"You cant ignore me forever, you know." Blaine said to Kayleigh the following afternoon at the podium at Giovannis.

"Missing six calls is hardly ignoring you, Blaine." Her eyes didnt flicker from the seating chart she was looking over for the evening. Apparently there were several large parties with reservations tonight and she had to spread them out accordingly.

"Okay, well fine then," Blaine started saying, knowing she wouldnt be able to resist. "No details for you, then." Kayleigh let out a frustrated sigh and glared at Blaine.

"Im mad at you for not telling me. Make it up to me by giving me details." She offered, pretending to be disinterested. Blaine smiled knowingly.

"To be honest, there isnt much to tell. Weve been hanging out a bit and we didnt really start dating until last weekend, so... thats it." Blaine shrugged. Kayleigh groaned in frustration.

"Blaine! You are infuriating. I said details! When did you first kiss? Where did you first kiss? Did he ask you to be his boyfriend or did you ask him? Have you gone out other than coffee and that lunch date? Has he slept over yet? Have you—"

"Kayleigh! You sound like a teenager." Blaine interrupted, his face turning beet red.

"Sorry! I want to know!" She protested.

"I know, but its just been a while. The first time he kissed me was a few weeks ago on the cheek when we went out for coffee, and then the night after that he actually kissed me when I was leaving his house." Blaine thought for a second back to Kayleighs questions. "We didnt really ask each other or anything, we just kind of mutually agreed that were dating. We havent really gone out that much because of our schedules, but Ive been to his house a few times for dinner and such. I met his parents last week, and they came to see my show here, as you know." Blaine relayed as many details as he trusted himself to give, knowing Kayleigh would settle for nothing less.

"You havent answered my last questions." She pointed out.

"I ignored them for a reason." Blaine said, but Kayleigh jumped the gun and thought he meant something different. Her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped, but Blaine cut her off before she could assume anything else.

"Kayleigh! I meant I ignored the questions because we havent done anything, not because we have!" Blaine blushed again and Kayleigh giggled. "Look, were taking it slow for both of us. Its not going to be easy, we want to make sure that we can make this work before we get in too deep." Kayleigh nodded and was quiet, so Blaine took the opportunity to tell her about the party this weekend. She nearly squealed when he said he was going to a party with Kurt, clearly seeing no possible problems until Blaine pointed out the major problem.

"Kayleigh, its on Saturday. This Saturday. The twenty-third. As in the day before the twenty-fourth." Blaine emphasized and suddenly it clicked with her.

"Ah, Blaine..." She pulled him into a tight, comforting hug. "You cant not go, though. I know itll be hard, but youll be okay. Kurt will be there for you, Im sure he gets it." Blaine looked away and she immediately picked up on his apprehension. "Kurt doesnt know, does he?"

"Its a rough topic, Kay. Ill tell him eventually, especially after everything hes shared with me about his past, but I have to get through this weekend first. I mean... the first year was just horrible and last year I wasnt much better. I want to be okay this year. I want to keep on living and be fine. Its just a birthday; I can get through it. I dont want it to ruin Kurts weekend though, thats what Im worried about. I dont want to get distracted." Blaine sighed and leaned against the bench next to the podium.

"Youll be fine Blaine. The party is on Saturday, not Sunday. You can have fun at the party and not feel guilty about letting your mind forget. Then on Sunday if you feel like shit you can call me and Ill be there for you, okay?" Kayleigh squeezed Blaines shoulder for comfort.

"Thanks, Kay."

"Youll be fine B, just make sure you go have fun with your new boyfriend, okay?" Blaine nodded and smiled. Having someone else call Kurt his boyfriend was new, but he got a flutter of enjoyment out of it in the pit of his stomach.

Despite how overwhelmed Blaine was, he was actually having some fun at the party. Kurt, true to his word, barely left his side from the moment they walked through the doors. Blaine spoke to a few people, nothing much more than the standard questions and answers that are exchanged when you first meet someone. The atmosphere was inviting and stimulating, and Blaine let himself fall into it.

"Having fun?" Kurt asked when they went over to the bar to get drinks.

"Yes, actually," Blaine answered truthfully. "Im a little overwhelmed, but that was to be expected I guess." Kurt handed him a drink and smiled.

"Youre doing really well, you know. I know all the conversations are easy because nobody really knows you, but Im still really happy youre here and trying." Kurt smiled proudly at him and Blaine was about to answer but he was interrupted before he could begin by the partys host, Kurts costar, Russell Bourdan.

"Kurt! Im glad you could make it!" Russell said as he made his way through the few people around them.

"Hey Russ! Thanks for having me." Kurt sidestepped a bit and pulled Blaine up next to him. "This is my boyfriend, Blaine Anderson." He introduced, "Blaine, this is Russ."

