Chapter Eight

Five days.
Was he the only one counting? Burt had asked himself that question several times by now. The five days that Kurt had been missing had been going by agonizingly slow. It killed him not knowing where Kurt was, not knowing whether he was okay, and not knowing whether that Blaine kid had done something to him...
He was trying not to think about it. It made the bile rise up in his throat. Instead he tried to tell himself that Kurt had left voluntarily, that Blaine hadn't kidnapped him, but he couldn't understand why Kurt would do that. It wasn't like Burt was the kind of father that people would describe as strict. If Kurt wanted to leave then why hadn't he simply told his father? If they would have talked about it, maybe Burt would have allowed Kurt to leave with Blaine to go someplace for some time. He had always had a good relationship with Kurt. They could always talk to each other, no matter what about. Now Burt didn't know what to think anymore.
Had Kurt been scared to tell him that he wanted to leave with Blaine? Or what if Blaine really had kidnapped his son? Maybe he had forced him to come with him somehow. He hated thinking about Blaine that way. He had seemed like a perfectly nice kid and he had made Kurt happy. He just couldn't understand why they left without telling anyone where they went.
Burt's grip on the armrest of the recliner grew tighter as he thought about the day they had tried to locate Kurt's phone at the police station, only to find that it had to be somewhere in Kurt's dorm at Dalton. It made Burt angry to think that Kurt even left his phone. Didn't he want to be found? Or was Blaine the one who didn't want to be found?
Carole had been calmer about all of this, saying that they were teenage boys and that they would return as soon as they ran out of money. Somehow Burt thought that she was just trying to calm him down, though, because whenever she thought no one was looking, Burt could see the worry in her eyes, too.
Finn had been on Burt's side with all of this. Well, kind of. He had told Burt more than once that Kurt definitely had not left with Blaine voluntarily. He was adamant about Blaine kidnapping Kurt. He seemed to be pretty sure that Blaine had done something to Kurt, too, at one point even saying that Blaine might have murdered Kurt. However, when Burt had asked Finn what had made him so sure, Finn had never answered. He had always just told Burt that he knew and that Burt simply had to believe him. But Burt was not entirely convinced, yet. After all, Burt knew that this was affecting Finn, too, since he had heard him crying in his room the night that Kurt had gone missing. If Burt lost his son, then Finn would lose a brother and the thought of it made Burt sick.
There had to be a better explanation for all of this. Anything could have happened and Kurt was totally fine. He had to be.
Carole walked into the living room and stopped when she saw Burt sitting in the recliner. Her sigh was quiet but in the quiet of the house it seemed so loud to Burt's ears.
“Burt, you can't sit there forever,” she said quietly.
“Then tell me, what else am I supposed to do? I don't know where he is, so how am I supposed to find him?”
“Maybe he doesn't want to be found. He wants to be independent and alone for a little bit. He probably knows that you're angry but he accepted that. He will come back. I know he will.” Carole had said that a lot of times already and by now Burt almost believed it.
“No, you don't know that.”
“But I believe in it. I trust him. He knows what he's doing.”
Burt swallowed. “Not if he didn't leave by choice.”
“You of all people should know that no one could tell Kurt what to do. He's strong enough to look out for himself. And I doubt you want to say that Blaine hurt him because you'll regret judging him this badly as soon as they return.” And with that Carole turned around and went to the kitchen.
Burt clenched his teeth. He didn't want to fight with Carole over this. He shouldn't. None of this was her fault anyway. If it was anyone's fault, then it was his own. After all, he was the one who didn't pay enough attention to his kid, when he was being tortured at school. He had no idea what had done to Kurt. Sending him to Dalton had been the right thing to do, but what if it had been too late?
________________
Finn was upstairs in his room, not playing any video games like he usually would, but simply lying on his bed staring at the ceiling. He had a terrible headache, mostly because he had not gotten up at all that day, not even for food, but also because he had been crying.
He wouldn't openly admit that to a lot of people but it was true. Kurt was gone, most likely dead or captured and Finn had no means of finding him, to reach out to him. How on earth was he supposed to get his brother back?
