At first, when Kurt wouldn't take any of his calls, Blaine just assumed he was having a busy weekend at home.

After all, they saw each other all week, every week at Dalton. It wasn't as if Kurt had even had time to miss him yet, and his friends in Lima only got him for what little time they could manage to kidnap him away from his family. Between hanging out with his former glee club and adjusting to his new blended family, it was completely understandable that Kurt would be too busy to take Blaine's calls.

Or send him a text back.

Or anything.

Blaine told himself all of that repeatedly that weekend, reminding himself that he had no right to have hurt feelings just because he wasn't Kurt's first priority when he was at home.

By Monday morning, however, Blaine was restless and vaguely anxious and very relieved to know that he'd see Kurt in the second period French class they shared. It was a new school week, and Kurt would be back at Dalton, and everything would be back to a reassuring state of normal.

Except, it wasn't.

Blaine slipped his phone from his pocket and sent off a couple of painstakingly casual texts under the cover of his desk, while casting worried glances in the direction of Kurt's empty seat next to his. He was unsurprised, and increasingly worried, when those texts went unanswered. At last, Blaine allowed himself to consider the possibility that maybe there was a reason for Kurt's shutting him out – something beyond mere distraction.

Did I do something? he wondered. Say something that offended him?

But as hard as he tried, Blaine couldn't think of anything he might have done to make Kurt angry enough to write him off completely. Though, when he thought about it, things had been a bit awkward and uncertain for the couple of days following Valentine's Day, when Kurt had admitted his feelings for Blaine, and Blaine had put him off. Kurt had acted as if he was fine with it, but Blaine knew deep down that he could have done a lot better than the cringingly clichéd "don't want to ruin our friendship" spiel he'd given Kurt at the Lima Bean.

Problem was – it was actually the truth.

Blaine wasn't blind. Kurt was the cutest guy he'd seen since he'd started going to Dalton, and his obvious crush was both flattering and intriguing. He couldn't deny that he was attracted to Kurt, and had more than once allowed himself to imagine what it might be like to have Kurt as his boyfriend. But more than anything, during the past few months, Kurt had become Blaine's best friend. The last thing he wanted was for them to start dating, have it all fall apart, and end up having lost Kurt completely.

Except it was soon obvious that that was what was happening, anyway – when Kurt's parents showed up at Dalton to pick up his things.

Blaine was not so arrogant and narcissistic as to believe that Kurt would actually leave Dalton because of him. All they would tell him in the office was that Kurt had withdrawn due to "personal issues", and Blaine had no reason not to believe that was true. But Kurt had to be angry with him about something – or else why wouldn't he return Blaine's calls, if only to say goodbye?

Blaine had waited too long to figure out what he really felt for Kurt – and now, it was too late. Kurt had apparently given up on being anything more than friends with him – or even friends at all, for that matter.

Blaine kept trying desperately to reach Kurt, wanting some kind of reassurance that he was wrong – that even though Kurt was leaving Dalton, they would still be able to see each other, still be able to remain friends – but after the weekend, he was increasingly sure that Kurt had no desire for that to happen – no desire, anymore, for anything to happen between them.

After a few days, Blaine started to feel like a bit of a stalker, so he stopped calling. It took a few days longer for him to stop texting as well, resigning himself to the loss of his friendship with the beautiful boy who'd become so much a part of his life.

But missing Kurt just hurt too much.

Blaine found that as hurt as he was, he couldn't allow himself to give up so easily. What was he so afraid of, anyway? Losing Kurt? That was already done, wasn't it? He could do nothing, and lose Kurt without a fight – or he could try, and maybe lose him anyway…or maybe not.

At least he'd know he'd tried.

He'd rehearsed his speech to Kurt over and over during the drive from Westerville, until he knew exactly what to say and how to say it. There was a strong chance that Kurt would still be angry about – whatever he'd been angry about to begin with. After all, Blaine still hadn't heard from him. But if he did, at least Blaine could take comfort in the fact that he'd given it his all.

Of course, the moment he saw Kurt, all Blaine's careful planning flew out the window, and he forgot everything he'd meant to say, and what came pouring out was far less and far more than he'd intended. Blaine's heart sank with disappointment, and he braced himself for all of Kurt's possible reactions to his pathetic attempt to win back his affections. Yelling, disgust, laughter – all were distinct possibilities, given his utter failure.

The last thing he'd expected was Kurt's tears.

"What is it?" he asked softly, cautiously sitting down at Kurt's side and reaching out a hand to run tentatively up and down his back.

It wasn't the first time he'd offered such physical comfort to Kurt when he was in tears. There had been quite a lot of tears over the past few months – over the vicious bullying Kurt had experienced, and leaving his family and friends, and struggling to adjust to life at Dalton. Of course, this was different. If Kurt didn't even want to talk to him, then Blaine wasn't exactly sure Kurt wanted to be touched by him, either.

"Kurt – what's wrong?" he gently urged his friend. "Tell me…"

"Hey, dude. Come on." The tall boy who'd let him in – Kurt's stepbrother… Finn, wasn't it? – was now standing at his side, a hand on his shoulder to pull him away from Kurt. "Let's give him a minute to himself, okay? Let's go in the other room and talk."

