"Hey, Rach," he said groggily, wiping his eyes and turning his bedside lamp on so what felt like the light of a thousand stars flooded his vision. "What's up? Are you okay?"

"I... I think so," she said, but Kurt could tell instantly she had been crying. It was times like this, more than anything else, that made him wish he was still in New York. Kurt still had Aimee and Puck - Rachel was there alone. She had friends there, but not the kind she needed. If Kurt thought that she would agree to it at all, he would insist that she move back to Lima for a while so she could sort things out. But she was intent on achieving her dreams and nothing would stop her, so Kurt agreed not to.

"Hey," he said softly, "I don't want to hear your brave front. I know that you're hurting. You don't have to be strong around me, okay?"

And on the other end of the phone, Rachel broke down.

"Shh, shh" Kurt said, wishing more than anything he could have his arms and a blanket wrapped around her. He felt so helpless so far away.

They found out about the accident at the same time. Finn had gone home for the week because it was Carole's birthday and he wanted to surprise her. Rachel and Kurt were in the apartment alone when the call came saying that the car that Finn, Carole and Burt were driving in was hit head-on by a cement truck and the three of them were in critical condition.

Kurt, who's emotions usually got the best of him, found himself eerily level-headed - as if he knew what the outcome would be. Rachel was an inconsolable mess and Kurt did his best to comfort her while phoning everyone he knew to find out where Aimee was. It turned out Aimee was fast asleep at Puck's house and Puck was out of his mind with worry because Carole and Burt hadn't called him and they hadn't picked her up yet. Kurt ended up having to be the one who broke the news to him.

He booked a flight that night, making sure that some of their NYADA friends knew what was going on so that they could keep an eye on Rachel to make sure she was okay for the next few days while he sorted things out.

Kurt never ended up going back to New York.

And now Rachel was there, crying, alone.

"K-Kurt?" she asked when she could speak again.

"Yeah, Rach?" asked Kurt, his heart literally breaking with every sniff he heard. He had always hated it when Rachel cried and it was just a million times worse now.

"If I come back to Lima for winter break, you won't tell anyone I'm there, right?"

Kurt, for some reason, felt a burden lift off his shoulders.

"Of course not," he said, feeling a small smile play on the corners of his lips. "I have to ask though - is there any reason you're calling me at 5am on a Thursday morning to ask me this?"

"Well, I... uh... I'm parked outside your house right now."

"Hey, you. It's Blaine. Uh, is it ridiculous to say I miss you even though it's only been a few days since I last saw you? Because I do. I'm at school already and I was trying to call you but your phone went to voicemail, so yeah, I'm leaving you one because I guess you're still asleep. Just know that you're the most beautiful person on Earth and I'm so insanely lucky to have the opportunity to be yours. Anyway, I'll let you get on with your crazy morning. Can't wait for Friday!"

Kurt smiled as the machine beeped and asked if he wanted to save Blaine's message or delete it, and silently wondered if it was weird for him to want to keep it forever. He picked up his and Rachel's mugs and made his way to the living room where she was sitting with a blanket wrapped around her and a small smile on her face.

"You didn't tell me about Blaine," she said, taking the mug Kurt handed her.

"Well usually when we talk I'm more concerned about how you're coping considering you're usually miles away and I can't do much more than make sure you have someone to vent to. But yes, I've met someone."

"I would have been happy for you," said Rachel, unwrapping herself from the blanket so that Kurt could cuddle next to her under it. They sat in silence for a while before she continued speaking. "I mean, I know how lonely you were in New York and how none of the guys you went out with were what you were looking for. If you found that person here... I'm just really glad you have him."

"Thanks Rach," said Kurt, giving her a small peck on her cheek. "It's still very much starting off, but he's everything I've been looking for. He's Aimee's teacher, which is a bonus. Speaking of which, I should probably start getting her ready for school. Will you be okay to stay here alone? You're welcome to come along."

"No, it's okay," said Rachel softly. "I really don't want anyone to know I'm back. Even my dads think I'm still in New York."

