"Yes, Kurt?"

"I want to audition for a solo at Sectionals."

Kurt had not been planning on it at first, but Mercedes kept bugging him so much that he finally gave in. It was weeks still till Sectionals, but New Directions was making sure they were well prepared this year. And that meant getting all the songs down way ahead of time.

Especially because they had a wedding to perform at as well – yes, Kurt's father and Finn's mother, Carole, were getting married. And Kurt had been given full control of the wedding planning. So of course he had thought it would be a wonderful idea to have the New Directions group perform at the wedding.

Of course when Kurt first asked about the solo for Sectionals, Mr. Schue went on this whole thing about how he already planned for Finn and Rachel to do a duet again. Mercedes had jumped in to argue that it was totally unfair to not let anyone else get a chance and that Kurt should at least get to audition. Rachel was perfectly fine with not giving up her solo, which she stated quite fiercely. In the end Mr. Schue agreed to at least let Kurt audition for a solo.

He just had to pick a song that he could wow them all with so Mr. Schue would change his mind. And then, of all people, Brittany suggested a song for him to do and he went with it. It was kind of different from what he normally sang, but he liked it, plus Brittany said she really liked it and that she and her little singing bird friends would vote for him if he sang it for her.

So now here he was, on the day of his audition, having just gotten out of the bathroom after cleaning himself up from another cold slushy attack, and he really did not feel like singing. He was sitting in the auditorium by himself during the lunch period.

Suddenly he heard someone walking over and looked up to see Brittany coming over to join him. "Hey, Brittany."

"Hi, Kurt...why the long face? Did you get it stretched out? Don't they use, like, those taffy puller things to do that? I saw it on TV once."

Kurt can not imagine she saw people getting their faces pulled by a taffy puller on TV, but he finds Brittany's strange comments to be somewhat endearing so he hardly ever really says anything to tell her otherwise. "Sorry, Britt. I'm just having an off day."

"Oh, I'm sorry." She put her arm around his shoulder, giving him a friendly smile. "Do you want to talk about it? You could talk to me or I could lend you Rio. He's one of my invisible friends. He's sitting right next to me actually, and he says he likes your shirt. He's always good at lending an ear if you need one to talk to. I'd lend you one of mine but no matter how hard I tug on them they never come off."

"Er...thanks, but I think I'll be okay." Kurt smiled. "I guess I'm just not up to singing today, but don't worry, I will. I've been looking forward to singing for you. I hope I can live up to your expectations."

Brittany looked quite happy to hear Kurt would still sing the song for her. "Thanks, Kurt. I know you'll do a great job. You always do. Maybe you could sing with me and my little bird friends some time. I think they'd like that. Come on," she stood, tugging Kurt up to stand as well, "let's go get something to eat. I kind of lost the map with my short cut to the lunch room and I was so set on using it that I sort of forgot how to get there."

Kurt shook his head, letting Brittany hold his hand as they left the auditorium to get lunch.

A lot of the glee kids gave Kurt a lot of encouragement through out the day for his audition after school. Even Rachel gave him some words of encouragement, but they went more along the lines of 'I'm just trying to make you feel good, because then it hopefully won't hurt as much when I win since you'll know you've tried you best'.

Right before he went to sing Brittany gave him a hug and let him borrow her lucky bracelet – it was just string with green beads on it; she explained that a leprechaun gave it to her on St. Patrick's Day, and that he told her it would bring her lots of luck. She figured Kurt might like to have a little extra good luck. Figuring he could use all the luck he could get, Kurt put on the lucky bracelet, even if it clashed slightly with his shirt that day.

He had asked Puck to play the guitar for him, so once they were both ready Kurt started singing. He kept glancing over at Brittany through out the song to make sure she was enjoying it. He hadn't thought to ask her why she liked the song so much, maybe it was just because she thought it was catchy or something.

How the hell does a broken heart, Get back together when it's torn apart?
Teach itself to start, Beating again, buh buh buhbuh.

This little bluebird came looking for you, Said that 'I haven't seen you, in quite some time'.
This little bluebird came looking again, I said we weren't even friends
She could have you.

Don't you think it was hard? I didn't even say that you died, But wouldn't it been such a lie,Cause then I started to cry.

This little bluebird sure won't give it a rest. She swears that you may be better than all the rest.
I said no, you've got it all wrong. If he was something special, I wouldn't have this song.

