Summary: Six times Blaine Anderson needed rescuing - and one time he saved the day
Notes: So, this has been some time. Though in my defense, I did graduate from university in the meantime. This story directly follows the previous one, "Let The Right One In" and portrays how Blaine finds his footing in Sunnydale. Also, how Kurt managed not to get murdered by Cooper.
Also, I hope the line breaks aren't too confusing, somehow and I don't agree on formating anymore... Anyway, on with the story.
Cooper, the Vampire Slayer
The Damsel in Distress, Part 1
One evening, and everything Blaine had known had fallen apart.
Downstairs, he could hear the weird, Latin chanting from Quinn and Sue, and the smell of the herbs they were burning was wafting through the house. They were casting a spell. Magic was real, his brother's girlfriend was a witch, and at the moment she was casting a spell to revoke the invitation that Blaine had accidentally given to a vampire.
Because all that was true, as well.
Vampires were real, demons were real, prayer didn't always keep them back, and his brother was the Chosen One.
Blaine gathered the blankets closer around him as he shuddered, even under the warmth of Sunnydale's nights. For how long had he thought that Cooper had just stopped caring about him? And now it turned out that all this time, Cooper had cut him off intentionally, to protect Blaine from the darkness in his life.
And now?
Kurt, the vampire, had torn away all veils and shown him just what was lurking out there. Blaine still felt the pain in his throat – just a shadow of how agonizing the vampire's bite had been. He didn't want to look at it, to see just how dark the bruise would be.
Vampires...
His first instinct had been to run. He should leave Sunnydale and never return, possibly forget it even existed, forget everything about demons and vampires...
"Hey, are you okay?"
Blaine looked up to see Cooper standing in the door to his room. The guest room, he reminded himself, there was no point getting used to this place.
"It's just a bit much," Blaine said. "I don't think I'll be able to sleep much."
"I figured," Cooper said. He walked over and sat down on the bed. "But the spell is almost complete. Once it's ready, the invitation is revoked. Kurt won't get in here again. He won't get to hurt you ever again."
Blaine felt a shudder running down his spine. Something told him that Cooper would be wrong about that.
"We can look at flights tomorrow," Cooper said. "I'm sure you'll want to get out of here as soon as possible. We can figure out somewhere for you to go, I've got he money. It will be okay."
Blaine bit his lip, trying to figure out why he felt so upset at this. It was what he wanted, to get away from all this. He'd never think of vampires and demons again. He had that option, and he knew he should take it and run. He had nothing to do with this.
Cooper didn't have that option. He was the Chosen One. How much had he given up? His acting career... the place he wanted to live at... their relationship as brothers... and all of it to keep the world safe, and to have his little brother still believe that the monsters under his bed didn't exist.
But now Blaine knew. How could he go back to a normal life when he knew that demons existed? How could he go to New York or anywhere else, now that he knew that his brother was risking his life every night?
Again, Blaine shuddered.
Cooper seemed to misunderstand and pulled the blankets closer around him. "You'll be alright. In a few days, this will be far behind you."
And suddenly, it made sense.
"No."
Cooper looked puzzled. "What do you mean, no?"
"I'm not leaving," Blaine said. "I'll stay here."
"What? No, you won't," Cooper protested. "What would you even do here?"
"College, I guess," Blaine said. "Sunnydale has a community college, doesn't it?"
"You're not staying here," Cooper said. "It's too dangerous!"
And that was exactly the wrong thing to say if he wanted Blaine to leave.
"We'll talk tomorrow," Blaine said. "But for now, I'm staying with you."
"This is not over," Cooper said. He looked alarmed, and it was hard to blame him. Blaine could imagine that this was the last thing Cooper wanted. It wasn't what Blaine himself wanted either. But demons were real, and Cooper had to be staying here fighting them. It wasn't even an actual choice.
"We'll see," Blaine said softly. "We will see.."
The first time
Kurt couldn't remember a time when he had been this paranoid. He had brought this onto himself, of course, but it was exhausting. Every other night, he moved to another hideout. Fortunately, both Sebastian and Elliot had known several places to take refuge, and Kurt had remembered most of them.
Well, now he needed them. Attacking the slayer's little brother had definitely been the dumbest thing he'd ever done, unless getting himself turned into a vampire counted. But he couldn't change it, so he needed to live with the consequences. And the first step was to keep the lowest profile he could manage. He wasn't sure if Cooper would actively hunt him down, but he definitely wouldn't risk stepping under the slayer's nose.
The smart thing to do would be to leave Sunnydale, of course. But once he crossed the borders, he'd be back on the radar of his vampire lord, and without either leverage or something powerful to appease her, Kurt would want to meet Lady Isabelle even less than he'd like to meet Cooper Anderson.
Still, the most pressing problem he had at the moment was neither of them. The thing that he really worried about was his hunger. He couldn't hunt as freely as he used to, not if he wanted to stay hidden from Cooper. He wasn't sure he was safe right now, but if he didn't get some blood into his system soon, things would completely spiral out of control.
This would just be a very short excursion. All Kurt needed was to find a lonely, defenseless human and get some blood, then he'd return to his lair. It wasn't a long term solution, but it would have to do until he either found a way to get the slayer off his back or get his demon lord to forgive him.
