Author's Note: Oh look! Another angst meme prompt! I can't seem to get enough of those.

What Happened After

Kurt Hummel slung his weekend duffle bag over his shoulder and took a look around his dorm room at Dalton Academy. He always had to make sure he didn't leave some vital item such as his moisturizer there. One weekend without the routine would destroy his skin. Kurt didn't notice anything out of place, so he left the room, locking the door behind him. Kurt walked through the halls of the dormitory, waving goodbye to various students. He had great plans. He and Mercedes were going to finally take Rachel shopping. Those animal sweaters had to go. He cheerfully made his way to his car. Once he reached it, he felt a buzzing in his pocket. Kurt pulled out his Iphone and smiled at the new message from Blaine. Sure, they weren't a couple yet, but Kurt was beginning to get a good feeling about their relationship. "Have a good weekend! – Blaine" Kurt lips mouthed the words as he read. He got into his car and typed out a reply. "You too! Text me if you get bored! – Kurt". Kurt stuck his phone into the drink holder, buckled his seatbelt, and started to drive towards his home.

It was January the 28th. After Kurt was home for a few hours, he offered to go out to the supermarket to pick up some milk. Nobody gave it a second thought. On January 28th, Kurt Hummel walked out of his small family home. He did not return. This is what happened after.

Burt Hummel stared out of the window, willing that Kurt's car would pull up in the driveway. Kurt had left to go get the milk three hours ago. At first, the family just believed that Kurt might of met a friend at and talked for a little while. However, it was now 12:00 pm and they hadn't received any word about Kurt. "If he met a friend and decided to go hang out, he would of called. Kurt always calls." Burt repeated for what seemed like the hundredth time.

Carole was seated on the couch, twirling the home phone in her hands. Finn was spending the night at Puck's house. Burt and Carole decided not to worry him with the information unless it became apparent that Kurt was in some sort of trouble. They had called Kurt's cell phone every fifteen minutes and they always heard the agonizing dialing noise and then Kurt's voicemail. Carole sighed, staring at the carpet. "I think we need to call the police, Burt." she finally said. Burt's figure stiffened, his eyes still focused on the driveway. "I think so too. I'll take care of it. You call Finn."

The next couple of hours were even more antagonizing. The Hummel-Hudson's were joined by two police officers. Burt always stayed close to the window while filling out the missing persons report. Carole would burst into tears every minute or so. When Burt told the officers about Kurt's bullying situation at McKinley, Carole was inconsolable. Finn sat next to his mother, trying his hardest to soothe her by rubbing her shoulders, but he couldn't will himself to speak words of comfort. He couldn't speak at all.

He hadn't expected this when he walked into his house. He had just gotten a tearful call from his mom telling him to come home right away. He knew that something bad had happened, but he never thought Kurt would be missing. In fact, Kurt's face was the first thing he thought he would see when he walked through the door. Instead, he was met with a scene of his parents, two police officers, and no sign of Kurt. "Where's Kurt?" he had asked. It didn't take long for the pieces of the scene to fit together.

On Sunday evening, Blaine made his way down to Kurt's room. He had texted his friend all weekend, but hadn't received a single reply. He was sure that Kurt had probably had a busy and exciting weekend, but Blaine couldn't help but feel a bit bitter and unwanted. Still, all he really wanted to see Kurt. He promised himself that he wouldn't even bring up the lack of communication. They were just going to chat as friends and maybe Blaine could even pluck up enough courage to tell the other boy just how he felt about him.

Blaine wasn't met with Kurt's smiling face like expected. Instead, found Kurt's door ajar with two policemen tearing the room apart. He stood at the doorway transfixed, not knowing what to say or do. Had Kurt got arrested? One of the policemen noticed Blaine's presence and immediately rushed to him. "What is your name?" he barked. Blaine froze. "Blaine Anderson." he stammered, watching as the other officer went through the drawers in Kurt's desk. "When was the last time you communicated with Kurt Hummel?" Blaine blinked. "Friday around 4:00. Why?" Blaine was starting to feel incredibly uneasy. "Kurt left his home around 9:00 pm on Friday and did not return."

Blaine sunk to the floor.

