AN: Wow I'm surprising myself, here. I actually enjoyed writing this!
Disclaimer: I will forever be waiting for the day when Glee belongs to me, but, as of now, it does not.

Of IceCream and Insanity

Blaine's staring straight ahead, eyes on the road even as he taps along to Teenage Dream. His fingers effortlessly move to the rhythm, proof to the fact that it's his favorite song. Sebastian sits in the passenger seat, rolling his eyes but smiling regardless.

"You really are one of a kind, Anderson," he chuckles, reaching over to pat his friend's back.

In turn, Blaine smiles. "You know you love me, Seb."

"Hmm. Whatever you say…"

"Oh, please, Sebastian! What would your life be without me? Boring, uneventful, dreary!"

"Don't get cocky, now."

"Never!"

Sebastian prefers it when Blaine's like this – all care-free and so happy that it can really only be contagious. After the whole finding-a-boy-on-the-street fiasco, his friend has been out of it, so it's nice to see him in such a good mood.

"May I ask what's got you so happy?"

The shorter boy rolls his shoulders nonchalantly, making a strange face before chuckling quietly to himself. "First off, I'm working off of about two hours of sleep. Second, I'm just happy to be getting back to Dalton. Not that I don't like being back with my mom, but she's so over-protective sometimes that it's hard to breathe. You know how she is."

Sebastian nods slowly, suddenly doubting the decision to let Blaine drive.

This weekend, they'd both gone to Blaine's mom's house (which was technically Blaine's parents' house, but it wasn't like the second half of that equation was ever around). It was meant to be a relaxing weekend, and, in many ways, it was – the only interruption being the one two days earlier.

Still, Sebastian regrets the decision to go shopping so late that Friday night.

Excluding the fact that he and Blaine got to share a changing room at least twice that day.

"Seb?"

Jerked from his thoughts, Sebastian jumps the slightest bit in his seat. "What was that again? Sorry."

Blaine shoves his phone in Sebastian's face, smiling goofily while he does so. "I asked if you could call my mom? My driving's already pretty shaky just from being tired. Wouldn't want to crash us with only one hand on the wheel! Reckless driving isn't really my thing, and she wants me to call and let her know when we're an hour away. Like I said, over-protective."

Sebastian can't help but smile, suddenly deciding that he likes over-tired Blaine.

"Sure thing, babe."

Blaine only chuckles at the nickname.

For the next ten minutes, the only things heard are the low hum of Katy Perry in the background and Sebastian's voice as he speaks animatedly with Blaine's mom about redecorating his and Blaine's room back at the Academy. "Yah, yah, I was thinking blue, too, but Blaine wants to stick with red because he's so Dalton traditional, ya know?"

It gives Blaine some time to think about some of the things that he's been avoiding since waking up that morning.

About Kurt, really.

He still can't forget that face, those eyes, that voice.

Longingly, he casts his phone a glance, only to have Sebastian smile and nod at him before making to end the call with Blaine's mom. As he should have expected, the boy hadn't made to either call or text him, just ignore him.

Blaine supposes he wouldn't have done anything differently. He was, after all, just another stranger.

Just another person in a world full of others.

Courage.

Courage, Kurt.

Courage.

Kurt wakes with a start, arms jerking and right hand knocking his alarm clock clear off the nightstand. For a moment, he can only lie there, still as stone as if to not to disturb the quiet. His heart is racing, so much so that he's sure everyone else in the house can hear it. He doesn't like this feeling – the one that pervades every single inch of his body and makes it damn near impossible to breathe.

When it's clear that the whole thing was a dream, he lets his body relax and bends over the mattress to retrieve the clock, noting with a sense of dread that it's only thirteen minutes past two in the morning.

And it's the third time he's woken up like this – covered in sweat and shaking like it's somewhere below freezing.

If he doesn't get some sleep soon, he may very well just lose it.

