As Kurt sped off to the mall, Blaine and Finn arrived at the Hudson-Hummel house. If they had been 30 seconds earlier, they might have been able to stop Kurt from his shopping excursion. It was interesting how such a simple thing could change the direction of what happened afterwards.

Blaine wanted to yell at Finn for his lack of concern over Kurt but figured he was probably dealing with Rachel’s getting in to NYADA and his rejection from Pace. Still, he was happy the tall man was with him. Kurt would need all the support he could get.  He was a little concerned when he didn’t see Kurt’s SUV in the driveway but hoped it might be in the garage.

Finn was thinking the same thing and ran to the front door as soon as he left his car. Blaine joined him in the front foyer. “Kurt? Are you there?” yelled Finn as he took off his shoes. There was no answer.

“Dammit. I have a bad feeling about this,” he said with dread. Finn, always the leader, took charge. “Blaine, can you check down here and the garage, and I’ll run upstairs. He might have his headphones on and not be able to hear us.”

Blaine was starting to panic. Kurt would have at least texted him to let him know he was going somewhere. He rushed through the lower floor and looked in the garage. The only car there was Burt’s old work truck. Burt and Carole Hudson-Hummel had flown out to D.C. on business that morning.

Blaine was about to go to the backyard to see if Kurt was lying on the hammock when he heard Finn yell, “Blaine? Dude, get the hell up here… now!”

Blaine’s mind snapped to a worst case scenario. Kurt’s entire life for the past year had been spent trying to get into NYADA. Blaine was scared what his boyfriend might do without a clear direction in his life. When Blaine was younger and had suffered a violent gay bashing at the Sadie Hawkins Dance, his mind went to some very dark places. Almost three years later, he was still seeing a therapist. Kurt wasn’t getting anywhere near the help Blaine was receiving. He honestly didn’t know if Kurt could cope with all the disappointments. Kurt was a strong person, but there were only so many times one’s resolve could be tested before it snapped.

Blaine ran up the stairs to Kurt’s room only to have Finn stop him at the door. “Don’t go in, there’s glass everywhere,” Finn said protectively. “Can you grab my shoes and the broom? I’m going to call Mom and Burt.”

Blaine panicked and exclaimed, “Finn, his car is gone. Shit, where is he?” He went downstairs in a daze, grabbing Finn’s large sneakers and the broom and dustpan. He grabbed some garden gloves from the garage for good measure. There was no need for an emergency room situation.

Blaine sent Kurt another text:

Babe, where the hell are you? Call me please. I’m freaking out here!!

Frustrated with no response, he headed back upstairs.

“Blaine!” Finn called. “That was Mom. Burt is in a meeting but they’ll get home as soon as they can,” he said as he took the broom and sneakers from Blaine. Finn looked into the trashed room and let out a low whistle. “What the HELL got into him?”

“I don’t know, but I gotta go look for him. I’m seriously wigging out here!” said Blaine, getting ready to head downstairs and out the door.

Finn’s phone vibrated. “Blaine, wait,” he commanded. He checked his messages and sighed. It was Mr. Schue, and he was on his way over with Ms. Pillsbury. That was all he needed right now. It was just another complication.

“Is that Kurt?” asked Blaine, stopping halfway down the stairs.

“It’s Mr. Schue. He’s coming over. Mom must’ve called him,” said Finn, rubbing his face in frustration. He thought to himself, “I could’ve handled this. How could things go to shit so quickly? The day started so normal!”

“Well, I’m heading out to look for him,” Blaine said as he got to the bottom of the steps. “Call me if you hear anything.”

“Blaine!” Finn yelled. Blaine stopped at the door and looked back, exasperated.

“Why did Finn always think he was in charge?” Blaine thought bitterly.

He was going to dismiss Finn but the tall man continued, “It might be a good idea to wait here for a bit. Schue is coming over and I’m going to call everyone to keep an eye for Kurt. Besides, we really should clean this mess.”

Blaine let out a heavy sigh but slowly started heading back up the stairs. From what he saw from the bedroom door, they had a pretty big job ahead of them. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a very good view of the whole room from the door. When he stepped inside, it was far worse than he had imagined. Blaine couldn’t help it but tears instantly sprang up in his eyes.

Almost everything that Kurt considered precious was destroyed. All the special things he kept on his shelves were violently thrown into boxes. His Junior Prom crown and scepter were snapped in half. His Thunderclap was ripped to shreds and thrown in the corner. His certificates and pictures were ripped in half. His creams and moisturizers were thrown in his garbage can. His carefully-marked Vogue collection was dumped in the middle of the floor. His walk-in closet, the most sacred of sacred spaces, was almost empty. Most of his clothes were stuffed unceremoniously in garbage bags, and wooden hangers were tossed about the floor. The only things left intact were two picture frames. One was a picture of Kurt’s family, and the other a picture of the two of them from the Senior Prom.

