Well, I am here! This has been so complicated to upload; I am currently in Guildford, my home town, having just been to see the Olympics! I hope the formatting is okay as I have had to do all of this via iPad rather than computer.

I'm not really very smily at the moment: every time I open my mouth to say anything, I am talked over and ignored, to the extent that I can actually say "Is nobody listening any more?" and still no one reacts. Plus, it is exactly a year ago today that my granddad died. But reviews make me smile?

Story so far...

After Kurt's birthday, he and Blaine go shopping, only to discover a rather unpleasant surprise: Sebastian.

-*T&C*-

Bang! Beep. Beepbeepbeepbeepbeep beep beep beep. Beep.

Blaine walked away from the microwave and started pacing the room. Kurt, who had been staring out of the window, now looked up at him, worried. He made to stand up from where he was sitting at the kitchen table, but thought it better to leave him. Instead, he drew the pepper pot that was positioned in the middle of the table closer to him and started fiddling with it. He stroked the rim and played with the top, juggling with it and immediately stopping when Blaine's fiery eyes met his wide ones. He replaced the pot just as the microwave gave a loud 'beep' to announce that it had finished. Blaine marched over to it, opened the door and drew out the ready meal. He ripped off the plastic film and picked up a spoon from the draining board, using it to stir the spaghetti carbonara. He then replaced the film lid and shoved the carton back into the microwave, pressing a few more buttons and then resuming his pacing next to the window.

Kurt had watched all of this: his rushed actions, his angry attitude, his not-caring mentality. And he was scared. Blaine sometimes had episodes like this, often when his parents rang or he felt that the judges at competitions had made the wrong call. But he always told him what the problem was, and his bad mood usually dissipated in an hour or so. This was different.

They had both been silent for the whole journey back, Kurt with his eyes in the road and Blaine gripping the armrest with a clawed hand and gaze glued on his lap. Kurt had thought the action strange, as if he was trying to stop himself from crying. And still not a word had passed between them since Blaine arrived to collect the audio centre. As soon as the car pulled up outside their apartment, he had jumped out of the car, slammed the door shut and marched inside the building, leaving Kurt to look around, bewildered, and find someone to help him carry the centre to their door. He had quickly found Sid, a man in his late twenties who lived on the same floor and who happened to have been walking through the carpark. They had shuffled into the lift together, talking amicably as they waited for it to reach the right level, then got out, sharing the weight of the centre and still chatting. They reached the door to Kurt and Blaine's apartment to find the dark haired boy sitting with his arms wrapped around his knees, which were covering half of his face, and his eyes burning a whole in the wall. Sid had stopped talking at this point, his gaze questioning Kurt as to what was going on. Kurt had just shook his head, fished the keys out of his jeans pocket and unlocked the door. Blaine hadn't budged, and all that Kurt could do was say "just in here, Sid" to the man helping him move the audio centre. They had got it into position and Sid had wished Kurt luck with the boy outside. Kurt nodded sadly in reply and walked him to the door, finding Blaine still sitting outside in the same guarded position.

Once Sid had disappeared into his own apartment, Kurt walked past Blaine and sat next to him, facing him, cross legged. He had opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't think of what to say. Instead, he had just placed a comforting hand on Blaine's shoulder. Finally, the younger man sprang to life and leapt up, striding into the apartment and heading straight for the kitchen, which is where neither of them had moved from since.

A final 'beep' alerted the men to that fact that the carbonara was ready, and Blaine ignored the rule that it should be left to stand for a minute before serving. He grabbed a plate from the cupboard and scooped out the contents of the container on to it. He then found a fork and a spoon and slid them across to where Kurt sat. After sharing a quick gaze, Blaine walked out of the kitchen and into the corridor, leaving Kurt alone with his dinner. The latter stabbed the fork into the mess of pasta and began to twirl it absentmindedly. So, he's not eating then. And where's he going now? Feeling weight on the fork, Kurt looked down to see all the spaghetti wrapped around it. He sighed and pushed it off, instead eating it properly and selecting a small amount of the pasta and bringing it up to the spoon to twirl it into mouth sized quantities.

