“You don’t have to go, you know.”

Kurt looked up from his spot on his bed to see his dad leaning against the door frame. “Go where?” he asked, sitting up properly.

“To New York.”

“Yeah, Dad, I kind of do.”

“I’m going to miss you.”

Kurt felt tears pricking the backs of his eyes as his dad sat down on his bed and pulled him into a tight hug. “I’m going to miss you too.”

Kurt clung to his dad, trying not to cry uncontrollably. He had cried so much over the last few months, he couldn’t keep on crying.

Everything with Blaine had left Kurt feeling like he had a massive hole in his heart. He felt so empty with every single thing that he did.

Valentine’s Day had come and gone and Kurt had spent the day locked in his dorm room, saying that he was sick. Jeff had skipped English to be with him and they had stayed curled up on Kurt’s bed, and Kurt had cried the entire time, feeling like his heart was breaking all over again.

Jeff and Nick had been extremely supportive and had kept Kurt company in place of many dates. He was grateful for their friendship, especially since he couldn’t tell anyone else about it. It was hard, trying to keep a calm and collected fa�ade up but they saw right through it.

Telling Mercedes had been harder. She wanted to go beat Blaine up, even though she and everyone else in Kurt’s family thought that he had been dating Nick. Kurt made sure not to mention Nick in any of his phone calls home or weekend visits. He didn’t want to continue lying to his family. It hurt to lie to them and it had been eating away at Kurt’s conscience for a long time. He was just so blinded by love, by Blaine, that he had forgotten that these people were his family.

The worst part was probably that he was still completely head over heels in love with Blaine and just wasn’t able to do anything about it.

Going to class had been torture at first but slowly, very slowly, he had learned to ignore his thoughts, his feelings and the desire to just wrap his arms around Blaine whenever he wanted to. He threw himself into his school work. He wanted to get the best possible grades so he could leave Ohio and go to New York like he had been planning since he was a freshman. He needed to get out of Lima, out of Ohio and be the best person he could be – freely without any regrets or anything holding him back.

“Hey, kiddo, it’s okay,” Burt said as they parted.

Kurt hastily wiped his eyes. “I know,” he said, voice thick with emotion. “I’m just being sensitive.”

Burt clapped a hand on his shoulder. “C’mon, you could use a break. Come downstairs with me and we’ll bake something together.”

“Thanks, Dad, but I have to study. I have finals starting next week.”

“Okay but I want you to take a break soon,” Burt said seriously. “You’ll give yourself a migraine if you keep staring at those books for too long.”

Kurt nodded, giving his dad a small smile. “Sure. I’ll be down soon.”

Kurt turned back to his notes, resting his book on his bent knees as he sat back against his headboard. He had just got back into the mindset of studying when there was another knock on his door.

“Come in,” he said, without looking up, pen still moving across the page.

A moment later, the bed dipped and Finn’s face pressed against Kurt’s knees.

“Hi,” Finn said, sounding miserable.

“Are you okay?” Kurt asked, concerned.

Finn picked up Kurt’s hand, threw the pen down and put Kurt’s hand in his hair. Kurt bit back a smile and gently rubbed Finn’s scalp until Finn’s eyes fluttered closed underneath the touch.

“Finn?” Kurt prompted softly.

“When you go, who’s going to make me grilled cheese sandwiches?” Finn asked as he finally looked up at Kurt, rather than keeping his face pressed against Kurt’s legs.

“I’ll come home, you know,” Kurt said gently, fingers still massaging Finn’s scalp.

“It won’t be the same,” Finn muttered, frowning. “Mom doesn’t make grilled cheese sandwiches like you do and I keep burning the edges. You get them perfect.”

Kurt snorted. “You wear rose coloured glasses when it comes to my cooking.”

“Do not!” Finn protested, sitting up. “Seriously, bro, I’m going to miss you.”

“I’m going to miss you too,” Kurt whispered.

Finn shifted and Kurt suddenly found his arms full of his, rather tall and stockier than he was, brother. Finn’s face pressed into Kurt’s shoulder and he just held him tightly. Kurt gently stroked Finn’s back and whispered soothing words into his ears.

