A/N So sorry for the delay in posting, I've been a little under the weather. So, here is part three. It ties up a lot of loose ends and leaves some. Hope you all enjoy it!

Chapter 3

It Just Takes Time

By the time Blaine meets up with Sam on Tuesday, he's a nervous wreck. He'd not heard one word his professors said in class and had cleaned the apartment from top to bottom (something he does when he's stressed). He'd even contemplated leaving the city more than once, and had to stop himself from going to Rachel's and throwing himself at Kurt's mercy.

When Sam saw Blaine's face and his lack of hair gel (he never left the house without his hair being gelled within an inch of its life), he knew it was bad.

"Blaine." He said gently, approaching him slowly, as if he would bolt without warning. Blaine's head jerked up and he looked at Sam with frantic eyes.

"I-I can't do this." He said, pulling at his hair and looking more distressed than Sam had ever seen him.

"Yes you can."

"No, no, you don't understand, you don't know what he's capable of." Blaine said, his voice shaking. Sam grabbed Blaine's shoulders and held on, forcing Blaine to look at him.

"I'm going to be right there with you, ok?" Blaine gave a slight nod. "I promise I won't let him hurt you." He still didn't look convinced. "Look, think about Kurt, ok?" At the mention of Kurt's name, Blaine's eyes widened and his body tensed up. "If he so much as touches a hair on your head, Kurt will beat his ass."

Sam saw the hint of a smile then. "I know this won't be easy, but this is the first step toward showing Kurt you are the man he's always known you were." That statement changed the entire set of Blaine's face. Sam could see the determination in his eyes. He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

"Ok, Let's go. I have some dead weight to get rid of." Sam pulled Blaine into a quick hug and let out a happy breath. He didn't always know the right thing to say, but this time, he felt like he'd finally done something right.

By the time they got Sebastian's apartment, Blaine was even more determined than ever. He knew if he ever wanted a shot at making things right with Kurt, he was going to finally rid himself of the biggest negative in his life and he was so ready.

Blaine knocked on the door, surprising Sam. He'd thought Blaine would have had a key, but then again, Sebastian liked to control everything, so he shouldn't be surprised he hasn't given Blaine a key.

Within seconds, the door was flung open and a red faced Sebastian greeted them.

"Where the hell have you been? I'm fucking starving and you know I like to eat after my shower." Blaine's head dropped momentarily, embarrassed that Sam had heard exactly how much Sebastian had him trained. But no more.

Blaine lifted his head back up and looked Sebastian in the eye, something Sebastian hated.

"I guess you'll just have to figure out how to feed yourself, then." There was a hint of shakiness in his voice and Sebastian picked up on it right away, grabbing him and yanking him inside before anyone knew what what happening.

"Who do you think you are, talking to me like that?" He hissed.

Blaine jerked his arm away from Sebastian and took a step back right as Sam got his bearings and moved up beside him. Sebastian looked surprised to see Sam, his focus before on his anger at Blaine being late.

"I'm done." He said, his voice strong and determined. "We're done."

Sebastian laughed and Blaine blanched.

"We aren't done. We are engaged, remember?" Sam's eyes widened at this. Blaine had been so messed up over his fight with Kurt that he'd never actually told Sam what had happened between he and Sebastian.

"That's a joke." He said, acutely aware of Sam's tense posture after hearing the truth. "You and I both know you have no intention of marrying me. You've told me time and time again that you were never getting married because you don't commit."

"I committed to you." Blaine's laugh was hollow.

"As you screwed half the freshman class. If that's commitment, I'd rather be alone." He spat.

Sebastian smirked. "You and I both know that's not true or you would have broken up with me a long time ago." He started to walk slowly toward Blaine, giving him what was supposed to be a sensual look, but Blaine backed away.

"Well, I finally realized that I'm better than this."

"What you are is pathetic. No one will ever love you. Who wants to be with someone so pitifully weak? Not even that porcelain twink you live with."

