Blaine wakes up in his car. His seat is pushed back and he lays in a fetal position, drool leaking out of his mouth and onto the leather. He blinks, squinting his eyes at the streetlight shining in his face. Sitting up, Blaine glances out the window to ascertain his surroundings. It's a highway rest stop, he guesses, although how he got there and why, he has no idea.
He remembers talking to Kurt as they left the Lima Bean, telling him not to worry and that everything was going to be ok. He remembers getting in the car to go home. Blaine swallows. Where the fuck is he? Turning on the car lights, he searches for his iPhone so he can use it to figure out his location. The car is littered with papers; drawings, maps, notes. His iPhone isn't there.
Blaine reaches for the lever between the door and the seat, and the seat jolts upright. He sighs as he looks at the little building in the dark, knowing that it will probably have a map with a big, convenient you are here arrow. He takes a deep breath and opens the car door, stepping out. His heart begins to pound.
The parking lot is empty except for him. He knows that all he has to do is walk the hundred feet to the building, check out the map, and get out of here, but his legs won't move. A gust of wind blows through, and Blaine can see the silhouette of trees in the distance rustle.
Why was he here? Blaine didn't want to think about that. He didn't want to think about what stupid idea he must have had to make him do this head, what event might have triggered the decision to leave. He closes the door and takes a step forward.
The Warblers are on their way back from Regionals. Blaine and Kurt are snuggled in the back of the bus, tucked into a corner and wrapped up in their own little world. They were teased about it at first, various boys saying things like "About time!" or "Love birds kissing in the dead of night!" but now it's gotten late and half of them are asleep while the other half are talking or listening to music on their headphones.
Kurt nuzzles his nose against Blaine's neck. Blaine shifts, resting his body on the window. Their lips touch lightly and Blaine smiles. They didn't win, but he didn't care. He had something so much better than a trophy. Kurt presses harder and Blaine's mouth opens, deepening the kiss. They haven't done much actual making out in the couple days since Blaine confessed his feelings, and every gentle brush of tongue is exhilarating.
The kiss breaks and Kurt pulls back. Blaine can only see flashes of him in the dark as they speed by the highway streetlights, but he can at least tell that Kurt is smiling. He looks a little flushed, his lips wet and swollen. He's absolutely gorgeous and Blaine can't believe how lucky he is.
Kurt is startled for a moment, looking out the window behind Blaine. His eyes widen and his face falls. Blaine frowns and turns to see what it is. There is nothing outside but cars and fields and maybe some woods along the highway.
"Did you see that?" Kurt whispers.
Blaine comes back to face him and shakes his head. "No, what was it?"
"I don't, I mean," Kurt closes his eyes for a moment and breathes deeply. "I guess it was just the light."
"Are you ok?" Blaine asks.
Kurt nods. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine."
He reaches up a hand and runs his fingers through Kurt's hair. Kurt smiles and kisses him again.
"Shut up, Seth, you're going crazy!" Kurt yells as he pushes his friend away.
Blaine stops in his tracks. He just came into the library to find some references for a research paper. He didn't mean to walk in on an argument between his boyfriend and their friend. Guessing that they didn't see him, he starts to back away.
"Just listen to me, Kurt." Seth says urgently. "For once in your life, listen to me!"
"I'm done, ok? I'm done. Seth, we don't believe in any of this shit! God or monsters or demons-"
"It isn't anything like that!"
Blaine backs into a shelf and frowns. He knows he shouldn't eavesdrop but this is weird.
"I don't care," Kurt says. "Don't talk to me about it again."
He hears shuffling and Blaine guesses that they're leaving. He ducks behind another shelf, peering through the books as Kurt storms off in a huff. Seth follows after for a few steps before stopping. Seth's shoulders droop and he sighs.
"I know you're there, Blaine."
Blaine winces and comes out from behind the shelf. "Sorry. I didn't mean-"
"It's ok," Seth says, turning to face him. He looks tired.
"You mind if I ask what all that was about?" says Blaine. He doesn't want to pry, but his curiosity gets the better of him.
Seth closes his eyes and rubs his forehead. "Don't worry about it."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive," says Seth, nodding. He looks up. "Blaine?"
"Yeah?"
