Greenwood, Indiana was a really cute town Cooper decided. It was all big trees and Midwest charm and a very welcome sight after a three hour long drive.

Blaine’s fever persisted through the night and after some research Cooper left for Indiana. He turned down the sleepy street of Lionswood and pulled up to house number 112.

Leanne Peters’s house.

The sister of the boy who killed himself in their house last year.

After an awkward moment where Cooper realized he probably should have called first he knocked on the front door and leaned back, 
nervous.

A pretty, dark haired woman dressed in jeans and a nice sweater opened the door and smile warmly at him.

“Um…hi?” Cooper glanced down at his feet. “Leanne Peters?”

“Yes,” She nodded. “Can I help you?”

“Maybe...my name is Cooper Anderson. I live at 908 Green Road in Lima,” Her eyes widened slightly in recognition then narrowed in
anger.

“Listen buddy,” She snapped. “I really don’t need some asshole questioning me about my brother’s suicide. I’m not giving you an interview or something so just get lost.”

“Wait please,” Cooper begged as she tried to close the door. “I know what you went through. The noises? The weird things you see out of the corner of your eye?”

“Goodbye.”

“My sixteen year old brother is acting strange,” She hesitated for a moment. “He used to be a sweet kid and then he got cruel. He zones out and doesn’t sleep. He sing this…”

“All The Pretty Little Horses,” She whispered and Cooper sagged against the doorframe.

“Yes,” He nodded. “I don’t think your brother tried to kill himself.”

“Me neither,” Tears filled her eyes. “Please come in.”

He stepped into the small but nicely decorated house and gladly accepted her offer of coffee. They sat on the couch in the living room and stayed silent for a long time.

“Last night my brother locked himself in the garage with the car running,” Cooper whispered. “I got him out but it scared the shit out of me.”

“What’s his name?” She asked, standing up to grab a box from the fireplace mantle.

“Blaine,” Cooper took his phone and opened it to a picture. “Here he is.”

“Jesus, he looks just like Louis,” Leanne stared at the picture for a few moments before pulling out some photographs of her brother. “Lou was such a happy kid. He was captain of the soccer team and made straight A’s. Then he got horrible to everyone.”

“Same with Blaine.”

“He would fight with his girlfriend and I’m pretty sure he hit her once,” Tears filled her eyes and she sniffed. “He just started looking scared and sick all the time but no matter how many doctors we went to they would just shrug it off and say it was a phase or a bout of depression. I walked into his bedroom and found him hanging from the ceiling fan.”

“I’m so sorry,” Cooper took her hand and squeezed.

“I started seeing things too,” She shivered. “Just a little and then when Louis died we moved. I don’t think my mom could handle living in that house and I really didn't want people to think I went crazy after he....”

“Was his bedroom the last one down the hall?”

At her nod, Cooper looked up and swallowed thickly. The box she held in her trembling hands was filled with pictures and mementos.

“That’s Blaine’s as well,” He bit his lip and they just sat for a few long moments.

“I knew it,” She let out a heavy sigh. “I knew something was wrong.”

Cooper nodded and showed her all of his research. With wide, wet tears, Leanne looked through every report and every picture until she reached the final police report.

“Cooper, you can not let Blaine be the next one in this list,” She whispered.

“I won’t,” He shook his head, eyes glued on the picture of William butchered on the floor.

“Is he at the house now?” Leanne asked, turning towards him.

“No, he’s spending the night at his boyfriend’s,” He said without thinking and smiled a bit when Leanne just nodded. “He’s taking medication for the seizures and I think it’s making him worse. He’s been dazed and exhausted.”

“A doctor put Louis on an antidepressant,” Leanne added. “I think maybe it made it easier for…whatever it was to get to him.”

“I agree,” Cooper sighed. “I just don’t know what to do.”

“I’m not sure how much I can help you,” Leanne ran a hand through her hair. “But I did read up on this stuff after Louis died. I mean there’s the white candles and sage burning stuff which could help but whatever is there is pure evil and isn't going to go away just because you burn some plants.”

“I think William and Laura are trapped there by Franklin,” Cooper pointed out the pictures. “I actually talked to William and he just seemed terrified but willing to help. I think Laura might be confused but she doesn’t want to cause any harm.”

“So…Gallaway takes over these kids and basically forces them to kill themselves?” Leanne let out a huff.

“So he can keep killing his son over and over again,” Cooper whispered. “That sick fucker…sorry.”

“No, my sentiments exactly,” Leanne gave him a thin smile. “If that’s the case then maybe the only person who can stop him is Blaine himself. He’s the one with the most contact and the one that Gallaway wants.”

“He’s getting worse.”

