Kurt wakes up just after nine oclock. Im sitting on the couch, my arms wrapped tightly around myself as theyve been for the past six hours, listening to the faint sounds he makes. The little groan he lets out as he stretches. The soft padding of his footsteps on the bedroom carpet. The water running in the bathroom as he brushes his teeth. Eventually he wanders into the living room, smiling sleepily at me, his hair sticking up in the back.

"Good morning," he says.

"It was Sebastian."

He pauses, his smile fading. "What?"

"Sebastian was the one who attacked us."

"Oh, baby. Youre shaking." He comes over to the couch, settling down next to me and pulling my arms open so that he can curl up next to me. "You need to wake me up if you have nightmares."

"It wasnt a nightmare. He called me last night." Kurt feels so good, all warm and soft and sweet against me, but I cant let myself get distracted. "He threatened me. Said I had to cut off all contact with you."

Kurt sighs, long and slow. "Im sorry he frightened you." He wraps his arms around me securely. "And Im sorry I didnt wake up when it happened. He did this sort of thing before, too. Hed drink too much and call you in the middle of the night. Said horrible things to you then, too."

"Because it was him," I insist. "He attacked us last year. Hes the one. And its my fault hes back in our lives now. Its all my fault."

"Close your eyes," he urges. "Just breathe, okay? Of course youre upset. That call would shake anyone up."

"How are you not getting this? Its not about the call!"

He pulls back a little, resting his chin on my chest and looking up at me. "Honey, I told you. Sebastian didnt attack us. Are you saying he arranged the attack? Got someone else to do it?"

"No, Im saying it was him. I could tell. He said hed kill me this time if I didnt stay away from you."

"I can understand why that was so upsetting," he says. "But he really didnt do it. He was out of town that whole night."

"Then hes lying. He faked an alibi."

"He didnt, though. The Warblers were performing at a benefit concert in Columbus that evening. There are videos up on YouTube of him singing lead there. The press covered the concert, and hes in all the pictures." He strokes my back gently. "Believe me, Im no fan of Sebastian Smythe. Id be very happy if I never see his creepy rodent face again. But even he wouldnt stoop so low. Theres no way he attacked us."

My mind is racing. "But the way he sounded. It was... Im telling you, it sounded like he was the one who did it." Even as I say it, I know how paranoid I sound. If Sebastian was out of town, and that many people can corroborate it, then obviously Im wrong.

"Why dont I go talk to him?" Kurt suggests.

"No, dont!"

"Blaine—"

"I know, I know. It wasnt him. But just... please. Dont."

"Okay," he says. "We could go to the police and try to get a restraining order. But wed need to prove that hes threatening you, which would mean recording future calls that he makes."

"I dont want to hear his voice again. Not even to trap him."

"Then we need to figure out a way to block his number from your phone."

"I read in my journal that I tried to block him the last time around. But my dad had to approve it because the phone is licensed under his name, and he wouldnt do it."

"So lets talk to your dad, and—"

"Im not ready for that."

"Then Ill call Sebastian," he says decisively. "Ill get him to take your number out of his phone, so he cant drunk dial you anymore."

The idea of Kurt talking to him makes me uneasy, probably because Im still so shaken from the fury in Sebastians voice last night. Hes right, though. That solution seems to make the most sense. "Okay, but not... not yet." I squeeze him tighter against me. "Can we just lie here together for a while first?"

"I never say no to cuddles," he says, snuggling his head under my chin. "But you have to promise me that youll wake me up if anything like this ever happens again. It kills me that you were out here alone and scared for all those hours."

"I promise."

He hums softly, relaxing fully against me. My eyelids grow too heavy to stay open, as the fatigue from last night overtakes me. The last thing I remember hearing as I drift off to sleep is Kurt whispering that he loves me.

I wake to the sound of the apartment door opening, which startles me until I realize that Kurt is coming inside, laden down with grocery bags. I spring up to help him. "You went shopping?"

"Man cannot live on Pop-Tarts alone," he says. He uses his shoulder to nudge the slide-lock shut before handing me a couple of the bags.

