“Um, hi Blaine,” she greeted, still seemingly confused.

“Have you- uh….have you heard from Kurt?” he asked before he could stop himself. He just needed to know that he was okay. Blaine could tell himself he hated Kurt until sun stopped burning but he could never make himself believe it.

“No, I haven’t,” Tina said, shaking her head slightly and sounding a little worried. Should he be worried? Is Kurt hurt? Is he in trouble?

“Oh. Well, do you know where-”

“Blaine, there you are! I’ve been looking for you all morning.” Sam came running over and pulled Blaine out of his seat. He wrapped an arm around his shoulders and dragged him toward the back of room while talking to him about the new Iron Man 3 trailer. Tom came in behind Sam and sat down next to Tina.

“Remember what George said. We can’t tell Blaine.”

“I didn’t. It’s just- he’s like a lost, homeless puppy,” Tina pouted. Tom looked over his shoulder to where Sam was engaging Blaine in conversation.

“I know, but this is what’s best for him. We have to protect him now.”

“I still can’t believe all this happened. Kurt would never do that. He practically worshiped Blaine.”

“Good, then we’re on the same page.” Tina’s brows knit together.

“Huh?” Tom looked around before leaning in closer to whisper in Tina’s ear.

“I think Kurt was-”

“Okay, guys! How’s everybody doing today?” Will Scheuster called out as he entered the room. There was a cluster of murmurs. “Cheer up, guys! Regionals are coming up!” The murmurs were a little bit more excited this time, but not much. It seemed everyone had heard about Kurt and Chet one way or another, and it created an awkward lull. “Does anyone have anything prepared today?” It seemed he was trying to pep everyone up regardless of rumors. “Alright,” Scheu’s face broke out into a grin. “Show us what you got.” Tom sighed and turned around, wondering who was going to perform, when his brows nearly disappeared into his hair line.

Blaine made his way down to the front of the room before going up to the band and whispering his song choice to them and Brad. Tom turned and looked back to Sam who, in turn, shrugged. Blaine looked around the room as Brad played a few soft notes on the piano. “I haven’t been to church since I don’t remember when,” Blaine began, somewhere between singing and talking. “Things were going great till they fell apart again. So I listened to the preacher as he told me what to do. He said you can’t go hatin’ others who have done wrong to you. Sometimes we get angry but we must not condemn; let the good Lord do his job and you just pray for them.” Tom felt Tina looking at him and all he could do was continue to stare at Blaine. It was obvious he was addressing the elephant in the room, but what kind of song was that? The melody picked up and Blaine started swaying along as he sang.

I pray your brakes go out runnin’ down a hill
I pray a flower pot falls from a window sill
And knocks you in the head like I’d like to
I pray your birthday comes and nobody calls
I pray your flyin’ high when your engine stalls
I pray all your dreams never come true
Just know wherever you are, honey, I pray for you

Tom looked to the seat Blaine was staring at and felt himself smiling in a sort of awe at the look on Chet’s face. He looked dumbfounded and slightly annoyed. Tom almost started clapping but Tina grabbed his hands before he could.

I’m really glad I found my way to church
‘Cause I’m already feeling better
And I want to thank God for the words
Yeah, I’m gonna take the high road
And do what the preacher told me to do
You keep messin’ up, and I’ll keep prayin’ for you

I pray your tires blows out at a 110
I pray you pass out drunk with your best friend
And wake up with his and her tattoos

I pray your brakes go out runnin’ down a hill
I pray a flower pot falls from a window sill
And knocks you in the head like I’d like to
I pray your birthday comes and nobody calls
I pray you’re flyin’ high when your engine stalls
I pray all your dreams never come true
Just know wherever you are, near or far
In your house or in your car
Wherever you are, honey, I pray for you
I pray for you

When he finished, Blaine smiled and walked back to his seat. Tom still stared forward, frozen, until finally he broke into a huge grin and clapped ferociously. The rest of the club clapped tentatively, but Tom turned around and saw Sam clapping Blaine on the back and smiling as widely as Tom was.

Will slowly made his way to the front of the room, looking slightly uncomfortable. “Okay, Blaine, that was good, but um, I don’t think it’s quite right for Regionals.”

“Mr. Sheuster.”

“Yes, Rachel?”

