No one knows when the disease started or where it came from. There is no cure, no way to prevent it, and no way to predict who will get it. It is not contagious, genetics do not play a part, and it is widespread across the world. There is only one known symptom, and once you display it, they will take you away. Somehow, they know everything and they will find you. Everybody who is taken is never seen or heard from again, so displaying the symptom is a death sentence. There is no hope for anyone with the disease. Although it is extremely rare, everybody is terrified they will wake up and discover they have the disease.

Which is why Blaine Anderson is sitting in the corner of the bathroom, crying, after he looks in the mirror this morning.

Blaine gripped the coffee cup as he waited for Kurt to meet him at their normal table. He tried to hide his fear as much as he could, although maybe wearing sunglasses inside the Lima Bean when it is storming outside may not be the most inconspicuous idea he's ever had. He had no choice though, he couldn't risk anything. Although the second time he looked in the mirror, his eyes had returned to normal, he didn't know if it would come back. It may have been a cruel trick of the light, but that might just be the denial speaking. Blaine knows what he saw and knows what that meant. He was as good as dead. Tears pricked at his eyes when he realized today might be the last time he sees Kurt. No, he can't think like that. It was just rumors that they knew everything and knew who has the disease, right? He surely had time, maybe if he hid well enough they would never find him.

"Please don't tell me you had another drunken rendezvous last night. Especially without me supervising you to make sure you stayed out of trouble." Blaine looked up at the voice to see Kurt. Blaine smiled in a way to say hello.

"What makes you say that?" He says as Kurt sits down and grabs his hand across the table.

"Sunglasses inside when it is almost pitch black outside because of the storm? Please Blaine, be more obvious."

Blaine laughed. "No drunken rendezvous from me. I think I learned my lesson last time."

"Then what are the sunglasses for?" Kurt asked and gave him a look as he tilted his head to the side. If Blaine was actually thinking clearly, he would find it to be the most adorable thing. But Blaine paused and mentally face palmed at his own stupidity. He never came up with something to give a reason why he was wearing the glasses. He didn't know what to say to make Kurt believe anything but the truth, then again he never had to lie to Kurt before.

"I got something in my eye," Blaine quickly said, "it was really bloodshot last time I looked."

"Let me see," Kurt leaned over to try to take the glasses off. Blaine shied away from Kurt, turning his head to avoid any contact.

"Later, when we're by ourselves." He couldn't risk anything right now. He didn't know if his eyes were different right now or if they were normal. They didn't feel any different this morning. Which makes him wonder, why is this disease so bad? Why is everybody terrified of it? It hasn't done any sort of harm to him. At least not yet. Nobody knows what happens when the sick is taken away. Blaine guesses that this is a good learning opportunity then. He's got to stay the optimist.

"Blaine?" Kurt's voice pulled him back to reality. "Are you ok? You're acting really weird. Well, more than normal." Kurt gave Blaine's hand a squeeze.

"It's been a long day, Blaine sighed,"and it's still morning."

"Do you want to leave? Nobody's at home right now, Dad and Carole has work, and Finn is out on some adventure, as he put it, with Puck. Which is only going to lead to disaster, so we might as spend some time together before they blow the world up or something." Blaine gave a half hearted laugh. 'Or until they take me away,' he thinks. "You are really not yourself this morning are you?" Kurt comments as he stands up. "C'mon, let's go." He pulls Blaine out the door. Blaine has trouble concentrating on the road as he follows Kurt back to his house. His thoughts and worries are weighing him down and he just wants to leave and forget anything this morning ever happened. A breakdown feels close as he enters the house, being pulled along by his boyfriend. ("Seriously, what is wrong with you today?")

He has to tell Kurt.

"L-let's sit on the couch." They walked to the couch and sat down, and Kurt gripped Blaine's hand for comfort. Blaine's emotions are running wildly. Oh god, what is Kurt going to think? Part of him wants to say he's just not feeling well. The other part is screaming, tell the truth, because you might not be here tomorrow. Blaine needs to tell the truth, he knows that. He's never lied to Kurt before, and he's not going to start now, even if he is gone tomorrow. Tears welled up in his eyes again. Just yesterday he was worried about what to get his mom for mother's day, and now, oh no. He completely forgot about his parents. What are they going to think? Will they be worried, or will they be thankful that they don't have their disappointment of a son around anymore? Do they even tell the family and friends of the people that are taken and the reason why? They must, because where do the stories come from? Blaine's hands started shaking from the fear and worry, but Kurt squeezed his hand again. He looked up into Kurt's eyes, and sighed. His eyes could always tell stories, and nothing needed to be said, because just one look said everything. Yet Blaine's eyes betrayed him. He put on the sunglasses to shield him, to help hide from his fate that everybody else that has the disease had to go through. His future has just ended all because of his damn eyes. Kurt's eyes pleaded with him. Tears now were streaming down Blaine's cheeks as he reached up to take the glasses off and looked up.