If he was even still alive, that is.
You can't think like that, he scolded himself. He had imagined all the worst case scenarios already: Blaine kidnapping Kurt right after graduation and Kurt having no idea of what was going on because Kurt, after all this time, had not known what Blaine was. Kurt had not seen that coming. How could he have? Who expects his boyfriend to be a murderous monster?
Finn ran his hands through his hair. He should have protected Kurt. He should have tried harder to get him away from Blaine. What kind of brother did that make him? Not trying hard enough. Somehow, he couldn't help but feel like this was all his fault but he couldn't tell Burt about any of this. He had already gone too far when he had let slip that Kurt was probably not okay. It had only caused Burt to worry more.
It would break Burt, if Finn told him that Kurt didn't have the best chances of surviving. But for starters, Burt wouldn't believe Finn, if he told him what Blaine was.
Well, to tell the truth, Finn wasn't so sure about that anymore. He had researched some stuff about vampires and also searched for Blaine online but that had only shown him that Blaine had visited Dalton and that he used to play polo. What he found out about vampires was rather disappointing, seeing as all of that was nothing but fiction. Blaine had acted suspiciously all along but Finn had come to the point that it was ridiculous to think that Blaine was any more than human.
That however, didn't mean that he wasn't dangerous.
Blaine had always had this aura that somehow made it obvious to Finn that he wasn't entirely as nice as he pretended to be. He always remembered the few times he had been alone with Blaine, and when Blaine had threatened him, it made shivers run down his back. Blaine was scary, in a psychopath kind of way.
Now, it was Finn's duty to find him, to get him away from Kurt. That was the least he could do now, having already failed in protecting Kurt in the first place.
With his face grim and determined he got up from his bed, pulling out a bag from underneath it. He opened it wide on his bed and began pulling clothes out from his dresser, throwing them into the bag along with his passport and wallet. He grabbed his car keys and a jacket before throwing the bag over his shoulder and making his way downstairs.
“Whoa, Finn where are you going?” Carole asked as he walked past the open kitchen door.
“I'm going to find Kurt.”
“What? How—? You can't—you don't even know where he is.” Carole stuttered and then Burt came through the living room door.
“Kid, you can't do this. You won't just find him, not if he doesn't want to be found.” Burt tried to reason.
Finn huffed. “Even if he doesn't want to be found, it doesn't give him the right to just disappear. If he didn't want to be found, then he should've told us that he was leaving at least.” He pulled on his boots. “I have got to find him.”
“Finn, where would you even start?”
“Well, where would Kurt go, if he could go anyplace he wanted to?”
“You're not just going to New York!” Carole said harshly.
“Try to stop me. I'm going to find Kurt, if it's the last thing I do.” He opened the door, his bag in one hand.
“Finn Hudson, come back here this instant!”
Finn hesitated for a second, not turning back to his mom, shaking his head before making his way towards his car. As he maneuvered his car out of the driveway, he saw his mother at the door, Burt behind her, a towel from the kitchen still in her hand and Finn hated himself for leaving her like this. Especially now that they had lost Kurt so suddenly, he was hurting them even more by leaving them, too. But this was what he had to do. What would he do with the rest of his life knowing that he had not tried to help Kurt?
No. That was not even an option.
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Kurt sat down on the piano bench in the music room, glad that Blaine didn't follow him. He needed the space to clear his mind but it was awfully hard to concentrate. His thoughts were flying through his head at the speed of light, every second one reminding him of how he wanted to sink his teeth into human flesh. He didn't even feel like he was hungry, his throat barely aching, but still his body wanted to hunt and kill.
How had Blaine ever managed to go without blood for days while being around so many people?
Blaine... He was just so much better at this. Blaine could accept who he was, what he was, and he knew what it meant for him. Blaine wasn't insecure or out of control. Blaine was strong, determined and one with his instinct and the darkness.
All in all, Blaine was a vampire. Period. Kurt, however, was nothing but a pathetic human, trapped inside a body that just wasn't right for him. He wasn't made for this, and quite contrary to Blaine, Kurt couldn't come to terms with this, with his new life and the rules that now applied to him.
