Blaine should have been a little more hesitant to see Kurt, but really, it was a welcome distraction before he had to go home. He and Cooper had a complicated relationship—occasionally being best friends, other times, being at each other's throat. Not to mention, he hadn't talked to his mom since their little blow up. If one of those things didn't ruin his weekend, his father would surely be up to his old stuff. No, seeing Kurt would help get him through.
That was until he found Kurt already in the coffee shop. Head hung low and body visibly shaking. There was one cup of coffee in his hands and another across from him. Blaine's eyes softened as he adjusted messenger bag and walked over to the table.
"Kurt?" Kurt looked up. The edge of his eyes were red, eyes strained as he tried to peer at Blaine. The irritated red was still watery. Kurt still managed a small smile as he gestured to the coffee cup.
"I got you a coffee…it's probably way too cold by now."
Blaine sat in the chair across from him He took off the lid and blew at it gently. In between breaths, he told Kurt. "It's alright. Thank you." Kurt looked down at the table as Blaine used his breath to warm up the coffee. He'd never get it warm enough for him to like it, but he got it to a level where he could drink comfortably. He took a long sip. "Kurt, did something happen? I mean, stupid question. You were stressed out when you text me but I didn't think it was this bad."
"It wasn't. Actually, seeing you was going to make it better. Now…" Kurt forced himself to look up to Blaine's eyes. So strained yet still so beautiful. "Blaine, the bully got after me again. This time, he broke my phone. And…and I just lost it."
"Lost it? You mean…"
Kurt nodded. "It was just yelling at first. I yelled at him, he yelled back. He told me to stop but I pushed and then he…he…" Kurt's fingers absent-mindedly trailed to his lips. The nail trailed for a moment before he forced it out. "He kissed me and…Shit, Blaine, I had never been so scared in my life."
Blaine didn't even notice that a swear word besides hell had slipped from Kurt's mouth. Or even heard anything beyond he kissed me. Blaine clutched his coffee cup harder, letting go when he smelled the faint of smell of burning Styrofoam. "He kissed you?" Blaine repeated, hoping it came off more irritated than jealous.
"Yeah…and, I just got scared and he was going to do it again, so I pushed him away only…Only it sent him across the room and into the wall. Hard too. I knocked the breath out of him."
Good Blaine thought. He must have shown more pride than he wanted to because Kurt's eyes watered some more. "Blaine. You don't understand. I can't move things that are larger than me! Never mind fling people against the wall!...I could have hurt him…"
Blaine broke of his selfish jealously when Kurt put his arms on the table and buried his head in them. Soft sobs wracked Kurt's body. In that instant, Blaine realized Kurt wasn't just upset at this instance. It was everything. The mystery surrounding his life. The unpredictability of his powers. The bully who tormented him kissing him. Him almost hurting said bully. Kurt was losing it in front of him…
Blaine wasn't sure how to react. So he did what felt right. He stood from the table and walked around. He threw his arms around Kurt and held him close against his body. Kurt awkward twisted his body so he could sob in Blaine's shirt. People were looking at them. Some concerned for Kurt. Others disgusted because they were embracing each other. As if they had never seen a act of kindness and there for, couldn't understand it.
Kurt sobs started to die down little by little. Until he was simply sniffling. "You're so warm…."
Blaine can't help but giggle. "Thanks…"
"It was my first kiss…"
"Only if you want it to be…" Blaine's humor faded once more as he stroked Kurt's back. He had never taken a moment to smell Kurt before. Now he was so close the cologne had no choice but to push into his sense. He smelled like lavender or a rose after a rainstorm. Something that should have been feminine but didn't. In fact, he just plain smelt better than any gender could lay claim to. Kurt pulled away and looked into Blaine's eyes. Confused yet intrigued. "You can just…pretend it wasn't…"
"No I can't. I've had enough pretending Blaine. I'm tired of looking at myself and…" Kurt took a deep stuttering breath. "I'm tired of looking at myself and not knowing who I am…More importantly, I'm tired of lying to people about it...I may hate that Karofsky was my first kiss—but at least I know it happened."
Kurt then smooth over the collar of Blaine's button-up shirt—a blue plaid pattern. "Sorry, you're having dinner with your family and I soaked your shirt."