"Leave Kurt out of this." Blaine growled which made Sebastian laugh.

"But see, he's the reason we are here to begin with. You are so gullible. He was fawning after you so hard and all it took was a few kind words and you were falling at my feet. You made it so easy for me to get my revenge."

Even though Sam had told him about Sebastian's motives, it still hit him like a ton of bricks when Sebastian confirmed it. Tears welled up in his eyes and he blinked them away quickly. He didn't want Sebastian to know how much his actions affected him.

Sebastian's motives for perusing him and causing him to waste the last year of his life believing he had an actual relationship made his stomach twist up and his heart felt like it had been crushed. Not because of losing Sebastian but because his own actions hurt Kurt. The thought that he might lose Kurt because of all this is the one thing that is keeping him strong through this confrontation.

"That's all over now and so are we." Blaine said much more calmly than he expected.

"Whatever." Sebastian spat. "I did what I set out to do and now you will both be alone, because there's no way he'll want you after I've had you." Blaine tried not to flinch as Sebastian's words cut straight to the core. Did Blaine want Kurt to want him like that? Did he want Kurt like that? He knew that he couldn't lose Kurt. He needed him in his life, but in what capacity? Would Kurt be able to just be friends with him? Is that what Blaine wanted? Did he want more.

It took Sam nudging his side to pull him out of his own thoughts and remember where he was. He straightens his shoulders and looked Sebastian square in the eyes one last time.

"One day, I will find someone who will love me the way I should be loved and I'll get married and have kids and live happily ever after. And you will still be all alone and bitter." With that, Blaine turned on his heel and strode out the door without looking back.

For the next 2 weeks, Blaine just went through the motions of life. He went to class, making sure to avoid any place he knew Kurt would be, and spent a lot of time trying to avoid his (their) apartment. Being there reminded him too much of Kurt, and what he might have lost by being so blind and stupid.

He also did a lot of soul searching. It became a new routine for him to head to the park after class to reflect about the day, how much he missed Kurt, and mostly about life. And the longer he went without seeing Kurt or talking to Kurt, the more his heart ached. During this time he began to realize just how important Kurt was in his life. Kurt had always been his best friend, and Sam was right, there had always been someone else on Blaine's radar. It took him a while to realize that it was because he was afraid of his feeling for Kurt.

The two clicked right away. He'd never felt so drawn to someone before. They had this instant connection and when they became friends, it was as if they had always been in each others lives. Blaine helped Kurt through a lot in those early days and there were many times he thought about being with Kurt, but he knew how vulnerable he was, so he pushed those feelings down. As they got older and their relationship got stronger, he knew that he needed Kurt as much, if not more, than Kurt needed him, and he knew he could never lose Kurt as a friend, so any feeling that went deeper where shoved down yet again.

By the time they went away, Kurt was the only constant in Blaine's life. His family hated his "lifestyle choices" and was happy to have him out of the house. So Kurt became the only family Blaine had and that should have been enough. But he wanted more. He wanted to be loved. He only wished he had realized that he already was.

During those two weeks, he kept up a steady stream of texts to Kurt. He didn't overdue it and kept them simple and generic, but his day didn't feel complete without texting Kurt almost hourly. And he always send a good night text. He didn't expect a response, but his heart still broke a little more each night when his phone remained silent.

He began to realize the lack of Kurt's presence in his life was stifling. He felt like he couldn't go on anymore. Everything hurt and he could barely force himself to eat and sleep. He needed to talk to Kurt, to make him understand what he'd realized.

Instead of calling and risking rejection again (Kurt never picked up his calls), he decided to let him know via text.

Kurt, can we please talk?

Please.

I miss you.

So much that it hurts.

I can't breathe without you.

-Blaine

Kurt sat on Rachel's couch with tears streaming down his face, trying to ignore Blaine's texts. He'd certainly been persistent these past two weeks. Nothing too intense, just a constant stream of meaningless texts that made it hard for Kurt to stay mad at him.

