The heady scent of dusty books swirled through the thick early summer air. The sound of pressing silence matched this tension, but the overall ambience was easy concentration. A pen scratching against paper, a sniffle, the occasional swish of a turning page, the thud of a textbook—only these marred that beautiful silence, and it was glorious. Every now and then he would unconsciously run his palm over the smooth wood of the table upon which his many study materials were laid.

A tinkling bell heralded the arrival of a second person, but the first was so engrossed in his work that he failed to notice the sound. Nearly silent footsteps, and then a soft, deadened voice: "Blaine?"

The studying boy looked up in surprise; it wasn't often that he had company at the Lima Public Library—in fact, he wasn't sure if anyone actually worked there. His expression of shock was quickly replaced by one of joyful recognition. "Kurt!" Recognition soon gave way to concern. "Kurt, what's wrong?"

To Blaine, it was as if some force had removed the essence of Kurt and left an empty eighteen-year-old body in its wake. The normally sparkling glasz eyes that burned with fire and passion and life were a cold, icy blue. The glowing pale skin that glimmered and begged for the touch of Blaine's far rougher fingertips was pallid and dull. The thick chestnut locks that were always both impeccably styled and beautifully careless hung limp and sad.

"Kurt," Blaine choked, shocked and disturbed by his boyfriend's drastically uncharacteristic appearance. He immediately abandoned his Italian workbook and strode to Kurt, who buried his face in the younger boy's shoulder. Blaine gripped him tightly, fully prepared for the onslaught of tears, but none came. Kurt was simply...lifeless.

Leaning back so his shoulders rested against a bookcase, Blaine rubbed his hands soothingly up and down Kurt's back, now thoroughly bewildered by the older boy's behavior. "Kurt," he whispered softly. "Love, talk to me. You're scaring the crap out of me. Please let me in."

Instead of answering, Kurt pulled away from Blaine robotically. He reached into the back pocket of his jeans and retrieved a crumpled envelope. He wordlessly passed it to Blaine and then collapsed in the chair Blaine had been working in earlier. Confused, Blaine inspected the envelope, heart sinking when recognized the return label.

NYADA.

Kurt didn't get in.

"Oh." Blaine sank to his knees beside Kurt's chair, tossing the envelope aside and gathering the broken boy's hands in his own. "Oh, Kurt, don't worry about this, okay? This is nothing. You're too good for NYADA. If they don't want you, screw 'em! You don't want them!"

"What do I do?" Kurt's voice was flat, void of all life and hope. "It's too late to apply anywhere else—not that I'd get in anyway. I'm stuck here, Blaine. I swore I was going to get out of here, but I put all my bets on NYADA, and they realized that I wasn't good enough."

"Now wait just one min—"

"Rachel got in." That bit of news was enough to freeze Blaine's heated rebuttal of Kurt's self-deprecation. "She screwed up her audition and stalked Ms. Tibideaux and she still got in. I don't get it, Blaine. I aced that audition, I know I did. What's wrong with me?" He finally removed his gaze from the tabletop and affixed it on his boyfriend. His eyes were now overflowing with tears, and his voice shook as he continued. "Why am I never good enough? I wasn't good enough for Tony, I wasn't good enough for class president...I'm so happy for Rachel, I really am, but why does she get everything in life? Can't I win, just once? What do I have to do to be good enough?" He threw himself into Blaine's surprised but welcoming arms. "When am I ever going to get it right?"

Blaine gently rocked Kurt back and forth on the Lima Public Library floor, right in the 450 section. He let the distraught boy sob and scream and rage and do whatever he needed, all the while whispering small words of comfort like I love you so much and you're perfect and you're more than good enough for me. A thousand plans and schemes and possibilities raced through his mind, each more unlikely than the next. One thing was for certain, however: Kurt was going to New York come fall, if Blaine had to carry him there himself.

When Kurt's cries started to quiet, Blaine gently eased the graduate back and looked into his eyes. The deadness was gone, replaced by a sheer devastation that shattered Blaine's heart all over again. "Kurt..." Blaine's voice broke, so he swallowed and tried again. "Kurt, I don't know what to say. I wish I had some plan to fix this, to make everything better, to make you stop looking so broken, but I don't, and I'm sorry. All I can offer is an unconditional I love you, a promise that whether you're the next Andrew Garfield or whether we end up in a cardboard box begging for change, I don't care. I love you now and I'll love you then and I'll love you always."

"Just like The Notebook?" Kurt whispered, resting his forehead against Blaine's.

"Just like The Notebook." Blaine kissed Kurt's nose. "Are you going to be okay?" The older boy nodded in reply. "Good. You know what this situation needs? Cheesecake."

Kurt laughed softly. "I knew there was a reason I keep you around."

"It isn't for my dapped good looks?" Blaine asked in mock outrage.

"Mm, definitely not." Kurt kissed him tenderly. "Thank you for being here."

"Any time."

For the first time, Kurt glanced around and fully recognized their surroundings. "Wow, sorry, I guess you were studying—"

"Don't worry about it. I was trying to play the good student and study really hard for my Italian final, but honestly, the exams at McKinley aren't nearly as difficult as those at Dalton."

"True." Kurt stood and straightened his outfit. "I believe I was promised a cheesecake." He held out a hand to pull his boyfriend to his feet.

"Not a whole cheesecake," Blaine clarified. "I've been in here for hours. I need junk food too."

"Think again, Bowtie Boy." The two quickly packed away Blaine's study material, and then walked arm-in-arm out of the library to Kurt's Navigator.

Before circling around to the passenger side of the truck, Blaine pulled Kurt in for a searing kiss. "It's going to be a good summer."

"Promise?"

"Promise."