Hi! Wow, school is evil. I have exams coming up and so much homework you wouldn't believe it. I am so glad I have Klaine to ground myself and to relax to after a stressful day (was going to say unwind and then realised what I was implying...)

Anyway, this story has been brilliant in helping that. However, after next week's chapter I'll be going on a hiatus. It isn't fair to produce sub-standard chapters while I'm juggling this with school. I have had this break planned in for a few months now and although I'll miss this terribly, I think it'll really help the story. I can't tell you how long my break is going to be, but I can guarantee that it'll be for at least month.

I will, however, be continuing with everything else. You may have seen that I've been doing some song drabbles, dedicated to you lot (and I apologise to everyone who I have made cry because of Rewind). This will continue, although I'm not promising one a day. I am also planning a story which I am cowriting with my amazing friend Matt (DrUnderscore on fictionpress).

Finally, all I can really say is thank you for staying with me. Your support is invaluable, whether you've been reading this story for six months or six minutes. Thank you.

This chapter is the long-awaited Nationals. I hope you enjoy it and I'll talk to you again at the bottom.

Story so far...

The Warblers are ready. Kurt and Blaine are ready. All the plans are in place. So, let's go to Nationals!

-*T&C*-

"Daniel Abbotts?"

"Here sir!"

Blaine looked up. "We only just started this register and already we have people answering for other names. Henry, last time I checked, you're not Daniel. Dan?"

"Here sir."

"Chris Arnold?"

"Here."

"Anthony Berr?"

"Yep."

"Jesse Douglass?"

"Here here!"

"Henry FitzGilbert?"

There was a pause before the answer. "Here?"

Blaine decided to ignore the fact that Dan had answered for his boyfriend.

"Jack Ford-Allan?"

"Yes."

"Ben Greenwood?"

"Yes."

"I'm here."

"Bi- I hadn't said your name yet."

"I knew I was next."

"Right... yeah. Robert Inworth-Dent?"

The end of a coughing fit. "I'm here."

Blaine frowned. He needed to speak to him, but he'd promised Peter he wouldn't say anything. "Erm, Paul Jacobs?"

"Yeah."

"Peter Matthews."

"Yeaaah."

"Amos Mizrachi?"

"Hi hi hi!"

Blaine smiled. "Simon Platt?"

"Yep, here."

"Tyler Scott?"

"Yes."

"Wayne Shields?"

"Sort of?"

Blaine looked up. "How sort of?"

The boy grinned. "My body is here, but I'm afraid my daughter has all my energy."

"Ah," Blaine smiled. "Luke Winterborne?"

"Yes."

"And Mark Young?"

Silence.

"Mark Young?" There was still no reply. Blaine sighed. "Look, Simon, I hate to ask this, but... do you know where Mark is?" The older brother shrugged. "Right. Okay. Does anyone have his numb-"

Just then a car pulled up in the carpark. The tanned, brown-haired boy jumped out of it, waving goodbye to his mother. Simon scoffed, turning his back on the woman who'd brought him up for the first seven years of his life.

"Sorry I'm late."

Blaine ticked the final name.

"So, that's everybody," Blaine concluded. He stuffed his clipboard under his arm and swiftly opened the passenger door of the minibus while everyone else got in the side door. He held out his hand to help Kurt up.

His boyfriend giggled. "Ever the gentleman, Blaine."

Blaine sighed dramatically as he closed the door after Kurt got in. "I try!"

He walked around the front of the bus to the driver's door, pulling it open and hopping inside. He fastened his seatbelt up before turning around. "Everybody in?" A chorus to the positive came back to him. "Right then." He pulled the bus into gear. "Off we go!"

The journey was long. And tiring. So very long and tiring. Kurt dozed for a lot of it, distracting Blaine entirely with his innocence and beauty. And every time his eyes shifted to the passenger seat, a voice in the back would call out, "sir, the road!" and he'd be forced once more to tear his eyes away from Sleeping Beauty.

When they finally reached a sign alerting them to their close proximity to New York, the coach cheered. Kurt was startled awake, smiling with a blush at Blaine as he panicked about snoring, or drooling in his sleep, or, even worse, inappropriate noises. Blaine just seemed happy though, so all must have been okay.

Eventually, Blaine pulled the bus into the carpark of the hotel they were staying in. He apologised to his boyfriend before leaving him alone with the seventeen teenagers, going inside to check in.

"Hi, I'm Blaine Anderson. I have a reservation. Dalton Academy Warblers."

