chapter vi

They managed to explore a few more rooms in one of the other buildings before they realised the time. All they'd found was the same: a little dust from eroded blocks, and absolutely no signs of life. Somehow, it just made Kurt even more nervous for Blaine while he was alone. What if Kurt came back but Blaine was gone?

They went back outside to wait for Kurt to wake up, and didn't look away from each other until Kurt opened his eyes in his own bed with his stomach twisted in knots.

Kurt was distracted all day, not that anyone noticed. While eating breakfast with his dad, he managed to play off his worry as tiredness from a bad night's sleep (not that was strictly untrue – the castle had been more intimidating than any of Kurt's bullies) – and he assured Burt that it wasn't because of the moving-in proposal, because he'd already decided it was a good idea. He avoided his friends as much as possible, and when he did see them at lunch time conversation revolved around Sectionals. He barely even noticed when slurs fell out of his locker or Karofsky pushed him into the corner of a wall and it caught his shoulder.

"Hey, man, can I talk to you for a sec?"

Kurt blinked back into full consciousness and realised with horror that he had been chewing on his lip. Why hadn't anyone stopped him? Then he shook himself and paid attention to Finn. "Yes?"

"What do you think about our parents living together?"

"It wouldn't just be our parents, Finn."

"Yeah, that's kinda the problem, isn't it? Our parents almost broke up last time . . ."

Kurt could not deal with this right now. He drew a steadying breath, turned to face Finn with his whole body, and then spoke: "Firstly, the circumstances are very different from last time. This wasn't sprung on either of us. We're all older. You and I would have separate rooms. My feelings towards you are now strictly fraternal. Brotherly," he clarified when he saw Finn's confused frown. "Secondly, I think it's a good idea. Dad and I talked yesterday and I wouldn't be surprised if he's bought an engagement ring already – though he really should have told me first and then I could have helped him find something perfect." He shook his head. "Them living together is inevitable, Finn. All that matters is whether they wait for us to leave home, or if we build a new home as a new family."

Finn was no longer frowning by now; he actually looked rather thrown off-kilter, a little desperately left behind.

"They're gonna get married?"

"Eventually," Kurt answered gently. He wondered if Carole even talked to Finn about her relationship, or if Finn was just bad at listening. "Quite soon, I think." He gave the taller boy a smile and patted his arm, and then the two entered the choir room.

"Oh, there you are, Finn!" Rachel exclaimed, dragging her boyfriend over to their seats. Kurt huffed a laugh and then made his way to his own seat at the back of the room. Tina was, as usual, making out with Mike while they still had the chance, and Mercedes was talking to Artie. So, with no one to force his attention, Kurt slipped right back into worrying about Blaine. Was he still safe? Had he gone back into the castle to explore on his own? What if there had been something there, but it was waiting for one of them to be alone before it attacked?

He tuned in just in time to hear Santana tell Rachel that she and Finn had had sex last year and raised an eyebrow. Really, Rachel hadn't known? Kurt had thought it was public knowledge. Then again, he supposed it was only in the last few weeks that Rachel had started to try to honestly make friends and that was with himself.

Mr Schue called Mike and Brittany to the front to work on choreography and Kurt's other eyebrow rose to join the first. What exactly had he missed? Was Mr Schue actually learning from his mistakes – and more than that, preparing for something more than a week in advance?

Kurt pushed down his worry about Blaine, though it remained present enough that he only half paid attention during Glee. He picked up that Mr Schue had given Sam and Quinn a duet and Santana the solo – apparently, he wanted to show off the group's talent; never mind that he was still sticking to the same tired formula with slightly different numbers; never mind that he was still ignoring three quarters of the talent, half of whom hadn't ever been given even a line. He followed the choreography and, although he wasn't as good as he usually was, at least he was still miles ahead of Finn.

