Kurt sat in the chair. The same chair he sat in that morning when Finn left, the morning after what he and Rachel had dubbed “The Night from Hell.” He stared at his phone, as if he could will it to dial or permanently erase Blaine’s number from its memory. He finally took a breath, pressed Blaine’s number and waited.

*click* “…uh, hi Kurt.” Kurt could barely breathe. "Kurt? Is this Kurt? It says Kurt on my screen…oh God unless he changed his number and this is someone else, but then why-”

He cleared his throat. “No, no it's me. Hi Blaine.” Kurt could hear voices in the background, many he could recognize. “Sounds like you’re busy, I can call back…”

“No, no, it’s, um, funny you’re calling now, I’m, uh, backstage at Sectionals.”

Kurt gasped. He had completely forgotten. “Oh, God, I’m sorry…I can call later, or, you know what never mind.”

“No, we don’t go on for a while, so…I have time.”

“Oh…okay.” Kurt didn’t know what to say next. How do you smoothly segue into forgiving your ex-boyfriend for cheating on you? “So. How was your Thanksgiving?” He cringed the moment it came out of his mouth.

“Um, well. It was Thanksgiving. Not exactly a lot to be thankful for though…no. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that…”

“No, it’s okay. Actually, that’s, what I wanted to talk to you about.” He shifted in his chair. “When Rachel and I had Isabelle and her friends over for Thanksgiving dinner, I got to thinking about being thankful, and what to be thankful for this year, and it got me to thinking about everything that happened and…other things.”

“Other things?”

“Blaine,” Kurt swallowed. “I…I forgive you.”

Blaine’s breath caught in his throat. “You forgive me?”

“Yes. I forgive you for what you did. For Eli. I realize now how severe your loneliness really was. It doesn’t excuse what you did, but I understand it better now.”

Tears began to well up in his eyes. “Kurt,” Blaine sniffled. “You don’t know what this means-”

“Now before you get excited, this doesn’t mean we’re getting back together. I…you REALLY hurt me. You broke the trust I had in you, and I don’t know if or when I’ll be able to trust you with my heart ever again. But…ummm…”

There was a pause that was only seconds but felt to Blaine like days. He broke the silence. “Yes, Kurt?”

“I still…love you. And I miss you. I can’t help that. I miss telling you how my day went, or what the bag lady in the park shouted yesterday, or what crazy ideas were brought up at the staff meeting, or about Rachel’s latest cooking disaster. So…I have a proposal. We can try…to be friends? Like when we first met?”

“Well, it wouldn’t be like that exactly. Kurt, you were in a very different place when we met. Heck, so was I. Still you’re saying…friends?”

“Yeah…there wouldn’t be nearly as much pressure as trying to do a long-distance relationship. A friendship would have the communication without that expectation of daily contact. Just…we reach out when we need to. Or want to. Just…when we feel like it. And if one of us gets busy or can’t talk right away…it’s okay. But I want you to promise me something.”

“Anything, Kurt.”

“I don’t want you to depend on me. I know it may be hard but I really want you to consider New Directions your family. Sam, Brittany, Tina…they all care about you too. Remember that, before you go and do something…well, something you’ll regret.”

“I promise, Kurt. And I…I’d like that. I’d like to be your friend again, Kurt.”

Kurt rolled his head to the side and smiled. “Me too, Blaine. Like...going back to the start.” He sat up and reached for his glass of wine. "So, friend…tell me about Sectionals.”

“Oh yeah…well, you won’t believe what Tina is singing for our opening number…”

Kurt forgave Blaine for his mistake, but wasn’t so sure about forgiving him for making wine come out of his nose, because that shit burned. Gangnam Style, really?