The person at the desk nodded and checked the computer screen. "Yep, I see you there." She stood and went to fetch five sets of keys. Dalton did nothing by halves. "Here you are, sir," she smiled. "Breakfast is from six till nine."

He was about to thank her and leave to get the boys when she spoke again, this time her cheeks tinged pink. "I, uh, hope I see you again?"

Blaine looked at her blankly. Shit. "Well, I am staying here..."

"I, I think you know what I meant."

"I think you should know that I'm gay." Blaine seemed to realise what he'd said as soon as it had left his lips. "Sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out like that, I'm used to Ohio and-"

The girl interrupted him. "It's fine, honestly. If you don't ask, you don't get. Actually, I'm bi, so..."

Blaine smiled. "Well, nice to meet you... Sarah. And I'm so sorry we got off on the wrong foot."

"Not at all. Don't worry about it. Oh, and Mr Anderson?" She called to him as he'd turned to leave. "I wish you luck with your boyfriend. He's a cute one."

"How do you know?"

"You wouldn't've denied me so quickly if you hadn't. Plus, I don't think we have any other group bookings. And all I can see in the carpark right now is a group of boys tickling a man who looks about your age and cute as hell."

"You... what?"

Sarah smiled. "Enjoy your stay."

Blaine ran from the lobby.

When they'd all settled in, Blaine left the boys in their rooms and went into his and Kurt's.

"Hi."

"Hi."

Blaine sat on the bed. "How are you?"

Kurt smiled. "The same as when you asked me five minutes ago."

"Oh. Right." He lay back on the bed. Kurt sat next to him, running a hand through his boyfriend's curls. He didn't need to be a genius to know that his boyfriend was nervous about something. He'd been with him for five years. He could tell even if he wasn't around him!

"So, New York." Blaine turned onto his side. "It's nice here, don't you think?"

"Yeah... we haven't even been here for a day yet."

"We haven't. But it's... nice. Would be great to live here one day, don't you think"

Kurt considered. He didn't know what his boyfriend was getting at. He loved New York, of course he did. But they had jobs in Ohio. They had friends and lives. They had the Warblers. And now they had to keep an eye on Gina and Greg. But, one day... "Yes. Yes, I would." He lay down next to his boyfriend, cuddling his arms around him. "I love you."

Blaine smiled. "I love you too."

An overwhelming urge to just propose right there and then came over Blaine. He loved Kurt. And he needed him to be his, forever. He needed to propose. He needed the ring. He needed-

"I have to go."

As he leapt off the bed, Kurt looked up with him. "Why?"

"I'm... meant to go in now. Talk about... tomorrow."

"You want me to come with you?"

"No!" Kurt looked startled. "No, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I mean... someone needs to stay here with the boys, yeah? Stop them from tearing the place to shreds. It'll be really boring anyway." He kissed him softly. "I'll see you later," he said quietly.

Blaine walked into the shop, anxious. It looked too clean, too perfect. It looked the sort of place that would have the perfect ring...

"Hello?"

A man appeared from the back. He was balding and wearing glasses, a blue shirt and a wide smile. "Hello, sir. How can we help?"

"I'm looking for an engagement ring?"

The man eyed him quickly and smiled. "What's he called?"

"Kurt," Blaine answered without thinking. And then... "Wait, how did you know?"

The shop assistant grinned and raised his hand above the counter for Blaine to see the ring on the fourth finger of his left hand. "Three years now. And I couldn't wish for any other man."

"You're gay," Blaine realised.

"I am," he chuckled. He eyed Blaine slowly. "You're quite young?" It was a question rather than a statement.

"Twenty-two. Kurt is twenty-three. We've been together five years but it feels like fifty-five so if you're trying to talk me out of it-"

"I wasn't suggesting that. I wouldn't want to chase my trade away," he winked. "I was going for style. You see, as you get older, most guys want a simple band, like mine. But you're young; I think you'd enjoy something more. I'm sorry, I don't think I asked your name?"

'Blaine. I'm Blaine Anderson."

The shop assistant frowned. "Why do I recognise that name?"

Blaine beamed. "The Dalton Academy Warblers? I'm their director."

"Ah, that's right, the Warblers! You were here two years ago? Last time Nationals were in New York?

"Yep." Blaine popped the p.

"You were in navy blazers, right?" Blaine nodded. "I remember it now. First place, if I remember?"

Blaine grinned cheekily. "Of course."

"And your boyfriend. He was here too?"

"Always."

The man smiled and nodded, then suddenly stopped. "Your eyes."

"What about them?"

