Watching this episode again now, knowing what's coming up for the Glee family in terms of Cory's/Finn's death... it's hard. Finn isn't in this episode (the actual episode or this chapter), but wow. It's all I could think about. Also, this episode as a whole is so well done. Blaine knocking the metronome off the piano so it could tick-tick-tick during the lockdown is really something. Anyway, here we go...
A reminder: this episode deals with the issue of gun violence at school.
(I do not own Glee or any of the characters, dialogue, or songs from the show. It's all just for fun!)
BLAINE
When Mr. Schu returned to McKinley after recovering from a severe case of the flu, he brought with him a letter that named New Directions' competition for Regionals. A high school glee club from Indianapolis called the Hoosierdaddies and the Nuntouchables, a glee club made up of nuns from Michigan. But, before Mr. Schu could finish his comments about New Directions' chances against the two groups, Brittany interrupted.
"Mr. Schu, please stop talking. I have an announcement."
The group humored her.
"I regret to inform you," Brittany stated, "a deadly asteroid is headed our way."
For a moment, everyone just stared at her.
"Wait," Blaine said with a disbelieving shake of his head, "didn't we just go through this at Christmas?"
"Yeah," Tina added, "and is it true you and Sam got married? Did that happen?"
"Shut up, Tina," Brittany scolded. "I'm naming this comet Tubbington-Bopp and it is headed straight for Lima."
"Wait," Artie protested, "so is it an asteroid or a comet?"
"It's both," Brittany explained.
"Wouldn't NASA know something about this?" Marley suggested.
"Well, we can't trust NASA," Brittany told the group. "I mean, last month, a meteor exactly like Tubbington-Bopp hit Russia with no warning at all."
"Oh," Artie commented in a tone of voice that suggested he was rapidly running out of patience, "so now it's a meteor."
"That's right, Artie," Brittany snapped back, "and when this meteorite hits, I will not be spending my time in this room preparing for Regionals. I will be spending my last hours making amends with somebody who I need to get right with. Somebody who I love very much. Lord Tubbington."
She made a few final comments about hiding everyone's wives before saluting the group and walking out of the auditorium.
"Is she serious?" Jake questioned as soon as she was out of earshot. "Sometimes... it's hard to tell."
"She's serious," Sam replied unhappily.
"Well," Mr. Schu said, "we'll deal with Tubbington-Bopp tomorrow. Today, we need to work on –"
"There is no Tubbington-Bopp to deal with," Blaine interrupted, frustrated that they were wasting time on what would inevitably be a non-issue. "I know we humor her sometimes because she's our friend, but this is –"
"Not your decision," Mr. Schu scolded.
Blaine shook his head in dissatisfaction, crossed his arms across his chest, and decided not to continue the argument. It wasn't worth it. Maybe Brittany would be over Tubbington-Bopp by the next afternoon and they could focus on more important things.
She wasn't.
She was still talking about the rapidly-approaching threat from space the next day at lunch. And as Blaine walked past her on his way into the choir room for glee rehearsal. Blaine ignored her and found a seat at the back of the room to chat with Ryder and Kitty until Mr. Schu arrived.
"Show of hands," Mr. Schu announced as he walked into the room, "who's worried about Brittany's meteor/asteroid/comet prediction?"
Sam raised his hand, and Unique threw her hand up briefly, but everyone else remained still. Blaine couldn't believe they were giving Brittany's baseless prediction a second thought.
"Okay, well, here's how I see it," Mr. Schu said, settling into a chair among the students. "There are two possible outcomes. First, the meteor misses us and we go to Regionals and we kick butt, which will only happen if we prepare. Or, we only have a few days to live. And, if that's the case, we need to say everything we need to say to the people we love. I can tell you – from those couple of weeks when I couldn't talk to Emma – that there is nothing worse than unfinished business with the one you love. And, meteor or no meteor, any moment you have with those people might be your last one."
Blaine thought about Kurt. They still weren't talking, and Blaine knew he would regret how things had ended between them if something terrible happened to either of them. Blaine's plan when it came to Kurt was to wait and let Kurt come back to him when Kurt was ready. Trusting that, with time, they would be together again. But what if they didn't have time? The thought was unbearable, so Blaine focused on what Mr. Schu was saying.
"Bruce Springsteen always says that he plays every show as if it's his last and that is the kind of urgency we need at Regionals this year!" Mr. Schu said as he stood up and walked to the white board. He wrote Last Chance. "So, this week we're either going to sing our last songs to each other or get in touch with what it feels like to do that. Okay everyone, let's make the most of it."
Blaine had to admit, it was a good lesson plan. As the group dispersed, Blaine couldn't stop thinking about the idea of a last chance with Kurt. What if they never got a last chance? One of them could die. Kurt could find someone else to love. When Kurt had started dating Adam, Blaine had been convinced that it was just a rebound relationship. That Adam was just a placeholder for Blaine while Kurt's heartbreak healed. But now he wasn't sure.
Maybe, Blaine thought, he should call Kurt. Passively waiting for Kurt to figure things out wasn't working, and they weren't on speaking terms as it was, so what was the worst that could happen?
KURT
That afternoon, Kurt and Rachel were alone in one of NYADA's dance studios, practicing various ballroom dances together, when Kurt's ringtone filled the room.
"Hold on..." Kurt rushed over to his bag.
"Who is it?" Rachel inquired as Kurt found his phone and glanced at the screen to see who was calling.
"It's Blaine," Kurt glanced up at Rachel from where he was crouched beside his bag. She waved her hand at him, telling him to answer it, but Kurt dropped the phone back into his bag and stood up.
"If it's important, he'll leave a voicemail," Kurt suggested as Rachel scowled at him.
His phone beeped to let him know he had a voicemail before he had finished walking back to where Rachel was standing.
"Kurt," she scolded.
