Thanks to everybody who's been commenting on this so far! I really appreciate it. This is the second to last chapter and it's a little longer than usual. I hope you like it!

x Janneke

C H A P T E R F I V E

'Blaine, there's someone at the door!'

He rolled his eyes as he heard his mother shout at him. He got up from his bed, carefully put his guitar away and ran down the stairs. Why couldn't his mom open the door? She was already downstairs anyway, and now he –

'Hi!'

Opening the door, a familiar face grinned at him cheekily. Blaine stared, unable to speak for a few moments.

'Why… are you here? In Waterford? At my house?' he managed to blurt out. Kurt invited himself in, passing Blaine in the door opening. He greeted Blaine's mother, who had come out of the kitchen, wearing an equally impish grin. 'This is a plot, isn't it?' Blaine asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes at them.

Kurt turned around. 'Yes,' he said, an exceptionally smug look on his face. 'We're here to kidnap you.'

Blaine, having recovered a little from the initial shock, smiled incredulously. 'Kidnap me? Where to?'

'We're staying at this cottage at Cedar Creek State Park for a week,' Kurt said, waving his hand in a way that said it didn't really matter where they were going. 'You should get your stuff, my parents are waiting.' He pointed through the open front door at the big sand-coloured Chevrolet. Blaine saw Burt waving at him and he feebly waved back. He looked back at Kurt and his mother.

'You arranged this?'

His mother nodded at Kurt. 'He did. He just asked my permission, which I, of course, granted whole-heartedly, as it's spring break and you should go out and have some fun.' She carefully avoided mentioning the events of the past few months or the convenient absence of his father. 'Now you should go and pack, or do you want to keep them all waiting?'

Laughing, Blaine sprinted up the stairs.

The two-and-a-half hour drive from Waterford to the Park was over before they knew it, thanks to the soothing music that came out of the iPod Kurt and Blaine were sharing. Kurt, sitting in the middle, had put his head on Finn's shoulder and Blaine, in turn, had rested his curls against Kurt's. Carole, laughing silently, had taken a picture on her cell phone when she saw the uncharacteristically serene spectacle behind her.

They'd parked outside the wooden cabin. Burt, grinning at Carole, put his fist to the horn three short but incredibly noisy times. The three boys each sat up straight immediately, the same dazed look on their faces.

'We're there,' Burt said, while Carole pushed him in a loving manner.

'Obviously,' Kurt muttered, after stifling a yawn.

'Don't be so mean,' Carole said to Burt, getting out of the car. 'Come on boys, get your things and settle in.'

The cabin was a lot spacier than it appeared to be on the outside, and Finn, Kurt and Blaine all had their own rooms downstairs. The living room, that was seperated from the kitchen by a huge book case, had a couple of very cosy-looking couches and a big fireplace. It had a bit of a wintery feel about it, but it fit the weather – even though it was the first week of April, it was grey, chilly and damp outside.

That night, Burt got the fire going and Carole was in the kitchen, filling the entire cabin with the delicious smell of homemade cookies. Finn was in his room, probably talking to Rachel on the phone, while Kurt and Blaine were on the couch, reading Marie Claires and commenting on the most ridiculous outfits they could find. Well, Kurt did most of the commenting, Blaine just laughed and enjoyed the warmth of the fire.

Actually, it was more than just the fire that caused him to feel fuzzy and utterly happy inside. The whole atmosphere this family exuded was completely new and amazing to him. He was basking in their domestic bliss and suddenly understood why people would want to get married and have babies. He always associated it with inevitability and social acceptance, as his parents never really seemed to like being married to each other. And his father never seemed to be too happy to have him around, either. But this, this was totally different. These people genuinely loved each other and it was a completely new experience for him.

'Who wants warm milk with their cookies?' Carole called from the kitchen.

Finn, who had just returned to the living room, flopped onto the couch next to the one Kurt and Blaine were sitting on and raised his hand excitedly. 'Me!'

'Yes, please,' Kurt answered. He looked at Blaine, who raised his eyebrows slightly. 'And Blaine would like some coffee!' Kurt added, grinning.

'We're going to play some basketball!' Finn called, as he opened the door, letting in air that smelled like freshly cut grass. 'See you later!'

Burt had grabbed the ball they'd brought with them and followed Finn out after kissing Carole on the cheek. 'Bye!'

'Boys, I'm going to do some grocery shopping,' Carole told Kurt and Blaine, who were enjoying their morning coffee at the kitchen table. 'Do you have any plans today? Or do you want to come with me?'

Kurt raised his eyebrows at Carole. 'Grocery shopping? Really?' He put down his coffee mug and looked at Blaine. 'I was thinking we could go sunbathing by the lake,' he proposed with an excited smile. The weather was exceptionally nice and Kurt couldn't wait to get a little tan – it would look amazing with his new white coat. Blaine frowned. 'I'm not very good at lying still for a very long time,' he confessed.

'You could always rent a boat and go up the lake,' Carole suggested. 'That way you'd have the sun and the action.'

'You sound like a commercial,' Kurt snorted, but he noticed Blaine's excitement and a few minutes later they were making their way towards the lake.