"Blaine? Your eyes look fine? I don't see what the problem is." Kurt's quizzical look came back. Blaine leaped from the couch and ran to the nearby mirror. His eyes were fine. His eyes were fine. Blaine's face lit up, maybe he was just making it all up in his head. He jumped over to Kurt and pulled him up for a kiss. Maybe things will work out after all. "What is up with you today? God Blaine I don't understand yo—Oh my god!" Kurt pulled away quickly and looked at Blaine in fear. Blaine then turned to look at the mirror, and with a wave of anxiousness saw his eyes. They were completely black. His head wasn't making it up. Every shred of hope was lost now. He fell to the floor leaning against the wall. His entire self felt like it was being torn apart, there was no hope, no future left for him now.

"I'm sorry Kurt, I'm so sorry. I don't know what to do! I'm sorry, so, so-" It was hard to talk between the sobs. He could barely breathe, he just wanted to feel safe again. Kurt launched himself at Blaine, wrapping around him tightly, to give a slight feeling of safety, even though there was absolutely none left. They rocked back and forth, tears streaming down their faces.

"Shhh, this is no way your fault." Kurt whispered into Blaine's ear. They sat silent, the only noise coming from Blaine's sobs. They looked at each other again, and Kurt smiled. "Your eyes are normal again."

Blaine just mumbled into Kurt's shoulder. "I love you so much, just thought you should know before they come." He started pressing soft kisses anywhere he could reach.

Kurt looked at him with a stern gaze. "Blaine, I told you I'll never say goodbye to you and I intend to keep that promise. You will always be my-" he paused looking for the right word,"everything." They sat there for a few more minutes, just holding each other, whispering their love to each other. Their tears ran down their faces until they couldn't cry any more. Blaine's eyes kept changing from normal to the emptiness of the black. It happened more frequently, and the black appeared more often then his normal hazel. Kurt gave a small smile as he said, "This is strangely slightly hot, not gonna lie."

Blaine smirked. "At least someone is enjoying it."

"Glad to be of service. So, um, does it hurt, or feel different at all?"

"No, I don't feel anything different at all. It makes me wonder, though, why is it so bad? Why is everyone who gets sick taken away? It doesn't seem fair when there's no harm done." Blaine whispered. "I'm finally happy for once in my life, and it's going to be taken away from me." Blaine started to cry again. Kurt pulled him in close, trying to calm him, reassuring him that there was hope left. They both knew that it was a lie and neither of them minded. Holding each other gave them some comfort, even though the slow realization of what was to come was finally sinking in.

The front door was opened and somebody came stomping in. Blaine buried his face into Kurt's neck again and somehow managed to get closer to Kurt then he was before. He started shaking with the fear overcoming his body. They're here, they're here, they're here, he kept thinking to himself. He refused to let Kurt go, and Kurt gripped tighter silently saying the same thing. They sat there completely still, holding their breaths as if not making a noise would ward them away.

"Hey, Kurt! Do you know what mom has planned for—oh!" Finn walked into the living room. "Well, um, ok. Could you please get a room if you're going to be doing that? There's a game on-"

"Whatever Finn, just hold on please. Let's go to my room Blaine." Kurt pulled him up and headed to the stairs. Blaine's knees felt weak and he could barely walk. He kept his eyes firmly shut as they walked up to the room, he couldn't risk Finn seeing. The less people that knew about this thing happening to him, the better. He had trouble getting up the stairs because of his refusal to open his eyes. Kurt led him to the bed, and when he felt the soft blanket, he knew it was safe to open his eyes. He dropped down onto the bed and lied there, not moving in hopes of stopping time and forgetting. He felt Kurt's arms wrap around him, but it was still silent, because the soft words of "It'll be ok" and "Everything will be alright" meant nothing and were total lies, and they both had an honesty policy that they intended to keep to. It was better to keep silent than to tell a lie. With the silence and the dark, they both soon drifted off to sleep.