Blaine stepped over a pile of the broken glass, taking care not to step on the shards and grind them into the carpet. Kurt had picked out this carpet; he was so proud of his color choice and how it coordinated with the curtains and paint. Looking around the walls, he noticed that Kurt had pulled down the curtains. “Oh, Kurt!” Blaine gasped. He suddenly felt overwhelmed and let out a small sob at what he saw next. Shattered on the ground was the framed picture of the New Directions after winning their National Championship. The frame had “Best Friends” emblazoned on the top. The shattered glass severely scratched the picture, destroying it.

“GODDAMN IT!” Blaine thundered, punching the wall. Thankfully his fist didn’t damage the already trashed room. He left the room and sat on the top step. Something in him broke and he started sobbing in earnest.

Finn, who was also taking stock of the damage, followed him to the stairs and sat down beside him. He put his arm around the man he had come to love like a brother. Hell, someday he might even become his brother-in-law, depending on the state laws of Ohio. “Blaine, buddy, c’mon. I’m sure he’s ok. Once everyone gets here we’ll go looking for him, alright?” Finn said, trying to soothe his dapper friend.

Blaine suddenly wrapped his arms around Finn awkwardly and was wracked with sobs. “Finn, I should have b-been here for him. I just left him alone just li-like everyone else in his life. This is all my f-fault.”

Finn wrapped his arms around his friend and scolded, “Don’t be stupid, bro. I’m sure none of us ever imagined he would do this. C’mon…its fine.” He let Blaine cry it out for a while, until there was a knock on the front door.

“Come in!” Finn yelled from the top of the stairs.

Will entered, followed by Emma Pillsbury. Finn waved them upstairs. Will came up and at Finn’s urging, took a look in Kurt’s room. Emma followed and gave a small squeak at the mess.

“Our Kurt did this!?” Emma exclaimed, shocked.

“Yeah, kinda crazy, huh?” asked Finn, still holding a crying Blaine. At least his sobs were subsiding and not the wracking sobs of before. Even Finn was fighting the tears brimming in his eyes.

“Let me take him downstairs,” offered Emma, pointing to Blaine. She gently helped him stand up and go down the stairs to the living room. She sat him on the couch and held him. Blaine let out all the emotions tormenting him. Emma was proud of herself for dealing with all of the man’s tears. “So what if they got on my blouse? I’m going to cope. Yes, I’m growing stronger every day. Maybe I could handle children, after all. Yay, crying teens! I can do this!” she thought gleefully.

Back upstairs, Finn was quietly breaking down. His mom and Burt were away, and they depended on their boys to take care of their house. Not only was one room practically written off, Kurt was missing, Kurt’s boyfriend was having a nervous breakdown downstairs, and then there was Rachel and her decision to skip NYADA for a year. It was all too much.

“Mr. Schue, I don’t know what to do,” he said in a small, desperate voice.

Will pulled him up and informed, “First of all, we’ll leave this mess till later. Then we’ll contact the gang and call an emergency meeting.” 

“We can plan a search grid,” Finn offered. He was back in his element.

Will continued, “Until the others arrive, you’re going to rest. You need to build up your strength.”

Finn nodded in agreement. This was a great plan!

“Come downstairs. I’m sure Blaine would appreciate your company,” Will encouraged. It was the best way to get things back under control.

Finn followed Will down the stairs and entered the living room. Blaine was lying down with a blanket, his eyes closed, and he was barely awake. He was emotionally and mentally exhausted. Emma was in the kitchen, making tea for everyone. Will sat Finn in the armchair, encouraged him to relax and turned on the sports channel.

After making sure Finn was comfortable, Will joined Emma in the kitchen. “They’re both resting.” He walked up and hugged his fiancée from behind. “Emma, this is bad.”

Emma turned to her intended, the tea abandoned. “I know. This is not like Kurt at all,” she said in her quiet voice as she nervously played with a button on his shirt.

“All I know is that we have to find him and soon. Can you help me contact everyone?” he asked, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “These guys are only kids…they shouldn’t have to deal with all of this.” Will waved his arms around, almost tossing the phone by accident. He never imagined in his wildest dreams that Kurt would snap like that. Frankly, it terrified him. Of all the New Directions, Kurt seemed to be one of the more sane members. If the same thing happened to one of the more… unstable members, how would they have reacted?

Emma grabbed Will arms and placed them calmly back down. “Of course, sweetie,” she whispered.

They had to find Kurt today. They just had to.

******

Kurt went shopping. He did so much shopping that his credit card was smokin’ by the time he was done. Luckily, he got a generous graduation gift from his grandparents, so that would cover the bill before his dad killed him.

The sad part was that out of all the clothes and accessories he bought that day, it didn’t even come close in price to one of his old outfits. What a waste his old life had been. “From now on, I’m only buying only affordable and simple clothing. Form over fashion. Practicality is the word of the day,” he resolved.

He decided to take a break in shopping and check out the hair salon in the mall. It looked passable for his needs. The wall paper was terrible and the trim didn’t match. Kurt snapped out of his thoughts. “This is a new world you are in, Kurt Hummel. Stop being so gay!” he reprimanded himself.