His breath came in faster when he realized that this would never change. He would be like this forever, useless and pathetic for all eternity and Blaine would grow tired of him. That was inevitable.
Why had he ever agreed to this? Hadn't he known that he would never be like Blaine? Sure, Blaine was his mate and he had promised Kurt that they would go through this together, but somehow it didn't feel like it because Blaine couldn't understand how Kurt was feeling. Blaine simply expected him to accept this, a lot like 'you're dead, get over it.’ But how was he supposed to do that with no one around to help him?
His hands that were lying on the piano keys were shaking slightly as he tried to concentrate, to calm down but to no avail. He stared at his fingers, willing them to hold still but they didn't. Kurt's vision blurred for a second as a tear feel from his eye, only one, as he bit his lip hard, but when it cleared up again he couldn't see his hands anymore. He almost screamed.
Not only were his hands gone. His whole body was gone, his clothes included. He couldn't see himself anymore. He ran his hands down his body, still feeling it under his fingers. He was still there.
But he was entirely invisible. How was this possible? What had happened?
His head was spinning again. This was too much. His panic made his control slip. He couldn't concentrate on his breathing anymore like he had before. His only source of calmness was gone and he could feel how he lost control over his instincts, slowly making him forget why he had tried to stay calm in the first place.
The piano bench fell over when he jumped up, quickly backing away, spinning around to see, whether he could make out his reflection in the glass of the windows. But there was nothing to be seen. He felt his instincts take over, felt his teeth lengthening in his mouth, as everything became too much.
And that's where his memory ended. He thought he had lost consciousness. He was sure he had.
_______________
“He doesn't want to see me right now, Damien.” Blaine protested when Damien pulled him towards the music room. “You just go talk to him, if that's what you want but I won't. I'll wait until he comes to me.”
“What if he's hungry?” Damien argued but Blaine pulled his arm out of Damien's grip.
“If he is hungry, he will come to see me and Graham. And when he does, I will keep him from feeding and he'll hate me even more.”
Damien sighed. “He doesn't hate you.”
“I know. But he'll be pissed for sure. I just... I just don't want him to lose control on me again.”
“Has he gone red eyes, yet?” Damien raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, he has. Once. It was bound to happen.”
“To me he seemed to be in control more than any fledgling I've dealt with.
Blaine nodded. “Yeah, I've noticed. I think it's because he was prepared to become a vampire. He knew what he would become for almost a year and he knew what to expect. That's probably why he has such good control over his urges. He manages quite well.”
Damien bit his lip. “Do you think he might be in such good control because he inherited some of your power?”
Blaine's head shot up at that question. “Is that even possible? Vampires don't inherit anything from their sire.”
“Well, you are known to break some of the rules that should apply to vampires, so I wouldn't doubt it.”
“But it's not like I was very good at controlling myself in the beginning, so how could he inherit that from me?” Blaine asked. He was quiet then for a few seconds and Damien was about to ask him what was wrong when he spoke up. “That vampire... he said he knew why I'm different. He knew what my sire did that made me different.”
“Did he say what?”
“No. And he didn't tell me who he was, either. My sire, I mean. But it sounded like—well, he talked about him like he was still alive. My sire could have survived the war. He might be older than you or even Liam. I just don't get why he never returned to claim me as a child or to train me. All this time I thought that I was turned by accident but now... If my sire did something to me on purpose, then I was not an accident. Someone wanted to make me what I am now. So, why abandon me?”
“I thought about that, too. But yeah, why would he abandon you?” Damien agreed.
They were both silent until Blaine sighed. “It doesn't matter right now. If I really want to figure this out, I will have to talk to your friend in Europe.”
“Starchild?”
“Right. Doesn't he have an actual name?”
“He certainly does but he won't tell anyone.”
Blaine snorted. “To me that sounds like he has an embarrassing name.”
“Yes, yes, go on and make fun of my friends. In the meantime, let's go talk to Kurt.” Again Damien grabbed Blaine's arm but Blaine glared at him and Damien quickly let go of him. “Sorry. Never touching your arm again. Will you come with me now?”
