"Ok let's take a break! Rehearsal is going wonderful so far! I'm so proud of you guys!" Andrea stood in front of the stage looking at all of her actors. Everyone brought something mature and beautiful to the play, if this didn't turn out to be the number one play on Broadway then she was going to quit. She was so proud of how much these people had accomplished, she had handpicked every single person and they melded together to create one body. She watched quietly as Kurt walked offstage with Alyssa and Blaine. She was the most proud of Kurt. She had been unsure about the young boy who had shown up to audition for the Phantom but as soon as he opened his mouth she was enraptured.

"Hello, my name is Kurt Hummel and I will be auditioning for the part of the Phantom." He looked confident enough, Andrea thought, but he's so young. "Well Mr. Hummel, what makes you think you should get the part?" Kurt cleared his throat and answered, "well the Phantom is always looked down upon as being the bad guy when in all reality the Phantom was just looking for love. His problem was only that he became obsessed and ended up driving the one person who cared away. I- I have a lot in common with the Phantom." Andrea felt bad for the boy. His eyes shone with emotion that boys his age should not have. Anger, resentment, regret. His eyes were far older than his looks; those eyes would haunt Andrea all day until she fell asleep. What was more haunting though was the voice that came from Kurt's mouth. He had chosen to sing "All I Ask of You" for the part and as soon as he finished Andrea knew she had her lead. "Thank you Mr. Hummel" was all she said though, "we'll let you know within the week whether we think you're a good fit or not."

Andrea was pulled from her thoughts by an ear-splitting scream. She ran into the hallway hoping nothing had caught on fire. What she saw at the opposite end of the hallway was almost worse. Kurt was white as a sheet and was being held up by Alyssa and Blaine.
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Kurt was laughing along with Blaine and Alyssa as he opened the door. He stopped dead in his tracks and let a blood-curling scream. He crumpled; luckily Blaine caught him before he hit the hard floor. Alyssa clutched Kurt as she scanned the scene in front of her. All of the roses Blaine had given him were thrown on the floor, the vase shattered on top of them. All of Kurt's makeup had been smashed and his clothing was strewn on the floor. Written on the mirror in scrawling, blood red letters were the words, 'Last Warning'. Kurt whimpered into Blaine's shoulder, just needing comfort from someone. "Kurt, I, I don't know what to say." Blaine just held the slender boy tighter to him, rubbing small circles onto his back.

"Why would someone do something like this?" Alyssa whispered, looking as if she were about to vomit. "Who in their right mind would tear up a dressing room in a Broadway theater?"

"Someone very angry." Alyssa and Blaine looked at Kurt who had spoken. "I-I received a letter today with my newspaper. I just thought it was a joke, I mean everyone has that crazy fan right?" He pulled himself up straighter but allowed Blaine to keep his arms on him. Kurt let out a hollow laugh. "The sender of that note would not be happy if they saw this scene right now."

Blaine looked up at Kurt. "What do you mean?" he asked in a hushed tone, his eyes conveying his worry.

Kurt pulled away from Blaine and sighed. "The letter told me I needed to stay away from you." He looked at Blaine warily. "Know anyone who would hate the idea of me and you being friends."

Blaine blanched. "No, it-it can't be."

"Blaine, you do know someone? Who?"

"Ian. He and I dated a few years ago but when I broke it off with him, well he kind of went nuts."

Kurt wanted to ask how Blaine had managed to be with another guy when Kurt had shut himself off from every guy that walked his way. Instead, he swallowed and asked. "How nuts exactly?"

Blaine pulled them towards his dressing room. "I'd rather not talk about this in the hallway." He turned to Michael, one of the stage hands. "Michael, can you please clean up the mess in Kurt's dressing room. Oh, make sure all of his makeup gets replaced. If you have to, put it on my credit card." He pulled the two into the darkened room and sunk onto the couch. Kurt took a seat next to Blaine, automatically assuming his position as comforter. Alyssa looked at the scene in front of her. If it had been under different circumstances she would have found the whole thing endearing. She suddenly felt uncomfortable, not knowing whether she should be taking part in this or not. "Um, do you want me to leave or?" she asked, looking at Blaine.