“Can I stay with you tonight?” Finn asked. “I mean, we can stay up and watch movies and just fall asleep on the couch?”

“I’d love to, Finn but I have finals starting next week,” Kurt said apologetically.

“But, that’s next week,” Finn replied. “You can take one night off, can’t you? It’s Friday.”

Kurt bit his lip and then nodded, relenting. “I can take tonight off,” he replied.

Finn beamed and hugged him again. “Awesome, you won’t regret this, I promise!”

Kurt smiled, unable to stop himself with Finn’s enthusiasm.

That night, Finn fell asleep before Kurt did; pressed into his side on the couch with Back to the Future II still playing. Kurt watched Finn sleeping, taking in the steady rise and fall of his chest as he slept soundly.

It had been Kurt’s dream, his main ambition, to leave Lima as soon as he could. He had always felt restrained, held back by the town, by the people and by their narrow minded bigotry. He needed to get away to grow, to develop and to become the person he was meant to be.

He didn’t, however, expect to have found love, and subsequently lose it, in the same year.

Kurt also didn’t really want to leave his family. It had been him and his dad for so long, that when Finn and Carole had come along, Kurt had been apprehensive at first, as had Finn but once it was made clear they weren’t going anywhere, Finn and Kurt had quickly adapted and became the siblings they never had.

They had fought, like all siblings do, always over stupid things. Like Kurt wanting to watch America’s Next Top Model, while Finn wanted to watch Top Gear, or, as Kurt had found out the hard way, Power Rangers.

When they moved, Finn and Kurt had to share a bathroom. Neither had been happy with it but it taught them a lot about sharing and respecting other people’s things.

Finn, of course, had had a hard time dealing with all of Kurt’s products lining the bathroom counter. They had many arguments over who got what counter space and in the end, Burt had built a separate set of drawers for Kurt to keep all of his products in.

He didn’t want to admit it but Kurt knew he was going to miss living like that with Finn. After he had started boarding at Dalton, it had been a lot different; he was only there on the weekends and most of his products and moisturisers he kept in a cosmetic bag for easier transporting.

Kurt was really going to miss just sharing space with Finn.

Finn stirred a few minutes later. “Wasstime?” he mumbled.

“Shh, it’s only eleven,” Kurt whispered. “Go back to sleep.”

“Bed?”

“Just stay here, it’s fine,” Kurt replied, guiding Finn to lie back down.

“Mmm.”

Kurt pressed his lips to Finn’s head in a silent kiss as he fell back asleep. He sighed as quietly as possible, trying to etch the moment into his mind forever.

The following week passed in a flurry of stress, late night cramming sessions with Nick and Jeff (who really didn’t need it but it was always nice to study with someone) and an impossible amount of coffee consumed by the three of them. By the time his last final finished, Kurt was ready to scream in relief.

He flopped face first down onto his bed and squashed his pillow around his head. He let his body sink into the mattress. He was still tense and he knew that the feeling wouldn’t go away until he got his finals results. It was a hard place to be in.

Kurt was also class valedictorian and he had to prepare a speech for their graduation ceremony in just over a week’s time and he was nowhere near prepared.

“Kurtsie,” Jeff said in a sing-song voice.

Kurt felt the bed dip and a moment later, Jeff was straddling his hips. “Galven, that had better be your phone digging into my butt.”

“What if it isn’t?” Jeff teased and he wriggled a little.

Kurt batted at his thigh with his hand but the angle was too awkward.

Kurt was reprieved a moment later as Jeff moved off and laid down next to him.

“Are you okay?” Jeff asked softly.

Kurt shifted onto his side to look at Jeff. “Honestly?” Jeff nodded. “I don’t know.”

Jeff wrapped his arms around him and Kurt sighed and curled into Jeff’s embrace. “We should go out.”

“Huh?” Kurt asked.

“You, Nicky and I, we should all go out,” Jeff continued. “Finals are over; we should go party or something.”

“Thanks, Jeff but I’m not really in the mood.”

“I’m not taking no for an answer,” Jeff said. “Even if we just go bowling or something, we should go out. This week has been stressful for everyone.” Kurt snorted. “Don’t pull that face, it has.”

Kurt sighed. “What do you have in mind?”