“I have a song prepared as well- one that I think would be fabulous for me to sing for my solo.”

“Rachel, we’ve already talked about this. We have a lot of new members this year and I’d like to showcase their talents.”

“But Mr. Scheu-”

“William?” Tom looked over and saw George standing in the doorway. Will turned and nodded at him. “Meeting,” George said to the club. “Now.” And he walked out. Tom looked over at Tina and around the room. Santana got up and began to walk out of the room, followed by Chet.

“C’mon,” Tina muttered and got up as well. Tom looked back to Sam and jumped out of his seat before going over to his Paladin.

“Watch Blaine?” he asked, whispering in his ear so no one else would hear.

“Of course,” Sam said. Tom smiled and squeezed Sam’s shoulder before dashing out of the room after his fellow Guardians to the Biology Lab.

“I assume you all know what this is about,” George began.

“Do you have more news about Kurt?” Tina asked hopefully.

“Unfortunately, no. I’ve tried to send him messages, but it wouldn’t make a difference even if he received them.”

“George, why can’t you tell us what happened?”

“Yeah, I’m not buying this ‘he ran away’ crap,” Santana spoke out. “You were at his hearing; we know you were, so why can’t you just tell us where Lady is?” George looked away and seemed to contemplate telling them the truth. Tom bit his lip as he waited for his Keeper to speak.

“Chet, have you recovered any memory of what happened that day?” he asked and Chet shook his head.

“No, sir.”

“Bullshit,” Tom muttered under his breath.

“What was that?” Chet asked, an edge apparent in his voice.

“I said this is bullshit. You kiss Kurt and he disappears but you get off without any punishments?”

“I didn’t kiss Kurt! Why the hell would I kiss him? I was taking a test that day in Mrs. Nolan’s class. You can ask her. Or Mike, since he was there with me. Besides, the Healers already checked my memory and found no proof to Kurt’s allegations. So instead of chewing my head off, why don’t you ask yourself why Kurt would make something like that up.”

“I have been! He wouldn’t do that, but I can’t say so much about you.”

“Boys,” George warned, but neither showed signs of cooling off.

“They checked my brain, Tom. You don’t trust the Healers?”

“I don’t trust you. Tell me, if Kurt made it all up, why did Blaine sing that song to you today?”

“Hell if I know. He probably just heard all the rumors like everybody else did.”

“Boys,” George said, this time a little louder.

“And where did those rumors come from?”

“Where do any rumors come from?” Chet asked, beginning to raise his voice to match Tom’s. Both boys were near to yelling. “You seem to know a whole lot about this, maybe you started them.”

“Why the hell would I make something like that up? Kurt’s one of my best friends and Blaine’s my Paladin’s. What would I have to benefit from that?”

“What would I?”

“ENOUGH.” Tom huffed and fell back in his chair. “Everybody just shut up. For one moment.” Tom glared at the white board behind George’s head. George pinched the bridge of his nose. “We have no evidence of where the rumors started, and since Chet has been checked, his story has been cleared.” Tom rolled his eyes. He didn’t care what proof they found in Chet’s favor; he just knew he had to have done something. “In the case of Kurt,” George paused and Tom forgot about his anger for a moment as he waited to hear about his friend. “He has been stripped.” Tom felt like someone had removed the oxygen from the room. He couldn’t breathe, he was suffocating, and there was no escape. Kurt had been stripped of his Guardianship; he was a Miss. “As for his whereabouts… Oust.” The ensuing silence was palpable. Tom felt like he was going to either vomit or pass out from lack of oxygen. Maybe both.

“What?” someone finally asked.

“They can’t do that!”

“It’s already been done,” George said quietly.

“Why didn’t you stop them?” Santana asked, but they all knew there was no ‘stopping’ the Superiors. When their minds were set, it was conceived as law.

“Where you there?” Tina asked. “When it happened?”

“Yes,” George said, his voice hard. “There was nothing I could do.”

“How long is he going to be there?” Tina asked again, but by the weakness of her voice, she already knew the answer.

“All we can do is take over his duties and protect Blaine. I want you all to pitch in. Blaine is high priority right now. I fear he is in grave danger.”

“Wait, why?”

“As I have previously shared, Emma had reported those going undetected. Yesterday Sue had a similar encounter. I fear the destined war is closer than we originally believed.”