“Fine. But if he wants me gone, I'll leave him alone. I want to give him some space.” Blaine sucked in a breath and made his way towards the studies. Damien followed him with a few meters distance.
“You know, you could just apologize to him for whatever you did and he would gladly jump into your arms again.” Blaine scoffed at that but Damien continued. “I don't think you get this whole mate thing, yet. You two can't be without each other. You depend on each other and you wouldn't survive staying away from each other.”
“Someone else is not going to survive, if he doesn't stop talking.”
“Right. I'm shutting up.”
“Thank you.” Blaine said sarcastically.
He reached the music room and gently pushed open the door only to reveal that Kurt wasn't in here. Blaine instantly panicked. He closed his eyes, breathing in deeply, extending all his senses to figure out where Kurt had gone but Kurt's scent was all over the house and it was impossible to tell which traces where newer than others.
Damien stepped up to him. “Where is he?”
“I don't know.” Blaine said, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to concentrate. “Help me. Come on!”
Damien shook his head. “I don't think he's here. We would hear him. Shit, Blaine, he has left—”
“No, no. He can't—he can't leave the house. What if he runs into someone? What if he loses it?” Blaine opened his eyes. “He could be anywhere. Damien, you have to help me find him.”
“Alright, alright. I take the woods, you the town. You know the town better than I do. Be careful, it's the middle of the day. If someone sees you or him...”
Blaine nodded. “I know. Come on, we have to go. We need to find him.”
Damien nodded and they were gone faster than anyone could see.
Blaine reached the town incredibly fast. At least it felt like it. His sense of time was lost in his panic but time was essential right now because who knew what could happen to Kurt in every second that Blaine didn't know where he was. Or rather what Kurt could do in every one of those seconds. What if he started a massacre? Who would stop him from exposing himself and Blaine and vampires in general in the process? He had to find Kurt as fast as possible. He’d rather not think about the consequences that Kurt's escape could have.
Blaine rushed through the streets, not caring who could see him; they wouldn't be able to see anything anyway really. All he concentrated on was finding a trace, the slightest trace of Kurt's scent that would help him find Kurt. But there was nothing.
Maybe he hadn't gone into town. Maybe Blaine had been wrong and Kurt had gone in a totally different direction but even if that should be the case, Damien was searching the woods right now, so he would definitely find Kurt, if Blaine didn't.
Even though he tried not to think about it, Blaine couldn't help one thought repeatedly racing through his head: Why had Kurt left the house? There was no reason for him to go. He shouldn't have lost control, he could not have been that hungry. If he had been, then why hadn't he told Blaine? Why had he not gone after Graham who had been right there in the mansion, the easiest prey for Kurt? Blaine knew it was ridiculous to even think about it but the thought that maybe Kurt had wanted to get away from him kept nagging him and he clenched his fists to get himself to stop thinking about that.
Kurt had been angry with him, Blaine knew that much, but he had not been that angry. He wouldn't have left, just because he was angry with Blaine. Kurt was smarter than that. Kurt didn't want to lose himself, didn't want to hurt anyone, and Kurt knew that being with Blaine, who could always hold him back from doing anything stupid, was his best chance at keeping it together.
Eventually, Blaine shook his head to get rid of those thoughts. One thing was clear: Something must have happened; otherwise Kurt would have never left the safety of the mansion.
He stopped behind a parked truck and kept walking at a normal speed past a group of people, before turning into an alley where he started climbing the house to reach the rooftop. From up here he could finally concentrate on tracking Kurt.
And then, he found it: there was a faint trace of Kurt's scent further east. Blaine began running towards it, over the rooftops and further into town where the buildings got higher. Kurt was somewhere down in the streets. He had to be. Blaine looked for any cop cars or ambulances, figuring that Kurt might have drawn attention to himself but there was nothing going on in the streets at all. Kurt's scent came closer and Blaine already had a relieved smile on his lips when he eventually jumped down from a roof—falling down about seven stories—and continued his way through the streets. He was so close.
