Title: Realm Of Nightmares

Author: To Blind One Gently

Pairing: Kurt x Blaine, other various pairings.

Rating: T

Note: This doesn't exactly follow canon. Also, the idea and concept behind The Game is based off of the book, The Forbidden Game by L. J. Smith. This is unbeta'ed.

He always wondered if there was such a thing as fate. Was everything actually predestined? Thoughts that pondered the reality of that which he wasn't even certain existed would keep him up at night. Wide blue eyes, filled with wonder and childish innocence, would stare at his ceiling as his mind spun with the possibilities that fate could bring him. But thinking about fate often led to him wondering whether or not he really had a choice in how he lived his life.

For example, when he realized that he wasn't like all of the little boys in his class. They would run around claiming that girls had cooties, while he only wanted to enjoy a nice tea party with the girls. The other boys would tease him and call him a girly boy, and even though it hurt, he would keep his stiff upper lip and not let them see how much their cruel words really affected him. It was only when he hit puberty that he discovered that he was gay.

But his friends in glee stayed with him, even after he came out. What was hard was coming out to his father. But Burt Hummel simply told his son that he had always known. Kurt couldn't have been more relieved… Until the phone calls started coming. At first his father hadn't told him about the homophobic messages, but one day the man had confessed, and Kurt was horrified that his father had become a subject to the bullying that he had thought would only stay at school.

And then he wondered if maybe fate had determined that he couldn't have an easy life. As things with Karofsky escalated, Kurt began to fear for his life even more. And after the death threat and forced kiss, the light haired brunette just couldn't take it anymore. Then with the looming threat of Karofsky's return after Sue's suspension on him was over, Kurt Hummel fled to Dalton. And that was where fate struck again.

Dalton was where he met Blaine Anderson: suave, charismatic, and so very thoughtful and kind. They hit it off, and Kurt couldn't believe how fast he was falling for the honey eyed male. And when Valentine's Day came around, the blue eyed boy was so hopeful that it was him that had Blaine so excited. But then Blaine had the Warblers sing a highly inappropriate song to some guy that he had only gone on two coffee dates with. It was only later that Kurt told Blaine that he had thought that it was him that was going to be sung to.

And using the excuse of not wanting to mess things up, Blaine skirted around Kurt's feelings. It took Pavarotti's death for the black haired male to realize how he truly felt about the brunette. And then they were dating, and Kurt couldn't have been happier. How he had gone from being the only openly gay boy at McKinley to having the sweetest boyfriend at Dalton had to be fate. And so, he was bringing Blaine out to a party at Rachel's house so he could officially meet everyone.

But right now, he was walking down the road to try to find a shop to buy a game that the group could play, since he knew that Rachel's idea of a party was going to be insufferably lame. And then he heard the footsteps. A quick glance over his shoulder only confirmed that he was being followed, and he easily recognized the two males as his former bullies. So he sped up, his blue eyes darting around, trying to find a shop that he could escape into and use for safety.

It had to be some sort of cruel fate that he just happened to be in one of the emptiest parts of Lima, Ohio. But then a door caught his eye, and he could have cried in relief, and he ignored the part of his mind that wondered when that door had gotten there. Kurt didn't let this part of his mind change his course of action though, and he gripped the cool metal handle and turned, ducking into the shop. With a force that was probably brought out due to fear, he slammed the door shut.

The first thing that he registered was the acid rock music that was playing so loud that he could barely hear himself think. But once his eyes adjusted to the dimly lit shop, shock flooded his veins as he realized that he was in a game shop. Of all the places that the door could have led, it had taken him straight to the store which had what he was looking for.

Fate was really showing him it's cards today. Blue eyes, now wary of his surroundings, darted around, eyeing all of the different games. None of them sounded familiar, and some of the titles that he read were just morbid or explicit. The petite boy shuddered, and then movement caught his eye.

Standing behind the counter was a stunningly handsome male, looking barely any older than Kurt himself. Light brown hair was tousled in a way that the blue eyed male was sure took hours to make it look as effortless as it was, and then Kurt saw his eyes.

They sent chills down his spine, chills that he wasn't exactly sure weren't arousal or some deep seated, primal fear. The male's eyes were as cold as ice, making the green sharp, but Kurt couldn't find a name for the color. It was like a mix between emerald and jade, or maybe sea foam and forest green.

"Looking for a game, Killer?" A sultry voice asked, and Kurt's heart began to beat faster, and he clutched his messenger's bag to his side. Those indescribable eyes were focused on him, and the look on the guy's face was nearly sinful in its intensity. "Well?" The guy asked after a minute of Kurt standing there, gaping like a fish.

"Oh, yes," Kurt finally said, his cheeks turning a light pink. He glanced around the shop, trying to find a game that he at least vaguely recognized. When he didn't find one, he looked towards the man behind the counter. "Any recommendations?" He asked softly, and he was actually surprised that the other brunette could even hear him over the music.