I follow him into the kitchen, yawning. "Sorry I slept so long."

"Dont be silly. You needed it."

"Whatd you do while I was asleep?"

"Oh, you know. Ran some errands. Knitted a sweater. Wrote a symphony."

I roll my eyes. "I wasnt out that long."

"I, uh..." He pulls two boxes of cereal out of a bag, biting his lip. "I also called Sebastian."

"You what?"

"I wanted to call on the early side, to be sure to catch him sober," he says. "It wasnt a bad talk. Really."

I watch him start to put the groceries away in Robs little pantry. "So... whatd he say?"

"He apologized. Said he doesnt even remember making the calls."

"And you believe him?"

Kurt stops, considering. "Yeah, I think I do. He tends to be pretty transparent, and when I told him about the threats hed made, he seemed too upset and ashamed to be faking. He said hed delete your number from his contact list right away. And he asked me to apologize to you. For everything."

I let out a long breath. "So thats the end of Sebastian."

"Well... not exactly." He pulls a jug of water out of one of the bags. "He has to stop by sometime."

"Stop by here? Why?"

"Hes got to return your promise ring."

"What?" My fingers fly to my neck at once, feeling for the chain, but its gone. "How..."

"He said he found it on the ground after you left the Lima Bean yesterday. Thinks it might have caught on his coat when you two hugged." He raises one eyebrow at me, and I swallow thickly.

"I went to get some coffee when you were at work yesterday morning. He just happened to be sitting there. We talked for a few minutes and agreed to be friends. It was totally innocent, I swear."

"I believe you. It just wouldve been nice to hear it from you, rather than him."

"Im sorry."

He rubs my shoulder briefly before picking up a carton of eggs. "So..."

"So..."

"Are you hungry?"

I nod. Its after two, and I havent eaten anything today. "Are you going to cook something?"

"Actually, I was thinking it might be fun to go out. Theres a great Thai restaurant that we used to love. Their noodles are to die for." He frowns a little, running his hands over his hips. "Although... I should probably start cutting back on carbs. My jeans have felt a little tighter than usual the past two days—"

I cut him off with a kiss, and feel the curve of his lips as he smiles against mine. "Youre perfect," I murmur before kissing him again and again.

"Will you still say that when I weigh five hundred pounds and Im eating pad thai out of a bucket?"

I nod earnestly, and he laughs. "I mean it, Kurt. Youll never be less than perfect to me."

He kisses me once more before pulling away to finish unloading the groceries. I watch him, enjoying how his blush spreads down his neck. "Well, now I know what song well listen to on the car ride over."

The restaurant is in a strip mall next to a laundromat. I feel a little overdressed in my crisp red button-down and paisley bow tie, but Kurts appreciative glances make it worth it.

Its nearly empty inside, which I guess makes sense for two-thirty on a Wednesday. The waitress seems to recognize us. She leads us to a booth in the back corner and hands us laminated menus.

"Can we get two Thai iced teas?" Kurt asks, and she nods before heading back to the kitchen.

"But what if I dont like Thai iced tea anymore?" I tease him.

"Then Ill drink them both. Pear hips be damned."

"You dont have pear hips!"

"Not if you drink your own tea I wont."

I lean my chin on my hand, gazing at him fondly. "I love you."

His eyes twinkle. "Youd better."

The waitress brings our teas, and Kurts hips will apparently stay tiny, because mine is delicious. I drink half of it just while were looking at the menu. "What did I usually get when we came here?" I ask.

"The green curry shrimp, or the mee kati if you were in the mood for noodles. And wed usually split an order of Thai spring rolls."

"Wow, I had good taste. Ill order the shrimp, then." I close my menu and lay it on the edge of the table. When I look back up, I catch Kurts tentative smile. "What?"

"Its just that you havent really talked about Old Blaine like that before... like hes you, and youre okay with that."

"Mike and I had a talk about it," I admit.

"Oh. Howd that go?"

"He said some things that made a lot of sense."

"Did he use the metaphor about the blind men and the elephant?"

