iii.

little changes

teal & lavender

The first one to notice a change in him was oddly enough, Sam. The Southern boy had seen how withdrawn Kurt had become but said nothing until the afternoon, after Karofsky decided to try and pummel the distracted teen in the hallway. Sam and Puck had intervened, and Puck and Karofsky were current in the principal's office while Sam was with Kurt in the nurse's office. The two teenagers sat in silence as the nurse was outside on the phone with Burt. This was the second time Kurt had been seen by her within a week and she was starting to get worried.

Sam glanced at the other boy, worry in his eyes. The words "What's wrong? Talk to me." where there right on the tip of his tongue but he couldn't find it in himself to talk to him. He wasn't sure of it was simply because he just couldn't say the words or if he still felt horrible for not fighting for their duet. The months that had past felt like eons to Sam and his heart was still heavy with the fact he let popularity get the better of him over a friendship like Kurt's. He wasn't blind, he knew the boy had a small crush on him from the moment they met, but Sam could never return those feelings. He would have valued Kurt's friendship over the chance of hurting him even more than he had.

But what could he do now?

The blonde bit his bottom lip, stealing another glance at the boy. He looked lost, his eyes far away while his bottom lip was still cut and bloodied from Karfosky's punch to the face. His jaw was swollen and would be bruised for a while.

"Kurt," Sam spoke, his voice seeming to jar the boy out of his thoughts. He glanced over at Sam, confused. "Do you want to talk about what happened, or what's been happening? I won't judge you, I promise."

How could he judge him?

Kurt turned to fully look at him, his once vibrant eyes almost dead. He looked paler than usual and he wasn't sure if he was going to pass out or vomit. He reached out and grasped Sam's hand. "I was beat up, Sam. It's kind of obvious."

Sam sighed. "Why is he targeting you, specifically? What has you done to him? Nothing from what I've seen. You don't deserve this kind of treatment. You're an amazing person, Kurt." Kurt blinked but said nothing.

The two of them sat there in silence.

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Mike almost jumped out of his skin when he turned around to find Edward Cullen standing at the checkout counter. His heart skipped a beat and his magic caused a small tremble to go through the store. Bella came running out from the aisles, "Did you feel that?" she asked.

Mike gave a short nod. He was so close to saying he was sorry but he stopped. "Probably the trucks rolling by. They looked like they had a lot more wood than usual this time around," Edward said to her, flashing her a smile. She turned a shade of red, though she looked like a fish out of water. She nodded and walked back to finish restocking the shelves. Edward turned his attention back to Mike, who looked thankful for the save. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"I wasn't expecting you here," Mike said as he opened the register. He reached in and pulled out all the cash, beginning to count. "So what brings you by here today?"

"Camping supplies." answered Edward, his eyes sparkling with amusement as Mike glanced at him. He had come to see how Mike was doing after his episode. The blonde looked fine, though he was a flustered mess whenever Edward was around. His thoughts were like a radio, always changing. Sometimes he thought of how much he didn't want to be around Edward, which oddly enough made the vampire sad. Sure, spending some time with Bella had helped, getting to know her in class. But the brunette was obviously developing feelings for Edward and he couldn't find it in himself to tell her he wasn't interested.

"Right," Mike muttered. "Are you guys going camping this weekend? It will be a good experience. The moon is going to be full."

His blue eyes were sparkling and Edward could hear how the blonde was thinking of a spell to perform. Edward was curious about that. Mike certainly wasn't human, but he wasn't a vampire either. "I'll drop it by my family. Alice wants to see the stars since it will be nice and clear."

"Hmm," Mike said absently, his mind thinking of a song. Edward bit back a smile as Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star ran through Mike's mind before he started humming some recent pop song about counting stars. He glanced up into darkened gold eyes. "You should go feed," he cautioned. "Also the camping supplies are on aisle 7."

Edward blinked. Trust Mike to ruin a chance for the vampire to invite him out. "Thank you," he muttered and then paused as his phone buzzed. Alice of course had texted him, her message in capital letters of INVITE HIM TO THE NEW CRYSTAL SHOP THAT IS OPENING TONIGHT. He glanced at Mike, who was almost waiting for him to leave. "Michael, before I go, would you be interested in accompanying me to a shop opening tonight?"

Mike turned as red as an apple, his heart skipping another beat. "Cullen, you don't...you..."

"Is that a no?" Edward asked.

Mike groaned, placing the money back in the register and shutting it. "That was me being caught off guard."

Edward nodded, "So?"

Mike sighed. "What kind of shop?"

"It's a crystal shop."

Mike blinked, he did want to see that shop. It had caught his eye when the blonde was walking through Port Angeles some months ago. "Alright," he muttered.

Edward's smile was like a starry sky. It entranced Mike, causing the boy's magic to flare. Edward watched as hues of lavender spread throughout Mike's hair before the lavender turned a shade of rose pink, before changing to teal and then apple red, as well as his cheeks. He caught a spark of magic play across the boy's fingertips and he reached out and grasped his hand. Golden eyes met soft blue, as sparks of teal danced from healthy fair skin to snowy white. Warmth spread through Edward, a feeling he had not felt in years, almost a century.

"You're adorable," the vampire cooed and drew Mike's hand towards his lips, pressing a kiss to his knuckles. It was an action neither boys were consciously aware of. Mike gulped, too dazed to say a word. "I'll pick you up at 7:00?"

"Of course," Mike agreed, his hair turning back to its blonde hue. "Do I need to wear anything fancy?"

"No," Edward smiled. "Just be you."

The lights flickered overhead. "Okay."

