A couple of days after Kurt had left Dalton Blaine was lying on his back in bed. He was only wearing a pair of sweatpants and his wet post-shower hair stained his pillow as he stared at the ceiling. Today had been his first day of returning to an empty room after classes ended for the day, since Kurt showed up in October.

Blaine felt his eyes tear up and he bit his knuckles hard, trying to push his feelings away. The room felt cold without Kurt's presence, and Blaine felt freezing without the stinging warmth that touching Kurt caused on his skin. The way it seemed to be sucked into his pores, setting all his nerve-endings on fire, mingling with the blood in his veins, pouring toward his brain and making it short-circuit. He couldn't describe what he was feeling now better than "cold and empty".

What if Kurt never came back? What if Blaine would walk around for the rest of his life and flinch every time he saw a head of chestnut-colored hair walk by? What if his heart shattered into yet another piece every time he gazed into a pair or glasz eyes? What if his soul was to be just a torn-off shred-

You're being overdramatic, Blaine. Blaine sighed deeply, wiping an escaped tear off his cheek and sitting up. The air of his room wasn't particularly cold, but he shuddered and Goosebumps broke out across his naked torso. He crawled under his duvet and pulled it up over his head. The small space between his face and the fabric filled with warm air as he breathed, and after a couple of minutes it was nice and comfortable under the covers.

He almost drifted off to sleep, but then his phone alerted him about a text-message. He sighed over-exaggeratedly and flipped the duvet off his upper body, grabbing his phone from the nightstand and reading the message.

From: Jeff
Message: Have you heard anything from him yet?

To: Jeff
Message: No.

From: Jeff
Message: Wanna come over and eat some more ice-cream?

To: Jeff
Message: Thank you, Jeff. But I'm gonna go to bed. Goodnight.

From: Jeff
Message: Okay. =( Sleep well.

Blaine pulled the duvet back over his head and promptly fell asleep.

On the Thursday after Kurt arrived at his family's house his father and Carole had dressed up and left to eat dinner at a restaurant. His mother's spirit wasn't around either, since she had given Kurt some space to think.

He was doing just that – sitting in his father's armchair in the living room – when the front door opened and slammed shut so hard the walls shook. Kurt shot into a sitting position and watched as Finn threw his bag onto the floor and stormed up the stairs, slamming his bedroom door shut too.

"Finn." Kurt breathed and followed after his brother, not realizing he walked right through his bedroom door.

As he entered Finn was in the process of ripping his second shoe off his foot, before throwing it with all his might at the wall. Kurt winced as the shoe hit the ground.

"That fucking asshole! He's the one who deserves to be dead!" Finn shouted, starting to punch his closet door. Finn never swears… Finn continued to lash at the door, alternating between shouting and growling angry words. Kurt stood a few steps behind him and cried silently as he watched.

Finn stopped swinging his fists and stood with them clenched at his sides, panting heavily. Kurt took a few steps closer and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm okay, Finn." Kurt whispered, even though he knew his brother couldn't hear him. Finn took a shuddering breath before swiftly turning around and falling back against the door, sliding down to the floor. Kurt watched as Finn rubbed angrily at his eyes with his fists, tears smearing across his face and hands while he started sobbing. He looked so small, Kurt thought. He kneeled down beside Finn's long legs and just watched him cry for what felt like eternity. His heart was beating rapidly against his ribs and he wanted so bad to just reach out and touch Finn, to comfort him. But he knew that he couldn't, that he never would.

Finally Finn stood and walked out of his room. Kurt followed him as he descended the stairs and padded into the kitchen. He ordered a pizza before taking a soda can out of the fridge and bringing it with him into the living room. Kurt watched Finn as he sat down heavily on the couch and turned the TV on. He absently turned the can over in his hands, occasionally taking a sip but never glancing at the TV. After a long while of a talk show playing on the screen without an audience, the doorbell rang. Finn hurried to put the can down on the coffee table and get his wallet out before opening the door. He took the pizza from the delivery man with an emotionless "thanks" before shoving a bill into his hand and closing the door again. Finn carelessly dropped the pizza box onto the coffee table before disappearing into the kitchen to get another can of soda. It was horrible for Kurt to watch his brother behave like this. Because Finn was so tall and clumsy, he was always careful in his movements at home so he wouldn't knock things over or break them.

Finn returned and placed the new soda can on the table next to the old one with a sigh. For the first time since he came home, he lifted his eyes toward the TV. He wrinkled his nose as he saw what was on, and if Kurt hadn't felt so heartbroken he would have smiled. Finn walked over to the media center and flipped through the DVDs for a few minutes. Kurt watched from his place in his father's armchair as Finn finally froze, holding a movie tightly in one hand. He took the disc out of the case and put it into the player before returning to the couch. He sat down and flipped the lid of the pizza box open, grabbing a slice and hungrily taking a big bite. Kurt whipped his head toward the television screen as a familiar movie jingle started playing. "The Sound Of Music"; one of Kurt's favorite movies. A sob-like laugh escaped him and he looked between the TV and his brother a few times. Finn had whined every single time Kurt had insisted they watch it together. But here he was, watching it voluntarily, all alone in the house.