Jeff just grinned widely at him and pressed a noisy kiss to his cheek. “Get up, Hummel, we’re going partying!”

Kurt groaned and buried his face back in his pillow. “Don’t wanna.”

The door opened and closed and Kurt looked up briefly to see Nick wandering in. He smiled brightly and gave Jeff a kiss.

“Kurt is being a party pooper,” Jeff said. “He won’t come out with us.”

“Kurt, it’s perfectly legal,” Nick explained. “It’s a youth gay bar. I’m the one who found it so it’s completely legal and best of all, completely safe.”

Kurt looked up again. “You’re not going to let up until I agree, are you?”

Jeff and Nick looked at each other then back to Kurt, matching grins on their faces. “Nope!” they both said cheerily.

Kurt groaned and got up off his bed. “Fine. Give me an hour to get fabulous.”

Jeff cheered and Kurt rolled his eyes affectionately. He walked to his closet and pushed a few things aside immediately, trying to find an outfit that was both as fantastic as he was but also gave off an aura of confidence. Kurt needed to feel good about himself again.

A couple of hours later, Kurt, Nick and Jeff entered a club that had loud music, wild disco lights and lots of men dancing. Every single person on the dance floor was under twenty-one and the only legal adults around were the bouncers.

“Drinks!” Jeff cheered as they entered.

Kurt looked around, taking everything in. There was an upstairs level that mostly looked like a balcony, overlooking the rest of the club. He saw men pressed up against each other in various places around the club and more than a few kissing. He looked away, cheeks flushed and he followed Nick and Jeff to the bar to order drinks. There wasn’t any alcohol in sight but Kurt wasn’t fussed; he didn’t need alcohol to have a good time.

He accepted his virgin margarita from Nick and took a sip. It was nice, a bit different from what he was expecting but Kurt didn’t mind. He moved off to the side with Nick and Jeff while they all drank their drinks.

Nick took one of his hands and one of Jeff’s hands and led them to the dance floor. Kurt grinned as Jeff and Nick started dancing in the silliest of ways but he found himself joining in, uncaring of how he looked, too keen on enjoying the moment.

Jeff wandered off after a little while to get more drinks and Nick pulled Kurt close, dancing with him. It was probably a little dirtier than he intended but neither of them seemed to mind.

“Looking forward to graduation?” Nick asked as the song changed.

Kurt shrugged. “I guess,” he replied. “I’m looking forward to moving to New York.”

“Have you spoken to Blaine recently?” Nick asked.

Kurt stopped moving. “I…” he swallowed thickly and shook his head. “No, I haven’t.”

“Are you going to?” Nick asked, his hands falling to rest on Kurt’s hips. Nick squeezed them softly in what he probably thought was a comforting manner but it just felt too familiar. Too much like Blaine.

Kurt shook his head again. “I don’t think so,” he replied.

Jeff returned a moment later and Kurt took his drink. “I’m just going to sit down for a minute,” he said and walked off before either of his friends could ask him to stay.

He took at seat at the end of the bar and purposefully ignored his friends’ worried looks. He sipped at his drink, letting the sugar around the rim dissolve on his tongue.

Nick had a point. Graduation was soon and the least he could do was talk to Blaine.

He didn’t want to be rejected, though. He knew how he felt, and how deep his feelings ran for Blaine but they had been broken up for almost five months now, who was to say that Blaine felt the same way? What if he had found someone else? What if he realised that Kurt wasn’t what he wanted any more?

Kurt couldn’t handle that.

No, it was best that he get through his graduation and just leave as soon as he could. New York was there, waiting for him to move and Kurt couldn’t – he wouldn’t – jeopardise that.

“Hey, fancy a dance?”

Kurt looked up to see a boy around his age standing in front of him. He wore a tight black tee and had a yellow glow stick around his neck. His hair was a messy, dirty blonde, and beads of sweat clung to his forehead. Kurt figured he had been dancing for a while. His jeans were a little too tight but he knew that was half of the appeal for most men. Kurt’s initial reaction was to say no but both Jeff and Nick had been insistent on everyone having a good time.

“Sure,” Kurt replied, setting his empty glass on the bar top behind him.