Don't you think it was hard? I didn't even say that you died. But wouldn't it been such a lie, Cause then I started to cry.

How the hell does a broken heart, Get back together when it's torn apart? And teach it self to start, Beating again, buh buh buhbuh buh buhbuh buh buh buh.

What if when she comes over, I am in your arms?
Taking all I want from you again.

How the hell does a broken heart, Get back together when it's torn apart? And teach it self to start, Beating again, buh buh buhbuh.

How the hell does a broken heart, Get back together when it's torn apart? And teach it self to start, Beating again, buh buh buhbuh. Beating again, bub buh buhhhh.

This little bluebird won't come round here anymore, So I went looking for her
And I found...
You.

He finished singing the song and Kurt grinned as everyone clapped for him. Brittany was positively beaming and she hugged him tightly when he went back over to sit down. Mercedes high fived him and leaned over to whisper that she was proud of him for auditioning. Even Rachel said he was good, though 'it didn't mean she would give up a solo that easily'. It made Kurt feel even better when a lot of the other glee kids started trying to convince Mr. Schue that it would be nice to have someone different solo for once and that clearly Kurt should get the chance. They all knew Rachel would throw a fit if she did not get the solo, but she had to learn at some point she could not always get what she wanted. She had to learn to share the spot light some times.

Mr. Schue promised he would post the final set list up the next day in the morning, which would include whoever got the solo. Rachel was disappointed it was not an automatic yes for her, but as she was sure of her impending win she was not going to make too much of a fuss yet.

- - - - - - - - - - -

When morning came and Kurt had finally made it to school he was a bit nervous about looking at the sheet Mr. Schuester would have posted by now. He went to his locker and took his time getting his things. Apparently that was too much time for Mercedes. She came out of nowhere and looked way too happy. "What in the world are you doing over here, Kurt? Come on! You have to look at the list Mr. Schue posted! I already did." She laughed. Kurt let himself be dragged away after shutting his locker.

Once they got to the board, Kurt could not bring himself to look. Mercedes kept bugging him so he finally thought 'screw it, it's now or never' and looked.

"Oh my god." He had read that right, right? "Oh my god, Mercedes! Mercedes, that's my name...oh my god, I got the solo!"

Mercedes practically squealed in delight as she hugged him tightly. "I know! I know! I'd avoid Rachel for a few hours; she looked pissed when I passed her earlier, but oh my god, Kurt! You're going to sing a solo at Sectionals!" She sang, giggling as Kurt continued to just laugh and shake his head in wonder. They weren't even singing a Journey song! This was totally unbelievable. He felt like he should bake Mr. Schue cookies or something in thanks.

- - - - - - - - - - -

"So, Sectionals are next week. Nervous yet?" David flopped down on the couch in the Warbler's meeting room where Blaine was going over his music for the next week.

"Sometimes I wonder if it's weird that I'm hardly ever nervous." Blaine sighed, rubbing his temple tiredly. "Though then again I guess that's not really something I should complain about. Most people would rather not get nervous about stuff like this. Do you think I should practice again?"

"Blaine, sheesh, save your voice, man." David laughed. "We don't need our soloist losing his voice, especially not when we have that New Directions group to beat. I found a video clip of them from last years Regionals and they were really good. And, yes, before you ask I did look to see if that boy was in the group and he was. Couldn't hear him though because he was just backing vocals."

Blaine had been about to protest that 'no he was not going to ask about the coffee shop boy' or 'Mr. Skinny Jeans' as Nick continued to call him, but then when he thought about it for a second he realized that he probably would have asked. Ah well. The boys all still teased him about that, but at least it was not as much now. The nickname the boy had given them had sort of stuck, unfortunately. Nick especially had fun walking in to Warblers meetings and shouting something like 'hey Merry Men, how's it going?' or 'hey Curly Top' whenever he would run into Blaine in the hallways.

Blaine was kind of disappointed to hear coffee shop boy had mainly done backing vocals. He was kind of curious to hear him sing now. Ah well. He did not need to tell David that. He did not want his friends to know how much he thought about the boy with the gorgeous blue eyes.

- - - - - - - - - -

Everything seemed to be going pretty well so far. They had made it to the school where Sectionals was to be held and now the kids of New Directions were in their small waiting room. Everyone was doing last minute touch ups to make up, hair, and outfits. They still had a while to wait – they were going on second to last – but it was better to get ready earlier than have to rush last minute.