“Listen, when Louis started getting worse we all basically abandoned him. We were scared of what he had become and didn’t want to deal with it. At the end, we all were avoiding him.”

“Gallaway does that. He makes them act like that so they force everyone away,” Worry crept into his eyes.

“I’m sorry I’m not more help,” Leanne frowned.

“You’ve been a huge help. I probably should get back to Blaine,” Cooper stood, helping her bring the coffee cups to the kitchen. “Can we exchange numbers so we can keep talking?”

“Of course!” Leanne quickly typed in her number and smiled. “Please keep me updated. It’s so nice to be able to meet someone who understands and doesn’t just think I’m crazy. I’d love to meet Blaine one day.”

Cooper hugged her tightly and waved as he made his way to his car. As soon as he slid into the driver’s seat he pulled out his phone and dialed Kurt’s number.

“Hi Cooper,” Kurt sounded as tired as he felt.

“Hey Kurt, how’s Blaine doing?”

“He was still feverish but sleeping when I left this morning. I had to run in and help my dad out at his shop,” Kurt sighed into the 
phone.

“So Blaine’s alone?” Cooper’s heart leapt into his throat.

“No, Finn is home,” Kurt explained. “He promised he’d check in and update me every hour.”

“Oh good,” Cooper sighed in relief and smiled. “I’ll be back in like three and a half hours and I have a ton to tell you!”

________________________________________

Finn hummed to himself as he watched his pasta heat up in the microwave. As the seconds counted down, his stomach growled and he perked up a little bit.

00:04

00:03

00:02

00:01

“Hey Finn.”

Finn spun around gracelessly, stumbling slightly and falling against the counter. He grabbed at his chest and gasped loudly.

“Blaine!”

“Sorry,” Blaine smiled. The younger boy had incredibly dark circles under his eyes and was sickly pale.

“You feeling better dude?” Finn pulled the pasta out of the microwave and shoveled a huge mouthful into his mouth. “Want something
to eat?”

“I’m okay,” Blaine kept smiling. “I’m not really hungry.”

“Um….want some juice or something,” He felt a little uncomfortable with how Blaine stared at him.

“No thank you,” He shook his head.

“Mmkay,” Finn bounced a bit from foot to foot as he kept eating against the counter. He really wanted to eat at the table but Blaine was basically boxing him in and just stood there, smiling.

“Do you mind giving me a ride to my house?” He cocked his head to the side. “I left some homework that I really need to get.”

“Sure,” Finn shrugged. “Just let me finish up my food.”

Blaine gave him a little nod and continued to stand there as Finn quickly ate. He had to push past the smaller boy in order to put his dish in the sink and grabbed his keys and coat.

“Thank you,” Blaine smiled. “I really appreciate it.”

“Not a problem,” Finn grinned back. “Not only are you a teammate and bro, you’re my brother’s boyfriend. I’m happy to help you dude.”

They made their way to Finn’s truck, the older boy watching him the entire time. Even at his best, Finn would never call himself observant but even he knew that Blaine looked terrible. The smaller boy walked slowly, almost haltingly, and his eyes seemed glazed. 

“Get comfy,” Finn said as he blasted the heat and let Blaine fiddle with the radio until he found one he liked and closed his eyes. 

"If you want we can go later?" He offered and Blaine turned to him. "I mean...you just look like you need sleep...and soup."

"It's nice of you to be concerned. But I'm fine," He shrugged and closed his eyes again. Biting his lip, Finn decided not to question him and started driving as Blaine gave him directions. 

“This is your house?” Finn asked as they pulled up to a beautiful, huge home. “It’s gigantic!”

“Wanna come in?” Blaine turned to him and Finn nodded excitedly.

As soon as he stepped into the home Finn felt a chill and pulled his coat tighter around himself. The house seemed a little dark even with all the windows open.

“It’s up in my room,” Blaine motioned to the staircase. “Come on up.”

“No…” Finn took a step back, uneasiness growing. “I think I’ll stay down here.”

“Aw come on,” The smile on Blaine’s face grew stiff and his eyes flashed. “I can show you my sweet gaming system.”

“Maybe I’ll just hop in the car and keep it heated while you grab your things,” He said quickly. Finn felt like he was being suffocated and all he wanted to do was get out of that house.

He spun on his heel and hurried to the front door. With a sigh he opened it and started to take a step forward when it snapped shut by itself.

“Just come upstairs,” Blaine said slowly from right behind him. All the shutters on the windows snapped shut and Finn jumped.

“Let me out,” He pulled up to his fill height before turning to look down on Blaine.

“No,” Blaine’s eyes were far darker than he had ever seen. “Go up the stairs.”