Chapter 13: As It Begins To Unravel


It is not unusual for someone to mistake who they are meant to be with. As children grow into teenagers, they create in their minds who they believe would be their perfect match and when they find that person, they cling onto them and convince themselves that's who was meant for them. That is not how Fate works however. More often than not, a person's soulmate is someone who they never expected. It's not someone who agrees with every opinion but rather someone who challenges them. Heartbreak is incredibly common in young lovers and parents are advised to watch their child closely when they reach their teenage years. Turning of age is an extraordinary step in an adolescent's life and if heartbreak occurs beforehand, the young teen could easily slip into a hole of depression that if not taken care of properly, could do great damage to the psyche.

Excerpt from: What it means to Bond

Chapter: Turning of age


"RACHEL! WAIT!"

Kurt pulled back from Blaine abruptly. Blaine chased after his lips but stopped when he noticed the alarmed look on his face. "What's wrong?" he asked worriedly. Kurt shushed him, placing a finger on Blaine's lips and focusing on the sounds in the hallway. It was silent for a few seconds and he thought that maybe he'd imagined it. Until...

"RACHEL!"

"Shit!" Kurt scrambled off Blaine and grabbed his arm. "Get up! Go!" Blaine hurried off Kurt's bed and fell with a thump. He quickly got to his feet and ran to hide in Kurt's bathroom as Kurt shoved him. What the hell is she doing here?! Kurt thought frantic. She is not supposed to be here!


"Rachel, wait!" Finn said harshly as he chased after her. She may be short but she was quick on her feet and he prayed that he had screamed her name loud enough for Kurt to hear. He loved his girlfriend but damn could she be intrusive.

"I need to speak with Kurt. It's very important," Rachel replied just as she reached Kurt's door. She knocked urgently. "Kurt, I need to speak with you," she said loud and demanding before knocking again. "Kurt!"

Kurt opened the door just enough to poke his head out. "Rach? Hey!" he greeted way too eagerly. "I didn't know you were coming over," he said with a glance at Finn which clearly stated that he was a dead man if he had anything to do with it, though by the fearful look in his eyes Kurt knew that he hadn't. "What's up?" Rachel pushed past him and entered his room. "Well come the fuck right in why don't you," he snapped, all pleasantries forgotten.

Rachel did a quick survey of the room, noticing the bed sheets were ruffled and the expensive luggage next to Kurt's closet. She held back a smug grin and turned to look at Kurt. "We need to discuss Regionals," she said all business like, her arms crossed. "You are the only person in Glee that knows that I am the most talented member," Kurt raised a slow brow and Finn scowled from the doorway. "And you know that there is no way we are going to win if I don't sing the solo."

"Actually, that's where you're wrong," Kurt said as he walked past her and stood in-between her and his bathroom. Rachel turned to look at him and huffed. "Mercedes is a powerhouse and she would bring the damn roof down with her solo, Quinn's flawless alto would melt every heart in the audience, I can hit every note from A to Z just as well as you, and Tana's a star whether you want to accept it or not. Your solo is not a necessity for us to win, Rachel. You seriously need to get over yourself because you are not the most talented member."

Rachel bristled. "That is a matter of opinion."

"No, that is fact and you need to learn to accept it before you make everyone hate you more than we already do," Kurt snapped angrily. "Look, we love you Rach, but you need a serious attitude check."

"I need an attitude check?!" Rachel screeched. "Santana's the one who's always being a bitch to everyone! She's the one who's always fighting me and disrespecting me! If she would just accept that I'm better than her then we wouldn't be in this mess! It's not like she's going to do anything with her life anyway, other than dance on a pole!"

Kurt took a step forward and towered over Rachel who kept her ground. Finn stood still at the doorway and prayed that blood wasn't about to be shed. If there was one thing he knew about his brother it was to never insult Santana. "I'm going to speak very slowly so you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth." Shit, Finn thought, this is so not good. "You are not better than Santana. She does not need to respect you when you never respect her. And you bet your ass she's a bitch, she's the bitch, and if you ever insult her in front of me again I will not hesitate to grab you by the hair and drag you around like a ragdoll. In fact, I suggest that you get the hell out of my room before I do just that. Do not test me Rachel Berry."

Rachel decided she was done playing games and allowed a smug knowing smirk to grace her face. She wasn't there to discuss Regionals anyway. She only brought it up to anger him. She knew that Kurt would never agree with her on the fact that she was clearly the most talented and yeah, maybe her comment about Santana was going a tad too far. But she needed Kurt on edge. She knew that when he was angry he tended to say things he didn't mean and she needed him to admit that Blaine Anderson was his soulmate in his rant of anger. And not because she needed any proof, but because she wanted to hear him say it. "You know, Kurt, I've noticed you've been acting a little different lately," she said, taking slow deliberate steps towards Kurt's bathroom.

Kurt quickly side stepped and blocked her way. "What the hell are you talking about?" he asked in annoyance, his heartbeat racing.