"Okay suit yourself," Kurt said, giving her one last squeeze before getting up from the sofa to get Aimee's outfit and schoolbag ready. "Just for the record, Rach?"

"Yeah?" she said with a small smile.

"I really missed you."

He doesn't miss the tears that cloud her eyes.

"Missed you too, Kurt."

Blaine regrets the voice-mail as soon as he presses the end-call button. He knows it's just going to make him sound completely pathetic. He just really wanted to hear his voice that morning and when Kurt didn't pick up, he impulsively decided to leave a message. Now he realised that about ninety percent of what he said would make him sound like the annoying clingy person that he was trying desperately not to be.

He was just contemplating calling him back to apologize for the cheesiness of his previous message when there was a knock on his classroom door. He looked up to see who it was through the small window on the door and was surprised to find Sebastian's smirking face there.

The day suddenly seemed a lot longer.

Instead of making the thought visible, Blaine pasted a smile to his face and made his way over to the door.

"Hey, this is a surprise," he said, as Sebastian smirked down at him.

"Yeah well, I was in the neighbourhood," he said with a shrug. "Can I, uh, come in?"

Blaine had to resist the urge to immediately say no. Weird as it may be, Blaine's teaching space was something that was sacred to him. To let someone whom he wasn't completely comfortable with into that space was something that freaked him out beyond belief.

Still, he couldn't exactly slam the door in his face.

"Sure," he said, stepping aside so that Sebastian could walk in, immediately feeling that this was a terrible mistake. His face, as the looked from the weather-chart behind his desk to the days of the week mural and then to the reading corner and the alphabet posters on the wall, was enough to make Blaine wish he could melt into a puddle on the ground. Or at least have it open up and swallow him.

To his relief, Sebastian didn't say anything but turned to look at him with an unreadable expression.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure?" asked Blaine, hoping that the question didn't sound too biting.

"Can a guy not say hi to an old school friend?" asked Sebastian in return, cocking an eyebrow in an almost challenging way. So clearly he had picked up on the less-than-friendly tone of Blaine's voice.

"I'm just not used to visitors at work this early in the morning," said Blaine, hoping that this serves as some kind of excuse.

"Yeah well it's not normally my M.O.," he replied, taking a step closer to Blaine. "I just really wanted to swing by and ask you if I could take you out for coffee again sometime."

Blaine had started to panic a little and he tried to think of reasons he wouldn't be able to make it, when Kurt suddenly popped into his mind. Of course he couldn't because he was already dating Kurt and Kurt was perfect. The thought of considering doing something that could possibly mess up things between them was terrifying to Blaine. He didn't want to go there.

"Sebastian, I'm already seeing someone," he said with a sigh that he was relieved to hear sounded at least a little remorseful.

"No, I don't mean it like that at all!" Sebastian explained hurriedly with a chuckle, which sobered quickly as he sighed. "Believe it or not, Blaine, I don't have many friends out this way anymore - at least none that I'd care to spend time with. We always got along so well. I really wasn't asking you out. I just want to have someone to talk to, you know?"

Blaine couldn't help but feel the tension at being confronted with Sebastian so early on a Wednesday morning dissipate as he heard how genuine he sounded. Maybe Blaine had been too harsh on him. Maybe the only reason he acted the way he did was that he was so afraid of being vulnerable that he couldn't act any other way. Blaine didn't know what it was, but he found himself sympathetic to Sebastian's worries.

"Oh," he said, not really sure how to gracefully change tracks. "Well, in that case, I'm sure I could manage that. I would hate to see you explode because you have nowhere to vent."

Sebastian beamed at him.

"I knew you'd come around," he said, pulling Blaine into an incredibly awkward hug, before announcing that he had places to be and rushing off out of the class and down the hallway, leaving a very confused and conflicted Blaine.

He knew that whatever happened between Sebastian and him would be strictly friendly, but he somehow got the feeling that it was something he wouldn't want to share with Kurt.

And he hated himself for it.