Glee-ful Reunion – Chapter 2
Instead of a party, they had decided on having a film night. Burt had offered to have it at their house, knowing it would make Blaine more comfortable since he felt at home there. He had put his right-hand man in charge of closing the shop and had come home early to await the bunch of teenagers, especially the one he had missed around his house the past days.
When he heard the first engine coming up the driveway, he stood up and walked to the front door, opening it. The first group entered, but Kurt and Blaine weren't among them.
"They're a bit behind," Puck said while he passed Burt. "I think they had to stop somewhere along the way for Blaine. Finn texted me they'd be later. Something about a panic attack or something."
Burt frowned. The whole glee club was already in the living room, discussing which film they were going to watch, except for Kurt, Finn and Blaine, who were coming with Will and Emma. Ten minutes later, he heard another engine, louder than most of the cars in his driveway. He swung the front door open once again.
"Hey, Burt," Will greeted him, extending his hand. Burt absent-mindedly accepted it, but tried to look past him at the same time. When he spotted his son with his boyfriend, he walked out towards the approaching teens.
"Hey, buddy," he said when Blaine was within hearing distance. "It's great to see you again."
"You too, Mr Hummel." Blaine was smiling, but Burt could tell it was slightly forced. Not thinking twice about it, he pulled the boy into a hug, which was hesitantly reciprocated.
"It's still Burt, kid." A small chuckle escaped the boy and Burt felt him relax in his arms. After a while, he released him and looked him over. To his somewhat practised eye, Blaine's whole appearance screamed exhaustion and lingering fear, but the kid hid it fairly well.
"You okay?"
Blaine nodded. "I am now," he said, smiling more sincerely.
"Come on in. If you want to, you can stay over tonight. I've already arranged it with your mother."
Burt saw Blaine's expression darken at his words and he realised what the boy must be thinking. He had heard the stories about Blaine's mother from Kurt. He knew she didn't care much about her son. On the phone, she had sounded rather disinterested, as if it didn't matter where her child would be spending the night after having been held hostage for three days.
"She didn't care, did she?" Blaine muttered bitterly.
Burt didn't answer, not wanting to confirm that. The question was left unanswered when the boys went to settle themselves in the living room, Finn on the floor next to Rachel, and Kurt and Blaine on the couch, which the rest of the group had left free for them.
Will and Emma left an hour later, leaving Burt alone with the New Directions. When the teacher couple were gone, he stood watching the teenagers in his living room for a while before going upstairs to read his paper in peace.
Puck was sitting on the floor in front of the couch where Kurt and Blaine were enjoying each other's presence. Blaine was lying with his head in Kurt's lap while the latter stroked his hair gently. Artie and Sam were leaning against the other couch, which held a couple of the girls. The rest of the teens were scattered around the living room, sitting on pillows and blankets. Every once in a while, Kurt looked down, checking on Blaine and confirming that he really was back home. By the time Kurt glanced at him again halfway through the second film, Blaine had fallen asleep. Honestly, Kurt had expected him to give in to his tiredness much sooner and, apparently, now he finally had. Kurt looked around the living room at the rest of the New Directions, who were staring intently at the screen. At the moment, they were watching some cheesy romantic film Tina had brought.
Towards the end of the film, Blaine started squirming. Kurt glanced down again and found Blaine was still asleep, just not so peacefully anymore. He had curled up, he was breathing more quickly and a frown had appeared on his face. In addition, one of his hands was clenching Kurt's trousers in his fist, pinching Kurt's skin underneath in the process.
"Ouch," he muttered.
It took him a few seconds to recognise what was wrong: Blaine was having a nightmare.
"Blaine," he said softly, still petting the boy's hair. "Wake up, sweetie. … Come on, Blaine, wake up."
He said it a little louder and shook Blaine's shoulder gingerly. He was aware of Santana staring at them from the other couch with a frown of her own, but he ignored her.
"Blaine."
Suddenly, Blaine's eyes flew open, accompanied by a tiny gasp. Kurt started running his fingers through his hair again in a calming manner. He lay his other hand over Blaine's fist and pried his fingers off of his leg.
"It's okay," Kurt soothed. "It was just a dream."
Blaine looked up at him. Kurt could feel the small tremor going through the other boy's hand and could see his body's accompanying shudder.
"Are you cold?"
"A bit," Blaine mumbled.
Without being asked to, Puck grabbed a blanket from the floor and passed it to Kurt, trying not to stare too obviously. Kurt draped it over the two of them, concerned but smart enough not to ask Blaine about it in the presence of the New Directions. Blaine, for that matter, tried very hard to stay awake for the rest of the evening.
Somewhere near, a locker door slammed shut like a gunshot, making Blaine flinch.
"He's gotten jumpy," Santana commented, watching him from a distance.
"What did you expect," Quinn retorted.
"Does anyone even know what exactly happened to him yet?" Mercedes asked. Their thoughts went to the unexplained bruise that was fading but still visible on Blaine's face.
"I heard from Kurt that he's been going to Ms Pillsbury, but even Kurt doesn't have any details," Sam said knowingly.
