Chapter 12: Rain

"I miss Louisa."

Rachel turned to him with that judgmental face she wore whenever she was about to disagree with him:

"You do have the tendency of been keen of things you cannot have."

Brody pleaded her with his eyes:

"Don't be mean to me, Rach. I do like her. Independently of how I feel about you, Louisa left a bend in my life. She leaves... I mean; makes... Anyway, I don't want to give up hope just yet."

Rachel stared at him sarcastically. As she saw he was being serious, she sighed and answered:

"You said pretty much the same thing to me..."

"Does this mean you have changed your mind?"

"No, Brody! I'm fighting to have Finn back; I'm just giving him some time. What I meant to say was that you can't be that serious about Louisa. You can't love two people at once."

"Of course I can! I know it simply because I do. And I'm pretty sure I'm not dead to her either."

Rachel rolled her eyes:

"I like your optimism, but the word out there is that she's mad at you and Blaine testifies she's not the type that forgives easily. Kurt wants your head too; he even said I shouldn't be hanging out with you that often."

Brody smirked in his confident way:

"I know well how fierce and feisty the Hummels can be; but it's not like they can avoid me forever. I'll be soon leaving you here to meet them at Next to Normal's rehearsals; not to brag myself, but this production can be the biggest thing in their curriculum so far. They are stubborn enough not to quit and let me looking like the bigger man."

"I hope you are right for your own good. However, don't forget they have other ways of bringing you down. I felt in my own skin how vindictive Louisa can be."

He laughed amusedly:

"Are you telling me to be cautious about my girlfriend?"

"Ex-girlfriend."

"This status will be changed soon enough; I told you I'd be dating her in no time and we were together the next week. It was the same thing with you: you swear you'd never see me again and look at us now."

"Be careful, Brody. I could forgive you and become your friend again. With Louisa it's different: she's sure you cheated on her and she's very moody."

"We'll see Rachel. Well, I'm off to rehearsal now; wish me luck!"

He left Rachel with a faithless face in the cafeteria and marched on to the auditorium. It had been some time since Louisa had entered the tech rehearsals and broken-up with him; they have bumped a few times in the corridors but she refused to talk to him, neither had she answered his texts and voice messages. That day, however, she'd be forced to be in the same room as him for a long time and he wouldn't let her go without at least have listened to him.

He entered the auditorium and found that she was already there; escorted by a furiously looking Kurt and a supportive Blaine. He tried to smile to see what answer he'd get; but all he achieved was a polite head nod by Blaine. Brody knew it wouldn't be easy. However, he got some aces down his sleeve:

"Okay guys; today we'll start rehearsal with my scene. I'll sing Gabe's solo I'm Alive so Ned and I can show you how the staging and lights for this scene will look like."

A moment on the spotlight was the perfect opportunity to catch Louisa's eyes and Brody took full advantage of it.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/xjpH15kuTps

I am what you want me to be,

And I'm your worst fear

You'll find it in me.

Come closer...

Come closer...

I am more than memory

I am what might be,

I am mystery.

You know me

So show me.

The song become almost as if a treat mixed up with teasing.

When I appear it's

Not so clear if

I'm a simple spirit

Or I'm flesh and blood...

But I'm alive,

I'm alive,

I am so alive,

And I feed on the fear

That's behind your eyes.

And I need you

To need me

It's no surprise

I'm alive...

So alive...

I'm alive.

I am flame and I am fire,

I am destruction,

Decay and desire

I'll hurt you...

I'll heal you...

I'm your wish,

Your dream come true,

And I am your darkest

Nightmare too

I've shown you...

I own you.

His eyes were burning with a new flame because, by every moment, he got surer that he was somehow still alive inside of the girl.

And though you made me,

You can't change me

I'm the perfect stranger

Who knows you too well.

And I'm alive,

I'm alive,

I am so alive,

And I'll tell you the truth

If you let me try.

You're alive,

I'm alive,

And I'll show why

I'm alive...

So alive...

I'm alive

I'm right behind you.

You say forget,

But I remind you.

You can try to hide,

You know that I will find you.

'Cause if you won't grieve me

You won't leave me behind...

Ah, ah, ah,

Whoa, oh, oh,

Whoa, oh, oh...