“But if Blaine’s without a Guardian, he’s completely vulnerable. Even with us all watching over him, the odds are-”

“Regardless, I expect you all to protect him as if he were your own Paladin.” Santana groaned. “Get back to Glee Club. Keep your Paladin’s close. We’ll have another meeting tomorrow to discuss tactics. And watch Blaine.”

“Sam and I will stay with him,” Tom said and George nodded. The Guardians marched out of the room and made their way back to the choir room. This time, Tom sat with Sam and Blaine. He could feel Sam’s gaze on him, but kept his eyes forward. He would tell Sam everything later.

After Glee, Tom asked Blaine if he wanted to come over and play video games. Blaine seemed hesitant, but agreed none the less. They were in Tom’s room playing Halo when his cell phone rang. “Sam, can you pause it?” he asked and answered his phone.

“You still think Chet had something to do with it?” Tina spoke before he could say anything. He looked over at the Paladins beside him and spoke as if he and Tina were talking about something casual.

“Yeah, did you forget to write down the assignment?”

“You know how he said he was taking a test with Mike? Well I asked him about it and Mike said Chet left during the makeup to use the bathroom. Maybe he left to set Kurt up.” Tom felt like his insides were swimming.

“Okay. As for problem three, I’m still a bit lost; I can’t remember the formula.”

“That’s where I’m stuck, too. Maybe he was able to get someone to block his memories? Or he learned how to do it himself? He’s hiding something. I could feel it.”

“Oh, right, thanks. You are definitely my Math Guru, Tina.”

“Let me know if you think of anything, okay?”

“Okay, I’ll call you later so we can work it out together.” Tom tossed his phone onto the floor and picked up the controller. “Alright, let’s kill some people,” he said, ignoring the boys staring at him until Sam unpaused the game and they began to go after their team’s flag.

A few hours later there was a knock on the door before it opened. “I’m back!”

“In the kitchen,” Tom called. A moment later Sam came in and leaned against the counter where Tom was fixing himself a sandwich. “Want one?” Sam nodded and began to grab some bread, but Tom shook his head. “I already made you one.” He handed his Paladin a plate and shrugged. Sam smiled at him.

“You’re the best.”

“I know.” Sam shoved his shoulder and Tom grinned as he put everything away. “Everything good on the drive to Blaine’s?”

“Yeah. Fine,” Sam said around a bite of his sandwich. “What happened earlier during Glee?” Tom sighed and told him what his Keeper had told them, along with his argument with Chet. He also told him about his phone call with Tina and how they thought something fishy was going on. “Oh he is definitely hiding something,” Sam agreed. “So what are we going to do? Follow him around? Plant a bug on him? Hide cameras in his house?”

“Woah, calm down, Gangster Squad.”

“Well how else are we going to find out what’s going on with that guy?”

“I don’t know. I’m supposed to call Tina back-”

“What are you waiting for? Call her!” Tom rolled his eyes.

“You’re way too excited.”

“You’re not excited enough.” Tom sighed. Sam reached over and put his hand on top of Tom’s. “I just want to get to the bottom of this.” Tom nodded and turned his hand over so he could hold Sam’s.

“I know. So do I.” Sam stroked the inside of Tom’s wrist with his thumb and Tom smiled softly. He loved that Sam was okay with this. He had waited so long for Sam, and now he was finally his.

“Thomas, are you home?” a voice called and Sam’s hand retreated faster than you could say ‘chary.’ Honestly, Tom understood that Sam was new to his feelings and still trying to figure things out, but he wished Sam felt comfortable enough around his family. Tom’s parents had known about his being paired with Sam since he was nine, and they would be nothing but happy to see the two together. Maybe Sam didn’t want them getting too excited because he didn’t want a relationship after all.

“Yeah, mom. In the kitchen,” Tom called, trying his best not to sound disappointed but judging by the way Sam was avoiding his gaze, it was apparent.

“Oh hello, Sam,” his mother greeted as she walked into the room.

“Hey, Mary. How was work?” She shrugged, which meant it wasn’t so good.

“You boys hungry?” she asked as she walked over to the fridge.

“We already ate,” Tom supplied. She nodded her head.

“Then I’ll call your father. See if he wants to go out.”

“Sounds good. We’re going to be in my room,” he said and she nodded again.

