Interlude: Cooper

Cooper's foot jiggled nervously as the cab turned the corner into a quiet, suburban road. He was always someone who had too much pent up energy, but this was something else. He just couldn't sit still. The woman who had sat next to him on his flight from New York must have been very relieved when they landed...

The cabbie didn't seem that bothered though. Cooper assumed he had a rather low sensitivity, because he knew he was projecting.

No. Stop. You're nearly there, and you can't project. You're a damn actor, get it together. Stop projecting.

Unbidden, a vibrant daydream floated across Cooper's mind's eye. It was a variation of many like it. Blaine driving the car, snapping good-naturedly at his big brother, "Seriously Cooper, quit it. You're making me a nervous driver. If we crash, it will totally be your fault."

But the daydream was fleeting, too bright and too fake, just like all the others that Cooper had indulged in since he was a kid. Indulged... maybe tortured would be a better description for it. Blaine would never drive Cooper anywhere; he would never pick him up from the airport. He would never be allowed behind the wheel of a car, let alone be approved for a driver's permit.

"Here we are, buddy."

The taxi had pulled up outside a house Cooper had only been to a handful of times, on holidays and fleeting visits. It wasn't his childhood home – that was a couple of towns over, and the Andersons hadn't lived there since... The driver pulled his case out of the trunk as Cooper count out the fare from his wallet. It wasn't cheap, but his dad had insisted he take his car for the month, rather than spend out on hiring one for that length of time. Not that Cooper couldn't have afforded it.

His dad would have picked him up from the airport, but his mom had only started a new job the other week, and it would have meant Blaine would have been alone all morning. Not that Blaine couldn't be left alone – that time was behind them, thank god. But they didn't like to highlight Blaine's difference. They didn't like to make a big deal. And if Blaine had asked to come with their dad to pick Cooper up, he would have been had to be told no.

Airport arrivals and Blaine did not make for a good combination.

The door opened before Cooper could knock, "Hey Dad!"

John Anderson was a hair taller than his eldest son, with a grin to match. He also gave the best hugs in the world. Whenever his dad hugged him, Cooper always felt calmer, more confident and sure. He felt that strength wash through him now, as large arms wrapped warmly around him in greeting. "Cooper!" He pulled back, one hand still on his son's shoulder as he picked up the case with the other, leading him inside. "You made good time. Flight alright?"

Cooper shrugged, "Can't complain. Where's the rest of my welcoming committee?"

"Coop!" A shout from the top of the stairs drew both men's attention, shortly followed by a tumbling of thuds as the youngest Anderson ran down to join them. "You're home!"

Cooper only had a brief second to brace himself, both physically and mentally, as his little brother leapt into his arms. He staggered slightly, both from Blaine's momentum and from the sensation of being hugged by him. Blaine's enthusiasm and excitement danced underneath Cooper's skin, tingling invisible starbursts colliding and crashing into his nerves, trying to steal his breath. He laughed louder than he normally would, "Missed you too, squirt. Christmas seems way too long ago."

Their dad came to Cooper's rescue, gently touching the small of Blaine's back as the younger boy pulled back slightly from the hug. "Let your brother breathe, Blaine, he's only just come in the door." Blaine grinned sheepishly. "I've fixed Cooper a late lunch. It's in the kitchen, so why don't you grab it and we'll all go sit in the living room?"

Blaine dashed off, and Cooper let himself have a moment, breathing heavily as he let his dad calm him with a solid hand to his arm. He smiled incredulously, "Thanks. I always forget. Each time I come home, I always forget how intense..." His voice dropped to a murmur, "I can't believe you're sending him back to a public school..."

"It's what Blaine wants." Dad repeated the same words of defence he had been steadfastly saying since Blaine had raised the issue at Christmas. Cooper couldn't say he was thrilled about it, and Mom... she was seriously against it, he knew. Still, in the end, Dad and Blaine had won their case, and next week would see the end to Blaine's home schooling.

Mom had pleaded for him to wait, to think about it, to hold off until junior year, or even at least until the new semester. But Blaine had been even more stubborn than usual. Where ever he had got the idea that he wanted to return to high school, he had made up his mind.

And so, their parents had researched the school, and Cooper had arranged to live at home for a month while Blaine settled in. Mom even started looking for a new job, now that she wouldn't need to stay at home with Blaine.

Still, this week had come far too quickly for Cooper's comfort.

00000

Picking up Blaine from his first day at his new school, McKinley, Cooper knew he was early. But he had put it off for as long as he could, the empty house seeming cold and hostile. He had hated leaving Blaine that morning. He had hated the principal, the guidance councillor, the students. He had hated the school, and all the dangers he could see, could feel.

He had very nearly dragged Blaine right out of that place as soon as they had set foot through the doors.

This was such a bad idea.

