March 26, 2012, 5:31 p.m.
There's No Place Like Home: Prologue
T - Words: 1,415 - Last Updated: Mar 26, 2012 Story: Closed - Chapters: 9/? - Created: Mar 14, 2012 - Updated: Mar 26, 2012 1,114 0 0 0 0
"Where the hell is Kurt," thought Blaine for the tenth time in the last half hour. Kurt was over a half hour late, which wasn't like him. They'd made plans to meet in Blaine's room to rehearse their latest show-stopping duet and then they were going to watch The Wizard of Oz on the big screen in the common room of Dalton. Kurt's obsession with getting Blaine to watch The Wizard of Oz had started when he told Kurt that he'd never actually made it all the way through the movie before, mostly because kids at his old school liked to tease him in middle school by calling him "Munchkin" and his personal favorite "The Lollipop Guild," both not so subtle attempts at making fun of his admittedly hobbit height.
Blaine thought back to their spirited conversation over lunch the day before.
"But Blaine, it's Judy Garland. How can you call yourself a true gay man if you haven't watched her sing Somewhere Over the Rainbow. It's is a sacrilege! We have to rectify this immediately."
"Rectify it, huh? Another SAT word?" Blaine asked teasingly.
"Yes, Blaine. I figure that since my dad and Carole gave up their honeymoon money to send me here, the least I could do was make the most of my education with all those fancy test prep classes they offer at Dalton...Even though we all know it will be my killer audition performance singing "Rose's Turn" that will get me into NYU's drama department," Kurt finished in mock indignation.
"Naturally," said Blaine with a laugh. "No, I like the new vocabulary. Smart is sexy."
Kurt had simply blushed, still not used to having a boyfriend who found him so charming. Kurt could hardly believe his good luck sometimes. "Thanks Blaine," he said with a shy smile. "Now, what are we going to choose for our next duet? We need something need killer if we are going to beat Vocal Adrenaline next year. I know the Warblers think they won't be as much competition without Jesse St. James, but trust me...I've heard Sunshine Corazon sing, and as much as I hate to admit it...Girlfriend can sing!"
Blaine nodded, also worried about their competition, not just from Vocal Adrenaline, but also from New Directions as well, especially after New Directions had beaten them at Regionals recently, although this was something he'd never admit to Kurt, as he knew how hard it had been for Kurt to transfer to Dalton, let alone to think of his former teammates as the "competition." They needed to come up with something killer to perform, but Blaine was feeling short on inspiration at the moment for some reason.
"Oh Blaine, I've got the perfect idea! It's actually a duet I did a while back with Rachel just for fun, but it would be even more perfect with you. And it's Judy Garland and Barbara Streisand. Oh my god, it doesn't get any more perfect than that. We HAVE to do it!"
"Sounds great, Kurt. What's the song?"
"You mean you don't know? Blaine, it is an incredibly famous duet, surely you have heard it!" Kurt exclaimed in shock, certain that his boyfriend had to be joking with him.
Blaine looked embarrassed. "Come on, Kurt. Just tell me. What's it called? Maybe I have heard it, but I just can't come up with it off the top of my head."
Kurt shook his head in amazement. "No, no...if you haven't heard it yet, I want to set the stage for what is going to a seminal moment in your life. Let's meet tomorrow after dinner - 7 PM in your room. I'll bring the music. We'll watch the duet on YouTube, then you and I will rehearse until we are ready to kill it, and THEN I'm going to continue your Judy Garland education by showing you The Wizard of Oz. I'm going to see about checking out one of the projectors so that we can watch it on the big screen in the common room. It is in Technicolor, after all, so it deserves to be seen on something bigger than your laptop screen. Omigod, I'm so excited! I need to get everything ready for our date. What am I going to wear? Maybe we could even have themed snacks?" Kurt rambled on, thrilled to be planning such a fun date for the boy he was hopelessly in love with.
"Okay Blaine, I'm off to class and then to get everything ready for tomorrow. There's so much to do! 7 PM. Your room. I'll bring everything." And with a quick peck on the cheek, Kurt was gone, off to plan what promised to be a very exciting date.
Blaine looked at this watch for the tenth time, confirming that it was nearly 7:45. Where could Kurt be? Maybe he lost track of time in all his eagerness to plan? But that wasn't like Kurt. Blaine glanced at his phone, confirming that Kurt had yet to call or respond to the texts that Blaine sent earlier.
To Kurt (7:14 pm): Hey babe, where are you? Aren't we meeting at 7 in my room? Call me.
To Kurt (7:28 pm): Kurt, where are you? I'm getting worried. Call me.
Blaine dropped the phone to the mattress with a sigh. Maybe Kurt had meant that they would meet in his room instead of Blaine's? That still didn't explain why he wasn't answering his phone, but Blaine decided that he'd waited long enough and was ready to go in search of Kurt. He slipped his cell phone into his pocket and stood, slipping a gray hoodie over his unbuttoned and untucked starched button down uniform shirt and loosened tie. As he left his dorm room, he wrote a quick note to Kurt on the whiteboard of his dorm room door on the off chance that he managed to just miss Kurt.
Kurt, I'm headed to your room to hopefully find you. Call me if you get this. Love, Blaine
Blaine couldn't help the slight feeling of dread that was growing in the pit of his stomach as he quickly walked down one of endless corridors of Dalton to Kurt's room. What if something had happened to Kurt? Blaine knew it was a crazy thought, but what if Karofsky had managed to follow Kurt here somehow to teach him a lesson? Could Dave have managed to get into Dalton to hurt Kurt? Blaine tried hard to shake these worries from his mind as he sped up and began walking a bit faster towards Kurt's room, hoping that he would find Kurt obliviously trying on his twelfth outfit, unaware of the time.
Blaine finally made it to Kurt's room and was puzzled to find that the room door was unlocked and slightly ajar. Blaine frowned as he pushed open the door, knowing that Kurt was obsessive about locking up behind him and often chastised Blaine for forgetting to lock his door before he left for class or went to bed. He opened the door and was surprised to see Kurt's rumpled blazer, button down white shirt, and tie dumped unceremoniously on the floor of Kurt's usually immaculate bedroom. A quick scan of the room confirmed that Kurt was nowhere to be found, although Blaine noticed Kurt's phone sitting on top of the dresser near his bed. Kurt's backpack was looped over the back of his desk chair too, Blaine noted. Blaine turned his attentions towards the bathroom, noticing that the door was also slightly ajar letting out a sliver of light from the fluorescent lights that were on in the bathroom.
Blaine tentatively opened the bathroom door, knocking as he did so in an attempt to keep from startling Kurt in the event that he was in the bathroom. "Kurt? Kurt, are you in here?" Blaine called.
Blaine's eyes widened in shock as he saw his boyfriend, pale and sweating, curled in the fetal position on the floor of the bathroom near the toilet, dressed only in a white undershirt, his grey uniform pants, and a pair of navy argyle socks. Kurt's usually perfectly coiffed hair was sticking up in places while his bangs were sweaty and matted to his forehead. Kurt's usually rosy cheeks were pale while his bright eyes were glazed over with the unmistakeable sheen of fever.
Kurt's eyes opened at the sound of Blake's voice. He groaned involuntarily. "Blaine," he croaked out, his voice sounding hoarse and weak.
Blaine was on his knees in an instant, his hand going to Kurt's forehead. "Oh Kurt," he said worriedly. "What happened to you?"