AN: Sorry for the gap in posting, school's back in session, making it considerably harder for me to post on a semi-regular basis….so do try to stick with me if you can, my loves (: Here's the next installment of Defying Gravity…..please enjoy, my lovelies :)
It'd been three weeks since Kurt had been pulled out of the building, and he'd been going crazy just sitting at home. He was always by himself; Blaine and Finn were at school, and even when school was out, Blaine wasn't always able to be with him. Carole and Burt were always out working, so he usually spent the day roaming around the house aimlessly. This particular Friday, he was excited; he was finally going back to school on Monday. His parents had insisted that he stay home for three weeks since the accident, which seemed like overkill to Kurt, but he didn't really have a choice. Finn was becoming the outlet for Kurt's enthusiasm, much to the larger boy's dismay. His stepbrother was literally bouncing around the living room as Finn was trying to watch TV.
"So, what've I missed in Glee club? You know, I've kind of missed Rachel's incessant raving, she gives me something to bitch at…..Anyway, how's everybody been? Is Mercedes still avoiding Sam? God, Finn, I've been so out of this loop, just tell me something!" Finn groaned, muting the TV.
Does this kid ever run out of things to say?
"Kurt, I love you, man, but please, for the love of God, call Blaine and get him over here, cause I can't handle you when you're….like this!" Kurt laughed, flopping on the couch next to his brother, his oversized sweatshirt twisting as it stuck to the furniture.
"Alright, fine, but don't call me 'man!'" Rolling off the back of the couch, Kurt flounced down the stairs to his room, messily operating his phone, ready to detonate with the energy that being home all day had graced him with. Ten minutes later, the doorbell rang, which Finn answered, letting Blaine in.
"Thanks for saving us, he's kind of….you know, crazy…"
Blaine chuckled warily, cautiously peering around for the hurricane that would be Kurt, who soon made his appearance. Whirling up from the basement, he instantly began rattling again, pulling Blaine back downstairs with him. Finn shot him a sympathetic look as he was whisked away by a much-too-energetic small boy.
"So, what's been going on in New Directions? Has Rachel been giving you all too much crap now that I'm not around to….sneer at her when she talks about how awesome she is? Tell me about everything, Blaine, you don't know how crazy this house arrest has been making me!" Kurt flopped loosely on his bed, rolling over so he was looking at his boyfriend upside down, his blue-green eyes flashing happily. Laughing, Blaine laid down next to Kurt so they were looking at each other upside down.
"Actually, I think I do know how crazy it's making you, considering the last time you were this hyper was when you took Vitamin D for that mash-off. Yeah, I saw that video." Kurt's eyes shot open and he blushed slightly, remembering the feeling of being high on that stuff from Scheuster's wife.
"Oh, I remember that. You know, it did kinda feel like this….Anyway, tell me about school! I can't believe I actually miss it…." Spinning around, Kurt was suddenly sitting Indian-style on the bed, blinking from the head rush. Joining him, Blaine laced their fingers together, leaning back on the headboard.
"School misses you too. Well, I miss you, it's too quiet in Glee club without you snarking at everyone's questions, and I think Schue even misses you. It's not the same without you being yourself in everyone's faces all the time." Kurt grinned, carelessly running his fingers through the brown mess on his head that passed for his hair.
"Awesome, I can't wait to go back! You know, I haven't figured out why I've had to stay home all the time. I mean, I've felt fine for the past two weeks, but then again, maybe that's 'cause I haven't been doing anything…." The small boy was pacing restlessly now, and Blaine could swear he saw one of his hands shaking out of pure lack of activity. His voice trailed off so he was basically mumbling to himself and talking into a sleeve-covered hand. Interrupting his pacing route, Blaine gripped his shoulders, which also trembled slightly. Hooking a finger under his jaw, he forced Kurt's crazy, wandering eyes to lock on his.
"Kurt, would you like to get out of your house for a while? You're not even dressed like yourself; I know something's not right up there." Kurt's face lit up like a midnight fireworks display, squirming in as much excitement as he could muster while being restrained.
"YES, please, yes, just let me go so we can LEAVE!" After a few minutes of squirming, he finally calmed down, but the look in his eyes still closely resembled a puppy on crack. Blaine was holding back laughter, searching the crazed blue-green orbs staring him in the face.
"Okay, are you gonna be alright, or do I need to get the leash?" Kurt's insane expression slipped to one of his all-too-famous bitch faces, which, evidently, was all the answer Blaine needed. Releasing the scrawny cyclone, he scooped up his car keys, leaning against the railing of Kurt's stairs as he watched the other one root around for his other sock, or some such thing. The missing object was found, but Kurt was still speaking so fast that Blaine had no idea what it was he was even looking for in the first place. Before allowing himself to be ushered up the stairs, Kurt spun his boyfriend around, hungrily locking their lips together and pushing them against the wall. Quickly, he released him just as fast as he'd ambushed him, leaving Blaine's hazel eyes wide with surprise and confusion. Kurt giggled, wriggling excitedly again.