Kurt's thoughts were interrupted when he heard jeering. He rolled his eyes when he recognized the voices. They were members of a coven of lesser vampires, and they'd always been a nuisance. Simple curiosity made Kurt take a look around to localize them and see what they were up to. There were two of them, and one of them was holding up a human, probably their victim for the night.
It shouldn't matter. This wasn't his business, and since when did he care about idiot Sunnydale kids getting themselves killed by vampires anyway? The answer was he didn't.
He was about to turn away when he caught a glimpse of the unfortunate human.
Of all people in Sunnydale, how could it possibly be him? Then again, this was Sunnydale. Who else could it have been?
Held by a vampire there was none other than Blaine Anderson. He was deadly pale, and obviously terrified. Kurt couldn't help himself, he was moving closer before he had even made a decision.
"So, little bunny, ready for a little midnight snack?" one of the vampires said.
"Let me go!" Blaine was struggling against the vampire's hold, but it was obvious he didn't stand a chance.
"But you are our midnight snack," the vampire holding him said, as if that was some sort of witty remark. His friend at least seemed to think so and started laughing.
Blaine looked as if he was trapped in a nightmare. His eyes were wide, he was visibly shaking, and Kurt thought he could see tear tracks on his face. But at this brilliant remark, some fire returned to his eyes.
"Go to hell," he hissed.
"No, you're going to hell!" the vampire laughed.
Kurt was moving before he had even made a decision. He started with the one not holding the boy, ripping off the head before the idiot even noticed something had happened. The other one screamed as if he was a little girl. In that one moment of confusion, Blaine managed to break free. The boy tumbled down, and Kurt used the moment to surge forward and get rid of the second vampire.
Not so bad. Kurt turned around, soaring from the quick victory.
Blaine was still on the ground, his face a mixture of fear and hatred. Kurt could see in his eyes what he had seen a million times – a perfect image of the fight or flight question. Right now, Blaine was considering his options. Did he have a better chance running or fighting?
Suddenly, Kurt didn't feel triumphant anymore.
Before Blaine had made a decision, Kurt grabbed his hand and pulled him into a standing position.
"Sunnydale is dangerous at night," Kurt said, "didn't your brother tell you that much at least? Why are you even still here?"
Blaine tore from his grip. It would have been easy to keep him in hold, but he had no reason to.
"You... don't you dare talk to me like that," Blaine said.
"I just saved your life," Kurt said. Of course, it was a weak argument. Blaine had every right to be pissed at him.
Blaine looked at him full of contempt. "Really? Because what they threatened me with... you've actually done that to me, so don't you dare act like a hero!"
It felt like a bucket of cold water, though really, he should have seen it coming.
"I never said I was one," Kurt said, but there wasn't much fire in it.
"Right, you've been completely honest about who or what you are from the beginning," Blaine snapped back.
Damn, this one really knew how to land a blow.
"So why are you even still here? You should be in New York," Kurt said, almost at a loss for words.
"And you should mind your own business," Blaine said.
Kurt opened his mouth, not sure what to say, but very sure that he wanted to defend himself – but then, another voice called out.
"Hey! Get the hell away from him!"
Cooper.
Definitely time to run, and fast. Before he left, he could see the relief in Blaine's eyes as his brother was cominng closer. Good for him, he should get to feel safe – and maybe now he'd realize that his best chance for that would be to leave Sunnydale and never come back.
The second time
Blaine felt exhausted, as he stepped out of the building and onto the campus of Sunnydale community college, but still, he was content.
How much time had he wasted studying for a business degree he had never actually wanted, just to placate his parents? The college in Sunnydale wasn't prestigious, and there had to be hundreds of better schools in the country. But one week here had been better than all those semesters he had spent in Columbus.
Most of it had to be due to the fact that he could finally study something he loved. His parents had thrown a fit when he had told them he had decided on music, but it didn't matter anymore. Cooper paid for his school, and they finally didn't have a say in his life anymore.
So maybe it wasn't just about music, maybe it was also because he was finally free. He hadn't even known how much he had longed for this. He could do what he wanted to do, and be the person he wanted to be. No more hiding.
Of course, he would enjoy it so much more if he wasn't in Sunnydale with all its secrets and demons.
A shudder went through him as he remembered the pain of those fangs piercing his skin, how all sensation had been focused onto that one spot of his throat, and all sensation had turned into pain...
No. He would not revisit that moment anymore than necessary – bad enough that he still had nightmares about it. Vampires existed, they scared him, but they would not control the course of his life. Besides, they were creatures of the night, and right now, it was still afternoon. By the time he'd have to worry about vampires, he'd be safe in Cooper's house, secured again by Sue's spell. No demon could touch him there, including Kurt.
"You okay, dude? You seem kind of out of it..."
Blaine looked up, when he heard the voice of Sam, another student. "I'm fine," he said, "just lost in thought."
It had been a week, and there hadn't been much time to make friends yet. But so far, Blaine felt he and Sam might get along pretty well. The two of them were the oldest freshmen, both on their second shot at college. Sam had told him he had first pursued a career in modeling, but eventually decided he'd rather get a college education and get into teaching.
"By the way, do you want to hang out some time after school?" Sam asked. "I've got new games, we should totally try them."