"They're so rich, almost like amber."

"Um, thanks?"

"No, I was thinking for the ring. What colour are Kurt's eyes?"

"Ah, no, I've already tried this back in Ohio. Didn't quite look right. And it is hard to explain them anyway. They sort of change colour a bit. Mostly blue though."

"Blue? Did you say blue?"

Blaine frowned. "I did, yes."

The shop assistant smiled warmly. "I have something you're going to love." He walked past the counter and into the shop, over to one of the drawers beneath a display cabinet. He withdrew the keys from his pocket and unlocked the drawer, sliding it open. He rummaged around for a few seconds and then emerged. "Blue amber."

"Blue amber?"

"Come here, look. I'll show you."

As Blaine approached the man, he carefully removed the ring from its box after quickly slipping a pair of gloves on. He then held it out so Blaine could have a look at it.

"That's beautiful," he gasped. "Stunning, even." The stone was set in a thick silver band, a cut-out around where the amber sat. "But where's the blue?"

Here, the shopkeeper grinned. He walked over to the window, so the amber was in the sunlight.

"Oh my God it has gone blue."

The man nodded and moved the ring again, this time up against the light. It turned a rich, honey amber.

Blaine could barely breathe. "That's... it's perfect." He was still awestruck. "How does it work?"

"It's to do with the reflection of the light as it passes through. It also goes a very milky white under ultraviolet light because of hydrocarbons inside the amber. This effect is the same against normal sunlight, just not quite a strongly, obviously. The effect only occurs in some pieces of Dominican amber. Nobody really knows why. But I'm afraid because of this it is rather pricey. The effect is often described like the ocean, which can be so many different colours."

Blaine had heard enough. "The ocean?" He'd found it.

The man nodded. "Do you want to look at anything else?"

Blaine shook his head. "No need. It is perfection."

The man smiled again. "Would you like an engraving?"

Blaine considered for a few seconds before smiling. "Yes. I believe I would. Could I have it saying 'Tears & Cookies', please?"

They had sat through fourteen performances already. When Blaine had returned from the shop, he'd apologised properly to Kurt, remembering to lock the door first and be as quiet as possible. They'd gone to see the boys afterwards, taking them out for dinner, then going back to the hotel and warning them that they had to have lights out by eleven or else. And then they'd spent the night cuddling.

And this morning they had got up, leaving for the theatre where Nationals were being held. They had been assigned a room and sat nervously until they were called to the auditorium to watch everyone else.

And they'd been blown away.

Surprisingly, there had been no song duplicates yet. However, some of the choices were a bit loosely linked to the theme. They'd seen Real Men (Joe Jackson), Ur so gay (Blaine's least favourite Katy song) and so many more besides, including many P!nk songs. And Lullaby League had just been up, performing Nobody's Perfect, This Is Who We Are and Black or White. Their choices had been good. Too good. He was surprised, however, that they hadn't chosen to do Loser Like Me. He'd dismissed it because they had so many other choices. Maybe Will had thought it wasn't appropriate for his new group to perform his old group's song?

And then they'd been called up. Blaine and Kurt had gone backstage with them, prepared them for going on, and went back to their seats.

"It'll be fine." Kurt gripped Blaine's hand tightly, more for himself if anything. He knew how much it'd hurt his boyfriend if something went wrong and he'd hurt because of it. "It'll be fine."

And it was.

When the lights came up, the instruments were revealed and a murmur of confusion filled the air around those who had previously heard of the Warblers.

The twins pounded on the keys for a couple of bars, filling the empty hall.

Then the guitars came in, the drums starting energetically before settling into a rhythm. A few more bars in, the volume dropped and a shaky Henry stepped forwards.

"All that I did was walk over

Start off by shaking your hands

That's how it went

I had a smile on my face

And I sat up straight."

Chris dashed across the stage quickly doing a series of flips then disappeared.

"Oh, yeah yeah.

I wanted to know you,

I wanted to show you."

Henry span around quickly so that he was facing the back of the stage, Mark and Simon coming from either side of the stage to meet in the centre and start circling each other.

"You don't know me.

Don't ignore me.

You don't want me there

You just shut me out.

You don't know me.

Don't ignore me.

If you had your way

You'd shut me up,

Make me go away."

Peter danced on to the stage, falling to his back and break dancing in front of Robert on the drums before the singing started again.

And when it did, the other Warblers who'd been in the wings started to walk onstage. Henry welcomed the backup. And then the dancers came back. They'd created something so unique, so different from how the Warblers were used to performing, but so perfectly fitting with the tone of the song.

