Blaine couldn't help himself, it was a bad habit that he developed. He would walk to his locker to get his things and then he would go over to Kurt's old locker, as if he would be there waiting for him. He knew it was mental torture. He knew it physically pained him to do that every morning, but he did it anyways. He took the steps, his shoes echoed on the linoleum floor beneath him. He just needed to see it every morning, he had to see that Kurt really was gone.

When he made it to the locker, his heart dropped, his eyes grew wide and he almost dropped his binder on the floor.

There was someone there. Someone was assigned Kurt's locker.

Blaine forgot how to breathe for a second there. The world seemed to stand still. He didn't really understand why he was standing in the middle of the hallway so stunned. It wasn't like Blaine was expected the locker to be vacant until he graduated. It was just so strange seeing someone else that was not Kurt, standing there, pulling things inside. Was it possible that the mere sight of it was painful? Because Blaine's whole body was aching.

"Excuse me?" Blaine finally snapped out of his trance at the sound of the voice. "Can I ask you what exactly you are staring at?" Blaine noticed who was speaking to him.

"Oh... I'm sorry, it's rude of me to stare. Um.. you're new, right?" Blaine asked in attempt to be polite.

The student closed the locker and faced Blaine again. "Yeah, moved from California," the boy admitted as he walked up to Blaine. He had a small smile on his face and clutched onto his bag, as if he was nervous of Blaine. "I'm Joey," the boy greet, extending his hand for Blaine to shake.

Blaine did so and smiled. "Blaine."

Joey pulled his hand back and pushed his dirty blonde hair out of his face. He seemed young, a freshman most likely. "So, um... mind being my tour guide or something?" He asked. "Like I said, I'm new and I would hate to do something really stupid my first day."

Blaine nodded, he was more than happy to be in assistance for the new kid. "Of course."

Joey smiled broadly. "You might not know it, but you're a lifesaver, Blaine," he let out a relieved sigh as Blaine merely chuckled. Though, he was upset that the locker was taken by another, he was glad that it was by someone as seemingly kind as Joey.

Blaine sat down for lunch, Joey by his side. He noticed throughout the day that the new kid was a very avid talker. Due to that, he learned that Joey's whole name was Joseph Timothy Walker. He was born and raised in Los Angeles. He moved to Lima because his parents divorced, so now he lives with his father. He has more family here than in LA. He has a pet iguana named Pablo the Great and a pet taranchula named Ozzy. He also learned that his grandfather lives with them as well and has a thing for calling people 'The Kid', no matter the age or gender.

"So, Blaine, why don't you tell me a bit about yourself? I mean, I feel like I just talked your ear off..." Joey chuckled before taking a bite of his pizza.

"Oh, um.." Blaine thought for a while, wondering what exactly to say. "Well, I've lived in Ohio my whole life. I sing, dance-"

"You sing?" Joey interrupted.

Blaine nodded in response. "I'm a member of the Glee Club here, New Directions."

Joey rose a brow, swallowing the bite of pizza he was chewing on. "Glee Club? Like, show choir?" Blaine nodded again. "Are they accepting auditions?"

"We pretty much always are."

Joey seemed to jump up from excitement. "Oh, I could join! I sing, only a bit though. But I feel like if I join, I could get better."

Blaine couldn't help but find Joey's eagerness endearing. "Yeah, that would be great! We have a meeting after school today, if you want to tag along?"

Joey nodded excitedly. "Yeah, that would be really, really awesome, dude!"

Mon 17 Dec (2:15)

Rachel:Hey Blaine!

(2:15)

Blaine:Hey Rachel, how are you?

(2:16)

Rachel:I'm alright, I'm not interrupting anything am I?

(2:17)

Blaine:Not really. I just finished my class work so now I wait for it to end, why?

(2:17)

Rachel:Have you, well.. When do you think it's fast to move on from a breakup?

(2:18)

Blaine:Rach, is this about Finn?

(2:18)

Rachel:Can we say it is?

(2:19)

Blaine:I don't understand..?

(2:20)

Rachel:Just answer my question please

(2:21)

Blaine:Rachel, what is this about?

(2:21)

Rachel:Nothing, forget it.

Rachel put her phone down on the armrest of her couch as she looked over at Kurt on the other end. He was biting back chuckles, his eyes practically glued to his phone. If she knew that he would move on so quickly and on to Gabe, she wouldn't had pushed him towards his direction at the club.

"Rachel.."

"Hmm?"

"You're staring."

Rachel blinked a few times, snapping out of her spaced out state. "Oh, sorry.." She muttered.

"You know, you could change the channel if you want, I'm not forcing you to watch 'The Notebook' you know," Kurt said with a huff as he set his phone down on his lap.

"Oh.. no, it's fine, really.." Rachel sighed and rested her head back. "Don't worry about it..."

Blaine stood by his locker, waiting for Joey to meet with him. It was agreed that they would meet up after classes were over so that Joey could audition for glee. He thought about what Rachel might have been talking about during her texts. The two still talked from time to time. He would sometimes ask about Kurt but he would usually get "Why won't you talk to him?" or "He's doing okay, I suppose" as answers.

"Hey, are we ready to go?"

Blaine looked over to see a very excited Joey in front of him. "Yeah, come on," Blaine replied, pushing all thoughts about Rachel's texts out of his head. The two walked over to the choir room, the rest of the members were sitting around, chatting about their classes and what they did that weekend.

"Blaine, who's that? Is he your new stalker?" Brittany asked him. Everyone looked over at Blaine, including Mr. Shue.

"I'm not stalking anyone," Joey stated, completely confused by what was going on.

Blaine just huffed. "No, this is Joey, he's new and he's interested in joining the glee club." Mr. Shue eyed Joey curiously as the boy nodded in agreement to what was said. Blaine patted Joey on the back, as if wishing him good luck.

"Why don't you show us what you got, Joey?" Mr. Shue asked, a friendly smile on his face.

"Yeah.." Joey muttered. He turned to face Brad and quietly said something. The piano man nodded and stood up, letting Joey sit down. The boy straightened his back and began to play the song.

"Close to you, so far away,
A rented room, an empty space,
Sirens bleeding through the open door,
Movie scene in black and white,
The snow falls down alone tonight.
No one's ever felt like this before.

What went wrong with you and me?
This is my apology.
'Cos even when I fall asleep, you stay with me,
You stay with me.

Stuck inside a broken frame,
Watching as seasons change,
Hoping time will finally set me free,
Suddenly, you're standing there,
A crowded street, a lonely stare,
A thousand miles of traffic in between.

What went wrong with you and me?
This is my apology.
From the moment that I leave, you stay with me,
You stay with me.

Every letter that you wrote stays with me,
And every promise that I broke, stays with me,
And everything that's left inside, stays with me,
It stays with me.

Close to you, so far away,
A rented room, an empty space,
Sirens bleeding through the open door,
Movie scene in black and white,
The snow falls down alone tonight.
No one's ever felt like this before."

Everyone sat in awe as the song ended. Joey's voice was strong and laced with emotion. Blaine didn't notice until everyone began to applaud, but he had teared up. A single droplet rolled slowly down his cheek. He quickly wiped it away, not wanting to show to anyone that the song had struck a nerve. He sniffed and clapped along. He forced a smile to show that he was supporting Joey.