Blaine rubbed at his shoulder, feeling the ache from where he'd last been thrown into a wall. His mind was dazed still from the fight with Acid the day before, her words echoing in his head like a broken record. What pretty brown hair you have. She knew something. She had a small piece of who he was held over him, ready to use it to her advantage. One piece of who you are, in the hands of someone trying to harm you.

He felt something buzz in his pocket and pulled out his phone tiredly. He yawned before answering, ready to fall asleep. "M'ello?" he answered, too lazy to check the caller ID.

"Hey-are you alright?" Kurt's voice chirped from the other side.

"Yeah, just a bit tired," Blaine replied, perking up at the voice. "What's up?"

"Did you sleep okay?" Kurt asked with concern, and then added, "And I just wanted to talk to you about tonight."

"Uh...late night," he lied, knowing it would sound better with an excuse, "nothing to be worried about." He paused, having heard the hesitation in Kurt's voice before. "Why, is something wrong with tonight?" They'd made plans to go out for a picnic in the park the day before. 

Kurt didn't respond right away. "Something came up..."

"Alright," Blaine said, trying to sound cheery. "It's okay."

He could hear Kurt sigh on the other side. "I mean...I wish I could go, but...uh family stuff calls," he said apologetically. Something sounded off though-unsure in his voice. "I'm really sorry, we could go have a picnic Sunday instead?" he suggested. Blaine could tell he was trying to fix this.

"Yeah, that works," Blaine said. 'Well hopefully,' he thought miserably, 'if nobody decides to attack Silver that day.'

"Okay, great," Kurt said, sounding at least a bit more chipper. "I'll see you then?"

"Yep, see you," Blaine smiled, biting down on his lip. The line went dead and Blaine hung up the phone, throwing it onto his bed. He was kind of disappointed-after the whole incident with Acid messing with his head he'd been hopeful that Kurt could distract him for at least a few hours. Still, at least he'd get to see him tomorrow.

Kurt flipped the phone over absently in his hand, staring into space. 

"Come on, Hummel, we've gotta head out now," Sebastian said moodily from the other room of Kurt's house. Kurt scowled. "HQ, Silver Case, busy day-any of this sound familiar?"

He tucked the phone into his pocket. Why did he have to lie to Blaine? It was like someone punching him in the stomach when he heard the slight disappointment in Blaine's voice-which, being Blaine, he of course tried to hide. And if anything, why did he have to ditch Blaine for Sebastian-who Kurt would personally rather spend no time at all with. Ever.

Sebastian looked impatiently at him when Kurt walked in. "Want to go a little faster?" he said.

He rolled his eyes and grabbed his coat. "Just...let's go, okay?" Kurt said bitterly, nodding at the door. 

"Someone's moody today," Sebastian muttered, leading the way out.

Kurt sneered at him from behind, wanting to scream.

"What pretty brown hair you have," Acid smirked. Her fingers grabbed at the fluff that was peeking through Silver's helmet and tugged painfully hard. Blaine bit back a yelp. She flattened her hand and Blaine could feel the burn of acid biting at the armor and sinking through just enough to feel prickling on his scalp. It slid down the sides of his head, and the armor was peeling away with it.

Acid's fingers stop smoking and she grasped at the rest of his hair, now fully exposed. Then she was running a hand over his eyes and he couldn't see. A moment later the air felt cool against his flesh and he blinked his eyes as the world became slightly brighter. Acid grinned down at him. 

"What beautiful eyes you have, Blaine."

Blaine struggled but something was holding his arms and he felt weighed down. Everything hurt, he was exposed. She knew. She knew everything-

Blaine woke up with a gasp, his heart hammering in his chest. He blinked, feeling dazed and unsteady. His room came into focus and he stared around, the dream still tugging at his mind.

"Just a nightmare," he muttered to himself, focussing on breathing properly.

Still, it felt real. He looked over at the clock-it was just reaching 5:00. He could smell dinner wafting up the stairs. He would've been gone by now to go to the park with Kurt. Blaine shook his head, still feeling shaken. 'I wish Kurt were here,' he thought sadly. There was just comfort in waking up with Kurt beside him.

He rubbed at his eyes. 

It had felt so real.

"A dream, Blaine," he repeated, trying to shake the feeling.

"Blaine!"

