Now that Kurt wasn't around, there was a considerably less amount of paparazzi that followed Blaine all the time. Some days there were none and he wouldn't hear whispers or news that involved him over on the internet.

Blaine would have enjoyed the sudden freedom if only he didn't feel lost. With Kurt gone, he was back to being the old Blaine Anderson again, the normal Blaine. He constantly asked himself what was I doing with my life before I met Kurt? But alas, he found his past life to be dull, boring and robotic after Kurt appeared in the picture.

He sighed, finally getting up and walking over to his laptop. Well this reminds me of the days when I'm just Blaine without Kurt. He checked his mail; it's been a few weeks since Kurt left for the promotional tour of the movie he's in and yet there was no e-mail from him. There was one text when he landed in his first country but then none after that. He tried Twitter as well seeing that Kurt uses social media a lot more.

--

Direct Message - With Kurt Hummel

June 30: Have you settled in yet? I miss you already. Sending my kisses to you! :)

July 4: Kurt. Are you busy? Stupid question, of course you are. I miss you!

July 10: One mail/text/any sign that you're still alive would be nice if you have time. I'm just worried about you.

July 16: Kurt. Kurt, are you mad at me?

--

Direct Message - With Blaine Anderson

July 19: Hey honey! I'm sorry I haven't been in contact. We've been busy going to places. I'm in Australia now and it is amazing! I wish you were here for this.

July 19: I promise we'll Skype soon! I'm sorry, I love you! *kisses*

--

Direct Message - With Kurt Hummel

July 20: It's week-end over here now baby. Call me anytime, I'll be waiting.

--

Blaine ran a hand through his hair, grunting. He's not a clingy boyfriend is he? It's normal that he's worried about Kurt because he's practically on the other side of the world at that moment. Blaine glanced at the clock and realized that it's just 8:30 in the morning. Ah, time difference.

He got up again and went out for a jog. He decided to drop by over at Tina's to scavenge for breakfast. He's not really in the mood to make his own.

"I'm sure he's alright. He's just probably busy." Tina pacified Blaine as she made him some toast and an apple juice. Blaine loves coffee but he's already making coffee every day, it's good to have an alternative.

"Morning." Mike passed by, sleepily trudging towards the bathroom to freshen up. Blaine nodded towards him in acknowledgement; he's grateful to have friends like them.

"Am I being clingy? I know I should have learned from when he went to New York for a month but…" Blaine trailed off, not knowing how to continue that sentence but hoping that Tina understood.

Tina sat opposite him and nodded while sipping her coffee. "He does have the tendency to forget that he has a boyfriend when he's away." Tina honestly said. "I'm not trying to make him look bad, it's just an observation." She quickly said.

"No. No, you're right, in a way." Blaine sighed. "What do I do though?" He asked.

"Talk to him." Mike said, emerging from the bathroom all clean and fresh. He took one toast and pointed it at Blaine. "That's the best way. Maybe not the easiest but it's the best." Mike bit his toast, sitting next to Tina.

Blaine's face looked conflicted and pained and sad. If only talking to him was easy but these days, it wasn't. Tina reached out to hold his hand. "You got this." She said, squeezing Blaine's hand reassuringly. Blaine gave her a small smile.

"…and you don't know how free I felt when I came here. Sure, there's still a bunch of paps around to take photos but there are less mob of fans. I'm sorry, it's the first time I've been to so many places at once and I just…it's amazing." Kurt gushed as he talked to Blaine that morning. It was Sunday, 7 a.m. over at Melbourne while it was 2 p.m. in Los Angeles and Kurt has been talking a lot for almost an hour while Blaine just listened.

Blaine gave Kurt a bright smile. "That's great Kurt, I'm glad you're having fun." He said sincerely. "I just wanted to ask what we—"

"Just a sec." Kurt held a finger up at the screen and listened. Blaine bit his lip, shutting up in an instant. He could hear a muffled voice calling for Kurt. Kurt screamed an 'okay' before turning back to Blaine. "I have to go Blaine, they're calling for breakfast and we need to leave for the airport by 9 a.m."

"Oh. You're leaving again?" Blaine dumbly said, his face falling. Kurt, of course, didn't fail to notice as Blaine's eyes darted down to his hands. Kurt could almost see him fidgeting.

"Blaine. Blaine, look at me." Kurt sternly said and Blaine looked up. "I'm sorry." He apologized sincerely. "I promise I will make it up to you. I swear." Kurt said. Blaine let out a small smile.