He didn't need to pretend to be paying much attention when his dad came home because Burt was distracted too. He kept flicking between channels and flipping the remote between his hands, and it was only after he'd gone upstairs for the seventh time that Kurt threatened him with salad for dinner and leftover salad for breakfast for the next three weeks if he didn't stay still because he was still recovering from his heart attack.

He cited his exhaustion from last night as his reason to go to bed early. He was genuinely tired, the worry draining, but even so he couldn't get to sleep for hours.

At the immediate sight of Blaine, moved from inches in front of Kurt to a couple of metres away and leaning against a wall with his head tilted back, Kurt's entire body let out a sigh of relief and he relaxed. Blaine was okay. He was safe. Somewhat tense from being alone in this unknown, empty, eerie place for several hours, but safe nonetheless, and nothing bad had happened to him.

Tonight, they followed one of the pathways between the main building they'd come through and one that was particularly crumbling. It led them to what probably used to be a garden. There was a deep hole in the ground which was likely once a pond. On an artificial island directly in the middle was a two-tiered pagoda constructed of rotting wood, and it was linked to the rest of the garden with three bridges, only one of which was still standing, but it didn't look safe to cross anyway. The grass, like everywhere else in the Dream World, was green, evenly spread and uniform in length. There were rows of turned soil along the borders which probably once held flowers or vegetables. Blaine knelt down by one of the beds and shifted it with his fingers.

"What are you doing?" Kurt asked. It was easier – so much easier – to talk outside.

"Looking to see if this has been tended to recently," Blaine replied. "It hasn't, by the way."

"Oh, thank god."

Neither of them said that that didn't mean they weren't alone.

Kurt was unsurprised when Burt and Carole ambushed him between first and second period, dragged him to Finn and told their sons they were engaged. He was still ecstatic, of course – it was actually happening! his dad would get to be truly happy again! and Kurt was the one who was getting to plan it!

He never thought he would be glad to not have a competition solo. They wanted the wedding as soon as possible. Even though Kurt had wedding magazines under his bed and several generations of wedding scrapbooks throughout his life, it would still be tough to get everything planned and booked and confirmed while teaching the New Directions the set list and arrangements for the wedding and simultaneously learning an intensive dance routine for Sectionals. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise that his considerable talent and spectacular voice had been looked over once again.

Kurt bounced through the day. Every moment he could get away with it, he was chattering someone's ear off: Rachel or Mercedes or Finn about songs, Mercedes or Tina about the suits and dresses. As they walked out of Glee after school, he even managed to talk to Quinn (and an accompanying Sam – Kurt wondered when exactly that had happened) about catering. He credited the fact that he was barely alone all day for the severe drop in bullying. He was slushied twice, 'tripped over' once, and a couple of brutes had knocked into him in classrooms, but there hadn't been a sign of Karofsky all day.

All in all, it was a very good day.

The good day, unfortunately, did not continue into a good week, although it didn't turn into a bad one. While the New Directions were totally on the ball about the wedding songs, any time Sectionals was even hinted at, the room instantly descended into chaos. The third time it happened (another backhanded comment by Rachel), Kurt stood up and ripped every participant in the fight a new one, channelling his anger about the bullying and his fear of the castle and his frustration that he still couldn't find a way to get Blaine awake and shouting at them for daring to have the audacity to potentially compromise his dad and Carole's happiness. Santana and Puck had looked impressed. The following Monday, Lauren Zizes walked through the choir room door, punched Kurt on the shoulder and said bad asses should stick together.

Although somehow getting Lauren Zizes in his corner had buoyed his confidence, by the end of the day it had sunk so low that Kurt stared at his wedding planning for over an hour without doing anything. Karofsky seemed to not only be making up for the low-level bullying of last week but he'd returned with a vengeance, as if punishing Kurt for daring to be so happy.

It really didn't help that while he slept, instead of lying around with Blaine by their calm, peaceful Lake, they were exploring a creepy, cavernous, only-probably-abandoned castle.