They watched as Blaine seemed to have shut his eyes and leaned his head against his locker, trying to regain his composure. Eventually, he straightened up and started walking towards the choir room.
"Hey Blaine, wait up," Sam called, running after him. "So, I was thinking. What would you say about the two of us doing a duet?"
"A duet?"
Sam knew his friend was doing his best to act normally, but he could see the signs of stress in Blaine's shoulders.
"Yeah, I heard this amazing song on the radio the other day and I thought our voices would make it sound great."
"Okay, sure. Which song is it?"
Chatting about the arrangements, Sam could see Blaine relax, and by the time they had arrived at the choir room, he knew it mostly wasn't an act anymore.
It was pitch black. He couldn't see or hear anything. He tried moving around, but he seemed to be stuck to his place. From somewhere far away, he heard voices approaching, but he didn't recognise any of them, nor did he know what they were saying. They sounded angry, though.
Once again, he tried but failed to move. His limbs seemed too heavy to cooperate.
They were coming closer. Somehow, he knew they were coming to hurt him, but he couldn't run away. He still couldn't see anything or anyone, even though he was certain they were well within his range of vision.
If only he could see. Or move.
They were getting too close.
Kurt crept downstairs. He had to be quiet because Blaine was asleep on the couch, as he had done almost the entire week since coming home. Kurt wanted to check on Blaine, and if anyone woke up and noticed him, he would use his thirst as an excuse.
Something was wrong. He knew it the moment he walked into the living room and spotted his boyfriend. Blaine was asleep, but his blanket had been thrown to the ground. Kurt cautiously came closer. Blaine was lying on his back, his body tensed up and his breathing quick.
Another nightmare. It was like during the film night with the New Directions, but worse. Kurt sat down on the edge of the couch.
"Blaine." He shook him a bit. "Blaine, wake up. Come on, Blaine, you're dreaming again. You're okay, you're safe. You just have to wake up."
Kurt was worried. Blaine wasn't waking up, no matter how loudly Kurt was calling his name or how hard he was shaking him.
"Blaine!"
Finally, Blaine opened his eyes, still breathing hard.
"Kurt?" he asked weakly.
"I'm here." He extended his hand slowly to gently take Blaine's face in his hand, brushing away a tear with his thumb. Blaine launched himself into his arms, trembling and his shoulders shaking from his hardly suppressed crying.
"It's okay," Kurt whispered soothingly, rocking him. "You're safe. You're alright."
"It was so dark," Blaine choked out. "I couldn't see anything. But I could hear them. They were coming for me."
He couldn't go on.
"Shh. Calm down, sweetie. You're safe now. Deep breaths, honey, come on."
He kept on whispering and, eventually, his boyfriend calmed down sufficiently. They continued embracing each other for a while, even when Blaine's heart rate and breathing had returned to normal and his tears had dried up. Kurt was just starting to wonder whether the boy in his arms had fallen asleep again when he stirred and pulled away a bit.
"Better?" Kurt asked.
Blaine nodded.
"Sorry for waking you up," he said sheepishly.
"You didn't. I was on my way to the kitchen for some water. And as creepy as it may sound, I kind of couldn't resist coming to check up on you."
"I'm glad you did."
A residual shudder ran through him as he thought about his nightmare. Kurt had noticed it, as well as the goose bumps covering Blaine's arms. In general, his boyfriend still seemed too freaked out to go back to sleep. So he turned the lamp behind the couch on, lay the blanket back in its place and started to make his way to the kitchen.
"Stay. Don't move," he told Blaine, who was staring at him confusedly. "I'll be right back."
Minutes later, he returned holding two cups. The smell of chocolate filled Blaine's nostrils, making him smile. When Kurt sat down next to him and handed him a cup, Blaine didn't hesitate to lean against him, resting his head on his boyfriend's shoulder, only lifting it every once in a while to take a sip. He felt Kurt's arm curling around his back. They sat in silence for some time, taking comfort from each other. But eventually, Blaine's need to talk about his dreams became too strong to ignore.
"It was dark...," he started, "in my dream. I could hear people talking, but I couldn't see them and I didn't understand what they were saying. There were coming for me, but I couldn't move or run away. There was something... holding me in my place."
He paused.
"I was afraid they'd get me," he added in a whisper.
Kurt started to rub his arm.
"Have you had that dream before?"
"Yes, a few times."
Another pause.
"It's about what happened, isn't it?" Kurt asked hesitantly, as if he were afraid to bring it up.
"Yes," Blaine admitted.
After that, he stayed silent for a few minutes. Kurt wanted to ask him to tell more, but he didn't want to force his boyfriend to talk either. Finally, his inner debate was rendered pointless when Blaine spoke again.
"I... I'd like to tell you what happened."
Kurt looked down at the top of his head.
"Okay," he answered, inviting Blaine to continue if he wanted to. Before the dark-haired boy did, he put their two empty cups on the coffee table in front of them, returned to his previous position and took Kurt's now free hand in both of his and started playing with his fingers.
"I don't know where to start..."
