Kurt had been sitting for who knows how long, it had just started to rain and all the other kids and parents had left the play park to head home. Kurt stayed put.
He didn't want to go home. A place where she wouldn't be...would never be again.
He buried his face back into his knees and sobbed again for what felt like the 100th time in an hour, before a shaky out of breath voice said, "Hey."
He looked up through tear filled lashes as he recognised the voice of his best friend, and as Blaine sat next to him, they embraced each other tightly and cried together.
"I'm here, Kurt. I'll always be here for you." Blaine whispered into Kurt's ear as they sat in the rain, letting their emotions take them.
The next few weeks passed slowly. The funeral was everything Elizabeth had wanted, she didn't want people to mourn for her but to celebrate her. She hadn't wanted any dark colours or clothing there, so everybody wore colourful suits and dresses, and the church was littered with her favourite flowers, lilies.
Blaine had sat by Kurt and had held his hand all the way through the service and the burial. Kurt had cried silently on his shoulder a couple of times but Blaine had just squeezed his hand tighter in support, until he calmed down again.
After that, things went back to normal. Life moved ahead. As well as it could, without somebody they all loved dearly.
Burt threw himself into work and Kurt threw himself into fashion and school.
Another year had flown by before they could blink and they had just celebrated Kurt's 12th birthday, when Blaine had some awful news.
"You're moving away?!" Kurt screeched at his best friend as he stood on the doorstep late one night, eyes red rimmed and voice raw as he told Kurt about his father's decision for work.
"I don't want to go!" Blaine cried and threw himself at Kurt, who caught his distraught best friend and held him tightly.
After Blaine had calmed down they managed to talk about it calmly. Even though Kurt wanted to scream the house down.
"My dad's promotion means we have to move to California." Blaine explained as they sat close together on the couch holding hands.
"That's a long way from here." Kurt said as he looked down to their joined hands, "do you think we will still be best friends?"
"Yes, of course we will." Blaine said confidently and reached out to hug Kurt, pulling him closer, "No matter where we are, you'll always be my best friend, Kurt."
"Please don't forget me." Kurt whispered quietly and Blaine pulled back slightly to look Kurt in the eye.
"I'll never forget you, Kurt. I love you." Blaine said and Kurt smiled at him.
Blaine smiled back and before they k ew what was happening they pushed their lips together in a light kiss.
Kurt giggled as he pulled back, both their faces turning a little pink with embarrassment.
"You will write to me right?" He asked and Blaine showed him a paper in his pocket that had Kurt's address written on it.
"All the time."
The day came quicker than they expected. And after holding onto each other and crying until they had to be pried apart by their fathers, Blaine left.
Kurt had cried into his fathers chest as the car disappeared around the end of the street, and Burt held in his own tears as the annoying kid next door, and the family who had grown on him, in the past 5 years, left.
He held in his own emotion as he focused on comforting his very strung out young son.
Blaine loved California. It had taken him a while to get used to it when they had moved here, 2 years ago, but now he couldn't imagine being anywhere else.
He was watching the surfers out in the waves, reading a letter he had received this morning from his best friend back in Ohio.
Kurt had sent him letters once a week since he had been out here, and Blaine had obviously sent him the same back. They had kept in touch for 2 years already, Blaine had no worries about finding any new friends, why would he bother when he already had the perfect one.
This letter was a little different though, Kurt spoke about something very serious in it, a secret he wanted to tell Blaine, his best friend, before anybody else.
He is Gay.
He likes boys.
Kurt's gay.
Blaine's eyes widened in surprise at the revelation, and he was certain he had choked on his smoothie.
Wow. This was serious.
He also talked about bullies at his new high school, and how badly they treat him. Blaine just wished their was some way he could comfort his best friend, or at least to take some of the burden.
You see, Blaine realised about 3 months ago, that he was gay too. So maybe telling Kurt may make him feel a little better about it, to keep him the strong person Blaine always knew he was.
He started writing his letter back that afternoon. His mom and dad were fighting again, his father's work hours seemed to be destroying their marriage right now, but Blaine didn't have time to worry about that, not when his BFF's life was in turmoil.
Kurt loved receiving letters from Blaine. The paper always smelled exactly like him, Kurt could remember that detail.
Even if he could no longer remember how soft Blaine's curly hair was, or how strong his hugs were, he would always remember that smell.
Blaine was gay too.
Kurt felt so relieved that he wasn't the only teenager going through something like this right now. At least they had another thing in common.
The letters kept going back and forth for another 6 months, then something amazing happened.
Kurt received flowers and a card for his 15th birthday, there was also a letter with them that explain how Blaine had asked his parents for money to get Kurt something for his birthday and because he had mever asked before, they had agreed. So Blaine had bought him a bouquet of white lilies, his favourite flower, because they reminded him of his mom, and a card.
Kurt couldn't believe it, he was speechless. He asked his father if he could maybe call Blaine, he knew the lines were expensive but he had to thank him more personally than a letter.
Burt agreed to a 10 minute phone call, and Kurt had bounced with excitement.
He and Blaine spoke for over 25 minutes about school and home, boys and beaches, Kurt told Blaine about a boy at school called Justin that he liked and Blaine teased him about it for a good 5 minutes straight.
Kurt hadn't recognized Blaine's voice, at first he thought it was his father, and Blaine had laughed and said "has my voice changed that much?" and Kurt had laughed with him, but was also a little jealous because his hadn't yet.
After another emotional goodbye on the line, Kurt ran back to the kitchen to put his beautiful flowers in a vase and carry them to his room to enjoy every minute of them.
He hoped he would be able to send something to Blaine for his 15th birthday too.
Kurt hated going to school. He hated it. The bullies seemed to be getting a lot more creative with their pranks, and now his fashionable clothes were starting to suffer because of it. Pee balloons, slushy facials, paint bomb in his locker, flipping his school lunch tray all over him, he had decided on tomato pasta that day.
It had escalated ever since he had been out of the closet, he didn't want to hide himself away. He didn't want to give anyone the satisfaction of making him hide who he was.
And now, looking down at his third ruined cashmere sweater as he threw it in the trash can, he was becoming a little depressed over it. He only had his monthly letters from Blaine to help him get through this high school hell.
Blaine seemed to be getting on well. They were both sixteen now, and out of the closet. Blaine had told him about the trouble he had with his dad, but it seemed to have settled down now. Even though his dad seemed a lot more distant from him than before.
Kurt's dad was different. When Kurt had told him, he had claimed that he already knew, and that both his parents had predicted he would be. But his father still loved him, and he didn't treat him any different. Kurt was amazed by his father. He just wished that Blaine's dad was the same.
Blaine had also got a boyfriend. Kurt found himself becoming slightly jealous over it, the monthly letters didn't make him feel any less lonely anymore. Not since the name 'Markus' had been appearing in them.
Kurt just hoped that the monthly letters were to do with school being harder, and commitments taking up his best friend's time, not his boyfriend. Kurt would never allow anybody to take time away from speaking to Blaine, but was Blaine letting that happen on his end?
He had no idea.