His stylist was going to kill him but…

“Oh screw it, and screw her,” he mumbled as he entered the shop with his bags. Luckily, it wasn’t very busy so they were able to fit him in right away.

As soon as he sat in the salon chair he instructed, “Cut it all off. No wait! Leave an inch…and I want it black.”

The stylist looked at him like he was going nuts. This severely stylish boy, who she was sure went to a salon that cost at least three times what they charged, was sitting in the chair asking to have his gorgeous hair cut off and colored black. What in the hell was he thinking?

“Are you sure?” she asked hesitantly. “Black is a pretty severe col…”

“I said black!” Kurt snapped then a little less stern, requested, “Please.”

After a moment’s reflection, Kurt introduced himself. After all, this was the woman who might be touching up his roots in the future.

The rest of the time in the chair went quietly. Kurt was not disagreeable when the stylist asked him questions, but he kept his answers short. He also avoided talking about his old life. That was gone now. He wasn’t rude, Kurt was just… well, curt.

 “Kurt, would you mind if I styled your hair a bit? I have an idea that would look great on you,” asked the stylist.

“Sure, why not?” Kurt said, shrugging.

When she was finished, she spun around the chair and let Kurt check out his new look. His brown hair was gone. The waves, all gone. The result shocked Kurt, but not entirely in a bad way. His hair was jet black and about an inch long. She had used lots of product so the small amount of hair he did have left stood in spikes.

“Wow, thanks!” said Kurt, turning his head and looking at it from every angle. Yes, that would do just fine!

The stylist wrote a name down on a business card. “If you change your mind, and you will eventually, here’s the name of a product that will strip that black right off. Or you could come here. I’d be happy to help. Truth be told, Kurt, it just about killed me to cut that hair, but it’s what you wanted, right?” she asked. Getting rid of that black would be huge pain in the ass, but it could be done. And the hair would grow back.

“Exactly. Thanks… I’m sorry, I didn’t even catch your name. That was rude of me, wasn’t it?” said Kurt, handing over his credit card.

“No prob. It’s Carla,” she responded, swiping his card and giving him the receipt. He gave her a large tip. He liked her, and she did a good job on his hair.

“Well, Carla, till next time,” Kurt said and gave her a smart salute. “I’m sorry about earlier, I’m just a bit stressed right now.”

“Gotcha. Well, if you need anything else, my number is right there,” she said, pointing out the phone number on the business card.

“Later,” said Kurt, leaving the salon with his new look. He paused by a mall mirror wall and studied his new look. It was a bit weird and a shocking contrast with his new black spiky hair and his haute couture clothing. He would take care of the clothing soon enough.

******

Artie Abrams was a man on a mission. He was shopping for a new pair of gloves to use with his chair. He had misplaced the left glove the day before and needed to find a new set, pronto! He had asked Brittany along as she could be very handy. She could drive surprisingly well, lift him in and out of the car and into his chair, and pull down things that were out of reach. The fact she was great arm candy was a plus. “That girl is amazing!” Artie thought, still pining away for her. “She was my first. Well, my only, but that could change. Actually, a lot was going to change. Next year I’ll be on top! I’ll run the New Directions, direct the school musical and take the lead role in it, and maybe conduct the Jazz band too! Senior year, I will rule McKinley!”

Artie was knocked out of his daydream by the sight of Kurt stalking up to him. “What the hell?” he exclaimed. “What did you do with your hair?”

“Who is that new boy?” Brittany whispered into his ear.

“It’s Kurt, Brittany. Honestly, can’t you tell?” Artie snapped back, trying not to use the stupid word with her. Sometimes it was so hard to hold back.

“Hi, Brittany. It’s me, your unicorn, except now I’m your Evil Dark Overlord!” Kurt chimed in, dripping with sarcasm and spreading his arms dramatically. He could tell she was even more confused than normal.

Poor Brittany. It was too much for her, and she looked like she might start crying.

“Oh, Kurt, did you get attacked by Vampires?” she asked, taking note of his black hair.

Kurt couldn’t help himself and said in a low, scary voice, “Yes, Brittany, and I may need to feed again!”

Brittany cringed in fear. “I’m both terrified and a little bit turned on right now, Vampire Kurt,” she said in a deadpan voice.

Kurt chuckled, amused at Brittany’s naïve thinking. “Oh, don’t worry. Vampires only drink coffee during the day. Could you go get me a mocha?” he asked, handing Brittany a ten dollar bill and watching her as she scurried off to get him a coffee.

“Kurt, that was mean. Do have any idea how long it’ll take Brittany to figure out you’re not really a vampire? It could take years! Why would you do something like that?” Artie exclaimed. This was not like Kurt at all. He could be sarcastic, but never mean!

“Oh, she’ll get over it,” Kurt said, laughing meanly. “She has the memory of a goldfish. I doubt I’ll even get a mocha. She’ll probably bring me back a muffin, and that’s why she’ll be a five year senior.” It WAS a little mean to Brittany, but he didn’t feel like being very nice to anyone at the moment.

“Well, that was uncalled for,” Artie scolded, “You’ll have to apologize to her when she gets back.”

