So Many Voices, So Little Medication.

Ch. 1

The ad in the paper described the house perfectly. It was in a nice location. Clean, spacious, lots of windows, giant trees shading the yard and a nice big pond in the back. Hed called the number in the paper and had spoken with Kurt, the guy who placed the ad, and theyd arranged a time to meet and hed show Blaine the house. Hed noticed the ad had been in the paper for quite some time and he couldnt figure out why.

"Well, what do you think?" Kurt asked, leaning against the door frame. "Wait - dont answer just yet."

Blaine watched as he pulled a drawer open under the kitchen counter, retrieving a pad of unlined white paper and grabbing a pen from a cup on the counter. He scribbled something on the paper and shoved it into Blaines hand.

"There! Read it!" he said enthusiastically, smiling like a school boy whod just gotten a gold star for good behavior.

Blaine looked down at the pad of paper. Written in girly script were the words "Stay? Yes or No?" There were little square boxes beside the "yes" and the "no". Apparently, he was supposed to check one. He was about to say something when Kurt held a pen in front of his face.

"Youll need this."

Smiling and shaking his head, Blaine took the pen. The whole check box idea was strange but kind of cute in a way. He checked the box beside "yes" and handed the paper and pen back to Kurt. Or he tried to. Kurt had both hands over his eyes.

"Tell me when youre done!"

"Im done, Kurt."

Kurt grabbed the paper and began rambling at an accelerated pace without even looking at the paper. "Let me just say, Im so excited! Youre really going to love it here. Just make yourself right at home, okay? And if the others give you any trouble, just let me know. Sometimes they dont know when to shut up."

Blaine was just about to ask who "the others" were when he was momentarily stunned speechless. Kurt had produced a lighter from his pants pocket and proceeded to set fire to the pad of paper, letting it burn a few seconds before calmly tossing it into the sink. Grey-white smoke billowed up from the sink and ten seconds later, the smoke alarm was beeping loudly.

"Ugh," Kurt said, his face registering his annoyance. "Im not sure why we have that thing. Nothing but an inconvenience." He pulled the alarm off the wall and removed the batteries before replacing it. Blaine made a mental note to put them back in later. "Okay, shall we show him to his room now?"

This kids a bit much, Blaine thought, following Kurt to the room that would soon be his. Talking to himself... out loud. Blaines room was gorgeous. Hardwood floors, two big windows overlooking the scenic back yard, a big walk-in closet and - hell yeah, his own bathroom. He turned to the boy standing about three inches behind him. "When can I move in?"

Kurt clapped his hands over his mouth. "Whenever you want! The sooner the better!" His excitement was almost contagious. "Show me where youre going to put your bed."

Blaine certainly hadnt thought that far ahead. He looked around the room before deciding on a spot. "Right here," he said, pointing to the space between the two windows. Kurts eyebrows furrowed and Kurt shook his head slowly, his lips turning into two thin pink lines. His eyes looked off to the side of Blaine as he spoke.

"No! If thats where he wants it, then thats where he wants it! Forget about it." The displeased look left his face almost instantly and was replaced with an almost inappropriate smile. "Is your room alright? I mean, you do like it, dont you?"

"Its wonderful," Blaine answered quietly. He really wanted to ask if Kurt was feeling alright but decided against it. That would be rude. Kurt seemed nice enough. He was actually quite charming, Blaine thought, and he certainly wouldnt mind looking at that face every day. Or that body. He could overlook a few eccentricities. "Really wonderful."

"Okay, well, Ill go get your copy of the house key and you can move your things in whenever you feel like it," Kurt said cheerfully, leaving the room. Blaine walked to the door and closed it, noticing there was no doorknob.

Thats strange, he thought to himself. When Kurt returned with the house key, he bought up the missing door knob. "I was just wondering - why is the doorknob missing?"

Kurt looked genuinely surprised. "The doorknob is missing?" He grabbed the door, noting the obvious hole where the doorknob should be. His gaze fell to the floor for a few seconds as if he was pondering an answer to Blaines question. His voice was flat, and he sounded almost disappointed as he asked, "Do you really need one?"

"Id like one," Blaine answered. If he had to, hed buy one himself, but that door was going to have a doorknob.

"But, um," Kurt stammered. "what if it gets stuck? What if you get locked in?" Kurt knew it was a very real possibility.

"Thats never happened to me before, Kurt. Ill take my chances." Blaine noticed the blank expression once again turned into a smile, albeit not a very convincing one.

"Ill get you a doorknob."

"Thank you."

"And Ill put it on tonight before I go to bed." The smile lasted just until he was out of Blaines sight.

By the next night, Blaine had his room situated. And there was still no doorknob.

Maybe he just forgot, Blaine decided as he went to look for him. He found Kurt sitting in the kitchen floor, a blue crayon in his hand, coloring a child-like picture on yellow construction paper. As odd as it was for a grown man to be doing this, Blaine thought it was kind of cute. "Hey," he said.

Kurt grabbed the paper from the floor, held it up to his chest and with eyes wide asked, "Do you like it?"

"Its really great," Blaine lied. It wasnt really great. It looked like something a three-year-old would draw. Stick figures and something that looked like the sun stuck over in a corner of the paper.

"Thank you and Im really sorry you cant have it," Kurt replied, and went back to work on his picture.

"Theres no doorknob on my door, Kurt. Did you forget to put it on?" He could see Kurts eyes raise from the paper but refused to look in Blaines direction.

"I really dont think you need one -"

"Ill go buy one myself then." That was that. Blaine turned on his heels and left the kitchen. The hardware store closed in twenty-five minutes. He had just enough time to get there, get what he needed, and get out. Their first fight was not going to be over a damn doorknob.