For the first few hours after Burt, Carole, and Finn leave, Blaine and Thad gives Kurt a crash course in handling the media. They teach him the proper way to hold himself, the ideal poker face, and what to say when he gets a question he doesn't want to answer. By the time Sophia gets tired and Thad takes to the guest room to nap, Kurt's mouth hurts from fake smiling. He rubs his jaws as he searches for Blaine (who left to take a call about a half-hour ago). You'd think it'd be impossible to lose a celebrity, especially in his own house…

Out of the corner of his eye, he catches a note taped to the sliding glass door. His nameis on front, written in messy handwriting that could only belong to Blaine Anderson. Unable to fight the smirk despite the pain, he rips it off the glass and reads it.

Kurt,

I know we haven't been on an official date yet. I wanted to do so much more, but because our time is limited, I had to make do. Please join me in the yard when you're done.

Yours,

Blaine.

A thrill runs down his spine, very much liking the idea of calling Blaine 'his', though he can't attribute all of it to his newly found possessive nature. This is all new to him. He's never had a man woo him or do anything special for him. It's something he always figured he could live without, but having Blaine show him such warmth and kindness makes him happy enough to think nothing could ever bring him down again, no matter how many things tried. Even if he's sad that by tonight, Blaine would be on a plane heading to another continent, tomorrow he'll be invincible.

Kurt opens the sliding door and steps out on the creaky wooden porch his dad built when they first moved into this house. With spring here, a grassy green scent wafts through the air, mixing with the distant grilling of barbeque in a neighbor's yard…or that's what Kurt thought until he reached the end of the deck. Blaine sits cross-legged on a plaid blanket, a picnic basket sitting on his right side and a guitar case on his other side. He has a buffet of plates in front of him: lightly barbecued chicken, seasoned corn, a fresh vegetable salad, and, much to his joy, adorable little mini-cupcakes. Blaine smiles softly at Kurt. "Too cheesy?"

"That depends, are you going to strum your guitar while I eat?" Kurt teases.

"I might." Blaine motions for Kurt to sit across from him. He does so, sitting with one leg stretched out and the other one bent underneath him. Blaine hands Kurt a plate and scoops out food for him, each one giving out a mouth-watering aroma. Kurt's not typically impressed by food, but picnic food has never smelled so good before. "The food's from this restaurant near Dalton. Back in high school, we'd eat there to celebrate winning a competition or to celebrate someone's birthday."

Kurt waits for Blaine to get his own food before he dares to take a bite. He eats a spoonful of seasoned corn and is instantly greeted with a marvelous assortment of flavors. "Oh my god. This is corn?"

"This is corn. Corn that's thinly covered in crack, but corn nonetheless."

"I can definitely see why you guys ate there a lot." Kurt doesn't think he'll eat anything that's better than the corn again, until he tries the vegetable salad. He loudly moans. "Oh my god…and these people deliver?"

"Not typically, but they made an exception," Blaine says with a wink. "I can be very persuasive, you know. I did have to go out and meet them so no one could trace your house, but it's worth it to see that nearly orgasmic look on your face."

Kurt flushes and tries to better control his reactions to the unbelievably tasty food. Soon enough, he's back to being comfortable in Blaine's presence. With the sun pouring down over them as they ate and talked freely, Kurt can't imagine a better first date. At one point, he even gains the courage to swipe a drip of barbeque sauce away from Blaine's mouth, and his chest swells with pride when Blaine's the one who blushes. After desert, Blaine puts the remainder of the food back in his basket and then pulls out his guitar to strum it. Kurt lays across the blanket, leaning on his elbow to watch Blaine play.

"When did you start playing guitar?" Kurt asks after quietly listening to Blaine play a few songs. It must have been a long time ago because Blaine has to think about it

"About 9. It was a birthday gift from my brother. I had been playing piano a few years before that, so he thought I'd enjoy the chance to play other instruments, too. I had to beg my mom to let me take lessons, though. She had me play piano because she heard it increased intelligence, but thought guitar was for slackers."

"Ironic, considering you're more famous for your guitar than your piano playing."

"Yeah. I'd be lying if I said I didn't like throwing it in her face just a little. At least she was a little supportive. My dad, it was like pulling teeth with him." Blaine might as well had said my dad would rather shoot himself than spend time with me; it would have come out the exact same way. Kurt frowns at the admission but decides not to press. It's Blaine's thing to elaborate on if he so chooses. Blaine quickly covers his disgust anyway. "So, I'm curious…okay, I've been curious…What did you think the first time you heard me?"

"Live or on the radio?"

"Radio—or however you heard my music for the first time."

