DISCLAIMER: I do not own Glee, nor am I associated with it or RIB. I don't own anything - there we go.
Don't Run Away
By: xSlythStratasfaction
Warning: Spoilers for Season 4 - an AU of 4x07 on. Basically a 'what if' Blaine transferred back to Dalton like he was planning instead of being talked out of it like Sam was able to do in the actual episode.
"Blaine-"
"You should leave."
"No, I'm not going anywhere. I want to talk to you. I want-"
"It's over. We're done." Blaine repeated, quoting the text that Kurt had sent him just a month ago. "You asked me to stop contacting you, so I did."
"That was a mistake. I never should've said that to you. I was just so mad and hurt and I-"
"You wanted me to leave you alone. I understand. You got your wish."
Kurt's eyes narrowed. "Why are you being like this?" He watched Blaine sit up and cross his legs, resting his elbows on his knees while he cradled his head. "I just want to talk, Blaine. You can tell me what happened and I'll listen and we can-"
Blaine wrapped his fingers in his hair, "We can what? Talk and be friends again? …Kurt, I hurt you. You were right when you told me to leave you alone. I always ruin everything important to me, so what's the point in…" He trailed off and the untold meaning behind his words sent a chill up Kurt's spine.
"Blaine, I-"
"Go back to New York, Kurt. Find a new boyfriend, get married, be happy," he paused, taking in a deep breath. His next statement came out as a barely audible whisper. "Forget about me."
Blaine rose from the floor, sidestepping Kurt to head back into the bedroom, but Kurt followed behind him closely, arms crossed over his chest. "I'm not-"
"Everybody else does anyway. It's not like I'm not used to it." Blaine muttered quietly and Kurt almost burst into tears when he saw the strange flash of emotion flicker across Blaine's face when he realized what he just said out loud.
"Oh Blaine, I would never forget-"
"Yes, you will. You already have."
::
There was a click on the other side of the line and Blaine knew that, once again, another call was ended before he got to say 'I love you.' It was a regular occurrence nowadays, now that Kurt was too busy to talk to him anymore. Their phone calls became more and more scarce and whenever they did have the chance to talk, the conversation always favored Kurt's life in New York… but never Blaine.
Never, ever Blaine.
He tried his hardest to get a word in sometimes, but then Kurt would get distracted - something would catch his eye in his and Rachel's apartment and he would suddenly ask for Blaine's opinion on it or he would spot something from work sitting in his room and then would end up launching into a story about how 'Chase did this' or 'Isabelle did that.' And then, as usual, Blaine would be pushed to the wayside, just waiting in the midst for his turn, for his time to shine.
For once, he wanted to be an important part of Kurt's life like he used to be, but now it was all about New York and despite the fact that Blaine tried his hardest not to get too angry at his boyfriend for being excited about his new life, he found himself wondering deep down if maybe Kurt was going to get swept away from the glamour that was New York City and end up leaving him behind like he always feared was going to happen.
Because it was happening now. The extravagance of New York City had already dimmed some of Blaine's light and sooner or later, it was going to douse him out completely.
::
You already have.
Suddenly, everything that had been wrong in the past came bubbling back up to the surface and Kurt knew that this next conversation was not going to be an easy one. He dropped down onto Blaine's bed and placed his hands on his knees, his gaze shooting to the floor. Blaine paced before him, one hand slowly rubbing across his stomach as if he was about to be sick again.
Kurt wondered if maybe his presence had anything to do with Blaine feeling so nauseous. "I never meant for that to happen, Blaine. You have to believe me. I just- I just got caught up in the whole New York of all it - you know, bright lights and fame and- and work and I never meant for you to feel that way. I had no idea that you did, that you felt like I had forgotten you."
"I'm easy to forget."
"Blaine, no!"
"...what? I am. You forgot me, my friends forgot me - if you can even call them that. Cooper doesn't even call me anymore. I'm easily forgettable." His voice was monotone and steady, his constant pacing having stilled when he began to speak. Across from him, Kurt stared on in horror as he listened to those awful self-depreciating things come out of his ex's mouth.
"Never. You're unforgettable, Blaine."
Blaine didn't say a word in response. He just stopped pacing and stood there at his desk, his fingers slowly tracing their way along the starched collar of his dress shirt; they trailed down the line of ivory buttons and stopped at the bottom, wrinkling into the fabric as Blaine clutched the material in his fists.
"Stop."
"Blaine, please… you have to listen to me. You are unforgettable. You are-"
"I think it would be best if you left, Kurt." Blaine bit out, the linen squeezing harder between his fingertips. His knuckles grew white as he gripped the shirt tighter and tighter.
"Blaine, stop! You're going to ruin your shirt."
"It wouldn't be the first time," the boy countered angrily as he jerked his fists forward and the material within his grasp gave and tore. Kurt gasped as Blaine kept pulling at the shirt, yanking and yanking as the shirt shredded in his fingertips.
"Blaine, stop it! Stop it!"
"Why can't you just leave me alone? Why can't you just go?" Blaine wailed, his watery eyes falling onto Kurt. He released his destroyed top and curled his arms around his waist, stumbling backwards into his desk as he struggled to get farther and farther away from the man before him. "You weren't supposed to come here. You were supposed to move on!"