"Make me go away!" At Henry's last line everything fell silent. Until the applause started. But they had to perform through. Four of the boys wheeled the instruments off the stage while the others got ready in position, whistling the tune. Quickly, the others returned and joined in the bully circle, surrounding Amos.

"Do you ever feel like breaking down?

Do you ever feel out of place?

Like somehow you just don't belong

And no-one understands you?"

The circle around Amos started walking around. The boy in the middle just faced forwards, emotion painfully obvious on his face. Blaine had been so surprised by just how well it seemed he could relate to the song when he first sang it. Now, those feelings were still there. Or maybe he was just an exceedingly good actor.

The circle was beginning to shrink in on the central singer. The effect was even better than Blaine could have ever hoped for. Every couple of lines another boy would quickly leave the circle to give the soloist a push. And Amos didn't blink, he just kept staring forwards. All the while, the circle were performing the a cappella parts and singing what would have been the backing vocals in the original.

At the bridge, the circle froze and Amos walked around, singing to the individuals. Blaine had wanted to create the effect of him answering back to those bringing him down. By Kurt's awestruck open mouth, he considered that he'd done a good job. After the bridge the circle continued its motion again, always sweeping inwards. And by the end of the song, Amos was completely enclosed. As the circle all rose their fists, the Israeli boy feel to the ground.

Quickly they got into their two straight rows. Then Jesse tapped Luke's shoulder before speaking. "Say, Kate, can I ask you a question?"

They were waiting for the results to come through. They'd been told it could take some time. And Blaine was being Blaine and panicking whilst finding furniture to jump on. Daniel and Henry had approached Kurt while everyone else was busy doing everything they could to stem their nerves, mostly very noisily. Kurt had looked at Blaine, motioning what he was about to do, and he went with the boys to find an empty room. All three sat down rather awkwardly.

"Boys, before I start, I want to tell you something. It's something my dad told me, and I think you could benefit from it. You matter, both of you matter an awful lot." Kurt paused, trying to gauge the boys' reactions. "This is a big step. In any relationship. You're both still so young. I know you two love each other. I sometimes think I saw it even before you did. But you need to be a hundred percent sure before doing this. Any doubt at all, you should tell each other. You've got to be ready. And when you are, it is tway perfect and most beautiful way to connect to another person.

"Right. Now, I don't know how much you know already, but I'm going to assume you're not completely innocent and you know what a condom and lube looks like? Lube I'd recommend every time, or at least some... equivalent." Kurt blushed as he remembered. "Condoms are often used less with couples who've been together years. To start, I'd recommend them. They help stop any STDs and, well, easier cleanup. However, as you become more comfortable you could well wish to do it without; it is far more pleasurable and makes for an entirely different experience."

"Are there any types you could recommend?" Henry's face, although red, was surprisingly nowhere near as dark as his boyfriend's.

"Honestly? No. Just experiment. Sometimes the cheaper ones tear, sometimes the more expensive ones just aren't worth it. Now, you okay for me to go on?"

"Go on?" Daniel was as bright as a beetroot.

"The physicality of it all."

Henry placed a hand soothingly on the older boy's. "Yes. Please go on."

They, stood, waiting patiently for the results, in the foyer of the theatre. They saw all the other groups waiting to see where they'd placed. Blaine's heart was in his mouth and his stomach was a swarm of butterflies. If it hadn't been for Kurt's tight grip on his hand, he was sure he would have passed out by now.

And then the board arrived, covered in a thick cloth to stop early prying eyes. It was put on the stand. You could have heard a pin drop. And then the cloth came away.

There was a mad rush as groups went to see where they had come, some crying in anguish at not placing in the top ten, some celebrating, jumping about and hugging. Blaine kept his boys back. He saw Mr Schue and nodded at him, mouthing "good luck" as he and Lullaby League went to see what position they were in. Blaine craned his neck to gauge their reaction. As his old teacher turned around, Blaine was none the wiser. There seemed to be a look of confusion and shock on his face.

Will looked at Blaine and the rest of the Warblers. He went to say something but decided against it, and caught the eye instead of one of the staff running about. She lead them off to a back-room.

Now Blaine was even more worried. What had happened? What was wrong? He saw a gap in the queue and took it, pulling Kurt with him as his boys followed. He looked at the board.

10th place: The Sensations
9th place: Children of our Lord
8th place: Temper Tantrum
7th place: Plus Fifty
6th place: Vocal Adrenaline
5th place: Sweet Carole
4th place: New New York
3rd place, 2nd place, 1st place: Calling back Lullaby League, Purple Hibiscus and the Warblers.