Kurt strains to remember the time he didn't know or crush on Blaine Anderson. Really, The Warblers haven't been famous for that long and Kurt had heard of them just before they went huge. As he remembers, he recounts the memory to Blaine. "I was driving home from school. I had a horrible day; slushy in the face, thrown into the dumpster, nobody was listening to a thing I was saying in glee club. I hated everyone and everything. Then, then they said they had your newest cover and they played…"

"Teenage dream?" Kurt chuckles at the obvious, but wrong, guess.

"Nope. Somewhere Only We Know."

Blaine stares at Kurt profoundly. "Is that why you requested I sing that song at the concert?"

Kurt smiles. "That's why," he confirms, basking in Blaine's amazement yet feeling naked because of it. It's as if parts of his life that have always been personal and private are being torn out of him just by Blaine's charm. He wonders if there's really anything that could make him say 'no' to the Rockstar for. "When I came home, I downloaded your other songs and listened to them for hours. I fell asleep listening to Carpe Diem. It wasn't just you though—okay, big part of it was you—but it was also the music. I can't explain why, but I just felt happier hearing it. Maybe it's because I could identify with what you were saying? And what I couldn't, I always hoped I could one day. I don't know…sounds silly."

Blaine tilts his head at that, his fingers pausing on the strings. "No it doesn't. It's what I want people to think when they hear our songs. It's what music did for me when I felt bad about myself…which is more than I care to admit…"

He starts playing again, this time playing an obvious rhythm, yet Kurt can't identify for what song. Before, it was either simple doodling or Blaine would play a few chords from a song Kurt knew immediately. This one he couldn't place, although he admits the beautiful, flowing melody is easy on the ears. Kurt's certain it'll be his new shower-humming tune from now on. After a minute of hearing that wonderful sound, Kurt has to know. "What song is that?"

"Um, I don't know…" Blaine says, earning him a raised brow from Kurt. "I mean, it's one I've just started writing but I don't have any words for it yet. I'd like to have it done in time for Pavarotti, but I'm not sure that it will be."

"I hope you do…It'll be beautiful."

Suddenly, it's Blaine who might as well be naked for the way he tries to close on himself. Kurt doesn't understand why he's doing it, but he sits up and places his hand on Blaine's arm. Blaine stops playing again, his eyes rising from watching his fingers to staring at Kurt. Before Kurt knows it, Blaine is sliding his guitar aside and grasping the sides of Kurt's face so he can kiss him on the lips. Kurt's surprised, but he's certainly not going to protest it. Kurt throws his arms around Blaine, letting himself be lowered to the blanket so the kiss can deepen. Kurt's so caught up in the emotion that he doesn't notice- or rather, doesn't worry about- Blaine rolling on top of him. Actually, having the weight and the heat, along with the undeniable fact that someone else's body is pressing into him, is pretty fucking incredible.

What terrifies him- and yeah, excites him too, but mostly terrifies-is having Blaine's erection poke against his hip. He's had this image in his dreams a thousand times before now. There've been tons of wet dreams preparing him for this very scenario. Yet, a small voice in his head reminds him that he's inexperienced at best and truth be told, he's a virgin who's only sex education has been a pile of pamphlets and the five-minute conversation on gay sex Holly Holiday gave him last year. Meanwhile, Blaine's most certainly been with at least a couple people, if not more. Kurt couldn't even pretend like he knew something because Blaine was experienced enough to know immediately.

And to prove it, Blaine pulls back a bit. "Kurt? Your lips stopped moving. Is something wrong?"

"It's fine. It's not like you can control it. Really, I took it as a compliment," Kurt says, choking out a laugh to kill the tension. Not working in the slightest, but at least Blaine manages a shy smile at what he said. "It's just that I'm…I'm a…"

"Yeah—it's okay," Blaine finishes for him so Kurt doesn't have to say it out loud. "I was still older than you before I lost it. You have nothing to be embarrassed about."

Blaine reaches a hand out to touch Kurt's shoulder. Kurt leans into the calming touch, allowing it to soothe over his nervousness. "I don't want to jump into anything. It kills me to say that because you're you and you're always gorgeous, but…I want to learn what feels good and what will make you feel good, assuming we, uh, engage in that eventually."

Blaine nods in agreement a little too eagerly. "I agree. I'd never want to do something that would make you uncomfortable. We're not in any hurry. It's just—well, you're hot."

Kurt genuinely laughs as he hugs Blaine. Blaine holds Kurt close, nudging his cheek against the other boy's neck. A moment of awkwardness passes and an exhilarated one replaces it—soon, that moment would be replaced by the sadness of being separated.

But for now, happiness rules them and both boys surrender to it.

