Chapter 2:

To say Blaine and Kurt were inseparable would be an understatement and an insult to their ever blossoming friendship. By the time they had both turned 6, they did everything together, and at every opportunity he had, Blaine would sleep over at Kurt's house. To begin with, it was a way of escaping the almost daily abuse he was put through, but, almost immediately he wanted to do it, just so he could see his best friend more. By the time they were 7, Blaine was a full member of the Hummel household, in everyone's opinion he was their second son.

Unfortunately, none of this meant life got any easier for poor Blaine. Most nights a week he would return home to be yelled at and pounded by his father until it was hard for him to breathe. Some nights, he would be able to sneak out to Kurt's house afterwards and nobody would mention it to him, they would hug him and make sure he didn't need a doctor, but then they would move on, and for that Blaine was so thankful. It was hard for him to be hit in the first place, and he just wanted to forget all about it, move on and play with his best friend like a normal child would. However, some nights his Father would stay home and he would be left with no choice but to spend the night in his own house, braving it out until he could talk to Kurt via walkie-talkie.

Burt and Elizabeth wanted nothing more than to make Blaine their own child and welcome them lovingly into their home with open arms. They wanted to take him in to live with them so badly, but when Blaine had tried to ask his Dad if he could sleep over at Kurt's instead of sneaking out, it had resulted in a broken collar bone and 3 stitches in his head. It became clear that asking Blaine to move in with them was a risk too big to take. They tried to make the most of things though, they loved every minute they spent with Blaine and nothing made them happier than watching the friendship shared between Blaine and Kurt. It was the kind of friendship that gave you fuzzy feelings inside and made you feel warm and safe just by hearing the other persons voice, it was the kind of friendship that Elizabeth hoped would one day turn into something more. The way both boys treated one another was remarkable, they knew each other better than most married couples and they cared more for one another than they cared for themselves. When one of them needed something, the other one would have it ready before they asked for it. There was nothing either boy deserved more than the opposite boy's love and affection and Elizabeth truly hoped in the future, they would both receive it.

Elizabeth had known Kurt was gay since he was three, it was obvious to anyone he spoke to. However, the only thing that made her sure of Blaine's sexual orientation was how he treated Kurt. Kurt always came first, Blaine would show up to the Hummel's house battered and bruised, and ask Kurt how his day was. Every single year for Blaine's birthday, Burt and Elizabeth would ask Blaine what he wanted, and he would respond that he would like Kurt to be happy for another year, because seeing Kurt happy, made him happy too.

Birthdays were sacred to the Hummels and Blaine. Since Kurt's fifth birthday up until his eighth it was the same every single year; a small family gathering that all four of them treasured and looked forward too for months in advance.

Kurt's eighth birthday went brilliantly; Burt, Blaine and Elizabeth were all smiling brightly, and having the best time ever. Kurt blew out the candles on his sparkly cake whilst Blaine sat on Elizabeth's lap smiling broadly at the sight of his best friend enjoying himself and knowing he helped put the grin on Kurt's face, whilst Burt snapped a photo of the three most important people in his life.

However it wasn't soon after that, that things started to go downhill. It was a few months later when Elizabeth was sat down in the doctors chair as he pulled out her files, she took a deep breath in as he looked over at her from across the doctor's desk. "I'm so sorry to inform you Mrs Hummel..." He began. She didn't hear the rest of the sentence; her world was crumbling down around her. She heard little things he said like "fatal" and "about 3 months left." But that was all.

Elizabeth climbed out of the taxi and walked up to her front door, it had only been an hour since she got the news, and she was still having trouble processing it. She opened the door and the sound of Blaine and Kurt's laughs cut right into her heart. How could she say goodbye to them? They were her life, she adored both of them with every fibre of her being. She couldn't just say goodbye to them after all they had been through together. It would be too hard. She didn't want to be the one who made them upset and removed the laughter from their voices. She just couldn't do it. It would hurt too much.

She walked into the kitchen where she found Burt pacing back and forth nervously. She tapped him on the shoulder, and he jumped at the touch. Realising it was her he spun around on his heels and opened his mouth to ask her how it had gone. But before he could say anything she shook her head slowly. He knew what that meant. Tears filled in his eyes and he let out a choked sob and threw his arms around his wife as they cried into each other's shoulders.

"How do we tell the kids?" He whispered.

"We don't." She replied simply. Kurt and Blaine were too young to understand, and there was no way they were going to make life any harder on Blaine, especially. So they would wait until her time came before they told the boys what was inevitable.

