Don't hate me because this is really overdue. I'm trying to pass my classes so that I can become a college graduate in two months. That's a worthy cause to be late with fanfics, right? =)

Anyway, big thanks to everyone who is keeping up with this story! I know the updates are sporadic so those of you who continue to come back really mean a lot. Y'all are great! Hugs and loves to you all! xoxoxo

On with the show!

"What about that Mellencamp song?"

"Oh, hell no. Not one of his best moments. If he could permanently forget something, it should be his whole Mellencamp identity crisis. It was embarrassing."

"Wait, what happened with Mellencamp?"

"Kurt tasted like strawberries when I made out with him in his basement. And he felt like a baby."

"… what?"

Blaine narrowed his eyes in confusion as he held his cell phone tighter to his ear. Instead of doing schoolwork on a Tuesday night like good students would, the New Directions kids were all having a meeting to discuss what songs should be included in Kurt's CD; Finn had put Blaine on speaker so that he could also be a part of it. He was learning quite a few things about Kurt's time at McKinley.

"Story for another time, Blaine," came Rachel's voice over the other few that had started launching into the apparently amusing anecdote. "Come on guys, we need to focus! We need songs that were important to him if they're going to trigger his memories."

"What if we just drop him on his head? Won't that do something?" Blaine rolled his eyes, glad that Puck was unable to see his reaction.

"Let's try to be serious here, Puck. For once?"

"Hey, I'm just throwin' the idea out there."

There was a general murmuring at Puck on the other end of the line. Blaine sighed inwardly and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He had been pacing the perimeter of his room at school as he spoke with the others on the phone, completely ignoring the stack of homework that was sitting on his desk. Tired of pacing, he sat down carefully on the edge of his bed (which he had neglected to make that morning).

"Do you have any ideas, Blaine?" asked Finn loudly, trying to get everyone back on topic once again. "Mercedes already put "Teenage Dream" on the list."

"Well…" Here Blaine had a dilemma. There had been a couple of times where he and Kurt had sang together and he wanted to include those in case Kurt happened to remember them. In all actuality, he wished that Kurt would remember him. But he felt awkward suggesting those things to his other friends. It seemed selfish, almost. "I don't know if anything that we've done here was particularly meaningful," he said slowly.

"He definitely told me about the two of you singing "Baby, It's Cold Outside" together," said Mercedes. "He was positively giddy."

Blaine felt himself blush at her comment, glad once again that the others couldn't see his reactions. Kurt had been giddy after their impromptu duet together before Christmas? Did that mean… but no. That Kurt was different from the one they were all dealing with now. Blaine tried to tell himself not to look to into it (thought he couldn't help but feel slightly optimistic at the idea that perhaps that song would hold a special place in Kurt's heart).

"Let's add it then!" announced Rachel.

"I thought we were talking about songs, not math," intoned Brittany quietly in the background.

Used to statements like this, the rest of the glee club more or less ignored the blonde. "Is there anything else you can think of, Blaine?" asked Rachel once again.

Blaine thought for a moment, but was unable to really come up with anything he thought would be significant. He was struck with a sudden feeling of guilt at the fact that he couldn't think of other songs that might work; how well did he really know Kurt? Not well enough, apparently. He felt like he should be able to contribute a bite more than what he had.

"I can't really think of anything else," he admitted somewhat shamefully.

"I think we have plenty," commented Quinn. She must have been further away from whoever was holding the phone because she was a little difficult to hear.

"What if this doesn't work?" came Artie's voice.

"It's going to work," insisted Finn. "This music is everything to Kurt. It's going to make him remember."

As Blaine listened to Finn, he wished he could share the other boy's optimism. Sure, he really really hoped that this would work (the internet said it had worked before, and you can always trust the internet), but there was a small, poisonous part of his brain that was trying to remain rooted in reality. What if this didn't work? What if they were going to have to learn to accept this new version of Kurt?

Suddenly, there was a timid knock on Blaine's door. He jumped at the unexpected noise and then shook his head at his own jumpiness. "Listen, guys, I've gotta go. Let me know how this turns out, okay?" Everyone on the other end said a round of goodbyes as he got to his feet. He shut his phone, slipped it into his trouser pocket and walked over to the door.

He was surprised, in a good way, when he opened the door to find Kurt standing on the other side.

"Kurt. What're you doing here?" he asked, at a loss for anything more eloquent to say.

Kurt stood awkwardly on the other side of the open door, looking mildly embarrassed and uncomfortable. Blaine randomly noticed that his hair had finally grown to a length to where the scars that crisscrossed across his scalp were no longer quite as noticeable. It still reminded him of an army buzzcut, but he was glad that the evidence of Kurt's attack were slowly fading away.

For his part, Kurt was not really concerned with his appearance. He had been shifting his weight from one foot to the other (seeing as how he could only place so much weight on his left leg this nervous tic seemed almost useless) while he went over his reason for coming over to Blaine's room again in his head. His dad had set him up to speak with a therapist (god, he hated how that word sounded!) once a week that was actually only a twenty-minute drive from school so that he wouldn't have to make the two-hour journey home so often. But, seeing as how he still had a leg and arm in casts, he couldn't drive himself (Kurt was sure he could drive just fine but he knew his dad wouldn't allow it). So he needed a chauffeur. And Blaine happened to have his own car. He just needed to ask him about it.