Blaine jumped at the sound, lifting his arms in front of his face in a sad attempt at a defensive pose. It took him a moment to realize the voice was just Cooper's, and when he lowered his arms sheepishly he saw his brother looking confused in the doorway, an eyebrow raised.

"Right, hi," he said awkwardly. "Dinner?"

Coop nodded, staring at Blaine. "B, are you okay?"

"Perfect," he said, forcing joy into his voice. He stood, brushing down his hair with his hand, and smiled. "Dinner smells great."

"Yeah..." Coop looked at him. "Are you sure-"

"I'm fine, don't worry," Blaine said, waving him away. "Come on, dinner."

His brother still looked worried but Blaine ushered him out, regaining his composure for Coop's sake. When they sat down to eat he still looked suspicious of Blaine, his brow raised, but Blaine hurriedly changed the subject and pretty soon the dream and Blaine's weird greeting were washed from both minds.

Blaine lifted a bowtie to his neck. It was blue with little white polka dots sprinkled over it. He glanced behind him in the mirror and Coop shook his head.

"That's just tacky," Coop said, folding his arms.

"You said that for the last three," Blaine said pointedly.

"Who wears bow ties?" Coop replied. 

"I do," Blaine said, turning to look at his brother. "And bowties are cool."

Coop rolled his eyes. "What does Kurt think of bowties?" he asked, raising a challenging brow.

"I bet you Kurt agrees with me," Blaine said, picking up another. 

Blaine held this one up as well, biting down on his lip. He heard a faint tapping sound behind him, and, curious, he turned to see Coop holding his phone, typing something out. Blaine tried to grab it from him but he'd already sent the text. A moment later, the phone buzzed. 

"Does he think you'll look like a six year old?" Coop asked hopefully.

Blaine glared at him. "No he says, 'Bowties would look adorable on Blaine, Cooper. I love whatever Blaine wears. Give the phone back to your brother'." Blaine smirked at him. The phone buzzed again and he looked down-it was ringing. He furrowed his brow as the caller ID kicked in and Kurt's name flashed across the screen. Glancing at Coop, who was sorting through the pile of bowties with a look of distaste, he slipped into the hallway to answer the phone.

"Hey, is something wrong?" Blaine asked. He bit down on his tongue. "I mean, what's up?"

"I can't make it again," he said.

"I-what?"

He could hear Kurt breathing. "Blaine, I'm really sorry. Family stuff popped up again and it's just my dad and I really need to deal with this. I'm really sorry. Maybe we could reschedule to next weekend and we could have the best picnic ever then?" He sounded glum himself.

"Uh, yeah sure," he said. He forced the cheer into his voice again, but something inside of him felt numb. "Hope your dad's alright, then."

"Thanks," Kurt replied. He sounded just as numb. "I'm really sorry-"

"No, it's fine, really. Coop's making fun of my bowties anyways," Blaine said, forcing a laugh. 'Wow that sounded fake,' he thought sadly. "We can go through his clothes next and I can have my fun." 'You sound so miserable, Anderson. Put some joy into your voice or he'll feel even worse than he already sounds.' "I'll see you in class, then?" he added. 

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow," Kurt said. He still sounded gloomy.

Coop came out into the hall just as Blaine hung up the phone. Blaine tried to give him a smile but he could practically feel how weak it was. Coop pulled Blaine close in an awkward brother hug and Blaine wrapped his arms around him. He felt numb. Somehow his worries started building once more in his mind, as though Kurt had been the dam that had held them back and suddenly it had cracked. Anxieties flooded through him.

"Its family stuff," Blaine mumbled into Coop's shoulder.

"He wishes he were here," Coop replied. "He's really sorry."

"I know," Blaine said.

Coop pulled back and looked at his younger brother. Really looked. "B, he still likes you, you know? He just can't be here."

"I know," Blaine repeated. He smiled up at his brother, glad he was there. "I just want to see him, that's all." He shrugged. It was the truth, even if there was more to it, at least he wasn't lying.

"Stop looking so depressed, he's probably with his family still," Wes muttered at lunch on Monday.

Blaine sighed, poking at his food. "I know, I just miss him."

Wes rolled his eyes and muttered, "Puppy," under his breath. "Didn't you just see him on Thursday for your threequel-month-anniversary or whatever, anyways?" Wes added between bites of sandwich.

