Chapter Six

There was the sound of a door slamming downstairs, and a muffled call. The noise wasn't enough to wake Blaine, who was still sleeping soundly, curled tightly into Kurt's side. It was, however, enough to finally jerk Kurt from his increasing spiral of thoughts. He glanced at the clock. It wasn't as late as he had expected, only a little after five. Clearly one of Blaine's parents had managed to get off work early after all.

"Blaine? You up here?" A male voice floated through the closed door, more clearly now as its owner ascended the stairs. Blaine's dad then, it must be, seeing as if Cooper were still in Ohio Blaine would probably be in much better shape than he was now... although what link Cooper had to his little brother's emotional stability, Kurt had yet to fathom.

He nudged Blaine gently in an attempt to wake him, already moving to sit up himself, incredibly glad for the arrival of an adult who actually understood what was going on.

The door swung open softly, and a man in a sharp suit stood in the doorway. He looked so much like an older version of Cooper it was startling... except for his eyes. His eyes were a dark amber, and right now, they were fixed on the pair of boys, lying on his son's bed. Surprise and shock quickly gave way to a terrifying cold anger, and all of a sudden Kurt found himself genuinely afraid.

"Who the hell are you?" The voice of Blaine's dad thundered into the silence of the room, jerking a very confused Blaine awake. He took two strides into the room, hands gathering into fists. "Get away from my son!"

Kurt leapt off the bed with such speed it was as if he had been electrocuted. His hands rose up placating in front of him, and his heart pounded in his ears, beating rabbit-quick. Blaine had never said anything about his dad having a problem with him being gay! But then, maybe actually seeing him being held by another boy was enough to make the father snap. He watched the large man warily, keeping half an eye on Blaine who was just blinked confusedly between them both.

Except...

As soon as Kurt has jumped away, Mr Anderson's full attention was trained on his son. He dropped to his knees next to the bed, hands immediately cupping Blaine's face, forcing his son to look at him. His movements were fluid, as if practiced. "Blaine? Can you hear me? What happened?" He looked up at Kurt, his gaze cold and emotionless while at the same time thrumming with a clear threat. "What did you do to him?"

Kurt was thrown, but he swallowed his fear. He would not let this man bully him. "I... I haven't..."

Blaine finally seemed to wake up. "No! Dad stop! This is Kurt, he's my friend!" His little outburst seemed to use up what little energy he had regained in sleep, and Blaine slumped back again slightly, his voice less forceful. Kurt had to restrain himself from going to help the other boy. "Kurt drove me home after school. I asked me to stay with me until you or Mom came home. Please don't be angry, Dad. I'm sorry."

Mr Anderson seemed assess his son for a moment, and for the first time Kurt thought he could glimpse genuine worry lines on the man's face. Finally, he turned to Kurt, asking gruffly, "You're the one Cooper met?"

Kurt folded his arms across his body. "Yes." He paused, loath to give this man any kind of respect considering the entrance he had just given, but this was still Blaine's dad. "Sir."

He could feel Mr Anderson's eyes on him, silently judging him, before he turned back to Blaine, "Have you had anything to drink since you've been home?"

Blaine flushed, looking down, "No... I don't feel too bad..."

Mr Anderson sighed tiredly. "Blaine, I swear sometimes you are your own worst enemy." Glancing at Kurt, he instructed, "Alright. Make yourself useful, then. Go downstairs and pour a glass of water. Dissolve three decent sized tablespoons of sugar into it – you'll find it on the side – and bring the water back up here for Blaine." He turned back to his son, prodding him gently to get Blaine to move over so he could sit on the bed and face him. When he spoke again his voice was much softer. "As for you – you know the drill. Full account please."

Blaine winced, and Kurt didn't move. He stared at Blaine, completely baffled. The other boy just looked mortified and more than a little apologetic, "Dad..."

Mr Anderson didn't let him finish, holding up a hand that halted Blaine's protest. He did however spare a few words for Kurt, "Anytime you feel like it."

Blaine's dad was definitely not the kind of person Kurt would describe as warm...