There was also another reason for coming over, but it wasn't one that Kurt was about to voice out loud.

"Well… I actually need to talk to you about something," he admitted, avoiding eye contact. Avoiding eye contact was critical for the second part of his plan (though, honestly, it wasn't so much of a 'plan' as it was an 'experiment').

Blaine nodded and opened the door wider, allowing the other boy to enter the room. He suddenly remembered the conversation he had had with Finn the previous week about Kurt's freak-out over his sexuality. Was that what Kurt wanted to talk with him about?

"So what's up?" asked Blaine, trying to remain casual and not jump to conclusions. He sat down at his desk as Kurt sat down carefully on the un-made bed.

Kurt remained silent for a few beats before speaking up. "I need to ask you for a favor," he said, chancing a glance at the shorter boy.

Confused, Blaine gave another nod. "Of course, anything." What could Kurt possibly need him to do?

Preparing himself for eternal shame and humiliation, Kurt lowered his gaze and spoke to the floor. "Would you be able to drive me to Columbus on Thursday evenings for some… appointments?"

"That's not a problem. It doesn't take too long to get to Columbus from here," replied Blaine, wondering what exactly was in Columbus that Kurt needed to attend to on Thursdays. Deciding to brave it, he went ahead and asked, "What kind of appointments?"

Shit, this is it, thought Kurt, still staring at the floor. He already thinks I'm a nut-case and this is just going to prove it. "Psychological therapy," he murmured. He could feel his face redden with shame as he uttered the words. Saying them out loud just seemed to hit the nail in the coffin; he was really screwed up. But, if he was honest with himself, he was pretty screwed up. His life had been flipped upside-down in ways that he couldn't even explain because there were parts of his own life that he couldn't remember. Kurt knew that he shouldn't be ashamed of going to talk with a counselor but there was such a stigma behind it that made it seem so drastic. Not to mention that, once people knew, they were going to continue looking at him with these sad pitiful eyes that he was just so sick and tired of seeing. That was one of the worst things about this whole mess; the way everyone else treated him. Maybe things would eventually go back to normal, but he doubted that was going to happen anytime soon.

While Blaine had never really been an expert on reading people, it was easy to see that this was a topic that made Kurt uncomfortable. Though he supposed he would also feel a bit awkward having to ask someone else for transportation to their therapist sessions. In response to Kurt's admission, he gave yet another nod. "Alright, just let me know what time we need to be there. It's no problem at all, Kurt," he said with a smile, trying to reassure his friend that it wasn't a big deal.

Kurt looked up and met Blaine's eyes. His eyes were warm and understanding, not judgmental in the least. And his small smile was friendly and comforting; Kurt found himself giving a slight smile in return. Simultaneously, he felt a warm sensation in his chest that quickly wiped any traces of a smile off of his face.

Well, that answers that question, he thought bitterly as he stood up from his position on the bed, face reddening once again in embarrassment. Only this time it wasn't from asking a question; it was from the realization that yes, he was indeed attracted to Blaine. Ugh.

"Well, thanks," he said, wiping his trousers as he started to make his way to the door. "I'll let you know by tomorrow what time we have to be there."

His left hand was on the doorknob, he was almost free, when Blaine stopped him. "Wait," he called, standing from his own chair.

Kurt halted in his tracks, hand still frozen on the doorknob. Don't look at him, don't look at him, he kept telling himself. "Yes?"

Blaine took a deep breath. It was now or never. "Could I talk to you about something else?"

Nonononono, thought Kurt desperately. No talking! I need to leave! I don't want to be around you. "About what?" he asked, still facing the door. He wasn't going to turn around and face Blaine. Not if it meant he had to be reminded of exactly how messed up his brain was.

"Can't we just talk? I don't remember the last time we just had a conversation together," commented Blaine. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to mention the fact that Finn had asked him specifically to speak with Kurt about his sexuality. That conversation was going to be awkward enough without bringing family into it.

"I really need to get started on some homework," said Kurt evasively. There was a nagging part of his brain (the bad part) that wanted to stay and chat with Blaine, but he wasn't going to give in to that. He needed to try and keep as much distance between him and Blaine as possible. He didn't want to be attracted to him!

Damn, thought Blaine. Kurt was pulling the homework card. He knew that the other boy was trying to get out of conversing with him; his body language was obvious. There wasn't much he could say to make Kurt skive off of his homework. "Alright, well, we'll just catch up during the ride to Columbus on Thursday," he offered. It would take them anywhere from twenty to forty minutes to get to Kurt's appointment. It was plenty of time to hold a conversation. And then Kurt wouldn't be able to escape.

Kurt's brain froze for a moment. He apparently hadn't thought this through very well. It would be impossible to distance himself from Blaine if they were going to be spending so much time alone in a car every Thursday! He'd have to find some way out of this. Maybe ask someone else? But then what if he ended up being attracted to that guy? That would completely defeat the purpose!

"Sounds good," he said, surprised at his ability to keep his voice normal while his brain was having a meltdown. "See you at lunch tomorrow." And with that, Kurt opened the door and left before Blaine could stop him again.

He needed to find a way out of this mess. Soon.

Conflicted!Kurt is conflicted!

Thoughts? Feelings? Concerns? Desire for brownies? Leave 'em in a review and I shall love you eternally!