Still in the running: bumblebeelove, Ilovebookshowboutyou, The Ice Princess, Stokes114, afterahurricanecomesarainbow, iWaldo, LightFaerie, GleeWicked, LiVeLaUgHlOvE24, SquirrelzAttack, belleblu13, writer3098, Theatreotaku, Maz'KurtDougie, KiKiFliesDW13 Gleek, akatrixie, TrappedGenius, whatabeautifulmess, Wintourr, xXLittle Rose AngelXx, Ravenscar275x, Klainebowsmakemyworldrevolve, StarsUponTheBarricades, Flossticle and chrisiejl.

I'll do my best to get at least one more chapter out before I move countries because once I've gone and started uni, updates may slow due to a lack of internet plus the fact that I'll have to spend my time doing actual work. And for the record, if there is a delay in updates, it does not mean I have abandoned this story.

For the record, he had tried. It wasn't like he had just caved or forgotten his promise to himself or give it a half-hearted effort. He had actually tried seriously hard on this one.

Actually, he had probably tried at this a lot harder than anything else in his life.

But there was no way that Kurt Hummel was leaving Blaine Anderson's mind.

"Oh good," Kurt said happily, grinning up at him. "I'm unforgettable."

Blaine rolled his eyes and pushed at Kurt to get him off his shoulder. "You're insufferable, that's what you are. I never should have started this."

Kurt pouted and maneuvered them so Blaine was the one leaning against him, refusing to let him go. "Would it help if I said I thought about you practically twenty four seven after I first met you at Dalton?"

"Yes."

"Then I shall lie to keep you happy."

Blaine sighed.

"Hey," Kurt said, his voice soft. "You know I'm kidding. I was a little bit crazy about you from the minute we met and I'm now extremely curious how you managed to stay aloof for all of those months, but that's a story for another time. I want to hear this one."

It didn't help that Facebook was readily available, an easy way to pass time and constantly open to the cheerleading page on Wes's laptop. Plus, Wes was more than happy to pass on details - "Hey, Blaine, that girl sang a Christina Aguilera song and apparently it was awesome." "Hey, Blaine! They won at Nationals because Kurt sang a Celine Dion medley in French. French, Blaine!"

That one had taken all of his self restraint to ignore.

But when Blaine found himself sitting in his final period on a Wednesday afternoon - study hall - and realized that he had been reading the same word in his textbook for the past half hour, enough was enough. It was clear that making such a conscious effort to not think about and stay away from Kurt was making things worse and when it got to the point that it was affecting his schoolwork, Blaine needed to do something.

But what? He couldn't just show up at McKinley and follow Kurt around non-stop, nor did he have a good enough reason to introduce himself to the boy. Apart from the school he had no idea where Kurt hung out so there was no chance of accidentally running in to him somewhere else (though looking at Blaine's track record of accidentally running in to Kurt, he might have had a better shot than he had thought).

After spending the rest of study hall mulling it over, by the time the bell rang he had a plan.

Go out to McKinley one last time. Make a conscious effort to find Kurt without being spotted by him, just to see him. And then leave, and this time leave for good. Blaine could take that last memory with him, remind himself that they lived two completely separate lives and then go on with his.

Maybe it was a flawed plan - after all, what was to say that seeing Kurt 'one more time' wouldn't just make things worse in the long run - but Blaine needed to justify it to himself somehow. He needed to see this boy and would quite easily admit to himself that it was stalkerish and strange and if Kurt ever found out that he had been stalked he would probably never trust him ever, but if there was another option, Blaine couldn't find it.

At least he wasn't trying too hard as he sat in his car, making his way back out to Lima.

There was a good chance Kurt would be gone already anyway, he rationalized as he turned into the familiar street, and parking a short way down from the school. It wasn't like Blaine had stalked him to the extent of knowing when their Glee practice was or what other extracurriculars Kurt was involved in, so this entire trip could have been a waste of time. And if it turned out that Kurt wasn't here, Blaine would take it as the sign it was and just go get coffee instead.

But as he walked into the parking lot, Blaine immediately noticed the Navigator from the car wash, identical except for the fact that this one had an intact front window. Clearly Kurt had gotten his car back, but more clear was the fact that Kurt was still here, along with a handful of other people. Maybe enough for Glee practice but not enough for any kind of sport team so at least Blaine didn't have to worry about any jocks trying to cause him trouble. It didn't even matter that he didn't go to the school, Blaine was sure they would be able to sense the gay on him and react.

The halls were slowly emptying and Blaine moved quickly and quietly, pretending to look interested in the classrooms any time someone noticed him. That way if somebody questioned his presence he could simply say he was a prospective student. McKinley was an interesting school anyway and Blaine was almost lost in his own thoughts when Kurt came rushing straight past him.

"You're kidding, right?"

Blaine shook his head. "Straight past me," he repeated. "About a foot away if my memory serves me right."

Kurt was staring at him wide-eyed, disbelief written all over his face. "That's impossible. I know I would have noticed you or at least remembered if I had seen you in my school."

"Well, honey, the thing is… you were a bit upset."

Kurt closed his eyes. "Oh. Yeah, no that makes sense. I don't think I would have been noticing anything."

Blaine brushed a thumb over Kurt's cheek softly, waiting for him to open his eyes again. "Do you need me to stop?" he asked. "You know what happened, you were there after all."

"I want to know how you got in, though. And then maybe an abbreviated version of the performance."

"Of course."