"No stay, you are a part of this too, plus, you're my friend."

Alyssa took the chair in front of Blaine's dressing table. She glanced over the contents of the table and smiled as her eyes saw a handwritten list. She turned back to the two men on the couch. "So Blaine, who exactly is Ian?"

"Well we met when I was working at the Lima Bean. His family had just moved there and he was looking for a friend. He came in often, one time while I was taking my break. He came over to the table I was sitting at and we talked for a while. He and I had a lot of the same issues. His family had moved here from some small town I had never heard of because of the bullying Ian had faced. He was full of anger and resentment and I felt bad for the kid. We kept talking and dated for a while but ended it beca- well that doesn't matter but yeah we ended it. He started stalking me. He would come into the Lima Bean and beg me to take him back. It was so bad that Carl ended up firing me because people were leaving when he was around. One day though, he must have just snapped. I woke up to a tapping on my window; it was him, trying to get into my room. I told him that that was the last straw. I went to the police and put a restraining order against him." Blaine paused, leaning back on the couch. Kurt placed his hand on Blaine's. He knew this was hard and he couldn't help but to feel bad for him. Blaine continued, "the next day I received a letter on my doorstep. It was one of those where the person had cut the letters out of a magazine." Blaine felt Kurt stiffen next to him. "Was that what you got Kurt?" The other boy nodded his head. Blaine sighed and went on with his story. "The note was a warning to me. Basically he told me that if I ever dated anyone else then he would go crazy." A tear ran down his face. "I came out here to start over again, to find you and to try to get my old life back. All I've done is put the one person I care about in danger. I'm so sorry Kurt. If you hate me, I completely understand."

Kurt had never seen this side of Blaine before. He was open and emotional, but at a different depth than he had ever seen before. Kurt grabbed Blaine's hands and looked him square in the eye. "I do not hate you Blaine. I thought I did. I had a good reason to hate you too I'm pretty sure, but that was the eighteen year old Blaine I knew. I may not like you that much sometimes but you are my friend. No amount of crazy people is going to stop me from being that."

Blaine gave a small smile. 'Well at least this is better then you throwing Chinese food at me and forcing me out of your apartment. Did you ever get the stain out of your carpet?"

Kurt blushed slightly "yes, I called someone to clean it for me. Sorry about that by the way."

"Don't mention it. I deserved it for thinking that you would just forgive me like that after what I put you through."

"Hey, I have an idea. Come to my apartment for dinner tonight with me and the parents."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I think they deserve to know everything that's going on and I think you should explain what happened five years ago."

"Oh great, dinner and a shotgun shell." Blaine laughed before he turned serious again. "But Kurt, what are we going to do about Ian?"

"There's not much we can do. We don't have enough evidence of it being him really to go to the police. We should just alert the cast and crew and I'll lock the dressing room door from now on."

"Come on guys, "Kurt said standing up. "Let's go finish this rehearsal. Let's give it everything we've got!"

The three laughed, and left the dressing room together. Andrea watched them as they walked past. Her three stars had come so far since she first met all three of them. She remembered when Blaine had walked into the audition room. He was the last one for the day, and the only one who she had talked to that did not have a portfolio. She watched his tryout, mesmerized by the emotions the boy could portray. She had only met one other actor in her life that lit a room like Blaine did, both of them were leads in her play. She hadn't known about the history between them, but she was glad to see that they had worked it out. At first she thought that she had made a mistake in hiring Blaine, his emotions seemed guarded on the stage at first but once he and Kurt had stopped having their daily fights the boy that she had seen audition shone through once again.
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Rehearsal ran smoothly that night. Everyone had heard about what had happened in Kurt's dressing room, nothing was a secret in a Broadway cast. For once though, the gossip was helpful. Everyone now knew who Ian was, well the short condensed version of who he was and they all had his description. Andrea clapped as the curtains fell for the final time. The cast walked out and took their bows and then sat on the edge of the stage. "That was wonderful everyone! I am very excited for tomorrow! You all are stars, it doesn't matter who is in the spotlight the longest, even if our dear Kurt begs to differ on that point." Everyone laughed and Alyssa hugged her best friend. "Now as long as we perform just as well as we did tonight, or better we will be the number one selling show on Broadway again, I'm sure of it!"