Blaine woke up on his eighth birthday, directly 7 months after Kurt's and jumped out of bed, he checked around the house to make sure his Father wasn't in before he ran to the Hummel household as fast as he possibly could. He was slightly nervous when he didn't see Burt's car in the driveway, it hadn't been there for 2 days, and Kurt hadn't been at school either. Blaine was worried, to say the least, where could they have gone? He tapped on the door tentatively, but just like the past 2 days, he was met with silence. Had they forgotten his birthday this year?

With that solemn thought, Blaine trailed slowly off to school to take his usual seat in the classroom and just like the past two days there was an empty gap next to it where Kurt would usually sit. He spent the rest of his birthday alone, wondering where in the world his best friend was. It came to the end of the school day and he slugged home sad and lonely.

He went straight to the Hummel's, but they still weren't in, and their car was still absent from the driveway. He was devastated. What could have possibly happened meaning they were gone for 3 days in a row without so much of a goodbye? He wiped the tear off of his cheek and went back to his Father's house. The door was locked. He sighed to himself and curled up on the front step. His Dad never came home that night, neither did the Hummels, it was cold and raining heavily and Blaine found himself having to sleep outside next to his front door curled up into himself trying to preserve his body heat.

The next morning was a Saturday, so he had nowhere to go. He sat on that same doorstep for hours waiting for someone to come home or to his Father's house. Nobody did. When it started to rain again, he burst into tears, he was freezing, soaked through and he had nowhere to go. He waited and waited, but he remained alone.

Sunday remained the same. He hadn't eaten since his school meal on Friday and he was starving. He suddenly remembered he had a ten dollar bill in his pocket from his Auntie, who lived in New York, but still sent him money every year on his birthday. He ran as fast as he could to the shops and spent his money on food. He devoured it hungrily on the walk back to his front door. When he got there, he sat down and stared into space, wishing the ground would just swallow him whole.

Monday came around and nobody had come back yet. He was wearing the same clothes he had on Friday, and he knew his classmates would tease him because of it, but the thought of having an actual roof over his head was so delightful, that he ran straight to school. Kurt still wasn't in class, and Blaine was more than worried now. Maybe, they had all moved away? Maybe they had stopped loving him? Blaine wiped away a tear and focused on his maths work. Things will work out. He told himself, even though he was beginning to doubt it.

When school was over Blaine walked himself back home, ignoring the name calling following him home.

"Fag!"

"Hobo!"

"Haha! Blaine's a hobo and a homo!"

He picked up pace and ran away from the taunts. It wasn't until the tears cleared from his eyes, he saw Burt's car in the driveway. He double checked that his Father's house was still locked, which it was, and ran to his true home. He knocked on the doorway and bounced in his shoes, excited to finally see his best friend. But something was wrong, he could hear crying. Kurt was crying, and Burt too. He knocked harder, but they ignored him. He continued knocking for ten minutes, he knew they had heard him; the cried would subside momentarily as they listened to him knock every time he tried. Eventually he gave up and walked back to school, knowing it would be open and not wanting to sleep outside for the fourth night in a row.

He sneaked back into the building and went into his classroom, curling up in a ball on the floor. He decided in that moment that he knew nobody could love him truly, they'd all give up on him eventually.

Kurt let the tears fall silently as he held onto his Dad. One of the best weeks of his life had come crashing down on him.

He had spent the past week having a fun trip to his aunt's house. He loved her loads, so had jumped at the chance to stay with her for a while whilst his Dad did some grown up things. It was 6 days later when his Dad came to pick him up, and he seemed sad, Burt had took him out for ice cream, took him back home and broke the news to him. Elizabeth had died earlier that day after spending her final week of her life in hospital with Burt by her side.

Kurt had cried for hours, and so had his Dad. He didn't want his Mummy to be gone. He didn't know why she had to die. He wanted her back, he wanted her back right now. And Blaine. He hadn't seen him in almost a week. Blaine would know what to say. "Daddy. Please can we go and find Blaine. I need a hug from Blaine now."

Burt's heart skipped a beat in his chest "Blaine!" He yelled. "Oh crap! I left Blaine all week! We were only supposed to be at the hospital for an evening! Wait, no!" Burt's gaze fell to the pile of presents on the floor. "It was his birthday on Friday and I left him!" Burt scooped Kurt up and ran out of the front door. He knocked on the door of John's house, and got no answer. He turned the doorknob and it was locked. "Kurt, where else could he be?"

It was another two hours before they entered Blaine and Kurt's classroom. Blaine was curled up on the floor under a desk, wearing filthy clothes that were creased and due to the rain had stuck to his body. Kurt jumped down from his Father's arms and ran to wake up his best friend, but Burt caught him and stopped him in his tracks. "Kurt, you mustn't tell him just yet, I'll tell him when we get home. She was like his Mummy too alright? And from the looks of it, he hasn't had the best of weeks." Kurt nodded and gently shook Blaine by the shoulder.

