Blaine tried with Grant, he really did, but when it came down to it, the chemistry just wasn't there. It had been fun hanging out with him, and if nothing else, Blaine knew that he had made a really good friend out of the fling. However, once they came back to New York after the holiday break, he knew that the whole attraction had been fleeting. He hadn't missed the guy he was supposed to consider a boyfriend, and when the two of them met over coffee a couple days after school had started back up, Blaine quietly told him that he hoped that they could still be friends.

He was proud of himself for at least getting back out there. He had that rebound relationship under his belt and knew that he was capable of finding someone that he wanted to spend time with again. That didn't mean that he was in a rush to find someone else right away though. Second semester meant a ton of recitals and required performances, and school was going to start taking a front seat for everyone in the loft. Everyone was on different schedules right now and he missed his flatmates. In fact, he didn't even get to tell Sam or Rachel that he'd broken up with Grant and even then, it was only in passing when the two of them were eating breakfast standing up at the kitchen counter.

It was that rush of activity that had him running on fumes by the time the first week of the winter semester came to a close. Puck was at the bar working a shift before he caught the redeye to Columbus, Sam was playing at the coffeehouse and the girls were both gone to some class. Blaine made his weekly call to Coop and then pretty much passed out. He was awoken abruptly several hours later by his ringing cell phone, and he mentally cursed whatever roommate was calling him to let him know that they'd forgotten their key. However, in his sleepy haze, he didn't even bother checking the screen before answering with a half-awake, "Hello?"

"Blaine?"

He sat up immediately in bed, surprised to hear his voice for the first time in a couple months. He hadn't had any contact with Kurt really since his visit in November other than a passing wave in Lima when they'd both been by the Puckerman household to visit Puck's mom. "Hey, Kurt," he said softly. He self-consciously ruffled his curls as he pulled his knees up to his chin under the blankets. "How have you been?"

"I'm okay," he said weakly and Blaine knew he was lying. "A little lonely." Blaine knew that tone. He hadn't heard it since his days at Dalton. "We broke up, the dancer and me. He said I was too hung up on the past. I don't know, maybe he was right."

Blaine widened his eyes in the dark. "By the past, do you mean me?"

"I don't know what I mean, Blaine," Kurt answered honestly. Blaine could sense the emotional exhaustion in his ex-boyfriend's tone. "And I know that you're seeing that Grant guy or whatever, but I woke up this morning and wanted to tell you that I missed you. Not just as a friend but like miss, miss you, you know? I saw you at Christmas at Puck's and life is just so short, and I've missed so much time with you, Blaine. I don't want to keep missing out on things just because I couldn't forgive you two years ago. I tried to move on, I thought I had, but how do you move on from the first and only person you ever loved? It's petrifying."

"I missed your ramblings," Blaine chuckled into the receiver. He could almost imagine Kurt curled up in his bed in Mercedes' apartment, a place he'd only seen in Facebook photographs. "As for the loneliness, I think that's to be expected. Mercedes is gone on tour right now, and LA can be a big place if you don't have people around. And the rest...Kurt, I don't know how I feel about that, to be honest. It's taken me a long time to get to where I'm okay with even thinking about being your friend. I'm not ready to throw myself back into this yet."

"Will you at least just think about it?"

Blaine hung up with a promise to think about it and somehow ended up in tears before his cell phone each hit his mattress. It had been a long time since he had known, truly known, that some part of Kurt's heart still loved him. He was terrified at both the prospect of getting back together with him and the thought of missing out on a second chance. It was a lot to take in all at once, and he honestly had never seen it coming.

"Hey, you okay, man?"

Kurt looked up to see Puck leaning in his doorway with a bag slung over his shoulder. Blaine nodded thoughtfully as he wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. "Just Kurt stuff," he answered simply.

"What'd Beyonce do now?" Puck asked as he shifted his duffel onto the floor and came to sit on the edge of Blaine's bed. "Do I need to kick his ass?"

Blaine smiled at his roommate thankfully. "He wants us to try things again."

"Wow," Puck exhaled, clearly shocked. "So I guess the guy from Thanksgiving..."