“Okay.” Tom began to walk out of the room, Sam close on his heels. When they got to Tom’s room, Tom closed the door before crashing onto his bed and lying back against the pillows. It was quiet for a moment.

“Look, Tom, I’m sorry, I just-”

“Sam, you don’t have to say anything. I get it.”

“But I-”

“I understand, okay. Don’t worry about it.” He didn’t know why he was getting so upset. He really did understand why Sam was adamant about showing off their relationship, because it wasn’t even really a relationship at all. They had Sealed, but it had been more out of desperation than a declaration of love like Tom had always fantasized. They had been at Sam’s house, in his basement watching a movie, when Sam started acting weird.

Tom would make a comment about the film, but Sam would stare at the TV and ignore him. “What’s wrong?” Tom asked, nudging his foot against the other boy’s and Sam all but jumped a foot away. “Dude, relax,” Tom began but Sam looked like he was going to puke. “What the hell is going on with on with you?” Sam was trying not to look at him. “Sam, please talk to me,” Tom said, softer than before, and reached out to touch his arm; this time Sam didn’t pull away. Sam slowly looked over at him, and the next thing he knew, Sam’s lips were on his. Tom kissed him back immediately, but a second later Sam was pulling away and scooting across the couch to put space between them. Sam stared at the floor and oh god Tom hadn’t mouth raped him had he?

“Tom,” Sam said, then screwed his eyes shut. “I can’t do this anymore.” Couldn’t do what anymore? Was Sam breaking up with him before they were even together?

“Do what?” Tom asked, though he was scared of the answer. Sam was quiet until finally he opened his eyes and turned so he was fully facing Tom, wringing his fingers and avoiding his gaze, still looking queasy.

“I like you,” he whispered. “And that scares the shit out of me.” Tom let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. “I’ve never liked a guy before, and it’s really freaking confusing. I don’t know how to act around you, and I’ve been trying to… distance myself. But I can’t. You’re my best friend and I like hanging out with you. That’s kind of the problem.” Tom was grinning by now, and he reached out to still Sam’s hands. Sam looked up at him then. “You’re not mad?” Tom laughed. He actually laughed and wow Sam liked him. Mad? Tom felt like he could fly.

“Quite the opposite. You have no idea how long I’ve waited to hear you say that.” Sam smiled and Tom moved so they were both sitting in front on each other, cross legged. Sam moved his hand and placed it on Tom’s heart, and Tom did the same to Sam. Before he knew it, they were Sealing.

They hadn’t kissed again since then, and barely touched each other. Tom sometimes wondered if Sam regretted it. “Tom, please don’t be like this.”

“Let’s just call Tina,” he said dejectedly, grabbing his phone and calling up his fellow Guardian before Sam could say anything else. He rolled over onto his stomach and as he waited for Tina to answer, he felt the bed dip next to him as Sam lay beside him. He could feel the warmth from his Paladin radiating and mixing with his own heat in the inch of space between them and had to force himself to focus of the sound of ringing instead of Sam. Tina answered on the fourth ring.

“Hey,” she said, then another voice joined in and greeted too.

“Hey, Tina. Mike. Sam’s here too.”

“Hey, Sam!” Mike called.

“Hey-”

“Mike, did Chet seem different when he came back to class?” Tom asked, wanting to get to the bottom of everything.

“Uh, not that I can remember. It was a few weeks ago, but I don’t know, he seemed normal.”

“I checked him,” Tina said. “Nothing seemed off.”

“You saw the memory?”

“Yeah, and he was only gone for like, thirty seconds. Hang on, let me take another look.” Tina was silent for a moment, and Tom figured she was replaying Mike’s memory in her head. “He kept checking the clock, but that could just be test anxiety, right?”

“I don’t think we should rule anything out just yet,” Sam said, voicing Tom’s thoughts.

“He looks a little shaky, but then- yeah, then he asks to go to the bathroom. He gets up, walks out… then comes back and sits down.”

“I finished my test after that and left,” Mike said. Tom bit his lip. They were getting nowhere.

“There has to be something else,” Tom said, feeling frustrated.

“Tom, I’ve checked it a dozen times, there’s nothing else.” Tom huffed. He couldn’t believe it. He refused to accept that nothing happened. Chet did something, he did. Because there was no other plausible explanation. The whole thing was infuriating.