"Are you sure you don't want some help with the planning?" his dad asked him over dinner three days before the wedding. "Carole and I have both been married before, you know, I think we could handle taking part in the second one."

"Absolutely not," Kurt replied. "You put me in charge and that means your wedding will be perfect."

"No live animals," Burt said, meeting Kurt's gaze across the table. Kurt blinked at him innocently.

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."

"Look, kid, Carole and I, we don't need anything extravagant or fancy – you keep that for your own wedding, okay? I could marry her in a sty and still be the happiest man alive." Kurt gaped at him, horrified. Burt chuckled. "My point is, you don't need to do so much. Me and her, you boys, our loved ones, good food, and some damn good music – that's all we need."

"Everything's booked by now anyway," Kurt pointed out. He left out all the favours and bribing and blackmailing he'd done to get it all organised. His dad would probably ground him for months if he found out. "All that's left is the outfits."

"Are you sure I can't just get married in the suit I've already got?"

Kurt pointed his fork emphatically at Burt. "That suit is cursed. Every time you wear it, something important breaks or gets set on fire. We'll go shopping tomorrow after your and Finn's dance seminar."

Burt rolled his eyes in amusement.

That night, Kurt opened his eyes in the pagoda and was momentarily disoriented. He blinked a few times to try and figure out what was off: the shadows. They were longer and darker, and when Kurt looked around he realised that the lighting was closer to late afternoon or early evening than midday.

He got up, looked over the fence at Blaine and asked, "Is it just me or is it getting darker?"

Blaine looked around, and then his eyebrows rose. "Huh. That's . . . huh."

"It's unnerving is what it is," Kurt said, "and I don't like it."

They stayed on the pagoda that night. They barely even talked, huddling close together with their backs pressed against one of the columns. When Kurt felt himself start to wake up, Blaine kissed the back of his hands in assurance and then forced his muscles to relax. Kurt knew he'd have tensed up again as soon as Kurt had disappeared, and he felt sick at the thought of having to leave Blaine alone in there.

He was shocked out of his thoughts on his way to first period when he was dumped with four slushies. As he wiped off his eyes, one of them grabbed his arm and threw him hard into a locker. Karofsky, of course.

Kurt supported himself against the locker, trembling with suppressed tears, until long after the bell rang and the halls had emptied.

Kurt appeared on Blaine's lap and immediately turned bright red and scrambled off. "Sorry, sorry!"

"No, my fault – sorry—" Blaine was red-cheeked and wide-eyed in his own embarrassment. "I moved around a bit – I was getting stiff – and I couldn't remember where we were, exactly, so I – guessed, and, well—"

They fell silent at the same time and stared at each other, and then burst into too-loud, slightly hysterical laughter, which started all over again any time one of them so much as made a noise.

"Oh, I needed that," Kurt sighed, nudging Blaine's side lightly.

"Wedding planning stress?"

Kurt shook his head. "Karofsky, mostly." The bully had slushied him again just before he'd met his dad and of course Burt had noticed both Kurt's wet hair and change of clothes. Kurt had managed to deflect him and put the focus back on the dance seminar. In fact, it had been really fun once Burt stopped looking at him like he was going to break at any second.

Then Karofsky had knocked into his shoulder as they passed each other in the corridor, making Kurt stumble, and next thing Kurt knew he and Finn were telling the complete extent of the bullying, and then the Hummels and Karofskys were in Principal Sylvester's office trying to figure out what to do. The answer amounted to nothing, because why would they punish one kid for absolutely terrifying another?

Blaine looked at him, sad and empathetic and understanding, and put an arm around Kurt's shoulders in half a hug.

Kurt breathed deeply once, expelling some of the weight on his chest, and then glanced around them. It was even darker tonight.

"Let's get out of here," he said quietly. "I want to be back at the Lake before it gets much darker."

"Good idea."