"Pleased to meet you," Blaine offered his hand to shake.

"Likewise," Russ smiled, shaking Blaines hand firmly. "Boyfriend, huh? Since when? And why didnt I hear about this?" He joked. Kurt laughed along with him and Blaine smiled, following suit.

"Its fairly recent; we met a few weeks ago. Blaine plays regularly at Giovannis downtown. I saw one of his shows and I just had to meet him." Kurt winked at Blaine and smiled, and Blaine felt himself blush.

"No kidding? Well good for you guys! Ill have to see you play sometime, Blaine!" Russ smiled and Blaine decided he liked him. His smile was genuine, not the fake smile everyone else flashed at him when they met. Russ was about to speak up again when he heard his name being called and saw a man and a woman waving at him from across the room.

"Sorry guys, well catch up later," he smiled apologetically. "It was really nice to meet you, Blaine. You better treat Kurt right." He said in fake warning with a wink towards Blaine. "Enjoy the party, guys!" With that, Russ weaved his way through the crowd towards the people who were calling to him. Blaine turned to Kurt.

"He seems really nice, and actually genuine." Blaine told him, and Kurt chuckled.

"He is. Hes such a good guy, and hes really down to earth." Kurt replied. "Im glad you got to meet him, even though it was short. Hes the type of person who makes it a point to know people, and not just because it might get him ahead. He doesnt care about that."

"I like him." Blaine said with a nod and he sipped his drink. He and Kurt were interrupted by more and more people as the night passed on, but Kurt stayed by Blaine, introducing him to people and including him in conversations. Blaine noticed the time at five minutes to midnight and stilled for a moment, which didnt go unnoticed by Kurt.

"You okay?" Kurt muttered in his ear.

"Yeah," Blaine nodded. "Im just going to step outside for a second; Ill be right back." He squeezed Kurts hand and smiled in reassurance, then headed for the exit, nodding to the security guard as he walked past. The cool evening air hit him, and it was a nice change to the stuffy air inside created by the amount of people.

Blaine leaned against the side of the building and put his hands in his pockets, tipping his head back to feel the cool brick against his skin. His gaze settled up on the few stars that shone bright enough to be seen past the bright city lights and he let out a deep sigh. He was okay; he would be okay.

As soon as the minute hand on his watch hit midnight, Blaine gazed up once more and had a small, sad smile on his face.

"Happy birthday, Case." He whispered into the cool summer night. He was silent for a few minutes as he simply watched the very few stars that could be seen when he heard footsteps walking towards him.

"Needed a break from the crazy?" Kurt asked gently, leaning against the wall next to him.

"No, the party is actually a lot of fun. Im glad I came." Blaine smiled and turned his head to face Kurt, seeing his flushed cheeks from the heat inside the building.

"So whats up?" Kurts voice was full of concern, even though Blaine could tell he was trying to cover it up.

"Its a rough weekend for me, thats all. Not because of the party, its like this every year." Blaine shrugged, trying to keep himself upbeat.

"Whats this weekend?" Kurt wondered.

"Sunday in particular—well, today now. The date." Blaine sighed. "Shit, sorry, I shouldnt get into this now. Im fine, lets go back inside."

"Blaine, do you want to talk about it?" Kurt stopped him by putting a hand on his arm. He searched Blaines eyes and Blaine could tell from his changing expression that he found something there.

"No, its okay Kurt; I dont want to ruin your weekend. Really, Im fine, I just needed a minute." He started to walk back inside again, but Kurt spun him around.

"Blaine." He said sincerely, eyes boring into Blaines. "Remember the other night when you told me it was okay to need comfort?" Blaine stared back at Kurt and nodded slightly, feeling the sting behind his eyes and trying so desperately to fight it back. "Come on, lets go say goodbye to Russ and well go make some coffee." Blaine knew there wasnt really another option, so he reluctantly agreed. Ten minutes later, they were seated in Kurts car on the way back to Blaines apartment.

"You didnt have to leave Kurt; I feel awful." Blaine apologized, but Kurt shook his head and stopped him.

"Blaine, we were there for hours, Im not mad at all. We had fun while we were there, and honestly, the party is going to die in less than an hour by now anyway. I would have been leaving soon regardless." Kurt reached over and laced his fingers through Blaines to comfort him. When they pulled into the parking lot of Blaines apartment, Blaine let out a breath and Kurt stroked his thumb across his knuckles.

"If you dont want to tell me, its okay, but Ill be here if you want me to be." Blaine nodded and opened the car door, letting go of Kurts hand along the way. Kurt followed closely behind as Blaine unlocked the door to his apartment and let them in.

"Ill go make some coffee," Blaine offered, making his way into the kitchen. The two were silent until Blaine returned with two filled mugs and set them on the coffee table before settling next to Kurt on the couch. Kurt held his hand again and waited.