Kurt was feeling slightly nervous about his solo, but everyone, especially Mercedes, kept giving him encouraging words and being as supportive as they could. He kept telling himself that there was no reason to be nervous, after all he was an amazing talented singer and he would be fine.

His phone starting buzzing in his pocket and he checked it to see that his dad was calling. Wanting to go somewhere he could actually hear him, Kurt made his way out of the room, down a few hallways into the lobby, and then out into the parking lot. He cursed the thin black button up shirts the guys had to wear. The outfits this year for the guys consisted of white pants, black collared button up shirts, and white ties. Of course Kurt managed to find a nice pair of nice white skinnier dress pants. There was no way he would be caught wearing the baggier things Finn was wearing, that was for sure. There was a slight breeze out that was making the air a bit chilly. The worst part was that the breeze was probably messing up his hair a bit too. He figured he could put up with it for now. It was kind of more important to talk to his father anyway. He dialed back to call his father and smiled when he heard the familiar voice answer the phone.

"Hey, dad."

"Hey, Kurt! I'm really sorry I can be there to hear you sing."

"It's okay. One of Rachel's dads is recording it so it'll be up on YouTube by tomorrow. Let's just hope it's not a whole bunch of zoom-ins on Rachel's face." He laughed.

"Well, I just wanted to call before you went on or anything just so I could wish you good luck and tell you how much I'm proud of you. You're a great kid, Kurt, and I love you."

Kurt was not liking the emotional stuff right now. He did not need his eyes getting all red and watery before going back in to his friends...but of course he appreciated the things his dad was saying. It made him feel better and less nervous. "Thanks, dad."

"And I'd say 'go break a leg', but knowing my luck it'll jinx you and you'll actually break a leg. We don't need that to happen."

Kurt laughed, shaking his head even though he knew his dad could not see. "Yeah, I need to be well so I can take care of you. Now go get some rest. I love you, and I'll call you after it's all over so you can find out how we did."

"I love you too, Kurt. Bye!"

Kurt said farewell and ended the call, smiling to himself as he walked back over to the door to enter the school again.

Unfortunately his smile did not last long because just as he reached out to grab the door handle someone else did at exactly the same time, his hand ending up right on top of Kurt's.

And that someone else just happened to be the boy with the curly hair from the coffee shop.

- - - - - - - - -

The Warblers never really went in a bus or plane to competitions unless the shows were out of state. Usually they just carpooled or went separately, meeting at the place of competition to get ready then. Nick had driven himself and Blaine there and they were two of the last to arrive. Blaine had gotten out of the car first, waiting for Nick to get his stuff out of the back of the car.

It was while he was waiting that he spotted the boy from the coffee shop. And Blaine found he honestly could not take his eyes off of him. He was talking on his phone to someone, looking quite nice in his performance attire.

Nick had finished getting his stuff out and had walked over to join him, smirking when he saw who Blaine was looking at. "Looks like we found Mr. Skinny Jeans again. Aaand he's alone. So go say hi to him."

Blaine gave his roommate an 'are you kidding me' look. "You can't be serious. Remember what happened the last time we saw him? He didn't exactly leave us with thoughts of friendship on his mind, I'm sure."

"Yeah, so?" Nick shrugged. "He looks happier today, plus it's been a while. Maybe if you apologize he'll forgive you. Goooo!" He grinned wickedly, grabbing Blaine's bag from him and shoving him off in the direction towards the other boy.

Blaine shot Nick an evil glare before continuing over to the doors where the boy was heading. He managed to catch up with him just in time and, by habit, he reached over to open the door. It was pretty normal for Blaine to open doors for others. Unfortunately coffee shop boy had already started reaching for the door handle himself and Blaine found his hand landing right on top of the other boy's.

Oh snap.

- - - - - - - - -

The scary part was the weird feeling Kurt had gotten as soon as the curly haired boy's hand was on his. It was not weird as much as it was...familiar. He did not know where the feeling was coming from, but honestly he did not care to think about it right now. And why did those hazel eyes have to be so darn gorgeous? Kurt wasted no time in giving the boy a nice little glare. Being mean was helping cover up the weird feeling he was getting in his stomach at being so close to the shorter boy. "So we meet again."

"Yeah, seems like it." The boy laughed nervously. He had seemingly frozen and it had not occurred to him yet that he should probably drop his hand.

"You can move your hand any day now." Kurt sighed, sounding quite exasperated.