No, no, no

I'm alive,

I'm alive,

I am so alive,

If you climb on my back,

Then we both can fly.

If you try to deny me

I'll never die

I'm alive...

So alive...

I'm alive...

Yeah, yeah...

I'm alive...

I'm alive...

I'm alive...

I'm alive!

xXxXx

It wasn't bad enough that she needed to be in the same room as Brody for endless hours every week; she would have also to put up with his cocky smile that said to her he was sure she'd be back to him whenever he wanted. She smirked swanky remembering he knew nothing about her and that she'd, undoubtedly, go out as the winner of their twisted little game.

She managed to avoid having a conversation with Brody throughout the entire rehearsal (obviously with lots of help from Kurt and, eventually, even from Blaine). However, they were beginning to change out of their costumes when he grabbed her arm:

"I need to talk to you."

"About what? About how amazing the sex between you and Rachel was that day when I almost walked into you?"

Brody exhaled and seemed to be trying to calm down before he focused his glaze in her eyes:

"I haven't slept with Rachel since she broke up with me last year. You owe me at least hear my explanation..."

"I owe you nothing, Brody. You made me promises and went behind my back running after another girl; or you deny that?"

"I don't deny it; I'm confused. I was confused. But now I know how I feel about you. And you feel it too! I saw the way you looked at me while I was singing I'm Alive!"

She rolled her eyes in the mock Hummel way:

"Who do you think you are? Some kind of Aaron Tveit? No way, honey! The only relationship I'll have with you from now on is in this rehearsal room and about Next to Normal. Otherwise; you can just forget me, okay?"

She managed to free her arm and was walking to the girl's changing room when he yelled at her:

"I won't give up on you!"

She began to see red but she managed to take a deep breath and was calm enough not to blow:

"You'll never give up on Rachel either. It's not enough for me. You hardly know me, so... please... just. Let. Me. Go."

Before she could measure his reaction, she was out of sight and with Maggie in the girl's changing room. The chubby girl looked at her puzzled:

"What happened in there?"

Louisa shook her head, waving the subject off as non-important:

"It was nothing; Brody is trying to get us back together..."

"After what he did? What a dick!"

Louisa smiled grateful for having made such a great friend. Maggie rubbed her shoulders reassuringly:

"Don't worry; you'll find someone much better."

"I'm not worried about that..."

"Then you shouldn't be worried about anything: you're killing it as Natalie!"

Louisa felt the grin forming in her lips:

"Thank you, Mags. I must say you're perfect as Diana."

Maggie gave her one of her rare smiles meaning she was taking the compliment but was back to her serious face as she answered:

"That means that NYADA's tuition is paying off. Diana is a great character; but I can't really connect to her. I mean; can you imagine the life of someone mentally unstable? It must be a nightmare!"

Louisa just nodded. Maggie went on but she wasn't paying attention anymore. Louisa started to change facing the other wall so her friend wouldn't see the concern in her face. She declined Maggie's invitation for lunch and brought lunch to eat alone in a deserted corner of the university.

Dragging down one of her anxiety pills with the food; Louisa let the tears invade her face. She took her phone out; but the alert of three new unread messages from her father made she lose the will to call Kurt. She plugged her phones in her ears and let the familiar sad notes sung in Portuguese fill her mind.

Tom Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes were right: there's no ending for sadness, but there's for happiness.

xXxXx

"Hey, Blaine!"

"Finn! What's up? What brings you here?"

"Job hunt; I need a way to pay my own rent."

"We all do..."

Finn knew he could trust Blaine to help him with his new plans and to be discrete about it. Besides, Callbacks was a good place to work and he couldn't count only with his mother's help to keep him through all college.

Finn hadn't warned he'd be coming; but it was a little over the usual lunch time and the bar was almost empty. Blaine was doing some cleaning behind the counter and had time to talk to him.

"I'm not aware that they've been looking for hiring; but the staff here changes a lot and you could talk to the manager. It's a good place to work: they pay fairly and the hours are flexible. And you'll turn 21 soon, right? That makes it easier; you can try a spot for the evening shift too. Anyway, Lauren, the manager, is just out solving an issue; she should be back anytime. Wait around. Have you eaten?"