Blaine stopped. Kurt's scent was all over the end of the alley. Kurt was here. “Kurt!” Blaine called out. “Kurt, where are you?”
Silence. But then, “Blaine?”
It was so quiet that no normal human could have heard it, but Blaine did and a millisecond later he stood right where his hearing told him Kurt was. Only there was no one. Blaine frowned, panicking a little and taking in a breath.
Kurt was right in front of him. He could smell him. He could hear him. But he wasn't there.
“Kurt...?”
“Blaine, I—I didn't mean to. I don't know what's happening. I just—”
Something flickered in the air in front of Blaine. It looked like heat shimmers over the asphalt on a hot day and Blaine took a step back when he made out the shape of a person.
Suddenly Kurt was there and gone again just as fast. Blaine's eyes grew wide as Kurt appeared and disappeared several times like a flickering image on a television. “Kurt, what is—?” He stopped himself and answered the question for himself. “Your ability is coming through.” He whispered.
“Blaine, I don't know what's happening.” Kurt's disembodied voice said somewhere in front of Blaine. “I can't control it. I just keep disappearing.”
Blaine held out his hand. “Take my hand, Kurt.” He said softly. “Everything's fine. We'll figure this out. You're not disappearing.” He felt Kurt's hand in his own and he squeezed it, smiling when Kurt appeared again and stayed visible this time for a couple seconds. “Calm down, Kurt, this is all you. You're upset and that's why your ability is out of control. You just need to calm down and focus on being visible.”
Blaine bit his lip slightly. He had seen the tear streaks on Kurt's face, his eyes dark and red on the edges. Kurt must have panicked and ran away when he first started turning invisible. If only he had come to Blaine, he could have calmed Kurt.
“Did you lose it, Kurt? Did anyone see you?”
“I—I don't know. I can't remember. I thought I had passed out but then I woke up in the middle of town and—and I still couldn't see myself and there were so many people...” Kurt flickered visible again and finally stayed that way. “Someone bumped into me and I almost killed him right there but then a dog started growling at me and I realized what was happening, so I ran. I ended up here because I didn't know how to get back to the manor.”
Blaine pulled Kurt closer and into his arms. “It's fine. I got you now. We'll go back and everything will be okay.” He held Kurt, one hand absently stroking his hair. “I'm proud of how strong you are, Kurt.”
“Proud that I freaked out and ran away?”
“No, I'm proud that you managed not to kill anyone. I would have thought that would be impossible for you at this point but you've proven me wrong. If I had been in your situation I would have lost it.” Blaine smiled when Kurt flickered out of sight again just to reappear when he saw the smile on Blaine's lips. “Come on, let's get you home. You need to feed or you'll go wild.”
Kurt's eyes locked with Blaine's instantly at that. “No, please don't let me—”
“I won't, Kurt. It's okay. No need to worry. Now, don't let go of my hand and just let me lead you back.”
Kurt nodded and Blaine pulled on his hand a bit to get him to start walking and then he ran and Kurt followed. Blaine made a detour to avoid running straight through the middle of town where anyone could see them. Besides, he didn't need to make it harder for Kurt to stay in control by leading him through streets full of people.
They reached the manor where they immediately ran into Damien, who let out a relieved sigh at their sight. “Thank god, you found him. This could have been a disaster, if he had committed mass homicide in town.” He paused. “He didn't commit mass homicide in town, did he?”
“No, he didn't.” Blaine said quietly, refusing to let go of Kurt's hand. “He was strong enough to fight it but he needs blood like right now.” Blaine pushed open the front door and continued inside without even realizing that he broke the lock. In a flash he was upstairs in front of the room Graham occupied, Kurt at his side, and he could barely stop himself from breaking that door down, too. With a sucked in breath Blaine knocked and it felt like minutes passed until Graham slowly unlocked and opened the door. He looked a little wary seeing Blaine stand there with Kurt who was holding his breath now as he was this close to Graham.
“I'll make this short.” Blaine said determinedly. “Kurt needs to feed. Immediately.”