"That's over with. He said he misses me."

Puck tapped his chin. "Well, you don't have to decide any of this shit now. Make Porcelain wait a little bit, give yourself some time to enjoy the upper hand," he advised him confidently. "Just don't tell Rach until you decide what you want. You know she's secretly hoping Kurt would get it together for Klaine 2.0."

"Like Puckleberry 2.0?"

"Something like that," Puck grinned. "Anyhow, I just wanted to let you know that I am headed out. I should be back Sunday. Tell everyone else I said goodbye, will ya?"

"I can do that," Blaine said as he bumped his fist against Puck's outstretched hand. His roommate had grown up a lot since high school, and the man that was managing to balance a busy life in New York and an important one back in Lima hardly resembled the rebellious teenager who barely managed to make it to graduation. Blaine was proud of him. "Are you sure you don't need company?"

"Nah, Finn's going to be around, so I'll have someone to hang with while Ma is sleeping and Becca's at her friends or whatever. Thanks, though," Puck said with a little wave. "Keep your head up, 'll figure it out."

Blaine woke up the next morning determined to get a grip on his tumultuous emotions. He thought about going for a run, but the cold temperatures made him think twice about putting in an hour at Central Park. Instead, he grabbed his boxing clubs and heading for the gym a few blocks from the apartment that offered early sessions. He was pleased to find the place mostly empty for a Saturday morning and immediately set up camp at a bag in the furthest corner from the entrance. Popping his trusty earbuds in, he started to sing softly to himself while hitting his target with powerful strength in intermediate fits of energy.

"I got a brand new attitude and I'm gonna wear it tonight. I wanna get in trouble, I wanna start a fight," he sang to himself, closing his eyes. Sweat was already pouring down his face. "So, so what? I'm still a rock star. I got my rock moves and I don't need you. And guess what, I'm having more fun and now that we're done, I'm gonna show you tonight. I'm alright, I'm just fine, and you're a tool. So, so what? I am a rock star, I got my rock moves and I don't want you tonight."

The rest of the gym doesn't exist. It's just him, that song and the bag. He dodged to the pop beat pulsating in his head. He skipped the part that didn't go with how he felt, choosing instead to feel the part that spoke to him in that moment. "What if this song's on the radio, then somebody's gonna die? I'm gonna get in trouble, my ex will start a fight. Na na na, he's gonna start a fight! Na na na, we're all gonna get in a fight."

He was just about to go for another round when a piece of lyrics stuck out to him. Instead, he found himself searching his bag for his phone. Without even thinking, he sent off a text with the final bridge of the song typed out for Kurt to read: "You weren't there. You never were. You want it all, but that's not fair. I gave you life, I gave my all. You weren't there, you let me fall."

Blaine felt a little bit better after he sent the message and spent another good hour beating the hell out of the bag. After grabbing a quick shower, he stopped by the deli on the corner to pick up coffee and bagels for his roommates. He was pleased to find Sam already sitting at the counter with the newspaper spread out in front of him when he came in. He could hear the shower running in Rachel's room and Brittany talking to her mom in the room she shared with Sam.

"Good morning!"

"What has you so cheerful?" Sam asked grumpily as he took the cup of coffee from Blaine. His best friend hummed his pleased approval at the rich brew. Sam smiled at him thankfully then, the bad mood he'd literally had three seconds before evaporating. "Did you get poppyseed?"

"Of course," Blaine answered, pulling the requested bagel out of the bag. "Hey, before the girls get in here, can I ask you something?" Sam nodded. "Okay, so Kurt called me last night to tell me he broke up with that guy. He wants us to think about getting back together."

"Dude, are you serious?"

Blaine nodded as he took a sip of his own java. "He said that he misses me. It was really nice to hear, I have to admit," Blaine acknowledged. "I just don't think that I am ready to get back in the middle of that though. It took a lot out of me last time."

"Everything," Sam corrected him. "Look, if that's what you decide you want, you know I got your back 100 percent. I also want you to think about all the unnecessary crap Kurt put you through after the breakup. If you're going to do this, you need to be really sure. I don't want to see my best friend destroyed like that again."