Before he could answer anything, a female voice called his name in a tentatively way. Finn turned just to confirm that the familiar voice was really from Rachel. She smiled coyly and avoided his gaze. He turned to Blaine with a bitter tune:

"Thanks man; but I guess I'll be back another time. I've got plenty to do right now."

He was getting out of the stool when she cleared her throat:

"I guess we can be in the same room; can't we, Finn?"

He studied her for a second before answering:

"For me it's too soon."

"I have no resentment for you. I hoped we could still be friends..."

"Maybe in the future. Now I have to go; if you excuse me."

She pursed her lips:

"You can stay; I'm finish and I was going anyway."

She nodded her head to Finn and Blaine and walked to the door. He sat back down, turned to Blaine and exhaled exhausted. Immediately, a large glass of soda was in front of him and Blaine was smiling sympathetically:

"I'll order you a burger and some fries to go with it. I'm pretty much done here and you seem like you can use a friend to talk to."

"Thanks man; that'll be great."

xXxXx

Brody felt like all he did those past few days was walking around NYADA to solve problems for the Next to Normal production. Being so close to his graduation meant fewer time spent in classrooms and more time wandering through corridors during strange hours.

It was normal for some students to have nervous break-downs and be found crying on the corridors. However, the sound he was hearing was hiccups that only came from sorrow crying. He turned a corner and found Louisa sitting on the floor, hugging her knees and crying. She looked up and, when she saw it was him, she turned her face and fallibly tried to hide her tears.

He said in a sarcastic voice:

"Oh sorry; I didn't know this corridor had already been claimed by the queen."

She just rolled her eyes and went back to staring at the wall instead of him. His first instinct was to turn away and leave her alone like she requested. However, when you see the woman you love crying; you have to slide your back down the wall and sit by her side. He knew better than to try physical contact, so he tried to do his best at comforting her just with his words:

"There's no denial you've been crying and I could never live with myself knowing I just walked away on you."

Her sassy side spoke louder and she snorted at him while getting up:

"I can take care of myself; thank you very much."

He held her by the arm:

"Could you stop being so stubborn for just a minute and accept my help? I know I fucked things up; but I'm here just as someone who cares about you."

She studied his hands on her arm for a while before giving up and sitting back down. He smirked pleased with himself:

"See? I know at least a little bit about you. I have feelings for you..."

He stopped midway to snort at her frown. She didn't take it well and rolled her eyes again. He took some tissues out of his bag and handed it to her was he went on:

"I'm not trying any funny business here; you made your point very clear this morning. I'm just emphasizing that I care about you and that you can count on me for help."

She was cleaning her face and smiled for just a second:

"Thanks; I guess."

He grinned:

"That's better; you look prettier with a smile on. Now, will you tell me what's been bothering you or I can carry on supposing I have this effect on you?"

She shook her head in that way she used to point out he was being ridiculous:

"Cocky, aren't we? No, it's not you. Although I'm furious about you. It's... too complicated."

He dared take her hand and started stocking it:

"I'm not that dumb and I can be a good listener when I want to."

She politely took her hand away and held it among her other closer to her chest in a movement that didn't look conscientious. Her eyes were lost far away when she said:

"I don't like talking about it."

He turned so the rest of his body was facing her too. She didn't budge and he took it as a good sign. He was about to fondly touch her face when they were interrupted by a group of girls passing by giggling and not bothering to hide they were gossiping about them. He sighed and lowered his hand.

When he looked back at Louisa, she was still looking at the girls growing smaller with the distance. He chuckled:

"You aren't bothered about the gossips, are you?"

She just shook her head. He got curious:

"What? Do you envy them? You are a thousand times better looking than them and you've got a million times their talents."

"It's not that I envy on them..."

He was confused. She got up in a sudden and was wearing an unusual expression of hesitation:

"Could you come with me?"

He followed her into an empty classroom. She plugged her iPod to the sound system and dropped her bag on the floor. As the first notes of Next to Normal's I Miss the Mountains started filling the room; she guided him by the hand to sit down and began to sing her soul away with the song.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/hZmbaJ18u28

There was a time when I flew higher,

Was a time the wild girl running free

Would be me.

Now I see her feel the fire,

Now I know she needs me

There to share

I'm nowhere.