He chuckled in response, brushing a few stray locks out of Kurt's face. "Contrary to popular belief, water can't hurt me."
A thought occurred to Blaine. It wasn't a good idea per say, but maybe it would help Kurt be less confused to see a family environment where powers existed and they were talked about freely. That, and it'd give his mother a good chance to see Kurt and see that it wasn't the threat she considered him to be. "Kurt…I know it seems like bad timing but would you like to have dinner with my family?"
Kurt stared at him for a moment. He was shocked. Uncertain. A little confused. Once he haze lifted he answered. "Well…um, could I borrow your phone? Karofsky broke mine…"
"Sure." Blaine said, pulling out his phone and handing it to Kurt. Kurt dialed the first three numbers to his dad's cell phone before Blaine added. "I was right you know."
"About what?"
Blaine wiped a forgotten tear from Kurt's eye and smiled. "Your eyes are beautiful watery."
()()()()()()()
Burt had been worried when Kurt called him but after assuring he was all right and wanted to have dinner with a friend, he calmed down. After the regular questions (What's his name? Where does he live? He's not going to lay a hand on you is he? He knows I have a shotgun, right?) he was given permission and Blaine took him out to the parking lot. "I'll just drive us there and then I'll drop you back off later. That way you don't get lost."
Kurt was confident he could drive fine by himself, but didn't want to miss out on the chance to spend time with Blaine. Blaine had given him his address and Kurt knew it was a particularly upscale part of Westerville. That and his family had to be loaded to pay the tuition at Dalton.
So, needless to say, he was shocked when Blaine walked to the drivers side an old beaten down and dented cherry mustang convertible that looked worn to be worth any money. "This is your car?"
Blaine laughed. "What did you expect? A limo? Hop on in, it's unlocked." Kurt opened the passenger side door and climbed in beside Blaine slamming it shut. Blaine stuck the keys in the ignition and the car loudly roared to life. Blaine started pulling out of the parking lot. "Go ahead and pick some music. I got most of it in the back."
Kurt first glanced at the stereo. Actually, it was a cassette player. He turned to the backseat and saw the Blaine had a milk carton full of cassettes just sitting in the back. "Oh my god. A car like this it'd be so easy to put in a C.D. player!"
"Most people would worry about me damaging the value of my car." Blaine said matter-of-factly. Kurt snorted.
"Don't take this personally Blaine, but your car's not worth very much. Sure it's a Mustang but more accurately, it's one built from other Mustangs close enough to it's model, and if I were to guess, some of the gaps were filled with other Ford parts. Someone Frankensteined the value out of it."
Blaine looked impressed. "You're car savvy?"
"My dad runs his own garage. Hummel Lube and Tire. I help him out during the summers sometimes. It's sort of my guilty pleasure." Kurt started leaning back and searching through the cassettes.
"Well, my mom always said there's nothing hotter than a man who knows his way around car. I think that's why she married my dad." Blaine joked.
"You know, you never really told me what your parents are like. I know Cooper Anderson's your brother and that your mom works for…GAIA right?" Blaine nodded at the question. "And that your dad's a human. But like…before today I didn't even know what you usually dressed like."
Honestly, he didn't know that much about Blaine at all. It was scary how much he trusted Blaine despite that. They had met nearly three weeks ago—had a few coffee dates and texted each other constantly but nothing that warranted getting into his car and meeting his family. A family Blaine mentioned a lot but never really talked about.
It was obvious Blaine had on a front. The question was, did the front protect Blaine's more vulnerable side? Or was to hide the sinister person inside. Well, Kurt doubted that much, but his life was enough of a mystery, he certainly didn't need the boy he was crushing on to be one too.
That being said, with his borderline goofy grin and the way he paid attention to Kurt, it was hard not to trust Blaine.
Blaine made a weird motion with his cheek. More than likely pressing his tongue up against it. "Let's see…My parents are probably a little bit older than yours are. Cooper was suppose to their only child but I was a 'surprise' baby. " He said surprise as if it wasn't his term for it. "My mom's kind of like you. Always dresses nice, a little bit sarcastic. All my looks I got from her. She and I use to be pretty close and I guess we still are, it's just been harder since I've moved to Dalton." And she wouldn't be very happy that Blaine had brought home someone unexpectedly. Never mind a boy GAIA knew nothing about and a gay one at that, which would surely start something with Blaine's father.
