The night fell down around the trio soon enough and Puck began to grumble under his breath. Blaine's legs were propped up on the dash, his seat moved to lean back. Kurt was leaning against the driver side door, his legs stretched across the backseat, his fingers tapping against his thigh. Blaine glanced over as Puck squinted into the darkness, his cheeks puffing up and down and he breathed words to himself. "Are you okay there?"

Puck look over, his fingers curling tighter around the steering wheel. "I think we should pull over."

"Why...?" Blaine drug the word out as he shifted in his seat. Kurt was listening, interested.

"Well. My cars lights don't seem to be working."

"What? They were working perfectly fine yesterday!" Blaine said, finally sitting up and looking at Puck incredulously.

"They have a tendency to do that. They're junk. They go in and out when they want. But they usually come back on after a couple minutes, but they aren't and we have to pull over or we'll die." Puck tapped his hands against the steering wheel a bit hard, chewing on the inside of his lip.

Blaine groaned. "We have to sleep in the car, don't we?" He didn't have to look away from the window to see Puck nod. "Wonderful."

"Stop acting like it's the end of the world, curly Sue." Came Kurt's voice, moving to sit in the middle of the backseat. "I mean, I've been sleeping in way worse conditions than you since I got here. So I don't really want to be hearing any complaining." He patted Blaine's shoulder and sighed. "At least tell me you have blankets or something."

Puck nodded as he pulled to the side of the highway, the car bumping and groaning as it moved from the asphalt to the dirt. "Uh. In the back. I'll pop the trunk."

"You're awesome," Kurt said, scooting across the seat and opening the door. Blaine watched Kurt in his rearview mirror, biting his lip as he saw him stretch his arms up. He was distracted by Puck, who was fidgeting and moving in his seat. "What are you doing?" Blaine snapped.

"Stop being such a bitch, Blaine," Puck shot back with a glare. "My car remember?"

"That's still a really sad excuse."

"Shut up. I'm trying to get comfortable. So leave me alone." Puck grumbled, adjusting his seat to lean back.

"Remember that Kurt's sleeping in the back. I'm sure he won't be very happy if he has your seat crushing his face."

"Kurt will be sleeping outside, thank you though." Kurt spoke through Blaine's open window. He had a tattered gray blanket in folded over his arm.

"What? Why?" Blaine questioned. "I'd give you my seat if you'd be more comfortable."

"No, I'm fine. Seriously. I've been sleeping outside since I offed myself. I'm sure I'll be more comfortable out here than in here." Kurt pointed out. "I'll go now."

Puck mumbled something and lifted his hand, already curled on his side with his eyes closed. Blaine's eyebrows pulled together as he watched Kurt walk into the darkness. He bit his lip, working an idea around in his head as he leaned back in his seat to try and get comfortable.

And I think myself deserving of a little time off

It was barely ten minutes later when Blaine heard Puck begin to snore quietly. He looked over at him, the large boy having shifted onto his stomach and sprawled across half the car, his limbs bent at awkward angles. Blaine shook his head and groaned as he sat up, running a hand through his curls. He looked out his window and into the dark, searching for the figure he was seeking, but only seeing the blackness of the nigh. He opened hissing, curiosity and his nosiness taking over his body's movements. He closed the door as quietly as possible, his eyes sweeping the land as he began to walk further into the desert. 10 feet away from the car Blaine could see the hunched form of Kurt. He was sitting on the sand, his back to Blaine, staring off into the distance.

Blaine slipped his hands into his pocket and kicked at the sand as he stepped closer. "Hey."

Kurt jumped a bit, spinning around, his mouth falling open. "Oh. It's just you."

"Yeah... Do you mind if I sit with you?" Blaine asked quietly, a slight blush crossing his cheeks.

"Uh- yeah. Sure." Kurt turned back around and bent his knees to his chest as Blaine sat down next to him in the sand.

We can kick it here for hours
And just mouth off about the world
And how we know it's going straight to hell

Blaine looked off into the distance also, wondering what Kurt could see. Or if he was just looking off into the darkness to think. It was quiet out here. The usual sounds of the night from the World of the Living not present. The only sounds Blaine heard were his and Kurt's combined soft breathing along with the soft blow of wind. The air was still warm from the day, the sand even warmer. The night swallowed them so easily. "Want some?"