()

Too quickly, Blaine and Kurt say goodbye. For a long time, they're hugging each other in the doorway, pretending Thad and Sophia aren't waiting just outside the door or that Blaine has to be on a plane in a few hours. When Blaine's arms go slack around him, Kurt knows it's time to let him go.

"You better call me, Rockstar." Kurt pulls back sulkily. Blaine nods before kissing the top of Kurt's head first, and then on his lips.

"I'll text you when I'm in London. I lo-I'll miss you."

Kurt doesn't want to leave it like this—it's too sad, and at this rate, he'll be crying all night. Just as Blaine turns to leave, Kurt grabs his sleeve. Blaine looks over his shoulder and Kurt musters probably the fakest smile he's ever worn. "I was thinking limos…"

"Limos?" Blaine gives him a confused expression.

"For the whole glee club to go to prom. Is that okay with you? I know it's not a big deal for you, but…"

Blaine catches on and glows once more. He grasps Kurt's hand, squeezing it reassuringly. "I like it. Maybe we should get a pink one."

"That definitely won't draw attention."

Blaine let's Kurt go and walks out before either of them break their resolve. Kurt watches out the window as they pack into the car. When they drive away, Kurt sighs, his stomach turning unpleasantly. Now that Blaine's gone, Kurt can't stop the anxiety from setting in. Soon, he'll have to deal with interviews, not to mention prom and his upcoming NYADA audition. With Blaine around, the stress isn't so much on him—but now that Blaine is off once more, it's circling around him like a hungry shark.

He climbs up the stairs to lay down for a while before he starts making dinner (a thank-you to Burt for allowing him to hang out with Blaine). When he gets to the doorway, he stops in his tracks. Sitting on his bed is a stark black box with another note sitting on top.

"Oh my god, I'm going to kill him," Kurt whispers, shaking his head. He walks over and picks up the note up to read.

Kurt,

One more surprise. Wes can thank you for this later.

Yours,

Blaine

Kurt furrows his eyebrows in confusion. He sets the note aside and opens the top of the box. He covers his mouth to stifle his gasp. Blaine's famous pink-flannel shirt lay in the box, looking as glorious as it did the many times Blaine's worn it. This shirt had become Blaine's signature for his concerts. Kurt's sure it had its twitter. For so long, Kurt's only imagined the rough cloth between his fingers—and now it's his.

He clutches the shirt—wafting of Blaine's cologne—to his thumping chest and crumples to his bed. Eyes become watery as the last couple weeks hit him. He remembers the emotional rollercoaster and it's terrifying to think of how much is coming his way…their way.

It's worth it, though. The shirt's a reminder of that.

()

"So, you've got it handled?"

"Yes, sir."

"Thad…"

"Blaine, it'll be fine. I'll be here for him and I'll call you every day…and you know he will too. Stop worrying so much," Thad says reassuringly. Blaine hitches his shoulders up, not even bothering to hide the tenseness. He only has a short time to run in, finish packing up his bags, and get into his car so he can drive to the airport. He just can't stop himself from worrying about Kurt enough to do it. Thad pats his shoulder with a small grin. "You're not going to stop worrying are you?"

"I'll try. I just hate leaving him like this. And you too. I know you'll do your best, but..."

"Hey, I take care of a toddler all by myself as well as you and the guys. I can handle it. Besides, Kurt's a smart kid. We've been working hard and I think he has it down."

"Yeah, but…"

"Dada!" Sophia shouts from the backseat, sounding very near tears.

"Okay, sweetie!" Thad calls into the door he left open. He pats Blaine's shoulder apologetically. "I have to go and so do you. It'll be fine, Blaine. You'll go to London, have a great time, and you'll be back in time for prom."

There's no amount of positive thinking or reassurance that can make Blaine feel good about leaving Kurt behind, even with Thad looking after him. The only reason he's doing it is because ultimately everyone's right—leaving will make the paparazzi give Kurt some breathing room.

Blaine embraces Thad one last time, hugging him as tightly as he did Saturday night when they were reunited for the first time in a long time. He often wonders how different life would have been if Thad hadn't gotten his high school sweetheart pregnant or if had decided to come with them anyway. It would have been easier on Wes to have another responsible adult around, and Thad had been like a mentor to Blaine in high school. He also thinks now that Thad has gone through it all—the disappointments, the heart break, the challenges—he wouldn't give Sophia up for the life the Warblers had. Despite their promises in High School to all travel the world together, they each had to go their different paths as men. He's just grateful that some form of cosmic justice allowed Thad to still be in his life.

"Take care of my boy."

"I already promised I would," Thad reminds him.

