SLEEP: How come the nights are so long and the days so short? Is it because our days are numbered?

It's 11 pm and it's entirely too quiet in Blaine's bedroom. He hates it when it gets quiet like this. The low light of the moon peeks through his window, adding a hazy glow to his dimly lit room. He sits up in his bed, unable to sleep. The electronic alarm clock at his bedside table flashes the time: 11:01.

Blaine groans and throws off his covers. He grabs his phone and looks through his messages and missed calls, but he doesn't find what he's looking for. There's nothing from Kurt. He places his phone on the table and lies back on the bed. He stares at the ceiling and closes his eyes, but a minute later they're open again.

This is first time in months, possibly the first time since he and Kurt had started dating, that Blaine doesn't hear Kurt's voice before bed. And it's killing him. Even times when Kurt is too tired to go over their nightly skin sloughing regime, he still calls to say "goodnight" and "I love you".

However, tonight is different. Blaine had SAT Prep thanks to his father's insistence that he take the classes since he traded his prestigious Dalton Academy education for "some lackluster public school named after a worthless president" (his father's passive aggressive words). Blaine, of course, did not tell his parents that he wanted to transfer for Kurt. He hadn't even told Cooper. But he supposes Cooper put two and two together when Blaine had mentioned McKinley was Kurt's school. His parents would have thought transferring for love was stupid and would have forbade it, but Blaine knows that he did the right thing. He would do anything for his true love.

Blaine sighs happily. True love. Finally. He then frowns when his eyes flicker back to the clock. Kurt has graduation rehearsal early in the morning, so he had to sleep earlier than usual. By the time Blaine had gotten home, Kurt was already asleep according to Burt. Blaine called the Hudson-Hummel's house phone when Kurt didn't answer his calls.

Blaine glances at the alarm clock miserably. 11:06 flashed in red block numbers. Blaine groans and rests his forearm on his forehead. He'll never get to sleep, he figures. His body has gotten too used to Kurt's soothing voice right before he falls asleep. Now that he's denied that, he feels restless.

He hears a creak outside his door and then footsteps shuffling past. Blaine rolls his eyes. There's only one person who could be coming home this late. Blaine jumps off his bed and walks over to the door. He opens it a crack, sticks his head out, and whispers: "Cooper?"

Blaine hears the footsteps stop. His eyes adjust to the darkness of the hallway and he sees a shadowed figure turn slowly before taking a few tentative steps toward him. The figure lets out a relieved sigh.

"Holy shit, Blaine. You scared me," Cooper says. "I thought you were Mom."

"Are you saying I sound like a woman?" Blaine asks, taking a step back so he could see his brother's face properly. His eyes look tired and slightly red, but crinkled at the ends and paired with his usual mischievous smile, Cooper looks like he's been out doing something fun (or someone, Blaine notes). Cooper ruffles Blaine's hair and Blaine pulls his hand off. He takes a second to smooth down his curls.

"Of course I am, little bro," Cooper says. He takes a quick glance around the hallway and pushes past Blaine to enter his room. Blaine scowls and closes the door. He starts to protest when Cooper flops down on his bed, but Cooper bringers a finger to his lips to silence him. "So why are you awake?"

Blaine's mouth falls open slightly. "You're asking me why I'm awake when you just came home at close to midnight?" he asks.

"I'm an adult; I can come in whenever I please."

"Is that why you were scared that Mom caught you?" Blaine asks with a smirk. Cooper glares at him.

"Anyway," Cooper huffs. "I'm asking why you're awake. At this time, you're normally fast asleep after talking to that boyfriend of yours for hours," Cooper says. Blaine's eyes fall to the floor.

"We didn't talk tonight," Blaine confesses.

"And why not," Cooper asks, cocking his head. "Did you two have a fight?" Blaine's eyes widen and he looks up, slightly alarmed.

"Oh, no, nothing like that," Blaine says hurriedly. "We never fight." Cooper blinks at this, but he doesn't comment.

"So what was it?"

"It's just our schedules, I guess," Blaine mumbles, biting his lip. He looks back at the ground. "By the time I got back from SAT Prep, he was already asleep."

"And you haven't been able to sleep since you came home?" Cooper asks. Blaine nods. Cooper leans forward and lets out a breath. Blaine lifts his head and looks him in the eyes, confused.

"What is it?" he asks. Cooper stares at him for a moment, but then shakes his head and grins.

"Nothing, little bro. How about we go downstairs and warm up some milk to help the both of us sleep?" Cooper suggests. Blaine's eyes light up. He loved when he was younger and he and Cooper would spend nights in the kitchen, nursing warm milk and chatting until they fell asleep, heads down on the dining room table until their parents carried them up to their rooms and tucked them in.

"I'd love that," Blaine says. He might not be a little kid anymore, but he still loves spending time with his brother. He could really use a brother right now. The bed creaks as Cooper gets up and the two of them walk out of Blaine's room, not even bothering to turn off the light.

FEAR: I can feel him slipping away.

Blaine lies sideways on top of his covers. He's hardly moved from this position since Saturday. Now it's Sunday afternoon and Blaine starts to think maybe he should never move again. He doesn't see the point.

