Blaine kept them in a pile at the bottom drawer of his bedside table, tied together with old brown string. He would take them out each night, letting his fingers run over the smooth surface of the paper, reading the words over and over. He knew them all by heart; he could probably recite them in his sleep if he tried. Whispers of love, promises of a future from the boy he adored. The words ran through his head everywhere he went...

I was sitting in a particularly boring class this afternoon, and naturally, my mind drifted to the single most interesting kid in all of Ohio (that title belongs to you, now that I'm gone J). Remember that lazy Saturday afternoon at my place? We were just sitting around, listening to the radio. You were reading and I was sketching something or the other. Billie Holiday came on, singing I'll be seeing you. You got off the bed, walked over to me and asked if I would like to dance. And we did. Your arm around my waist and your voice singing softly in my ear. It was perfect. You are perfect.

It's snowing!! Everything looks beautiful outside. I will probably not be this happy when I have to walk through it to get to class in the morning but right now it's beautiful. Wish you were here. Hot cocoa by the fireplace for our next date?

I love you. Sometimes, I feel like I don't say it enough.
So here- I LOVE you, Blaine Anderson.
I love you, all of you, with every part of my being.

You know what I miss. Cuddling. One more week left. SO EXCITED! Are you going to sing to me at the airport??

Is it too soon to say that I want to be with you forever? You know what, I don't care.
I want to be with YOU. Forever. I'm completely smitten.

Blaine smiled and put the letters back in the drawer. That was a difficult year, there were lots of phone calls and texts, a couple fights and some tears, but they had survived. There were many years since that one year, and there were many more to come.
Forever promised to be a long time.