Rachel found Kurt sitting at the picnic table, his head in his hands, sobbing. This wasn’t a disappointed sobbing, like when one lost a competition or failed a test. This was a sobbing like one’s heart had been violently ripped out of their chest and then ripped into several small pieces. Rachel had never seen Kurt this upset, and that included when his dad was sick in the hospital. She rushed to her best friend and sat down beside him. He didn’t bother looking up.

“Kurt, sweetie, what happened?” she asked, putting her arms around her heartbroken friend. “I saw Blaine rushing away in his car. I tried to stop him, but he just ignored me.”

Kurt looked up at Rachel. The makeup he wore was all over his face, tears were streaming down his cheeks, and he was having a hard time breathing. “Rachel, I... I can’t breathe. I... I feel like I’m going to pass out. Please tell me I’m dreaming?” he begged pathetically, his words punctuated with sobs. “Please tell me these past three days were one big hallucination and we’re about to go to glee practice? Why do bad things keep happening to me? I don’t think I can take it anymore.” His eyes searched Rachel’s face for any answers she might provide to him.

Rachel sighed. She didn’t see herself as someone who fixed problems. She was more a motivator: the one who pushed people forward to accomplish goals and usually those goals benefited her in some way. Helping Kurt deal with Blaine’s inane behavior was not her forte, but she was a good friend and resolved to help Kurt any way she could.  

“I’m afraid we can’t go back a week and have a do-over, Kurt,” Rachel replied sadly. She put her hands on Kurt’s arms. “Come on, honey, you’re hyperventilating again. Just take slow, deep breaths.” Kurt tried to slow his breathing but it just panicked him more.

“Ra… rachel, I feel l… like my soul just died,” wailed Kurt, sounding more and more like a hurt little boy. “Blaine left me.” Kurt emphasized the word “left” quite loudly to Rachel so she could understand the severity of the situation. Once the grieving boyfriend realized she got it, he added, “He said I was choosing you and New York over him and that h… he couldn’t do it anymore!” He burst into more desperate tears.

Rachel stared at her best friend in shock. Kurt and Blaine were forever! They were as solid as she and Finn were. This couldn’t be possible! The four of them were going to buy a luxury apartment someday in New York and maybe a country house in Connecticut or possibly the Poconos! Fighting back tears, she advised, “This has to be a misunderstanding, Kurt. You guys could never break up.” She pulled out her phone. “This can be solved by a quick phone call. I’ll give Blaine a call and…”

“Don’t bother, Rachel,” Kurt interrupted, his sobbing starting to subside. However, he kept crying as he added, “I think I finally pushed him over the edge. This is all my fault. After all the stuff he told me about his dad, I did…” He then realized that he might have said too much and put his hand over his mouth, smearing the last of his lipstick all over the palm of his hand.

Kurt looked at his hand and threw it down in his lap. He rolled his eyes as he realized how ridiculous he must have looked like right now: a sad, clown-faced, recently dumped, ex-boyfriend with black make-up all over his face. He searched his pockets for something to clean himself up. Finding nothing, he looked at Rachel.

Rachel dug through her purse and pulled out her little package of wet wipes for Kurt. She remarked in a matter-of-fact voice, “You’re a mess, Kurt.” She handed him one wipe for his hand and she took another to start cleaning up his face. After clearing away most the smeared black lipstick and eyeliner, she looked at him curiously. “His father? What’s wrong with Blaine’s father?” she asked seriously.

Kurt shook his head. “I can’t say anything, Rach. I promised Blaine I wouldn’t. He may be my ex now…” he said and let out another sob, realizing what that really meant, and continued, “but I can’t betray his confidence like that.” He took a deep cleansing breath. “Let’s just say I found out something extremely disturbing, and I basically just made everything worse by telling him about New York. I’m sooo stupid sometimes!” He started crying again.

“But Kurt, I thought you had it all figured out! You and Blaine and New York. You said that Blaine was on board with everything!” stated a clearly flustered Rachel. All this drama and sadness were getting to be too much! She was confused and a little frustrated by the spinning emotions all around her. And she thought New Directions had it bad when it came to drama!

“We did, but I think that all my drama and the thing he confided in me has changed things. He thinks I’m abandoning him. Maybe I am…” Kurt whispered, worried that he was the one who had created an irrepairable rift in his relationship with Blaine by holding the knowledge of his treatment by his father hostage. Kurt was worried that maybe Blaine thought that Kurt would tell everyone. He was overanalyzing the situation, and unbeknownst to him, that wasn’t the situation at all.