"Sounds great," Blaine said, "though maybe not today. Cooper is waiting for me. Weekend maybe?" Or any option that didn't require him to walk through Sunnydale at night...
"Cool," Sam said. "I have to go, football practice. See you around?"
"Yea, see you tomorrow!"
They waved and Blaine made his way to the bus stop. It was a bit inconvenient. Cooper had a car, but he needed it today himself, some sort of meeting with his agent. He had even mentioned getting a second car just for Blaine, but that seemed like too much. College was expensive enough, he didn't want to ruin his brother financially... And how successful exactly where his books that he could just consider buying another car?
Unfortunately, Blaine had been too deep in thought. As he looked up, he could just see the bus drive away. Great, he'd have to wait.
With a sigh, Blaine checked the bus schedule. One hour... He considered what to do. Cooper probably wasn't done with his appointment, but if he was, maybe he could pick him up here? It was worth a try. He sent a short text asking Cooper if he could possibly pick him up at college, and then sat down, ready to wait.
He wasn't sure how long he had been sitting there. All he knew was that at one point, a bell-like laughter sounded right beside him. Surprised, Blaine looked up to find himself opposite another boy.
This other boy looked about his age, maybe younger. He was slender, with bright blond hair and eyes so bright blue that they hardly held any color at all. His skin was pale, without blemishes and looking so soft, like Kurt's had been...
The thought alone served like a bucket of cold water and woke Blaine from the almost trance-like fascination he had sunken into. He would not allow room for that demon in his thoughts.
The boy looked at him in confusion, and suddenly Blaine felt like an idiot. How long had he been sitting here staring at a stranger?
"Sorry, do I know you?" Blaine asked. It wasn't very eloquent, but it was an improvement.
The other boy laughed again, and Blaine felt his heart beat accelerate at the sound. It felt so happy and light...
"You're distracted, yes?" the boy asked.
His voice, too, sounded like the ringing of a bell. Beautiful. There was no other word for it.
"Have we met before?" Blaine asked. He was sure he'd remember this boy, but the stranger looked at him with so much familiarity...
"Not yet," the boy said. "Or maybe in your dreams?"
"Right, that doesn't sound creepy at all," Blaine said, although he noticed the words didn't hokd as much sarcasm as they should have.
Again, that laughter. Blaine couldn't help the smile forming on his face in response. How else could he react to laughter like this, soft and like sunshine, and warm... Blaine felt more relaxed than he had in a very long time. When had he ever been this comfortable here in Sunnydale? Or even before? But now he felt... calm, at home...
The boy took his hand, and everything felt warm and soft. Blaine smiled so wide that his face almost hurt, but it didn't matter. He was sitting with the most beautiful boy he'd ever seen. What could be more important than that?
"You should come with me," the boy said.
Something wasn't right here. There was this tiny voice at the back of his head that told Blaine that he should be careful. This was Sunnydale, and it was dangerous, and didn't he mean to go somewhere? He didn't even know this boy... not even his name, he suddenly realized.
"Who are you?" he asked, but even speaking the words felt hard. He was a bit tired, but just so comfortable... As a kid, he and Cooper had spent Christmas Eve sitting in front of the fireplace, waiting for Santa until they drifted off to sleep. Now, he felt just like that. Warm, happy, safe and comfortable...
"Come with me," the stranger repeated. "Come, I can show you happiness."
Blaine felt himself nodding, even as he wondered why. Something was up here... something important that he needed to remember... But he just couldn't grasp what it was...
The boy looked at him, angelic and perfect, and laughed again his bell-like laughter. When he stood up, Blaine rose himself, without ever actively deciding to do so.
"Will you come with me?" the boy asked.
Blaine's mouth opened, and he knew what he was going to do. His eyes trained on the beautiful boy, he got ready to say the most important words of his life...
A point of red appeared on the boy's throat, and suddenly, all the warmth disappeared. When Blaine blinked again, he didn't see the creature of beauty and warmth. All that was left was a thin, white-skinned and white-eyed boy, with a bleeding wound in his throat. As the boy collapsed, Blaine saw Cooper standing right behind him, a short silver blade in his hand.
"W-what...?" Blaine's head felt clouded, as if he was waking up after surgery. He wasn't sure his legs would hold him, but just as he stumbled, Cooper stepped forward and hugged him.
"Are you alright?" his brother asked.
"What just happened?" Blaine knew his voice was higher than usual, but with the sensation of comfort gone, he suddenly felt cold and scared. He looked again at the boy, but to his horror there wasn't much left – the body dissolved into a silvery puddle. "What was that?" It couldn't be a vampire. It was before sunset, he had been so careful...
"A siren," Cooper said. "The one we've been hunting for a while. Did it hurt you? Are you okay?"
"A bit confused," Blaine said. "How did you find me?"
"You texted me to pick you up," Cooper said. "Two hours ago, and you didn't answer your phone. I got worried."
"I wasn't here for two hours," Blaine said. He wasn't sure of a lot right now, but that was clearly absurd.
"I'm afraid you were," Cooper said, holding up his own watch.
Blaine stared at the numbers, unable to grasp what he was seeing. "I don't understand..."
Cooper shook his head. "Sirens confuse their prey to lure them back to their hideout. It's not your fault, it's dark magic, very hard to resist."