Blaine opened his eyes slowly and saw Kurt and Burt looking down at him. He backed away from them slowly. "W-w-why are you here? You don't love me..." He whispered. "Have you come to tell me you've moved away? Because I'd understand. My Daddy always said that nobody would stick around for me. B-b-ut, can you at least visit sometimes...please?" Blaine's voice broke slightly as he finished the sentence and he curled his arms around himself.

"Blaine! No! We still live here, we just had to go away for a little while to sort out some things." Burt said gently. "I'm so sorry kiddo."

"You mean, you didn't forget me?" Blaine sniffed.

"Never." Kurt whispered and made his way towards his best friend.

Blaine felt tears in his eyes as he threw his tiny arms around Kurt's neck. "I-I-I thought you'd gone forever!" He cried. Kurt held him close until Blaine broke free and ran into Burt's arms. "Burt! You-you do still love me right? Please say you still love me?" He whispered. Burt wiped the tears from Blaine's muddy face and kissed him on the head.

"Always. Let's get you home, and we need to talk about some things. Alright?"

When they got home, Burt ran Kurt a bath and Kurt got in, buying Burt some time to talk to Blaine without putting Kurt through hearing it again. He sat Blaine down on his lap, just like he had done with Kurt, and began to talk.

"Blaine, I am so sorry for not being here this week. I love you like you were my own son, alright? I'm so sorry that we missed your birthday too, but when i explain why, you'll understand. But before I do, I need you to tell me what happened this week. Everything." Burt said solemnly, guilt coursing through his veins.

Blaine recounted his week in the least emotional way possible, not wanting to make Burt feel guilty. It was no use though, Burt had tears in his eyes and he held onto Blaine apologising over and over again. "I'm so so sorry, Blaine. I'm sorry!"

"It's alright Burt." Blaine said, putting on a brave smile. "You love me and you came back. But where's Elizabeth?" Blaine asked curiously.

"Blaine...the reason me and Kurt were gone this week was because Elizabeth was very poorly. She has been for a few months. She was in hospital this week whilst Kurt stayed at his Aunties, we only thought she'd be in there for a day, she was determined to get out so she could see you on your birthday. But she went into a special kind of sleep on Thursday night, and on Sunday the doctors said they knew she would never wake up, and so the machines that were keeping her alive had to be turned off so she could be at peace."

Blaine couldn't believe what he was hearing. No. It couldn't be true. He could have two mummies die. No. "S-s-she died?" Blaine whispered softly, needing to make sure he wasn't overreacting. But when Burt nodded his head it sunk in. "No. NO! Why? Burt, why?!" The tears fell freely down his face as he clung onto Burt's shirt as they cried together. Not Elizabeth. Why her? She was one of the kindest people Blaine knew. If it wasn't for her, Blaine didn't know where he'd be. She was the one who had brought him into the Hummel household originally, and now she was gone.

Blaine sobbed harder as memories of her came flooding through his mind. He could still smell her on the couch he was sat on he could still smell her on Burt himself. "Daddy?" He heard Kurt ask from the doorway where he stood in his pyjamas with is hair flopping down over his blue eyes that matched Elizabeth's so perfectly. "Did you tell Blaine?" He questioned. Before Burt could answer, Blaine had run off of Burt's lap and was tightly embracing Kurt as they both cried for their Mummy.

Burt left them there for a few minutes, before he picked them both up and carried them to bed in Kurt's room. Burt turned off the light and left them as they silently comforted each other just by being there, until they were both all cried out and fell asleep in one another's arms.

Blaine had been worried that after Elizabeth died he wouldn't be welcome in the Hummel's home anymore, after all she was the original reason he was in there, but that never happened. Despite the fact that the time he spent at the Hummel house wasn't as happy as it had been before due all three of them mourning her death, he was still welcome in at all times. When he missed her too much, Burt would cuddle him, and tell him everything was going to be alright, the same way he did with Kurt. After all, they were a family and even with one of them gone to a better place, they still would remain that way.

Kurt and Blaine grew even closer after that, they valued each other even more. Both of them were hit hard by the loss of Elizabeth, and they found comfort in one another the same way they always had done whenever they were hurting. For months there were many nights where one of them would be too upset to do anything, and they would just hold each other until everything was alright again. To them, it didn't feel strange that they were eight year old boys who hugged each other and held hands at every opportunity, to them, it felt like home, and that's exactly what it was.

They grew up together, holding hands throughout elementary school. However, when they reached middle school, things began to change. People got meaner. Before they knew it they were being shoved around and harassed more than ever before. It never stopped them though, it only made their friendship stronger, every time they wiped a tear from their best friend's cheek that was put there due to bullying, it made them closer. Burt had begun to wonder if they could even get any closer than they were, but they continued to amaze him every single day.