Sept. 17, 2014, 7 p.m.
To Save a Life: Chapter 4
E - Words: 3,593 - Last Updated: Sep 17, 2014 Story: Complete - Chapters: 26/? - Created: Sep 16, 2014 - Updated: Apr 12, 2022 139 0 0 0 0
Week 2 Day 7
"Are you feeling any better?" Kurt asked as he lay on top of his bed, his cell phone to his ear.
"I am actually. Thank you for asking," Blaine replied. It had been almost a week and Blaine was still sick at home. They had gotten to talk on the phone together, but only for a short time every night because his grandmother would usually cut them off.
This time of not seeing Blaine every day had allowed Kurt to go sightseeing with his family and take trips to the boardwalk. He also took pleasure in listening to Aunt Annie play, which was still a miracle within itself.
"So, Kurt, since we didnt get to go to the amusement park last weekend, I was wondering if you would like to go with me Wednesday night?" Kurt smiled at the cheerfulness he heard in Blaines voice.
"Why Wednesday, though? I mean, we could just go tomorrow if youre feeling better and have to whole day…"
"Well, tomorrow Im going somewhere else on my day off. And its more relaxing than an amusement park. I dont think my body is ready for that quite just yet."
Kurt frowned, "Oh, well, have fun wherever youre going tomorrow," he said disappointly.
Blaine chuckled at Kurts reply, "Dont be silly. Im taking you there with me." Kurt smiled and held on tight to his pillow.
"So where is this more relaxing place we are going, pray tell?" Kurt asked with a flirty smile on his face. He was extremely glad that Blaine couldnt see him right now.
"Its a surprise. Ill come by tomorrow around 4:30ish, it will still be dark, and we will be able walk there just in time for-"
Wait. "Four. In the morning? Please tell me you are kidding," He said dumbfoundedly.
Blaine paused for a second. "Well…I mean if you dont want to come- its just- the sunrise and- you know… Its too early- I know- Im sorry. You need your sleep and…" Blaine kept drifting off like he always did when he thought he messed up or was nervous. Kurt found it so adorable that he couldnt stop smiling. But he had to put him out of his misery at one point or another.
"Blaine, stop, I would love to see the sunrise with you. I actually havent been up for one yet."
"Well, then you are missing out on Ocean Citys crown jewel. So see you at your front door at 4:30 then?
"See you then," Kurt replied.
Week 3 Day 1
Kurt could hardly sleep at all that night, yet again, in anticipation of seeing Blaine. Where would he be taking him?
At about 2:30 Kurt woke up after a very vivid dream of Blaine…yet again…doing things…with his tongue this time— After a quick trip to the bathroom to take care of the remnants of that dream, he lay back down and tried to go back to sleep, but he just couldnt.
So instead of laying there with his thoughts, Kurt got up and got dressed because he didnt think he would be going back to bed before Blaine arrived at this rate. He went into his closet and put on the thin shirt and shorts he had picked out right after Blaine hung up that night. When he finished it was about 3:30, so he turned off his alarm and made himself a cup of coffee down in the kitchen.
Once that was done it was about 4:00, so he went back upstairs and lay on his bed. He would be watching the sunrise with Blaine. Blaine the lifeguard. Blaine the stunning, tan, hazel-eyed, curly haired, amazing...
Kurt was startled awake by a soft knocking sound that gradually increased volume. Crap. Why hadnt his alarm gone off? It was supposed to go off at 3:30 so he could get ready. Wait, he already been up this morning. He was lying on top of his sheets dressed and hair was already done-well, now a mess. He looked over at his clock and saw that it was 4:45. He was late! The knocking continued to grow louder as Kurt jumped out of his bed.
"Kurt, Kurt," A voice whispered forcefully. "Its Blaine, let me in, please. Its actually really cold out here." He said from outside the double doors of Kurts room that led to a small, balcony with stairs leading up to it from the outside.
"Coming," He said in a forced whisper as ran to put his slippers on and fix his hair to the best of his ability in the mirror. Half awake, he walked over and unlocked the doors. Thank god he had beat Finn in that coin toss for the room with a balcony.
"Umm… hi," Blaine said from outside the door.
"Hi," Kurt said awkwardly back. "Im so sorry, are we going to miss it?" He said quickly.
"Dont worry, Kurt, we still have plenty of time. When I got here and you didnt come out, I thought something might have gone wrong. Then I remembered from the other day your room had a balcony with stairs, so I came to check if you were okay."
