Author's note: I'm trying for this chapter for snapshots of characters in emotional actualisation, in a moment of realisation. Or at least that was the idea. I didn't intend to write anything in Matt's point of view and it was difficult but I thought it was important to discuss that loosing someone who is part of a 'family' to distance is not clean or forgettable. I always felt Matt could have a lot of potential if they had you know given him something to do other than stand around with Mike (so I sort of rolled with that relationship being important.)

Thank you for the reviews, they were both incredibly sweet and I can't tell you have happy I was when I got them! To answer the question of the length of the story; this story shouldn't be to long, and is going to span the length of the summer and while Artie and Tina's distance is the main plot point it is not going to be the only development, story wise, as I want to set up the feelings and friendships the characters have for my second edition of drabbles- which I will start just as I can work myself up to writing Sam (who's character could go so many ways he's making my head spin.)

Kurt woke up groggy and well into the day, his first day off of the summer. Everything hurt, it wasn't like he wasn't used to a little hard work- he certainly didn't break out in hives at the thought of manual labour despite what his friends thought. It was in fact what he did every summer.

Like every year he found himself in desperately need for money. He had tapped his clothes fund sometime during the year and if he wanted the latest summer fashions he would have to work hard and earn it. Still it wasn't like last summer, when he had no best friends and certainly no Mercedes, which is why he was trying to cram in as many hours as he could manage before Mercedes got back from her three week road trip with Quinn and her mum.

Mercedes and Quinn being friends still made his head spin, and he tried not to think about all the memorable best friend moments they were having together without him.

They weren't the only ones to fly the coop either, Tina had left for some camp which got crappy reception and spotty internet access, and Artie had sworn up and down at the beginning of the summer that he would do his summer homework in those weeks so he, Mercedes and Kurt could hang out when she got back and he relaxed his work hours.

He kicked back his covers, he should probably start that homework really, but really he'd rather wait until they were together so Mercedes could explain history to him and Artie could give him the crash course to his math work. He still had all summer anyway, what could get in his way?

He made his bed and stared in his closet. Boring, boring, blah, so last season and something he suspected was the shirt and sweater vest he had stolen off Artie last year. He rummaged through his closet. Not that Kurt rummaged- that would be very un-Kurt-like even for a sleep deprived Kurt. He placed a pinstriped shirt on his bed with a black set of slacks and dark blue newsboy hat. He tilted his head, did this go together?

He replaced the shirt with a classic button down shirt, the only non-label in his closet and Kurt's secret shame. He hid it at the back in the clothes bag that also held his grade four sunflower dance recital outfit. He shouldn't even own it, only… it was sooo comfortable. Not that Kurt usually cared, he had always chosen fashion over function, but this shirt was made out of clouds or something… and no one would be home right?

Kurt ran up the stairs into the shower, rushing through his morning routine since it was technically closer to lunch anyway. He put on his clothes; revelling in the touch of genuine 100% cotton (not that he'd ever admit that to anyone- especially not Artie, he'd never hear the end of it.)

He made himself some fruit salad and sat in front of the television. He contemplated being wild and putting his feet on the coffee table but his better judgement got the better of him. Project Runway was on and he made a mental note of every comment he would relay to Mercedes about the contestants and models when he called her later in the night, damn! It was tough being so brilliant and witty when there was no one around to appreciate that he was totally within his rights to call that tall brunette model skanky-mick-man-hands.

Kurt shifted to the right suddenly and looked up finally noticing… something wasn't right. He stood up, what wasn't right? He walked into the kitchen and back again, checked the upstairs rooms, checked his room twice and the backyard. What was wrong? Nothing technically, but there was something…

He walked back to the couch and finally noticed there was a lack of a distinct Finn shaped dent in his couch. Finn wasn't home. He hadn't noticed. He couldn't even recall when the last time Kurt had even seen the last abnormally large teen; he was usually parked on the couch or with Rachel…

He wandered back into the kitchen, on the fridge there was a note 'gone studying at Artie's -love Finn' how had he not seen that. When did Artie and Finn become friends? When did he stop tracking Finn's movements like a hawk? He'd only been gone for a little while right?

When did it normally take him half an hour to realise that Finn signed it 'love Finn' and when did Kurt stop caring? When did Kurt stop missing Finn when he was gone?

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Rachel knocked on the door impatiently, Artie never answered the door right away- he usually waited for his little sister to answer it. Though chances were she wasn't home and she would just have to wait it out until Artie couldn't stand the noise anymore. Which could take forever.

The door opened suddenly and Rachel stumbled right into Finn who answered the door, "Finn" she exclaimed in surprise, though she shouldn't have been, he had said he planned to spend the day here. "Hey Rach" he kissed he cheek and she waited for the feeling in her legs to come back, she smiled up at him.

"What are you doing here?" Rachel shrugged embarrassed she wasn't sure why she had ended up at the Abrams, only that she had. "Stacey and her parents went home today, no one else really likes me there now" she felt her cheeks flush, "no way Rach, you're dads love you." She smiled wirily at him, "yeah but they don't count."

"Well it's a good thing you came here because there are a whole bunch of people here who like you" he grinned earnestly and she knew this is one of the reasons she liked him so darn much. "What all two of you?" she had intended it in a flirty tone, something lighter, but his brow creased, "is that not enough?"

"No, it is" and she was surprised that she actually meant it, even if it was only for that second in time. He lead her into the land room as if she had never been there before, Rachel let him, it seemed almost important that now Artie was more his friend that hers. In the past week she had heard quite a few 'my friend Artie's slipped in their conversations, like a claim with a certain hint of pride.

