Blaine laid the blanket out and smoothed down the corners before sitting down.

"I'm gonna graduate tomorrow, Ri. I did it." He couldn't fight the smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth, "I actually did it." He could feel the tears build up in his eyes and tried his hardest not to feel guilty about his happiness. "That's not even the best part... I got that solo I was telling you about, the one at the graduation ceremony."

It had been a long three weeks of auditions while Mr. Shue struggled to find the right song for the glee club to sing, and then pick one of the seniors to take the lead. If he had it his way they would all get to sing their goodbyes, but Principal Figgins aloud them enough time for one. And Blaine had been chosen.

"Kurt's the valedictorian, no surprise there, so he's giving the student speech tomorrow. He's nervous, but you and I both know he's going to do fantastic. He says hello, by the way." Blaine takes a momentary pause, but has long passed up the hope that Riley would ever talk back.

Two years now he's been visiting her grave, talking to the head stone which indicated that she was a loving sister and dear friend. He often wondered if anybody walked by her grave, read her headstone, and realized that she had died too young. If anybody wondered why there was no mention of being a loved daughter. How many people had hung their head when they assumed this poor young girl died from a medical condition or if they'd taken the time to read her name and her story in the paper to know the truth behind her death.

"I don't have much time to stay today; Kurt, Finn, and my graduation party starts in an hour. Oh my gosh, Ri, you would have just died if you could have seen the invitations to this thing. They were so cheesy I just... if Kurt asks me though, I will deny I ever said that." Blaine smiles to himself when he remembers the proud look on Kurt's face after he got back from the printing company with the invitations. It was meant to be classy; all three men dressed in a proper suit shot in black and white, but Kurt was the only one who could pull that off.

"I wish you could be here. I wish you could stand up and hoot at the ceremony tomorrow like I know you'd been planning to do your whole life. I would have hated you for doing that to me, but that's the great thing about being older, the next year I would have done it right back. Only ten times worse." Blaine let the smile play on his lips and he could almost swear that he could hear the echo of Riley's laugh in the wind.

"Mom and Dad would have been so pissed though." And that's all it took for the air around him to feel serious again. Tears built up in his eyes again and he did nothing to stop them from rolling down his cheeks. "You would have been proud of me. Getting through this wasn't easy. I was so mad at you for so long, but I know why you did it." He swallowed hard trying to get rid of the lump in his throat before he folded his hands in his lap and looked down at them. "It took me a long time to stop feeling guilty. Like I should have been there to take the pills with you, or even for you. Sometimes I still think I shouldn't be here. I'd be less of a burden to Kurt and his family, I'd be one less person for Rachel to compete for solos against. I would have just been one less nobody wandering the streets at night." Slowly Blaine looks up to the name staring back at him: RILEY ANDERSON * 1997-2010 * BELOVED SISTER, DEAR FRIEND "It was so hard, but I know you would have been proud."

Blaine pulled out his phone to look at the time. Silently he stood up, folded the blanket, and walked right up to her headstone, "I promise." Blaine left a kiss atop of the headstone and left with a whispered I love you and promise of a return.

***

The next day, Blaine stood in the doorway to Kurt's bedroom completely unnoticed. Eventually he leaned against the frame with hands in his pockets and let a smile take over.

"You know, they say if you look in those things for too long the mirror will shatter."

Kurt could feel a blush creep up his neck, "Oh shut up, you. I'm giving the speech today, Blaine. That means everyone is going to see me." Blaine let out a chuckle before walking up behind Kurt and wrapping his arms around his waist.

"And you look as perfect as you always do." Blaine leaned forward and kissed Kurt's cheek before resting his chin on his shoulder. The two stood there and let their reflections emulate the love that flowed between them. "Do I get to hear your speech yet?"

"Blaine," Kurt turned around and wrapped his arms around Blaine's neck, "You get to hear the speech when everybody else hears it, too."

"But I make a special appearance in it, right?" Blaine winked at Kurt and gave him that irresistible smile that made Kurt fall even more in love with him.