"Yeah. Yeah, okay." Blaine replied and he saw Kurt smile brightly at him. "Take care." Then he heard Kurt being called again but before he got the words 'I love you', Kurt had closed off the window and probably rushed to whoever was calling.

Blaine, don't be such a drama queen. He took a deep breath and thought of positive things. Like Kurt's upcoming birthday in a week. He might not have money to fly wherever Kurt was on that day but what he can do is be there for Kurt on the day itself and just be them. Even if it's not face to face.

The next few days were the same. Blaine waited for Kurt to tell him that they have a Skype date or even for a call but he's lucky if he gets a tweet from Kurt saying "@BlaineAnderson I wish you were here!", at least that means he's still on Kurt's mind (no matter how insignificant he may feel right now).

"Make way, make way. The King of Hot Pot is back in town!" Wes announced, eliciting laughter from the frequent customers who knew him.

Blaine dragged Wes to Chinatown just to eat at Mei's hot pot restaurant to take his mind off of things. And so far, it was not working. He just remembered that he and Kurt ate in the restaurant on their "first date" (kind of) too which made him miss Kurt more.

"Blaine. It's always good to see you." Mei greeted, hugging Blaine fondly. "Your friend James is not with you?" She asked, looking behind him only to see Wes.

"James?" Wes asked quietly and then it seemed to dawn on him. "Oh. James." He repeated, finally realizing who that is.

"He's busy at the moment Mei. It's nice to see you too." Blaine smiled. Mei patted his arm lightly before turning to Wes.

"Wesley, it's been a long time." Mei smiled, greeting him with her motherly smile. Wes placed a friendly arm around Mei as they made their way to the table.

"I assume that I'm still the reigning king over here?" Wes playfully asked.

"No one will ever beat 5 hot pot bowls in less than one minute. You are not human." Mei laughed. "I'll get you your usual orders. Oh and we're not handing out fortune cookies today, we're doing zodiacs instead." She smiled.

Wes nodded at her politely before looking at Blaine who was staring at his phone as if waiting for it to talk. "You can call him you know. It's July 29 in Singapore anyway. And fuck that, you're his boyfriend." Wes angrily spat out, pissed at how Kurt was acting at the moment.

"He's probably busy. I can call later." Blaine said, scrunching his nose in the process.

"No matter how busy he is, he shouldn't be neglecting you like this. Every time he flies away, you're left here thinking about him all the time while you're not even sure he remembers you." Wes told him. "Don't get me wrong, I love Kurt, you know I do but this cycle of him has got to stop."

"Don't—" Blaine started, raising a hand to stop Wes from talking. "Don't say that about him. He's not doing this on purpose." He defended Kurt.

"Fine. Whatever floats your boat man." Wes said.

They ended the conversation when their order arrived along with different zodiac signs. Wes was intrigued with his while Blaine just nodded while reading his. He was an Aries and Wes laughed as he read Blaine's.

"This is so spot on." Wes said. "Lovable, extremely adorable, loves relationships," He shot Blaine a look while Blaine rolled his eyes. "Generous and giving, loud and will argue to prove their point for hours." Wes laughed again. "Remember when you were drunk and you preached about the freedom of using hair care products. That was amazing."

"You're an ass Wesley." Blaine commented, chucking one carrot over at Wes. "Can you read Leo?" He asked.

"Alright, where is—oh here it is." Wes said. "A Leo is a great talker. They're attractive and passionate, optimistic, imposing, socially active, fun and extremely generous." Wes ended. "Hits the spot, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. It perfectly described Kurt." Blaine said, sipping his hot pot. "It's nice to be back around here, don't you think?" He said, they used to spend every weekend eating hot pot in Chinatown.

Then Wes suddenly turned serious, ignoring what Blaine said. "So, what are you going to do now? You can't just slack off and wait for Kurt's triumphant return." He said.

Blaine narrowed his eyes at him. "If this is your way of subtlety telling me to get busy with work, it's not very subtle."

"I wasn't trying to be subtle anyway. That was my conversation starter for a new topic that is your working schedule. Ta-da!" Wes laughed as he handed Blaine his schedule for the next month. Oh, he'll be busy all right. "Also, Simon has big plans for the album. I'm getting pumped." Wes grinned.

"I'll keep myself busy then." Blaine smiled. He remembered Sam's advice of keeping busy while the significant other is away; Sam was more trained in this than him so he has to exert more effort in this one. Maybe I can get some money to fly out of the country for Kurt. He smiled at the thought, now that is motivating.