The curly haired boy blinked – Kurt had no idea that the boy had zoned out a bit when he realized that up close his gorgeous blue eyes were even more beautiful looking. "What? OH. Sorry!" The boy finally dropped his hand.

"Thanks." Kurt sniffed. "I'm going to go now." He made to open the door again but once more the shorter guy did the same. "What the heck?"

"Sorry, sorry. It's a habit." The boy could not stop apologizing. "I was just going to open the door for you..."

Kurt's expression went from annoyance to anger in a flash. "I'm not a girl." He snapped. "I can open a door by myself, thank you very much." And with that he yanked the door open and stormed back inside. Only then did he realize how silly he was being, guys could open doors for other guys without it being an insult. He was just not used to people doing that for him so he had not known how to react as well. Well. Awesome. Two times seeing each other and Kurt had been horribly rude both times. That cute guy probably thought he was a total bitch. Not that it mattered...that the guy was cute. It really did not matter. Nor that feeling he had gotten from that short moment their hands were touching. He was just going to forget about it.

Well, he tried to. Until he was halfway across the lobby and heard the boy shouting 'wait' behind him. Groaning to himself, he kept walking until he was startled by a hand grabbing his left hand, halting his movement. Kurt gaped and turned, looking down at their hands before looking back up at the boy. This guy really had some nerve, didn't he? He yanked his hand away and glared. "What is wrong with you? Just leave me alone." He turned to leave and yet again the boy grabbed his hand. Kurt wondered if there was something wrong with this kid's head. "Look, Mr. I-put-way-too-much-gel-in-my-hair-this-morning-and-should-have-just-stayed-home-cause-it-looks-terrible, I really don't want to deal with any trouble so why don't you just let go of my hand and go back to your buddies. Otherwise things are going to get bad for you." It really was ridiculous how annoyed this guy made him, but it was probably because they just started off on the wrong foot.

"I'm sorry." Again the guy was apologizing. Well, at least he was polite about it. "I feel like, even though we've only met twice, both times I've just given you reason to be annoyed and get mad at me. I really am sorry and wanted to apologize about that coffee shop incident." The boy dropped his hand, giving him a slightly nervous look. There was something else about the look he was giving Kurt. It made him almost nervous.

Kurt was not ready to forgive and forget just yet. Sadly it was way too easy for him to bear a grudge some times. "Well, that's nice of you." He sniffed, folding his arms across his chest.

"Sorry." Another apology. Oh my. "How's your father doing?"

"What?" Kurt stiffened. How had this kid known about his father?

The Warbler looked almost a tad guilty. "I overheard you talking to your friend that day at the coffee shop, before you snatched your phone back from me. You said he was in the hospital. So I was wondering if he was better."

Kurt was surprised the boy had remembered that. "Well, it's really none of your business, but if it helps you sleep at night then I'm glad to inform you that he is indeed much better and out of the hospital."

"That's great." The curly haired boy actually looked sincerely relieved to hear that. It confused Kurt a bit. "And I was going to ask your name, since I feel like we should properly introduce ourselves after having run into each other twice now..."

Was this kid insane? Kurt could care less who this kid was right now. Well, maybe he was curious a tiny bit, considering he was cute and they had met twice now, but the chances of it happening again were slim so Kurt did not think it was too important to get on a first name basis. "Are you serious, I-"

"Kurt! Sheesh!" Kurt turned to see Santana walking quickly towards him. "We've been looking for you. Mr. Schuester wants to have this lame meeting real quickly, so get your cute butt back there." She stopped next to Kurt and then looked over at the curly haired boy, her eyes quickly raking up and down his body. "Oh hey there."

Kurt had no doubt if they stuck around Santana would try something on this kid, so he pushed past her and started heading for the hallway that would take him back to the rest of the McKinley kids. "Alright, come on Santana. Farewell, Curly Top. Seriously, use less gel next time." And hopefully that would be the last time Kurt would have to deal with him.

Santana winked at the other boy then turned and strutted off to follow Kurt back to the room.

- - - - - - - -

Blaine had not really thought it through when he took off after the taller boy into the school. For some reason he just knew he did not want to lose track of him again. At least maybe he could find out his name.