He stares at his phone. Friday night at 6:15pm, Kurt had texted him that he would be too busy to hang out over the weekend. Blaine had read the message over a hundred times. He had committed it to memory:

NYADA stuff sorry! Must stay focused this weekend. Love you xx

Blaine had spent most of Friday night just analyzing the message. He tried to tell himself that it was just a message and there was no hidden meaning, but he didn't believe it. Most of Saturday was just spent in his bed arguing with himself in his head.

Why hadn't he called to tell me?

Because he was in a rush.

Because he was with someone else.

Probably Rachel.

Or Karofsky.

He loves you.

That doesn't mean anything.

It means everything, you know that.

What if I'm wrong? I've been wrong before.

Blaine's mind went wild. He thought of a million different scenarios and positions Kurt could have been in. On Saturday, he cried until he had nearly vomited. He had fallen asleep with his face still wet with tears.

Now he's awake, feeling disgusting and slightly nauseous with dried tears on his face. He curls up and hugs his knees to his chest. He doesn't know what to do. He doesn't know how to fix their failing relationship.

No, he tells himself. Kurt and I are fine. Blaine sighs. He can keep saying it over and over again, but it doesn't take away the dropping feeling in his stomach. Suddenly his bed feels too big and empty. It's like Kurt hasn't been over in years and it's only been a little over a week. Blaine misses the heat of Kurt's body around him. He misses Kurt's warm breath on his neck as he sleeps. Blaine sniffs. Even his bed smells different now. Everything is foreign and strange.

"Blaine Anderson, you are losing your mind," Blaine says out loud. He shakes his head and props himself up on his elbows. He reaches over the bed to his bedside table where his phone sits. He grabs it and checks his messages. Nothing new. No calls, no texts, nothing. Blaine feels his eyes sting with tears but he blinks them back.

He's not alone. He still has Cooper. Blaine sits up and smiles. Yes, I'll just hang out with Cooper, he decides. He slips off the bed and walks over to the door. His finger tips hover over the doorknob when he hears someone yell from downstairs. Heart racing, he presses his ear to the door and strains to listen better.

"Why don't you try acting like an adult for once?" Blaine blinks. That's definitely his dad's voice. He figures his dad and his brother are arguing. Blaine snorts. That's nothing new.

"I am trying, but you guys are treating me like I'm sixteen again."

"What are you doing with your life?" Blaine hears his dad ask.

"My life is fine."

"Really? Coming home at midnight, drunk and smelling like a brothel."

"I was not at a brothel! I was out with friends. You know, friends like normal people have, not business associates."

"Well, you need to work to have business associates instead on depending on your parents' money."

"I don't need your money. I'm doing fine on my own."

"Is that the reason why you were three months late on your credit card payments when you came back begging your mother and I to bail you out?"

"I wasn't begging, I was asking."

"Cooper, why don't you learn to grow up?" Mr. Anderson asks in a strained voice. "We won't treat you like a child if you stop acting like one."

"Whatever." There is silence. Blaine presses his ear to the door closer to the door.

"I am really concerned about the example you're setting for Blaine," his father says in a lower voice. Blaine jumps at the mention of his name. "He looks up to you."

"I know," Cooper says proudly.

"No, you don't know. You leaving all the time is not good for him," Mr. Anderson says.

"You're hardly here either," Cooper snaps.

"Yes, but I'm his father," Mr. Anderson says. "I gave him adequate love for the important years of his life and he knows that I'm now simply too busy to spend time with him."

Blaine hears Cooper snort. "Excuses," he says. "You'll use any excuse not to be a good father to either of us."

"I am a damn good father to the both of you," Mr. Anderson argues, his voice rising.

"Bullshit."

"Watch your language!"

"Or what?" Cooper challenges.

"Or...or you won't be allowed to come back to this house ever again," his father says sternly.

"What?" Cooper asks, taken aback.

"If you don't start acting right, you're out," Mr. Anderson says. Blaine's heart plunges.

"You can't kick me out," Cooper says in a voice so low that Blaine hardly hears him.

"This is my house, Cooper. I can do as I please."

"Fine!" Cooper shouts. "Fine. You want me out? Then I'm out!" Blaine hears stomping and then the sound of the front door being wretched open. He runs to his window and looks out, staring at the front yard. He sees Cooper walk out of the front door and feels the house shake slightly as the door is slammed. A few of their neighbors outside turn their heads to see what the disturbance is, but Cooper just keeps his head down, muttering to himself. Blaine watches as he walks to his car and jumps in. Within minutes, he's pulling out of the driveway and disappearing down the road.

Blaine panics. No, Cooper can't leave again. Not now. Please not now, Blaine silently begs. He whips his head around the room until his eyes land on his phone. He runs to it and pick it up, quickly dialing Cooper's number. No answer. He tries again. No answer. After the third try, he gives up.

His fingers linger over the buttons and before he knows it he's dialing Kurt's number.

"Hey, it's Kurt. I'm a bit busy at the moment..." Blaine presses the end key and stares at the phone in his palm. It didn't even ring. Just straight to voicemail.

Blaine throws his phone across the room, not even flinching as it hits the wall hard. He lies face down on his bed and for the second time this weekend, he cries himself to sleep.