Blaine was worried about him. "Blaine, please come inside, and again, Im so sorry," Kurt walked Blaine into his room and shut the door. "I dont know what happened. One moment I was awake getting ready to go, and then I was asleep."
"Its fine, really. We have time to get there. Im just glad you are alright."
"Ill be right back," Kurt said after a moment of silence and ran off to the bathroom to fix his hair.
"Are these your friends?" Blaine called from outside the bathroom.
"The pictures on the dresser?" Kurt asked while styling his hair.
"Yeah, theres a short brown haired girl in this one, who definitely looks like she is wearing something from Kids R Us. Oh, and this must have been your glee club," Blaine said. "You must miss them. They look like they were great."
After a few more moments Kurt walked out of the bathroom and over to Blaine. He had a sad smile on his face. And Kurt could tell that he had never had that before. Never really had friends.
He also noticed that Blaine was paler and had dark rings around his eyes. Well, they werent that dark. Kurt assumed only someone who stared at his eyes from time to time would notice…
"They were great," Kurt replied. "I do miss them. But Im really glad that I came here. Im really glad that I got a chance to meet you."
"Me too, Kurt. Me too. Im glad were friends."
There was that word again. Friends.
"How much farther is it?" Kurt asked as they had been walking along the beach, sunrise was in only ten more minutes.
"Not too much farther. See that pier up there?" Kurt nodded when Blaine pointed to a long pier that jutted out into the water. There were no houses on this part of the beach. Just grass and a few old deteriorating buildings.
Blaine continued, "One day, I was walking along the beach, and found this pier, well actually its more of an old docking station. No one ever comes down here because no tourist goes farther than where the beach houses end." He paused and looked down at his feet. "Its the place I go when I need time to think, or when things get bad, you know?"
Kurt nodded again as they walked, "Like the place where you feel like you can just clear your head and forget about the world?"
"That kind of place," Blaine said quietly as he kicked a large shell across the beach.
After about two more minutes of walking, the boys arrived at the small pier, which was no more than planks of wood nailed together a few feet over the ocean. Blaine immediately hopped right on without any trouble, and put his hand out to help Kurt up. Kurt realized that it was much harder to get on the dock than Blaine had made it look. He stumbled as got on, almost falling flat on his face. But as usual, Blaine was right there to catch him.
"Whoa there," Blaine chuckled as Kurt straightened back up. "Dont worry, it gets easier with time. These planks arent the sturdiest." Kurt smiled and turned deep red from embarrassment. "Come on," Blaine said, pulling at Kurts arm.
When they got to the end of the pier, both boys took off their shoes and sat down on the edge. Only the tips of their toes could touch the water as they looked out together over the horizon. The dock was only about four feet across, so Kurt and Blaine were sitting almost shoulder to shoulder.
"Only a few more minutes," Blaine said while he leaned back on his hands. The sky was already turning deeps shades of pink and orange.
"How many times do you think youve sat here and watched this?" Kurt asked.
"Maybe 100 or more, I never get tired of it, though."
And how could he? As soon as the sun was about to break through the oceans horizon Kurt gasped. The sky was filled with so many colors and patterns. He had never seen anything like it before. Kurt looked over with an astonishment and Blaine gave him a knowing smile.
And then, the sun poked through the horizon, and all the colors in the sky seemed to explode with brightness. All the pinks were one hundred times pinker and all the oranges were one hundred times more orange as the sun slowly continued to rise.
"Wow," Kurt breathed. He never really saw anything like this in Ohio. He couldnt believe Blaine got to see it whenever he wanted to.
Once all of the sun was fully out of the horizon, Kurt looked over to Blaine. But Blaine was already staring at him with a small smile. "What is it?" Kurt asked on instinct and Blaine turned his head instantaneously. He internally shunned himself for ruining the moment.
"That was really beautiful, Blaine. Thank you for bringing me here."
"Uh—yeah, no problem. We can come here whenever you want."
"I would like that." Kurt said bashfully.
"Good. I mean—would you like to go back and go for a swim or something?" He asked.
"No, can we just stay here, you know, on land?" The truth was Kurt was still afraid of going in the water. Yes, living at the ocean hadnt been as bad as he thought it would be. He only had a few nightmares of drowning since he arrived, but he always had Blaine to make him forget about them.
"Kurt, is something wrong?" Blaine asked sincerely while they were still sitting on the edge of the dock.
Kurt looked away from Blaine and back at the ocean. He sighed and then began to speak. "Its just, my mom drowned in the ocean when I was younger, and I almost did too. It just...it really affected me. I havent went in the ocean since, and I dont know if I will." What would Blaine think of him now? Some freak that is too afraid to go in the water for stupid reasons, probably.