The boy seemed keen on ignoring him though, so when Blaine finally caught up to him he did the first thing he thought of to make him stop since words were not working. And grabbing that boy's hand had his mind reeling. Why did the feel of the other boy's hand in his feel so familiar? Like it belonged there, like it fit perfectly together...like two puzzle pieces? Something was niggling at the back of his mind, but Blaine could not grasp it at the moment.

The moment was short lived because the other boy yanked his hand away and was yelling at him again, once more turning to leave. Without even thinking Blaine had reached out to grab the boy's hand again, the feeling hitting him just as hard the second time. As he apologized he finally let go of the other boy's hand, hoping he would not run off. This boy was really scary when he was mad. Blaine knew they had started off on the wrong foot, but maybe if he tried hard enough he could patch things up. They did not have to be friends, but at least the other boy would not hate him anymore.

And then he asked about the boy's father and he was sure the boy would think him a creep, but then he told Blaine that his father was alright now and that made him feel better. Blaine was glad the boy's father was alright. He could not imagine what it would be like to lose a parent at this age.

Now that the taller boy seemed at least a bit calmer than before, Blaine wondered if it would be alright to at least ask him what his name was. He was curious after all, not to mention it would save him from having to call the kid 'the coffee shop boy' to his friends when he was brought up...not that the boy was brought up in conversation often, but it did happen on occasion.

When he asked though, the boy looked at him like he was insane; looked like the boy was not planning on telling him. Whether he was or not it ended up not mattering at all, because a tall, pretty girl was suddenly walking over quickly towards them, calling out to the blue eyed boy.

Kurt? Blaine was hit with another feeling of familiarity. He knew someone by that name. The name went right along with the blue eyes and the feeling he had gotten from briefly holding the taller boy's hand.

Before Blaine could think more of it, Kurt was leaving again. The girl – Santana – was eying him up and winked at him before leaving. Blaine could feel his face go red.

"So...I shove you off to go talk to Mr. Skinny Jeans and you end up spending time with two good looking people? How is that fair?" Nick popped up beside him, looking somewhat disappointed.

"Kurt." Blaine corrected, still watching the direction Kurt had left. Was it silly that he really wished the gorgeous boy would come back around that corner?

"Oooh, so we have a name now." Nick chuckled. "I don't suppose you got the name of that uber hottie who winked at you, too?"

Blaine rolled his eyes, finally having given up on thinking Kurt would come back around the corner. "Actually I did. Kurt called her Santana." He grabbed his bag from Nick and headed off in the direction of their dressing room.

"Well, she was nice." Nick grinned, following next to him. "So, did you apologize? Are you two friends now...more than friends?"

"Oh my god." Blaine laughed, smacking Nick's arm. "Shut it with that nonsense. We're not more than friends. I don't even think we're friends. He still seemed quite annoyed with me when he left."

Nick looked disappointed. "Aww, that's a shame. He was pretty good looking. Ah well. You'll find someone eventually, Curly Top." He laughed as Blaine smacked him with his bag.

When they reached the room, Blaine set his bag down and went over to warm up with the others. During the warm ups he felt his cell phone vibrating in his pocket. He snuck a quick peek and saw Abby was calling him. Excusing his self, saying he had to use the rest room real quick, Blaine left the room and went to find a quieter hallway to call Abby back.

"Hey, Abbs!"

"B! Guess who's sitting in the auditorium to see you sing your solo for Sectionals?"

"No way! You came?" Blaine grinned widely, his free hand flailing a tiny bit.

"Of course, goof!" Abby giggled on the other end of the phone. "There was no way I was going to miss it! Dad, Mom, Amelia and I are here. Your mom's going to be here soon. We all wanted to hear you."

Blaine was feeling a bit overwhelmed now. "Wow! This is awesome! You're sticking around afterward, right? I want to see you!"

"There's no way I'm leaving without getting to see you, B." Abby laughed. "So how are you feeling? Ready to knock the socks off the judges with your amazing voice?"

"I'm great, Abbs. You know I hardly ever get nervous." Well, he was great, besides the weird feeling he still had concerning that boy Kurt.

"You sound a little unconvincing there, Anderson." Abby commented. Blaine was sure she was smirking over on her end. "Something happen?"

Blaine bit his lip, wondering if he should really bother with telling her about this silly nonsense about Kurt. Maybe it was all just his imagination. Well, if it was then it would not hurt to tell her. "Well, remember coffee shop boy?"

"Yeah. Mr. Skinny Jeans, as Nick called him, if I remember correctly."