Kurt stiffened up, anger coursing through his face. He crossed his arms and stated, “I WILL, after you apologize to me.”

“Why? What for?”

Kurt leaned over so he was right in Artie’s face and growled, “Why did you give me the only non-singing role in West Side Story? Why did you laugh at me when Rachel and I performed Romeo and Juliet? You didn’t even let me read for Tony. And why did you roll over my foot when Blaine danced with me while he sang Last Friday Night? Don’t you dare think I didn’t find out that you had planned for me to wear an apron during the PBS special, or that I wasn’t going to sing in it either; Blaine told me. Did you think he wouldn’t? He also told me about the whole ‘have you had sex yet’ debacle you asked him and Rachel. Are you really that STUPID?”

Kurt stood up and took a deep breath. He felt power surge through his veins. Yes, he was back in charge. He lifted his head up and gave Artie his best “I’m superior to you” look.

Artie looked back at him in surprise. He adjusted his glasses and tried to stare Kurt down. Tried being the operative word here.

Artie knew he was going to have to say something to save face. It was awn!! He began by lecturing, “First, you don’t sing. You screech. Your high notes sound like fingernails scratching on a chalkboard.” Kurt just squinted at him, so he continued, “Second, you can’t act because if you think what you’re doing is acting then all of your characters are gay. Tony isn’t gay by the way. Third, booty camp had no effect on your dancing whatsoever. You still dance gay. I’m in a wheelchair and I can dance better than you!” Artie figured he might as well tell all, he had nothing to lose, after all. It wasn’t like Kurt was coming back in September, right? He would be in New York and very far from Artie’s attempt at popularity. “And finally, you wear girl clothes all the time so why would wearing an apron bother you? We all know you’re the girl in your relationship with Blaine,” he finished smugly.

Kurt’s eye grew wide with anger. “I’m NOT the girl. I’m not A girl! You don’t know anything about us, and it’s none of your business anyway,” he said and crossed his arms. He had to fight the urge to keep from dumping Artie out of his wheel chair and stomping on him.

Artie just gave him a “don’t mess with me” look. It was a brave front, as he was a little scared of this new Kurt.

“So, Wheels, do me a favor and take your boy-band singing, hip hop loving, gangsta speaking posterior away from my face, cause I’m going to pull a Tana and go all Lima Heights on your pathetic ass!” said Kurt, stepping forward threateningly.

It was a good thing Brittany came back carrying lemonade and a pretzel before there was an actual altercation. Kurt grabbed the lemonade and dumped it on Artie. 

He turned to Brittany, passed back the cup and said, “You can keep the pretzel, Brittany.” Her eyes widened. He turned back to Artie. “I’m going to take you down, so you better watch your back,” he almost purred with pleasure, and then marched off towards the fountain where Tina had her freak accident.

Artie wiped the lemonade out of his eyes. Goddamn it, that stung! Before he rolled off to the bathroom to clean up the mess, he received a text on his phone.

Has anyone seen Kurt? He is missing. Emergency meeting at Finn’s House.

Artie quickly sent a text back:

Yes. Was at the mall. Don’t know where he went. With Brit. Will be there in a few. 

“Let’s go, Brit, there’s something crazy going on here,” he said as he rolled away. Britney followed, confused and wondering why her unicorn turned into Lord Voldemort.

******

This day was just getting worse and worse, but Kurt really didn’t care anymore. That argument with Artie was a long time coming, and he really didn’t give a shit whether they would talk again. The less he needed to see that puffed up, egotistical Vanilla Ice wannabe, the better!

His time at the mall had come to an end. So far, so good! There were a few things left to get and he would find them at the drug store. He rested in a massage chair by the fountain. Blaine loved these things. His love bordered on obsession, actually. Every time the couple went to the mall, Blaine spent at least half an hour on the things. It couldn’t be good for the back to sit in one of those chairs for that long! Kurt was checking the time and trying to figure out what to do next when his phone vibrated with a message.

Either he wasn’t paying attention, or the vibration function on his phone wasn’t working, or maybe he just didn’t care, because he noticed about ten messages pending, all from members of the New Directions.

Dude, what the hell happened? – Finn

Kurt, please call me. I’m so worried. – Rachel

Boo, get your ass back here and talk to us. – Mercedes

Give me a call as soon as you can. Hope you are OK. – Will

Quit Screwing arond. Where R u? Im gonna beat your ass. OK I wont but I shood – Puck

I’m not driving or walking. Where are you, Kurt? Don’t answer if you are driving. – Quinn

Kurt deleted every single message without answering. He would go home when he damn well felt like it, and now was not the time, especially since his friends were pressuring him to return.. However, when he reached the frantic messages from Blaine, he almost responded. He knew he wasn’t being fair to his boyfriend, and Blaine was the only person he didn’t want to go to hell. He pushed those guilty feeling aside. He was his own person and not accountable to anyone. Blaine would just need to get over it.

There was one more message, from Carole.

Kurt, please contact your brother. We’re on our way home.