But instead, Blaine rested his hand on top of Kurts and tried to look into his eyes. "Kurt, Im so sorry, that must have been an awful experience. Would you—maybe telling someone about it will make it easier?"
"So you- you dont think Im weird?"
"Why would I think that? Everyone has events in their life that makes them afraid to do certain things."
They both smiled at each other and Kurt told Blaine everything. The story about his mom giving him the lifejacket without enough time to put hers on. Her last words to him. How he thought he was going to die.
Blaine listened intently through the whole story, with his hand still laying on top of Kurts and always giving sympathetic gestures if Kurt started to lose his composure.
"Kurt, Im just—just so very sorry." He said once the story was finished.
"I know," Kurt said, "But Ill be okay." Kurt decided to go for it, it was now or never. So he grasped Blaines hand in his, and began, "Blaine are you—". But as soon as he did Blaine quickly pulled his hand away, as if it was on reflex.
"I think we should go," Blaine said. "Your family might wake up and notice you arent there. And we all know hell will break loose if my grandma wakes up and Im not there."
Kurts face fell and he stood up, almost falling into the water because of a board that was loose on the dock, but he caught himself just in time.
"You want to stop for coffee on the way back?" Blaine asked as he was helping Kurt down.
"You know I cant say no to coffee," Kurt replied.
Week 3 Day 3
The day after Blaine took Kurt to see the sunrise, the boys went to the movies after Blaines lifeguard shift to see some comedy he picked out. Kurt wanted to move his hand over and hold Blaines so badly, but he couldnt. Not after the way he reacted the last time he tried.
It was Monday now and Blaine was supposed to be meeting Kurt at Susies at seven. But it was already 7:30 and he was nowhere in sight. So, Kurt decided to order his ice cream at the bar.
"One small banana split," he asked Susie, the owner of the shop, from behind the bar.
"He still hasnt shown up?" She asked, beginning to scoop the ice cream.
"No, and something could be wrong. I wish he had a cell phone so I could text him to see if hes okay," Kurt replied.
"Well, you know its Blaines birthday on Wednesday," she said as she peeled the bananas.
"What? He never told me." Why didnt Blaine tell him?
"Maybe he didnt want you worrying about getting him a present or anything. He never likes people spending money on him, or doing anything for him for that matter," she said passing the ice cream to Kurt, "I mean, I even offered him the place Wednesday night to have some friends for a party, since hes my most frequent, and sometimes, only customer."
But Blaine doesnt have any friends. Kurt was his only friend.
"Well were going to the amusement park Wednesday." Maybe that was his birthday celebration.
"Oh, well that should be fun," she said. "Go easy on him though, Ive heard he hasnt been well lately."
"Yeah, he—" He was about to tell her about what Blaine told him he had when his phone began to buzz in his pocket. "Sorry," he said as he pulled out his phone and saw it was Blaine. Susie quickly nodded and walked into the back room of the shop.
"Hello?" Kurt said as he answered the phone.
"Hey Kurt, its Blaine," he said in a small tone.
"Whats wrong? Is everything okay? Do you need me I-"
"Im fine. Im so sorry for not being there. The head instructor told me that I was getting dozens of calls from my grandmother and that she needed me to come home immediately. I thought something awful had happened, so I went straight home. Turns out my grandma just wanted me to fix the air conditioner again. But Ill be right over in like 10 minutes."
"You dont still have to come Blaine, I understand completely. My dad used to do that to me all the time. Well just have to schedule a rain check," he said genuinely.
"So youre not mad?"
"Of course not. And Im really excited for Wednesday. Im sure well have a blast."
"Are we going to do anything tomorrow?" Blaine asked.
"Im sorry Blaine, but my family and I are going shopping up at the big shopping center in Trenton." Which was going to be true… once he told the rest of his family.
"Well that just gives me something to look forward to then." Kurt blushed at his words even though he couldnt see Blaines face.
Kurt hung up the phone and restarted eating his ice cream, thinking about what he was going to do the next day.
He had some shopping to do.
Week 3 Day 5
Kurt was extremely satisfied with the gift he bought Blaine the day before. He knew he would probably enjoy the gift just as much, if not more than, Blaine would.
He paced the front hallway of Aunt Annies house waiting for Blaine to arrive to pick him up. He had the present wrapped with a bow in the bag he was taking with him, hopefully it didnt look too suspicious.