Blaine looked over, his eyes widening as they made out the form of a bottle. "What is that?"

"I don't really know," Kurt murmured, bringing the bottle up to his face to study it. "It was in the back of Puck's car. I needed something to calm me. It's alcohol though, so, we know at least one thing about it."

Blaine watched Kurt for a moment before shrugging. "Not like it could kill me."

"Exactly," Kurt said, handing over the glass object to Blaine.

Blaine brought it to his lips and tipped the bottle backwards, making a face as the liquid burned all the down his throat. He hissed, parting his lips as he handed it over to Kurt, who was chuckling. "I had the same reaction. Pretty strong."

Blaine nodded, swallowing again as he licked his lips. "God. I haven't had something that strong in forever."

"It's refreshing," Kurt murmured.

Pass me another bottle, honey
The Jager's so sweet
But if it keeps you around, then I'm down

They sat in silence for a long time, the darkness pressing down around them, passing the bottle back and forth between them. A warm, fuzzy feeling Blaine hadn't felt in so long curled in his stomach, his head slightly foggy. Kurt was still in the same position since they had started, staring off into the distance, his long fingers curled loosely around the only half empty bottle. Blaine took a double take as he looked at the liquid in the bottle, realizing just how strong it was.

The silence surrounding them was just right. Now awkwardness, no space to fill with words. It was perfect, where they could sit and just enjoy the other's company.

Blaine had so many questions towards the stranger. They had just picked him up off of the side of the road. There was so much Blaine didn't know about him. So much Blaine wanted to know about him.

For one: if he was gay. He hated being once of those people that judged right away and decided on someone being homosexual without even asking, but the way the boy dressed was what had hit him. It was fashionable and wonderfully fitting, even if the clothes were ratty and dirty; but he made them look good. There was also his voice, which was higher pitched than most males.

But it was so musical and melodic and beautiful, not high pitched, screechy. It was just wonderful, and Blaine loved listening to him talk.

What was Blaine doing? Why was he acting like this? He was looking for his ex-boyfriend, so why was he feeling these things over another guy. Another guy he had just met. A guy he didn't even know if he was gay or not.

Blaine was digging himself a hole and soon he wouldn't be able to get out.

"What are you thinking?" Kurt asked quietly, the sound of his voice sharp in the silence.

"What?" Blaine asked, surprised by the sound.

"It's so quiet... And I was wondering if you were thinking of something. If that's why you were so quiet."

Blaine bit his lip, sighing. "I was actually... Wondering..." Blaine trailed off, embarrassed by wanting to ask.

"Yes?" Kurt prodded.

"I was wondering... If you were gay?" Blaine finally pushed the question out, looking away from Kurt even though he could barely see his face in the darkness.

Kurt was silent for a moment, a moment that sent Blaine's heart to his throat, his face burning red. "I am, yeah." Kurt finally said, tipping back the bottle to his lips.

"Mmh." Blaine hummed, nodding to himself, a wave of relief rushing through him.

"I didn't think it was that hard to tell? Usually people get it right away with my voice," Kurt murmured.

"I don't like judging right away." Blaine answered with a shrug, curling his arms around his knees and holding them close to his chest.

Meet me on Thames Street
I'll take you out
Though I'm hardly worth your time
In the cold, you look so fierce

Blaine looked over, watching as Kurt continued to stare. Blaine wondered what was turning in his mind, but he wasn't confident enough to ask him. So instead he sat next to him and let his imagination fill in the spots he couldn't answer.

Blaine was biting his lip as he studied the dark form of Kurt. He couldn't make sense of the thoughts and feelings he felt coursing through him. He hadn't had so much crowding his body since he had woken up.

But these thoughts made no sense. He was in the process of looking for his ex, to try and get back together to make this life as easy to make through as possible.

And the thoughts were even more complicated with an alcoholic fog clouding his mind. He decided mentally that he'd try and sort these out later, when he was sober.