Which brought him to his next point. "My dad and I have a little bit of a complicated relationship."
"Because you have powers?" Blaine shook his head.
"No, he's proud of that. Or, at least he use to be. Now he just uses it as evidence that everyone in the family is against him. He's not exactly thrilled that I turned out to be gay." Kurt stopped pawing through the cassettes to look up at Blaine. His hands tightened on the wheel—Kurt could feel the old car getting humid. It was almost December.
Kurt swallowed, searching for any source of hydration from the heat. "Is he going to be mad you brought me home?"
"Probably, but he won't start anything in front of you. He's too high and mighty for that."
The windows were started to fog and Kurt could feel a little bit of sweat develop on his brow. He didn't realize could do this much with his powers, but it was clear he was losing his cool. Kurt, desperate for a change in subject, he picked a cassette and put it in the player. "Why do you have this? You could get a c.d. player that you could hook your iPod to and would sound a whole lot better. Plus you wouldn't all of that in the back…" He said jabbing a thumb to the milk crate.
The humidity broke as Blaine smiled. "I like it."
"Why?" Kurt asked in an exhausted tone. Blaine shrugged.
"I don't know. I guess because it's vintage? I mean, you hear all the artists out there- auto-tuning their voices, adding dance beats, and practically creating music with computers and it's great, I love that…. But sometimes, it's just nice to listen to something in a simpler form, you know? Like in it's virgin form." Kurt rolled his eyes and gave up any hope of persuading Blaine. Although, what he said didn't seem too farfetched. Actually, it was kind of endearing. Sweet even. As if Blaine was the sort of person who could appreciate everything as it was made as opposed to always trying to change.
It was certainly a nice pace from the rest of the society. "Oh Roxy Music!" Blaine turned up the player and placed his hand besides Kurt's head. Close, but a little more distant than he would have preferred. What was he thinking anyway? What the hell would someone like Blaine want with him? Someone who was dramatic, knew nothing about himself, and was entirely bothersome? Blaine was gorgeous enough to have any guy he wanted.
But as he glanced out of the corner of his eye, he saw the innocent shift of his shoulders and the excited glint in his eye. Every so often Blaine would look and smile with adoration. It was in those moments Kurt felt like the most interesting person in the world. Like no one but him could make Blaine feel this way.
Even if that wasn't true, he clung on to it. What was one more lie in his life anyway?
()()()()()()()
"Mom! I'm home. I brought—" Robin listened as her youngest son was cut off with a gag noise. No doubt her oldest son's doing. She stepped back from the salad and walked out to the other room to play referee.
"Cooper, what have I told you about being nice to your little bro…ther." Her voice trailed. Not because Cooper currently had Blaine in a headlock and Blaine was trying to get him off (pretty much normal behavior for the brothers). It was because a boy was standing just in the door. Blaine hadn't told her he was bringing a guest but she found it hard to be angry. When he was younger, Cooper brought friends over all the time unannounced.
That was until she felt his emotion. Such an overpowering sensation of them. Confused. Curious. Nervous. Excited. Joyful. That was just the ones that hit her first, so many others followed—sad and scared being the most recognizable ones.
Most humans tended to believe that there was a name for every emotion. There wasn't. There were some feelings that just couldn't be described by any language. Feelings that most people didn't know they could even feel. So many of these unnamable emotions, along with the ones Robin identified, were resounding from this boy. It was making her a bit uncomfortable. "Boys, knock it off."
"He started it!" Blaine yelled, pushing Cooper off of him. Cooper chuckled and backed away from Blaine. If you had just looked at the two, you wouldn't have guessed brothers. That was because while Cooper looked almost exactly like his father, Blaine got all his looks from Robin. Except for his eyes—hers were green, Cooper's were blue, Floyd's were blue, but Blaine's eyes were Hazel. It easily passed for green most of the time. Cooper was also thinner with his limbs, hair straight lighter brown. They had the same hard jaw and that was about it really.
