Chapter 12
"Blaine, honey, you haven't eaten a single bite. Are you feeling unwell?" Pam asked, concern etched in her features. "Are you tired?" she asked, and Blaine wasn't sure, but he thought he saw a slight smirk before she caught herself.
"I'm ok…" Blaine answered, pushing his food around on his plate. "The food looks delicious, Mom. You've outdone yourself," he smiled at her. She really had gone all out for Christmas dinner. The table was laden down with a grand meal and he should have been salivating over his favorites – a honey glazed ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, baby carrots, sweet potato casserole, crescent rolls, green beans and the most amazing apple pie he'd ever tasted. Hers was his favorite and nobody else's came close.
"He's not ok, he's stewing and hurt and, oh, did I mention stupid?"
"Cooper James, what in the world is wrong with you!?" Phillip Anderson admonished his eldest son. "Why would you say such a thing when your only brother is so obviously unhappy?"
"Just look at him. He's moping because he ran into Kurt last night and the genius just let Kurt walk right out of his life again."
"Cooper, that's not your business to—" Pam began, but Cooper talked right over her, staring Blaine in the face as he did so.
"He assumed that he knew what the score was, and then he ran away instead of telling Kurt how he really felt, how he's felt for ten years since they broke up," he went on.
"Enough, Coop. Let Blaine tell us if he wants to. It's not for you to—"
"…and if he'd just ASKED Kurt a few questions, OR been honest with Kurt about his own situation, he could have put himself out of his misery. Instead, I had to—"
"SHUT UP, COOPER!" Blaine finally said harshly. The table went utterly silent. Blaine was breathing heavily by that point and staring daggers through Coop's skull. His hands were shaking and he was barely keeping it together.
"I'm just saying—"
"Well DON'T!" Everyone said in unison. Blaine nearly grinned at that, but his heart was feeling more than a little battered and he didn't have it in him.
"Fine. Then I'll change the subject completely. Did I tell you that my friend Hannah and her sister Emma are spending the holidays in Germany with their grandparents? They've been out clubbing every night for a month, I swear. Apparently, Grandma and Grandpa Weber are fairly well off and they've funded quite the trip for the girls…partying, shopping, traveling, etc. And look, they even sent pictures. It seems they ran into some other party goers who are also living in America and visiting abroad for the holiday season…and one who isn't coming back to America anytime soon, but I digress. There's Emma…and Hannah…and their cousin Sofia, who they're staying with this week. Sofia is practically royalty in the clubs and she always has a gaggle of friends hanging about, apparently, as you can see from all of these photos, and oh! Look here, that guy hanging all over their cousin Jonas is … wait…" Cooper gasped for effect, "is that Lars? Kurt's Lars? Well, who knew? He looks awfully cozy with Jonas…"
"Give me that!" Blaine growled and nearly ripped the phone out of a grinning Cooper's hands. Coop went back to stabbing his ham and tried very hard to keep his mirth under wraps.
"How dare he do that to Kurt? How can he just…just hang all over that guy when he has Kurt back here waiting for him?! Oh my God, they're totally making out in this picture!" Blaine nearly yelled. "When I get my hands on that guy—"
"Oh, you won't be able to do that unless you're traveling to Germany. He's not coming back for awhile. See, he's been dating Jonas for the better part of two months, since he left Kurt months ago and moved back to Germany. He outbid several local companies and won some rich bastard over with a drop dead gorgeous design on a super modern home on a lake somewhere. Jonas is the contractor. Convenient, isn't it? I mean, they're so cute together, aren't they? Emma said—"
"Why? Why didn't you just tell me this morning!?" Blaine bellowed. Cooper took special notice of the fact that Blaine was holding a sharp knife in his hand and gave an exaggerated grimace.
"I wasn't sure then. When she sent those photos last week, I thought he looked familiar. You're not the only one who's been keeping tabs on Kurt, little brother. Very little brother…"
"Cooper, damn it!" Blaine urged.