Light streamed through the large windows in the choir room, creating a harsh glare that shone on the students seated there. Someone had remarked that Finn wasn't present, but they didn't really see it as anything to worry about. He probably just had a cold. Mr. Schue wasn't in the room yet, but there was still a minute left before class. He was probably just making copies of sheet music. There was no reason to worry.

However, causes for discomfort lay beneath some of the glee kids cheerful demeanor. Mercedes and Rachel never went shopping with Kurt because they had never gotten a call. They reasoned that it had never been a one hundred percent done deal; Kurt had said he was going to have to check with Burt and Carole. Besides, if Finn was sick, Kurt might have had to take care of his stepbrother while Burt and Carole were at work.

Puck wondered why Finn had to leave his house so suddenly. They were in the middle of a great game of call of duty. Still, he was sure it wasn't a big deal. Maybe his parents found out about the really bad chemistry grade Finn had made and grounded him. Besides, Puck had spent the rest of the weekend getting naked with Santana. He forgot to text.

As soon as Mr. Schue walked in Rachel leapt up. "Mr. Schue, I would like to propose my idea for a solo for regionals, although we did well at sectionals nobody can deny that we would be better with a Broadway number…" Will waved his hand, cutting her off. "Not now, Rachel." he said softly. Rachel stayed standing up. "I was just going to propose-" she began, but Will stopped her once again "Rachel, please sit down. I need to tell you all something."

The banging on the door was earth shattering loud. Finn had been dealing with headache that just wouldn't go away and was intensified to sessions of crying that he confined to his bedroom. He barely ventured outside his room except to get something to eat. Everyone in the house was trying to deal with Kurt's absence in his or her own way. Burt was at the shop fixing cars until absurd hours of the night. Carole had baked more cakes in the last three days than Finn thought humanly possible. Finn had been staying in his room, sleeping, crying, and playing call of duty when he wanted to keep his mind off things.

Finn was in the middle of placing a thick slice of caramel cake on a plate when he heard the knocks. At first, he waited for his mom to go get the door, but then a thought occurred to him. It could be the police! They could have news or they could be returning Kurt! He sat the plate down on the kitchen counter and raced towards the door. He swung it open only to see Mercedes red eyed and looking angrier than he had ever seen her. "Hi Mercedes." he said softly. She responded with glare. "You gonna let me in this house?" she almost snarled. Finn nodded quickly and stepped to the side to allow her entry. As soon as Finn closed the door behind them, Mercedes started to yell.

"Why didn't you call me? Why didn't you call right when it happened! I had to learn that my best friend was missing with all those other people!" Mercedes shouted, her fists clenching in rage. "We were kinda preoccupied Mercedes, we didn't think to call any one. My dad even didn't call Dalton until the next day." Finn tried to explain, having no idea how to calm Kurt's friend down. "I'm his best friend, Finn! I deserve to know these things. I don't deserve to be kept in the dark." Mercedes expression suddenly contorted, and before Finn knew it, she was sobbing.

Finn walked towards her cautiously, afraid that she might lash out at him again. Her arms reached out and pulled him into a hug. Finn wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on her shoulder while she sobbed into his chest. "I can't live without him." Mercedes said between sobs. Finn rubbed her back softly. "Me neither." he admitted, tears beginning to fall.

Rachel tended to deal with her sadness by competing projects. She dealt with bullying by trying to perfect as many songs as possible. She dealt with her self-esteem issues by spending at least an hour every day on the Stairmaster. For Kurt, she made posters. Rachel made a missing person poster of Kurt with almost every detail about his appearance. After a trip to the printing shop, she had boxes of laminated posters to put all over town. Kurt's face soon covered Lima. Rachel couldn't help think that Kurt's dream was to have his face plastered all over the town. Still, she never thought it would be because of these circumstances.

Dave Karofsky and his father never really talked anymore. Since Dave's short-lived expulsion, they didn't have anything to say to each other. Dave knew that his dad hated him now, and part of him knew that it was rightfully so. The other half liked to brush it off. Since Dave was a little boy, he and his dad usually watched the news together while eating dinner. For some reason, the tradition never wavered. They sat on the opposite ends of the couch with their TV trays. They never spoke directly to each other, but occasionally his dad would mutter things about what he was seeing.