Fall in the grave I've been digging myself
But there's room for two
Six feet under the stars

Blaine woke up as the sun rose over the horizon and blinded him. His skin seemed to be on fire, his throat dry and his head pounding. He moved and sat up with a scratchy groan, hissing as his skin burned against the hot sand. He rubbed as his eyes, blinking before squinting and looking around. Kurt was on the ground next to him, curled in a ball on top of the blanket he had brought over from the car. The bottle of alcohol was dangling from his fingers, almost empty, making Blaine wonder how much he had drank.

Kurt made a small sound as the sun landed on his face, his eyebrows pulling down, his nose wrinkling. Blaine felt something erupt in his stomach at the sight, the thought over how adorable he looked clouded his head. But Blaine couldn't think like that. He couldn't. He scrambled to his feet, joints popping and himself groaning as he tried to work out the stiffness in his limbs. He walked over to the car, running his hand through his hair as he opened the passenger seat and got in.

Puck was still stretched out on his stomach, the side of his face mashed into the seat, his mouth hanging open as he snored. Blaine made face as he saw a wet spot made from his drool that was slowly slipping down the side of his mouth. Blaine reached over and placed his hand against Puck's shoulder, shaking him till he cracked open his eyes. He groaned loudly as he turned and stretched, rocking the whole car in the process. "That was the most uncomfortable thing ever, Jesus Christ."

Blaine shrugged, yawning widely, hearing his jaw crack. "Do you have something to drink?" His voice came out deep and scratchy, his voice seeming to rip up his dry throat.

Puck blinked and squinted at Blaine and whistled. "You look like shit."

"Thanks, now answer my question." Blaine mumbled, fumbling around the glove box for his sunglasses.

"Yeah. Get mine while you're at it too." Puck said, twisting in his seat to reach in the back.

I should have known better than to call you out
If not for you, I know I'd tear this place to the ground

Blaine found Puck's first, grabbing them and pulling them out. He held them out to Puck as he turned back around, hitting Blaine's hand. The sunglasses slipped from his fingers and fell, hitting the console and falling between Blaine's feet. "Damn it," Blaine muttered, reaching down to reach beneath the seat.

"Fuck!" Puck yelled, "Why'd you drop them?"

Blaine's head snapped up, his eyes widening. "You hit my hand! Plus it's not that bad, I can get them. Give me a second!"

Puck sighed, throwing his hands up, a bottle of stale water clutched in one. "Don't even try."

"Uh... Why?"

"Because, once something falls beneath the seat you'll never get it back. You know what a black hole is? Well, that's basically what's beneath the seat." Puck pointed out, an irritated expression on his face.

Blaine's eyebrows shot up and he stared at Puck. "Oh. Well. That's unique."

"It sucks ass." He muttered.

"I can tell. Remind me not to drop anything." Blaine leaned forward again, digging around for his sunglasses. His fingers wrapped around his black Ray Bans and he pulled them out, a satisfied look crossing his features.

Puck reached out and slapped his hand, his sunglasses falling and bouncing beneath the seat. "You asshole!" Blaine yelled, lifting from his seat to look at the floor. "Why did you do that?"

"You lost mine you deserved to lose yours!" Puck yelled back.

"Stop yelling, you idiots," Kurt mumbled, stumbling into the backseat. He had his own pair of knock-off Ray Bans resting on his nose. His voice was deep and scratchy, like Blaine's, but just a bit higher, and a flitting 'That's hot' passed Blaine's thoughts.

Puck threw a glare at Kurt. "You should let me see your glasses."

"I'm not stupid."

Puck cursed under his breath. "Maybe there's a store down here. I'll just buy a new pair."

Blaine was ignoring him, instead he was looking out the window as he put his fingers to his head.

I'm gonna roll the dice
Before you sober up and get gone

"Hey, stop," came Kurt's voice from the backseat. Blaine looked back, confusion settling across his face.

"Why?" Puck asked, squinting at the buildings coming up.

"It's a gas station and mechanics." Kurt said, moving to lean forward.

"So?"

"A gas station might have sunglasses, and you need a mechanic to look at your lights so we don't get stuck in the same hellish situation as last night."

"He's right." Blaine mumbled from his seat where he had been silent for so long.