"Two-month-a-versary, and still, that's a good three days-four if you include today," he said. His eyes scanned the cafeteria again a little desperately. His anxieties were building up and he felt particularly jumpy today-Wes's "good morning, Anderson!" was greeted with a ten foot leap into the air and he was hoping he would see Kurt soon to clear his head. Not only that but the distance between when he'd last seen Kurt felt longer than just those four days and he really did miss him. He was worried for him.

"Then call him, Anderson," Wes huffed.

Blaine rolled his eyes. "Because I wouldn't have thought of that without you, Wesley," he said. "I tried this morning, and I tried between classes, but he isn't answering texts or calls."

"Things happen and phones don't work or can't be answered."

"I know," Blaine sighed. "I just hope that he's alright."

Wes looked at him a bit more seriously, smiling. "Come on, Anderson. I'm sure he's fine and missing your puppy face wherever he is. He's not missing out on much today, and if he needs to be with his family then you just know he'll be a very good father one day," he added with a smirk.

Kurt paced the office, his thoughts bubbling over. He could feel his phone in his pocket as though it was an anchor-a very, very tempting anchor. He chewed on his bottom lip, wishing that he was with Blaine right then instead of stuck again with Sebastian, working on the Silver case.

His phone buzzed loudly again and Sebastian glared over at him, his fingers over his temples. "Listen, Hummel, would you just either answer the stupid thing or turn it off before I take your phone and throw it against the wall?"

He nodded and pulled it out, ducking into the hall. 

"Hey, Blaine, really sorry that I couldn't be at school today and canceling twice now but I think my dad just wants me to spend one more day with him and then I'll be free again," he said, keeping his voice quiet in the empty hall. He bit down on his lip, waiting for Blaine's response, feeling the guilt swell up in him at his ongoing lie. 

"Yeah, yeah sure, I just wanted to know you were alright," Blaine said. He could hear the smile in his voice.

"Oh, yeah I'm fine, don't worry," Kurt said quickly. "Hey, not sure, but can we try to meet tonight? Just a walk in the park and save the picnic still?"

"I'd love that," Blaine said happily.

Kurt smiled. "Alright, get to class then, you."

Blaine laughed-he had a nice laugh. The sound made Kurt grin, some of the worry and guilt melting away. The sound was almost familiar-home-like. "Of course, I'll try to make it on time today."

"Talk to you later?"

"Sure, see you."

Kurt leaned against the wall as the line went dead and he turned the phone on to silent. He ran a hand through his hair, every part of him feeling exhausted right to the tips of his mind. Yet, somehow, just talking to Blaine for a moment-hearing his perfect, familiar laugh-was enough to make him just the tiniest bit more awake and the tiniest bit more relaxed.

The park was rather empty as Blaine wandered awkwardly around, looking for Kurt. His hands were in his pockets and the sky was clouded over, dark clouds threatening rain. It was cool out, and he suppressed a shiver as he toed at a rock. 

He felt the phone buzzing in his pocket before he heard it and sighed.

"Hey," he answered, feeling tired. "Can't make it?"

There was a pause. "Blaine, I'm really sorry, it's just my dad-"

"No, its okay I understand completely," Blaine said hurriedly. "Just spend as much time as you need to with him, okay? Don't worry about anything else."

"...Blaine I-I really am sorry," he said quietly.

Blaine bit down on his lip. "Yeah, I know."

Another pause. "I can still make it this weekend though, I promise, okay?" he said determinedly. "I'll make sure. It's not fair to you for me to make all these plans and then just...just not come, I'm really sorry."

"Don't blame yourself, it's not your fault," Blaine said sincerely.

"Thanks, I'll see you soon then?"

"Sure, see you soon."

He chewed on his bottom lip, feeling a little deflated. Tucking away his phone, he left the park to walk home. His hands were still stuffed in his pockets and the rain was starting to fall softly now, pattering against the ground. People pulled out umbrellas all around him but he had nothing to shield himself. The rain flattened down his hair and slipped down his back, making him shiver. 

Blaine turned a corner, his head down, when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Still feeling jumpy, he swiveled his head quickly, searching the other side of the street, and spotted him.

Kurt, holding a clear umbrella, was walking down the street with a tall boy with sharp, cool eyes and brown hair that stuck out from his forehead. Kurt was speaking with him, looking irritated and impatient. The other boy was frowning slightly, but looked somewhat amused anyways. He said something to Kurt and he rolled his eyes in response, gripping the umbrella handle just a bit harder.

