A/N: So would you look at that? Another chapter for my lovelys. I just love you all. :)

Thanks to Writing memories, whatmakesyoubeautiful101, Nurse Kate, cold kagome, and MalLovesKlaine for reviewing on the last chapter. I'm glad you all seem to be enjoying this. It's been an interesting one to write, that's for sure. Today begins September. Remember what September is. Be an encouragement to others, because you never know what they're facing. A smile can cover a million pains.

I still don't own Glee. I like to pretend I do, and I'm goign to be Ryan Murphy for Halloween, but I still have no rights.

Enjoy!

Always remember to smile!

Olivia

Dust. There was dust everywhere. His parents weren't big on memories, so Blaine was willing to bet money that these boxes hadn't been touched since the move. Maybe even before that. Blaine lifted a sheet from what looking like a chest and shook it off. Coughing and sputtering, Blaine waved his hand in front of his face, trying to clear the air. Bingo! It was the old chest full of scrapbooks and photo albums. There must have been something in here. Blaine clenched his teeth together as he pushed past the ten scrapbooks with Cooper's name stitched across the top. Just solid proof that Blaine was the least of his parent's affections. At the very bottom he found a single scrapbook with his name scrawled across the top. Upon opening it, Blaine saw his smiling chubby face looking at the camera. His curls had overtaken his entire head, but it was as if he could hear his mom's laugh, see his father's tiny smile as he shuffled papers at the kitchen table, bringing work home once again. Blaine took that picture out and sat it off to the side. Then he flipped the page. There were only three other pictures in the scrapbook, and after that, nothing.

Empty pages were all he amounted to in his parent's mind. Too ashamed to admit to what Blaine was, so they stopped trying to cover it up and just didn't mention him at all. Blaine remembered being sent upstairs at one of his parent's dinner parties, moments before the doorbell rang.

"So, is your son around?" Blaine heard the voices ask.

"No, Cooper decided to stay at college this weekend."

"Oh. I'm sorry. It must be awful quiet in this big house all by yourselves." Blaine held himself back from busting into the room and shouting, "Hey look! They aren't alone! They have another son!" But he didn't.

"Sometimes. But everything is so busy and excited when Cooper comes home. Our family is complete." Blaine kept quiet, the only signs he had heard were the silent tears running down his cheeks.

Blaine grimaced and shoved the stupid empty book to the side, wiping his face at the surprise onslaught of tears. He took a few deep breaths and smiled. He was okay. It didn't matter if his parents didn't like him, or if his brother refused to speak with him ever again. Blaine was strong enough to make sure he was okay. He would be fine.

Blaine pushed the books off to the side and continued sorting through the chest. He found lots of his and Cooper's baby clothes, birthday cards, all the usual stuff that parents would keep of their children's childhood. Blaine smiled as he saw just as many of his clothes as there were Cooper's. His parents had loved him, at one point. Before everything had changed.

When they made the move three years ago and Blaine made his fresh start, coming out meant admitting it to his parents too. That was one of the hardest parts. Blaine's parents were never violent towards their children. No, Blaine's dad was much too high up on the social ladder in his company to use violence towards his children. He couldn't afford bad press. But rather than make visible bruises on his son, his father settled for the silent treatment. He didn't speak to Blaine for months, wouldn't even talk about him to Blaine's mother. Blaine had had to adapt to a new area and school and to new people without any help from his parents, but it seemed as if he had done a pretty good job.

Digging deeper, the items got older, and Blaine's memories got fuzzier. He thought he had hit the bottom when his hand brushed up against a smaller box, hidden deep in the corner of the chest. It was wrapped in newspaper and sealed up tight, but it lacked the dust that was woven into the rest of the things, as if it had recently been touched or moved. Blaine lifted it form the dark depths of the chest and sat it down beside him. All sounds around him drowned out as he stared at the box, with nothing identifying it but a simple scrap of paper labeled, "Hummel."

Who was Hummel? Why did they get a box? Why was it in the chest? Years ago, this would have been something Blaine and Cooper would have tried to solve together. But Cooper was long gone, and Blaine was left alone to solve the puzzle. He began by slowly tearing the newspaper covering off of the box. Then Blaine lifted the top off and stared into a box of memories.

The first thing he saw was a newspaper article. An obituary. Blaine sat it aside. He didn't want to read anything like that right now. The next things were pictures. Tons of pictures of three boys, two Blaine recognized as himself and Cooper, but the other one was a mystery. Was this Hummel? The rest of the pictures were filled with some variation of the three, but the most were of Blaine and the mystery boy. At the bottom of the stack there was a picture of his parents, Blaine and Cooper, and two other parents, with the same little boy. He had a slightly girlish look to him, the way his hair was styled, and the way he was so fashionably dressed. He looked like one of the kids old Blaine might have picked on for being too flamboyant, or spreading his fairy dust around the school. But this Blaine sat, looking at the two families, and wondering who they were, and why they were so important.

Blaine slipped the photos back in the box, accidentally dropping a few in the process. Upon picking them up, Blaine flipped them over and found his mother's scrawled cursive on the back. On a picture of Blaine and the mystery child it read, "Blaine and Kurt, age 4." So the boy was named Kurt. It suited him, Blaine thought. A pretty child deserved a pretty name. But why had Blaine never heard of Kurt? Blaine flipped over the family picture and found more writing. "Burt, Elizabeth, and Kurt Hummel, Darryl, me, Cooper and Blaine, summer 1997." So these were the Hummel's. Why were they so important?

Blaine's watch beeped, meaning it was five minutes until dinner time. His parents were always so precise about dinner. Everything and everyone were to be sitting at the table when the clock struck six, and Blaine's father walked in the door. Blaine quickly shoved everything back into the Hummel box, ready to solve the mystery at a later date, when he remembered the obituary he had sat behind him. Blaine's fingers found the old newspaper and began to sit it on top when he read the name. He felt his heart sink, and his breath escape in one giant exhale. Fingers trembling, he read on.

Kurt Hummel, age 16, passed away at his home on Saturday, August 17th. Hummel was a student at McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio. He is survived by his parents, Burt and Elizabeth Hummel and four grandparents. Cause of death is still undetermined. Funeral arrangements are being made.

Wait, what? Kurt was, dead? Something was missing, and Blaine was determined to find out. But first, it was time for dinner.

So? What'd you think? I've got interesting things planned for this story, and I hope you guys will stick with me. Love you all! Please review and give me feedback. I'd love to hear what you guys are thinking, or anythign that this story is reminding you of. What are your stories? Have you ever been in Kurt's place? Or in Blaine's? Tell me about it. Remember I'm always here if you ever need to chat. :)

Olivia