Then the words "Missing Person Report" flashed across the screen, Dave didn't pay it much mind. It was never anyone he knew. It wasn't until the reporter said "Kurt Hummel" and his face flashed across the screen that it registered. Dave didn't even bother to excuse himself as he got up and walked to his room. When he closed his door behind him, his fists found the walls. He pulled back, his knuckles bloody; he wandered over to his bed and sat down. "What have I done?" Dave asked himself, lying back to stare at the ceiling.

Blaine's life was slowly being taken over by coffee. He liked it black; strong and bitter. He wasn't going out much anymore. He went to class, barely moved through Warblers practice, did his homework, and then went to his bed. He asked the Warbler counsel to give his regionals solo to someone else. Everyone on the Warblers understood, they knew that he was the closest to Kurt after all. Still, Blaine couldn't help but wonder if they all thought he was weak. He tried to have courage, but as the days went by with no sign of Kurt he found it harder to find hope. He got the habit of glancing at doors, trying to get Kurt to walk through them.

There was a light rapping at his door. He was sure it was probably Wes or David. They tried the hardest to be supportive, but David had become a bit distant after his girlfriend broke up with him. "Come in, the door's unlocked." he called, lacking any energy. The door opened to reveal a girl. She was wearing a sweater with a rabbit on it, a short skirt, and knee socks. "Rachel Berry, what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked, spinning his chair around to face her. He tried his hardest to give her a welcoming smile, but he could only manage to make his lips twitch slightly.

"Can we talk about Kurt? This might seem kind of rude to say, but we're both kind of his odd friends out. Nobody in New Directions likes me that much and you're the enemy." Rachel babbled. "You drove two hours just to talk?" Blaine asked her, raising an eyebrow. Rachel walked over to Blaine's bed and sat gingerly on the end. "Yeah, I did." Rachel said, shrugging. Blaine laughed softly. "It's okay, I once drove two hours during the school day just to…" Blaine paused. He doubted that Rachel knew about Karofsky kissing Kurt and the following confrontation. He knew that Kurt wouldn't want him to reveal it either. "Just to talk to Kurt." he finished.

Rachel was holding a framed photo and examining it. Blaine and Kurt had their arms slung around each other and Kurt was in the middle of a laugh. Glass coca-cola bottles both hung from their hands. "When was this?" Rachel asked softly. Blaine didn't even have to look at the picture to know. That picture had been on his bedside table since he got it developed. "Warblers celebration party after sectionals." Blaine told her, "It's my favorite picture." Rachel set it down carefully. "He looks so happy." she remarked. Blaine stood up and joined her on the bed. "I just wanted to make him happy. I would do anything to make him happy. Maybe him coming here wasn't best idea. He was never truly happy here unless we were alone." Rachel frowned and turned towards him. "Did you…?" she didn't finished the sentence, but Blaine was wise enough to fill in the blanks. "No, we didn't even kiss." Rachel laughed in spite of her self. "If you tried to, he would have kissed you back. I know that for a fact." she admitting, sure that Kurt wouldn't mind her telling Blaine that. "That's comforting to know." Blaine stated, staring at the picture on his beside table.

After a couple hours of talking about missing Kurt and discussing various memories, they said goodbye and exchanged telephone numbers. Rachel was leaving the building when she heard the music. Rachel couldn't help it. Every time she heard someone play music her ears would lead her to it. She found herself at a door that was cracked slightly. What had just been the sound of a piano was joined with a voice, clear and pure. Rachel leaned slightly against the door and it bumped open at the touch of her hip. The music stopped immediately.

"Rachel Berry." It wasn't question. It was statement. The boy who was sitting at the keyboard smiled slightly. "How do you know my name?" Rachel questioned him. "You're in New Directions. I'm on the Warblers council. It's my job to look up everyone. I saw your videos on YouTube. You're really good." Rachel smiled at the praise. "Thanks, you're good too." The boy grinned. "I'm David Hansen." he said, reaching out a hand. Rachel walked over to him and shook it.

David played a familiar set of notes on the keyboard. "I know that song!" Rachel told him. "It's one of my favorites." David lifted his hands off the keyboard. "Sing it with me then." he propositioned, patting the space next to him on the piano bench. Rachel shook her head. "Last time I sang a duet with a total stranger, I fell in love with him." she told him, remembering Jesse St. James.