"Yeah, him. I saw him again here, just a bit ago. He's part of our competition. Anyway, I went to apologize but he still kept snapping at me and leaving...so I ran after him and grabbed his hand."

"Wow, B." Abby giggled. "You're persistent."

"I know, I know; I just really wanted to apologize and try to get on his good side. I don't like the thought of someone hating me." Blaine sighed. "But you know how I told you how his eyes seemed so familiar to me? Well, when I had a hold of his hand I got that same odd feeling; like I had held his hand before or something. Our hands just seemed to...fit well together, like puzzle pieces."

Abby was silent on the other end of the phone for a second or two. Blaine grew worried when she did not answer right away. "Abby?"

"B, did you get his name?"

"His name?" Blaine was confused by the question. "Yeah. His friend showed up and called him by his name before they left. It's Kurt."

Again Abby was silent. "Maybe...you still remember your old friend from the orphanage, right?"

What? Blaine was confused. His friend from the orphanage? He had not thought about that place in years, barely remembering the time he spent there. "Wait a minute..." A person was coming to mind. Faintly, but he was starting to recall someone... "You're right. I did have a really close friend there. And his name was..."

Abby finished, "Kurt."

Blaine was stunned. No way. This could not be the same Kurt, was it? That was so many years ago, but now that he thought about it...he had the same eyes and the feeling of their hands together was the same. How had he forgotten Kurt?

And now...

"Blaine? Hellooo? Did I lose you?"

Blaine realized he had been silent for far too long. "Ah! Sorry, Abby, I'm just kind of...in shock right now, I think."

"Do you want me to come find you?"

"No, I'll be good." I think. Blaine was having trouble processing all this. Was it really the same Kurt? His Kurt had been so nice though, so small, sweet and innocent.

Well, a lot could change in ten years.

- - - - -- - - -

Kurt could hear the audience from behind the curtain. As usual, Mr. Schue had thought it be a good idea to have whoever performed the solo come out from the curtains that led into the seating area. Then Kurt would just make his way up to the stage and join the others to finish his song. It was exciting, really, but for some odd reason he was having trouble concentrating. His thoughts were still straying back to that encounter he had had earlier with the curly haired Warbler.

Ugh, stop it, Kurt! He scolded himself. This is your chance to show everyone how talented you are. You don't want to blow it just because of some guy you'll never see again.

He sighed and went to peek through the curtain a tiny bit. It looked like everyone was pretty much almost ready to start. The lights had just gone down and the one judge was announcing New Directions. Taking a deep breath, Kurt steadied his nerves and put a smile on his face. He could do this.

Mr. Schuester had added a few notes at the beginning of the song to work as a cue to when Kurt would come out. Timing it perfectly, he pushed through the curtains and started singing, having fun dancing as he made his way down the aisle.

No matter what has ever come to me, I've got my own brand of company; I've got 'da da da' inside my head, And I play songs back to back until I go to bed...

He spotted Mr. Schuester sitting nearby and grinned as his teacher gave him a thumbs up sign. Making his way down to the middle open section, he placed a hand on his heart and continued singing, letting himself get lost in the music.

Wake up by myself inside an empty room, There's no body next to mine to oooh; But my skin is warm and my heart is full; It's the do do do do do do.

Walking waking on a crowded street, With my headphones loud So my hips can swing, so my head can nod, To the rock and roll to the boom boom beat.

Luckily Santana had helped teach him a thing or two about hip swinging. He continued on down a few rows, nearing the stage, and caught a glimpse of the Warblers. He could not pass up the chance to send a superior look in their direction, knowing he was doing quite a decent job. New Directions was so going to win this. Kurt was careful though not to look too closely at the Warblers group. He did not want to catch sight of the curly haired boy.

And I find that I'm never alone, And I find that my heart is my home; And the music within makes me whole, A world that I built on my own

And I know that I'm never alone, And I know that my heart is my home. Every missing piece of me, I can find in a melody.

No matter what has ever come to me, I got my own kind of company, I got ba ba ba inside my head, And I sing songs back to back until I go to bed.

There's a river in my mind that's never still, Swirling, soothing all the time gives me a thrill; Swimming in the notes that go, Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh.

Wandering, waking in an empty wood, It is quiet here, I am powerful. I look down below serenade the world, From inside my soul.

And I find that I'm never alone, And I find that my heart is my home; And the music within makes me whole, A world that I built on my own.