"Calling back?" Blaine's voice came out as a whisper.

Kurt seemed to know what to do. Without dropping his boyfriend's hand, he caught the attention of a member of staff. "Excuse me? Yes, I'm part of the Warblers. It says we've been called back. What does that mean?"

"Oh, yes. Come with me please."

Kurt nodded at Blaine, trying to rouse him from his stupor. When it didn't work he simply dragged him along, seeing the Warblers following them.

They were lead to one of the practise rooms that had been used earlier. One of the judges was in there, smiling at the team warmly as they approached. "You'll be the Warblers then?" Blaine nodded, trying to shake himself from his daze.

He dropped the hand that Kurt was holding and stepped forwards, offering it to the man. "Yes, that's us." They shook hands. "Forgive me, we're a bit confused. What's going on?"

"Well, your three teams were so good that we couldn't find a difference in you. We are asking you all to perform one last song. This will be at five o'clock." Blaine glanced at the wall behind the man's head. It read three o'clock. "You will have two hours to prepare. The theme stands: discrimination. Then, Purple Hibiscus will be up first, followed by Lullaby League and then, finally, you. Four minutes. I wish you the best of luck."

The man left, leaving the room in a stunned silence.

"Another song?"

Kurt was back at Blaine's side, supporting him before he fell. He guided him to a chair. "Hey, listen. This is the guy who can do anything at the drop of a hat. The one who walked into the common room to perform Teenage Dream without any rehearsal whatsoever, and still managed to steal the heart of the boy he'd just met. This is you, Blaine. Whatever you choose to do, it'll be amazing."

"B-but, the choreography, the singing, everything!"

"Then do something you already know? Something you performed for Raise Your Glass perhaps?"

Blaine shook his head. "There was too much personal meaning in that. They wouldn't understand."

"Well what then?"

Blaine was silent for a few seconds; the look on his face still like someone had just stolen his favourite bowtie. Then... a smile. "I've got it."

Blaine was, once again, terrified. He'd managed to make up a routine and teach the boys the song. Kurt had helped him a lot, especially when he forgot the words, which he did a lot in his nervous state. But they'd done it.

And then Purple Hibiscus had to go and perform Prejudice by Tim Minchin. Why didn't he think of that? And, what's more, they were amazing. His hopes were shattered. And then they came back to the audience and Will's group went up. Their old club director went to stand in the wings to watch. Lady Gaga's Born This Way. Kurt had been leaping about in his seat for the entire performance. "It's second only to the woman herself..." he had whispered under his breath. Unfortunately, Blaine had heard this comment. And he was terrified.

Then Will returned and suddenly it was their turn. Mr Schue gave him a quick pat on the back as he took his group backstage. Kurt had offered to come with him but he'd turned him down. He was going to be a state, and he just knew it. He didn't want his future husband to see him break down.

They were called, and Blaine pushed his Warblers out onto the stage, wishing them luck. This was it.

Chris stepped forwards.

"Yeah you may think that I'm a zero.
But hey, everyone you wanna be
Probably started off like me."

"Blaine?!"

The man in question giggled as he saw the awe in his teacher's eyes. "Yes, Will?"

"That... I'm sure you can't do that!"

Blaine grinned. "I asked the group permission back at the reunion. We'd discounted it, but... it just worked, you know?"

Will sighed. "Well, congratulations."

Blaine frowned. "How do you mean?"

"Well, isn't it obvious? You've won. In the bag. Without a doubt."

Blaine sighed. "I sure hope so."

"Can we have the three competing teams back on the stage please?"

The three groups stood on the stage, the prestigious trophy in front of them. The eyes of the competitors from all the other teams were on them.

"Well, as you may know, we had a bit of difficulty in choosing the winner earlier. As a result, we had another round, a call-back, if you will. These were the three groups who got through. I wish them all the best of luck. But," the judge paused dramatically, "there can only be one winner. And, in third place is..."

The room was silent save for a low drumbeat.

"Lullaby League."

The group cheered, happy to be in third at least. Yes, they may well have hoped for more, but, as Mr Schue had said, the Warblers had it in the bag. They went forwards to collect their third-place trophy, Will smiling back at Blaine with his thumbs up. Kurt, who had been dragged on stage because Blaine couldn't physically let go of his arm, smiled back warmly. Lullaby League retreated.