"It's been a while since I've done that, huh?" Giggling again, he darted up the stairs, not waiting for a response. Blaine followed closely, albeit apprehensively. Rambling again about everything and nothing, Kurt whirled around the house, accomplishing little, but moving quickly. Finn, still on the couch, mouthed I'm sorry to Blaine as he was pulled out the door.
The cool outside air seemed to calm him down a little; his incessant word spew pausing as Kurt took a deep breath, shutting his eyes and bending back over the hood of Blaine's car, a small smile replacing the caged-animal look he'd had up to then. Finally, a sane thought ran through the small boy's head.
There's that cold side of my face again….I guess I've just been ignoring it in my captivity? Whatever….I'm getting out now, and it's not like bothers me…..
Sighing as he stood up, Kurt pulled his fingers through his hair again, grimacing when he saw the extent of its disorganization in the windshield of the car. Moving to the side of the car, he cringed again as the rest of him came into the reflection.
Note to self: old sweatshirts and skinny jeans do NOT make Kurt Hummel attractive.
Realizing it would be a lost cause to try to get his hair to lie flat, the parts that were flat soon joined the rest of it in unruly spikes, the orderly disorganization slightly better than the atrocity it had been.
Snaking an arm around the other's waist, Blaine rested his head on Kurt's shoulder, squeezing him gently as he leaned back into the embrace, looking at him through the reflection in the car.
"I wouldn't worry too much about how you look, we're just going to the park. Anyway, you're still beautiful to me..." Kurt smiled, covering the other boy's hand with his own, gazing down at their interlaced fingers. A gust of wind broke them out of their trance, making Kurt shiver as he wished he'd been smart enough to actually wear a shirt, not just a sweatshirt. Blaine released him with a soft kiss to his neck, opening the passenger side door with a comical, unnecessary flourish.
"If you would, my good sir?" Snorting at his boyfriend's outrageous British accent, Kurt primly stepped into the car, trying his best to act like an English woman and not laugh at the same time. His efforts were failed when Blaine shut the door behind him and bowed, just as exaggeratedly as the rest of his persona. Flashing a dapper smile, he jumped in the other door of the car, and they were speeding off towards the park near Kurt's house moments later, fingers amiably laced together over the gearshift.
Kurt was pretty calm on the trip over, which Blaine mistakenly took as a sign that he was done cycloning for the day. As soon as they left the car, Kurt was like the Tasmanian devil all over again, shimmying up the huge willow tree that stood by the main parking lot. Perched on a thick branch a few yards up the tree, he swung his legs over the side, grinning widely down at the ground and his confused boyfriend. He almost looked like the Cheshire cat; wide, toothy smile and reluctance to come down from the tree.
"C'mon, Blaine, it's only a few branches! Just come on up, it's easy!" Laughing, Blaine craned his head back to look him in the eye. Were he not out of reach, Kurt would have been pulled back to the ground by his foot, but he was too high.
"No, see, we can't all climb trees like squirrels, love. I didn't even know you knew how to climb a tree, let alone get up there so fast." Kurt tossed his head back, his laugh unnaturally melodic.
"Fine, I'll come back down." Squatting on the branch like a frog, he sprung at a higher branch, swinging off it like a trapeze artist. Or a flying squirrel. After a few more leaps and drops, he finally hit the ground next to Blaine, dusting the tree bark and dirt off his jeans.
"Since when do you know how to climb trees? Wait, since when are you willing to climb trees?" Kurt grinned again, taking the other's hand and sauntering off down the less traveled of the four trails that split behind the entrance to the park.
"Hey, you're not the only one who had parents who wanted to turn you straight. Except this was my grandfather….he thought if he could teach me some stuff about the outdoors then I'd buck up and be more like my dad, or something." He shrugged, watching leaves fall in front of them.
"It didn't work, but I still like climbing. I just don't usually have to chance to; I'd never rub all over those things in the clothes I wear to school." Blaine just hummed in agreement.
They walked down the trail in a comfortable silence, with the occasional departure from Kurt as he scampered up a thick tree, sometimes jumping between trees before hitting the ground again. His grace made Blaine smile; it was nice seeing this side of Kurt, the non-bitchy, agile, peaceful Kurt.
There was a part along the trail where the trees were so close together it was almost impossible to tell them apart. The absence of leaves made it easy for Blaine to follow his boyfriend's porcelain figure twist and fly around the trees with an almost inhuman vivacity. It really was a sight to see, the climbing came so easily to him he didn't even have to think about it; he'd jump off branches 8 feet above where he wanted to land, and then hit the wood without even a flinch.
The only time he actually showed that the whole thing was remotely hard was when he'd swung too high off a branch and collided chest-first with the next. The sound his body made was disconcerting when it echoed around the serene landscape, but he'd dusted himself off and kept going. This stretch of woods went on for what must have been at least fifty feet, at the end of which Kurt slid down a fallen tree like a surfer, kicking up leaf litter as he went.