Blaine furrowed his brow, staring across the street. He'd said he'd be with his dad, but that was most definitely not his father.

There was a somewhat numb feeling spreading through him. He quickly crossed the road, trying to walk casually. His heart was hammering and he was trying to think of an excuse for what was going on. 'That could be Kurt's brother or cousin and they're just taking a walk after spending time with his dad.' Blaine bit down on his lip, moving faster. 'You aren't suspicious of him, Blaine. This is normal. Normal people spend time with other people.'

He was just behind them now. The rain was falling down more heavily so the voices were muffled. Without thinking, he reached out and tapped Kurt on the shoulder. Kurt spun around and froze, staring at Blaine.

"Hey," Kurt said, his voice wavering. He glanced over at the other boy who had stopped as well and was watching Blaine with interest. A smile twisted his lips.

"Hey," Blaine said, wishing he'd just let things be. "Is your dad better?"

"Uh, yeah he's doing a bit better..." His eyes flickered over to the other boy again. Blaine moved his gaze as well and noticed how the taller boy was watching him-with much more than interest. He was grinning now, his eyes alight, and taking Blaine in with his eyes. Kurt glared at the boy.

"So..." Blaine shifted uncomfortably.

"Blaine, this is my...friend Sebastian," he said, the words coming out weird-it sounded almost forced.

Sebastian smiled, holding out his own umbrella. "Well, Blaine, why don't you join me under this umbrella-we don't want you getting sick from all this rain, do we?" he said smoothly. "Then you and I can have a nice talk about how good you look in person from the descriptions I've been given from Kurt here."

Blaine looked over at Kurt-who was staring at Sebastian as if he was debating whether to punch him in the face or thank him. "Sebastian, this is my boyfriend,"-he put proud emphasis on the word-"Blaine."

Sebastian flashed Blaine a smile. "Well, Blaine, care to share an umbrella?"

Kurt sighed and nodded to the side of him that wasn't between him and Sebastian. Blaine took his place beside him and Kurt scooped up Blaine's hand. Even Kurt's touch felt weird-as though he was trying to use Blaine to steady himself. He gripped the umbrella and they kept walking down the street, Kurt seeming tenser than before.

"Do we even need to talk more tonight?" Kurt said quietly to Sebastian.

Sebastian was shooting sideways glances at Blaine. "You and I could talk about that tomorrow," he said, his eyes trailing over Blaine. "But if you want to have a nice talk between the three of us I wouldn't argue."

"No, I'm sure I can wait until tomorrow," Kurt said stiffly. 

"We could all grab coffee, then?" Sebastian suggested. He was biting his lip now.

"Sebastian," Kurt hissed angrily. 

Blaine stared ahead, pretending not to hear anything.

The walk to Kurt's felt long, and Blaine tried his best to tune out Sebastian and Kurt bickering beside him. Kurt's hand felt warm in his-familiar in his. His mind was reeling slightly still, almost like it was slightly off balance. Something about this seemed wrong-the way that he'd called Sebastian his friend so tightly, the fact that his father was suddenly better even though they'd only talked minutes ago, the nervous way he was acting-and Blaine was hoping they'd get time to talk alone.

When they arrived Blaine realized that he'd never actually been to Kurt's house. It was a quaint home, cozy and yet everything in it still managed to scream Kurt. Still, it seemed a little small for more than one person. 

Sebastian threw himself on the couch immediately, looking up innocently at Kurt.

"Come on, Hummel, can't I stay for a little longer?" he pouted.

Kurt was twisting his hands now, looking even more nervous. Blaine was standing near the door. "No," he told Sebastian, "get out."

He raised a brow, "So harsh."

"Sebastian," Kurt said again, sounding frustrated. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Stretching slowly, he pulled himself to his feet and smiled. "Right, we'll get back to that tomorrow," he said. He slipped past Kurt and paused at the doorway beside Blaine. He looked Blaine over again, smiling. "Maybe I'll see you around, Blaine," he said calmly, his eyes dancing. He brushed past him and made it his best to leave as slowly as he could, leaving a silence in his wake.

"That was interesting..." Blaine said when the silence felt too loud.

Kurt was staring at him, still twisting his hands. "Blaine..."

Neither of them spoke.

"Blaine, can I explain?" Kurt tried again. Blaine nodded numbly and took a seat on the couch. He stared at his hands and realized they were shaking. Something in Kurt's tone was alarming. 