The boy looked at Blaine and new emotions came out. Robin frowned. Lust. Desire. Adoration. All while looking at Blaine. Blaine turned at that moment to look at the boy. Her son's feelings were almost identical to his.
Now it was very clear who this boy was. "You must be Kurt." Robin stepped into the room, sparing a glare to her youngest son before extending her hand to him. The boy nodded and took her hand. Grasp firm but shaky. "I'm Robin Anderson. It's very nice to meet you. Blaine didn't tell me he was bringing a friend home."
"Kurt Hummel." Kurt repeated, trying to keep his voice strong. "And I'm sorry if it's an inconvenience. I've…I've just had a bad day and Blaine thought I…He thought…"
"Oh Kurt, I know this was Blaine's idea. And it's not an inconvenience at all." Robin lied through her teeth. Floyd was not going to react well to this. "But I need to borrow my son for a minute. Blaine…Kitchen."
"Mom, I can't just leave Kurt unattended. He's our guest." Blaine tried to argue, already sinking in his spot. Cooper laughed and slapped Blaine on the back.
"Don't worry bro, I'll keep Kurt company. He's all yours, Mom."
Kurt shot Blaine an apologetic look as he followed Robin into the hallway. Once they were out of sight, she reached out and grabbed Blaine's ear dragging his flailing body the rest of the way. "Ow! Mom! Okay, I get the point!"
Robin let go of her son's ear. Her voice went low. "Blaine Robert Anderson, why in the hell would you think this is a good idea? Bringing that boy here without telling anyone!"
"I know, I know. I should have called but Mom, he was crying in my arms…" Blaine held his arms close to his chest as if to demonstrate. "This is all scaring him and I just…I wanted him to see a superhuman family so he could feel normal."
"A 75% superhuman, Blaine. You and your father seem to forget he's still a member of this family. You know he's not going to be happy about this!"
Blaine snorted. "He wouldn't be happy if I brought anyone home unless they had breasts and ovaries."
This one argument felt like so many at once. Robin wanted to stop and tell him that his father loved him. Explain to him that Floyd's feelings regarding his sexuality were conflicted and that he was trying to make progress to accept Blaine. That she hadn't married a bigot. But that was an argument she was slowly losing—especially since she wasn't so sure herself.
So, instead she continued with the argument at hand. "And Kurt isn't normal Blaine, not even by our standards. We don't know a thing about him. For all we know, he could be an absorber."
"He's not, Mom. And how are we supposed to find out anything about Kurt if we don't try to get close to him?" Blaine looked smug suddenly. It was because Robin knew he was right. They could argue about if Kurt was dangerous or not until the cows came home, but they'd never know unless they got to know him.
Robin sighed. "What was so upset about, anyway? You said he was crying."
Blaine scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Well…he sort lost control today…"
()()()()()()()
"Hi, Kurt is it?" Kurt broke out of his trance when Blaine's brother—no, the Cooper Anderson—had snaked his way behind Kurt and face close to his ear. Kurt gulped and nodded softly. He felt Cooper smile. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm—"
"Cooper Anderson." Kurt turned suddenly. A little uncomfortable with the close proximity yet feeling like such a fan-boy for feeling giddy. "I know. You're in the free-credit-rating commercials. You're an Ohio legend. We sang a version of your song in Glee once."
"Cool." Cooper said, nodding his head with his own statement. Then he stared hard into Kurt's eyes. Kurt stared back; barely noticing the way Cooper's eyes glowed before his problems seemed distant. His chest expanded as his mind felt lighter, as if all his body could think about were those eyes and the person attached.
"Now Kurt…" The older man's voice was gentle, beckoning. Kurt's ears automatically listened for the next command. Command? What was happening? "Are you and my brother currently involved?"
"No…" Kurt replied, just barely hanging from calling Cooper 'sir'. "We're just friends."
Cooper frowned, displeased with that answer. He quickly recovered, eyes glowing lighter by the minute. "But, you like him, don't you?" Kurt nodded and paused. Had he just admitted that out loud? What the hell was wrong with him? Cooper smiled at his answer. "And do you find my brother attractive?"