Puck tapped his fingers and chewed on his lip. "Fine," he agreed, pulling off and into the dusty parking lot of the gas station. He parked in front of the mechanics, Kurt sighing as he jumped out of the car. He stretched and breathed in the dry air. Blaine got out of the car, shielding his eyes with his hand as best as he could, following Puck up to the door. Kurt stayed back, leaning against the car, his sunglasses perched on his nose, his lip tugged between his teeth. Puck pushed open the door and stepped into the small room that had only a few plastic chairs and a desk placed strategically around the room. A few tires were leaning against the wall or lying on the dirty tile floor. Blaine mad a face at the place, running his finger along the desk surface, making a noise as he saw the dust collecting on his finger. He jumped at the sound of loud, tinkling bell ringing out in the small room. Puck was hitting the small rusted bell that was in the middle of the desk, his elbow leaning in the dirt. Blaine shook his head, glaring at him.

Puck bumped Blaine's ribs with his elbow, causing him to look up. �Blaine's head snapped up, catching the glimpse of a dark head looking around the corner of the doorway behind the desk. His eyebrows pulled together. "Hello?" he called.

A girl with long black hair stepped from around the corner, his hands coming together excitedly. "Hello!" she said in a high, cheery voice. The tone and voice didn't match at all with the not-smiling face and dirty sweater and skirt. "I'm Rachel! Welcome to our cute little mechanic shop!"

Blaine and Puck shared a look before Puck straightened. "Um... I was looking for someone to look at my headlights... They stopped working last night."

Rachel nodded and just stood there for a moment, he gaze flicking between the two boys. "Well? Where's the mechanic?" Blaine asked aloud.

"Oh! I'll go get him!" Rachel cheers, hopping out of the room in her black flats.

"She's weird," Puck muttered.

"I haven't heard that kind of excitement in forever," Blaine mumbled.

Not too long after the girl had left, a tall man turned the corner dressed in oiled coveralls. He was wiping his hands on a grimy cloth as he took in Blaine and Puck. "I'm Finn. I see you've met my wife, Rachel."

"Yeah." Blaine and Puck said together.

Because the tension's like a fire

"Hm. Give me a day and they'll be as good as new," Finn said from his position under the car.

Puck groaned and put his face in his hands. Blaine shrugged, "We're okay with that."

"Awesome. I'll get to work on it right away." Finn pushed him out from under the car and sat up, nodding to himself.

"Alright." Blaine grabbed Puck's shoulders and began to push him out of the garage and out towards the front of the gas station store. Kurt was sitting on the concrete outside, his legs folded and his hands sitting in his lap.

"So, what's the news?" he asked.

"Give him a day and he'll fix it." Blaine answered Puck who was still grumbling to himself.

"Where are we supposed to sleep tonight?" Puck muttered, plopping onto the ground beside Kurt.

"The car? I mean, I'm sure he'll let us sleep in it when he's done for the night." Kurt said, shrugging.

"Yeah. But in the meantime why don't we get something to eat? And I really want to get sunglasses." Blaine suggested.

"Yes!" Kurt agreed standing up and wiping dirt off his pants with his hands.

�"Fine," Puck muttered, pulling himself up and sighing.

We'll hit South Broadway in a matter of minutes
And like a bad movie, I'll drop a line

Soon enough the trio settled down at a booth inside the gas station store, which also happened to hold a small diner. Puck was equipped with a bottle of hot sauce and a bottle of barbecue sauce, a plate that held two hamburgers and a mounting of fries juggled precariously in his hands. Kurt held a small bowl with salad in it, lettuce, carrots, shredded cheese and olives, no topping. A bottle of water was clutched in his fingers, the condensation dripping down the bottle and onto his fingers. Blaine had a plate topped with fries and fried chicken strips, a large bowl of ranch settled in the middle. They settled their stuff loudly on the table, the dark haired girl bringing out a cup of coffee for Blaine. Puck popped open a bottle of beer and took a swig, leaning back in his seat. Kurt sat across from other two boys, picking at his salad with the dented fork that had been given to him.

"No need for the super dull faces. Finn will have your car done super fast. There's nothing he can't fix." Rachel said from her perch on a stool at the counter. Blaine and Puck looked over, raising their eyebrows.

"We'll see about that," Puck muttered before shoving half of the burger into his mouth to take a bite. Blaine's stomach turned as grease dripped from his lips.

