13:57
A/N: Sorry for the long delay. There will probably only be biweekly updates for the rest of the summer. Tragically, I am really busy. I know, right? Who gets busier in the summer? Thanks for all the reviews for the last chapter, by the way. Also: this story now has more alerts than anything I've written, except for Beyond the End! (which, if you haven't read, go read. It's way better than this. )
As it turned out, Kurt didn't get to see Blaine at breakfast after all, as he was accosted by a very hyper Rachel immediately upon entering the Great Hall. The tiny brunette promptly threaded her right arm through Kurt's left, and did the same with Mercedes.
"Excellent, I'm so pleased to see you two!" she chirped. "Now then, I recognize that I am currently in the lead for the Triwizard Tournament, but that simply means that I must work even harder to achieve my goal of utter stardom. Complacency is the enemy people and. . .Kurt? Kurt? Are you paying any attention to me? Kurt?"
"Shhh, girl!" Mercedes hissed. "Our boy here is looking for his beau!"
"His boo?" Rachel frowned. "I thought you were his beau. I thought. . ."
Mercedes, meanwhile, was perfectly right. Kurt was scanning the crowd looking for Blaine. He almost missed seeing the other boy. He finally caught sight of those telltale hazel eyes, for some reason hidden under a large fedora. He was sitting at the Hufflepuff table, as ever, beside Finn and Sam, who were also wearing fedoras. What the. . .?
"Well, I'm very pleased that you're finding romance, but now is not the time for romance!"
"She's just pissed that Finn is blowing her off," Mercedes whispered.
"I absolutely am not! I just refuse to indulge his silly delusion that this competition is rigged. It so clearly isn't rigged, not when the two most talented performers are in first place. Wait. . .Kurt who are you looking at? Do you have a crush on Sam again?"
Her voice was extremely strident by the end, causing several Gryffindor's to stick their ingers in their ears, and resulting in Hugo half-heartedly flipping a chicken nugget her way.
"Girl, shut it!" Mercedes insisted, this time whacking Rachel upside the head for good effect. "He's not looking at Sam. He's looking at Blaine. They kissed last night."
"They. . .what. . .but. . .he's the enemy, Kurt!"
He rolled his eyes. Of course that was what Rachel would inevitably jump to. He wondered if Finn had pulled the fedoras out from his "detective chest." Two years ago, Finn had decided that he was going to be an investigator, and was going to find out all of the secrets of Hogwarts. He'd found the Room of Requirement, but that was about it. Kurt still thought he'd only found that because he'd gotten so lost and had to pee.
"Rachel, Finn's right," was what he finally ended up saying. "The competition is rigged. I heard some of the professor's talking about it. And you have to admit, it does seem a little strange. Jesse only having to deal with a Blast-Ended Skrewt? Blaine, who is afraid of heights, being stuck in that nest?"
Rachel frowned, a little line appearing between her eyebrows. "Oh my God," she whispered. "Guys. . .I know that this may sound ridiculous, but I think that the Triwizard Tournament might be rigged!"
"The question is, who's doing this?" Kurt asked, sitting down. "Mercedes, who are the suspects?"
"Coach Sylvester," she said. "Always suspicious, seems to hate all of the students. Plus, shes had her wand out at every tournament."
"But she's a professor!" Rachel protested. "Her job is to protect us!"
Mercedes, well-trained best friend that she was, ignored the other girl and continued on. "Blais Zabini. Intricately involved in the administration of the tournament, massive snoot, clearly favors Jesse."
"My money's on Zabini," Kurt said regretfully. "After all, he came in with the Durmstrang students. And Sue might be kind of crazy, but she hates losing, and she works here. If Jesse wins, wouldn't that kind of be like her losing?"
He thought that he made a valid point, but at the same time, he couldn't help but be suspicious of the Quidditch coach. He glanced up to where she was sitting at the head table. The minute he caught sight of her, she spun around, her eyes instantly finding his. Kurt couldn't help but shiver. Yeah. . .she was totally behind everything.
