Freedom

Rachel was so proud of herself remembering to bring her camera and have Mercedes take pictures of Kurt singing to Blaine and Blaine’s reaction to Kurt. She had some beautiful pictures of each one separately and their faces were genuine, caring and full of love and devotion. Rachel was slowly building a memory book of Blaine and Kurt in Europe. Of course, all of this was in her head. She was definitely going to do something special with the pictures and she hoped one day to be able to show them in a slide show at their wedding. “Hi Dad. Oh my God, we are having an unbelievable time. Finn took me in a horse drawn carriage in Paris. The shows are going well.” Her dad was happy that she finally called them. “Something bad did happen to Kurt, but I think Blaine and he are dealing with it and they seem closer than ever. Blaine bought Kurt a tiffany promise ring.”

“Honey. Tell them congratulations. If Kurt or Blaine needs to talk to someone, you know they can always call us. We will always make time for them.” Rachel loved both her dads so much and while it was a little odd to grow up with 2 dads, she was proud to have them and proud to talk about them to people. This fueled her want to see Blaine and Kurt always happy and the pictures she took were a document of their love.

“Thanks Dad. I will let them know. You are the best. Tell Dad that I miss him and love him.”

“We love you too Rachel. Please try to call sooner rather than later. It would be nice to know that our only child is doing okay.”

“I know. Sorry Dad. I love you. Bye!”

This school did something similar to the prior school in that they had food catered in for the event. After the show, everyone gathered in the schools cafeteria that they had decorated for the event. If Blaine and Kurt were inseparable before, it was far more evident today. There was a noticeable difference in Kurt today. Blaine took Kurt’s hand where ever he went and Kurt did the same. The last 24 hours seemed to really help both of them. They were talking to 2 of the soloists from the other school when Blaine’s phone rang. “Who would be calling you Blaine? All your friends are here.” Kurt questioned.

“It’s my Grandfather, Kurt. I’m going to take this.” He excused himself from the discussion and grabbed Kurt’s hand as Kurt was forced to yell an excuse to 2 laughing newly made Swiss friends. “Hi Grandad. How are you today?”

“I’m fine, Blaine. How are you grandson?”

“I’m doing well.”

“And Kurt? How is Kurt holding up?” Blaine smiled because his grandfather actually addressed Kurt by name which meant that he understood Kurt’s importance in his life.

“It has been very difficult for the last few days, but today has been such a good day for both of us. I feel like we have gotten past the worst of it.”

“I am truly glad to hear about that, but I call with some news on your case. Apparently, this Paul is not a very nice guy. Well, I suppose you know this already.” Blaine’s face went pale at the mention of Paul. “Paul is from money, Blaine. He is like you in that his family has lots of money and you know how money can resolve things? He has managed to pay his way out of detainment and is nowhere to be found. He could be in Paris still, it’s a big city, and he could be anywhere. The policeman that held him said he was violent and crazy and very angry at both of you. He has means Blaine, but they don’t think he would actually follow you or try to find you.” There was something else that Blaine sensed was wrong.

“What? Are you sure? How could this happen? Granddad. Is there anything you can do?” Blaine looked distressed. Kurt turned to Blaine and stared at him while he continued to talk to his grandfather. “I’m concerned because he does have our schedule since we shared it with all the schools.”

“Hmm. That does make it much easier for him to find Kurt if he wanted to. I am remaining in contact with the police and will let you know if I hear anything. There is one more thing. Paul may have been in school still, but it was merely because he has been in so much trouble, his parents continued to keep him there until he completed his studies.” Blaine felt a message to be hidden in the narrative from his grandfather and waited for the words, “Blaine, he is 19 and is free to go about as he pleases, so you and Kurt are safe.”

“Thank you for caring Grandad. It really means a lot to me.” Blaine still longed to be able to introduce his boyfriend to the great lawyer, David Anderson Sr. “I wish you could take time to meet him. Maybe if you are in Europe while we are here?”

“Would it make you happy if your grandmother and I to meet Kurt?”

Blaine smiled into the phone. “Very much.” Still uneasy about whether his grandfather was telling him the whole story.

“Then I will speak with your grandmother and we will look at our schedule.” His grandfather seemed okay with all of this. “I’ll call you as soon as we know if we can meet you.”

Blaine turned to see Kurt’s questioning eyes. “What is it Blaine?” Kurt didn’t appear to be frightened but he was reserving his reaction for the words that exited Blaine’s mouth next.