"I'm talking about you…Kurt too, but also yourself. Fifi needs you to." Thad blinks, not expecting Blaine to outright say the words, even if he knows it's true. Thad nods, pursing his lips together.

"Thanks…"

Blaine watches Thad get into his car, waving as the other man drives away from his place before sprinting into his parents' house to get his things. Mentally, he makes a list; first, he has to shove the last of the clothing into his bag, grab his hair care products from the bathroom-all while quickly explain to his mom why he has to leave early without her making a fuss—then he has…

He skids to a stop in the open doorway…then he has to catch his mom making out on the couch with Mr. Conway, the next door neighbor. "Ew! Gross! What the hell?!" Blaine shouts. Disgust is the only emotion he can cling to, as he's too shocked to feel anything else. His mom and Mr. Conway part, turning their heads towards Blaine.

"Oh Blaine, I didn't realize you were back in town. How are you?"

Blaine's head spins as he leans back against the door. Paula lightly hits Mr. Conway on the arm. "John, please, he doesn't know!"

"He doesn't know?"

"I don't know WHAT?!" Blaine practically screams—it's at least enough to make the older adults cringe.

Mr. Conway gets up meekly, taking a second to kiss Paula on the cheek before slowly making his way towards the door. "I- well, I should let you two talk. I'll call you later Paulie. Blaine," He nods, awkwardly squeezing pass Blaine so he can escape.

Blaine steps in and slams the door shut. His mom has never looked more embarrassed, which is strange, because there's been plenty of other moments where she should have been ashamed, but wasn't. Then again, this is a huge offense. Never in a million years did he expect to find his mom cheating on his dad, let alone in broad daylight and in his parents' home. In fact, it's almost truly unbelievable…

Again, he asks, "What don't I know?" Paula wrings the bottom of her shirt in her hands, eyes fluttering to hold back tears. Only seconds later, a sob erupts from her mouth. The words she's trying to speak are all mumbles to Blaine. "I can't—"

"Your father left me!" she forces out. Twice in one day, Blaine experiences overwhelming shock. His eyes widen as his blood races trough his veins, fighting against his tensing muscles. Blaine swallows harshly, only now putting together that it's the reason his dad hasn't been around—not because of work, but because he's gone. "He left six months ago. Mr. Conway's been helping me take care of things around here and one thing lead—"

"Whoa mom, I'm not even close to touching on you and Mr. Conway right now." Blaine runs a hand through his progressively ungelling hair, pacing back and forth as he tries to make sense of… well, anything really. "Six months? He's been gone for six months and you're just now saying something? Why didn't you call me? Why didn't you tell me?!"

She shakes her head. "It's hard to explain…"

Blaine forces a fake laugh. "Mom, I can't possibly think of any excuse in the world that can justify you keeping this from me."

"You really want to know?" Her voice is thin, icy cold. It's so similar to the voice that told him he was throwing his life away when he decided to leave Ohio to pursue a singing career with his band that Blaine could get sick. "It's because of you."

A dagger rips through his heart at the admission. It's no secret his father had a problem with his life choices—not just because he's a singer, but because he choose to be an out and proud spokesman for the gay community. His father blamed the result of Blaine's life on everyone but himself, when in fact, it was mostly his father's ignorance that drove Blaine to speak for all the kids who had been silenced like he had been growing up. In the face of his father's disapproval, Blaine's always maintained that it was his life and he accepted responsibility for it—but he never thought the life he picked would end up obliterating his parents' marriage. He doesn't want to believe it. There are a hundred reasons why his parents could have broken up—how come it had to end this way?

Yet, as he stares into his mother's broken eyes, he knows it's true. "He left because he said I- my parenting made you this way and he couldn't stand me because of it. He said the only way he'd stay is if we cut you out and started anew. I couldn't do it so he left and I haven't heard from him since then. How was I supposed to tell you that?!"

By this point, his mom can barely speak through her labored breaths. Blaine wants to hug her until the pain goes away, but also wants to shake her until she sees logic. Blaine didn't make his father walk out the door any more than his mother made him gay. Blaine didn't make her choose him over his father nor did he make her lie about it. Sadly, the fact that his mother did choose him is completely overshadowed by him knowing the dissolving marriage wasn't just because of him—it's because his father's an asshole that loved himself too much to compromise for anyone else's love. Because, really, his father had given up years ago and Blaine was a convenient excuse. His mother chose not to see that. She chose to blame Blaine. That choice shocks and disappoints him the most. For the first time all day, he can't wait to get the hell out of Ohio.

Oh god, does he need to get out.