“Come on, stop talking like that,” Rachel said soothingly as she brought Kurt’s head onto her chest and wrapped her arms around him again. She started gently rocking and said, “Just give him some time and you can talk this out. He knows we want him in New York as much as I want you there, right?”

“I don’t think this can be fixed, Rachel. I should just accept it now. I also don’t think I’m doing the New York thing. This was a sign that I should just stay home for now,” Kurt said resolutely, using the sleeve on his t-shirt to wipe at his eyes. It left black streaks across the fabric and Kurt stared at the stains in horror.

“I might as well throw this t-shirt away! Getting eyeliner out of fabric could be a nightmare and besides, the t-shirt was cheaply made anyway,” Kurt thought absentmindedly. He shrugged, looked directly at Rachel and asked, “Do I have much make-up left on my face?”

Rachel reached in her purse and pulled out more tissues and her mirror compact. Offering them to Kurt, she said, “Come on, Kurtsie. Let’s get the rest of that silly makeup off your face.” She let out a mischievous smile and tickled Kurt on the side.

Kurt squirmed and playfully slapped her hand away. “It is pretty silly, isn’t it?” he asked with a sad chuckle. “And Kurtsie is the most ridiculous name.” He put his finger to his lips and looking up thoughtfully, added, “But it DOES kind of grow on you.”

Rachel rolled her eyes. “The nickname or the black crap all over your face? I would suggest no makeup, unless you want to wear it. I would rather see your tragically handsome face without all that black stuff, especially with your compulsion for emoting,” she said with a smile and started helping Kurt remove the remaining makeup. He tried to return the smile, but he wasn’t sure if he would ever smile again. It felt like a piece of him was missing. 

“Better?” Kurt asked after he did some additional cleaning.

Rachel nodded her head and added, “You’ll need to do a good clean up once you get home, but you can pass as semi-normal.”

Kurt declared with a wicked grin, “Never! I’ll never be considered normal in any circumstances. I’m actually proud of my non normalness… non normality? Non normalocity? My uniqueness!” Then his face turned somber again.

Refusing to be deterred, Rachel said, “You need to come to New York, Kurt!”

Kurt shook his head and continued with his reasons to stay in Lima, “Dad needs help at the shop now more than ever. Besides, it might be fun to be Finn’s boss, that is, until you both move to New York. At least Finn and I have a few things in common now.” He was thinking of the video game talks he could have with his brother. It would pass the time during those particularly slow times at Hummel Tire and Lube.

Rachel realized this was not the time to argue with Kurt about New York. “I promise you’ll work this out,” she replied. “If you and I could get over that spectacularly dramatic fight last night, you and Blaine will work this out. He really upset me, too, but I know he was hurting over something, so I let it go. I had no idea how he actually felt about me. He was jealous of ME? I guess that makes me oblivious, huh?”

“Well, if you’re oblivious, then I’m clueless!” Kurt retorted sarcastically.

Rachel pulled her phone back out of her purse and sent off a text to Finn while saying, “I’m going to get Finn to send everyone home. I think you just need some alone time, Kurt.”

“Please don’t leave me alone?” Kurt asked frantically, grabbing Rachel’s arm. She jumped because she was concentrating on the phone and texting.

“Goodness, Kurt! Warn me before you manhandle me!” she scolded. “Of course I won’t leave you alone. I mean alone time as in no New Directions. I’ll be here as long as you need me,” she assured. Kurt nodded his thanks, and took one last stab at cleaning off his face. Still more black!

“I’m definitely going to have to rethink wearing all this makeup. I mean, I consider it war paint of sorts. It’s very symbolic,” Kurt thought. “There’s a time and a place for it, and for now I think this war is over. I’m calling a cease fire.”

“Rachel?” he asked.

Rachel looked up from her phone and replied, “Yes, Kurt?”

“I really thought he was the one. I was thinking of asking him to marry me after his graduation,” Kurt said, revealing his inner most feeling about Blaine and starting to weep again. “When will this emptiness go away?” he lamented, “I feel like there’s a gaping hole inside and I just want to die.”

“I’m not sure if it ever really does go away,” Rachel said and recognized that her comment was totally the wrong thing to say. She tried qualifying it with an explanation. “I felt the same way when Finn and I parted ways in junior year. I mean, it will go away in time. But I don’t think Blaine will be away that long. He’ll realize that he is missing you and come crawling back for forgiveness.”

“I doubt it,” replied Kurt, his poor nose all stuffed up from crying. He gave Rachel one last hug and stood up. “I should be the one begging for forgiveness. I really just want to go home now. Promise you’ll stick around?”