"I'm talking about the fact that you haven't mentioned Blaine or The Warblers since you went to their concert last month," Rachel started and Kurt visibly paled. "Or the fact that Blaine found his soulmate the same day as your birthday. I was certain you would talk nonstop about that but nope, not a single word."

"Yeah...and?" Kurt said nervously.

"And, you're also texting a lot, so much more than you used to and I know it's no one from Glee club because you're the only one doing it," Rachel continued. Kurt glanced behind her at a gaping Finn who was watching everything unfold. "You blush and giggle when you text, you're being way more secretive than normal, and you've stopped tweeting since the night of the concert. You changed your location and your bio, coincidentally enough, to the same exact thing Blaine's soulmate, HisLuckyCharm's bio, except that you changed it first." Rachel stepped closer to a silent Kurt with a proud smile. She loved being right. "Should I go on or are you going to finally tell me that Blaine Anderson is your soulmate?"

"What?" Kurt breathed out. "That's crazy, Rachel. You're crazy." Kurt looked at Finn with frantic eyes. "Your girlfriend is crazy, Finn. She should be institutionalised."

Rachel glanced behind her at Finn and then at Kurt's closet. "Nice luggage, though very expensive. Are you planning on taking a trip somewhere? Or is, I don't know, Blaine visiting and hiding from me right now?"

"Damn she's good," Finn muttered from the doorway, both in awe and turned on. He always loved when Rachel got assertive.

Kurt closed his eyes and sighed with a groan. Damn Rachel for being so observant. "You are an absolute head case, Berry. Get the hell out of my room before I physically remove you."

"Go ahead and try," Rachel challenged. "I know I'm right."

Kurt looked at Finn, his eyes blazing. "Get her out of here, now!"

Before Finn could move though, Blaine opened the bathroom door and walked out. "Kurt, it's ok," he said with a cautious smile and Rachel squealed. "She already figured it out."

Rachel hurried to his side. "Blaine Anderson, let me just say that I am a huge fan! You are by far the most talented, most soulful man on the planet and I am honored to meet you!"

Blaine smiled politely, noticing the deadly glare on Kurt's face. He needed to diffuse the situation quickly. "It's nice to meet you too, Rachel. But I hope you understand that this has to stay a secret. It's very important that this does not get out."

"Oh absolutely!" Rachel exclaimed. "I would never tell anyone! It would be very unwise of me. If this got out then Kurt's life would completely flip upside down. The paparazzi would be all over this place and our school and that cannot happen. I mean, I would surely be able to handle all the attention and it'd be a perfect way for me to get discovered, but Kurt may not be able to handle it all and it would be terrible if he folded under the pressure when Regionals is at our fingertips. I swear, your secret is very safe with me," she assured them, glancing at Kurt and nodding. That was only a partial truth. Rachel would love the chance to be surrounded by paparazzi and shine like the star she was born to be. But if she ever wanted a real friendship with Kurt, and a chance to sing with Blaine one day, she needed to think about their wish for privacy first.

"We'd appreciate that," Blaine sighed with relief, grateful that the tension in Kurt's shoulder dissipated slightly, though the look on his face made it clear that he was still pissed off. "Now, I don't mean to get in the affairs of your Glee club but I did overhear your discussion with Kurt and I would like to offer some advice, if that's alright with you," he said with his most charming smile.

Rachel's eyes shone with excitement. "Of course."

Kurt and Finn glanced at each other curiously and then back at Blaine. "I understand that you're all having some trouble with who should sing the solo at Regionals, and I've seen some of your performances, Rachel, you are indeed extraordinarily talented." Rachel beamed with pride. "But just because you're meant to be a star doesn't mean that the others aren't, nor does it mean that you have to be the star every single performance. My advice to you is to step back and let the others shine. The last thing you want to do is alienate your teammates. Harmony amongst each other is very important when performing and if there's hostility, the judges will see and you will lose."

Rachel forced a smile. "No offense Blaine, but don't you think that's a bit hypocritical?" Blaine's brows shot up, Finn's jaw went slack, and Kurt gasped. "As The Warblers' front man, you know better than anyone how important it is to have a strong leading vocalist and for you to tell that I should step back and let others who are clearly less capable than I am makes you, well a hypocrite."

"Listen here you stuck up little bitch," Kurt said through gritted teeth as he took a menacing step forward. Blaine grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him back though, soothingly shushing in his ear. Kurt took a shaky breath and stepped away from Rachel.

Blaine slipped his hands in his pockets and narrowed his eyes on Rachel a bit. He didn't want to be rude to her but she needed to know the way she was treating her friends was unacceptable. "You're right, Rachel. It is important to have a strong lead vocalist but it's not by any means the most important thing. I'm The Warblers lead vocalist because the guys, my very best friends in the whole world, want me to be, and let me tell you that if one of them wanted to take lead, I would not hesitate to let them. Because what is the most important thing, is treating each other with respect. Do you know why we're so successful? Why The Warblers work so well together?" he asked continuing before Rachel could get a word in.