It was probably all very logical, but right now, Blaine couldn't understand a word of it. What he did understand was that though Cooper's words were kind, there was a certain tone of reproach to them.
"Come on," Cooper said. "Get into the car, Blaine. We're going home."
Blaine was too tired to protest, so he complied. In the car, he let his head lean against the window, his eyes drifting close.
Sirens. Of course, those existed too. And obviously, Sunnydale wasn't only dangerous at night. He probably should have expected this. But if he was in danger all the time, how was he supposed to do this? What would happen if next time Cooper didn't get his text in time? Would he get eaten by a monster the second Cooper was distracted?
What was he doing in Sunnydale? It had all seemed so clear... but now he wasn't so sure. He had wanted to support Cooper, to help him... and of course, there was a bit of selfishness. But was he doing the right thing?
"Do you have any idea how lucky you were?"
Blaine blinked in confusion at Cooper's voice. His brother sounded so irritated, almost angry...
"You were about to go with that thing... You know what would have happened, right?"
Blaine frowned, trying to stay awake and concentrated enough for this conversation. "It would have killed me?" he said. It was a guess, but this was Sunnydale, and apparently everything wanted to kill you here.
"It would have eaten you," Cooper said. "With his whole family. Great comfy family dinner. Happened to at least three other kids yet this month alone, we only found the bones."
A shudder went down Blaine's spine. Not pleasant. "I didn't know about it," he said. "You don't exactly tell me what you're doing."
Cooper sighed, and all the anger and frustration disappeared from his voice, leaving only a sad, soft resignation. "I'm not telling you because I don't want you involved in all this. I can take care of myself, and so can the others. But you... you shouldn't be here, Blaine. You can't fight them, you don't know how to protect yourself... There's a reason I never told you about any of this. I wanted you to stay away from it."
"Well, that boat has sailed, hasn't it?" Blaine said. The haze he'd been in was starting to dissipate, and he felt a familiar sense of frustration. "I'm here, I'm staying, you'll have to learn to live with it."
He tried to sound confident, but he was well aware that Cooper had to do no such thing. His brother could kick him out anytime. Of course, he wouldn't do it. Cooper felt too bad about the years they hadn't been in contact. And Blaine himself felt just as bad about all those times when he had thought his brother had forgotten him, while Cooper had been here, risking his life to make the world a safer place...
In a way, ignorance had been a bliss. But now that he knew the truth, how could he turn his back?
"This isn't working, Blaine," Cooper said. He sounded just as tired as Blaine felt. "I can't look over my shoulder every second because I'm afraid something might happen to you. I can't be here to save you all the time."
Blaine closed his eyes, letting his head fall back against the head rest. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "But I can't just leave."
Cooper looked at him for a long time. "I just want you to be safe," he said eventually.
"I know," Blaine said.
They both fell silent, too absorbed in their own pessimistic thoughts. As much as Blaine hated it, he knew that Cooper had a point. He was helpless. He couldn't defend himself. Sure, he knew how to box, but he didn't actually know how to fight. As the slayer, Cooper was stronger than a normal human being could dream of. Quinn was a witch, growing more powerful every week, and even Tina as an apprentice witch could take better care of herself than he did. Mike was a martial arts expert. And no monster could even hope to survive an encounter with the watcher, Sue Sylvester. What could Blaine really bring to the table, except being a target? He had wanted to support Cooper... but was he? Or was he making things worse? Maybe he really didn't belong here... but then again, had he ever?
"Hey, Blaine?"
He looked up as Cooper spoke, only now realizing he had almost drifted off to sleep. "Hm?"
"I'm glad you're okay," Cooper said.
"I'm glad you came. Thank you," Blaine said.
There was more Cooper wanted to say, but this wasn't the time to discuss it – how things were going to continue, what they were going to do – so he just shook his head. "Get some sleep. We'll figure it out, eventually."
The third time
Blaine cursed himself as he stepped out of the campus gym. It was already dark outside, of course. It had been such a nice day that he'd taken the bike to college and his plan had been to leave campus early enough to come home before sunset. Too bad he had forgotten time while he was taking out his frustrations on a sandbag, and now he was effectively stranded on campus.
Stupid... how hard was that Sunnydale rule to not walk around after dark? And Cooper already doubted he was responsible enough to deal with this place and all its demons...
The smart thing would be to call Cooper and ask to be picked up, or at least to call a cab. The absolutely last thing he should do was to get on his bike and hope for he best, chances were he would get himself killed. No, he'd much rather listen to a lecture about the dangers of Sunnydale.
Decision made, he took out his cell phone and began searching through his contacts for his brother's number in the dim light of a street lamp. He had just found it, when a shadow fell over the display.
Blaine looked up in annoyance, only to find himself face to face with one of the football players. He didn't know the guy, but the jacket was easy enough to recognize.
"Yeah, can I help you?" Blaine asked.
The guy stared at him in a way that made Blaine slightly uncomfortable. Then, he grinned, revealing a pair of fangs. "You're the brother."
Blaine froze. Vampire. But how? He was still on campus... "This is supposed to be a safe space," he said, a weak and pointless protest.
The vampire frowned at him, clearly not understanding what he was talking about. Then he shrugged, as if it didn't matter. "Of all the people I could stumble across..."
"How do you even know who I am?" Blaine asked.
