Kurt Hummel came home on Valentine's Day unhappy.
He was not unhappy because he didn't get a card, for that had never happened. He was unhappy because Valentine's Day was his mother's favourite holiday. It had been a week since they buried her, making this the first Valentine's Day without her, and for an eight year old like Kurt, this day was the worst.
"Oh, Kurt! Valentine's is the most special of days!" Kurt could hear his mother's singsong voice say. "This day is most great not because you receive things like chocolate or flowers, or cards. But you get to show the person, your husband, your wife or your kids, that you love them so much. And you get to express it in an even bigger way than just saying it." He had been brave the past week, crying only at night, smiling calmly to his dad and keeping his composure at school, quietly accepting the pity.
But that day, he broke.
He cried on the bus, though no one noticed. He hid at recess and cried in one of the trees. He was grateful that no one took notice of him during school; he was small and quiet, so no one saw him scale the tree or descend from it at the end of recess.
When Kurt got home, he surprisingly smiled at the chocolate his father left for him on the table with a card that read:
'I love you sport, don't ever forget that! Be home after dinner, there's pizza in the fridge.
-Dad'
His father had checked out lately, coming home from work later than normal, not speaking; he'd even stopped tucking Kurt into bed at night. Kurt sighed and grabbed the chocolate, sitting on the couch to watch TV. Kurt later made dinner before coming back to the living room and turning on the VHS player to watch whatever movie was still in the slot. It turned out that it was Lady and the Tramp. Both Kurt and his mother loved this movie, but Kurt's ears tuned out as his mind wandered.
They had planned to have a picnic that day. Kurt was allowed to stay home from school and his father would take the day off of work. They would pick Kurt's mom up from the hospital and they would go to the park for a picnic. His mother would sing and Kurt would join in. His father would laugh and say that they were his songbirds, as he always did.
They had planned this out nearly a month ago. It was supposed to be fun.
But now…
Kurt looked at the clock, noticing it was past 9:00pm. His dad would be late again, though that was no surprise. Kurt made his way upstairs and got himself ready for bed. He climbed into his bed and opened his window. Kurt leaned against the windowsill and looked out into the night sky. It was clear; the stars were shining bright and the moon was pale and beautiful as normal. Kurt remembered his grandmother telling him something the day after his mother died. As she tucked him into bed, she told him that his mother was in Heaven. She pointed out to the sky and said that, despite the fact that he couldn't see the clouds, in which apparently angels lived, she was there and she would be smiling down at him, proud. Kurt never believed this though; he never really thought much of god. He took his mother and that didn't sit right with Kurt. Kurt liked to believe The Lion King's story instead. He liked to believe that his mother became a star. He liked to believe that she was right next to the moon, on the left hand side. To the right was the way to Neverland and, if she was on the left, she would be right next to the moon.
His mother loved how comforting the moon looked, and if she was a star, Kurt could always see her at night. And even during the day, when the stars were gone, he knew she was there. He knew this because, even if only faintly, during the day he could still see the moon.
Tears filled Kurt's eyes as he looked at the stars. His missed his mother so much, and he wanted her to be there, to hold him, to sing to him, to love him. But, she was gone and she was never coming back. No matter how much it hurt, Kurt knew this and he knew he had to accept it. It was never going to change.
At least he had his father. He was still here and, despite the fact that he was far away dealing, probably on the other side of town, with his grief, at least he was still there. But it didn't help Kurt to think about that.
Kurt wanted love, not fatherly love. Kurt wanted a love that could fill the hole his mother's passing had left in his heart.
Kurt shook his head to stop the tears from falling and looked up at the sky in defiance.
He opened his mouth and started to sing.
"Somewhere out there,
beneath the pale moonlight,
someone's thinking of me and loving me tonight."
Blaine Anderson came home on Valentine's Day both upset and embarrassed.
Tears burned at the corners of his eyes as he chucked his bag to the ground. Cooper came into the front hall with a confused look on his face.
"This is your fault! Everyone makes fun of me now 'cuz you said to give Jack that Valentine!" Tears slipped down Blaine's face.
The day before Valentine's Day, Blaine had been nervous. He had no idea who to give a Valentine to. His mother said to just make nice ones for his friends, but Blaine did not want to do that. This eight year old had learned in class that Valentine's Day was about love and showing that love to someone special.
So, Blaine was sitting there at the living room table with no idea what to do. Cooper had recently bragged about how he was giving a card and some chocolates to a girl he liked. Their mother had told him to share some of the chocolate with Blaine, so he could give some out as well.
The thing was, Blaine didn't like any of the girls at school. Not in the crush type of way, anyway.