"Oh my god, take a napkin," Kurt begged, handing out a handful of napkins.

Puck thanked them, spraying Kurt with bits of chewed up burger and bun and whatever atrocities he had piled on top. Kurt flinched, his mouth dropping open. Blaine covered his mouth, dropping the chicken that been on the way to his mouth. Kurt threw him a glare too, taunting him to laugh. He grabbed for a napkin and wipe it across his face.

Soon enough Blaine had let a snicker out from behind his hand, and he busted into loud laugh, clutching his sides. Kurt was glaring at him at he stabbed angrily at his lettuce, stuffing a forkful into his mouth.

I'm guilty, but I'm safe for one more day

Blaine groaned as he felt Kurt's foot collide with the back of his seat again. "Stop."

"No."

Another hard kick to the seat. Blaine flew up and twisted around to glare at Kurt. "I wasn't even the one who spit burger all over you," he hissed.

"Yes, but laughed." Kurt hissed back from his position stretched across the back seat.

"So what? I still didn't do half as bad as Puck."

"You still laughed. And I'm going to continue to kick your seat because you wouldn't care if I ignored you." Kurt pointed out, kicking at the seat again.

Blaine closed his eyes and took a deep breath, shaking his head. "You're annoying."

"Thank you."

Overdressed and underage
Do you really need see an ID?

Blaine woke up, moaning as the sun shone through the windshield right into his eyes. Kurt had finally stopped kicking the back of his seat when he got bored two hours later, and turned on his side to go to sleep. Blaine had only gotten a couple of hours of sleep and here was the wonderful sun waking him up right away. "This is ridiculous," he muttered, glancing around as he looked fleetingly at the two other guys who of course were still sleeping. He tried and stretched, moving to get out of the car. He stepped onto the blistering pavement and rubbed at his eyes as he closed his door and looked at the front of the car where Finn was knelt down. He was messing with the light, a frown greasing his brow. "What's up?" Blaine asked, shielding his hand over his eyes.

Finn looked up, seeing that Blaine was standing there. He stood up and rubbed at the back of his neck. "The lights aren't working. No matter what I did they didn't work."

"Wait... So what are we supposed to do?" Blaine asked, his eyes growing wide.

"I'm sorry! I usually can fix something right away but no matter what they aren't working. If I were you guys, I'd go to the camp store down the road and get a tent. You don't have to pay me, use that money to buy one. And then at night you have somewhere to sleep. Because these lights are useless."

"Thank you," Blaine said, groaning as he turned to open the door back up. "Hey, Puckerman. We have to go to a new store. Get up."

Puck shifted in his seat and made a face. "Do I have to?"

"Yes, now get up so we can go now." He stepped back out and curled his fingers around the top of the car door. "Thank you very much."

Finn nodded, wiping his hands on his coveralls. "No problem."

This is embarrassing as hell
But I can cover for it so well

"I like this one," Kurt said as he stared up at the top of the blue tent. The three were laying on their backs in a tent laying on the hard soul. Kurt was in the middle of Blaine and Puck, and he had his hands folded on his abdomen.

"So do I," agreed Blaine.

"I'll go talk to the shopkeeper, um. What about sleeping bags and stuff?" Puck asked, pushing himself up and crawling out of the small tent.

"Whatever will keep us comfy at night," Blaine called.

"Okay!" Puck answered, finally turning and walking away.

A silence settled down around Blaine and Kurt. Kurt's elbow was pressing against Blaine's ribs, and Blaine's side was up Kurt's. They were so close that Blaine could feel Kurt's body move with each breath. Blaine was biting on his lip, staring up at the material of the top of the tent.

"I asked the people at the mechanics if they had heard of the P.I.C." Kurt mumbled. "They hadn't. The Rachel girl told me to be careful speaking of this because I might get arrested." His voice sounded defeated, but Blaine knew he wasn't giving up. They had asked multiple people along the highway. Even Blaine had begun asking if someone had seen Nathan. No one had seen or heard of neither Nathan or the P.I.C. It worried Blaine, making him think he'd never see Nathan again.

"That's okay. No one had seen or heard of Nathan either. So we're equal."

Kurt looked over at him, "Yeah. Sure, we're equal."

But there's room for two
Six feet under the stars