“Seriously? I might as well crawl under a rock and die,” Kurt thought as he rolled his eyes. He was trying to imagine how much shit he was going to catch from his dad.

“Well, if I don’t go home, I don’t get in trouble, right?” he murmured to himself as he put his phone in his pocket. He grabbed his bags and went to his SUV to figure out where to go next.

As he got in the car and turned the key, the radio began playing ABC’s “Poisoned Arrow”. It was fate! He knew exactly where he needed to go next.

 ******

Once people started arriving, Blaine was startled awake from his nap. He instantly checked his phone for messages. Nothing. Not a thing. Why was Kurt doing this to him? Looking around, he realized he was alone. Finn had moved from the armchair. Hearing quiet voices in the kitchen, he went out to join them. Rachel was in Finn’s arms, and Mercedes, Quinn, and Sam were there as well.

“Sorry if we woke you, Boo,” said Mercedes, going over to Blaine and giving him a hug. “Have you heard from him?”

“You didn’t wake me and no, I haven’t received any messages. Frankly, I’m really worried. Someone should’ve seen him by now. It’s not as if Lima is that large of a city,” said Blaine with a shaky voice. He was constantly on the verge of tears and had to breathe deep to keep calm.

“I saw Kurt’s bedroom. What in the hell happened up there?” asked Sam. Blaine shrugged because he was as baffled as everyone else.

“I did send him a text. I wasn’t driving or walking when I did it,” Quinn volunteered.

“Mom and Burt couldn’t get a flight until the morning, but they’re on their way,” said Finn stoically. Rachel was sobbing against his chest.

“I suppose I should go upstairs and start cleaning up,” said Blaine numbly as he made his way to the stairs.

“You don’t have to. Ms. Pillsbury and Schue are up there right now. They want us to wait for everyone to arrive so we can spread out and look for Kurt,” said Finn. He was trying to get Rachel to sit down and have some coffee, but she was having none of it.

“I’ll go anyhow, they need to know where to put everything,” he said sadly. “At least everything that wasn’t shattered into a million pieces,” he added to himself.

Blaine trudged up the stairs to find Will and Emma clearing the glass and other messes from the floor. Well, Will was cleaning up the messes. Emma was supervising him from one area to another. She hadn’t brought enough gloves to help with the entire mess. In fact, she had run out minutes after starting the job. Twelve pairs simply were not enough!

Blaine couldn’t believe what awesome human beings those two people were. He’d never had an authority figure in his life show any sort of compassion to kids under their charge, let alone the care and understanding Will and Emma had shown their students.

Will had welcomed Blaine into the school as one of their own, given him solos, listened to his suggestions and visited him at the hospital after his surgery. He never became cross at Blaine, even when he leaked their set list to the Warblers by mistake. Blaine thought for sure they would kick him out of New Directions, especially after Kurt had told him about Jesse St. James and the betrayal that followed. He was genuinely surprised and touched by Will’s acceptance.

He liked Emma, too. She was always friendly to him, but he wasn’t too sure about her qualifications. Still, Kurt liked her a lot, so Blaine was good with going to see her once in a while.   

He knocked on the door frame. “Hey, Ms. P and Mr. Schue. I came to help. I can find places for everything. I know how Kurt kept his things.”

“Wonderful, Blaine,” said Will, picking up the shredded yearbook. “Thanks. If you could find a spot for his clothes that would be great.” Will moved over to where Emma was standing and showed her the destroyed book and asked, “Can we get another one of these?” Emma nodded. She would get a replacement yearbook for Kurt right away.

Blaine moved over to the closet. About 80 percent of Kurt’s wardrobe was ripped from the hangers and was either lying on the floor or shoved unceremoniously into large black garbage bags. This was one area that even Blaine was barely allowed to enter. Kurt treated his clothes like children! What made him do this?

“Mr. Schue?” he called from the closet. “It looks like he was getting ready to throw out his clothes. The family has a spare room in the basement. I’ll put the clothes down there. They’re way too valuable to throw away.”

“That’s a good idea. I’m not sure what happened, but we really need to talk to him about this. He would never do this to his clothes,” said Will as he turned to a teary Blaine. “You know what? Don’t worry about helping. Emma and I have it. Can you order some pizzas for when everyone comes? Here’s my credit card.” He pulled out his wallet and passed the card to Blaine. He wouldn’t do that to just anyone, but Blaine was one of the trustworthy students. “This might be a long night so order plenty, and send Finn up for the rest of the bags.”

“If I can get Rachel detached from him, sure,” said Blaine with a small smile. He grabbed a couple of the fuller bags and brought them to the basement spare room. On his way down, he asked Finn to go up and help get the rest of the clothes to the basement. Rachel didn’t want to let him go, but Finn insisted.

While Finn was upstairs, a few more New Directions members arrived. Santana and Puck, along with Sugar and Rory turned up at the same time. Tina and Mike sent a text that they were on their way, but they wanted to sweep their neighborhood first for Kurt’s Navigator. Joe couldn’t make it as he was on the planning committee for his church’s Vacation Bible School, but he was praying for Kurt and his safe return. They were all very sympathetic to Blaine and were sincerely worried for Kurt.

