Kurt stared at his phone intently, though it didn’t change from its usual lock screen.
It was Wednesday afternoon. Burt and Carole were back home now, and they were all in full-on Thanksgiving preparation mode. Kurt and Carole had been cooking all day, getting all of the cold dishes ready, making marinades, and prepping the turkey. Finn and his girlfriend would be flying in, arriving at the Columbus airport that night. Kurt had been so busy he’d hardly had time to think.
But when he did, he managed to think about Blaine.
Kurt hadn’t spoken to Blaine since he left the house on Monday. He knew that Blaine must have talked to Maia on Tuesday. That was the deal, right? One day to think, and then they were going to talk? That’s how Kurt had taken it, anyway. He’d expected to hear from Blaine afterwards, with a victorious text or perhaps another tearful, drunken phone call. But neither had come. Kurt wanted to know what had happened. He hated himself for it, but it mattered a lot to him whether or not Blaine had a girlfriend. Kurt hadn’t even known why they got into a fight in the first place, but it seemed like a big deal, possibly breakup warranting.
So why was Blaine being silent about it?
Kurt finally decided he had to talk to Blaine, and maybe nudge him into divulging how it had gone with Maia. So he sent him a simple text. Hey.
Kurt heard his father call his name from downstairs, so he dropped his phone back on his bed and left his room, trying not to dwell on the text.

Blaine woke up Wednesday morning and stared at his ceiling. It took him a moment to remember the events of the previous day, and upon recalling them he turned on his side and curled up, cradling his pillow.
He felt very alone in the world, suddenly.
He lay like that for a while, knowing that he didn’t have to hurry, since he had no classes today. He lay there and lazily considered the thoughts swirling through his head. He didn’t move until eleven, when his phone rang.
It was his mother calling. She was confirming plans for Thanksgiving dinner the next day, and then continued to chat with her son.
“And how’s Maia been, dear?” she asked.
Blaine sighed, pinching the skin between his eyes. “I…wouldn’t really know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know, Blaine? Haven’t you just-“
“Mom,” Blaine said, interrupting her. “Maia and I broke up yesterday.”
There was a small silence before Mrs. Anderson began speaking again. She apologized, and she asked Blaine why, and he told her. And then she comforted him. Blaine’s eyes ached as he talked to her, already sore from crying so much the previous day, but talking about it felt good. Blaine was suddenly so thankful for his mother, the way she knew how to say the right things to make him feel better.
“I’m sorry you two didn’t work out,” she said finally. “But you’ll find someone, Blaine. There’s someone out there who’s just right for you, the real you, who you are now.”
“I know, Mom,” Blaine replied.
After the call ended, Blaine held the phone to his chest and stared at the ceiling for a while longer. Finally he stood and walked into his bathroom. He put his hands on the edges of the sink, leaning forward and looking at himself in the mirror.
“You should talk to Kurt,” he told his reflection.
His reflection bit its lip.
He wanted to talk to Kurt. That was the first thing he wanted to do when he’d woken up. It was what he’d wanted to do right after he and Maia had broken up. And after he’d broken the rum bottle. And after his mother called.
But then he stopped himself, because when he thought of talking to Kurt, he felt something. He tried to examine this feeling, but he couldn’t quite place it. It had been so long…
He couldn’t be right.
The thing was, he was excited to talk to Kurt. Just the thought made him smile. And when he thought about it, he invariably thought, Now that I’ve broken up with Maia I want to talk to Kurt.
But that didn’t make sense. He talked to Kurt beforehand, even when Maia hadn’t liked it.
Why did things feel different now that he was single?
He shook his head, and his reflection mimicked him. He decided to give it some time. He felt too strangely about the whole thing.