"It's... no." Kurt resisted. "I'm busy. It can wait."
"Okay," Rachel agreed, a glint in her eyes betraying her attempt at nonchalance. "But just, hold on, I need to make a call..."
"Rachel Berry," Kurt hurried after her as she walked to her bag, "if you even think about calling him I am going to –"
Rachel held up her phone and offered a silent ultimatum.
"Fine," Kurt huffed, leaning over to pull his phone out of his bag and listen to Blaine's voicemail. He didn't object as Rachel leaned close to him so she could hear it, too.
"Hey," Blaine said, sounding a little nervous but also a little excited, "I was just thinking about you and wondering how you are. So, I wanted to say that I miss you and I love you and I hope everything is wonderful in New York. Okay, bye."
"Oh my god, Kurt, that was sweet!" Rachel nudged him with her elbow. "Call him back."
"Can we just step back in time briefly and remember how open you were to people trying to tell you what to do in your relationship in recent months?" Kurt reminded her.
"Oh," Rachel teased, "so we're talking about your relationship here?"
"We are no longer friends," Kurt pouted.
"Yes we are," Rachel grinned as she turned around and walked back into the open space in the middle of the room, "and you should call him."
"I'll think about it," Kurt allowed, annoyed that Rachel could so obviously tell that he wanted to talk to Blaine despite his protests.
"Good enough," Rachel motioned for him to join her so they could continue dancing together.
BLAINE
That night, Blaine was in the middle of his math homework when Sam called.
"Hey," Blaine answered, grateful for the distraction.
"Dude, you have to help me," Sam said.
Blaine frowned. "Are you okay?" he asked, unable to read Sam's tone of voice.
"No!" Sam exclaimed. "Or, yes, but no."
"Okay...?" Blaine waited for Sam to explain himself.
"It's Brittany," Sam said. "She's convinced that Lord Tubbington doesn't love her."
"Lord Tubbington is a cat," Blaine snorted, "who is very well fed. I'm sure he loves her."
"Yeah, but she doesn't think so!" Sam argued. "And I kind of... well, I volunteered New Directions to help serenade him for her."
"Him?" Blaine asked before his brain caught up. "You want us to sing to Lord Tubbington?"
"I was trying to think of something to make her feel better and it just kind of slipped out!" Sam said. "You know, the whole 'sing your feelings' thing."
Blaine laughed. "So," he allowed, "how can I help?"
"We've gotta convince everyone to sing with us," Sam explained.
Blaine couldn't say no, so they got to work texting and calling everyone. Blaine decided that the best way to convince the group was to make their plan about removing a distraction, so the argument became "we need to help Brittany feel better about this so she can focus".
Everyone agreed, albeit reluctantly, and Blaine and Sam stayed up late planning the whole thing. And then, the next day, New Directions sang More Than Words to Lord Tubbington in the auditorium after school. Blaine was proud of the group; nobody laughed as they stood on the stage and sang to a cat. When the song ended, Blaine glanced at Sam to see if the performance had lived up to Sam's expectations. Sam was watching Brittany, so Blaine couldn't tell what he was thinking as Brittany scooped Lord Tubbington into her arms and hugged him.
"Thank you all," Brittany said, turning to face the other students with Lord Tubbington in her arms. "Lord Tubbington is pleased with this tribute."
She turned and walked out of the auditorium and Sam hurried after her.
"What the hell is going on here?" Kitty asked as soon as they were both gone.
"This is especially crazy," Unique added.
"Sam wanted our help," Blaine shrugged.
"I guess," Kitty rolled her eyes. "So, are we done here?"
"Sure," Blaine agreed. He motioned around them at the candles they had set up for the performance. "Let's clean this up and then we're done."
BLAINE
As Blaine predicted, the whole Tubbington-Bopp idea was irrelevant by the time the group started to gather in the choir room for the rehearsal the following day. Brittany announced that Tubbington-Bopp had been a false alarm – she had fallen victim to a dead bug inside her telescope, which was actually a kaleidoscope – and that was the end of it. Everyone settled into their seats to wait for the few students who were still making their way to the choir room from their last classes of the day.
"Hey, Will?" Coach Bieste said as she walked through the doorway. "You wanted to see me?"
"We wanted you to join us for our first annual 'thank God the world isn't ending' glee practice," Mr. Schu explained.
"It's where I can throw Junior Mints at Marley without feeling bad about it again," Kitty commented as she walked into the room.
"Sit down," Mr. Schu scolded.
Mr. Schu and Coach Bieste stood together in the middle of the room and spoke quietly for a moment, and Blaine couldn't hear them. He zoned out a little, only vaguely paying attention when Mr. Schu turned his attention back to New Directions.
"Alright!" Mr. Schu announced, "let's get started!"
A loud bang echoed through the room, the sound coming from somewhere down the hallway, and the sound of screams and running footsteps quickly followed. Blaine and the rest of New Directions froze, unclear about what had caused the noise.
Until it happened a second time.
It sounded like gunfire.
Mr. Schu sprung into action. "Everyone spread out and hide," he instructed, motioning with his hands for the students to find hiding places around the room. Coach Bieste ran to close and lock the doors and turn off the lights. "Spread out and hide!"
Blaine jumped out of his chair and was immediately concerned about Artie. In his wheelchair, he couldn't move around in small spaces as well as the rest of them. Blaine ran to the piano and tried to push it against the wall to create a barrier between one of the doors and where he and Artie were going to sit against the wall near the whiteboard, but it was too heavy. The piano jolted just enough to throw the metronome off onto the floor, and Blaine knew it was a losing battle. Changing his plan, he grabbed Artie, lifted him out of his wheelchair, and placed him with his back against the front wall of the choir room. If something happened, Blaine decided, he would make sure Artie was okay. Blaine sat down in front of Artie with his back against the piano and pulled his knees up to his chest.