“Uh.” Blaine didn’t want to answer. He still felt like there was more that his grandfather didn’t tell him. “Come here, Baby.” He took Kurt’s hands in his and held him close.

“Should I be worried?” Blaine brushed back a piece of Kurt’s hair that had fallen on his forehead. Blaine looked into Kurt’s eyes and he could see Blaine trying to determine the best words to use to tell him. Blaine always the protector went through Kurt’s mind immediately, but from what or who? Paul? “Okay, Blaine you are starting to scare me. You have that look like you are trying to think of a way to tell me something without me getting upset. Please tell me what the problem is.”

“I’m sorry, Babe.” Blaine rubbed Kurt’s arms. It was an involuntary action to comfort, but Kurt didn’t know what he needed comforting over yet. “So, that was my grandfather calling.” Kurt nodding his head because he already knew.

“Oh my God! Just spit it out!”

Blaine wanted to use the right words, but couldn’t find any words that he knew could east the pain that he knew would come. “It’s about Paul.” Kurt tensed and paled at the mention of his name. “Apparently, he is out of jail. His family has money and they paid to get him out of jail.”

“So, he’s free?”

“Yes, but there’s more.” Blaine tried to determine Kurt’s current state, which wasn’t good, but how could it be good after this news. “He was quite vocal in jail about us and very angry. He skipped town as soon as he got out.” There he told him.

Kurt looked frightened. “Is he after m-me? Or you?”

“No, not necessarily, but no one knows where he is. He is an adult and his parents tucked him away there to finish school. He’s 19 Kurt and from what Granddad could find out, not a good person.”

Kurt was showing signs of panic. “Blaine, he knows our whole itinerary. Or he, at least, can get it if he doesn’t have it. It has all our hotels and planned site seeing.” It had been such a wonderful day and then this news.

Blaine took Kurt into his arms hugging him tightly. “Hey, let’s not panic now. We don’t know that he will follow us. The police are looking for him now so he could just be trying to get away.” He rubbed Kurt’s back in comfort and rocked him slowly. Kurt hid his face in Blaine’s neck and soon Blaine felt wetness on his neck. “Kurt. Don’t cry, Baby. We have all our friends close. We both have protection and he would have to kill me to get to you.”

“I’m worried about that actually.”

“Why would you worry about that? He won’t kill, he’s not that type of dangerous.”

“He’s obsessed.”

Blaine was confused. “Did something else happen in the bathroom Kurt?”

Kurt flashed back to a few moments that he kept to himself. He didn’t want everyone to panic and he wanted to protect his loved ones.

“When he was backing me into the corner and pretty much knew he had me, he started to talk lovingly to me as if he knew me. He was talking about how the touch of my alabaster skin was like touching silk and my eyes were like the Riviera and how he was in a different world with me. I just thought he was trying to seduce me. In the next sentence he became violent again and said, ‘I will hurt that pretty little boyfriend of yours if you tell him. Maybe I will screw him too and then kill him. I like tight asses you know. Your boyfriend, the way he hops around that stage, his ass is probably tight and I can think of so many things I can do to break him. Mmmm. Just remember this Kurt. He threatened that if I told anyone that he screwed me that he would kill all of the people I told.”

Kurt had tears in his eyes, but he continued on strongly. “He hadn’t even touched me at that point yet, but I saw truth in his eyes. That’s when I really got really scared. I had already decided that I would never let him hurt you.” Kurt spoke with conviction. His fierce love for Blaine made him hold all of this in until now. “I refuse to let him hurt you. Ever.” Kurt was firm in his statement.

“Kurt, he could never hurt me. People like him make stupid mistakes and get caught. You should never have been forced to make that choice.”

“You see, Blaine. Even if he had me, he would never really have me.” Blaine cringed at the thought of his Kurt and that bastard. “My body. He would take my body for the minutes it would take him to get his sorry ass off. My heart, my mind, my being would always be with you.” Kurt let a few tears escape his full eyes. “At least, that’s how I reasoned that I could live with it and in those same minutes my mind raced only to you Blaine. I hoped that you would still want me knowing that I had let him take me. I just couldn’t live with myself if I let him hurt you.”

“Baby, I love you so much. We have spent too many hours living that night over and over again. The important thing is he never got that far… And he never will.” Blaine shook his head and looked Kurt in the eyes. “He will never break us, right? When I gave you the promise ring, I gave you Blaine Anderson. It was my promise to you for our future. Nothing could ever change how I feel about you.”