"There are lots of games to choose from," he swept his hand out in a wide gesture, "but if you want a good multi player game, I'd recommend Tango of Tongues, or maybe Deal With The Devil. And there is one other game, but it's simply called The Game." He reached under the counter and pulled out a nondescript white box, and in black block letters it read, The Game. Nothing else was on it, no instructions or anything.

"How do you play it?" Kurt inquired, blue eyes studying the box that was being offered to him. He reached out slowly and grabbed it, and a shock went through his body. If someone were to ask him later, he could only describe the feeling as the need to buy it. "Never mind, how much is it?"

"It's on me, Killer. Just go enjoy your party," and before Kurt could even ask the attractive male how he knew that Kurt was going to a party, he disappeared into a back room. Wide blue eyes stared after him as he left, jaw hanging open slightly. But he didn't question it, and simply left the store without another word. Surprisingly, in the time he had been in the store, he had forgotten about the reason why he had ducked in there. Now, outside once again, he was immediately reminded why. The two jocks were stalking towards him.

Kurt gripped the game in his hands, unwilling to let go of it, but one hand reached behind him, desperately looking for the doorknob. Maybe the guy behind the counter would have a gun or something to defend them. But he couldn't find the handle. As the two males got closer, Kurt's frantic behind the back searching became even more desperate. Then, once they were about ten feet away from him, they both stopped, their eyes widening to epic proportions, and then they turn and ran.

Dumbstruck, Kurt stared after the fleeing jocks, his blue eyes wide. After a minute, he shook his head, and began to walk towards where he had parked his car. It was only once he was nearly at Rachel's house that he wondered why he couldn't find the doorknob, and question what had scared the jocks away. But Kurt didn't ponder on that reality for long, because as soon as he walked through the door, he was bombarded by the whirlwind diva that was Rachel.

"Kurt! My gay vocal equal!"She squealed, as if she hadn't seen him in years. "How are you? Where's Blaine? When are we going to meet him?" Question after question shot at him in rapid fire had Kurt dragging hand hand over his face. Rachel really was too excitable sometimes, but it was only because she cared. Well, at least when they weren't competing for a solo. Luckily, Kurt was saved a moment later by a sassy Latina.

"Baby Streisand, stop assaulting Porcelain with your questions," Santana called from the kitchen, "he just got here and you probably haven't even let him take off his shoes yet." Santana peeked around the corner, her eyes glaring at Rachel, but when she saw Kurt, they softened just a bit. "Hey Baby Gay, how are you?" She was drying her hands on a dish towel as she walked towards them. She pointedly ignored a pouting Rachel in favor of hugging Kurt.

Kurt shifted The Game out of the way so he could properly return Santana's hug, a smile gracing his lips. "I've been good," he answered, "and how about yourself?" They pulled apart, and Santana gave him a devious grin with her trademark 'are you sure you want to know?' smirk on her lips. Without answering him, the Latina sauntered back into the kitchen. Kurt rolled his eyes, an affectionate smile on his face. He wasn't sure how, but he and Santana had developed some sort of strange friendship, and he was grateful for that, even if he would never say it out loud.

From that point on, the night slowly progressed. Finn, Sam, and Brittany were the next to arrive, and that left Kurt waiting anxiously at the window to see when Blaine showed up. When Kurt saw the honey eyed male walking up the drive, a huge smile split his lips. He ran out to meet the black haired male, not noticing that The Game was still clutched in one of his hands. Blaine however noticed, but didn't say anything, just smiling fondly at the brunette.

The rest of Rachel's party began to play out exactly how Kurt had known it would, so when everyone began to get bored, he offered for them to try out the game. "How do you even play it?" Brittany asked. "Do we color all over the box and see who made the best picture? Because I know I'll win that, because my magical unicorn powers told me so." She said in her usual bizarre way.

"I think there are instructions in the box," Kurt told them, unsure. He reached out to take off the cover of the game, feeling a strange sense of foreboding and dread go through his body. Bit Kurt ignored it, and revealed the game to everyone. A cold chill swept through the room, but all of the group's attention was on the game. The blue eyed boy sucked in a breath, and then slowly let it out.

Inside was a paper house cut out, with the walls decorated and little pieces of furniture scattered about. Nothing that should evoke his fear. Rachel squealed in delight, reaching in and pulling it out. Kurt read the instructions, which were located on the inside of the lid. One part stood out to him, and he felt his heart began to speed up. "Beware the Shadow Man. He lurks inside the house, following all the players. If he catches you, he'll bring life to your darkest fantasies and make you confess your most secret fears." So it was a haunted house game.

Under the fully decorated paper house, which Brittany and Santana were setting up with the help of Rachel, there were paper dolls. "So, we draw our faces on them? And then for each player, we draw our deepest fear, and place it in a room. So that means that in each room, won confront someone's fear... Sounds interesting!" Blaine said, his golden eyes shining in excitement. Kurt was glad that Blaine at least seemed to be enjoying the idea of the game. But as innocent as it looked, Kurt still had the ominous feeling in his gut.