Kurt had been staying with Rachel since walking out on Blaine. He knew he'd have to go home eventually but just the thought of seeing Blaine again had Kurt's heart racing and his stomach tied up in knots.

But Blaine hadn't backed down. As much as every text and call hurt Kurt, it also made him almost smile. Not giving up was one of Blaine's strong suits and one of the many things Kurt loved about him.

Kurt told Blaine he needed time and to his credit, he'd not tried to see Kurt, but that didn't stop him from texting constantly, calling to tell him goodnight (Kurt never answered but he knew), and he'd even sent Kurt his favorite flowers with a simple note that said 'I'm so sorry.'

Kurt could tell right away that the tone of Blaine's texts were different this time, which he supposed is why he'd answered him for the first time in two weeks.

Blaine, please stop. Just give me some more time. -Kurt

KURT! Thank God!

I have tried giving you time but It's been 2 weeks and I miss you so much.

Please. I feel like I'm missing a piece of myself.

-Blaine

Blaine. -Kurt

Kurt, I swear. I just need to see you.

I ended things with Sebastian, for good.

-Blaine

Are you ok? -Kurt

No. But not because of Sebastian. -Blaine

Seriously, don't. -Kurt

Kurt, I have to. This is the only way you'll listen. -Blaine

I'm not ready. -Kurt

But I am. Don't you see. Everything you said to me, you were right.

God I was so stupid and didn't see what was right in front of me.

I love you Kurt

-Blaine

I know you do, but not in the way I need you to. Which is why I need time away from you.

It's not you. I have to find a way to get over you.

-Kurt

NO! GOD NO! PLEASE!

I don't want that. Kurt, don't you see? I've really spent a lot of time thinking these last few days and I've realized something.

-Blaine

What? -Kurt

I don't want to tell you over text.

Can I please see you so I can tell you in person?

-Blaine

I can't. Not yet. -Kurt

But Kurt...

Please. I want you to come home.

-Blaine

I will.

But not today.

-Kurt

When?

I'm serious. I miss you.

-Blaine

He waited 5 minutes for another response and when he didn't get one, he decided to just lay it all on the line.

Ok fine. I don't care if we are face to face or not.

You need to know

I'm in love with you too.

I know I am

I think I have been for a long time.

I realized it when Sam told me I needed to let you go so you could move on.

Hearing that made me literally sick.

I know it seems selfish of me, but I hated it every time you went out on a date.

And when you and Adam got serious, I was in a constant state of depression.

I didn't realize it meant anything at the time.

I thought I was jealous that you weren't spending time with me.

But now I realize it was because I didn't want you to be with anyone else.

That's when Sebastian started hitting me.

Because he could sense how unhappy I was with you dating Adam.

Of course I didn't know that at the time.

Like I said, I've had a lot of time to think since you've been gone.

I'm so sorry Kurt.

Really sorry

I've been an idiot and I'm not sure I deserve your forgiveness.

But I'm asking for it.

God, had I known someone as amazing as you could love me, I would have never settled for Sebastian.

I just knew you were way out of my league, and that's why I was so surprised when you wanted to be my best friend.

I've always felt an intense connection with you, even from the beginning.

But early in our friendship, I tried to be there for you as a mentor

And after I got to know you and saw how confident and sure of yourself you were, I realized that you would never go for someone like me

So I tried to keep myself occupied.

And it worked, sort of

I just didn't realize how much I was hurting you.

All I could think about was trying to find someone half as good as you

God Kurt, I love you so much

And this time away has made that so clear and I'm so sorry for everything.

I'm sorry to be laying his all on you right now.

I promise I'll leave you alone for as long as you need, but please, promise me you won't get over me.

I do love you.

And not just as a best friend.

As something more.

And I want us to try to be together.

So just take as much time as you need, ok.

I'll wait forever.

-Blaine

That won't be necessary. -Kurt

Please Kurt. Don't give up on me. -Blaine

I'm not.

Look up.