Blaine ran his fingers through his messy curls (he still hadn't found his gel) and turned to the laundry cupboard. He extracted a pillow and a sheet and made his way to the lounge with them. He made up a bed on the sofa, glancing at the centre and smiling sadly. If they hadn't gone shopping, he wouldn't have seen Sebastian. They could have stayed in bed instead, continuing what they had started the previous night. But no. They had decided to go to that stupid shopping centre and buy a stupid-

Blaine collapsed on the sofa, digging his palms into his eyes. He was furious at himself for making them go. Now, they had Sebastian to contend with. Images flashed around his head of when he first met the teen. A Cheshire-cat grin appeared in his mind that all too soon disappeared, to be replaced with a pinched, Queen of Hearts mouth. And the arguing. The shouting and the exasperated tugging of hair. Sebastian at Dalton...

Blaine walked down the staircase with a spring in his step. His mind was on one thing, one thing only: Kurt. The way how his cheeks dimpled when he smiled, his voice that would put even a finely tuned nightingale to shame, the tinkling chimes in the air when he laughed. There was no question about it; Blaine was smitten. He had never felt so trapped, nor so free. And with happy thoughts of his boyfriend in his mind, Blaine turned right down the hallway as made his way towards the choir room to invite the boys to see West Side Story. He walked in to hear the Warblers, lead by Nick, belting out Uptown Girl.

He stood, watching them, from the doorway. They faced the floor-to-ceiling windows at the back of the room, so barely anyone noticed him standing there. But one boy did. Blaine didn't recognise him, so he thought he could be a freshman. The boy smiled at him flirtatiously, then got up from where he was sitting and took a line of the song: "She'll see I'm not so tough, just because, I'm in love..." All the other boys turned to see where the Warbler was looking and as they approached the chorus, smiles appeared on all of their faces. The new boy dragged Blaine away from the door, a broad grin in his face and they fell into step, performing a complex, but very Dalton, dance sequence. Miss Fisher appeared at the door and brought a finger to her lips, telling the boys to quieter down. Lead by Nick, the boys left the room to stalk their prey. They circled around her, flirting shamelessly. Blaine laughed at his friends, revelling in the knowledge that they hasn't changed bit; it was like he had never left.

Miss Fisher finally managed to push the boys back into their choir room. Blaine took a seat on the nearest sofa as boys came forwards to perform to him. First, the new boy showed him some acrobatic moves, ending up inches away from him. Then, the others took over. Each new dancer was more exciting than the last and it still amazed Blaine as to how talented those boys were. They got back into their formation and everyone danced, facing the doorway. A smile lit up Blaine's face, and his eyes scanned the moving mass in front of him. His eyes rested again upon the boy who he didn't recognise. He was smiling at Blaine, but there was something strangely odd about it, as if there was a bitter evil behind the look rather than a musical happiness. He dismissed this as not knowing the boy well enough. The song ended with Nick singing solo, attempting to jazz up the last line and succeeding greatly.

"You guys killed it, as always!"

"We'd sound so much better with you back in the mix." Blaine laughed as Trent, supported by the rest of the Warblers, tried to convince him to transfer back to Dalton. As flattered as Blaine was, that wasn't the reason why he was here.

"Actually, I'm here to invite you guys to my opening night at McKinley. West Side Story. I reserved a whole block of tickets just for the Warblers. It'd mean the world to me if you guys could come." he added this last bit having already started handing the tickets out. He knew that these guys would do anything for him; he didn't need to try and persuade them. But it was the new guy who spoke up.

"We'll be there. Once a Warbler, always a Warbler, eh?"

The boy had introduced himself as Sebastian Smythe. He had looked at Blaine in amusement when asked if he was a freshman, and had suggested that they get a coffee. And, with the benefit of marvellous, brilliant hindsight, he should have said no. He could have seen right there and then what problems the teen could cause for him and Kurt in the future. But he didn't.