He had never seen her so naked as in that moment: it was as if he was meeting a whole side of her he had never seen before. Some tears began to run down her face but her voice didn't break for a single moment.

All these blank and tranquil years

Seems they've dried up all my tears.

And while she runs free and fast,

Seems my wild days are past.

But I miss the mountains.

I miss the dizzy heights.

All the manic, magic days,

And the dark, depressing nights.

I miss the mountains,

I miss the highs and lows,

All the climbing, all the falling,

All the while the wild wind blows,

Stinging you with snow

And soaking you with rain

I miss the mountains,

I miss the pain.

Mountains make you crazy

Here it's safe and sound.

My mind is somewhere hazy

My feet are on the ground.

Everything is balanced here

And on an even keel.

Everything is perfect

Nothing's real...

Nothing's real.

And I miss the mountains.

I, I miss the lonely climb.

Wand'ring through the wilderness.

And spending all my time

Where the air is clear

And cuts you like a knife

I miss the mountains...

I miss the mountains...

I miss my life.

I miss my life.

She finished and stood panting looking at him. Without further explanation, she picked up her bag and stormed out of the room.

xXxXx

Maggie Cooper had the incredible ability to call Kurt on his busiest times at Vogue. However, since it had been a while she had last called and she only called for important matters; he decided to take it:

"Hi Maggie; what's up?"

"Hello Kurt. Sorry to bother you; but it's about Louisa and you asked me to keep you informed."

"Sure Maggie; I'm glad you called. Is something wrong?"

Kurt could sense the hesitation in Maggie's voice and the big pauses she took. It was either a delicate subject or something that could piss Louisa off. Or even both.

"I don't know for sure, but Louisa's been acting weird. She's quieter and spends great amounts of time locked in her bedroom not wanting to eat or speak to anybody."

Kurt exhaled relaxed:

"This makes me calmer, Maggie. You know I love my cousin, but she can be a drama queen some times. She's making a bigger deal than it is with hers and Brody's break-up. She's seeking attention; just ignore it and she'll come around in a couple of days..."

"Are you sure, Kurt? It seemed as something more serious to me..."

"Maggie, trust me. I can't talk right now; I can call you after work if you want. However, I'm pretty sure it's nothing."

"No need to call me; if you say it's alright, I trust you. Let's make a deal? I call you if things get weirder, ok?"

"That would be wonderful, Maggie. Have a great day."

Kurt hung up shaking his head at his cousin's ability to manipulate people. Louisa had a way of getting things her way while making everyone blind that they were doing exactly what she wanted. He took a long time to discover this mechanism and work against it with his own tools. No one never said a 'no' straight to Lou's face and walked away winning; but he knew how to maneuver her that she only realized it when she had already done it his way.

However, thoughts of Maggie, Louisa and everything else were soon forgotten under the pile of work he had to hand that day.

xXxXx

There was a voice inside Louisa's head that was her own and someone completely different at the same time. This voice was getting louder and louder in her head and she knew it couldn't mean good. It sounded like her; like the voice her thoughts were voiced in. Yet, it told her to do horrible stuff. Mostly to herself.

There was nowhere to run from it. It was part of her: the part of her she hated and wanted to kill. She had already taken her anxiety pills, made everything that used to help make her calmer; but nothing seemed to work. In a last desperate attempt, she went into the bathroom to prepare a calming warm bath.

And then: there it was. Maggie had a blade she used to shave and it was lying on the sink. A blade detached from anything; a perfect blade to cut a purely white skin and seeing hot red blood running down in steady streams. No! She couldn't do that; she wouldn't! But the thought of seeing her wrists tinged dark red by a single flick of that blade was tempting...

She stared at her reflection in the mirror and saw the face of defeat: all those months fighting against those thoughts and a single moment she wasn't vigilant made it all worthless. The dark circles under her eyes growing deeper and wider every day. Her face growing from porcelain white to a morbid sick one. She knew her strengths were fading, but there weren't gone yet.

She sat at the edge of the bathtub facing the wall. The only sound besides the annoying voice in her head was the water running down the tap. She tried to focus on the water but it wasn't enough. Singing was her last resource, but the songs in her head were of dark and hopeless times. Still, it was better than nothing. Slowly, she began to sing Mist and Shadows; the song Pippin sung in The Lord of the Rings' movie.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/LazMyfCci-Q

Home is behind

The world ahead.