Graham swallowed and glanced at Kurt whose expression looked apologetic but he saw it in Kurt's eyes. It was... he wouldn't know how to describe it. Whatever it was, it reminded Graham of that first night Blaine had brought him here to have Kurt feed on him.
It scared him and he wanted nothing more than to say no and slam the door closed again. But he couldn't do that, could he? He had a deal with Blaine and somehow—in a way that Graham didn't really understand—Blaine and Kurt were his friends. He knew that they would protect him, if anything should ever happen to him, so he owed this to Kurt. It was the least he could do.
So he nodded. “Yeah, just come in.”
Blaine pushed Kurt into the room and he could feel Kurt tense up. Graham walked over to the bed, sat down and made room for Kurt to sit next to him. He was shaking but his expression was determined. Kurt sat down but he didn't move to feed. Instead he leaned away from Graham, his eyes never leaving Blaine's.
Graham arched his neck a little in what he was hoping was the right way but still Kurt didn't move. He stayed where he was, not breathing and not even looking at Graham. “Am I doing something wrong?” Graham asked, heart hammering in his chest.
“No, I just—I don't want to do this.” Kurt winced slightly at the thought of it. “I don't want to hurt you, Graham. Not again.”
“No, no. It's fine, Kurt, really. You can feed. That's what I'm here for, right?” He smiled weakly. “You won't hurt me.”
Blaine was about to say something when Kurt spoke up. “I know I'm hurting you. Every time I do it, it hurts like hell. I know what it feels like, Graham, I've been bitten before.”
Neither Graham nor Blaine knew what to say to that. In the end, Graham whispered, “It's better it is me who's hurting rather than it being you. I can't deal with anyone hurting, if I am able to help them. Why else would I have ever agreed to do this in the first place?”
Blaine sat down behind Kurt and gently put a hand on Kurt's lower back. “Come on, love, do it. There's no point in putting this off any longer.”
And Kurt did. He fed and Blaine didn't even have to pull him back to stop him. If there still had been any doubt about it, now it was clear as day that Graham was their friend. He was in this for the long run.
______________________________
“So, is anyone gonna tell me what happened or am I just supernumerary here?”
Damien let himself fall on the couch opposite of where Kurt was tightly wrapped in Blaine's arms. He had fallen asleep soon after his feeding, needing more sleep as a newly turned vampire than Blaine or Damien. Everything that had happened had wrecked him and Blaine planned on figuring Kurt's ability out later when Kurt was back to normal strength. In secret, Blaine was excited for this, though. Who wouldn't be? Because Kurt could freaking turn invisible.
He tightened his arms around Kurt gently so he wouldn't wake him up. “Be quiet, Damien. Not right now.”
“Give me one reason why it shouldn't be right now?”
Blaine glared at him. If Kurt wasn't lying on top of him at the moment he would have already knocked some sense into Damien. Instead a low but steady growl left him and Damien rolled his eyes as he held up his hands in surrender.
“Sorry, your highness, I'll be quiet.” He whispered with a too nice grin on his lips.
“You could make yourself useful and go grocery shopping, Damien. Graham is going to run out of food otherwise and I need, you know... food, too.”
“So, now I am your errand guy? Great how things go around here.” He got up from the couch running a hand through his already quite messy hair.
Blaine sighed and was about to apologize to him for asking that of him when Damien turned back to him. “Where do you keep your money? And your car keys 'cause I'm not walking.”
“Um, there should be some money in the kitchen. Left upper cupboard. And my keys are in my jacket.” Blaine answered a bit baffled. “Thanks, Damien.”
“Yeah, don't mention it. Like, literally, don't ever mention it.”
When Damien was already out of the door, Blaine called after him as he felt Kurt stir in his arms. “Bring chocolate and alcohol!”
Damien's head appeared in the living room door once again. “He hasn't had chocolate, yet?”
“Nope.”
Damien threw his fist in the air triumphantly. “Yes! You gotta let me watch.”
“By all means, you're welcome.” Blaine grinned as he heard Damien leave the house and a few seconds later he heard the engine of his car as it left the driveway. That guy really was something else.