"You, you wouldn't let anything hurt him, would you?" he asks.
Blaine frowns. "What, Kurt?"
"Yeah."
"Of course not," says Blaine. "Why would you ask?"
Seth claps his hands on Blaine's shoulders. "Promise me."
Blaine glances around the room, confused. "What?"
"Promise me you won't let anything hurt him," Seth hisses. "Promise me you'll protect him."
"Protect him from what?" Blaine asks, shrugging Seth off.
Burying his face in his hands, Seth groans. "Just make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."
Blaine picks up a picture off the mantle. A five-year-old Kurt sits on his mother's lap, grinning at the camera. Kurt's mother is beautiful, and Blaine sees that they have the same mouth and nose. He puts it back in its place next to a photo of Mr. Hudson cradling baby Finn.
"Hey, Kurt?" he asks.
Kurt pops his head out of the kitchen. "Yeah, Hon?"
"How did your mom die?"
Blaine hopes he isn't being invasive, but Kurt has told him about his mother's funeral and often mentions how much he misses her, how he can smell her perfume in certain chests of drawers. He just wants to know everything about Kurt, because he loves him.
Kurt steps into the living room, smiling softly. He picks up the picture Blaine examined and drags his thumb across the surface. Kurt tells Blaine the story, his eyes welling up a little, and Blaine kisses him on the cheek. He tells Kurt he loves him, and Kurt says his mother would have just adored Blaine. Kurt puts the picture back and returns to the kitchen to finish up the dinner he's preparing for the both of them.
Blaine smiles and sits down on the couch. He's so glad Kurt can share these things with him. It was so tragic what happened.
Blaine sits up. The accident was tragic.
No. The disease was…
No, the…
He rubs his eyes. Kurt just told him. He knows what happened. It was tragic and sudden and, and…
"Dinner is served," Kurt says, standing over him and giving a small bow.
Blaine smiles and stands up, following Kurt into the kitchen.
Although Blaine is sure he would never admit it, Kurt really likes to draw. Little moleskin sketchbooks filled with designs of potential outfits are tucked away in various parts of Kurt's bedroom, and Blaine is always delighted to discover one. He finds this particular one hidden away underneath a shoebox in Kurt's closet when he goes in there looking for the scarf he wants to barrow.
He grins as he opens it, anticipating little pen and ink sketches of coats and hats and such. Blaine's smile fades and the hairs on the back of his neck stand up when he sees the first image. A man. A tall man. Too tall. His arms are too long and his waist is too this and his face is…
Whether his features are obscured by shadows or if he simply doesn't have any, Blaine doesn't know. He turns the page and there the man is again, this time standing crookedly under a streetlight. Blaine quickly flips through the book and realizes that this is all it is, pictures of this thing, standing there, under streetlights, under trees, next to swing sets and in doorways. His arms stretch out to the ground, sometimes. Other times, he has many, reaching out toward the viewer.
The familiar but still dreadful feeling of coming across something one was not supposed to see overwhelms Blaine and he slams the book shut, stuffing it back underneath the shoebox. He grabs a scarf, any scarf as he doesn't really care which one that he barrows anymore and leaves the room.
His heart pounds and he wraps the scarf around his neck. Blaine tightens it and for a moment he can't breathe. He leans against the wall, pulling the thing loose. He wants to scream. He wants to pound his fists into something. He wants to curl up into a little ball and cry.
Blaine takes a deep breath and recomposes himself.
"This is all my fault," Kurt says, bringing his knees up to his chest.
Blaine shines his flashlight around the trashed bedroom briefly before kneeling down next to Kurt. He wraps his arm around his boyfriend's shoulders and presses his forehead to his temple.
"We don't know what happened," Blaine breathes. "Ok? We don't know what happened, this could mean anything."
"Don't you see, Blaine?" says Kurt, his voice cracking. "He took him. He took him, just like he took his sister and my mother and just like he's going to take me!"
Blaine shakes him. "That's not going to happen, do you hear me? We'll figure this out, ok? I won't let that happen." There is a noise, like something falling, and Blaine aims his flashlight in its direction. Nothing. He licks his lips and turns back to Kurt. "We should get out of here."