'Have you ever been boating on a lake before?' Kurt asked. Blaine shook his head.

'No, but I'm sure it's very easy.'

It wasn't. They spend their first half hour on the lake trying to figure out how to stop their boat from spinning the moment their oars touched the water. When they finally managed to actually get onto the lake instead of drifting around the edges, the sun had practically vanished.

'I can't believe I let myself get talked into this,' Kurt grumbled.

'Oh come on, you're having fun.' Blaine was trying to manoeuvre the boat around a small island in the middle of the lake. As long as Kurt didn't touch the oars, they were able to avoid any head-on collisions with other boats or, in this case, small chunks of land. 'Just because you're not very good at it doesn't mean you can't have fun.' He chuckled slightly.

Kurt crossed his arms and started humming the theme to Titanic.

'Don't!' Blaine said, laughing. 'You'll jinx us!'

By the time Blaine succesfully finished steering the boat around the island, Kurt was singing 'My Heart Will Go On' at the top of his lungs and Blaine had to let go of the oars and lean back to catch his breath.

'My arms hurt,' he panted when Kurt was done singing. 'I'm not sure whether I'll be able to get us back to the shore. We might have to swim.'

Kurt's eyes widened for a second before Blaine started laughing again. Determined to get his revenge, Kurt turned up the sleeve of his shirt and started splashing water at Blaine. The splashes were surprisingly well-aimed and before long, Blaine sat spluttering, his dark blue T-shirt soaked. Kurt laughed, but when he saw Blaine's arm move to the surface of the water, he launched himself forward to stop him.

'Don't! This is a Westwood shirt! Westwood! Have mercy!'

But it was too late. Soon, they were both soaked to the bone, struggling against each other to beat the other one to the water and laughing so hard they couldn't breathe.

'I… surrender,' Kurt panted, sitting down next to Blaine with a wet thud that shook the small boat. Blaine made a gesture that spoke of victory and world domination and tried to catch his breath for the second time that day. For a moment, the sun burst through the clouds. Blaine looked up to catch Kurt staring at him. Kurt quickly looked away. Blaine didn't. The way the sunlight caressed Kurt's mahogany hair and turned it to gold made him blink. He wanted to reach out and touch it. Kurt tentatively looked at Blaine again and, in a heart-stoppig moment, he noticed how close they were. He wasn't sure if he was making this up, but he could swear Blaine was leaning in.

The sharp, eardrum-piercing sound of a shotgun made them jump apart. A startled flock of birds emerged from the tree tops and they could hear a couple of dogs barking.

'I forgot they plan hunting parties,' Kurt said, staring wide-eyed at the shore.

'We – we should probably get out of their way,' Blaine mumbled, a little shaken.

'Probably.'

They looked at each other and sniggered a little. It wasn't necessarily awkward, but the unresolved tension was obvious and still very much there.

'Do you want me to help you out and spare your poor arm muscles?' Kurt inquired.

Blaine grinned. 'The way you row? We won't be back at the shore until midnight. Let me handle this,' he said, and he laughed as Kurt splashed some more water his way.

The weather pretty much went downhill from there. The next couple of days were spent mostly inside, as the rain was pounding against the windows. Kurt and Blaine had claimed one of the couches and barely moved. They read some more magazines, talked a lot and watched their favourite video clips, while Finn and Burt tried to talk them into watching a sport's game. Much to Kurt's dismay, Blaine actually enjoyed football and one night, he had to sit through an entire evening of sport's talk. But after that, they let him put When Harry Met Sally on, so no hard feelings.

Finally, on the last day of their stay in Cedar Creek, the skies were a clear, pale blue instead of the murkish grey they'd been before. The sun was shining tentatively, as if it wasn't completely sure it was allowed to, but it was there. Kurt was up very early and bounced around the cottage, trying to get the others excited for his plans.

'Come on, it'll be fun! We haven't had a picnic for ages!'

'Yeah, there's probably a reason why,' Burt grunted, grabbing some toast. Definitely not a morning person.

Kurt didn't let that stop him, but when pretty much everyone had turned him down, he sat down on the couch with his cup of coffee, trying to think of other ways to convince the others. He looked up when Blaine walked in, his curls tangled and his eyes still half closed.

'Coffee's here,' Kurt said, and Blaine sat down next to him. 'So, are you in?'

Blaine took a sip and looked at Kurt questioningly. 'In for what?'

'A picnic!'

'Isn't it going to rain again today?'

'You haven't looked outside yet, have you?'

Finn, who was sitting at the table enjoying his eggs and bacon, chimed in. 'I just checked the weather reports and they all say it's going to rain later today.'

'Finn, don't talk while you eat,' Carole said.

'So?' Kurt said, looking at Blaine with a smile. 'You in?'

As if he had a choice, Blaine thought, but he smiled as he followed Kurt into the woods with a basket filled with food. Kurt had taken care of everything and was sure he knew where he was going. Blaine was fine with all of it. He felt a little apathetic – this was their last day before… He really shouldn't go there. He should enjoy all of this.