“Anything for you, Kurt. I think we should stop at the store and pick up some more ice cream and potato chips… the fried kind, not baked. Then we can find the stupidest movie on TV and laugh till our sides split,” she said and put her arm around the black-haired man. “We’ll get through this, I promise.”

Kurt looked at his best friend with surprise. It appeared that she was actually concerned for him! And not in a way that would benefit her. She was being selfless. He looked around to see if a comet was barreling towards them. Was it December 21st yet? “Thanks, BFF,” he said and offered his pinky.

“You’re welcome, BFF,” she responded and linked her pinky with his. They left the quad with their pinkies linked. For now, things were going to be okay. Kurt had his Rachel, but all he wanted was his Blaine.

******

Blaine pulled into the Berry’s driveway. He didn’t know where else to go. The Father Berrys were the first people he could think of to talk about his predicament with Kurt. “I loved Kurt so much but I just let him go,” Blaine thought to himself, launching into an inner soliloquy. “I knew I would have to set him free eventually, because once Kurt was in New York, all the guys there would discover how cute he really was and he could have his pick of anyone! Why would he want to stick with me in that case? It was better to let Kurt go first, so I wouldn’t have to deal with the pain of being dumped. I’ve always heard that dumping was better than being dumped. Then why did it feel like shit?” Blaine put his head on the steering wheel and continued thinking, “I had hoped to buck the system and make a high school romance work forever, even a long distance one. I believed Kurt when he said it could be done. Well, I wanted to have total faith that he’d remain true to me, although sometimes it didn’t seem realistic. At least that was what everyone else tried to tell me. They said that I was just living a romantic fantasy. So, only one question remains. What am I going to do? I can’t pick up my stuff at Kurt’s, and the very last place I want to be is home. God, I want my boyfriend!”

Blaine could picture his mom taunting him once she found out he had broken up with Kurt. “See I told you he would break up with you!” she’d say to him. “You’re damaged goods, Blaine. Nobody wants you. You’re not worthy of anyone’s love. You’re such a failure.” His mom always knew the most hurtful things to say to him, and he had tried to so hard to make her love him. Hell, to make everyone love him. 

He irrationally flirted with the idea of calling Sebastian, but that jerk would just take advantage of his vulnerability. Besides, that would just make everything worse, especially if Kurt found out. He still talked to several of the Warblers so word would have gotten back to Kurt, even if the visit was innocent. Blaine just needed someone to talk to, and Hiram and Leroy Berry were good mentors. They would understand what he was feeling, right?

He figured Rachel would be with Kurt, consoling him. That’s what girlfriends do, right? Blaine let out a large exasperated sigh, frustrated and angry with himself. That was not fair at all. It was also completely ridiculous. He knew that Kurt was loyal to him, but he always wondered if it came down to it, would Kurt choose Rachel or him? “I guess I just made him choose,” he thought. “God, what did I do? I just made a huge mistake. Blaine, you’re a dumbass!” Right now, he just needed to talk to someone. He would figure out his next move later.

Blaine turned off the engine and sat in his car, not sure what to do next. He knew he should be upset, but instead he just felt sort of numb. He had never really broken up with anyone before and wasn’t sure of the protocol. Should he change his status on Facebook? He decided to wait on that one. Blaine didn’t think he wanted to face changing through the entire roster of relationship statuses going from “in a relationship” to “it’s complicated” to the kiss of death “single.”

Just to make sure, he checked Kurt’s relationship status. It appeared that they were still a couple. It was a well-known fact that Kurt spent all his time on three different websites: YouTube, Ru La La, and Facebook. If Kurt had wanted to, he would have already changed his status. The fact that he hadn’t was a small comfort.

Blaine wasn’t even sure if he wanted to be broken up. But letting Kurt go was the right thing to do, wasn’t it? He felt that he was just holding Kurt back. That was why he wanted to talk to Hiram and LeRoy. They might help him figure everything out. The contradictory feelings threatened to start him on another panic attack.

He shook his head as if to dispel all these conflicting thoughts, got out of his car and made his way to the front door. Before he could knock Hiram opened the door and cried, “Greetings, Sir Blaine of Anderson! Welcome to our humble abode. Please, come in and make yourself at home!” Blaine hadn’t told them what was going on, just that he needed someone to talk to.