"We're successful and we work well together because we use every one of our best assets, we respect each other's opinions even if we don't agree with them, and we never doubt one another. We never alienate the others talent and we never try to be the star of the group. We work together as a team because we are a team, and no offense Rachel, but by not sharing the spotlight and making everything about you, you're being selfish. At the end of the day I could care less if I lose my fame but if I lost my friends, I'd be devastated. I would be nothing without them and I can guarantee that once you're at the top, you're going to be very lonely when you have no one to share it with."

Kurt and Finn glanced at each other in shock, neither expecting Blaine to be so forceful with Rachel. But Blaine had no problem giving her a reality check. It was obvious that she held herself on a very high pedestal and she needed to be knocked down a few pegs for her own sake.

It hurt Rachel to hear Blaine call her selfish. It was one thing to hear it from her classmates. But to hear it from Blaine Anderson, singer and songwriter extraordinaire, someone she admired, shattered her heart. Her eyes filled with tears as she stepped away from Blaine. "Excuse me," she choked out and ran out of the room.

"Oh for fuck's sake," Kurt muttered as he chased after. "Rachel!" Kurt rounded the corner and grabbed Rachel's arm. "Damn it, Rachel! Hold on!"

"What do you want? To tell me how awful I am?" Rachel snapped. "I'm pretty sure your soulmate just did that."

"You're not awful, Rachel. Not completely," Kurt said with an annoyed huff. "But you have to admit that you make people want to strangle you."

"Look, I'm sorry ok?" She shrieked. "I'm sorry I'm such a busy body and I'm sorry that I'm so much more talented than everybody else!" Kurt rolled his eyes. "I don't try to be! I just have to work so hard to be heard and no one ever respects me!"

"Well maybe if you didn't act like a crazy Diva bitch all the time we would respect you!" Kurt shouted in return.

"I'm sorry!" she yelled, her eyes shifting to Finn and Blaine who were watching them from Kurt's doorway. "I'm sorry," she said much quieter. "I am selfish, and intrusive, and I do demand all the attention, but it's just because I want to be a part of something. I want to be a part of your life and you always push me away." Kurt sighed again as guilt and understanding washed over him. "And I understand why you didn't tell me about Blaine," she continued. "This is a huge secret to keep and I get why you kept it to yourself. I do wish you had trusted me enough though. I'm going to be your sister-in-law one day and we should be able to talk about these things. But I know that I make it hard to trust me and for that I am truly sorry."

"Yeah, you do," Kurt said with a firm nod but then sighed, pulling her into a hug. "But you're Rachel. Being difficult and pushy is who you are. I love you Rach, you know I do, but you really need to learn to keep your nose out of other people's business."

"I know, I'm sorry." Rachel nodded as her tears subsided. "Do you forgive me?"

"Only if you promise to tone down the crazy a little bit. I want to include you in my life but I can't do that if I can't trust you," he told her and she nodded sheepishly. "And I'll talk to Tana and tell her the same, alright? She's been extra bitchy lately and she needs to tone it down too."

"Ok," Rachel sniffled and looked over at Blaine. "Goodbye, Blaine. Thank you for the advice, I know you meant well." Blaine offered a tight smile, hating the fact that he made the young girl cry. That had never been his intent. "It was a pleasure meeting you. Finn, walk me out, please." Finn nodded and hurried to his girlfriend's side.

Blaine waved goodbye and Kurt sighed deeply as he walked back to his bedroom, closing the door behind them. Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine's neck and rested his forehead on top of Blaine's. "I'm really, really sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it," Blaine replied with a peck on the lips. "It has been over a month already. I'm genuinely surprised that people have given us as much space as they have." Kurt pulled his head back and looked at Blaine with worry. "I think it might be time to tell the rest of your friends. I don't know how much longer the media and the fans are going to leave us alone and I don't know how much longer I can go without screaming your name from the rooftops," he said with a bashful smile, reminding himself that he needed to talk to Kurt about the bullying at McKinley and that they needed to get Jacob Ben Israel's blog taken down as soon as possible.

"Do you have an idea of when you want to tell the world about me?" Kurt asked.

Blaine shrugged a little. "I was thinking maybe during Christmas break," he said cautiously. "I know that you'll still be in school but I want to share you with the world. And I want us to be the ones that reveal your identity, not anyone else. I don't think we'd be able to make it the entire school year with you as my secret."

Kurt nodded understandingly, an expected thrill shooting through him at the idea of revealing his identity to the world. He was sure that he would be terrified of doing so but instead he was elated. "I agree. I want us to be the ones that reveal my identity, not some crazed fan who figured it out. I think Christmas break is a good idea."

Blaine smiled brightly. "Yeah?"

Kurt matched his smile and nodded. "Yeah. As far as my friends, I'll start telling them soon. Rachel's the first to put it together but they've all noticed how different I've been acting." Kurt slid his arms down, grabbed hold of Blaine's shirt, and started walking them towards his bed. "But for right now, my parents won't be home for at least thirty more minutes and my lips really, really miss you," he said seductively.

Kurt fell back into his bed with giggle, all thoughts of Rachel vanishing, Blaine falling on top of him. "Well, we can't have that now, can we?" Kurt shook his head and pulled Blaine into a searing kiss.