He decided that his best course of action would to be to follow the instructions he had been given, although the reason behind them still mystified him. As he headed downstairs, he could hear Blaine's tones floating behind him, but the other boy was speaking too softly for Kurt to make out the words.

His phone buzzed. It was a text from his dad, asking if he would be home soon. Kurt's stomach twisted guiltily, but he knew he couldn't leave, not now. Even if he would much rather put as much distance between himself and Mr Anderson as possible, there was still Blaine to think about, and Kurt was on this bizarre errand for him. He texted back with an apology and a hedged answer of hopefully being home soon, knowing he would have to face his dad that evening.

Kurt returned to Blaine's room with a large glass of sugar water, catching the tail end of Mr Anderson's sentence, "-and we'll see if we can't get Cooper on Skype as well tomorrow." He had moved, and was now sitting perched next to Blaine, his arm around his son's shoulders as Blaine rested against his side. "Ah. Thank you."

It was the first polite thing Mr Anderson had said to Kurt, and he desperately wanted to snipe something back, but didn't want to ruin the change in mood. The older man seemed much calmer than before, less hostile too. "Drink it all please, Blaine."

"Dad, I don't-" Blaine protested, but then stopped when he saw the stubborn look on his father's face. He tentatively took a sip, and then a large gulp when his father continued to look unimpressed. Kurt hovered near the doorway, uncertain what to do. When Blaine had finished the glass, his dad removed it gently from his grip and set it on the side.

"Go back to sleep, Blaine. I'll wake you when dinner's ready." His voice was soft and tender. It only served to make Kurt more confused.

Blaine's eyes were drooping again, and his body was pliant as he allowed himself to be moved to lie down, only making a slight noise of protest, "Kurt-"

"I will show your friend out, don't worry."

Blaine mumbled something that Kurt didn't quite catch, but his father clearly had. The man sighed, suddenly sounding just as tired as his son. He bent slightly, dropping a kiss onto his son's forehead, murmuring, "You haven't ruined anything, bug, I promise. Now get some sleep."

Kurt swallowed back the lump in his throat, uneasily feeling like he was intruding. Blaine shouldn't look like that, so exhausted and upset. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair.

He was silent as he followed Mr Anderson downstairs, keeping a few steps behind. The man may have seemed loving towards Blaine, but Kurt wasn't about to forget their rather abrupt introduction. "If you have time, would you join me in the kitchen? I would like to speak with you."

Kurt was under no illusions that he had any choice in the matter, but he answered nonetheless, "Sure."

He followed Blaine's father into the kitchen, watching him carefully. He walked over to the counter, turning to lean against it, gesturing for Kurt to sit at the kitchen table.

He didn't. He stayed standing.

"I apologise for being so blunt, but what is your relationship with my son?"

Straight to the point then, okay, Kurt could handle this. "Didn't Blaine tell you? I'm his best friend. We go to school together."

"He did, but I much prefer to hear your version as well. You're gay?"

Kurt ground his teeth at the man's attitude, answering bluntly. "Yes."

"And your ES level is, what? You can't be above a 1."

"I don't see how that is any of your business." Kurt bit out defensively.

"Why?" There was an eerie calm to Mr Anderson's entire posture and speech. It was unsettling. "You know my son's now after all. It's only fair that I know yours."

"Blaine knows. He told me his, so I told him mine." Kurt knew his voice was rising but this man was making him so angry. "And it is none of your damn business. I don't care who you are. What Blaine and I tell each other is ours, no one else's."

And then Mr Anderson was smiling and that just made Kurt even angrier. "Good. I'm glad to hear that."

"I... what?" Kurt spluttered.

"I'm sorry for how we met this afternoon, Kurt, and I hope you can forgive me for my attitude towards you. You didn't deserve that. I just..." He stopped rubbing his hands over his face in an action that suddenly made him so much more human. "Blaine doesn't have a great track record with friends, and I won't see him hurt, not if I can help him avoid it. I need to know that you will be good for my son. Blaine has to come first. I already know his opinion of you, but I need to know where you stand."