“No, Tina. Check again,” Tom growled.

“Tom,” Sam said quietly. “Breathe. We all want answers.”

“Really? Then why does it seem like I’m the only one who gives a damn?”

“You’re not. I think you need to take a minute alone.”

“I don’t-”

“Tom.” Tom looked at Sam, and sighed resignedly.

“Fine.” He crawled off the bed. “Do you want anything?” Sam shook his head. Tom walked out of the room and down to the kitchen. He grabbed a glass from the cabinet and placed in on the counter before turning to the fridge and grabbing a pitcher of water. When he turned back around, he forgot how close he’d placed the glass and knocked it over with the pitcher. He moved to grab it quickly, and thankfully saved it from shattering on the floor. However, he stifled a scream when he saw that his body was halfway through the counter. “What the hell?”

Tom straightened up and wiggled his hips, watching as his body moved through the granite countertop. How was that even possible? He walked out of the counter, then tested his hand on the top. He touched it, and it was solid again. Had he just imagined it? He tried again, this time imagining his hand going through it, and his fingertips disappeared from view. “No way.” Had he gotten his power? But, that wasn’t supposed to happen. He shouldn’t get a power unless it’s absolutely needed. Maybe what George had said was true. The war was definitely closer than they thought.

Tom ran to his room, and, instead of opening the door, walked right through it. He stayed hallway between it and called Sam, who screamed when he turned and saw his Guardian. “What the hell?”

“That’s what I said!”

“How did you- but you- and it- what?”

“What’s going on?” Tina asked over the phone. Tom walked fully into the room and over to Sam, grabbing the phone from his frozen hand.

“I got my power,” he said, unable to stop smiling.

“WHAT?”

“Yeah, I can walk through shit now.”

“How did you- Tom this isn’t good.”

“I know. Did you get yours?”

“How would I even know what it is?”

“I don’t know- I accidently walked through a counter. Try doing something.”

“Like what?”

“When I got mine,” Mike began, “I heard a voice tell me what to do.”

“So did I,” Sam said, still staring at his Guardian like he was waiting for him to phase through the floor.

“I don’t hear anything,” Tina said unconvinced.

“I didn’t either,” Tom said. “I don’t know how it works for Guardians.”

“Maybe you can fly,” Sam mused.

“I am not testing that.”

“Just try things out with your brain,” Tom supplied. He heard Tina scoff, but otherwise she was silent, so he figured she was taking his advice. Sam reached out to touch Tom, like he was seeing if his hand would go right through him, but Tom swatted him away. Sam sighed, probably thinking Tom was still mad at him, so Tom sat down next to him. He took Sam’s hand and put it on his own leg, and Sam smiled softly.

“My mom’s on her way home,” Tina said distantly.

“How do you know?” Mike asked.

“I can hear her car.” There was shuffling over the phone. “Yeah, she’s down the street,” Tina said, sounding farther away. More shuffling.

“I don’t see… wait, way over there?”

“What do you mean, ‘way over there?’ She’s just down the street.”

“Yeah, a few blocks down the street. I think we found your power, Tina,” Mike said, in awe.

“What is it?” Sam asked, breaking his graze away from Tom and staring expectantly and the phone.

“I guess enhanced hearing?”

“And sight,” Mike quipped.

“The car is just right- holy. Yeah, okay, I have sight too. Wow. It’s like, I can zoom in and out. Holy crap that’s cool. I mean, that means were in deep shit, but man this is so cool.”

“We should probably tell George…”

“Yeah, okay, we’ll talk to him tomorrow at school. As for tonight-”

“You’re going to play with your powers?”

“I’m going to play with my powers.” Tom let out a short laugh.

“Yeah, alright. Then I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

“Okay. Bye boys.”

“Bye,” they said in unison before hanging up. Tom flopped back onto the bed and Sam lay down a moment later. He was on his side, propped up on one elbow, staring at Tom. Tom swiveled his head to look at him. “Yeeees?” Sam stared at him a minute longer before shaking his head. Tom opened his mouth to say something, but before he could speak Sam curled up next to him. Tom smiled and wrapped his arm around his Paladin, reveling in the feeling of Sam cuddling into his side. Tomorrow, they would begin work for the battle. But tonight, it was just the two of them, and Tom would be damned if he didn’t take advantage of that.