"Sup, Lil Mami," Jeff greeted happily when he answered Santana's Skype call. She smiled at him though it lacked its usual brightness and Jeff immediately worried. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Santana looked away from her webcam and shifted in her chair. "You know how you keep asking me if I'm doing ok," she started, her voice quiet and full of vulnerability. She hated how weak she felt but she knew that if she didn't lay it all out on the line she would lose her mind, "and how I keep telling you that I'm fine?" She glanced up at Jeff and he nodded. "Well I'm not." Her voice broke.

Jeff glanced at Nick who was sitting a few feet away, no longer reading the book in his hand but listening to Santana's and Jeff's conversation with concern. "Whatever it is, you can tell us," Jeff said gently and Santana knew that Nick had to be nearby listening.

She stayed quiet for a few minutes to gather her thoughts, her fingers playing with the frills of her grandmother's quilt that was draped around her. She didn't want to tap into the emotions she'd held back for so long but she felt as though she no longer had the choice. She still hurt over the fact that Brittany wasn't hers. She was confused by her feelings for Quinn and she was terrified of taking any sort of step forward with her birthday so close. But most of all she was angry with herself for not being able to get her shit together. She was angry at herself for allowing the pain in her heart to make her weak. She looked up at Jeff who was watching with kind eyes and took a deep breath.

"It all started this summer," she spoke somberly, "when Brittany turned 18."

Jeff and Nick listened intently as Santana told them about Brittany and how devastated she had been when her name didn't appear on the blonde's wrist. She told them how she blamed Brittany, how she yelled at the poor girl and accused her of somehow altering the magic so that Sam was her soulmate instead of her. She cried with guilt as she told them how she badmouthed them both and how she had hoped that their love would fail. That was all before school started. Before she saw how perfectly they truly did fit together. But it didn't make the pain in her heart go away. If anything it worsened as guilt and shame washed over her every day.

She then told them about Quinn and how she attached herself to her best friend in her soul's time of need. She admitted to wanting nothing more than to have her way with Quinn, to make Quinn hers, to claim her, just so that the ache in her heart would disappear. In her eyes, she replaced Brittany with Quinn. She didn't want Quinn for Quinn. She wanted her because she was there and she felt like a terrible person for it. She felt like she was pushing herself on Quinn, needing some sort of connection to someone to fill the hole Brittany left in her heart and she hated it. She hated how dependent she felt on the simple touch of Quinn's fingertips. She hated how selfish she was being, how willing she was to ruin a friendship and all in the name of loneliness. In a lot of ways, she hated herself. She felt bad for whoever was stuck with her.

"And I'm just so angry all the time," she cried. Jeff and Nick's heart shattered for her. "All I do is bitch, bitch, bitch, and I'm so fucking tired of it. I'm so tired of constantly feeling like there's this black hole surrounding me and I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do." She mumbled the last sentence into her hands and Nick was grateful that he was off to the side so she couldn't see him.

Nick hadn't expected Santana's situation to affect him as much as it did. He hadn't expected to cry with her as she told them of her heartbreak. But he also hadn't expected her to be in a situation that was so similar to his. He hadn't expected her to lose the person she thought was meant to be the love of her life the way he had. He caught Jeff's gaze and with an encouraging smile from his beloved, he knew what he needed to do. He wiped his tears away and pulled himself together before scooting over to Jeff.

Jeff wrapped his arms around Nick's waist and kissed his cheek. "Thank you," he whispered.

Nick smiled softly and nodded before turning his attention to Santana. He gave her a moment to pull herself together before talking quietly. "Tana," she looked up at him with sad eyes though he could see her walls rebuilding. "Would you like to hear what happened to me at Dalton? Before I turned 18, I mean." Santana shrugged and then nodded, her interest piqued. Nick took a deep breath. "Well, before I knew that Jeff was my soulmate, I was dating a girl, Leila."

Santana's eyebrows shot up. "You dated a girl?" she asked disbelievingly. "Why?"

Nick chuckled. "Well contrary to popular belief, I wasn't always gay. Or at least, I wasn't aware I was until my 18th birthday," he said with a quick wink at Jeff. "But anyway, Leila and I dated for over two years. I'd known her most of my life and about halfway through freshman year, I asked her to be my girlfriend. She and I were pretty inseparable. She was my absolute everything. I was certain that she was the one for me."

"Ok, so what happened? You turned 18, saw Jeff's name, and realized you liked cock?" She asked sarcastically. "Where the hell were you during all this?" she directed at Jeff with a nod.

"I was there, watching them act like love sick puppies," Jeff said with a shrug. "And for the record, I always knew I was gay, and I was secretly in love with Nick even though he was straight. Just so you know," he said with a slight tease.

Nick rolled his eyes and shoved him away playfully. "As I was saying, I was in love with this girl Santana, head over heels in love with her. We were practically planning our wedding already. That all changed on her 18th birthday."

Realization of how similar Nick's past and her present were dawned on her and she sat back with an inhale. "The name on her wrist wasn't yours."