And he couldn't draw his deepest fear... It brought up too many bad memories. Kurt rubbed his forehead, pushing the thoughts away. Finn had gone and grabbed some colored pencils from his room, and everyone had started to work on drawing their faces on the cut out paper dolls. Rachel found the cards that would lead their game on, and then found the Shadow Man and his minion's cutout. "Oh, if I wasn't in love with Finn, I would totally let the Shadow Man exploit my darkest fantasies." She said.

She showed the paper cutout, already colored and everything, to the group. Kurt had been looking down at the minions, The Creeper, a giant snake, and The Lurker, a scary looking wolf. But when he looked up, his heart thudded to a painful stop in his chest, and his breath left his lungs in a rush. It was the boy from the game store. Every detail was the exact same. The indescribable colored eyes, the tousled brown hair, even that expression on his face was a split image of the other male.

And the image on the card radiated ominous, terrifying feelings. The Shadow Man was the picture perfect copy of the man in the store, and Kurt's mind raced through possibilities to explain how it could be. But he drew a blank, until he remembered the cosplayers that he had stumbled upon online. Maybe the guy from the store was obsessed with the game and so he made himself look like the Shadow Man... That was a reasonable enough explanation.

"Hey, there's more instructions," Blaine said, his eyes wide with excitement and wonder. He stood, and turned off the lights. "We need it dark to read the Oath of the Game," he showed the Oath to the group, and Kurt saw a symbol, a strange squared off and inverted U, the two horns of the letter facing downwards. It sent another cold chill through his body. Blaine continued to read, "There is a Shadow World, like our own but different, existing alongside ours but never touching. Some people call it the world of dreams, but it is as real as anything else. Entering the Shadow World can be hazardous to your life, so play at your own risk. You must swear and Oath that you understand this."

One by one, the group swore the Oath, and when it was Kurt's turn, he had to swallow the lump in his throat. His voice squeaked out, but he finally swore. He wouldn't chicken out over a game. But when they actually began to play, the feeling in Kurt's gut grew and grew. Blaine was the first to draw a card. "You hear the scraping of chains in the basement, and long drawn out moan," he read. He rolled his eyes, a small chuckle escaping his lips.

But then they heard the sound. It was exactly like Blaine's card had said. Rachel's eyes widened, her mouth dropping open. "But I don't even have a basement!" She whimpered, clinging to Finn. Santana rolled her eyes, looking through the group right after. Kurt felt the dread growing stronger, and wanted so badly to quit this game. But Blaine still looked so excited.

"Look, it's supposed to be a haunted house game, maybe we're all just so worked up that we think we heard something," she reasoned, and reached out to take another card. Kurt wanted to reach out and slap her hand away from the deck, but his hands remained unresponsive in his lap. "You try to escape, but all exits are locked," she read, and then stood up, walking over to the back door, and tried to open it. A frown graced her full lips when she couldn't get the door open. Then she tried the window. It didn't budge either.

"Creepy," Brittany said, not registering how scary this situation really was, and grabbed a card. "You hear twelve howls, signaling midnight," she then said. Everyone in the group tensed, and sure enough, they heard the howls only a moment later. Kurt was gripping his knees so hard that his knuckles were white, and his eyes were wide open in terror.

"Stop, this isn't funny anymore," Rachel cried quietly, clinging to Finn. Kurt agreed wholeheartedly, but before anything else could happen, a whirlwind ripped through the house, shaking it. They all screamed, and then Kurt blacked out. When he began to come to, he noticed that everyone was sprawled out over the living room. But then he noticed that the walls were a different color.

Blaine was the first to wake after him, and wide honey gold eyes looked around the room in slight awe and fear. Nothing was aid as the others started to wake, and the cold chill that was in the room intensified, leaving Kurt clinging to Blaine. Brittany's innocent question of "where are we?" broke the tense silence. Everyone looked around the room, and Rachel, realizing that they were no longer in her house, broke down and began to cry.

Kurt was the first one to realize where they were. The decorations, the wall coloring, it all matched the paper house. "The cutout house," Kurt said quietly, and all eyes turned to him, "we're in the haunted paper house."

"Indeed you are," everyone jumped at the new voice, not recognizing it. Well, everyone except for Kurt, who had heard this voice earlier in the day. Wide blue eyes turned to the entryway, and there stood the man from the game shop, dressed in all black.

"Who are you?" Finn asked, protectively gripping Rachel to his chest. Those stunning green eyes scanned the room, and when they landed on Kurt, those lips turned up into a smirk. Kurt felt frozen, a thrill of anticipation and shrill fear flooded his veins.

"I'm the Shadow Man, but you can call me Sebastian."

Author's Note: Sorry if it seems a bit rushed, this is just the prologue, and the rest of the story should play out better.