A/N: Hey guys... *insert shameful stance* I know. It's been too long again. You wouldn't think so because I've finished the story, but I just got back from a mission trip with my church, and so life is finally about to slow down some. (Maybe!) Either way, I've got this chapter for you here. And I hope you like it, even if it took forever getting here. Thanks to all my constant reviewers! You guys are the best!

I've also got something new coming at you, just a little one-shot called The Freshman. I don't know if it'll be anything, but the writing juices were flowing, so I'll let you guys see it.

Disclaimer: I think you guys get the point.

Always Remember to Smile!

Blaine just stood still. He was having trouble processing. He had just been introduced to the Hummels. The family who held the answers to all his questions. They were the people who had lost a child, and here Blaine was trying to bring him back to life. He didn't know if he should run and cower away or stand and ask the one burning question that he had struggled with since the very beginning. The man made the decision for him.

"I bet you have lots of questions that maybe haven't been answered by the people you've asked. I can sense that you're dying to set them free. But let's start with true introductions. I'm Burt and this is my wife Liz. We're Kurt's parents." Blaine opened his mouth to form words then was shoved backwards by two strong hands.

"No. Absolutely not." Blaine felt his cheeks grow warm and his fury reach an all-time high when he saw his mother and father standing between him and the Hummels. Blaine pushed them apart.

"Dad stop it! You've withheld the truth from me for so long. You've kept me from this whole other part of my life for so long. But it's time to uncover the truth. Nothing you say or do is gonna keep me from figuring out what happened all those years ago. I have to understand. I have to know the truth."

But rather than face his son, Mr. Anderson turned to face Burt. "You promised. You promised that you would never utter a word of the separation. He was never supposed to know! We've worked so hard to make sure that he has had the perfect life, that he has always had everything he needed! And then you, your family, and your son, weasel their way back into our lives. I thought you were a man of your word Burt." Burt just smiled and nodded.

"You know what though Darrell, some promises need to be broken. And this is one of them. Blaine deserves to know. This is his life. This is a part of him. Let him know the truth." And with both their mouths agape, Blaine watched as his parents smoldered away into the crowd.

"Sorry about him. About, both of them. I don't-" Burt cut the boy off with a smile.

"Don't worry about it Blaine. One of the best things about the world now is that we don't have to be who our parents are. You can be whoever you want to." Blaine nodded.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"So, why don't we find a place to sit and talk, it might make this a little more comfortable." Blaine nodded again and they set off towards the dining area, where they were seated and then Burt cleared his throat. "Maybe if you were to ask your questions we can go like that until it's been explained to you."

"Okay, well, how old was I the last time you saw me?" Blaine saw Liz nod at Burt, then she answered.

"I haven't seen you face to face in years. Not since you were a little boy. But I did know of you. Kurt, he knew of you."

"How? How did Kurt know me?" Blaine was getting more and more confused.

"You guys grew up together, Blaine. But, you also went to school together. Elementary school through middle school. That was the last time I saw you. That was the last I'd heard of you until this last year." Burt answered.

"Why don't I remember going to school with Kurt? I don't remember him at all." This was a part that truly bothered Blaine. If Kurt had been such a big piece of his life, then why didn't Blaine know him?

"Well, you were very young Blaine. You were just a kid." Blaine saw as Burt gave his wife a look that he couldn't decipher. Then she turned back to Blaine. "How much do you want to know?" The answer was easy for Blaine.

"Everything. I want to know everything." Liz nodded and took a deep breath.

"Blaine, you have such a sweet heart. Looking at you now, I'm so proud of the boy, no, young man you've turned into. Honey, when you and Kurt were kids, you used to pick on Kurt. Bullying Blaine. You bullied Kurt." Blaine felt the air gush from his lungs and his eyes go blurry.

Three boys ambushing one. Empty classroom. Four minutes until the class came back from the bathroom break. A young boy was on the floor, crawling backwards on his hands, trying to escape his three pursuers with no avail. A swift kick to the head. A punch in the stomach. Knocking his colored pencils off his desk to the floor. And then the words. The words flying around. 'Fag.' 'Homo.' 'Freak.' He felt his mouth moving. Those words weren't coming from anyone else's mouth but his own. It felt wonderful to let it all out, yet still he felt his eyes move from the boy's eyes to his hair, so as not to make eye contact. That was when he truly noticed the hair. Perfect. The hair was a wonderful chestnut color, and it was perfectly coiffed and-

Then Blaine was crying again. Full out sobbing loud painful sobs as the truth hit him full force. It was him. He was the bully. He was still that guy who had tortured this kid. This kid, for whom he had done so much for in the past year, was not just some random kid, but someone who he himself had tortured. He felt Burt and Liz snake their arms around him, but he tried to shrug them off. He didn't deserve them. He didn't deserve to be comforted. But that only caused them to hold on tighter.

"It was me. I was the bully. I'm the reason-" Burt cut him off.

"No Blaine. Don't you dare say it. You are NOT the reason Kurt did that to himself."