"I hear you," Blaine reassured him with his trademark smile. "Puck knows but maybe don't say anything to the girls? Brit can't keep a secret and Rachel will just want to be involved. I need to figure this out for myself."

"You got it, dude," Sam replied before bumping his fist against Blaine's.

"Bagels!" Brittany clapped excitedly before pulling out her chocolate chip bagel out of the bag. "Did you get it?"

"Chocolate cream cheese just for you," Blaine answered before handing her a small bottle of skim chocolate milk. The girl loved sugar like no other. "How's everything in Lima?"

"Lord Tubbington has to go to the vet today," she frowned. "Puck is going to go by and give him a hug for me."

"That's nice of him."

"Duh, that's what best friends do," Brittany smiled. "Sammy would totally go by and hug Coop if he was sick. Oh, that reminds me! We have something we wanted to ask you. Sam, do you wanna ask him?"

Sam smiled at his fiancee and then over at his best friend almost shyly. "Brittany is going to ask Puck to be her best man, and I was hoping that you would be my best man. You guys don't have to walk down the aisle together or anything. That'd be too weird."

"Really? You don't want Finn or your brother or something?"

"Dude, you're my best friend," Sam said matter-of-factly. "You're like the most important person to me other than Brit. Of course I'd want you up there with me! Besides, Brit and I agreed that you're our best couple friend. No matter what, you're our third person."

"Yeah, Blaine, you have to be there. And I want you to sing. You still sing the prettiest out of everyone I know. Please still don't tell Rachel," she pled with an endearing innocence. "What do you say? Will you do it?"

"Of course, guys, I'd be honored!" he cried, tears welling up in his kind eyes. He hugged Brittany tightly and then Sam. "Just promise me that when you're married and living on your own that you'll always have a bed or a couch for me in case I get lonely."

"Blaine, you know we love you, right?"

He couldn't help but reach out and hug Brittany again then. "Yeah, I know. Me too."

That evening, after Rachel was off work and Blaine was back from visiting an exhibit his musical history teacher had assigned to them, the two of them headed out to a tapas place for a little bit of bonding. She looked as relaxed as he had ever seen her, dressed in a down parka, Uggs and yoga pants. Her hair was pulled back in a messy bun and she looked completely at home in her own skin. Being with Puck was a look she wore well.

"You seem good."

"Noah's mom had a really good day, so it helps," she revealed. "He was really happy when he called earlier. It's been awhile since he went home and didn't sound torn up the entire time. I think having Finn there has been good for him."

"Sometimes I forget how good of friends they used to be."

"Me too," she admitted. The history the explained the reason behind that, the part that included her relationship with Finn and the whole Quinn turmoil, went unsaid. "He told me he loved me at Hanukah."

"Rachel, that's amazing! No wonder you're so happy."

She played with her linen napkin in her lap. "I am, but it's also scary. A lot of my heart, the biggest part, is wrapped up in him."

"He's not going to hurt you."

"I know," she said softly, and he thought she sounded like she meant it. "Anyway, it was a good day, and I don't want to think about anything bad. I just want to have fun!"

The two of them proceeded to get very drunk very quickly, enjoying the impromptu singing that struck up during a weekend feature the restaurant called, "Sing for Your Supper." The owner would wander around the dining room every fifteen minutes and choose a table to sing for their supper. If they succeeded in impressing the other diners, he would give them their entire meal for free. Blaine wasn't at all shy about jumping up in his chair and taking the microphone when the balding Spanish man showed up at their table.

"And I don't remember what I read, don't remember what they said. I guess it doesn't matter, I guess it doesn't matter anymore!" he wailed, jumping up and down on the seat. Rachel bounced next to him, hands thrown over her head carelessly. If only Puck could see her now. "You're gonna go to the record store. You're gonna give 'em all your money. Radio plays what they want you to hear. They tell me it's cool but I just don't believe it!"