He took off his shoes, a habit he had from being raised in a house with white carpets, and asked, “Is Rachel here?” He knew full well she wasn’t. But he needed some excuse to talk to her dads. “I kind of wanted to talk to her, too.” Well, that part was true. Blaine didn’t want to talk to her now, but he knew he would want to talk to her later. Now that he was starting to think rationally, at least somewhat, he wanted to at least apologize and talk to her.

“I’m sorry, she isn’t here,” said LeRoy, entering the hallway. “She’s still over at your boyfriend’s house.” Blaine’s brave face fell and his bottom lip gave a slight quiver. Sensing something was wrong at the mention of Kurt, he added, “Blaine, are you okay? You’re looking a little pale.”

“No, I don’t think I am. I really need to sit down. Is that okay?” Blaine asked with the most polite tone he could muster. He didn’t think the two men were buying it, though.

“Of course, of course,” invited Hiram. “Please, take a seat. You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Can I offer you a cocktail… oh wait… strike that… can I offer you a soda?” Ever the host, Hiram briefly forgot that his young friend was underage and knew he would catch hell from Rachel and Kurt if he offered Blaine alcohol. A little birdie had confidentially told the two fathers of Blaine’s inability to refuse libations at one of Rachel’s famous karaoke nights.

“Just water would be fine,” said Blaine, his voice cracking. Actually, alcohol sounded great right now. Drinking himself into oblivion sounded like an awesome idea. “You’re not getting into that again!” he scolded himself.

As Hiram went to fetch his guest a bottle of spring water, LeRoy led Blaine over to the couch. “Please, sit.” Blaine sat, barely keeping in the emotions that were threatening to explode from him. “So Mr. Anderson, what brings this not-so-happy visit? Like I asked before, are you feeling… what do young people call it nowadays?” he called to Hiram, snapping his fingers.

“I believe okay is still the proper colloquialism,” Hiram called back, amused.

“Are you feeling okay?” LeRoy asked sincerely.

Asking a clearly upset person if he or she was “feeling okay” was always a bad idea. The tears that threatened to spill finally did. “I left Kurt!” Blaine solemnly declared in a tone suggesting there was no chance for repairing this relationship and he had no future worth pursuing. Simply put, his world had come to a tragic end. There would be no reason to get out of bed tomorrow, no reason to get showered, no one to plan his outfit(s) for the day, no one to bake cookies for or make out with, no purpose whatsoever. Yes, he felt the whole reason for existence had vanished, and as much as he wanted to endure this great loss stoically, it was written all over his face.    

“Well, I’m sure you’ll see him tomorrow!” LeRoy assured. “Ah, young love. You leave each other for a few hours, and it feels like forever.”

“No, sir… I mean we broke up. I LEFT Kurt!” Blaine said and started sobbing in earnest. “We had a big fight about going to New York and I… I said I couldn’t take it anymore. I’m sure Ra… rachel told you about what has happened to Kurt the la… last few days.” He stopped and realized what he had said to Rachel. “Oh my god, Rachel!” he cried and put his head in arms. “I said som… some really mean th… things to her!” he hiccupped. Hiram returned from the kitchen with the water and handed it to Blaine. Blaine paused long enough to thank him, open the bottle, take a long drink, and continue back with his crying explanation. “Now that I th… think about it, it’s… it’s completely stupid and ridiculous!” He ended his speech by crying, “How could I doubt Kurt like that?”

“What did you say to Rachel?” asked Hiram with concern. He was very protective of his little girl, and he wouldn’t be happy if Blaine did anything to harm her.

“I… I swear I didn’t mean to hurt her feelings, Mr. Berry!” said Blaine, eyes widening in slight fear as he realized just to whom he was talking to. Rachel was these two men’s entire world. He hung his head down and continued his tirade of self-loathing, “I… I’m such an awful person. I just kn… know she’ll never want to speak to me again!” He started hiccupping again from his crying jag, so he fortified himself with another swig out of the bottle of water. He braced himself and went on, “I basically accused her of stealing Kurt from me. I also accused Kurt of going ‘straight’ for Rachel. Oh my god, I’m such a moron!” He let out a heavy moan, put his head on the back of the couch and wailed, “How does anyone ever put up with me?” Then with complete sincerity he looked Hiram directly in the eye and asked, “Can I have that cocktail, now?”

“NO!” LeRoy replied and then turning to Hiram, exclaimed, “And no to you giving him one, either!”

“Nice try, Blaine,” admonished Hiram. He returned a look over to LeRoy and mumbled an apology to his husband, saying that the offer had slipped out earlier. Then the two shared a brief moment and something crossed between them. LeRoy nodded and left the room. Blaine looked at them with a pang of jealousy. He always wished he and Kurt would be like that, linked almost telepathically. Sometimes it was like that. All they had to do was gaze at each other from across the room and know what each other was thinking and feeling. Not anymore. Those days were over.