Silence fell over the room as everyone strained to hear what was going on outside the now-locked doors. The only sound was the ticking of the metronome Blaine had knocked onto the floor.
With the initial surge of panic subsiding, Blaine realized they didn't even know what had happened. Maybe something had fallen from the ceiling.
"Are we even sure those were gunshots?" he asked.
The group turned on him with a chorus of frantic hisses to be quiet, and Blaine felt as if the fear that flooded through him was going to suffocate him.
Marley started crying, and Mr. Schu quickly intervened.
"Hey, guys, guys," Mr. Schu said, standing up so everyone could hear his soft voice. "Guys, start texting, tweeting. Let everyone know what's going on. But don't tell them we're here, alright? Shooters have smart phones, too."
Blaine pulled his phone out of his pocket and made sure it was on vibrate before sending his text messages.
He texted his parents. There's something going on at school. Possibly someone with a gun, but we don't know. We're locked in the choir room. Safe for now. I love you.
He texted Cooper. Love you, Coop. I'm glad you're my brother. I want to come out to LA to see you sometime soon.
"Look, guys, we're all just going to stay here, okay?" Mr. Schu reassured them as they all typed quickly into their phones. "We've got nowhere to be. We don't know what's out there."
He texted Kurt. There were gunshots in the hallway during glee rehearsal. We're locked in the choir room. Don't hear anything now. Just hiding and waiting. I love you.
He texted Tina, who wasn't in the choir room. Are you safe? We're hiding in the choir room. Okay for now.
There was an unidentifiable noise from the hallway, and everyone jumped. The silence quickly returned, but nobody relaxed.
He went to Twitter. Possible gunman at McKinley. Call the police.
The sound of someone's phone vibrating startled the group – it sounded unbearably loud – and Blaine quickly switched his phone to silent to avoid the same mistake.
"I love you guys," Mr. Schu said, his voice tense but calm.
Abruptly, the sound of someone running in the hallway filled the room, and everyone held perfectly still. The person in the hallway tried to open the door to the choir room, rattling it violently, before running to the second door and doing the same. Blaine pressed his free hand into his face, trying to control the fear, and clutched his phone. Nobody had texted him back yet. The footsteps ran away, and something slammed loudly a few seconds later. Everyone jumped. Blaine thought it sounded like a door slamming closed, but all he could think about was what if it had been another gunshot?
He put his phone in his pocket so he would stop looking at it every two seconds. It was the middle of the afternoon. Everyone was busy.
"It's okay," Coach Bieste said as a few of the students started crying loudly enough to be heard. "Shh, it's okay."
Suddenly, Mr. Schu was hissing Sam's name in disapproval, and Blaine turned to see Sam trying to stand up near the door where Mr. Schu and Coach Bieste were sitting. Mr. Schu tried to force Sam to sit down, but Sam frantically explained that Brittany was out there – she had gone to the bathroom without her phone – and he wanted to get her. Mr. Schu struggled with him – "sit down!" – and managed to push Sam down to sit near Blaine and Artie. Artie grabbed Sam's shirt and pulled him closer. Further away from the door.
"Tina isn't here, either," Blaine said softly, glancing at Sam. Sam looked defeated, and Blaine wrapped his arms around the back of his head and dropped his head onto his knees. He was so scared.
When Marley and Kitty had a brief conversation about Marley's mom being stuck in the kitchen with no way out, Blaine and the others had no choice but to hear it. Blaine thought of the sweet lunch lady and hoped that she was okay.
Then, Kitty confessed that she had taken in Marley's costumes when they had been doing Grease so Marley would think she was gaining weight. Instead of fueling anger inside him as it might have in any other circumstance, the confession just enhanced Blaine's fear. She was confessing because she was afraid she'd never get another chance. They could die here in the choir room on what had otherwise been a normal school day.
Blaine pulled his phone out of his pocket and found new text messages waiting for him.
From his mom: You're going to be just fine, sweetheart, hang in there. They're saying on the news that nobody has seen the shooter, so it may be a false alarm. I love you. Your dad and I are so proud of you. Keep doing what you're doing and listen to what your teacher says. Keep me updated if you can.
From Tina: I'm outside. Everyone's being forced to stay back. Is everyone else there with you? Are you still okay?
There were also quite a few replies to his message on Twitter. People letting him know that the police were definitely there and people offering support and worry.
Blaine quickly responded to both his mother and Tina, letting them know that things were still the same. As he finished, there was a commotion where Marley, Jake, and Kitty were sitting, and Blaine turned his head just in time to watch Kitty break free of their hiding place and run across the room to Unique and Ryder.
Sam jumped to his feet. Blaine tried to grab him, but he wasn't fast enough. Sam rushed toward the door.
Both Mr. Schu and Coach Bieste protested, getting between Sam and the door, but Sam was panicking. At first the argument was frantic but relatively quiet, but then it got out of hand.
"I don't care! No! Let go of me!" Sam shouted as Mr. Schu and Coach Bieste physically restrained him. Sam fought their grasp, and it was so loud. Blaine buried his face in his hands, terrified, as Mr. Schu clasped a hand over Sam's mouth. As he struggled, Sam knocked over a small trophy on a shelf on the wall, and the sound of it falling over sounded so loud that Blaine felt physically ill.
"Sam, listen! You are putting everybody's life in danger!" Coach Bieste cut off Sam's verbal protests as Mr. Schu held him still. "Look at them. Look at them. Look at them."
Blaine wrapped his arms around his bent legs and buried his face in his knees. He had never been so afraid.
"Sam, it's okay," Coach Bieste said, more calmly, as Sam started to cry. "It's okay, Sam. Go sit. Go sit with Artie."