Of course, there's no way he's going to school tomorrow, but that doesn't make his rest any less important. If he loses too much of it, people may grow suspicious when they start noticing him dragging his feet around and yawning obnoxiously in the middle of class.

It's happened before.

Somehow, he has to find a way to make the nightmares stop.

Although tonight's was less violent, he realizes. It wasn't even scary until the very last moment, when he was back in the hospital with…with Blaine, and the same group of boy's from earlier that night were suddenly behind him and…

Before he can finish the memory, he rolls out of bed and heads for the kitchen.

Usually, he's not one for late-night snacks. He knows how easy it is to make it a habit, but tonight's an exception.

If ice-cream can make it better, then who's he to complain?

Sighing against the spoon, he takes the time to contemplate less troubling things, like Blaine.

For whatever reason, thinking of Blaine makes him feel better. It's not like they know each other – not like they'll ever meet again or become friends or whatever, but the curly-haired boy's smile is just what Kurt needs after Friday's disaster. He keeps replaying the hospital scene over and over again in his head, hoping to never have to let it go for the sake of keeping his sanity.

He doesn't care to question it, and it doesn't even really bother him that Blaine never texted back. It was silly for him to expect anything more; it wasn't like he was actually in trouble – he had just hoped for a bit of interaction that didn't come from either his family or the glee club.

He takes another, larger bite of ice cream before groaning softly and letting his head fall into his hands.

This is gonna be one hell of a week.

The following morning, Blaine is sitting at the edge of Sebastian's bed, humming something Sebastian's sure is Katy Perry-related. "Good morning, sleepy head!" he chirps, reaching forward to ruffle his friend's sleep-crazy hair. "Sleep well?"

Sebastian rubs his tired eyes and groans as the sunlight streaming through the other-wise closed curtains practically blinds him. "Blaine? What the hell? What time is it?"

"Time for you to wake-up!"

He rolls his eyes. "Cute, Blaine. Now, what time is it really? Not everyone's a morning person."

Blaine sighs and turns to face the clock. "It's…six thirty."

"What? Blaine, what is wrong with you? I don't have to be up for another hour!"

The shorter boy starts nervously playing with Sebastian's blanket, pouting faintly as his brows furrow. "I just didn't want to be alone."

Something about that voice makes Sebastian smile. "Damn it, I can't stay mad at you like that! Now, come here." He reaches forward, grabs Blaine's hand, and pulls him closer. "Let's just lay down, alright? Maybe you'll sleep better if we share a bed."

"I never said I couldn't sleep…"

"Whatever you say, Blaine."

Nevertheless, Blaine crawls beneath the covers, oblivious to Sebastian's warmth but thankful for the contact, anyway. He never liked to be alone.

He never liked losing sleep, either, but he guesses that life isn't fair and closes his eyes, just happy enough to let his thoughts stray towards blue eyes and a voice like music.

He almost falls asleep.

Almost.

Blaine and Sebastian sit alone at breakfast that morning. Nick, Jeff, and Wes are off working on Warbler-related business, and Sebastian doesn't really like or know anyone else. Besides, he likes it better when it's just the two of them.

"So, sleep well?" Sebastian asks for at least the hundredth time that morning, sipping at his coffee as nonchalantly as possible and looking at a point over Blaine's shoulder as he does his best not to smile.

Blaine's eyes roll, as per usual when he's annoyed at Sebastian. "I'm fine, Seb. Stop trying to get into my head."

Sebastian pouts. "Is it wrong for me to worry about my best friend? I've known you long enough now to realize that when you're not getting sleep, something's bugging you. So, what is it? Family troubles? Boy trouble? Oh, please tell me it's a boy! I love giving advice!"

Of course, Blaine can't help but chuckle. "You know, for a best friend, you sure know how to get on my nerves."

"Oh, please. What would you do without me, hmm?"

"Live a normal life?"