Finn didn't even turn the movie off when his pizza was gone, only pausing it a couple of times to get more soda from the fridge.

When it did end Finn turned the media center off and left the pizza box and empty cans in the kitchen before walking up the stairs to his room. Kurt remained in the armchair, just staring at the now black screen for a few minutes, until he heard Finn's bedroom door shut. He walked slowly up the stairs and into Finn's room, only to find that it was empty. He went back into the hallway and followed Finn's voice. When he entered his own old room he found Finn curled up on his bed in pajamas. He walked closer and watched Finn trace the pattern on the duvet with his finger as he whispered softly. "I really miss you, Kurt. I knew I annoyed you most of the time, but it was awesome having a brother. I can't believe you've been gone for so long already. It still hurts as much as if it was yesterday. Just as much as the night those officers showed up at our door." Finn took a shuddering breath and wiped at his eyes slowly. "I knew I said it way too rarely and I know it's too late now, but I- I love you, man."

"It's not too late." Kurt whispered as he laid down on his side on the bed, facing his brother. "I love you too, Finn." Kurt tried to meet his eyes, but he couldn't since Finn was back to tracing the pattern with his finger. "You'll be okay too, some day."

Finn sighed heavily before getting under the covers. "I hope you are sleeping well." Finn mumbled before turning his nose into the pillow and drawing in a deep breath.

Finn was smelling Kurt's pillow.

Kurt felt a small piece off his heart get ripped off at the realization. Finn reached out a long arm and turned Kurt's bedside lamp off before curling up to sleep.

"Sleep well, Finn." Kurt whispered and patted his brother's brown hair, before closing his eyes too.

Kurt came back to consciousness when he heard whispering from the doorway. He lifted his head and saw his father and Carole standing in the dim light.

"I wonder what set him off this time." Burt grumbled, putting a hand on his wife's shoulder.

"Poor thing." Carole whispered and placed a hand on top of her husband's. "I bet it was someone at school who said something."

"It wouldn't be the first time." Burt squeezed Carole's shoulder lightly.

"I'm just upset we weren't home to comfort him." Carole leaned her head to the side a little, still watching her son sleep.

"We haven't been out to dinner since Kurt died. He would have scolded us endlessly if we hadn't gone tonight."

"He would have." Carole smiled sadly. "Let's go to bed." She turned and kissed Burt's cheek before walking down the hall to the master bedroom.

Burt glanced after her before looking back into Kurt's room. He carefully made his way over to the bed and bent down, moving some hair off Finn's forehead to kiss it. Kurt was slightly surprised, until he heard his father's whispered words. "I lost one son, but I got one too. Sleep tight, champ."

Burt exited the room just as carefully, silently closing the door behind him. Kurt smiled and closed his eyes again.

"When was the last time any of you saw him outside a classroom or the dining hall?" Nick asked the gathered Warblers.

"Like three weeks ago." Trent said sadly.

"And has anybody gotten a text from him that wasn't a response to one you sent, during the last month?" he continued, and all the guys were either quiet or shook their heads.

"We need to do something about this." David said. "Any suggestions as to what we can do?"

"Movie-night?" Jeff suggested half-heartedly. "All of us?"

"That's probably the only thing we want to do that he would actually approve of." Wes remarked. "I don't think he'd be keen on having us all hug him until he stopped being grumpy." He glanced at Trent and Jeff who pointedly ignored him.

"He'll feel supported and loved, without having to feel like he has to share anything with us." Thad said. "And if he wants to open up to us, he'll know he can."

"We'll do that then." Nick concluded. "Jeff, Trent. I assume you're willing to make sure he makes it to the common room?"

Jeff and Trent both nodded eagerly.

"BLAINE!"

Blaine turned abruptly as someone shouted at him in the hallway on his way from English-class. Jeff ran toward him, elbowing the other boys who were in his way. Trent jogged after him. They stopped in front of Blaine, both panting slightly. Jeff put a hand on Blaine's shoulder to steady himself and grinned. "Hey, man. What're you doing tonight?"

"Um… Nothing." Blaine said hesitantly, seeing the mischievous glint in Jeff's eyes.

"Good." Trent said and looped his arm through Blaine's, steering him in the same direction he had come from.

"Where are you taking me?" Blaine said worriedly. "Guys?"

"Don't worry. We're gonna have an amazing night." Jeff grinned, skipping up beside Blaine and looping his arm through his free one.

"Can I at least change first?"

Jeff and Trent giggled. "Don't worry, I brought you sweatpants and a t-shirt." Jeff grinned as they turned a corner.

"And I brought you something stylish." Trent countered, lifting his chin proudly.

Blaine was ushered into a common room where all his Warbler friends were scattered on the furniture. The sweatpants and t-shirt Jeff had mentioned was thrust into his arms before he was pushed into a joined room to change.