"So, you're part flying squirrel now? How many other things did you do cooped up in that house?" Kurt laughed breathlessly, dusting the last of the tree bark off his stomach before continuing on down the dirt road.
"Ha, you're funny," his voice dripped with sarcasm. "I'll have you know, my flying squirrel-ness has just about spent the crap I've been building up in my captivity, so you might want to thank it." He proudly stuck his nose in the air, a half-smile coming across his face. Blaine took his hand, noting how…different it was to feel nature on Kurt's hand, rather than the smooth skin he carefully maintained the rest of the time.
"In that case, flying squirrels are my new favorite animal, because you were an absolute mess up until that little display." Kurt's laugh echoed between the trees again as they came to the end of the trail, looking out into what seemed to be a rec center of sorts. Before they made it back to civilization, however, an all-too-familiar voice sounded behind them, startling Blaine and freezing Kurt in place.
"Hey, Azimio, it looks like our little fairy Kurt is actually a freakin' elf! Dancing around the trees like that, like it's something a lady should be doing." Kurt spun around to face Karofsky, squeezing Blaine's hand in warning when he felt the shorter boy tense in fury. He didn't respond, rather fixed his terrified gaze on their hands, which were held behind their backs.
"Aw, Dave, you scared it! It's okay though, don't you think a little contact from nature will make it talk again?" Azimio winked mockingly at Kurt, who was trying not to shake. Bringing their large hands in front of them, the football players revealed a few good size rocks, no doubt gathered from the trail they had obviously been following the other two down. Blaine's eyes shot open, and he lunged at Karofsky, only to be caught and pulled back by Kurt, who was now trembling violently.
"What're you gonna do, Azimio? You think stoning me will make me a man? Good luck; you can't pound the gay out of me any more than I could punch the ignoramus out of you." His voice shook, but still, Kurt held his ground, Blaine stuck by his side (because he wasn't being allowed anywhere else).
"Aw, the little ladies are standing up for themselves! How sweet." Azimio gestured to the pile of rocks. "Would you do the honors, sir?" Dave picked one up, smirking at Kurt. "I'd love to, my friend."
Fear that had been building up in Kurt's thin body now turned to full-blown terror. As Dave threw the rock, everything happened quickly and in a really short amount of time.
Blaine lunged at Azimio again, but the huge boy's fist was ready for him, hitting him square in the chest, throwing him onto the side of the path. The baseball-sized rock flew at Kurt, heading right for his head. He shielded his face with his hands instinctively, not really expecting it to help, but doing it anyway. The overwhelming panic took over Kurt's body, almost like something was making him do things without his consent. The right side of his face flushed ice cold as he brought his hands up, and the cold sensation also went to the palm of his hands.
A gasp and a soft "oh, shit…." made Kurt look through his fingers, curious as to why he'd not met the unforgiving grey surface of the stone. The sight he saw made him jump in surprise. His hands were laced with a rich, bright blue; the color winding around his hands like vines. The rock was suspended in the air a few inches away from him, halted in its aggressive path. Azimio and Karofsky looked like they'd just seen a ghost, and turned and sprinted down back down the path, swearing loudly. Blaine was cautiously peering up at Kurt from the ground, stunned as well.
Not only was the sheer blue weaving around Kurt's hands and glowing through his sweatshirt, it had replaced his eyes, and part of his face as well. The right side of his face was solid blue, the shape of which almost resembled the mask in The Phantom of the Opera. His normal glasz colored eyes had been completely taken over by the radiant blue, as well as the white, giving his terrified face an ethereal, otherworldy image. Kurt whipped his hands around, causing the rock to fly over his head just as quickly. He swore and ducked, the rock moving wherever his hands went. Lips parted, he stared incredulously at the hovering stone, experimentally putting his hands down. The rock fell to the ground. Backing up, he stuffed his hands in the pocket of his sweatshirt, as if hiding the glow would make the rock stop. Apparently, it worked, as the blue began to fade from his body and eyes, leaving a petrified and confused boy behind.
Deeming it now safe to get up, Blaine kicked the rock into the woods before joining Kurt, who stared at his hands like they belonged to someone else. He jumped as his boyfriend's hands took his, and for a second Blaine expected him to flee up a tree. Cautiously, Blaine put their hands down and made Kurt look him in the eye, noticing that they shared the same look of deep fear and confusion.
"Kurt? How did you do that?" He spoke softly, trying not to scare the trembling boy even more.
"I….I don't k-know….."
AND the consequences are revealed…I hope you all approve :)
I don't quite know where the whole tree climbing thing came from, but there it is!
Oh, and PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE drop a line if you have any preferences/ideas where we can go from here! I'm not too sure, and would LOVE to hear from you awesome people that have stuck with me 3