Blaine leaned into Kurt and he couldn’t hold in a huge sigh as he started to place kisses all over Kurt’s face and lips. Kurt’s needs matched as he tried to touch Blaine’s chest, hair, back and anywhere he might be able to feel Blaine. Kurt took a deep breath, basking in the scent of his best friend, his lover and his boyfriend. “God, Blaine. I just want to be lost in you.. You.. All I want is you.. I feel like I can’t get enough of you.”

Blaine understood that excruciating need, however, they needed to go to dinner after leaving abruptly. “We need to let everyone know what’s happened. We may need to be more cautious than we have been the last 2 days.” Blaine cupped Kurt’s face in his hands. “Know this, Kurt Hummel. We are in this together. We are not leaving each other’s site until we know where this lunatic is.”

“So, I can’t even go to the bathroom?”

“No. No bathroom, no shower, nothing.”

“But, Blaine, the bathroom.”

“Kurt, I don’t give a crap.” He realized what he just said. They both burst into laughter. “Well, I suppose we both need a little time, but I am going to be just outside the door. I am not risking this asshole getting near you.” Blaine grabbed Kurt’s hand and they walked back to the group straight to the teacher table. Finn noticed Kurt’s face immediately and made his way over to his brother. He got to them as Blaine started talking. “Mr. Shue, when we get back on the bus, we would like to address everyone if that’s okay.”

“Is everything okay Blaine?”

“Not really, we have some news on the Paul and would like to share it and ask people for some help.”

“I think that would be okay.” Mr. Schuester seemed satisfied with the explanation.

Finn cornered the boys. “Spill. What’s up?”

Blaine looked to Kurt for agreement. Finn had a tendency to go nuts on people that tried to hurt his family, but mostly Kurt. “That guy, Paul, is out of jail. Apparently his parents are rich, bailed him and he took off. When he was in jail, they thought he was crazy. “Blaine leaned in closer to Finn. He talked about getting us back.”

Finn was seething. “I wish I could punch him right now. He is not welcomed anywhere near me unless he wants a beat down.”

They loaded the bus and Kurt and Blaine stood front and center to address the entirety. Kurt stood at Blaine side looking at all of his friends. Their hands entwined. Finn was the only one that knew. He was angry. You could see it on his face. Blaine decided to get it over with. “Hey everyone. First of all, Kurt and I didn’t tell everyone what exactly happened in Paris. I think many of you knew something bad had happened to us, but really something bad happened to Kurt.” Blaine looked to Kurt for the okay to tell them and Kurt nodded his head. Kurt failed to look at his friends. He was terrified of what they would think. “Kurt was attacked in the bathroom the night of our first concert. The guys name was Paul. I think a lot of you met him because he was all over the place. Anyway, Paul did go to jail, but he was bailed out yesterday. Paul is a very rich person. He is 19 and has means to go anywhere according to my grandfather.”

Kurt looked down and Blaine noticed immediately and tipped Kurt’s face up to see his audience. Wes spoke up because he was a little confused. “So, is he after you or Kurt?”

“That’s the thing Wes. We have been told to be cautious. He was described as violent and crazy. He yelled things about wanting to get us and to get rid of Blaine.” He paused and gave Kurt a squeeze. “We need you to help us. He has our itinerary and knows every step we take that is planned. We need you to watch our backs if you can. Until he is found, we don’t know what to think.

“You know we will do it Blaine. We can’t lose our star soloist.” Wes smiled as all New Directions made the same pledge. They were headed back to the hotel and would have to get up for an early train to Florence. Blaine still had to figure out what his payback would be for Puck and Lauren. Puck was a good buddy.

“Thanks everyone. Kurt and I appreciate the help.” Blaine turned to Kurt and kissed him quickly on the lips in front of everyone before taking his hand and leading him to their seats toward the back of the bus. Kurt cuddled into Blaine caressing Blaine’s now scruffy face. Blaine smiled at Kurt lovingly.

They had to get up early the next morning for an 8:00 train, but Blaine and Kurt spent the night cuddling in bed just talking. Blaine reached for Kurt’s hand often, only to touch the promise ring on his hand and to bring his hand within his sights. The highest priority of the night was being a couple. Faces were caressed and kissed, bodies were memorized, smiles were exchanged and stories were told. When they were finally ready to sleep, Blaine became the big spoon and Kurt the little spoon. They drifted off to sleep forgetting everything outside of the bed, the pillows and covers that they shared tonight.