Once Blaine was back in the house, the first thing he did was to log onto Twitter and Skype and he wasn't surprised that Kurt was already online. He smiled, all worries thrown out the window because right now, he's got perfect timing.

"Happy birthday!" Blaine greeted once Kurt's face filled the screen. Kurt's smile was blinding and Blaine could see that it was sincere.

"Thank you! I miss you so much! It's been weeks since I last saw your handsome features. Is that a scruff?" Kurt frowned, staring at his own screen intently.

"Uhm, yes?" Blaine tentatively said. He's been putting off shaving for a few days now because he was being lazy but he planned to shave the next morning anyway.

"When I get back, I'm not kissing you until you shave that thing off of your face. Got it?" Kurt bossed him around while Blaine laughed.

"Roger that." Blaine played with him. "So, any birthday stuff you're planning to do today? I'm sorry I don't have anything for you. I guess I lose this one." He pouted.

"I always knew you'd lose." Kurt snickered. "I don't know about them but I have a feeling it's the usual surprise thing. Very predictable. I'll update you on how it went the next time we talk." He smiled. "What about over there? Any news? How's the album coming so far?" He asked.

"I've just got my schedule for next month and I'm going to be very busy. I hope that's okay with you?" Blaine asked. In the back of his mind, he couldn't help but think at least I warned you about my busy schedule and the possibilities of not being in contact enough. He shook his head, he should stop chastising Kurt inside his mind.

"Oh. It's okay. Go out there and get 'em tiger. Make me proud." Kurt winked at him, fully supporting his career decisions. "Just don't hook up with band members or fans, okay? I fear for their lives." He said in a low, devilish voice.

Blaine laughed. "I will not allow any of my "fans" to be on the receiving end of your wrath so you can rest assured that I will not fool around while you're away."

"Well good. Glad that's clear." Kurt laughed back.

They practically spent all their free time just talking and catching up with each other which mostly involved Blaine listening to Kurt's stories. And Kurt tells him that the cast will be off to Europe after their Asia stops are finished.

"Europe?" Blaine started, suddenly worry filling his guts. Kurt nodded excitedly.

"We're going to France, Blaine. FRANCE! I've never been to France." Kurt squealed, covering his face with a pillow trying to hide his excitement. But Blaine was thinking of another country and that country worries him so much. "Blaine, are you okay? You don't look as excited as I am. Was I bragging too much? I'm sorry if I am." Kurt apologized quickly, worried about Blaine.

Blaine shook his head, shaking his negative thoughts away as well. "No. No, I'm fine. I can't wait to see your photos in Europe. I hope we can go there together someday." He said honestly.

"We will. I'm sure we will." Kurt smiled and both of them blushed a little at the not-so-subtle mention of their future together.

August 22 (1:22 p.m.)

I AM GOING TO BE ON PEOPLE MAGAZINE'S SEXIEST MEN ALIVE

THIS IS NOT A DRILL. I REPEAT. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

ALEX JUST TOLD ME AND IM FREAKING OUT.

(1:23 p.m.)

BLAINE. BLAINE WHERE ARE YOU

IM GONNA BE ON SKYPE

Btw, how much does this text message cost? I seriously have no idea.

Kurt was practically shaking as he typed out the text to Blaine; they haven't talked much recently and he blamed everything on bad timing. He was busy when Blaine had a lot of free time and now, he was the one who had a lot of free time while Blaine was busy.

He spent most of August playing with his phone and tweeting a bunch of stuff but he rarely see Blaine online or on Twitter even, so he figured that Blaine's really busy that month. He sighed, is this what he feels when I'm not around for him? And Kurt realized that it feels bad.

Alex saw that Kurt has been down for the past few weeks but thankfully they were in Paris and he was getting happier by the day. On top of all that, she just had the perfect surprise. She got a phone call a few days ago telling her that Kurt will be one of the men that will be featured on the November issue of People's Sexiest Men Alive and the shoot will happen in London, their last stop for their promotional tour in early September.

And Kurt was beyond ecstatic.

So when Blaine finally got online few minutes later, he didn't think twice and immediately called him on Skype.

"My boyfriend is one of the sexiest men alive in Hollywood. I am a lucky man." Blaine greeted as he grinned sleepily at Kurt who blushed but smiled back at him.