He followed the other male onto the dance floor and let loose. He let the music take over and he swayed, moving to the beat with his nameless dance partner. Kurt closed his eyes as he moved, trying to push out any memories of Blaine that were seeping into his mind. He couldn’t think about him, it would just hurt too much.

The bass was loud and Kurt felt his heart beat in time with it. The lights flashed rapidly across his skin, coating him in an array of colours.

“You’re quite the dancer!”

Kurt opened his eyes again to see his dance partner staring at him. “Thank you.”

“Want to go out back?”

Kurt stopped. “No, thank you. I’m going to go now.”

The guy shrugged and Kurt wandered away, back to where Nick and Jeff were wrapped around each other, making out heatedly in the middle of the dance floor. Kurt sighed and tapped Jeff on the shoulder.

Jeff pulled away from Nick, who started to kiss his neck. “Nicky, stop, it’s Kurt. You alright?”

Kurt nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he replied. “I just wanted to dance with you guys again.”

“I’ll go get more drinks,” Nick said, pressing a kiss to Jeff’s lips before leaving.

“Dance with me, Kurt,” Jeff said, holding his hand out.

Kurt smiled and took it, and let himself be pulled into a slow dance with Jeff, despite the fact that the music was anything but slow.

Kurt let Jeff’s arms wrap around his shoulders and he grinned up at his best friend. “Nick might get jealous…”

“Impossible,” Jeff replied. “We’re already spending tonight in his room, alone, so…”

“Say no more,” Kurt said seriously but still smiled. “Thanks for making me come out with you both.”

“Any time,” Jeff said, twirling Kurt.

Nick came back a moment later and handed out the drinks. “We should go soon, it’s already two.”

Kurt nodded. “Last drink and dance.”

“I like the way you think,” Jeff grinned and he raised his glass in the air just as Pink’s “Raise your glass” came on.

Kurt laughed as Jeff started to dance rapidly, hips and arms moving every which way possible. He sang along with the song, dancing with his two best friends, enjoying their last few moments in the club.

By the time they got back to their dorms, Nick and Jeff were all over each other. Kurt shook his head and shooed them away.

“But, Kurt, I’ll give you kisses!” Jeff said enthusiastically.

“No, Jeff, it’s fine,” Kurt replied. “You’re too hyper for me right now.”

“I just have so much energy! That place was amazing!” Jeff said excitedly, a large grin on his face.

“I’ll take him in,” Nick said, pulling Jeff close. “Sleep well.”

“You too,” Kurt replied with a nod. He let himself into his dorm room and crawled on top of his bed without even bothering to take off his clothes.

That really was an amazing night.

Wednesday afternoon Kurt slipped his graduation gown on and let the material fall down around him. He stopped and stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. This was it. He was officially graduating from high school.

He sprayed his hair with hairspray again and drew himself up to his full height.

“You look handsome.”

Kurt turned his head, looking over at Carole. “Thank you,” he said with a small smile. “Aren’t you supposed to be outside with Dad?”

Carole smiled and nodded. “I am but he and Finn are talking football again and I wanted to come make sure that you were fine.”

Carole entered the bathroom and picked up Kurt’s graduation hat. She held it in her hands and Kurt stared at her. It made him miss his mom. She had been a great step mother for the past two years and even though she wasn’t his biological mother, Carole had wormed her way into his heart, just like he had done with her.

Even though they hadn’t really spoken since she stepped into his bathroom, Carole was welling up.

“Oh, Carole,” Kurt said.

She pulled Kurt in close, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. “I’m so proud of you,” she whispered. “You’re an amazing man, Kurt. Your mother would be so proud.”

Kurt felt the tears spring to his eyes before they started leaking down his face. He pulled away and hastily grabbed a tissue to wipe his face.

“Thank you,” he said after a few moments. “God, I hope I don’t cry through this entire thing.”

Carole shared a wet laugh with him and they both turned to the mirror to make sure their eyes weren’t all red and puffy.

“Do you have your speech ready?” Carole asked as she turned to face him once again.

Kurt nodded. “It’s on my desk,” he replied. “Thank you.”

“What for?” Carole asked, giving him a quizzical look.