"Sell out! With me, oh yeah! Sell out! With me tonight! Record company's gonna give me lots of money and everything's gonna be alright," he sang, jumping down to dance almost provocatively with Rachel. "I don't think it'll be so bad. I know it won't be so bad. 'Cause the man said, 'that's the way it is.' And the man said, 'it don't get better than this.'"

He was still mostly drunk when he ended up back in his bed. He hadn't looked at his phone all night and was surprised to see a string of text messages from Kurt seeking explanation from his mysterious lyrical text that morning. Blaine started to type out a reply before he decided to just call him. "Kurtsy!"

"You know I hate that nickname," Kurt moaned when he picked up the phone. "Why are you so loud? Blaine Anderson, are you drunk?"

"Very much so," he answered with a salute that he didn't realize Kurt couldn't see. "Rachel and I had a lot of sangria. A lot. I think she might be having phone sex with Puck in the next room. She keeps moaning. Loudly. Oh, shit, I probably shouldn't have told you that. She'd kill me."

"You just cursed," Kurt chuckled, clearly amused. "Your secret is safe with me."

"Am I safe with you?"

Kurt took a deep breath. "Blaine, I don't think you know what you're saying right now."

"I do but I don't," Blaine retorted. "Does that make sense?"

"Not really. You should drink some water and get some sleep. I'll call you in the morning and we can figure out what you mean together," Kurt suggested patiently. Blaine missed him right then. He was always really good at taking care of people. "Make sure to take a couple aspirin for you go to bed. It'll help with the headache in the morning."

"Are we going to figure this out, Kurtsy?"

He doesn't acknowledge the nickname this time. "I really hope so, sweetie."

"I miss you, Kurt."

"Oh, honey, I miss you too," Kurt said softly. "So much it hurts."

"I don't want you to be like Santana. She keeps hurting Brittany. But Brit has Sam to protect her and who do I have? You can't be like Santana, okay? 'Cause then I'll have to get Sammy involved and Brit and Rach and Puck. They're my family now, you know? I love them and they love me. It's the five of us. I miss Puck. He's in Lima seeing his mommy. I miss my mommy."

Kurt laughed louder this time. "Wow, you're so drunk."

"Yup," he grinned. Sam and Brittany popped their head in the room then. "Kurtsy, look! Sammy and Brit Brit are here!"

"Kurt, we're gonna get Nightbird here to sleep," Sam said into the phone once he had managed to get it away from Blaine. He had already pulled Brittany down onto the bed to snuggle with him. "I'll make sure he calls you tomorrow."

Blaine started to complain about not getting to say goodnight to Kurt when he forgot what he was going to say. Instead, he allowed Sam to tuck the blanket around him and Brittany. Sam took his own place on the far side of the bed next to the wall once he saw that his fiancee was clearly planning to sleep in there for the night. The two of them were talking about absolutely nothing when Rachel came in.

"Rachel, were you and Puck having phone sex?"

"Blaine, God, no!" she grumbled. "I was throwing up in a shoe box in my closet." He wouldn't have believed her had he not seen the shudder that swept over her entire body. "Needless to say, I don't think Noah enjoyed that sound."

"Sleep with us, Rachie," Blaine declared aloud. He moved slightly so that she could climb on the edge. There wasn't much room left but it was just enough for her to fit. "I love you guys. You're my family. You guys and Puck. I miss Puck, Rachie."

"I miss him too, Blaine," she said, patting his cheek. "But it's okay because I have you and Brit and Samuel to stay with me. If I haven't said it before, I really love living with all of you."

"We love it too, Rach," Sam said from the other side of a now-snoring Brittany. "But I think you two drunkards should try to get some sleep."

"Okay, Sammy," Blaine said as he snuggled beneath the blanket. He slept perfectly peaceful for the first time in months that night and woke up knowing exactly what he wanted to do next.

Lyrics credit to "So What" by P!nk and "Sell Out" by Reel Big Fish. Thank you for all the reviews. I want to give a little prize to the 60th person to review, so the person with a proper FF name that I can send a message to and who reviews will win a one shot of their choice from any of the fandoms I've written for. You can check my profile for a complete listing.