"How'd that work out for you?" David asked, smirking in a slightly annoying way. "He cracked an egg over my head." Rachel said softly. David frowned. "Well, that breakup was a little worse than my most recent one, that's for sure." he said, chuckling. Rachel almost turned to leave, and then she paused. "Can I listen to you?" she asked him. "Sure. Have a seat." David said, pointing at the computer chair a couple feet away. Rachel sat softly on it and motioned for David to begin.

"I don't know you, but I want you all the more for that. Words fall through me, and always fool me. And I can't react. And games that never amount to more than they're meant will play themselves out."

David sang with the emotion that Rachel rarely saw boys sing with. When he played the small break between that verse and the chorus, she found herself wanting to join in.

"Take this sinking boat and point it home. We've still got time. Raise your hopeful voice you have a choice. You've made it now"

Rachel joined in and they sang the rest of the song together. When David hit the last note on the keyboard, he looked up and smiled at her. "I thought you said you didn't want to sing with me?" he asked, his lip curling into a smile. Rachel laughed. "I changed my mind." she said playfully. They watched each other for a moment silently. "Well," David began, "Are you in love with me now?" David winked at her and laughed. Rachel suddenly lost her smile. "I should go now I think." she said, rising up and walking towards the door. "Bye, thanks for the company." he called after her. Rachel turned her head around sadly. "Bye."

It was a week after Kurt's disappearance and New Direction was still in a rut. They all went to rehearsals, but couldn't be bothered to actually sing anything. Most of the time they sat in silence. Once in awhile, someone would say something about singing but they never moved from their seats. Finally, Mr. Schue was fed up. "Come on guys, we need to have a set list for regionals." he said, hitting his hand against the piano in frustration. Some of the glee club members glared at him. The person who agreed with him was surprising. Mercedes stood up and addressed the class. "Kurt would want us to sing. Through these very difficult times, I've turned to God, praying for him to send Kurt back to me. I'd like to express this in song, if I may." Mr. Schue nodded and Mercedes went to the piano player and handed him a piece of sheet music. The gospel music swelled up and Mercedes began to sing.

"I will sing of God's mercy, every day, every hour, He gives me power. I will sing and give thanks to Thee for all the dangers, toils and snares that He has brought me out. He is my God and I'll serve Him. No matter what the test! Trust and never doubt, Jesus will surely bring you out, He never failed me yet!" Mercedes sang, capturing the attention of the entire room. She always looked a bit above their heads, not daring to look any of them in the eyes. She sang with more emotion than she had in months, her favorite hymn rang throughout the room. When the song ended, everyone in the room clapped for her.

Mercedes returned to her seat next to Quinn. "That was beautiful." Quinn told her as Mercedes wiped away tears. Most of the room quickly expressed their agreement. "Thanks guys." Then, Finn's hand slowly rose in the air. "Yes Finn?" Mr. Schue asked. "That was really good, but Kurt wouldn't have wanted that." Finn all but whispered, looking towards the floor. "What happened to you, Mr. I have a man in my life and his name is Jesus?" Puck asked, his voice on edge. Finn shrugged. "Remember when we tried to force all that Jesus stuff on him after his Dad had a heart attack? He hated it." he said, a little louder.

"This isn't the same Finn!" Quinn piped up, her arm around Mercedes. "This is about us coping. For some people it's easier to turn to God!" Her face was turning red in anger. "Yeah, what good is it doing any of us?" Finn demanded. Santana spoke up from where she was sitting. "I agree with Finn. Kurt didn't ever like any of that stuff." Quinn glowered. "Oh, says you! You who made gay jokes at every opportunity! Are you trying to respect him now, Santana?"

Will was attempting to calm the group down, but it was in vain. Any words he managed to get in were quickly drowned out. "We need to stop fighting!" Tina pleaded with the group before bursting into tears. "This isn't helping any one." Mike said, patting his girlfriend on back. Brittany was frozen in her seat next to Artie. Artie had his head rested in his hands, trying his hardest to block out the noise. "I think we should respect the ways people are dealing with this." Sam told everyone loudly. "I think you should keep your mouth shut lady lips!" Santana yelled at him. For a moment, there was silence. Santana broke it with "Why isn't Berry talking? She always lets us all know what she thinks." Rachel, indeed, hadn't said a word. She finally stood up. "This is ridiculous!" she yelled before storming out, leaving silence in her wake.