Nick shook his head. "No, it wasn't. I even stayed the night with her. We were going to wake up in each other's arms and start making concrete plans about our future. But when we woke up, it wasn't me, it was another guy."

"Were you pissed? Did you throw a fit?"

"Yes and no," Nick answered. "I was angry sure, but I was mostly heartbroken. I couldn't imagine living my life without her. I couldn't imagine there being anyone else for me. She was supposed to be it for me. No one else."

"What did you do?" Santana asked quietly.

"Well that morning, I left and went to Dalton, ran straight into Jeff's arms in fact, and I cried. I cried like I had never cried before," Nick told her.

"And I held him," Jeff said, his eyes on Nick. "I let him cry and I held him until he eventually passed out and I had to carry him back to his room."

"After that, I became a former shell of myself," Nick continued. "I didn't hang out with my friends, I stopped singing. Hell, I practically stopped talking. The way I saw it, the universe took her away from me and I was left to be alone and miserable for the rest of my life."

"So if she turned 18 before you that means she was older than the both of you," Santana concluded and they nodded. She looked at Jeff. "And then you turned 18?"

Jeff nodded again with a sigh. "Yeah, about two months later. I hadn't really given my soulmate much thought. I never wanted to think about it because I thought I couldn't have the person I wanted."

"But you did, you got Nick."

"Yeah but...it wasn't that easy. Not at the time," Jeff told her. "I was terrified when his name appeared. I didn't think he'd want me. I didn't think he'd accept us. I never told him that he was meant to be mine. I didn't tell anyone."

"Your birthdays are like, four months apart though," Santana pointed out. "You went that entire time without saying anything to him? To anyone?

Jeff shook his head. "Yeah. I didn't want him to feel like I was somehow pushing myself on him, especially when he wasn't over Leila."

"I'm actually grateful that he didn't tell me," Nick said with a small smile. "I wasn't ready. I needed time to accept that no matter what, Leila and I would never be."

"So what happened on your birthday?" She asked, eager to know more.

Nick and Jeff glanced at each other, a light blush on their cheeks. "Everything fell into place."

Nick didn't rush to look at the name on his wrist. He was in no hurry to see who he was destined to be with. Part of him knew it was because he was afraid that somehow there would be no name. But he reminded himself that everyone got a soulmate, even if it wasn't the one they wanted or thought it should be. He didn't feel anxious though, not like most of the other guys had on their birthdays and he couldn't help but wonder exactly how well he knew his soulmate. Was she someone who went to Crawford Country Day? Or was she someone he knew from youth group? He glanced at his clock to see the time before finally deciding to take a look. He stared at his wrist for what seemed like hours before a smile slowly crept across his face. How had he not realized this sooner?

x*x*x

Jeff sat at his desk tapping his pencil nervously as he waited for Nick to show. He hoped Nick wasn't mad at him. Or worse, disgusted by the fact that they were soulmates. A gentle knock on his dorm door made him jump and he felt his heart beat out of his chest. "Come in," he called out, his voice cracking at the end.

Nick opened the door, his face stoic, and closed it behind him. Jeff gulped as Nick walked over to him. "Just answer me one thing," Nick said and Jeff could already feel tears prickling behind his eyes. "When we move in together, you're going to clean the kitchen right? Cause you know I hate doing the dishes," he smirked.

Jeff breathed out a relieved chuckle. "You're not mad at me? For hiding this from you?" Nick shook his head as he stepped closer, stopping directly in front of Jeff. "And you're ok with it? With us?"

Nick smiled softly. "More than ok. Honestly, I'm surprised I didn't figure it out sooner."

Jeff offered him a watery smile and reached for his hand. Nick intertwined their fingers before leaning in to capture Jeff's lips in a tender kiss. For the first time in his life, in both their lives, they felt at home.

Santana wiped a tear away, a small smile on her lips. "You two are so perfect. I swear I can't stand you sometimes."

Jeff laughed, kissing Nick's cheek before resting his chin on Nick's shoulder. "I know it hurts right now, Tana," Nick spoke gently. "I know that everything feels like it has no purpose, but just hang in there. Your birthday is in a few weeks and when your soulmate's name appears, everything will make sense."

Santana nodded and sighed. "How do I get over Brittany though? What do I do about Quinn?"

Jeff and Nick glanced at each other. They didn't need to say anything to each other to know what the other was thinking. "I say talk to her," Jeff suggested. "You're never going to be able to get over it until you fully accept that she's not yours. You need to let her go."

"You should talk to Quinn too," Nick continued. "She's your best friend, Tana, other than Kurt. She should know what's been going on with you. Maybe it'll help you get over your crush." Or make you realize she's meant to be yours, Nick thought but decided not to say, just in case Quinn wasn't hers.

Santana nodded with a small smile. "Thanks for talking to me and telling me about what happened to you. It gives me hope that I'm not going crazy."