"How am I supposed to move on when you're like this?!" Kurt screamed, his own composure crumbling as he watched his ex-boyfriend and former best friend completely meltdown in front of him. He had never ever seen Blaine like this, not one time during their year long relationship had Blaine ever crashed and burned like he was doing now. "I can't just leave here and leave you like this!"
"Why do you care? I hurt you!"
"I still love you!"
Blaine collided with the wall, his fingers reaching up to tangle themselves in his gelled hair. "You can't! I cheated on you! I ruined us. I fucked another guy!" Kurt's body lurched in pain at the admission, no matter what he already knew. "You can't love me!"
"You're my best friend and I know you messed up. I know you know you did too," Kurt began to explain, slowly making his way towards his shaken up ex. He was crying hard, his face aching from his struggle to not completely break down in horrendous gut wrenching sobs. "I know you still love me, Blaine. I know you're upset about what happened and I'm on my way to forgiving you; I'm not just there yet, but I'm getting close and I don't want you to continue killing yourself over your guilt."
"You shouldn't forgive me."
"I'm trying… and you should try to forgive yourself too. This self-hatred has got to stop. You're only hurting yourself, honey." He didn't even blink at the slip of the term of endearment. "When I saw you perform at Sectionals last month, I was terrified because that boy onstage was not the boy I knew. I'm not sure exactly what's going on with you, but you need- you need- Blaine, you need help."
Blaine visibly deflated, his hands flying down to his face as he began to bawl into his palms. Kurt rushed forward and wrapped his arms around his ex's smaller frame, collapsing into his own fit of tears as soon as Blaine's body was pressed against his. "God, what's happened to us?" He wondered aloud, his voice thick with emotion. Blaine trembled against him and he tightened his grip around Blaine's waist. "God, Blaine, I missed you."
"I- I missed you so much, Kurt. I never thought you would come back. You- you said you wanted me to leave you alone and it- it broke my heart all over again."
"Oh Blaine-"
"Please don't go. Please don't leave me."
"Never. I'm never saying goodbye to you, remember?"
::
Sebastian stood outside his room, his hands tucked into his pockets as he leaned against the door and listened in. He could hear Blaine sobbing and Kurt pathetically trying to (he was also crying, so his attempts seemed futile) soothe his broken friend. At first, he came running down the hall at the sheer amount of yelling that was going on in the room, but when things started to quiet down, he paused outside the door and waited, waited for a signal of some sort to come from either Kurt or Blaine - a call for help or maybe a plea to provide back-up… whatever was needed.
But instead, he got nothing and in return, just sat out there in the hall, ignoring his floormates' concerned glances as they peered out of their dorm room doors and stared curiously at him while he tried to listen in on the hushed conversation that was happening in his room.
"What's going on?" A meek voice asked from behind him. Sebastian turned around and found himself looking down at Nick, the other boy staring up at him with a worried look. "Is Blaine okay?"
"He'll be alright, I think. He needs some time, but he should be okay."
"Is Kurt in there?"
"Yeah."
"Do you think that's a very good idea? Wasn't Kurt the main reason Blaine came back to Dalton in the first place?"
Sebastian rolled his eyes, "No. Blaine was the reason Blaine came back to Dalton. Kurt might have given him a little push, but the transfer was all Blaine." He paused for a moment to focus on the whispers going on behind his closed door before he turned back to Nick. "Kurt isn't going to be able to do much for Blaine, but I think this will help them both out in the long run."
"Hmm," Nick said thoughtfully, pressing a fingertip to his chin. "I can't believe you're helping Kurt out though. You two hate each other."
"Well, people tend to join forces when someone they care about is hurting," Sebastian muttered quietly, his voice barely able to be heard over the murmurs in the next room. "You didn't get to see Blaine like I did when he first showed up. He needs help and I think Kurt is the perfect person to persuade him to get it." Beside him, Nick nodded in agreement and then placed a strong hand on Sebastian's shoulder.
"You're really not all that bad, Smythe," he said with a grin, turning away from the door to head back down to his own dorm room. Sebastian waited until Nick had disappeared before he pressed up against the door again and tuned in on the soft hush on the other side. All he could hear was Kurt's high voice wafting in the air and he knew that somehow Kurt had been able to do what Sebastian and some of the other Warblers had been trying to do all along - bring a part of Blaine Anderson back.
A/N: This chapter is a lot shorter than the others, I know, but it had to be. I couldn't go too far with it without diving into the next one, so I apologize for the puny length. Also, for those of you that may be screaming that Kurt shouldn't be able to cure Blaine that quickly... he didn't. If anything, he just got through to Blaine a little better than everyone else and now Blaine might get the help he needs (and believe me, he needs to talk to someone because his self-depreciation is terribly upsetting.) Also, in the next chapter, we'll find out more about what happened to Blaine when he came back to Dalton, so stay tuned. Please leave a review and let me know what you thought! I hope to have the next chapter out soon. It won't be today because I've got another hospital visit this afternoon (WOO HOO x-rays... that was me being sarcastic by the way), but it will be soon. SOON.