"I don't get it. I'm just Kurt. I'm not sexy. Am I sexy? No, you're biased, of course I am." Kurt laughed, babbling. Blaine rubbed his eyes as he laughed at Kurt's comment, yawning in the process. Kurt blinked, looking at the clock and at Blaine's surroundings. It was still dark over at his side of the world and Kurt mentally slapped himself on the face. "Oh crap, what time is it over there? It's too early isn't it? I'm sorry if I woke you up. You didn't have to—"

"No, I want to celebrate this with you. And you know I'll drop whatever I'm doing when you need me." Blaine smiled, making Kurt melt on the spot. He yawned again. "I'm sorry, I can't stop it." He laughed quietly.

"It's alright. It's 4 a.m. over there isn't it? I'm so sorry." Kurt apologized again. "You look tired though but I assume you're doing a great job with everything?" Kurt smiled as Blaine nodded. "Great, awesome. We're both so awesome at what we do, aren't we?" He laughed.

"Yeah, we are." Blaine agreed. "When did you say that photo shoot is again?" He asked suddenly.

"I think it'll be sometime on the first week of September in London. Maybe a Friday or something, I forgot to ask Alex but that's most probably it." Kurt replied. "Why are you asking?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to know so I won't constantly disturb you when you're busy." Blaine easily said. Kurt nodded in understanding.

"Just so you know, you're never disturbing me." Kurt told him.

September soon came rolling in and Kurt couldn't believe that it's been that long already, he didn't feel the days pass him by, maybe it was because he was enjoying too much. Although he did feel his eyes hurt from all of the camera flashes almost every day but he's used to it so no harm done there.

The one thing that he never thought about and never crossed his mind was the possible problems he'd encounter once they've landed in London. And it felt like he was shoved into previously non-existent rumors once he set foot in the country.

"Kurt! Kurt, over here!"

"Kurt, are you single again?"

"Are you going to see Andrew?"

Fuck. Andrew, right. How could he forget that the douchebag lives in England? Kurt needed to take a calming breath to get past the reporters with a smile in the airport, asking all the questions about his ex-boyfriend; can't they just ask about the movie or about his career for instance? But no, the media always, always looks at relationships first.

"They're monsters. MONSTERS, I tell you." Kurt rubbed his forehead as he tried to compose himself once they were in the van and away from the eyes of the paparazzi. "I never knew I'd hate going to London. I love London, why do they have to ruin it." He grunted, fixing his hair.

Alex patted him on the shoulder. "Fame comes with a price, Kurt." She told him. "Now, let's go over your schedule for the week." Alex pulled out her notepad highlighting important events, which is actually everything.

"Can't I just stay in the hotel? It's our last week anyway, I don't want to go out and stuff. Not in this surrounding." Kurt sighed, his eyes pleading Alex. Alex just shook her head in reply.

"I'm sorry honey but you can't. Everyone's going to be partying and stuff like that since this will be the last week of a successful three months of promoting the movie." Alex told him with a soft smile. "Just tonight, everyone's having dinner out. You'll get a free day tomorrow though before the event on Wednesday, so that's good." Alex told him. "Then another free day on Thursday which is another good thing, then the photoshoot on Friday!" Alex said, bouncing in excitement.

"Are you sure you're not bluffing? I mean, me? On that list? Are you kidding me?" Kurt laughed, blushing even though he knew about it for weeks now. Alex just shrugged.

"I don't agree with them at all. You're like the most difficult person I know and you're not sexy. Ew." Alex laughed, hitting Kurt with her notepad.

"That's because your definition of sexy is a tall blonde who makes coffee for you and follows you around." Kurt teased, sticking his tongue out at Alex. The woman raised an eyebrow at him.

"As if your definition of sexy is any better, a curly hobbit—"

"Who plays every instrument you know, has an angelic voice, a great charmer and can make better coffee and cupcakes than your man? Yeah, my definition of sexy is so much better. I win." Kurt laughed aloud, enjoying the pout on Alex's lips. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll win over someone else." He said.

Kurt tried to avoid the paparazzi at all times, refusing to go out of his hotel room if not necessary and thankfully, everything was running smoothly. The last promotional conference went swimmingly as the staff asked that the questions should only be about the movie and not about anything else; clearly protecting Kurt and not wanting him to be uncomfortable.

Once the conference was done and all the interviews were finished, everyone gathered around the empty lobby and cheered, thanking everyone for a job well done.

"And that's a wrap! This has been a great few months and I wouldn't ask for a better cast. You are all amazing and I wish to work with you again in the future." The director loudly said as the cast cheered for him.

