Author's Note: Hi. So, here's the twelfth installment, and it may be a little unexpected, hence the chapter title, but don't worry because I have it all figured out what's gonna happen next. I hope you enjoy it.
Just a little word of warning, I may update a little late next week –I have a very busy Saturday planned which includes me being out at 7am for pretty much the whole day with absolutely no internet access. It sounds bad, but I'm good with mornings and I'm actually looking forward to it, I just might have to get the next chapter up a little later than usual. It'll be here as soon as possible.
This chapter is one of the longest and most significant, so maybe that will make up for it.
12. Unexpected Turn of Events
Blaine changed everything.
As weird as it sounded, he made me feel normal again. I wasn't the orphaned homeschooled spy anymore; I was just me –even if he did see me as Kyle.
I stopped focusing on 'Keep Your Enemies Closer' and instead it was like my life was revolving around simply spending time with Blaine (–you know, and schoolwork. I kept up with my education).
Strangely, I loved it.
Things were good –great, even. Sure, we got confused looks around school because no one could actually believe that Blaine was choosing to spend time with another human being and therefore I was classified as strange by default too, but most of the time I hardly even noticed.
I was naïve. I thought that everything was sunshine and rainbows and maybe, just maybe, it was all going to turn out okay.
Then came that one day that I should have been expecting right from the start; that one day that should have screwed it all up again…
It started off as just an ordinary morning. It was Saturday, in fact. Blaine and I had just been out to get a coffee and were returning to my car from the coffee shop.
(Not as if there was anything wrong with the coffee at Dalton; this was just something to do. We both had an unhealthy obsession with caffeine.)
"Blaine," I scolded as we started to make our way down the sidewalk. "For the last time, it's just a car! Stop laughing."
"I'm sorry! It's just so-" He abruptly cut off his own sentence with another laugh. "Can I just say, when I was making that speech about expensive cars last –whenever it was, that wasn't aimed at you. I had no idea that you had this as your dirty little secret."
"It's not my -for the last time, it's just a car!" I was aiming for exasperated, but I knew that my expression was ruining the effect. Blaine had such an infectious smile. "You know what? Honestly, I don't even like it."
"Why? It's a great car." Blaine's expression sobered up quickly.
"You just said-! That's it, I give up with you, I can't –you're just impossible." I made a wild gesture with my hands.
"I can't be impossible, I exist." Blaine fired back, grinning and walking backwards in front of me. "Seriously though, with the car thing, I'm genuinely scared of breaking it."
"Don't be, I wouldn't care." I reassured, shooting him a quick look saying 'you're going to trip if you're not careful'. "I'd be able to fix it quickly anyway, depending on how much damage you caused. Also, you have already been in the car, Blaine. You were fine the first time."
"I know but –did you just say you'd be able to fix it?" Blaine checked, pausing his walking and allowing me to smoothly step around him in the confusion.
"Uh, yeah, I'm good with cars." Blaine stepped quickly to catch up with me. "Well, I used to be. I slowly faded out of helping at the garage after -you know…" Blaine nodded in understanding, and I was glad that I didn't have to finish the sentence.
In truth, I hadn't thought about the garage in a very long time. It was never sold, I knew that, and as far as I knew Charlie acted as the manager. Really, I had no idea who legally owned it either.
"You know how to be a mechanic, huh? I did not know that." Blaine looked impressed. We'd just reached my car and Blaine was now leaning against it and looking at me scrutinizing.
"Stop thinking about it, Blaine," I said calmly, making my way around to the driver's side. "It was a long time ago."
"It's the ultimate way to break the stereotype, isn't it?" Blaine started rambling. "I reckon even more so than football, which is so stereotypically male that – or is it? I like football, I guess, but cars are-"
"Just get in the car, Blaine." I cut him off, rolling my eyes warmly.
"Oh, right. I can do that."
Five-ish minutes later…
"Kyle?"
I made a murmur that could have resembled a yes, not taking my eyes off the road.
"Is it just me, or is that car following us?" Blaine asked curiously.
"What?"
Don't panic, don't panic, I thought. You're driving, you need to stay calm, everything's fine.