Blaine lifted his head as Sam fell back into a seated position beside Artie. Mr. Schu knelt down beside Sam, keeping a hand on Sam's shoulder to keep him in place. Blaine watched his friend's face for a moment, but Sam wouldn't look at him, so Blaine stared at the wall and strained to hear if anything was happening in the hallway.
He couldn't hear anything but the constant ticking of the metronome.
As Ryder crawled across the room to take Kitty's old place by Jake and Marley, Blaine checked his phone again. He had another encouraging message from his mom and an unusually serious message from Cooper: Keep your head down, little brother. You're going to be okay.
Still nothing from Kurt. Blaine knew he was probably in class or at work and just hadn't looked at his phone, but every second that went by without a message from Kurt felt like a missed opportunity.
I miss you so much, Blaine texted Kurt, wondering if maybe Kurt just hadn't heard his phone buzzing when Blaine's first text came in. I'm so sorry for everything.
He stuffed his phone back into his pocket and glanced up just in time to see Artie pull a little video recorder out of his bag. He switched it on and aimed it at Blaine.
"Artie, what're you doing?" Blaine disapproved.
"If we don't get out of here," Artie whispered, "people need to see this."
Blaine couldn't let himself really think about the possibility of not getting out of the choir room alive. He waved his hand to ask Artie not to film him and buried his face in his arms, pulling his knees close to his chest.
"Does anybody have anything they want to say?" Artie whispered to the group.
"Yeah, me," Ryder said quietly. Blaine heard the sound of Artie shuffling to turn a little so he could film Ryder.
In the otherwise silent room, Ryder's words burned into Blaine's brain as he spoke them.
"I love you, Dad. Thanks for, like, everything. And I know I don't always let you know it, but you've taught me a lot."
As Artie's camera made its way to Marley and Jake, Blaine squeezed his knees to his chest and kept his face hidden as the thought of how his father would react if he died overwhelmed him. He and his father didn't always get along as well as Blaine wished they would; Blaine always felt as if the issue of his sexuality colored his dad's opinion of him. They didn't argue about it much anymore – Blaine thought maybe his father had resigned himself to just dealing with Blaine's gayness – but Blaine wished they were closer. After spending so much time with Burt Hummel over the past few months, Blaine knew that that was the kind of warmth he wanted his own children to feel from him as a father. If he ever had the chance to have children.
Blaine lifted his head just long enough to check his phone. No new messages.
The other students started crawling over to Artie to say their goodbyes and last words to the camera, and Blaine buried his face again. Unique encouraged everyone to be true to themselves. Kitty told her parents she loved them and admitted that this year was the best of her life so far.
Blaine lifted his head as Artie turned the camera on Sam and Coach Bieste whispered for them to turn it off.
Sam reached out and grabbed the camera from Artie and stopped the recording. Artie looked unhappy, but he didn't verbally protest. Instead, he just grabbed the camera back, turned it back on, and held it out to film himself.
"I just want to say that I've had the best experience of my entire life in this room and that I love these people more than anything," Artie said to the camera.
Then, he turned the camera back to Blaine.
"No," Blaine shook his head. He couldn't say goodbye like this. He couldn't die like this.
"Actually..." Sam whispered as if he had just realized something. He motioned for Artie to film him.
"Mom, Dad," Sam said, "I love you guys and there is a cat in my backpack in my locker. Please feed her for me."
Blaine blinked at him, confused, but couldn't find enough humor to laugh.
"Okay," Mr. Schu said quietly to the group as Artie put his camera away, "things are quiet in the hallway. I'm going to go to the girls' bathroom and get Brittany."
"I'm gonna lock the door behind him," Coach Bieste reassured the group.
"Coach Bieste is in charge," Mr. Schu explained firmly as he walked to the door. "I love you guys. Be right back."
He left the room, and the click of Coach Bieste locking the door behind him didn't do much to ease Blaine's anxiety.
"I want to call her," Ryder suddenly whispered to Jake. After a short conversation, Ryder decided to call the number of the girl who had been texting him over the past few weeks, and Blaine understood. This could be his last chance.
As Ryder lifted his phone to his ear, someone's phone rang where it had been left behind on one of the choir room chairs.
Blaine was quick to join the chorus of voices urging Ryder to hang up as the sound reverberated through the quiet room. After a few rings, Ryder did end the call and the silence returned, but it was short lived. Someone knocked on the door, and Blaine and the others jumped in surprise and fear even though they had been waiting for Mr. Schu to return with Brittany.
As soon as Mr. Schu and Brittany, plus two extra students, came through the door, Sam jumped up and ran to Brittany. As they embraced, Blaine struggled not to cry. He still hadn't heard from Kurt.
From far away, someone suddenly shouted "all clear!" and all the adrenaline and panic that had been building up inside of Blaine flowed out of him as the person shouted the words again and he realized they were safe.
They were going to live.
Someone turned on the light, and then everyone was hugging. Blaine grabbed Sam and burst into tears as they clung to each other.
Eventually, they joined a big group hug, and Mr. Schu told them he loved them.
"You guys were awesome," Coach Bieste added.
As soon as he stepped out of the group hug, Blaine knew he had to call his mom. He pulled out his phone and dialed her number.
"Blaine?" she answered quickly, her voice as anxious as Blaine anticipated.
"Hey, Mom," Blaine said tearfully, leaning back against the front wall of the choir room.
"Blaine," his mother breathed. "Are you okay? Where are you?"
"Still at school," Blaine managed to choke out. "It's okay. There's no shooter."
After he finished reassuring his mom that he was okay and that he was fine to drive home, Blaine gave his friends in the choir room one more round of hugs – holding especially tight to Sam – before hurrying out to the parking lot to find Tina.
She was waiting by his car. They hugged and cried and gave each other short accounts of what they had experienced during the chaos, and then Blaine insisted that they would talk more the next day because he had to drive home.