"So when you and I were talking this morning it all clicked. That's why the guy in the photos looked familiar. I've seen him photographed with Kurt before. The guy's pretty talented in his own right, but when you see them together…well, they make a great looking couple, don't they?"
"You're from hell, you know that?" Blaine said, eyes squeezed shut, shaking his head from side to side as he pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. "Why wouldn't he tell me? Why wouldn't Kurt say Lars was out of the picture?"
"I dunno…maybe because he thinks you're still with Seth? It's not public knowledge that you're not, Blaine, and thanks for letting me in on that little tidbit of information months ago when that all went down. Kurt's not selfish enough to ruin that for you. He's been a lot of things over the years, but selfish isn't something that sticks out, ya know?"
"I'm confused. When did you see Kurt? Why would it matter that he's no longer with this Lars person?" Phillip asked.
"Oh, Blaine ran into Kurt at the store last night and then they hooked up later," Cooper said nonchalantly as Pam gasped and put her napkin over her mouth. "He—hey, where you goin'?! We're in the middle of dinner, Squirt!" Cooper laughed.
"For God's sake, Cooper!" Blaine bellowed, mortified, then tossed his napkin onto the table and shoved his chair back to its resting place, full plate still sitting there on the fancy tablecloth.
"Blaine? Are you alright?" Pam questioned, obviously concerned with the way Blaine had bolted from the table.
"I don't know if I am or not. We'll see. Can I borrow your car, Mom?"
"Yes, of course, Blaine, but where are you going? We're in the middle of Christmas dinner, sweetheart!"
"I know, and it's delicious and just amazing—"
"Hey, just like Kurt!" Cooper smiled widely.
"I'm going to choke you with my bare hands, I swear. Sit over there and be quiet if that's even remotely possible!?"
"Blaine, honey, sit…"
"Mom, it can't wait. I may have already blown it—"
"Ooooh, juicy details from last night's sexcapades?" Cooper goaded him again. Blaine turned to him slowly, his face blank.
"Merry Christmas, Cooper. You were adopted and nobody here loves you," Blaine deadpanned.
Phillip bit his lip and tried not to snicker, but they were just too entertaining.
"Where are you going, for goodness sake, Blaine!?" Pam called after him as he strode down the hallway toward the front door.
"I'm going after Kurt!" Blaine yelled, shrugging into his coat as he took off out the door with Pam's keys. "Oh, and Cooper, you're an asshole and you're not off the hook, so be on your toes! When you least expect it, I'll be there!"
Cooper barely kept it together long enough to hear the door slam behind Blaine before he burst out laughing.
"That wasn't nice, CJ," his father scolded him. "Why do you torment him so?"
"Duh, because it's so much fun!"
"You're a grown man, Cooper. You should be over this…this thing you have with annoying your brother on purpose," Pam told him, giving him a stern glare.
"If I'm right, he's on his way to the Hummel's place to declare his love to Kurt. I can't see a single thing wrong with that idea if it makes Blaine happy…and that's all I want. I might tease him-"
"Relentlessly—"
"…but you know I love him, and I only want what's best for him. I only want his happiness, same as you do, I just go about it differently. If this works out, I think Blaine will finally be at his absolute best, mentally and emotionally. And if I can torment him about having a part in that until we're old and gray in a nursing home together, then it'll all be worth it."
"If he's able to get to Kurt and they end up together you might escape unscathed. I think you better hope that's what happens," Phillip grinned, rolling his eyes at his son before digging back into his meal. "Always did like that Kurt, though…"
Cooper grinned and nodded. "Yep…he's a good guy. I wouldn't mind him being around again."
Pam just smiled to herself, bashfully recalling Cooper's comment about her son "hooking up" with Kurt the night before. She just wanted Blaine to be happy and she knew, without a doubt, that Kurt made her baby boy happy.
A/N Please don't take offense at the "you're adopted" comment. I mean no disrespect with it, in fact, I think adoption is an amazing option and a gift for many lovely families. Please take it in the spirit of two brothers trying to annoy and one-up each other as it's meant in the story. That's all. Nothing more.