"This...this seems really bad, doesn't it?" Kurt said, staring at his hands. "I...I just-I..." Kurt stopped himself, taking a deep breath. "Blaine there's something...really, really important that I need to tell you, okay? And I know it's going to sound insane and you may not believe me and I'll seem like a liar but I think you need to hear."

He glanced up, looking hopeful. "I'm listening with open ears," Blaine said sincerely.

"Okay, well just...this is hard to say," he said, nodding to himself. He took another breath. "Well...Blaine, I-I haven't been going to see my dad."

He paused and Blaine nodded.

"I've been busy working. I couldn't tell you because you aren't supposed to know about this place-nobody really is. I guess we're like an agency? We handle investigations and we've been working on a case about Silver Spark. That's what Sebastian was doing with me, because the guy's probably the most snarky person I've ever met and I-I-" Kurt stopped himself, catching his breath. He glanced up nervously at Blaine. "Nobody is supposed to know and...this just sounds insane doesn't it?" Kurt said, running a hand through his hair. He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Blaine. I'm being honest-"

"I believe you."

Kurt stared at him, looking slightly shocked. "Oh, really?" He caught himself and nodded, smiling. "Thanks, Blaine."

"You wouldn't lie to me," Blaine said. Except he still felt numb. The words were replaying in his mind, still trying to process them: We've been working on a case about Silver Spark. What kind of case? Were they trying to figure out who he was? 

"Blaine...are you okay?" Kurt said, sitting beside him. "I can explain more if you need to ask me anything I just...nobody can know....Blaine?"

Blaine nodded and something in the back of his mind clicked and he was registering words again and he realized that he needed to act a little less worried. "Yeah...yeah just taking that in....so are you like a specialty spy or something?" he said, elbowing Kurt playfully. His thoughts were slowly coming together again. Those words though-they'd sent a ripple of fear through him.

Kurt laughed. "No, I'm not a specialty spy," he said, rolling his eyes. "I'm much cooler than that."

Blaine laughed, forcibly so. It sounded like he was testing the sound out through his own ears, but Kurt seemed nervous enough himself not to notice. "So what exactly are you doing? What's Silver Spark,"-he said the name jokingly-"mean to your not-a-spy business?"

"Our boss wants us to...uncover who he is..." Kurt said uncomfortably. 

"I thought you were a fan?" Blaine asked. His mouth felt suddenly dry.

"Yeah...yeah that doesn't matter, I guess," Kurt said. There was an irritation to his tone. "I don't get too much say in exactly what I do."

"What would you do with the information?" he asked. He placed his hands together in his lap to try and stop the shaking. He felt dizzy-the room spun in front of his eyes. Was he going to pass out? 'You can't pass out.' It was hitting him all at once, every word like a new punch. Kurt was working on uncovering who he was. Kurt was trying to find out the real Silver.

What pretty brown hair you have.

"They all want to stop him," Kurt replied. "They all think that he's making us look bad."

"Silver's helping-"

Kurt shook his head. "Like they care. When they don't like something, they get rid of it. That's all they care about." He sighed, looking exhausted. "I mean, normally we're pretty good with handling things. We do a lot of good but I guess this is the backfire to getting too big."

"And Sebastian is your partner for this?" Blaine asked, trying to steer the conversation away from the topic of Silver.

He huffed. "Unfortunately, yes." His head lifted and Blaine felt Kurt take his hand in his own. There was a moment of hesitance before Kurt said quietly, "I'm really sorry I never told you...but I'm glad that I did."

Blaine looked over at him. His smile was so completely genuine and his eyes were alight. This was good. Now Blaine knew. He smiled, trying to make it seem just as real as Kurt's even though inside he felt like his world was falling slowly apart, the pieces of reality slipping through his fingers. "Thanks, Kurt," he said, his voice sounding breathless. He swallowed, trying to get rid of this feeling. "I'm really glad you did, too."

Kurt's eyes lit up just a bit more and he reached over and wrapped his arms around Blaine. Almost automatically, Blaine's arms reached up and hugged him back, his head fitting perfectly on Kurt's shoulder. He felt numb, though. Everything felt like it had been flipped upside down and the world was spinning, faster and faster.

They all want to stop him.

The world tumbled down around him, falling slowly, and all he could do was hold Kurt closer, hoping that he would wake up and this would all be another nightmare.