He doesn’t run into him again, and by Friday, any organism that just so resembles a human being could potentially be the man who has so intensely intrigued Blaine Anderson, and so he spends every second watching out for him. The most distant sighting of brown hair has him chasing down after whomever the person happens to be, something which results in funny looks and more than one awkward situation with an old school classmate.

Even Cooper notices something is off, and he’s only been around for three days.

“You ok?” He asks one evening during their customary Lord of the Rings marathon. “It looks as though you’re just about ready to explode or something.”

“I’m fine,” Blaine mumbles.

As usual, Cooper pries on. Blaine is used to it; along with the many privileges living with Cooper brings, ones Blaine would love to disclose if he only had a day or so, his older brother’s company also means him finding himself speaking out every thought inside his head. Cooper somehow manages to extract every single detail of Blaine’s life, even the old rusty thoughts that litter the corner of his head, even the ones he didn’t even know existed.

It can either be really good, or really bad. Cooper is not one to divulge Blaine’s secrets or more private sayings, but he has used them to get what he wants on several occasions, even stooping as low as to blackmail him to convince him not to tell their mother he was the one who broke the Fertility Vase that had been passed on for five generations in their family.

Still, Cooper is like a rock for Blaine. His mother, being what she is, and his father, not being, Cooper is all Blaine can rely on, and he often finds himself wondering what he’d do without him.
“Well, so the other day I was walking Wilson,”—They’d only just picked a name for the cat together—“When a boy, or a man, really, walks into me and knocks me down, and then he grabbed my hand to pick me up. And when I saw him, he was really good-looking, and he was also nice and funny and he seemed really smart. And I keep seeing him, except it’s never him, but I can’t stop thinking about him,” He gushes, not stopping to take a breath now that he can finally share what he’s been thinking about for nights on end.

“Oooh,” Cooper very nearly shrieks, popcorn flying everywhere as he pauses the movie and turns to face Blaine completely, knees tucked under the cushions of the couch. “Tell me everything.”

And Blaine does.

As Cooper listens, he thinks about how much Blaine has grown. It seems like only yesterday he was just a baby, playing around with a soccer ball or jumping into mud ponds.

Sometimes, even right in the middle of an important scene, one he knows millions of people are watching, he forgets all about his lines and ‘key concepts.’ He completely pushes away the voice in his ear that’s telling him exactly what to say and how to react, even removes the ear bud when he knows Blaine isn’t looking and just goes with it, because he knows he won’t screw it up.

Because Blaine is his brother; he’s been so for the last 19 years of his life. Since he was seven and being interviewed about his new job, about what he thought of the tiny baby that was going to be his brother, and now, when he’s 26 still in it for the win.

It’s moments like these that give him that melancholy feeling in the pit of his stomach, the one that won’t go away no matter how hard he tries to ignore it. The moments when Blaine’s eyes are bright and lively, when he’s raving on and on about this man he seems to have fallen for. A man who could be made into a serial killer just to mess with Blaine’s heart and gain viewers, or a man who could claim to love him, abandon him, participate in his beating down to, and leave him broken-hearted and empty.

He thinks of the viewers, hanging on to each word. He thinks of the banners that are already being put up in every single household; ones with ‘Kurt and Blaine’ written on them.

Then, he thinks of Blaine. So innocent and kind. Not once has he ever been caught in camera doing something cruel, or something that could ever be considered even remotely disrespectful, and he is filmed every second of every day.

He wishes it were him instead.

Anyone but Blaine.

“And now, I just don’t even know what to do. And even if I do see him again, what am I supposed to say?” Blaine asks, hands gesticulating madly. “Hi, you pushed me down the other day by the bridge and now I can’t stop thinking about you?”

Cooper snorts, shaking his head at his brother’s silliness.

Blaine sighs, the spark of happiness not once leaving his eyes as he looks into the distance dreamily. “I have a feeling about this one.”

“Just be careful,” Cooper says quickly, as if he’s afraid Blaine won’t have time to hear it. “You don’t want to rush it. If it’s mean to be, you’ll see him again, and I’m sure you will. Maybe he only comes out of his apartment on certain Mondays of certain months. Maybe he’s a hermit, and it’s your job to pull him out of his shell. That sounds romantic, eh?”

Blaine laughs, feeling free and happy like he hasn’t in a while.

“I’ll want to meet him. Hopefully before you give him a house, all your money, and your children, just so I can evaluate his sanity. You know the kinds of madmen who run around nowadays.”

“Sure,” Blaine nods.

“Is that all? Can we go back to the Ring now?” Cooper asks. He reaches for the remote and presses play, not even waiting for an answer.

Blaine smiles, runs to the kitchen to make more popcorn, and returns to their party.

A few minutes later, their mother joins them in the small couch by the window, where she sits knitting a sweater. It’s Blaine’s turn to keep it; she takes turns between her two sons, knitting them enough sweaters for a few generations.

He doesn’t move away when she reaches for his hand, content.

Only two of the people in the room can hear the delighted ‘aww’s and ‘oh, Blaine, honey’s as they vibrate through the set. One of them keeps from flinching, while the other shoots a discreet wink to the camera hidden in the garden bush.

“Tell us about Copper Anderson. Did you always plan for him to become what he is?”

“Yes. I always knew I wanted a funny older-brother, one who could balance out the dapperness we would cultivate into Blaine. Hardly anything in the show is a coincidence; we work very hard to make it look like it.” Reed answers mechanically. He’s answered the question about a billion times before, in many different languages.
“Did you expect him to be as popular as he is?” The interviewer asks quickly, as if she doesn’t want to waste any time in her urgency to know all about The Blaine Show.

“Yes, and no. I think I myself would also like Cooper’s character; his charisma, his charm, his looks for all the girls out there, his humor, and his sarcasm. He’s just the kind of person one can’t help but like, the one who everyone wants to know, so I understand the interest everyone has taken to him. Still, I didn’t expect it to be this big. I have to keep reminding people Cooper is a hired actor, they keep asking me to fit him into the show more.” He says expertly. “Some people even prefer him to Blaine, but that’s only natural.”

“Does the actor also have a lot to do with it?” She asks. A picture of Cooper comes up in the screen behind them, and there are wild cheers from the audience.

Reed chuckles. “Of course. Cooper knows what he’s doing. There’s chemistry between them, he’s grown to know just what to say and how to say it.”

“Can you confirm the rumors that you’re planning on taking him away from the show?”

“How could I? This isn’t a soap opera, neither a regular show. How would we explain to Blaine his brothers gone?” There’s more laughter.

The interviewer giggles, shaking her head and correcting herself. “There are rumors that you plan on killing him.”

“Kill Cooper? I’m not that cruel. Blaine would shatter.”

“So you deny them?”

“It’s not likely to happen. Still, people got so mad at me after the Jeremiah-Blaine incident, I’d rather not confirm anything.”

There are moans and boo’s from the audience.

“Hey, it’s The Blaine Show. Anything could happen, right?”

He winks.