Kurt hesitated before answering. "He's…the most beautiful boy I've ever…"
"Mom! Cooper's putting a spell on Kurt!" Cooper broke eye contact, releasing Kurt from his grasp. The light-headed feeling that had taken a hold of him receded quickly until Kurt was left wondering why his filter had switched off. That was until he remembered what Cooper's powers were. Blaine grabbed his hand, looking over Kurt with concern.
"Are you alright? Sorry, my brother's an idiot." He sent a glare over his shoulder at Cooper, who rolled his eyes.
"Come on, it's not like I asked him to dance around in his underwear. I just asked him a few questions." Cooper said innocently. Robin in, giving Cooper her own taste of disapproval.
"Cooper Floyd, don't use your powers on your brother's friends." Kurt tried to smile gratefully, but his head was spinning. "Now look what you did. That was probably the first anyone used compulsion on him. Blaine, take him into the dining room and sit him down. I'll deal with your brother."
Kurt allowed himself to be lead away. It didn't seem like Blaine's mom was mad anymore, so he was relieved. At least until his legs started to wobble. Blaine managed to catch Kurt just before they gave out. "Whoa, easy. We're almost to there."
He heard Blaine pull out a chair from the dining room table and guide him down. Blaine disappeared for a minute but came back with a glass of water, offering it to Kurt. "What did your brother do to me?" Kurt asked weakly accepting the glass of water.
"He used his compulsion on you. It's how he makes people do whatever he wants. Most of the time, if someone's never been compulsed before, it makes them dizzy for a few minutes. It's like being sea-sick." Blaine smiled apologetically. "You have to watch for Coop, he's a little mischievous."
Kurt felt the dizziness start to leave, but a new unsettling feeling set in. Cooper had used his compulsion so he could figure out if Kurt was Blaine's potential boyfriend. And while he hadn't said too much, he did admit that he found Blaine attractive (Most gorgeous boy he's ever seen were the exact words). Blaine spoke up mid explanation, meaning he could have heard Kurt say that. His face broke out in a blush as he realized Blaine could have very easily heard that. "Kurt, are you alright? Your skin is flushed."
"Um…yeah." Kurt decided not to bring it up. Blaine would have been more shocked. Maybe less kind to Kurt than he was now if he had heard. Or maybe he just hoped Blaine didn't hear because surely Blaine didn't think the same way.
Except Blaine had heard everything. And he was thinking similar thoughts…About how Kurt beautiful, strong, and well-meaning, wouldn't want a screw up like Blaine.
Not quite where I want to break, but I have to before it gets too long. Next chapter we'll have Mr. Anderson's reaction, a few Klaine scenes, and Cooper puts his powers to good (and questionably bad) use. Hopefully. There was so much I wanted to do in this chapter but ran out of time.
As usual, thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews, alerts, and favorites :) This particular story is almost at 30 reviews, which is awesome!
Ittlebitz- Thanks! Hope it keeps you excited!
yaoilover1013- Aw! Well I always appreciate reviews :). Blaine's dream was a little bit of me getting my frustration over the sexual tension out. Pretty sure he had to have had at least a 100 dreams like that about Kurt before they got together (beautiful boy with a great sense of humor and fashion sense? He HAD to have dreams). When I started this story, one of the first scenes I knew I had to transfer into this world was the Kurt/Karofsky confrontation—although originally I had planned to take it a bit farther but decided against it. Hope you love the new update! Thanks for being a regular reviewer!
miss jayne76- Another regular :) Thanks! Yes I know, it's rather torturous of me to drag so much a long but I promise you, the answers are coming soon. Maybe not next chapter because like I said, there was a lot in this chapter I didn't get to do, but soon. I will hint that Kurt will be transferring to Dalton very soon and we'll get to learn a little bit more about everyone in the Warblers, and the Cindy's (probably not as interested in those but –hint, hint- it will lead to Kurt finding out more about his bloodline. Lol , sorry, I especially need my sleep. If I don't get enough sleep at night, I pretty much turn into a complete and total bitch (not the fun kind). The good news is my final exams (three out of four in one day, two of which I only have a 15 minute gap in between. No pressure!) are tomorrow, so come Friday I won't have any classes this summer. Still have to work but at least that's one less thing competing with my writing. Thanks for the review!
cynthiacyvon- Thank you! Hope this chapter didn't slow it down too much, and that you like the update. :)
