A/N: I know that it's been over a week since my last upload, and I am really sorry. I've been sick for the last two weeks, and it's getting ridiculous. But, I was feeling better today, so I sat down and decided to write. But you know what the best thing is, to make up for the time I missed in uploads, I have decided, that to thank everyone for the follows, favorites, and reviews, that this week, you're getting TWO chapters. That's right. This chapter, and Chapter Eleven will be uploaded today. It's just my way of saying thanks. So get reading, and don't forget to fav, follow, and review. Nice reviews, gets you more chapters. Enjoy. JusticeIsn'tEasy0083. D. P.S I have done as much research as possible on the places I'm sending them, and everything American, but considering that I am not American, there is only so much I can Google. I have tried to be as accurate as possible, but If I get something wrong, please let me know, and I apologise in advance. I don't want to offend anyone. D.
Chapter Ten: Journey to…
It was early morning. They had all been up for hours, cleaning up their rooms, and preparing to move out of the dorms at Dalton. Finn was helping his brother and father, load things into the car. He hadn't really talked to Blaine or Kurt about their trip, but he knows that it's something his brother has to do, and he isn't going to be one of the ones who tells him he can't. If he was in the same position as Kurt, he would probably do the same thing. They don't really talk that much whilst they're loading Kurt's things from his dorm to the car. Much to their surprise, Kurt doesn't have that much stuff. This is surprising, especially to Nick, who thought that most of their room was just Kurt's shit, when in fact, it was actually his own. This is a talking point for the next five minutes, with the best-friends playfully arguing over who has the most stuff, and how they're going to fit it into their new house when they start college in September. Nick and Jeff have found a couple of houses that they can look at before they start school, but they want to make sure that it's in the right location for all of them. Blaine apparently, doesn't want to live on campus, even though it's Harvard that he and Kurt are both attending, and it would be ridiculous not to. Carole places the last of Kurt's bags into the car, and turns to face her step-son, giving him a quick hug, and telling him they'll meet him at home. He nods, waving to his brother and father, before turning back to face the entrance to Worthington House. For the last three years, he, Nick and Blaine have lived here. They've made memories, and had fights. It's been filled with ups and down that he'll remember forever. Wes decides at that moment to announce that he wants a photo of them standing on the steps, one last time, before they depart for their summers. So, once again, the Warblers line the steps of Worthington House, and Miss Price takes cameras and phones from the students, and lines them up, before snapping pictures of them, smiling, pulling stupid faces. It's a reminder for the future. A reminder of the past…
When their photos have been taken, and their dorms have been emptied, Wes stops to tell the Warblers to take one last look at Worthington House, clutching onto David like his life depends on it, before they all turn and leave at the same time. Blaine links his and Kurt's hands together, as they walk over to Nick's car. The four of them get in, and leave Dalton, heading towards Nick's house. Tomorrow morning, at ten, they're leaving Westerville, and driving to Bloomington, Indianapolis for the first part of their "journey". Burt had given them some money, and all the information he had on Elizabeth. Kurt is closer to answers. He closer than he's ever been before, and part of him is nervous. What if they get there, and she doesn't know who he is? She'd have to right? He's her only child, you have to remember your only child. Finn wanted to tag along, but he has early admission stuff going on, and his relationship with Rachel is more complicated than a one thousand piece puzzle, so Kurt told him to hang back, that he'd send photos and updates, and call when they get to the places they're going. Mandy and Tad are unloading Nick's stuff into the Duval house when they arrive, and Kurt immediately moves over to help them carry things inside. Nick calls out that he's a pansy, and this earns a whack to the head from Blaine, and a laughing Jeff, who kisses him when he pouts. Jeff had also been accepted to Harvard, he's studying Engineering. Which is why it's good that they're going to be living in between Emerson and Harvard, somewhere in the middle. Mandy thanks Kurt for helping her with all of Nick's stuff, and Kurt just smiles, and thanks her for letting them go off on this journey that most of them had labelled "ridiculous". Mandy believes that Kurt deserves to know why his other did what she did. Every child needs to know, and she isn't going to stand in the way of Kurt getting those answers. Besides, who is she to judge? She may not approve, but she would never say it out loud. As long as they're all together, and have it planned out, she's happy. They're going to move away in September anyway. She has to get used to that… again.