Abruptly, and evidently apropos of nothing, Rachel's face lit up. A moment later, there was a thunk as somebody sat down next to Kurt. He sighed. He might not be a detective, but between Rachel's look of pure glee and the smell of cheese fries, he had a pretty good idea who was sitting next to him.
"Hey, Finn," he said.
"Hey," Finn said, reaching out and trying to ruffle Kurt's hair. Needless to say, Kurt, with his lightning fast reflexes, didn't let that happen. He leaned forward, and pulled his fedora a little further down over his forehead. "Rachel, I just wanted to let you know, that Sam, Blaine and I are on an investigation. We're going to find out who's rigging the Tournament. You have nothing to worry about. We'll keep you safe."
Then, with what Finn clearly thought was a daring move, he stood up and gallivanted back to the Hufflepuff table. Rachel swooned a little.
"Isn't Finn just amazing?"
"I dunno," Mercedes said skeptically. "I thought that was a little sexist. Kind of condescending. Like, just because you're a girl, you can't take care of yourself? I don't approve."
"That's because you have no sense of romance," Rachel sniffed.
"Wait a second," Kurt said, lifting his finger, a genius idea coming to him. "Rachel, I don't think you should get involved with Finn."
"What? Whyever not?"
"Well. . ." Kurt glanced at Mercedes, and completely couldn't keep the smile off his face. "You're on the Slytherin Quidditch team, and Finn's on Hufflepuff. He's the competition."
Mercedes cracked up. Rachel just gasped, and covered her mouth.
"Oh no, you're totally right!" She jumped up, and ran away from their bathroom. "I have to consult my cards about this!"
xxx
"Hey, guys, great job in the Tournament!" Professor Schue said. "Quinn you were phenomenal. Jesse, great job. Rachel, that was one of the greatest love spells I've ever seen and Blaine. . .well, I hardly need to point out how impressive the transporting spell was. So, in honor of the great growth and skill exhibited by this group, I've decided to teach you something really fantastic today."
"How to pop and lock it?" Mike asked.
"A callate song?" Santana suggested.
"Rainbows!" That was Brittany.
"Dude, what about, like, a song that makes there be explosions!" Finn guessed.
"No, no," Professor Schuester laughed, lifting his hands. "Jesse, I think you'll appreciate this. I'm actually going to teach you a battle song."
The minute the words came out of their teacher's mouth, Kurt felt a sinking sensation in his stomach. Indeed, all of the boys perked up, instantly looking pretty excited. Professor Schuester just motioned to Jesse.
"I'm sure that you'd like to be up first, right, Jesse?"
The Durmstrang student instantly leapt to his feet, a smug smile across his face. He grabbed the sheet music from Professor Schuester, and instantly began chuckling to himself, nodding in satisfaction. Their teacher slapped his hands together, nearly giddy with excitement.
"All right," he said. "Who wants to take Jesse on?"
Kurt took a deep swallow. Battle songs meant fighting, and fighting meant people could get hurt. He glanced nervously at Mercedes. Normally he was all for friendly competition, but he had the definite impression that this was not going to be friendly at all. Besides, Jesse was good. Like, really, really good. He didn't think that anyone could really go up against him.
And then, to his horror, Finn raised his hand. While Finn was a big dude, and could probably hold his own in a fight, Kurt knew that there was absolutely no way that he could possibly take on anyone when it came to musical lyricism. He had enthusiasm, all right, but not a whole lot of talent.
"I'll do it," Blaine said, standing up quickly, before Finn had a chance to get up, himself. Kurt gasped back a strangled "no" and instantly grabbed Mercedes hand, squeezing it tight enough to make all color disappear. Which, with Mercedes, was really saying something.
"Great! Professor Schuester said, rubbing his hands together. "I can see that we're going to have a real competition here!"
Blaine wordlessly took the sheet music. Did he look paler than usual? Kurt thought he looked paler than usual.
"Kurt. . .could you let go? Just a little? You're kind of hurting my hand."
The two boys lined up across the room. Jesse folded up his music, and stuffed it into his back pocket, where it peeped out a little cockily. Blaine just held onto his, hand trembling the tiniest bit. Jesse took a deep breath and began to sing.