Rachel drove all the way to Dalton. It really seemed to be the only solution. She wanted to get far away from Lima. She found herself wandering around the fancy dormitories looking for Blaine's dorm. Once she reached the door, she knocked. After a few seconds without an answer, she tried again. After five times, she realized that he trip was useless. He wasn't even there. She mentally kicked herself for not at least sending him a text message before setting off. Her only choices were waiting for him and going home.

She began to walk down the halls and was faced piano music again. David was playing. She was unable to stop herself from going to the door. This time she knocked. David answered wearing his boxers and a wife beater. "Well, hello Rachel Berry." he said letting her inside. Rachel spoke quickly. "I would like to sing with you again if that's alright." David smiled softly. "Yeah, let me get something out." He went over to his drawer and pulled out a songbook. "I trust you know this." he said, sitting down at the bench, leaving a space for her to fill. Rachel slowly sat down next to him and he began playing the keys. Rachel began to sing.

"Kiss me too fiercely, hold me too tight. I need help believing you're with me tonight. My wildest dreaming could not foresee, lying beside you with you wanting me." Rachel sang, tears threatening to spill with each word. It became time for the chorus, but Rachel couldn't find the energy to sing any further. David vamped while looking over at her in confusion. The music stopped when Rachel grabbed him and pulled him towards her. Their lips found each other's. Rachel kissed him desperately; the song was forgotten in just a few moments. David kissed her back eagerly, his hand lingering on the small of her back. When Rachel broke away she began to cry. "Nothing makes sense anymore." she said softly. David reached towards her and wiped away a tear. "Does it have to make sense if it's right?" he asked. Rachel shook her head and they kissed again.

Blaine sat at his computer screen looking at Kurt's facebook. It was completely dead. There were no new posts. All the "I miss you." posts were written on the Find Kurt Hummel facebook group. Blaine held back tears as he clicked through Kurt's pictures. It wasn't fair that he was taken from him before they even had a chance. Blaine was losing hope that Kurt would be found alive. It had been too long.

Emma Howell was used to students coming in to talk about Kurt these days. Her regular stocks of informational pamphlets were replaced with ones about losing a friend and grief. When David Karofsky came into her office one morning, Emma thought that she was getting her first normal visit since Kurt's disappearance.

"Hello Dave, are you here about scholarships?" she asked as the hefty boy sat down. That's what she assumed. She got a good many jocks with bad grades that wanted a chance to get into college based on their athletic skills. To Emma's surprise, Dave shook his head. "I want to talk about Kur…Hummel." Emma tried to hide her confused expression as she reached behind her to grab pamphlets. She had seen many unexpected people come into her office to talk about their feelings about Kurt's disappearance, but the idea that Dave would be affected never crossed her mind. In fact, he bullied the poor boy almost every day. Why would he be upset?

"Well, losing someone important can be hard. You can tell me your feelings." Emma said, smiling softly at the boy. It was hard to keep up the front of being a caring mentor when she was affected by Kurt's disappearance just as deeply as most students. The only one she could really open up to was Carl. Dave looked as though he was having second thoughts about being in Emma's office. He took a deep breath. "I was awful to Kurt." he began, clearly struggling to articulate his feelings. "Not because I'm homophobic though. That was just a front." Emma nodded her head for a moment, slightly confused. Then, her mouth made a small o as she suddenly understood. "Don't tell anyone!" Dave stammered before getting up and running out the door. Emma was left staring at the door in shock.

The Hummel-Hudsons were trying to get back some type of normalcy in their family. It was hard, as Kurt's lack of presence always hung over them like a thick fog. They resolved to make each night as busy as possible in order to keep their minds off things. It had now been three weeks since they saw Kurt. Carole had suggested getting a memorial service together at one point, but she had been met with silence. She knew Burt wouldn't consent until he knew what happened, and she didn't blame him.