Everyone excitedly began chattering about who would be at the premiere, what celebrities they might meet, what producers might see them perform. Kurt, Alyssa and Blaine were sitting in their own corner chatting amongst themselves about a much more somber subject. "You two be careful tonight please? If you get a bad feeling then stay at Kurt's ok Blaine? I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

"He might not mind but I'd be afraid of Burt giving me a nice talking to all night and then I'd fall asleep on stage!"

"Hey! Dad isn't that protective! He would just make sure you knew he had a shotgun under his pillow."

"He might have to use it on Ian. Could you imagine if he knew I was going home with you?"

Kurt shuddered. "Yes. Let's not discuss that please. He won't know because we are walking out that door, getting a cab, and walking into my locked apartment complex."

"Be safe you two, just keep an eye out wherever you go." Alyssa hugged the both of them as they all headed towards the exit.

Blaine hailed a taxi and held the door open for Kurt. "Pray for me" he told Alyssa while Kurt was sliding in. "I hope to make it through this alive."

"You'll be fine Blaine. Once the Hummel's see Kurt trusts you, they'll loosen up some."

"If Kurt trusts me. He still gives me these looks sometimes that hurt. It's like he's just waiting for me to leave him again."

"Show him that you aren't planning on doing that again. Be safe Blaine. I won't rest until I see you two safe and sound tomorrow at four," she gave Blaine a quick peck on the cheek before he climbed into the car. "Take care of my porcelain doll for me!"

Blaine laughed and waved to his friend as the cab pulled away from the curb. He looked over at Kurt. The pale boy was staring out the window, the lights of the city reflecting in his eyes. Kurt hadn't changed much in the past five years. He had grown a little taller and gained some muscle but other than that he was the spitting image of the boy he had known so well at Dalton. Blaine smiled as an old Train song came on the radio. He remembered when they had performed the same song at Sectionals one year. That had been a crazy year; they had tied at Sectionals with Kurt's old Glee club, New Directions. Blaine jumped slightly when a soft hand was placed over his. He turned to see Kurt staring at him. "Remember when we sang this at Sectionals?"

"I was just thinking about that actually" Blaine laughed, taking Kurt's hand in his own. "That was so long ago, you were just a little newborn Warbler."

Kurt laughed. "How na�ve I was back then! I was so out of place when I first go there. Being in the Warblers was a lot different than being in New Directions."

Blaine laughed, "Yeah you could say that." He let go of Kurt's hand as the cab slowed to a stop outside Kurt's apartment building. He passed some money up to the driver. "Keep the change."

"Blaine I can pay for a cab!"

"So? I'm the reason you're in the cab in the first place!"

The boys hurried to the door and Kurt swiped his key card in the front door. They took the elevator to the second floor. Kurt opened the door to his apartment while Blaine kept an eye out. He opened the door and was greeted by a wonderful smell wafting in from the kitchen. "Mom! Dad! I'm home! I brought a guest!" Kurt threw his bag next to the couch and picked up the kitten that was intertwining itself between Kurt's legs. "Well hello there" he purred. "Did you miss me while I was gone all day?"

"I take it you like him?" Blaine laughed watching Kurt love on the white ball of fluff. "He looked so sad when I was at the shelter, I just had to save him but my apartment building doesn't allow pets."

"Well he's certainly in good hands" Kurt laughed placing Snoball back on the floor.

"Kurt honey is that you? Did you say you brought a guest?" Carole walked in from the kitchen area. "Oh Blaine…how wonderful it is to see you!" She smiled brightly but it didn't quite make it to her eyes. She hugged him and then looked at him. He had let his hair grow out and wasn't attempting to tame his curls anymore. He was slightly taller and his eyes had a sad look to them.

Burt walked into the room and stared fixedly at Blaine. Here we go, Blaine thought. I'm about to be shot. "Blaine. How are you young man?" Burt held his hand out and Blaine shook it, feeling quite awkward.

"Hello Mr. Hummel, I'm doing well. How's the tire and lube business going?"

