“I’ll be home for Thanksgiving dad, but I don’t think I’m sending much to the White House. I’m not planning on spending too much time there. I will feel like I live in a fishbowl with the paparazzi on me all the time. Now that my apartment is set up I can probably ship some of my stuff here.”

“We are not getting rid of the house Kurt so you can leave anything you don’t need here. This house is our home and you and Finn are welcome to come crash here whenever you need to.”

“Thanks dad.” Kurt sighed in relief. He wasn’t quite ready to let go of Ohio even though he couldn’t wait to leave once he graduated school. It was still the place where his mom was buried and it would always be home.

“Ok, I’ll see you in a few weeks. Carole and I will be moving to Washington right after Christmas. We’ll be staying at my apartment there until the Obama’s move out. Don’t forget you will have to be there for my Inauguration. Let me know if you want to invite any of your friends so that I can make sure they get an invitation.”

“Ok, I’ll let you know. I’ve gotta run to class dad, so I will talk to you later. Give my love to Carole.” Kurt hung up the phone and sat back on his bed. He truly loved living in New York. He had been hesitant about leaving his dad after the attempted assassination but his dad forced him to leave home and he was glad he did.

Kurt had finally stopped looking for Blaine. He had not been able to locate Blaine and wondered why it seemed that he didn’t exist. He refused to believe that Blaine had anything to do with the threatening letter his father had received but he couldn’t seem to come up with any logical reason as to why he did not exist.

He finally decided to forget London, the trip and anything other than school. He had made some friends and there were plenty of guys wanting to get to know him better. He went out on dates but he only ever went out on first dates. He never gave anyone a second chance. He didn’t trust anyone - especially now that everyone knew his father was the President of the United States and he was never sure if people wanted to date him or date the son of the President.

He enjoyed school and buried himself in his school work. NYU was proving to be hard – the schoolwork was kicking his ass and he had to work hard to get good grades. It was at night when he was close to falling asleep that his mind forgot he was supposed to be over Blaine. The loneliness was starting to get to him and he didn’t know how to overcome it. The sun would always chase the shadows of loneliness away but they inevitable returned with the setting of the sun.

December 2012:

Meanwhile in London Blaine had fallen off of the social map. He still accompanied his mother to her social events and stood in for his father whenever necessary but he pretty much became a recluse. He did attend the Olympics because – Michael Phelps – need he say more but he didn’t join his cousins in their outrageous partying and he pretty much kept to himself. He had been invited to Las Vegas in August and after that whole nude pictures debacle that Harry managed to get involved in Blaine was seriously glad he had decided to stay home to accompany his mother to one of her soirees.

After trying to find Kurt unsuccessfully he decided to concentrate on his school work. His friends tried to set him up on dates and after the first few dates he realized that no one seemed to measure up to his expectations. He had no one to talk to about Kurt except Wes but that didn’t help at all. Wes had told him to tell Kurt the truth so he had no sympathy to offer - besides he also thought Blaine was an idiot.

He was attending the Queen’s Christmas Party at Buckingham Palace when she had a butler fetch him. “Merry Christmas Your Majesty,” he said as he bowed kissing her outstretched hand.

“Merry Christmas Blaine. Your father tells me you are headed to the United States next week. I need to ask a favor.”

Blaine was startled. What did the Queen need? “Anything, Your Majesty,” he answered. Ever since the Queen had whacked him on the head Blaine felt that every time she looked at him she could see the words “idiot” written on his forehead. He unconsciously rubbed his forehead as he listened to her.

“I need a representative to attend the Inauguration Ceremony for the new President of the United States. Prince Phillip is not feeling well and I don’t feel comfortable being away from him for any length of time. Charles has a previous engagement and Wills and Harry are on military maneuvers. Besides I’m not sure Harry should be allowed anywhere without someone to keep an eye on him. I can certainly find someone else to go in my place but since you will be in New York it would be easier for you to just fly up to Washington D.C. and represent England. Would you do me that favor?”

“Of course, Your Majesty, I would be honored.”

“You will be seated at the President’s table as my representative. I hear he has a son your age.”

“I think I heard that he had two sons,” remarked Blaine. “They media mentioned his family while they were covering his assassination attempt.”

“Hmmm, he does support gay rights.”

“I’ve really been too busy with school to keep up on politics, Your Majesty but I will be more than happy to represent England at the Inauguration.”

‘Thank you dear. I am so glad you are getting a chance to pursue your dreams but don’t forget that as part of our family you do need to be well informed about everything happening around the world not just in our little corner. Now run along and go join your cousins in the festivities.”

Blaine had a good time with his cousins and then went home with his parents. They were surprised he was going home so early but he just wanted to go home and go to bed. He dreamed about Kurt that night and tossed and turned.