Finn is meeting up with some of the other New Directions for a "last gathering" thing like the Warblers, at McKinley. He and Rachel haven't spoken in almost two weeks, and he's been wanting to tell her that he's going to school in California. Mercedes, Puck and Quinn are sitting on the stage when Finn arrives, greeting Sam at the door, and congratulating the boy on getting into Cornell. The blonde starts talking and Finn tries to listen, but he spots Rachel, looking as though she's about to come and tell him something, and he zones out of whatever Sam is talking about, and almost bumps into Tina and Mike, standing in the aisle. Apologizing, he moves over to where Rachel is sitting, and sits beside her, smiling awkwardly. He loves her really, he does. But unlink Nick and Jeff and Kurt and Blaine, their love is highschool love. It's not eternal 'I love you forever' love. The New Directions are telling everyone where they got into school, and Santana is the one who decides that each person will take their turn, stating their major, and which college they're attending, then people will say congratulation, and then the next person can go. Finn smiles as Brittany gets up on to the stage and tells them that she's going to the College of Business at the University of Cincinnati. Finn is shocked, to be honest. He'd never say it out loud, but he always thought Brittany would study dance or something, and that she would leave Ohio. Regardless, he stands and moves to hug her, and she whispers thank you in his ear, winking at him when he pulls away. He's not sure what it means, but he smiles, and moves to sit back beside Rachel. Of course, she's going to NYADA, that's a given. Puck hi-fives him when he discovers that he and Finn are going to the same school, both having been accepted at UCLA, even though Puck is studying Architecture and Arts. He's about to shout out something stupid to Puck, when Rachel grabs his hand.
'I don't think we should break up Finn,' she says, and he turns to look at her, mouth agape, not knowing what to think
'Rachel, I'm going to school in California, you're going to school in New York, and we're going to be on opposite sides of the country. How is our relationship going to survive?' Finn asked, looking over at the stage, to see Mercedes and Tina acting out something he's not sure what it is.
'Why didn't you apply to NYADA then? We could have stayed together. I know you talk about finding yourself after school, and that college is meant to be an exploration of who we are, but Finn, I love you. I know we can make it work,' Rachel pleaded, and he just wanted out
'Rachel, the love that we have, is highschool love. It's not forever love. Not like Kurt and Blaine. I know what you want, but I can't give you that. I think we need to go to school and be apart. If it's meant to be Rach, it will be,' Finn replied, standing, kissing her forehead, and moving over to talk to Mike and Luke.
For the most part, he thought he'd handled it better than most people would have, and Rachel didn't seem to be that fazed by it, although she did leave the room for about twenty minutes, only returning after Quinn went and got her. For the rest of the day, Finn stayed on one side of the auditorium, and Rachel stayed on the other, and perhaps it was practice for being on opposite sides of the country, or maybe it was just because regardless of everything, she knows that he's right. Eventually, everything settles down again, and when he finally manages to get Kurt on the phone, they sit around talking for hours (Kurt via Skype), laughing and remembering the times they stood on this stage, and defied the odds of what every person in this school thought, and all the times that Sue had tried to destroy them. Kurt didn't stay on long, about an hour into the conversation, the phone turned back to it's home screen, and Finn sent a text to his brother, telling him to be safe, and Kurt promised that he would. He also told him that he's sorry about Rachel, as if he knew… he probably did, she would always text Kurt when something was wrong, or she'd been through something that only Kurt would understand. They finish telling each other where they're going to school, and Quinn announces that she got into Yale, which leads them off on an entirely new direction of conversation, debating the authenticity of people who get into the Ivy Leagues. Mercedes strays from the topic of conversation, leaning against Finn, and just smiling at him, watching his interactions with the group, before telling him that he should be proud of Kurt, and he quickly assures her that he is, but she just smiles and laughs at something Tina says. He's confused, but doesn't ask, he just watches his group of friends, and the last time they are going to be all together for a while.
FLASHBACK
Kurt and Nick are seven, they're at the park with Burt and Mandy, running around and yelling and screaming like the other kids, pretending they're pirates, or whatever. Mandy and Burt chat about where they're sending the boys for pre-school, and how they think they're going to last through not going to highschool together. Nick is going to end up at Dalton Academy, and Mandy knows that Burt doesn't earn enough to get Kurt into that school, so he'll probably end up at McKinley, not that there is anything wrong with that, just the boys have been together almost every day since they met. Its years off anyway, they don't know why they're worrying about it right now. Nick manages to injure himself, falling off the slide and landing on his arm. Mandy rushes over to her son, Burt close behind her, holding Kurt when he tell his father that Nick was trying to run up the slide, and he promises that it wasn't his fault. Nick just keeps talking to Kurt, and the taller of the two seven year olds, just replies, keeping him distracted from the pain. Mandy is impressed that her son isn't complaining, even though his arm is only sprained, and now broken, it would still hurt like hell. She moves over to the seat, taking Nick with her, and explaining that he can't keep running up and down the slides, or he's going to end up breaking something. Nick just grins cheekily, and Kurt manages to break out of his father's grip and run back towards the sandbox. Burt stands to run after his son, and stops suddenly, halfway between the sandbox and the seat he's been sitting on for the last hour or so. He could have sworn… that he'd seen a head of blonde hair, watching them, a distant look in her eyes. He moves in the direction of the sighting, and gets to the street, which is hopeless, because any chance of seeing if it was Elizabeth that was watching him would be shot down, the minute he go to the sidewalk. He could have sworn, she was standing there. Burt turns back towards the park, and sighs. It's been two years, and he's still seeing her everywhere. Maybe he does need some help.