A noise behind him made Blaine start. He drew his hands away from his face, where they had been for the past hour, and straightened, turning around. Kurt was standing in the doorway, his hands gripping his elbows in a protective stance having already changed into his pyjamas. His face was etched with a concern which made Blaine's heart drop a little in his chest. Neither boy said anything, and merely stood, or sat, respectively, looking at the other. Finally, Kurt brought his chin down in a sharp nodding motion and left the room, closing the bedroom door behind him, acknowledging that his boyfriend wasn't coming to bed that night.

Blaine remained staring at the spot where he had stood. His face showed no emotion; he hadn't allowed it to. But, now, it creased up in pain. He hadn't wanted to hurt Kurt, and that was why he had kept his run-in with Sebastian from him. But now he had hurt him in a far worse way: he had upset him. He stood up, considering the idea of following him and apologising and telling him about Sebastian and that he'd never leave him, that Sebastian's threats no longer stand, that he loved him. But his legs didn't move. There was no point; Kurt was now angry, no, furious, at him. And he was allowed to be. God, why did he have to be so stupid?

He ripped at the zip on his jeans and pulled them down his legs, leaving him standing in only his boxers. He considered leaving his shirt on to make up for the lack of warmth he'd get for not having his personal water bottle laying next to him, but decided against, and pulled it off, over his head. He climbed on to the sofa and pulled the sheet over him, tucking it under his chin. He rolled over sideways so that he was facing the back of the sofa, and let his mind wander again.

Sebastian. So, he should never have agreed to that coffee in the choir room. But he did.

They talked for a whole hour about singing, Dalton, the workload. Half way through the conversation, Blaine was finding Sebastian really easy to talk to. Without even thinking about it, he told him about running; escaping from his family, the bullies at his previous school, his old life. A cloud appeared on Sebastian's lit up face and Blaine caught a glimpse of what he now knew was the real Sebastian. At the time, he had just mistaken the look for a brief disappointment in how someone who was so proud of his sexuality could hide it away, even escaping from an environment where he could have stayed and fought. Now he knew that wherever that look was spotted, fists and blood would soon follow.

When he had agreed to meet him for coffee at the Lima Bean, Blaine thought of him as just a friend in the Warblers. He tried to ignore Sebastian's obvious infatuation for him. But similarly, he realised now that he loved the attention. At Dalton, he was a God. At McKinley, not so. Rachel demanded every solo, and all the ones that she was denied were passed on to Blaine, making him initially very unpopular with the other members of New Directions. Thankfully, that phase hadn't lasted long and he was now good friends with them, but for a short time, he craved the friendliness of Dalton and wanted to be reminded of how it felt to be admired. He had let the dragon into his life. And once he'd got his claws in, he was never letting go. But the threats had been the worst...

It was three o'clock in the morning, and Blaine had just spent the last five hours thinking about his early friendship with the tall singer. He had just finished a very unpleasant memory of one night soon after meeting him. It was a night which had culminated in Blaine walking home alone, leaving Kurt in a carpark. To this day, he regretted accepting the offer of a trip to Scandals. All that he could remember of that night was dancing with Sebastian and pulling Kurt on top of him in the backseat of his car. It was certainly not a night to remember.

Suddenly, Blaine heard a noise. It started faint, but quickly grew in volume. Blaine's eyes travelled from where they were staring at the ceiling, to verify the time. It was three. So, surely Kurt wouldn't be awake?

Noiselessly, Blaine stood and padded down the corridor. He stopped halfway down and heard unmistakable, gut wrenching sobs emerging from the bedroom. He started to turn away, but paused. He went up to the door and rested his forehead on it. As Kurt erupted into fresh tears, Blaine's heart broke. Maybe not furious, then. He had promised himself that no harm should ever come to that boy. He had sworn that he'd never let him cry. And yet there he was; crying his heart out because of stupid Blaine and his stupid temper. He mentally kicked himself before knocking tentatively on the door.