After dropping off the clothes, Blaine ushered everyone into the living room for an update, although there wasn’t much to tell, and to find out who wanted what for pizza. After listening to everyone squabble over what type of pizza to order, Blaine gave up and called in an order of half pepperoni and half cheese pizzas, with one vegetarian pizza for Rachel. There was no pleasing anyone, especially this gang. He was amazed that New Directions could even get through a musical number without arguing. The Warblers were so much more agreeable. He sat at the kitchen table more irritated than anything else. “What was the matter with these people? More worried about their stomachs than Kurt,” he thought angrily.

Blaine didn’t think it was the NYADA letter that made Kurt do this. There was something else; something else he was not letting on. He let out a shaky sigh and rubbed his face. He sent his mother a text letting her know that he was going to be home late and might stay the night at Rachel’s. He never let on that his sleepovers were more than likely at Kurt’s. Rachel and her dads were cool about covering for him. It didn’t really matter anyhow. His dad was out of town, as usual, and his mom didn’t really care where he was. It made things easier, he supposed.

“Hey Broccoli-head, have you heard from Kurt?” asked Santana as she entered the kitchen, peering in the fridge for a soda. “I know Artie and Brit are at the mall, so they’ll keep their eyes peeled.”

“No, and I think I’m on the verge of a nervous breakdown,” said Blaine. The old anxiety he had before meeting Kurt was creeping back.

Santana sat at the table and grabbed Blaine’s hand. “Hey, B, you need to chill. Kurt is a strong dude. He’ll be ok. We’ll find him. Why don’t you give the Dalton guys a call, and they can join in the search, too. Besides, as soon as I find him I’m going to give him a good sound ass-kicking.”

“Charming, Santana. You’re ever the lady,” said Blaine drily with a small smile and a subtle bow. “I shall hold Kurt down for you so you may administer that ass-kicking to its fullest potential. Seriously, I’m really worried about him.”

“I am, too,” said Santana, patting his hand and getting up. “Come on, short stuff. We’re all gathering in the living room to figure out a plan of attack. We’re just waiting for my girlfriend and her wheelchaired sidekick.” She gave him a giant smile and walked out of the kitchen.

Blaine was about to follow when he felt his phone vibrate. “Kurt!” he thought as he checked. It was from Artie. Speak of the devil.

Yes. Was at the mall. Don’t know where he went. With Brit. Will be there in a few. 

Followed by a second text.

Need to change my clothes. Something whack is going on. Will explain when we get there.

Brittany’s text was slightly more confusing.

Do you have Garlic?

Blaine wanted to cry out in relief. Kurt was okay. He was at the mall. It still didn’t explain why he wasn’t answering his phone or texts. They would still go out and search, but knowing Kurt was okay brought down Blaine’s anxiety about a million degrees. He wasn’t sure why Artie wanted to change, but hey, whatever he wanted, right? And maybe Brittany liked garlic on her pizza. Wait, how would she know about the pizza? Blaine brushed that last thought from his mind.

He ran into the living room excitedly. Everyone was making small talk. “Artie just texted me. He saw Kurt at the mall. He’s okay!”

The looks of relief on his friend’s faces were comforting. So maybe everyone was as worried about Kurt’s crazy disappearance as Blaine was. “Unfortunately, the mall is now closed, so I have no idea where he went next. Artie is on his way with Brittany and will explain everything,” Blaine added. Finn bolted upstairs to let Will and Emma know the good news.

“Well, it looks like I lost my title as resident crazy,” Quinn said offhandedly. Everyone in the room shot daggers at her. “What? No one can take a joke?” she asked, shrugging.

“Not the time, Quinn,” warned Santana. Blaine was surprised at the compassion Santana was showing Kurt lately.

There were no chairs available, so Blaine practically collapsed on the floor. Rachel, who was once again Finn-less, moved over to where he was sprawled out. She wrapped her arms around him and put her head on his shoulder. Kurt was her best friend, and she knew him a lot longer than Blaine did. “Worst… day… ever,” she murmured into his shoulder.

“You said it, Rach,” answered Blaine, resting his head on top of hers.

Puck sat in the corner, fiddling with his hands. “My boy Kurt is out there, dammit! All we’re doing is sitting here wasting time!” he thought. “Guys, can we please get this started? I’m going crazy here,” he said to the other New Directions in the room.

Finn came back down the stairs, and hearing Puck asserted himself. “I know, dude, but we need to make sure we have the energy to do this. I promise as soon as the pizza comes we’ll head out.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever,” said Puck in a huff. He looked over to Sam, who was playing around with his old guitar. “Sam, mind if I tune it? It sounds a little flat.”

Sam shrugged and passed over the guitar. It was a gift from Finn, Rachel, and the rest of the glee club. When his parents lost their jobs, he had to sell it off to pay rent, and his two friends bought it back. That guitar was one of the most precious things he owned. He passed it over, stood up and started pacing. He was really worried about this uncharacteristic act of Kurt. Kurt was there for Sam when he needed people the most. Granted, the clothes he gave Sam were a little out there, but the thought was very touching.