Lost in thought, he bumped into Kurt, who had suddenly stopped walking. 'What's wrong?' He asked, but then he looked over Kurt's shoulder. 'Oh.'

The most perfect patch of green, encircled by enormous trees, was glittering at them – the sunlight had turned every single drop of rain that had fallen the last couple of days into a small crystal. Kurt clapped his hands in delight. 'This is it!'

Blaine shook his head, staring at Kurt. 'Amazing.'

'I know!' Kurt said, stepping forward. 'Come on, let's put down the cloth so we can sit down.'

Kurt had provided them with everything they needed: strawberries, rolls, iced tea and a lot of chocolate. After they finished eating, they simply lay down on the cloth and enjoyed the sun. Kurt was on his back, his arms close to his sides. Blaine was next to him, his head on his arms as he lay on his stomach. He was looking at Kurt, who appeared to be sleeping. Blaine wished he could look at him forever. He was just about to reach out and stroke Kurt's hair when he felt something cold on the back of his head. He looked up. Big rainclouds were appearing over the tree tops, obscuring the sun.

'Kurt,' Blaine said softly, smiling at the unmoving boy next to him.

'Hmm?'

'Don't you feel that?'

Kurt's eyes opened and the look of contentment that had emphasized his facial features was gone in a second. 'You've got to be kidding me,' he groaned, sitting up. 'Please don't tell me it's going to rain, that'll mess up my hair!'

'I guess Finn was right,' Blaine said, packing up their things. 'If we want to get back to the cabin without getting just as drenched as the other day, we should probably run.' Strangely enough, this turn of events made him feel a little giddy. He stood up, ushered Kurt off of the cloth and stuffed it inside the basket. 'Let's go!' And without thinking, he grabbed Kurt's hand and started running through the woods.

Soon enough, the rain was pouring down at such a rate, Blaine started slipping on branches and leaves.

'Let's find a place to hide!' Kurt yelled at him when there was some rumbling in the distance, promising thunder. He was holding a hand above his head, obviously trying to save his hair.

They found a smallish cave-like construction somewhere close to a huge tree trunk. They could both sit in it quite comfortably, with room to spare for the basket. They used the picnic cloth again and waited. For a while, they simply sat there, listening to the rain. Kurt shivered.

'Stupid rain,' he muttered. 'Messed up my hair. It looked perfect today.'

'Your hair looks fine,' Blaine said, smiling. Kurt looked at him, his eyebrows raised. 'Okay, maybe it's a little flat,' he added, making Kurt sigh dramatically. 'But look at mine. It starts curling even worse when it's wet. It's horrible, I can't do anything with it.'

'It's not horrible,' Kurt said softly.

'You think so?'

They were looking at each other, soaked and shivering, and started laughing at exactly the same moment. There was no particular reason, except that this whole situation was just so ridiculous and ironic at the same time, and they were here, they were together and it was their last day and they didn't want it to end – and then suddenly, neither would be able to recall afterwards how it had happened exactly, but suddenly, they were kissing.

They were kissing as the lightning first flashed. The thunder that followed was so loud it made their eardrums ache. They broke apart, staring into each other's eyes for a few seconds.

'Well, that was definitely an Oscar-worthy moment,' Kurt remarked drily.

'Couldn't've timed it better myself,' Blaine grinned. Then, he looked away, staring at his hands.

'What's wrong?' Kurt asked.

'I don't want to go home.' He looked up at Kurt. 'This week has been the best week of my life, and it's kind of sad that I'm not even exaggerating. But it has. And going back means that I won't be able to see you everyday. It means that I'll have to go back to school and face those bullies, and it means that I'll come home to my parents fighting and my dad taking back my phone so I won't be able to call you or text you or –'

Kurt shut him up by kissing him again. When he pulled away, he took Blaine's face in his hands. 'Listen to me.' They were inches apart. 'Are you listening?' Blaine nodded. 'We'll be fine. If your dad takes your phone, we'll email. If he disconnects you from the internet, we'll write letters. When he starts chopping off your fingers to stop you from writing me… Well, then we should probably call the police.' Blaine giggled in spite of himself. Kurt looked at him, his eyes tender and his smile warm, his thumbs stroking Blaine's cheekbones. 'We will be fine,' he repeated, emphasizing the 'we'.

And to prove his point, he pressed his lips against Blaine's once again, as the thunder slowly subsided.

The drive back was quiet like the last time they were in the car together, but it was a different kind of quiet. Kurt wasn't dozing off with his head on Finn's shoulder – he was concentrating on his hand, which was softly stroking Blaine's. Blaine was staring out of the car window. Every second, that car brought him closer to saying goodbye to Kurt.

Inevitably, after about two and a half hours, they entered the street Blaine's house was on. But there was something different, Blaine thought, when the car pulled up to the house. It took him a second to realize what was wrong, but then his heart sank.

'Oh no…' he whispered.

'What's wrong?' Kurt asked, disliking the tone of Blaine's voice.

Blaine pointed at the grey BMW, parked on the drive. He looked at Kurt, barely able to keep it together.

'That's my dad's car.'