, please-"

"What? Kurt, why would I-"

"Blaine," Kurt whispered, tears beginning to fall down his pale cheeks, "I need you to be strong. I need you to move on. I need you to be happy... Without me."

"Kurt..." Blaine choked back a sob and stepped toward the other boy. Kurt stepped backwards and shook his head.

"Don't worry, Blaine," his mother appeared at his side. She wiped a tear off of his cheek and smiled, "We'll take good care of him."

"Yeah," Nathan clapped a hand over Kurt's shoulder and smiled, too, "We'll keep him safe."

"Promise you'll forget about me," Kurt said sternly, "Promise."

Blaine cried harder, but nodded, collapsing into a pool of blood at Kurt's feet.

"It's okay, Blaine," Kurt smiled, the tear tracks on his face turning red, "It'll be okay."

---

Blaine jolted out of his deep sleep. He gasped for breath, feeling cold sweat on his face. He glanced to the side to see Kurt sleeping soundly, wrapped in his comforter. Blaine longed to wrap Kurt in his arms and never let go, but he didn't want to wake him.

"Kurt?" a voice drifted down the stairs, "Kurt, are you home?"

Blaine cursed and slowly left the bed as quietly as possible. He jogged up the stairs and almost opened the door in Burt Hummel's face.�

"Oh," Burt said, surprise in his tone, "Hey, Blaine. I thought you and Kurt were going shopping?"

"We were, but..." Blaine shut the door quietly behind him, "Kurt's asleep."

Burt frowned and took in Blaine's disheveled appearance. He nodded and motioned for Blaine to follow him into the kitchen. Blaine looked at the clock on the microwave, 5:37.

He and Kurt had been asleep for almost three hours. He shook his head in disbelief and sat across the table from Burt, who sat with crossed arms.

"Explain."

Blaine relayed the entire story of the starbucks incident.�

"We... Talked for a few hours after that, then I guess we both fell asleep," Blaine finished.

Burt nodded thoughtfully, "Nothing... else happened?"

"Look, I really care about Kurt. I would never do anything he wouldn't want me to. I could never hurt him like that," Blaine paused, he tried his covey his sincerity with his face, "I'll be here until he tells me to go."

Burt nodded again, keeping his eyes on the ground.

"I figured," Burt sighed, "The first time I saw you look at him, I think a part of me knew."

"I know I'm probably not the first person you'd want him to be with-"

"Blaine, I don't know you very well. I know that you're dating my son, I know you go to his school, and I know you're in the same glee club. That's all I know. I have nothing else to judge you on, so why would I think that?" Burt shrugged and stood up from the table.

Blaine thought for a moment before nodding and smiling slightly to himself.

"Why don't you go wake Kurt up and tell him that dinner will be ready soon," Burt said, pulling ingredients out of the fridge.

Blaine headed for the door, but stopped in the doorway, "Thank, you."

---

Kurt ran across the hall from his hiding space outside of the kitchen. He skidded to stop in front of his bedroom door and pulled it open, closing it behind him as quietly as possible.�He raced down the stairs and yanked the covers over his body. Kurt tried to slow his breathing and feign sleep, but he couldn't quite stop himself from smiling.