The journey felt strangely normal. It was the same route as always. The same car, the same music on the radio. But, at the same time, everything felt different. And, unlike usual, when he got home and walked through the front door, both of his parents were waiting for him.
They hugged and cried, and then Blaine sat in the kitchen and chatted with his father while his mother hurried to make Blaine's favorite meal. They had dinner together – interrupted by a call from Cooper, who wanted to know what it felt like to have a near-death experience ("It wasn't a near-death experience, Coop!" Blaine argued) – and ended up spending almost three hours just talking in a way they hadn't talked in a long time.
KURT
After a nearly two hour dance class late that afternoon, Kurt went straight to NYADA's small gym to shower. He took his time letting the hot water relax his muscles, his mind still caught up in the dance class and all the things he was learning about dance as an art form, before drying off and putting on a casual outfit for the train ride back to Bushwick.
As he walked across campus toward the nearest train station, Kurt realized that he couldn't remember if he was supposed to meet Rachel so they could ride home together or if she was staying late. He dug into his bag for his phone.
He had four missed calls – one from his father, one from Tina, and two from Rachel – and more than twenty new text messages.
Kurt stopped walking and leaned his back against one of NYADA's buildings as he read the text messages. His hands shook as he experienced the progression of events through everyone's texts.
He read Blaine's messages last.
There were gunshots in the hallway during glee rehearsal. We're locked in the choir room. Don't hear anything now. Just hiding and waiting. I love you.
I miss you so much. I'm so sorry for everything.
Then, almost an hour later: The police came and couldn't find anyone with a gun, so we've been released. Nobody's hurt. On my way home now. Hope your day has been less crazy than mine.
Kurt's eyes had barely passed over the little red heart icon Blaine had added to the end of his message before he was dialing Blaine's number.
The call went straight to voicemail, and Kurt tried to sound as calm as possible as he left a message.
"Hey, I just got out of class and saw your texts. Can... will you call me back? I– uh, thanks. Bye."
As he hung up, Kurt shook his head disapprovingly at the awkward message. He needed to calm down. Even though he knew that Blaine – that everyone – was okay, it was unnerving to know that something could have happened. Something that might've meant that he could never speak to Blaine again.
Kurt knew that he had been holding onto the idea of not talking to Blaine as a matter of principle. He thought he should want to break away from Blaine, but it wasn't really what he wanted.
"Kurt!"
Rachel's voice broke Kurt out of his thoughts, and he glanced up to see Rachel hurrying down the sidewalk toward him. He stepped away from the building and met her in the middle, pulling her into a tight hug.
"Everyone's okay," Rachel reassured him as they stepped out of the hug. "It was a false alarm."
Kurt nodded. "Blaine's okay," he said, because he needed to hear it out loud.
"Did you talk to him?" Rachel asked, worried.
"Not yet," Kurt explained. "He's driving home, so I guess he'll call me back later."
"He will," Rachel reassured him.
Kurt sighed heavily. "I was going to find you," he said, "to figure out if we're riding home together today."
"We are," Rachel nodded, intertwining their arms for the walk to the train station. "Let's go home."
BLAINE
After dinner, Blaine's parents reluctantly agreed to let Blaine out of their sight so he could get ready for bed and spend some time on his computer and phone to make sure all of his friends were okay. After a quick shower, Blaine put on his favorite pajamas and curled up in the chair beside his bed to return Kurt's call.
"Blaine!" Kurt answered almost immediately. The relief in his voice washed over Blaine like a comforting blanket, and his throat suddenly felt tight with emotion.
"I'm sorry I didn't call right back," Blaine said softly.
"Are you-?" Kurt paused briefly before continuing. "It's okay. It's okay."
Blaine wiped at his eyes with his free hand. "Happy to hear your voice," he admitted.
"Where's your laptop?" Kurt asked abruptly.
"Uh... right here," Blaine's eyes fell on his computer on his desk. "Video chat?" he asked hopefully.
Kurt hummed an affirmative and Blaine jumped out of his chair to turn on his laptop.
"It's coming on," he explained to Kurt as he settled into his desk chair.
"I'm right here," Kurt said warmly.
As soon as Blaine's computer was ready, Kurt initiated the chat. Kurt's image on the screen – he was still holding his phone to his ear – blurred as tears filled Blaine's eyes.
"Hey," Blaine choked out.
"Hi," Kurt smiled and ended their phone call so he could put his phone down. Blaine tossed his own phone onto his bed and exhaled a shaky, slightly embarrassed laugh as he wiped the tears off his cheeks.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Kurt asked. "Or do you want a distraction?"
"I'm sorry I'm so..." Blaine said, trying to explain his tears with a wave of his hand.
"Please don't apologize," Kurt said. "I wish I had been there with you."
"No!" Blaine disagreed immediately. "I'm so glad you weren't. You're safe."
"You're safe, Blaine," Kurt reminded him. "Are your parents there? How are you feeling?"
"Emotional," Blaine's voice cracked at the end of the word and his breath hitched a few times as he tried to keep his tears from turning into a full-blown meltdown. "My parents are downstairs. They... we all cried a lot," Blaine tried to laugh at the absurdity of everything that had happened in the past twenty four hours.
There were tears in Kurt's eyes, too. "I love you," he said.
"I love you, too," Blaine studied Kurt's face and was reminded of how desperately he missed him. "I miss you." Before his brain had time to plan, words were pouring out of his mouth. "I'm sorry I messed up what we had and I don't think I've adequately apologized. I don't think I could ever apologize profoundly enough because what I did was so... bad."
Kurt shook his head, more of an attempt to say "it's okay" than to disagree with Blaine's assessment of his infidelity, and Blaine kept going.
"But when I was sitting there thinking that it could be my last moment," Blaine told him, "I didn't think about that. I thought about you. I thought about how good it feels to love you and I thought about being with you and how safe I feel when you're around."