"It's probably nothing," Blaine said hurriedly. "I'm being paranoid, aren't I? Just ignore me, it'll be a coincidence."
"I don't believe in coincidence." I muttered, still not looking over to Blaine because I was scared of what I'd see.
I heard him shuffling in his seat and turning to face me.
"What are you talking about?" He sounded hesitant, possibly a little scared, but I had a lot more to worry about than that.
It's amazing how quickly an atmosphere can change.
"Blaine, do you trust me?"
"What?" I only risked glancing at him for a moment, but I knew he was gaping at me. "You're quoting Aladdin now? Is that supposed to help?"
I had the tendency to get really serious when I was doing something spy related –which clearly this was. I already had a guess of what was going on, but I needed to be sure.
"Do you trust me?" I repeated, uncertain about how I could possibly sound so calm at a time like this.
"Yes." -The truth. "But Kyle, I-"
"Blaine, I promise I will explain all of this as soon as I can, but right now I really need you to not question this."
Oh God, this is really happening. This is it.
From the corner of my eye I could see Blaine nodding. Well that's something, I suppose.
"How clearly can you see the driver?" There was a limit to how much I could see in the mirrors.
He twisted his body around more to look behind us. "Middle-aged, cheap suit, kind of gross…" He listed off. "Oh, his nose looks broken."
"Shit." I muttered under my breath. "He's not supposed to remember me. Why can no one seem to let it go?"
"What? You know that guy? Why is he following us?"
"It's probably because I'm the one that did that to his face." Blaine choked in disbelief, eyes widening. "It was self-defense, I'm not –I don't go around getting into fights for fun." I added hastily.
"So what, he's trying to kill you?!" Blaine exclaimed.
I rolled my eyes. "Don't be so dramatic, he's just trying to scare me. Violence doesn't solve everything. I'm at least seventy percent sure that he's only trying to prove a point."
"What happened to the other thirty percent?"
What happened to not asking any questions?
"Hatred can do strange things to a person," I explained. "He's not going to be entirely predictable."
"Okay." Blaine said slowly, taking a deep breath and trying to steady his heart rate. "So what happens now? You can't just lead him towards Dalton."
"This is where your trust comes into play." I supplied. "Here, take these." I swiftly removed my glasses and held them out in front of him.
"But –driving and –I," Blaine spluttered.
"Yes, B, and I've currently only got one hand on the wheel. Just take the glasses and put them on."
He looked set to protest, but I caught his eye for a brief second and he accepted, slowly sliding them over his eyes.
"Thank you." I nodded gratefully. "Now, I need you to be quick. Turn back to face the car and at the same time run a finger down the right hand side of the frames," I instructed. "You'll feel a small button. I want you to press that and tell me how many people are in the car."
Scott had stayed true to his promise and had told me about what the glasses could do. There were a lot of things, actually, but this one changed the view to thermal imaging; apparently it was useful in the dark.
(I figured it would be easier to spot a heat source than a person, especially because of the distance that was still between us and the other car.)
It sounded like Blaine had just discovered this, judging by the shocked noises he'd just made.
"There are three." He mumbled eventually, quickly re-pressing the button so he could see normally again.
"Other than or including him?"
"Including him," Blaine answered, suddenly sounding a lot less relaxed. "Is that important? Are we gonna die now? -Huh, I never thought it'd end this way. Oh God, we're all gonna die!"
"Think happy thoughts," I suggested.
"Why –are they going to lift me into the air? How's this: we're gonna die quickly."
"Well now you're just admitting defeat." I sighed. "We're going to be okay, Blaine."
Relax. They're not going to kill us. They're going to try and kill us. And that is a very different thing.― Steve Voake.
Actually, as of yet, they weren't even trying to kill us. They were just following my car.
"You can't guarantee that! You're being calm and it's scaring me!"
Choose to be optimistic, it feels better ― Dalai Lama XIV
"Oh, would you like me to freak out, lose control and let us crash?"
"No." Blaine said shakily –no, literally, he was trembling. "I just –I'm terrified, okay? There's some creepy guy and his friends stalking us and I don't understand anything that's going on right now but you're acting like this is a normal way to spend a Saturday. I'm so confused."