Mike watched the vampire go and once the door closed, the teenager rested his head against the cash register. He could see Bella coming out from her section of the store, her face set in one of confusion. She was going to speak when she caught sight of Mike's flustered cheeks and then smiled.

"You like him," she blurted out. Mike glanced over at her, blue eyes sparkling with curiosity. "I don't know if it's a crush on what, but you seem to really like Edward. I can't blame you, he is attractive."

"He does have a face you can't say no to." Mike muttered. Well, Mike could say no, he had done it multiple times. He just wasn't sure why he couldn't say no to him today. He looked incredibly cute standing there, all awkward and with skin like snow and eyes the color of butterscotch, his hair obviously ruffled from running his hands through it. Mike shook his head and turned his eyes on the clock on the wall. It was four-fifteen, and they closed at nine. Bella would be closing up the shop tonight with his mom once she came in.

Mike turned towards Bella, having missed the soft frown on her face at his comment. "Well, better get back to work."

His hand brushed against Bella's and he went to work, trying not to think of Bella with crimson eyes and a bloody smile.

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Kurt met Blaine at The Lima Bean. He was a boy from the neighboring school; a prep school named Dalton. Blaine was attractive, well cute was a much better term. The two had crossed paths when Kurt had stopped in after his fiasco with Karofsky and Puck that afternoon. Puck had been suspended, again. Kurt had jumped to defend his friend but kept tight lipped on the issue as of why. He knew Principal Figgins would do nothing and if Kurt had said anything, he wasn't too sure that the bully seated across from Puck would spare his life. He had looked smug when he walked out the office, locking eyes with Kurt. Sam had stood to defend his friend, and Kurt had been grateful for that.

But all he wanted was some chai tea to calm his nerves. He wasn't that big a fan of coffee, but he did drink it some days. Today was not a day. Today he had wished he could fly out of his body like before and find Mike. The blonde felt warm and comforting to see, like seeing a relative for the first time in so long. But he hadn't been able to do so, but he had felt something rising inside of him more. The brief spark he had felt with Mike was starting to grow.

What was it?

As he had thought of it, thought of soft lavender sparks dancing along his fingertips, he had bumped into Blaine. The prep school boy was the first to apologize, though his words died when he locked eyes with Kurt. Kurt saw a look cross his face before he smiled warmly.

"I'm sorry," he apologized again.

"Oh no," Kurt said with a soft shake of his head. "It was my fault. I hadn't looked where I was going."

Blaine smiled warmly. "Well, it was worth it if I got to meet you." He stuck his hand out for Kurt to shake. "I'm Blaine."

"Kurt," he introduced himself and gasped as a jolt went through him. He could feel something warm his skin but he wasn't sure what it was. Blaine looked at him, the smile on his face bright.

"I knew it."

Knew it? What exactly did he know? "Excuse me?"

"Well," Blaine glanced around and looked back at Kurt. "It isn't everyday I get to meet one like me."

Kurt blinked. "Like you?" he asked, cautious. Was Blaine referring to his sexuality?

Blaine nodded. "Yup. So, how long have you known?"

Kurt was taken back. "Well my dad has known since I was three, but I realized it when I was about twelve."

"Wow," Blaine hummed. "I was ten when I found out."

Well that was young, Kurt mused. He glanced around looking for a table and paused when he saw Mike sitting at an empty table, looking around confused. Blaine seemed to noticed Kurt's puzzled look. He glanced over at the table, seeing soft flecks of teal but nothing more. Was there another druid there? He got his answer a second later when a blonde boy appeared, stilled surrounded by teal sparks.

Mike seemed to notice Kurt a few moments later and then smiled and waved. He took notice of Blaine beside him, noticing the soft red flecks of magic and met Blaine's eyes. Blaine picked up on the message rather quickly: Don't tell him, he isn't ready yet.

So Kurt wasn't aware of his druid heritage yet? Blaine nodded and then turned to Kurt with a smile. "Well, it was good talking to you Kurt. Here, take down my number and we can get to know each other better."

Kurt nodded, handing Blaine his phone and the curly haired teen plugged in his phone number. As he passed the phone back to Kurt, he caught a flash of a vision.

Whoever the girl in front of him was, she was beautiful. Chestnut colored hair that fell over her eyes with pale skin, eyes the color of blood and a smile that was one of a cat who caught the canary. She stood over a wounded boy, who was curled at her feet. As Blaine watched her face morph from beautiful to maddening he was felt his stomach lurch as she bent down, grabbing ahold of his hair and curling his face up to meet him.

"Well pretty boy, are you going to tell me where he is? I promise I'll give you a mercy kill. Your stupid mate won't even feel that much pain when I end you." She cooed, running a finger nail along his jaw.

The boy, who Blaine could now see was Kurt, snorted and then spat at her. "I've endured more than what you've dished out so far, sweetheart. Keep trying."

The girl smirked. "If you insist, Kurtie."

She threw him across the room and let out a crackle as he slammed into a mirror. "Let's see how Jasper reacts when I turn his little songbird into a mangled corpse."

"Blaine, are you okay?" Kurt asked. Blaine blinked and looked at Kurt before he glanced over and noticed the blonde had disappeared. The Dalton boy smiled weakly.

"I'll be okay. Just a little bit of nausea. Um, before I go," he pulled Kurt into a hug, silently casing a protective spell around the boy. He pulled away once the spell was complete, trying to ignore the flustered look on Kurt's face. "I'll call you later?"

"Sure." Kurt squeaked out.

Blaine smiled and then waved bye before leaving Kurt in the Lima Bean. He could only hope that his little spell could do something for his new friend.