And there are many paths to tread

It didn't take long for the song to take her head and soon she was seeing all in shades of red.

Through shadow,

To the edge of night

Until the stars are all alight

The images of Brody with Rachel, of Finn with Rachel, of her mother in poverty, of Blaine cheating on Kurt, of Kurt being heartbroken, of Aunt Elizabeth's death, of Uncle Burt weak from cancer, of all her break-downs, of all her fights with Blaine, of Grandma Hummel despise and most of all of her father walking away from her and her mother were all she could see.

Mist and shadow

Cloud and shade

All shall fade

All shall...fade.

They all faded to one single image of a blade bathed with blood; her blood and she couldn't escape anymore.

She turned down the tap and entered the bathtub holding the blade. She dived her head to let all her body get wet. She sat back up and began with small cuts in her inner thigh. The water made the blood come out faster and she stared at it with a mixture of intense pleasure and profound disgust for herself. It was when her tears began to flow with her not believing how week she was.

Gathering the last feeble strengths she still had, she picked up her phone and dialed the only person she could think of:

"I need you."

The last thing she felt was the phone slipping down from her hand.

xXxXx

"Lou! Louisa! Talk to me! Talk to me, please!"

Blaine knew something was terribly wrong with her but all he could do at the moment was sink down behind the counter into a crying form. Louisa's voice was in a desperate tune he had never heard before and it brought goosebumps all down his arm. He craned she had done something unspeakably stupid.

In a rush of adrenaline, he got up from the floor, rushed out of his work and got into a cab straight to her place. Maggie looked very confused when she opened the door to him, but he had no time for explanations:

"Where's she? Where's Louisa?"

"Taking a bath; why?"

Blaine ignored her questions and entered the apartment anyway. He went straight to bang on the bathroom door and Maggie came complaining right behind him. He banged each time louder but got no answer.

"There's no answer, Maggie! How long has she been there? She called me and I'm afraid she did something stupid."

Maggie went from confused to shocked whiting the second. She began sobbing:

"It's all my fault! She's been quiet for an awful long time and I didn't check on her. I called Kurt to say that she was weird and he told me to ignore it. And I did... My best friend is dead now and it's all because of me!"

Blaine really didn't have time to deal with Maggie. He simply moved her out of the way:

"Don't say that; we don't know yet. Just get out of my way so I can break this door down."

After a few attempts, the door fell and they could enter the bathroom. Louisa was lying unawaken on the bathtub which water was red from her blood. Blaine went to check her pulse and was relieved to see she still had a feeble one and that her wrists were unharmed. Maggie made an exasperate sound and her sobbing got more intensive.

"She's alive, Maggie; but if you can't handle this just get out of my way!"

The girl disappeared inside the apartment. He managed to move Louisa a little up in the tub and she blinked at him.

"It's alright, Lou; I'm here."

Her eyes closed again. He draped her in a bathrobe and began to raise her. She woke up a little more with the movement:

"I'm cold."

"Sure you are. If you help me a little bit, I can get you to your room and we can dry you up properly."

She got a bit stiffer in his arms and he thanked all the gods her apartment was small. He laid her in her bed and went back to the bathroom for a towel. When he got back, her eyes were open.

He smiled at her and began drying her exposed legs:

"What have you done, Lou?"

He was surprised to hear her feeble voice articulating an answer:

"Nothing irreversible..."

"Thank God."

"But I thought of it."

She looked away and he could see she was embarrassed. He lay by her side in the bed and put her head on his shoulder:

"Hey... It's alright now... You resisted it. You used your strength to call for help. You brought me here; you wanted to be helped."

She began to silently cry and hid her face in his chest. He kissed the top of her head and let her be for a while. Maggie knocked lightly on the open door:

"Do you need any help? I'm calmer now..."

Blaine smiled at her:

"I think I got it, Maggie. Sorry for earlier."

She waved it out:

"Don't mention... If it wasn't for you and your calm head we wouldn't have helped her. I'll make you guys some chamomile tea."

"Thanks."

Louisa looked at him with puff red eyes:

"Thank you, Blaine. I could only think of calling you for help."