"I promise you that you're safe, Blaine. I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you."
I'd never forgive myself if I let Blaine get hurt. It was my fault he was even in this situation.
"I know; I meant it when I said that I trust you." He closed his eyes and took deep breaths again.
You really, really, shouldn't trust me.
"…You don't get travel or motion sickness, do you?" I asked softly.
He frowned, eyes still tightly shut, and shook his head.
Thus began the most dangerous driving I have even done in my entire life.
I must have been out of my mind. We were going so far over the speed limit that whenever we took a corner we almost swerved off the road –if that happened, we probably would have died.
It was like I was ignoring everything I'd ever learnt from having a mechanic as a father.
I drove fast, randomly changing directions whenever I could, until I was fully sure that we were as far away from the other car as possible and there was no way they could follow us.
I had no idea where we were, but I pulled over and cut off the engine.
"…So, I guess the car isn't your big secret after all?"
I would have laughed, but it wasn't an appropriate time, and all I could manage was a small smile. "Yeah, you could say that."
"What was with the whole-" Blaine made a weird gesture with his hands. "-Crazy person… thing…?"
…The idiotically reckless driving that I just did? There's not really a logical explanation to that. Maybe I had a death wish that I didn't know about.
"I –you," I paused, twisting my hands together nervously. "I was going to have to get rid of them eventually, and they were making you feel uncomfortable. It was as good a solution as any."
I swear I could feel his eyes watching me, burning into my skin.
"You mean," He sounded confused. "You risked getting a huge speeding fine and almost getting us both killed, because some guy was making me feel uneasy?" I nodded, albeit a little shyly.
Well it sounds stupid if you put it that way…
"Christ, if I complained that it was too hot would you send missiles to go and destroy the sun?"
"Maybe, but I don't think they'd succeed." I joked lightly. "That could be going a bit too far, don't you think? I reckon it'd be more likely that I'd switch on the air conditioning –I might even buy an electrical fan or an ice cream for you."
Silence. All I could hear was the occasional whoosh of a car going past and Blaine attempting to steady his irregular breathing.
"…Why do you seem so in control?" Blaine quizzed, tone soft but clear. "How are you not losing your mind and freaking out right now? Does this kind of thing happen to you a lot?"
I'm not in control; it's all an illusion. Internally I'm panicking.
See above.
Simple answer: yes.
"I wouldn't say that this happens a lot –I've been followed a couple of times before but never by car, so this is a first. I do get into a lot of difficult situations though, and I can't afford to show panic, Blaine. You have to at least pretend to keep your cool."
It was weird; in life-threatening situations I seemed fine, it was only when it got to the real world that I let my emotions grab hold of me.
I guess it was just programmed into my mind as soon as I became a spy.
Right now I was being suffocated by the negative feelings of guilt, shock, disbelief and fear. Nothing unusual; I was beginning to get used to thinking I'm a horrible person.
I studied Blaine's response after I'd spoken, but it was hard to read what he was thinking. How can you observe someone's reaction when they themselves don't know how to react?
"…Okay," He muttered. "So you obviously have a lot of enemies."
"Not exactly," I clarified. "There are a lot of people out there who'll remember me with resentment, but I don't see them as enemies. They didn't do anything in particular to upset or offend me."
I sounded too formal, impersonal, and I didn't like it.
Blaine didn't either.
"Will you just stop being all mysterious and indirect for a moment and give me a straight answer? Don't you think you owe me that at least?"
I ducked my head. "I'm sorry. I'm trying, I just –I really hoped it would never come to this." I brought up my hand to rub at the back of my neck.
"To what!?" Blaine exclaimed. "For God's sake, will you just explain yourself, Kyle? Because frankly everything you're saying is just giving me more questions and leaving me more confused and I-"
Just do it. He deserves better than this and you know it.
"There is no Kyle."
Woah, slightly direct, don't you think you-?
"…What?" Blaine asked quietly.
I'm just saying that maybe you should be a bit more-
"Well, there probably is," I corrected. "Kyle Hudson doesn't seem that uncommon as a name, but it's not mine. It's made up."
