Blaine's mind was spinning, he couldn't believe this had happened to Kurt, that demons and curses actually existed. What else was real? Werewolves? Wizards? He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind; he needed to be helping Kurt right now.

He brushed the hair back from Kurt's forehead, this was the first time he had seen his friend with his hair a little messy; Blaine liked it more than he probably should. Kurt clutched at him tighter for a minute, his breath creating a warm spot on Blaine's chest, and Blaine closed his eyes, his nose in Kurt's soft hair.

Kurt pulled back slowly and Blaine went to step away and sit back on the bed, but Kurt stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Can you stay beside me?" He whispered.

Blaine nodded and sat down on his desk.

"My Mom was the first to die from the curse," Kurt whispered brokenly, "she died that night just like the curse said." He closed his eyes, tilting his head back and swallowing thickly. "She died and it was my entire fault!"

Blaine could feel tears prickling in his eyes again, threatening to spill down his face. "No," Blaine placed a hand on Kurt's shoulder as tears stained his friend's face. "Kurt, it wasn't your fault, you didn't kill her, the demon did."

"The demon's curse killed her, a curse that got placed on me because I was stupid enough to open that fucking box."

"You didn't know what was in the box when you opened it, you didn't know demons and curses existed. Your Mom was murdered by a demon; it was not your fault."

Kurt shook his head and Blaine knew that nothing he or anyone else said to him would convince him that he wasn't guilty.

"What am I supposed to do, Blaine?" Kurt sounded defeated, "How am I supposed to spend the rest of my life alone and pushing away anyone who tries to love me? Who wants to live like that? It's not a life, it's a death sentence, I'm destined to waste away alone."

Kurt's words and tone were scaring Blaine, it sounded like he was ready to give up and end it all. He slid off the desk and dropped to his knees in front of Kurt, taking his hands and entwining their fingers. "You can't think like that, Kurt. Don't you dare think like that."

Kurt stared down at their hands. "Why not? My life ends, the curse ends, no one else dies because of me."

Blaine squeezed his hands. "Kurt, look at me."

Kurt slowly raised his head, his tortured blue eyes meeting Blaine's.

"Ending your life doesn't solve anything. What about your Dad? You'll be leaving him alone, having lost both his wife and his son – you'll be torturing him, killing him with grief. What about everyone else who cares for you? Your friends here? Me? You'll hurt us all, and I don't know how I could survive losing you." Blaine finished in a rough whisper, tears shining on his face.

Kurt bit his lip and sniffed. "What else am I to do? Go and live somewhere remote, miles from anyone, by myself for the rest of my days? Cut myself off from the world?"

"No, you fight back against the bastard of a demon that did this to you. Curses have counter-curses don't they?"

Kurt didn't look convinced. "Even if they do how am I supposed to find one? And I don't know how to cast a counter-curse."

"We search the internet, we look in books, and I think I know someone who may be able to help us. She's not Harry Potter and she's a bit batty, but she believes in demons and all that sort of stuff." He paused. "Come to think of it, she may not be all that crazy after all seeing as demons really do exist."

"Are you talking about your History teacher? The one who walks the corridors muttering to herself and tripping over her dusty old shawls?"

Blaine nodded, glad that Kurt was looking less tortured. "That's the one."

Kurt gazed at Blaine, his red-rimmed eyes wide, but finally dry. "I'll go along with this, but I doubt I'll be able to be cured. But I'll do this, for you."

Blaine gripped Kurt's hands and stared fiercely into his eyes. "We're going to get you free from this, Kurt. I won't rest until we do."

Kurt sighed and clicked back to the Google homepage, crossing another item off the list he and Blaine had made of things to search on the internet. He typed in the next item on the list and hit enter.

"I think we need to face it, Blaine there is nothing on the internet about demons or their curses that isn't fiction or myth."

It was Tuesday lunchtime and he and Blaine were in Dalton's library researching demons, curses, and counter-curses. Blaine had sat next to him at breakfast that morning, a determined look on his face, and had handed him a piece of paper on which he had written a list of words and phrases to search on Google as well as the titles of several books he wanted to take out of the library. Blaine was currently sitting at a table near Kurt's computer, flicking through one of the books from his list, his face furrowed in concentration.

Blaine looked up. "We can't give up yet, we've only just started! I've got History this afternoon so I'll talk to Ms. Price then and we may be able to get some decent information."

Kurt chewed on his bottom lip. "I'm not sure about this. You're the only person I've told about the curse and I'm not comfortable with telling a teacher about it, especially a crazy teacher who is bound to mutter loudly about it in the corridors some day."

Abandoning his book, Blaine spun round in his chair to face Kurt. "Kurt, she's going to be our best source of information! Most likely, she's going to be the only way to rid you of this thing! There's no way we can get her to help without telling her what we need it for!"

Kurt drummed his fingers on the desk top. "Unless...you say she has lots of books on demons and stuff?"

Blaine nodded. "Yeah, her office is full of them."

"We only really need the books; anything she tells us is probably in them."

"Wait," Blaine sat up straighter, "I know where you're going with this, are you suggesting we break into her office?"

Kurt smiled at him. "Maybe."

Blaine licked his lips nervously. "Kurt, I don't know..."

Quickly shutting down his computer, Kurt got up and slid into the chair next to Blaine's. "I know we would get into a lot of trouble if we were caught but, like you said, she's my only chance and I can't tell her about it." He looked pleadingly at Blaine.

Blaine sighed in defeat. "I am such a sucker for the puppy-dog eyes." He announced to no one in particular.

"So, you'll help me do it? Friday night? That way we can borrow the books for the weekend and return them before she's back at school on Monday."

Blaine smiled softly and gazed at him fondly. "Anything for you, Kurt."

Kurt's breathing hitched and without thinking about it he placed a hand on Blaine's cheek. Blaine's eyes darkened and he inhaled sharply.

"I probably shouldn't be doing this." Kurt whispered.

"What's life without a few risks?"

Blaine's breath brushed over Kurt's face, they had been leaning closer to each other unconsciously and now their noses were almost touching.

Kurt allowed his eyes to flutter shut and he closed the distance between them, pressing his lips against Blaine's. Blaine's lips parted automatically under the pressure and Kurt deepened the kiss, the hand not cupping Blaine's face gripping the other boy's blazer. Blaine's tongue swept across Kurt's bottom lip causing him to moan softly and, after a second's hesitation, he slid his tongue inside Blaine's mouth.

Kurt had no idea what he was doing when it came to kissing. This was only his second kiss, but judging from the way Blaine groaned and pulled him closer, what he was doing was more than adequate.

Blaine's tongue slipped against his and then Blaine was biting down gently on Kurt's bottom lip before sucking it into his mouth...

The bell signalling the end of lunch rang and Kurt and Blaine jumped apart, panting. They stared at each other, faces flushed, and then a smile broke across both of their faces.

"Do you regret taking the risk?"

Kurt shook his head, his smile so big it felt like he was stretching his face, and dropped his head onto Blaine's shoulder. "I could never regret you."