"And here I am; I'm glad you called. Care to talk about it or it's too soon?"

"I prevented myself from cutting my wrists by cutting my thighs. But I'm not proud of it. I'm actually ashamed..."

He held her tighter:

"Lou, you know it's part of your condition. I mean... I don't know for sure; but you knew it could happen, right?"

"I thought of it before; that's why I got into heavier medicine. But I never got this close... I wish I was strong, Blaine."

The last phrase she already spoke between sobs. He rubbed her back trying to calm her:

"You are strong, sweetheart. Never think it of you. You just carry a heavier burden than most people do. Just keeping standing on is enough prove of the power of your strengths. And you got friends to help you."

She adjusted herself in his arms so she was looking at him and smiled. After looking for the right words, she began singing Eponine's lines in Les Mis' A Little Fall of Rain.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/xIuqnsaa2UE

Eponine:

Don't you fret, M'sieur Marius

I don't feel any pain

A little fall of rain

Can hardly hurt me now

You're here, that's all I need to know

And you will keep me safe

And you will keep me close

And rain will make the flowers grow.

He grinned back at her and began singing Marius part.

Marius

But you will live, 'Ponine - dear God above...

If I could close your wounds with words of love...

Eponine

Just hold me now, and let it be.

Shelter me, comfort me...

Marius

You would live

A hundred years

If I could show you how

I won't desert you now...

Eponine

The rain can't hurt me now

This rain will wash away what's past

And you will keep me safe

And you will keep me close

I'll sleep in your embrace at last

The rain that brings you here

Is Heaven-blessed!

The skies begin to clear

And I'm at rest

A breath away from where you are

I've come home from so far

She was getting more and more relaxed in his arms and eventually fell asleep before the end of the song. He finished it alone and kissed the top of her head.

Marius

Hush-a-bye, dear Eponine

You won't feel any pain

A little fall of rain

Can hardly hurt you now

I'm Here

I will stay with you

Till you are sleeping

And rain

Will make the flowers grow.

Maggie coughed to announce her presence and showed the two mugs of tea. He took his and smiled. She sat at the edge of the bed and stroked Louisa's foot:

"Quite a scare we had today, huh? Do you need anything?"

"I wanted to call Kurt away from her..."

Blaine was motioning to get up but Louisa grabbed him by the shirt still half asleep:

"Don't leave me! I'm afraid of what I might do if I'm alone."

"I'm not. Maggie is..."

Maggie interrupted him:

"You stay; I'll call Kurt. Anything in particular you want me to say?"

"Ask him to bring my pajamas and toothbrush."

She nodded and left the room.

xXxXx

It was an awkward day for Louisa; not only because of how much ashamed she was of herself, but for the other things that she had to do. Waking up next to Blaine and knowing she didn't even let him brush his teeth was just the beginning. Having Maggie standing as guard outside the bathroom while she showered was a remarkable point. But the love attack from a guilty Kurt and watching him call an even more apprehensive Burt was probably the worst. At least she had convinced them not to call her mother, who would be worried sick and not able to see her. She would tell her mother when they could be face to face and she could show her she was fine.

Like that, the day went by without her even noticing. It was already dark when Maggie knocked on her door:

"Lou? Can I have a word?"

"Of course, sweetie. Come in."

Maggie entered unusually shy and sat beside Louisa.

"I wanted to apologize..."

"What for?"

"For my malicious comment during rehearsal about mental disease and for living my blade lying around. I feel like it's my fault."

Louisa looked at her a little chocked:

"Maggie, please, if someone should be apologizing it should be me. I have trust issues... I should have told you about my condition; I mean, I knew it could happen and you should be warned. I'm very lucky to have a friend like you."

Maggie smiled:

"Friend?"

Louisa launched herself for a hug:

"Of course, silly."

Maggie went back to her serious face and got up to leave:

"I'll show you how great of a roommate I am and I'm going to sleep at my date's. Kurt doesn't want to leave you alone and I'm giving my room for Blaine. Those two can't be apart: Kurt rather sleep uncomfortably in our couch yesterday than go home alone."

Louisa got tomato red and Maggie saw that as a cue to go. Kurt's head appeared in her door not that long after:

"Hello boo; ready to go to bed with me?"