"You know where to find us!" One of them said with a laugh. Kurt was having fun as well and was giving everyone a hug because this will be the last day that they will be working with each other and he will miss them all.

"Anyone up for a party tonight?" Another one suggested and all of them gave an enthusiastic cheer of agreement, except for Kurt who looked wary.

"I think I'm just going to—"

"Oh come on Kurt! You are partying with us and you are partying HARD!"

And they all pressured him to go to the party to which he eventually agreed before he got killed in his sleep for not going coming with them. Even Alex was enthusiastic about it since this will be the first time she can relax after all the work that she had to do.

"A toast for The Saltwater Room to be a blockbuster movie!"

They raised their glasses and the party started. They were just at a local bar to fully experience authentic clubbing in London and that terrified Kurt at first. But seeing everyone have fun, even Alex who was on the dance floor dancing her heart out with some people, Kurt threw all his troubles away. He didn't know how many drinks he had already but he's quite sure that he's had a lot at this point.

He could feel his brain swimming and it's really not a good idea to drink when you're tired. Kurt stood up, balancing himself and making sure that he can walk before shimmying to the dance floor. He was there anyway so might as well have fun. He danced with a few of the cast members who were drunk to their asses as well and Kurt couldn't help but laugh; they were all friends and they trusted each other which is why everyone was okay to showing a different side of themselves.

Kurt didn't know how or why but he ended up dancing with a random guy in the bar, alcohol filling his system. He remembered trying to find Alex but he couldn't see her anywhere so he let it go.

"Kurt." He heard the guy say. Kurt blinked, that was a familiar voice isn't it. But it wasn't Blaine because Blaine was a tad shorter than him and this guy was definitely tall. "Kurt, I missed you."

Kurt blinked. What the fuck? He finally looked up to see piercing blue eyes staring back at him and he recognized those eyes anywhere. "Shit. Get away from me." Kurt managed to say, pushing himself away from the man he was dancing with.

"Kurt! Wait!"

"Go fuck with someone else Andrew, I'm not in the mood to see your fucking face." Kurt said, surprising himself that his filter has switched off. He doesn't usually spew out curse words that easily. He felt a hand grab his elbow, turning him around and hugging him. He didn't even know where he was at the moment but he knew he was still at the bar. "What the fuck are you even doing here?" Kurt asked, trying to push himself away from Andrew.

"We were here first before you guys dominated the place. It's a pretty famous bar you know." Andrew said, tightening his grasp on Kurt. "Kurt, I missed you so much. I thought I'll never see you again. I'm sorry for—"

Kurt managed to punch him a bit in the stomach, making him and Andrew a bit dizzy from it. He needed to get a hold of himself, god I hate drinking. "No, shut up, I don't need it. I have a boyfriend and I'm happy now." Kurt said with conviction. He knew he was saying it aloud to remind himself as well. Blaine Blaine Blaine his mind kept repeating Blaine's name.

"No, I love you. I still love you and I'm not going to give up." Andrew said. Kurt could feel his head about to explode; he pushed Andrew away and quickly got his phone out, calling a cab.

"Can't you just move on? It's been a year Andrew. I don't lo—"

But Andrew grabbed him again, pinning him into a nearby wall and hungrily kissing his lips. It took a moment for Kurt to realize what was happening and he only snapped out of his surprise when he felt Andrew's tongue on his lips. He did the only thing that came to his mind.

"Jesus Christ!" Andrew screamed, holding his bleeding lip as he stepped backwards, away from Kurt who was panting heavily. "You fucking bit me!"

"You filthy son of a bitch! How dare you kiss me at your own will?!" Kurt shouted at him, wiping his lips as if he ate something dirty and tears threatening to fall from his eyes. "I'm saying this again." I love Blaine. "I love my boyfriend very much." I love Blaine. "I don't want to see your face again." I love Blaine. "You got it?" He turned on his heel and walked towards the place where he knew his cab would be waiting.

But neither of them saw the flash of light before their fight ended.

"Kurt. Kurt, wake up."

Kurt woke up with a seriously bad hangover and all he could do was frown at Alex who was looking distraught as well. It's too early in the morning for her to look like that.

"Kurt we have a problem." Alex worriedly said. "What were you doing last night with Andrew Jacobs of all people?" She said, trying to keep her voice down to not overwhelm Kurt although she was clearly very angry. Kurt could hear the phones going off and he grunted.

"What?" Kurt asked, clueless, wracking his brain and suddenly remembering the night's events. "How did you—?"

"It's all over the internet."

SHIT.