-…Gentle? This is a lot of information for him to process, Kurt. You can't just suddenly say "I'm not Kyle." and expect him to be okay with that.
"I- I don't understand. What are you trying to say?"
I took a deep breath. "I'm a spy, Blaine."
It was possibly the stupidest sentence to ever come out of my mouth –but how else are you supposed to word it? I'm a secret agent? I'm working undercover?
Blaine just sat there, staring at me; searching my eyes as though checking to see if I was being serious or not. Honestly, he wouldn't be likely to find anything; contact lenses aren't exactly made to portray hidden emotions.
He looked sort of… lost, I suppose. His jaw was dropped only slightly and he was still wearing my glasses, but on top of that there was something else. I still don't know what it was. He looked torn between what to think or feel and neither of us knew what to say next.
What could you say to that?
"Blaine?" I tested. He'd taken to staring at a random point in the distance, hardly moving.
"Just," His voice sounded hoarse and so he cleared his throat. "Just give me a minute."
I bit my lip and gazed out of the window, letting my thoughts take over.
Mr. Moore would kill me for this. Not only had I told someone what I was, I'd told the son of a known criminal threat. Great job, Hummel; I'm sure your parents would be so proud to see you following so wisely in their footsteps.
I sighed.
Well, that's it. I failed as a friend, as a spy, and as a normal human being. Congratulations to me.
They said never to tell anyone what I did, they said never to let things get personal, I screwed everything up –well done, Kurt.
Maybe this was for the best. Blaine could hate me and then I'd have to leave and I could forget all about this stupid assignment.
I'd miss him, and I doubt that I'd like having a private tutor now that I'd seen Dalton, but surely it was better than the alternative.
Blaine had said that he trusted me. He genuinely trusted me… I wasn't even sure if I could trust myself. If there was one thing that I knew though, it was that I couldn't betray him now, I just couldn't.
"If this is some kind of joke-" Blaine started.
"No." I intercepted. "I wouldn't do that –I, no."
"But you-" Blaine faltered. "Spies aren't- …say that again?"
When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth -Sherlock Holmes
"You heard me." I said softly.
"I know, I just- I don't… how?" Blaine tried, still at a loss for words.
I get it; it's a lot to come to terms with.
"It's what my parents did." I answered. "I don't know much about them in that aspect though. They were gone before they got a chance to explain things to me."
Whatever happened next, I owed him this explanation at least. I might not have been able to tell him everything, but I could say this.
"What –so they died and people just decided to have you take their place?" Blaine exclaimed. His face fell as soon as he said it, taken aback by his own outburst. "Sorry, I didn't –that was insensitive."
"It's okay; I know you didn't mean it like that." If there was anyone who should be apologizing it was me for introducing Blaine to this mess. "But no, it wasn't like that. I mean, I was given the option to say no, but I don't think anyone ever does. It felt like the only choice at the time."
"…How long?" He asked after a brief moment.
"Almost four years now."
Sometimes it feels much longer. Sometimes I feel a lot older than just seventeen. Then there are situations like this and I remember just how naïve I really am.
"You were only thirteen." It wasn't a question, but I nodded anyway.
"…Who are you?"
I looked up, startled. He'd finally taken off the glasses. "Blaine, I- I can't."
I can't tell you who I am.
"So presumably you can't tell me what you're doing at Dalton either?"
I definitely can't tell you what I'm doing.
"Or why?" He continued.
…I don't know anymore.
"Okay." Blaine agreed.
"What's okay?" I questioned carefully.
"Everything," Blaine shrugged. "So, you're a teenage spy posing undercover in a private boarding school and you can't tell me what it is specifically that you're doing. That's fine."
...Excuse me?
"Are you for real?" I blurted out before I could even think.
He smiled. "Personally, I'm not seeing any problem here. I mean, aside from your name, have you ever lied to me?"
I paused. "Um… I don't think so. I don't- I'm not sure. No?"
"So, all the times we've been hanging out, that person was you –it was your personality?"
"Well yeah, but-"
"Then all you've ever done is tell me a false name and withhold the truth –things that you had no choice over because it's part of your job. I don't see what the big deal is here.