Kurt wiped furiously at his tear-filled eyes as Blaine stopped for a moment to breathe.
"And I miss you," Blaine added. "I miss you so much, Kurt. I miss the future we planned together even though it hasn't even happened yet. And– and I'm so proud of you. You're the most interesting, kindest, smartest man I know and... just in case I never get another chance to say it."
"Blaine," Kurt scolded.
"You don't have to say anything," Blaine reassured him. "I just wanted you to hear me say those things."
Kurt studied Blaine's face on the screen for what felt like an eternity before he spoke again.
"It's hard for me to forget," Kurt admitted. "What happened. But if anything had– I– there are things I want you to know, too."
Blaine wrung his hands in his lap and waited for Kurt to continue.
"You always make me feel like I'm the only person who matters in the whole world," Kurt said, and Blaine knew he was omitting the one time when that had aggressively not been the case. "And I know you hate when I say this, but I'm not sure I would have survived high school without you."
KURT
Kurt paused just long enough for Blaine to interrupt.
"I don't want to be your high school boyfriend," Blaine argued gently.
"I know," Kurt acknowledged. He dropped his gaze to his hands in his lap and tried to decide what he wanted to say. He loved Blaine so much that it still felt like a physical wound opening up inside his body when he thought about what had happened between them. Every time he felt like he was relaxing and allowing himself to open up to Blaine again, his brain snapped at him that Blaine couldn't be trusted. Blaine had committed an unforgivable act. But seeing Blaine's tear-streaked face after facing the possibility of being killed at school made Kurt want to throw all his caution away and start again. He felt trapped in a battle between his head and his heart.
"You could've died," Kurt said softly. "And I'm trying to figure out what I would've regretted not saying."
"There's nothing you should regret," Blaine argued. "You always do the right thing."
"I broke up with Adam," Kurt blurted.
"Oh," Blaine said, his voice and face suddenly unashamedly hopeful despite the tears lingering in his eyes.
Something about his tone of voice lifted Kurt's sorrow away and he suddenly felt much more at ease. Their friendship was still there. They were still there.
"I'm really glad you didn't die today," Kurt said.
Blaine nodded his agreement, and Kurt wished that he could climb through the computer screen and hug him.
"I want to see you when I come back to Lima for my dad's appointment," Kurt said confidently. He knew Blaine probably already had the date of the appointment in his calendar. "But... not like last time," he added.
Blaine's eyes filled with real amusement for the first time since the conversation began, but he said nothing. Kurt chose not to comment.
"Maybe we could get coffee or something," Blaine suggested. "And talk."
Kurt nodded. "I'd like that," he admitted.
"Does this mean the ban on talking is lifted?" Blaine asked lightheartedly.
"Are you seriously going to joke about that?" Kurt tried to be upset and failed. "I was angry!"
"But you're not angry now," Blaine said with conviction.
Kurt couldn't stop the rush of warm affection that filled his chest as he watched Blaine's face soften.
"No," he allowed. "I'm not angry now."
"Good," Blaine nodded once, as if that settled everything. Then, he abruptly turned his head and Kurt could tell that someone was talking to him from the doorway to his bedroom.
"I don't know," Blaine said to whoever had interrupted. "I'm talking to Kurt. Yeah... okay."
A moment later, Blaine's mom was leaning over Blaine's shoulder, smiling at Kurt through the webcam.
"Hi, Kurt," she waved.
"Hi," Kurt waved back, smiling as Mrs. Anderson kissed Blaine's cheek before disappearing in the direction of the door.
"She wanted to say hello," Blaine grinned as the door closed behind his mother. Kurt understood the unspoken "she's feeling extra affectionate about everything and everyone after what happened today".
Kurt glanced at the time. "You should get some sleep," he suggested.
He watched as Blaine checked the time and shrugged. "Yeah, probably," he agreed.
"I'm glad you're in my life, Blaine," Kurt told him, a pleasant feeling settling over him as he realized that he wanted to be friends with Blaine and it was okay.
"Me too," Blaine agreed. "Thanks for this," he motioned at the computer screen.
"Goodnight," Kurt waved.
"'Night," Blaine started to wave back, but the motion turned into an attention-grabbing jerk of his hand. "Wait!" Blaine protested as Kurt reached out to end the video chat. Kurt paused, his hand hovering over his mouse, and Blaine leaned closer to his camera so his face filled most of Kurt's screen.
"I'm going to call you tomorrow," he said happily.
Kurt flashed him a toothy smile before ending the call.
BLAINE
Blaine tried to fall asleep, but he could hear the faint sounds of his parents talking downstairs and, when his mother cracked his door open to check on him about an hour after she had stopped by and said hello to Kurt, he gave up on sleeping and invited her into his room. His father came by shortly after.
They stayed up all night. They talked about what had happened. They talked about fond memories and plans for the future. Occasionally, they dozed off for short periods of time – Blaine and his mother were curled up together on Blaine's bed and his father was settled into the chair beside the bed – but they always woke up and talked more.
As a result, Blaine was exhausted the next morning as he got ready for school. As he stepped off the front porch, with both of his parents hovering in the doorway behind him, he was hit with an intense moment of déjà vu. He almost stopped walking, trying to figure out where the feeling had come from, but he pushed past it and walked to his car.
He was halfway to school before he realized that he felt like he was on his way to his first day at Dalton. Unlike his first day back to school after being beaten up at a Sadie Hawkins dance, he was going back to the same school this time, but it was the same kind of anxiety. The worry that maybe he wasn't safe at school.
When he arrived at McKinley, Blaine realized that it was an anxiety shared by the school's administration. Side entrances to the school were locked, forcing everyone to walk through the school's main doors, where new metal detectors had been installed overnight.
There were new security cameras, too, watching everyone in the hallways and in the parking lot and in the courtyard. And the administrators – with policemen and specially trained dogs – were searching every locker in the school.