Blaine runs upstairs to his—no, the guest room—and just starts shoving his clothes in his duffle bag. The list he made is completely gone as he focuses on getting his stuff together and getting out. Once his clothes are bulging in his bag and his notebooks are squeezed in with his laptop, he picks up his toiletry bag and goes into the adjoining bathroom. He grabs the hair gel, but doesn't shove it in. Instead, he stops and stares at the taunting label. He's used it as a disguise recently, yet before his fame, he wore it every day ever since he could remember. Why? Because his parents did it that way. He used to live so strictly by their rules, he wore his hair a certain way just to make them happy. Because the anxiety of disappointing them was too great for him. When he changed his look—when he stopped caring about what they thought—it was the first time he was happy. It's the first time he saw that they were completely unhappy, and because they were both so afraid of change, they'd remain that way. As close as he is to doing so, he can't fall into their misery anymore. He won't be blamed for their own desolation. He throws the hair gel against the shower wall harder than he's ever thrown anything before. It's better off here anyway.

Blaine collects the rest of his bathroom supplies and then returns to the bedroom to grab the rest of his bags so he can leave. His mother is sitting calmly on the edge of his bed, hand playing with one of the zippers on his bags. Time for act 2—his mother acts like nothing happens in the hopes of guilting him into accepting responsibility.

"You're leaving?" Sure enough…

"I have to go to London for a show," He responds just as evenly as she asked.

"When will you be back?"

"To Ohio? In time to take Kurt to prom. Here? I don't know." He's already decided he's not staying in this room anymore. He'll get a hotel, or stay with Thad. Hell, he'd rather sleep in a cardboard box on the street than in here again.

Paula obviously doesn't know what to think. By this point, Blaine would usually be apologizing, blaming himself for what happened. This time, her lips tremble as if she wants to shout how sorry she is. If she is, she doesn't say it. By this point, Blaine can't find it in him to care if she apologizes or not. He grabs his bag off the bed without waiting for her to stop fiddling with the zipper. Everything's together; now he just has to get in his car and never look back.

"Well, when you do, this room is waiting for you."

Blaine swings his duffel bag over his shoulder, staring in her direction, but not at her. He doesn't want to see, or feel, the pain. He just wants to be free of it all again. "To be honest…I can't stand the way it looks now."

()

"Jeffry, stop it," Nick growls, though there's no real malice behind it. Jeff smiles against his boyfriend's neck, giving the gentle skin another nip. "Geez! Aren't we supposed to be keeping this on the down low?"

"Hey, I said I didn't care one way or another. Besides, no one can see us. Perks of first class." By that, Jeff is referring to how the seats are so spaced a part from each other in the first class section, no one could see the young couple fooling around unless they were walking to the bathroom. This far into their flight to London, most people were relaxed or sleeping, thus the danger of anyone discovering them was very low. Nick just didn't want to take the chance, particularly since the biggest reason they left earlier than everyone else was so they could fit in some crazy hotel sex before the others arrived.

As if he read Nick's mind, Jeff leans in and takes a harder bite of his neck while putting his hand in Nick's lap. Nick pushes it off with a playful chuckle. "Seriously, stop! Even if we decided to come out about our relationship, this isn't how I want to do it. My brothers would never let it down if I made the papers for having airplane sex with you."

"Not sex, Nicky. Just making out. Come on, I'm bored and you look so good in these jeans."

Nick rolls his eyes, standing up. "There's no such thing as just making out with you. I have to go use the bathroom"- Jeff grins wickedly-"alone," and then frowns when his boyfriend finishes the sentence. "If you're bored, watch a movie or something."

As Nick scoots past Jeff, he hears his boyfriend mutter something about Nick being a prude. Nick just shakes his head as he makes his way towards the airplane bathroom. The occupied light is on, so he leans against the wall to wait until it switches to green. He's about to grab the handle when it swings open.

It takes every muscle not to let his jaw drop at the sight of Sebastian Smythe. Sebastian, who has never greeted Nick with anything but a grimace, smirks at him. "Great flight, huh?" Sebastian says, nudging Nick carefully while moving past him. Nick's eyes follow the model before switching to his equally surprised boyfriend. Jeff mouths 'What the fuck?' to Nick. Nick quickly deducts that Sebastian must have seen Jeff flirting with him (which isn't in itself a big deal), but also, something more unsettling.

Sebastian was going to London for the same thing they were—the No Hate, Dress Great fashion show.

And there's chapter 14 everyone! Hope you all enjoy it! Just wanted to say thank you for the reviews, favorites, and follows on this story. Also a thank you for all the support I've received! You're all wonderful and I'm extremely grateful for your kindness (and patience).

Also, another thank you to my beta, irishflute, for making this readable for you all :) She's fantastic as always!