"Of course," Jeff assured her. "We're here for you, Lil' Mami, always,"


After eating dinner with the family, Kurt and Blaine descended to Kurt's room with plans to do absolutely nothing but stay wrapped up in each other's arms on Kurt's bed. Blaine's head was resting on Kurt's chest, while Kurt's fingers intertwined in his hair and gently played with the loose curls. Finn had convinced their parents to go on a movie date, reminding them that it had been a while since they had gone out, and called Rachel to come over as long as she left Kurt and Blaine alone. Kurt's TV was on but neither was paying too much attention. Blaine had his eyes closed, a peaceful smile on his face, and enjoyed the tranquility he felt from being in Kurt's arms. Kurt glanced at the TV every so often but mostly kept his eyes on Blaine, loving the way his eyelashes laid beautifully on his face, his heart melting at Blaine's serene smile. Nothing could disturb their current state of peace. Except Blaine's cell phone incessant buzzing that is. With a sigh, Blaine pulled his phone out of his pocket and read the multiple messages.

WarblerDavid: "Nothing makes me happier than spending the weekend with my two best girls.@KatThompson [Pic]"

WarblerJeff: "@WarblerDavid @KatThompson Dayum girl. You're getting HUGE!"

WarblerDavid: "@WarblerJeff @KatThompson HA! I know right! That's my healthy baby girl right there!"

KatThompson: "@WarblerJeff @WarblerDavid Hush Sterling. I look fabulous."

WarblerNick: "@KatThompson You look beautiful Kat. I can't wait to meet my new niece."


KatThompson:
"@WarblerNick Thanks Nick. 2 months left and counting. #IAmReady"

WarblerWes: "@WarblerDavid I'm shocked you were the first to tweet about our weekend getaway. I was certain it would've been @WarblerBlaine."

WarblerDavid: "@WarblerWes Lol! He's too busy enjoying a special somebody's sweet kisses. #CoughCough @HisLuckyCharm"

Blaine laughed and shook his head. His friends were ridiculous. "What's so funny?" Kurt asked curiously. Blaine gave Kurt his phone and let him read the messages. He clicked on the link David posted and cooed at the picture of David resting his head on Katherine's growing belly. "I'm so excited for them," he said as he handed Blaine his phone. "Have they picked a name out?"

"Not yet. They have a few choices but nothing's stuck yet," Blaine answered as he sat up. "Since David has already started a bit of riot, do you want to keep it going?" he asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Kurt raised a suspicious brow and nodded. "Sure."

"Yay," Blaine said excitedly and Kurt couldn't help but laugh. "Grab your laptop."

Kurt got up to get his laptop from his desk as Blaine grabbed his iPad from his luggage. Blaine motioned at Kurt to sit against his headboard and then settled in-between Kurt's legs. He wrapped Kurt's arms around his torso, rested his head back in the crook of Kurt's neck and angled his face before taking a photo of them with his iPad.

"What are you doing?" Kurt asked with a laugh as Blaine scurried out of his arms and sat next to him.

"You'll see," Blaine sang.

Kurt logged into Twitter and watched Blaine crop and edit the photo he just took. Kurt internally swooned when he saw the finished product. Blaine had changed it to black and white and cropped out all of Kurt's face with the exception of a hint of his jawline, and the expression on Blaine's face was both seductive and loving. Blaine looked incredibly comfortable resting against Kurt's chest and the teasing smirk on his lips was indescribably sexy.

"You ready?" Blaine asked, the photo already attached to the tweet.

"By all means, kill your fangirls," Kurt teased with a smirk. Blaine grinned excitedly and hit send.


WarblerBlaine:
"There's nothing better than being in his arms.@HisLuckyCharm #BestWeekendEver [Pic]"

BlainesWife: "OMG! WHAT IS AIR?! RT: @WarblerBlaine There's nothing better than being in his arms.@HisLuckyCharm #BestWeekendEver [Pic]"

WarblerFanatic: "@WarblerBlaine @HisLuckyCharm ldjhfqlkwegfaksjdf"

DebbyRose: "@WarblerBlaine @HisLuckyCharm It is truly unfair how adorable you two are."

KlainesArmy: "Done with you. RT: @WarblerBlaine There's nothing better than being in his arms.@HisLuckyCharm #BestWeekendEver [Pic]"

KlainesArmy:
You're with Blaine! That's why you can't talk this weekend! AAH! I'm flailing so much right now!

Kurt laughed at the tweets and DMs he received from the few fans he did follow before glancing at Blaine who was replying to his own flailing messages. Blaine caught his gaze and sent him a wink and Kurt couldn't help but blush a little.

HisLuckyCharm:
Lol yeah, Blaine's here. He surprised me yesterday. Trust me, I flailed quite a bit myself.

HisLuckyCharm: "Best weekend ever indeed. ;) @WarblerBlaine"

HisLuckyCharm: "@BlainesWife Don't you dare stop breathing. We still have a wedding to plan darling."

"I can't believe you're stealing my wife," Blaine teased with a pout.

Kurt shrugged and chuckled. "Sorry. It's not my fault they love me more."

"They do love you," Blaine said with an endearing smile. "But not as much as I love you."

Kurt sideways glanced, the blush on his cheeks deepening. "I love you, too."