And I know that I'm never alone, And I know that my heart is my home; Every missing piece of me, I can find in a melody

I can find in a melody...

He had made it onto the stage by this point and the curtains had opened to show the rest of the New Directions group. They started joining in with backing vocals, dancing behind him as he took center stage.

When the walls begin to creep in...And the sky is fallin down; When I'm swallowed up in feelings, I get lost inside the sound...

And I find that I'm never alone, And I find that my heart is my home; And the music within makes me whole, A world that I built on my own.

And I know that I'm never alone, And I know that my heart is my home; Every missing piece of me, I can find in a melody

And I find that I'm never alone, And I find that my heart is my home; And the music within makes me whole, A world that I built on my own.

And I know that I'm never alone, And I know that my heart is my home; Every missing piece of me, I can find in a melody

I can find in a melody.

Kurt finished singing and as the song ended the crowd cheered. He could not resist giving a bow, grinning widely, before going off to take his spot next to Rachel as the group started their next song. Quinn got to start off, standing next to Sam and grabbing his hand as she sang.

Don't know, don't know if I can do this on my own. Why do, do you have to leave me?
It seems I'm losing something deep inside of me
Hold on, hold on to me.
Now I see, now I see...

The entire group joined in for the chorus.

Everybody hurts some days, It's okay to be afraid.
Everybody hurts, everybody screams,
Everybody feels this way. And that's okay.
La dada dada, that's okay.

Rachel took over the lead, moving to the front. Well, at least she still got her moment to shine.

It feels like nothing really matters anymore
When you're gone, I can't breathe.

Kurt got to finish the rest of the verse.

And I know you never meant to make me feel this way,
This can't be happening...

And then Rachel and Kurt took turns saying the next two lines.

Now I see,
Now I see...

The group came together again to sing the chorus. They were feeling pretty good by this point, knowing they sounded good and were working well together.

Everybody hurts some days, It's okay to be afraid.
Everybody hurts, everybody screams,
Everybody feels this way. And that's okay.
Lala la lala, that's okay.

Santana took over for the bridge; Mercedes jumping in with a few of the lines.

Lala la lala.
So many questions (so much on my mind)
So many answers I can't find;
I wish I could turn back the time.
I wonder why...

Quinn and Kurt sang the next little part together. Kurt could not help reaching over and taking Quinn's hand, giving her a friendly smile. She had been through a lot in the past few months and he knew they both had spent a lot of time hurting lately.

Everybody hurts some days, (some days)
Everybody hurts some days, (some days)

The whole group joined in again. Kurt had the honor of singing the repeated words and main backing vocals, having begged Mr. Schuester and telling him his voice was quite capable of handling the higher notes.

Everybody hurts some days, (some days)
It's okay to be afraid; (afraid)
Everybody hurts, everybody screams,
Everybody feels this way,
And that's okay.
La dada dada, that's okay.
Lala la la, that's okay...

Everybody hurts some days (some days)
It's okay to be afraid;(some days)
Everybody feels this way.
Everybody hurts some days...

And just to make Rachel happy, she got the last line.

Lala la lala, it's okay.

The kids of New Directions finished and stood as the crowd cheered and stood, clapping loudly for them. They felt like they had done a brilliant job and as they headed off stage they all congratulated each other. Now all they had to do was wait for the Warblers to perform and hope those boys were not too good...

- - - - - - - - - -

Blaine's mind had still been a mess of thoughts when the Warblers went into the auditorium to sit and watch the New Directions group perform. Nick was sitting next to him, flipping through the show program and trying to find the page for their competitor to see what songs they were doing.

Just as the judges had finished announcing the McKinley High group, Nick turned to whisper in his ear, an excited look on his face. "Looks like you'll get to hear-"

He did not get a chance to finish because the music had started and McKinley's soloist had made his entrance.

And his voice had Blaine feeling like a six year old again who was standing behind a way too sparkly decorated little stage, listening to one of the most perfect voices he had ever heard which brought tears to his eyes.

It was Kurt.

All Blaine could do was sit, watching in awe as the gorgeous boy sang and made his way down the aisles. He could remember Kurt perfectly now. The pretty little boy who had been dropped off at the orphanage one night and had been so lost and confused, having been happy to hold Blaine's hand when the comfort was offered, their hands fitting together like puzzle pieces. They had spent all those months together, sharing every thing, and then it had all been ruined when Kurt had been torn apart from him. Blaine could remember how Kurt had clung to him with that last hug; how Kurt had called desperately for him as he was carried out of the orphanage, and how he, himself, in turn, had called back.