"Our leader knows everything there is to know about the slayer," the vampire said. "He'll reign over this town, once he's taken care of your brother, and that blood traitor doing his bidding. This town will be ours. You can't imagine what it will look like. It will be magnificent. Not that you'll be alive to see it... You'll be long gone by then. Just wait and see till I bring you to my sire. He'll reward me..."
Despite his fear from the vampire, Blaine couldn't help but notice that he really seemed to like the sound of his own voice. But maybe this could give him the time he needed... He still had his phone. Praying that Cooper would answer, he pressed the call button.
Kurt had run out of luck. He had played with fire often enough, but in a way, he had known his nights were numbered the second he put a hand on Blaine Anderson. Now, it was time to pay. He had tried hiding, but he should have known that eventually Cooper would find him in one of those hideouts.
And now, here they were. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. He was at the end of the corridor, and Cooper blocked his only exit. It was over. All that was left to do was to turn around and face the music.
"You can't run anymore," the slayer said. "You won't touch him ever again."
"I saved his life!" Kurt yelled. He wasn't sure whether this would gain him any points, or if begging had any chance of success – but he had come too far to die now because he wouldn't risk his pride. "The other night, when you saw me with him? I had just taken care of two vampires about to kill him."
"He told me what happened," Cooper replied, "and it doesn't matter."
"Think about this – killing me isn't going to change anything," Kurt said. He hated sounding pleading, but with the way Cooper was glaring at him, there wasn't really much else he could do.
"If this makes my brother feel safer here, then it's worth it," Cooper replied.
"Why is he even here? Sunnydale is the least safe place in the world! Why would you keep him here anyway?"
"Shut up!"
He was running out of things to say. But right then, he was saved by the thing he'd expect the least – the annoying music from a cellphone. To his surprise, Cooper actually halted his attack, hesitating for a moment, and then, his eyes still trained on Kurt, he took out the phone and tapped on it.
For a moment, Kurt wondered why Cooper would choose this moment to answer the phone, but then he understood.
"Blaine? You okay?"
Somehow, Cooper must have known it was his brother on the phone. How ironic would it be if his life would somehow be saved by Blaine Anderson of all people?
The flash of relief died instantly, when screaming erupted from the device. He caught a jumble of words, among them "Cooper!", and "Help!" , before the line went dead.
Cooper had paled, his eyes wide, and a look on confusion on his face. And while he might feel sorry for the boy, Kurt knew that this was an opportunity he couldn't afford not to take.
"You won't help your brother killing me. You want to save him? Go and save him!"
"I don't know where he is," Cooper said, his voice breaking.
Humans and their lousy hearing...
"Vampires by the gym on campus," Kurt repeated the few useful words he had caught. "You should run."
Cooper hesitated only for a fraction of a second, then he turned, and ran.
Kurt leaned back against the wall, as his knees felt weak. This had been close. He had actually almost died tonight...
The sad thing was, Cooper would most likely be too late to save his brother. If he was cornered by vampires, then he might already be dead – unless they had realized he was the slayer's brother and understood how valuable a hostage he could be. Unfortunately, most vampires here in Sunnydale were lesser beings, and probably too dumb to realize their opportunity. Not that using this opportunity had worked out too well for Kurt himself...
A part of him wanted to run far away and pray to not run into Cooper anytime soon. But his curiosity was too much. He had almost found his death over Blaine Anderson. He had to find out how this ended.
Cooper knew there was no way he'd reach the campus in time. The second he jumped into his car, he yelled at his phone to call Sue. If anybody had a chance to get to Blaine and prevent the worst, it was her.
It seemed to take hours, but eventually, she answered.
"And there we have Anderson the Elder. Now what is it you want?"
"Blaine is being attacked by vampires on campus!" Cooper yelled at her. "He needs help!"
There was a snort from the other end of the line. "Impressive. That's three mistakes in one sentence. And here I thought language was how you pay your bills?"
"What?!"
"One, it's past tense. He was being attacked. Not anymore. Two, it's vampire, not vampires. Singular. And three, Little Lord Fauntleroy doesn't need help, he needs a watch so he remembers to go home on time, and not wait until I'm getting ready for my personal cocktail hour."
It took Cooper embarrassingly long until he filtered out the important information. "Wait... he's okay?"
"I've taken care of it," Sue said. "I expect you here in a few minutes to take him off my hands. I do have other plans."
"Get him on the phone, please," Cooper said.
There was another snort from Sue, and then, he heard his brother.
"Cooper?"
"Are you hurt?" His voice was harsher than he intended, but he couldn't help it.
"No, I'm... I'm okay. Sue was there."
Cooper sighed in relief. Blaine really was safe. But even as the relief settled in, he could feel anger flaring up. "What were you even still doing there?" he asked, his voice again too sharp even to his own ears.
"I'm sorry..."
"Just stop. I'll... I'll see you in a few minutes," Cooper said. "Just stay with Sue. You're safe with her."
Maybe it was a good thing it would take him a bit until he arrived on campus. Blaine was probably scared enough, he didn't need Cooper yelling at him. The sad thing was that he knew he wasn't actually angry at Blaine. He was scared that his brother might get killed. But how was he supposed to deal with this? How was he supposed to deal with his brother being in constant danger?