Kurt doesn't say anything when Burt arrives back at the seat that Mandy is still sitting on. He's just standing there, talking to Nick's mother, as if nothing had happened at all. What had been going through his mind when he just took off like that, after a shadow? It could have been anyone, anything. Burt knows that his ex-wife isn't coming back, she made that clear by running off in the first place. Regardless, some part of him deep down, wants to discover the reason she took off, the real reason she's hiding and not coming to talk to them. If she's back in Ohio, then there has to be a reason. There has to be a logical explanation. A psychologist would have him admitted to a psych ward given the option. He even sounds crazy in his head. Kurt smiles at his father, and that's all he needs to drop the incessant notion that he's seeing Elizabeth, because he has his son, and right now, that's all he needs. Which is why he almost crushes Kurt in a hug, looking at Mandy, who just kind of smiles at him, asking him if he's alright, and what he ran off after. He just shakes his head, and the realisation hits her. She just hugs Nick and Kurt a little tighter, understanding. It's a silent conversation they have, and even Tad must sense it, because he calls Mandy. Burt just chuckles when she tries to convince her husband that they're not being chased by bears. They head back to their cars, Burt takes a last chance glance to the spot where he thought he saw Elizabeth, and then turns back quickly when it's vacant. Kurt climbs into the front seat, waving to Nick, and shouting that he'll see him tomorrow. Mandy hugs Burt, and makes him promise they'll come over for dinner tomorrow night as always. Burt promises, and waves them off, getting in the driver's side, and closing his eyes for a moment.
On the morning of June 9th, Kurt, Blaine, Jeff and Nick pile into the hire car, a large black SUV, and pull out their itinerary. Nick is driving to Bloomington. It's three hours (3hr 52 min), and if they leave right now, at ten, they can be there by one, which gives them time to check into their hotel, and maybe sight see. Blaine made them promise they wouldn't just pit stop in places, they would actually get some culture, whilst they're driving across America. Kurt didn't mind going to see the sights, or shops or whatever they had discovered in the towns/cities they're going to. For example, Bloomington is home to the Fountain Square Mall, and Westside Strip Malls and Retailers, and according to Jeff, they have to go there. Mandy and Tad wave goodbye to them as Nick reverses out the drive, and they wave. Nick and Jeff in the front, Kurt and Blaine in the back, all their crap in the boot. In the pit of his stomach, Kurt is harbouring excitement, nervousness, and an urge to cancel this trip. He's been doing a lot of thinking...about whether or not he really wants the answers he's been craving the last thirteen years. He knows that if he cancels the trip now, Nick would kill him. Wes had suggested to them a heap of car games they could play, mostly as a way to be asked on the trip, but considering the former Head Warbler doesn't actually know what's going on, they pretended to miss the subtle asking, and didn't bother to acknowledge it. As a part of their journey, Nick wants to drive to Brookline and look at their house there. Kurt thinks they can swing it, but considering they're going in the opposite direction, it might not be until after they get back. Between now, and when they start college in September, there is… well its July and August. The Anderson's are taking an overseas trip in July that Blaine considers his graduation present, and Nick, Jeff and the Duval's are heading to visit family in Dublin. Kurt is going camping with Finn and Burt. Then he'll probably prepare for college, and move to Brookline, set the house up, for the others when they get back.