She chuckled:

"It's been a long time since we've done that. It reminds me of our childhood. But isn't it a little soon for us to be going to sleep?"

Kurt raised one eyebrow in a fabulous way:

"Who said anything about sleeping? Like when we were kids; there's gossip section first. I want to tell you some stuff, I want to hear all about you kicking that prick Brody's ass and we have to talk about yesterday."

"What about yesterday?"

"You must see a psychiatrist ASAP."

"I already advanced my appointment with Doctor Young and you can come with me if you want."

"I want to. And I'll be keeping you company until there."

"I'll love to have you around, pumpkin. But you can sleep with your boyfriend if you want to; I promise to keep my door open."

Kurt rolled his eyes and she laughed at him. He began to tickle her as vengeance:

"I was starting to feel rejected! First you call Blaine; now you're kicking me out of your bed."

She saw what was upsetting him and sat back up to hug him:

"Hey! Don't be jealous; you'll always be my number one pumpkin."

"Why did you call Blaine instead of me then?"

She sighed and moved uncomfortably. Kurt was still staring at her with quizzing eyes. She took his hand:

"Because Blaine confronts me. He wasn't afraid of me when I first got here and was hostile to him. I needed someone I could trust and who'd say no to me."

Kurt pursed his lips in a fond smile:

"I got so scared for you. I don't know what I'd have done if Blaine didn't get to save the day. I'm glad that you have finally got it all together between the two of you."

She lay lazily on her pillow with her eyelashes weighting a tone while smiling to her cousin. Kurt took some hair out of her face:

"It was big day, wasn't it? You're feeling tired."

She nodded and he adjusted the covers on top of her:

"So you lay down and I'll sing you a lullaby."

"A lullaby?"

"Kind of a lullaby; it'll give you nice dream nonetheless."

She smiled and closed her eyes. Kurt began to sing U2's MLK and the sweet tunes of his voice took her to a fabulous dreamland with no pain and no fear.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/10A8fOUoWIM

Sleep

Sleep tonight

And may your dreams

Be realized

If the thundercloud

Passes rain

So let it rain

Rain down on him

Hmm-mmm-mm

So let it be

Hmm-mmm-mm

So let it be

Sleep

Sleep tonight

And may your dreams

Be realized

If the thundercloud

Passes rain

So let it rain

Let it rain

Rain on him

xXxXx

Brody could swear Blaine came out of thin air with that furious look. Raising his hands in surrender only made the boy's rage grow. Blaine was fuming when he almost yelled:

"It's all your fault, bastard!"

"Easy, Anderson. What have I done?"

Kurt had joined them but his attempts to calm his boyfriend down had proven flawed. Blaine got hid of Kurt's arms and approached Brody with a menacing posture:

"Louisa almost killed herself because of what you've done!"

"Louisa what?"

Kurt grabbed Blaine's arm and pulled him away while saying:

"Come on, honey; Louisa wouldn't like to know you've been telling this around. Especially not to Brody. Besides, I'm sure he's not the reason behind it all..."

Brody tried to run after them, but the couple entered a classroom and the teacher dismissed him. He tried calling Maggie and Louisa; both didn't answer him. He could reach Rachel, but she knew nothing about the subject.

A girl who took the same class as him asked if he wouldn't go to class and he decided he had nothing better to do. He tried to get his mind into the class, but his thoughts were constantly flying towards Louisa. His assignment for the class was to perform a song and he could think of only one: Ain't No Sunshine by Bill Whiters.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/tIdIqbv7SPo

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone

It's not warm when she's away

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone

And she's always gone too long

Anytime she goes away

While singing, he remembered every moment they've spent together.

Wonder this time where she's gone

Wonder if she's gone to stay

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone

And this house just ain't no home

Anytime she goes away

And I know, I know, I know, I know,

I know, I know, I know, I know, I know,

I know, I know, I know, I know, I know,

I know, I know, I know, I know, I know,

I know, I know, I know, I know, I know,

I know, I know,

Hey, I oughtta leave young thing alone

But ain't no sunshine when she's gone

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone

Only darkness every day

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone

And this house just ain't no home

Anytime she goes away

Anytime she goes away

Anytime she goes away

Anytime she goes away

He might not have solved his feelings for Rachel; but one thing was sure: he loved Louisa.