"Have you spoken to him at all?" Kayleigh asked cautiously as she attempted to pick up some lo mein with her chopsticks. She and Blaine were spending their evening on the couch with containers of their favorites from the Chinese restaurant down the street from Blaines apartment. She was surprised to come to the realization that it had actually been months since theyd done this.

"... No." Blaine sighed and dropped the mouthful of sesame chicken that was halfway to his lips back into the carton. "I left him a message after I saw that interview, but he didnt respond to it. I dont think he wants anything to do with me anymore."

"Thats not true, Blaine. Maybe hes giving you space." She consoled.

"Maybe. But dont you think he would have at least acknowledged that he got the message? I think I made everything worse." He dropped his head onto the back of the couch and closed his eyes, breathing deeply through his nose.

"He got it, Blaine. Hes not going to completely ignore you." Kayleigh stuck her chopsticks into her lo mein, plopped the container onto the coffee table, and scooted closer to Blaine. "Listen, you just need to figure yourself out again. In the mean time, but only when you think youre ready to, leave him some hints to let him know youre on your way there. Itll work out the way it should in the end."

"What if I dont know when Im ready? What if I mess this all up again?"

"Stop thinking about messing it up." She took ahold of his Chinese food and chopsticks, shoveling a bit of chicken into her mouth. "Dont think about it at all. Just feel it. You do best when you dont think and you just do. Casey always said that, too."

Blaine looked fondly over at the painting on the wall, his own little memorial to his late best friend. Kayleigh was right. The best things that ever happened to him with Casey always happened when he just went with what he was feeling. Come to think of it, some of the best times with Kurt happened that way, too. What blocked their relationship from going any further was when either of them started to think about what they were doing.

"I hadnt felt that way in a long time," Blaine started quietly, still gazing at the painting. "But sometimes when I was with Kurt, I really felt like Casey would have been happy for me. Maybe even proud of me."

"He would have. He would have been both happy and proud." Kayleigh picked up her lo mein container once again. "I thought the same thing, Blaine."

Blaine smiled at her in response, then slowly went back to eating. They fell into silence for a few moments before the conversation picked back up to a broad range of topics, never once lulling for the remainder of the night.

"Well, Blaine, I have to say, this looks like its coming along really well. I expect youll be ready to drop it in the next few weeks." Mark Bradley had come in to check on the progress of Blaines EP, and was very surprised to see almost everything completed above and beyond what hed hoped for.

"That was my goal. Im really excited to finally release it." Blaine said cheerily. Despite everything thats been happening in his personal life lately, Blaine couldnt contain his enthusiasm. This was finally happening. He was finally going to be releasing his own music.

"Im glad. Youve been working hard on this and Im very proud to have you here. You really deserve it, Blaine." Mark stated, clutching Blaines shoulder with his hand in a way that told Blaine he really meant it when he said he was proud.

"Have you spoken with Maya at all about booking more shows soon?" Mark asked him as he leaned against the doorway.

"Not yet. She said she wanted me to focus on the EP until it was ready, and then talk to her about booking. Ill give her a call as soon as this goes up." Blaine remarked, trying to sound put together and professional. Inside he was full of anticipation, both positive and negative.

"Good, good. Youve worked hard for this, Blaine. Im glad youre going to be seeing the payoff from that." With a nod, he left Blaine back to his work with some finishing touches for the day. Blaine looked back at the artwork for the album and smiled. Kayleigh had been thrilled when he asked if he could use one of her photos from the shoot she used for her portfolio. As if she werent the one doing him a huge favor, rather than the other way around.

He completed everything he had to do for today before his show at Giovannis tonight. The shows hed been doing there were getting to be fewer and farther between, but Gio understood. He was moving on, and Blaine knew that Gio was honestly proud of him for it.

Now what he had to focus on was the release of his EP. Soon, was all he could think with each day that passed as he counted down. Soon.

New Message From: Kayleigh
How are you?

Kurt looked at his phone from his seat on the comfy chair in his trailer. Hed been talking to Kayleigh a little bit since she saw him after he and Blaine broke up, unbeknownst to Blaine, according to Kayleigh. He wasnt sure if he believed her on that front, seeing as the two of them were best friends, but he wasnt sure that he cared if Blaine knew. He figured Kayleigh would know the best way to get Blaine through this mess, and if that meant that Blaine knew they were talking, then so be it.