"Blaine, your words hurt." For emphasis, Sebastian slapps his hand over his heart. "Now, why don't you tell me what's up so that I don't have to keep guessing."

"Nothing's up. I'm fine."

"You're not even eating. Look at you! Playing with your food! Yet another sign of distress!"

"I swear to God, you're insane."

Sebastian's voice drops the slightest bit when he says, "But you like it." Because Blaine is Blaine, he doesn't notice and continues poking at his cereal, completely unaware of the way Sebastian watches him like a lion would a gazelle.

He just drops his head against his palm and tries not to think too hard about what can't be changed.

"Uhm…Kurt?"

"Yes, Finn?" Kurt drawls, lifting his head from where it was very recently resting comfortably against his arms.

"Why are you sleeping in our kitchen? With a whole bunch of melted ice cream?"

Kurt eyes the half-eaten container with a look of barely contained disgust. "Because I felt like it, Finn." He stretches his arms above his head, glaring at his step-brother as the taller boy looks around in confusion. "Something on your mind?"

"I just…Why not sleep in your bed?"

He rolls his shoulders. "Didn't feel like it, I guess."

Finn's eyes narrow in suspicion. "Is everything alright? I mean, obviously things aren't alright…" He motions with his hands to the cuts across his brother's face. "But, I mean, mentally. Is everything alright up here?" He taps his pointer finger against Kurt's forehead.

"Calling me stupid?" And it's meant to throw the conversation, but Finn isn't always as stupid as people would like to believe.

"No, I'm asking if you're okay."

There are so many words at the tip of Kurt's tongue. Words like no, I'm not and but it's not for the reason you think. Words that rhyme with rain and start with the letter 'b'.

"Honestly, Finn, I'm fine." He bites his lip and draws a finger across the countertop. "Can I ask you a question, though?"

A bit apprehensively, Finn nods. "I'll do my best to answer honestly!"

Kurt smiles. "What do you do when you can't get something out of your head?"

Finn cocks his head to the side and bites his bottom lip. "Depends on what it is, I guess."

"Let's just say, for hypothetical purposes, that it's a person."

"Well…" His fingers start tapping a crazy little rhythm against the counter. "Usually, when I want to forget about a person, I sing. Still, I don't really think it's possible to forget a person, you know? People leave, like, marks behind…or something. If you want to forget a person, I think, then the chances of forgetting them just grow that much smaller. Does…does that even make sense?"

Seeming to take it into consideration, Kurt nods slowly, eyes trained on a point over Finn's shoulder. "I hate how smart you can be, sometimes."

"What's that supposed to mean? Isn't being smart a good thing?"

They both chuckle, and it's in moments like these that Kurt silently thanks his father for falling in love with such an amazing woman and giving him the chance to have her equally- as- amazing son as a brother.

"Yah, Finn, it is."

And as Finn moves towards the fridge for breakfast, Kurt tosses the ice cream container into the trash bin, silently admonishing himself for ever eating the damned dairy product in the first place.

"Morning, Kurt!" Carole sings, shuffling towards the kitchen tiredly and smiling sweetly. Pecking him on the cheek, she asks if he slept well.

Finn snorts in the corner, but Kurt ignores it and rolls his eyes. "Well enough, thank you. You?"

Yawning, she shrugs her shoulders. "I'm always tired, ya know?" She chuckles lightly and moves past him, where she kisses Finn and grabs for the coffee maker. "I guess that's just what happens when I have you two boys to keep up with."

To be honest, Blaine doesn't know why he does it.

It's stupid, really.

A disaster just waiting to happen.

And he knows it.

Every part of his being is aware of how silly this is – to be looking for a boy who probably doesn't even remember him. To be searching for the boy. The one with the blue, blue eyes and pale-as-the-moon skin and lips like rose petals and…

Still, these thoughts don't still his fingers as he types the name of that very same boy into the search engine.

As it loads, he closes his eyes and buries his head in his hands. "This is insane."