Blaine hesitated. He wanted to object, wanted nothing more than to stay with Kurt – but the other boy was insistent, and he was Kurt's brother, right? So he probably knew better than Blaine what was going on with Kurt lately – what he needed.

He knows what happened… probably knows why Kurt's upset…

That was really the main reason that Blaine complied. Reluctantly, he left the room with Finn, who waited until the kitchen door was closed behind them, glancing anxiously toward it for a moment as if afraid that Kurt might follow, before turning back toward Blaine with a sympathetic grimace.

"He's going through a really hard time, man," he explained in a hushed, apologetic tone. "It's not you. It's just – what did he tell you about what happened?"

Blaine shook his head, biting his lower lip. "He, um – he hasn't been… talking to me, exactly…"

"Oh." Finn winced, looking away from Blaine awkwardly. "That sucks, dude. I – I didn't know that."

Blaine cringed inwardly, suddenly sure that this information would convince Finn that maybe he shouldn't tell Blaine anything, maybe he shouldn't have let Blaine into the house at all, not if all he was going to do was put the moves on his little brother when he was obviously going through a terrible time.

Please don't keep it from me, please don't kick me out, please just tell me…

"But look, man," Finn continued, "if he hasn't been calling you, I'm pretty sure it isn't you. I mean – Kurt and his dad were robbed at gunpoint a couple of weeks ago, and well – he kinda hasn't been talking much to anyone, you know?"

"Kurt was – what?" Blaine stared up at Finn in horror, taking an automatic step toward the kitchen door. "Oh my God, is he okay…?"

"No, wait a minute." Finn stopped him with a hand on his arm, pulling him back. "Just – I'm pretty sure he wouldn't want you to see him like this, dude. I mean – if he hasn't been talking to you or calling or whatever, well – I know it's not because he doesn't like you." Finn's eyes widened suddenly, and he added abruptly, "I mean – not that he does like you."

Blaine's heart sank. "He doesn't like me?"

"No, he likes you!" Finn insisted. "He just – it's not like he told me he likes you, or anything. I mean…" Finn stopped for a moment, visibly flustered, before blurting out in a rush, "Kurt absolutely didn't tell me that he doesn't not like you."

Blaine blinked and shook his head a little, unspeakably confused.

Finn sighed. "I should just… stop talking… now."

Deciding to try to make sense of Finn's multiple negatives later, Blaine looked longingly toward the kitchen door again. "Well, maybe I should just try to talk to him…"

"I think you should give him a minute," Finn advised, considering for a moment before suggesting, "Let me go talk to him. Wait here."

When Finn went back into the living room, Kurt was still sitting where he'd been on the couch, leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees and his hands extended in front of him. He was quiet and appeared to be calmer, but as Finn reached him, he could see that he was trembling. He crouched down in front of Kurt, bracing one elbow on the arm of the sofa and studying Kurt's tear-streaked face. Kurt looked up at him, eyes red-rimmed, a bleak attempt at a smile on his lips.

"Hey," Finn said in a mild, casual tone. "You okay?"

Kurt shook his head slowly, looking away. He was quiet for a moment before confessing softly, "He doesn't know what happened to me." He looked up at Finn again, his eyes flooded with fresh tears. "What's he going to think of me when he finds out? Why would he ever want to be with me now?"

"If he thinks anything of you when he finds out, then he's not good enough for you anyway," Finn pointed out, feeling a rush of protective affection for his new little brother. "And if he knows what's good for him, he won't give you any crap about it." He paused a moment before adding firmly, "And anyway, it's not like he even has to know."

Kurt had just had all choice taken away from him when it came to keeping the biggest, most painful secret of his entire life, and Finn would be damned if he'd let this choice be taken from him too.

"You decide how much you want him to know, and – that's all he needs to know. Okay?"

Kurt nodded, sniffling, and reached out a cautious, shaking hand to rest on Finn's on the arm of the sofa. "Th-thank you," he whispered.

Finn shrugged. He really hadn't done anything. He considered for a moment before cautiously proceeding.

"But – you do like him, right? I mean, you told me a while back…"

Kurt nodded again, staring down at his lap, clearly miserable. "Yeah," he whispered. "That – hasn't changed."

Finn nodded slowly, taking that in. "Then – I think you do need to tell him something. Not – not what happened, necessarily, or – or anything more than you want to, but – he drove all the way here from Dalton just to see you, and – I'm pretty sure that means he likes you too."

"Yeah." Kurt's eyes widened, and he looked up at Finn as if just remembering the point of Blaine's little speech a few minutes earlier. "That and the fact that he – basically just declared his feelings for me in the middle of our living room."

Encouraged by Kurt's focus on something that was not related to his recent trauma, Finn smiled. "Yeah. There's also that. I guess there's not really much question about how he feels. And – you feel it, too, so – whatever you decide you're comfortable saying to him, the only thing I really know is – you can't just let him walk away."