When he returned and put his folded school uniform on an empty chair the guys had apparently been busy getting snacks and ice-cream from somewhere. Blaine was tugged down into a sofa between Trent and David as Jeff turned on "Inception" on the big flat screen TV.

"Oh my GOD!" Thad exclaimed when the credits started rolling. "My brain is mush!"

"What it my life?" Wes flopped dramatically onto the floor.

"I don't get it…" Jeff mumbled to his boyfriend who patted him lightly on the head.

"I'll explain it later, babe."

"Come on, guys!" Blaine chuckled. "It wasn't THAT intense."

"It sure was the most intense movie I've ever seen." David argued.

Blaine laughed at his friends as they started mumbling theories and such amongst each other. Trent inched closer to Blaine as David got off the sofa to help Wes get off the floor. "Are you having fun?"

Blaine frowned slightly. "Of course I am. I'm having a movie night with all of my best friends."

"Who you have barely talked to for weeks."

Blaine bit his lip as he realized everybody had gone quiet to listen to his and Trent's conversation. "I'm sorry guys." He looked down at his hands on his lap, twisting them together for a moment. "I haven't heard a word from Kurt in a month now."

"Nothing at all?" Jeff said disbelievingly.

"At least that means he hasn't broken up with you." Nick tried to comfort him. "Have you called him?"

Blaine hadn't actually visited the Hummel's to try to bring Kurt back, but he had to lie to his friends anyway… "He won't answer. Not to texts either."

"Well…" Trent put a hand on Blaine's knee, and their eyes met. "We'll do everything we can to cheer you up until he comes to his senses."

Blaine lowered his eyes again, feeling them prickle with tears. "What if he never does?" he whispered hoarsely.

"He will." almost all of the guys said in unison and Blaine smiled a little.

Thursday the 15th of March 2012

Four days later Blaine once again returned to his empty room after classes ended. For some reason today felt like the worst so far. He had barely shut his dorm room door when the tears pooled in his eyes. He yanked his tie off and threw it carelessly over his desk chair, the blazer following shortly after. Blaine walked over to the bed and removed his pants, socks, shirt and under-shirt before pulling his sweats on. Nowadays he kept them on the floor next to the bed, where he could easily reach them as he got back to his room after class every day.

When he was covered up to his collarbones by the duvet he couldn't keep the tears at bay any longer. He hadn't cried this much for such a short time in all of his life. It had been thirty-three days since he'd seen Kurt's ocean eyes or heard his angelic laugh, and it was starting to drive him insane. He couldn't for the life of him hear the sound of Kurt's voice in his head anymore, and that was the worst of all. He knew he loved Kurt's voice and how he pronounced words like "wrong" and "song", but that didn't change the fact that they had stopped echoing inside his mind.

His phone buzzed a few times from inside his blazer pocket on the chair, but he ignored it. The tiny hairs on his upper body stood on end as he shuddered, he was freezing. He momentarily wondered if he was coming down with a fever. There was a soft knock on the door, but he ignored that too, only staring at the ceiling as more tears fell. This time the knocking was louder, more forceful.

"I don't want to talk right now, Jeff." he called, but his voice broke halfway through the sentence. "Go away."

The person outside the door knocked even harder.

"Please go away." Blaine whimpered.

The door creaked open slowly and Blaine turned over, hiding his face in his pillow. He heard the door close again and footsteps near the bed.

"What do you want?" Blaine mumbled and pulled the duvet over his head. "I just want to be alone."

The duvet was pulled away from his face, but he stubbornly kept his nose in the pillow, eyes tightly shut.

"Blaine, please look at me."

Blaine jerked so hard he hit his head on the headboard. He sat up quickly and met the ocean eyes he'd missed for weeks. "Kurt?" he breathed. If it wasn't for the fact that he had just hit his head and it was now hurting kind of badly, he would have thought he was dreaming.

"Hi." Kurt whispered, a blush creeping onto his cheeks but a sad glint shining in his eyes. "Don't cry." Kurt continued, lifting his hand to wipe Blaine's tears away with the tips of his fingers.

Blaine had to shut his eyes as the warm feeling of Kurt's skin prickled on his cheekbones. How he'd missed it. Blaine had many times during the last month thought that he would always feel slightly cold without Kurt's physical presence, without the stinging heat against his flesh. He dazedly opened his eyes and spoke, his voice coming out breathless. "You came back."

"Of course I did." Kurt smiled now, placing a hand against the side of Blaine's head. "I realized I can't be without you."

"This month has been the hardest one of my whole life." Blaine whispered, and shame filled Kurt's eyes. "Because I knew all along that I could never be without you."

Kurt curled his fingers into Blaine's hair and Blaine sighed contently. He looked deep into Kurt's eyes, and the smile returned to the brunette's face. Blaine's breath caught in his throat as Kurt leaned closer, pressing their lips together.