"And now, for first place. This group showed an overwhelming amount of talent, in all four songs they performed. More than that, they showed excellent teamship while working for these last two hours, and we think the song they chose conveys perfectly the meaning we were trying to get this competition to say. So, without much further ado, the winners of the Show Choir championships 2016, are...

"Purple Hibiscus."

The stage erupted with cheers from the other group, the audience on their feet, shouting and cheering and applauding. The Warblers went over to the winning team and congratulated them, many exchanging hugs, many of the boys being overjoyed by the excited kisses they were getting from the girls in the group.

Blaine was numb. Kurt squeezed his hand tightly, then loosened his grip as he realised just how little circulation must be going to that hand. But Blaine squeezed it back tightly before watching the team go to collect their trophy, then dropping the hand entirely to congratulate them on their win.

Kurt watched him for a few seconds, checking that he was okay. When he was happy that his boyfriend wasn't about to collapse, he too went forwards to congratulate them, squeaking when an excited girl came to hug him tightly and give him a kiss on the cheek. "Ooh!"

And the celebrations continued.

The following morning they packed up and drove back to Westerville. This time, Blaine had run out of energy. The stress of the day had caught up with him at night and he'd sobbed himself to sleep in Kurt's ever-present arms, his back being rubbed soothingly by the other man.

Yes, he was upset they hadn't won, but more than that it was the pressure of having to do another song from scratch and then perform it two hours afterwards. He'd done it before, but it certainly wasn't something he enjoyed doing.

When the bus started to drift across the road, Kurt screamed at Blaine from the passenger seat and the younger boy pulled over. Kurt stroked his shoulders for a few minutes, hugging him slowly, shooting death glares over his shoulder to any of the boys who might dare to comment. None of them did.

He got out of the bus and walked across to Blaine's door. They swapped, Kurt taking to the wheel and, with Kurt driving, they managed to make it back to Dalton in one piece.

When they got home, Blaine was still exhausted.

"I really thought we could do it this year, Kurt. I really thought we could."

"I know, Cooks, I know." He pulled him in for another hug, this one on the sofa. They sat like that, entangled in each-others arms for perhaps an hour, maybe more. The weekend was starting to take its toll on Kurt, too.

Bocelli started twittering, and Kurt let go of Blaine to go and feed their bird. He got back to the sofa. Blaine sat up and kissed Kurt softly, deeply, lovingly.

"I'm going to take a nap," he announced. "But can we go out later?"

Kurt nodded. "I might join you, if that's okay?"

Blaine smiled. "That's perfect."

He took his hand and lead him into the bedroom. They both laid down. Kurt drifted off in a matter of seconds. Blaine stayed awake for a few more minutes.

This was it. Tonight was the night. Kurt had been such a rock for him and... he couldn't wait any longer.

His mind was still going over speeches as he too drifted off to sleep.

So, yeah, this sort of became a filler? How is that even possible? I guess I was just rubbish at ending this. Anyway...

I hate things which you can guess really easily, hence why I didn't do the obvious and make the Warblers win. How was it?

And yes, I have been building up to the next chapter for a while. Three months actually, in real time. As far as this timeline is concerned, it is now 19th June 2016, and Blaine's epiphany about proposing to Kurt was on 6th June. That's hardly any time at all.

And yes, I have been writing this for over six months and I'm still not even a month in!

Needless to say, I'm looking forward to writing the next chapter.

I'll talk to you again next week if you don't catch any of my work before that. It would be amazing, however, if you could all take a look at Give Me Strength. It has been a plot bunny for ages and I was writing it whilst walking home from school for several weeks. And now the first chapter is up. The story is dedicated to the brilliant paddyofurniture, who I don't mention nearly enough. I am uploading a new chapter every Thursday. Last week it was her birthday. I didn't realise when I first uploaded it, but this week, on Thursday, it is six months since first contact (a review to this story). She has changed my life, and it'd mean so much to me if you were to go and read Give Me Strength and maybe leave her a message in a review? I accept unsigned ones, so you can do it whether or not you have an account.

Thank you.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!

I never feel like I do enough for charities. Sure, all my old stuff goes to Cancer Research and I am always in the charity shops in my town. But I want to just go up to collection pots and put money in. So, for every review I get for this story, I will donate 10p to a charity. If you have a favourite, please let me know in your review and I'll see what I can do. Let's see how much we can donate, eh?

If you have reached here, put DrUnderscore in your review. If you don't know who that is, PLEASE go to fictionpress and read Fractured Skies. It is so good :)

And bonus love to anyone who can find the group with the Adele link in their name?