He wasn't sure how long it would take to find an answer. He just knew that he wouldn't find it before he arrived.
Kurt had arrived on campus only shortly after Cooper did. The scene he found wasn't nearly as disastrous as he had expected. Blaine Anderson looked pale and scared, but completely unscathed. Sue Sylvester was standing beside him, looking utterly bored with everything, and Cooper seemed to be unable to decide whether he wanted to hug the kid or yell at him.
Well, that was all Kurt needed to know. There was no need to stay longer and risk getting caught. He had escaped Cooper's wrath once already, but he might not be this lucky next time.
Speaking of lucky, Blaine Anderson had to be the luckiest person in Sunnydale... or unluckiest, seeing in how much trouble he had gotten in already. Though maybe tonight was the push he needed to realize that Sunnydale wasn't the best place to be. And maybe if he left, his brother would calm down and end his revenge trip.
Either way, Kurt needed more of a long term solution if he wanted to stay in Sunnydale.
The fourth time
Sunnydale was a horrible place, there was no way around it. It hadn't even been two months and Blaine already felt tired out by this city. Vampires, witches, sirens... and now faeries.
He never had expected faeries to be something one had to be afraid of. But judging from Cooper's and Quinn's reaction, actual faeries apparently didn't have much in common with Tinkerbell. Even Sue seemed to think this was a big deal, although there was only one faery that had come to Sunnydale.
"Their world moves around and through ours," Quinn had explained to him and Tina. "It's close now, and sometimes, portals open between the worlds. When we have really bad luck, something passes through them."
"Still, all this trouble for one single creature?" Tina had asked sceptically.
"You never met one of them," Quinn had replied.
It had been days since then, and though the whole gang was spread out trying to find the creature, they hadn't been successful so far.
The most infuriating thing was that Blaine still didn't feel like a part of the group. He wasn't involved in finding the faery, nor did he get to do research with Quinn and Tina. Cooper insisted that he was informed about the current dangers, but never got involved. It wasn't that Blaine wanted to deal with monsters and demons. But this way he knew about them, he knew the people fighting them, and still, he wasn't able to do a thing about it. He knew Cooper was just trying to protect him, but he felt so frustrated...
Quinn was right now devising a spell to find the faery, Tina and Mike were researching (or possibly making out instead), and Cooper and Sue were patrolling, hitting up different sources of information. And what was he doing?
Well, going to college and preparing for a second start in life but still, they could have included him!
"You're kind of moody," Sam mentioned as they were on their way to the cafeteria.
"It's nothing," Blaine said. "Some family stuff, but everything is fine. I'm just glad that lecture is over."
"Tell me about it, I'm starving...," Sam said.
Blaine was about to answer, but suddenly he realized something.
"What's wrong?"
"My notebook... I think I left it back in the lecture hall," Blaine said. "I'll go and check. Meet you in the cafeteria?"
He hardly waited for a reply before he started walking back. He would need these notes to prepare for the next test... if he could even focus enough on that.
Blaine expected there to be some people still inside the lecture hall, but to his surprise, there was just one girl left, standing right beside Blaine's desk, browsing through the notebook lying on top of it.
"Hey!"
The girl looked up as Blaine called out to her. For a moment, he thought she was way too young to be at college. His second thought was that he had never seen this girl before. She was a dark-haired teenager, a stranger, and she fixed Blaine with a weird stare that at the same time looked curious, as well as completely disinterested.
"This is yours, isn't it?" she asked. "I've been looking for you. The destiny boy, his aura was mingled with yours. Some of it is in here, too," she said, pointing to the notebook. "But now that I see you... it's nothing compared to your actual aura."
"M-my what?" Blaine asked.
"Your aura. I knew I had to find the one with this aura."
And suddenly, it clicked. "You're the faery," Blaine said. "You came through the portal."
"I can't find it anymore," the faery said shrugging. "But I don't care that much. Home is boring. Maybe you're more interesting."
Blaine shook his head incredulously. "Why would my aura be interesting? You've seen my brother, he's the chosen one!"
"Hmm... I've seen it. It burns. But you... you've been touched by the supernatural, haven't you?" the girl asked.
Touched... more like bitten, Blaine thought. Or maybe she was talking about the siren.
The girl walked up to him, almost skipping, and stopped in front of him. She looked more like a child than the serious threat everybody had warned him about. But then again, Blaine had thought the vampire was harmless right up to the point he'd been taken hostage.
"I think you need to return home," Blaine said softly.
"Will you come with me?" the faery asked.
It took Blaine a few seconds until he realized that she was completely serious. Now that she was so close, he could almost physically feel the otherness. This look of disinterested curiosity...
"Will you?"
There was almost something hypnotic about it.
"We could have fun, you and me. Maybe even enough fun to go back."
And suddenly, he saw it. A cat. She was like a cat, toying with a mouse, but ultimately not interested in his actual fate.
The grin on the girl's face wasn't anywhere near childlike or innocent. Now, it looked malicious.
"You don't want to join me though, do you?" the faery asked.
Blaine gulped. He tried to step backwards, but he felt mesmerized under the faery's eyes. "I really don't," he said softly.
The faery pouted. "I could reward you," she said. She stood right in front of him now, and almost tenderly, she tangled her hand in his hair, touching his cheek with her thumb. "How about... a quarter? That's how you say it?"
