A/N: Someone asked why Blaine was in foster care and I found it funny that they asked right when I outlined this chapter with the explanation. So that's what's in store for this chapter. Enjoy!

"So did you talk to Blaine yet?" Rachel smiled brightly as Kurt shuffled things around in his locker. The countertenor sighed and shook his head.

"No, not yet." Her smiled flipped into a frown.

"Why not? Kurt, it's been two weeks and Mercedes and I made you three pages, front and back, of notes, tips and key points that were organized, highlighted and written with different colored pens. You need to talk to him."

"I know, Rachel, I know." He sighed again and closed his locker. He had read through the papers the girls had written for him (he could probably recite some of the passages word for word) but it still didn't give him any more confidence when it came to talking to Blaine about if he liked him or not. He had tried, he really did, but Blaine would just give him all his attention and Kurt found it hard to think so he would end up saying something completely silly and random. Blaine would just smile that bright smile that he had and reply to whatever nonsense Kurt had said.

"Do you want me to talk to him?" Kurt quickly shook his head.

"No, no, no. No offense but I really think you would give away too much information." She nodded, knowing Kurt was right but she was too proud to admit that. "I'll just… I don't know what I'll do but I'll do something."

It was now or never.

At least that's what Kurt thought as he stood in the hallway in front of Blaine's bedroom door that night. It had taken him twenty minutes to convince himself to go talk to Blaine and he had been standing awkwardly in the hall for at least five minutes. He was surprised no one came up the stairs and saw him yet. Finally deciding that he just needed to get the conversation done and over with he lifted a shaking hand and knocked. There was some shuffling inside before the door swung open and Blaine was there with his usual bright smile.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Say something, Kurt. Come on, say something. Anything!"

"Can I, uh… Can I talk to you about something?" Blaine nodded and stepped aside so Kurt could enter the room. The countertenor smiled nervously as he shuffled over to the bed. Blaine had obviously been doing homework since there were papers and textbooks all over the bed and some had spilled onto the floor.

"Sorry, one second." He cleared the bed and plopped down, motioning for Kurt to do the same. "What's on your mind?"

"I, uhm… I…" Why was this so hard? All Kurt had to do was say do you like me? and the conversation would be started. Unfortunately Kurt's voice failed him and he couldn't form the words. Finally he sighed and shook his head. "You know what? It's not important so let's just-" Blaine's phone started to vibrate on the bedside table and he smiled sheepishly as he reached for it.

"Sorry."

"No, go ahead." He mentally cheered for the distraction. Maybe if Blaine was on the phone for a minute he'd be able to organize his thoughts.

"Hello?… Rebecca? No way!" Kurt tilted his head as Blaine's smile got brighter that usual, if that was even possible. "I'm great, how about you?… No, you're not in college already, no!" Blaine laughed and Kurt's lips twitched into a smile. "Yeah, totally. Tomorrow? Well I have glee-… Perfect, I will call you then!… Okay, bye." He hung up and fiddled with his phone to save the number. "Sorry, that was Rebecca; I lived with her family for awhile. God, that was… five years ago? That's so crazy."

"I'm guessing you two got along." Kurt giggled when Blaine nodded quickly.

"Yeah, she's two years older than me. One day I came home with scraped up knees because some bully pushed me down and she said that if anyone hurt me ever again she'd show them what pain really felt like." He chuckled. "She was awesome."

"That's nice that she got a hold of you."

"I know! I'm calling her tomorrow. We have a lot of catching up to do." He sighed, placing his phone back on the nightstand. "Sorry, you wanted to talk about something?" Oh crap, Kurt had already forgotten about that. He bit his lip and nodded.

"Uhm… Can I ask why you're in foster care?" Rachel was probably going to kill him for avoiding the conversation he originally decided on having with Blaine but he had been wondering about it for awhile so why not ask about it now? The look on Blaine's face, though, made him wish that he actually had asked Blaine about his feelings for him.

"Oh, I…"

"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked. If you don't want to talk about it then that's-"

"No, it's fine. I figured someone would ask anyways and… I trust you enough to tell you." Kurt was touched that Blaine trusted him and he smiled softly.

"I'm listening." He wasn't sure why he said that, he was obviously listening, but the small smile Blaine gave him reassured him that it was the right thing to say.

"My mother got pregnant with me when she was fifteen. My dad walked out on her and her parents, my grandparents, told her that if she kept me then they'd kick her out of the house and disown her. She wouldn't be able to take care of both of us if she went out on her own so she made the decision to put me up for adoption so I've been in the foster system since I was born. I only really started to understand when I was eight; I had asked the foster homes director why I had to keep living with different families all the time and she told me that my mom wasn't able to take care of me. When I was thirteen she told me the whole story and gave me a box my mom had put together to give to me when I was old enough." Blaine's smile was soft but his hands were gripping the comforter. Kurt covered his hands with his own and he felt Blaine's grip loosen.

"She only did what was best for you. She loves you, Blaine."

"I know she does, I just… I just wish I knew her, you know? The only things I have of her are in that box and it's not enough." His eyes sparkled with unshed tears and Kurt felt his heart breaking. Blaine would never know his mother; never know the woman who gave him up because she knew she wouldn't able to provide for him but who probably loved him with all her heart.

"Can I see the box?" Kurt knew it was a long shot; Blaine may have trusted him but he might not have trusted him with the only things linking him to his mother. He was surprised when Blaine nodded. The shorter boy went to his dresser and opened one of the bottom drawers. He ran his fingers gently over the lid before pulling it out and sitting back down on the bed. It sat in the space between the boys for a moment before Blaine sighed and pulled the lid off the box. The picture at the top caught Kurt's attention and his hand shot out to grab it. He stopped when he realized what he was doing and looked up at Blaine, who was smiling softly.

"It's okay, really." Kurt bit his lip and nodded, carefully grabbing the picture.

It was of a teenage girl with long, dark, curly hair and a bright smile that looked much similar to Blaine's. Her eyes were bright and she looked like she would just be a little ball of sunshine, much like Blaine was.

"She's beautiful." Kurt said softly. Blaine nodded, smiling.

"Yeah, she is."

"You look just like her."

"You think so?" Kurt nodded, looking up at Blaine. "Well, thanks."

"Do you know her name?"

"Cassandra, Cassandra Marie Anderson." He chuckled. "I love how I have her last name."

"Have you tried looking for her?" Blaine nodded, his smile fading.

"Yeah, but…"

"No luck?"

"No luck." They both sighed and continued going through the box.

A/N: I'm sorry this is so late. My life has been really hectic right now and I'm having a hard time finding the time to write so updates won't be coming up as fast as usual but there will still be updates, I promise! So don't count this story out!