New Message From: Kurt
Im okay. Better than I have been, though. Im getting there.

New Message From: Kayleigh
Blaines EP went up today.

Kurt sighed. He should have known she would mention it. He bit his lip and hesitated before responding.

New Message From: Kurt
...I know. I pre-ordered it last week.

New Message From: Kayleigh
I did too, if it makes you feel any better.

New Message From: Kurt
I dont think any less would have been expected of you.

New Message From: Kayleigh
Have you listened to it yet?

New Message From: Kurt
No, Im waiting until I get home. I dont know if I can do it quite yet.

New Message From: Kayleigh
Take your time. But when you do listen to it, I really think youll like it. He sounds amazing.

New Message From: Kurt
He always does.

Kurt dropped his phone on the table and walked out of his trailer to get back to work. He focused his thoughts on work and other things, determined to get through the day and just relax when he got home. Hed worry about everything else later.

Kayleigh never responded to his last text message, but Kurt didnt expect her to. She was good at reading people, even through a short text conversation. She knew hed come to her if he needed to after he listened to Blaines EP.

He tossed his bag and his phone into the passenger seat and drove home in silence. He liked the change and for once, his thoughts werent ringing too loudly in his head. It was a strange calm, but he appreciated it while he could.

When he pulled into his driveway, he didnt notice anything out of the ordinary. There was no reason anything should be out of the ordinary. Which was why he was completely surprised by the thin, square package that sat wrapped in brown paper on his doorstep. He stood there for a moment, betwixt and frozen to the spot while he stared at it. Well, it could be...

He slowly bent over and picked up the small object with careful hands, as if it could break in a second with a grip that was just too tight. He unlocked his door and walked into the house, removing his shoes and jacket, dropping his bag on a chair, and walking towards the living room with barely a glance away from what he held in his hands.

Cautiously, he turned it over and read the note that was scribbled on the back in handwriting he knew all too well.

Im trying to keep my promises.

There was no signature, but there didnt need to be one for him to know what it was and whom it was from. Still, he held his breath as he meticulously pulled apart the brown paper wrappings with shaking hands and revealed a plastic CD case, just as he guessed.

His eyes filled with tears as he saw the picture he recognized from Kayleighs shoot with the title of the EP over it.

And there, scribbled on the front of the case in dark sharpie, was Blaines signature.

"What do you mean I didnt get the first one?! I thought I had that right as your best friend!" Kayleigh pouted as she followed Blaine back to his music room, clutching the CD he signed for her in her hands.

"You do realize that very few people are actually getting discs at all, right? I was only able to get a few copies since its release is on itunes." Blaine rolled his eyes as she continued to pout.

"But I should be priority! Its an unspoken rule of friendship!"

"Sorry, Kay, but I made a promise. You have the second signed EP that I could give; thats the best I can do." He shrugged and started to organize a shelf in the back of the room, something hed been meaning to do for a while now.

"Well, who am I second best to?? I swear to god if you say Cooper—"

"Its not Cooper." Blaine said quietly as he stacked sheet music into a pile. He figured that was all she needed to come to a conclusion. And he was right.

"I—oh." She went quiet for a moment, then, "Did you see him?" She asked gingerly.

"No. I dropped it off at his house." Blaine swallowed, thankful that he wasnt facing her right at that moment. "I dont—" he cleared his throat, "I dont think I can handle that quite yet, but I have to start somewhere. I figured keeping my promises would be a good place to do so." His voice lost its firmness from when he first spoke, growing unsure as he continued. Kayleigh came around to face him and pulled him into a hug.

"Oh, Blaine." Kayleigh soothed as she rubbed his back and he hugged her tighter. "He knows. He knows how you feel, and he knows that you need time to get yourself there. You did the right thing. Even if I am upset that I didnt get the first signed EP."

Blaine let out a shaky laugh and whispered, "Thanks, Kay," against her hair.

"As long as Im before Cooper," She teased as she pulled away, earning another laugh out of Blaine.

"If this is the only way I can knock down his ego, then so be it." Blaine smiled as he went back to stacking his music sheets. "Thank you, though, Kayleigh. Youve been more helpful than you know."

"I might have some idea, but youre welcome. Its the least I can do to get you back on your feet." She sat down on the piano bench and checked her phone for any messages as Blaine continued to sort through music. She hadnt expected anything from Kurt yet, but she knew he would talk to her if he felt that he needed to.