It didn't make sense, but even as Blaine tried to hold on to this thought, darkness started to creep in from the edge of his vision.
As the world faded into darkness, Blaine thought he had heard the fae's soft voice.
"So boring..."
Kurt glared around the cluttered room, filled with too many more or less magical trinkets. He tried to avoid this witch group whenever possible, more so when their personal star warlock was in town, but he needed information desperately.
"Well, well, well... didn't expect to see you here so soon."
Kurt rolled his eyes at the warlock's clearly well rehearsed greeting. "I thought you knew everything," he said, just so stopping himself from gritting his teeth.
There were many people he hated dealing with, but self-proclaimed master warlock Jesse St. James definitely was at the top of the list. Heir to a prestigious family of magic users, he had taken over the family business of trading in magical artifacts, and information.
Either could be helpful. Kurt hadn't been bothered by Cooper for almost two weeks, but nevertheless, he had started to think the safer bet was to find something to appease his demon lord and get out of here. The goblins had been a bust, but maybe Jesse could help him.
"I wish I knew everything," Jesse said with a shrug, "could have the Slayer himself eating right out of my hand if I did. You know, you're not the only one he's pissed at."
"Why do you have a problem with the Slayer?" Kurt asked. "You'd think he'd appreciate someone who has as much information as you do."
"Well, I have this suspicion that he's jealous of my hair," Jesse said with a shrug, "but speaking of dear Cooper, you'll be sad to hear that you've recently been surpassed on his personal hit list."
Kurt's eyes widened. Now, this was new information. "What do you mean?"
"Just that someone has managed to piss him off more than you have."
"I attacked his brother," Kurt said.
"Yeah, well, I'm afraid your attack wasn't as memorable as this one," Jesse said. "And since I'm in a generous mood today, you can even have this story for free. Did you hear about the faery that passed through the portal?"
"Who hasn't? I hate dealing with faeries," Kurt said. Nobody who had any experience with the fair folk would say anything else. It was bad enough to deal with their runaways. It only got really scary though, when the fae tried to bring back those they had lost. Of course, nobody wanted to risk that, so when a faery escaped, the result almost always was a generalized hunt, be it by the hands of witches, vampires, or the slayer himself.
"I hear the wolves got her," Jesse said, "which turns out is very bad news for the slayer. See, his brother had a run in with the faery, and rumor has it he never woke up."
This was not what Kurt had expected. "She killed him?" he asked. It didn't sound like something a faery would do... but then again, accidents did happen, and the fair folk usually didn't care. But still...
"Oh, he's alive, just in a coma. Lying in the hospital as we speak," Jesse said. "Sounds like a curse, from what I heard."
"A sleeping curse?" Kurt asked. Well, this was better than dead. He didn't know why he felt relieved at this. Blaine Anderson had been trouble enough, why should Kurt care at all about this?
"Kid's been under for almost a week," Jesse said. "And the faery was taken out before they could find out how to break it. So you see, if I just knew a way to break a sleeping curse, I might just find a way to iron things out with the slayer."
Kurt stared at him in disbelief. "What kind of faerie was she?" he asked.
Jesse shrugged. "Regular one. Not part of the leadership, if that's what you mean."
"So a regular faery cast a regular sleeping curse?" Kurt asked. "Why exactly is he not awake yet?"
"Right, because you know how to break a sleeping curse," Jesse scoffed.
"It's not that hard, is it?" Kurt said. "It's their most basic curse. There aren't that many variants of it. At least none that the foot folk know."
Jesse stared at him incredulously. "Are you telling me you know how to break it?"
Kurt frowned. "How do you not know it? Again, aren't you supposed to know everything?"
He paused then. Isabelle had been the one to teach him about faeries, true. And she had been around for the last invasion. Whatever you could say about the fae, they were definitely sneaky bastards. It wasn't completely out of the realm that over the centuries they had tried to erase that knowledge... but the stories were still prominent enough. Hell, they were even called fairy tales...
"Never mind that," Jesse said, "but really, I can see a deal here. You've come here looking for something, right? Tell me what you're after, and maybe you can trade for this piece of information."
Kurt snorted. "Actually, I don't think I need it anymore. As you said, this piece of knowledge might be just enough to get the slayer off my back."
He ignored Jesse calling after him and hurried out.
No matter how often he looked, Cooper would never get used to seeing his little brother lain up in hospital bed, pale as the sheets or the bare walls surrounding him. It had been almost a week since Blaine had been found inside the university, put into a coma by the faery. Their hopes to find her had been crushed by the wolf clan.
All of them had been trying to find a way to break this curse, but so far the only reference they found was to Disney movies and fairy tales, nothing about actual magic or monsters.
"We'll figure something out," Quinn said softly, leaning her head against his shoulder. It was calming to have her here by his side, but even so, he didn't know what to do.
"I can't believe I let this happen to him," Cooper said. "Look at him. He shouldn't even be here. He should be out there, becoming famous or something. And now he's in a coma, and I just... I don't know what to do."
"We'll figure something out," Quinn said. "We always do. Tina is going through our tomes even now, and Sue has contacted the Watchers' council. Somebody will know something."
"Like who?" Cooper asked.
"Like me."