He shoved his nerves aside. Stop it. This isn't about you, this is about Blaine. About the poor kid actually having a life without shadows and fears stalking him every second.

He knew Blaine had been nervous that morning. Mom had been terrified, and Cooper hadn't been much better, and all of those emotions had only served to make Blaine's first morning even scarier than it should have been. Dad had been forced to take Mom out of the bedroom before she sent Blaine into a spiral, and had nearly taken Blaine to school himself until Cooper convinced him he could keep it together.

The bell rang, and Cooper tensed, waiting. Most of the kids were dispersed by the time he caught a glimpse of that familiar gelled hair and neat yellow cardigan. He watched carefully as Blaine approached, trying to assess his little brother's state of mind. His stomach twisted when he saw how carefully Blaine's hands were curled up the sleeves of his cardigan, how precisely Blaine had dressed himself that morning to make sure he would never accidentally touch another person's skin. It was a sight Cooper hadn't seen in such a long time, and one he hated.

He opened his arms with the smallest of movements, and Blaine slipped into his embrace with an exhausted slump. His bare cheek pressed into the side of Cooper's neck, and Cooper immediately felt the swell of overwhelming fears and doubts through the contact. As clawing stress tried to bind his chest, he took a breath, concentrating on staying calm and neutral while his stomach roiled with emotions that were only in part his own. "Hard?"

Blaine nodded softly, his shoulders already less tense with the comforting touch of his brother.

Cooper wanted to scream. He wanted to yell. He wanted to bundle Blaine up and protect him from the world.

But he couldn't. He wouldn't.

00000

The week, as it went on, got easier. Cooper started to see his brother shine again. Blaine started talking on the car journey home, about the kids at school and the talent of a singing club he had seen rehearse a few times.

But it wasn't until the next week that Blaine really underwent a transformation, and the faceless, abstract kids he had mentioned earlier began to morph into names and descriptions.

Began to become a mysterious boy, named Kurt.

And suddenly, Cooper was helping his little brother buy coffee for Kurt. Kurt, who was amazing. Kurt, who was talented and incredible. Kurt, who was smart and witty and unbelievable. Kurt, who had the most beautiful eyes ever and oh my god Coop shut up I didn't mean it like that!

Kurt, who had brought his brother back to life.

Kurt, who...

Well, to say that his first meeting with the kid had yielded some rather unexpected results would be understating it in the extreme.

As soon as he had seen him, Cooper had known he was different. Tall and pale, the kid walked with a confidence and pride that Cooper could see... but not feel. Cooper didn't need contact to sense surface emotions, and so staring at the kid was like staring into a void. He could see Kurt. He knew he was there, but the lack of subconscious presence set Cooper's teeth on edge. A niggling feeling squirmed in the back of his mind, itched down his spine. His mind demanded information, but everything was distorted, wrong.

Holy crap, how low was this kid on the scale? And why the hell hadn't Blaine mentioned anything? It was definitely one of Kurt's more defining... features.

But Cooper was still an actor, and he had grown up with Blaine. If anyone knew how to read emotions in people, it was him. And he was painfully aware of what it was like for people outside of society's norm. He could already see Kurt's wariness, his resigned expectation of how this meeting would play out.

Except Cooper wasn't that guy. He would never be that guy. Growing up with Blaine had made sure of that.

So he offered his hand, and held it out until Kurt shook it. He didn't let his face show the tiniest hint of discomfort, even though every instinct screamed that something was wrong. If he had still been a teenager, he knew that touching Kurt would have been too much for still settling senses.

Luckily, Cooper was nothing if not stubborn, and he'd be damned if he treated this kid as anything other than an ordinary teenager.

Still, as he got in the car, he couldn't help but sit slightly dazed for a moment.

Of all the kids in the world, and Blaine finds this one.

When Kurt had gone home for the evening, Cooper immediately sought out his little brother, flopping obnoxiously down on Blaine's bed. "So. Kurt."

Blain blinked at him, wary. "Yes..." He dragged out the word suspiciously.

"He's... unusual." Cooper hedged.

Blaine's reaction wasn't quite what he expected. The teenager grinned happily, "Isn't he brilliant? I can't believe... I can't believe how amazingly talented he is, and he wants to be friends with me and, Coop – I can hug him!"

Cooper cocked his head slightly, unable to refrain from smiling as Blaine's joy sparkled warmly. "But that's what I mean. Doesn't Kurt's ES bother you?" Or lack of...

Blaine's confusion skittered at Cooper's fingertips. "Why would it?" Doubt, worry, insecurity. "You do like Kurt, don't you?"

"Woah, reel it back there squirt. I loved Kurt! He's seems like a good kid, and he's clearly great for you."

Blaine shrugged, "Then I don't get what you're talking about..."

"I..." Cooper shifted uncomfortably, unsure of how to pursue the issue when Blaine seemed to be skirting it. "Never mind. What do you want for dinner?"