By the second hour, they've exhausted every car game they can think of, and Jeff and Kurt are sleeping. Nick and Blaine haven't really had a chance to clear the air, considering they haven't had a chance to talk. Nick knows that Kurt is going to ask how he managed to get the information they needed from Burt, and he knows that Blaine will tell Kurt at a moment's notice, should he not be the one to. They decide to chat whilst they're driving, because Nick wants to be the one to explain to Kurt the reasoning behind what he did. Blaine tries to keep himself even tempered, not wake Kurt and Jeff, but it gets harder and harder to maintain his composure when Nick tries to throw the blame off of himself. It gets to a point where Blaine decides to take the conversation in a different direction, and Nick happily agrees. They decide to sit in silence. Silence is better than having a potentially friend ruining argument in the car. They can save that for the hotel, annoy the other guests a little. The rest of the ride is in silence, and when they finally pull into the Hilton Garden Inn, on North College Avenue in Bloomington, Nick is exhausted, Jeff is wide awake, and Kurt just wants to have lunch and relax for a while. They get out of the car, and Blaine goes to check them in, getting them two joining rooms. Nick doesn't mean to, but he slams the door when he and Jeff are in the room, and it startles Kurt. He looks at his boyfriend, who is pre-occupied with unpacking his bag and putting things in the bathroom, than with telling Kurt what the hell is going on, and what happened in the car on the way here. Kurt opens the door that joins their rooms together, and pulls Nick into his and Blaine's, telling them both to sit down.
'What the hell is going on? You're slamming doors, ignoring each other again, and this isn't what this trip is supposed to be about,' Kurt said, running a hand through his hair, frustrated
'Kurt, I'm the one who gave your dad hat information about your mother. I've known where she is for the last few months,' Nick said, standing in case he needs to make a quick getaway
'I know Nick. My dad told me. He also told me that it wasn't your choice, that he put you in a bad position. I was just waiting for you to tell me. I'm assuming that Blaine knows as well, and he's been mad at you for not telling me, so now you can both get the fuck over it. All is good. Now I'm hungry, let's go get lunch' Kurt said, grabbing the room key and heading out the door, leaving the three boys staring after him
'I'm worried about him,' Nick said, following Jeff and Blaine out of the room to find Kurt waiting for them at the elevator.
FLASHBACK
Warbler Hide 'n' Seek
It was a stupid idea. A stupid, idiotic, moronic idea. Wes was sitting in the emergency room beside the rest of the Warblers. He had his head in his hands, and was listening to Nick tear shreds off the rest of them. It had started out innocent, just a game of Warbler Hide and Seek. They had finished their finals, and were awaiting the bell to ring to signal the end of the year, and Wes had decided that to bring in their senior year in style, he would introduce the Warblers to his classic Hide and Seek game. Of course, this had ended with Sebastian, Byron, Tyson and the Twins making up ridiculous rules where they could hide anywhere in the school, and when they were found, they had to return to the common room, and wait for the others. It was also Kurt's first time playing the game, and Nick had suggested that they just play an easy version, but of course, being himself, Wes had egged Kurt on. Told him that if he chickened out he'd be forever remembered for it. Blaine had been trying to talk them out of it, Thad and Ian had ruled the council to cease and desist, but he's such a selfish prick, that he doesn't listen to them, even when they have their best interests at heart, and now here there are, sitting in the waiting room of the hospital, unsure of what's going on, and all he can hear are the words in his head… Kurt wanted to prove to the other Warblers that he isn't a wimp that he can play in the big leagues just like everyone else. He and Blaine had argued over it, the tenor stating that Wes can't decide the future, that it's dangerous, and Kurt doesn't know what he's getting himself into. Kurt argued that Blaine and Nick have been trying to protect him, by wrapping him up in a little bow, and pretending that there aren't things in the outside world that can hurt them. He'd stormed off ,and Blaine had been left standing in the middle of Worthington House, calling after it, and ultimately, being made 'it'.
Of course, at the beginning, it's all just fun and games. Nick and Jeff are the first two found by Blaine, and they head back to the common room. Nick calls Kurt, to make sure he's okay, but the Warbler doesn't answer his phone. Probably because it's on silent, due to this stupid game that Wes decided they play. He and Jeff decide to set up the movie night, order some food, and organise what movies they're going to watch when all the Warblers are found. Blaine finds, Riker, Sebastian, Tyson and Byron next, all four of them happily make their way back to the common room. The twins are hiding in the rafters above the entrance, and jump down, almost making Blaine wish he'd brought a knife with him. They run back to the common room. If he finds the rest of them, they can be done by six. But of course, Wes is the hardest person to find, and Kurt is so new at this, he's either lost, or just gave up and went to bed early. So he goes to check Kurt's dorm room, and it's empty. Then he goes to Wes' room, and that's empty too. He's about to head outside, (because Wes like to break the rules and hide outside the dorms), when he gets a call from Nick. Wes found Kurt, they're at the hospital. So that's how they ended up here, sitting in the waiting room, Burt and Carole on the way over, Finn arriving moments ago with the whole of New Directions in tow, Puck threatening to punch people, and Nick tearing strips off of Wes. Kurt had given up on the game, but his phone had died, and he couldn't let the Warblers know. He and Wes had the same idea, to hide outside, and he was crossing the road to head back to Dalton, when Wes distracted him, and he was hit by a drunk driver. Kurt never does things halfway… Blaine thought to himself, smiling.