The little family was sitting on the couch watching a movie when the doorbell rang. Burt got up to answer and was met with a police officer. "Hello, may I come in?" the man asked. "Yes sure, no problem." Burt told him, letting him enter the house. Finn grabbed the remote and turned off the television. "I'm here because we have found evidence. " The officer said formally. "Evidence?" Finn asked, scooting up to the front of the couch. "We found Kurt Hummel's cell phone." Burt frowned. "Where was it?" he asked, desperate for information. "In the woods near a creek." the officer stated. "We scoured the area, but there was no body. The cell phone is being tested for fingerprints and looked through for evidence. We will return it when the case is called off." The officer's voice seemed to lack any emotion.

"The case is called off?" Burt questioned. "If the cell phone yields no evidence we will be forced to call the case off. It is taking up too many of the police force's resources." Burt seemed ready to lash out in anger at the words, but Carole quickly stood up and grabbed his arm reassuringly. "Thank you officer." She said softly, helping her husband sit back down on the couch. "Have a good evening." the officer said before leaving the house.

Mercedes and Quinn held hands as they walked towards the church. "You're gonna like singing in my choir. " Mercedes told her as they reached the doors. "I needed something to take my mind off everything." Quinn said softly. She wasn't dressed in her regular Cheerio's uniform. Her hair was down and she was wearing a white dress from her early pregnancy days. Mercedes softly squeezed her friend's hand as they walked into the church together.

Blaine walked around the halls of McKinley, not really sure why he had chosen to come there. It was doing nothing but conjuring old demons. "He's not here anymore." he told himself softly. He made his way towards the door leading to the parking lot when he noticed that the door to the boy's locker room was ajar.

Quinn stood next to Mercedes silently sight reading her music. "This is a beautiful song." Mercedes remarked. The conductor raised his hand and the group began to sing out.

"Hark, I hear the harps eternal. Ringing on the farther shore, As I near those swollen waters with their deep and solemn roar."

So, this was the place where Karofsky forced himself on Kurt. Blaine felt a chill rising throughout his body as he stepped inside the room. He ran a hand along a cold red locker. Blaine took breath and closed his eyes. He could almost feel his presence if he tried hard enough. When he opened his eyes, a figure caught his eye.

"Hallelujah, hallelujah, Hallelujah, praise the Lamb. Hallelujah, hallelujah, Glory to the Great I Am!"

It was a boy in a red letterman jacket, focused on putting things inside a locker. Blaine knew who it was immediately, Dave Karofsky. It sickened Blaine that he was still allowed to go to that school after everything he put Kurt through. Then, a horrible thought struck him. Before he could regain his thoughts, Blaine rushed towards him and punched him in the back. "What the hell?" Karofsky yelled, turning around to strike Blaine in the face.

"And my soul tho' stained with sorrow, Fading as the light of day, Passes swiftly o'er those waters to that city far away."

Blaine reared his hand back and punched Karofsky as hard as he could. Gone were the days where Blaine actually tried to stay calm about things. He couldn't be the gentleman any more. He had spent too many weeks confused, lost, and only wishing that Kurt was back. If it turned out that this brute was responsible for this, he was going to make him pay. The noise the boys were making soon attracted attention. The doors swung open to reveal a group of shocked football players. Sam and Mike quickly rushed to pull Blaine off of Dave.

"Hallelujah, hallelujah, Hallelujah, Halle-lu-jah. Hal-le-lu-jah."

"What are you doing, man?" Sam asked, his face white with shock. "I'm giving the sick bastard what he deserves! He probably was the one who killed Kurt! Why is nobody arresting him!" Blaine yelled, trying to break free from Sam and Mike's grasp. Finn stood frozen staring at the scene unfolding. "I didn't do anything!" Dave yelled, throwing his arms up. "Calm down Blaine, think about what you're doing. There isn't any proof." Mike said softly, afraid of the rage Blaine was emitting. "How do you know? You don't know anything! The sick fuck probably has Kurt in his basement!"

Dave shook his head and backed up some more. "I swear I didn't do anything." he said more softly. "He's crazy!" Blaine yelled wildly. "He kissed Kurt without his permission! Who's to say that he didn't rape him and kill him!" There was silence as everyone in the room digested what Blaine had just told them. "Kurt never said anything about that." Finn said, not wanting to believe it. Blaine turned towards him, eyes wild. "Did you ever stop to think that maybe Kurt didn't tell you everything? I'm the only one who knows everything!" Blaine screamed, before slumping forward and collapsing into sobs. "I couldn't protect him in the end." he whispered. "I didn't. I didn't do anything." Dave turned and ran.