Hiram took a quilt from the back of the couch and stood up. “Blaine, please, put your feet up. When LeRoy gets back, we’re all going to have a little talk.” Putting his feet up on the couch made Blaine feel a little uncomfortable; was this turning into a therapy session? But he had been raised not to argue with his elders, so he put his feet on the couch. Besides, wasn’t that the reason for the visit anyway, to talk? He was so glad he had already removed his shoes. Hiram started to cover him with the blanket.

Blaine went to protest, “But it’s summer!”

Hiram ignored him and explained, “When Rachel had a crisis, we always used to cover her in her favorite quilt and make her some hot cocoa and then talk it through.” Blaine nodded his agreement. Starting to relax, he bunched up the quilt and gave it a gentle squeeze. Just knowing that it belonged to Rachel changed his attitude. He honestly began missing her and felt deep remorse for the cruel taunts he had shouted at Rachel while on the stairs in the school courtyard. She was only looking out for Kurt, much the same way he looked out for Kurt, too. Blaine could see that now, and he felt a deep shame settle over his body. He struggled to keep from crying, and he promised to himself not to make remarks that could be perceived as mean or cruel to Rachel anymore; unless, of course, she truly deserved them. Even then, he promised himself that he would talk to her first.

After Blaine and Hiram were settled, the older man asked, “Okay, Blaine. Start at the beginning, please. What happened?”

“Well, it’s way too complicated to explain everything,” Blaine started. “Don’t cry,” he told himself and asked for a tissue so he could blow his nose. As long as no one yelled at him, talking things through calmed him down. “As you know, Kurt didn’t get into NYADA. He kind of went a little crazy, to put it mildly. Things kind of went to hell, he had a huge fight with Rachel and basically flipped off the entire New Directions.” At that last piece of news, Hiram put his hand on his chest and gasped in shock. Kurt was always so kind and polite!

“Well, Rachel was trying to make things better and inadvertently angered Kurt,” Blaine explained. LeRoy came in carrying steaming cups of hot cocoa piled high with whipped cream and shaved chocolate. He put the mugs on the coffee table, and after thanking him, Blaine continued, “Eventually, things were resolved and it looked like everything was going to be alright. Then Kurt got some news that really upset me. He had an opportunity for an internship in New York. I felt like I was losing him all over again, so I flipped out. What in the hell is wrong with me?”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Blaine,” said Hiram, patting Blaine’s hand comfortingly.

“There’s way more to it than that, but I really don’t want to talk about it right now,” Blaine said. He wasn’t going to explain his fear of his father. He couldn’t. He was just too scared. “I just feel like I’m being left alone while Kurt is going off to New York to have adventures with your daughter. Feeling left out is kind of an understatement. I’m terrified,” he whispered.

“That’s completely understandable,” advised LeRoy. “I must ask you this, though. Do you really want to break up with Kurt? What does your heart tell you?”

“That I was being completely stupid and, no, I don’t want to leave him,” answered Blaine honestly. The more he talked about it, the more he realized that Kurt WAS his soulmate. Rachel was rapidly becoming his best friend and so was Finn. Now truthfully, Blaine was a little scared Finn would kick his ass, and Rachel would disown him. Those were the two people closest to Kurt, other than himself of course. “Well, I used to be the closest,” he thought bitterly.

“And do you think he really wants to say goodbye to you?” asked Hiram.

“I don’t think he wants to, but I feel like I’m holding him back. I figured I could force his hand. I don’t want to be the one who keeps him in Lima, right? I mean, that would be amazing, but that’s so selfish! I know I just sound like a stupid teenager in love, but this feels like something much more than a high school relationship. I guess I’m just scared that if he leaves for New York without me, he’ll find someone new. I just projected my fears onto Rachel.” Blaine shook his head and continued, “I adore your Rachel, but sometimes she just makes me feel like I’m second fiddle with Kurt.”

Blaine grew a little fearful that his comment about Rachel might upset her dads, but they didn’t seem mad at him. As a matter of fact, Hiram and LeRoy looked at each other and smiled knowingly. He was a bit confused at the reaction but waited for a response “Blaine, I hope you have some time because we’re going to tell you a little story,” informed Hiram.