Blaine had to follow and was already doing so by the time he made the conscious choice to. He quickly darted down the hall and peeked around the corner, just in time to see Kurt entering what he knew was the auditorium, via the back door.

He had to act fast. Running now, Blaine was out of the building and round to the side of the auditorium to where he knew there was a balcony that led up to a vantage point just above the stage - he had seen it when he was doing the lighting last time. If Kurt had been preoccupied enough not to see him right next to him, then Kurt probably wouldn't be looking up any time soon.

Blaine was out of breath by the time he arrived and immediately silenced himself as he saw Kurt standing on the stage, pacing back and forth. An iPod was set up in a dock resting on the piano and just as Blaine was wondering what was going on, music began to blare out of it.

Of course. Music therapy.

He recognized the song immediately of course, just as he knew from the last (and only) performance he had seen of Kurt's that he would pull it off perfectly. But again, Blaine just hadn't quite prepared himself for how beautiful Kurt's voice could sound.

There was so much passion in the words that Blaine actually found himself taking a step back as Kurt's voice rose higher and higher, clearly investing much more in the song than the actual performance. And when Kurt changed June to Dad, his eyes flashing with an overwhelming sadness that was catchable even from where Blaine was, he had his answer. Clearly something was wrong between Kurt and his father and Blaine's heart went out to the boy because he knew that there was often nothing worse than having that rift there.

He had to smile though when Rachel came up. Clearly Blaine wasn't the only one who had caught onto her diva ways.

And then a flash of movement caught his eye and Blaine noticed a man entering the auditorium, watching Kurt. Kurt hadn't noticed, too caught up in the song - and now he was leaping across the stage holy wow - but it didn't take Blaine long to catch the slight resemblances that led to only one conclusion.

This was his father.

Biting his lip, Blaine cast another glance at Kurt who was nearly finished with his song. This was a moment between him and his father and even if Kurt didn't know he was there or know who he was, Blaine shouldn't stay. But -

But it was so hard to pull himself away now, knowing this was the last time he was going to let himself come looking for Kurt.

Just until the end of the song, Blaine decided. It wasn't far away anyway, Kurt was clearly gearing up for that last note, and then Blaine would walk away and let them have their moment.

"For me!"

And there it was. With one final look at Kurt, a smile tugging at his lips, Blaine turned and walked back down the stairs. It was kind of awful that the last time he had let himself visit the boy had been when he was so emotional but the fact that Kurt's dad was there, not looking angry or upset, boded well in Blaine's mind and he decided - hoped - they were going to sort things out.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Blaine turned towards the carpark, walking around the other side of the building. As he neared the door that Kurt's father had entered through, he realized it was still open and, more to the point, a voice could be heard. It wasn't Kurt which led to only one possibility -

"- I will fight to the death for your right to love whoever you want."

Blaine stopped in his tracks.

No, he didn't know the whole story, or any of it for that matter. He didn't know whether Kurt's father had been accepting of him being gay or even known about it before now. He didn't know what exactly had set Kurt off and caused such a moving song and - oh, Blaine was pretty sure that was Kurt crying in there now too and that alone was enough for Blaine to start tearing up.

But no matter what it was, Blaine knew things had been sorted. Probably not fixed because nothing ever was and Kurt was probably still going to deal with crap every day he went to school because of his sexuality, but at least his father was there to look after him.

And now it was time for Blaine to let him go.

Smiling through his tears, Blaine headed off to his car.

"You cried?"

"You were crying. Of course I cried."

Kurt shook his head. "You are unbelievable," he said softly. "You didn't even know me."

"I knew enough," Blaine protested. "I knew you were a kind person, went through a lot of crap without losing who you were, sang like an angel and if I could have introduced myself then without it being weird I would have. I wanted to know you, Kurt."

Kurt just stared at him for a moment then leant in for a kiss which Blaine gave willingly, one hand moving to cup Kurt's cheek. It only lasted a second and then Kurt pulled away, resting his head against Blaine's shoulder, sighing lightly before he spoke. "I'm still struggling a little with the fact that all of those months that I felt like nobody ever noticed me, all that time I thought I was completely undesirable, there was someone who thought about me the way you did. And I have to say, I do wonder how much better my life would have been if we had met."

"I do too," Blaine told him. "I really do. Sometimes I kick myself for it, especially when I'd learned everything that was really going on in that time. But other times I know we were meant to meet on that staircase at Dalton because I don't think things would have turned out the same way. We both went through the things in our separate lives so when we met, we could be exactly who we needed to be so we could be together."

Kurt squeezed his eyes shut but he couldn't hide his smile. "You are so cheesy," he said with a groan. "But you're right too. You came into my life when I really needed you and if we had met earlier, I don't think I would have been in the right place to love you properly."

"And that's what matters. Because I wouldn't give your love up for anything."

"Neither."

Kurt's arms wrapped around him and Blaine held him tighter, knowing Kurt was remembering that time in his life when he was too afraid to be himself. And all Blaine could do was love him and show him that 'himself' was a beautiful person that Blaine Anderson would never trade for anybody.

"Next story?" Kurt finally asked.

Blaine raised an eyebrow. "Didn't I just say that was the last time?"

"Yes, but I know you. You didn't stay away."

Sighing, Blaine conceded. "Of course I didn't. Except this time it actually wasn't my choice. Wes caught wind of a certain rumor and who better to help than me?"

When in doubt, blame it on Wes.

Good luck!