"Welcome to the jungle
We got fun 'n games
We got everything you want
Honey, we know the names
We are the people that can find
Whatever you may need
If you got the money, honey
We got your disease,"
Blaine just looked confused, as Jesse continued to sing. Kurt sat up a little, feeling a bit better. Maybe Jesse wouldn't be able to pull this one off, for once.
"In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your kn-kn-kn-knees!"
Blaine gasped out, a short, pained gasp as his body jerked down suddenly, his knees hitting the ground with a resounding crack. Kurt jumped a little, and went back to nearly-breaking Mercedes hand. Professor Schuester, meanwhile, was just nodding his head along.
"I wanna watch you bleed,"
Blaine yelled, short and strangled sounding as his shoulder suddenly jerked back. A second later, his white, perfectly ironed shirt was dotted with spot of red, seeping out from his right shoulder. Kurt dug his nails into Mercedes hand.
"Welcome to the jungle
We take it day by day
If you want it, you're gonna bleed,"
This time it was Blaine's left shoulder that burst into a bright flower of scarlet. His yell was louder this time, as he bit down on his lip. Sam and Finn were both on their feet, fists clenched.
"But it's the price you pay
And you're a very sexy boy, that's very hard to please
You can taste the bright lights
But you won't get them for free"
An invisible force suddenly picked Blaine up, tossing him across the room like a rag doll. With a thud, he hit the wall, and fell, bonelessly, to the ground. Kurt bit down on his lip, and tasted blood. Oh, God, this was so much worse than the Tournament, because Professor Schuester was just sitting there, watching one student kill another, and he wasn't doing anything.
"In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Feel my, my, my serpentine
I, I wanna hear you scream!"
Sure enough, Blaine did scream. He doubled over his stomach, clutching it as though some heavy object had rammed into him.
"Stop it!" Quinn, surprisingly, was the one to yell, standing up angrily. "Professor Schuester, make him stop!"
Their teacher just waved them off, a satisfied looking smile on his face. As Kurt watched, Blaine, trembling, pushed himself to his feet. A bruise already surrounded his right eye, and there was a small, oozing cut just over his right cheekbone. He took a deep breath, and began to sing.
"Risin' up, back on the street
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet
Just a man and his will to survive,"
As Kurt watched, a little in awe, Blaine stood up, straightening out. He shook his hands, and angrily brushed the blood off his face. Jesse, meanwhile, cocked his head, and crossed his arms.
"So many times, it happens too fast
You change your passion for glory
Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must fight just to keep them alive"
Something steely and hard appeared in Blaine's hazel eyes, and Kurt felt a shiver go through him. As terrified as he was, and as sick as this was all making him, he couldn't help feeling a little. . .well, a little aroused, if he were being perfectly honest. Because Blaine looked really, really hot, with that pissed off look in his eyes, his shoulders set, a light sheen of sweat across his forehead.
Jesse, meanwhile, had lost a bit of his smirk, and looked a little worred as Blaine stalked toward him.
"It's the eye of the tiger it's the ream of the fight
Risin' up to the challenge of our rival"
Jesse's body suddenly jerked forward, as though against his will, until his was standing directly across from Blaine, so close that their noses almost touched. Both of their chests were heaving. Oh, God, Kurt realized. He was the kind of sick guy who got turned on by this kind of thing.
"And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night
And he's watching us all in the eye of the tiger,"
This time it was Jesse who went flying across the room, harder and higher than Blaine had been. When he hit the wall and fell to the ground, he left a crack in the wall above him.
"Professor Schuester. . .don't you think this has gone far enough?" Rachel asked, trembling a little. Blaine stalked over to Jesse and stood over the other boy, his fists clenched so tightly that tendons stood out on his forearms. Kurt began salivating.
Jesse chuckled and stood up slowly, wiping a trickle of blood off his lips.
"Welcome to the jungle
It gets worse here everyday,"
Blaine's head jerked to the side, as though he'd been punched. When he turned back, he looked more furious than Kurt had ever seen him.