"But I am! I'm just like them! Just like those people I hate on all the time for not liking people who are different." By now he had stopped crying and was just shaking.

"Yes. Maybe you were just like those kids who actually did truly hurt Kurt. But you're not that kid anymore! You've changed. Look at all the people you've helped." Burt pointed to the big board with the total updated every five minutes of how many lives The Kurt Hummel Plan had saved. "You are not like them anymore! You moved past it, and you have redeemed yourself and we forgive you for what you did! Everybody has skeletons in their closets Blaine." Blaine nodded and Liz handed him a tissue before taking one herself. After blowing his nose and wiping his face, Blaine chuckled.

"Gosh. All you guys have seen me do tonight is cry. I promise I'm not usually this emotional." Liz laughed.

"Blaine, honey, you've had one hell of a night. A few tears are not sending us anywhere. Was there anything else you wanted to know or ask us?"

"Well, I'm still a little confused. Why exactly don't I remember Kurt?"

"Like I said Blaine, you were just a kid. I'm not sure how much you knew about your parents at that age, but things were rough at home. I would hear things in the carpool lane, at the doctor's office when I went for my treatments. Your parents almost got a divorce. They were separated for a little bit. That was why you ended up at a different middle school than all your classmates for a few months. Your mom sent you to a private Christian school for part your junior high years."

"Then the move the summer before high school." Liz nodded. "What treatments? Were you sick?"

"I'm a two time cancer survivor Blaine. The treatments were for chemo and radiation." Blaine felt his cheeks turn red. Why had he asked such a personal question?

"Don't worry about it Blaine. I'm proud of what I've accomplished." They shared a smile before Blaine took a deep breath and asked the one question that had existed since the start.

"What happened to keep your family from my family? Why did I not know who you guys were when I found the box in the attic?" Burt nodded.

"I was wondering when this question would come up. Kurt has always, had always been flamboyant if you may. I mean, we pretty much knew from the time he was three that he was gay. It didn't make us love him any more or any less, and you felt the same way. But, your parents did not feel the same way. This was around the time when your dad was running for office and having his son's best friend be a gay boy, well, it didn't go over well. So your parents began pulling away. The separation grew until I would pass Darrel or Heather in the supermarket and we wouldn't say a word to each other. I knew exactly how she felt about my family." Liz answered.

"There were never pictures. I wouldn't have even known what you guys looked like."

"I'm assuming that they tried to erase the memory of the little time that you and Kurt had been best friends altogether. So all the pictures and mementos went away." Burt gathered, then continued with the explanation.

"Well, your parent's separation, and the private school, and the job offer and move for your dad came at a very convenient time. So, your parents 'forgot' to send us your change of address, and kindly suggested that we never try to find you or them. We know how things went down with you and Kurt in elementary and middle school. It hurt having our son come home crying because a boy we had known since birth was picking on him and bullying him. But we always tried anyways. No matter how long the friendship lasted, you were the best friend that Kurt ever had. We could never find you. We assumed that it was all just better left in the past and we moved forward, without the people we had been close with for so long. But now, seeing what you're trying to do, in memory of our son, we knew that the time had come for us to find you. We knew that we had to meet you again, and reconnect, and when we got the call from the governor, we decided that here was as good a time as any to meet you."

"But I don't understand why you still want to know me. Sure, I'm doing all this now, but I'm still the same boy who tormented your son through school. Why don't you hate me?"

"Forgiveness Blaine. You were a child. There's some kind of silly quote about acting like a child when you're a child, but just remember that now that you've gotten older, it's time to grow up. We forgive you. And we're pretty sure Kurt would have too. He adored you Blaine. So much, that after he, did it, he left you a note also. I had forgotten about it until Elizabeth went and found it before we left. We never opened it, and it's time to pass it on to its rightful owner. So, here." And with that said, Burt handed Blaine a thin envelope with 'For Blaine' written in small writing across the front. Blaine fingered the thin calligraphy and sighed. Whatever this note said, it was his last connection to Kurt. Whatever this note said, could cause Blaine to reconsider TKHP or to further its outreach. It had that kind of power. Liz and Burt both hugged him.

"We think you should read it before your speech tonight. Maybe it has the answers in it that you've been searching for. Kurt was always unpredictable that way." Burt said.

"Keep in touch sweetheart. We don't want to lose our other son again. We love you. Thank you for not letting Kurt just be another name. Thank you for daring to move, for stepping out and trying to change things." And with that, Blaine was left sitting alone, with nothing but the small letter, the last connection to Kurt in his hands.

I hope that you guys are getting this. Getting what a big deal this is. The letter is the next chapter, and then the epilague. How fast it feels like this story has gone by. But it's been almost a year since I began this journey. And it's made me figure a lot out. I hope it's touching you like it touched me. I'd love to hear from you.

This weeks question is this: If you could change one thing you say to someone, what would it have been? I'd love to hear your answers in my PM or in a review. Let me know what you're thinking.

Love,

Olivia