Kurt clutches his coffee cup and sighs. He peers out the window for a moment, frowning. Blaine hates this. He hates that Kurt can't just tell him what's going on, instead of avoiding the issue and insisting that he's fine. He's not fine, obviously. Dark circles hang under his eyes, his hair disheveled. He barely eats during lunch, and has a difficult time staying awake during Warbler meetings.
"Please just talk to me," Blaine says, reaching across the table and taking his hand. "I can help, you just have to tell me first."
Kurt looks up at him with big, wet eyes. "I can't."
"Kurt, please." Blaine gives his hand a squeeze. "Whatever it is, we'll get through it, I promise."
Sighing again, Kurt wipes a tear from his cheek. He takes a sip of his coffee and stares down at his trembling hands. "I think someone's following me."
Blaine sits up. "What? Like Karofsky? Do you think he's stalking you?"
"No," says Kurt. "It's not him. I don't even know if it is a him."
"You think it might be a girl?" he asks.
Kurt shakes his head. "No, Blaine, I… oh, god, you'll think I'm crazy." He wipes his eyes again and stares out the window. "I probably am."
"It's ok," Blaine says, cupping his cheek and bringing him back to face him. "Just tell me."
"Blaine, it…" Kurt's eyes well up again. He speaks so softly that Blaine can't hear him.
Blaine frowns. "What?"
"It's not human," he says.
"What?"
Kurt pushes his hands away and sits back in his chair. "Just forget it."
"No, no, Kurt," says Blaine. "Please, why do you think something's following you?"
"I see it," Kurt says quietly, "in my window at night, or on the road going to and from Dalton."
Blaine nods slowly, taking this in. "What do you see?"
"A man," says Kurt. "I mean, I guess it's a man, I don't know. It doesn't have a face. It just stands there, staring at me. It doesn't have any eyes but I feel it staring. I can remember it."
"Remember it?" asks Blaine, tilting his head.
Kurt nods. "I used to see it when I was a kid, and then I guess it went away for a while. I remember seeing it on the playground when I was there with my mom."
"Have you talked to anyone else about this?" Blaine swallows. "Like, maybe a doctor?"
"I knew it," Kurt says, standing up. "I knew you'd think I was crazy."
"Kurt, wait!" Blaine follows Kurt out of the Lima Bean, holding onto his arm. "I'm sorry, ok?"
They walk through the parking lot to their respective cars. Kurt twists his arm away from Blaine, grasping his hair in frustration. "Just forget it, ok?"
"Kurt…"
He turns and points a finger up at Blaine. "I said forget it! Look, I have to go, ok? Just, just don't bring this up again. This conversation never happened."
"Alright," says Blaine as he blinks at him, shocked. He steps forward and puts a hand on his arm. "You know I love you, right?"
Kurt smiles through his tears. "I love you, too."
Andrew hands him a beer as they scramble up to the deck on the roof of Blaine's house. Blaine's really starting to like hanging out with him, especially as a drinking buddy. He hasn't had a lot of opportunities to get drunk after the Rachel Berry incident, and he's glad to be able to do so in a controlled environment. Blaine trusts Andrew, and trusts himself with him.
There's a hiss as Andrew uncaps his bottle. "Hey, can I ask you something, man?"
"Shoot," says Blaine.
"Do you ever, like," Andrew hands him the bottle opener. "Do ever feel homesick even when you're at home?"
Blaine laughs and uncaps his own bottle. "That doesn't make any sense."
"I know, right?" says Andrew. He takes a swig. "That's what I told Seth."
"Seth?"
"Yeah. He said he feels that way sometimes."
Blaine sips at his beer. "Huh. That's weird."
"I told him he feels that way because he's an alien."
Blaine laughs again. "You would."
They clink their bottles together and Andrew clears his throat. "He probably feels like that because he never really had a home, to be honest."
"What do you mean?" Blaine asks.
"Well, like," Andrew sighs and stares up at the stars. "He never knew his parents, and he was never really close to his sister, she was more like a teacher than family, you know? And when she died, he had to just live with her husband, some guy he wasn't even related to."
Blaine thinks about this. "How did his sister die?"
Andrew opens his mouth, but words do not come out. It's just noises, as if someone took the audio track to Blaine's life and warped it at just this moment. Andrew finishes, and Blaine nods, understanding.
Thank you for reading!