Kurt's mouth worked like a fish for a second, before he pulled himself together. "Blaine is my best friend. I wouldn't do anything to jeopardise that, or hurt him."

"I'm very relieved to hear that. How much has Blaine told you about his condition?"

"I only found out today... but I've noticed things. Especially since last Saturday..." Kurt trailed off, suddenly remembering Blaine's insistence that his parents not find out about the incident. Looking back on it with what he knew now, Kurt had to wonder what had really happened. He hoped Blaine would feel comfortable enough to explain...

Mr Anderson's lips quirked into a half-smile, "Don't worry, Blaine just told me. I'm not angry with either of you for keeping it from me. You especially had no reason to worry. My eldest on the other hand... let's just say he should be glad he's in another state right now. He should know better. And, I hope, very soon you will know better too."

Kurt cocked his head, his folded arms loosening slightly from where they crossed over his chest, "I don't understand."

"You are Blaine's best friend. You said it yourself. If you are able to handle everything that you have learnt about Blaine, if you decide to remain friends-" Kurt opened his mouth in protest, but Mr Anderson halted him with a raised hand, "This is a lot for a teenager to deal with Kurt, and it would be better for everyone, Blaine especially, if you decide whether you can deal with this now, before one of you gets really hurt. If you can, then I would like you to be fully informed, able to recognise the signs."

Kurt nodded, "I want to be able to help Blaine. If... if I'd known before, then maybe Blaine wouldn't be so bad now, I could've noticed, or-"

"Don't." Mr Anderson's voice was surprisingly gentle, even a little kind. "If you start along that train of thought, you will never be happy, trust me. Now, you have a lot to think about, and I'm sure your parents will be wondering where you are."

"Right, I should go..." Kurt nodded, turning to leave, before pausing, "It was nice to meet you Mr Anderson."

"And you, Kurt" He was actually smiling. It wasn't the same exuberant smile of his sons, it was much more reserved, but it was still surprisingly reassuring. "And call me John. You are welcome here, anytime."

Considering the man's first reaction to Kurt, this was a serious improvement, "Thank you. I hope Blaine feels better." He began to head back through the lounge to grab his shoes and head home, when Mr Anderson called after him.

"Oh, and Kurt?" Once Kurt had turned, Blaine's father continued, an odd spark in his eyes that reminded Kurt far too much of Cooper. "Should you and Blaine decide that you both want to be more than best friends, I would have no objection."

Kurt blushed beetroot red, mortified as he scurried out of the house, but he couldn't deny the warm coiling of his stomach at the words.

As he drove home, however, the weight of the afternoon because to settle around his chest, dispelling the warm feeling with dark thoughts and colder dreads. By the time he pulled into the drive, any thoughts of hunger were gone, replaced by that nasty lump in his throat. Because now Blaine wasn't with him, now he didn't need to be strong...

Kurt quietly entered his house, hoping to sneak upstairs. He could hear his family in the kitchen, the clatter of cutlery on plates a comforting backdrop to easy chatter.

"Kurt? That you?"

He heard his dad call from the kitchen, but he couldn't bring himself to answer. He couldn't breathe. He needed to run, he needed to get away.

Kurt ran upstairs, ignoring his dad's annoyed shout after him. He was late, he had barely texted, but he couldn't deal with family time right now, he couldn't, he didn't-

He slammed his bedroom door behind him, and barely made it to his bed before his limbs gave out, tears already welling treacherously in his eyes, throat tightening.

"Kurt, what the hell-" His dad burst into his room, clearly angry. When he spoke again, his tone was soft and worried, "Kurt? Buddy, what's happened?"

"I..." Kurt barely managed to get that one, tiny word out before his chest tightened with wrenching, ugly sobs. He couldn't speak, he just needed to let it out. Let out what he hadn't been able to around Blaine. He needed to be scared, he needed to be confused, upset, angry. He needed his dad to hold him and tell him everything was going to be okay, that he was strong enough.

In the morning, he would research. In the morning, he would be okay. In the morning, he would text Blaine.

But it wasn't the morning yet, and as he felt his dad's strong arms encase him, he let himself have this evening.

TBC