They answered fans for a little while, teasing each other through tweets and joking with the guys who decided to start a, who's the cuter couple, contest. Or rather, Jeff decided to by taking and posting several cute and silly pictures of him and Nick on the bus. Kurt was moments away from logging out and curling up next to Blaine for the night when a tweet caught his attention.

KlainesArmy: "@Sebastians_Love Just because you can't accept reality doesn't make it any less true, and at the end of the day, I know I'm not the one living in a fantasy.
Kurt clicked on the tweet to read back through the conversation and quickly realized that the user she was talking to was the same person who ran the Seblaine Tumblr blog."

Sebastians_Love: "@KlainesArmy You are so naïve. Blaine is nothing but a liar parading this guy around who is NOT his soulmate and Seb is sitting at home devastated."

Blaine looked over at Kurt's screen and scowled.

KlainesArmy: "@Sebastians_Love It's a sad day in your life when you can't separate fiction from reality."

Sebastians_Love: "@KlainesArmy: It's a sad day in YOUR life when you fall victim to such a ridiculous scheme."

"Oh no, that is it," Kurt muttered in frustration as he clicked reply.

"Kurt," Blaine warned but it was too late.

HisLuckyCharm: "@Sebastians_Love You need to back off. Blaine is MY soulmate, not Sebastian's, and nothing you say is going to change that."

Sebastians_Love: "@HisLuckyCharm How much are they paying you to pretend? Whatever it is I hope it's worth ruining a man's life over."

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Kurt yelled at his computer. He went to reply again when Blaine stopped him.

"Please love, let this go," Blaine implored gently. "This is a very bad idea."

Kurt groaned. "I know, but Blaine, this guy is constantly talking shit, if not on here than on Tumblr."

"Let him. We know the truth. That's all that matters," Blaine told him. "Look, I get why this upsets you. I know of this guy already, Sebastian and I both do and trust me when I tell you that nothing we say will change his mind. Your best option is to block him and ignore him. Tell Brittany to do the same because he will continue to bully her and after a while, it gets hard to ignore."

Kurt huffed in aggravation but nodded and turned back to his computer.

HisLuckyCharm: "Going to spend the rest of my evening curled in the arms of my love. Until next time."

HisLuckyCharm:
Blaine said to block that Seblainer. It's best not to engage with them.

KlainesArmy:
Will do. Enjoy your cuddles. (SO much flailing right now)

Kurt smiled softly at Brittany's reply. He was grateful for her friendship and one day he would show her how much he appreciated her support. He logged off Twitter and set his computer aside before turning to Blaine. "Are you upset with me?"

"Of course not," Blaine replied with a gentle smile. "Just don't interact with the haters. That will never end well, I promise you." Kurt nodded with a small smile. "And speaking of haters and bullies, how's McKinley been?" he asked cautiously, figuring it was time to have the conversation he was dreading.

Kurt shrugged nonchalantly. "It's fine." Blaine said nothing but the look on his face spoke volumes. "What? Don't you believe me?" Kurt asked defensively.

Blaine chose his next words carefully. "It's not that I don't believe you, but..."

"But?"

Blaine took a breath. "I know about the website, Kurt. I know about Jacob Ben Israel's blog."

Kurt inhaled sharply. "What? How?"

"Remember the night we met, when you asked me to leave the bullying at McKinley alone?"

"Yeah?"

"I didn't," Blaine admitted. "I couldn't. I asked Eric to do some research and he found the blog."

"What? Blaine," Kurt said in disbelief.

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner but I'm not sorry I looked into it," Blaine said and in that moment, Kurt didn't see his fun loving soulmate, he saw an adult who was trying to treat him like a child.

Kurt stood up from his bed abruptly and glared at him. "And what exactly did you find out? Huh? That the student body and the teachers are all assholes? I could've told you. In fact, I did tell you that. I cannot believe you went behind my back."

"And I can't believe you lied to me," Blaine retorted as he stood up. "You tell me everything at school is fine when it's obviously not."

"And that makes it ok?" Kurt argued. "It's fine that you went behind my back when I specifically asked you not to because I didn't want to tell you the specifics of the homophobes at my school?"

"This is so much more than that," Blaine said angrily. "There are videos, Kurt, tons of them where you are being ridiculed and harassed. How is any of that ok?"

"None of it's ok but it's my life," Kurt shouted. "I've been dealing with this shit for years and yeah it sucks but I'm handling it."

"Yeah, you're handling it," Blaine scoffed. "By being a bitch to them."

Kurt's eyes widened. "Because I have to be," he yelled, his voice cracking.

"But you don't," Blaine said with a hint of desperation. He walked over to Kurt and pulled him into his arms. "You don't have to be and you shouldn't have to be. Kurt, I know you're pissed off at me but please see things from my perspective. I can't stand the thought of you having to deal with this crap. You are entirely too incredible to. This is why I keep insisting on you coming on tour with us. That way you don't have to deal with the bullshit and we could be together."

Kurt shoved Blaine away. "I cannot go on tour with you."