00000

Cooper stared at his cell, dull in his hands. He had no idea what to do... He couldn't... Especially not after what happened yesterday...

"Coop?" Blaine yawned widely as he entered the kitchen. It was early for a Sunday, and their parents were still in bed, but Cooper had needed to take a call from his agent in New York.

"Hey!" He smiled too brightly, and Blaine noticed immediately that something was wrong. After yesterday, Blaine's nerves were clearly still very raw. Cooper didn't even know why he bothered trying to pretend.

"What's happened? What's going on?" Panic flared in Cooper's gut, and he honestly didn't know if it was Blaine's or his own.

Cooper sighed, signalling for Blaine to join him at the kitchen table, "My agent called. He wants me back in New York a week early for an audition. I said I wouldn't go of course-" Cooper rushed on as soon as Blaine's face paled.

Blaine shook his head. "No, don't! Don't do that Coop, don't pretend..." He ran his hands shakily though his bed head of messy curls, "It's big, isn't it? You really want this audition."

"That doesn't matter Blaine-"

"I don't need a babysitter!" Blaine snapped. "I'm sixteen, and it's not like you weren't gonna leave in a week anyway! You can't put your life on hold for me Coop! I won't let you!"

"Blaine..." Cooper murmured sadly, "I've never put my life on hold for you, and neither have Mom and Dad. You're a part of our lives, not an inconvenience."

"You have to go. You have to." Blaine insisted. "Coop, please..."

"I... Blaine, I don't..." He groaned. In his heart, he knew he wanted this part. He wanted it more than anything he'd ever gone up for. If he got it, it would be career changing. But then there was Blaine's incident yesterday at that damn glee competition... "If I go, you have to let me tell Mom and Dad about what happened yesterday. I don't mind covering for you when I'm still around to keep an eye on you, but if I do leave early, they have to know."

The spike of panic and terror that tore through Cooper's brain took him completely by surprise. Usually he could only feel that sort of intensity when he was touching Blaine. "You can't. Coop, you promised, you can't tell them, especially Mom. Please Coop, please don't, I promise I'll be fine. I am fine, better than fine, see? Not tired, or anything! Please, you promised, you promised-"

Alarmed at Blaine's sudden change in mood, Cooper leapt out of his seat, dropping to his knees in front of Blaine, grasping his arms as he forced eye contact. "Hey, hey calm down, it's okay. Breathe, Blaine, just breathe."

Blaine did as he was instructed, closing his eyes and focussing on the touch of his older brother. When he seemed to have regained some of his equilibrium, he opened his eyes again and mumbled, "Please don't tell them. I don't want to go to Dalton."

Cooper stared at Blaine with unbridled shock. Where the hell had that come from? "Blaine, no one's sending you to Dalton. Mom and Dad barely considered it when you were still in hospital, but that was a long time ago. I promise-"

"I found a prospectus in Mom's desk." Blaine mumbled, his voice wet with pent up emotion. "Before Christmas."

Cooper rubbed his hands up and down Blaine's arms, "No, no Blaine, I promise. It was probably an old one left over-"

"It wasn't. It was next September's." Blaine shook his head, voice cracking. "I don't want to go, Coop, please! If you tell Mom and Dad they'll think I can't cope! They'll make me go!"

Cooper's head swam with Blaine's welling fear and overwrought emotions, but he didn't break contact, instead concentrating on projecting as many soothing feelings as he could scrape together. "Is that why you asked to stop being home schooled? Why you asked to go to McKinley?" Cooper asked quietly.

Blaine nodded, refusing to meet Cooper's eyes, "I wanted to prove that I'm okay... That I'm not a burden..."

Cooper laughed hollowly, drawing Blaine into a hug that the smaller boy melted into willingly, "That is the stupidest idea I have ever heard of, and I've had plenty in my life. Blaine, you are never a burden on this family. Never, you understand?" He felt Blaine nod against his shoulder, felt the dark fear recede. "And I promise, no one's sending you to Dalton."

"You won't tell?"

Cooper bit his lip. He knew he should. He knew that as a responsible adult, he should tell their parents about Blaine's current emotional state... but if he did, then he would lose Blaine's trust. Blaine was clearly already keeping things from their parents, and Cooper needed to know that he wasn't being shut out too. "One condition." He pulled back from Blaine, making sure his little brother was focussed on him, "You tell me everything. However small, you tell me if something happens, whenever your Sensitivity sends you even the slightest off balance, I need to know."

Blaine nodded vigorously, "I promise. And you'll go to your audition?"

Cooper didn't want to, how could he? But Blaine was clearly not going to let this drop, and the younger boy obviously felt he had something to prove. He sighed, giving in, "Alright, I'll go to the audition." Blaine smiled, happy, relieved, and full of a trust that curled tightly around the two brothers.

Cooper really hoped he was making the right decision.

TBC