The crying subdued almost immediately. Blaine held his breath and his heart hammered in his chest. He wasn't sure if he should speak or stay quiet. He was still pondering when a broken voice whispered from the other side of the door.

"Blaine?"

Blaine's heart shattered and he made his mind up. He put his hand on the door handle and pushed down, letting the dim light from the hallway engulf the pitch-black room. He walked in and clicked the door softly shut behind him. Knowing that Kurt always slept on the side of the bed furthest from the door even if he was alone, Blaine clambered up, under the covers and then shuffled forwards, arms outstretched. When he reached Kurt, he felt his body rock with silent tears. He wriggled a tiny bit further forwards before engulfing the frail boy in a tight embrace. Kurt dug his face into Blaine's chest, drenching it within half a minute. All Blaine could do was remain silent as he rubbed Kurt's back and bury a kiss on his forehead. Eventually, the sobs lessened and he felt the older boy relax slightly as exhaustion overcame him. Blaine followed him into the Land of Nod only two minutes later, his arms still wrapped tightly round Kurt's torso.

It would all be alright. It would have to be...

Well, what did you think? Personally, I am not fan of this chapter. I think it started off and ended okay, by the middle had to be edited and re-edited SO many times! It was Coatsy who said at I needed to add in a scene to confirm that Blaine wasn't going to come to bed. So, it is because of her that that section exists. She gave me a brilliant example, which I shall post below... surprise :)

"Blaine, please," Kurt stood at the end of the sofa here Blaine lay, his hair sticking out in different directions from where he'd been running his fingers through it. "Just come to bed."
Blaine kept his face buried in the back cushions of the sofa, his heart breakibg at the distress in Kurts voice as he silently willed his boyfriend to just leave him alone. He needed space to clear his head after his run-in with Sebastian at the mall, but the only way he could think of to do that how now ended up with Kurt getting hurt by the one person he trusted to never do such a thing. Blaine bit his lip when Kurt spoke again, sounding close to tears. "I- I don't know what's wrong, but just- Just come to bed. Please." But Blaine just pulled the blanket tighter around his shoulders. "Fine," Kurt huffed, now sounding angry rather than upset, and Blaine couldn't decide which was worse. "Stay out here then, but you can't shut me out forever. You're going to have to tell me what's wrong at some point." Blaine listened to him leave the room in the direction of their bedroom, waiting to hear the sound of the door shutting behind his chestnut-haired lover.
He heard Kurt's footsteps pause by the door, whispering a broken "I love you" before leaving all together.
Blaine turned to stare at where Kurt had left the room, a few silent tears falling down his face.

So! Isn't she amazing? But I didn't feel like I could use her writing in my story, although it was too good to just ignore. IThinkILeftMyCoatOutside is her name on here, so please go and read her stories if you haven't already. And go and prod her to get a move on with some more dribbles! ;P

The next chapter I will introduce Kurt at work. I'll probably include a week in a chapter (just to contrast from the two days in seven chapters!) but I can never trust my characters not to go against what I want them to do. In short, I want to get to the ND reunion as quickly as possible.

I've been reading Dalton. If you haven't read it, please do. It is amazing; when I first heard of it I thought it was maybe going to be okay. I was wrong. It. Is. Totally. Awesome. And I should really stop with the AVPM references, shouldn't I?

You'll hear from me again tomorrow, as I upload my first CrissColfer fic!

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!

I never feel like I do enough for charities. Sure, all my old stuff goes to Cancer Research and I am always in the charity shops in my town. But I want to just go up to collection pots and put money in. So, for every review I get for this story, I will donate 10p to a charity. If you have a favourite, please let me know in your review and I'll see what I can do. Let's see how much we can donate, eh?

I want to know more about you - if you get this far, please tell me something that makes you happy :)