Both Cooper and Quinn turned around in shock as they heard Kurt Hummel's voice. Neither of them had noticed him entering the room, but there he was, holding his hands up in a gesture of surrender.
"What are you doing here?" Cooper asked. "Haven't you done enough?"
"I think I know how to break the curse," Kurt said. He didn't even take the bait.
"How would you know this?" Quinn asked, as always the rational one.
"My demon lord was around during their last invasion, I learned a thing or two from her, including a few things about their attacks and magic," Kurt said. "The faery that attacked him was just a foot soldier. They have a limited arsenal, so I think I have a pretty good idea on what to do."
"And you'll tell us, just like that?" Cooper asked. He wished it was that easy, just this one time, just for his brother. But when did that ever work? There was always a catch, or a price.
"I will tell you," the vampire said. "I only ask for one thing."
"Of course you do," Cooper said. Even to his own ears, the words were dripping in disgust.
Quinn gripped his hand. "Let's hear him out," she said. "We've worked with him before, remember? It worked out then."
"That was before he attacked my brother," Cooper said darkly.
"I know you want to protect him. But right now, that means you have to find a way to wake him up. So, Kurt, what are you asking for?"
"I made a mistake," Kurt said, "I never should have attacked him. I'm sorry. All I ask is that you stop hunting me. If I manage to wake him, don't come after me again. At least not for this."
"You want me to forget what you did?" Cooper asked.
"Only if I can wake him up," Kurt said. "I'm not a threat to him, you know I'm not. Give me this chance, and then we can part ways and not bother each other again."
"Alright," Cooper said. There wasn't much else he could say, and it was a small price to ask in order to save Blaine. "You have my word. Now what's the cure?"
Kurt's shoulders sagged in relief. "It's ridiculously simple, really. The foot soldiers are capable of a sleeping curse. It's one of the most famous pieces of magic, one of the few things still known about the fae. You probably know it from the classic tales... Snow White, Sleeping Beauty..."
Cooper stared at him in disbelief. "A fairy tale curse. She Snow-Whited my brother?"
"You could say that," Kurt said. "Fortunately, the tales also state the actual cure for it."
"You're kidding, right?" Quinn asked. "I can't believe we didn't try this..."
True love's kiss... How could they not even have considered that?
"He's not seeing anyone, though," Quinn said, a frown on her face. "What should we do?"
"What?" Kurt looked at her in confusion.
"Don't worry, I've got this," Cooper said, stepping forward. "I've seen Frozen."
"What!?" Kurt repeated.
But what did it matter? Calmer than he'd been in days, Cooper sat down by his brother's bedside, and placed a kiss right onto his forehead.
Nothing happened.
Cooper stared at his brother, still unmoving. It didn't work. How could it not have worked? He did love his brother. So fine, he hadn't been that great at showing it these last few weeks... or years, really. But he would move heaven and earth for Blaine. How could this just not be enough?
"I'm so sorry," he heard Quinn whispered.
"Um... what are you doing?" Kurt asked.
"It didn't work," Cooper said. "I don't understand. What is it?" Kurt had said the fairy tales were right... but what if Frozen had gotten it wrong? What if it did have to be a romantic kiss?
"Ugh, just... let me!"
Kurt moved closer and sat down on the other side of the bed. Carefully, he let his hands roam over Blaine's face. Eventually, he stopped.
"There it is," he muttered. He turned Blaine's head a bit, put his hand behind Blaine's ear, and seemed to pull on something.
Suddenly, Blaine gasped, and his eyes flew open. He looked around in confusion, and once his eyes settled on Kurt, they widened in panic.
Immediately, Cooper pulled Blaine into a hug. "It's okay, you're okay, you're safe."
"W-what happened?" Blaine asked, his voice thick with sleep.
"What did happen?" Quinn asked. "How did you wake him up?"
"What are you talking about?" Kurt asked. "That's how you break a sleeping curse, it's right there in the fairy tales."
"That wasn't a kiss, though," Cooper said.
"Kiss? Why would I kiss him?" Kurt said, staring at him as if he had lost his mind. And then, suddenly, it seemed to dawn on him. "You think those curses were lifted by kissing?" He snorted. "Next time, read the book instead of watching the Disney version. You need to remove the carrier of the curse from the victim's body. Sleeping Beauty woke up when the needle was sucked out of her finger. Snow White woke up once the piece of apple was dislodged from her throat. And your brother? Well, he woke up once I got this from behind his ear."
Like a cheap magician, the vampire presented them with what looked like a silver coin, although he didn't look nearly as smug as usual.
"So... I kept my word. Can I rely on yours?"
Cooper looked at Blaine, who still seemed out of it. He couldn't see the scars on his brother's throat, but he knew they were there. Could he really just forgive what had been done to Blaine?
No, only Blaine could. But he had not promised to forgive it – only to stop hunting the vampire. Cooper didn't like it. But he had given his word, and the result was Blaine being awake. Nobody asked him to trust or forgive. And was he really helping Blaine by following a vendetta?
He looked to Quinn, who nodded along as if she understood just what was going through his head. And maybe she was right. If he wanted to help Blaine, maybe he should stop hunting monsters and actually be a brother...
Frozen may have been wrong about the cure, but maybe it was time to let it go.
"My word stands," Cooper said. "Thank you."
To be continued