In that way, he liked boys.
One boy in particular, Jack, he had nice hair and was, for an eight -year-old, cute. Blaine wanted to give him a card, along with the chocolate. But it seemed to Blaine that no boys gave cards to other boys, and no girls gave cards to other girls. Not in a crush way, anyway.
This is what made Blaine confused and nervous.
"Cooper! I have a question!" Blaine yelled.
"What is it, Squirt?" Cooper said, entering the room after a moment, carrying an apple.
"Don't call me that…" Blaine mumbled.
"Yeah, yeah," Cooper sat down, "What is it?"
"Is it okay for a boy to give another boy a card instead of a girl?" Blaine asked, innocently.
Cooper stared at him, blinking a few times.
"I-um…Yeah, I guess? I... Well, if you like someone, you're supposed to show it on Valentine's Day, right?" Cooper asked, and Blaine nodded. "Well, then yeah, sure! Of course you can." Cooper smiled as he stood up and left.
This had made Blaine so happy, no words could describe it. But after that day, he could not be angrier with his older brother. When he got to school that day, he gave Jack the card and chocolate during lunch like everyone else. One of the other boys saw and made fun of him.
"Blaine likes boys!" He laughed as he pointed at Blaine and Jack.
Jack thanked him wordlessly and walked away, trying to avoid the taunting. The whole class started to laugh and make fun of Blaine.
"So!" Blaine yelled back, still thinking it wasn't a bad thing like his big brother had told him.
"You're a fairy!" The boy yelled again.
The class continued to laugh. Tears had filled Blaine's eyes and he had never been more thankful for a teacher entering the room and telling everyone to quiet down in his life. Blaine cried in the bathroom for the rest of lunch and at recess he sat on the bench and hoped to anyone or anything that would listen that he wouldn't get made fun of anymore.
His prays landed on deaf ears.
Blaine stormed past his brother in search of his mother, he found her in the living room by a bookshelves.
"Momma. Everyone at school made fun of me." Blaine said in a near whisper.
"Now, Blaine, why would they do that?" his mother asked lovingly.
Blaine explained about the Valentine he made for Jack; all about giving it to him instead of a girl like all the other boys did. His mother sat there quietly and listened.
The first and only thing his mother said to him was, "Don't tell your father about this, Blaine." She got up and left Blaine there in the living room, confused and sad.
When bedtime came, his mother tucked him in as usual. No word of the earlier incident had come up until then.
"Momma." Blaine called into his dark bedroom tensely as his mother was leaving.
"Yes, Blaine?"
"D-do you think I'll find a boy who can love me like you're supposed to do with a girl?"
His mother did not answer.
Blaine watched as his mother closed the door and left downstairs.
He climbed out from underneath his covers and got out of bed. He stumbled to his open window and leaned on the windowsill.
Blaine furrowed his brow, blowing a curl of black hair out of his eyes as he stared up at the sky. The moon was, as usual, full and beautiful. Blaine always loved the night, along with the moon and the stars, for it always had ways of calming him.
What had also calmed him was singing. He was better at singing than actually telling someone how he felt directly. He was glad that he did not think of singing to Jack and had just given him a silly, glitter and puppy-sticker-covered card.
Blaine stared up at the night sky right on the left hand side of the moon where, oddly, a particular star was shining a tad brighter than the rest, and he decided to sing.
"Somewhere out there,
someone's saying a prayer,
that we'll find one another in that big somewhere out there."
Tears fell from Kurt's eyes as he stared up at that one, particular star.
When Kurt sang, he did it with so much emotion that it hurt more than just normal, everyday feelings.
But, somehow, at the same time, it lifted the weight he'd felt in his chest when his missed his mother. It helped in some way.
"And even though I know how very far apart we are,
it helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star."
Most people would think it odd for an eight-year-old boy to dream about the day "the one" came along or his true love. But, to Blaine, it was everything he'd ever dreamed of. Maybe it was the constant Disney movies he watched, or maybe he listened to too many love songs in the car with his mother.
For some reason, however, he felt it; he wanted it, and one song in particular was definitely a help.
"And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby,
it helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky."
The star twinkled brightly, and neither of the boys would know how true their words were, nor did they know that fate would, one day, make both their dreams become a reality.
"Somewhere out there,
if love can see us through,
then we'll be together, somewhere out there,
out where dreams come true."
Yay! I hope you guys liked it! Huge Thanks to Sweetsheart for Beta Reading for me! She made this so much better and could never thank her enough. Chapter two will be up soon.
I know I haven't posted/updated in forever but I do not on Microsoft Word, so that means I am writing these at school.
Cheers :D