"Face to face, out in the heat
Hangin' touch, stayin' hungry"
Jesse cried out and clutched at his shoulder, rocking back on his heels.
"Ya learn to live like an animal
IN the jungle where we play
If you got a hunger for what you see
You'll take it eventually"
Blaine dropped to the ground, bracing himself with one hand. He flung his head black, curls flying free from their usual gel.
"They stack the odds til we take to the street
For we kill with the skill to survive."
This was the worst yet, as Jesse went skidding across the floor. When he finally came to a rest, he didn't move for a moment. The entire room was silent for several seconds, only the sound of Blaine's harsh breathing filling the room. Then, Jesse slowly sat up. He winced, and grabbed his ribs tightly.
"You fucking broke a bone, fairy!" he seethed.
"You stuck me in the fucking nest, you. . .bad guy!" Blaine replied. Beside Kurt, Mercedes winced, probably at the weakness of the insult.
Jesse threw his hand out, more for dramatic effect than anything, Kurt supposed.
"And when you're high you never. . ."
Blaine gasped as his body was suddenly lifted from the ground.
"Ever want to come down, so down, so down, so down Yeeeeeaaaaahhh!"
There was a resounding crack was Blaine plummeted to the ground, as though he'd been literally thrown out of the air. He didn't move.
Rachel screamed.
Sam and Finn rushed forward to their friend.
Jesse struggled, tried to make it to his feet, and failed, groaning and sobbing a little as he fell back to the ground. For the first time, Professor Schuester's face showed a hint of his confusion.
"Risin' up, straight to the top
Have the guts, got the glory,"
Unbelievably, Blaine was still singing. He propped himself up on two elbows, and just glared across at Jesse, who began gasping out the final lyrics to his own song as well.
"You know where you are, you're in the jungle, baby
You're gonna die in the jungle
Went the distance, now I'm not gonna stop
Just a man and his will to survive"
Kurt felt something wet and sticky fall down his face, felt his stomach clench. He couldn't look away as Jesse and Blaine both desperately panted out their words. There was a scary, rattling sound in Blaine's chest as he sang, and Jesse kept cutting off words to desperately take shaking, stuttering breaths. Finn and Sam glanced at each other and then stood up together, placing themselves between the two combatants.
Then, as ridiculous as it was, they both opened their mouths and began to sing.
"We're not gonna take it
No! We ain't gonna take it
Oh we're not gonna take it anymore.
We've got the right to choose and
There ain't no way we'll lose it
This is our life, this is our song
We'll fight the powers tat be just
Don't pick our destiny 'cause
You don't know us, you don't belong
Oh, we're not gonna take it
No! We ain't gonna take it
Oh we're not gonna take it anymore!"
As their voices died out, everyone was staring at the two boys with wide eyes. Kurt had to be honest: he didn't think that their spells had succeeded at all. But they had silenced both Blaine and Finn, both of whom seemed to be concentrating too hard on breathing to actually keep fighting.
"Well," Professor Schuester said, "that was. . .very impressive, guys."
Rachel and Tina ran crying from the room. Finn shot an angry look at Professor Schuester, before leaning down to help Blaine to his feet.
"Come on, dude," he said. "We've got to get you to Madame Pomfrey."
He and Sam each stuck a shoulder under the other boy's shoulder, and began escorting him out the door. Kurt just wanted to run to the other boy, to put his hands all over and make sure that Blaine was okay, but he was still too frozen too move. Too scared still, and honestly too disgusted by his own reaction to the fight.
As the three boys reached the door, however, Blaine turned around, and stared at Kurt, his hazel eyes unerringly finding Blaine's own.
"Kurt," he rasped, and Kurt almost died at the desperate tone in the other boys voice. "Get Dave, please. Just. . .need Dave. . ."
Never mind. At those words, Kurt did die.
A/N: Not a lot of plot development, but hey, epic fight scene makes up for it, right? Also, had to get Blaine out of the way so that Kurt can join the Sam/Finn Detective Agency! Next chapter. . .much hilarity.
COMING SOON: The Sannurt Detective Agency takes flight! Rachel and Blaine bond! Dave finally has some resolution!