Kurt was pleased. He was incredibly proud, even though he couldnt really tell anyone. It was only just a few weeks in and Blaines EP was doing really well with reviews and sales, better than Kurt could have hoped. Not that he could blame anyone. Kurt had it on repeat in his car at all times, not to mention hed have it playing around the house when he got home from work.

To say he was obsessed with it was a bit of an understatement.

Kurt knew that Blaine put a lot into working on it. And he knew first hand that Blaine was talented and that he could really capture people when he sang. It was incredible how he still had that effect without the visual. As he listened to the music, Kurt felt like Blaine was right there with him, singing right to him. Every time the disc looped back to the beginning and he listened to the songs run through another time, he fell for Blaine all over again. Every little piece of him, his fortes, his faults, and everything in between, poured out loud and clear with every strum on the guitar, every beat of the drum, every ting of the piano keys.

And Kurt thought he couldnt fall any harder.

He was lying on his bed sprawled out like a sea star on his back with his eyes closed, his phone quietly playing music in the background. Though really, the music was at the forefront of Kurts mind, no matter how quiet it was. By now hed memorized all of the lyrics and every riff of Blaines voice. He could cue the entrance of every word and instrument on those five songs that were like a beautiful form of torture in his mind.

He took Santanas advice and just waited as patiently as he could.

But Kurt Hummel was never very good when it came to waiting.

He started to wonder if maybe Santana was wrong. His patience could only hold for so long before he would start to wonder if he should stop this game of doing nothing and start figuring out how to move on with his life and make the one thing he hoped would always be present a thing of the past.

How long would he have until he couldnt stand the waiting?

Blaine had gotten pretty good at ignoring negative comments. Between growing up and realizing people were just going to be the way they were, Blaine just accepted that people could have those opinions about him and he could get on just fine if he ignored them.

It got even easier when he was with Kurt, because those comments intensified due to jealousy and speculation. Their "break-up" only made him focus more on himself and what he knew was the truth, which helped him ignore all of the hate.

It wasnt until a few weeks after his EP release that he realized not all negative comments were easy to ignore.

A lot of people were still saying bad things about Blaine because of his relationship with Kurt. The gossip hadnt really died off yet, but that was to be expected. He was able to ignore most of it, but some things just hit a little too close to home and when they did, they stung. On top of that, Blaine received his first bad review.

And it was bad.

What bothered him the most, though, was that the review only talked about his music briefly. There were a few comments about the lyrics being "overly clichéd" and "been there done that," as well as some remarks about the sound not quite achieving "pleasing to the ear." Most of the review seemed to be about Blaine.

It seemed to be spread throughout the music review, but comments were thrown in about his "need to please" and "desperation for attention." Not to mention a subtle allusion to his recent break-up that suggested Blaine was using Kurt. That hit Blaine hard. He knew he should expect this kind of thing, but he didnt want people to think hes someone hes not. He may have made a lot of mistakes, but hes not the kind of person to take advantage of someone else. And yes, a lot of people were saying it, but it was different when it was out there in a published review.

Mark told Blaine to ignore the review, that he had gotten tons of others with positive responses to his music saying that Blaine was someone to keep an eye on. He was proud of Blaine, and he shouldnt let one review bring him down.

But Blaine was slowly drowning. He felt like he had nothing else to focus on. Kayleigh was out of town for work and he hadnt booked any shows recently. He wasnt working as long of days anymore without the demand to finish working on his music, so now he felt like his days were empty.

The only other thing that he could focus on was the date at the end of March that was quickly and unwelcomingly approaching. The date that marked three years since he paced his apartment calling Caseys cell phone endlessly until he received a call from Caseys father, telling him what happened.

Between the hate and the bad review and no one to talk to, Blaine was drowning. It wasnt until around nine oclock at night on that date that Blaine hated so much that he broke down. He paced the apartment all day, tried to clear his mind by going for a walk, but it seemed like the world was silently shouting at him. He kept hearing the hate, the bad review, the phone call, and finally he couldnt take it. He grabbed his keys and locked the door behind himself as he headed out to that terrible place he knew better than he ever wanted to admit; that terrible place that he swore hed never go back to.

Three hours later, and Blaine didnt even try to wipe the tears that were streaming down his face. He couldnt feel anything but guilt, shame, and indignity.

Without any real destination in mind, he walked.

And walked, and walked, and walked.