At sixteen, most people had gotten past their fear of the dark.

            Not Blaine.

            As embarrassed as he was to admit it, he was beyond terrified of being in the dark alone in his room. He would put on earphones, blast upbeat music, keep the lights on and cover his head with blankets.

            Even then he would lay in bed shaking with his eyes clenched tight until exhaustion finally overcame him and he fell asleep.

            When he was little he spent almost every night in bed with Cooper. As soon as his parents put him to bed he would sprint to his older brother’s room and curl under the covers next to him. At first Cooper thought it was cute and funny but then he got to an age where it was no longer cute.  

            Now that Cooper was gone he would just lay in bed alone, shivering, and wanting to be anywhere else but there.

            A soft humming noise broke through the Katy Perry that was blaring through his earphones and he groaned inwardly, tightening his hands on the blankets.

            When the cold fingers ran through his hair he jumped and sat up, looking around the empty room.

            “Please leave me alone,” He whispered, trembling. “I just want to sleep. Please go away.”

            “Go to sleep sweet boy,” The woman’s whisper was so close he could feel breath on his ear and whipped his head around.

            “Go away!” He snapped, heart pounding, but the empty room didn’t answer him.

            Blaine didn’t sleep the rest of the night and finally had to go into his brother’s empty room to escape the chill and choking fear.

            The next morning he stumbled downstairs, bleary eyed and exhausted. Grabbing a pop tart, he yawned and grabbed his car keys.

            “Good morning,” His mother’s wary voice made his entire body spike with anger.

            “Is it?” He snapped back, making her wince.

            “You should eat some fruit,” She offered, standing off to the side and watching her son anxiously.

            “Maybe you should instead,” Blaine found himself saying, eyes narrowing. “Maybe then you won’t be such a fat bitch.”

            “Blaine Anderson!” She tried to scold him but just sounded tired instead. “Don’t talk to me like that.”

            “Whatever,” He rolled his eyes, skin crawling. He had to get out of there. “I’m leaving.”

            His mother scurried back, eyes following him as he slammed the door behind him. As soon as Blaine was away from his mother his body sagged slightly in relief. He started his car and made the drive to school, already feeling a little better.

            “Hey you!” Kurt walked up to him as he grabbed books from his locker, smile wide.

            “Hey,” Blaine fought back a yawn and smiled stiffly back.

            “Are you okay?” His boyfriend’s gentle touch on his arm made him soften slightly. “You look off.”

            “I didn’t sleep well last night,” He shrugged. “Are we still on for coffee after school?”

            Kurt nodded enthusiastically and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before they walked hand in hand to French together. The exhaustion grew throughout the day until Blaine was nodding off in Glee practice, head resting on Kurt’s shoulder.

            “Alright guys,” Mr. Schue came in clapping his hands. “I actually have a ton of papers to grade so I thought maybe we could just have a free period. How does that sound?”

            The kids all cheered and Blaine found himself slump slightly in relief. Finally he was able to take a nap.

            It didn’t take long for the kids to situate themselves around the room. They chatted and played on their phones while Blaine pulled several chairs together and lay across them.

            Kurt moved over so that Blaine could rest his head in his lap and chatted with Mercedes and Santana as he fell asleep.

            ”Mother?” He called, walking up the stairs. His boots pinched his feet and his coat was far too stuffy. “Mother?”

            The house was absolutely silent.

            His steps made the stairs creak and his breathing sounded far too loud, rising in puffs in front of his face.

            “Mother?” He whispered, mouth dry as he pushed open the bedroom door.

            Blood, brain matter, and bits of bone completely covered every square inch of the room. It coated the walls and carpeted the floor along with body parts. Part of his mother’s face stared up at him, frozen in horror.

            With a breathless cry, he stumbled back and grabbed onto the doorframe. As soon as the fear caught up with his brain he spun around to flee the house but ran right into a solid body.

            “William,” His father’s deep voice made him freeze.

            “Father!” He gasped, desperate to leave the horror behind him. “Someone is in the house. We have to go!”

His father just stared at him and that’s when he noticed the blood soaked clothing and dripping axe he was holding.

With a yelp, he ducked under the swinging axe and sprinted down the stairs.

The blood on his shoes made him slip and stumble down the last few steps which was all his father needed to catch up with him.

He let out a scream as the axe caught him in his side, slamming him into the wall and onto the floor. For a moment he only knew panic, scrambling backwards. His fingers slipped through blood and his spilled organs as he gagged and choked.

“Hush,” His father stared down at him.

“Please,” He gasped, blood bubbling up from his mouth. “Please.”

With a sigh his father raised the axe and swung it down at his neck.

            Blaine sat up with a cry, grabbing his throat.

            Pain flared through his chest and throat and he could feel tears stinging in his eyes. He shook so violently that he nearly fell out of the plastic chair.

            “Blaine?”

            That’s when he noticed the silent, shocked students staring at him and felt himself blushing. Trying to ignore the trembling he ran his hands through his hair and took a few deep breaths.

            “Dude…are you okay?”

            “Yeah,” He muttered, giving them a small smile. “Sorry, just a weird dream.”

            “Oh man, Patty Erikson had one of those falling dreams in English,” Puck burst out laughing. “It was so funny! I thought she was going to piss herself!”

            Blaine ignored the fear in Kurt’s eyes and rubbed at his chest, trying to sooth the ache.

            The day finished quickly and the boys made their way to the Lima Bean.

            “Are you sure you’re alright?” Kurt asked, glancing over at Blaine who was subconsciously rubbing his arms.

            “Yeah…can I ask you a question? Promise you won’t laugh?” Blaine asked slowly, getting a nod in return.

            “Of course. I would never judge you,” He promised, grabbing one of Blaine’s hands and squeezing.

            “Um…do you believe in ghosts?” Blaine asked softly, wincing as Kurt laughed.

            “Is that what your dream was about?” He chuckled. “Of course I don’t believe in ghosts. Wait…do you?”

            “Of course not,” Blaine shrugged, rubbing his neck.

            Of course ghosts weren’t real. He always had an overactive imagination and was freaking himself out.

            Ghosts aren’t real.

Blaine kept repeating that in his head even as he saw the red mark slicing across his side that evening.

            Ghosts aren’t real.

            Gentle humming woke him up in the middle of the night and cold fingers trailed across his forehead.

            Ghosts aren’t real.