"You're a spy, that's all there is to it. It's just another part of you and while I may not particularly like the idea of it, you're still a great person and I like being around you. I care about you. Why should your job change that?"
God, Blaine, if only you knew.
As soon as I got the chance I was supposed to be tricking Blaine into telling me about his dad and walking out of his life without another word.
I can't.
"In fact," He continued. "This just makes things make a lot more sense. The flashy car, the homeschooling, your reaction when you forgot your glasses, your eyes…" Blaine listed off.
"Wait, my eyes?" I asked, snapping out of my daze just at that moment.
"Yeah, I mean, you are wearing colored contacts, right? It's either that or you just don't let your emotions show at all, but you don't seem like that kind of person. It's really hard to read what you're thinking sometimes, your eyes just stay neutral. I guess it could be because you're, you know, a spy, but-"
"No, you're right, it's contacts."
"Really?" If anything, he seemed even happier. "Score one for Blaine."
"You're, you're taking this ridiculously well." I pointed out, faltering thanks to the shock that came with discovering that.
"Am I?" He asked curiously. "Well, not everything happens like it does in the movies. Maybe I'd be more freaked out if you were a vampire. -Are you a vampire?"
"No." I scoffed.
"Good, because I doubt I'd deal with that so calmly." He looked thoughtful. "Have you ever hurt anybody?"
"Yes," I said simply. "But only ever in self-defense, and as far as I know it's never more than a broken bone or two. They've always deserved it."
I'd gotten into a proper fist fight on one occasion, but my opponent was big and clumsy so I managed to dodge most of his poorly aimed hits and left pretty much unscathed; he got what was coming to him. There were a few guys actually, but I had back up so it was basically evenly matched between us all.
"That's okay then."
I stared at him incredulously.
"What?" He asked. "Did I say something wrong?"
"I tell you I'm a spy and you ask if you've done anything wrong."
"…Yes?" Blaine said unsurely.
"Blaine, that's not normal. You're supposed to be yelling or –I don't know, you're supposed to hate me. How are you so accepting?" Is this another dream?
I mentally debated how strange it would look if I subtly pinched myself to check that I was awake.
"First of all, you can't tell if you're dreaming whilst you're dreaming, so yes, this is real life." Did I say that out loud? "Secondly, no, you didn't say that out loud; you're just panicking so much that I can guess what you're thinking. I'm guessing correctly if your expression is anything to go by.
"Honestly, none of this is normal, and I'm not supposed to be doing anything, I don't think there's a stereotypical reaction to finding out that your friend is a spy, and it isn't as if you're a murderer –or, well, a vampire. And I could never hate you, probably not even if you were a murderous vampire, so stop panicking.
"Believe it or not, I'm actually a very accepting person. As I've already told you, I don't have a problem with what you do as long as no one's life is in danger."
Apparently I still looked unconvinced. Blaine sighed.
"…When you first met me, you said that I was stuck with you, and well, it works both ways. I'm not going anywhere. I don't scare that easily."
"Oh yeah?" I challenged his last point. "What about yesterday?"
He frowned in confusion before realization hit. "Oh. For the record, I was not scared, I just…"
I raised an eyebrow. "You just what…?"
"Well no one likes spiders."
I laughed.
"See!" He said in triumph. "I made you laugh! Do that more often, I don't like it when you get serious."
"I have you be serious sometimes, Blaine."
"Why waste time being serious when you can be fun instead?"
I rolled my eyes. "So, you're genuinely okay with this?"
"Sure." He said enthusiastically. "Although, I do have one question..."
I tried to ignore the countless bad possible inquiries that crossed my mind. "Shoot."
"What do I call you now?"
I frowned. "Um, you call me Kyle, the same as always."
"Do I have to?" He whined. "It won't feel right now that I know it's not your real name."
"Well what else are you going to call me? Look, if it makes you feel any better, KH are still my initials." It wasn't much in the way of compensation, but for some reason Blaine was happy with that small bit of information.
"Then I'm calling you K." He confirmed, nodding shortly as he said it.
I just looked at him.
"What?" He questioned.
"Nothing," I said simply. "You're just kind of amazing."
End Author's Note: Please let me know what you thought in a review, I love receiving them.