My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "Uh... yeah, actually. He did."

Kurt laughs. "He used to use that all the time, whenever he wanted to sound deep in one of our classes. He said it was an old story his grandmother told him when he visited her in rural China. You told me later that hed actually read it in the funnies section of the newspaper when he was a kid."

"Well, it still worked," I grin. The waitress comes back with a pad of paper, taking our orders. Kurt and I chat for a while about my new-old friend Mike, and I fill him in on our bubble tea outing last night. Then, in between bites of spring roll, Kurt tells me about Mikes journey from quiet football player to show-stopping dancer.

Once our appetizer plates are cleared, Kurt leans forward, folding his arms on the table. "By the way, what happened last night?"

"What do you mean?"

"I went into my room for a little while, and when I came out you and Mike were leaving. You looked like youd seen a ghost."

"Oh." I shift uncomfortably. "That."

"Did one of the other guys say something that upset you? Was it Puck? Finn?"

"No, no one said anything. I..." I shake my head, the memory still unsettling to think about. "I was watching Artie and Puck play that new video game, and uh... one of the villains showed up and attacked Arties player with a crowbar." I wince as Kurts hand flies up to his mouth. "And it wasnt good. But Mike took care of me. Hes a good guy."

"And the rest of them are assholes," he says, looking stricken. "Did they even catch on?" My expression must give him his answer, because his jaw tightens. "I swear to god, when I get hold of Finn—"

"Finn wasnt in the room at the time. I think the other guys were just into the game. They werent thinking about that." I pause for a moment, remembering the spell Id had during the video game. "Kurt... I know you dont like to talk about the attack... but I have some questions about it. Questions that my parents were never willing to answer."

Kurt leans back, folding his arms and glancing around. "Here?"

"It doesnt have to be here. I just thought it might help if we could have the conversation outside of the apartment. So when we leave here, we can leave behind the ghosts weve dredged up."

"Youre very strange."

"So Ive been told."

"What do you want to know?"

I lick my lips, my mind racing. Somehow I didnt expect him to agree so easily. "Well, for starters, how much of it do you remember?"

"Bits and pieces. We were walking out to our cars, and we heard footsteps behind us, and..." His fingers start to rub the scar on his neck, and I swallow heavily.

"Im sorry. We dont have to talk about this."

"No, its... no. Youre right; you deserve to know what happened." He takes a shaky breath. "I felt something sharp hit the side of my neck. Then everything went fuzzy. Blurry. I remember being in so much pain. Feeling like the attack would never end. Eventually it was just you and me, lying there. There was blood everywhere. Just... everywhere. I remember wondering if we had any left in our bodies."

I wrap my arms around myself, wishing I were holding him instead. What was I thinking, making Kurt relive this in public?

"What finally snapped me out of it," he continues, "was looking over and seeing you. You were watching me. You werent making any noise. I crawled over to you, tried to stop the bleeding from your head, but there was so much... I eventually came to my senses and called 911 on my cell phone." His eyes grow glassy with tears. "I remember holding you in my lap, telling you to hold on, that an ambulance was on the way. You just looked up at me and didnt say anything. It was like you were studying my face. After a while you closed your eyes, like the pain had become too much to take. So I held you and waited for help to arrive."

"Oh, honey..." I reach out my hand, and he takes it, squeezing it tightly. "I didnt realize you remembered so much of it. Youd only told me the basics before."

"Honestly, I try not to think about it. Especially now that Ive found you again. But you deserve to know what happened."

We hold hands tightly for a few minutes, while he regains his composure. "Kurt, something weird happened last night, while I was watching the video game," I tell him softly. "When the crowbar attack began, I had a spell. I saw you jumping in front of me, to shield me from an attacker. Was that a memory?"

He blinks. "I... I dont know. I dont remember doing that. But like I said, a lot of it is fuzzy."

"You told me that a group of people attacked us."

"Yes."

"Did you see any of their faces?"

"No, I didnt."

"You just saw their figures?"

"I..." he shakes his head. "It was blurry."