January 2013:

Kurt had just returned to New York to start the January term. He had spent the holidays in Ohio with his family but everyone was busy getting ready for his dad’s inauguration so there had been no time to relax. Kurt was going to fly to Washington D.C. on Saturday the 19th. By law his dad had to take his oath on January 20th which fell on a Sunday - before noon so they were going to have a private ceremony on that day and the very public inauguration on Monday the 21st of January.

The university had given him permission to skip the first couple of weeks of school but Kurt didn’t want to fall behind on his coursework so he had decided to come back home and then meet up with his family in a few weeks. Kurt was on his way home from class when he stopped at the coffee house near his apartment. As he was leaving the coffee house he caught sight of someone walking way ahead of him with a head full of curls. His heart stopped for a minute but by the time he ran ahead he couldn’t find that head of curls anywhere. He could have sworn the person was Blaine but then he shook his head and walked on home. His mind was playing tricks on him he figured since Blaine lived in London not the U.S.

xxxxooooxxxx

Blaine was enjoying his first week of living in New York. His parents had given him the keys to their apartment in New York so Blaine didn’t have to worry about trying to find a place to live. The apartment was close to the university so he didn’t have to travel far to school. He enjoyed walking around the neighborhood and today he had found a quaint little coffee house down the street from the apartment. He was scheduled to start school in a few days and he was excited.

The doorman stopped him on his way to the elevator and handed him a package that had been delivered while he was out. Inside the package was an airline ticket, hotel reservations and the formal invitation to the Inauguration Ceremony. His itinerary stated that he was to fly out of New York on Friday, Jan. 18th in the afternoon. He had a dinner appointment with the British Ambassador and he was looking forward to seeing the Ambassador. His son Nigel was a good friend and Blaine couldn’t wait to see his friend. He set aside the package – school was starting the next day and he wanted to make sure everything was ready.

Blaine had just finished the first full week of classes and he was rushing home to grab his bags before heading to the airport. He had spoken with Nigel earlier and they made plans to go out to a club on Saturday night.

As soon as Blaine arrived at the Ambassador’s house he was transported back to his Eton days. He and Nigel caught up on each other’s lives. Nigel would be attending the Inauguration but he would be seated far away from Blaine. As the Queen’s representative Blaine would be seated in the VIP section along with the Ambassador.

The boys ate an early dinner on Saturday before heading out for the evening. The Ambassador made sure Blaine knew what his responsibilities were at the ceremony.

“You will be seated at the main table with the President and his wife Carole. I think his sons will be attending as well. All you have to do is smile and be polite and extend the Queen’s congratulations and goodwill, etc…. I’m sure you know what to do.”

Blaine laughed, “I’ve done this before. I just wanted to make sure there were no extra protocols I needed to be aware of. How old are his sons?”

“I think they are either 19 or 20…not exactly sure. One is in the military and the other is attending college in New York.”

“I haven’t really heard too much about his family.”

“He made a deal with the media. He made himself readily available to the media as long as they left his sons alone while they were in school.”

“Sounds like the plan that Prince Charles made with the media in regards to Wills and Harry.”

“It is – now boys I am going to retire for the night. Don’t stay out too late.”

Blaine and Nigel had decided to go out to a dance club and they did have a good time. Blaine had quite a few admirers and he managed to get quite a few phone numbers handed to him throughout the night- from both boys and girls. There was one particular young man that reminded him of Kurt and he decided that he was going to call him once he got back to New York and got settled in at school.

Blaine had enjoyed dancing and the attention he received. He smiled as he thought about the young man who held him tightly as they danced the night away. For the first time in a long time Blaine managed a full night’s rest. He woke up feeling refreshed and ready to enjoy life.

xoxoxoxoxox

Monday finally arrived. It was bitterly cold and Kurt was caught up in the excitement. There were so many people lining the streets cheering for his dad that Kurt couldn’t stop the tears.

“I am so proud of you dad,” he said as he squeezed his father’s hand.

“Thanks Kurt. Now boys just remember how we practiced yesterday. Carole will be standing by my side and you boys will be standing next to her. Any questions?”

“When is lunch?” asked Finn.

“After the ceremony, Finn,” Carole looked at her son and shook her head. “Seriously, is food all you ever think of?”

Before anyone else could say anything they had arrived at the ceremony. Kurt was so overwhelmed by the shouts and cheers that all he could do was stand by and watch his father be sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. All he saw was a sea of humans wanting to share this special day with his family. He was so busy watching the crowds that his eyes never wandered to the area set aside for visiting dignitaries.

He didn’t see a certain young man sitting next to the British Ambassador and he certainly didn’t notice that this same young man sat through the whole ceremony staring hungrily at him.