"How about the park?"
Blaine nodded in response. He started by describing his and Neal's conversation. It was 'safe territory'; at that moment, everything had still been relatively normal.
They both remembered their last phone call before it had all changed.
"... And then, suddenly, he shoved me away and shouted at me to run. But I didn't know where to because they were all around us. Next thing I know, Neal is lying unconscious on the ground with a gun aimed at his head, another one aimed at me, while one of them forced me to choose between going with them or watching Neal die."
Blaine paused when Kurt gasped almost inaudibly and tightened his hold. Then he continued to tell Kurt how they must have drugged him since he couldn't remember leaving the park; he only remembered the unpleasant experience of waking up and feeling sick. He explained how he had been blindfolded and tied up the entire time, unable to see or move.
"I could hear them talking, but it was like they were in a different room. … I had no idea where I was or where Neal was, what was happening, or whether someone was coming for me. I tried to call out to Neal, to see if they had taken him as well. But I quickly learned to keep quiet."
He gestured vaguely to his face as he said this and Kurt understood what he meant.
"I-I was scared I would never get to see you again, or our friends or Neal. … I was scared I wouldn't get to finish high school and move to New York with you and..."
Silent tears were making their way down his face.
"I was so scared, Kurt," he whispered.
"So was I," Kurt admitted, moving to hug Blaine properly. "I was afraid of losing you, of getting a call from Neal saying you were dead, of never getting to hear your voice again..."
He trailed off. Then he pulled back and tilted his boyfriend's chin up, making him look him in the eyes.
"I'm so glad you're home and safe, here with me. And I'm so grateful to your brother for making that happen."
Blaine smiled, feeling the same way.
"I was really relieved when I heard his voice," he revealed.
He resumed his story by describing how they had dragged him from wherever he was kept to some vehicle, only to be pulled out again after what seemed like an eternity.
"I thought that was it, I thought they were going to kill me. … But then I heard his voice. I'm not really sure what they were talking about, something about money and a holiday in Rio de Janeiro. Then, all of a sudden, there was so much shouting around us when the FBI showed up. And there was a shot. … I swear, Kurt, it's a lot louder than in films. But right after, Neal was with me, talking to me, taking off the blindfold and releasing my hands... I..."
Blaine fell silent, spent from the emotional turmoil he had just relived.
"I guess you know the rest," he finished weakly.
"No wonder you're having nightmares," Kurt muttered. Upon seeing the other boy's current condition – and feeling beyond tired himself –, he lay down on the couch, pulling Blaine with him and draping the blanket over them. When he moved to turn off the light, Blaine stopped him.
"Can we leave it on? Just tonight?"
"Of course."
When Burt came downstairs the following morning and found both boys fast asleep, tears tracks still slightly visible on Blaine's face and the light still on behind them, he sighed deeply. He clicked the lamp off, readjusted the blanket and took their cups to the kitchen, letting them sleep in.
Monday found the boys sitting in Ms Pillsbury's office, with Blaine telling her everything he hadn't felt ready to talk about the week before and which he had therefore kept to himself.
"Have you told Ms Pillsbury about what happened?" Kurt asked the morning after their nightly heart-to-heart. He knew Blaine had gone to her office a few times, but he didn't know what Blaine had discussed with her.
"No. I mean, she knows what happened from the file agent Burke sent her. But she wanted me to tell her myself, when I was ready to. … You're the first one I've told, apart from my statement for the FBI."
Kurt was weirdly touched that Blaine had trusted him with his story.
"I think I'm ready now, though. Don't they always say the first step is the hardest?"
"You don't have to feel obliged to, Blaine."
"I know, but I really want to tell her. Though, I don't want to do it alone," he added hesitantly. "Would you mind coming with me?"
"Of course I don't mind, if you're sure."
"I am. Thank you."
"You're very welcome."
A few days later, the glee club was given a much reduced version of the facts. Kurt was beaming proudly from his seat while he watched Blaine finish his story.
"So, I'm sorry if I'm acting a bit weird. I guess I'm still bothered by the jet lag," Blaine ended jokingly, smiling softly when the others chuckled.
The tension in the room was now sufficiently broken. Sam jumped up unexpectedly and announced he and Blaine had prepared a song for them.
While he was admiring them, Kurt reflected on the past two weeks. Despite Blaine's courage to tell everyone and his determination to move on, Kurt knew he was still having nightmares. It would probably take a while for those to go away. He also realised Blaine would need some time to truly get over this, considering how on edge he still was. But they had the whole summer in front of them. There would be bad moments, moments when Blaine was scared or emotional, or even moments when Kurt relived his own fears. But he knew they'd be alright. And they wouldn't be alone.
The end.
That's all, folks. I consider this story finished, so there won't be any additions to this in the (near) future.
I still like reading reviews; they help me make up for possible mistakes I might have made in this story so I won't make them again in the next. (For the anonymous person who has already left a review: thank you so much! Your reviews really made my day when I read them.)
And for those who can't get enough: I have written a short one-shot that only needs some editing, so that will probably be posted in the near future.