"But youre sure there were a bunch of them."

"It seemed like there were. And the cops who met with my dad said there was no way one person alone could have beaten both of us so badly in such a short amount of time, unless he was a ninja warrior or something. They do know from forensics that there was only one crowbar used in the attack, though."

"Thats another thing I didnt get — how do they know it was a crowbar? Did you see it?"

"I... no."

"Did they leave it at the scene?"

"No."

"Then couldnt it have been something else?"

"No. It was a crowbar."

"How can you—"

"I have a scar," he says, his eyes pleading with me to stop. "On my leg."

"Oh, Kurt." I squeeze his hand harder. "Im sorry. This was a mistake."

"No, its... I mean, you deserve..."

"And you deserve to have a nice night out with your boyfriend without him bringing up all these painful memories. Im so sorry."

"Its okay," he says, taking a deep breath and blinking rapidly. "But... can we talk about something else now?"

"Absolutely. What would you rather talk about?"

"Um..." He thinks for a long moment. "The importance of using toner?"

I laugh, startled. "In my printer?"

He smiles tremulously. "Im serious. It minimizes the appearance of pores, and keeps your skin looking tight and fresh."

"So what youre saying is my pores look too big."

"Um..." He cocks his head, as if considering.

"Youre ashamed to be seen with me."

"Well..."

"You think youll become known as that guy with the big-pored boyfriend."

Kurt presses the back of his wrist against his mouth, giggling helplessly. He looks a bit more relaxed now, thankfully, and I think were both grateful for the distraction when the waitress arrives with our meals. We eat with gusto, tasting each others dishes and packing in way too many carbs for Kurts liking. I order a big bowl of mango sorbet for dessert and feed him spoonfuls, much to his embarrassment — and much to the amusement of our waitress, whom I catch watching us from across the room. By the time weve bickered over who gets to pay the bill (I win) and who gets to pay the tip (Kurt wins), he seems like himself again.

"So," I say, as we walk hand-in-hand back to the car. "Whatd we usually do after going out to eat?"

"Well, normally Id whine about the carbs, and youd... um..." His neck is growing flushed. "Youd suggest a way for us to burn off the calories."

"With a walk?" I ask innocently.

"Ah, no."

"A nice bike ride?"

"Nope."

"Couples calisthenics?"

He rolls his eyes. "Youre ridiculous."

"I actually, um... I think I might be ready for... something. Soon." I watch him nervously, trying to gauge his reaction. When he licks his lips, I nearly groan.

"Youll keep me posted?" he asks, trying and failing to sound nonchalant.

"Youll be the first to know."

"Id better be."

Kurt opens the passenger side door for me, and I kiss his cheek quickly before getting into the car. He heads around to the drivers seat, stopping to check his cell phone before slipping in beside me. Then, he just sits there, staring ahead.

"Kurt?" I ask finally. "Is something wrong?"

He lets out a heavy sigh, turning to look at me. "Im deliberating."

"Over what?"

"Over whether to expose you to the crazy later tonight."

"I think Ive already seen a fair amount of your crazy. Hasnt chased me off yet."

He chuckles. "Not my crazy. The crazy."

"The..."

"Weve been invited to join my friend for karaoke. At a Japanese restaurant off Route 75."

"...And the karaoke place is crazy?"

"No, the company will be. Lets just say theres a fifty-fifty chance that shell show up wearing saddle shoes and a sweater with a pig on it."

My jaw drops. "Wait. Is it the girl you said I kissed?"

"None other than Rachel Berry herself."

"Wow. We should totally go."

He smiles, surprised. "Really? You really dont mind?"

"No, Id love to! I cant wait to kiss her again, and see if we still have chemistry."

Kurt swats at my leg hard, and I hold up my hands in mock surrender. "Dont even joke about that!"

I glance around the empty parking lot, then lean over, pulling him toward me. He meets me halfway, kissing me possessively. The tips of our tongues touch, and he whines desperately, pulling me closer. "Yup, Im gay," I tell him, dazed, and he laughs breathlessly, capturing my lips again.