"How could you not?" Kurt leaned forward and pressed their lips together. Blaine's hands guided him closer until the two boys toe to toe, and heart to heart. Kurt could feel his heart beat out of his chest as he wrapped his fingers in the hair at the base of Blaine's neck. He pulled Blaine closer for one last second until he broke the kiss with a smile and leaned their foreheads together.

"I love you."

"I love you, more."

***

Blaine could physically feel the pride in his chest when they called Kurt's name as the valedictorian. He thrummed his fingers against his knees as Kurt stood at the podium arranging his papers and taking a final deep breath before looking out to the audience. The moment Blaine locked eyes with Kurt he placed his hand over his heart and gave an encouraging nod. I believe in you.

"My fellow students, friends, faculty, and parents: this is a day for celebration." Students started to whistle and clap all around Blaine, but he couldn't take his eyes off of Kurt. "But let us not forget what we are celebrating. These last four years we have walked these halls together. Gone to dances and football games and pep assemblies together. We all felt the joy every time summer vacation would roll around and the agony when the first day of a new year came. We were all able to walk the halls and wave at our friends and fellow classmates and add a friendly smile every now and again. Some of you are leaving this place with stories to be passed on to your children about scoring the winning touchdown at the football game, or winning the state spelling bee. We all have made friendships that are going to last us a lifetime, and some of you, if you're as lucky as me, have even met the love of your life here. But we can't forget the bad days and the lessons learned. The times when tests were handed back and that letter grade wasn't as great as we would have liked. The days we had to show our faces after loving relationships had to come to an end. The days when we needed our friends to be there more than we wanted to admit. The days when being strong just didn't feel like an option anymore." The gym was completely silent now, and the crowd hung on to every one of Kurt's words. Blaine's hands were shaking in his lap as he stared unblinkingly up at the stage. He wasn't even aware that he was holding his breath. "I'm not going to stand up here and idolize these last four years and pretend like they are going to be the best four years of my life. I surely hope not. High school can tear you down until you feel like nothing. But I think that's why we all stand together so strongly now. Even if you don't want to admit it, we all know that these people in here, the faces we see when we look around this gym have all been there for us in some way or another. Our school, our class especially, has been through some hard times which means the friendships we have made are going to be that much more meaningful to us after we are gone. Once we walk through those doors today we are no longer going to be classmates; some of us are going on to work, some of us to college. There are people staying here in Ohio, going to Florida, California," Kurt paused to look straight at Blaine again only this time he held his gaze, "New York. No matter where life takes us now we are on to bigger and better things. Today starts the day that we live our dreams, but just like high school there are going to be bumps along the way. We are all going to come back from our first winter break and realize how much we miss each and every student sitting with us today, and the ones that are not. High school itself is a lesson worth living because we learn so much. A young girl named Riley Anderson once taught me the most important lesson of all: We all have a purpose in life, a very specific and very important purpose. For many of us, we are going to wander this earth lost and confused until one day it finally hits us. Nobody can tell you what that purpose is, nobody can complete that purpose for you, but we can all have help along the way. Our friends and family and loved ones are the people put on this earth to be our support system. The friendships we have made in the last four years are our foundations; from here on out we get to build up. So to say that high school is going to be the best four years of our lives would be a sad story for any one of us. But I can honestly say I wouldn't take back these experiences or the people I've gotten to share them with. No matter where life takes us, or what it takes from us, we will always stand strong, and stand proud as the McKinley High School class of 2013."

Students, parents, and faculty alike all stood up in a roar of applause around him. Kurt smiled widely before taking his seat next to the principal on the back of the stage. There were whistles and shouts and even a blow horn or two coming from all around him, but Blaine sat frozen in his seat. He smiled up at the love of his life before he closed his eyes and sunk his head back in his chair. I did it. We did it. And he could swear that if he listened close enough, somewhere within the applause he could hear her celebrating with him, "And I am so proud."