“For being here,” Kurt replied softly. “For being the best step-mom anyone could ask for. For loving both my dad and I.”

“Oh, Kurt,” Carole breathed. She pulled him into another hug, holding him close. Kurt pressed his cheek against her shoulder and just let himself be held. He kept his arms around her in a long hug.

“We’d better go,” he said after a few long moments. They parted and Carole stared at him with an adoration that only a mother could muster.

“Yes, we can’t have the valedictorian being late,” Carole chortled. She pressed a kiss to his cheek and looked at him with such pride in her eyes that Kurt felt himself start to well up again.

“I’ll see you down there.”

Kurt nodded and Carole left. He headed back into his dorm room and picked up his speech from his desk and glanced over it once more. He hadn’t ever thought that he would be picked as class valedictorian, figuring that it would be Nick or Jeff or someone else in their grade but he was more than honoured to be it. He licked his lips, mentally reading his speech for the hundredth time.

“You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” Kurt replied, giving Jeff a smile.

He leaned casually against the doorway and looked over at Kurt. “C’mon, tiger, let’s go.”

“Tiger, Jeff? Seriously?” Kurt quipped, raising an eyebrow at Jeff.

Jeff just grinned. “You love it.”

Kurt shook his head and pocketed his speech, ready to finally graduate. He followed Jeff into the Dalton events hall and Jeff took his assigned seat while Kurt sat up the front, ready to give his speech when called upon.

He glanced out over the crowd of people, easily spotting his family. He saw each of them smile in turn and before giving his attention back to Principal Gibbons. He waited for his cue and made his way up to the podium. He smiled nervously at Principal Gibbons and laid his cue cards out in front of him, ready to read from.

“I came to Dalton at the start of my junior year,” he started, feeling the nerves pool in his stomach. “It was a safe haven for me, as it has been for a lot of other students I know. As I got to know the school, the students and the faculty, I realised that it wasn’t just a safe haven. This was a place to pave the way to a better future for all of us.

“I look out at my fellow classmates today and I see future lawyers, doctors, architects, veterinarians, designers, police officers and at least two future CIA agents.”

Kurt looked out and saw both Jeff and Nick grinning back at him.

“Dalton has allowed each and every one of us to realise our true potential and has guided us all to aim for those goals,” Kurt continued. “As for me? Well, you’re looking at the newest intern for Vogue magazine as a fashion writer in New York City.”

He heard a few cheers from his friends and family at this.

“Whatever we choose to become, whichever career pathway we take, we can all know that if it wasn’t for the great educations we received and the inspiration given to us by teachers and fellow classmates alike, we probably wouldn’t have any idea of what we wanted to do or be.

“I just want to say thank you on behalf of myself and the entire student body here at Dalton. And to my classmates, we finally did it! No more blazers!”

Laughter and cheers rang out amidst the round of applause Kurt was given. He beamed and headed to his assigned seat, accepting the claps on the shoulder and half hugs from those sitting nearest to him.

There was another speech given by Principal Gibbons before he started to call out the student names alphabetically for everyone to receive their diplomas. He watched Jeff go up, smiling brightly as he always did and accept his diploma, pausing to have a photograph taken as well.

Kurt headed back up a short while later and stopped to smile for a photo before he took his diploma and walked off the stage.

After the last speeches were given, Principal Gibbons gave his congratulations and a loud roar of cheers erupted from the now-graduated seniors. Kurt cheered with them, unable to stop smiling. He found Nick and Jeff and gave them both massive hugs before being mobbed by his own family and Mercedes. He squeezed everyone tightly, feeling completely happy.

As Kurt left the school with his family to go out for a celebratory meal, he spotted a familiar head of curly brown hair, complete with the body and mind he had grown to know so well at the start of his senior year.

Kurt and Blaine’s gazes locked and he paused, just for a moment. Something unintelligible crossed Blaine’s face and before he could even process thinking about going over to see him, Mercedes’ hand slipped into his own and she started talking about something that Kurt was only half paying attention to.

When Kurt glanced back over, Blaine was gone.

Kurt was sure that he was damned to always have to climb the little steps to reach books on the top shelves at his favourite bookstore. Whenever he wanted a book, it always seemed like there were never any staff members around to help him. He sighed and pulled the little steps closer and climbed up on them to browse the shelf of books before him.