“It’s not like I have anywhere else to go right now,” Blaine said. He hoped he didn’t sound rude. Rachel’s dads smiled. Feeling a little braver, he went on. “Would you mind if I stayed here for the night? I’m still not sure what I’m doing with Kurt, and I just need a place to think,” he asked shyly. He hated sounding too needy, but he really felt this was the right place to get help. Hiram and LeRoy never judged him or belittled his feelings, and he wasn’t sure where else to turn. He would usually turn to Carole in a situation like this, but that wasn’t an option, either. “No one is going to be home tonight and I don’t want to be alone,” he added quickly, covering up his fear of returning to his house. It was a little white lie. He thought his parents might be gone, but he wasn’t sure. They traveled all the time and he hadn’t had any texts from them. Besides, returning home to his parents or an empty house would be torture any way you looked at it.

“Of course,” said LeRoy kindly. “We can make up the spare room for you.”

“So, let’s commence story time with our heroes, Hiram and LeRoy,” Hiram interrupted and turned to Blaine. “Did you know that LeRoy and I met not too long after our 18th birthday? That’s very close to the age you are right now!”

“Well, Kurt did just turn 18 a couple months ago, and I’ll be 18 in a few months,” Blaine informed.

Hiram nodded and continued, “Well, we weren’t from the same area, but we met in that famous show choir, Up With People. You may be a little too young to remember them, but they were not unlike New Directions, just much, much bigger and filled with international members.”

“Can’t say that I have heart of them,” Blaine responded and smiled, realizing how much of an age difference there was between the two married men and him.

Hiram continued, “That’s neither here nor there. Anyhow, LeRoy and I became friends first. We were kindred spirits!” LeRoy nodded blissfully in agreement at Hiram’s romantic declaration of their boyhood crush phase.

“It took a while for anything close to a relationship to start. I was scared to ruin whatever we had. This starting to sound familiar?” Hiram asked, probing Blaine to interact.

“Yes,” said Blaine, blushing. “I was scared to start something with Kurt in case something like this happened.”

Hiram continued, “Now before you start jumping to conclusions, Mr. Anderson, wait till the end of the story. The group travelled around the world, singing at various fairs and carnivals. It really was a great life. As we traveled, LeRoy and I got closer. We eventually decided to stop denying our feelings for each other and officially become a couple.”

“Awww, how romantic,” said Blaine sincerely. What a great idea for a chick lit story! A true guilty pleasure for him, Blaine liked to read both teen-girl romances and choose-your-own adventures books. Once of his happiest days had been finding a book reading app for his phone so no one could see the covers of his favorite style of book. The teasing from the Warblers had been merciless, and if any of the jocks from McKinley found out, slushies would be the least of his worries!

“It was romantic,” Hiram said wistfully. “But as things were starting to get really good, disaster struck. The group split up into some sub-groups, and LeRoy and I were put in separate sections. That meant a year of touring apart. To a young 18 year-old couple, this was the worst thing to happen!”

Blaine sat forward, engrossed in the story. The parallels between these two men and him and Kurt were eerie.

“It was absolute agony, and I’d be lying if I said some road blocks weren’t thrown in our way. But we made it, and we are so much stronger for it. As you can see, we are together and more in love than ever,” LeRoy said and gave a loving look to his husband.

“Yes, and we adopted our little Rachel, and we now have a happy little family that will grow to include Finn and his family, although a little sooner than we’d prefer. Rachel will be Kurt’s sister-in-law, and you never know, you may become Rachel’s brother-in-law if you can work things out with Kurt,” Hiram added. “Speaking of which, that is another story that may help you.”

“What’s that?” asked Blaine. He was sincerely interested in what these two men had to say. It was really helping him. It was also comforting to know there were others in this world that went through sometime similar and understood his angst.

“Well, I’m sure you met Miss Shelby Corcoran last year when she was working at the school, correct?” asked LeRoy. Blaine nodded. Although he didn’t know the former teacher and coach of Vocal Adrenaline very well, Kurt filled him in on her situation. It was amazing that Rachel’s birth mother had tried to come into her life in such an invasive way, barely acknowledging that Rachel existed and adopting Quinn’s baby, Beth, at the same time. It was a really shitty thing to do, actually.

“Very good, that will save us some time. When we were looking for a surrogate for Rachel, we met Shelby through a personals column. She was a bit younger than us, but we struck up a very close friendship. Well, I should say that Hiram did,” explained LeRoy. “I was still close with her, but nothing like the bond that Hiram had formed with her.”