Puck started plucking the strings, refining the notes even further than Sam had. “That dude’s good!” thought Sam to himself. He thought the guitar was perfectly tuned, but Puck had made the notes sound even purer.

Blaine was sitting on the floor, cuddling with Rachel and talking softly to her. Puck felt he had to do SOMETHING before he went nuts. Flashing through Puck’s mind were the few weeks he spent at Juvie, picking up trash on the side of the road. Inspiration hit and he started singing to Blaine:

“When your day is long and the night,
And the night is yours alone.
When you’re sure you’ve had enough of this life,
Hang on.
Don’t let yourself go.
Everybody cries and everybody hurts,
Sometimes.”

Puck looked at Sam and Finn, encouraging them to join in. While they were singing, they were thinking of the pains of their respective lives. Sam thought about sitting in a hotel room, wishing for his guitar and watching his little brother and sister while his parents went looking for jobs. Finn’s mind went back to the beginning of the school year, when he watched Shane being recruited for the college scholarship. Finn sang the background while he looked sadly at everyone.

“Sometimes everything is wrong.
And now it’s time to sing along.
When you day is night alone (hold on, hold on).
If you feel like letting go (hold on).
When you think you’ve had too much of this life, well hang on.
Everybody hurts.
Take comfort in your friends. Everybody hurts.”

Puck moved over to Santana and Mercedes, who were holding hands. The boys stopped singing while the ladies took over. Santana sang, pouring out her pain that was still very real. She thought of her abuela, who had yet to talk to her after she threw Santana out of her house.

“Don’t throw your hand. Oh,no.
Don’t throw you hand,
If you feel like you’re alone.”

Mercedes waved her hand signaling that she would take over. Her mind thought back to the time she was forced to diet to remain on the Cheerios. Yes, she was a proud black woman, but she was always self-conscious about her weight. And as nice as Sue Sylvester had become, back then she took advantage of Mercedes’ insecurities.

“No, no, no, you are not alone.”

Quinn took over with her clear, thin voice. She thought back to the time her father kicked her out when she told her parents she was pregnant. Her parents had since divorced, and her relationship with her mother was somewhat repaired, but the hurt was all too real.

“If you’re on your own in this life.
The days and nights are long.”

Puck slowly walked over to Quinn and joined in, giving silent support with his body language. He was the reason she went through the hell she did two years ago. Because of this, they would always have a bond.

“When you think you’ve had too much of this life to hang on.
Well, everybody hurts sometimes.”

Finally, Puck slowly walked over to Blaine and Rachel, who were still holding each other, tears streaming down their faces. They both stood up and took over for Quinn and Puck, holding hands. Rachel was thinking about being alone in New York. It wasn’t supposed to be like this! Blaine thought about Kurt out in Lima alone, doing goodness knows what.

“Everybody cries.
And everybody hurts sometimes.
And everybody hurts sometimes.”

The rest of the New Directions joined in, thinking about their own personal pains. Rory was thinking about his family back in Ireland, and also about missing this family he made in the US. Sugar thought about the Troubletones and how they lost Regionals. She had made so many friends in this group, though, and looked forward to ruling the group next year. Mike thought about the incident earlier in the year when his dad essentially disowned him. That was the most pain he had ever felt, that he had failed in his father’s eyes. Since then, they had reconciled and his father had become his biggest fan. Lastly, Tina felt the pain of constantly having to live under Rachel’s shadow, and the freak accident in the fountain.

The entire group came together in the last emotional chorus. As they sang, Will and Emma came down the stairs, looking proudly at their charges. Emma had a tear in her eye and Will put his arm around her. This was his family, and he couldn’t be prouder of the support everyone was giving Blaine.

“So hold on, hold on,
Hold on, hold on,
Hold on, hold on,
(Hold on, hold on).”

Puck took the last two lines, singing directly to Blaine.

“Everybody hurts.
You are not alone.”

As he finished the song, Puck passed the guitar back to Sam and stood in front of Blaine. Blaine’s face was wet with tears, and he was overcome with love for his friends. No one had EVER been there for him like the New Directions were. He brought Puck into a bone crushing hug and whispered, “Thank you, Puck. For everything.”

Puck answered, fighting tears, “You’re family, dude. Get used to it.”

After the boys finished their hug, Blaine turned to the rest of the group. “Thank you. This means so much to me. Sometimes it’s hard to realize that other people are hurting too. I love you all,” he said as he started to gather everyone for a group hug. They all came together in love and worry for one of their best friends. Will and Emma joined the outside of the large knot of friends and added themselves to the group.

They all sat, quietly talking until the pizza arrived. “It feels like I’m at a funeral,” Blaine thought bitterly. Mercifully, before he could dwell on it any longer, the doorbell rang signaling the arrival of the pizza. Artie and Brittany hadn’t arrived yet, but the pizza smelled so good and the kids were all so hungry, they dug in.