After his graduation ceremony and celebratory meal with his family a few hours before hand, Kurt figured he’d get a little last minute shopping in at Village Book Shop before he left Westerville for good and headed back to Lima the next day. Sure, the store was only two hours away from him in travel time but Kurt wasn’t certain that he would feel strange about coming back and not going to Dalton afterwards.

He was scheduled to go out with Nick and Jeff to one of their classmates’ house later that night for a party but Kurt didn’t feel up to it. He promised his two friends that he would at least attempt to go but he had a feeling that he would be texting them later on to say that he was just going to head back to Dalton to sleep before packing for the next day to move back to Lima.

He had been sort of distracted the whole afternoon after catching a glimpse of Blaine. He had told himself that there was no use dwelling on the moment. If Blaine wanted to talk to him, he was sure that he would have called, or sent him a text or email or something. There wasn’t anything, though. He had been an official graduate for more than five hours now and he hadn’t heard a thing from Blaine.

It hurt a little, realising that Blaine didn’t want anything to do with him. He thought that what they had was stronger than that, that Blaine would want him again.

Kurt knew he would get over it eventually but right then, he felt entitled to hurt for a little while. Which was how he ended up in his favourite bookstore.

His fingers brushed passed a copy of Little Women and he hesitated just for a moment.

“I’ve heard that’s a good story.”

Kurt jumped a little, startled. He dropped the book he was holding and quickly stepped down so he was on solid ground.

The novel he had dropped was placed into his hands and Kurt stood, gaping at Blaine, who looked as handsome as ever. He quickly shut his mouth, embarrassed.

“Thank you,” he said softly.

“Don’t make a habit out of dropping books,” Blaine said. “One might land on your foot and really hurt you.”

“Of course,” Kurt replied immediately, nodding at Blaine.

“How are you?”

Kurt swallowed thickly. “I’m good… Uh, yeah, good.” He mentally cringed at how utterly stupid he sounded. “How are you?”

“I’m good, too.”

“Good.” Kurt closed his eyes at the response. “I’m sorry, that was stupid of me.”

Blaine chuckled. “Kurt, it’s fine.”

Kurt smiled, feeling the familiar ease settle in his chest at just being with Blaine. He gave him a once over, taking in the vest and tie, the same tie Kurt had bought him for Christmas. He felt his heart thud a little harder in his chest at that realisation.

“So, you’re going to New York?”

Kurt nodded. “I am,” he replied. “I got an internship at Vogue this summer. I start at the end of June.”

“I heard,” Blaine said with an easy smile. “Lovely speech, by the way. It was probably the most exciting part about that ceremony.”

Kurt chuckled. “It was,” he agreed. “Official things are always so boring. What about you, what are you doing for the summer?”

“I’m heading to New York to teach at NYU,” Blaine said. “Part time, because I’m still too young but it also gives me a chance to work on my latest manuscript.”

Kurt felt his entire body freeze. He focused on Blaine, trying to process what he had just said. “Y-you’re moving to New York?” he asked.

Blaine nodded. “I am,” he replied. “It’s a great job opportunity and the guy that I love will be there. He got an internship at Vogue over the summer.”

Kurt’s world stopped. “I… you….?”

“Yes.”

“Blaine!” Kurt exclaimed, all but throwing himself into Blaine’s arms, kissing him with months and months of pent up feelings.

Blaine’s arms wound themselves around his middle, keeping him close. Kurt melted into Blaine’s touch and he kissed him passionately, uncaring that they were in a public place and probably scarring off the other store patrons.

Blaine was going to New York. To be with him. He felt positively giddy at the thought. He pulled back, placing smaller kisses on Blaine’s lips.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this,” Kurt whispered between kisses.

“What can I say?” Blaine replied, arms tightening around his middle. “I’m in love.”

Kurt beamed. “I love you too.”

Blaine cupped his cheek gently and kissed him once more. Kurt felt the book drop from his hand and land on the floor with a soft thud. The world melted away and the only thing that ceased to exist was he and Blaine, in this moment, knowing that their future was perfect because they would be together.