"Blaine, it's time to wake up." Kurt whispered, shaking his boyfriend gently. "You-we fell asleep." Blaine slowly woke up and came out of a dream like haze.

"Idonwannagetup," he mumbled into the pillow. He liked Kurt's bed, it was comfy and smelled like Kurt. Staying here forever seemed like a good idea. A slow realization of the day trickled back into his mind then, and any good mood that was left over from the sleep quickly disappeared. He quickly shot up and tears felt present again. "Kurt-"

"Dad said." Kurt choked out. Tears were streaming down his face. Blaine grasped his hand, squeezed it and nodded. They both knew it was time, although all too soon. Each step down the stairs was another nail into Blaine's coffin. Closing the front door behind them and walking hand in hand to Blaine's car was the dirt being piled upon him, suffocating him to a point of no return. They held and kissed each other for who knows how long, with quiet whispers of "So this is-" "No, it's never going to be goodbye". Only when Burt's gruff voice called out "Kurt!" from the front door did they even attempt to separate. Some more soft kisses were shared and soft "I love you's" were whispered. Shutting the car door is possibly the worst sound Blaine has ever heard.

Ten minutes into his drive back home, Blaine pulled over and completely broke down.

Blaine tried to sneak into his house as quietly as possible. He always hated it here. The walls felt too bare, only a few pictures adorned them. The half-smiles of his family always stared back at him, judging him for not fitting in the family, for straying away from the path that was set out for him the moment he was born. He quickly averted his eyes when he passed the mirror, the last thing he needed was a reminder of what his real future has become. He was halfway up the staircase when he heard his mother's voice.

"Blaine, you're home late."

He sighed and slowly walked down the stairs and went to the study where his parents were always at after they had dinner. He knew the scene before he even had to enter the room. His father would be sitting in the leather armchair that matched the drab brown decorating the room. His face would be buried into the newspaper, studying every detail of the tiny black print, not looking up for any type of interruption. His mother would be sitting on the couch, pouring over papers from work spread across the coffee table. It would be silent except for the constant shuffling of papers. Blaine took a breath and composed himself as he stepped into the room.

"Sorry mom, I lost track of time at Kurt's house. It's been a long day." A brief, disapproving grunt was heard from his dad's corner. His mom pressed her lips together, probably to keep herself from saying something. Blaine remembers the first time they had this conversation. ("Why do you spend so much time at that boy's house?", "He's my boyfriend mom.", "Blaine, I just wish you would grow out of this phase you're going through. It's an embarrassment.").

"Just try to remember to call next time."

"I will mom." If there even is a next time. Blaine turned to leave, but paused for a moment. "Mom? Dad? I know we disagree on a lot of things, and I'm not the son you always hoped for, but I do-" He stopped to find the right word, "appreciate all that you have done for me, especially the past few years." All Blaine hoped for at this moment for his parents to look up, to realize something was wrong, he didn't want to have to scream to have to earn some sort of recognition from them.

"Thank you dear."

Nothing. His parents didn't even glance up. Blaine caught his reflection in the mirror, his eyes were black. Anger started to burned inside him. Of all the moments he needed his parents and tried to reach out to them, they didn't care. They never care. He curled his hands into fists and started shaking from the rage inside of him. He started crying, but he was so sick of it at this point. He wanted everything to stop. All his worries, all his fears, every emotion he just wanted to go away. Right now, he wanted to start yelling and screaming at his parents, to get them to notice him for once. It would not be a good idea however, he was already looked down upon enough, he didn't need to start anything.

"I'm going to be now. Goodnight." Blaine left the room, hearing him mom say a short "Goodnight."

He walked back to his room and crawled into his bed. He was lost in his thoughts. The future is so certain, yet uncertain at the same time. The night passed slowly as he thought about his past and the things he regretted. He never got a chance to stand up to his bullies, the people who made his life a living hell. He thought about his loneliness and how he would never be happy, until he met Kurt. Oh, Kurt. This is what pains him the most. He feels like he's betraying Kurt by getting the disease. He may be young, and Kurt may be his first boyfriend, but he was sure that they were destined to be together. The future he pictured always had Kurt there. His eyes felt heavy, and he slowly drifted off to sleep. Maybe tomorrow will come.