“I was devoted to LeRoy, but Shelby was my best friend. The musicality of her flowed all around and I adore a good Broadway style performer,” added Hiram. “Unfortunately, because of a breakdown of communication, LeRoy was convinced that I was actually having an affair with her because we spent so much time together.” Blaine’s eyes widened. The parallels just kept coming. “Now, Blaine, do I look like someone who would have an affair with a woman?”

“I’m not sure if I should answer that, sir,” Blaine chuckled nervously.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. I am as gay as a three dollar bill… wait, that’s not the right phrase,” Hiram dismissed and continued, “Anyhow, things got pretty bad and we almost split. All because we couldn’t talk to each other about our concerns. Eventually, it blew up in a spectacular fight between all three of us. We all realized that our relationships were way too important to throw away like that, so we sat down and talked. I mean Shelby, LeRoy, and myself. Everything got sorted, but I learned a very valuable lesson, which I am about to impart on you, young man.”

“I’ll take anything right now,” said Blaine. He was blown away at this story. He just needed to replace the three adults’ names with himself, Rachel, and Kurt, and the story would be the same. Except for the surrogate pregnancy thing, of course. He didn’t think Rachel would be interested in doing anything like that anyway if Blaine and Kurt asked her. He realized his mind was drifting to some weird shit so he shook his head to eject them.

“If you take anything away from this conversation, remember this: The single most important thing about a successful relationship is open and honest communication. You can’t let things fester. You can’t keep feelings from your partner. You need to make sure you’re both satisfied, and not just physically. This is a partnership and you need to make sure it’s balanced,” advised Hiram and patted Blaine on the knee.

“I really should know this, shouldn’t I?” Blaine snorted bitterly. He felt so clueless at times.

“Sometimes, you just need to be reminded every once in a while,” said Hiram with a smile. “And you are young and not so stupid, but it’s easy to forget.”

LeRoy added, “And the same goes for your friendships. When something is bothering you, you need to talk to your friends. We aren’t that close with Shelby anymore, but we do keep in touch and remain on friendly terms. I encourage you to talk to our little Strawberry. She’s not that unreasonable, you know!”

Blaine let out a little giggle and asked, “Strawberry? Are you talking about Rachel?”

“The very same,” answered Hiram. He leaned into Blaine and whispered conspiratorially, “But you won’t call her that, right? She would have our heads.”

Blaine kept from laughing and promised, “No, your secret is safe with me,” as he nodded knowingly and tapped the side of his nose. He hated fibbing to the two men. However, he was going to use that cutesy little nickname at his first opportunity and every opportunity thereafter. “I know exactly how I’m going to pay her back for the pictures. And wait till I tell Kurt! Kurt would have a field day! Oh wait…” he thought with a start. Kurt being around was always a given. It was a shock to realize otherwise.

“Sorry, we Berrys tend to be longwinded,” said Hiram. “But did that help at least? Do you have any questions?”

“Not really, but thanks,” said Blaine with a small tight smile. “I really should learn to take my own advice. I said almost the same thing to Kurt yesterday when he had the fight with Rachel. I think I want to talk to Kurt, but not until tomorrow evening. I just need some down time, then I have some errands at home. Are you sure I can stay here?”

“Of course! You’re always welcome here, Blaine. You should know that by now. Are you hungry? We were thinking of ordering some food from Breadstix. They deliver, you know!” asked Hiram.

“I’m starving!” exclaimed Blaine. He loved that awesome creamy pasta from the Italian restaurant. He then realized that he hadn’t eaten much for dinner. He had taken off in mid-meal. He reached into his pocket for his wallet. “At least let me help you pay for half,” he said, pulling out a couple of twenties and offered them to Hiram.

“Nonsense!” said Hiram and pushed Blaine’s hand away. The younger man smiled and stuffed the money back in his pocket. It was only polite to offer!

Blaine spied the baby grand across the room and started to have itchy fingers. It felt like it was weeks since he was able to play. While LeRoy was on the phone ordering the food, Blaine called, “Mr. Be… Hiram, would you mind if I played a little? It’s such a beautiful piano, and it seems to be calling my name.”

“By all means, please do!” Hiram exclaimed. “It seems like forever since we have had a good ol’ fashioned sing along. Rachel practically lives over at Finn’s lately!” After LeRoy finished the call, Hiram walked over to his husband and excitedly said, “Guess what? Young Blaine here is going to give us a concert! This is turning out to be a wonderful evening indeed!”

Blaine grinned and took a seat at the bench. He started by playing nothing in particular, some random classical song he learned when he was younger. He continued with “Firework” by Katy Perry and hummed along. Playing the piano was a great way to distract him from the gaping void in his heart.