"As well as can be expected, cars always need fixing."

The four of them sat around the dinner table, the tension was thick enough Kurt figured you could cut it with a knife. Blaine put his silverware down and cleared his throat. "Mr. and Mrs. Hummel thank you for the wonderful dinner, but I believe it's time I explain myself." Blaine took a large breath and started in on his story. "We all remember what happened five years ago between me and Kurt. He has invited me here in order for me to tell you my side of the story." He glanced over at Kurt who smiled reassuringly. He took another breath and continued. "What I never told Kurt or anyone for that matter was that during the last few months of school my father was diagnosed with cancer."

Kurt felt his heart drop. Blaine's father had cancer and he was too busy arguing with Blaine to be there to support him. "I'm so sorry Blaine" he whispered.

"It's ok, you didn't know." Blaine continued on. "I pushed everyone away because he didn't know what else to do. My father and I were never close; he actually disowned me when I came out to my family. I thought that maybe, just maybe he would see that I was still his son and it didn't matter that I was gay or straight. On his death bed though he asked me if I still thought I liked boys. I told him that I was in love with the boy I was dating." He heard a sharp intake of breath and glanced over at Kurt who was gripping the table with white knuckles. "He spat in my face and told me that he wasn't going to have a fag for a son so I might as well forget about living in his house anymore. I was so broken that I didn't know what to do. I pushed you away Kurt." Blaine paused and looked up at him, Kurt's blue eyes connecting with Blaine's brown ones. "I'm so sorry Kurt; I didn't mean to hurt you. I was so ashamed of myself; I wasn't even sure who I was anymore. I couldn't move here with you if I didn't know who I was. That wouldn't have been fair to you." Blaine stopped, breathing hard and took a swallow of tea. The room was silent for a few minutes and the air was heavy.

"Well then." Burt was the first to speak. "I guess we all judged you a little too quickly."

"Blaine, I-I'm so sorry, if I had just listened. If I had stopped thinking about myself for once. If I had looked at you I would have seen how hurt you were."

"Kurt, shhh. Don't blame yourself. That was my fault, I just yelled right on back at you. I pushed you away because I wanted to protect you but all I did was hurt you in the end."

Carole placed a hand on Blaine's shoulder. "I forgive you Blaine, do you forgive me?"

"The same goes for me Blaine, I always thought of you as another son."

Blaine smiled at all of them. "Of course I forgive you! I'm just so sorry that this happened at all."

The four of them caught up with each other for a little bit.

"So how was rehearsal tonight boys?"

Kurt and Blaine looked at each other and launched into the story about what happened with Ian.

"That boy comes anywhere near you two tomorrow and I will personally put a hole in him with my shotgun." Burt looked cross. "He tries anything funny and he will wish he was never born."

Kurt laughed. "Well at least we know we'll have protection."

"Blaine honey, are you planning on going home tonight? If this Ian boy is around I don't want you to worry about him."

"Yes ma'am. I probably should be going soon" he answered, pushing his chair back from the table.

"You could stay here tonight if you want to" Kurt said quietly. He looked at his parents, "if that's ok with you of course."

Burt looked at him questioningly. "The two of you alone in here?"

"I'll sleep on the floor sir. You can put your complete faith in me."

"That sounds familiar" Burt laughed. "You both are grown men now though, it's fine with me."

"Me too" Carole said. "Just promise not to kill each other in your sleep."

Kurt laughed, "I'll try not to, blood is too messy to clean up from grey carpet."
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Kurt lay on the couch, petting Snoball. The kitten stood up and stretched then jumped from the couch and landed on the boy lying on the floor. "Umf, Snoball that's my face!" Kurt laughed, looking over at Blaine.

"He likes you, take that as a compliment."

"Well I did save him from the shelter you know."

"Yeah yeah, I know." Kurt yawned and rolled over onto his side. "Well goodnight Blaine, get some rest, we'll need it for tomorrow."

"Night Kurt, sweet dreams." Blaine smiled up at the form lying on the couch. He knew his dreams would be sweet. Kurt didn't hate him, he may even like him and that thought made Blaine happier than he had been in a long time.