Blaine showered, hoping that the rhythmically pounding water would help clear his head. Once he got out he stood in the middle of his room, clad in only a towel around his waist, and looked around. This dorm room was a good portion of his world, and what did it contain? Clothing, textbooks, school supplies, his laptop, a few books he enjoyed. It was a mostly neat, uncluttered space. There were no posters on the wall, no framed photographs anywhere. It abruptly seemed so dull and impersonal to Blaine. Anyone could have lived there. He suddenly wanted to move the furniture around from its standard setup, to paint the walls with bright colors, to fill it with meaningful, personal items.
As he considered this, he heard his phone vibrate on his nightstand. He walked over and picked it up. It was a new message from Kurt.
Hey.
Blaine stared at it shrewdly. It was the simplest text he could have possibly received. It was from Kurt, his friend. Possibly his best friend, now that he didn’t have Maia- they’d agreed that trying to be friends was going to be too difficult, for the time being. He should answer it. He really should. He wanted to talk to Kurt.
He couldn’t stop the smile that formed on his face when he thought about talking to Kurt, and his stomach twisted pleasantly as he typed out a reply.
Hey!
He sent it, and then collapsed backwards onto his bed.
What was going on with him?

Kurt helped his father bring in extra chairs from the garage, and once Burt left to pick up Finn and his girlfriend from the airport, he helped Carole dust the downstairs and clean the bathroom. He and Carole ate a quick dinner, and then he finally retreated to his bedroom, tired and sweaty. It wasn’t until about seven PM that he saw the Blaine had replied to his text. He considered how to respond.
How are you? He sent, deciding to keep it general and simple.
Kurt began undressing, planning on taking a shower before his step-brother arrived. His phone vibrated within minutes. He picked it up to read Blaine’s reply.
I’m not quite sure, to be honest.
Kurt raised an eyebrow. Why’s that? He asked.
Long story, I guess. Can I call you?
Kurt grinned happily at the text, and quickly typed a response. I’m about to get in the shower. I’ll call you when I’m done.
He set down his phone and headed into his bathroom, hoping that Finn didn’t get home until late, so he’d have plenty of time to talk to Blaine.

Blaine gulped as he read Kurt’s most recent reply. He tossed his phone on his bed and leaned forward, putting his elbows on his desk and resting his face in his hands, attempting to squash all of the thoughts running through his head.
He may have been confused about his emotions, but he certainly wasn’t clueless, either.
Twenty minutes later, his phone rang. Blaine answered it. “Hi.”
“Hey,” Kurt replied. His voice, as always, was high and clear and vaguely musical. “What’s up?”
“Nothing,” Blaine said. “I don’t know.”
Kurt cleared his throat softly. “Is anything, um, wrong?”
Yes, Blaine thought. I’ve never been so confused in my life. “Maia and I broke up,” he said out loud.
“Oh, Blaine. I’m so sorry.”
Kurt sounded so sincere, too. He was just so nice and compassionate. “Yeah,” Blaine said lamely. “Thanks.”
“Was it, um, a mutual sort of thing, or…?”
Blaine straightened in his chair, staring out the window at the darkened campus. “Yeah, we both agreed that it was best. We’re just not right for eachother.”
“That still sucks.”
Blaine sighed. “I’ll be okay.”
They were silent for a moment, but it wasn’t uncomfortable, even over the phone. Blaine could hear Kurt breathing, and he wished desperately that he could know what his friend was thinking.
“When are you going back to school?” Blaine asked suddenly.
“I fly back on Sunday,” Kurt replied.
“Wow,” Blaine said. “That’s soon.”
“Yeah.” Kurt paused. “Isn’t it funny that we’ve only known eachother for a couple of weeks?”
“It seems like a lot longer,” Blaine said.
“It really does…” Kurt sounded thoughtful, but didn’t elaborate.
“Hey, Kurt?”
“Yes?”
“Do you think that…” Blaine swallowed. “D’you think I could drive you to the airport, on Sunday? I'll probably be going to Westerville, anyway, so it’s not far out of the way.” Blaine held his breath, waiting for an answer.
“Oh, sure!” Kurt said. “I mean, that would be great. I’ll tell my dad he doesn’t need to bring me.”
“Okay,” Blaine said, grinning widely. “Great. I mean, I just figured-“
“Yeah,” Kurt agreed. “It’s perfect.”
Blaine sat there for a moment, not saying anything, just grinning like an idiot.
“Oh,” Kurt said suddenly. “Um, my brother and his girlfriend just got here. I’m gonna have to go say hi.”
“Of course,” Blaine replied quickly.
“I’ll text you, okay?”
“Okay,” Blaine said. “Goodnight, Kurt.”
“Goodnight, Blaine.”
Blaine hung up, set his phone down, and ran his fingers through his hair. He could tell it was reaching Medusa status with all the fondling he was doing. It was a nervous habit, after all.