Unsurprisingly, some students had opted to stay home. The gun that had gone off had not been found, and everyone was on edge.
"I couldn't sleep," Blaine admitted as he and Tina walked together down the hallway before classes began. "Neither could my mom and dad. So we just stayed up all night, talking and crying and hugging each other."
"I know," Tina said. "My parents wanted me to stay home this week. I told them no way."
Blaine had had a similar conversation with his parents that morning before he left, but he had known that he had to go back to school immediately. If he stayed home, the fear of what had happened would just simmer in his mind until it overwhelmed him. Blaine wanted to face the demons before they could take control of him.
"It sounds crazy, Blaine," Tina added as they passed Kitty and Marley hugging at Marley's locker, "but I wanted to be in that choir room with you guys."
"Believe me, you didn't," Blaine disagreed. "It was the most scared I think I've ever been in my life."
"Me too," Tina said, her voice trembling with memories of the day before. "But not because of what was happening, but because I couldn't get to you or do anything to help you or..."
She stopped walking, and Blaine stepped around so he was standing in front of her.
...or even say goodbye," Tina finished.
Blaine felt tears stinging in his eyes as he absorbed the pain in Tina's face. He put a hand on her arm.
"I think the important thing is that nobody got hurt," he tried to comfort them both.
"Yeah," Tina agreed. "And that you know that you're my family. Everybody in that room is my family. And I didn't want the last thing you guys heard from me is some snarky comment about how I never get solos."
Blaine pulled her into a hug, grateful that she was safe – that they were all safe – and that, at least, they could say everything they needed to say to each other now.
"Oh, I love you, Tina," he said, kissing the side of her head as they both cried. "And hey, listen to me," he stepped back from the hug and made sure she was looking at him. "You were there in the choir room with us, okay? You were there."
She nodded, and Blaine grabbed her hand as they continued walking down the hallway.
"Did you talk to Kurt?" Tina asked as they walked toward the auditorium.
"Yes," Blaine replied. "We're still... complicated. But we're talking again."
He paused as he thought about their conversation. It had been emotional and urgent, but it had also felt comfortable. It felt like them.
"It's going to work out," he added.
Tina squeezed his hand.
They stopped by their respective lockers so they could put their things away before walking to the auditorium where the students of New Directions were planning to skip a mandatory assembly in favor of a secret glee club meeting. It was Blaine's idea; he had texted everyone the night before to ask them to join him in the auditorium instead of the gymnasium where the assembly was taking place. He wanted them to be together again, as New Directions, so they could sing the final song of the week and just spend time together now that they were safe.
"Take all of your wasted honor, every little past frustration. Take all of your so-called problems. Better put them in quotations. Say what you need to say. Say what you need to say. Say what you need to say. Say what you need to say."
Blaine was relieved that he and Kurt were talking again after being out of contact for a few weeks. It felt like a fresh start. A reminder of what was good about their relationship. And Kurt's eagerness to talk and his desire to see Blaine the next time he was in Ohio had reinvigorated the hope and certainty that had sprung up inside of Blaine on Valentine's Day. Kurt loved him. They both knew it. When Kurt returned to Ohio for his father's big medical appointment, Blaine decided, things were going to change between them. Somehow. It was time to stop waiting around for Kurt to spontaneously decide he was ready to rekindle their romance.
"You better know that, in the end, it's better to say too much than never to say what you need to say again."
As the song ended, the students looked at each other and there was a brief moment of silence until Blaine and Ryder locked eyes briefly and Ryder had something to say.
"Oh, hey," he motioned at Blaine, "what's up with Coach Sylvester?"
"What?" Blaine asked.
"You're a Cheerio," Ryder shrugged, glancing at Kitty, who was also in her Cheerio uniform.
"I'm pretty sure by 'what?' he meant 'I have no idea what you're talking about'," Kitty commented.
"She quit," Ryder explained. "Or was fired or something. I don't know."
Blaine glanced at Sam to see if he knew anything, but Sam looked as shocked as Blaine felt.
"Are you sure?" Blaine asked as he stood up.
"She said she didn't work here anymore," Ryder clarified. "And she was carrying a box full of stuff, so it looked like she was clearing her office out."
Blaine and Sam excused themselves from the secret rehearsal and ran together through the empty hallways – steering clear of the gymnasium, where the mandatory assembly was still going on – to Sue's office.
It was, as Ryder had assumed, empty.
"Guys!" Mr. Schu's voice suddenly echoed down the empty hallway from behind them, startling both students, and Blaine knees felt weak as a result of the minor surge of fear as he turned to face their teacher. "What are you doing? You're supposed to be at the assembly."
"Sorry, Mr. Schu," Sam apologized.
"What happened to Coach Sue?" Blaine asked, motioning over his shoulder at the empty office.
Mr. Schu's expression hardened as he reached where Blaine and Sam were standing and slowed to a halt.
"The gun was Sue's," he explained sadly.
Blaine and Sam were both so stunned that they just stared at Mr. Schu until he continued.
"She... was cleaning it and it went off," Mr. Schu shrugged, and Blaine knew immediately that he didn't believe the story. "So, she dropped it and it went off again."
"But –" Sam protested.
"That's terrible," Blaine interrupted loudly enough to force Sam to stop talking. "Was she fired?"
"Principal Figgins may have allowed her to resign," Mr. Schu explained, "but I'm not sure. There was no choice, really. There's a strict no-tolerance policy for weapons at this school."
"I can't believe this," Blaine said dramatically.
"Well," Mr. Schu said, "the important thing now is that we're safe, okay? I don't want you guys worrying about any of that."
Blaine and Sam both nodded, and Mr. Schu walked away.
"What was that?" Sam questioned, turning a critical gaze on Blaine.