While they were eating, they split themselves into pairs and assigned each other areas to look. Since Finn was going to hold down the fort, Rachel volunteered to go with Blaine to talk to the Warblers at Dalton. It was the end of the school year, but their classes didn’t let out until next week, so the Warblers would all still be there.

“Artie and Brit are here,” Quinn called out. She had taken up watch at the front window. 

The boys ran outside to help Artie with his chair and carry him into the house.

“Tell us what happened,” Blaine demanded.

“Let me catch my breath,” Artie commanded. He loved being the center of attention.

Blaine was ready to kill him!

“My Unicorn turned into He-who-must-not-be-named,” said Brittany to no one in particular. In her arms was Lord Tubbington, her morbidly obese gray tiger cat. “LT is a master tracker. Give me something of Kurtsie’s to sniff, and LT will follow him till he’s found!” she said with joy.

Blaine looked at Brittany with confusion. He loved her very much, but why the hell was she talking about Unicorns and Voldemort? Sometimes he needed a translator to figure her out. He shook his head and looked at Artie. “You said you saw Kurt? What took you so long?”

“I had to change and clean up my lemonade facial…”

“Which is like a slushie facial but tartier,” interrupted Brittany.

“Tartier just like you, Brit?” quipped Puck. That got a hard smack in the arm by Santana. “Ow! Dammit, Santana, I was just kidding!”

Artie wheeled into the living room and spotted the pizza. The gang had made sure to save some for their tardy friends. “Sweet, thanks for the ‘za, guys!” he said, grabbing a couple pieces.

“Artie… Kurt?” said Blaine impatiently.

“Oh, shit. Sorry, Blaine,” Artie said with a mouth full of pizza. He swallowed and continued, “Yeah, I saw him at the mall coming out of a shop with a bunch of bags. He and I had some strong words. They were pretty hurtful on both ends. I might regret some of it, but there are some things that I stand behind. His dancing really IS bad. Every dance move is a shimmy. I probably should’ve been more tactful in my approach. He got pissed off and dumped a large lemonade on my head. Then he stomped off in a huff.”

“What the hell…” said Blaine, looking around the room. Everyone had some pretty shocked looks on their faces.

Brittany walked over to Santana and hugged her as she asked, “Tana, is Kurt going to get into a fight with werewolves?”

Santana wrapped her arms around her girlfriend and kissed her forehead. “Don’t be silly Brit; no he won’t,” she assured gently. Blaine was amazed at the relationship the two women had. It was almost magical the way the fiery Latina understood the flighty blonde.

Realizing he was no longer the center of attention, Artie began waving his arms and said, “Blaine, there is something I need to tell you. It’s just that Kurt...”

Artie was interrupted by Blaine’s phone ringing. On the caller ID was S. Smythe. “Excuse me, guys,” he said, leaving the room for quiet. “Sebastian, this really isn’t a good time. What in the hell do you want? I thought I told you I don’t want you to call anymore.”

“Well if it isn’t Sex-on-a-stick!” drawled the voice on the other end. “Did you miss me?”

“NO!” Blaine snapped. “Again, what do you want? If you won’t tell me, this call is over,” he added. He was tempted to hit the end call button anyhow. This dude had some balls, that’s for sure.

“Testy, aren’t we? Well I would suggest you get your tight ass down to our favorite friendly neighborhood gay bar, because there’s something down here that belongs to you.”

“Please tell me, what in the hell would I want at Scandals. I have Kurt,” said Blaine sarcastically. He really disliked this slimeball.

“Well, I spy with my exceptionally gorgeous blue eyes someone by the name of Gayface,” Sebastian retorted.

Kurt.

“Keep him there! I’m on my way!” he said, rushing into the living room.

“Looking forward to it, sweet cheeks,” Sebastian said and chuckled. “Karofsky is here too. If I were you, I would hurry. Kurt might be snatched up before you get here. You might find him laid out on the bar like a smorgasbord feast for all the patrons to enjoy. Our little boy has all grown up. I think you’re about to lose your sex-on-a-stick title to your boyfriend, big boy.”

Blaine ended the call and saw that his friends were waiting expectantly. “Kurt… Scandals... Sebastian… gotta go…” he said breathlessly.

“What?” Mr. Shue asked and looked puzzled at Emma. Emma shrugged her shoulders. She had no idea what Blaine was talking about.

Santana left Brittany talking to Mercedes about the Troubletones and joined Blaine. “I’m coming, too. I have a fake ID. They love me down there!” she exclaimed.

“Down where?” asked Will, completely confused. Everyone laughed because they knew what Blaine was talking about. Poor Will and Emma! They had no clue about some of Lima’s more seedier night life attractions.

“We’ll be back with Kurt soon, guys,” said Blaine, grabbing Santana’s arm and pulling her out the door. “Finn, start an X-box tournament or something.”

“Sweet!” Finn said, jumping up from the couch and running upstairs to get his game system.

Rachel had a sour look on her face. Those dumb video games were a waste of time. He should be working on his voice and dancing so he could audition next year. But at least her best friend was coming back home.