"Why not?" Blaine said as he tried to reach for him. But Kurt stepped away again, his arms crossed defiantly. "Aren't you tired of the bullshit? Don't you want to be with me?"

"Of course I'm tired of it and yes I want to be with you. But Blaine," Kurt breathed out, his eyes filling up with tears. "It's not that simple. It's so much more than just getting away from the bullying. It's leaving my friends, my commitments. I've worked my ass off to become Cheerios captain and you're asking me to throw all that away and for what? To sit on a bus while you're working? I can't do that. I can't just drop everything in my life and follow you around just because we're soulmates. How could I do that? How could I leave my friends behind? How could I leave my girls like that?"

"Kurt."

"No, Blaine," Kurt said firmly. "I cannot leave McKinley because you don't like the fact that some football players want to throw names at me. I'm not that weak and honestly, I'm hurt that you think I was."

"I don't think you're weak, love." Blaine reached out for Kurt once more and Kurt finally accepted, relaxing in Blaine's arms even though he was upset. "You're the strongest person I know. I just hate that you have to deal with this."

"But I have to, Blaine. I have to deal with this. I love that you want to protect me but I have to protect myself," Kurt said quietly. "You may be my prince, but you're not my knight in shining armor. I'm my own knight."

Blaine nodded, kissing Kurt's forehead before leaning on it. "I know, and I'm sorry if I made you feel like you couldn't take care of yourself."

"It's ok," Kurt said, backing his head away to look at Blaine. "I forgive you." Blaine gave him an unsure smile and he tensed. "What? What now?"

"We have to do something about that blog, Kurt," Blaine told him seriously. "It wasn't hard to find and if the media gets ahold of it then everyone will see and we don't want that."

"We've tried getting his blog taken down," Kurt said with an eye roll. "But since it's Jacob's personal blog the principal won't do anything about it."

"That's what we figured. We have an idea, a plan, but we need your approval before doing it," Blaine said as he walked them back over to Kurt's bed to sit.

"What kind of plan?"

"Have you ever heard of the SSAA?" Blaine asked.

Kurt narrowed his eyes. "The soulmate safety people? The ones who monitor soulmates closer than the CIA monitors terrorists?" Blaine nodded. "Yeah, kind of. What about them?"

"Eric has a friend in the association and he wants to bring their attention to Jacob's blog," Blaine said and Kurt's face dropped. "According to Eric, this blog, all those videos of students getting harassed, can have a major effect on a person's psyche and it's considered dangerous for someone's soulmate to see them in such a vulnerable state."

"Ok..." Kurt said slowly, not entirely sure where Blaine was going.

"I'll put it to you like this, if I were to kill someone because I saw them harass you on this blog, the SSAA would have to put us both under psyche evaluations and Jacob would most likely go to jail. I would not be held accountable for my actions, Jacob would be."

"But you aren't going to kill anyone," Kurt deadpanned.

Blaine chuckled and shook his head. "No, I'm not. But someone else might. The need to protect our soulmate is a very strong emotion, Kurt. One that should not be swept under the rug."

"So what? We send the SSAA this website and that's it?" Kurt questioned.

"Not exactly," Blaine said hesitantly. "We'd both have to speak directly to someone and they would do an evaluation on us. They would then take the information they have to the head of the SSAA and she would handle it from there. She'd watch every single video and then contact the school board."

"But if we get evaluated, won't we forever be watched by these people?" Kurt asked fearfully.

Blaine shrugged with an apologetic smile. "Yes and no. I think they'd watch us for a little while just to make sure we're doing ok, but then they'd leave us alone. I know it seems a bit extreme but it's the only way we can think of to get rid of this blog and all its evidence for good without turning it into a big media circus. It would all be handled very quietly."

Kurt groaned, not at all liking the idea. "Are you sure there's no other way?"

"Unfortunately, no. I mean, we could always threaten the school board to go public with the website which would bring SSAA right to their door, and I'm sure they would do everything in their power to get the blog taken down so that doesn't happen. But that doesn't guarantee that Jacob won't post them on a new blog later. If we go directly to the SSAA, they would make sure that every video was deleted from every possible format. Plus, we have an insider so we'll be in good hands."

"This insider is Eric's friend?" Kurt asked and Blaine nodded. "Who is it exactly."

Blaine smiled widely, though Kurt could tell by the cautious look in his eyes that he wouldn't like the answer. "No one too important. Just, you know, the head of the SSAA."

"Eric's friend is the head of the SSAA? Are you kidding me?!" Kurt screeched with panic.

Blaine cupped Kurt's face with his hands. "Hey, it's ok. Everything's going to be fine. I promise. Please trust me on this."

Kurt nodded in his hands and gulped. He didn't know much about the SSAA, just enough to know that being in their crosshairs was not necessarily a good thing. The head of the SSAA, a woman that reminded Kurt of the Grand High Witch in 'The Witches' was a hardcore military woman and Kurt was admittedly scared of her. He was taught to respect and fear her at an early age and the thought of associating with her was terrifying. But he knew he needed to trust Blaine and if Blaine trusted Eric's plan then he would to.