If it meant that much to him she gladly let there be the distinction between her friends and his as long as he still referred to her as 'my girlfriend Rachel.'

"Hey Rachel" Artie waved at her, "watcha doing here?" he was sitting on the couch, he had slipped a little and Finn rushed to right him in a way that didn't seem awkward as it did unpractised. She surveyed the room quickly, books on the floor open and note books thrown around the room, and halo paused on the Television. "Just… visiting" she responded distractedly, "Finn did you throw these?" she gestured at the books, he blushed, "math is hard."

She giggled a little then put on her sternest lecture face, one Finn must know off by heart by now, she opened her mouth and then her eyes glanced to Artie. 'Finn's friend Artie.' She snapped her mouth shut, a rant on the importance of education could wait, "do you want me to make some snacks, brain food perhaps?" she asked finally, Finn perked up like he'd just single-handedly caught a bullet like superman had in every superman movie he made Rachel watch.

"I'll be back" she headed off to the kitchen, maybe Artie's dad will have stocked some vegetarian foods in the fridge. She searched and settled for cutting up an assortment of raw vegetables and fruit on a plate (she hadn't been able to locate a platter.) she briefly wondered where Mr Abrams was, and decided he must be visiting Mrs Abrams (did she still call her that if they were separated?) at her sisters. Artie had mentioned he'd been doing that a lot lately, when she had called before.

When she came back in they were playing halo and the papers and books had been hastily placed on the coffee table, she shifted them with her elbow placing down the food and jug of lemonade down before pushing the table with in reaching distance of Artie.

"Is this game any good?" she asked, Finn dutifully handed her his controller "yeah babe, loads of fun!" Artie rolled his eyes, but didn't take them off the screen, "I'd watch it Berry, halo happens to be a highly competitive game." Rachel grinned sharply. A competitive game huh?

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Tina searched the grounds for Mike, who hadn't shown up for the meeting for tonight's campfire. Tina had begged off the campfire duty if she and Mike painted banners for the up coming competition for dance group.

He had found a little hole in the wall kind of place, the old playground that no one went to, to hide in. She was annoyed now, she spent an hour searching the area for him and he was swinging on a swing? What was he five?

His face looked almost blank and Tina faltered mid step almost like a stutter of a movement, there was that look on his face that look scared her. He looked completely defeated and she had never seen that look on anyone's face before, she touched his back hesitantly, and when he didn't look up she chose to sit quietly in the next swing over. "M-Mike?" she asked as if she wasn't sure it wasn't even him. he looked like him right up to his eyes.

"He's not going to call again" he said flatly, still not looking at her, she finally noticed the remnants of what must have been his phone. "Said we should learn to not need each other" he chocked out a shattered laugh "like I'm his fucking girlfriend or something, and he had to break up with me."

What did he mean? Who could the fight be about, Mike was really the kind of guy to get broken up over… unless… Matt… had told him not to talk to him anymore! How was that even possible? Matt and Mike were best friends, they had joined football and glee together, hell they quit football temporarily together as well, they did everything. Could it really have taken under two weeks to utterly destroy that kind of friendship? "I'm sorry Mike" she knew that those weren't the right words but she had so little words to begin with, she hoped they were enough.

"How do you tell someone not to call?" his voice broke, "I can't do this by myself Tina," he wasn't crying and if his voice wasn't shot to hell she probably wouldn't have been able to tell anything was wrong. "I can't be alone, I- I don't do being by myself well" she almost shook with understanding and sympathy because really- she was the same way "You're not alone." He looked up and that and smiled a smile so faint she almost didn't see the twitch of his mouth at all.

She took his hand, she'd let him talk if he wanted or if he didn't she could be quiet too, she could be a friend, not a best friend, not a substitute but something to fill space until it didn't quite hurt so bad to loose a life long friend.

He ended up spending all afternoon painting banners with her and the kids and Mike smiled like he almost meant it, laughed like it didn't hurt and playfully painted her nose green like it meant something. And it almost felt like it did.

Until she pulled away so she was alone to check her phone and pretend the 'no new messages' text was a surprise. She pretended that it didn't hurt and she hoped that it didn't mean anything, and prayed that she still meant something.

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Matt slammed his phone shut. His finger shaking, he threw it across the room just to be sure he didn't try to call Mike back. This was for the best really.

Really.

Hearing Mike was too painful, being without his friends was way more painful than he imagined, but no Mike hurt the worst. He had saved him to last already leaving a message at Pucks and mumbled through apologies to Finn to the background of someone getting their asses kicked at a video game.

Mike had been in denial and then confused then angry. Matt hated it because those were all just ways of saying he was hurting Mike, that Matt was putting himself first out of comfort. Not that it was comfortable to loose everything he'd known in a few short hours (or had it been a couple of weeks.)

It's not that he wanted to leave any of them behind but it hurt way too much to only be there part way, but Mike just didn't want to let go. He had known him since elementary school and they had always done everything together. He was the only person that really meant anything, he meant more than football or glee or miles and miles. Mike's happiness mattered because really this was for the best because if they quit talking Mike is hurt but then school starts again.

And come the end of summer Mike got to go back to friends and glee club and probably ask Tina or Artie out (whoever it was he was crushing on- Matt hadn't quite worked out through the babbling.) and Matt would be here in California, not a jock, not a dancer. Just a face in a crowd with no direction other than the ones he was trying to hold on too. The ones he knew he had to let to go, he didn't need any new directions he just needed a direction that kept him from thinking about everything he'd just lost. Soon he'd feel better, he was sure.

Yeah right! If only leaving could be that easy, that clean.

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