"I want to look in her office," Blaine explained as he turned around and walked through the doorway into Sue's now-empty office. "And we can't do that with Mr. Schu standing here, so it was best not to argue."
"Ah," Sam understood.
There wasn't much to look at in the office. The two bullet holes were very apparent – one at about waist-level on the wall between the office and the hallway, and another very near the floor near the doorway – but there was little else to suggest what had happened.
"Have you ever shot a gun?" Blaine asked Sam.
"Duh," Sam told him.
"Despite all her crazy," Blaine shook his head, "it seems unlike Coach Sue to have a gun at school. And, if she did, why would she clean it in the middle of the afternoon?"
"Maybe she didn't think it would ever go off like this," Sam shrugged.
Blaine looked at Sam. "This is what we wanted," he said. "But it doesn't feel right."
"Well, hey," Sam responded, "you can quit the Cheerios now. Think of all the extra free time!"
Blaine shook his head.
"I think I'm going to stay for another week, at least," he disagreed, looking around Sue's empty office. "I want to see if I can figure out what went on here."
KURT
That evening, Kurt was alone in the apartment, sitting on the couch with a huge bowl of popcorn in his lap as a movie kept him company, when his phone rang.
He had been anticipating the call all day, and the sight of Blaine on the screen brought a huge smile to his face. He quickly muted the television before answering the call.
"Hello?"
"Hi," Blaine said. Kurt grinned at Blaine's tone of voice; he sounded much more himself than he had the previous day.
"You sound better," Kurt commented on the change in tone.
"I feel better," Blaine agreed. "Still a little jumpy – they installed cameras and metal detectors at school, which is going to be a constant reminder of what happened – but I'm going to be fine."
"Metal detectors?" Kurt couldn't believe it.
"Everyone's pretty rattled," Blaine said. "Did you hear about Coach Sylvester?"
"No...?" Kurt replied.
"The gun that went off was hers," Blaine explained. "She's been fired."
"You better not be teasing me right now," Kurt threatened.
"I'm not," Blaine confirmed.
"Oh my god," Kurt said, bewildered, before he realized that he had just fallen into the perfect opportunity to ask a question that had been bouncing around in the back of his mind for weeks.
"Okay," Kurt said, "I know this is serious but I have to ask. Why did you join the Cheerios?"
"Re-join," Blaine reminded him, and a new excitement filled his voice. "Sam and I planned to bring her down from the inside."
"You re-joined the Cheerios to be a spy?" Kurt shook his head, both impressed and amused.
"It was going to work," Blaine said. "I already found out about some of the ridiculous financial perks some of the girls receive. That alone would be enough to disqualify the Cheerios from competing."
Kurt thought about the mattress fiasco of his sophomore year and nodded even though Blaine couldn't see him.
"What about you?" Blaine asked. "How are you? How's NYADA?"
"It's all going surprisingly well," Kurt smiled. "Seriously, winning Midnight Madness opened up some kind of magical portal or something because... this is what I thought New York would be."
Blaine voiced his approval with a content rush of air and Kurt imagined the dreamy look on his face.
"You'll have to come visit sometime soon," Kurt suggested.
"Yeah?" the smile in Blaine's voice was infectious.
"Yeah," Kurt said. "As long as you think you can handle what I am sure will be an endless stream of rude commentary from Santana."
Blaine laughed. "I welcome the challenge," he agreed. "How is Santana? And Rachel? Funny Girl auditions are soon, right? Are you nervous?"
"Okay," Kurt lined up the questions in his mind, "one, Santana is a bitch. One second I hate her and the next second I love her, so I guess she's basically the same as always. Two, Rachel and Brody broke up – it's a long story, I'll tell you layer – and, fortunately, it seems to have reignited Rachel's ambition so I think she's going to kill her audition. Don't tell Santana I said that. And three, I'm not auditioning for Funny Girl, as it turns out. I guess I'm not the right age or something. They're not even interested in seeing me."
"I'm sorry," Blaine said, genuinely unhappy.
"It's fine," Kurt acknowledged. "Surprisingly so, actually. I knew it was an extreme long shot when I signed up, and the producer who called let me down gently so my dignity remains intact."
As he spoke, Kurt remembered the bowl of popcorn in his lap. Once he finished his sentence, he grabbed a few pieces and tossed them into his mouth. The sound of his chewing was louder than he anticipated, and he heard Blaine's slight laugh.
"I interrupted a movie, didn't I?" Blaine guessed.
"Well," Kurt said, "it's a movie I've seen before, so it's okay. I'd rather talk to you, anyway."
Yay, they're talking again! There's no way they didn't have some kind of heartfelt conversation after what happened in this episode. I wish we had gotten to see/hear it!
I'm so curious to know more about Blaine's parents! The only thing we know for sure about either of them (this is the first episode where we get confirmation that Blaine's mom is alive and well!) is that Blaine and his father don't have the warmest relationship in the world. Some people take Blaine's statements from season 2 ("You think my dad built a car with me because he loves cars? I think he did it because he thought getting my hands dirty might make me straight." and "I don't have the relationship with my dad that you have with Kurt.") and make Mr. and Mrs. Anderson out to be borderline abusive in terms of their neglect and lack of warmth/love for their son, but my mental image of them is much gentler. I think they may be a bit older than Burt and Carole – they have a son who is ten years older than Blaine – and perhaps they're just not super affectionate people, overall. And maybe they didn't handle Blaine's coming out as well as they should have (clearly Blaine thinks they could have handled it better in terms of giving him proper sex ed, at the very least), but I don't see any evidence to suggest that Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are anything worse than two people conflicted about how to handle their son's homosexuality. I mean, would two borderline abusive parents stay up all night hugging and crying with their son after a traumatic experience like what happened in this episode? I don't think so. I like to think that they're generally nice people. :)
Up next... 4x19: Sweet Dreams!