Kurt wasn't hurt terribly, just a couple of broken ribs, arm and a mild concussion, but that had definitely suspended Warbler Hide and Seek indefinitely… Wes was never the same again, he was always making sure that he could see Kurt that the countertenor was always in sight. The next few months saw Kurt spend time healing, but that didn't stop him from joining in with the Warblers over the summer before Senior Year. It had taken a lot of promising that they wouldn't hurt him, to get Finn and the New Directions to let Kurt go out with them, and it had taken Blaine a long time to realise that he and Kurt share more than just a friendship. Nick had promised Burt that he'd done everything to make sure Kurt didn't play, but the countertenor was stubborn. He also questioned his best-friend about whether or not it was intentional, and the look on Kurt's face was enough to get him to want to punch himself. Kurt hadn't done anything like that for a while, but he hadn't gotten completely over it either. Besides, Nick was having too much fun making playful fun of Kurt and Blaine fawning over one another. Kurt had never denied anything, and it was nice to see that the boy was still able to see the bright side of Warbler Hide and Seek, even though Wes had almost gotten him killed….
By the time they got back to their hotel, it was on nightfall. Nick had found a fabulous place for them to eat dinner, and they had spent the day just walking around, and looking at shops. Jeff had suggested seeing touristy things, but none of them really wanted to drive anywhere, so they hadn't bothered. Nick and Blaine had talked, and everything was back on solid ground. Tomorrow morning, they're leaving Bloomington at nine, and then Nick will drive to Springfield, Illinois. Another three hour fifty two minute car drive, and they'll be one state closer to their destination. The anticipation isn't that overwhelming for Kurt, he's come to terms with what is happening. He is not however, prepared for the information that Nick gives him about his mother. Blaine sits beside Kurt on the bed, as Nick goes over everything he told Burt. That Elizabeth has another kid, a son, that she's been married for the last few years, used to be addicted to all the really terrible drugs… He wasn't expecting the son information to be the thing that upset him the most, even though Nick mentioned that the kid is in foster care, that doesn't make him feel any better about the fact that he has a half-brother, that he doesn't even know about. Finn would be surprised to know that as well. Blaine was watching him, probably waiting for him to flip out or something, but Kurt just nodded, and moved over to the couch, flicking the TV on. For the rest of the night, they watched movies, and ate whatever candy they had brought that day whilst they were out, and then by eleven thirty, they were all in bed, knowing they have to be up early tomorrow, if they're going to make it to Springfield at the scheduled time. Blaine curled up to his boyfriend, turning to face Kurt, who was lying facing the ceiling, but had his head turned to meet Blaine.
'Are you okay Kurt?' Blaine asked
'I'm fine Blaine. Stop thinking I'm going to all of a sudden flip my lid or something,' Kurt replied
'Kurt, I love you. You know that right?' Blaine asked, and Kurt turned so that he could kiss Blaine
'Yes Blaine, I love you too,' he replied, snuggling close to him.
What if he has what his mother has? What if, all those nightmares, are trying to tell him something? Trying to tell him that he has depression, that he needs to go back on his meds full time, that he shouldn't be gallivanting halfway across the country to see a woman who couldn't care less about him… she did leave him at a gas station when he was five… she was obviously off her meds too, and having bipolar disorder made her do something she normally wouldn't. Kurt doesn't sleep that night. He lies awake, thinking over everything, wondering if he made the right choice.
A/N Next Chapter: Springfield, Illinois. The amusement park, Lincoln tours and a revelation from Nick about his relationship with Jeff. Burt and Carole decide to renovate the house, and Finn moves to California early, mostly to get away from Rachel, but also because he has a "life changing dream", and realises that if he doesn't get out of Ohio, he'll be stuck there forever. Kurt freaks out and begins to question everything he's been thinking over the last thirteen years. Blaine tells Nick that he's thinking of asking Kurt to marry him when they start college, and it leads to Nick questioning where his relationship with Jeff is going. Kurt discovers that his mother is once again, not the person he's pictured in his head. Flashbacks include: Burt goes to see Elizabeth, McKinley plays host to the Dalton Academy Warblers. Read and Review. Enjoy. JusticeIsn'tEasy0083. D.