Chapter Three

The rain outside is beating hard against the hotel window. Blaine isn't sure when it started but it is sure making its presence known now. The wind has picked up considerably and has started making a howling sound as the lights begin to blink. He quickly walks over to the window to look out side as the first clap of thunder rolls. The rain combined with the wind is so fierce that it has created a wall so thick he can't even see the parking lot below. The lights blink. Knowing how Kurt gets nervous in the dark, he goes to the table and locates the candles that came with their earlier meal, just in case they do lose power. He then goes to knock on the bathroom door to see if Kurt's ok.

“Kurt?” He knocks, but there is no response. “Kurt, can you please come out? The weather is getting bad and we may lose power. I know how you hate the dark. Please come back out where you'll be more comfortable and so we can talk.” Blaine waited what felt like an hour but was most likely just a minute, before trying again. “Kurt, baby I'm not mad at you. Please come out. We need to talk more.”

Another few minutes passed and Blaine was about to knock one more time when the bathroom door slowly opened. Kurt walked out with his eyes trained on the floor. He was almost to the bed when a clap of thunder crashed so loudly that the room almost vibrated, causing both men to jump in surprise. A few seconds later they were cloaked in darkness as they lost power. It caused Kurt to stumble on his way to the bed, bumping his toe against the frame.

“Damn. DAMN IT that hurts,” Kurt cried as Blaine did his best to reach him in the dark with out stumbling himself.

“Are you ok?” Blaine asked concernedly. “That sounded like it hurt.” He went to reach out and touch Kurt but was shoved away quite harshly.

“Don't touch me. No, I'm not fine and I'm not just talking about my toe either.”

Kurt's voice still sounded rough from all the crying he'd been doing, but more than that he simply sounded weary. Blaine took a step back and managed to find the wing chair once again, knowing that some distance between them was necessary for now. He was barely settled when Kurt spoke again, but with a voice sounding more unsure that he'd heard it in a long time.

 “Blaine, did you really mean it? Are you not mad at me? I mean, I kind of feel like the worst person imaginable right now and I'll understand if that was a game changer for you because I kn…”

“I'm not mad,” Blaine interrupted. “I don't like that you did that. I hate even more that I didn't even realize that's what you were doing. But I'm not mad. Besides, if I was mad, I'd be a hypocrite.”

“What do you mean?” Kurt asked, confusion evident in his voice.

Blaine took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. “Kurt, I know initially you didn't want to know the details of my..y'know…cheating. But you said earlier that…”

“Yeah. Blaine, I…I think I need to know. Not knowing is hurting me more than I thought it would,” Kurt interrupted. “I thought that if I didn't know the details, I could pretend it didn't happen. But for me to truly forgive you and move on, I think I need to know.”

“Ok. Can you give me the same courtesy I gave you earlier and not interrupt or ask questions until I'm done? I promise, I'll explain what I meant earlier and after I'm finished you can ask anything you want.”

“Yeah. Yes Blaine, I can do that.”

“Ok um, yeah just…I need to get comfortable.” Blaine got up out of the chair and cautiously found his way in the dark to the little table. “I'm gonna light the candles from earlier and…”

“NO” Kurt shouted, effectively freezing Blaine on the spot. “ Sorry, it's just…I think it will be easier to hear if I don't have to see you,” Kurt admitted almost embarrassingly.

“Oh, yeah um, that's ok. I just know how you don't like the dark and thought…”

“I know, and thank you” Kurt replied honestly. “But I don't mind it as much anymore. After we broke up, I used to spend a lot of time in the dark in my room. It made dealing with it easier. It also helped with the electric bill,” Kurt added with a depreciating laugh.

Blaine gave a soft chuckle at the joke, but couldn't help but feel guilty at this new tidbit of information. He wondered to himself how many other things about Kurt had changed While they were apart that he didn't know about yet.

“Um, well it's getting colder in here with the power off. I'm gonna go grab the extra blanket from the closet and then we'll get started.”

“Here, take this.” Kurt said, stripping the comforter off the bed and handing it to Blaine. “You could hurt yourself trying to get to the closet and besides, there is another blanket underneath.” Their fingers brushed as Blaine accepted the comforter causing him to audibly shudder. “It's ok Blaine” Kurt offered. “I think everything is going to be ok.”

Blaine exhaled with a sigh as he turned back to the wing chair in the corner and got himself comfortable for what would be the hardest conversation he'd ever had in his life. After a few moments of silence he spoke saying, “I'm ready now,” and without further ado he began.

“Ok, so I'm not gonna go into how I was feeling or why it happened. We talked about that part over Christmas when you were home for your Dad's appointment and again this week after we got back together. I don't wanna dredge that up again unless you need to.”  Blaine paused for a minute, expecting Kurt to respond before remembering that he asked him not to speak until after he was done. So, he cleared his throat and continued.

“Everything happened on the same day. It was basically a one night stand only we didn't meet at a bar. I was checking my facebook in the choir room during my free period and noticed I had a friend request.  It seemed harmless at first. His public profile said he was an 18 year old gay male from Fort Shawnee. His profile pic was a lighthouse. Ha, the irony in that,” Blaine chuckled humourlessly. “Pfff, I was feeling so lost and he was supposedly my ‘beacon of light.'” Blaine shook his head incredulously at that thought. “Anyway, I accepted his request and a few minutes later I got a private message asking for a distraction from AP math. We chatted off and on during the day. He said he was bored with all his friends and hated that he didn't know many gay guys. So, when he invited me over to talk after school, I went.

“You know, I AM aware that I can be incredibly oblivious. But I'm still trying to figure out if I simply just miss the obvious or if the reality is that I just choose not to see it. Sam is the only person I've talked about this with besides you and he doesn't know much, but it didn't take him long to figure out the real reason Eli invited me over. That's his name by the way. Anyway, Sam figured it out pretty quickly, but I honestly had no clue.  I had been feeling so lonely and neglected that when he asked me to come over after school to hang out, I said yes.”

Blaine took a few deep breaths to calm himself. He was getting to the most difficult part of the story to tell. He could feel the tension building up in his shoulders and throat and wondered if this was how Kurt felt when he confessed his secret earlier. He knew he had to continue, but he needed a moment to collect himself before the next part.

"I-I'm sorry, Kurt. I'll keep going, I promise but I need an minute. I'm gonna go downstairs to the restaurant to see if I can I get something to drink. Can I get you anything?”

Kurt, who had been so quiet curled up on the bed, replied with a light tremor in his voice. “ Yeah, um ok. Alright. Just get me a bottle of water. Just...take your time.”

“Thanks, I'll be right back,” Blaine murmured as he uncurled himself from the comforter. He grabbed his wallet & room key and then stumbled along the hallway through the dark until he found the door and then exited the room. Kurt was now left alone in the pitch black to process everything he just heard and gear himself up for everything that was about to come.