The castle seemed to echo more in the dark, and even Kurt's shallow, barely audible breaths seemed to grow louder as they passed through the kitchen into the dining hall. It was almost black inside the building now, the windows too high and thin and few to let the light properly in. His heart thudded in his ears and he held onto Blaine's hand so tightly he was probably cutting off the other boy's circulation, but he didn't feel very guilty because Blaine was retuning the favour.

Kurt would have been so relieved to finally be leaving the castle behind if they hadn't squeeze through the doors, turn to the forest and find the trees gnarled and leafless and flaking. Some had fallen over, or their branches had dropped the ground and the stump looked dry and brittle. Kurt heard a small noise, and when Blaine held his hand even tighter he realised he'd let out a whimper.

"Come – come on," Blaine said in a low voice. "Let's go."

When Kurt woke up, his hands hurt as if they were just regaining feeling, and his feet had phantom blisters.

The wedding came at just the right time, but Kurt wasn't able to enjoy himself or think about much beside how scared he was for Blaine. Kurt could escape to the Real World; Blaine was trapped there.

Kurt didn't appreciate the irony.

The ceremony and reception passed in flashes of attention. The vows, the only part of the entire celebration Kurt had nothing to do with (and not for lack of trying), were perfect, and both Burt and Carole mentioned the four of them as a new family. Finn's best man speech where he promised to look out for Kurt no matter what. Being applauded after his solo for When You Say Nothing At All, Alison Krauss' version, of course. Dancing with his dad. Sending his dad and Carole off to their hotel so they could have a night together as a married couple (Kurt wouldn't think too hard on the details) before both families began their moves to the new house. (They had decided to hold off on the honeymoon until after Thanksgiving, since it was only a few weeks away now.)

When he finally got home, it was late, and Kurt rushed through his routine and went to bed as quickly as he could. As usual, he and Blaine latched onto each other the instant they were within reach, and then Kurt distracted them both from their ever-darkening, ever-dying surroundings with retelling his day.

With the wedding out of the way, they had a week of Glee rehearsals to fine tune their set list of Sectionals. With Rachel's outrage and Mercedes and Tina's backhanded comments at not being featured, and Rachel speaking to neither Finn nor Santana, it went about as well as one would expect. Or maybe it wasn't actually as bad as Kurt thought, but he was so distracted worrying about Blaine that he didn't notice, and quite honestly he barely even cared.

Over the past week, Blaine had started to look tired, and he spent more time resting his weight against Kurt's body than participating in conversation. With all the other changes in the Dream World, Kurt had spent more than one hour pushing down the terrifying thought that Blaine's body was dying.

"Mmm'urt," Blaine mumbled lethargically into Kurt's shoulder. "How many days t' Sectionals?"

"Just two now."

"C'n you do me a favour?"

Kurt's arm tightened around Blaine's shoulders, and he forced himself to relax and resume his hopefully soothing strokes.

"Of course."

"Fin' out how all m'friends are doin'? Haven't heard 'em in s'long . . ."

"That was never a question," Kurt assured, hoping that if Blaine was . . . he would at least be able to know his friends were okay. Tears welled up in Kurt's eyes, blurring his vision entirely, so he breathed slowly and steadily and fixed his gaze on their favourite god damn rock and pushed them back down. "I'll break into their green room if I have to."

Blaine made a noise that was probably supposed to be a laugh. "You're th' best, Kurt," he said warmly. He tilted his head back and opened his eyes and smiled, and Kurt quickly wrapped him in a proper hug so that Blaine wouldn't be able to see his tears.

"Right back at you."

Kurt woke up on the Saturday of Sectionals already crying: he hadn't dreamt of the dream world at all.

END OF BOOK ONE

End notes: Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed and favourited so far! It means the absolute world to me that so many of you are enjoying this story. There'll be a week's wait between Books so Book Two will recommence on Monday 15 July (and there'll be a week between the end of Book Two and the beginning of Book Three as well). Again, thank you so much, and I hope you all continue to enjoy (or tolerate, haha) the rest of the series.