"I wasnt always this closed off, you know." Blaine said quietly after he took a sip of coffee.

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked patiently.

"I wasnt always so cautious to open up to people. I mean its different with you, but that wasnt until after we agreed to this deal. Ive always been shy, but I didnt really have too much trouble opening up to people once I met them. I used to let people in a lot more than I do now." Kurt waited, but he decided prompting Blaine was the best way to go about this until Blaine decided to let it out.

"So what made you close yourself off?"

"I-Im afraid to get hurt again." He whispered.

"Thats not something to be ashamed of, Blaine. Everyones afraid to get hurt." Kurt was confused when Blaine shook his head.

"No, its not just heartbreak Im afraid of," he said. "I..." he took a deep breath.

"You dont have to tell me, Blaine."

"No, I want to, its just hard, especially now. Honestly I havent told anyone in a while. The only person I talk to about it nowadays is Kayleigh, and we dont talk about it that much because weve gotten through it." He took another breath and Kurt waited patiently once more. "The last time I really opened up to someone—and I mean about everything—was my freshman year of college."

"What happened?"

"I had a boyfriend... Casey." Blaine nodded towards the pictures hanging on the wall that Kurt saw the last time he was over. "He was my best friend and I really actually let him in. He knew me better than anyone, my parents, my brother, and all of my other friends. He was the last person I was ever really comfortable enough to be around, to share everything with. He was... everything to me. I loved him and he loved me, and we here happy and I was comfortable with myself whenever he was there. He made me everything I am." Blaine paused and looked longingly at the pictures for a moment. Kurt was silent and watched him as he seemed to temporarily fade back into the memories before speaking once more.

"My... my senior year, just a month or so before I graduated, he was on his way back here to our apartment and..." Blaine trailed off and had to wipe at tears beginning to flow from his eyes.

"Hey, Blaine, shh, its okay. You dont have to finish. Its okay." Kurt comforted, pulling Blaine close.

"No, its... he got into a car accident on the way home. They rushed him to the emergency room, but he was gone before they even got there. I wasnt called until a few hours later and... I just felt so empty. Like everything I poured my heart into was shattered and left behind. And I didnt even get to... to—"

"Oh, Blaine, Im so sorry," Kurt said sincerely. There was no pity in his voice, just genuine sympathy for what Blaine had gone through. Blaine allowed Kurt to wrap him in his arms, seeking the comfort of Kurts familiar scent.

"Its okay, Ive coped and moved on from it, its just hard to talk about sometimes. Especially today, its his birthday." Blaine sighed and wiped under one of his eyes once more. "Hes such a big part of who I am... Which is weird to say, but I honestly wouldnt be anywhere near as driven as I am without him. He was always supportive and nothing less than my biggest fan and he just gave me so much confidence all throughout college that..." Blaine paused again and sniffled a bit. After catching his breath, he continued.

"I miss him a lot, still. Id probably still be with him if he were here, and Id be more confident with myself and... Oh God, Im sorry, Kurt. I didnt mean it like that." Blaine said, immediately lifting his head to look at Kurt. He really did believe that he and Casey would still be together if he were alive, but he didnt want Kurt to think that he didnt appreciate everything hes done for Blaine. Kurt had been a big help in boosting his confidence, even in the few short weeks that hed known him.

"I know; dont worry." Kurt said, settling back into the couch and pulling Blaine into him. They were silent for a few minutes and Kurt absently stroked Blaines arm, much like Blaine did the other night when he was comforting Kurt. "For the record, though," Kurt said quietly, "Thank you for telling me."

"Im glad I could," Blaine breathed.

"All of those songs you wrote," Kurt started to ask, thinking back to the lyrics hed heard time and time again, "and a lot of the ones you cover for that matter... theyre about him, arent they?"

"Most of them, in some way or another. I wrote a lot of them in college, some while he was still alive and we were together. We were good for each other."

"Is that why youre so confident when you sing?" Kurt wondered.

"What do you mean?" Blaine tilted his head to look at Kurt from where it rested on his shoulder.

"You said he gave you confidence, and most of your songs are about him." Kurt said with a slight shrug.

"Yeah, I guess. I think when Im playing music I can just imagine Im still in our apartment playing for him like I always did, knowing he would never judge me. I dont know. But yeah, I had a lot more confidence when I was with him. I knew he would always support me in every decision I made. I needed that when I was with him."

"What about now?"

"Now... not as much. Because I still have some of that confidence through my music, as youve noticed. Its when Im not singing thats the problem."

"Well, thats what Im here for," Kurt said as Blaine hugged him tighter.

"Yes," Blaine said against his shoulder. "Thank you for listening."

Kurt turned to kiss his forehead, "Thank you for opening up to me."