He was too young to be burying someone he loved. But here he was, nineteen and standing graveside beside the parents of his boyfriend. His late boyfriend. Blaine wiped his face with his handkerchief again. It was pointless, his eyes kept producing tears though he felt numb inside. He didn't feel the shuddering sobs that kept producing noises, until Jake, his best friend, wrapped his arm around Blaine, squeezing him until he quieted.

"Come on, buddy, let's get you out of here," Jake whispered in his ear as the service ended.

Blaine nodded and stumbled alongside his friend to the car. The drive back to the college campus passed in a blur. Jake walked him to their dorm room and Blaine dropped his jacket, shirt and slacks on the floor before falling onto his bed, unable to do anymore. Jake tucked Blaine in, wrapping his comforter around him.

"You need anything before I take off?" he asked him.

Blaine shook his head and burrowed into his pillow, holding the large t-shirt that Charlie had left behind the last time he'd seen him. It still smelled like him, warm and masculine. The scent triggered another round of tears. Charlie had been older than him, a senior to his sophomore, at their college, Ohio State. They'd dated for almost a year after meeting in their musical theater class. Charlie was into sports and cars, he seemed so straight, Blaine hadn't been quite sure he was even gay. He certainly was, though, as he'd boldly told Blaine when they first shook hands. Despite the teasing for dating a younger guy, Charlie had pursued Blaine until he agreed to go out with him. That one date had sealed the deal. They had talked for hours and ended the night draped in each other's arms. He was Blaine's first. Charlie had helped Blaine to be proud of who he was, confident to be a gay man in Ohio. He'd taught Blaine so much about life, love, and music, and he'd never gotten the chance to say thank you. One year. That is how long he was lucky to have Charlie. Then the car accident had claimed his life. He'd been kept alive by machines until his parent's agreed it was time. The shock of it still hadn't sunk in, even though Charlie's body was now in the ground. Grieving and exhausted, Blaine drifted off to sleep, eyes still dripping salty tears onto the shirt clutched in his fist.

The next morning, Blaine woke to find himself alone. Jake must have gone to class. His friend had agreed to pick up his homework assignments from his professors so he could have a few more days to himself. Looking around blearily, he barely saw the desk, Jake's bed, the clothes and books scattered around the room. Then he saw his guitar. That's what he needed. He got out of bed, shivering in nothing but his boxer briefs and grabbed his guitar. Then he slid Charlie's t-shirt on and got back into bed. Strumming the strings softly, he hummed along, no words, no sense coming from his instrument. For hours, it seemed, all he did was hum or murmur random syllables as his fingers played over the strings. Sometimes he cried, sometimes the strumming became almost violent, sometimes it took everything in him to hold back the screams trapped inside him. Finally, he set his guitar next to him and grabbed his mp3 player off the desk. Setting it on shuffle, he stuck the earbuds in his ears and cranked the volume. What? Celine Dion? How did that get on here? Before he could skip the song, he listened to the words. Clicking the button, he started it over, reaching for his guitar.

"For all those time you stood by me

For all the truth that you made me see

For all the joy you brought to my life

For all the wrongs that you made right

For every dream you made come true

For all the love I found in you

I'll be forever thankful, baby

You're the one who held me up

Never let me fall

You're the one who saw me through

Through it all

You were my strength when I was weak

You were my voice when I couldn't speak

You were my eyes when I couldn't see

You saw the best there was in me

Lifted me up when I couldn't reach

You gave me faith 'cause you believed

I'm everything I am

Because you loved me

You gave me wings and made me fly

You touched my hand I could touch the sky

I lost my faith you gave it back to me

You said no star was out of reach

You stood by me and I stood tall

I had your love, I had it all

I'm grateful for each day you gave me

Maybe I don't know that much

But I know this much is true

I was blessed because

I was loved by you

You were always there for me,

The tender wind that carried me

The light in the dark, shining your love

Into my life

You've been my inspiration

Through the lies you were the truth

My world is a better place

Because of you

You were my strength when I was weak

You were my voice when I couldn't speak

You were my eyes when I couldn't see

You saw the best there was in me

Lifted me up when I couldn't reach

You gave me faith 'cause you believed

I'm everything I am

Because you loved me

Oh, I'm everything I am

Because you loved me"

When he performed the song in front of the college's singing group, the Warblers and the musical theater class, he got a standing ovation. It had taken him weeks to perfect a version of the song that suited him, using only his guitar. But finally, he felt it was good enough. Good enough to say goodbye to Charlie. Tears dripped down onto Charlie's t-shirt as he looked out over the group of friends that loved them both. For the first time since Charlie died, he smiled.

"Goodbye Charlie," he whispered.