Just as it turned seven oclock the doorbell rang. Kurt quickly ran to the door, then paused for a few moments so he didnt look too eager. He opened the door to be greeted by Blaine with a broad smile. It looked like he was wearing something similar to last week, but not drenched like he was before. Now that Kurt could take a look at how amazing he looked in clothing that wasnt beach attire, he wished he could just take him up to his room right then and there and—
"You want to get going?" Blaine asked standing on the porch.
"Yeah," Kurt said snapping back into focus. "Lets go ride some rides!" He said over enthusiastically, hoping to draw away from how obviously he was checking Blaine out.
Once they arrived they went around and rode a few of classic beachside amusement park rides such as the Caterpillar and the Tilt-A-Whirl. Blaine convinced Kurt to go on one of the big roller coasters with him, and he enjoyed it just like Blaine said he would.
Overall, Blaine seemed to be having a great time and Kurt was glad. It was his birthday after all…
"Your ring toss skills are impressive," Kurt said as they ate their Churros and walked to the Ferris Wheel. Blaine had won himself a large teddy bear by making every single shot.
"Not as impressive as your stomach. How do you not feel sick after going on all those spinning rides?"
"Well, I didnt eat a corndog right before going on them." Kurt said sarcastically.
"Hey, that corndog was good! Totally worth it."
"Was it better the second time around?" Kurt joked.
"Not exactly…" Blaine said holding his stomach as they entered the line for the Ferris Wheel. It seemed like a good ride to end the night with, and because of its size it was about fifteen minutes long. It was already ten oclock, so they would have to leave soon because Blaines grandmother wanted him home by eleven.
As the Ferris wheel went around they talked for a few minutes while the ride stopped and started to let people on and off. They were sitting side by side, close enough that their shoulders brushed together. Once they got closer to the top Kurt gasped, "Wow, its so beautiful up here. You can see the whole city."
"I know, sometimes, I come here at night just to ride the Ferris wheel," Blaine said.
"Wait, I have something for you," Kurt said as he got his bag out from under his feet.
"What?"
Kurt pulled out his small wrapped gift and handed it to Blaine. "Happy Birthday," he said with a large smile.
"You didnt have to get me anything. Really. Its just a birthday—"
"Blaine Anderson you open my present right now," Kurt said with a firm tone. "Its your eighteenth birthday, dont act like its not a big deal."
The Ferris wheel came to a stop right at the top, and Blaine slowly opened the gift, like he was trying to preserve the paper or something. Kurts anticipation was killing him.
Blaines face went into a large grin that was excited and bewildered at the same time when he finally realized what it was, "Kurt- I- I dont know what to say," he said astonishedly.
"Its just a prepaid cell phone, Blaine, and its kind of my selfish way of talking to you more anyway."
"But they are so expensive. I mean my grandmother wouldnt even buy me one of these because they were so much. I- I cant. This—"
"You deserve something special for your birthday. Now we can talk and text whenever we want. And if it costs more money for me to talk to you more, then so be it."
And then out of nowhere, Blaine through his arms around Kurt and pulled him into a tight hug, which was kind of difficult in the position they were sitting, but Kurt felt himself completely melt into Blaines strong arms. "Thank you. I really dont know what I would do without you as my friend." Blaine murmured.
"Me neither," Kurt replied softly.
Once he arrived home, Kurt jumped into bed and saw that he had a text from Blaine.
Blaine (11:25)
Hey Kurt!
Kurt (11:40)
Hey Blaine. Enjoying your new texting abilities?
Blaine (11:42)
Definitely :) It feels good not having to worry about being cut off for talking too long.
Kurt (11:43)
Well just dont be texting the whole world okay? Its still a few cents per text.
(Actually it was more like thirty cents a text, but Kurt didnt want to tell him that)
Blaine (11:46)
Thank you so much Kurt. This birthday was really special. Im so glad I shared it with you.
Kurt (11:48)
Still had to give me the teddy bear though…
Blaine (11:50)
Im sorry… I couldnt go without giving you something in return. This birthday present was just so much.
Kurt (11:54)
Please stop saying that. You deserved it. Now get some rest!
(11:55)
Happy last five minutes of your birthday Blaine :) Goodnight.
Blaine (11:57)
Goodnight Kurt.
A few minutes after Kurt put his phone down on the side table it began to buzz and ring with an incoming call. He picked it up and saw Blaines new number blinking across the screen.
"Is everything okay?" Kurt asked. Why would Blaine be calling him?
"Its just—its not the same without hearing your voice," Blaine replied quietly. Oh. "So… goodnight, Kurt."
"Goodnight, Blaine. Sweet dreams."