"Hallelujah, hallelujah, Hallelujah, praise the Lamb. Hallelujah, hallelujah, Glory to the Great I Am!"

The song ended. Quinn turned to Mercedes, tears shining in her eyes. "We'll get through this." Mercedes said softly, pulling her into a hug.

Rachel never thought that she and David would end up in a hotel room together merely a month after they properly met each other, but everything seemed to go faster once Rachel got lost in her grief for Kurt. It felt natural to lose herself in David's arms. Nobody really proposed that they have sex. It just seemed to happen naturally in the moment. Although it hurt a bit, David was gentle as possible.

Afterwards, they lay in the bed hands linked together. "What can we give each other?" Rachel wondered aloud. "Love, understanding… trust." David said as though the answer was the easiest thing in the world. "We're on opposite sides. I'm sleeping with the enemy." David chuckled. "Not that it really matters, since Kurt disappeared nobody in the club seems to care that much anymore. You'll probably beat us." Rachel sighed, sitting up. David sat up along with her. "No, you are going to get that club together and give it all you've got." Rachel looked at him and raised her eyebrow. "You want to know why I'm crazy about you Rachel?" Rachel slid closer to him. "Why?" she asked. "You're passionate! Yeah, sometimes you might get a bit neurotic but you have a take-charge personality. Before this happened I know you would never give up on crushing the competition." Rachel managed to crack a smile. "I want to be your boyfriend. I don't want a secret relationship. We can be two people who go to different schools. We will go to regionals and give it our best shot and the winner will be there to comfort the loser." Rachel playfully punched him in the arm. "You better bring it, boyfriend." She giggled and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"I'll think I'll try defying gravity, kiss me goodbye, I'm defying gravity!" Rachel reached over to the bedside table to grab her phone. Her brows furrowed as she read the text. "What's going on?" David asked. Rachel opened her mouth then closed it when words refused to come out. She handed the phone to David, who read the text quickly.

The search for Kurt has been called off – Finn

It wasn't a funeral service. Nobody called it that. It was a memorial service. It wasn't held in a church. Instead, New Directions and the Warblers held a fundraiser to rent out the community center. There was giant screen showing various pictures of Kurt as well as videos collected from throughout the years. When everyone thought they couldn't cry about Kurt any more, they did.

Nobody said anything when Dave Karofsky showed up. He didn't sit anywhere near Blaine Anderson, but they exchanged looks of what seemed like understanding. It was well known that both boys were now in counseling. Blaine was there for his depression and grief and Dave went for his problems with his sexuality and anger issues. Dave had even apologized to Kurt's family. They accepted, but didn't seem too eager to let the boy into their lives. Rachel and David came out to everyone as a couple to mixed reactions. They both assured their respective teams that they were still eager to crush each other at regionals.

Things never returned to normal. It was impossible. Once Kurt was gone, nothing could fill that hole. No body was ever found and the millions of questions were never answered.

"Sometimes, I think we might see Kurt again someday." Rachel told Blaine one day when they were hanging out in the common room at Dalton. Blaine shook his head. "I don't." he said softly. "You don't even have hope?" Rachel had to ask, her voice cracking a bit. "I have hope. I have hope for the future. I have hope for all of us. I think that's what Kurt wants us to have." Rachel nodded.

Lights streamed through the windows but it wasn't harsh. It washed over the figures with brilliant clarity. In time this moment would be far in the past. However, they would always remember Kurt Hummel, his life, and his legacy.

At some gas station in Lima, an attendant took down the last remaining poster with Kurt's face on it and tossed it in the trash.

Authors Note:

Here are the songs I used in the order they appeared. Falling Slowly, He Never Failed me Yet, As long as you're mine, Hark I hear the Harps Eternal. I took this opportunity to experiment with a pair that is really rare, and I hope you like the results. Maybe I'll see some more Ravid shippers in the future. We're singing He Never Failed Me and Hark I hear the harps eternal in my college choir. I envisioned the scene between Blaine and Karofsky while we were rehearsing Hark, so I chose to include it that scene.