And now...now they were so much older. Kurt did not recognize him and clearly showed no signs in wanting to even be around him. He was a lot different after all these years, it seemed, and Blaine did not know what to do. Should he talk to Kurt again? Tell him who he was? And it did not help that his stomach felt like it was doing flip flops every time he looked at his old friend. He knew he had thought Kurt was pretty when they were little, but now Kurt was beyond pretty – he was beautiful.

Emotions were flooding Blaine like a tidal wave and it was making him feel slightly nauseous. He waited for Kurt's solo to be finished then managed to flee the room as everyone clapped and cheered.

Blaine made his way down a hall and found a water fountain. After getting a drink he leaned against the wall and slid down to sit on the floor. After a bit he sighed and let his forehead fall forward to rest on his knees. This was not good.

"Yo, Blaine! Where've you been, goof? You missed New Directions last performance. They were really good...uh, Blaine?"

Blaine looked up to see Nick staring down at him with a concerned look. Surprisingly, Abby was with him as well.

"You okay, B?" Abby crouched down next to him, reaching over to place a hand against his forehead. "You look a little ill. You're not finally getting nervous over singing, are you?" She gave him a concerned look despite her joking remark.

"No, I'm fine. I just-"Blaine was interrupted by the door a short way down the hallway opening. He had forgotten this was the hallway that was next to the stage. The New Directions kids were coming out and heading back to their dressing room, talking quite loudly and cheerfully.

- - - - - - -

After their performance Kurt was feeling wonderful. They had performed well; the audience had cheered wildly for them. All thoughts of the curly headed Warbler were out of his mind.

They exited out of the side door that led from the back of the stage area into one of the hallways. Kurt was happily soaking up the compliments his fellow glee clubbers were giving him; he even got a compliment Rachel who stated that at least if she had not gotten the solo someone as good as Kurt had.

The fun atmosphere was ruined when Kurt's progress was halted by none other than the curly haired Warbler. The boy looked a little ill to Kurt. The rest of the New Directions kids had stopped walking too, standing by Kurt and wondering why one of their competitors was addressing him. Only Mercedes and Santana had seen the Warbler before. There was another Warbler standing behind the curly haired boy and a pretty girl with wavy hair, who both looked quite concerned. The girl looked oddly familiar to Kurt.

"Oh my god." Kurt groaned, already feeling annoyed again. "Not again. Can I help you?"

- - - - - - - - - - -

Blaine had stood without even thinking, going over to stand in front of Kurt. Maybe he would be doing more harm than good by telling Kurt who he was, maybe Kurt did not want to remember him, but he was going to take a chance.

"Kurt...you don't remember me, do you?"

Okay, probably not the best way to start out. Kurt was giving him an odd look. "Remember you? Sheesh, I think you're getting crazier each time we meet. This has been twice now, well, three times if you count right now. So, duh, of course I remember you."

"No." Blaine shook his head, feeling his stomach twisting in knots again. "It's me. Blaine. From...when we were little." He was not sure if Kurt had told all his friends about being adopted, so he was not going to just mention the orphanage.

Kurt was still giving him a blank look. Or was that a flicker of recognition in his gorgeous blue eyes?

"You must remember...I can tell you felt the same thing I did earlier, when our hands touched. I saw it in your eyes. Please, Kurt." Blaine pleaded. "You have to remember. Courage."

It seemed like only seconds later that the other boy finally reacted. Kurt's expression went from slightly confused to blank...then to a mix of something Blaine could not decipher. Kurt suddenly seemed small, lost, and all too vulnerable.

"You...I don't...no." Kurt shook his head, taking a step back from Blaine. "I don't remember you."

"Kurt...please." Blaine reached out for Kurt, giving him a sad, desperate look. They could finally be together again, after all these years.

- - - - - - - - - - -

"Don't touch me!" Kurt snapped. Out of the corner of his eye he could see some of his friends moving closer to him, sensing his discomfort. He was usually glad for his friends' protective presence, but right now he felt like everyone and everything was closing in on him, making it hard for him to breathe.

Yes, he remembered Blaine. Well, up until just a few seconds ago he had not completely remembered him, but between seeing those hazel eyes and experiencing that brief contact of hands and now having the curly haired boy's name...and that word, courage