“Strawberry… er, I mean, Rachel would be so pleased that you know that song,” informed Hiram. Blaine laughed and continued playing. While he played, he thought back to the conversation with the two older men. He had confessed his deepest feelings to them and told them that he felt like a stupid teenager in love…

“There’s a song I want to play, but I don’t know how off the top of my head. Would you happen to have the sheet music for the song I’m thinking of?” asked Blaine. It was a long shot, but the Berry’s had an entire library full of songbooks, so it wouldn’t hurt to ask. Blaine gave the song title to the delight of Hiram and LeRoy.

“Oh, that brings me back!” exclaimed LeRoy, clapping his hands happily. “Remember how the men’s portion of the choir used to sing that acapella?”

“Ah yes, precious memories,” said Hiram with a smirk. “It just so happens we do have that sheet music. Shall I fetch it?”

“Yes, please!” Blaine responded. He was feeling so much better, but he was really missing Kurt. He hated having his boyfriend - was he his boyfriend again? – having his boyfriend home alone torturing himself like this. He decided that after dinner he would send Kurt a text, even to say he wanted to talk. Hell, maybe Kurt even hated Blaine for what he did. He played the piano aimlessly until Hiram returned with the music.

“Victory!” cried Hiram as he entered the room. The Berrys sure could enter a room dramatically, that’s for sure. It looked like Rachel learned from the best! “I took the liberty of grabbing some other sheet music as well. It might be a long evening,” he added with a joyful glint in his eye. Any excuse to sing was a good one in the Berry house!

Blaine beamed and accepted the sheet music, placing it on the piano. He did a couple practice runs while humming along to the music. He was a whiz at picking up new arrangements so it didn’t take long. “Okay, so ready?” he asked.

“Ready!” called the other two in unison.

Blaine started playing and the two older men sang backup with some awesome harmonizing. It almost felt like singing with the Warblers again. Blaine took lead on the first verse and sang:

“Each time we have a quarrel,
It almost breaks my heart.
'Cause I'm so afraid that we will have to part.
Each night I ask the stars up above.
Why must I be a teenager in love?”

Hiram and LeRoy were always impressed by Blaine’s singing and signaled him to take backup while they took over:

“One day I feel so happy.
Next day I feel so sad.
I guess I'll learn to take the good with the bad.
'Cause each night I ask the stars up above.
Why must I be a teenager in love?”

Hiram took over at the piano and Blaine stood behind, reading the music as he wasn’t sure of the words. There was nothing like singing a song to express emotion. Blaine always had a soft spot for these old songs. If he wasn’t born in this time period, he would have wanted to be a child of the ‘50s. Everything seemed to be so much simpler back then. All three men sang the last part of the song:

 “I cried a tear for nobody but you.
I'll be a lonely one if you should say we're through.
Well if you want to make me cry,
That won't be so hard to do.
If you should say goodbye,
I'd still go on loving you.”

It looked like Hiram was going to play the song again so Blaine opened his mouth to start at the bridge and chorus again, but was interrupted by a female voice from the hallway:

“I cried a tear for nobody but you.
I'll be a lonely one if you should say we're through.
Well if you want to make me cry,
That won't be so hard to do.
And if you should say goodbye,
I'd still go on loving you.”

 “Each night I ask the stars up above,
Why must I be a teenager in love?
Why must I be a teenager in love?”

Blaine spun around to see Rachel standing at the doorway, looking nervous and wringing her hands. “Daddy and Papa used to sing that to me when I was a baby as part of their fifties popular music set list. They have songs from every era, you know. It was one of my favorite songs growing up. How did you know, Blaine?”

Hiram and LeRoy smiled widely at their pride and joy. They were proud that their little girl knew them so well.

“Rachel…” whispered Blaine and walked up to his friend nervously. He knew how Rachel could get when she was mad, and he didn’t want to be anywhere near her if she was going to blow. “How’s Kurt?” he asked timidly.

“He’ll be fine. Finn is taking care of him,” she said coolly. “How are you?”

“Better, thanks to your dads,” Blaine said, relieved that Rachel wasn’t going to throw anything at him. He pulled in closer. “Rach, I think we need to talk.”

“I think we do,” Rachel agreed, grabbing Blaine’s hand and pulling him to the couch.

“We’ll leave you kids to talk,” said Hiram with a smile. “Blaine, can you keep an ear out for the food?”

“Of course, sir,” Blaine responded. After the men left the room, Blaine turned to a stony faced Rachel and said, “So…”

"So..." she answered, crossing her arms. This was going to be a very uncomfortable talk.